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mayolive-writes · 11 months

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The Love Plaza | Jungkook

Pairing: Jungkook x AFAB Reader

Summary: Needing to take a break from the long trip to college, you and Jungkook are forced to stay at the only lodging available within 70 miles, a love motel. And much to Jungkook’s dismay, there’s only one bed.

Wordcount: 4102

Genre: Fluff, Comedy, Smut, Best Friends to lovers, Oneshot(?)

Warnings: Dry humping, mild awkwardness (these poor virgins), no penetration (this time), They’re so cute and down bad

Minors DNI

A/N: thought this would be a fun writing prompt to exercise my humor muscle. I often feel that my writing lacks comedic relief, so this was good practice! I wanted this to be goofy as shit, because friends to lovers is just that much sweeter when it’s goofy. I do have a couple other WIPs with this couple though!! One that’s fluffy and another that is significantly spicier.

Enjoy!!

The Love Plaza | Moonlight Trampoline Adventure | Labret

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

You must be shitting me.

Unbelievable. Un-fucking-believable. Jungkook reads the sign in disbelief. The only lodging in 70 miles was a damned love motel. The bright red neon “18+” sign mocks him.

Unbelievable.

"Hell no, I can keep driving," Jungkook turns to you, there's no way you'd be okay with this.

"Jeon Jungkook, we've been driving on and off for 14 hours in a cramped truck with enough leg room for a toddler. We're both exhausted." You flash him a stern look, "we were honked at five times because we were going off the road!" With a light smack of his chest, you giggle, "besides, maybe they have a room with separate beds!" Your voice drips with sarcasm, calm about the entire situation.

Except you weren't. Inside, you were screaming. A fucking love hotel in the middle of nowhere? This is a sick joke. But despite your inner turmoil, you keep a humored face.

"You're sure?" Jungkook asks again, just to make sure.

Cocking your eyebrow, you give him an incredulous look, "the other option is getting into a crash. I don’t think coffee and 5-hour-energy can't help us now, bun."

He sighs. With every passing second, he can feel his heart losing years of life. This definitely isn’t healthy.

A bell sounds as you and Jungkook enter, catching the eye of a desk clerk. The shabby motel is surprisingly chic inside, with modern hardwood tile, and wallpaper patterned with soft wisteria, giving the space a fresh feeling.

"Hey there! Do you have a reservation?" The smile on the clerk's face is practiced, but falters when he sees the both of you in sweatpants and t-shirts.

He concludes on his own, no, you don't have a reservation.

As you both walk awkwardly up to the desk, the clerk continues, "just the two of you?"

Jungkook answers, "uh--yeah." You spot a basket on the counter and tap Jungkook on the shoulder, pointing.

It's full of different sized condoms in every bright color imaginable. Pink, blue, orange, yellow, purple, green.

You both hold back silly smiles, doing your utmost to keep cool.

"And do you perhaps--" you pick up a condom out of the basket and Jungkook chokes. He takes a moment before looking at the smiley clerk again, "have a room with separate beds?"

The clerk simply stares at Jungkook. Separate beds? In a love motel?

There's been very few moments in Jungkook's life when he was truly Flustered.

1. Confessing to Sandy Morrison in second grade.

2. His first kiss in 11th grade.

3. Figuring out that maybe he wasn’t totally straight.

4. Seeing you, his best friend and crush of at least 6 years, pick up a large condom, neatly packed in bright neon orange wrapping, and pocketing it for some ungodly reason.

Shit.

What are you doing?

You yourself don't know what the hell you're doing. There’s zero intention in your mind of using the condom, of course--not that you wouldn't like to. But you're just trying to have fun. What else do you do in a love hotel? With this thought, you promptly lose your shit when you sight a shelf near the clerk desk that displays a variety of items.

Lube, lace garters (neatly packed in plastic packaging, fancy!), satin blindfolds, fuzzy handcuffs (red, pink, blue, black, and orange!), and the cherry on top--a brochure of "The Best Positions For A Night of Passion!"

The cackle you hold in makes you shake. You hop over to the shelf and ask the clerk, "how much for these?" Pointing to the handcuffs.

The clerk is now thoroughly confused at the contrasting interests in both you and Jungkook, who is flushed in the face--both from embarrassment and holding his laughter in. "Um... They're all a dollar, the pamphlet is free."

The clerk looks back to Jungkook, "and, sir, I'm sorry, but we don't have rooms with separate beds," leaning forward to whisper, he continues, "if you guys are fighting, take the couch."

Well, it was worth a shot.

Once you're both checked in, Jungkook is about to walk away. That is, before he sees you go up to the desk clerk with one of each item that was displayed on the shelf.

Oh.

My.

God.

The clerk looks at Jungkook, his expression screaming, "dude, I can't believe you wanted separate beds!"

You happily stride beside Jungkook through the motel hallway, kinky bag in hand while he carries the luggage. You must be insane. Having finally reached room 40, you both realize that Jungkook’s hands are full of your bags. Awkwardly, you dig into his front pocket, feeling for the card.

"Um..." you look up when he speaks up, "it's in the other pocket.”

Oh. Oops.

You dig through his other pocket.

why are these damn things so dee--

What. Was. That.

Jungkook gasps.

You gasp.

Realizing what you’ve just done, you flinch away, “Oh my god! I’m so fucking sorry--" Jungkook is utterly speechless. This night just keeps getting more and more inconceivable. He says nothing as you dig more cautiously and finally yank out the godforsaken key.

One minute later you're finally in the room, with yours and Jungkook’s cheeks throbbing red.

Nice one, y/n.

As you both walk further in, you gasp. All other thoughts vanish at the sight.

Jesus Christ, what a night.

"Oh my god, Koo!" You drag him in faster and he sees you fall into a burst of laughter, and once he sees it too, promptly loses his composure at the ridiculous sight.

The bed is obviously heart-shaped, the sheets are red satin, and the blankets are pink velvet. The mattress is adorned with frilly heart pillows and lacy detailing, with a black headboard screwed into the wall (which is probably for the best).

You both share gazes of utter astonishment, only to fall over yourselves once more. The sheer ridiculousness of it all hitting you full force. Jungkook’s laughter only falters when he notices that there isn't a couch.

This leaves him with two options. Share the bed with you and sacrifice a sleepless night resulting in another 10 hours of hell tomorrow, or sleep on the plush black carpeted floor and spend the next week with achy muscles and a crick in the neck.

He's gonna have to sleep on the fucking floor.

Quietly, Jungkook goes into the bathroom, leaving you to your own devices.

One bed. God, what a cliché. Jeon Jungkook will not be brought down by some fanfic writer’s wet dream.

Despite the inconvenience of the motel, Jungkook is relieved as the hot water spews from the showerhead. He’s needed this all day. Each muscle becomes looser, and Jungkook finds himself relaxing as the sound of water hitting the floor puddles in his mind.

6 long years.

Jungkook was twelve when he realized he had a big, fat, disgusting crush on you. But he knew it wasn’t a big deal. Crushes pass and fade. It’s impossible not to have a crush at that age.

Jungkook was 16 when he realized it wasn’t just a crush anymore. The poor bastard was head over heels. Down for the count. Your smile made his heart burn—he’d do anything to see it. He’d pull up pictures of you on his phone on the rare occasion he couldn’t see you, just to make sure he could at least see your smile every day. He recalls feeling stupid for feeling so fuzzy about you all the time, but what’s shameful about wanting to see someone you love happy and smiling? Nothing.

At some point, it turned physical. Absolute hell. He felt complete and utter shame the first time he touched himself while thinking about you. It was deplorable how badly and how often he yearned for your lips on his body.

Throughout high school, Jungkook could barely look at anyone else other than you. Others could tell, most didn’t even try making a move on him. Except for his first kiss, taking place after prom in the parking lot. He remembers apologizing profusely to his date the next day, admitting that he just didn’t feel that way about them.

During graduation, he almost slipped. Almost confessed that he wanted to give it a shot. The longing was becoming too much. But no matter how close he came to finally spitting it out he’d always chicken out. You meant too much. And it felt… wrong to spring it on you.

But this? He might break in two. He’s insane, he knows, but that millisecond where you accidentally touched him through his pants almost made him hydroplane, losing all traction on reality.

A knock on the door yanks Jungkook out of his murky thoughts. “If you use up all the hot water, I’ll personally annihilate you, Kookie.”

He can’t hold back a smirk, “yeah, yeah, I’m almost done.”

If hot showers were personified, you’d marry them. Specifically, the ones taken after your best friend, with his scent still lingering. This night has been one hell of a rollercoaster, and you take your time washing away the 14 hours of uncomfortable driving and cleanse your airways. Jungkook has always smelled like home to you. Years of friendship will do that to a person. Not even your own family can make you feel at ease like he does, with the way he shines. Bright enough to feel warm, but not so bright as to scare anyone away.

7 long years.

You were 11 when you realized you had a big, fat, disgusting crush on Jungkook. But you’d had countless meaningless crushes at that age, he was just a crush out of convenience, right?

Wrong.

You were 16 when you realized it wasn’t just a crush anymore. Something about Jungkook’s demeanor with you changed. He was always nice to you, but as Jungkook matured, his rough-and-tumble attitude crumbled away into something softer, cushier, and sweeter. It was unbearable. Whenever he put a secure arm around your shoulder, your heart would squeeze, and then release. First yearning, then comfort.

You wanted him. In more than one way. Never in a million years would you live down the shame from the first time you let him invade your thoughts alone at night. It wasn’t that long ago, really. Jungkook had turned 18, and He wasted little to no time in getting a lip piercing. You nonchalantly said it looked cool, but it kept you up that night.

It was becoming too much, but with graduation fast approaching you thought you’d finally have your out. You’d go off to college, and as much as you’d miss your best friend, you knew you needed to get away, and hopefully the love would fade with time.

Well, that was before you found out that Jungkook was going to the same college as you.

It was pure coincidence.

So here you are. Desperately trying to wash away your increasing desire on both fronts, romantically and sexually.

Regretfully, you step out of the shower into the cold bathroom air. In an instant you’re pulling Jungkook’s stolen hoodie over your head.

The room is dead silent when you leave the bathroom, and you spot Jungkook resting peacefully on the heart-shaped bed. His eyes are closed. It’s moments like these that make you want to give in and just tell him. So what if he doesn’t feel the same way? So what if he doesn’t fight back the urge to kiss you every day? So. Fucking. What.

He’s your best friend. That’s fucking what.

Losing him is not an option.

“Gook?” Jungkook is lightly startled, and you almost feel bad for waking him. “Hey, can you move over?”

“Huh?” He groggily looks around, then realizes, “Oh—yeah, yeah, just a sec.”

With sloth-like movements, Jungkook grabs a pillow and a blanket from the bed and lays them on the floor, but before he can slip down onto the carpet you stop him, “woah, woah, woah. What’re you doing?”

“Uhhh, going to sleep?”

“On the floor? We’ve shared a bed before, doofus.”

“yeah, when we were like, nine.” Jungkook retorts. Please, God. Don’t do this to him.

You know it’ll be hell sharing a bed with him, but you’d feel like shit making him sleep on the floor. “What’re you afraid of, catching cooties? Come on, bun, it’s not a big deal.” It is a big deal. It is such a stupidly big deal.

Jungkook takes a moment to read your eyes, only a feeling a twinge of awkwardness. With reluctance, he moves the blanket and pillow back onto the bed and climbs in first. He can do this.

You climb in behind him, settling in quickly. His back is to you, thank God, but warmth is radiating from his body. You can’t do this.

Deep breaths, deep breaths. Focus.

Focus on the patter of the rain outside. Focus on the whirring of the ceiling fan above. Focus on the softness of the sheets. Focus on the warmth of the blankets. Focus on the smell of the detergent. Focus on the smell of Jungkook’s shampoo.

Wait, no. Don’t focus on that.

Hell freezes over in the time it takes for you to get comfortable.

It feels like infinity has passed by as Jungkook lays deathly still. One movement and he’ll shatter. The bed feels smaller than it looks. The proximity is too much. He can hear your deep breaths, can feel them in how your back lightly hits his with every intake of air. His body feels like it’ll start vibrating. His chest feels like it might implode. His thoughts are spiraling. He just wants you.

Eyes. Closed. Mouth. Closed. Mind. A work in progress. Sheep, count sheep.

1…

2…

3…

Just fall asleep. Please. You tell yourself.

Closing your eyes, you count the seconds as they pass by into minutes. You’re on minute 28 when a haze finally begins to ease you. But some prick outside of your room drops something heavy and you hear them giggling and walking away. You hope they have a terrible night’s sleep. Even if they weren’t planning on sleeping anyway.

