#and dealing with patient data
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bizarrelittlemew ¡ 4 months ago
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what people think being a phd student is like: groundbreaking research, cute academia outfits, lively classroom discussions during teaching, inspiring conferences, writing your thesis in film-worthy libraries and cute coffee shops
what being a phd student is actually like: imposter syndrome, forgetting that you even own nice clothes because you never use them, ending up on 3-4 more daily medications than when you started, trying to make your extremely niche research topic sound impactful on funding applications and getting rejected anyway, searching through 5 different calendars for a 25-minute window where all your supervisors can be there (2 of them won't make it anyway), doing multiple other projects before actually getting to the ones your thesis is about (at least you get your name on papers, which leads us to:), the whole soul-crushing publishing process, getting your patience tested by students who don't prepare for classes at all (but expect you to summarize and explain 3-4 lectures of stuff to them in 5 minutes during a hands-on tutorial), writing your thesis and putting together an assessment committee last minute, starting to feel nausea at the word "networking", experiencing levels of burnout you didn't know existed, university bureaucracy slowly but surely draining your will to live
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loumauve ¡ 7 months ago
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starguider ¡ 3 months ago
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I was about to rush through more of the main chapters of Exedra today and then they hit me with Magia Record chapters so i'd probably be a lot further level wise but... Arc 1 hehehe uwu i miss it. So i read it.
I noticed some slimming down which i guess makes sense. since Exedra wants to jump around and show off many stories from the franchise but idk. The game had so so much story and character building. Also no voices? :( sad. Hope they get added in eventually
#though i guess i could re-read arc 1 now that i have access to the beta private server...#calling it beta cause its still being worked on and when I see people just say private server others expect like a fully done replica of it#which isn't the case but very usable for reading the story!#which i believe preserving and translating the story is the top priority#And you can do some battles and stuff but i will say applying memos is hell since the beta ver. has everything unlocked and you have every#memo to sort through#but there is a level 999 livia in support so thats fun. i love livia and now she one shots everything#It is cool to have everything unlocked but i will wait patiently for when i can add my old data back :)#but i probably will use it for reading purposes eventually#especially since i want to compare to the Exedra adaptation of arc 1 & hopefully 2...#but like also i could just go to youtube lolol#i have to start up bootcamp if i want to play the dang thing#sorry for long tags lol#i just like yapping in the tags#i also i do like this game but as a video game appreciator and gacha player#I can tell this game was a bit rushed#and when i consume on that...#i get agitated cause we should have had like one more year with record while Exedra got the polish it deserves#but its whatever this is the hand we have been dealt#but if i didn't have blinders on for this franchise i wouldn't touch this game#Like if you are not interested in anything from the story#characters#or designs#the gameplay wouldn't keep you hooked.#which i guess isn't the biggest deal i guess idk#Madokas popular i imagine a guaranteed 3 years with this game and then depending on how its doing will give of us some insight on if it wil#continue
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reasonsforhope ¡ 6 months ago
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"A medical technology company in Australia is aiming for a world-first: it wants to launch a blood test for endometriosis (sometimes called 'endo' for short) within the first half of this year [2025].
In a recent peer-reviewed trial, its novel test proved 99.7 percent accurate at distinguishing severe cases of endometriosis from patients without the disease but with similar symptoms.
Even in the early stages of the disease, when blood markers may be harder to pick out, the test's accuracy remained over 85 percent.
The company behind the patent, Proteomics International, says it is currently adapting the method "for use in a clinical environment," with a target launch date in Australia for the second quarter of this year [2025].
The test is called PromarkerEndo.
"This advancement marks a significant step toward non-invasive, personalized care for a condition that has long been underserved by current medical approaches," managing director of Proteomics International Richard Lipscombe said in a press release from December 30.
Endometriosis is a common inflammatory disease that occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows in other parts of the body, forming lesions. The disease can be very painful, and yet the average patient often suffers debilitating symptoms for up to seven years before they are properly diagnosed.
While there are numerous reasons for such a long delay, symptoms of endometriosis are often highly variable, unpredictable, difficult to measure or describe, and dismissed or overlooked by doctors.
Today, the only definitive way to diagnose endometriosis is via keyhole surgery called a laparoscopy, which is expensive, invasive, and carries risks.
Proteomics International is hoping to change that.
In collaboration with researchers at the University of Melbourne and the Royal Women's Hospital, the company compared the bloodwork data from 749 participants of mostly European descent.
Some had endometriosis and others had symptoms that were similar to endo but without the lesions. All participants had a laparoscopy to confirm the presence or absence of the disease.
Sifting through the bloodwork, researchers ran several different algorithms to figure out which proteins in the blood were best at predicting endometriosis of varying stages.
Building on previous research, a panel of 10 proteins showed a "clear association" with endometriosis.
For years now, scientists have investigated possible blood biomarkers of endometriosis to see if they could differentiate between those who have endo and those who do not. Similar to cancerous tumors, endo lesions can establish their own blood supply, and if cervical cancer can be diagnosed via a blood test, it seemed possible that endometriosis could be, too...
Proteomics International claims patents for PromarkerEndo are "pending in all major jurisdictions," starting first in Australia.
It remains to be seen if the company's blood test lives up to the hype and is approved by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). But that's not outside the realm of possibility.
In November of 2023, some researchers predicted that a "reliable non-invasive biomarker for endometriosis is highly likely in the coming years."
Perhaps this is the year."
-via ScienceAlert, January 9, 2025
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Note: As someone with endometriosis, let me say that this is a HUGE deal. The condition is incredibly common, incredibly understudied, and incredibly often dismissed. Massive sexism at work here.
I got very lucky and got diagnosed after about 6 months of chronic pain (and extra extra lucky, because my pain went away with medication). But as the article says, the average time to diagnosis is seven years.
Being able to confirm endometriosis diagnoses/rates without invasive surgery will also lead to huge progress in studying/creating treatments for endo.
And fyi: If you have a period that is so painful that you can't stand up, or have to go home from school/work, or vomit, or anything else debilitating (or if any of those things apply if you forget to take pain meds), that is NOT NORMAL, and you should talk to a competent gynecologist asap.
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shield-secrets ¡ 15 days ago
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Bad Day - Dr Michael 'Robby' Robinavitch
I guess this counts as coming out of semi-retirement? anyway my heart will always belong to strong, silent, slightly emotionally unavailable men. Enjoy two idiots simping over each other. And please be kind. I'm a little rusty. Pairing: Dr Michael 'Robby Robinavitch x younger!nurse!reader Word Count: ~2.5k Warnings: none. does centre around babies so if that's not your vibe I get it
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It had taken almost 2 extra hours but finally all the charts were complete. Every patient was handed over to the incoming paediatric nurses and you were finally cleared to go home. 
There wasn’t anything exciting waiting for you, no social plans to speak of but after the day you’d had that wasn’t such a bad thing. Some shifts left you buzzing with anxiety (or, very rarely, joy) that needed to be directed outwards but this one had left you drained down to your bones. 
They happened less frequently now that you’d left the Pitt but dealing with tiny, innocent little humans in such critical condition was a different kind of hell from the casualties that tumbled into the ED in a never ending stream. 
Robby had warned you about it when you’d announced that you were accepting a new position upstairs in the paediatric wing but you’d mostly chalked it up to his disappointment that one of his favourite day shift nurses was leaving his department. 
The ED had never been your true calling, just a stop along the way to the babies that needed your help the most but that hadn’t made the decision to leave any easier. All the members of the Pitt had become your pseudo-family after 2 years working side by side. Samira had even planned your last birthday party when you’d said that you ‘couldn’t be bothered celebrating’. But in spite of those wonderful relationships there had been one in particular tethering you to the teeming mass of chaos that was The Pitt. 
Michael Robinavitch, MD. Known publicly as the Senior Attending Physician for Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital. Known to his staff as Dr Robby and to you as….something else. 
More than a boss but not quite a friend. Someone who refused to share his personal life had somehow weaselled his way under your skin. Just from a slight change in his posture or the inflection of his tone you’d instantly know how he was feeling, often turning up at his side with a granola bar or a coffee cool enough that he could down it in between patients. 
Over time he started to do the same for you - even though technically as a nurse you didn’t fall under his line of reporting. You’d be sitting at the hub, inputting patient data only to look up and find one of his favourite choc chip peanut butter power bars balanced delicately on the top of the monitor. Neither of you ever discussed it, just quietly kept each other motoring along despite the hurricane threatening to engulf the ED. 
“Alright. Get out of here” Angela, the senior paeds charge nurse, demanded as you handed over your keys to the prescriptions cabinet. “Before something goes wrong and we have to drag you back” 
“More than happy to comply” you laughed, brushing away the strands of hair that had escaped the bun you’d secured at the nape of your neck 10 hours ago. “See you on Monday” 
“Ah to be young” the older woman sighed wistfully, lifting her glasses to rest in her cloud of grey curls. “I hope you’re getting yourself out there. Not wasting your youth doomscrolling on that infernal phone” 
With a gentle shake of your head you reached under the desk to retrieve your bag. If Angela knew that your plans for the next 48 hours involved rotting on the couch and maybe scrolling through Hinge for the forty thousandth time she’d go on an hour long rant about how time was wasted on ‘pretty things like you’ and that you'd regret not getting out there when you was old and grey like her. 
Maybe there was a shred of truth to that but how could you dedicate yourself to finding a boyfriend when you couldn’t get a certain moody doctor out of your head. There had been other guys over the years but no matter how hard you tried they just couldn’t compare to the emotionally unavailable attending that haunted your dreams. 
Pulling your ‘infernal phone’ out of your bag you frowned to see a message from Dana waiting for you. It had only been there for ten minutes but the content had your insides lurching. 
Any chance you’re still here?
Frowning down at the screen you shouldered your bag, typing out a quick response. 
Just about to bail. Everything okay?
As soon as you sent your message a reply popped up underneath. 
Bad day. Could you come down?
She didn’t need to elaborate for you to know exactly who she was talking about and instead of taking the north exit towards the parking structure you were turning left, straight for the lift down to the Pitt. 
Dana barely managed a smile when the silver doors slid open. She just gestured with her pen to the dark windows of the staff room where you could barely make out a familiar silhouette. 
“So. The Pitt was sucking extra hard today?” you asked as you slid the door shut behind you. 
Letting loose a sigh that could rattle bones Robby slowly turned and the pure devastation on his face had your heart squeezing.
“Yeah,” he admitted after a pause. “You could say that” 
Irritation twisted under your pale pink scrubs. 
There was always more to it. Prying feelings out of Robby was like pulling blood from a stone. Even if you spent all night trying he wouldn’t part with anything but the bare minimum - the smallest amount of vulnerability that would get you off his case.  
And as much as you wanted all of it, to take all of the pain and darkness off his overburdened shoulders, you wouldn’t force his hand. He deserved soft and gentle and kind. 
“Any plans after work?” 
“Does sleeping for 16 years count?” he chuckled, rubbing a hand along his salt and pepper chin. 
“You got 16 years off? Wow. Maybe I should have been a doctor” 
He huffed a laugh at the joke but the accompanying smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. Dana had been right. A bad day indeed. “Do you have a minute? I think I know something that might help” 
He let you take him without complaint, leading him back through the buzzing ED and over to the elevators. As if sensing it was futile he didn’t even ask where you were going. Whether that was a sign of his trust or exhaustion you couldn’t tell, but his hand was warm in yours as the two of ventured up to the maternity ward. 
“You have to promise to keep this a secret” you said as you came to a stop outside a set of white double doors. “Technically we’re not meant to do this but I have an…arrangement” 
A dark brow arched in question but you ignored it, pushing the doors open slowly to reveal a sea of newborn babies resting in perspex cradles. Just the sight of the tiny newborns wrapped in pale yellow blankets set your heart fluttering. 
Babies weren’t everyone’s thing, that had become abundantly clear in your 8 months in paeds, but in your perfectly correct opinion there was nothing quite as soothing as holding a warm bundle in your arms after a hard shift. 
“You come in here often?” Robby asked, his voice low as to not disturb the sleeping patients. 
“From time to time” you admitted before grabbing two yellow paper gowns from the dispenser on the wall. “Angela turned me onto it after we lost a set of premature twins. Nothing helps sooth the sting of death like brand new little lives” 
“Or just an excuse to cuddle babies” Robby teased, a twinkle of amusement in his brown eyes. 
