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ramzawrites · 1 year

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Dream World - A Sibling!Mutant!Reader Story - Part 6

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Part 1 | Prev Next

Pairings: None

Characters included: Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael, Splinter

Warnings: n/a

Series: Part 6

Summary: As promised the family trains with Y/N

Word count: 7552

Authors Note: The whole training thing was supposed to be only one chapter but it got a bit longer than anticipated so it might end up being maybe 2 chapters long haha But this way I got to write a small moment between Y/N and Splinter! Also without saying much there will come a color up and I p much intended to use it from the beginning but had a small poll on my sideblog that also confirmed that choice so it was nice to get a bit feedback from yall for this haha After this I will post a request again!

Y/N knew from the very start that Leo would probably not feel comfortable with the idea of them starting up training. After all his sibling was unconscious for two weeks, woke up with memory issues accompanied by headaches and then as their very first reaction they had a huge panic attack. Seeing how he was the second medic in the family it probably made sense that he wouldn’t really feel happy agreeing to the idea of training.

Yet, Y/N did not expect for this to end with a huge argument involving all of the siblings. Mikey, April and Raph tried to subtly tell Leo about the little moment the three just had with Y/N and why this is actually a good idea but both Donnie and Leo felt that it was way too soon.

At one point Leo said that after two weeks laying still their muscles should definitely not be up to it only for Donnie to admit he used one of his more experimental inventions to try to counteract the reduction of their muscle mass. For a short moment the group managed to pause their heated discussion to reprimand Donnie only for him to remind them all what the original topic was which got quickly picked up again. Y/N promptly ignored their thoughts of what in the hell he might have done since they seemed to be doing fine right now.

All the while Y/N just sat on the seat and watched the group stand behind it. All of them making wild gestures with their hands. Their faces pulled into deep scowls but even while all of them looked annoyed it didn’t seem malicious. The annoyance or even anger was just born out of worry for them.

They wanted to interrupt and voice their own opinion, but they weren’t sure how to go about it. Something told them that Leo wouldn’t listen to them anyhow. At the moment he was the only medic on team and to that he wasn’t scared to pull the “I’m the leader, so what I say goes!” card. A little bit of a prick move, they had to admit silently.

Draxum stayed for a moment to watch them bicker only to pull Splinter aside, say something about collecting the last of the data for Donatello and then he vanished into a purple light. Y/N just sat there mouth agape as Draxum casually opened a damn magical portal and disappeared into thin air. Just casual magic right in front of them and no one else seemed to bat an eye. As if this was the most normal thing in the world to them. Which it probably was! Cool. Okay. Yeah. Why not. Y/N still just kept staring at the place the yokai was standing before he disappeared.

It was only when Splinter started to suddenly move towards Y/N that they finally tore their eyes away. Their mind couldn’t even conjure up a proper thought after witnessing real actual magic besides a sense of wonder, curiosity and a bit of panic. But the last emotion has been a constant recently.

Splinter approached the seat and let out a deep huff “How about we leave your siblings be for the moment. Let them all voice their worries and grievances while we prepare, yeah?” He then held out his small hand towards them. It was an open invitation and somehow Y/N instinctually knew that should they decide to decline his offer, he wouldn’t be mad or disappointed. It was an offer and nothing more.

Emboldened by this warm feeling deep inside them, they softly laid their green hand into his pink one before they even thought about asking him what he meant with preparing.

For a small and old rat mutant, he showed a surprising amount of strength as he suddenly clasped their hand and began pulling. Startled Y/N yelped softly as he pulled them off the chair. The cookie package and blanket dropped to the ground hence why Y/N stumbled for a second but caught themself just as fast again.

Splinter didn’t seem to notice or even mind the way Y/N yanked on his arm for a second while they struggled to land on the ground. He just kept walking. His hand was warm, and Y/N couldn’t help but enjoy it.

Maybe it was because of the sudden loss of the blanket. Then again, they couldn’t help but press the warm cup of hot chocolate against their cheek as well and they were quite happy about holding the bowl of soup on their lap.

It was then that they suddenly realized that this behavior might be because of their new body. According to the others they did start out as a turtle and turtles were cold blooded that relied on outside factors to warm up or even cool down. It was probably a bit more complicated for them since they got mutated with human DNA but there probably was still a part in them that enjoyed basking in warmth.

Yeah. It must be something like that. Maybe Y/N Hamato had something more detailed in their notebooks.

Y/N was so caught up with their sudden thoughts on turtle mutant biology that they didn’t even notice that Splinter pulled them along a part of the subway station they haven’t walked along yet. They had to lean down a bit so they could hold on better to the rat mutant, more staring at him and his relaxed facial features as he walked along through the tunnels than where they were going.

It was only when they suddenly noticed that they stood on a softer surface that they realized that they must have arrived. They stood on a mat in the middle of a huge room. All around them were a ton of gym equipment. There were dummies with different kinds of black bandanas on them. Some of them had a red foot painted on their foreheads. There were benches to build up different kinds of upper and lower body strength.

Random weights laid strewn about and Y/N couldn’t help but think that the bigger ones were definitely Raph’s. They couldn’t imagine the others lifting these huge weights. They definitely couldn’t lift that as well but the urge to still try was there.

“Alright. I’m sure the others will gather that we both left in a few minutes, so, we have a few minutes of calm.” Splinter suddenly spoke up while softly clapping his paws together.

Only now did suddenly Y/N realize how awkward it was to be abducted like this by their supposed father. They just became more comfortable with the others, but this was still strange since they just didn’t know how to act around him.

While he seemed to be more calm and even lazy to a degree from what they saw and heard from the rest of the family, they still worried if he might be still be strict or mean even.

Their own father wasn’t much around. He was usually just there in the background. When they needed something from him, he tended to just hum along while kept working on his laptop. Sometimes he would just lay some money on the table so they could order food even though Y/N had already cooked something up with their sisters.

So, Y/N had to admit, seeing Splinter already more proactive as their own father, they just felt a bit like a fish out of water.

“Um, so, what are we doing here? Is this the training room?” Y/N asked meekly.

At first Splinter’s eyebrows scrunched together into a confused and almost worried expression but he soon regained his more self-assured posture. Seeing this Y/N realized that Leo must have picked up this behavior from him, seeing how he too liked to look very cool and self-assured.

“Yeah. It’s our dojo. Red and Blu- I mean Raph and Leo are the ones who spend the most time in here nowadays. Donnie goes in here more often than not to test out his newest weapon while Mikey sometimes just comes in here to get rid of his excess energy he seems to accumulate over time.” He chuckled softly at the end. His eyes warm as he recounts the habits of his kids.

“And you.” He starts, his eyes now seemingly boring into theirs “You usually came in here when your head is too full of thoughts. You trained to calm down the storm in your head.”

Their head suddenly moved to the right. It wasn’t something they did consciously, but their eyes instinctually landed on the dummies and targets that stood behind them. While they as a human never did things like that the idea of doing some sport to work through their worries did sound like a good idea. It would give you something else to concentrate on.

Honestly maybe it was something they should pick up when they struggled with a new design. Maybe it would have the same effect as when you are in the shower and you have suddenly amazing ideas.

“But before we can even think about how we can train you specifically now with the new situation, we have to gear you up first.” Splinter once again broke through their thoughts. Pulling their attention back to him.

“Oh! Gear up?” Was all Y/N said. They supposed they did see how the others wore straps around their bodies and black wrapping around their limbs but honestly, they didn’t think much of it. When you suddenly see a mutant turtle in front of you, you don’t really tend to notice their choice of fashion or at least feel inclined to critique it.

Splinter nodded “Yes, yes. Gotta make sure your wrists are supported for example when you throw a punch.”

Weirdly enough it was only then that they realized something “Wait, so you also think it’s a good idea for me to train? Or at least to see how my body is doing with that?” They should have gotten to that realization when he pulled them into the dojo, but they were occupied with other thoughts.

“Yes, of course! Even in this situation I do trust in your abilities, and you have always been resilient. I suppose you all are. I also think it doesn’t do you good to coddle you forever.” He slightly grimaced as he said that “Of course I’m still worried about you. And will always be worried about you as your father but coddling you like this won’t help you. Besides, if we just let you be, you will inevitably stew in your own thoughts and worries, and I’m hoping that doing a few easy exercises might at least help you relieve some of the stress. How it used to.”

Y/N couldn’t help but smile at this. Even if they are a different person, he still had some sort of trust in them and honestly it felt nice to be trusted like that.

“And if it doesn’t work? If this is somehow bad?”

Splinter huffed out an amused breath “Then we stop and find something else. Easy as that.”

They nodded at that. The way he said that they couldn’t help but push their worries aside. If this didn’t work out or some other problem suddenly arose there would be other ways and Splinter was ready to help find them. No matter what, there will be something Y/N can do in this situation. There just had to be a way.

“Okay, okay. Now. Time to get dressed up. Please sit down so I can reach you better.”

Without hesitation Y/N sat down on the soft mat and crossed their legs. Now nervous but also excited to see what he would pull out. It probably was just the wrappings he mentioned earlier so they wouldn’t break their wrists.

Splinter walked over to a small box, rummaging through it for a moment before he seemed to have found what he was looking for. It was only when he finally turned around and begun walking back that Y/N noticed that he held something in a nice bright green color in his hands.

As he stood in front of them, finally on eye level he looked at the piece of cloth in his hands with such soft eyes that Y/N couldn’t help but feel like this was an important moment. This green cloth held importance to him.

“Green.” He spoke, suddenly moving around them to stand behind their shell. He softly moved the cloth in front of their eyes and laid it across. It was a bandana.

It was their bandana.

With a soft tug he tied the ends of the cloth together. It was now sitting snugly over their snout and along their eyes. Y/N’s hands softly brushed against the new material. It felt comforting to have it on. They felt more dressed somehow. This is how it should be.

When Splinter walked in front of them again, he had a happy smile on his face “This has always been your color. Green. The color of peace. But also, the color of new beginnings and growth. Very fitting indeed.”

Y/N pulled one tail of their bandana to the front, holding it softly in their hand. Slowly letting the material slip through their fingers just to see it move against their skin. It contrasted nicely against the dark green. As a design student they couldn’t help but think it was also a quite fitting color for them if they truly were the most stealthies member of the turtles. Of course, the stealthiest of the green turtle group would also wear green and yet it was such a contrasting color against their actual green skin, that it still shone brightly. It definitely still fit in with the bright colors of the others.

They liked it.

“I hope with your new memories you don’t suddenly despise this color.”

Y/N shook their head wildly, the surprisingly strong positive emotions that came along with the green bandana strengthening this reaction “No! I’m- I like this. Yes. Green is… good. Thank you.”

His shoulder suddenly slumped down, it was as if this had been a huge worry of his. A weight lifted off his body and heart.

“I’m happy to hear it. Now we have to get the wrappings out. Luckily, we have some extra equipment here and we don’t have to walk past the others to get them from your room.” He laughed softly.

“They’ve been arguing for a while.”

“Knowing them they are probably busy fighting, or they jumped to the fifth new topic to argue over. We will get them if they don’t appear on their own. It’s been a while to see all of them this energetic.”

He returned to the small box to grab the black wrappings.

In the end Splinter and Y/N did not have to walk back to the living room to get the others since they suddenly burst into the dojo just as Splinter finished wrapping their last leg. The black wrapping on their left arm reached past their elbow while only the right hand and wrist were wrapped. The wrapping on their legs both reached past their knees though.

The group that suddenly skidded into the dojo looked a bit out of breath and Y/N was sure they spotted a bite mark on Leo’s arm. Seems like Splinter was probably right, and they began to literally fight. Like children apparently.

“Dad!” Leo breathed out, betrayal coating his voice.

Splinter just raised one eyebrow at him “Took you long enough.”

“Why did you-? You just took Y/N! And- We were in the middle of a discussion!” Leo threw his arms through the air, accentuating his franticness even further.

April put one side of her hair back into her usual space bun, it probably loosened during their fight, and smiled proudly. It definitely looked like she just won the argument. Mikey too had a big grin on his face while Raph was still scowling as he looked at Leo and Donnie. Donnie was moving his bandana back on his face correctly, one eyebrow way more smudged than the other.

So, his eyebrows were definitely drawn on. Good to know.

“Yes, a discussion about what to do with Y/N without including Y/N.”

As he said that Mikey, Raph and April all instantly grew stock-still. They just promised to include Y/N more and then they immediately did the opposite. Though Y/N knew they didn’t mean to, they tried to talk to Leo and Donnie about their new decision and it all just escalated into an argument way too fast.

„Don’t worry. I know you didn’t mean to.” Y/N tried to reassure them which only seemed to slightly work. Even if Y/N wasn’t that angry at them they were still glad they realized on their own why this wasn’t their best moment.

Raph was the first to apologize, the others, including Leo and Donnie, followed after. It almost sounded rehearsed.

“Good, now that this is out of the way, let’s see how we go about this little training session.” Splinter spoke. His voice more commanding than before. Probably putting on his “Dad voice” to ensure that his kids behaved for the moment.

“But they literally just woke up from a coma, dad!” Leo immediately fired back “What if they get more hurt!”

Splinter nodded to show that he heard his son’s worries “We will go slow. Just something simple. And if it doesn’t work out, we will stop. What do you think about all of this, Y/N?”

Y/N didn’t really expect to be put on the spot like that, they were busy inspecting the wrappings, not too comfortable under the gazes of the others once again “Uh. I’m fine with that. I want to try it. It’s frustrating to just sit around so please give me a chance, Leo. I need to do something. Please? If you think anything is wrong, I will stop.”

And for a moment Leo just stared at Y/N. His lips pulled into a line as he seemed to think this through. His eyes sometimes slipped over to his father only to land back on Y/N. He let out a deep breath “Alright, alright. You’ve been doing pretty well after waking up, so, I’ll give you that.”

April and Mikey let out a deep breath as well, almost as if they held it in beforehand, only to high five each other and simultaneously give Y/N a thumbs up. Seeing them so synced up Y/N had to quietly laugh.

Raph put one of his huge hands onto Leo’s shoulder who in return looked up at him. With an encouraging smile he gave him a small nod which Leo returned with one of his.

Donnie was the only who didn’t have much of a reaction. He just kept standing around with his hands on his hips. In fact, he looked almost bored or even annoyed.

Splinter clapped his hands together “Good job, kids.” Okay that definitely sounded very patronizing and sarcastic. “Let’s make it a proper training session then. Everyone! Warm up! Leo you can supervise Y/N. Now, chop chop. You all know your routine.”

There was a cacophony of groans and a few exclamations of “But it was supposed to be our free day today! Agh, come on!”

Donnie’s “I knew it!” cut through the loudest though.

Splinter laughed as he moved to the side of the room, sitting down on the ground. Apparently, he was happy to just sit there and watch his children work.

They all moved to the mats to begin doing their stretches. It made sense that they all didn’t need to think much about how to go about this since apparently, they have done this for a while but it still surprised Y/N for a moment.

When Leo approached them, they stood up. The wrappings on their body put some comforting pressure on their limbs.

He was smiling as he got closer but the creases around his brows spelled that a lot was going through his mind.

“Can I take a quick look at the bandages? Just wanna make sure they don’t cut of your circulation or something.”

Y/N nodded, holding out their arms towards him. He fiddled with them a bit and even took a quick look at their legs and when he finished, he seemed satisfied. The others kept stealing glances towards the two but obviously tried to concentrate on their own things.

“So, with your weird human memories. Do you know how to do stretches and such?” the blue banded turtle asked.

Y/N lifted their hand to absentmindedly toy with the end of one of their bandana tails that fell past their shoulder “Well. It’s not like I trained or things like that on the regular. But I know a few stretches. Been a while though.”

Leo suddenly pursed his lips “Gotcha. So not very, uh, bendy?”

A snort escaped Y/N’s nose at the wording “Oh, no. Couldn’t even touch my toes without a lot of trouble.”

“Perfect.”

Now that reaction confused Y/N and Leo could see it in their expression, hence why he continued.

“Try doing this then. Try touching your toes. The Y/N I know doesn’t have any trouble with that, but you have been unconscious for two weeks so let’s see how you are doing. I’m curious to see if you can especially after Donnie told us he apparently used one of his experiments on you in secret.”

He said the last part a bit louder and in an accusing tone, obviously talking to his twin and trying to sound at least annoyed.

“Hey! I told you! Y/N and I started this little project together! I just finished it when they went into the coma.”

“It was still untested, Dee!”

But this time Donnie didn’t respond, he just turned his back to Leo as he sat down to stretch his legs more. Leo grumbled quietly to himself as he pulled his attention back to Y/N.

With a deep breath Leo suddenly bent down to lay his hands flat on his toes. Wow, it wasn’t even a thing of touching his feet just with his fingertips, his palm connected with the body part. That was kind of impressive actually.

“Now it’s your turn.” Leo spoke as he moved up again.

With a deep breath on their own, Y/N slowly moved down, stretching their hands down to connect with their own green feet. They expected the familiar burn at the back of their legs, but it didn’t appear. They could feel a pull, but their hands kept moving further down than they anticipated. With a surprised “Whoa!” they too connected their palms with their feet.

Only then did the pull at the back of their legs get stronger.

“What the hell.” They grunted out, surprised with being able to do this. Moving their face between their arms they were basically at eye level with their own knees.

When they moved back up again Leo seemed way more relaxed than before. His smile now his usual smug smile he wore before the whole argument.

“Nicely done. How’d it feel?”

Y/N rolled on the balls of their feet, suddenly exited at the prospect of trying other things out. It felt nice being able to stretch down so low. Never have they done something like that “Well I could feel the stretch at the end at the back of my legs. Nothing actually super painful though. Still manageable and normal.”

Taking this as the sign that their body seemed to be doing alright for now, Leo begun doing stretches alongside Y/N. He would show them how and they followed along. Stretching their arms, legs and even their neck and fingers. It felt kind of nice to loosen up their muscles like that.

The others finished their routine way before Leo and Y/N. Mikey and April then started throwing punches against each other a bit further away from the two. Both Raph and Donnie seemed to supervise the two for now. They all stopped though when Leo and Y/N got back up and shook their limbs a bit at the end of their routine. Seemed like they were just waiting for them.

April chucked her jacket near Splinter who didn’t even bat an eye as it sailed dangerously close to his head “All good?” Her question was directed towards Y/N who hesitantly nodded.

Leo crossed his arms “Seems like they are doing fine. Donnie isn’t off the hook though.”

“Agreed.” Raph joined in.

Donnie just groaned to which April elbowed his side.

He yelped surprised only to narrow his eyes at her “I literally started the project with them! So why are you all so worried! Once they get their memories back, they will tell you that they’d totally consent to this.”

Would they?

Yes, they would.

Y/N furrowed their brows. Why were they so sure that they’d be normally okay with this? Sure, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Or at least more than it should be but the voice in their head was just so sure they’d be okay with it.

“Come on! They’ll never annoy us again! Evil cackle! It’s gonna be fine, Y/N!” Small green hands twisted a screw into a metal panel with a screwdriver that looked way too big for his hands.

“Not when you say evil cackle like that! But… you are right. We did this together! No one will be able to steal our glasses anymore!” There was a childish defiance mixed in with an almost mischievous tone. Giddy that they were doing something in secret.

There were papers in front of them. Scribbles in what looked like green and purple crayon. A blueprint and wires were strewn about. The other small mutant child in a purple hoodie and black rimmed glasses got up from the ground to look over said blueprint with a huge smile. He had fun and so did they.

“Team Smart! Team Smart!” he cheered.

They groaned dramatically “That is still a dumb name, Dee.”

“Glasses?” Y/N questioned only realizing too late that they said this out loud. Everyone was looking at them now with a worried expression.

Mikey was waving his hand in front of their face, his tongue was sticking out of his mouth in deep concentration.

“Uh, Mikey?” Y/N asked, confused as to why he did this.

He promptly dropped his arm again, a big smile back on his face “Oh! You aren’t zoning out anymore!”

“Oh, I guess I was.”

This seemed to particular interest Donnie judging by the way he tilted his head to the side “What happened?”

He didn’t say it, but he must have figured it might have probably been something similar as to when they zoned out in the infirmary. Only this time, whatever this was, seemed so much clearer in a way. It was like a few snippets of a memory. A moment years ago. But that couldn’t be right. It just invaded their mind. Inserting itself almost ruthlessly so into their consciousness.

They gulped “I’m not sure. I think I saw you as a child?” They slowed down their sentence, their pitch shifting higher as if this was somehow something forbidden to say. It definitely felt weird to say.

This seemed to intensify Donnie’s gaze even more “What? What exactly. Something with glasses?”

Y/N shrugged “I didn’t really see much. I just remember you building something? We? I think I was talking but… no… that can’t- uh, anyway. It seemed like we were talking about someone stealing our glasses? And that no one will be able to anymore? There were plans on a table and a machine. I think.”

Once these words left their mouth, there seemed to be a lightbulb turning on for everyone. Recognition washing over them simultaneously.

“Oh! That was years ago!” Mikey was the first to say.

“What?”

Donnie placed his hand once again against his chin. This seemed to be something he did whenever he begun to intensely think something through “Ah, yeah. We both did indeed wear glasses as kids. But our nice brothers loved to steal them from us to tease us. Hence why we took matters into our own hands. Did anything else happen as you zoned out?”

Confused Y/N shrugged once again “I think you chanted “Team Smart” and I said it was a dumb name. That’s it.”

Raph laughed softly “Yep, you sure didn’t like that one.”

Y/N was sure they could even spot Splinter chuckling in the back, nodding along to what Raph said.

“Okay, before you zoned out, what do you remember last?” Donnie ignored his brother’s laugh, more interested in what just happened with Y/N.

Once again Y/N grabbed a tail of their bandana. This was slowly becoming a nervous tick of theirs “I just remember you saying I’d be alright with you using experimental tech on me and I was thinking “Yeah, actually I would be.” Which honestly kind of confused me and then that happened.”

There was a glint in Donnie’s eyes. His mouth curling into a small smile as his eyes wandered to Leo for a moment. He didn’t say anything, but Leo still tensed up and let out a strained breath. Whatever Donnie was telling Leo with gaze alone, he understood.

“Seemed like me saying this might have triggered this memory to resurface. I think the moment you remember was us building a machine together for laser eye surgery.”

It took a moment for Y/N to process these words “But… I saw you as a kid…”

Donnie’s thoughtful expression changed out for a prideful one “I know, right! You researched how this would work and I used my technical abilities to build a machine for us. And now, we don’t need glasses.”

“And this is also the reason why we have to supervise you both when you start working on a project together.” Raph deadpanned.

The purple turtle just rolled his eyes “You all are just afraid of our combined intellect.”

Raph placed his hand onto Donnie’s back and moved his face closer, he was smiling but there was a tense air about him “You. Pointed. A. Laser. At. Your. Eyes. You guys are so lucky you didn’t accidentally blind yourself!” With every sentence he poked his brother’s plastron harshly.

Definitely used to this, Donnie softly pushed Raph’s face away from him “But we didn’t. So, all complains about what could have been, are for naught.”

Y/N figured their Hamato self only later got good with medicine but apparently this has been a thing for a while. Oh god, why was their Hamato self so smart? Even if it didn’t make much sense, it suddenly felt like they were trying to fill in shoes that were way too big for their feet. Not that they wanted to fill in for Hamato. They will go home and fix this and it’ll be fine.

But still. This was crazy. Actually, this was scary. If the two just as kids decided to operate on themselves, and successfully at that, then what else could they do now as young adults? Donnie wasn’t just smart he was frighteningly so.

They couldn’t help themself as they looked at April with an expression that just said, “What the hell?” to which she just shrugged. Sometimes it really didn’t help that all the things they thought were crazy seemed to be the most normal thing to these people.

Slowly Y/N lifted their free hand in front of their eyes, inspecting all the little details. How the scales ran along their skin and how their fingerprints looked. Their eyes seemed to work perfectly.

“Huh.”

“You heard about the amazing feat with did as kids and all you can say is huh?” Donnie exclaimed offendedly. He clearly wanted a different reaction out of them.

Y/N looked a bit bewildered at him “I don’t know! This is a lot to take in! I’m not sure if I should be impressed or scared!”

“Impressed, of course! Also, I just want to say that Y/N’s first reaction was that they would be okay with me using my tech on them, so, please get off my shell for this.”

“Boy. They said themself that they were confused by this reaction. You won’t wriggle your way out of this one that easily.” April’s brows were pulled down low. This seemed to finally shut him up.

It was quiet for a moment.

Leo stretches his arms behind his back “How are you feeling Y/N? Still up for some easy exercises? Even after whatever this was? Do you wanna talk about this more?”

Thankful for this out of this situation that had their mind reeling once again, Y/N nodded “I’m fine and I think I just generally need some time to let this sink in before I can make heads or tails of it. Let’s continue, if that is alright.”

With this Leo looked at Splinter “Uh, how should we go about this? Go through the whole thing and like teach them how to throw a punch again?”

“Sure, that is one way. But isn’t this also prime chance to see if some of their instincts are still intact? I’m sure you can come up with something.” Splinter replied.

His son groaned “I know you wanna help me become better at like the whole leader thing by giving me more chances to prove myself and responsibilities and all but what if I hurt Y/N more?”