Being conscious again, it’s impossible to ignore it. You can’t take it. You can’t. His warmth, his smell. His smile, his laugh.

Him.

Something possesses you. Chest aching painfully, heart beating mercilessly.

You whisper.

“Jungkook,”

“Yeah?” He curses the waver in his voice as your body shifts around to face his back. It takes him a moment before he has enough courage to turn around.

Your eyes.

Your eyes are big and wide, you look scared and excited all at once. “Jungkook, I…”

What are you doing?

You must be insane.

Just forget it.

But there’s no going back.

Do it.

Just say it.

Say it.

Fucking say it.

You like—

No.

He gently reaches for your hand beneath the blanket. The mingling of your fingers calms your mind, eases your breathing. “Thanks,” a whisper is sent across the small distance that separates the two of you. “How do you feel about me?”

Jungkook stares. Huh? That’s all? He chuckles, “We’ve been friends since we were like, four. It’s a good bet that I like you.”

You blink. What an absolute dunce. “No, you stupid asshat, how do you feel about me?” All this courage makes your mouth keep moving, “I mean… I feel something, and sometimes it seems like you feel something too. Can you like, tell me if it’s just me?”

Jungkook’s eyes go wide, his warm hand slipping away.

Oh. You’ve made a huge mistake.

Or so you think before he’s crawling to hover over you, hands beside your head. “You like me?”

It’s your turn for your eyes to bulge, your face burning at the position, one that you’ve imagined at least a million times. Head turning away, you reiterate, “Unfortunately.”

His head falls to your shoulder, “Oh my god. Holy shit, oh my God. I can’t believe this. I can’t believe this shit, holy fucking shit.” You patiently wait for his rambling to stop, but you’re confused now. He’s on top of you. This man is on top of you but hasn’t said anything about how he feels yet.

The only natural response is to flick his forehead, of course.

“Hey, ouch!”

You exaggerate the clearing of your throat, “’holy shit, I can’t believe this shit.’ Isn’t a super direct answer, Jeon Jungkook.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re mean?”

“Aww did I hurt you fee—” His lips touch yours softly, but it doesn’t last long enough before he falls back to his side of the bed.

“It’s not just you,” Your hands find each other again.

A thick silence rests over you, despite your staggering heart. You want him to kiss you again, desperately. You push yourself to ask, “kiss me again? Maybe longer this time?”

Jungkook obliges wordlessly, leaning over to press his lips against yours once more. It’s slow, cautious, unsure. Your body feels tense, making it difficult to feel excited. Not sure what to do, you pull him closer by his sweatshirt, forcing your bodies to touch.

It feels like he’s melting into you. His lips are still shaky, but he pushes forward, placing his hand on your hip as you wrap a leg over his body. Creating even less distance between you. There’s a heavy breath.

“Um… okay, pause.” Your eyes meet. He nods and his fingers brush through your hair, playing with it casually and awaiting your next request. In this wide expanse of time, the tingle of him playing with your hair lulls your mind and heart.

“Again?”

Third time’s the charm, right?

With less hesitance than before, Jungkook finds your lips again, keeping his hand buried in your hair. This time, it’s more comfortable, and your lips tingle. Unsure of what to do with yourself, your hands grip his sweatshirt even tighter, and you find it in yourself to lean in closer, breath quickening less from nerves and more from pleasure.

How many times had you thought of this? Each scenario being different, passionate and fiery. And yet of the hundreds of daydreams, none of them were accurate. Despite the underlying awkwardness, you wouldn’t want it any other way.

All thoughts drift away when Jungkook’s lips leave your own, and before you can protest, they fall upon your neck. Far more astonishing is when he drags you on top of him, changing your positions.

A quiet gasp escapes. Woah, woah woah, buddy.

But your surprise doesn’t stop him from dragging his lips to the other side of your neck. You feel your legs go numb. With his stupid lips on your neck still, he asks, “Is this okay?”

There’s a lot of fumbling in your brain before you can answer, “mhm… I’ve thought about this a lot.”

“Oh really? How much of it?” This stupid bitch.

“Shut up before you ruin it, just keep going.” You have no clue, but to Jungkook, the breathlessness in your voice feels like kryptonite.

Slipping a hand beneath your hoodie, you jolt at his touch. “How far do you want me to go?”

You squirm, “Um… I don’t know yet, is that okay?”

“Good, cuz’ I don’t know either. We can stop at any point.” Becoming impatient, you only give him a nod before you guide his hand to slip further into your hoodie. The trail of his touch his tingly, unpredictable, exciting. The gentle nature in the way he feels you causes your body to take on a mind of its own as your hips sink into Jungkook, forcing a groan from his lips. “Fuck, do that again.” You follow his instruction, and he lets out another noise of pleasure. It sends a spark coursing through you, leaning in to kiss him again. It’s messier this time, the caress of his hand on your skin making the simple task of breathing complicated. Your hips push down again, and the bulge you feel beneath you makes you gasp. In quick succession, Jungkook’s fingers brush over the tip of your breast, and to your utter shock a whine flows out of your lips. Your legs lose more strength, and you follow instinct. One hand slips beneath Jungkook’s shirt, and the jerk has the audacity to cup your breast in retaliation, dragging another whine out of you. Your head falls to his neck, partially because you feel like jelly, and partially because you want to leave a string of kisses to match what he so generously left on you prior.

With each kiss your hands keep exploring his torso and chest. If he can play dirty, so can you.

Or so you thought.

He pulls the neckline of your hoodie down to gain access to your collarbone before leaning up and licking a bold stripe from your clavicle up to your neck, dragging your body closer all the while. And when he latches on to the crook of your neck, sucking hard and meeting your hips as they subconsciously grind into him, you release a moan.

“There you go.”

You see through hazy vision the smirk on his face. Different from any that you’ve seen in your countless years of friendship.

He does it again, latching onto a spot along your collarbone and sucking, harsh but loving. Easing the sting with another swipe of his tongue.

The room is soon a quiet orchestra of heavy breaths and stifled groans, whines, and moans.

Time feels nonexistent.

“I think I want you to touch me, koo--”

“You think?”

You whine, “God, I don’t know—I just need more.”

He groans, “Fuck, babe.”

His hands securely grip your hips, and guide them to grind down onto him, hard. His sweatpants barely getting in the way.

You gasp at first, but as he keeps guiding your hips you let out a moan, louder than the one before. You cover your lips, not wanting to be heard by anyone outside.

“shit babe, please don’t be quiet, please—”

As the rhythm of your hips continue, you lean down, resting your head beside Jungkook’s ear, hoping that the muffle of the pillows will prevent anyone other than Jungkook hearing you. You let go, letting your moans flow, as his hips meet yours. Each sound you let out into his ear brings Jungkook closer to his breaking point.

“Keep going Koo, I’m close.” You whisper, and the sounds Jungkook lets out sound almost painful.

“Fuck, I love you.” He whines. And with barley another thrust of his hips, he comes undone beneath you. He keeps his grip on your hips, continuing to bring your hips down onto him.

You can barely manage “I love you too, Koo” before you find release.

The butterflies haven’t subsided yet. You’re clean and warm in bed again with Jungkook, hands and hearts intertwined. This time sleep feels more possible, but you can’t help but want to talk.

“Can I be honest?”

“Of course.”

“some of that felt awkward, right?”

“Well, I don’t think anything is more awkward than when we were forced to take a bath together when we were toddlers just cuz’ we got all muddy in the rain.”

You giggle as Jungkook pulls you in closer against his chest. “Yeah, sex ain’t shit compared to that.”

The warmth lulled you into a comfortable silence. You can’t remember the last time you felt this content, and you never want it to end. Every night this is what you want. Hands fit together loosely, blanket tangled between your bodies.

Jungkook will process with time that this is his new reality. His new reality in which you fall asleep in his arms, in which he can pull you closer, hold you tighter, and play with your fingers as he drifts off into a dreamland that couldn’t possibly match what he has with you. No one knows what the future holds, but Jungkook sure as hell hopes that you’re a part of it.

This shaggy love motel did more good than he thought it would.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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saetoru · 1 year

Text

✩ ‧₊˚ ✩。3:37 AM — ITOSHI SAE.

“see? i told you this would be fun,” you hum.

“fun for you, maybe. you get to sit and do nothing. i’m the one driving,” sae gives you a side glare—one that he’s sure you see but elect to ignore in favor of picking the next song on your phone.

if you’d told him half a year ago that he’d be here, giving up sleep to drive you to god knows where in the middle of the night, sae thinks he might have actually laughed—which is something he doesn’t do very often. he’s a bit appalled with himself, truthfully—it’s half past three, way past his usual sleep hours, and he has practice in the morning. yet somehow, he almost thinks he’s having fun.

and then he comes to the daunting realization that he’s really not sure who he even is anymore.

athletes like the itoshi sae need to follow strict regimens. athletes like him need at least eight hours of sleep a day, need balanced diets and a healthy amount of exercise, and need to be level headed and make responsible decisions. athletes like him don’t stay up this late because of one measly pout and a tug to his arm. there’s no reason that sae should be this weak to you, no reason you should hold this much power over him—and yet, in a cruel twist of fate, you do.

you do and you know it, and you’re evil enough that you use it to your full advantage.

“where are we even going?”

“sae, shut up,” you roll your eyes. “why do you always have something to say?”

scoffing, he stops the car at a red light, pressing on the brakes and turning to face you. and he hates to admit it, but the moonlight kissing your skin through the windows makes his heart beat rapidly.

“do you realize i’m sacrificing my sleep for you?” he scoffs at you, looking over at the small patch of skin of your shoulder blade as his shirt droops over your body. he tries not to stare too long—but he fails miserably, and you seem to notice it too.

“quit staring at me,” you smirk, reaching over to pinch his cheek.

he swats your hand away—though gently—and scowls, grumbling under his breath at your supposed claim. you only offer him an amused giggle as he rolls his eyes, and no matter how correct you may be, itoshi sae refuses to admit, even to himself, that he was in fact staring. in his defense, how could he not stare when you look like that in his clothing?

“was not staring at you, stupid.”

“you so were,” you laugh, and he grunts, shaking his head as he rolls his eyes at you unimpressed. it’s a battle that costs him just about all of his self control to not glance down at your lips, but he wins—although miraculously, otherwise, he’d have to hear even more of your teasing, and he doesn’t think his eyes will recover from another round of rolling this time.

“no i wasn’t. that head of yours is too big,” he says, frowning and flicking your forehead at the smug grin you give him. and sae should be asleep, he should be getting enough rest to ensure his optimal performance at practice in the morning so that he can put his teammates efforts to shame—but you said please, and you pouted, and he’s not as strong as he claims to be, although he’ll never admit it.

so now he’s here, and he’s fighting for his dignity as you wiggle your brows playfully at him. but deep down, sae doesn’t think he wants to be anywhere else right about now.

“okay, if you say so,” you snort, “you’ll survive without eight hours of sleep for one day. and by the way, the light’s green now, dumbass. pay attention.”

he hears your giggling as he curses under his breath and presses on the gas pedal, and you slide your hand over his shoulder to play with the hairs at the back of his neck. he pretends to lean back and try to shake your hand off, but you both know it’s his way of leaning further into your touch—so you grant him more of what he craves, rubbing over the back of his neck soothingly as he drives.

“okay, well you’re supposed to be giving me directions, so where do i go now?” he mutters. you shrug, and he groans.

“i don’t know, i’ve been making up directions this whole time. just wanted to drive around. anyway, did you know van gogh’s starry night was painted from his window in an asylum?”

side eyeing you, he purses his lips, rolling his eyes with a heavy sigh. and even if you’ve dragged him out of bed for no reason—on a practice night no less—while he’s supposed to be getting much needed rest, he can’t help but find every annoying little quirk of yours endearing. even this one.

“what does that have to do with anything?” he asks flatly.

and sae is not an easy book to read, he never was—he’s like those difficult words you have to stop and google to understand, or those ridiculous metaphors that only literature teachers care for. but he’s well worth it, you think. he makes you want to skip the pages and jump right to the end, and he’s the kind of story you pray ends happily. and somehow, when he climbs out of bed in his wrinkled shirt and loose sweats, hair tousled and sleep laced in his eyes as he begrudgingly grabs his keys for you—you think maybe you don’t want the story to end at all just yet. or ever.

“just a fun fact, jeez,” you pout. “any soccer fun facts you wanna share?”

“athletes need plenty of sleep to perform their best,” he shoots instantly. you huff, rolling your eyes and crossing your arms at his stubbornness to just admit he enjoys being here as much as you do.