“Well it’s a better coping mechanism than standing on a ledge” you shot back. 
“Next time I see Jack up there I’ll suggest it to him” 
A snort of laughter echoed through the silent room. 
“Come on. I’ve got the perfect one” 
“What, you evaluate the babies for cuddle-potential?” Robby asked as the two of you slowly weaved your way through the rows on cradles. 
“No. I ask my spies which ones are the calmest so I know who won’t cry if I pick them up” 
“You have spies?” 
“All the best nurses have spies. You don’t think Dana has her own little network?” 
“Oh I know she does” he agreed. The ED would be engulfed in flames without his favourite charge nurse. Never mind that she was his most trusted source about his favourite topic. You. 
Right at the end of the middle row a tiny little baby waited for your eager hands. With well practiced movements you scooped baby Purcell out of her bed, cradling her delicate body to yours for a minute before turning to the man next to you. He took a half-step back but you were too fast, lifting the package up and into his impressive arms. 
For a split second fear flashed across his sculpted face before melting into an expression of pure contentment. 
A crease formed between the baby’s brows and your heart lurched with fear that she’d wake up and out your very much against hospital policy activities. But thankfully after a small wiggle she settled down into Robby’s arms (and honestly who could blame her). 
You could have picked up your own little bundle of joy, your favourite L&D nurse had texted you a list of 5 babies who would love to be held, but putting even an inch of space between you and your former attending sent an ache through you. So instead you stepped closer, heart skipping as you leant your cheek against the massive expanse of his bicep. Even through the thick fabric of his navy hoodie and the yellow gown his heat pulsed against your skin sending sparks of electricity down your spine. 
How you’d ever managed to get any work done around this man was one of the universe’s best kept secrets. With his sad puppy eyes and streaks of grey colouring the hair at his temples he was utterly hypnotic. The whole point of this trip was a quick hit of dopamine but it was quickly devolving into a completely different monster. How foolish you’d been to think you could go from not seeing him for weeks to standing side by side in a nursery and not get sucked into the vortex that was Robby. 
The two of you could have been standing there for five minutes or five hours it was impossible to tell. A different kind of quiet had settled over the room, wrapped you both in a bubble of calm. 
“I used to think I might have this someday” 
Robby’s confession rumbled through him, vibrating the thick muscle pressing against your cheek. 
“You still could” 
Your voice was barely above a whisper as you tried to speak around the ache in your throat. 
“I’m too old. Too broken. Wouldn’t want anyone wasting their time on me” he muttered, not taking his eyes off the baby snoring softly in his arms. 
You couldn’t help but blink in surprise. 
“Robby. You’re a very intelligent man but that might be the dumbest thing anyone’s ever said” 
He frowned, accidentally jostling baby Purcell in his arms who let out a dainty squeak of protest but he didn't take his eyes off you. You were staring up at him, eyelashes framing your sparkling eyes with a playful smile pulling at the corner of your lips and for a split second he forgot how to breathe. 
“What do you mean?’ 
He was almost afraid to ask. That you might be laughing at the notion of him ever wanting a family when his career consumed every waking moment of his day and often his nights. That there was clearly something wrong with him if he'd hit fifty and not found someone willing to start a family with him.
“Robby. Any woman would be lucky to have you” 
A bolt of lightning shot through his chest. 
If only you knew. 
If only you knew that from your first shift in the ED he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about you. That each time his hand brushed yours during a procedure it took every shred of his self-control to stay upright. That even the scent of your shampoo sent him in to a tail spin and he’d been equal parts ruined and relieved when you’d gone up to the fourth floor, hoping that some distance might free him from this crippling crush. Except that it had only worsened it - leaving him in a constant state of anxiety and relying on Dana for any scrap of information she had about your wellbeing. 
Clearing his throat with a soft cough he turned his eyes back to the little girl and the gentle slope of her button nose, willing himself not to ask the question that was burning a hole in his sternum. But surrounded by fragile human lives with the lavender scent of your shampoo flooding his senses he had no hope. 
“Do you want this someday?” 
To anyone outside it might have sounded like an innocent question but you knew Robby too well. Knew the intricacies of his tone. Something lingered at the edges of it, something deeper that had a jolt of nerves sweeping through your stomach. 
“As many as I can have” you replied, subconsciously leaning further into his arm and his heart lurched against his ribs. 
Of course. You worked in paeds. Naturally you were pro-children but he hadn’t quite put two and two together and the thought of you holding your own child had his stomach tumbling so violently his heart skipped a beat. 
Would he walk into the ED one to have Dana report that you’d met someone? Would he spend every day guiltily wishing that he’d receive a report of your breakup and still sit on the sidelines, too afraid of not being enough for you that it happened again and again until one day the breakup never came and he lost his chance forever? 
How was he meant to live in a world where someone else had the honour of being your man when he was just realising that it was the only job he’d ever want. 
Putting himself first didn't come naturally to Robby. It was his fatal flaw that had been pointed out by his loved ones on more than one occasion but for a single heartbeat he managed to silence the voice screaming in the back of his mind that he didn't deserve happiness long enough to speak the words burning at the tip of his tongue.
“Have dinner with me” 
It was barely more than a whisper but in the silent nursery it was practically a shout. Smiling into the paper gown your eyes slid up to his face to find Robby staring resolutely at the little girl but the scarlet blush growing on his cheeks betrayed his nerves. 
Because even though it was ridiculous - if you said it out loud you’d sound insane - it wasn’t just dinner. 
It was an invitation to a whole different future. 
Michael Robinavitch was a lot of things; brilliant, moody, funny, withdrawn, older. 
And also unequivocally yours. 
And you were his. 
This tension between the two of you wasn’t something awkward or strained. 
It was a question that had waited 2 years to be asked. 
And standing there in the dark nursery with his guarded heart finally cracked open there was only one answer. 
“I thought you’d never ask” 
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cryinggirlnamedhelen ¡ 4 months ago
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For the ladies: need help picking a scenario for a woman to be in the Blue Lock facility without making them a stereotypical (Y/n)? I gotchu bbg.
SCENARIOS
note: all of the ocs/(yn)s here are all 15-19 (high school to first year of college age) depending on your preference.
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1. A manager who does the same jobs as Anri but is much more involved personally with the players
- One way this could play out is someone who is a manager from another club or U20 team (ex; Bastard München) and is transferred to Blue Lock, whether it’s out of personal interest or a request from Ego. Either way, with her experience, she helps the players with ease and professional advice and also acts as a PR manager of sorts for them, and might even begin a romance with one of them.
- Another way is perhaps someone who is in desperate need of money and is willing to do anything for money. One day, she checks a sketchy website for new job offers with lots of money, and the new Blue Lock program hiring managers catches her eye. She instantly applies and gets in almost immediately, and helps out the players and Anri. She also might get into a love story with one of the players.
- Another way is someone who is an intern at the JFU (Japanese Football Union) and is assigned to work on Blue Lock with Anri, as the intern is only a teenager and Anri is a new hire and only 22 and fresh out of college. While Anri is helping out Ego more, the intern is helping out the players more while also learning more about herself, soccer, relationships, and love.
2. A nurse who checks the medical data of players and nurses them back to health during injuries or sickness.
- One way this scenario could play out is perhaps someone who is an aspiring doctor, and one way to train herself is to sign up for Blue Lock. She has enough medical knowledge to know what to do with common sicknesses like colds or fevers, and she knows how to deal with broken or fractured bones and more. She’s mostly learning how to truly have patients trust her, and she herself learns to fall in love.
- A daughter of a doctor who is called to Blue Lock, but her parent instead gives her the opportunity to help out at Blue Lock. Any plausible reason would be fine, but to not be too repetitive, I think that maybe something similar to being able to have a backup plan if she ever can’t go to college or doesn’t know what profession to chase could be a good reason for why she’s at Blue Lock.
3. A chef at the facility who is supposed to work in secret but is seen one night by a participant
- Okaaaaaaay so major Rin vibes here, but anyways she’s desperate for money so drops out of high school begins working at some random restaurant as a chef and just earns enough to barely get by. But one day, Ego visits the restaurant and hires her to cook for Blue Lock. She agrees, and she’s the one who cooks all the food at BLLK. One night, when all the players are supposed to be asleep, she sneaks out of her room to eat something, but doesn’t realize that a player from one of the wings had just finished extra training and was eating away. Let’s just say that their love story started from there.
4. An aspiring psychologist who wants to see what will happen to the mentalities and personalities of the players before and after Blue Lock
- HEAVY HEAVY HEAVY Isagi main love interest vibes here, but she’s kind of a weird person. She’s always analyzing the personalities of people because she’s so lonely and just wants to feel loved by someone. She then goes to Blue Lock out of pure interest just to see the results of the project. She accidentally sees one of the results of the elimination tag game for one of the teams, and she basically falls in love with the final eliminator then and there. She then kind of just hangs around them to see their personality, but she unknowingly becomes more and more in love with the person who she finds most psychologically interesting.
5. A former athlete who receives a career ending injury but becomes a regular spectator/mentor in Blue Lock
- So basically, she is a young athlete and is in love with whatever sport she’s playing and what’s to be the world’s best (I personally think ice skating would be perfect for this prompt…but anyways). But then one day at a competition or performance or match, she receives a career ending injury that will never heal, especially not if she keeps playing. Forced to quit and bitter about her injury, she goes to Blue Lock as a former athlete to watch a group of teenage boys try to achieve the dream that she once had, and she becomes a mentor and PR manager of sorts, giving them advice and encouragement.
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princessaffirms ¡ 2 months ago
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HOW REAL IS reality? is reality ALWAYS SUBJECTIVE? 🫧✨
the NEUROSCIENCE of reality shifting/law of assumption
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in reality shifting/law of assumption, we often say that the 3D CIRCUMSTANCES don’t matter because reality is subjective and everyone’s reality is their own individual, unique experience of reality. but is there any scientific truth to that?
this post discusses scientific evidence that reality is EXPERIENCED, not just observed.
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🌸✨ objectivity in science vs lived reality
in research, objectivity often means getting MULTIPLE OBSERVERS to agree (ex. in inter-rater reliability). if two people observe the same behavior in an experiment and record it similarly, it’s seen as “objective.”
but that doesn’t necessarily mean we’re accessing a pure, external truth.
we’re accessing SHARED SUBJECTIVITY: perspectives that just happen to align (o’connell, 2012).
even in science, reality is INTERPRETED, never just received.
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🌸✨ the brain is WIRED for SUBJECTIVE REALITY
neuroscientist riccardo fesce (2020) argues that subjectivity isn’t ADDED later by consciousness — it’s BUILT into the way your brain processes information from the START.
emotional and motivational relevance is part of how sensory data is processed
the hippocampus contextualizes this info: where you were, how it felt, what it meant
that processed, personal experience becomes your reality
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^ you can literally see this in fesce’s diagram, where DATA BECOMES personal experience through neural pathways connecting the hippocampus, limbic system, and associative cortices!
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🌸✨ subjectivity is not a flaw. it’s the FRAMEWORK!
this isn’t just one researcher’s theory. other experts agree:
• feinberg (1997) showed that internal (subjective) and external (objective) perspectives of consciousness are mutually IRREDUCIBLE.
BASICALLY: you can’t FULLY explain the inner experience just by describing brain activity.
• bajic et al. (2021) revealed how alzheimer’s patients shift into more INTERNALLY constructed realities.
BASICALLY: this means that reality is ALWAYS, in part, a mental construction, and it changes as brain states change.
take this quote for instance:
“Even though we cannot perceive reality as an objective truth, as we always make our personal version of reality … this apparent objectivity cannot be characterized as dealing with things-out-there, as independent of mental contents-in-here” (Bajic et al., 2021).”
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🌸✨ so WHAT does this MEAN for shifting + law of assumption?
it means you’re not imagining things when you say “i create my reality.”
you LITERALLY do.
you’re not being delusional, you’re being deliberate.
science BACKS UP what your soul already KNOWS:
your consciousness filters, colors, and chooses what BECOMES real.
you shift realities not by forcing the world to change, but by CHANGING how YOU contextualize, interpret, and assign meaning to it.
and that process happens neurologically and energetically (your thoughts + emotions literally carry energy!)