Splinter just turned his attention to Y/N “You’ll tell Leo if you don’t think this is a good idea or you aren’t doing well, right?”

“Of course.”

Leo ran a hand along his face “Okay, I got it. Gotta show more trust and all. I’m sorry. I’m just not too sure what we can do.”

Mikey raised his arm, jumping up and down “Oh! I’ve got an idea! How about we try one of those things where Y/N just tries to hit one of us. No fighting back just dodging, just to see how they will handle that!”

“Oh, that is a good idea, Angelo. What do you think about it?” Raph asked Y/N.

Their first reaction was that they wouldn’t even know how to attack any of them. Besides they’d frankly would feel bad about doing so. What if they actually somehow managed to hurt one of them, even if they strongly doubted it.

Their doubt must have been present on their face because Raph spoke up again in a gentler voice “How about you try hitting me. I’m big and strong. I can easily take a hit. So, you don’t need to worry about hurting me.” He laughed softly “I’m actually more worried about hurting you since I’m so spiky.”

Y/N smiled, giving him a confident nod “Alright. Let’s try this, though I really wouldn’t know how to go about this.”

Donnie cut in “That’s why we are doing this. You’ve been, or at least your body, has been in fights for years now. This is about seeing if there are any instincts ingrained in you or your muscle memory that would react.”

“And if not, we will start from the beginning. It’s chill.” Mikey added. His cheeriness really lifting a few of their worries that still plagued their mind.

After all it’s not like they will actually hit him.

Seemingly coming to a decision, the group looked towards Leo who just kept listening to his siblings. He slowly nodded “Sounds good. I’ll supervise. Just to make sure both of you don’t accidentally hurt yourself.”

Immediately Donnie, April and Mikey walked over to Splinter to sit down as well. It seemed like all of them were curious to see how this would pan out. Mikey began rocking on his legs. He always seemed to be moving in some way.

To Y/N this whole situation was unnerving at best and having an audience certainly didn’t help.

Raph walked over to other side of the mat while Leo stood to the side. He gave Y/N a reassuring nod, his smile confident “Begin when you feel ready.”

To emphasize Leo’s point, Raph smashed his fists together “Yeah! Raph is ready for ya!”

Alright this was it. Time to sink or swim apparently. All they had to do was to throw a punch. That should be easy. Just make a fist and throw it towards him. Yep. Easy. Just punch the big mutant ninja turtle.

Should they just walk over? Should they run to try to catch him off-guard? Was it even necessary?

Too many thoughts. Too many worries. They just had to do it. The more they thought about this the more they would hesitate.

Taking a deep breath in, in order to try to calm their beating heart behind their plastron, Y/N moved their fists up in front of them. Raph followed their movement, sensing that they were now ready to begin. He had a huge smile on his face. Y/N almost wanted to laugh with how excited he looked.

Just before they wanted to take their first step they remembered something they heard a while ago. When throwing a punch their thumb should be outside of their fist. Which wasn’t the case right now. They immediately fixed this issue, catching on as Leo and Raph nodded approvingly.

If the finger stayed inside their fist, they could have seriously hurt their thumb. The force would travel first through their fingers and then down to their thumb with a high chance of dislocating it. Besides if you punch with your thumb inside your fist, the positioning of the rest of your fingers is off and you will hit at a wrong angle which can hurt those fingers.

After exhaling their next breath, they pushed themself off the ground towards Raph. Using their surprising strength in their legs to run towards the big turtle. Their heart was beating nervously inside their body. They feared that somehow all of their strength would be sapped away as they got close.

Do not think. Just do.

They just threw their fist towards their opponent. Their torso moving along with the punch, as their other fist moved up closer to their own head.

Raph immediately took a step to his side but Y/N’s other fist immediately flew out to catch him while he moved away to the side.

It made contact.

It was like electricity ran through their body as they realized that their fist touched him.

Looking at it they saw Raph’s palm. He stopped their blow with his hand.

A giddy feeling bubbled up inside of them as they looked into Raph’s eyes. He had an even bigger smile on his own face. Y/N would even say he looked proud. It felt great. They felt great!

“Got you.” They couldn’t help but laugh out.

Raphael chuckled along “You sure did, Spots.”

Y/N dropped their arm again and looked over to Leo. For approval? A verdict? They didn’t know.

Leo was smiling as well “Nice one! Even if Raph was supposed to dodge!” He threw a bit of an evil eye towards his older brother.

He just waved his comment off “I know, I know. I am a physical guy though. I’m supposed to take the hits and I’m good at it.”

“Raph.” Leo only stated. It sounded like he wanted to reprimand him but there was worry etched into his voice as well.

The older brother must have caught on to it “Don’t worry. I’ve been working on it, you know that. But this is besides the point right now! Did you see Y/N? That wasn’t just any old punch! It had proper technique and all!”

“It did?” Y/N asked. Their mouth slightly open in bewilderment as they tried to think about how exactly they punched Raph.

He nodded, putting his arm around them to softly press them against his plastron. His other hand rubbing their head in an affectionate manner. Feeling like he did this mostly to tease them Y/N begun laughing, trying to push themself away from him but he was too strong.

It was only when Donnie spoke up again that Raph finally released them.

“This seems to be a good sign. Shall we try to up the ante?”

“Yes.” Leo agreed “This went way better than I anticipated. Now I’m curious how’d you do against me. But this time what if I slightly fought back.”

Uh oh.

Without much communication Raph stepped off and let Leo take his spot.

“Are you alright with that, Y/N? I promise I’ll go easy on you. This is just to see how you react. But don’t be sad if I hit you. I am the best of the family, after all.”

Y/N raised on of their brows, though they were glad to see his cocky self again rather than the worrywart. His comment also elicited a few remarks from the rest of his family. Mostly to exclaim that they were the best, of course, but Leo didn’t seem to pay much attention to them.

The blue banded turtle moved his hands up in front of his face “Vamos! I’ll buy your next pizza if you either hit me three times or dodge all of my blows.”

They wished they were more confident in their abilities because pizza sounded really good right about now. They only had some candy before, and they weren’t exactly sure how long it had been when they had Mikey’s soup.

Leo was way too fast at their side of the mat once they tentatively raised their own fists. He threw out a simple jab at their torso without any hesitation. With a surprised squawk Y/N twisted around, barely avoiding his hand.

“Good one!” Splinter complimented.

Not even getting a proper chance to realize what they just did, Leo’s hand already flew back towards them. This time Y/N ducked down and extended their right fist in hopes of connecting with his chest. But he copied their move and twisted away as well.

“Close one!” he taunted.

Seeing Leo just dodge so effortlessly they had to wonder if Raph let them hit him on purpose. Then again, he did admit he would probably rather block then jump away but still. It seemed way too easy in hindsight.

Y/N jumped to the side, once again trying to hit the taller turtle but he moved his hand from below along their wrist. Diverting their attack towards the air.

“I thought you’d go easy on me!” They exclaimed, suddenly feeling way out of depth.

He snorted “I am!”

“Eh, he is showing off a little bit.” April seemingly corrected that statement.

Another jab, another punch. More twists, jumps and frantic ducking. Y/N barely got a moment to breath. Just evading. It felt like all their brainpower was just being used on trying to be aware enough to anticipate his next move so they wouldn’t be hit.

Until Y/N suddenly stepped off the mat and unceremoniously fell to the ground with an “oof”.

“I’m impressed!”

Y/N couldn’t help but scowl at Leo. They wanted to say this was unfair but frankly they had no idea what would have been appropriate since apparently their body did know more than their own mind.

“That was a lot.” They huffed, grabbing onto Leo’s hand to pull themself back up.

He eyed them for a second “Not really but at least I understand now more about how you react. You definitely have some instinctual stuff going on but it’s obvious that something is missing. It’s probably the experience since you don’t remember fighting and all. So really, you are doing way better than a normal person would.”

Splinter was suddenly standing next to the two. Y/N jumped for a second, they didn’t even notice him walking over at all.

He thoughtfully stroked his chin “Yes. Blue is correct. Ever the perceptive one. Both of you did well.”

They did catch Mikey bouncing over though since he cheered loudly “That’s kinda cool, right? That means we have an easier time to get them back up to speed, right? That means we can soon take them outside!”

Raph caught Mikey by his shell, holding him up like a sack of flour “Calm down! One step at a time! But it sounds about right.”

“Hah! I knew you still got it.” April yelled out, throwing her arm around Y/N’s shoulder. Giving them a comforting squeeze.

It was a bit weird to get complimented so much when it felt like they were just barely holding on during the little match against Leo. That didn’t even seem right. This was mostly just Leo against Y/N. They were too busy twisting and shrieking, trying to evade him as best as they could.

Then again, they did manage to hold on far longer than they would have anticipated. So maybe they were allowed to feel a bit proud at their achievement.

“Now that we know how they are doing when it comes to straight martial combat.” Splinter begun, addressing everyone in the room “There are still two different things we need to test before we can even think about setting up proper training for them.”

“Oh yeah!” Raph yelled out happily.

April let go off Y/N to throw her hands into the air “It’s weapon training time!”

#rottmnt x reader #tmnt x reader #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles reader insert #reader insert #rottmnt #rottmnt leo x reader #rottmnt raph x reader #rottmnt mikey x reader #rottmnt donnie x reader #rottmnt april x reader #ramza writes #raphael #michelangelo #donatello #Leonardo #april oneil

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mountswhore · 2 years

Note

Could you please do something where Y/n is in LM and mason gets invited to go to a concert because he’s friends with Alex so he brings him along and he watches how y/n interacts with the girls and the crown and then they meet up after the concert is over and asked to go on a date

Could you do something where mason takes summer and his family to one of your concerts and you a mason have been friends for a while and summer is a big fan of y/n and the girls so when the concert is over they go backstage and summer meets y/n and always want to be with y/n never letting her doing something alone so she stays with y/n for a bit until they need to go home and she gets upset that she’s leaving y/n

𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐚'𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐲 — mason mount

summary: perrie and alex devise a plan to get you and mason together.

notes: requests are OPEN + i had no idea how to link alex and mason together apart from england nt <3

"It should work, she fancies the pants off of him," Perrie spoke quietly into her phone, side-eying you from the corner of the hall. The four of you were rehearsing for your upcoming promotional tour, and you were recapping one last time before your first show this weekend.

You gave Perrie a weird look, before talking with the choreographer once more. And moments later, Perrie was back at your side, about to join in as Confetti started playing.

"What should work, Pez?" You asked, an eyebrow raised as you looked at your very suspicious bandmate and friend. But Perrie just smiled sweetly at you, innocently batting her eyelashes.

"Nothing!"

Perrie and her sickly sweet boyfriend, Alex, had made a plan. After months of hearing you gush over Mason Mount, Perrie had contacted her boyfriend about it. And as he, too, is a footballer, he'd quickly gotten talking to his old England teammate.

"What music do you like, Mase?" Alex started a general conversation with Mason over warmups, and Mason kicked the ball back to him. Hopefully he didn't think it was too suspicious to be asking him this.

"If I don't say Little Mix, you and Perrie will crucify me," Mason joked, "so I'll say Little Mix."

The boys laughed, and Alex gave him an amused look. "Is that the only reason?"

Mason had reddened, and tried to avoid his teammates gaze but failed miserably. "What other reason could there be?"

"Hm, I've seen you comment on a few of her pictures," Alex goaded, "any ideas who I'm on about?"

"Okay, fine. Y/N is fit, I'll admit it. Happy?"

"Very. I have a plus one to their first London show in a few weeks, how does that sound?" Alex asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I'm in."

The two of you had followed each other within weeks of that conversation, and didn't dare to talk. The two of you were too nervous to even tap the inbox button. And it just wasn't enough, Perrie wanted her sweet Y/N to be in love, and not just because of your songwriting abilities when you were in a relationship. All of the girls wanted to see you happy after your horrid breakup last year.

But now, with the tour coming up, and only the other three knowing about your special guest, you were excited. You loved tour, you loved seeing and singing with fans, you loved visiting the different parts of the world, no matter how intense your job could get.

It was the night of the first show in London. You were backstage, your hair being hairsprayed as you and the girls warmed up. You were feeling the pre-show nerves, hands shaking as you reapplied your gloss. And you could hear the crowd, even behind the closed door.

Perrie was glued to her phone again, like she'd been all day. Every time you'd asked who she was texting, she would say 'Alex' but never what it was about. Of course, you never asked, as you didn't want to know. To calm your nerves, you posted a picture you took earlier of the empty stage during sound check. And within seconds, Mason had liked it.

You'd been admiring from afar, sometimes liking his photos and voting on his story polls. He was so hot, anyone on Earth could admit it, but you didn't have the guts to say anything. Especially not since your breakup, you felt like relationships weren't meant for you.

You'd gone from a nervous mess, to being on top of the world on stage. You were dancing with your bandmates, singing to your fans, and enjoying the atmosphere of the O2. Between Break Up Song and Sweet Melody, Perrie had given you a glance, gesturing down to the very front row. And upon looking, you saw Alex beside none other than Mason Mount. You had lost your breath, turning around to compose yourself, before the song started playing again. And you felt yourself performing differently, you felt more confident, you knew Mason was watching you.

After the show, the boys had come backstage, sitting in the dressing room and talking to you all. You had felt nervous in the presence of Mason, and the feeling was mutual. The girls and Alex had eventually disappeared to the catering room, as you were often the last to finish getting unready.

"You're a great performer," Mason complimented you, and you were blushing as you tied your hair up.

"Thank you," you replied, "my dad's a big fan of Chelsea, so I guess I could say the same about you. He's always saying you're Chelsea's starboy." The two of you laughed, and you felt yourself becoming a lot more comfortable in his presence.

You'd been ready to leave for almost half an hour, but you and Mason were lost in conversation, talking on your way to the taxi. But you didn't want it to end, ever. You wanted to keep talking to Mason.

"You have my number now, so text me when you want. Maybe we can talk over lunch when you're free?" Mason suggested, and you tried everything to keep calm, and just smiled at him.

"Sounds great."

#mason mount one shot #mason mount fanfic #mason mount imagine #mason mount #money mase #mase #mason mount blurb #mason mount smut #mason mount x reader #mason mount request #mm19

210 notes · View notes

twdmusicboxmystery · 3 years

Text

When a Grady Actor Confirmed TD and Other Reasons the Spoilers Don’t Spoil TD

Okay Everyone, I’m gonna cover a few of things today that I hope will help everyone to continue feeling at least somewhat better about the spoilers.

***More spoilers below (same ones as yesterday, actually) but don’t read if you don’t want to know. You’ve been warned.***

1) Could the spoilers be fake?

I got plenty of messages and comments yesterday, too. Some of them claiming these spoilers aren’t even true and the person who spoiled them is a troll and unreliable.

Now, before everyone starts messaging me and commenting about how you “know” these are true and the screeners are out, please note that I’m not making a claim either way. The account that spoiled this isn’t one who normally gets and reviews screeners, which means they could be false. That doesn’t mean that account didn’t get these from a reputable source, which means they could be true.

As I said yesterday, overall, I think they’re probably true. I think they were probably intentionally leaked to hype up the fandom and gauge our reactions. And I would rather you all make your peace with them being real rather than holding out hope that they’re totally false. But I think it’s worth reiterating that they haven’t been 100% confirmed, yet.

2) There’s a whole other person involved in this Leah arc that we don’t know about yet.

You know how yesterday I went on and on about how we don’t have anything near all the details of this arc? Well, someone pointed this out to me. Don’t feel bad if you totally missed it, because I did, too, and I haven’t seen anyone talking about it.

Look at the picture of Leah below carefully. Look at what’s behind her. If you look closely, there’s someone kneeling on the ground. They’ve got one knee resting on the floor, and the other one pointed toward the ceiling with their foot flat. You can see one shoulder to the left of Leah’s hip.

Spoilers make no mention of this person. We have no idea who they are or how they fit into the story.

This looks to me like it’s when she and Daryl first meet (hence, she doesn’t trust him and is holding him at gunpoint) and she seems to be protecting this person from him. Whoever it is, it probably has to do with why she’s out there to begin with, and will probably factor in how/why she disappears.

And I have no doubt that this shot is purposeful, guys. If they wanted us to know about this person directly, they would have given us a more obvious shot of them. And yet, they have put hints of the person in the shots they DID release. Isn’t that just like them?

But my point is, this is proof that there is a lot about this episode the spoilers are leaving out. So please keep that in mind.

3) When a Grady actor directly addressed TD.

So, for the past few days, as you can imagine I’ve been talking with and consoling people about these spoilers. I just keep going back to the stuff we KNOW. Like that there are missing scenes Emily was in from S5. Those have nothing to do with Leah and suggest Beth’s return. And if she’s returning, I promise you, Bethyl will be a thing.

The other thing I mentioned to people is when Jarod Thompson (guy that played one of the Grady cops) addressed TD directly.

I quickly realized I needed to repost this because no one seemed to have any idea what I was talking about. Then it took me an hour to find it because I didn’t give it its own post when I first posted it. It was buried at the bottom of this Rick’s Fate post from S9 and not properly indexed. But I did finally locate it.

So, here’s the rundown. Right after the episode where Jadis took Rick away in the helicopter, Jarod Thompson tweeted this:

I’m pretty sure you can’t find this tweet anymore. It was taken down. But let me make a couple of points here.

First, the obvious. TD has nothing to do with Leah. She wasn’t even on anyone’s radar back then. So what he’s telling us here has nothing to do with Leah. He’s basically telling us that Beth will return.

Translation: Leah doesn’t matter. Beth is coming back.

This is just one (of many) things that keeps me strong in TD. Because the actor actually confirmed this for us. And then it was quickly taken down, which is always suspicious to me. Why? Well, I’m sure some people will be quick to counter with the argument that maybe he was just trolling or making fun of us. But I don’t see that as a terribly logical argument.

He’s never done it before or since.

We have other evidence (HERE) of him working with Emily post-season 5, and possibly in the hospital setting.

The timing is suspicious. This happened after Rick left. And I personally think that what he referred to here was the CRM. 9x05 was the first time they really came front and center, an active part of the story. So I think he was hinting that Beth is inside that organization as well and that now that the audience knows who they are, the stage is set and things are in motion for her return.

For the record, it was not long after this that we started getting the massing amount of Beth/Emily promotion on social media.

Most importantly, his tweet was removed, probably by him at someone else’s request. Think about this really logically, guys. They don’t remove tweets about Caryl happening. They don’t remove teases about Daryl and Connie. They only remove suspicious posts that might tell us something about Beth’s return. There’s a reason for that.

Furthermore, consider this. He’s kind of a small-time actor on the show. Of course I don’t mean that in a negative way. He’s fabulous. But I mean he’s not a main character on the show like Andy or Norman or Lauren. And HE knows all about TD, what we want, obviously what is going to happen, and which events in the show constitute room for us “to breathe.”

So what does that tell you about other actors on the show, the writers, and any higher-ups connected to the show?

Yeah. Exactly.

Which leads me to my next order of business:

4) Kirkman’s Post/Poll

I think most people saw this last night, but if you didn’t , here it is.

You can still vote HERE. I took the screenshot last night. I just checked again and the percentage has gone down a couple of points (still at 47%) with more than 9500 votes at this time. So the ‘bring Beth back’ option is still the runaway winner.

Here’s the thing. The timing on this is super-suspicious to me. When was the last time Kirkman tweeted something about Beth? I have no idea, and don’t care to go digging through his Twitter account to find out, but I promise you he hasn’t done it in a long time. He’s said things about her and Bethyl during interviews and such, of course, but he doesn’t just randomly tweet about her. Like...ever.

So you’re telling me that on day 2 after these spoilers leak, when the fandoms are loosing their collective minds, Kirkman just so happens to post this? No way. I don’t buy it.

Look, I know most of us don’t like Kirkman. And I’m not defending him. I don’t like him either. But after watching his interaction with tptb all these years, I have come to believe that they do use him.

Gimple (and now Kang, I’m sure) are very careful about what they say. Guys, I’ve watched and analyzed this VERY closely over the years, which is why I always say that they never directly lie to us. Misdirection? Yes. Hyperbole? Of course. But they never look into the camera and tell us something blatantly untrue.

I believe that’s because they don’t want the fans to be able to point at anything they say and accuse them of falsehood. That’s why they can’t ever say much, because it’s either give spoilers (which they won’t) or lie (which they also won’t). That’s why their answers are always so vague and general and very, very irritating.

But Kirkman isn’t one of the showrunners. He’s connected to it, of course, and I think he knows a lot about what’s coming down the pipeline, but if he says something that’s untrue, tptb can simply shrug and say, “he’ doesn’t make executive story decisions.” Because of that, I believe they use him to sew discord and misdirection.

And again, I’m not saying this isn’t troll-ish. I’m not saying I like this tactic or that it’s a good thing. I’m simply saying this is what they do.

So when Kirkman says anything TD-related, I pay attention. Not because I think we should take it at face value, but because the timing, context, how he frames it, and what’s going on in the fandom at the time can tell us a lot about it and give us some clues.

So, in this case, I think tptb are watching the fandom’s reactions to the spoilers and trying to do a little damage control. But here’s what really gets me: he only mentioned Beth, and specifically in the context of bringing her back. I mean, ALL the shipping fandoms are freaking out right now. All of them are hating these spoilers and losing their shit right now. But he ONLY mentions Beth.

I truly believe that this is tptb, through Kirkman, addressing TD specifically, and just kind of throwing us a bone. They’re not addressing the others because there isn’t any hope for those other ships.

I know there will be people who disagree with him and think he’s just making fun of us. I understand why people think that. But guys, if that were the case, we’d see at least SOME comments about other characters or ships. There aren’t any. And hey, look through the comments on his tweet. There’s a ton of Beth support (which is why she won the poll) and a few haters, but there are also lots of people who are kind of mystified, saying things like, “How about bring back Glenn? Or Rick? Or Carl?”

See what I mean?

5) The time Gimple Confirmed Something that was NOT Going to Happen on the Show

Okay, gonna end by reminding you of just one more thing. Just a couple of months ago, before the finale of The World Beyond, S1, one of the actors teased on TTD that we might see Rick in the finale.

Now, that was totally false. The finale came and went with no Rick (obviously). The actor was just trolling and trying to get people riled up, which he succeeded at. A few days later, Gimple was giving an interview to a clickbait site and they asked him about it. Gimple started to give his run-of-the-mill, vague answer but stopped mid-sentence and said this:

ComicBook.com asked Gimple if World Beyond was working up to a Rick Grimes reveal.

“You know what? I’m very happy to say… I’m not happy to say the answer,” he said, clearly aware he was about to disappoint people. “I’m happy to be definitive with people. It is not.”

That’s one, I don’t know if people are being cagey about that. But I feel that one’s important not to be cagey about…I think people could watch this show and learn a lot about the mythology that Rick Grimes is caught up in. And they might even see places where Rick Grimes has been. But yeah, he’s not swinging around the corner. And I don’t even know if I’m making people upset saying that, but I just don’t like people watching it, sort of expecting Rick.”

Full article HERE.

Guys, they’ve never done that with Beth and TD. EVER!!!

I’m just saying.

And I can already hear counter arguments about how they’ve never shut down other ships like C@ryl or Donnie either. You’re right, but those characters are still front and center on the show. If Beth is dead and not coming back, why wouldn’t they put her to rest for us the way he did with this Rick rumor? (And I’m also going to argue that they’ve given us very clear indications in the show about a few of these ships, and the shippers just don’t want to accept them. But that’s not entirely relevant here.)

Thoughts?

#beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is alive #beth is coming #td theory #td theories #team delusional #team defiance #beth is almost here #bethyl

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loveau · 4 years

Text

enemies-to-lovers!hendery

request: Could I request an angsty enemies to lovers AU with Hendery or Ten? Thank you so much for posting your writing

others: lucas | yuta | renjun | jisung

it all started probably at some university party where a mutual friend or a friend of a friend introduced everyone in a group

since there were so many people, there wasn’t a lot of interaction to go on

but what you did know was that the dude named hendery???

yeah the most obnoxious person you’d ever met

and he thought you were the most judgmental person he’d ever met

to be fair his rowdiness comes with the friends he has nearby you’re bound to be the same way with yours

but it just seemed like he was so over the top and loud and it was annoying how you couldn’t have a conversation with your friends when he was literally screaming across the room

at the same time, however, hendery isn’t appreciative of your dramatic groans and eye rolls whenever he does anything and he feels so restricted from basically getting to have fun

and putting the both of the together in the same room is a chemical reaction that leads to an explosion

it basically started at that party and y’all were having fun and the mingling of groups was happening where everyone was getting to know each other

y’all didn’t really interact during the party besides hanging around the general area

but that didn’t stop you from giving each other the slight stink eye, which may have started on your part when he accidentally spilled some drink on your friend’s pants

and he thought nothing of it so he assumed you were just a stick in the mud and thought it was dumb you were there to cramp on his fun

obviously you hadn’t added each other on social media, so when hendery was doing something especially dumb you smirked and had been recording it

in all fairness it had started with you recording one of your friend’s rants about how nobody treats them right and how they deserve the perfect lover but there’s just trash people and their trash lists of who’s the best kisser or whatever

but all of a sudden your camera had switched to hendery’s group of friends where he was standing on top of a table and slipped off due to all of the snacks and drinks spilled on it

he ended up getting caught by his friends before he got hurt, but he clonked heads with one of them and was wincing while the others laughed or were more focused on whether or not he was okay

you were chuckling to yourself and captioned it ‘bet he doesn’t have any braincells if this is what keeps happening... makes sense alrdy tho 💀💀’

and you thought nothing of it until the next morning you’d woken up to a couple of messages and whatnot

you’d been debating whether or not you wanted to go to the bathroom and check later on during lunch after you spent some time to yourself but you chose to continue laying in bed and read through everything

a couple of the typical ‘what was the homework’, ‘lunch?’, and ‘did you know that this happened...’ type of things

but what caught your eye was the ‘hey, did you know that you have a bounty on your head rn?’

you were so confused because you had no clue what that was supposed to mean and typed back a simple ???

and one of your friends ten responded back pretty quickly and he was just like yeah, hendery apparently hates your guts rn so i suggest don’t run into him

you’re just like????? hUH????? who?????

he sends you a picture of himself and a whole group of others and he’s just like furthest dude on the left

you squint at your phone because wow ten you could have chosen a better picture or maybe screenshotted something huh

however once you recognize him, you’re like UH???? KnUcKLeheAD?

ten’s just like yeahh, apparently he found out about your story and has been asking everyone who you are

someone must have told him because ten sent you a screenshot of the story hendery posted that captioned your story with smth like

‘this person rlly don’t have anything better to do besides play therapist for their friends at a p a r t y :///’

you’re gaping at the message and it’s so bad you sit up from bed so fast with your phone in the tightest grip

like what??? and followed by that there’s another screenshot of another story that basically was some poll or something about whether or not you were fun or some lame-o

you were fuming at that and saw the username in the stories ten sent you and basically looked him up and found out who hendery was

your phone was practically thrown to the other side of the bed as you got ready for the day

part of you was so confused as to who sent him the story but you were also really confused as to why he’d just project you onto his as if you’d see it (which you did soooo)

and you found yourself complaining to your friends about it like who would do that??? it was a joke anyways and plus why does he care when you barely know each other???

they’re all on your side of it too since most of them had met hendery that same night or only knew a couple of the other guys and him by extension

your food was feeling your wrath as you chewed on it and your friends tried to find a different subject to talk about

“hey, did you transfer classes like you wanted?

you finally smile at that and give a satisfied hum to them

“yep, i finally got out of that blasted quantum mechanics class or whatever”

“why were you in that anyways?????”

you shrug and it’s just confusing to you because you were trying to get an elective course in but they decided to put you in a big science class where people with big brains and bigger egos liked to flex their knowledge and lord it over you when you didn’t understand

“doesn’t matter!! i’m in advanced hip hop dancing now! no more 8am lectures about one dimensional applications anymore”

“but you still have to wake up at 8am to walk across campus to the theatre rooms?”

“it doesn’t matter if you like what you do”

which was the best part since you took hip hop last semester and had some background in dancing before, so the instructor suggest you move to intermediate

but the worst part was the voice you heard behind you

“oh no way in-”

you whipped around and saw the shocked and irritated look on the one and only hendery

“you!” you pointed your fork accusingly at him and he has the audacity to look offended and point both hands at himself

“me???”

“yeah you! who are you to put me on blast to social media even though i’m a total stranger to you?”

“exCUSE ME?????!! the same goes to YOU!”

“tHE sAmE GoES tO YOu. it was a joke, especially by someone you barely know!!!! i didn’t want to have to see your face first thing in the morning to find out you got butthurt because you bonked your head as a kid and wanted to reenact that??”

hendery almost revolts backwards and holds a finger up

“first of all? do you think i’m happy about getting to see you first thing in the morning either??? and do you think i’d be happy seeing you at 8am every other day?”

you quickly put two and two together and you’re clenching your teeth

“you don’t mean-”

“yeah, see you in advanced hip hop, lame-o”

you (and practically the entire lunch room alkfnskfn) are left in shock as hendery takes his leave without even ordering food

you sit there in shock and think all of a sudden you might not like hip hop anymore

and you’re complaining about it to ten as he sits across from you at dinner, a couple hours after your lunch and having enough time to sit on it

“i should have taken modern dancing with you........ or maybe even ballet 3 with sicheng?”

ten only laughs and you scowl as he attempts to keep his snickers quiet

“you wouldn’t have lasted more than two days. you’d be itching to get your feet moving faster than they can get their toes pointed”

you roll your eyes because he’s right. one of the best parts of dancing hip hop was that you felt you could lose control of yourself in a more reckless way than the other styles of dancing could

“i hate it when you’re right?”

ten smiles at you and pats your shoulder from across the table

you’re just internally screaming that you have to wake up at 8am to see hendery’s dumb face again

“why is it because i’m right so often?”

“no, because i tend to owe you money because i lost the bet”

he snickers and then offers his student id to you

you take it questioningly and he pats the hand that has the id in it

“take it out at the dance studio. they’ve closed it from regular students after 9 since someone decided it’d be funny to steal one of the mirrors”

you roll your eyes but smile gratefully at him

“gotta love TAs with their magical access for ‘tutoring hours’”

“hey they’re actually convenient for when it doesn’t fit someone’s schedule!”

you’re already walking towards the door by the time he says that and you look back cheekily

“tell me that again when you haven’t used it for a private picnic date with someone you met on tinder!”

by the time you reach the dance studio you’re absolutely giddy and so glad you wore comfortable clothing to dinner so you didn’t have to go back to change

your giddiness changed when you already saw somebody in the studio

and as fate would have it, of course hendery had to be there, jamming out to some 80s hip hop song

before you could turn around and leave, he spun around during once of the dances and opened his mouth in shock

“there is no way-”

“save it! i’m just as shocked as you are”

he huffs and turns off the music and stands with his arms folded

“well?”

“well what?”

he makes a face and over exaggerates your irritated one with a “wELl WhAt?!?!??!!!?!?”

you set your jaw and mimic his stance but the awaiting look in his eyes told you everything

“i’m not here to apologize if that’s what you’re thinking” you put a hand and put your other on your hip before he could say anything

at least he had enough respect to listen to your cue even though he exasperatedly threw his hands in the air and huffed loudly

“and even if i wanted to, i wasn’t so immature to go around asking everyone about who made me cry because they laughed when i decided to climb a table and almost fall because it was slippery”

“i didn’t cry” he’s got this childish tone to his voice and you know better than to instigate but the fiery look in his eyes only lights up one of your own

“i can give you a reason”

you don’t even realize you’ve stepped in the middle of the dance floor until he huffs out a laugh and meets you in the middle where you have your hands on your hips defiantly and a cocky smirk on your face

he hates it and you feel so powerful seeing him seethe

it only adds to your satisfaction that he ends the stare down by walking away rigidly

however it quickly melds into confusion when he turns the music on again, this time to a more recent song on the radio and one of the songs you were thinking of dancing to actually

he starts walking again, but in circles around you

he adds a spin here and there and a little kick of the leg

“what are you, constipated?”

he takes your comment in stride and backs away again to give you the floor

“you obviously came here to dance, and if you’re all talk about it then why don’t you up me one?”

“gladly”

there’s a bite in your tone but there’s even more snap in your hips

you don’t miss the way hendery’s eyes trail up and down as you flow into another move

you smirk once he trails back up to your eyes and instead of looking caught he only smirks right back

it peeves you a little how confident he looked now and he slowly clapped once you finished up another spin

“not bad for a freestyle”

you hate how much his ego has been stoked and you hate how you absolutely know how much he absolutely seemed to live for your annoyance with him

you two circled each other for a while, none of you really knowing who started moving first and why you both continued

but it was you who stepped forward first, and he responded in kind and it would have been so off putting that you both were so close

when he chuckled at your determined gaze you could practically feel his breath against your face

you felt the anger bubbling in your core once the warmth hit your cheeks

but a closer look at his eyes showed you that he was definitely affected by your snappiness with him and the irritation was practically pooling in his irises

“you know, for someone who’s in advanced hip hop you sure don’t seem good at motor functions. you could barely stand at that party”

“you know, having fun tends to have that effect. but you wouldn’t know. nobody does anything with you besides stand against a wall and try to talk over the music. there’s a reason why the lyrics are the only words you’re supposed to be hearing”

normally you’d bite your tongue and walk away or tell him he’s being the immature one once again, but those words were dumb and it mad you livid

“funny, for someone who claims to move so well yet you haven’t really shown me anything”

in a flurry of motion, hendery has grabbed your arm and spun you around so that you fall hard into his chest

you can hear a huff of effort from him as he twirls you out again and then back into him but with his hand at your waist

his cocky grin makes you almost growl at him, but you were too shocked to say anything

“cat got your tongue?”

he releases you and then dusts himself off

“you know when you want to act up.......”

he gets in your face and the cockiness as dissolved into the pure annoyance that you are already familiar with from feeling it yourself

“make sure you’re not just all talk.” he turns and grabs all his stuff, but he waves over his shoulder before he leaves “see you in class”

and oooooOOOOOH do you see him in class the next morning

the instructor has greeted you since you transferred in the class two weeks in

they were glad you decided to come in even though the class was already working on some dances and it would take a couple classes to see where you were at since it’d been a while and also with a different instructor

so..................

“hi, i’m hendery. i’m the student instructor/TA, i’ll bring you up to speed”

and GOSH did you feel so angry for waking up at 6am to have breakfast and having to walk across campus in the cold morning air just to figure out you’d have to work 1:1 with hendery for a couple of classes

and he wasn’t too happy about it either

mainly because he had some of your friends on his tail for blasting you on social media and all of a sudden it was talk of the two friend groups and even in some other circles

but while he was getting told off for being immature about it and even about being teased about his clumsiness and somewhat recklessness (which got old real fast)

you were also getting constantly teased by your “boringness” but also some people had the audacity to actually stop inviting you to some things because they thought so

little did you know hendery was sort of in the same boat because they were afraid he’d break something and when he heard that boy did he really want to

and both of your indirect interactions with each other in that method only fueled the spite you had with the direct contact with each other

the next couple of classes you purposely would hit him with an arm when you had it swung out or maybe accidentally stepping on his toes

but he was also quick to make sure to “accidentally” not teach you the full dance to a song or even give you the entirely wrong song to dance to

but the instructor assumed that it was because you were logged from all the physics shenanigans so they wanted hendery to run it through with you during class

you were practically seething over a lunch with your friends about all of this and they gave you tired glances

ten was the only one who seemed unfazed, as he was the only one in the two circles with direct connections to both of you

“i just don’t understand why this keeps happening. if he just wasn’t so immature and keeps insulting me about my way of spending time with friends then i’d stop fighting back”

“but you started it”

“we didn’t know each other, ten! it was just some light jabbing” you scoff at that because it was just so annoying at this point “besides, he was so obnoxious in the first place”

ten gives you an encouraging pat on the back

you groan and say you haven’t been able to spend a good weekend of fun in a couple of weeks thanks to wary eyes or not knowing where the parties are

“didn’t know you could have fun~”

you also smack ten but his cheeky grin lets him get away with it, like it does every time

but he soon makes up for it by giving you the location and time of another party by a friend of his and that he’d be there to hang with you

by the time you got there he was already tearing it up on the dance floor after taking one too many

he was all the more excited to see you though and had jumped into your arms happily and was laughing the whole time

“hey, you made it! you won’t believe who-”

but he was whisked away before you knew it

so you left to get something to drink on your own

somebody you vaguely knew recognized you and started chatting with you on the way

“hey, haven’t i seen you around before?”

“yeah..... i think we took physics together?”

“oh right!!!! i remember, you transferred out right?”

you knew where this was going since they obviously wanted to sound smarter in this situation

they had been your lab partner and it totally sucked to hear them complain about having someone ‘not competent enough to do anything’ as a partner

you only nod and listen to them ramble a little more, looking for someone familiar to latch onto so you could leave this conversation

until you heard

“i didn’t know you went to parties”

“uhhhh....... what made you think that?”

they shrug and they look amused to keep making jabs at you

“well, i heard you were kind of a stick in the mud. not to mention you don’t really do much at parties, so i figured it wasn’t your scene”

“what? excuse me??”

“oh. well i thought since you were a little slow in class then you wouldn’t be doing anything besides standing around. the dorm’s more your place, yeah?”

before you can go off on the dude, the person’s shoved against the wall and they’re not going anywhere

especially when hendery’s face is in theirs

“that’s enough, buddy. you’re a little harsh, no?”

they give out a nervous laugh and look around to see if anybody is going to come to their aid, but the others have decided to keep moving and ignore what’s going on

you on the other hand are shocked to find that hendery’s here, much more that he’s defending you in a sense

“whatT? didn’t you...... you know, start all of this?”

hendery rolls his eyes but shoves a little harder

you hate to say it, but you were feeling pretty proud of this

“first of all, they did”

“hey!”

“but second of all, you’ve been skating on thin ice ever since you thought it’d be funny to start insulting someone as your first interaction”

“that’s RICH coming from you” and the person’s right, but they’re also toeing the line reeeeeal far with agitating hendery

“oh yeah? i didn’t realize how much of a stuck up twerp i sounded like before i heard those words coming out of your mouth”

you merely watch on and hendery takes a glance out of the corner of his eye to look at you

there’s a hard glare in his eyes but they soften a bit once you come into sight

you’re................... confused????

but you also recognize the anger in his eyes since the person also began jabbing at hendery, so you were prepared for his next line

“by the way... you hungry?”

“huh?”

and hendery had raised his fist up and the person recoiled hard

but it never made contact.....

they timidly looked up to see the fist

he scoffed and straighted out his clothes as he backed away

“yeah, don’t act though if it’s just that. an act”

he walks away from the person and heads for you

“come on, let’s get you a drink”

you just stand there as he searches around for an empty cup and fills it with water quickly before walking you outside

you didn’t need to be pulled along to follow with him

you wanted answers

by the time you’re outside you just give him an expecting look with your eyebrows raised and he seems almost frustrated to admit his thoughts

“what, cat got your tongue this time?”

he chuckles as he remembers that one instance in the dance studio together but he hums, thinking of his next words

“i mean, i’m not sure how else to phrase it”

“i can wait. i don’t do much besides not have fun anyways”

at this he hangs his head

“okay, well i do feel bad about that. i didn’t realize how harsh those words all sounded until it was being played back to me”

“it took this long to figure out why i was upset by it and not just me being a ‘stick in the mud’?“

he nods and you can see instead of irritation.... there’s sincerity in his eyes now

a.......... sudden, but also welcome change

“yeah... well! no, not really.......... i kind of thought it was childish to keep this whole fighting thing going on, so......”

“why keep it on then?”

he shrugs and looks away, almost like he was embarrassed

“i......... really, really............. really liked the fiery look in your eyes whenever we’d bicker”

you laugh at that this time

“you thought it was hot?”

he almost whines out a “kinda!” but then groans and mumbles

your mischievous look makes him throw his hands up and he’s frustrated again but this time there’s a civil air between you two.... almost...... flirtatious

“yes! i thought it was attractive most of the way through... but even when you’re not mad..... you’re still pretty cute”

you find yourself blushing even though you’re practically glowing in amusement, but then you find yourself turning practically red when he defends himself with an almost equally red face

“and don’t lie!! i know you think i’m attractive too. i saw the way you were eyeing me when i was telling that person off. i was all macho man and you were swooning!”

“i was not!”

“i literally said don’t lie, didn’t i!”

and you keep throwing bickering comments back and forth, but it’s amusing and you both...... like it

after a while there’s a silence in between you before you make a light jab at hendery.... only this time it’s in a soft teasing kind of way

one that the both of you can stand and put smiles on your faces instead

“so you weren’t too chicken to actually land the hit?”

“shut up, i’ll fight if i have to”

“aww, even for me?”

and he’s silent at that but there’s a slight tint of pink you can make out from the lights outside

he purses his lips and decides now is the time to make the move to patch things between you two

“i still think there’s apologies left to be said”

“from both of us?”

“..... yeah”

and you hate to admit that you’ve also been super immature about it, but you’re pretty glad that it’s getting moved past now

but it was so awkward to just do this so suddenly

he notices the tension in between you and decides to make the first move

“okay........ let’s just start over..... hi, i’m hendery. i’ve seen you before. i’m the TA of your advanced hip hop class, right?”

“right! i think i can recall you staring at my butt a couple of times”

“shut up!!” he pushes you slightly but his grin tells you he’s not that shy to admit it and he’s goofing around now “besides...... can’t lie you’re kinda cute though”

and suddenly there’s a crash behind the two of you and you see ten bounding his way for you

“i cannOT believe it, wow! the two of you together and not ripping each other apart. BUT I knEW this would happen”

and you just look at each other like ?????????? huh?????

“that you would look so cUtE together!!!!! everything turned out juuuust right, like i thought it would since the beginning”

and all of a sudden you both made ten explain everything to the both of you

because ten had shared the initial stories to the other person, not thinking it’d go down like this

but most of it was forgiven since you were more distracted by hendery leaning against the railing and having that as an excuse to wrap his arm around you

and you were practically leaning into his side since it was ‘too cold outside’ while you were listening to ten ramble on and on about how his plan ended up being messy but he was living for it

while the both of you gave him an earful about how setting the two of you up could have been done where you didn’t hurt each other’s feelings for so long, he shut you up quickly with a

“oh please, you two bickered like an old married couple. with the way you guys act just get married already! some of those sparks weren’t just angry, there was some love in there too!”

“ten!”

“and do NOT get me started on the sexual tension-”

“TEN!”

#elli writes #nct #wayv #hendery #nct imagines #nct scenarios #wayv imagines #wayv scenarios #hendery imagines #hendery scenarios #nct angst #wayv angst #hendery angst #angst #neutral pronouns #enemies to lovers au

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gordonwilliamsweb · 3 years

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Little-Known Illnesses Turning Up in Covid Long-Haulers

The day Dr. Elizabeth Dawson was diagnosed with covid-19 in October, she awoke feeling as if she had a bad hangover. Four months later she tested negative for the virus, but her symptoms have only worsened.

This story also ran on Time. It can be republished for free.

Dawson is among what one doctor called “waves and waves” of “long-haul” covid patients who remain sick long after retesting negative for the virus. A significant percentage are suffering from syndromes that few doctors understand or treat. In fact, a yearlong wait to see a specialist for these syndromes was common even before the ranks of patients were swelled by post-covid newcomers. For some, the consequences are life altering.

Before fall, Dawson, 44, a dermatologist from Portland, Oregon, routinely saw 25 to 30 patients a day, cared for her 3-year-old daughter and ran long distances.

Today, her heart races when she tries to stand. She has severe headaches, constant nausea and brain fog so extreme that, she said, it “feels like I have dementia.” Her fatigue is severe: “It’s as if all the energy has been sucked from my soul and my bones.” She can’t stand for more than 10 minutes without feeling dizzy.

Through her own research, Dawson recognized she had typical symptoms of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS. It is a disorder of the autonomic nervous system, which controls involuntary functions such as heart rate, blood pressure and vein contractions that assist blood flow. It is a serious condition — not merely feeling lightheaded on rising suddenly, which affects many patients who have been confined to bed a long time with illnesses like covid as their nervous system readjusts to greater activity. POTS sometimes overlaps with autoimmune problems, which involve the immune system attacking healthy cells. Before covid, an estimated 3 million Americans had POTS.

Many POTS patients report it took them years to even find a diagnosis. With her own suspected diagnosis in hand, Dawson soon discovered there were no specialists in autonomic disorders in Portland — in fact, there are only 75 board-certified autonomic disorder doctors in the U.S.

Other doctors, however, have studied and treat POTS and similar syndromes. The nonprofit organization Dysautonomia International provides a list of a handful of clinics and about 150 U.S. doctors who have been recommended by patients and agreed to be on the list.

In January, Dawson called a neurologist at a Portland medical center where her father had worked and was given an appointment for September. She then called Stanford University Medical Center’s autonomic clinic in California, and again was offered an appointment nine months later.

Using contacts in the medical community, Dawson wrangled an appointment with the Portland neurologist within a week and was diagnosed with POTS and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The two syndromes have overlapping symptoms, often including severe fatigue.

Dr. Peter Rowe of Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, a prominent researcher who has treated POTS and CFS patients for 25 years, said every doctor with expertise in POTS is seeing long-haul covid patients with POTS, and every long-covid patient he has seen with CFS also had POTS. He expects the lack of medical treatment to worsen.

“Decades of neglect of POTS and CFS have set us up to fail miserably,” said Rowe, one of the authors of a recent paper on CFS triggered by covid.

The prevalence of POTS was documented in an international survey of 3,762 long-covid patients, leading researchers to conclude that all covid patients who have rapid heartbeat, dizziness, brain fog or fatigue “should be screened for POTS.”

A “significant infusion of health care resources and a significant additional research investment” will be needed to address the growing caseload, the American Autonomic Society said in a recent statement.

Lauren Stiles, who founded Dysautonomia International in 2012 after being diagnosed with POTS, said patients who have suffered for decades worry about “the growth of people who need testing and treating but the lack of growth in doctors skilled in autonomic nervous system disorders.”

On the other hand, she hopes increasing awareness among physicians will at least get patients with dysautonomia diagnosed quickly, rather than years later.

Congress has allocated $1.5 billion to the National Institutes of Health over the next four years to study post-covid conditions. Requests for proposals have already been issued.

“There is hope that this miserable experience with covid will be valuable,” said Dr. David Goldstein, head of NIH’s Autonomic Medicine Section.

A unique opportunity for advances in treatment, he said, exists because researchers can study a large sample of people who got the same virus at roughly the same time, yet some recovered and some did not.

Long-term symptoms are common. A University of Washington study published in February in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s Network Open found that 27% of covid survivors ages 18-39 had persistent symptoms three to nine months after testing negative for covid. The percentage was slightly higher for middle-aged patients, and 43% for patients 65 and over.

The most common complaint: persistent fatigue. A Mayo Clinic study published last month found that 80% of long-haulers complained of fatigue and nearly half of “brain fog.” Less common symptoms are inflamed heart muscles, lung function abnormalities and acute kidney problems.

Larger studies remain to be conducted. However, “even if only a tiny percentage of the millions who contracted covid suffer long-term consequences,” said Rowe, “we’re talking a huge influx of patients, and we don’t have the clinical capacity to take care of them.”

Symptoms of autonomic dysfunction are showing up in patients who had mild, moderate or severe covid symptoms.

Yet even today, some physicians discount conditions like POTS and CFS, both much more common in women than men. With no biomarkers, these syndromes are sometimes considered psychological.

The experience of POTS patient Jaclyn Cinnamon, 31, is typical. She became ill in college 13 years ago. The Illinois resident, now on the patient advisory board of Dysautonomia International, saw dozens of doctors seeking an explanation for her racing heart, severe fatigue, frequent vomiting, fever and other symptoms. For years, without results, she saw specialists in infectious disease, cardiology, allergies, rheumatoid arthritis, endocrinology and alternative medicine — and a psychiatrist, “because some doctors clearly thought I was simply a hysterical woman.”

It took three years for her to be diagnosed with POTS. The test is simple: Patients lie down for five minutes and have their blood pressure and heart rate taken. They then either stand or are tilted to 70-80 degrees and their vital signs are retaken. The heart rate of those with POTS will increase by at least 30 beats per minute, and often as much as 120 beats per minute within 10 minutes. POTS and CFS symptoms range from mild to debilitating.

The doctor who diagnosed Cinnamon told her he didn’t have the expertise to treat POTS. Nine years after the onset of the illness, she finally received treatment that alleviated her symptoms. Although there are no federally approved drugs for POTS or CFS, experienced physicians use a variety of medicines including fludrocortisone, commonly prescribed for Addison’s disease, that can improve symptoms. Some patients are also helped by specialized physical therapy that first involves a therapist assisting with exercises while the patient is lying down, then later the use of machines that don’t require standing, such as rowing machines and recumbent exercise bicycles. Some recover over time; some do not.

Dawson said she can’t imagine the “darkness” experienced by patients who lack her access to a network of health care professionals. A retired endocrinologist urged her to have her adrenal function checked. Dawson discovered that her glands were barely producing cortisol, a hormone critical to vital body functions.

Medical progress, she added, is everyone’s best hope.

Stiles, whose organization funds research and provides physician and patient resources, is optimistic.

“Never in history has every major medical center in the world been studying the same disease at the same time with such urgency and collaboration,” she said. “I’m hoping we’ll understand covid and post-covid syndrome in record time.”

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

USE OUR CONTENT

This story can be republished for free (details).

Little-Known Illnesses Turning Up in Covid Long-Haulers published first on https://nootropicspowdersupplier.tumblr.com/

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trollhuntersshardborn · 3 years

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Forged in Darkness summary

Forged In Darkness was going to be two backstories that I felt couldn’t be squeezed into Act 2. And because these backstories are important and FiD is short, we’ll start with that before jumping into Act 2.

The first backstory is Alora’s, because in original planning of this story, Alora was going to be the main character.