“sae, one of these days you’ll drive me so crazy, i’ll need to be in an asylum myself.”

“one of these days, when i send you to an asylum, maybe i can sleep reasonable hours,” he smirks at you. the soft slap to his shoulder causes him to chuckle in amusement, and you cave and send the softest of grins at his direction.

“you’ll never last a day without me,” you quip, and to your surprise, he smiles a little. it’s gentle—much gentler than you expect from someone like him, and you’re not used to it. but it’s pretty, just like the rest of itoshi sae, and you hope fate permits a few more nights with him by your side, whether it’s in bed as he sleeps or in the car as he drives. maybe, you’ll even dare to hope for an eternity.

“i don’t know,” he hums, and one hand lays gently on your thigh as he drives mindlessly with the other on the wheel, “i think i could manage to squeeze in ten hours of sleep if you were gone,” he adds with smug grin, and even as you scowl at him, you decide right then and there that if itoshi sae isn’t your happy ending, you don’t think you want one. ever.

“you’re rude, y’know that?”

“i’d say driving aimlessly for your stupid whims is rather generous.”

“hmm, maybe,” you murmur, looking at him with a look so sweet, he feels his breath catch in his throat when he peeks at you through the corner of his eyes. and he hopes you don’t notice it, or the way his expression softens too. “love you,” you add quietly, lifting his hand to kiss the back.

“yeah,” he mumbles. “love you too.” you lace your fingers with his, setting his hand back down onto your lap. he squeezes gently, and you squeeze back. “i love it more when you sleep, though.”

i think sae rly likes driving tbh. finds it relaxing and if u play with the hair at the nape of his neck he loves it more. he’s pathetically a loser

#teepods.writings #drabbles.#sae x reader #itoshi sae x reader #sae fluff #itoshi sae fluff #sae x you #itoshi sae x you #blue lock x reader #blue lock x you #blue lock fluff #bllk x reader #bllk x you #bllk fluff

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prohistamine · 5 months

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M Allergies, 1.6k words

I'm back with another fic gang. This time featuring two high society exes reuniting at a fancy gala. In proper prohistamine fashion this one features allergies, a character with the fetish, and fun power dynamics.

Be warned! somewhat explicit sexual content and general unforgivable horniness

“Lovely of you to come, truly I’m so glad to see you both.” Lorna shook the minister's hand in hers, firmly and warmly. A handshake practiced a thousand times over. “Ms. Windsor arrived a few minutes ago I believe, I’m sure she’d be delighted to catch up on your party's substantial victories in the recent election.”

As he turned away Lorna selected a flute of champagne from a passing waiter's tray and took a healthy sip. She’d need it to get through the rest of the night. She turned towards the door, ready to resume her assessment of each new guest as they arrived, but when she saw the man who’d just walked through the doors her stomach dropped. His dark hair was shorter than the last time she'd seen him, falling in waves around his face. He looked smug as ever, and when he caught her eye he started walking her way.

“Colin,” she murmured through gritted teeth, “I didn’t think you’d be caught dead here.”

Colin grinned thinly. “Ah well, you would assume I’d choose to be petty, you always thought the worst of me.”

She scoffed. “That is a charitable way to describe two years of you repeatedly lowering my expectations.”

“Now Lorna, can’t we put the past behind us? What is it we always said, not to let pleasure interfere with our business?”

“Stirring up unnecessary rumors will interfere with business. Don’t you think it’s a bit soon for us to be speaking in public? The dust has barely settled, people will talk.”

“‘Oh the worst fate!” he said in mocking horror, “to be the victim of gossip! Do you think we’ll make it out alive?”

“Oh of course, because you're so above petty politics. I’m the one who’s obsessed with gossip and you just let it roll off your back.”

“Do you think you could say that again for me? Maybe I can get it on tape.” He smiled and rubbed at his nose absentmindedly.

“You know what? I’m glad you came. I really missed that familiar little headache you gave me. It's this sort of… gentle throbbing at the base of my skull? I’m just not the same without it.”

“I knew you missed me. I missed the exercise I got from our conversations, we should really make a habit of it.” He rubbed his nose again, with more intention, and was she imagining it, or was the motion accompanied by the faint sound of wetness?

“Are you just here to flaunt your ability to get yourself out of bed?” Lorna asked, “ Because if so, point proven. This is kind of an important night for me.”

“Ah well, I’m glad you recognize my presence as the achievement it is, but I do have something to-” he cut himself off with a sniff and a scrubbing at his nostrils, “something to discuss. I have to ahh- hehh-” Lorna recognized the face he was making immediately, the far away look in his eye, the crease between his eyebrows. His buildup was, as always, dramatically long before he snatched his handkerchief out of his pocket and sneezed into it twice “AaaSCHU! AaaeSTCHU!” As always, there was no attempt to stifle his violent outburst. He looked up at her blearily, “Ah, pardon me.”

There was a faint smirk in his tone. Lorna scowled. Of course this would happen, just what she needed when she was already struggling to maintain her composure.

“Bless you.” she managed to say, intent on keeping her voice even. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of having a reaction.

“Thank you I- oh there's- Aaah- ahh- AhGHSHUU! AESHTEW! AEGHEEW! Huhh. There were more.”

Despite her frustration, the familiar heat was rising in Lorna’s stomach and traveling down between her legs. Composure be damned, she leaned forward and hissed into his ear.

“Are you doing this on purpose?”

He chuckled. “Oh that would have been brilliant. I’m not that cruel, I'm afraid, or that creative. It must be the floral decorations. I’m desperately allergic, you see.”

Oh he was fucking loving this.

“People will stare you know. You’re embarrassing yourself.” She was looking for any way to take back power in the conversation, and she realized she’d been sloppy the moment she spoke.

“Embarrassing myself?” he asked smugly, “Oh you’d love that wouldn’t you.”

“I’m leaving.”

“C’mon now Lorna, I do have something important to discuss. How about we go out onto the balcony to talk. No worries about prying eyes, and the fresh air will be good for my nose.”

Lorna cast a glance at the large glass doors leading out to the south balcony. They had fabric drapes in front of them, placed intentionally for anyone desiring a conversation away from the eye of the press. Regardless of the privacy they’d have once they got there, people would be sure to notice the two of them leaving together. The smart decision would be to tell him she wasn’t interested in talking, but she desperately wanted a break from the crowd, and, pathetic as it made her feel, she wasn’t sure she could pass up the chance to continue watching him sneeze. It had been months since she’d had the pleasure, and she was beginning to feel like a woman starved.

“Fine.”

“Marvelous.” he said, words slightly muddled with congestion.

They made their way across the room, no doubt incurring the whispers of several guests.

Once they’d stepped outside and shut the doors behind them, Lorna turned to Colin only to see his face skewed in preparation for another sneeze.

“Hehh- Hhh- HhhSTCHU! HaAGHSHEW- I ha- hhh hhASHEW! I haahh- hadn’t realized it was …it was-” he held the handkerchief in front of his face expectantly as he struggled through the sentence, head tilted back as he gulped in air to fuel the fit, “ATZSHUU! ASHEWW! R-realized it was so… ahh- AschUUu! so cold out here.”

A sufficient chill had settled in the air since the sun had set, something Lorna hadn’t even considered. Colin was wearing nothing but a simple suit jacket, and he’d always been incredibly sensitive to changes in temperature. Just going outside in cold weather usually caused him a small fit, and the combination with his fall allergies was having quite the effect. He blew his nose into the folds of his handkerchief and then geared up for more.

“heeSGHEW! EESGHEW! HESHEWW!! Hehh- haaahh- ahh- ASHEW!” He was bending at the waist now with the force of them, and reached blindly to his left in search of the balcony railing, which he leaned on for support once he found it.

“Huhh-hhhh-hhoh god- heeehSHUUH! EESHEW! HEERGHSTEW! ESH-ESH-ESHU!!

The fit was punctuated by three violent little sneezes that tripped over each other to be released.

Since the moment he’d first sneezed, Lorna had felt like she was putty in Colin’s hand. His intimate knowledge of just what his allergies did to her gave him a maddening and tantalizing power over her. However, as he desperately wrenched forward with sneeze after sneeze, one hand shakily clasping a handkerchief to his face and the other doing its best to keep him upright, it was hard to see him as holding any kind of powerful position. For the first time that night she felt a twinge of pity for him. The feeling both frustrated her, and, of course, only served to further arouse her.

His fit finally subsided, and he slumped against the railing, gasping for breath.

“Sorry,” he managed, too exhausted to sound properly smug.

“Don’t be,” she couldn’t help but reply, her voice high pitched and obvious. She was so wet that she was worried it might actually start dripping down her legs. They both stood there for a moment in silence.

“So,” he started, still somewhat breathless, “about the election-”

“Colin-” she interrupted him, “I appreciate the effort to resume our professional relationship, but I don’t think I can listen to you talk about politics after that performance.” She knew she had admitted defeat, but in the face of his sniffling, shivering frame she found she no longer desired to one up him. What she really desired was to fuck him, to ease him open with her fingers and fill him up until he couldnt see. That or be fucked by him, bent over and begging for it as he held her by the hips with his big hands.

“I understand,” he said, “another time then. Perhaps then, before we go inside, I could talk to you about something expressly unprofessional.”

“Have at it Colin,” she said, trying not to sound like she was begging for it.

“There's something I’d like to show you. I warn you, it’s somewhat inappropriate.”

She felt her heart flutter in her chest, “I can handle that.”

He took a step toward her and then took her wrist. He guided her hand forward, lowering it beneath his waist and then pressing it between his legs where an erection was straining against the fabric of his dress pants. She moaned audibly at the surprise.

“Do you see what you’ve done to me?” he murmured into her ear, “this is what happens to me now, every time I sneeze. I can’t help it.”

“Colin,” her voice was strangled.

“How am I going to explain this to future lovers? You know how I get in the spring, I’ll be hard constantly. What will I say if they notice my cock twitch every time I sneeze? Every time they sneeze?”

Lorna’s clit was throbbing. Colin gave a liquid sniff, and she moaned again, body shuddering against his. Her hand closed slightly around his cock and he gasped sharply.

“My nose still itches terribly,” he murmured, accentuating the statement with another sniffle, “It would feel heavenly to rub it on something soft.”

“Please,” she begged him.

He leaned down slowly, placing a hand firmly on her hip, and dragged his nose across her shoulder, rubbing it in the nape of her neck. She trembled at the feeling of his soft nostrils, shifting as they rubbed against her, leaving her skin slightly wet.

“Fuck, that feels nice,” he said softly. She could do nothing but whimper in response.

She let it go on for a moment, their bodies intertwined, her hand on his cock and his nose buried against her. It took everything in her not to pull him into a kiss. Instead she stepped back, and wiped her shoulder with her hand.

“Thank you,” she said, wrangling her voice back to her well-practiced professionalism, “for that stimulating conversation on politics.” She took a moment to compose herself, taking a long deep breath and then continuing, “I have a gala to host, and you have one to attend. I think it best we continue this conversation later, after the guests have left. Perhaps in my personal chambers. You’d have to be discreet about staying behind of course, we wouldn’t want my guests to suspect we’re doing something illicit.”

Colin looked taken aback, and then broke into a wide grin, “Of course ma’am.”

She turned towards the door and then, before opening it, turned back towards him. “This does not mean I forgive you, " she said sternly.

Colin’s eyes sparkled. “Of course not.”

#snz kink #snz blog #snz #snzblr #sneezefucker #sneeze kink #snzfic #snz fic #my writing

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berryhobii · 5 months

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Late for Work couple has become my #1 comfort couple and i always come back a read their stories cuz they're just so in love and passionate abt each other and OC/reader is so me coded. ur writing literally makes me weak in the knees i get so emoooo 😭😭💜 can i request a New Years (resolution) drabble with them? either OC or JK wants to work out more or tweak their habits at the gym for New years and i wonder if you could incorporate THIS REEL somewhere cuz i thought this was so them?!!? fluff or smutty smut smut!!! ty ty ty 💜💜

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1BLk1PIu-j/?igsh=MWZ0YWRtcnd4Zndwaw==

even tho i feel like both of them are the type to NOT wait for the "New Year" just to get started on their goals i thought it would be cute!!!

Hi! Wow, I’m so happy you love that couple! I try my best to make them as lovey dovey as possible. Thanks so much for your request as well! I pondered a few ideas but then landed on this one! Also, that reel is so adorable and overprotective Jungkook is equally as adorable. Enjoy and please tell me what you think!

Super cute gym bag? Check. FitBit to monitor your heart rate? Check. Your ONE Stanley cup because you didn’t need a thousand? Check.