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🌸✨ FINAL THOUGHTS
science doesn’t cancel your power. it CONFIRMS your role as the one who chooses the lens through which YOU view your reality. neuroscience shows that your brain CONSTRUCTS your perception of reality, not reality itself. it filters what you experience based on your beliefs, focus, and assumptions.
but it’s your consciousness, your SOUL, that chooses the reality in the first place. the brain just processes the version of reality you’ve aligned yourself with. it’s not the creator, just the interpreter.
you are the operant power. you choose the lens, the identity, the timeline. your brain and body simply respond to what your awareness has already declared as TRUTH.
you are the observer, the chooser, AND the experiencer.
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🫧✨ SOURCES
• Bajic, V., Jukic, M. M., & Bajic, M. B. (2021). Alzheimer’s and consciousness: How much subjectivity is objective? Neuroscience Insights, 16, 26331055211034912. https://doi.org/10.1177/26331055211034912
• Feinberg, T. E. (1997). The irreducible perspectives of consciousness. Seminars in Neurology, 17(2), 129–137. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2008-1040917
• Fesce, R. (2020). Subjectivity as an emergent property of information processing by neuronal networks. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 14, 579000. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2020.579000
• O’Connell, M. (2012). Subjective reality, objective reality, modes of relatedness, and therapeutic action. Journal of Analytic Psychology, 45(3), 391–410. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2167-4086.2000.tb00581.x
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✨ NOTE: i recognize that not everyone reading these posts may come from a scientific background, or even desire to dive into the full technical details of the neuroscience mechanisms and topics discussed. for that reason, the content of these posts are intentionally simplified to make the core ideas more accessible, while still staying true to the scientific literature referenced.
if you’re interested in a deeper dive, i HIGHLY recommend giving the original papers a read! i always cite them at the end of each post 🫶 additionally, while i integrate scientific findings into these posts, my overall discussion remains interpretive and spiritually oriented, reflecting the bridge between neuroscience research and manifestation philosophy, as well as expressing the correlations i observed between the two.
i write about the relationship between science and manifestation with the intention of providing clarity and reassurance regarding these topics, but please remember that you do not necessarily NEED physical proof in the traditional scientific sense (experiment, statistical analysis, etc.) in order to manifest. you ARE the proof! reality is subjective, and your experience of reality is purely your own.✨
furthermore, there are many inherent limitations to science itself as a means of measurement and explanation. it cannot measure the spiritual, and it certainly cannot measure every individual’s subjective reality experience. given this, i strongly (but lovingly!) urge you to refrain from seeking a post about conventional evidence (in the scientific sense) of shifting/manifestation, because you simply won’t find it. and that’s okay! science and spirituality go hand in hand. they are two sides of the same coin that is reality.
  . ★⋆. ࿐࿔ ✦   .  .   ˚ .ੈ✧̣̇˳·˖
i hope this post brought you some insight, reassurance and clarification! 🥹✨
sending so much love and light <3
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donjuaninhell ¡ 7 months ago
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@strawberryswitchblader One of the problems surrounding Long Covid as a diagnosis is that it encompasses an overly broad variety of post-acute sequelae. You have people experiencing everything from scarring on the lungs, liver and kidney damage, to loss of smell. Then there are those who develop dysautonomic conditions like POTS or who are later diagnosed with ME/CFS and experience Post-Exertional Malaise. There is also a very large (perhaps even the majority) group of persons who will experience a prolonged but temporary period of post-viral fatigue; these are the people who recover gradually on their own, generally within a timeframe of six to eight months. It's not really exercise that leads to their recovery, they would have recovered on their own, and may even have recovered more quickly through a program of radical rest. My beautiful girlfriend is dealing with some post-viral fatigue right now after having gotten sick with mononucleosis this past summer. It's been a real struggle for her dealing with it, but she's also not experiencing PEM, so I'm confident she'll fully recover.
Many of the people who make claims about recovering from "chronic fatigue syndrome" through exercise therapy or some psychological treatment are in this post-viral fatigue category and mistaking correlation for causation and forgetting that the plural of anecdote is not data. The data overwhelmingly supports the notion that for patients experiencing PEM, graded exercise leads to a worsened disease state and a potentially permanently lowered baseline. Before I was diagnosed it's precisely how I inadvertently powerlifted, nightwalked and gradschooled myself into becoming housebound.
And having lived with ME at varying degrees of severity going on twenty-seven years now, I gotta say, it's very boring resting all the time. You get antsy fast. If all it took to get better was walking a bit more every day, I'd jump at the chance, but exercise doesn't really do much for chronic CD8+ T cell exhaustion, or hypofusion causing excess calcium and sodium buildup in skeletal muscles leading to mitochondrial damage. There was a paper that came out just a few months ago that published the results of analyzing blood samples from nearly 1500 ME/CFS patients and 130,000 healthy controls, and they discovered hundreds of biomarkers which indicated everything from insulin resistance to poor blood oxygenation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and systemic chronic inflammation. You can't fix any of that with exercise.
It's all a mess, there really needs to be stricter research diagnostic criteria, and better delineation between the various subtypes. It would clear up so much confusion, but that's also why there haven't been tighter criteria. Exercise and therapy makes for a very inexpensive treatment, one that insurance companies are far more willing to back than experimental anti-viral treatments or IVIg therapy, and in some countries the disability allowances for psychological conditions is less than for physical conditions. If you keep it ambiguous if Long Covid or ME/CFS or fibromyalgia or POTS are physical or psychological diseases, well you save austerity governments a few bucks there too.
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woradat ¡ 29 days ago
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HALL OF RECORD
SUMMARY – once he was chief advisor, once you were archivist. Now they are not
PAIRING – sentinel prime x reader
NOTE – I read this fanfic and oh my god, the concept is so awesome?? I really couldn't help but have to write this one out after I finish reading
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—
“You always talk this much?”
“Only when I’m not being appreciated properly”
—
The restricted archives of the Hall of Records didn’t have doors
Instead, a shimmering energy curtain flickered in the threshold—neither entirely solid nor passable without resistance. It hummed faintly, a curtain of containment and silence, casting the interior in a calm, undisturbed glow
Inside, You was standing at the center of a semi-circular array of holographic control panels. The light from them cast soft reflections across your plating, washing your frame in gentle hues of blue and gold. Your optics were narrowed, fingers dancing across the controls as lines of Proto-Cybertronian text hovered and rotated before being carefully sorted into branching timelines. Names, eras, battles—entries from the Age of Origins that most bots only heard of in myth or prayer—floated across the air in spectral luminescence
You were so focused you didn’t notice the energy curtain shift. Didn’t hear the quiet approach of footsteps echoing off the polished floor outside. But you did hear him “It’s so quiet in here, I half-suspected you'd unplugged the whole room just to keep people like me out”
That voice. Smooth as always, laced with that specific flavor of smugness only one bot had perfected into an artform. You didn’t turn around, just kept your optics on the console
A voice followed. Predictable as clockwork “You know, if you're trying to make this place uninviting, you're doing an excellent job. It feels like a tomb in here"
“Then do us both a favor and leave the tomb” You tapped a glyph to dismiss a particularly long-winded transcript, expression unreadable – the tone was dry as sand
The kind that scraped slightly on its way out
“Oh, temping” Sentinel replied easily, his silhouette now visible beyond the flickering field. He stepped closer, the energy parting around him in a faint shimmer. Every movement he made was deliberate—graceful in a way that suggested performance, not necessity. His arms folded behind his back as he glanced around, as if pretending to study the room when it was obvious who had his attention
“but I’m waiting for Alpha Trion. He told me to collect a report from you” He paused, letting silence settle, then added in a quieter, almost conspiratorial tone “Though... I suspect he meant for me to wait. Probably figured you wouldn’t hand anything over unless someone stood here breathing down your neck”
You sighed—long and theatrical—and flicked a glowing folder through the air toward him. It hovered just beyond arm’s reach, daring him to step through the last layer of distance
“Fine. Take it” But instead of grabbing it, Sentinel stepped into the room. Through the field. Through the silence. He walked with the sort of casual confidence that suggested he was used to testing boundaries—and getting away with it
Your shoulders stiffened “I said—”
“I heard you”
He smiled that smile—the one that never reached his optics but somehow always reached your nerves
“I just had to wonder... Do you archivists actually read all this? Or is the dramatic lighting part of the job description?”
That made you turn
You pivoted slowly, lifting your gaze with the kind of patient menace that suggested this was not the first time you’d had to deal with him while resisting the urge to throw a data-pad. Your voice, however, was calmer than expected — not fast, not irritated. Just a calm, evaluating glance—like a scholar measuring a hypothesis before entertaining it
“Sometimes we don’t have time”
You glanced past him at the glowing panels, timelines shifting silently in the background “But I make time. Because if we don’t read the past... the ones building the future will start thinking they were the ones who invented counting"
Something in your voice held weight. Not anger, not sarcasm—but purpose. A quiet kind of conviction that echoed beneath the words. Sentinel, for once, didn’t speak right away. His optics dipped to the floor for a breath, then lifted again—expression softer. The faint smile remained, but it was... tempered. Less a smirk, more a trace of something else. Maybe thoughtfulness
“Tell me this, then. All these hours poring over the past—do you honestly think it’ll change what happens next?”
“No. But if we don’t remember where we’ve already walked, we’ll keep falling into the same holes. Just with better boots”
“You sound like Alpha Trion when he hasn’t recharged in a week"
“That’s rich” you muttered “Coming from someone who thinks leadership is about dramatic speeches and hero poses"
"I do not pose”
"You paused in the middle of a battle to stand on a cliff"
“It was tactically advantageous!” Sentinel protested “The high ground—”
“It was sunset, Sentinel"
He made a strangled noise—equal parts indignant and caught "…Alright, maybe the lighting was good"
The silence that followed wasn’t sharp. It was still. Reflective. As if the room had paused with them—time stretching between two minds not in agreement, but in rhythm
“You know.." Sentinel finally reached out and took the data-folder from the air, fingers brushing the edge of the projection with practiced ease
“You’re probably the worst assistant Alpha Trion’s ever had…”
He turned the file over in his hand, optics skimming the surface—but he didn’t leave “ and he once told me you’re the only one who reminds him he’s not a god. I thought he meant it as an insult. Now I think it might’ve been gratitude”
You blinked. Your gaze flicked to him, surprised—but not in disbelief, didn’t say anything. But your stance eased. Just slightly. Like a string that had been pulled too tight for too long had finally loosened a notch — Sentinel turned then, walking toward the exit. He passed through the energy field, static dancing across his armor—but paused, halfway through. One foot out, one still in
“Next time, could you maybe not sound like you hate me so much? ease up on the open hostility? Some of us bruise easily” He turned his helm slightly, optics glinting with that old familiar mischief
You raised an optic ridge, mouth twitched “Is that what you’re calling your ego now?”
Sentinel chuckled—low, and far too pleased with himself “Among other things” he replied, already vanishing into the shimmer
“But good luck getting rid of me, I haunt well" with that, he disappeared through the barrier and the room was quiet again. But it wasn’t the same kind of quiet anymore. It lingered differently. Like the space between pages, before you turn to the next
Like a history book left open
Still waiting to be finished
—
The Hall of Records was supposed to be a place of reverence
KEYWORD: SUPPOSED TO
Vaulted ceilings soared high above, ribbed in glimmering alloys and etched with flowing script older than most functioning civilizations. Stained-glass data channels cast shifting patterns of cyan and violet across the marble floor, and the soft hum of ancient servers echoed like distant chanting
It was a place meant for quiet awe, for scholarly silence. It was not designed to accommodate Sentinel’s ego. Ever since he’d discovered that the shimmering energy curtain at the entrance didn’t shock intruders—merely issued a stern sonic warning in a disapproving librarian voice—Sentinel had made it his personal mission to stroll in whenever he pleased. No authorization. No warning. No respect for the rules of spatial awareness
Usually mid-shift. Always mid-sentence
“You changed the lighting layout again”
His voice preceded him, gliding in a split second before his tall frame breached the energy field with a dramatic flicker “What is this now, mood lighting for monologues?”