So, a girl was born to two peasant folk in the year 1000 AD. The mother died of childbirth, and the father had no money to feed him and the baby. So he sold the baby to the nearest castle for coins to feed himself, convinced that a life of servitude would leave her housed, fed, protected and cherished. Well, he was right about the first two. The girl, who grew up with no name, was made the scullery maid of the castle kitchen, where she did dishes and the cleaning and made sure there was always hot water available. The kitchen cook would routinely check if the water was hot enough by dousing her with it, overtime leaving her with severe scars on her back. The girl was resentful and bitter, but powerless to even speak her frustrations else she become further abused or worse kicked out of the castle.

Her fortunes took a turn for the better and worse eighteen years later, when gumm-gumms took down the castle, killing and/or eating everyone inside. The girl was found and eaten by Gunmar himself. Then she woke up in his own castle keep twenty four hours later. Turns out she’s a Shard, resurrected by her now immortal soul. Yay? Well, now that Gunmar has himself a Shard to craft a massive army, he’d be able to take over the surface lands much faster now. But before that, he requests from her a son. It takes the girl time to get used to the idea that this is her life now, but she accepts this under the condition that she be treated better than when she was in the human castle (exact wording: “Don’t give me kindness and be cruel. Don’t give me cruelty and be kind. Be consistent with your treatment. Do not deceive me.” “Is that all? You don’t ask for much.”). Two months and two days of intense magical labor later, the Maiden has given Gunmar his son, Bular. The child is very small and weak, practically a runt, and while Gunmar is overjoyed to finally have kin, he’s apprehensive of the child surviving at all. Turns out that Maiden’s Life Magic is not particularly strong and it’s doubtful that she can churn out an army quickly. This would make her pretty useless, but since the other option is to toss her out and potentially give the enemy a Shard of their own, the gumm gumms opt to keep her. If only to raise the child.

Maiden loved Bular dearly, but having never cared for children and being a human raising a troll, she couldn’t give him a good upbringing. And terrified that he could be killed easily, once he started getting the hunger for battle, she tried to toughen him up and train him herself. Which meant she needed to be trained to fight as well. But a soft, fleshy human doesn’t last long in a sparring match with a troll. She was killed often, and soon brought back to life. She also eventually discovers the power to summon the swords she was training herself to use whenever she gets extremely pissed off or overprotective of Bular. These two discoveries cement that Maiden was immortal, and couldn’t die no matter what, which gave her the now trademark smart mouth, fiery temper and ignorance of high risks and deadly situations. The Maiden is now stricken with Deadpool Syndrome and quickly gets on the nerves of everyone in the Keep, including Gunmar. But again, they can’t toss out the firecracker or else she could become the enemy’s Shard. Also, Bular is rather attached to his completely erratic and insane mother, and she’s become rather good at fighting.

Determined to now become her own person and stand by Gunmar and Bular’s side as someone to be respected and feared, she goes to Gunmar and demands a rite of passage. All trolls go through a rite of passage to be considered adults, and once complete have the opportunity to choose a new name for themselves (this practice is now out dated and trolls in the modern day don’t really do this anymore). Gunmar is reluctant, but when she challenges him with a rite that “even Gunmar would not be able to do,” he tells her to go slay a Nyarlagroth Queen and bring back its skull. It takes her a goddamn MONTH, but she does it. Now, while she’s gone, a couple of changelings are putting a strategy in motion to keep themselves alive a little longer as well as put Maiden to better use when she comes back. They convince Gunmar that the Maiden will get stronger and stronger willed and possibly revolt against him, and if she does, Bular will most likely follow her. This isn’t good for anyone, so they convince Gunmar that the best and fastest way to tame her is to tie her down with the one thing that ropes in humans: love. “Give her what she wants most,” Corvis tells Gunmar, “a family.” Gunmar reluctantly agrees to play along, if only to keep civility and to reign in his own son. So when the Maiden comes back, and chooses the name Alora Darren (a combination of two troll queens from the past), Gunmar greets her with what will be a pet phrase to come:

“Alora. My wife. My queen. My one true love.”

This... works. Its awkward for the two of them at first, but now believing she’s won Gunmar’s adoration, she feels officially a gumm gumm and part of the pack. And it is so for three hundred years. Alora soon makes her name as a fieresome, deadly general among both trolls and humans. The trolls call her “Gunmar’s concubine” or “Gunmar’s human whore” while the humans call her “the wife of the devil himself.” But despite the new status, she’s still at the bottom of the family totem poll. And still as arrogant and wild as ever. Gunmar often sighs and groans at her antics, but there’s little else he can really do. She’s as reigned in as can be, but overtime, she does grow on him as his mischievous other half, though he rarely supports her schenaniganary.

This backstory actually ends just before the end of Act 1. Having lost the survivors of Royal Troll market, everyone is moving to head out to China to track down this Heartstone growing there. Alora is rather salty after her battle with Nakrik but won’t say why. This is when her own right hand, Skeeziel, who had been by her side as basically her only friend and supporter, admits that he’s been madly in love with her this whole time and goes to embrace her. She quickly pushes him away, not sure what’s caused this confession and not feeling the same way. However, Gunmar has seen this, and he calls Skeeziel to him, and promptly beheads the wizard troll. Alora is... devastated by these turns of events and it leads to a massive fight with Gunmar. This is basically going back on the agreement of giving kindness and being cruel. It then comes out that Gunmar didn’t even love Alora back then and was just doing this to reign in her wild side. Both are hurt and heartbroken, Alora so much so that she just... sits down and refuses to move. Gunmar won’t stay for any temper tantrum she may have and calls his armies to march east immediately.

Bular goes to his mom’s side, not having seen this fight at all, to urge her to come with them. It takes all of her energy to bring him close and touch foreheads, eyes heavy with tears, trying hard not to cry in front of her son. Bular catches on that something is wrong, and wants to stay with her, but she urges him to go with his father, scared of what would happen if Bular was no longer on Gunmar’s side. Bular reluctantly goes, angry with his mother staying behind and follows Gunmar east.

And so falls the Gumm gumm queen, into mortal despair. We’ll come back to this scene in Act 2.

The second story in Forged In Darkness is called Paika, and it follows the villain to be introduced in Act 2.

The story takes place in Bulgaria (because GODDAMN IT RICHARD ASHLEY HAMILTON WHY DAMN IT WHY FUCKING GOD DAMN IT ALL!),circa 1121 AD, in a tiny village called Anka, which sits on a mountain. This village is a combination village where humans and trolls lived together side by side in peace. And Gunmar’s conquering and rampages are driving trolls to seek solace in places he would have trouble reaching or not bother with, including this very out of the way village. Making their way here is a group of refugees hoping to find safety for themselves and several orphans they picked up along the way. One of these orphans catches the eyes of the human elder of the village, Kohsena Radulova. She spies a troll toddler born with no eyes and is a species of troll she’s never seen before. Taking pity on this little one, she takes him in personally and through magic, gives him his own eyes to see the world through. He says his name is Paika and she raises and loves on him as a son of her own.

Now, Kohsena isn’t your average hedge wizard, she’s also a Shard (whoa!)! She was born in the year 1000 AD, and had no idea of her powers until she passed away in her old age at seventy. Having come back to life, she discovered she can retain any and all knowledge she learns and uses it to memorize books of magic the trolls have on hand, easily harnesses the power of magic and brought stability to the harsh mountain they live on. She went on to continue being a granny to her kids, grandkids and great grandkids as they grew, and is the undisputed wise woman of Anka. When she adopts Paika, she quickly notices his talent for magic and takes him as her apprentice to pass on her teachings.

Paika is incredibly gifted in magic, using it in ways never seen before. But he’s a rather small troll, so he’s often bullied by both the troll and human kids growing up. But he’s also rather fast and limber, so he’s able to outrun, out jump, out climb, and stay hidden from any trying to pick on him. Noting how he navigates around the village and nearby forest with ease, one of Kohsena’s grandsons teaches Paika how to hunt and he’s rather good at that too. He seems as in tune to the mountain as Kohsena and has good potential to be a village elder. It’s not long after Paika reaches adulthood that he accepts his rite of passage. It comes in two stages: to make a tool he will use for the rest of his life, and to bring back a rare flower that grows inside the mountain. Paika makes a hardy hunting knife and uses his own talents to bring the flower back. Now an adult troll by rite, he can chose a new name. He decides to name himself after this troublesome flower, the Ingoret, which is a poisonous flower but when used correctly can be a life saving medicine. The name Ingoret is a troll word for “the very fine line between life and death.” But Paika has never been able to pronounce this word, so his official adult name is Angor Rot.

Skip to 1297 AD, Gunmar and his troops are making their way up the mountain. There is almost nowhere else for the people living on Anka to flee. Some are preparing to fight, and Kohsena promises to protect her home to the best of her ability. But Angor believes they aren’t enough and wants to go search for help. When asked who could possibly help, he says the witch in the black sea. In the least, she can grant him greater magic than he can wield on his own. Kohsena viciously shuts this idea down, since the witch is extremely dangerous and fickle. But Angor doesn’t see any other way to fight off Gunmar and keep his home. He sneaks away to the rocks in the sea to strike a deal with Morgana. We all know how that went.

Angor, sans one soul, instead of going off to fight Trollhunters rushes home to mom, hoping maybe she could fix this. He comes back to a village in ruins and the mountain barren of life. Gunmar, Alora, and the gumm gumm armies have laid waste to it all. Kohsena clings to life by the village center tree, unwilling to move in her grief, and seeing Angor return after selling his soul for magic makes the grief worse. She tells him that some of the villagers had escaped and she did what she could to protect the village but almost everything is gone. Angor insists that she come with him to find the others, but she refuses. She’s heartbroken that he left, but she says outloud “I’m glad you did. If you stayed, you would have been killed.” And this cuts him deep. He leaves her behind to pack what little of their things survived, and when he comes back, he sees that she’s died. Figuring that she’ll wake up on the way, he starts to take her body down the mountain. After several days, she doesn’t wake. An immortal Shard has permanently died. Angor, devastated, takes her back to the village and buries her. And now, with no emotional tethers, becomes a hunter to all Merlin had created. This also includes Shards, creatures of Merlin’s creation.

((Side note: Nadia was born the exact moment Kohsena died. Coincidence? To be addressed in Act 2))

In 1300 AD, Angor locates another Shard. This one is a rather young woman who’s ability is seeing the future, and her title is the Blind Seer (I think I had a name for her, but it’s lost to time). She had evacuated the troll village she lived in, prepared for Angor to come here. He came seeking knowledge of how a Shard can permanently die, and she was willing to give it to him. Why? “Because I have seen this moment. You come. I tell you the secret. You kill me, and go on to kill the other Shards. This is both our destinies, and there is nothing to be done to stop it.” With this, she tells him:

A Shard is only immortal when she wants to be. When she decides she no longer wants to live, the soul becomes mortal for as long as this wish is present. And the Seer, knowing this is her final moment alive, accepts this and relinquishes her will to live. And so Angor kills her to test this theory, and it is so. She never revives. And now, with this knowledge, he gains a title other than Hunter of Hunters. He’s also the Shardkiller.

Aaaaaand, that’s Forged in Darkness. I had thought of giving Grim a backstory here too since so little is written about him, but I honestly don’t have a good backstory to tell about him.

#Shardborn summary

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moondustaeil · 5 years

Text

moonflower , Moon Taeil

⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ ⋅ moonflower

⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

⠀ about

⋅ genre : hanahaki disease au : romance , angst , fluff

⋅ characters : musician!Taeil x barista!reader

⋅ word count : 9.3k

⋅ a.n : this is for the person who made a request on the poll, and I just had to create this. thank you for the wonderful idea. It didn’t work like I wished but I decided to finish it.

⠀ ⠀

⠀ summary

⋅ Taeil just graduated from his music education in university, as a newly introduced musician, he still has to work hard each day but how is that possible when each day passing day the Hanahaki disease chokes him a bit more. Still, he sings: “even if it hurts, I’m okay, because I love you”

Taeil walked through the streets of Seoul on his own, the guitar he carried around everywhere was on his back and safely protected by his guitar bag. It was the week after he graduated and here he was, going from audition to audition, in hopes that some agency would see his talent, tell him that he was exactly what they were looking for. It had only been a week but still he felt as if he wasn’t going to get in any company.

But every agency told him the same thing: “we will contact you.” Looking for a job wasn’t as easy-going as he had expected, his professors always told him his voice was unique and everyone would beg to have a voice like that in their company. Yet, here he was: going to auditions every single day in order to become a singer.

He got his phone from his jeans pocket and sighed as he saw it was already late in the afternoon, in less than an hour, all of the open auditions would be over, and the waiting lines were too long for him to still wait at the end of the queue.

His body turned around a few times, checking if there was a coffee shop in the area where he walked and smiled once he finally saw one. At least, something seemed to be going in the way he wanted it to go. Coffee shops could always cheer him up, if they had great coffee and a calm atmosphere that was.

The tired feet carried him inside the coffee shop: his eyes slowly but curiously exploring the color of the walls, the decorations, the people present in the same room as him. He moved to the smallest table he could see. He lifted the guitar bag from his shoulders and put it down on the chair that would be unoccupied, getting his notebook and pencil so that he could write lyrics while he waited for someone to come and take his order.

Writing a song didn’t come easy when things didn’t go well with the audition, it wasn’t an experience he could easily write lyrics about. Instead, he just started to write down words: random words in his head, words that he liked, words of things that he had seen in the surroundings just a minute ago. Eventually, even if it didn’t work, he got caught up in the process.

“Excuse me, did you decide on your order already?” You asked in a gentle voice, not wanting to surprise the man who seemed so focused on writing the words down on an empty notebook paper. His pencil sped up as he finished the word, only when the word was completely written down, he looked up. “Huh?” he asked softly, only taking in your appearance now as he hadn’t noticed you when he first entered.

He watched how your smile began to evolve into a bit of a bigger one, maybe you even kept in a bit of a small laugh. “I asked if you already decided on what you want to order” you repeated and kept your tiny notebook and pen tightly clutched in your hands, ready to write down the order in case he had already decided. “Ah...” He said and took a quick look at the menu card that had been lying on the table, fitting on the tiny space that was left. “Americano please,” He said, just saying the first thing that came to mind

“Alright” You repeated with a smile but didn’t write anything down in your notebook, you could easily remember that order and it was calm enough to just take your time and try to remember things by head instead of writing them down and asking for names. You turned around and walked away to get his order ready and afterward start to clean up a bit, seeing even the coffee shop was closing in an hour or a bit less. Usually, people didn’t drink coffee past a certain time because it would make the caffeine boost last too long.

While your order was getting prepared, you had no idea how the hardworking man was no longer focused on lyrics, but instead only had eyes for you. To him, it was as if the most beautiful flower had started to bloom, and just like the colors of nature, the sight of you seemed to have a calming effect on him. Yet at the same time, his heartbeat was going at it faster than before, faster than the moment he found out when he would graduate.

When you came into an obviously close distance again, he quickly turned his head away, clutching the pencil between his index finger and thumb. Not seeing how he was holding it upside down, his hand motions creating invisible words onto the sheet of paper.

“Oh thank you” Taeil said with a smile and looked up at you only slightly, not looking any further than a quick glance at your face. You put down the drink in front of him together with a small muffin, something that came with every coffee that was being ordered. As you put down the drink, you noticed his pencil didn’t leave any marks on the paper, it took you another second of looking to see how he wasn’t even holding the pencil properly. You didn’t say anything about it though, not wanting to embarrass him or get him out of his focus.

You gave him a quick bow of politeness before you slowly walked away again, towards another customer who came in as soon as you were delivering Taeil’s order to his table. Taeil started to write the word ‘flower’ with his pencil, only noticing he didn’t actually write it as soon as he looked down at his notebook. It made him realize he had been acting to write with his pencil upside down ever since you brought the beverage over to his table.

He flipped the pencil between his fingers, the lead of the pencil slightly pressing against the shin sheet of paper. At first, the words seemed like a small scribble of syllables, an alien language that was written in a beautiful way, the alphabet written by a child who couldn’t write. But he knew the word he had written down, a word that from now on would make him remember you.

The lead of the pencil followed as he wrote the word once again, this time the syllables seeming more careful and neat than the first time he wrote it. He wished he had the same drawing talent as one of his friends did, because if so, then he would have drawn out the word to make its meaning stand out and give him more inspiration maybe.

He finished his coffee within the hour, even quicker than he had hoped he would finish it, and ordering another one would surely disturb the sleep he needed. He got up from the table, grabbed the guitar in its bag and walked towards the counter to pay for his drink and hopefully get another glance at you.

“Thank you for the coffee” Left his lips quickly as soon as you accepted the card he wanted to pay with, when you looked up, he was the one that smiled at you. Though the smile disappeared when he felt a weird feeling on the inside of his body, the feeling took his breath away for a short second. When it disappeared again, he feared the late coffee hadn’t been a good idea, but it had been worth it. Because he met you.

A friendly smile was on your lips as he put his card back in his wallet, both of you wishing each other a nice evening with some short words. Then he disappeared from the coffee shop, the last customer, which meant it was time to clean and go home.

First, you cleaned the back of the coffee shop and that way worked to the part where the costumers could sit and drink, you were surprised when you saw the familiar notebook still on the table that the black-haired man had sat at earlier. He had looked so attached to the notebook and now it was here, forgotten by him. He had been gone for a while so he wouldn’t even be in sight anymore if you went to look for him now.

You picked up the book and closed it, not giving yourself the chance to get tempted and look through the things he wrote, even if it probably were songs since he had been carrying a guitar with him earlier. You carried it with you to the back of the shop again, putting it in your handbag to take it home and take it with you every day until you saw him again.

Your shift ended as soon as you closed the door of the coffee shop behind you, your handbag clutched close to you so that you wouldn’t be able to lose something that seemed so precious to the customer you had helped today. He probably was missing his notebook a lot, you just knew such a precious item was something that belonged to his daily life.

And just like you already suspected, Taeil had arrived at his dorm, telling his friends he was going to bed right away. They tried to keep him in the living room for a little longer, starting to tell them random stories. But now that he was feeling inspired, he really couldn’t let any of the emotions slip. The chance to write a song about it could be the one that could break him through, one that could give him the chance to live his dream in the music world.

He brought his guitar with him to the bedroom but sat himself down in front of the piano he had in his room, his hand reaching into the guitar bag for the lyric notebook, but only felt the strings of his guitar. “Shit” he cursed softly as he realized he probably had lost his notebook or forgotten it in the coffee shop as that was the last time he had taken it out of the guitar bag.

He sighed deeply to himself and looked through the entire bag three more times, in search of what was the most precious to him aside from his voice and the instruments he played. His hand slightly hit the keys on his piano randomly, but remembering the most important word that he had written down made him close his eyes and start to play, gentle and slow at first, using his imagination to make the sounds represent you and the flowers he thought about when he saw you.

The following day there was a contrast between both of your schedules: while you could sleep in thanks to an afternoon to evening shift, Taeil had woken up at 6:30 with the help of his alarm. He didn’t need to wake up that early but he was worried he wouldn’t make things in time if he didn’t prepare beforehand. That and he also wanted to drop by the coffee shop to get his lyric book, without it he felt empty and it was as if he couldn’t function without it. If he got it early then he maybe was still on time for the first auditions of the day. He hated living like this, going to different companies each day in hopes that they had that one special spot for him, he simply couldn’t bring up the patience even though all of them said that they would contact him.

While it was so early in the morning, one of his friends from the dorm, Jungwoo was sat on a seat, having some breakfast on his own. At least it meant that Taeil had five minutes to talk to someone before his day officially started again. “Morning” Taeil said to his younger friend, Jungwoo waved cutely as his cheeks were holding in all of the food he pushed into his mouth.

“Are you going to another audition?” Jungwoo asked once he had finished his big bite of the food. Taeil poured himself his first cup of coffee that day and nodded at Jungwoo’s question. It was a stupid question really, since Taeil didn’t do anything else in the past week so now he wouldn’t either. “I just need to get accepted somewhere,” Taeil said although his voice broke not even midway the sentence but continued speaking until he was finished, and as soon as he was finished, he coughed once.

Jungwoo looked at his older friend with worried eyes, he was caring and knew Taeil wanted to be a musician and singer so bad. “You should let your voice rest,” he said, although he knew Taeil would most likely refuse to give his voice the time to heal. “My voice is fine, it’s from walking without a jacket” Taeil gave as an excuse. He drank the warm coffee in his cup, placed the cup in the sink, said a quick goodbye to Jungwoo. Then he left the dorm: ready to retrieve his lyric book from the most beautiful girl that he had ever seen.

While Taeil thought about you, he made his way into the same direction as yesterday. In his head, he played the piano and sang the song he was writing about you. He knew it was a cheesy thing to do but it was like love at first sight and slowly he was getting lovesick over each thought about you. He wanted to get to know you, talk to you, ask you your name and make you laugh by telling something that was weird but funny at the same time. Though, love wasn’t supposed to be involved in his life. Music and love didn’t always work together, he knew the dating bans would refrain him from being in love with you. But those worries, were worries for later. Right now, he just thought about the other more important things of his life. Which included actually getting accepted into a company, writing music, getting to know you and just live a happy life.

He passed by the same agency that he went to yesterday, although hadn’t noticed it because his mind was so filled with different things that he didn’t even see it. He had lost his focus about his plans, almost so much that he walked past the coffee shop. When he snapped back from his imagination of you, he looked around in the street and noticed he wasn’t where he should be. He turned his body around to check what place he just passed by, and noticed the building not too far away. Luckily he had noticed it on time.

Without hesitation he walked back and straight into the coffee shop, a lot more confident than he was yesterday, or maybe it was just hope that he would get to see you again. You and his lyric notebook, that was all that mattered the moment he walked into the coffee shop.

His eyes darted around the moment he walked inside, unlike the day before where he was checking the decoration, his eyes were now in search for something that would be called a muse by professionals. In every corner and bit of the room, his eyes checked to see if he would see you, he knew he would recognize you within a second. Though his eyes didn’t manage to identify you. Instead, he could see a man who was doing the same work that you were doing yesterday.

Maybe you were still at the back of the shop, getting things from the stock or even cleaning this early in the morning. He stood still for a couple of seconds until the employee looked at him with questioning eyes. “Can I help you?” he asked, giving Taeil the polite smile that he was supposed to give to everyone.

“N-no” Taeil said but actually nodded with contrasted with the words he said. He knew he needed the help or else he wouldn’t get to see you or his notebook today. “I’m searching for a girl that works here, I left my notebook yesterday evening, and she must have found it” he said, unknowingly giving the man a hopeful look.

The man looked at Taeil as he listened, nodding after a few seconds as a sign that she understood. “I will look at the back to check if your notebook is here and to check who worked,” he said before disappearing to the back of the shop. As the man was away, Taeil realized the words meant that you weren’t there today, otherwise he would have mentioned that he would ask his colleague.

But Taeil didn’t lose hope even though he wished you were there, maybe you would start working any moment or at least when he was still in the shop. Once the employee returned, Taeil listened as he really had to find out. “Your notebook is not here” he said first and shrugged his shoulders as a sign he had looked for it but didn’t find it. “The employee that helped you was probably y/n, she must have taken your notebook to return it next time she saw you” he said, giving Taeil a friendly smile.

Taeil didn’t know if he had to start smiling like a fool because he knew your name and heard how caring you were from the words about his notebook, or be annoyed and disappointed because the shop lacked both you and his notebook at the moment he was there.

“Do you know when she will be back?” Taeil asked, not to be annoying and make the worker go and check again, but simply because it was something that he really needed to know. The male employee already moved again to the back of the shop without saying anything. It took a couple of seconds before he came back and looked at Taeil “she’s free now, but will be back this afternoon” he said.

Taeil nodded but knew this time he probably wouldn’t be able to drop by that easily, in the afternoon he had an audition that he was invited to, and he surely didn’t want to miss that opportunity as it meant having more chances there than at the other places.

“I’ll come by later then, thank you,” He said quickly and bowed to the man before he left the coffee shop. Now that he had been at the coffee shop early, a lot of time had passed anyway, simply because it would have gone faster if you were there. But then again, if you were there then he probably hadn’t wanted to leave either. Maybe, if he was lucky, there was a bus that would take him to the place where he had his audition. If he wasn’t lucky, then it would be halfway running and the other half trying to walk at a fast pace. Something that wasn’t practical with the guitar on his back.

As he left the coffee shop as fast as he could, he went towards the bus stop and checked the panels to see if there was a bus that he could take any upcoming moment. He groaned soft when he didn’t manage to figure out which line he was supposed to take at first, but a closer look helped him more than he thought. “Yes” he mumbled under his breath as he noticed how a bus was supposed to come in a bit over two minutes.

While Taeil took the bus on his way to his first audition of the day, you were starting to wake up. Sleeping in actually didn’t last as long as you hoped it would, but once you opened your eyes, they didn’t want to close and give you more rest.

Your eyes adjusted to the light that was shining into the room slightly, and one by one your eyes opened once again. The first thing you looked at was the time on your phone, but then also the notebook that was lying underneath your phone. You hadn’t opened it but had simply put it there so that you wouldn’t forget it when you got up in the morning. You weren’t curious as to what the stranger wrote in the notebook, or at least that’s what you told yourself. You didn’t wonder about the exact words but instead just wondered what he used it for: poetry, studying,... Those kinds of things.