Alright. You were ready to hit the gym.

Truthfully, neither you or Jungkook were the types to do resolutions. Both of your perfectionist and ambitious ways made it so if either of you wanted to do something, you’d do it. And you’d do it to the best of your ability.

You started working out a little bit during December, enjoying early morning jogs before work in the crisp air to get you pumped for the day. However, you haven’t really dedicated yourself to a complete workout regimen.

That’s where your husband came in.

He didn’t make resolutions either but he did want to start spending more time with you and the gym was a great place to start. So you suggested you two start working out together and he could have broken something from how fast he catapulted himself over the couch when you brought it up.

Since your husband was a certified gym rat, he was very excited about your interest in working out. It was no secret that he was obsessed with going to the gym; he always dedicated at least 2 hours a day to pumping iron and if he couldn’t go to the gym, he’d go jogging or do some exercise at home. He was dedicated to keeping his body fit and healthy, mostly for himself but also for you. He knew how much you loved his body and it definitely stroked his ego to see how you drooled over him.

While Jungkook drooled over you regardless, you still wanted to work out and maybe even spend some extra time with Jungkook. A couple’s workout sounded like a lot of fun to you, honestly.

“Ready to go, baby?” Jungkook asked once he entered the living room where you were tying up your braids into a ponytail.

You smiled at him, nodding your head. “Yup! How do I look?” You gave him a little twirl, showing off your new leggings and the matching jacket.

Of course, his eyes went straight to your ass which looked extra plump in those pants. A part of him didn’t even want to leave the house, contemplating just bending you over and fucking you against the wall.

You looked so excited to go though and he didn’t want to rain on your parade. Pushing down his desire, he flashed you a smile.

“You look adorable.”

“Thank you. Now let’s go! I’m totally going to bench more than you.” You teased as you two walked out of your apartment.

He bellowed a laugh. “Yeah right. You get winded walking up the stairs.”

Pouting your lip, you playfully pushed him. “That was only because my legs were tired from riding you.”

His lip piercing sparkled as he flashed you a wolfish grin, one that sent shivers down your spine. You seriously thought about getting in a quickie in before leaving.

“Guess we’ll have to work on your stamina then.”

“Oh yeah? I’ll show you my stamina when we get back home.” You childishly fired back sticking your tongue out at him.

“I’ll hold you to that.”

When was leg day again?

The drive to the gym was quick and checking in was even quicker. After putting your things away in a locker, you and Jungkook found an empty space to start stretching in.

“Let’s start with toe touches.” Jungkook instructed with a clap of his hands.

“Okay!” Inhaling a deep breath, you bent over to touch your toes. Easy enough. Then you felt a hand on your back, urging you to straighten it a bit.

“Don’t hold your breath.” He said, his warm palm sneaking up the back of your jacket. Heat spread across your body. Damn fat ma! Not right now!

After enough of that, you two moved into more stretches: arm circles, lunges, jumping jacks and a few more. Jungkook stretched alongside you, only stopping to guide you through whenever he saw your form was off.

Overall, exercising with Jungkook was a bunch of fun. He was an attentive workout partner, reminding you to stay hydrated and motivating you whenever you wanted to give up. Not to mention, watching him get all sweaty was a bonus. He had abandoned his hoodie a while ago, leaving him in a tank top that showed off those muscular arms and bulging pecs.

You were gonna swallow his cock like a python when you got home.

For now though, you were focused on getting in some good squats while Jungkook moved just a few feet away to go fill his water bottle back up. He made sure you remained in his eyesight at all times, heart warming at the sight of you being so focused. He was so happy you had come with him to participate in one of his favorite interest. It really showed him how invested you were in his life and his hobbies. He hoped this could continue and you two would spend even more time together.

Also, your ass looked fine as hell in those leggings. It jiggled everytime you came back up and it made him want to rip those pants right off you.

Oh yeah, you were definitely coming to the gym with him more often.

Just as he finished filling his water, he turned around to start his walk back to you, only to pause when his eyes caught something.

A man was coming from the other side of the room, walking straight towards you, his eyes focused clearly on your ass as you bent forward.

Jungkook knew you were gorgeous which meant people often tried to approach you. His overprotective nature never allowed people to get too close, however. You could handle yourself and he knew that, he trusted you completely and never doubted your loyalty to him.

That didn’t mean he trusted others though.

Quickly walking towards you, his feet taking long strides to get to you faster, he stopped at your side just as you were coming back up from a squat. Jungkook immediately wrapped his arm around you, leaning down to place a kiss on your lips. Never one to turn down a kiss, you reciprocated, laying a few more on his lips for good measure.

His eyes locked with the man who was approaching you, brow furrowing and eyes sending a message that said:

Try it if you want to

The man’s eyes widened, turning back around on the heels of his feet to scamper off somewhere else.

Ever so unsuspecting, you turned around to see what your husband was looking at, only to find nothing. You placed your weight down, removing the AirPod from your ear to ask him what was wrong.

He just squinted his eyes before finally looking at you, sending you his sweetest smile.

“Nothing baby. Let’s just finish up so we can go home.”

And because you trusted him so much, you just shrugged and nodded. “Okay. Let me do this final rep and then we can go.”

“Sure. Let me help you.”

Getting behind you, he ‘guided’ you through the squats. Although you didn’t really need the help, the feeling of his boner pressing into your ass was telling enough.

“I wouldn’t call this helping, coach.” You smirked, making sure to rub your ass harder against him when you went down.

“I would. 5 more.”

“J-Jungkook!” You moaned, your hands slipping off the wall where you were bracing yourself as Jungkook pounded into you from behind.

He barely let you cool down from your workout before he was forcing you into the gym showers, pushing you into one of the spaces and turning on the water. It was obvious you didn’t come in here to wash yourselves, judging by how quick he was on his knees and attaching his greedy mouth to your clit. Both legs thrown over his shoulders and your back pushed against the cold wall, he devoured your cunt like it was the last time he’d ever taste it.

Since it was so late at night, the gym was practically empty which meant no one was there to disturb you. Then again, it was only 35 minutes until closing so you didn’t have a lot of time before an employee came to check for any stragglers.

But that was all the time Jungkook needed.

Hands digging into the juiciness of your ass, he forced you back and forth on his cock, the tip hitting you so deep that you were sure he was rearranging your guts.

Your knees shook from the force, still a little weak from the orgasm he just ripped out of you from eating you out. Now another one was steadily building, ready to spill over like a full glass.

He couldn’t take his eyes off the recoil on your ass. He didn’t know if immediate results from squats was a thing(you sure acted like it was) but for some reason, your ass looked even better as it clapped against his pelvis.

“Fuck baby. This ass….” He groaned, swiftly bringing his hand down on it. The water caused it to sting even more but you loved it.

“Make me cum, Kookie.” You whined and who was he to deny?

His hips continued his rough pace, hands molding and squeezing at your ass as if it was a block of clay. As his head rolled to the side in pleasure, his eyes saw something, a mischievous grin that you couldn’t see spreading across his face.

Grabbing your body wash, he flipped open the cap. You were so lost in the sauce that you didn’t even hear it, too focused on the feeling of his cock jabbing into your soft spot.

Then you felt the cold gel hit your skin, a squeak of shock coming from you. You tried to turn your head to see what Jungkook was doing, only to drop it when he readjusted himself to start hitting your spot repeatedly.

“Ooooo…fuck!”

Jungkook’s wet hands rubbed the soap all around, lathering it up all across your ass until the brown of your skin was covered in soapy bubbles. “Throw it back, baby.”

Using your arms as leverage, you tossed your ass back on him as hard as you could, the clapping noises drowning out the pounding water against the tile. It was too hot and hard to breathe but neither of you cared enough to stop, those delicious highs just over the hill. Your legs burned from your workout and you knew you’d be properly sore tomorrow but the feeling of Jungkook’s cock was just too good. You’d pop some IcyHot patches on later.

“I’m bout to cum, baby.” You cried, reaching a hand back to grip one of your soapy ass cheeks. Jungkook’s hot gaze followed the bubbles as they dripped down the crack and around his cock.

He was about to cum. Hard.

Reaching out to grab your shoulder, other hand still on your ass, he drove his cock into you so fast that the seat of your ass actually hurt from how hard his pelvic bones were hitting it.

Your orgasm hit before his, your mouth dropping open in a drawn out moan as fervid pleasure rushed down your back. Jungkook still didn’t stop as you came, a second orgasm hitting you right after the first. Your knees buckled inward from the pure force but Jungkook kept you balanced, thrusting a few more times before he reached his own peak.

“Ahhh….” He groaned, filling you to the hilt as his creamy cum painted thick ropes inside you.

After regaining your breaths, Jungkook helped you stand on your weak knees. You turned around to face him, wrapping your arms around his neck to place a smooch on his lips.

“My legs hurt.” You sighed.

“Told you you have bad stamina. Ow! That hurt!” He cried, rubbing the spot where you pinched him.

“Don’t push it, Jeon. Now let’s go home so I can rest my legs.”

“But I thought you said you’d show me your stamina when we got- ow!”

#askberryhobii #bts #bts x black reader #bts smut #jungkook smut

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justanotherhh · 3 months

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alastor aroace semiotics: symbols/metaphors/codes (oh my!)

thinking about some of the aroace subtext, both in terms of what's definitely intentional, and things that one can pick up on within the burgeoning field of "what the heck does aspec (in this case aroace) semiology even look like in (this particular) narrative?"

there's the really obvious one of course "ace in the hole." funny as well, because ace in the hole could also reference Alastor being the card you play as a hidden advantage (potentially hinting that Rosie knows that Alastor has his own agenda and supports that, like she does in the song). Of course "Alastor is ace" is the main point of the joke, because it's a sentence that comes a little out of nowhere, and clearly confuses Alastor, because he doesn't know Stuff

2. secondly, there's the pilot episode's placing Alastor first next to and then on top of the Ace of Spades. tbh if this was an accident, it sure was a serendipitous one, because the Ace of Spades not only refers to being ace, but specifically aroace (with Hearts meaning alloace, Diamonds meaning demiace, and Clubs meaning grey-ace <- t Ace of Diamonds/Clubs are a more open to interpretation, I've seen some also use them for demiromantic and greyromantic)

3. Body language! Alastor's reactions to being propositioned or involved in a sex joke, or having to listen to romance talk ranges from discomfort (glitching), to blunt refusal/shutting down of the conversation, to boredom/distraction. I haven't made a study of Alastor's body language in detail, but I'd be interested in how his smiles potentially shift when around very sexual and/or romantic discussion, regardless of whether he's the centre of that (but probably moreso if he is). I think this would come more to the fore in future seasons if there were examples beyond Angel Dust, who also made Husk uncomfortable in the first half of s1, but Alastor -- especially in the pilot -- had very visceral reactions to Angel's "flirting/joking," moreso than anyone else, until Angel had really gone too far with Husk in ep4 (and he come onto Alastor as strongly/invasively as he did with Husk)

4. Speaking of Angel... Alastor not being present outside of a flashback in all of episode 4, and not in episode 6 either. Both episodes featured sex heavily, including Angel showing off one of his pornos, and the gang going to a sex club. Also, Valentino was in both of them (makes sense, seeing as they were Angel-centric). I wonder what Alastor feels about Valentino's whole... existence. He's also the only main s1 hotel character to not be involved in the trust exercises that lead them to the bondage/SM club. this has nothing necessarily to do with the character, but he's very much placed outside of sexual scenarios and places by the writing/plot, which is fun to notice, especially in the first two examples, as his not being in the episodes isn't actually explained. No Alastor in the sex episodes, because his fourth wall sex repulsed senses were tingling?