You didn’t look up
You sat in the central alcove, surrounded by a web of holographic panels arranged in concentric arcs, your fingers flicked through three overlapping treaty records—each with footnotes, post-conflict amendments, and suspiciously contradictory date entries. A headache wrapped in bureaucracy, topped with illegible seals "It adjusts based on optic strain”
“You wouldn’t know anything about that"
Sentinel grinned as he sauntered in, clearly unbothered. His stride was the kind that echoed on purpose—heels angled just enough to produce a satisfying click with every state
“You wound me” he said, placing a hand over his spark in mock offense
“I have very sensitive optics, thank you"
He attempted to lean against one of the translucent crystal data pylons that jutted from the floor like frozen lightning. There was a sharp snap of static, and he jerked back with a hiss as a warning glyph lit up in disapproval
Again
You didn’t even flinch
“Stop touching things” you muttered, still scanning through sub-clause annotations
“Every time you lean on one of those, it reroutes a quarter of the data flow”
“Oh?” Sentinel said, perking up like a mech who had just found a big red button labeled Do Not Press
“So this one messes with the stream?” he asked, already reaching toward a pulsing glyph marked in ominous red. A symbol that all but screamed catastrophic protocol override — You looked up, finally. Your optics widened “Sentinel—!”
Too late
His fingers brushed the glyph. There was a soft ping, a hum like an engine hiccuping, and then— All the lights dimmed to a dull amber. The panels around you flickered, rippled... and then recompiled. All at once. Every menu, every label, every command—rewritten in looping, sharp-edged characters
You stared “You rewrote the interface in Old Vosian" It wasn’t even a living language anymore. Not really. Mostly used in ceremonial inscriptions and bad poetry
Sentinel blinked, stepping back with a shrug and zero remorse “…You’re welcome?”
“GET OUT" Your’s shoulders tensed like they were physically restraining themselves from launching a stylus across the room
“Too late” Sentinel said, lowering himself into the spare console seat like he absolutely belonged there “I live here now”
He leaned back with that satisfied sigh he always made when he thought he was being hilarious. One foot kicked up against the base of the pylon. The interface flickered again, this time turning the archive’s auto-index into a rotating wheel of Vosian proverbs. You slowly, very deliberately, pinched the bridge of your nasal ridge
There was no reverence left in the Hall of Records today
Only Sentinel
The worst part wasn’t that he kept coming back It was that somehow, he always managed to bring food This time, it was a ration cube with what looked suspiciously like hand-scraped energon drizzle—artisanal he’d claimed, from a street vendor in the lower spires “Do you even like these?” you asked, eyeing the cube on their desk with wary suspicion
“Not particularly” Sentinel shrugged “But you get weird when you don’t recharge or eat”
“I don’t get weird”
“You cataloged two hundred years of war records in reverse chronological order because you were cranky”
“That was for cross-referencing purposes—!”
“You growled at a light”
Some days, Sentinel brought things that absolutely, unquestionably, did not belong in the Hall of Records
One cycle, it was a cleaning drone the size of a knee joint, scuttling around your workstation with a high-pitched hum and a sensor that kept mistaking ancient dataplaques for dust "To help you declutter” – Sentinel had said, setting the bot down with the enthusiasm of someone who hadn’t read a single regulation about archival containment. Another time, he’d arrived with a battered datapad in one hand and a suspicious grin on his face
“Found this under a floor panel. Probably cursed. Or priceless. Or both"
You barely looked up from indexing screen “You can’t just bring things into the archives without logging them"
“What if it’s historically significant?”
“It’s a receipt for wing wax. From a Seeker bar"
Sentinel had held it up like a trophy “Exactly! Cultural anthropology"
You pinched the bridge of your nasal ridge and sighed, the kind of sigh one developed only after multiple encounters with the same brand of madness “One day you’re going to knock over a whole building”
“Then you’ll just have to yell at me until I help you rebuild it" He said it with a smile so falsely innocent it could have been carved from polished smugness. You didn’t respond—not with words, anyway. The silence you gave him was honed, practiced, and about 80% ineffective now and yet. For all the chaos he trailed behind him—misfiled reports, rerouted light fixtures, at least one energy spike traced back to an extremely suspicious pastry— You had long stopped trying to keep him out
Somewhere between the first complaint logged and the thousandth ignored intrusion, his presence had settled into something else
Routine
A break in the quiet
A reminder that not everything needed to be orderly to be valuable
That cycle, the ambient light had dimmed to its evening hue, fading into soft golds and purples that streamed through the stained dataglass and washed over the polished floor. The archive felt half-asleep, hushed and slow – Sentinel’s voice came from the doorway, framed by the low gleam of the setting shifts “You’re staying late again"
He leaned one shoulder casually against the frame, his figure lit from behind in dusky silhouette “Trying to impress the scrolls?”
You didn’t glance up—still combing through a data tangle from the war of the Thirteen Clades, most of which seemed written in ego and coded pettiness. But your voice lacked its usual bite
“Trying to make sense of a thousand years of ego and bad handwriting" There was a pause, and then— “You’re included in that”
“Naturally”
Sentinel stepped inside
This time, no jokes, no data pylons knocked over. Just the quiet tap of his footsteps and the warm scent of a synth-brewed energon cube he placed gently beside them. You looked at the cube first—steam curling into the low archive air – then at him – then... they just shook your helm with a faint huff, like amusement trying not to be seen “…You’re not as intolerable as you were”
Sentinel smirked, folding his arms and leaning slightly closer “I’ll take that as a heartfelt declaration of affection”
“Take it as a warning. You’re wearing me down”
“Good” Sentinel murmured, pleased “Makes it easier to sneak into your schedule”
You didn’t tell him to leave
And he didn’t ask to stay
They just worked. Side by side. Occasionally brushing data windows toward each other, occasionally sharing quiet that didn’t feel like silence. Like this was normal now. Like somehow—without anyone announcing it—he’d become part of the footnotes in your day
—
The archives had always been quiet. But this… was too quiet
You sat before the central validation terminal, optics narrowed as lines of processed data ran across the screen. Normally, your work involved verifying temporal consistency, cross-referencing source authenticity, and cleaning up language input from field bots who treated historical reporting like casual gossip — but this wasn’t gossip
This was a timestamped field report. From a Prime-tier outpost. And it didn’t match the report Alpha Trion had handed them this morning
Same event. Same operative. Different wording. Different outcome
And this was the fourth time this week
You brought up both documents—parallel, floating side by side. At a glance, identical. But not quite. The phrasing was just clinical enough to avoid suspicion. The numbers… just plausible enough to escape casual audit. Some were altered more subtly than others. Some inserted new information. Others erased things. Patterns began to form—certain names vanishing from records. Certain decisions scrubbed clean of dissent. A slow, deliberate redirection of narrative
But You didn’t read casually, you read like the future depended on it. Because sometimes, it did
You leaned closer. Opened the metadata. Something flickered – an override signature
Sentinel
Not the full one. Not overt. But his code was in the chain. A sublevel authorization ping—probably buried deep in a rerouting command. Too clean to be a mistake. Too careful to be a coincidence
And why is that? That is the question
—
The chamber was silent but it wasn’t the silence of order and it wasn’t peace. It was the kind of silence that came after something broke— Suddenly – Violently —So completely that even the echoes didn’t know where to go
You sat alone in the central atrium of the Hall of Records. The room—once alive with soft lights and quiet, rhythmic humming—now felt vast and hollow, like the inside of a broken bell. The archive’s main lights had dimmed themselves hours ago, following protocol that couldn’t tell the difference between motionless focus and simple absence. Holographic glyphs still hovered faintly above the console. Fragmented, flickering. Half-rendered thoughts waiting for a directive
They pulsed softly in the darkness, as if uncertain whether their purpose remained
You hadn’t moved. Not since the message came through. Not since the declaration hit them like a blade made of code and finality
The Thirteen Primes have been lost
No battle. No footage. No grand sacrifice — Just... a report. One sentence. Cold, clean, absolute and a follow-up notice:
They will not return
Not “they cannot” Not “they may not” they will not. Your hands had been still on the console ever since. Locked in place. Not gripping—clutching, with pressure that only now began to tremble from strain. You hadn’t moved. Not from disbelief. You had seen enough in your long life to know that nothing—no matter how vast—was immune to destruction. Not even from grief, not yet. The pain hadn’t taken shape. It was numbness. Cold, static-lined void. Not like losing a person. More like watching the stars themselves turn off, one by one, and not knowing if you were next
If someone had asked you yesterday whether the Primes could die, you would’ve said no. Not because you were naive. You had never been one to place blind faith in divine myth. But the Primes were not just icons — They were anchors — Mountains, carved into the structure of Cybertron itself. Fixed points around which history rotated. You didn’t believe in them, the way you believed in stories
You relied on them and now? Gone
Gone, without a trace. Without a last word. Without even a record. Like they had never been
You hadn’t noticed the way your joints had locked until you finally loosened your grip on the console. One finger twitched first, then another. The sensation returned slowly, pins and needles rippling down your arm as you exhaled for the first time in what felt like megacycles. The silence pressed back in
And then—
Footsteps. Slow. Unhurried. Too measured to be uncertain. Too composed to be innocent You didn’t need to turn. You knew
“You’re still here”
The voice came low, as though reluctant to break the stillness—but unable to resist doing so. Controlled, almost gentle but not quite — Sentinel stepped past the edge of the darkened corridor and into the atrium, his frame outlined in the cold ambient glow of the failing terminals. Even his footsteps sounded louder than usual here, every contact with the stone floor ringing too sharp, too deliberate “Everyone else has gone to the Spire"
You didn’t answer, didn’t even blink. Your gaze remained fixed forward, eyes dim and distant, staring through the projections as though trying to read something that hadn’t yet been written
Something that should have been there
Sentinel’s footsteps echoed again as he moved closer—slow, even, deliberate
“The official rites are being drafted” he said, after a moment “They want you to verify the final accounts. For the records"
He didn’t phrase it as a command. Not exactly. But the weight behind it was undeniable. At that, Your helm dipped slightly. Not in obedience. Not in agreement. Just… acknowledgment. Your voice came a moment later. Quiet. Hoarse in a way that had nothing to do with their vocalizer
“They’re dead..” A beat “All of them”
The words didn’t echo, simply fell, flat, lifeless, like corrupted data hitting a locked node
Sentinel didn’t respond right away. He stood behind them now—just a few paces away—but made no move to reach out, no pretense of comfort. Only the silence, shared “Yes”
One word. Heavy as a headstone
The word lingered. Not in grief. Not in reflection. Just—confirmation. Neatly clipped. Perfectly balanced. As if he had been waiting to say it
You didn’t move at first. Only optics shifted—quietly tracking the flickering remains of the central display. The soft wash of light from the terminal painted shifting glyphs on the metallic floor, but no new data came. No emergency alerts. No last pings from the outer sectors. No autologs from the Primes. Nothing — Your hand moved slowly, brushing a few dormant glyphs back into focus. The last outbound transmissions. System traces. Anything
But the logs were clean
Too clean
“They didn’t send anything” you murmured, the words soft, but weighter “Not one of them. No burst signal. No fail-safe ping. Not even a corrupted echo"
The words turned brittle. The disbelief was not loud—but it was cutting. You turned—just slightly. Enough to glimpse him standing behind, his figure still and controlled, as though carved from the archive walls themselves. Hands clasped behind his back. Shoulders squared. That same unreadable expression he always wore like armor
But now… it felt wrong —Too smooth. Too complete. Like a statue placed just a little too soon after the funeral
“And you…”
“You’re very calm”
There it was: a twitch
Not obvious—just the faintest narrowing of Sentinel’s optics as he turned his helm slightly toward them “Would you rather I fall to my knees?” he said. Tone level. Not mocking—but not grieved, either
If it was meant to soften the moment, it failed
Your optics didn’t waver “I’d rather you look like someone who just lost everything"
The air between them was thin now. Like atmosphere stripped bare. Sentinel stepped forward, one pace only. Careful. Measured “The rites must be prepared. The Council needs stability. Cybertron needs structure. If I crumble now, what will they cling to?”
“Structure..?” The word tasted sour on your tongue. You turned to face him fully. The low light caught the edges of your frame, casting a faint halo over the lines of wear fatigue had etched over long hours
Your voice didn’t rise. It didn’t need to “Funny how fast structure came together... considering how sudden this all was"
Something flickered across Sentinel’s face. Too brief. A pause, like static between signals. He recovered quickly. But you had seen it “You think I planned this?”