After a few more minutes of relaxing in bed, you decided to get up and start your day, as much as you liked being in bed, you still had other things to do. You got up and first took a shower so that you were already fresh and clean by the time your work started again. After that, you went to the kitchen to get some breakfast for yourself.

Sometimes you thought back about the man in the coffee shop yesterday and the way you had caught him looking at you, it was only once but still enough to make you remember it. He had looked like a musician: one that was gentle and calm, someone who seemed passionate and genuine.

Though, you weren’t supposed to fall in love this fast or at all, especially not only one month after a toxic and unhealthy relationship. It just didn’t seem right and fair for you to be with someone, for someone to love you while you still thought about the way your ex treated you. You lost your trust in love and didn’t want to hurt someone who seemed as genuine as Taeil.

After you spent your free time just doing whatever you liked, it was time for you to work again. You didn’t mind your job but at the same time knew that you wouldn’t forever work here, maybe in a year you would find a better job and a job that actually fit you. At the same time, you didn’t want to leave the coffee shop: the scent of coffee, seeing how your drinks only made people happier. Those were little things that made your day better.

As you arrived at the coffee shop for your shift, your colleague was already taking off his apron so that he could head home. You greeted each other although it didn’t stop there, he was leaned against the counter and looked at you with a small smirk. “So the guy with the guitar? New love interest? Just don’t forget to give him your working schedule next time” he said playfully towards you. Within an instant, you knew who he was talking about even though you didn’t know the name of the guy with his guitar. “Oh shut up! He just forgot his notebook and since he was one of the last costumers, he probably knew I found the notebook while cleaning” you said, standing up for yourself but also the stranger.

Your colleague raised his hands in defense when you seemed a bit angered by the words he said, even though he was completely joking about it. “Calm down, it was a joke,” he said with a shrug, but he was a friend of yours so understood why you reacted like that. Love wasn’t an easy subject for you to talk about.

While you did your shift in the coffee shop, Taeil was on the way to the next audition and once again made sure to blow the people away. He only had two auditions today, mostly because the last one invited him there so he hoped for a good outcome. Even though, his voice had cracked a couple of times during the song, they had been enthusiastic and almost understandable that Taeil’s voice was like this because of the many times he had to sing.

By the time Taeil came home, the breaking in his voice became more like small coughs, making it very clear that he had to take a break from all of the auditions and rest. He didn’t want to damage his voice more than before, singing was his life. Even if he still had time, he decided not to go to the coffee shop, he was too tired and would rather see you on a different moment when he felt better.

Every day for the past 3 days, Taeil had been in the coffee shop, each time hoping he would get to see you but somehow he managed to miss you each time, either way coming in after or before your shift. It bothered him to know he didn’t see you, almost as if fate had the idea that the two of you weren’t supposed to see each other again. But also his notebook was lacking in his life, songwriting wasn’t working without the notebook, the other sheets of paper didn’t bring up inspiration even though it probably was just a thought.

He twirled the cup of coffee around in his hands slowly, the warmth from the coffee keeping his hands heated up. He tried his best not to look disappointed when even today he had been there at the wrong time, the only things he wanted were his notebook and to see you. He heard the familiar little bell of the coffee shop, indicating that someone came in. As he was about to turn his head, a coughing fit started in his throat. This time stronger than the times it happened before, it was as if something was stuck in his throat.

Suddenly there was a cup of water in front of him and a hand on his back, making him look up even though he was still coughing. When he looked up and opened his eyes after another cough, he noticed he was directly looking into your worried eyes. “Are you okay?” you asked soft, but you knew your question was stupid as if he was okay then he wouldn’t have been coughing like that.

Taeil quickly nodded his head but had to stop when another cough stopped him from answering properly. His hand covered his mouth as he felt something soft and yet structured on his tongue. Before he could control it, it fell right into his hand. And when he pulled away his hand from his mouth to look, he frowned at the sight. The white petals in his hand didn’t look or feel like anything else, confirming immediately that it were flower petals. A sense of panic came into his mind, he had never experienced this before, he didn’t even know what it meant.

“You’re sick” You spoke in a muted voice as you saw the petals resting on Taeil’s hand. Your feelings were mixed together: sad because he was experiencing one-sided love for someone, happy because seeing someone in love was always nice. Taeil looked towards you with confused eyes, questioning your words with a small hum as a sign he wanted an explanation. “Coughing up these means that you have a disease called Hanahaki,” you said softer as you motioned towards the flower petals.

His eyes drifted between you and the flower petals in his hand, the name of the disease sounded familiar but at the same time the bell in his mind didn’t ring, he didn’t know what that was supposed to mean. Or why he coughed up something like flower petals. “What does it mean?” he asked you, hoping that he would understand once you explained what the sickness was, were you a doctor or why did you know these things so well? He didn’t know, but he needed more information about it.

“It means that you’re experiencing one-sided love with someone. Your lungs will fill themselves with these flowers and then you will cough them up” You said in a softer voice as you looked down at the petals, not daring to look at the man that was listening to you. You left out the detail how more than half of the people would pass away if their lungs got filled up, neither did you mention how surgeons could remove the flowers but the flowers being gone would remove romantic feelings as well.

Taeil looked up at you once more, his eyes trying to find yours to see if you were being serious, but seeing you looking down was more than enough to give him an answer. It was the truth and it wasn’t something fun to experience. He proceeded how to forget that it was about one-sided love, he only remembered it was how his lungs would fill with flowers that he would cough up. Something that could ruin his throat in his singing career, but the disease sounded like something that couldn’t be cured.

“Could you tell me more about it... once your shift ended maybe?” He asked as he tried not to cough again, keeping it in but only felt how it seemed to take a breath away from his mouth. You seemed to know enough information about it and he trusted you with asking about it. You hesitantly nodded your head at the question “I can only stay for a bit after my shift, but okay” you said, you stayed because you wanted to help him and not because your heart wanted you to stay with him for a little longer.

Once you also remembered who you were talking to, you realized that you still had the notebook in the handbag hanging from your shoulder. “I have your notebook,” you said and got it out of your bag. You saw the way his face lit up when you said those words, he reminded you of the moon the moment he looked like that. You carefully placed the notebook back onto the same table that he sat at the last time you saw him, it already seemed like the table he had claimed when no one else was sitting there. “Thank you so much, thank you for keeping it safe,” he said with a smile, his smile calm and yet you could feel how relieved he was that he had his notebook back with him. The words loosened some stuck emotions inside of you, maybe he trusted you, otherwise, he wouldn’t have said you kept it safe.

Your shift officially started once the conversation between you and Taeil was over, you no longer had the time for long chats, only small chats with customers and those talks were based on how their days had been or what drink they wanted. But each glance you shot towards him, made you want to sit next to him with a drink and just talk for many hours about the most random things.

He was glowing so brightly, especially now that he had his notebook fully occupied again, his pencil writing away at a fast pace, sometimes it seemed like writing, other times it was scribbling or drawing. By now, you were sure that the man was a musician, there was no other vibe aside from that that would completely fit him. Though, how was he going to combine that with the hanahaki disease? It was something you had no business in but it worried you, you knew the hanahaki disease was not something that you could cure by a simple doctor’s visit.

During your entire shift, he stayed there in the coffee shop, not leaving once unless it was to make a quick bathroom break and even then he usually returned as fast as he could. The two of you hadn’t talked during your shift unless it was whenever he wanted to order a new drink or the time he asked you for a pencil because his was broken.

Near the closing time when all of the customers began to leave the coffee shop, Taeil started to get more talkative towards himself and then things he was writing down. Sometimes muttering a sentence that sounded so dreamy that it could be a song lyric, other times it was talking to himself about the lyrics he was writing. It was calming to hear that for some reason, it made you forget about the annoying part of the day when the shop still had to get cleaned up and set ready for the next day.

“Are you a musician?” You asked out of the blue after he had muttered another lyric to himself to check if it actually sounded good if he said it. His eyes drifted towards you, seeing you putting clean cups down for tomorrow just so that work wasn’t as chaotic tomorrow. He smiled and shrugged his shoulders as an answer “I’m trying to be, I audition every day but still no luck” he said, sounding slightly disappointed but at the same time proud. He was proud of his voice and his dreams but disappointed that no one seemed to see the way he thought about it.

“I bet that sucks. Especially since you seem to write your own songs” You pointed out, you were sure he could write songs because he was constantly with his head towards his notebook, using his pencil to fill the sheets of paper. A proud smile appeared on his lips as soon as you said that, nodding without hesitation. “I write my own songs, play guitar and piano and sing. It’s hard work, but also my dream” he said, his dream was something that he would never give up. They taught him not to give up on his dreams, so he wouldn’t. You nodded at the words while you were listening, it was beautiful to hear how he wouldn’t give up on his dreams, even though it seemed like a hard dream to achieve.

Taeil motioned for you to sit next to him as he wanted to speak about your earlier subject again, he had tried to stop thinking about it and focus on music instead, but in the back of his mind, he would still repeat your words. Once you were done with setting down the cups properly, you moved towards his table and sat on the chair that his guitar occupied until a few seconds ago. “I want to know more about the disease you told me about,” He said honestly, closing his lyric notebook so that he wouldn’t get distracted by it.

You nodded quickly and let out a soft sigh as you prepared yourself to speak about the disease you knew so well. “The hanahaki disease is a disease or infection that you get when you experience one-sided love.” You said soft, but your own mind urged you to continue talking so that Taeil knew what was going on inside of his body. “Flowers are growing in your body which causes you to cough them up, and the flowers don’t stop growing or forming. Unless the one that you love returns the feelings,” you said softly. You didn’t look at Taeil but knew he was looking at you and listening.

“What happens if they don’t return the feelings?” He asked, nearly forcing you to speak about the more sensitive parts about the disease, but you knew you had to help him, you didn’t want him to be clueless when he went through this. “Your lungs will completely fill up and choke you,” You said, this time your voice was clear and yet it seemed like a mumble to yourself. “Or you get surgery to remove the flowers. But then your romantic feelings will be gone too” you said. By the tone of your voice, Taeil thought you knew someone who went through with it, and it sounded like that person regretted it deeply.

When you looked up again, you noticed how Taeil seemed surprised by the words. You knew how it felt to feel like this, so you completely understood how conflicted he probably was feeling on the inside. Everyone should be able to get a fair chance in love without worrying about being choked by flowers, or not feeling love at all. But the world wasn’t fair, neither was the Hanahaki disease that took victims while it were the love interests that didn’t return the love of the victims.

The talk continued for a little while until it was really time for you to head home, and for Taeil to get rest as he soon wanted to start singing again, even with the Hanahaki disease taking away his life by planting beautiful flowers in his lungs. You went home, feeling guilty for the man that you discovered was named Taeil, you wished you could help him but you couldn’t. The only thing you had been able to offer him was advice, and even that was only limited.

“Please think before you make a decision.”

The weeks after that Taeil’s visits to the coffee shop became more frequent, but he wouldn’t stay longer than a couple of minutes. Only staying as long as it took for his coffee to get prepared, then he rushed off with each time the excuse that he had to be somewhere else.

The talks that you two shared became smaller and still you felt as if you got to know him a bit better, it was a weird contrast to live with as you had no idea if you liked this more than the times where he would stay for hours but close to no personal info would be shared.

You thought that Taeil had finally found his agency and that was the reason why he was gone most of the time or always in a rush, and you weren’t wrong when you had those thoughts. Taeil had managed to get a contract with an agency the week after he met you, he was over the moon but at the same time knew it would be harder than attending university classes every day. It would be worth it, or that’s what he hoped at least.

Your eyes looked away from the drink that you had just made for yourself, you had only heard a cough but you immediately could recognize who the sound belonged to. There he was, in the coffee shop again to get his early morning coffee before he probably would rush off again. He wasn’t the first customer but at least he was still one of the early five that always came around at this time, other people usually came a bit later than that.

“Good morning” Taeil greeted with a slight smile and looked at you, stepping forward towards the counter so that he could place his order. The order that would never change, except for that now he would take it with him instead of drinking it here. “The usual?” you asked which immediately made Taeil nod his head, it was getting predictable but Taeil enjoyed to see how you got to know bits of his life that were only small details in a big whole.

Just as you were about to have a small talk with him, he started coughing again, this time not ending it with one cough. You had experienced it getting worse over the weeks, and you weren’t sure if you were able to see him suffer like that. After the talk you had about his disease, you had started to think that you were the reason behind his disease. But you weren’t sure, and neither was he or at least he had never mentioned it before.

Taeil quickly reached for a napkin and placed it in front of his mouth, unable to stop the coughs from leaving his mouth. They got worse as you noticed the flower petals slipping past his parted lips: some of them falling into the napkin, others drifting towards the floor of the shop. “Are you okay?” you asked worriedly, you knew he wasn’t okay but it was the least you could ask. You didn’t get a reply until a few minutes later when Taeil looked up at you with tired eyes, nearly tear-stained but you weren’t sure if that was because he was coughing so much. “It’s okay, I’m okay” he said with a small nod.

You got the coffee he ordered and put the cup down in front of him, just so that he could take it with him like he always did. In the meantime he was still calming down from the coughing fit that he just had, trying not to show too much that he was out of breath or that his voice sounded slightly damaged after walking around with the disease for all of those weeks.

“It’s getting worse” You pointed out in a soft voice and gave him a look of sympathy, but that was the least thing he wanted, all he wanted was a chance in his career and for someone to confess the same feelings back to him. Taeil shrugged his shoulders as if it didn’t really matter that it was getting worse “I’m surviving, at least until I made a decision” he said. He didn’t know which one he was willing to give up: his career or his love life. It was probably the most important decision he would have to make, as well as there was a chance that he wouldn’t survive if he let the decision linger at the back of his mind for too long.

You nodded your head at the answer, slightly judging his personality just to imagine what choice he would make in the end. It was wrong of you to do so but it automatically happened anyway. You hadn’t realized that Taeil was looking up at you the entire time until he cleared his throat. The sound made you snap away from your little psychological moment, your eyes focusing on his since you were at the same level at this moment.

“So, what did you decide?”

His question made you choke on the non-existent drink like the way it would normally go. Your eyes no longer looked up to meet his, neither did any advice or observations leave your lips. Taeil put the money for the coffee midway the counter so that you could easily reach it. But the only thing that was going on in your world, was the replay of the question Taeil just asked.

You didn’t even get to answer the question before he was gone, although you wouldn’t have been able to form a correct reply anyway. You had no idea how to reply to the words or maybe just didn’t want to be able to answer the question.

Your colleague came into the shop and looked at you, noticing you didn’t look like you always did: you suddenly seemed tired, worried, sad, every negative emotion at the same time. Eventually, she did send you home, being sweet enough to say that she would take your shift for a couple of days so that you could ‘get better.’ And just like she said, you went home as quick as you could: you were ready to stay inside for some days and reflect on everything that had changed your life in the past weeks.

It was in the evening when you first allowed yourself to think back about Taeil’s question. It was a lonely moment of you sitting alone at your dinner table, drinking from a half-empty glass of wine, but drinking wine alone was far from tasty.

“So, what did you decide?”

The question repeated itself in your head a couple of times, nearly forcing you to answer a silent reply back in your head. You very well remember the decision you had made, and maybe that was because it hadn’t been longer than a few months ago now.

Thinking back now, you realized that it wasn’t real love that you experienced those months ago. But at the same time, you remembered it as real love, because back then you had felt so in love..so in love with someone who didn’t love you back.

The boy that you called your boyfriend back then was toxic, like the wine would have been if you had zero sense of self-control. The relationship was broken before it even properly started, and you could still remember when he said that he would never really love you, that on the day that he asked you to be his.

The relationship had lasted long enough, each day was like an eternity of your life and yet you had stayed with him for all of those days. Even when you knew that during even longer nights, he was sharing the bed with someone who awaited the same fate as you. But that didn’t stop the flowers from taking up the space in your lungs, though it felt like the thorns pierced through the gaps of your heart, creating bigger empty voids.

Somewhere on a random day, you had done impulsive thinking and gone to get the flowers removed. The hospital wouldn’t do it as you needed an appointment and proof of a psychological talk that happened beforehand. So, instead, you had found a person who claimed that he was able to do it just as good as doctors could. You hadn’t thought twice, you had barely even heard his words and still, you nodded. That same day: the flowers were removed, together with the ability to love someone. At least, that’s what they made you believe. You could still fall in love, they just didn’t want you to make the same mistake twice.

No one had known about the flowers you had and the flowers you lost, something you would rather keep to yourself. Maybe it was taboo to get the flowers removed, as society said everyone was supposed to romantically love someone. Your family or friends didn’t know, even though they questioned why you broke it off with your toxic boyfriend, or why you said you didn’t want to start dating for a while. You just said you were trying to find your spot in life.

You closed your eyes as you imagined the way Taeil looked at you, suddenly in the middle of thinking, he had just entered your imagination like he belonged in it. You didn’t even realize the peaceful smile that formed on your lips. As your imagination turned into a dream, it was as if you dared to admit that you felt love for Taeil.

Taeil passed by the coffee shop every single day: he had to admit it wasn’t because he wanted to drink coffee, but simply because he wanted to see you, even if it was only about 5 minutes a day. But each day that he came by, they told him that you were sick.

And one of the colleagues had been kind enough to give him your address, thinking that you and Taeil were close because he always seemed to ask for you when you weren’t there. It was a surprise for Taeil to get your address, but he didn’t hesitate anymore. He had to see you.

He had taken a few days off because he was songwriting but also because the flowers were holding back his ability to breathe properly. And now he was sure, that it was all because of you. You were the one who took his breath away, you were the one that needed to save his heart and kill the flowers.

Considering your feelings towards him was something that he hadn’t done beforehand, in all honesty, he had been in a rush to get to your place. He had no idea what he was supposed to do or say: maybe confess to you, or check up on you as you were sick, or tell you that the flowers were blooming inside of him because of you.

Taeil barely knew you but he was in love with you, and he wanted you to be his first and last love, he wanted to hold you forever. The song he had been written over time, was made up out of lyrics involving thoughts about you and him, the both of you together. Because of you, he had been able to write the song and maybe even break through in the company. Even if he hadn’t seen you much, his heart kept on looking for you.

He suddenly stood at your front door, ringing the bell as he was preparing what to say to you, but the buzzer went before he even had the chance to say something. Being allowed inside was already something: now the rest had to happen, even if he was unprepared and you didn’t know of any of this.

His steps guided him up a staircase and towards the place where you would be living according to your colleague, the guitar resting on his back but it was heavy with the many steps that he had to take just to get to you. His eyes counted the numbers on the door until he realized the next one would be your number, your little home. Before he even properly realized it, he stood in front of your door. His hands brought together in a shy manner.

He didn’t move for a few seconds as his mind was blank, his feelings lived in the moment and they gave no signs of the things that he was supposed to do or say at this moment. He knocked on the door a few times, hoping that after letting you in the building, you would also let him into your home. He was about to knock but the door was opened, his eyes looking up to only reveal a snippet of you. “Come in” you said soft, your voice was close to non-existent but Taeil had managed to hear it.

The door was opened wider and Taeil walked inside, letting you close the door behind him. He politely took off his shoes and left his guitar bag near them in case you didn’t want it inside your home. “Hey,” he said with a slight smile, for the first time looking up to take in all of you, and not just a little snippet. The greeting made you smile slightly at him, though it surprised him that you didn’t say anything in return.

“I heard that you were sick, and I really needed you in the coffee shop,” Taeil said with a smile, seeming excited just because he had finally been around you. Though his excitement appeared when he heard a cough leave your body, sounding rough and harsher than those of his sounded. You grabbed a face mask that was on the table and put it in front of your mouth as if it was hiding what was wrong with you. “Why?” you asked in a quiet voice, even if you tried to talk like you normally did.

Taeil looked at you, the excitement that had disappeared, seemed to make another comeback. “Well I had a few days off and finally was able to finish writing the song I have been working on since we met,” He said. Neither of you realized it now, but it was as if two people with a sore throat were talking to each other, sharing their diseases even more. But in your sights, it was just y/n and Taeil, nothing else. “And I wanted to sing it to you, I brought my guitar and the lyrics and please let me sing it to you,” He said, looking at you with pleading eyes just so that you would say yes. You nodded your head, luckily the mask hid the small smile that you had on your face because of his excitement.

“Let me get my guitar,” He said and went to his guitar, getting it out of its bag. Without asking for permission, he sat himself down on a chair and got closer to you. It wasn’t much playing that he would do, but it would bring some more background to the words he would sing. He cleared his throat to get better access to his voice: it felt as if it was the last spark of his voice left, but he would happily use it on you.

You listened as the song slowly started, starting with a few seconds of the guitar playing. On a moment when you didn’t expect it, you heard his voice accompanying the guitar in the song. The lyrics and voice both stood out, catching your attention to the point where it was hard to decide what you wanted to focus on.

“Even if it hurts, it’s alright, because I love you.”

The words hit right into your heart like no other words could, the lyrics seemed to be directed to the situation you two found yourselves in. The pain from the flowers growing and taking away your breath, but it was okay, because you loved each other... even if it could be easily solved. All that it took, were confessions.

“Even if I cry, it’s okay, because I love you”

The words fell from his lips in his beautiful voice, you could hear the struggle which made you look up and notice the tear-filled eyes. It was okay if he cried, he was crying for you, crying for and because of you. Even if he had to cry every day, he would. A small tear ran down his cheek as he continued his song, determined to tell you how he felt.

“Even if it hurts, I’ll wait for you who is my last love”

You could barely hear the lyric he sang, it was still audible but the voice was getting less powerful with every passing lyric. He hadn’t coughed during the entire song, but you knew the end was nearing and it was overwhelming more than he thought.

“Because it’s you”

The word was mouthed instead of spoken, his lips parted as a tear was desperately trying to go from his upper lip to the bottom one. The breathing was calm and yet filled with struggles. His eyes met yours, two pairs of tear-filled eyes searching for confirmation and love. Desperate for love, but desperate to save each other.

Without realizing it, he put the guitar down which caused a louder thud as he hadn’t intended on putting it down, he hadn’t even known he was holding it. The words that had been sang, were words for both of you, they didn’t require any more explanation or additional sugar to sweeten them. Even if they were sweet, it felt bitter.

“I might not be your first love, but I’d like to be your last”

Taeil’s words sent the tears running down your cheeks, bundled in a nest of raw emotions that were being shared. You removed the mask from your lips, crumpling it together so that Taeil wasn’t able to see the flowers that you only a week ago had started to cough up again.

“I will be your first love, and I will love you forever until the day I die”

You whispered but your voice seemed to sound more alive again, the string of thorns that were connected to what seemed like your heart, had softened up and eventually replaced by the missing pieces of your heart.

Taeil looked towards you just like you looked at him. The pushing feeling in his throat disappeared, even when he parted his lips and felt around with his tongue, all he could feel on his tongue was a piece of candy that was shaped like a flower.

Love took the ropes in his hands and instead of tugging, it pushed you only closer to each other. Leaving you and Taeil to the first time your lips would meet one another. The kiss was careful and yet there was a bit of neediness coming from both of you.

It was like when the moon combined with the flowers: the moon would shine and glow, making the most beautiful flower bloom.

creating,

a moonflower

223 notes · View notes

manrocket-mo · 5 years

Text

Little Rose - Morgan Rielly

requested: yes (by anons)

prompt(s): “Mo introducing his new born to his team mates” and “Morgan letting you pick the name of your child“

word count: 1,337

author’s note: this is another response to a couple of Mo Appreciation Night asks sent to me. I’m slowly getting through them but I will answer all of the asks in my inbox! if you’d like more of these, you can check out the Morgan Rielly Appreciation Night and/or Masterlist pages on my blog!

When your baby girl came into the world, you and Morgan spent the first few hours by yourselves doting over her. It wasn’t until later in the day, after hours of bonding and a nap before your parents join you. It was very important to the both of you that you make a connection early with your little baby, enjoying just taking in her tiny features, a little bit of you and a little bit of Morgan. Shirley and Andy were the first to join, over the moon at their first grandchild. Your parents much the same. You were enjoying the company and the surge of happiness that came with the arrival of the littlest Rielly.

But nothing could prepare you for what was to come.

As soon as you gave Morgan the go-ahead, he sent a message that baby Rielly had arrived to his teammates. Within the hour, you had Mo’s teammates coordinating visiting hours so they didn’t arrive all at the same time. It was in-season but you had been scheduled to be induced during a longer break, so it came as no surprise that everyone wanted to meet your baby girl.

The first visitor was none other than Babs himself who congratulated you and joked around with Morgan about fatherhood and the importance of sleep for his star defenseman over a very needed cup of coffee. Then Zach, Brownie and soon Freddie is busting through the doors with Enzo with Danish chocolates and the Marleau family surrounded your bed oohing and ahhing at the little baby in your arms. Even Kappy and Willy tone down their antics when they visit, even each bringing a bouquet of flowers and a little stuffed animal for your baby girl (of course, when you check Instagram later there was a poll on their stories asking who had the best gift….)