5. boundaries and power fantasies. that is, Alastor is a character who has very clear boundaries and ways of enforcing them. from blowing up Sir Pentious when he grabs his coat, to noping out of any space he wants to, to seizing the narrative from Vox and telling the story on his terms, to shadow tentacles (ironic), nobody touches him emotionally/physically unless they're allowed. Niffty, Rosie, and Mimzy so far appear to be the ones who have crossed into that "allowed" space the most, but considering he lets everyone (barring Lucifer and Husk, who don't want to) hug him in the finale, some of those barriers are coming down, which is another interesting analysis to make at some point

these boundaries aren't all entirely healthy either -- the way he lashes out at Husk who seems to actually be trying to look out for him (which suggests that Husk is emotionally close-ish to him, enough that he didn't realise he was overstepping), and the way he breaks down in the finale, shows that his inability to be vulnerable in front of others is... not actually a good thing. I wrote a whole bunch about how this part of Alastor's writing play into a very aroace-in-feel narrative for him, but suffice to say... a story about someone with boundaries that seems to be completely absent of "romance/sex will fix you" is refreshing. and very aroace coded

there's also a power fantasy in the idea that one can simply bend the space to avoid ones boundaries being trampled over. to be able to either nope out of a room or to make oneself so terrifying that nobody would want to try to get up in your space... it's got a little smthinsmthin of a "wish it were me" in there. being repulsed means an often constant erosion and invasion of boundaries, from people making your disgust and/or obliviousness the centre of their sex jokes, to being hyper-scrutinised and challenged every time you do or don't let someone into your space in whatever way, or challenge their notions of what's "allowed" as an aroace person. sometimes you just want to say "Demonic Powers Be Upon Ye" and be done with it

6. An Absence. most often aspec narrative is defined by an absence of allo-narrative. that is, Angel Dust, Husk, Charlie, Vaggie, Cherri, Sir Pentious, Lucifer, are set up as allo-figures with romance and sex featuring more or less in all of their stories. the only hotel residents so far who don't have that going on are Alastor and Niffty, and Niffty's story has yet to have the foundations laid out for beyond the very bare bones, and she flirts with others (her "bad boy" preference). whatever Alastor's journey is, it's not coded as alloromantic or allosexual in any way, whether through casual jokes/flirting, or a longform romantic and sexual relationship exploration, with the possible exception of...

7. Vox. the characters that Alastor seems closest to in this story are Rosie, Mimzy, Niffty, Charlie, and Husk (with the mysterious figure that owns his soul looming in the back as well). out of them, none of them are coded as anyone he's sexually or romantically involve with or heading in that direction. the last figure in Alastor's life that's very heavily figured so far is Vox. And Vox is obsessed with Alastor in a way that absolutely can be read as a bad one-sided break-up/jilted stalker type framing, with Alastor gleefully recounting his "no" when talking about their past, and otherwise putting Vox out of his mind, while almost all of Vox' big character moments revolve around how much real estate Alastor takes up in his mind (literally, considering his error message is all Alastor messaging)

Vox being a figure who is symbolically the trampler of aroace boundaries is a very good way of showing Alastor's total disinterest and even disgust (depending on whether or not he knows that Vox was/is into him), and can act as a future potential interesting barometer for other characters to be "less" invasive, but still not quite getting it to begin with (see, Angel Dust's casual flirting, Charlie's tendency to see everything from her perspective, who knows how Cherri and Lucifer might fit into this equation, and generally the sex-and-romance framing of a lot of the other narratives)

8. I talked about aroaceness being a humanising factor to Alastor in my other big ol' post I did, just want to mention it here as well. so far it exists somewhat as a Potential, in the sense that we're firmly in s1 and there's still a lot of ways this could all go, but I think it's worth mentioning as a form of foundational signposting work that's been done for his character

he's more on the dark grey end of the grey scale of all of these characters, he's manipulative, sadistic, cruel when he wants to be, petty, selfish, likes being the centre of attention + is easily rankled when he's not, and presumably he went to hell because he killed people for kicks <- these traits are not unique to him, considering the setting, but what is is the beginnings of a storyline exploring his particular relationship to vulnerability and power and why those things are a part of him in the way they are. this from the perspective of someone who is aroace (and possibly repulsed) instantly adds a potential sympathetic nuance to who he's become, similar to the layer of power fantasy mentioned above. both of these turn his narrative from a cautionary tale or a villain-played-straight (haha) trope into something much more interesting

with the semiotics of aroaceness already in place, these affect how we read the foundations for the rest of his narrative and where it's going. quite simply, it's one of the biggest factors right now that make all his other story beats more resonant and interesting, depending of course on where they take it...

9. his smile. since we've gotten deep enough into meta territory now that we're in hc/future theorising country -- the smile is of course a mask, that's known to everyone. there's a lot of future opportunities for how to utilise that alongside aroaceness-as-theme-for-him. aroaceness, or just "someone where there is a noticeable lack of romantic (and hinted at sexual) interest," is usually coded through a certain shallowness. a pathologisation of behaviours -- which is another deeper analysis post to make at some point (jeez there's so many). Alastor is off-putting, yes, but he's also very confident and charming when he wants to be, he can put people at ease despite themselves (see, Charlie). It's a very interesting mask to give someone who's aroace, because it makes him complicated, rather than a simple ableist "point at the weirdo with no friends, that's our Outsider/killer."

(it also hearkens back to the humanising factor, in that his shallowness isn't because he's aroace, it's because he doesn't know how to be vulnerable with people as the person he is in a world that is incredibly amatonormative and focused on sex)

His smile can be unnerving, but it can also be disarming, give others the illusion that he's in control, make it impossible to guess his emotions (etc. basically what he said to Charlie)

so quite simply, his smile as a twisted distortion of society's demands upon people. he's not being abrupt, aloof, asocial, unkempt, or all the things aroaceness is often stereotyped as. he's performing the most acceptable normative person you can imagine. his surface is unscratcheable because of normative ideals

it's a very fun, unique-to-this-story way of potentially telling an aroace narrative. I'd be interested in what it takes to make him drop it (if he can, or if the story takes the route of accepting that he can't -- the man who laughs kinda vibes) and whether that will tie into a piece of his story that itself takes on aroace proportions (perhaps related to worrying for others in a non-romantic way, perhaps in relation to being able to or being forced to be vulnerable in a non-romantic/non-sexual way, etcetc).

Potentials:

we haven't seen him around the aro/ace aroace colours yet as far as I can remember, which is a fun, easy way to signpost (see, Vox flashing the bisexual flag on his screen)

since we've had an "ace in the hole" joke, I think we could have an aro/arrow-based pun in there as well, maybe even as a deconstruction of when they're used in romantic ways -- (no aro going through his heart, too aro for cupid's arrow, idk I'm spitballing here) or as literal arrows in some way. also someone's gotta call him aces at one point, right? just cos? I feel like the "<2" emoji might be too niche (heck, maybe all of this is, but that's part of the point -- all of this should be ways we're able to signpost aro and ace and aroace characters), but there's characters who know modern emoji and online lingo

other asexual symbols I know of include stating a preference for cake or pizza over sex and/or dating and the black and white rings (worn respectively on right an left middle fingers, although since they only have four fingers in this world...)

I've really enjoyed "clueless cannibal about modern lingo" Alastor comics, including the one about serving cunt and the one about eating ass both by @nouverx. it goes nicely on from his being confused about "ace in the hole," with that HH style sexual comedy. there's a whole bunch of that one could play with

speaking of slang, confirmed bachelor has often meant gay, but the aro/ace community and the gay community has overlapped as long as anyone has been non-conforming. @creepysora suggested a gentleman never kisses and tells, either as Alastor being unaware that it's actually about sex, or as an aware deconstruction of the phrase that gives him the space (similar to confirmed bachelor) to sneakily go, "go mind your own fucking business 😊!" I'm sure there are others that could fulfill a similar purpose of allowing Alastor a certain kind of old-timey buffer

similar to the episode of Bojack Horseman that had Todd visit his girlfriend's parents (both Todd and his GF are asexual and not out to her parents), which depicted allosexuality from the perspective of asexuality as something nonsensical and Other, perhaps having something from Alastor's POV in which he's the observer of the rites of romance and/or sex in a way that shows their strangeness when one sits outside of their tenets

would kind of like to see him killing/hurting people for being pushy, either when alive or dead. I already see a lot of potentials for his past as a serial killer to be framed from an aroace POV, but I especially like this idea, similar to how Hannibal often targets people for being "rude."

more on what I was saying about aroaceness as a humanising trait -- more on how this affected him in life, how he feels about Vox's consistent obsessive behaviour, how it potentially makes it harder to imagine his place in a group setting like the hotel (which is rapidly being paired off into romantic couples -- often a nightmare scenario for aromantics), more on how potentially learning these words or something better to describe himself can make it possible for him to assert boundaries without shutting everyone out to a large extent, and also, tbh, to put Big Expectations onto a story that's barely even started, I hope that none of this takes away his less savoury traits necessarily. I hope he's still kind of an asshole, but simply that he is grounded in himself enough to be able to really believe in Charlie's work/aims and support her in them for more reasons than his own ends, and can admit to really caring for something

reiterating: I am interested in how his smile-as-mask will play into all of this

Any symbolism, metaphor, coding, and straight-up telling I've missed in the show itself? Any you'd want to see in upcoming seasons?

#alastor #aroace alastor #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel meta #i keep saying *there's another analysis here* let's see if I ever do

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mazeinthemiroh · 2 years

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me when i can’t sleep rn so i’m reading ur fics to pass the time 😭 could you do a skz reaction when their s/o has insomnia? i need that in my head :[ thank you!

stray kids reactions to their s/o having insomnia

genre: fluff, slight crack

word count: 0.9k

warnings: none

pls like and reblog if you enjoyed! feel free to request anything <3

bangchan

we all know that bangchan has his fair share of insomnia too. so you are both going to be suffering together <3 no but for real, he understands the struggle and he's most understanding with it. so he knows, as much as he wants you to sleep so you can be healthy, it's not always that easy. so some nights you will stay up working with him, maybe at the studio. he will be working on his music while you'll be catching up with something to do with your work or studies. alternatively, you'll both be in his bed, cuddling each other and binge-watching some anime, before you eventually pass out in each other's arms.

lee know

"if you can't sleep, hug leebit." you find that this is your boyfriend's solution for everything, these days. leebit apparently has magical healing powers and can grant to wish of sleep to those who crave it. obviously, this is not the case. whether you are hugging your little plushie buddy, or you're cuddling into your actual boyfriend, none of that is of any use to you. you still can't sleep. lee know's only solution is to take advantage of the times you are awake to just talk to you, in a soft, gentle, soothing voice. you think this doesn't work at first, but after talking to him for a while, with you in his arms, suddenly your eyelids get heavier....

changbin

being a healthy, strapping young lad himself, he knows sleep is very important. he also values your health very much, almost as much as his own. after 5 minutes of research he realises that exercise during the day can improve someone's sleep schedule. being the gym bro that he is, he jumps at the opportunity and, one day, he drags you to the gym with him. you had no idea how this would help until you got back home after you had been to the gym and done other things after. when it started to get dark outside, your body relaxed easily into your boyfriend's arms as you drifted slowly to sleep.

hyunjin

well, hyunjin starts obsessing over different types of herbal teas you can drink to make you feel sleepy. he stays up all night with you, researching the benefits of chamomile tea, and if lavender or magnolia tea cures insomnia?? he's also into aromatherapy, so probably buys you an air purifier you love him for that. he also suggests yoga and meditation, even offering to start doing it with you with a cute little smile on your face. he loves jumping at the chance to help you in some way, and he values his precious baby :( he just wants you to be healthy and feel better in yourself, and he knows once you've finally found a way to get some sleep, it will do the world of good.

han

haha, you think you're going to get any sleep when han is your boyfriend? no chance! you both are staying up late at night talking about a lot of nonsense. and i mean this is every night. han's brain is so interesting and fun because he can jump from one subject to another, and his energy seems to give you energy. so he isn't exactly helping your insomnia. or at least, at first. you realise that talking to him for hours makes you feel much more relaxed. you have forgotten about your worries, the stress of the upcoming week, the negative feelings that have been bothering you that day. he makes you feel more content, and this happy feeling soon drifts you off into sleep-land.

felix

felix strives to make your sleeping environment as cosy and comfortable as possible. he buys you plushies (of course he gets you a bbokari first <3), really comfy pillows, a little night-light, etc... he will also recommend his favourite asmr channels, but you tend to stick to the asmr that he has actually done, which does seem to help a lot. this is for all when he's away and not physically with you. when he is with you, he will talk to you in a whispered tone, caressing your back and arms and making you as relaxed as possible.

seungmin

okay, so there are two go-to methods of his if you suffer from insomnia. first one being, he will read to you. sometimes if he has sleepless nights, he will listen to a podcast to drift off to sleep. so he knows that his voice might be able to calm you down and relax you enough to sleep. or, he will sing to you :( imagine his soft, gentle voice singing your favourite comfort songs to lull you to sleep. part of him thinks this isn't going to work until he sees you, curled up to his side, finally sleeping. and it's all thanks to his beautiful talent.

jeongin

one time, when you are laying beside him, struggling to get to sleep, he noticed you tossing and turning. so you decided to tell him about your insomnia. jeongin's initial reaction is to book you into sleep therapy or buy you some melatonin to help you. but he knows both of those things take time. so, for now, what he does do is carefully curate a perfect sleep playlist for you. whether it will help or not, he doesn't know. but he wants to at least try for you. and he is so happy when he sees his plan work.