“No" They took a step closer, boots clicking softly against the stone floor “I think you expected it”
Sentinel didn’t reply. So you pressed forward, calm as a scalpel’s edge “The sealed Spire. The rites drafted before the message even reached all districts. The in memoriam archives already preloaded" your optics glinted now, cold and sharp
“You don’t prepare that fast, Sentinel”
Silence. A heavy one
Sentinel’s gaze held steady—but his stance had shifted. A subtle set to the jaw. A flicker of tension behind the shoulders “There are contingency plans” he said at last
“But you didn’t react like this was a contingency – You moved like someone whose schedule had simply... advanced" you weren’t shouting. This wasn’t anger. Not yet. This was worse. It was the kind of quiet that cracked glass — you took another step forward. Sentinel didn’t move “You knew”
You said it not as a claim—but as a data point “You knew something. And you didn’t say anything. Not to me. Not to the Archives. Not to anyone who might have asked why”
Silence stretched again, pulled thin between them like a wire ready to snap. Even the terminals seemed to hold their breath
Then— “Knowing…” Sentinel said slowly “isn’t the same as choosing”
“Then whose choice was it?”
That stopped him. His expression didn’t break—but it no longer looked composed. It looked constructed and still, he said nothing. Which, perhaps, was the loudest thing yet
The Spire bells had long gone quiet. The mourning banners were still up, but the tones of grief had already begun to shift—less raw now, more ceremonial. Official. Muted into symbols
In the weeks that followed
Sentinel did what he had always been best at: He moved forward. Quietly. Confidently. Like a mech simply answering a call no one else could. No one declared him the new Prime. Not at first. But decisions began flowing through his office. Emergency coordination. Transition logistics. Security restructuring. Public reassurance. Every corridor that once ended in silence now echoed with orders signed in his glyph. And no one stopped him. Because no one knew what else to do
At first, it was small. A council meeting held without you—an oversight, you were told. A briefing rerouted to a secondary terminal—misfiled, the assistant claimed. Requests for archival access began to be reviewed then delayed then quietly ignored. One by one, your permissions shifted. Not revoked—restricted. Not banned—just... paused, pending Sentinel’s authorization “Just protocol” he said with that same calm smile “We’re all adjusting to new parameters”
And yet—those parameters always seemed to shift in one direction. His
The chamber above the New Arc Circuit was always cool, always dark. A half-circle of open air overlooked the hall below—a place once alive with debate, bright with the thrum of Prime-forged voices. But now, like so many places in recent cycles, it stood hollow. The ancient lighting had dimmed itself to a low ambient hue, cool silver washing over the stone and metal in shadows and soft reflections.
You stood near the edge, hands resting on the curved railing polished smooth by centuries of counsel. Below, the great speaking floor stretched wide and silent, a ceremonial space untouched since the Spire bells fell quiet. You didn’t turn when you heard the footsteps. Didn’t need to
They had learned the cadence of his walk. Smooth. Steady. Never rushed. Never loud. The stride of someone who believed he already belonged in every room he entered “You’ve been reallocating my permissions"
No anger in your voice. No shock. Just cold, deliberate observation — The kind of truth that left no room for denial. Sentinel didn’t slow. He crossed the polished obsidian floor behind them, his reflection a ripple of dark armor and gold filigree beneath their feet
“Temporarily” His tone was light. Gentle, even. But too balanced to be mistaken for casual
“You didn’t inform me” your gaze fixed on the empty floor below—an echo chamber now. The ghosts of the Primes no longer stirred. Sentinel stopped a short distance behind you
“I didn’t need to” he said quietly “The system recognizes my authority now — Your position, on the other hand, is being... redefined”
That made you turn. Sharp. Controlled. But sharp, optics caught the low light, glowing brighter than he remembered—like you had finally reawakened from grief, only to find anger waiting behind it
“Redefined?”
“By whose decision?”
“By necessity” he replied so so simply
“Your role was constructed under the old paradigm. The Primes are gone”
He took a step closer—not threatening, but deliberate “You served history well”
He meant it. He did. He had watched them work for vorns—methodical, incorruptible, brilliant in ways few ever saw. You had been the voice behind the curtain. The invisible measure by which even the Primes were kept honest. He respected that even… envied it.. But it couldn’t remain
"But I am building something new”
Now he looked at them fully. Not like a subordinate. Not like a rival. Like a problem that used to be a person “And history… isn’t what we need right now.”
You didn’t respond. Not with words
But he saw the tension in your jaw. The stillness in your hands—too still. Like someone holding a thought so tightly they feared it might shatter if spoken aloud. He waited a breath. Two. Then smiled. Just barely “Let it go” he said, voice low. Not mocking. Not cruel. Just… final
“Let the past rest” He took one step more. Just near enough to stand beside you. His voice dropped even lower. Almost a murmur and for a moment—just a moment—he thought they might yield. That the weight of it all—the grief, the isolation, the slow, quiet cuts to your place in the world—had finally worn you down “You don’t want to turn yourself into a relic chasing ghosts”
He didn’t want to erase you
Not like he had erased others
He remembered the way you used to speak in the early days, side by side during cross-era briefings. He remembered the dry wit. The spark of challenge in your optics. You had once made him feel watched. Not in the paranoid way—but in the way that reminded him to stand taller. To be better. But this wasn’t then and if you couldn’t see the necessity of what he was doing…
He would have to act, eventually
But not yet
“Let the archives sleep a while” he added, almost soft “We’ll find a better use for you”
He turned then, the floor catching his reflection as he walked back across the chamber and you remained behind, silent at the rail, watching as your world—your work—shifted underfoot like sand in the tide. They said nothing. But in your chest, something clenched. Because they could hear it now. You quiet, subtle shape of a lie forming in every document you weren’t allowed to see
And it carried his glyph
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bucketgetter535 ¡ 3 months ago
Text
No Margin for Error: Prologue
Paige Bueckers x Azzi Fudd
CW: Nothing
WC: 700 ish
Notes: just a prologue to give a feel for the story. Basically teammates/rivals to lovers. Feel free to ask abt any F1 words/other things if it doesn’t make sense! I tried to keep it pretty general but still ask questions plz. Also you can thank @imaginespazzi for saying I should post this 😎
Azzi Fudd’s life was engineered for precision. Every corner, every turn, every fraction of a second—she owned them all. And at 22 years old, she had already conquered the Formula 1 world twice. Two World Drivers’ Championships. Back-to-back titles. Red racing suit. A Prancing Horse stitched over her heart. Ferrari royalty.
But even perfection needed tuning.
She sat in a sleek, quiet room at Maranello—Ferrari’s inner sanctum. A conference room where the walls were lined with black-and-white photographs of racing legends. Gilles Villeneuve. Michael Schumacher. Sebastian Vettel. Her photo was already planned for that wall. Not yet mounted. But soon.
Azzi wore her race-day watch (A new black Rolex gifted to her as part of the brand deal). Not out of superstition. Just familiarity. Her fingers tapped the face slowly as she waited. Five minutes early, as always. Hair in a tight bun, posture immaculate. Even in the off-season, she looked like she could get in the car and put in a world record lap.
The door clicked open, and in walked the one man who could interrupt her routine—Marco Agnelli, her manager since she was 17. Greying at the temples now. Italian wool suit, no tie, thick-rimmed glasses. He had the aura of someone who knew secrets and carried them carefully.
“Az,” he said, using the name only he ever dared to. “You look pissed. That’s a good start.”
She gave a rare smirk. “You texted me ‘we need to talk’. You know what that does to a person.”
“Fair,” he said, sliding into the chair across from her. “But this is good. Strategic. Necessary.”
She leaned back. “It’s about the teammate.”
Marco nodded. “Yes. Confirmed this morning. Your new teammate for 2025 is Paige Bueckers.”
Azzi tilted her head slightly. “The American kid?”
Marco’s brows raised. “You’re the American kid.”
“She’s the Sauber girl, right?”
“Was. She just finished her rookie year. 11th in the standings. But if you watched her drive that car—which was, quite frankly, a lawnmower with wheels—you’d know that was a miracle. She outplaced her teammate in 23 out of 24 races. Dragged that thing into the top ten in qualifying more than once. Not to mention she finished every race without a crash. She’s smart. Patient. Ballsy. Rare combo.”
Azzi nodded, slowly. “So Ferrari signed her for…?”
“One year. With an option for 2026 if she performs.”
“And what’s performing mean?”
Marco pulled out a thin folder. “Unofficially? 5th in the standings. On the podium at least twice. And don’t make us look like fools for putting her in red.”
Azzi’s fingers stopped tapping.
Marco watched her, then added, “She’s not a threat to your title. Not yet.”
“You sure?” Azzi’s voice was low. “Because you’ve always told me—your teammate is your biggest rival.”
“And I meant it. You don’t share data with your rival. You don’t cover for them. You drive faster. That’s the job.”
Azzi’s mind clicked through every variable. Paige Bueckers. Tall. Blonde. Quiet in press conferences. Not loud like some rookies. Always composed. There was one interview—after that disastrous Singapore race—where Paige had deadpanned to the camera, “I could’ve done better in a rental car.”
Azzi had chuckled.
“What are my goals?” she asked.
Marco slid a paper across to her. “2025: Win the title again. Obviously. Finish at least five of the first seven races on the podium. Beat Red Bull in constructors. And… help bring Paige up to speed if needed. But only if it doesn’t cost you.”
“Does she know that part?”
“Not yet,” Marco said. “But she’ll figure it out. This is Ferrari. You earn every inch here.”
Azzi looked at the photo paperclipped to the back of the packet. A candid shot of Paige in the Sauber garage—suit half on, blonde hair messy, eyes intense. Not smiling. Azzi looked at it for a moment longer than necessary.
“She’s fast?” Azzi asked quietly.
“Very. And she’s calm. Never loses her head.”
Azzi stood. “Then let’s see what she can do in red.”
Marco smirked. “I thought you might like this one.”
Azzi glanced at him over her shoulder. “I don’t like any of them.”
“Liar.”
She grinned, and walked out.
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cobbled-peach ¡ 1 month ago
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˗ˏˋ જ⁀➴ camisado
"can't take the kid from the fight, take the fight from the kid, sit back, relax, sit back, relapse again"
Part 1 | [Part 2]
cw: GN!reader. Pure angst for this one baby, literally zero comfort (I'll make it up to you in pt 2 xx). Talks of addiction, taking drugs, anxiety + panic attacks and withdrawl symptoms. (pls let me know if i missed something!!!). Both reader and Spencer sort of cannot communicate and are not slaying but they mean well a/n: this started as just a character study but I kinda fell into the deep end and got quite caught up in it so its inadvertantly a LOT more than just a character study, sand so I divided it up into something more cohesive. w/c: 5.4k
It’s impossible to prove a hypothesis.
You can run an experiment a thousand times, collect a thousand successful results, only to watch the 1001st experiment fail. Empirical data only takes you so far, giving the illusion of certainty. Until it doesn't.
Science deals in probabilities, assumptions – not guarantees. Spencer Reid knows this better than most.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when he started thinking of his addiction like a science experiment.
Maybe it was easier that way. A coping mechanism – reduction as self-defence. He could lessen the weight of it, condense something so vast and devastating into variables and charts and numbers in a feeble attempt to soften the struth. An attempt to strip it of its emotional weight and file it away under “manageable.” As if the cravings could be measured or quantified. Understood.
He frames the parameters in his mind with clinical precision. Independent variable: the drug. Dependent variable: his behavior. Control group: the version of himself from months ago, when the spiral hadn’t yet begun. Before the late nights. Before the secrets. Before the lies.
Addiction is just a problem like any other. A system which he can study, decode and master.
He creates his hypothesis: he can control it. He can use one more time, and still be fine. Each addition to his hypothesis only strengthens his willpower:
If I time it right, no one will notice. If I maintain structure, I won’t lose control. If I’m careful, my life will reman intact.
But addition doesn’t care for logic, nor does it follow the rules of scientific inquiry. It doesn’t operate within a sterile lab, patiently waiting to be measured.
There are no constants. No peer-reviewed journals to validate his pain or explain it away. There’s only the truth: the shaking in his hands, the crawling of his skin, the nausea that comes in waves, the sleepless nights that stretch into oblivion. Only the raw data of his descent: chaotic, unquantifiable and unforgiving.
The data never replicates, and the experiment keeps failing.
Again. And again. And again.
The variables start to mutate. The outcome blurs. The method falls away.
Still, he clings to the process. Records the collapse like data points, hoping objectivity will save him.
Day 6: Forgets to eat.