Hainsey, John and Jake are the last scheduled teammates to visit.

“How does it feel?” Ron asks Mo as your husband gazes down at your little girl, comfy in her daddy’s strong arms.

“Like the most important day of my life… I can’t take my eyes off of her.”

“I remember it like it was yesterday when Henry was born. I felt like I couldn’t get enough time with him.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever have enough time with her. My girls are the most important thing in my life.” His voice is almost reverent.

“I’m so proud of you, Mo,” Ron murmurs, clapping your husband’s shoulder.

“All grown up, eh?” John teases causing Morgan to roll his eyes at him.

You can’t help but let your mind wander over to Morgan as Lucy and Aryne dote over you. Their eyes follow your gaze over to him and they watches with you as he leans down and presses a kiss to the baby’s eyelids. You sigh happily. On cloud 9.

“I’ve never loved him more,” you whisper. “I don’t think it’s even possible to love anyone any more than I love them.”

“Baby girl have a name yet?” Aryne wonders.

You shake your head. “We haven’t… not yet.”

She nods. “You’ll know,” Lucy assures. “You’ll definitely know.”

Just as visiting hours is about to end, there’s a quick knock on your door and in bursts three bodies much to you and Morgan’s surprise. Your baby girl didn’t like that too much and mewls.

“Sorry,” Steph apologizes, tiptoeing in, a huge contrast to her extra loud boyfriend who throws the door back and declares, “DO NOT FEAR, UNCLE MITCHY IS HERE!”

“Mitchell, I swear to GOD if you yell that one more fuc--” Auston had enough with his antics before they could even meet your daughter.

“Boys, LANGUAGE!” Morgan scolds before turning back to you, an arm around you as he sits in bed with you.

“Oh my gosh, Y/N, Morgs, she’s BEAUTIFUL!” Steph gushes, leaning down. “Mitchy, Aus put the gifts over there.”

“Can I hold her?” Mitch asks. And Morgan freezes next to you, looking to you in a panic. His overprotectiveness was quickly kicking in.

“It’ll be okay, Momo,” you whisper, pressing a kiss to his parted lips.

He sighs before standing up and giving his young teammates orders.

“Matty, Mitchy, go sit in those chairs over there.” Once they obey, he takes your baby girl in his arms and presses a kiss to her forehead. “It’s okay, baby girl. They won’t drop you… RIGHT, boys?”

And five minutes later, after arguing with Mitch, he settled your daughter into his arms though he hovered closeby.

Steph laughs as she wiggles uncomfortably, her newborn blue eyes not focused on anything in particular.

“Uncle Mitchy not so much of a natural, eh?” Auston teases although he’s leaning over impatiently. “That’s enough. Time for her favorite uncle.” And once he has her in his arms, he’s smitten.

“She’s so pretty,” he whispers. “Like his momma, not so much like you Mo.” You blush at that. “Hey, little girl. I’m going to be your favorite uncle. I’m not as annoying as Uncle Mitchy and I have a better taste in… well, everything.”

“What’s her name?” it’s Steph this time.

“We… haven’t decided yet,” Morgan explains, scratching at his beard, a nervous tick.

“What am I supposed to call her then?” Mitch whines, his head snapping in your baby’s direction.

“Freaking idiot…” Auston mutters. “I’m also not dumb like Uncle Mitchy.”

“Okay, okay, that’s enough before you get scrappy, I’ll take my girl back, thank you very much.” Morgan mumbles, his arms already cradling her to his chest, not giving either one any time to complain. “You’re safe with daddy now, aren’t you my pretty girl,” he coos. “You’re safe now.”

“God, she’s so beautiful,” Morgan marvels as you breastfeed your daughter. “You’re so beautiful. I-I have no words, Y/N.”

“It really is something, isn’t it?” You stroke her flushed cheeks as she tries this whole eating thing for the first time. “I think we were made for this, Momo.”

“Without a doubt…” He pushes a strand of hair behind your ear before pressing a kiss to your temple. “So… what do we name her?”

“I don’t know… this is so important, the most important thing in her life.”

“That’s why I want you to name her.”

“Mo--”

“Y/N, you carried her, you grew her within you for nine months. She’s already going to have my last name, I want her to have something that you gave her, too.”

“Morgan…”

“I really do want this, Y/N. I thought about this for a long time… Besides, who knows our baby girl better than the person that was connected to her for her entire life.” He smiles softly, taking your hand in his.

“Remember how we always said we wanted her to be strong in this world… I want that to…” you stroked her cheek. “Reagan. Little ruler...”

“She already completely rules my heart… Reagan Rielly, I love that. So much.” He was looking at the two of you with so much awe, so much love, so much wonder.

“Reagan Rose Rielly,” you whisper. “The rose garden, our first kiss. One of the best days of my life...”

“And mine,” he confirms.

“Rosie… Rosie girl,” Morgan coos, leaning down to press a sweet kiss to her little hand. “Our little Rosie girl.”

“I can’t wait to be home with the both of you,” you admit, your head falling onto his shoulder.

“Just you, me and Rosie. I don’t think I’ll ever want to go back… I don’t think I’ll ever be able to leave you two ever again.” The worry on his face was evident in the turmoil in his eyes, the dent in his eyebrows, the frown on his lips.

“Lets just love on our baby girl and worry about all that later, okay?” He nods and you press a gentle kiss to his lips. “Just you, me and Rosie.”

“Just you, me and Rosie,” he whispers warmly. Because right now, in your world, that’s all that mattered.

morganrielly

Toronto, ON

Liked by Y/IG/H and 53,416 others

morganrielly Reagan Rose Rielly ❤️8 lbs, 2 oz.

Momma and baby are strong, healthy and home. Thank you for all the well-wishes!

Y/IG/H You and Rosie girl are all I need. 🌹

marner_93 Remember who your favorite uncle is, Roro!

auston.matthews Don’t let Mitchy fool you, pretty girl! I’m your favorite uncle!

stephlachancee Rosie girl, rosie lips ❤️

frederikandersen31 lille rose

mapleleafs welcome to the littlest bud!

#Morgan Rielly #morgan rielly imagine #Toronto Maple Leafs #Auston Matthews #Mitch Marner #Morgan rielly imagines #NHL Imagines

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purplesurveys · 4 years

Text

626

HI BELATED HAPPY NEW YEAR

First things first, did you have a good year? I would say most of it was good. I did most of the stuff I said I was going to do so I’m giving myself pats on the back for that. Things just kinda took a turn for the worse by the end of the year what with an ambiguous end to my most recent semester (I don’t have two of my seven final grades yet because my prof likes seeing her students suffer, I guess) and losing Nacho, so it all balances out.

How old did you turn this year? I turned 21. Which means legality in the US, but I’ve been legal in the Philippines for three years now so it doesn’t warrant much of a celebration lol.

Do you feel your age? I guess. There are days where it’s very tempting to feel inadequate because there are many 21-year-olds in my social circle who have their own business, are grabbing opportunities here and there (they’re in a successful band, are junior radio jocks, hired as emcees, serve as UAAP courtside reporters, to name a few), already make their own money, etc., but I just have to remind myself that everybody is moving at their own pace and that in my case, at least I’m not behind and that I’m moving remarkably fairly for my age.

Did your appearance change in anyway? Nah I BARELY did anything to my look this year. I did not go for a haircut at all in 2019 and now my hair is crazy long. I’m keeping it untrimmed until my grad shoot, so the long hair will stay with me for a while.

Post your favorite selfie. I would but Tumblr doesn’t really work the same way as Twitter where I’d feel more free to share photos of myself haha.

If you traveled, where did you go? My family went to Pangasinan, Bicol, Tagaytay, and Cavite this year. I also took my friends on a day trip to Nasugbu shortly before school started in August as sort of a last hurrah for our summer vacation.

Which fashion trends did you love? Which fashion trends did you hate? I initially liked chunky sneakers until everyone bought their own pair solely so that they’d feel like they’re one of the cool kids – it quickly became uncool after that. I was a fan of mom jeans (still am), high-waisted jeans, culottes, and tops in muted colors and had cute little bows in the chest area. I hated bike shorts and scrunchies, and slowly got tired of off-shoulder tops by the end of the year. I never understood tracksuits and never bought one of my own, and was also never a fan of hype fashion like DBTK shirts.

What was your favorite article of clothing this year? Post a pic if possible? I looooooooved the floral romper and the two-piece ensemble I was both able to snag at Feliz.

What song sums up this year for you? Buwan by juan karlos, the two reasons being that the song exploded in 2019 and because it was Nacho’s favorite and he made a million jokes about it.

What album came out and has been on heavy rotation since then? This question is a little vague so I’ll answer it in two ways. In my case, I definitely played Beyonce’s Homecoming album TOO MUCH last year. But radio-wise, it looked like Ariana Grande and Camila Cabello had stellar years.

What was your favorite movie of the year? I had several favorite movies, but here they are put in order: Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Midsommar, and Toy Story 4.

Did an actor/actress catch your attention for the first time this year? Florence fucking Pugh. Also I just realized how attractive Timothee Chalamet is, although I’ve been aware of him way before 2019 and haven’t watched any of his material.

Favorite new TV show? I watched the first few episodes of Stranger Things but I found it too slow-paced so I let it go easily. Other than that I didn’t really get into any 2019 shows because I’m not a big TV person, but I did recently get into Descendants of the Sun so that’s new for me! Queer Eye will also always have a place in my heart.

Which new ship/fandom has taken over a lot of your time, attention, and tears? I’m a little too old for that now but I did heavily get into the Try Guys. I don’t ship any of them together but I just genuinely love each of them, them as a group, and all the content they put out.

What food did you try for the first time? Ooh there’s a lot. Foie gras, aligue (crab fat) ramen, Bloody Mary, pistachios, a vanilla frappe from Starbucks, Tim Hortons food, ji pai (Taiwanese fried chicken) and pad thai, to name a few. I’m so so so pumped to try out even more new food in 2020.

Did you make any big permanent changes this year? I stopped talking to my brother.

What was one nice thing you did for someone else? Being one of the only two people in my org who can drive, I’ve always offered lifts to my friends. I don’t say anything even if where I’m taking them is entirely off my normal route, which frustrates Gabie, but honestly I just like helping my friends and making their commute easier for them. I also checked up on Nacho a day before he passed. I regret being too civil, but at least I checked up on him. Not a lot of people did that in his last few days.

What was one nice thing you did for yourself? Ok so one thing my org does is hold journalism workshops to schools across the country. The org is a bit small and not all the members are reliable, so what usually happens is that the same group of people attend the workshops and teach and facilitate – me being a part of that same group of people. Given that we have class during weekdays and these workshops happen on weekends, the schedule can be very demanding, especially if these schools request a shit-ton of topics for us to teach them. I sort of looked out for myself more this year by declining to go to a couple of the workshops, so that I can experience actually having a full weekend to myself.

Did you develop a new obsession? I discovered a YouTuber who is insanely good at Mario Kart 8 and I watched a ton of his playthroughs in 2019. Oh, and MUKBANG ASMRs. It’s an insanely unpopular opinion but I love chewing noises, dude.

Did you vote? It was the senatorial elections this year and yes, I did vote. None of my votes got in, of course, because unfortunately the rest of the Filipino electorate don’t know any better. I was part of a real-time fact-checking group that day for extra class credit, and I will never forget the collective groan and moan that came out of that room when the first batch of results came out on the news and we saw the same corrupt, power-hungry, money-hungry, anti-poor politicians top the polls.

Did you move? No. I’ve lived in the same house since 2008.

Did you get a job? I did not, BUT I did get an internship which I was pretty stoked about.

Did you get a pet? I did not. I don’t want anyone else but my dog, who I’ve had also since 2008.

Do you regret not doing anything? Sure. I have never taken Gab’s mom out on a girls’ night kind of date, and I always told myself that I was going to finally do that in 2019 – which I didn’t. I’m so going to make sure we do it this year. I’m also sad that I didn’t get to see Angela more times last year. And that I didn’t do more for Nacho, so now I have to live with the loss of him forever.

Do you regret doing something? Nothing is coming to mind so I guess nothing major. <-- Pretty much, thankfully.

Have you done anything that scared you? Tried vaping, did shisha for the first time, walk alone in Katipunan, be stuck at a restaurant table with Gab’s (very stoic) dad while she went to the washroom, to name a few lol. On a deeper note, I was a bad girlfriend several times over 2019 and it rocked the relationship quite a bit.

Did anyone/thing make you so mad it stayed with you for days? Yeah absolutely. I hated the people who went too far when it came to Nach, especially his ‘friends’ who didn’t hesitate to turn his back on him. And when things finally crashed and burned, I was too fucking pissed at everybody to even say something about it.

Did you lose anyone close to you? Yes.

Did you fall in love? For most of 2019 as with 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018, yes.

Did you fall out of love? Nope.

Did you start a new relationship? I did not.

Did you go through a break up? I almost had to, but we sat each other down several times in the year to fix what had to be fixed, and it’s been very smooth sailing since.

Did you have to cut ties to someone? They weren’t people I was close to in any extent, but I’ve blocked several people from a certain elite school because I hate that school.

Who was important to you this year but wasn’t important last year? No one strongly comes to mind since I basically just retained my circle, but I did meet Gab’s closest cousin this year for the first time, and anyone who’s family to her is automatically important to me, so I’d go with him.

Who wasn’t as important to you this year as they were last year? This is going to sound completely awful, but I guess my college blockmates. I was always sort of the ~black sheep in our small batch of 7 while all of them are incredibly close with one another. 2019 was the year that I stopped trying to hang out with them, because I realized that no matter how hard I try, we’re really just on different wavelengths and I can’t keep faking my expressions and mannerisms just so I feel accepted or so that I can survive a day with them.

If you could have a do over on one thing you did, would you take it? Yeah, I definitely wish I cut some of my classes much less.

What was the best moment of the year for you? What was the worst? There were a lot of high moments from 2019 if we’re being honest. I liked taking Gab and her dad out for a ONE Championship pay-per-view back in January, I liked being invited to her dad’s birthday dinner, my road trip to Nasugbu, every day that my dad was here, going to the beach, partying for Halloween with friends, seeing old friends again in our org Christmas party, that one night Gab and I went to BGC just to bar-hop, our fancypants date that was also in BGC, and I’m sure there’s a bunch more that I’ve forgotten to mention. The absolute worst moment came at the very minute I pieced it together and found out *surprise surprise* Nacho was gone forever. I don’t think I was able to speak for two hours. When I did, I ended up crying the rest of the night until I passed out.

Did anything happen that you were sure would change you as a person but it really didn’t? Not-so-serious answer, but I thought I was gonna live my entire life without needing injections to my mouth, but lo and behold I went to the dentist in December and got THREE. I thought I was going to pass out, I thought it was going to hurt, I thought I was going to thrash around my seat in terror... I ended up not even feeling anything. I dunno if it’s because I got a lower dose of whatever, or if my dentist is just better than others, but the whole experience went much better than I expected. This may sound shallow but I have the biggest needle-and-any-sharp-object phobia, so this is a lot coming from me hahaha.

Did anything happen to you that you were sure wouldn’t change you as a person but it did? Watching Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Gab just needed a companion to the cinema that night; I had no idea what the movie was going to be about and even read the entire plot while trailers were showing – in the end, it’s been me who’s been talking about the movie way way more than she.

What are you most proud of accomplishing? Not killing myself. The 2010s was just me internally betting on when I’d finally pull the plug, but I had what it took to get me to 2020, apparently.

What have you learned about yourself this year that you didn’t know in the years prior? That everything you do and say on the internet is permanent, and you’ll forever have to live with the the consequences that come from them.

Did your opinion of anyone change for the better? Andrew. Before 2019, I found him so horrifyingly clingy, so chatty, and he was always trying to be close to everyone (he still does). It drove the introvert side of my ambivert-ness absolutely NUTS. At one point I realized he wasn’t going to change, so I just gave him a chance and turns out, he’s a great friend and an even better co-worker hahaha.

Did your opinion of anyone change for worse? Everybody who claimed to be Nach’s friend but didn’t find it hard to say vile stuff about him.

If you make resolutions, did you complete them this year? I told myself I was going to make a one-photo-a-day private Instagram dump for 2019, but I stopped as early as January 27 LMAOOOOO. I’m doing it again this year and I’m much more determined to keep it going.

If you make resolutions, what will your resolutions be for the coming year? Keep my 2020 Instagram active, be able to travel... and be happier, basically.

If you could go on an adventure during the remaining days of the year, where would you go and what would you do? Who would you go this? A little too late my dude. I’m typing this out in 2020.

What do you wish for others for the coming year? What do you wish for yourself? I just hope everybody on here feels a little bit more warmth and happiness, dude. We all deserve it.

#survey #surveys

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stupidassdecisions · 5 years

Text

Failure: An Avengers Story Chapter 2

Chapter 1

The morning sunlight shone through the curtains covering the single window in Agent Hollins' bedroom, waking the sleeping agent. Opening her bed-ridden eyes, she groaned softly as she was met with beams of sunlight in her eyes and a pounding in her head, courtesy of the numerous drinks she consumed last night on her mission. She remained lying down, staring aimlessly at the ceiling, pondering if it was really crucial for her to get up and go to work. Figuring she probably should, she swung her legs out of the covers and sat on the edge of the bed, reaching over to her nightstand to grab the bottle of pills she kept there. This wasn't her first hangover and it certainly wouldn't be her last.

A sigh escaped her lips as she throws back the pills, runs her hand through her tangled, slept in hair, and rises to her feet. She walks towards her closet to pull out her uniform and undergarments, but as she nears the closed doors she hears a clinking noise coming from inside her apartment. Freezing only a second, she quickly grabs her pistol off of her dresser and pads softly down the hallway, peeking into the bathroom and office on the way making sure the intruder wasn't in either of those rooms. She continued to creep silently until stopping along the wall right next to the opening that led to the kitchen. Breathing in silently 1......2......

"AHHHH" she screamed as the intruder jumped around the corner into sight, thrusting a coffee cup towards her. "What the fuck Phil?!"

"Figured I'd stop in and accompany you to HQ." replied the older agent.

"And, let me guess, to do your weekly invasion of my privacy to make sure I haven't slid too far into the deep end so you can report back to Fury?"

"He, and I, are just worried about this increasingly wayward behavior of yours Zeppelin. Ever since you came back from your mission in Grenada you've stopped working the field work cases, haven't taken charge of any upcoming missions, you spend your nights drinking up entire bars, you come into work late and hungover, and you still have refused to tell anyone what happened after the mission ended. You used to be one of our top agents, and now...well.." Coulson rants, looking around at the state of the apartment. Empty bottles of whiskey, vodka, and gin layered every table, takeout cartons littered the kitchen counter, clothes strung carelessly throughout.

"Don't you dare break into my apartment, sneak around, and then lecture me about my behavior Coulson. I am not your daughter. You are not my father. I am fine and can take care of myself thanks. And I don't need to be psychoanalyzed by some company shrink. I'm dealing with things my way."

"It's not healthy Zep"

"And yet, I don't care."

"Well I do care. I was your S.O. and you were my first student. One of the best I and SHIELD has ever seen. Stop punishing yourself over whatever happened over there."

"I deserve the punishment. Now leave. I'll be coming in for debriefing, I'll try not to be late" Zeppelin spits out, her head pounding and her frustration growing. She watches as Phil's face falls into a dissapointed expression but her nods before turning and leaving her apartment as per her request. In truth, she loved the man dearly and he was both a friend and father figure. But he brought up Grenada and she had to shut him down before she herself broke down. Angrily tossing the coffee mug across the room, she turned and began to get ready to head to HQ.

------------------------------------------------------

The debrief, as usual, was a bore to Zeppelin. Lately they were just becoming more and more useless as the 'missions' she accepted were small quick and easy jobs and as a Level 7 agent, she already knew more than the agents debriefing her. Like she said. Boring.

Walking away from the debriefing room, she heads in the direction of her office until the familiar footsteps and sweeping sounds of a trench coat enter from an intersecting hallway.

"Hollins, come with me" the ever familiar voice of Director Nick Fury fills Zeppelins ears and she halts, hesitating only a moment before turning around to face her boss.

"Sorry sir, I have matter to attend to in my office"

"I'm sure the bottle of scotch in your desk can wait. We have an emergency."

The serious tone of his voice keeps her from arguing back despite his comment. She quickly snaps her mouth shut and motions towards Fury to lead the way. Walking towards the elevator, she realizes they are heading towards the helipad.

"Sir what's the emergency?"

"Coulson called, said the Tessaract has been acting up and we have to evacuate the New Mexico facility. We don't know the nature of this alien threat so Dr. Selvig has been helping us try to make sense of it. It's been pretty quite until now, but I need to keep my best agents at my side in case this goes south. Romanoff is on a mission and Barton and Hill are already at the facility. Lucky for me Coulson informed me you were in today for debriefing."

Reaching the helicopter, the blades already whirring as we jump into the open doors.

"I'm not back in the field yet Fury, and besides, I don't know what good I am to fight back against an alien energy source."

"Good thing we're headed to the desert, no field for you today Hollins."

"Cute Fury. Not funny. I don't...." Her words get lost as the helicopter takes off. Looking out the window towards the night sky, she had no idea what lie ahead from this moment on.

-----------------------------------------------------------

**Authors Note** PLEASE READ!!!!

Hope you all are enjoying so far! Sorry for delay in update, it's finals week for me so I've been busy studying.

Anyhoo.. I have two paths for this story to go down. I have one story arc that involves Zeppelin and Clint Barton, or another (not fully formulated) arc with Zeppelin and Steve Rogers. Comment or message me which you all prefer! This 'poll' will be open for about a week or two and then I have to start making the story head in either direction. Until then look for more updates hopefully daily!

#failure #Avengers #avengers fanfiction #avengers imagine #clint barton #Steve Rogers #agents of shield #avengers fandom #tony stark #agent coulson

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nikatyler · 5 years

Photo

When I finished my exam today, I was really excited and full of energy but now all of that is gone and I’m starting to see how stressful this day has actually been. I’m so incredibly tired! I went to bed at 11 pm yesterday, fell asleep quite quickly, woke up again at midnight. I slept until 4 am and then I kept waking up and falling asleep in what I believe were really short intervals. I don’t know which of these nightmare scenarios I had were actual nightmares and which ones I came up with thanks to overthinking. It was some crazy shit - one of them, probably the craziest one, I actually shared on twitter yesterday. For a little bit, I was worried that I would wake up without the ability to read or write. And even though I know that’s impossible, I was so worried and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Thing is, my anxious perfectionist brain always jumps to “either you do well on this or you die” mindset. Which then leads to me being stressed out days before and doing crazy things because of that. Just to name a few: I unfollowed a lot of blogs because following so many was driving me insane. I muted a bunch of people on twitter and called it self care even though it was probably just petty. Last but not least, I’m generally more mean and insensitive than I usually am these days and I hate that but also, I just can’t help it. (hey please if I was mean to you, don’t give up on me, it’ll get better again I swear) So yeah, fun times. Can’t wait for it to be finally June so all of this is over.

To quote my favourite musical: hold your breath and count the days, we’re graduating soon, college will be paradise if I’m not dead by June.

Onto those replies now.

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your photoset “So…I was just casually setting up another scene, posing the sims and...”

This is DESTINY of this generation - trying to die (hard)

Just wait for when I focus on Regan. That girl is...going in her parents’ footsteps. I swear it’s not my fault. Seriously. I would never want for any of my important legacy sims to die.

Okay well, I might have planned to kill off Tyler at one point like year and a half ago but we don’t talk about that. Ever. Not since that dumb “one year with Rose triplets” thing. Don’t worry about it.

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your photoset “Unfortunately, it didn’t help. Again, sims logic. Don’t question it....”

NO MIRACLE NO

Miracles shouldn't die!

How dare you!

When I said "don't return to aliens" I didn't mean "die instead"

pxelblobs replied to your photoset “Unfortunately, it didn’t help. Again, sims logic. Don’t question it....”

Noooo Miracle!

I knew that sims could burn to death if the weather is too hot and everything, but it has never happened to me and I certainly didn’t expect it to happen now. I was freaking out. That was not how I wanted her story to end.

Then I went to twitter and asked people what they want me to do, but before the poll ended, I actually decided that nope, I can’t do this, she has to stay alive. By the way, if I remember correctly, people voted for leaving her dead. Sooo...yeah.

harmoniouspixels replied to your post “WAIT HOLD UP IS MIRACLE LIKE DEAD DEAD”

I guess I wasn't paying too much attention until this ask BUT MIRACLE'S DEAD WTF

Lmao I can see this happening to me. In fact, it has definitely happened to me before - just casually scrolling down my dash, not paying attention to anything (which is why I never go to my dash anymore) at all and then suddenly I realize - wait a minute, when did that sim die?! What did I miss?

alfalfalegacy replied to your photoset “Yeah well, Adam, maybe you could’ve done something when you still had...”

Will Smith voice: It's rewind time

I laughed so hard at this because I literally made the same joke a few posts later. Great minds think alike! *let’s pretend I’m a great mind ok, at least for a few seconds*

treason-and-plot replied to your post “WAIT HOLD UP IS MIRACLE LIKE DEAD DEAD”

This game is so cruel

Yup.