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oftlunarialmoon · 4 months

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How Can a Sticker Chart Affect Your Mental Health?

Originally posted to www.onlyfunthings.org on August 06, 2018

Ciao lovelies! Today’s post is for those of you who may be having some mental health difficulties lately, like maybe you have a lack of motivation, or can’t be bothered to clean because you’re sad, or maybe you’re forgetful so you can’t recall whether you’ve eaten today. If any of these sound like you, this post may help out a lot!

Today, I’m talking about a technique that I use when things get hard- Sticker Charts.

I know what you may be thinking “no way would I ever use that, sticker charts are for kids!”

And if this is your mindset, I will refer you back to THIS post, where we established that there really aren’t “maximum age allowed limits” on fun things, and I will also remind you that sometimes harkening back to your childhood can be good for your mental state. (For more information on that see THIS post).

In truth, while the practice of making sticker charts was designed for kids, there’s really no difference between a sticker chart and those “habit trackers” you see in planners now.

Both are designed to ensure that the user follows certain habits, or does certain chores. Both provide a moment of satisfaction when you complete a task and can fill in a square of your habit tracker or add a sticker to your chart. Both are ways to develop good habits and help you when motivation is low.

Why do I prefer sticker charts to habit trackers?

Well for one if we’re being totally honest, I have a boatload of stickers, and they have to go somewhere, right? Why not use them on a chart designed to help me?

And for two, I enjoy the whimsy of a sticker chart, while I can’t remember if I ever had one as a kid, there’s just something about it that makes me happy.

And lastly, while I do journal, I find that having the chart on my wall where I can see it everyday; I am reminded to update it, and follow the “chores” listed.

So how can a Sticker Chart help your mental health?

Sticker charts have many uses for mental health.

For those who have depression: Sticker charts can provide much needed motivation when times get hard and motivation gets low. Just the simple act of placing a sticker on the chart can help you feel accomplished and can sometimes help get you out of bed.

For those who have anxiety: I find that a sticker chart helps my anxiety because it gives me a small semblance of control over my life. I feel like I have some kind of control over what I do.

For those who are forgetful: I find that having a sticker chart really helps me remember the little things, like “Did I eat today? When did I last clean my room? Have I taken my meds?” Because you can look at your chart, see the sticker, and know that you did it. You can also write dates under the stickers to help with this even more.

For those who take medication (for any reason): You can use the sticker chart to track and remember to take your meds.

For those with low self-esteem: I found that including a section of my sticker chart dedicated to doing “one self-love journaling exercise daily” helped improve my self-esteem! Maybe you could include a section like this too?

To conclude, sticker charts are simply a fun, whimsical way to help out with your mental state a little bit. Much like a habit tracker in a journal, these charts can help you develop new healthy habits and make the whole process more fun.

Remember to Stay Awesome and Love Yourself!

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femmefatalevibe · 1 year

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how do you reconcile being a feminist, single, and a high-value woman? maybe I'm misunderstanding the concept but I always thought HVW and hypergamy were all very centered on seeking a male partner.

Hi love! Great question. I think your curiosity offers a great opportunity to dive a bit more into my personal views and philosophy.

I believe that the goal of feminism is to protect all women and provide them legal protection, structural resources, and social power to live equitably in society. In my eyes, a high-value woman is one who is unapologetically self-respecting and sets her life up in a way to allows her to work towards goals that meet her needs in all areas of life.

Hypergamy, by its modern definition, is the idea that women "date up" to intertwine their sexual relationships with men to those who offer more or equally high social, financial, or sexual capital to them. The traditional idea of hypergamy was exclusively referred to as "marrying up" as marriage was the only way women could achieve most resources (like a bank account, credit card, housing, and certain medical care – it's so terrifying, honestly).

In the latter case, hypergamy is nearly synonymous with centralizing men. Before women gained certain freedoms (in the U.S. this was mostly in the 1960-70s), centralizing men was a survival mechanism, not a preference or act of self-imposed oppression.

I believe in the modern world where women can have their own bank accounts, careers, and access to birth control (the latter one is an anxiety-inducing topic at this point in time, ugh), women are given the choice to be hypergamous either while centralizing or decentralizing men.

I believe that you can uphold hypergamous standards in your dating life without centralizing men in your life. For me, personally, my relationship or dating status has no bearing on how happy or successful I am in my life. No man (or lack of one in my life) will ever determine my self-worth or reflect my progress in life. My metrics of fulfillment and accomplishment stem from thriving in my professional life, staying in good health, practicing consistently healthy habits (WFPB diet, regular exercise, mental health hygiene, sexual wellness, mindfulness, self-care, etc.), and maintaining nourishing friendships. Dating and my interactions with men (in non-platonic ways) are fun ways I enrich my life, so I believe this mentality embodies the modern – albeit hyper-progressive – definition of hypergamy. Remaining single allows me to enjoy all of the ways men can uplevel my life – socially, financially (to the degree some nighttime activities, such as dinners, drinks, car services, club fees, etc. are paid for – no sugaring activities or anything), and sexually without the aspects of dating men that would contradict my sense of self-respect or autonomy. I'm not personally designed to be a man's therapist or feel like I should have to include a man's needs in all of my life or day-to-day decisions because we're sexually involved with each other. I have a strict vetting process regarding who I will entertain in my dating/sexual life to ensure they're adding value to my life and there's mutual compatibility considering the type of arrangement we're both seeking.

Personally, I believe the only way to maintain equity in dating is to remain single, which allows me to meet all of my other standards in life. I will never sacrifice my life goals for a man, but I do not believe that means you have to approach dating or sexual relationships from a black-and-white perspective. However, if I'm going to date men (which can be a headache for certain), I believe they need to enrich my life in some way – whether that's interesting conversations, gaining business acumen, social relationships, fun sexual experiences, or just learning about different cultures/world perspectives.

From my observations, women who use hypergamy as an excuse to centralize their life or aspirations around a man are glamorizing regressive/oppressive ideologies (like submitting to a partner or relying on men financially) as a last attempt to uphold the patriarchy as women wake up to the fact that having to do all of society's emotional labor plus having to contort ourselves in a world designed for men, namely in our professional lives, is not the truest form of feminism out there (not to mention it's lack of intersectionality, but that's a whole other rant lol). I don't use the "hypergamy" tag on my posts anymore for this reason, though. I believe that many people are conflating the textbook concept of hypergamy with regressive political agendas, which I will never promote let alone subscribe to.

This is all just my take, so I hope it all makes sense and resonates with some members of this amazing community. Every woman should figure out what approaches to all of these matters would make her the most genuinely happy and fulfilled regardless of society's expectations or cultural norms.

Sending love xx

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greenmansgrove · 3 months

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When the Morrigan Calls an Atheist

Originally published in The Connexus of Reformed Druidry, Midwinter 2023. Sharing to my personal blog for the purposes of reaching a wider audience.

I consider myself an atheist druid. I do not believe in the existence of any gods, and I have a strong aversion to organized religion in the face of cultural Christianity and the US’s modern political climate regarding the separation of church and state, or lack thereof. I won’t lie about my still holding those aversions, including to those who consider themselves Christian druids–identities that seem at odds, given Christianity’s historic colonialism and its methodical destruction of indigenous cultures worldwide. But I have Reformed Druidry to thank for my efforts at pluralistic acceptance. I thank, too, my involvement in the LGBTQ+ community. A quote within the Bisexual Manifesto from Anything That Moves: Beyond the Myths of Bisexuality (1990) sticks with me: “There are as many definitions of bisexuality as there are bisexuals.” For the bisexual community, this frame of mind is an important one in the face of historical, systemic, and even internalized biphobia, where one is continually told to “prove” their bi-ness, that having preferences means they aren’t “actually” bi, or that marrying someone who isn’t the same gender as you means it’s a “straight-passing” relationship. Using this understanding, I am able to move much more quickly past questioning one’s labels and into acceptance of and trust for the ways one understands themselves. If a druid can be a Christian, then maybe an atheist can devote themselves to a god…

And so what does an atheist druid do when the Morrigan calls? What does the call of The Morrigan sound like to someone who wants absolutely nothing to do with gods, nor to be associated with theolatry, even if the gods invoked in the RDNA can be interpreted as aspects of nature or Jungian archetypes in the collective unconscious of humanity? Can the gods call to an atheist in the first place? These are questions I ask even myself after having been initiated as an Acolyte of the Order of the Morrigan this past October.

I knew very firmly when I began my druidic studies in May of 2022 that I would be approaching my practice as an atheist. I sought plainly to learn about druidry, celebrate the High Days, and enjoy nature in ways that I used to growing up. Studying druidry, like some study Buddhist philosophy, was a way for me to integrate my desire for intellectual growth, my care for my health, and my political activism. Intertwining all three helps me to live my life holistically and intentionally. My druidic practice consists of learning about plants, animals, and various religions and their gods not as a way to collect knowledge, but to understand the worldviews and lessons that cultures both living and dead have to teach. As a result, I deepen my empathy for others and for myself. I find studying divination to be especially enjoyable, and I even find it useful as an atheist. I think that suspending disbelief is a healthy practice, if not a pleasant diversion. I also see it as an aid to a busy mind. Divination can be helpful in not only listening to one’s intuition, but finding focus where there is chaos. When I am feeling emotionally distraught or when I am struggling to make a choice, I love doing Ogham readings. Whether picking a singular stave or placing a full spread, my divinations help me surrender decision fatigue and cold logic in favor of the imagination, creativity, and serendipity.

Thus, I believe the Morrigan first began “calling” me when my Elder Ogham stave fell off my altar in October 2022. Without noticing, it snapped beneath my boot in my rush out the door. I struggled to attach meaning to what had happened – a fun exercise I set upon myself. Elder is associated with protection, healing, cycles of death and rebirth, and even sacrifice. Had my Elder stave “protected” me from something? Had I or would I sleight someone, causing the “death” of a relationship? What else might be dying and be reborn, or even interrupted in that process, as symbolized by the break? Was there a sacrifice I was being asked to make? I did not know, and no answer came. I replaced the stave in my collection and burned the broken, unfixable stave as part of my sacrifice later that Samhain. Things were quiet in the months ahead, but then over and over again, the names and their various spellings associated with the Morrigan would appear before me in reading, in passing, in meeting people. And in my nature walks, I kept spying plants that I would later discover to be associated the Morrigan, often in unexpected places or forms I did not immediately recognize until using an identification app. Chiefly among those was Elder, both red and black varieties native to the US, as well as hawthorns and nightshades.

All the while, and since beginning my druidic studies in May 2022, I was dealing very strongly with some grief. I’d hit the point where existing in my grief was beginning to weigh on me and frustrate me. I did not know how to move on. I did not know how to stop wallowing or what actions to take to make a difference. I was ready to enter that big “acceptance” stage that everyone talked about, but which I’d only experienced fleetingly or only logically but not emotionally. Studying druidry was one of the ways I hoped to find some method of managing my grief and finding joy again. It was working, but the grief still held me quite tightly moving into 2023.

When I finally caught the pattern of the Morrigan’s names and plants appearing in my life, I began my research. What could those appearances mean? Why was my brain picking up on those patterns? What tied them together?

In the three dark moons since dawning my devotional pendant, I am, naturally, still seeking the answers to those questions. I find these exercises of logic and imagination more entertaining than anything serious to pursue, but I can at least describe what I’ve gotten out of the experience thus far. A simple start to an answer might be that I relate to the ideas, the images, the lore, and the messages of the Morrigan. She is a peacemaker as much as She is a warmaker. Through Her many incarnations, She has survived and overcome adversity and grief of all kinds. She knows what it means to be more than how others perceive you. I can appreciate what She has come to mean for women, queer individuals, and survivors of all kinds in the modern era, and it is that mutability of Her image between the past and in the present that also draws me to Her. Transformation and change, including to those of the current times, seems right up Her alley. Hers are qualities I would like to see in myself.

When Elder appeared to me on my walks for the third time earlier this year, that’s when I decided I would do something out of character for how I viewed myself as an atheist druid – I would join The Order of the Morrigan. I was already familiar with the liturgy John the Verbose had composed a few years prior, and with that third, final sign, I felt that it was the push towards the threshold of change I was looking for in my grief. I would use my initiation as a right of passage beyond my grief, to work to make change, to fight to pull myself out of where I had been wallowing so I could move on. As serendipity would have it, the day of October’s new moon was also the day of the partial annular eclipse for Minnesota, and John the Verbose was kind enough to allow the ritual he planned to simply be my initiation that day. All around, it felt not only appropriate but auspicious to have my initiation take place during a time of introspection and new beginnings. I went into it not just hoping it would be the hallmark of change in my life, but with the intention of making it the moment of change.