Day 9: Lies to Garcia about the bags under his eyes.
Day 12: The first time he brings it into the building. Doesn’t use. Just wants to know its there.
Day 16: Snaps at Prentiss mid-briefing. Doesn’t apologize.
Day 19: Blanks on a case. Morgan has to cover for him.
Day 22: Tells you it’s “just anxiety.”
Day 25: Uses before a profile. Feels sharper. Lies to himself and says it helps.
Day 28: Uses again. No excuse this time.
By now, he knows he can’t control it.
Fine. He can create a new hypothesis.
Compartmentalization. He tells himself he can seal the chaos in a box, keep the infection contained. Let the rest of his life remain untouched.
His work. His friends. You.
Especially you.
He tells himself that love and addiction can coexist, as long as they don’t overlap. As long as the two worlds remain separate. He can maintain the boundaries.
But love isn’t a constant either.
And addiction… it leaks. It slips through the cracks to taint everything it touches.
He forgets to reply to your messages. Forgets what day it is. Forgets to tune in when you speak.
He tells himself he’s tired. You tell him you’re worried. He smiles. Lies. Makes promises. You both watch as love falls into the contamination zone, becomes tangled in the variables he can’t control.
Watch as it starts to fail.
It starts like most mornings.
Spencer wakes to sunlight bleeding in through the blinds. Amber-toned light, catching dust motes in midair – it makes the room look almost serene. The sun streaks across the hardwood, illuminating coffee stains and the faded outline of where a rug used to be. Gentle, unassuming. The morning is pretending like nothing is wrong.
Outside, early traffic hums. A low, steady drone overlayed with birdsong and the sharp, impatient honk of a horn. Somewhere inside the apartment, a faucet drips in an uneven rhythm. He thinks of it like an erratic metronome, counting down time he doesn’t want to acknowledge.
He shivers. The sheets are tangled low around his legs – his doing, no doubt. He’s been tossing again. Restless, even in sleep. Maybe even more so in sleep. Dreams come with sharp edges now. Inescapable.
Your leg is resting lightly over his calf. Casual. Trusting. As if your body still believes in him, even if your mind has started to doubt.
You stir beside him, just a stretch. Your fingers graze his hand in a featherlight gesture, asking a question without a voice. He curls away in response. Rolls onto his side. Pretends to be asleep.
You don’t press. You never do. Not anymore.
You just rise, silent and soft, padding across the cool floor toward the bathroom. There’s the familiar clink of your toothbrush, a muffled yawn, the gentle hum when you finish. He used to join you for this. Brushing teeth side by side, heads bowed under the mirror light, elbows bumping and smiles shared. He always thought that was one of the most intimate things a couple could do – a quiet, unspoken routine shared between two people.
Today, he just stays in bed, weighted by guilt. Anchored to the mattress, hoping it’ll keep him from drifting. The drug is still in his system, softening the world and smoothing the edges that keep cutting him open.
You move to the kitchen next. Cupboards creak and mugs clink. The coffee machine whirs, beginning its little dance. The scent of coffee reaches him moments later. Overly sweet – his favorite. You always remember. He never asks.
He pushes himself upright, legs over the edge of the bed and feet meeting the cold floorboards. He imagines walking into the kitchen with you. Imagines wrapping his arms around your waist and resting his chin on your shoulder the way he used to. Imagines you leaning into him, whispering a song under your breath.
Instead, he stays where he is. Elbows on knees, head in hands. The light seems colder now that he’s facing it directly. Less gold, more white-blue. Less morning, more mourning.
He strains to hear you. The soft thud of your footsteps, the sound of cups and cabinets, your soft breath. The peaceful repetition of a ritual he used to be a part of, but now avoids and observes from afar.
Spencer wishes you would hate him. It would make things simpler. Cleaner. He wishes you’d scream, or cry, or slam the door and tell him to go to hell. Wishes you’d throw a mug just to watch it shatter.
But you don’t. You never do. You just remain; quiet and present.
Hopeful, maybe. Or resigned.
Last night had been bad.
The tremors came again, starting in his fingers and crawling up his hands and arms like static. He blamed the case. Said he felt “off.” The lie came so easily, as they all did lately. He crawled into bed, trying not to vomit or shake the mattress.
You didn’t say a word. You left a glass of water o the nightstand. Crawled in beside him. Pressed a kiss to his shoulder. The gesture broke him a little more.
He could hear the unspoken questions, the palpable worry in your body despite you saying nothing.
But what help can you offer someone who won’t accept it? How can you save a man who insists he isn’t struggling?
His mind feels quiet now, though. Usually spinning in overlapping questions and unrelenting memory, it’s finally still. False peace. A chemical silence.
He tells himself that his planned retreat is love. Letting you go before he destroys you completely.
He’s rehearsed it in his mind like a script. Over and over. A breakup: surgical and precise, a clean and final incision.
Version one: He says, “I can’t do this. It’s not your fault.” You cry quietly. Nod. Let him leave. He walks away without looking back.
Version two: You already know. You’ve known he was planning this for weeks. You tell him it’s okay. That you understand. That you love him. He ends up on the floor, sobbing. Can’t let go. Doesn’t leave. Prolongs the pain even more.
Version three: You scream. You throw something – maybe a glass. You call him a coward. He welcomes it, embraces the heat. It makes him feel real. Makes the leaving easier. Makes him feel like he isn’t the only villain in the story.
He’s practiced every scenario.
A thousand internal rehearsals. Different lines. Different outcomes.
Only one of them will break the cycle.
He doesn’t hear you come back in, but suddenly you’re there, setting his coffee down on the bedside table with the softest clink, like you’re trying not to wake him even though he’s already up, stiff-spined and quiet.
‘Spence?’
Your voice is thick with sleep, but still laced with warmth. It twists something deep in his chest.
He swallows. His mouth is dry, like he’s been breathing through it all night. Almost like his body is trying to cough out whatever truth he keeps trying to choke down.
‘Sorry,’ he says, though he doesn’t know what for. A pre-emptive apology, maybe. A reflex. ‘What time is it?’
‘Almost eight.’
The sheets rustle as you sit beside him. The mattress dips beneath your weight, and he feels the subtle pressure of your presence before your chin touches his shoulder. Light and familiar, just resting against him.
He flinches. Barely, but enough.
You feel it. Don’t pull away.
‘Is everything okay? Is this about the case?’
It’s not. You both know its not.
He considers lying anyway. Considers giving you numbers. He could offer up statistics about trauma and cognitive decline. Something familiar and in the realm of fact, clean and clinical and easy to categorize.
But nothing comes out.
Silence answers for him. It stretches between you, getting thinner by the second.
He counts seven seconds exactly before you shift away from him. He records it like a data point, adding it to the line in his ever-growing graph of failure.
You lean back against the headboard, wrapping your fingers around your mug. You sip it slowly. The smell of his own coffee reaches him again. Sweet and familiar. Grounded in a time before everything broke.
Your movements are careful. Each shift, every breath, calibrated around him like you’ve mapped his problems and have built your mornings around avoiding them. You’re not naturally quiet in the mornings. He knows that. You’d sing sometimes, badly and too loud, and bang drawers open without care. But now you measure each movement, minimizing the noise because you know it unsettles him when he’s wound too tight.
Another thing he hates. You adjust, without even being asked.
He joins you after a long moment, settling beside you. Not close enough to feel the warmth from your body. His eyes fall to the mug you selected for him. His mug, in your apartment. The faded yellow one, that’s more a dull cream than anything now.
He left it here by accident over a year ago, when weekends were tentatively spent in each other’s presence. Fresh and new. He remembers when he first found noticed it tucked in your cabinet between your own mismatched sets. His chest had gone still and warm.
Now it just feels like a piece of evidence. Proof that he’s infiltrated a life he doesn’t belong in. An outlier in your apartment.
He doesn’t reach for it right away. When he finally does, his hands tremble.
Your eyes flick down. That’s all it takes.
And suddenly you’re both back there. Three months ago. His apartment. Your hand wrapped around his wrist. Eyes wide with something deeper than fear. You were crying, but so softly that he almost didn’t register it. The needle had been on the counter, hidden beneath a tissue like something sacred and shameful all at once. A relic he didn’t know how to bury.
There had been begging. On both sides.
You telling him that it was dangerous. That you were scared. That he was killing himself slowly.
Him promising (over and over and over) that this was the last time. That he’d stop. That you couldn’t tell his team.
You’d desperately searched for solutions, tried to jump hurdles and find ways to help without exposing the situation to his team, to the world. You’d lost count of how many times you’d hit dead ends.
He continued with his promises. Seemed to get better for a while, but inevitably sunk down again. You wanted to believe he could get better. Maybe part of you did.
‘So,’ you say, voice softer now. It drags him back to the present like a lifeline, though he wishes he’d remain drowning. ‘You didn’t sleep?’
It’s phrased as a question, but it’s not. It’s a gentle accusation.
‘I slept some,’ he lies.
You don’t believe him. How could you? The evidence is all there. Red-rimmed eyes, sunken cheeks, a slow, syrupy fatigue that not even coffee can fix.
You nod, but your silence screams.
He sips his coffee. Too sweet. Perfect.
It tastes of normalcy. He watches the sun paint your shoulder – still cold, but warmer now it’s touching you. For a second he wants to pretend. Pretend this morning is just like any other, that he’s still the man who deserves your soft kindness.
But then you say, suddenly and very quietly:
‘I found something this morning.’
You don’t say what. You don’t need to.
He freezes. The blood drains from his face. The bathroom bin.
He’s been sloppy lately. Too tired to be cautious. Except this time it was perfectly planted. An excuse to initiate the end.
‘Do you hate me?’ he asks.
‘No.’ It’s immediate. Truthful. Your voice cracks anyway.
Your body folds in on itself, curling your arms around your knees, mug forgotten on the nightstand. Forging a shield around yourself. It makes you look smaller than usual. More fragile.
And in that shape, he sees it. Not anger. Not resentment. But heartbreak.
A slow, dull heartbreak. Bruised and tarnished. Despite it, you’re still here. Still hoping. Still loving him through the destruction.
Spencer stands abruptly. The weight pressing down on his chest has become too heavy, the consequences of his actions gaining in on him. Your apartment suddenly feels too small, Suffocating. He escapes to the kitchen, clutching his coffee mug.
‘Spence—’
You rise immediately and follow him. The way you say his name is tentative and fragile, like the first crack in a piece of glass. The first real fluctuation in his carefully controlled experiment.
He ignores you, pretending not to hear, and allows himself to be carried by the momentum of his own restlessness and panic. The ceramic of his mug feels too heavy, his nerve endings too attuned to the realness of it. When he sets it down, the sound echoes unnaturally loud. A shout in the silence.
‘Spencer.’
Your voice holds more weight this time. It’s a deliberate attempt to break through the barrier he’s created.
He exhales sharply through his nose. ‘What?’
You take a cautious step forward. Not accusing, just trying to close the ever-widening space between you.
‘Talk to me. Please.’
‘I am.’ His words are hollow as he gestures between you. ‘We’re talking.’
‘No, you’re avoiding,’ you correct, unwilling to back down. ‘I want to know what I can do for you. I can find you a new support group—’
His hands rise as he blocks out the rest of your words, pressing his palms firmly to his eyes. An attempt to press his feelings back inside. He fights the rising tide of panic and shame. Fights all the words threatening to spill out. Fights himself.
Fails.
‘I’ve tried!’ The calm snaps as his voice cracks, a sharp edge to his words that surprises even him. He pulls inward again, as if shielding himself from his own confession. It’s out in the open.
He feels sick – whether it’s the drug wearing off, or the anxiety squeezing his chest, he can’t tell.
‘I know…’ you begin, gentle, trying to reach him.
‘I tried,’ he repeats. His voice is softer. Desperate now. Raw. ‘I really did try. You think I wanted this? I don’t—’
‘Then let me in,’ you cut in, voice measured despite the frown on your face. ‘Let me help. Stop trying to get through this on your own.'
He grits his teeth. ‘I’m trying to protect you.’
‘From what? From you? You’re not the danger here, Spence. The silence is. Your lack of communication is. I don’t want to get you in trouble but you’re not leaving me with many options—’
He shakes his head. Starts pacing the kitchen like an animal in a cage. ‘You don’t get it.;
‘Then help me get it.’