It couldn’t have happened to like...I don’t know. Esme during the uni storyline. Or Fred during James’s storyline. Guys, do you remember Fred the mustache guy? Good old times.

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your photoset “Adam: “Hmmm, I wonder what I should do?”

I just thought... IT'S A BEACH THERE IS PLENTY OF WATER AROUND

I KNOW

THAT’S WHAT BOTHERED ME THE MOST IT LITERALLY DOESN’T MAKE ANY SENSE

*slow clap for sims logic*

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your photoset “At least she gets a nice gravestone…I guess. Aaand the dog is useless...”

simlovinggirl replied to your photoset “At least she gets a nice gravestone…I guess. Aaand the dog is useless...”

I can't believe she died this way! :'(

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your photoset “Miracle baby oh my god I’m so sorry I didn’t want this to happen I’m...”

:( :( :(

alfalfalegacy replied to your photoset “Miracle baby oh my god I’m so sorry I didn’t want this to happen I’m...”

�� poor miracle

The only thing I really enjoyed about this is that these posts fell on the weekend before April 1st. I know this isn’t something to be laughed at...but the timing was so perfect. If I had planned this, it wouldn’t have worked.

Then again, let’s be real, I wouldn’t have planned this. This is just cruel.

alfalfalegacy replied to your photoset “Worry not, Adam. The Grim Reaper might be cruel but I’m the one who’s...”

Whew I'm glad she's still alive

simlovinggirl replied to your photoset “Worry not, Adam. The Grim Reaper might be cruel but I’m the one who’s...”

PHEW!!!!!

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your photoset “Worry not, Adam. The Grim Reaper might be cruel but I’m the one who’s...”

Yay!

I’ve never been more excited to quit without saving

whysimstho replied to your photoset “Lydia: “Sorry I’m late! I didn’t mean to, I promise. Siblings got in...”

"Oh yeah and my mom died in an alternate reality but it's cool, it's cool."

I mean, she’s definitely heard about all the crazy shit that has happened to her family over the years, so maybe it doesn’t seem as a big deal to her anymore.

It’s been a while since I last said Roses are a mess but they really are a huge mess lmao

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your photoset “cloudberry-sims: ???: Sorry but you can’t read that book yet! Stone:...”

Zillah will most likely appear after I finish Strangerville!

Yay! You don’t have to rush though, as long as she appears one day, it’s cool. It’s just a little sad when I spend a lot of time working on a sim and then the person who requested them never uses them.

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your photoset “This girl is no longer on fiyah, fiyaaaaah”

Next time you try to die don't do it, okay?

Oh trust me I’ll keep an eye on her from now on

It’s what Caleb would have wanted

wait did I just make myself cry thinking about this

dreamsongsims replied to your photoset “I’m still not sure why she’s doing martial arts. Like yeah, I wanted...”

That moment when you just can't remember what your plans were for your sim! I have that a lot. LOL

I guess I do kinda remember the purpose for the story, the problem is...I don’t actually understand why I did it that way?

create-a-sim replied to your photo “someday i’ll be famous and you’ll have to admit you were wrong.”

Wow, this looks super cool!

Thank you! I really enjoyed working on this. It’s just one of the many outcomes of my “Tyler gets famous” headcanons, which by the way are one of my favourite things to think about these days.

onemoreordinarysimblr replied to your photo “Am I late to the party?”

Very cute!

alfalfalegacy replied to your photo “I had to do another one.”

This is a nice looking room!!

berrysweetboutique replied to your photo “I had to do another one.”

They're too fun and this is way cute ♥

Thank you guys! I really enjoy the idea of this. I’m definitely not done with this trend yet! ♥

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your photo “please don’t ever become a stranger whose laugh i could recognize...”

Oh it sucks that that person isn't around anymore(( losing friends is always hard

Btw, the edit is really cute!

Yeah...I was going through my old posts yesterday, saw some asks and got sad about this again. I miss talking daily to a person who was so much like me in so many ways. I don’t want to go into details but yeah...never thought I could miss a person I’ve never actually met and here I am.

desira-sims replied to your post “�� ?”

I feel ya on the bands. My music tastes seems to go from one extreme to the next.

It’s so hard to limit yourself to just one genre! I don’t understand how some people can do this. Well, I don’t actually believe such people exist...everyone has their “guilty pleasure” and no one will change my mind.

desira-sims replied to your post “I associate you with Ross and Caleb :D (i really need to catch up on...”

This is 100% me.

It’s clear, if a sim wants to be the mascot of my blog, they have to be a bisexual disaster.

I mean, when I look at myself, that makes sense. I myself am one big bisexual disaster.

mellowaliens replied to your post “Tomorrow, I’m taking my first graduation exam. It’s a writing one, so...”

Good luck hon!

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your post “Tomorrow, I’m taking my first graduation exam. It’s a writing one, so...”

Good luck! ❤️ You can do it!

desira-sims replied to your post “Tomorrow, I’m taking my first graduation exam. It’s a writing one, so...”

Good luck!!! Sending positive vibes your way.

whysimstho replied to your post “Tomorrow, I’m taking my first graduation exam. It’s a writing one, so...”

Good Luck!

audrey-rosewadsworth replied to your post “Tomorrow, I’m taking my first graduation exam. It’s a writing one, so...”

GOOD LUCK

audrey-rosewadsworth replied to your post “Tomorrow, I’m taking my first graduation exam. It’s a writing one, so...”

I BELIEVE IN YOUUUU

poisonfireleafs replied to your post “Hey hi hello guess who survived the exam? It went better than I...”

Good luck tomorrow :)

*hugs* Thank you so much guys. ♥

desira-sims replied to your post “Good morning guys, I'm still freaking out about the exam. I'm taking...”

Just take deep breath and don’t stress too much. You’ll do great on the exam. Congrats on your milestone!

I started feeling so much better when I left home. I went out and I was like okay, I can’t do much about this anymore, can I? And then I met up with my friend at the bus stop and we just talked and suddenly I wasn’t scared anymore because I realized we’re all in this together - the two of us, the rest of our class and all the other 80 000 (or something) students in our country who were taking the exam as well.

My biggest problem was that the exam started at 12.30 and ended at like 2.30 pm. If it had been in the morning, I wouldn’t have had so much time to worry about it. Thank the lord that’s the case with the English exam tomorrow, it starts at 8 am which is an okay school time for me - on a normal day, classes start at 7.50.

Also, thank you! ♥

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your post “Hey hi hello guess who survived the exam? It went better than I...”

Yay, congrats!

desira-sims replied to your post “Hey hi hello guess who survived the exam? It went better than I...”

Woot woot!

mellowaliens replied to your post “Hey hi hello guess who survived the exam? It went better than I...”

Good luck and congrats!

Now I’ll have to wait for the results...that’s gonna be fuuuuuun.

By the way, people are already making memes based on the topics and I enjoy that. People who didn’t take the exam can’t understand, but it’s really funny, I swear.

simlovinggirl replied to your photoset

awwwwww! ♥ ♥ ♥

They’re definitely among the cutest couples I have in my game right now! ♥

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your photoset “Courtney: “Uhh…” Regan: “Wait. You…you guys? You’re like…” Felix: “Not...”

Well I kinda shipped themXD

I must admit that I didn’t at first, but then I noticed it could work. Whenever Regan said something bad about Felix, Courtney defended him, and so I thought...what if they went to uni together? Could they fall in love? Turns out they could :D

#replies #tiny-tany-thaanos #pxelblobs #harmoniouspixels #alfalfalegacy #treason-and-plot #whysimstho #dreamsongsims #create-a-sim #onemoreordinarysimblr #berrysweetboutique #desira-sims #mellowaliens #audrey-rosewadsworth #poisonfireleafs #simlovinggirl

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noxus-the-venomous-blog · 5 years

Text

Part 1 Toxic tranquility

“Alright I'm checking the hallway,” Frank said dishonestly into the walkie talkie hanging from his shoulders........

He instead adjusted his position on his chair, fulfilling only the spirit of his duty by glancing at the security monitors in front of him. Nothing as always. “Looking all clear from my end.”

His earpiece mumbled acceptance, then asked for more in depth clarification.

Frank briefly sighed in annoyance. “Yeah I went out into the hall but I haven't been to the lobby. I’m on my way.” He slowly stood with a grunt and exited the small security room. He chuckled to himself and spoke into the receiver, “hey maybe Bob’s back and messing with the security system… You don't know Bob? Also remember to say over, I have to hit a button on my end how do you not know that?”

He switched a few lights on and proceeded down the hallway slowly, glancing into each room, his footsteps echoing a hollow sound across the narrow corridor. Offices, laboratories, storerooms, nothing out of the ordinary that he could see.

“Ok so full story, Bob was a techie who fixed computers around here. You have to have seen him, mousy little dude tiptoeing to servers and scribbling in a notepad. So like last week the big bosses from the science department come in and start making cuts in IT and this dude was on the list. But when it happened he didn't take it well. He started crying… Yeah really crying. Saying he won't leave, bringing up his kids… Three I think.”

Frank reached the lobby, a dim and soulless room. He took a seat at the receptionist desk and began booting up the computer.

He continued to elaborate on his story while waiting for the dated grey relic of a computer to load.“When he was walking out we all just stared. If this was grade school we would have laughed and threw paper balls, but no one flinched. In that moment we all felt his pain. I'm no wuss but I don't think I would have handled it better in his shoes. He trudged into the elevator and no one saw him again.”

Frank finally was able to check the cameras, each small was screen empty and unchanged.

“Nope no Bob…” He raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean did you not get any part of the story? The guy was broken. We have a betting poll on what day he comes back to shoot the place up… Ah you’re just naive, it’s absolutely possible! And if he does im the one left dealing… Hey we got a flicker on ground floor… That's when a door or window sensor says its open then closed then open. Is this your first night?”

His supervisor’s apparent airheadedness aside, it was probably nothing. Sensors misread all the time. But as he started walking away from the computer a feeling in his gut stirred. He glanced back at the monitor, focusing on the small flickering pixels slowly blinking on and off.

Frank hung his head back in resignation and pressed the button on his receiver. “Nah I’m gonna check it anyway, its annoying though… Its cool I dont mind, besides if Bob’s back i wanna catch him tonight, or tomorrow, I bet on the whole week.” He then changed his course, heading in the opposite direction towards the origin of the problem.

------------------------------------------------------------------

The man fumbled in his chair, sitting alone at the diner.

A waiter walked over and asked, “sir? Are you waiting for anyone? You haven’t ordered.”

He nodded his head wordlessly and stared deeply at the cheaply stained wood table. He began to tap his fingers on it but that quickly escalated into scratching a small line into the wood. He gazed at the line he was his nail was carving so deeply it took him a full moment to realize the man was still standing there. He stumbled over his words a little, “I’m… I’m sorry im just...”

“Nervous?” The waiter sat down across from the customer and placed his notepad in his lap. “It’s a big date isn't it?”

The customer nodded without looking at the man across the table. “She's almost here and we need to have this big talk that she doesn't even know she needs to have…“

“Want my advice?” the man offered with a smile. The nervous patron met his eyes. “If it’s a request then ask it with boldness, If it’s a confession then say it with humility and if it’s a declaration then be ready to mean it. “

The corner of the man’s mouth twitched. “Hm… that works. Thank you.”

“No problem. Does she have red hair? You’re going to wanna take a breath.” The waiter then stood up to help seat the woman who had just entered. She was guided over to the now much calmer man sitting in the booth, who had conveniently slid a napkin over the small scar in the table.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“No that was the old company name, they changed it after it got sold… Yeah why do you think this place has downsized so much lately? New owners new problems,” Frank grumbled as he continued through a small empty cold storage room.

“I used to have a security team to back me up. Three on each shift. We had a real job to do too back then. Kids from the university constantly sneaking in after hours. Sometimes for some mischief but every now and then just to squeeze some extra time in to finish whatever assignment they were stressing over,” he explained while walking to towards a window to check the sensors. A small solid green light on each sensor let him know the equipment was functioning and the windows were latched shut.

“That’s room 204 clear too, are you sure you’re looking at the map right? None of these rooms could be were the flicker is coming from.” This wild goose chase was starting to become annoying.

He walked out of the room and in to the hallway, slowly scanning in both directions. He swore he had already checked each cluster of doors, and their interconnected rooms.

“Hey I think I might’ve missed 209. I’m gonna check it out just to say I got all of em…” the voice in the earpiece protested slightly. “No I see your point but I’m here so I may as well check all of them. Besides I have nothing better to do. At least you're more talkative than the last dispatch. We should get drinks some time, I'll pay for it. You don't work a job this boring without a few drinks.”

He approached the room slowly and paused just before he entered. Something didn't seem right. He saw computers and monitors set up around the rooms perimeter. Dust had acquired on each keyboard as they waited for future fingertips to bring them back to life. He glanced to his left and saw the the window sealed and the indicator light green. He glanced to his right and saw no other windows or any other types of exits. But something still didn't feel rightl.

“Does the flicker look like it matches 209? No way I just walked out of 204 I’m telling you something wrong with 209. There's like a cold chill in here... Wait a second… it's cold in here. Like a breeze.” Frank’s eyes widened, he rushed over to one of the monitors at the desk and slid it over, revealing a window wide open. The sensor hanging off of it, damaged and blinking sporadically. “We’re gonna have to talk drinks another time. Bob’s back.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“The food here is sub par,” the young man says nervously, trying to form an N shape in his mashed potatoes, “but it’s affordable to a degree that makes its quality seem better.”

“The chicken is bomb though,” the woman leaned over with a piece of meat on her fork, dipping it into her boyfriends mashed potatoes. His eyes widened staring at the streak she made in his nearly finished starch sculpture. She gave a flirty smile.“And you went through that burger like a lion gnawing on a squirrel.”

“When would a lion meet a squirrel?” he said with a smirk as he began scultpting what's left of his potatoes into an O shape.

She pointed at him with her fork. “City lions. People with bad vision think there buying a house cat but it never stops growing.”

“Who doesn't have that one crazy lion lady in the family because of that?”

They both stared at each other for a moment and then giggled. The woman leaned forward and spoke quietly, “so what has you so nervous. Your food handwriting is off its game, that Q looks terrible.”

He glanced away from her. “It's an O… I’m just… I have a reason to invite you here.” He looked over at the rest of the restaurant, then back to her and lowered his voice, “I have something to tell you but there's no sane way to say it. You’re going to think i’m crazy and then your going to think lying but when you realize i’m not you’re going to be angry. When that happens all I ask is that you hear me out and let me tell my side of the story. Will that be ok?”

Her smile had faded. She leaned in with gravely serious expression. “Ok but… I want to guess. I want two guesses before you say anything and that's the only way I'll hear you out.” The man almost replied but then just nodded his head. She continued, “ok… You’re going to propose to me?”

He shook his head.

“Ok then… I’m gonna go out on a limb here… You dress up in all black, wear a gas mask and steal from science factories under the name Noxious in an attempt to take over the world.”

His heart dropped. He couldn’t breathe. His pulse raced and his vision blurred. When a comet rushes through space it plays many roles. Sometimes it orbits a planet as a satellite. Sometimes it collides into mass and creates a planet. Everything it becomes will change eventually and over billions of years it will slowly play every role it possibly can in the stages of the universe. In that one shaken moment, Noxious wished desperately that that comet would play the role of destroyer and take the entire restaurant out.

He stammered ‘I... Its not-”

“I’m in.” She smiled sweetly at him.

“In what?”

“I want to join you. I want to be your partner in crime” she stated proudly while awkwardly finding her drink straw with her mouth.

This wasn’t real, was it? “How did you know?”

“I checked your computer under the folder marked ‘Noxious Agenda’ and I even corrected some grammar in a few of the documents. You have good use of metaphor for your journals,” she spoke proudly, showing she was far more prepared than he thought to accept his “devastating” news

Noxious could barely believe what he was hearing. “Wait when did you use my computer you've never stayed at my house?”

She waved a hand dismissively. “I wandered in at some point. I’m so bad about fidgeting with other peoples electronics.”

His jaw dropped. “I can’t believe you’re ok with this. I thought you would leave me and report me to the police. We have so much to talk about and so much to plan.” He felt light headed and giddy. This tremendous weight had been lifted off him. He felt so relieved that she understood his scenario that he failed to see the down side of his girlfriend admitting she broke into his home and spell checked his manifesto. He felt accepted. More so he felt affirmed in his conviction. He now had a partner to aid him in his wicked remodeling of a broken world. They were both strange and off putting, and his is why they worked.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Frank scrambled around the storage room, checking the inventory. “How long until the cops show up im getting my ass played over here! Three boxes of materials are already missing and I can’t find a trace of Bob! Hello? Dispatch dont do this to me. Alright that’s not working,” he said in frustration as he returned his radio to the holster to his belt.

He reached for the cell phone in his back pocket and the moment he couldn't feel it an annoying thought dawned on him. He had left it on the security desk. Frank was all alone as he searched each room, following seemingly just behind the trail of the mysterious intruder. His concentration was broken when he heard a door shut from down the hall. He ran over and pulled out his sidearm. All he could see was more corridors of shut and open doors. He came up on one slowly.

He clutched his radio and hit the button. “Ok not sure if this is going through but Ive narrowed down his location to three doors. If it's Bob then he's manic. I'm gonna start kicking doors down and corner the rat.”

Frank flinched at a reply in his earbud. He took a deep breath as he heard the news. “Shit don't do anything, and don't confront him! Bob ain't crazy but he may have snapped, i'm running to your post as fast as I can!” He booked it.

With all the urgency he could muster he took stride down the hall, through the lobby and then down another hall. He glanced over at his security booth mid stride but couldn't see his phone immediately. Deciding to ignore it he continued up the stairs and rushed down the painted tile path until he could see the security dispatch. The place was covered in smoke, bellowing out the open armored door.

He covered his mouth and rushed in, scanning the thick smoke with his flashlight in order to find dispatch or the source of the smoke. Finally under the desk a piece of warped plastic caught his eye. It was a tube covered in tape and burnt at one end. An improvised smoke bomb.

As he saw it the door shut and latched behind him. He kicked it twice causing his firm boot to boom like a drum off the metal door. When that didn’t work he searched through the thick smoke to find the control panel. He tried the electric door release, no luck, instead he turned on the air circulation.

As the smoke began to suck out of the room he began to see two shadowy figures forming outside of the bulletproof glass observation window. Frank gritted his teeth as their figures became clearer, he pressed the intercom button and yelled, “who the hell are you two?! Get me outta here! So help me if you hurt the dispatch lady !'m gonna shove my pistol up your ass and play hide the lead!”

The two figures were fully visible now. On the left was a man with a dark hoodie, gloves and a black leather gas mask. On the right was a woman in a similar concealed outfit with a small lock of red hair falling over her goggles and respirator. She leaned in and pressed the equivalent intercom button on her side, speaking in a familiar voice, “it wasn't Bob… Over.”

----Writen by poison, edited by chem trails

#Noxus

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bountyofbeads · 5 years

Text

https://www.businessinsider.com/fbi-agents-reaction-trump-conspiracy-theory-jeffrey-epstein-death-2019-8

NEW: FBI personnel are furious Trump peddled a baseless conspiracy about Jeffrey Epstein's death. "The last thing investigators need is the president of the United States fanning the flames with these bulls--- theories that have no basis in reality."

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF PEDDLES CONSPIRACY THEORIES? Trump has peddled conspiracy theories his entire adult life from the "Central Park 5" to the "Birther" Conspiracy to "Qnon" to "Seth Rich" conspiracy theory.

Donald Trump DOES NOT live in reality, he lives in his "guided cage" surrounded by people who feed his belief in conspiracy theories. Donald Trump has told

President Trump has made 12,019 false or misleading claims over 928 days

By Glenn Kessler, Salvador Rizzo and Meg Kelly | Published August 12, 2019 at 3:00 AM EDT | Washington Post | Posted August 13, 2019 11:37 AM ET |

President Trump’s proclivity for spouting exaggerated numbers, unwarranted boasts and outright falsehoods has continued at a remarkable pace. As of Aug. 5, his 928th day in office, he had made 12,019 false or misleading claims, according to the Fact Checker’s database that analyzes, categorizes and tracks every suspect statement the president has uttered.

Trump crossed the 10,000 mark on April 26, and he has been averaging about 20 fishy claims a day since then. From the start of his presidency, he has averaged about 13 such claims a day.

About one-fifth of these claims are about immigration, his signature issue — a percentage that has grown since the government shut down over funding for his promised wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. In fact, his most repeated claim — 190 times — is that his border wall is being built. Congress balked at funding the concrete barrier he envisioned, so he has tried to pitch bollard fencing and repairs of existing barriers as “a wall.”

False or misleading claims about trade, the economy and the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign each account for about 10 percent of the total. Claims on those subjects are also among his most repeated.

Trump has falsely claimed 186 times that the U.S. economy today is the best in history. He began making this claim in June 2018, and it quickly became one of his favorites. The president can certainly brag about the state of the economy, but he runs into trouble when he repeatedly makes a play for the history books. By just about any important measure, the economy today is not doing as well as it did under Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson or Bill Clinton — or Ulysses S. Grant. Moreover, the economy is beginning to hit the head winds caused by the president’s trade wars.

On 166 occasions, he has claimed the United States has “lost” money on trade deficits. This reflects a basic misunderstanding of economics. Countries do not “lose” money on trade deficits. A trade deficit simply means that people in one country are buying more goods from another country than people in the second country are buying from the first country. Trade deficits are also affected by macroeconomic factors, such as currencies, economic growth, and savings and investment rates.

Trump has falsely said 162 times that he passed the biggest tax cut in history. Even before his tax cut was crafted, he promised that it would be the biggest in U.S. history — bigger than Ronald Reagan’s in 1981. Reagan’s tax cut amounted to 2.9 percent of the gross domestic product, and none of the proposals under consideration came close to that level. Yet Trump persisted in this fiction even when the tax cut was eventually crafted to be the equivalent of 0.9 percent of GDP, making it the eighth-largest tax cut in 100 years. This continues to be an all-purpose applause line at the president’s rallies.

The president’s constant Twitter barrage also adds to his totals. More than 18 percent of the false and misleading statements stemmed from his itchy Twitter finger.

Trump’s penchant for repeating false claims is demonstrated by the fact that the Fact Checker database has recorded more than 300 instances in which he has repeated a variation of the same claim at least three times. He also now has earned 23 “Bottomless Pinocchios,” claims that have earned Three or Four Pinocchios and that have been repeated at least 20 times.

Even as Trump’s fact-free statements proliferate, there is evidence that his approach is failing.

Fewer than 3 in 10 Americans believe many of his most-common false statements, according to a Washington Post Fact Checker poll published in December. Only among a pool of strong Trump approvers — about 1 in 6 adults in the survey — did large majorities accept several, although not all, of his falsehoods as true.

The award-winning database website, created by graphics reporter Leslie Shapiro, has an extremely fast search engine that will quickly locate suspect statements the president has made. We encourage readers to explore it in detail. For this update, we have added a new feature that provides a URL for every claim that is fact-checked, allowing readers to post the link on social media.

FBI agents are livid that Trump is amplifying 'bulls--- theories' about Jeffrey Epstein's death 'that have no basis in reality'

By Sonam Sheth | Published August 13, 2019 9:25 AM ET | Business Insider | Posted August 13, 2019 11:24 AM ET

FBI agents are horrified thatPresident Donald Trump promoted a baseless conspiracy theory on Twitter suggesting the Clinton family was involved in the death of the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The Justice Department announced that Epstein died by "apparent suicide" and there is no evidence that the conspiracy theory Trump retweeted has any merit.

"The Epstein case was hypercharged from the get-go," one current FBI agent, who requested anonymity to freely discuss Trump's actions, told INSIDER.

"The last thing investigators need is the president of the United States fanning the flames with these bulls--- theories that have no basis in reality."

Another agent told INSIDER that Trump's actions make the FBI's job harder as it combats homegrown extremism, particularly after its latest finding that conspiracy theories pose a new domestic-terrorism threat.

"It's not hyperbole to say that when the president makes up these stories — or promotes stories made up by others — he's putting innocent lives at risk," said one former senior Justice Department official.

FBI personnel are furious thatPresident Donald Trump retweeted to his 63 million Twitter followers a baseless conspiracy theory suggesting that former President Bill Clinton was involved in the death of the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Angel Ureña, Clinton's spokesperson, responded to the tweet, posted by the right-wing comedian Terrence Williams, on Twitter, writing: "Ridiculous, and of course not true — and Donald Trump knows it. Has he triggered the 25th Amendment yet?"

The Federal Bureau of Prisons announced that Epstein, who faced multiple charges of sex trafficking involving underage girls, died by "apparent suicide." He was placed on suicide watch last month after prison guards discovered him lying semiconscious in his cell with marks on his neck, suggesting that he had tried to kill himself.

But Epstein was taken off suicide watch six days later, and, at the time of his death, he was alone in his cell and was not monitored by guards who were supposed to check in on him every half hour.

There is no evidence that the conspiracy theory Trump retweeted has any merit. And FBI agents who spoke with INSIDER said the president's actions aren't just irresponsible but also dangerous.