I’d spent the month prior making my preparations. I strung my devotional pendant, I wove my sling from hemp, I collected three black sling stones from the orange agate-speckled shores of the Mississippi near my apartment, and collected the Waters of Death there, too. I procured some of my second-favorite elderberry wine that John would consecrate as the Waters of Life. And I fashioned the first iteration (of three – I’m bad at sewing) of my vestments if the Morrigan accepted me. I awoke the morning of the ritual to the calls of the crow family that had moved into the forest across the street, and it was taken to be a sign.

The day was a little chilly and overcast, occluding our views of the eclipse for a majority of the time, but it meant more to me that the grove officers were all there, standing in solidarity with me. But as serious as the mood of the ritual is meant to be, it is difficult not to laugh as you crush a tomato in your fist with your grovemates in the splash zone…

When John asked for a sign of the Morrigan’s acceptance, he made an acorn divination while the calls of bluejays (my favorite corvid) rang out in the distance, heralding new beginnings, commitments, and the responsibilities therein.

And I did, indeed, feel a renewed sense of purpose, per the liturgy’s closing admonitions. I can say with certainty that while I still have good and bad days with my grief, I feel resolute in efforts to curate a more hopeful future for myself in spite of my grief.

My first few months as an Acolyte have been devoted to my research of the Morrigan. As an Acolyte, I am seeking to deepen my relationship with Her and what She represents. I have learned a lot. Studying what She means to peoples of the past and present has allowed me to learn about myself, too. “Shadow work” or self-reflexivity seems to be an important part of devotion to The Morrigan. It is something that comes naturally to me, which doesn’t mean it’s easy, but it’s affirming to know that something I work hard to practice is also something well-practiced by the Morrigan’s devotees.

And to be sure, I am still an atheist. However, I would be remiss not to treat my studies and engagement with the Morrigan’s lore and community with the same level of respect and seriousness that Her believers do. As an Acolyte of the Morrigan, I see myself as a student to Her teachings, rather than a worshiper. And if I were to become a Priest to Her Order someday, I might be more likely to consider myself a representative of Her interests and values.

I’m certain that as I continue my studies and deepen my relationship with The Morrigan that I may come to new realizations, and they are something I welcome. I am in a continual state of learning and becoming. I think atheists get a bad rep for being killjoy skeptics, but I see myself as just being deeply rooted in reality, working to keep an open mind for things that cannot or have yet to be explained, and trying to have more than a little fun while I’m at it.

Peace to the heavens!

#The Morrigan #atheism #druidism #rdna #devotional writing #druidry #Elder #Ogham

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rumble-aint-a-rumble-without-me · 2 years

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I’m so happy that your request are open again, your blog always brightens my day! Do you think that you could write some headcanons for the gang dating someone who enjoys going to the gym and eating healthy, when you get the chance? Thank you!

A/N: Hey, thanks for requesting! I had a lot of fun with these even though I struggled a little with them <3 hope you enjoy!

DARRY CURTIS

You guys are like the perfect health guru couple, like it’s absolutely perfect, you guys compliment each other so well

Gym dates. That’s all I have to say about that guys

And I see you guys being competitive too? Both trying to see who can lift more, bench more, run further- all within safety limits of course

When you’re cooking at the Curtis house?

The boys all know to expect platefuls of healthy meals on the table, forget about eating chocolate cake for three meals a day

They’re gonna eat healthy and they’re gonna like it or Darry’s gonna make them like it to make you happy <3

SODAPOP CURTIS

Unlike his older brother, I don’t think Sodapop’s into the lifting weights and tough workouts

That being said, he’s totally down to spot you if you need the extra person to watch out for you

He’s super good at encouraging you man, Soda kind of fills in the coach role, y’know?

Encouraging words, encouraging kisses, making sure you’re drinking enough water, he’s on top of all of those things!

As for the food, he’s sort of hit or miss? Like his attitude on it shifts

He’s always gonna be into it, he’s into you and henceforth is into whatever you’re into, but sometimes he just really wants his chocolate cake and greasy burgers

PONYBOY CURTIS

If you’re doing cardio stuff? I feel like Ponyboy would be super into doing that with you!

Like, if you needed a running partner or something, definitely talk to Ponyboy about being that partner for you

More likely than not, you guys are gonna end up in a race that has the both of you panting and laughing when you’re finished

But I don’t think he’d be into the weightlifting aspect that comes with gyms? I just don’t see him being into that

Also, I think he would be intrigued by your healthy eating habits <3

Ponyboy’ll eat whatever you make and he will take your snacks, just be warned guys, nothing is safe with him

DALLAS WINSTON

You’ve got better chances of it snowing in the middle of summer than getting Dally to go to the gym with you

That’s just the truth, I can’t see him as being the kind of guy who would enjoy being at the gym

He won’t be your running partner either, you’re pretty much on your own there too but he does support you in his own Dally way!

He’ll let you talk through what you did for exercise today and listen carefully, trying to remember what everything means so he’ll know what you’re talking about later

As for your healthy food thing? I can see Dally being half-into that

He doesn’t really have a kitchen to offer up to you, but I can see him bumming around your place as you make stuff and he gets in the way <3

JOHNNY CADE

Once again, I don’t see him as an exercise buddy, I just can’t see him in a gym no matter how hard I try

But if you wanna go for a run, I can see him offering to jog along with you, he’s just a sweetheart and wants to do stuff with you

Also a great coach, super encouraging and will always cheer you on and motivate you <3

I firmly believe that Johnny, because of his rough upbringing and lack of access to proper food, will eat almost anything he’s offered

He’s also incredibly polite, it’s those southern manners, so he’ll eat anything you ask him to

A+ taste tester and will always be willing to help you cook!

TWO-BIT MATHEWS

Two-Bit likes to mess with your gym equipment and fool around with all your exercise stuff

Half the time, he ends up hurting himself but he thinks it’s worth it cause then you’ll patch him up

He likes having your attention on him, that’s really the most important thing to him

As with Steve, don’t try to pull him away from his chocolate cake and his beers

It’s not going to end up well, you’ll have a very unhappy Two-Bit on your hands

Two-Bit is all for trying your healthy snacks and meals darlin, but he likes cake and beer

STEVE RANDLE

For your safety, don’t try and separate this man from his chocolate cake-

Steve may love you, but he loves chocolate cake too and your healthy eating goals aren’t gonna stop him from shoving cake in his face

Will rarely, and I mean rarely, offer to work out with you

He’d rather just watch you work out? If that makes sense to you guys? Not in a creepy way, let’s clarify that-

Like he’s the kind of boyfriend to hold your feet down for sit-ups and then give you a kiss every time you come up <3

Encourages your goals and is literally so good at motivating you and making sure you follow through in your plans

TIM SHEPARD

Tim will walk you to and from the gym but doesn’t want to work out with you

He claims he gets enough exercise from fights, he doesn’t need to go to the gym with you and do stuff

Does that mean he doesn’t like watching you work out? Of course not

Tim takes every chance he gets to check you out and while you’re exercising is no exception

Because he can barely cook, he’s pretty accepting of your healthy meals as long as you’re the one making them

If you try to make weird stuff though, like those kale pancakes and weird healthy things, he’s a little more skeptical

CURLY SHEPARD

Out of all the boys, I think Curly would definitely be one of the ones who would tag along to your gym sessions

This boy hates to run, so don’t expect him to like do treadmills or run around the block with you-

But I can see Curly getting into like the weights and stuff cause he’d think it makes him look cool

Also! He’s a black hole, a bottomless pit, a literal goat and will eat any and everything you put in front of him

I suggest using Curly as your taste tester when you’re trying to make healthy recipes and stuff

You might end up getting him hooked on the healthy food thing and he might end up making some more of it around his place, much to the chagrin of his siblings

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st0rmyskies · 1 year

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I’m new to the LU fandom, I really love the series but I’m kinda confused about the whole link/link shippings. It’s not something I have a real issue with as long as the links in question aren’t related by blood or anything, but I’m really confused how the ships came to be????

Wildlight especially because yes, there’s definitely chemistry and a deep bond between them, but I’ve never thought about their relationship going beyond that and into sexual????

I always kinda felt like they’d be queer-platonic, like, they’re so close their relationship can’t be defined as purely platonic but it’s not sexual. There’s a lot of love and affection but it doesn’t fall neatly into romantic either?

They’re just. Two people who really care about each other and want to enjoy their time together while it lasts to the fullest and just. Experience life with the other by their side.

Mostly I just feel really confused and like I’m lacking a lot of information. I’m sorry if this doesn’t make sense or seems rude, I just don’t understand in general, and thought maybe you could provide some insight???

So I, for example, don't like mango. Some people love mango but and think apples are boring, and I would clutch my pearls about that and go on a 40 minute tirade about how apples are the shit. The same can be said for shipping. When it comes to ships, both with regard to types of ships and pairings, a lot of it comes down to personal preference. It's as simple as that.

That's the main idea here, anon. There's not any information you're missing. The rest is under the cut for specifics about Wildlight and other Linkships.

No matter how you ship Wild and Twilight, with even the various flavors of queerplatonic or simple friendship being considered "shipping" of sorts for the purposes of this conversation, as you said: it's obvious that the two of them have chemistry. They have history together. They look to one another when Time says cryptic shit like two siblings wondering if that lore drop from dad was true or not. Twilight scolds Wild for getting himself injured in defense of Wind and Wild doesn't hesitate to give it back to him a bit. In the most recent arc, while everyone on the team is affected by Twilight's injury in one way or another, Wild is the one who loses his mind a bit over the whole thing. Their bond runs deep.

Like you, there is a huge group of fans who look at that relationship and enjoy that flavor of queerplatonic rep. They choose to ship Wild and Twilight in that way, and that's cool. But some of us look at the same relationship and prefer to explore the spicier side of things under the same context, and that's cool too. There was recently a text post I reblogged that went something long the lines of fic writers "using preestablished relationships to give sex [in their works] emotional context." Without having to write thousands of words of backstory to get two people together, sometimes we as fic writers lean on the source material to establish the soft stuff so we can get right into the more hardcore fare. It's a fun little thought experiment to consider how two characters like Twi and Wild who have such obvious caring for one another in canon might engage with one another behind the scenes.

The same can be said for characters who don't seem to have a whole ton of on-screen chemistry, as it were. Sky is very obviously in love with his Zelda, and that's part of the reason why he was the focus of the poly!Sky series. Because yes, SS Zelink is adorable, but what if Sky wasn't limited to that relationship alone? How would his relationships look like with Twilight, with Warriors, with Time? For me, it's a fun exploration and skill-development exercise to write believable romantic and/or sexual relationships that you wouldn't expect in-universe, especially since they firmly aren't established in the source material.

I, for one, also enjoy exploring both healthy and unhealthy sexual relationships through fiction. By far, my favorite kind of couple to write has to be the train wreck: those who bring out the worst in one another and have incendiary chemistry in the bedroom. HSH WarrTime falls into this category, and Twilight/Dark does too in a different sense. It's that journey from "Omg this would NEVER work" to "Dark has one person and one person only he will behave for" that never fails to hook me.

In the end, it boils down to the same reason why most restaurants have such a diverse menu. Some people prefer one flavor of cooked-up relationships, others may prefer another. Some of us change tastes depending on the day. And maybe in relationships that you personally don't see romance or a sexual connection, to someone else it looks plain as day.

And that's all totally okay.