‘You can’t!’ His voice cracks, and his hands tremble at his sides. He worries that he’s going to start crying. They already feel glassy, starting to sting, but he refuses to break down so early on.
‘Can’t what?’
‘You can’t understand what it’s like in my head. It’s loud. All the time. Noise and chaos and—’ His voice falters. He blinks away the building tears. ‘And I can’t get it to be quiet. The only time it’s silent is when I—’
He cuts himself off too late. The words hang in the air.
When I have it in my veins.
It’s not news. It never is. But it still hears to hear. Still lands like a punch to the gut.
You close your eyes, steading your breath and swallowing the sting of it. A moment to process, and then you exhale shakily.
‘I love you,’ you say, voice trembling. The truth, used as a mechanism to get him to see reason. A desperate attempt to pull him back to safety.
‘Don’t.’
‘What?’
‘Don’t say that right now.’
‘Why?’
‘Because it makes this harder,’ he says.
‘This?’
He doesn’t answer.
The fierceness that takes over you then is startling. Shocking even to him.
‘No.’ You straighten, and your hands ball into fists at your sides. ‘Tell me. Tell me what you mean. Because I’m so tired of trying to decipher your half-sentences and prematurely ended conversations.’
He swallows hard. The silence suffocates the two of you.
‘I think we should break up.’
The wors fall like shards of glass. Sharp. Brutal. Irrevocable.
No rehearsed sincerity. No apology. Just the brutal truth. The 1001st experiment – failing harder than he could’ve ever predicted.
‘You’re really going to do this?’ you ask, voice breaking as you stare at him like he’s morphed into a stranger in just a few seconds. ‘You’re really going to do this now?’
Behind the hurt in your expression is confusion. You don’t understand. How can he push you away when he needs you the most? When he needs the support and guidance?
He nods once. Empty. Silent. The air seems to vanish, completely sucked from the room.
‘You think walking away is protecting me?’ It comes out as a demand, bottom lip trembling so hard it’s difficult to speak. ‘That—what? Making me sit here alone, wondering what I could’ve done differently—is going to help me?’
‘It’s not about you.’
‘That’s bullshit.’ The words bite, and he feels like he’s been struck by a whip. ‘Everything you do affects me, Spencer. Every time you lie. Every time you shut me out. I’m constantly hoping you’ll throw me just a scrap of truth. Just one honest thing.’
He takes a moment to look at you. To observe the cracks in your armor, the exhaustion behind your eyes.
And he knows: he’s breaking you.
‘I’m trying to protect you,’ he repeats. His voice holds no weight now, feeling threadbare.
‘Then talk to me,’ you plead, your voice breaking around the edges. ‘Let me in. Let me be in it with you. That’s what a relationship is, Spencer.’
‘I can’t.’ His jaw tightens. ‘I don’t want you to watch me fall apart.’
‘I already am watching. I have been. For months.’
The words land like a punch. He doesn’t outwardly flinch, but you see something change behind his eyes. It’s like the breath has been knocked out of him, and he’s trying not to show it.
If he could rewind time, he would.
Five minutes – so he could stop himself from saying the words that fractured this moment.
Five weeks – so he could prevent himself from taking and erase every relapse he never told you about.
Five months – to a Monday morning where he didn’t curl away from your touch, but welcomed you against his chest with open arms.
But time isn’t a variable he can control.
So he stays frozen. Like the stillness will ground him. If he doesn’t move, maybe the moment won’t progress forward.
Your face is unreadable now. He hates that. That’s what cuts deepest, he thinks. He used to be able to read you like a book. Once, he could even name every emotion before you even spoke it aloud – guilt in the twitch of an eye, love in a half-formed smile. Now, all he sees is distance. A stranger across the room. A closed door where open windows used to be.
‘I don’t want to fight,’ he says quietly. Final.
A beat of silence.
‘So that’s it?’
‘I can’t keep pulling you under with me,’ he says it. That line is rehearsed. It comes out sounding practiced, like it’s been spoken too often in the mirror. Even so, it lands jagged and half-shattered, just like everything else he’s touched lately.
There’s no screaming. No slammed fists or doors. Just something hollow. A quiet devastation. You feel it crack open your chest, the silence louder than any argument.
You take a step back. Not from anger, but from instinct. A recoil. He watches the moment with a clenched jaw, eyes misty like he’s already halfway gone.
Maybe if he yelled, things would make more sense. Maybe if he cried, you could believe that breaking up was hurting him too. But he just stands there. Still. Detached. Resigned.
‘Breaking up…’ You say the words carefully, like it physically hurts to speak them. ‘You don’t mean it.’
‘I do.’
‘No, you don’t.’ He’s unsure if you’re trying to convince yourself or him. ‘You’re just scared.’
He shrugs. Defeated. ‘Maybe. But that doesn’t make what I’m saying untrue. I’m breaking up with you.’
‘I don’t need you to be perfect, Spencer,’ you say, stepping toward him. ‘I just need you. The you who spoke to me. The you who let me carry even a little bit of the weight.’
He shakes his head. The words fall out bitter and painful. ‘You think this—’ he gestures vaguely between you, hand faltering mid-air, ‘—is a relationship? This is a time bomb. Every relapse, every lie – I drag you with me. And I can’t keep doing that to you.’
‘You don’t get to decide what I can or can’t handle.’
‘Yes, I do,’ he says. His voice cracks under the strain and his hands tremble now. ‘Because when you look at me like I’m breaking your heart by just existing—’ He stops. Swallows hard. ‘It kills me. I’m not putting you through that again.’
You throw your hands up. Not angry, just wrecked. The tears come slow at first, before you can even realize you’re crying, like your mind is still trying to pretend things might be okay, but your body knows it’s not.
‘Stop acting like what you’re doing is noble, Spencer,’ you whisper. ‘Stop weaponizing love to justify walking away.’
‘I don’t want to hurt you.’
The silence after is deafening.
You don’t say what you’re thinking. Too late. You already have.
Instead, the two of you just stand there, not touching, not moving. The faucet drips lamely behind you. The birds continue singing outside. Oblivious, out of place – not caring that your world is falling apart.
‘Please.’
It comes from you finally. Your voice is so low it nearly disappears into the air between you. You aren’t begging. Not really. It’s something smaller than that. A final chance.
‘I don’t know how to be better,’ he admits, voice as quiet as yours. ‘I want to. I swear, I want to. But I don’t know how.’
‘Then let me help.’
You close the gap between you. A few fragile steps that feel like miles. When you stop, it’s with your heart wide open and bared. Your hands lift, almost touching him, but not quite. He leans in, forehead resting against yours.
His hands remain clenched into fists at his sides. He knows that if he touches you, really touches you, he’ll stay. And if he stays, he’ll keep breaking your heart into smaller, sharper pieces.
‘I’m sorry,’ he murmurs, tone just shy of grief. ‘I wish there was a gentle way to leave you.’
And that’s when you feel it. The subtle shift. The air in the room changing. A certain ending.
It doesn’t end with a scream. It doesn’t end with a slammed door. It ends in the space between your bodies. In barely held restraint. In the inch he keeps between your hands.
Then he steps back, and the moment breaks.
You don’t follow. He doesn’t look back.
When he leaves, you let him go.
He doesn’t slam the door, though he wishes he could.
He wishes there was a clean, decisive sound. Something loud enough to match the shattering in his chest. Something final.
But there’s only a soft click as the door eases shut behind him, the apartment trying not to wake the grief sleeping in its corners.
He stands in the hallway. Motionless. It smells faintly like burned toast and over-watered plants. A dog barks from a floor below. The banality of it – the normalcy – makes him want to scream.
He counts his steps, just to drown out everything else in his mind.
Seven to the elevator. Ten seconds down. Twenty-four more to the front door of the building. The mundanity makes him cringe. Something should be stopping him from walking out. It shouldn’t be this easy.
He catches his reflection in the glass of the door. A brief flicker. He looks away before the mirror can accuse him, before he can see the guilt in his eyes.
You’re still upstairs. Maybe on the couch. Maybe still standing where he left you. He hopes you’ve stopped crying. Knows the tears are probably still falling.
When he steps out onto the street, the morning hits him harder than expected. Too bright. Too warm. The lightness feels unfair. A child is laughing down the block. Somewhere, a child laughs. A care radio blasts a pop song. The world is still going, indifferent to how he’s feeling.
The world hasn’t ended. Not for them.
He takes a deep breath, hoping the air will ground him. Fill his lungs and center him. It doesn’t. So he walks. Not fast, and not with purpose.
He just moves, one foot in front of the other, and hopes the momentum will save him. Like distance will undo the damage.
Still no particular destination. Work, maybe. He’s due in, he thinks. He just knows he can’t go back to you, even if that’s where his heart wants to go.
The air bites at is skin. Colder now that he’s moving. Maybe it just feels that way because he’s raw, stripped of the warmth that lived in your voice, your touch, your home. He starts to move faster, hoping the breakup won’t catch up with him.
Halfway down the block, it starts.
A too-shallow breath. A heartbeat that comes too fast. A tremor that doesn’t start in his hands, but originates from somewhere deeper. Somewhere ungraspable. He blinks rapidly, trying to control the way his chest won’t open up properly.
He rounds a corner too sharply. His vision warps at the edges. Every footstep feels like it echoes, the street unstable beneath him.
His own name flickers in his mind like static. He tried to ground himself in language, in familiarity, pleading for it to pull him back from whatever this is.
I’m not okay. I’m not okay. I’m no okay.
His pulse thuds unevenly. His ribs feel like they’re contracting, his chest turning to stone. The air won’t come in properly. He opens his mouth, gasps in ragged drags of oxygen. It feels like he’s breathing through a piece of gauze.
Somehow, though he doesn’t remember the walk there, he finds himself outside the BAU building.
He grips the brick wall beside the entrance like it’s the only thing holding him upright. His knees buckle and his slides down, curling in on himself. His arms brace across his knees – still clothed in soft pajamas – and he hangs his head low.
He’s trying not to fall apart in public. Trying not to be a problem. But the breaking inside is too loud. He looks insane, probably. Can’t bring himself to care.
He gasps again, and presses a hand to his chest. The other grips at his hair.
Parasympathetic regulation. He knows the terms. Tells himself he can breathe. Four-count inhale. Five-count exhale. He keeps losing count.
He digs his palms into his eyes. He wants to vanish into the dark behind his eyelids, wants the pressure to stop the noise. He wants to erase the world. Wants to go back.
A sound escapes him. One that is part breath, part sob. Low and fragile and unfamiliar.
Then:
‘Reid?’
He doesn’t respond. Just keeps breathing – or, trying to.
Footsteps. Quick and purposeful.
The voice again, closer. ‘Spencer?’
He hears it clearer this time. Morgan.
And then Morgan is there, crouched beside him without hesitation. Morgan doesn’t say much. He doesn’t freak out of panic. He just stays. Solid and steady.
‘Hey,’ he says gently. ‘Breathe. You’re okay. You’re right here with me, alright?’
Spencer wants to nod. Wants to speak. But his breath stutters again, getting caught. Morgan mirrors a breath. Slow. Deliberate. Exaggerated.
‘In and out with me, Pretty Boy. One—two—three—’
A pause. Breathing in unison.
‘That’s it,’ Morgan says, voice softly coaxing. ‘Keep going. I’ve got you.’
Spencer latches onto the rhythm. Not perfectly. Not easily. But slowly. His heartbeat begins to come down from its frantic pounding.
He leans his head back against the cool brick wall. Lets it ground him. Still shaky, but better.
‘I can’t… I can’t go in,’ he rasps. His voice sounds foreign in his own mouth. Dry and hoarse and cracked.
‘That’s okay,’ Morgan says immediately. ‘We don’t have to move. We’ll just sit here.’
And they do.
The silence between the isn’t empty. It’s full of everything Spencer can’t say yet. He grips his knees until his knuckles turn white.
‘I think…’ He swallows. ‘I think I broke it. Whatever I had, I ruined it. I told them…’ his voice catches as he takes another gulp of air. ‘I just left them.’
Morgan doesn’t ask questions. He just listens.
Spencer closes his eyes again, not to shut Morgan out, but to try and hold something inside. He feels it cracking anyway. Slowly. A quiet and ruinous cave-in.
No tears fall. He doesn’t have the energy left for that. He just sits with the ache. The guilt. The weight.