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said on Fox News Sunday that Trump "just wants everything to be investigated." Attorney General William Barr announced on Saturday that the Justice Department inspector general and the FBI are investigating the circumstances surrounding Epstein's death.

But the president's actions make investigators' job harder, not easier.

"The Epstein case was hypercharged from the get-go," one current FBI agent, who requested anonymity to freely discuss Trump's actions, told INSIDER. "The last thing investigators need is the president of the United States fanning the flames with these bulls--- theories that have no basis in reality."

Frank Montoya, Jr., a recently retired FBI special agent, characterized Trump's actions as "crazy talk coming from no less than the President of the United States."

"This would be a bad TV melodrama if it weren't real," he added. "The world is watching. Trump may be successfully fooling a third of America with his sociopathic antics, but everyone else ... sees how naked the Emperor is, and they are exploiting the advantage."

CNN reported that after Trump retweeted the conspiracy, which was accompanied by a video, the clip had received more than 3 million views on Twitter as of Sunday morning. That's more than triple Williams' other recent videos.

Another FBI agent told INSIDER that Trump's actions make the FBI's job harder as it combats homegrown extremism, particularly after its latest finding that conspiracy theories pose a new domestic-terrorism threat.

"The FBI assesses anti-government, identity-based, and fringe political conspiracy theories very likely motivate some domestic extremists, wholly or in part, to commit criminal and sometimes violent activity," the FBI said in May. "The FBI further assesses in some cases these conspiracy theories very likely encourage the targeting of specific people, places, and organizations, thereby increasing the likelihood of violence against these targets."

The Clinton family has long been a bête noire for Republicans, but the level of vitriol that Trump and his supporters leveled against them during the 2016 election and after was unparalleled. Hillary Clinton was dogmatic in her criticism of Trump, but intelligence officials say Trump's willingness to traffic in outright misinformation and paranoid conspiracies presents a unique threat.

Trump's rallies made headlines for the infamous "Lock her up!" chants that dominated the events, and the president's retweet about Epstein's death bore a striking resemblance to when he elevated a similar conspiracy theory about the suicide of the former Clinton aide Vince Foster.

Also during the election, the alt right and many Trump supporters seized on an unfounded conspiracy theory suggesting that the Clinton campaign's emails, which had been published online by WikiLeaks, contained coded messages connecting Clinton and other high-ranking Democrats to a child sex-trafficking ring operating out of a Washington, DC, pizza parlor.

A man from North Carolina, motivated by the "Pizzagate" conspiracy theory, traveled to the DC restaurant to investigate and fired a rifle inside the establishment.

Indeed, in its intelligence bulletin highlighting the threat posed by conspiracy theories, the FBI laid out several events over the last few years in which "perpetrators intended to kill groups identified by such theories as hostile and malevolent," or to carry out "dangerous, unlawful acts in an effort to draw attention to or expose a perceived conspiracy." These included:

When a California man was arrested in December after intending to blow up a satanic temple monument in the Illinois capital building to make Americans "aware of 'Pizzagate' and the New World Order (NWO), who were dismantling society."

The October 2018 mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which resulted in 11 deaths and several injuries. The alleged shooter, Robert Bowers, had a history of violent and anti-Semitic beliefs. Shortly before the attack, Bowers posted on social media that the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society "likes to bring invaders in that kill our people. I can't sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I'm going in."

When a Nevada man used an armored truck to block traffic on the Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge in June 2018. He was arrested after fleeing to Arizona and authorities found body armor, ammo, rifles, and a flash-bang device inside his vehicle. Citing a technical source with direct access, the FBI said the man directly referenced the QAnon conspiracy theory after his arrest. The media reported that he sent letters to Trump from jail that featured a QAnon slogan.

When two men were arrested in October 2016 on drug charges and found to be planning an attack on the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP), a government-funded research facility. The men apparently believed the US government was using HAARP to control the weather and prevent people from talking to God.

When Paul Anthony Ciancia shot and killed a Transportation Security Administration officer and wounded several others at Los Angeles International Airport in November 2013. Before the attack, Ciancia wrote a letter expressing his desire to kill TSA personnel, whom he believed were associated with the New World Order conspiracy theory.

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hollandsdisney · 6 years

Text

Pumpkin Patch part 2

Requested: Yes(ish)

Pairing: Tom Holland x Best Friend!Reader

Part 1

a/n: so i wasnt going to do a part 2, but i realized my first one shot kinda left it on a cliff hanger soo..here we are!

Getting back to Tom’s flat, you gently nudge Harrison awake.

“Wake up sleeping beauty, we’re back,” you whisper.

His eyelashes flutter awake and he stretches his arms.

“That was a bloody good nap,” he yawns.

“I’m glad you had a good rest,” you reply wittily.

The three of you walk into Tom’s apartment, each of you carrying your medium sized pumpkins.

You set them down on the kitchen table and rub your hands on your jeans.

“Oh! My big and small pumpkins!” you gasp, going back to the car to get them.

“She’s not going to be able to carry that big one back in here,” Tom recalls, smiling towards the front door.

Harrison notices his stare and smirks.

“So why don’t you go help her out?” he offers.

Tom looks at him bewildered and quickly shakes his head.

“Tom, you’ve got to start making moves, you wanker,” Haz chuckles.

“M-make moves? For what?” Tom fidgets, crossing his arms.

“Don’t make me say it. Anyway, you’re losing daylight!” Has points towards the door, causing Tom to raise his arms in defeat and make his way to you.

When he got to the front door, he took in the sight of you trying to carry both pumpkins. You were leaning on your left leg for balance, carrying the bigger pumpkin and slowly reached for the small pumpkin.

He shuts his eyes and chuckles, shaking his head at your attempt to carry both.

“You know, you could have asked for help, love,” he says, jogging down his front steps.

You turn to see Tom and let out a sigh.

“Oh thank god, I’m starting to lose feeling on my left side. Here,” you place the bigger pumpkin into Tom’s arms.

Your fingers lightly graze his arms, and you quickly look away. Even though he was wearing a sweater, you don’t want to be distracted by his toned muscles and unbelievable strength.

You grab the small pumpkin and lead him back into the house.

“So, pumpkin carvings; want to do them tonight?” Harrison suggests.

“Absolutely!” you shout.

“Perfect, I’ll get the knives and cutters out. Tom…you can just hang around,” Harrison jokes.

“Are you implying I can’t handle myself with a knife?” Tom scoffs.

“Tom, you can barely handle a scissor,” you laugh.

“Anyway, let me go change into something less cute so I don’t get pumpkin guts all over me,” you say, running upstairs.

Harrison grabs the utensils needed and brings them to the living room table.

It’s better to cut the pumpkins there considering you’ll all have more room to maneuver.

Tom grabs towels and lays them on the floor and on the wooden table.

“So, what's your plan, hm?” Harrison asks after a few minutes of silence.

“Plan..?” Tom furrows his eyebrows.

“You know, how are you going to tell Y/N you fancy her?” his teeth graze his bottom lip.

“Oh, fuck off, Haz,” Tom swats the air and straightens out the towel on the table.

“Did you really not think I’d notice?” Harrison asks, offended.

“Well, no, I-I guess not. But I thought you liked her?” he questions.

“I did, but I don’t like her nearly as much as you do. You practically drool over her when she does the slightest thing as look your way!” Harrison adds.

Tom shakes his head, grinding his jaw.

“Don’t pretend like I’m not right,” Haz raises a brow.

But he was right, and Tom knew it. Tom loved absolutely everything you did, and found the smallest things adorable and admirable. You had him insanely whipped.

“And I think she might like you, too,” Harrison spoke up again, plopping on the couch.

“Right, and my name is Bob,” Tom rolls his eyes, sitting on the floor.

“It’s quite amazing how smart and talented you are, yet your common sense is lacking,” Haz laughed.

Tom frowned, shooting him a glare.

“Oh, take the piss once and a while mate. Even though it’s true,” he smirked.

Meanwhile, you were upstairs getting changed into something more comfy. You grabbed a black sweatshirt that might’ve belonged to Tom and snaked it over your head.

The scent lingered in your nose, and you knew right away that it was, in fact, Tom’s.

You smile at the thought, but quickly shake your head.

You can’t like Tom. He’s your absolute best friend, along with Haz. You all have a great thing going, you don’t want to ruin it with false feelings. Besides, he didn’t like you back anyway, right? Right?

There was that one time his hug lasted a little longer than it had; and that day you all went to breakfast and he insisted on sitting across from you. You could have sworn his eyes were burning a hole through you, yet you didn’t mind.

But all those feelings were pushed back when you were set into reality.

It simply wouldn’t be possible to date Tom, with him in the spotlights and expanding his career.

And you’d never hinder his growth with your selfish wants.

You slide on leggings and throw your knotty hair up in a bun. It was about time your hair got out of your face.

You jog down the stairs and see the boys in the living room.

“You ready to carve some pumpkins?!” you exclaim.

The boys yell “Yeah!” making you gush and smile wider than you had been.

You sit on the floor next to Tom, and he scoots over to give you more room.

“Shall we make this more interesting? Maybe hold a contest?” Harrison asks.

“I like it! But wait, there’s three of us here, who’s gonna judge?” you ask.

Harrison pulls out his phone and points it towards the table of pumpkins.

“Okay, so Tom, Y/N and I are about to carve pumpkins. It’s up to you, the viewers, to vote on who’s pumpkin turns out best!” He points towards each pumpkin and when he’s finished recording on what you assume was his instagram video, he begins to frantically tap on his screen. Tom pulls out his phone as well, situating himself in front of the pumpkins and turning his phone facing him.

“So, as you saw in Harrison’s story, or if you’re just viewing my story, Haz, Y/N and I are carving pumpkins. When we’re done I’m going to show them all and you get to pick your favorite!”

Just then, you feel your phone vibrate, signaling a tag from Harrison on his story, and Tom’s follows shortly after.

“I better win...wait, what does the winner get?” you ask.

“Bragging rights..” Harrison says, beginning to carve the top of the pumpkin and remove the seeds.

“No! It should be something legit,” you shake your head and start to ponder.

“Bragging rights AND this pumpkin seed,” Harrison holds up the insides of the pumpkin, causing you to frown.

“Agh, I hate this part of carving!” you yank the top of you pumpkin off and begin to carve inside to remove the slimy seeds.

“How mad would you be if I just put all of this in your hair?” Tom asked cheekily.

“Very mad, Thomas, don’t you dare!” you screech, sliding away from him.

Tom laughs and throws the remnants of the pumpkin into the garbage.

You all decided on carving a traditional face into the pumpkins, but the true test was who’s would look more professionally done.

There was a silence in the room, concentration at an all time high.

“There’s a reason why I’m an actor,” you hear Tom whisper sing-song-like, and you giggle.

He looks over at you and smiles, proud of himself for making you laugh.

He sneaks a glance at your pumpkin, and notices you are doing exceptionally well.

“Well damn, Y/N, when were you going to tell us you had a keen eye for art?” Tom asks.

“A true artist never reveals her secrets,” you wink at him.

Tom could feel a blush creeping up his neck, and quickly looks away from your stare.

Harrison watches your interaction unfold in front of him, baffled at the fact neither of you knew each other’s intentions.

It was about an hour later, and Haz and Tom decided to post pictures of all 3 of the pumpkins on their story, along with a poll.

In the end, your pumpkin came in first, Harrison’s came in second, and Tom’s came in third.

“Rubbish! You guys are supposed to be on my side!” Tom cried on his instagram story.

“Don’t be mad! Your fans recognize true talent!” you taunt, shooting the camera an award winning smile. Tom made a mental note to save that story to his camera roll later.

You and Harrison start cleaning up the mess while Tom adds his finishing touches to his instagram story.

“Your fans are going to go nuts over all the new content,” you note.

“Good, now you won’t be canceled, Tom!” Haz sneers.

“I don’t even know what that means,” Tom folded his arms, “so your words mean nothing.”

“Why don’t you two put the pumpkins on display out in the front? I’ll wash up everything,” Harrison insists.

“You sure, Haz?” you pout.

“Yeah, yeah. Go on,” he shoos you two away.

You look at Tom and shrug, grabbing your pumpkin.

Harrison nods your way to Tom, as if to say “now’s your chance.”

Tom follows you outside with his pumpkin.

The night sky is illuminated by the stars and waning moon, the cool breeze sending shivers down your spine.

“Is this my sweatshirt?” Tom asks, lightly pulling at the hoodie.

“Oh, yeah. You don’t mind, do you?” you ask hesitantly.

“No, course not. What’s mine is yours, darling,” Tom assures you.

You give a cheeky grin and sit on the steps. You pat the spot next to you and Tom complies.

You sigh, looking up at the stars.

Tom takes this time to take in your profile, his eyes darting from your eyes to your lips.

“You’re awfully quiet, Tommy,” you whisper, eyes still glued to the stars.

Tom clears his throat.

“Just taking in the view is all,” he admits.

You bring your attention to the brown eyed boy and smile.

“Y/N...there’s something you have to know,” Tom trails off.

“Oh my gosh, you’re pregnant?” you gasp teasingly.

“No, seriously,” Tom averts his eyes and turns his body to you.

“What’s up, Tom?” you ask, growing concerned.

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you for..quite a while, actually,” he laughs breathily, “and I feel like if I don’t tell you now, it’s just going to consume me. Your presence consumes me, Y/N.”

You blink at him, slowly letting out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. Did Tom just confess his feelings to me? You thought. The corners of your mouth quirk up.

“Well, that makes me feel better about feeling the same way, then,” you confess.

His face perks up at your words and you can see his boyish smile shine through the moon’s light.

“I was hoping you would say that,” he said.

You smile up at him and lean your head on his shoulder.

Harrison watches from the living room window and sighs out, “Fucking finally,” chuckling to himself.

Tom owed Harrison big time for this one.

tags: @hazsterfield @greenarrowhead @toms-darling

#tom holland #tom holland imagine #tom holland au #tom holland blurb #tom holland headcanon #harrison osterfield #harrison osterfield blurb #harrison osterfield imagine #harrison osterfield headcanon #told you id do it #hazsterfield

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aparticularbandit · 5 years

Text

Current State of Bandit Fic:

This is long, so I apologize to everyone on mobile if that read more does not work and you have to scroll through a really long thing you don’t want to read. Sorry!

Completed JTV Fics (by which I mean completed drafts not completed and posted):

Carla

The rough draft is completely finished.

There are fifteen chapters total.

Some of these chapters are really rough and need a lot of editing.

Okay maybe not a lot but definitely some editin.

I plan to post a chapter every other week hopefully on Mondays.

But honestly idk if I’ll keep track of which Mondays I’ve posted a chapter and which I haven’t unless I have something to alternate them with.

Luisa and the Fox

The second draft is completely finished.

It’s off with my betas.

I’ve mostly let it lie fallow for the past month-ish (or maybe only a couple of weeks idk how long it’s been friends), which means I should be able to come at it with new eyes, too.

There are five chapters total.

However, I do currently plan to have a second connected fic that’s half a direct follow-up and half I just want Luisa and the Fox fluff.

Stuff that didn’t really fit into the fic proper (like the freckles scene).

I plan to post a chapter every other week on also hopefully on Mondays.

The plan is to alternate these with Carla chapter updates, but right now I’m waiting on input from at least one of my betas before posting another chapter.

This may change in the future because I’ve been getting antsy for...a lot of reasons.

In-Progress Posted JTV Fics (by which I mean I don’t have a completed draft):

If You Lived Here, You’d Be Home Now

Now that Carla’s rough draft is finished, polls have said to focus on this one.

These chapters are harder, so hoping to do one a month.

But this really depends on how well the chapter is going - y’all probably noticed a longer wait between chapters 7 and 8 because group therapy was a barrier.

Unlike Carla and Luisa and the Fox, this fic doesn’t really have a chapter-by-chapter plan (and even Carla didn’t until those last chapters...mostly).

So I kind of know what I want to happen through the course of the fic and the order of things but sometimes more set-up is required than just jumping around (or maybe it’s not but I feel like it is).

I have no idea how many chapters are left.

At least seventeen, if my current projections are correct, and that’s dealing with stuff that I feel like needs to be in separate chapters (although I may change my mind on that later), not even necessarily including stuff that I want to sprinkle in among other things (Rose meeting with her therapist, scattered Susanna stuff, etc.), which means it might be longer, it might not be.

And like - even with those seventeen - I feel like some of them definitely warrant some cool-down time between or something like that, so guesstimates would project more than that.

Jane: The Real Story

This was second on the polls as far as things y’all wanted me to focus on.

I don’t plan to schedule updates on this one. They may just happen when they happen.

These tend to be less intensive than the IYLHYBHN chapters, and they may fill in the every other week on Mondays slot when Carla is posted, but don’t hold me to that because I would prefer these to be unscheduled.

I also have no idea how many chapters are left.

I do plan on at least getting into s2 and s3 and potentially dealing with some of the stuff happening in s5 - like the Michael has amnesia! bit because that was part of the original post - but this is subject to change.

Mainly I have plans for that Michael bit and then dealing with Susanna and why Luisa and Rose are gone for a while.

And if this turns into Jane quit telling Mateo lies! then we...need an older Mateo.

I don’t know where/when I plan to end this.

This one is super flexible and I intend to leave it being flexible because I like having it that way.

The Adventures of Rose, the Baker’s Daughter

I like writing fairy tales don’t judge me.

This may jump into the every other week on Mondays slot when Luisa and the Fox is posted, but I may just start immediately into the other Luisa and the Fox fic that I mentioned instead. Not sure on that yet.

I don’t know how many chapters are left.

There are at least seven, but just as with IYLHYBHN, that’s stuff I feel should be segmented into chapters and does not include other stuff that might happen between those chapters (like, for instance, I have a couple of general plot point chapters for later but don’t know all of the interconnected stuff). In this case, I’d expect more than seven chapters. If I finish it. Y’all don’t seem too keen on this one.

There’s a lot of uncertains on this one, too, but I think that’s okay because y’all don’t seem too excited for it.

In-Progress Unposted JTV Fics (by which I mean I don’t have a completed draft):

Everything’s Coming Up Rose’s

90s rom-com au that no one really asked for but I’m over 17k deep into writing so you’ll probably get it anyway.

I mean. Technically it was fourth on stuff y’all wanted me to focus on, actually ahead of The Adventures of Rose, sooooooooo. Y’all want it but when it comes down to only getting one option on things, you don’t.

And you certainly don’t want it more than any of the other proposed aus.

Looking at maybe twelve? chapters.

Already wrote the first two and started the third, as well as having a chunk of chapter...7?? written and a bit that maybe shows up in chapter...8?? and another bit that might show up...in one of the earlier chapters maybe but I’m not sure where to put it yet.

The first two chapters are super rough but I like them, and I like this story. A lot. Which is why it kind of hangs out and still shows up on polls.

AND LIKE. I ACTUALLY KNOW THE WHOLE PLOT. DO YOU KNOW HOW RARE THAT IS.

I don’t know when I’ll start posting this one, and since y’all’ve told me y’all want me to focus on other fics in-progress and other aus, this should be lower on my totem pole but. I like it. So it’s not.

Luisa and the Fox: Shenanigans

Continuation of Luisa and the Fox.

No set number of chapters.

This is here for me to have more with these characters because I like them and there was more I wanted to write with them (originally just the freckles scene, but there’s starting to be some other stuff that I kind of have hanging around in my head that I might do) that didn’t really fit into the original story.

Don’t plan on posting these until after Luisa and the Fox is posted for obvious reasons, and this may fall into the every other Mondays slot once Luisa and the Fox is done. I haven’t decided yet.

Brainstorming JTV Fics (by which I mean they’re primarily in the brainstorming stage but they may have a little bit written for them):

Harry Potter AU

The most requested AU on the poll.

Currently projected to have seven multi-chapter books.

Currently planned to be set concurrent with the original series.

Which means it may be more a crossover than an AU. Ish.

I’ve been rereading the original series so as to get a better idea of how things fit together (and the anti-Slytherin stuff and commentary is so big and I don’t think it stops because even if you bring up Snape it’s in context of we sorted him too soon and he should’ve been in Gryffindor so like. THOUGHTS).

This looks like it will be really long if I keep with this idea and write the whole thing.

Please don’t expect this to be finished quickly.

Please expect that I will likely take breaks to write other things.

Focus is on Clara as the viewpoint character.

I’ve made changes to birth years so that Clara and Luisa are born in the same year.

This does put Luisa a year higher in school than Clara, but since they’re in different houses anyway, this doesn’t really present a problem.

I might be overthinking this.

I’ve started outlining the first book.

I paused at chapter twelve because still figuring out the overarching series plot so the first book plot should tie into that.

I do have a general idea of character arcs for Clara/Rose and Luisa over the series and how that plays into what is discovered by the original trio over the series.

I also have a good idea of what happens in the final battle. It’s the externals that’s causing me more problems than the character-character and internals.

I’ve started the first chapter of the first book, but it’s really rough and probably will have a lot of changes.

Hallmark Holiday Special

The second most requested AU on the poll.

Currently I have a general idea of which version I want to go with.

Those of you who were around in November/December know that there were two variations I was playing with. A lot of aspects of those got retooled and put into Everything’s Coming Up Rose’s - and I mean a lot of aspects of both because I took the Rose from one and the Luisa from the other and meshed those together. However, this means I can take the one that plays the Hallmark tropes straight and not worry about the complications I’d originally planned for that because they come up somewhere else, which. lets me play it more straight.

Straight, hah.

Maybe five chapters?

Off the top of my head thinking about where the chapters would break?

Maybe?

Sounds about right?

Because they’re, like, 1.5hr shows with commercial breaks every fifteen minutes, but each commercial break is like five minutes or more, so there’s like. five segments, right? Something like that? My math on this is probably wrong but. five segments? Maybe?

I could probably jump back into writing this (I did start this somewhere in November/December) but I think I want to retool the beginning for other stuff that I think might mesh better than what I initially did. And it needed to be edited and I should rewrite the beginning anyway, so.

This is just backburner as far as writing because do you see all of the other stuff?

Also there’s -- just because I know what needs to happen in each chapter doesn’t mean I actually have concrete plot for each chapter and I kind of want to know the complication before I jump into writing so I can make sure to get that set up properly soooooooooo we’ll see.

The hope is that I have this set and ready to post in July.

Primarily because the idea of Christmas in July makes me happy.

--and you know what. There are five Mondays in July. I could just have this be what I update weekly in July if there are actually five chapters.

Tentative schedule maybe????

University AU

Tied for third most requested AU with canon-compliant soulmate AU, which is below.

Since the poll for prof/prof or student/student is deadlocked at a tie, I plan to go with prof/prof.

To counterbalance the HP AU, which is a really long extended student/student AU. With a whole bunch of other stuff.

I may do a student/student university AU later, but probably not.

My most recent ideas for the student/student university AU combines with the non-canon-compliant soulmate AU and hit some of the same points that IYLHYBHN does but in a different way with different variations. Ish. So because I still have general ideas for that, maybe, maybe not. Unsure.

This is currently being brainstormed.

I have a general idea for how to start this off.

So, like, the first two chapters, maybe? Or, like, a prologue and the first chapter?

I know how I want Rose and Luisa to meet, which would be the second chapter or...not the prologue.

I have a general idea as far as Luisa’s character.

I have less on Rose as far as concrete aspects, but I may get there.

I might jump into this one before the Hallmark Holiday Special just because it’s lingering in that place where you feel like you could be starting off on writing something and it’s there sort of thing?

Idk, it feels like less fluff than the HHS, which still needs some plot straightened out before I feel completely comfortable jumping back into it.

Canon-Compliant Soulmate AU

Tied for third most requested AU with university AU (see above).

I’m not focusing on this right now.

I know people like the one-shot and want a continuation of that, which is why this was on the poll.

I like the one-shot as a one-shot. I think it is complete as a one-shot. I don’t think expanding on that one will actually make it any better.

Which is why, if I revisited the soulmate timer idea, I’d planned on doing it differently and ended up combining it with the university student/student AU idea.

I do not plan on continuing the one-shot but instead want to deal with other soulmate AU tropes if I do another soulmate AU.

Given that I’d rather play with other soulmate AU tropes, I want to look through general ideas. Once one of those stands out to me as something that could mesh better in the long form for something canon-compliant, I can start better brainstorming.

So I guess this is less in the brainstorming stage and more in the idea collecting stage.

I hang out in the RPC, so I should be able to find one of those soulmate tropes posts at some point. And if not, you have all these other things above to look forward to that are getting more focus than this is.

This, of course, doesn’t include any one-shot ideas or the other aus I listed on that poll (I still really want to do the SG/Tick/JTV crossover because I’ve got ideas for that and how that would work), nor does it include any non-JTV fics I may or may not be writing/editing/etc.

So, basically, lots of content if I can get my butt sat down to write it. We’ll see how it goes because, honestly, looking at all of this is intimidating, and like, I’m excited for...most of these projects but. It’s a lot. It’s a lot.

But I just wanted to update y’all on current projections for these.

#musings #bandit does an update #bandit writes fic #carla stuff #luisa and the fox #iylhybhn stuff #luisa and the fox: shenanigans #jtv: the real story #roisa hp au

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