#stormy asks #anon asks #linkshipping #link/link #oh and dont get me started on the whole 'blood related' thing #that feels like a whole nother rant

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art-of-manliness · 8 days

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The Importance of Developing and Maintaining Your Social Fitness

Started in 1938, the Harvard Study of Adult Development represents the longest longitudinal study on happiness ever conducted. It set out to follow a group of men through every stage of their lives, from youth to old age, and continues to study their descendants. The Harvard Study aimed to discover what makes human beings flourish, and its overarching conclusion was this: it’s all about good relationships. The Harvard Study has found that the quality of a person’s relationships has the biggest influence on their health and happiness. Robert Waldinger, the current director of the Harvard Study, uses a great phrase to refer to this relational factor: social fitness. However, in the book he co-authored, The Good Life, he never directly explains and unpacks what the concept of social fitness involves. Below, we’ll take a stab at doing so. What Is “Social Fitness”? We typically talk about fitness in terms of physical fitness, but it’s a very apt way to describe our social lives as well. We’ll get into the parallels between the two concepts in a moment, but let’s first explain what social fitness is. “Fitness” can refer to a couple of things. One is a person’s current state and condition. (“He is fit.”) The other is a person’s capacity to perform a certain role, task, or function. (“He is fit enough to ____.”) Physical and social fitness each encompass both of these qualities. When you’re physically fit, you’re in good shape. Your cardiovascular system is healthy, your weight is normal, your muscles are toned. You are also sufficiently fit to perform certain athletic activities, like running a certain distance or lifting a certain amount of weight. Likewise, when you’re socially fit, your relationships are in good shape. You have a sufficient number of ties and a sufficient amount of contact with them. Your relationships are marked more by intimacy and warmth than stress and strain. To assess the state of your social fitness, ask yourself how much you agree with statements like: * I don’t often feel lonely. * I’m happy with my number of friends. * If I had an emergency, there’s someone I could call for help. * If I had a bad day, there’s someone I could talk to about it. * I feel like I can be honest in most of my relationships. * I feel generally supported and loved. * If I need advice on a practical matter, there’s someone I could talk to. * There is at least one person in my life who challenges me and encourages me to grow. * There is at least one person in my life who makes me laugh and helps me have fun. * I’m happy and fulfilled in my romantic relationship. * There is at least one person in my life who knows nearly everything about me. Social fitness not only encompasses the state of having healthy relationships, but also the capacity to show up well in these relationships. To assess the “fit for” element of your social fitness, ask yourself how much you agree with statements like: * I would feel comfortable walking into a room where I don’t know anyone. * I feel comfortable making small talk with a stranger. * I can listen intently to someone without getting distracted. * I am able to cultivate genuine curiosity about anyone. * I’m adept at reading social signals and adapting my behavior accordingly. * I know how to ask questions that facilitate conversation and deepen relationships. * I am able to offer feedback and advice in an appropriate way. * I am able to empathize with others in a helpful and comforting manner. Of course, both of the elements of fitness are inextricably connected. In both the social and physical realms, you become fit by exercising your capacities, and the more fit you are, the more capacities you can exercise. The Parallels Between Physical and Social Fitness To better understand the concept of social fitness, and how it’s developed and maintained, it’s helpful to think through its parallels with something we’re more familiar with: physical fitness. Physical and social… http://dlvr.it/T7WMVJ

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blueberry-lemon · 4 months

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I realize now that you have to be kind of a freak

Something I've been thinking about lately is how to channel vague concepts like "motivation" and "focus" into actual "routine" and "practice."

And I realize now that you kind of have to let yourself just be a freak about something.

Of course, I say "freak" with nothing but half-joking love, but I really do mean it.

I'm starting to question whether we should always frame people's accomplishments and skills through purely sanded-off positive language like "passion" and "drive" and "expertise." I think those things are definitely true, but I think that maybe a more neutral way to frame it is that those people channeled their obsessions and fixations and weren't too embarrassed to see them through.

I've been thinking about this lately in creative pursuits like writing, art, and music. But I've also been thinking about it when I go to the gym.

I've started going to the gym twice a week, 30min each, just to create a sustainable healthy habit of getting up from my desk. But many of the people in the gym around me, clearly, are pushing themselves way harder than that. They're using all these crazy machines, with the weights piled on, doing all these highly specific exercises to improve specific muscles.

Why are they doing that? Obviously it goes beyond just basic "healthy routines to stay alive." And they probably aren't paid professional athletes. They just have some sort of goal. If we wanted to be polite we'd say that they're driven and passionate, but I think it's just as fine to say that they have some sort of obsession or fixation on improving their bodies or attaining something they have in their mind.

And as long as they're not hurting themselves, that's a good thing! And I admire them for not being too embarrassed on chasing that obsession, even when other people in their lives are probably going out to the movies or staying in and watching TV. It takes obsession to practice throwing a football 30 times a day, or push yourself to hit a weightlifting goal. It's just an obsession we consider somewhat socially acceptable.

I've also been thinking about it lately in art, especially professional manga artists. Both in their comics themselves but also in their side sketchbooks and personal work, you can see an obsession with particular subjects. An obsession with drawing a particular kind of character, or outfit style, or hair style. A fixation on getting better at drawing the human form via figure drawing and then channeling that to what they want to do. Certain poses and camera angles.

Again, I know we call this "practice", but from the outside it would also be very easy to make fun of a person for being so mentally fixated on achieving a particular look, or be put off by their obsession with drawing gothic lolita dresses or whatever it is they can't stop thinking about.

Every person I know who gets good at something or keeps up dedicated practice does it because they channel that obsession and go through with it. They're not embarrassed.

For years, whenever something starts bubbling up that could be that fixation for me...I get embarrassed. I don't channel it. Because I'm afraid that someone will see something that I'm drawing over and over or writing over and over and judge me for it. That it'd be weird to design a character that I'm so passionate about drawing that it borders on obsession. That I'd look weird if I was practicing drawing skirts and dresses or scarves and sweaters or looking through fashion reference material. Or that people will see my body of work as an opportunity to look into my soul and psychoanalyze me.

I don't know why I've been thinking about this lately. Maybe I was weirdly inspired by that Pewdiepie video that went around where he spent 100 days drawing anime girls and actually got pretty good at the end. It's so stupid, but there's a real inspiration in that which makes me feel like an idiot for being too stuffy and too embarrassed to practice something 100 times. Maybe I'm inspired by the demo for Soul of Sovereignty, a game that GGDG admits is the product of their obsession over these main characters and their fashion, their designs, their dynamic with each other. An obsession that is honed passionately through dozens and dozens of sketches and illustrations. Which is the same way any good comic or game gets made.

If you wanna get good at something, and make the stuff you want to see in the world...you gotta put those hours in. And to do that...well, you gotta just let yourself be a freak a little bit. Hopefully I can give myself that permission someday.

#blogofkylelab

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ginga-snappd-offical · 7 months

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Why are resumes are hard to create…I'm just genuinely bad at writing resumes.

I feel. with more details I could help you directly but here's my advice:

For people with NO work experience:

List academics/extra curriculars, and anything related to community service. If you're a high schooler or fresh out of high school list different chores or things you did to help around the house. Did you help cook and watch your siblings? Congrats, you have a certain number of years as an experienced caregiver. Did you mow your lawn or rake up leaves? Congrats, you are experienced in landscape keeping. Have you ever held a leadership position in anything? Include that.

What activities do you do for fun? Do you play D&D? Include that under 'Regular Group Brainstorming and Community Skill Building" and if they ask for more details, explain that you meet with a group of friends once a week to run through problem/solution scenarios and roleplay how you'd solve those problems. Do you go swimming or do sports? Say you regularly exercise and focus on maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

With high school extra curriculars, list three that might be relevant to your job application. If you're applying to work in the food industry then Home Economics/cooking classes will look good on a resume. If you took any extra language courses, that's a plus because you are able to help with language barriers in a way that meets customer needs.

If you're in high school, TAKE EXTRA CIRRICULARS IF THEY'RE OFFERED. If they aren't, look online to see if there are any public clubs or activities that can help you build those skills.

The next thing I would recommend is to look into getting certifications or licensing in different fields and specialized jobs, as that can pay higher if you're more qualified. Certification can help if you don't have as many years in that field.

For people with Work Experience:

Listing the above depending on your age. I feel like after 23 or 24, you shouldn't be listing high school related things unless specifically requested. Instead list college majors, courses, minors, and community courses you've taken. List soft skills. For example, I'm not fluent in Bokmal yet, but I'm actively learning it. Developing a skill and providing evidence that you're working on it appeals to employers.

When you have time off, volunteer or find small projects on the side if you have time for it that will be investments into your future. My last job didn't work out, but I was only able to get my foot in the door because I worked for a smaller Youtuber for free during the pandemic as a project manager. My ability to organize files and do basic data entry appealed to my bosses at the time. Things like that help a lot.

THE BIGGEST THING: A lot of employers for larger companies and corporations use a scanner to read through resumes, so make sure YOURS IS AN EDITABLE PDF and that YOU USE KEY WORDS FROM THE JOB DESCRIPTION IN YOUR RESUME. So, for example:

"This job requires and understanding of Excel, and Pro Create. You'll be expected to create assets in a timely manner and organize your files every day."

Make sure you modify your resume to include the same names of programs, and highlight the words that stick out to you in the job description to add. This will make the system think that you are a better option compared to others. And if your document isn't an editable PDF, the scanner won't be able to read it and your resume could end up being thrown away! Don't include any images or textiles unless requested in the job application. This clutters the resume and makes it difficult for both the machine and the employer who's hiring you to read it. Even if you are applying for an art or design position. They can see your skills from your portfolio, your resume is the information, not the aesthetic presentation. Learned that the hard way.

#resume help

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animasphinx · 2 years

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I don't know who needs this post, but I have been seeing a lot of people falling for steam scams lately, especially the TF2 fandom. I personally know two people who lost their items and accounts to scams recently. So I'm putting together this small post for some pointers on avoiding scams.

This is not meant to be insulting to anyone - if you have ever fallen for a scam, you are NOT stupid. Some of this stuff may seem obvious in hindsight, but scammers get trickier every year. Anyone can be scammed, as they prey on emotions and not intelligence, and anyone can have their emotions manipulated. Even if you think, "I'm smart, it'll never happen to me", I still strongly recommend you practice basic internet safety!

Now obviously, not everyone on the internet is out to get you. But when it comes to Steam, you should exercise caution. Steam has very little in the way of professional customer service, the system is mostly automated and ran by bots. You will rarely get ahold of an actual person to help with your problems. Because of this, and the fact that it is a storefront, it is particularly attractive to scammers. Step one is the treat everyone on Steam with a healthy amount of suspicion.

So, someone added you as friends on Steam, or messaged you without adding. There's some questions you should ask yourself before you add them as a friend, or respond to their messages:

What is this person's username? Does it have "bot", "valve", or "official" in the title? Does it seem like a joke name a real person would have? EX: Valve Moderator Official and TradeBot5000* are likely scams. You should ignore these messages, friend requests, and block them if they continue to harass you. Someone adding you named "had to do it to em" or whatever could or could not be a scam.

Do you know this person? Are you expecting them to add you? EXAMPLE: Your friend tells you that they just installed steam and will add you as a friend. Double check what their username is, then feel safe to add them. Alternatively, you just played a game with Jeff942 and you both had a fun game. After you leave, Jeff942 adds you as a friend. Always practice stranger safety on the internet, but you can feel safe that they're likely not a scammer.

Are they trying to illicit a response from you without giving you much information about themselves? EXAMPLE: A scammer recently messaged me to drill me on what items I have in my backpack (which is private). He ignored any and all questions I gave him, such as asking who he was, if we'd played together, etc. He was trying to get information out of me to see if I was worth scamming. After ignoring two of my questions I realized he was just a scammer and blocked him.

Are they trying to convince you that they have power in some way? EXAMPLE: Someone messages you to tell you that you will be banned from steam/have your items deleted/be banned from trading/etc. and that they can help you avoid punishment from Steam. This is a complete lie. Block on sight.

I highly recommend that when it comes to Steam, only friend people you know, or feel safe friending. 99.9% of friend requests from complete strangers should go directly into the trash. That 0.1% is up to you to decide.

So like, what kind of scams are there, anyway?

Good question! There are so many, I could not possibly list them all. However, #4 in the list above has some of them included. Most often, scammers will try to convince you that they have power over your account in some way, and can delete your account, or ban you. Usually, this happens because you signed into a website through Steam, and that website was a fishy one. They are able to see some of your account information on their side, such as your steam ID, but they cannot see your password. However, they can usually see enough information that they can scare you into thinking they know your password, and get you to do what they want in order to not have your account hacked.

Believe me: if they could hack/ban your account, they would NOT bother messaging you. They would hack it and you would never know who did it or when. This is an extremely common and cruel bluff.

Steam officials will never, ever add you as friends on steam or message you over Steam. If you have to speak with a representative, it will always be through the helpdesk and through official Valve emails. Always double check the sender's email to make sure it is actually from Valve.

Obviously, in one short tumblr post I can't possibly cover all the bases. I am most certainly missing some information here. This post should not be the only research you do! I highly recommend reading the Steam Support Scam FAQ page, which covers many common scams over Steam. You can also always google "current steam scams", "steam scams reddit", "steam scams youtube", and similar phrases to find out new scams that are floating around, because scammers tend to change tactics every couple of years.

I hope that this helps anyone who needs it. Please, be cautious, and enjoy our favourite video game safely!

*Bots which are used expressly for the purposes of trading will never add you; you add them, and through a trade site. These ones are not included in this question.

#team fortress 2 #tf2 #steam scams #valve #steam

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