Someone walks into the BAU behind them. The buzz of the door opening and closing. Footsteps fading away. Spencer keeps his head down throughout.
Morgan rests a hand on his shoulder. It’s not heavy. Just present. And Spencer doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t recoil. Just breathes.
They sit like that as the sun rises higher, casting long shadows on the sidewalk. The world keeps going. The day unfolds without waiting. They remain together. Breathing in sync. Still and unmoving, because motion might shatter what’s left of Spencer’s composure.
Spencer thinks about his hypothesis again.
You can run the experiment a thousand times and get the same result.
But it only takes one failure to prove you were never in control.
if you made it this far, thank you for reading!! I rewrote and edited this so many times i think i went crazy and decided this was the best it would be!!! I have a taglist now! Please comment if you want to be added, or go to this post here. taglist: @abbyy54 @curatedbylucy @cynbx @enchantedtomeetcoffee @goobbug @internallysalad @jeuj @leparoleontanee @mrs-cactus69 @readbyreid @redorquid @santinstar @shortmelol @thoughtwriter @whitenoisewhatanawfulsound @written-in-the-stars06
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llamaqueenprompt ¡ 2 months ago
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Red Flags and Blushes . Part III
Characters: Max Verstappen, Reader
Not Requested
Word Count: 1.0k
Part I Part II Part III - Complete
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Y/n was doing everything she could to avoid him.
After that night - the storage closet, the reckless kisses, the way she’d let herself feel too much - she had made a decision.
A stupid, painful, necessary decision.
She couldn’t do this.
Couldn’t risk it.
Couldn’t risk him.
So she kept her head down, pretended to be busy, ducked out of rooms when she heard his voice. If she absolutely had to speak to him, she kept it clipped and professional, like he was just another driver.
Max wasn’t stupid.
And he wasn’t patient.
By the end of the third day, Y/n could feel the storm brewing behind her every time she turned her back on him.
She was reviewing race data in one of the smaller conference rooms when it finally happened.
The door slammed shut behind her, hard enough to make her jump.
She whipped around, and there he was.
Max.
Tight jaw. Blazing eyes. Still in his race suit, the collar unzipped, hair messy from the helmet. He looked like he’d just stepped oof the track, adrenaline still crackling under his skin.
For a second, neither of them spoke.
The tension was suffocating.
Y/n’s heart hammered painfully in her chest. She gripped the edge of the table, forcing herself to stay still.
Max took a slow step toward her. “You gonna keep pretending I don’t exist?” he asked, voice low and dangerous.
Y/n swallowed hard. “I’m working.”
“Bullshit.”
Another step closer. The air around them grew heavy, electric.
Y/n forced herself to look at the laptop screen, her fingers trembling slightly. “This was a mistake,” she said quietly. “We said…”
“I don’t care what you said,” Max cut in, sharper now. “You don’t get to pretend like that night didn’t happen.”
“It was nothing,” she lied, the words scraping against her throat.
Max laughed, bitter and disbelieving. “Nothing?”
He was standing right in front of her now, close enough that she could smell the faint traces of fuel and leather… and his skin, warm and infuriatingly familiar.
“Funny,” he murmured, tilting his head, “because when you were moaning my name against that door, it sure didn’t sound like nothing.”
Y/n flinched. “Don’t.”
Max’s face softened… barely. He reached out, brushing hic knuckles down her arm so gently it hurt.
“You’re scared,” he said, voice dropping low.
“I’m being smart,” she whispered, hating the way her throat tightened.
Max shook his head. “You’re running.”
Y/n squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn’t look at him, couldn’t look at the way he meant it when he said things like that.
“Max…” she breathed, her voice breaking.
“You think pushing me away is gonna make this easier?” he asked, voice raw now. “Because it’s not. For either of us.”
He leaned in even closer, so close that she could feel his breath against her skin. She shivered involuntarily.
“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you,” Max said roughly. “You show up in my head at the worst fucking times. Before a race. After. In the middle of the night when I’m trying to sleep.”
Y/n bit her lip hard enough to taste blood.
“You’re in my head too much,” he whispered, almost angrily. “And you’re just gonna act like it didn’t happen?”
She blinked rapidly, fighting the tears burning her eyes. “I didn’t mean for it to get complicated,” she admitted, voice barely there.
Max’s hand cupped her jaw, forcing her to look at him. His touch was firm but heartbreakingly gentle.
“It’s already complicated, liefje,” he said. “You can either run from it, or you can fucking stay and deal with it.”
Y/n made a soft, wounded noise in her throat. She hated that he was right. Hated that her body ached for him even while her brain screamed at her to run.
“You deserve better than this,” she whispered. “You deserve someone who isn’t scared.”
“I don’t want someone else,” Max snapped. “I want you.”
Y/n’s cheat cracked open at the rawness in his voice.
No games. No pretending. Just brutal, terrifying honesty.
And she realized. She wasn’t scared of him.
She was scared of how much she wanted this.
Wanted him.
Max’s thumb brushed across her cheekbone, catching a tear she hadn’t realized had fallen. His eyes softened immediatly.
“Hey,” he murmured, voice breaking. “Don’t cry.”
Y/n let out a shaky breath. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Max smiled, a real smile this time, soft and a little self-deprecating. “Means you care.”
“I do,” she said before she could stop herself. “That’s the problem.”
“No,” Max said quietly, leaning in until foreheads touched. “That’s the best fucking thing I’ve heard all week.”
Y/n laughed wetly, a small, broken sound. She let herself sag against him, and Max wrapped his arms around her instantly, anchoring her.
“I’m gonna crew this up,” she mumbled into his chest.
Max kissed the top od her head. “We both will.”
He tilted her chin up with two fingers, his eyes searching hers.
“But I’m not going anywhere,” he promised, voice fierce.
Y/n closed the last inch between them, finally, finally pressing her lips to his.
It was messy, all teeth and desperation at first, but then it softened into something slow, reverent. Max kissed her like she was aomething precious, something he didn’t know he was allowed to have but was damn well going to fight for anyway.
When they pulled apart, Emma was breathing hard, her cheeks flushed, her heart slamming against her ribs.
Max grinned at her, forehead resting against hers again.
“You’re blushing,” he teased softly.
Emma groaned and buried her face in his chest. “Shut up.”
Max just laughed, the sound low and delighted, and held her tighter.
Neither of them said anything for a long time.
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pressureplus ¡ 11 months ago
Note
Hihii! Hope your all doing well
Could you please do human Sebastian Headcannons where it’s his or our birthday and writhed we get him something or we get him something?? My birthday was yesterday n I think this’ll be cute <3
Remember to take breaks <3
-💫
Hi! We're doing good, thank you for asking ❤️ (We get our breaks by taking turns making stuff, so don't worry too much about that)
It's a day late, but happy birthday, Anon! I hope it was a good one!
Birthday Wishes
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Pairings: Sebastian Solace x GN!Reader
Au: Classic
Warnings: N/A
◞꒷◟ ͜ ͜ ◞ྀི◟୨୧◞ྀི◟ ͜ ͜ ◞꒷◟◞꒷◟ ͜ ͜ ◞ྀི◟୨୧◞ྀི◟ ͜ ͜ ◞꒷◟
Everything has to be perfect. As perfect as it can possibly be from a place like this.
He's made sure to send Y/N out on a supply run he's hoping is going to take quite a while, needing some extra time to prepare for something he's making out to be a big event.
As much as he hates sending his dumb little diver anywhere without either going with them or watching them, he's taken a great deal of caution in getting them supplied and assuring the halls were not active today... Sebastian has well enough ferryman tokens in stock to bribe and barter with should anything happen, worse case scenario.
Shaking his head, he attempts to get rid of those paranoid tendencies so he can finish hanging up the streamers. The bastard fish had been awfully mean to Y/N this morning trying to throw them off so they wouldn't catch any hints for the surprises he's planned. The experiment still is not the best with putting that guard down that's been built up so he can live down here, but he's been trying. Y/N has made him really want to try.
Part of him is still nervous about this, scared that once they get this gift and use it that they'll figure out that they don't want him. He's scared that they'll settle on the thought that they only wanted his company out of desperation, lingering on the idea a bit too long and decide to go find someone else. The anxiety has left his hands shaking a good portion of the morning.
But he has to trust them. They've earned that a few hundred times over for being patient with him for so long.
Sebastian has been preparing for this day for years, and in truth this was for himself at first. This was supposed to be for him. He worked for it, scavenged for it, fought, killed, and lived for it. He's been running this shop for so long it's all he knows anymore and it was always for this.
It wasn't until Y/N came along it stopped being for him and started being for the both of them.
There's even a cake, and though he's still a bit concerned they're not going to like his less than stellar icing designs, he knows it's your favorite flavor so he's sure you won't hate it.
When he decides he's made it up nice enough and that he's brave enough to greet you, he makes his way back to his shop and sits waiting, trying not to mull over his choices, hoping that it will go well.
It doesn't take long, maybe another half hour at most, for his favorite person to stroll back in.
"Sebby! I'm home!" Y/N greets him first, going to set the small crate of goods down near the doorway.
"Took you long enough. Hard run?" He teases, reaching one of those big clawed hands down to ruffle their hair. Smile a little wider and eyes a little brighter, he can't deny he's excited.
"No! It was actually super easy! I didn't find even an ounce of data, though..." Seeming disappointed, they almost go to sulk before he catches them.
"No, no, I have made well enough for the week." He reaches under the desk and pulls out a messily wrapped box.
"Plus, it's your birthday, isn't it?" Sebastian grins.
It takes Y/N a long beat of silence to perk up, eyes sparkling under the outdated LEDs.
"It is! You remembered my birthday?" They snatch the present up and instinctually shake it.
"Ah, don't get too happy about it, I saw it on the calendar." The fishy man tries to play it off for longer, really dragging it out.
"I'd say happy birthday, but could it really be happy in the Blacksite?" He pokes, the snide jab not seeming to bring Y/N down at all.
"It is with you!" They give him a beaming grin and start to open their box.
Nearly choking, Sebastian feels his face heat up a bit and his heart stops in his chest. How is he not supposed to treasure his Y/N? How could anyone think they were anything less than amazing?
"Well, it is a special day nonetheless. You only get this old once." He adjusts his comment to match their mood, still reminding himself to soften up for them.
He's decorated it in their favorite colors, colorful streamers matching all the little things that's going to make it feel like a home.
"You got me a plushy?! Where'd you find one!?" Y/N tugs the stuffed toy out of the box and squeezes it, very clearly resembling their favorite mythical creature.
"Would you believe it was luck?" He chuckles, lying to them point blank. He'd made it by hand, but doesn't want the tears or teasing from you that would come with admitting that.
"Thank you so much, Sebastian! You're the best!" Y/N only continues to shine in the dimly lit shop.
"I've got something else for you. It's in the back." He places a hand on their waist to usher the former prisoner along towards the grand finale.
"Is it really gonna beat the plushie?" They joke and he snickers.
"I'd certainly hope so, it's your party." He uses another of his massive hands to cover your eyes and lead you out past the room, guiding your step up on a completely unfamiliar stair.
"Woah, is this a new room?" Y/N looks confused.
"Yep. It's your room now. We're still going to be sharing, but it's brand new." He hesitates for another few seconds.
Closing his own eyes, he tries to stay calm. Ripping that metaphorical bandaid off, his hands come away from them to let Y/N look around.
And Y/N finds themself in a submarine.
"You... Your deal went through. . ." They look around at the painstaking way he's furnished and decorated it.
"Yep. I got us a way out." He closes the door behind him and Y/N whips around to look at him.
"We're leaving!? WE'RE LEAVING TODAY?!" They look shaken, but more excited than he thinks he's ever seen before in his life.
The fear melts away watching the way they go and cheer, tossing their new plush onto the bed at the back of the vessel and laughing, already chattering about showing him the places they wanna go. If nothing he does ever goes right again his whole life, he's done good doing this.
Sebastian pulls another mischievous look and holds out the keys, barely catching their severely divided attention with the shiny new keyring.
"Happy Birthday, Y/N."
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guardianofnightmares ¡ 3 months ago
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“Think you can handle what I had in mind for a today’s session, Bumbler?” The Decepticon rumbled while caressing the helm of a companion with a single digit in a calming, if slightly playful, manner. “I am the one choosing location and activity after all.”
Quiet question seemed to pull Bumblebee out of his inner musings. He blinked and looked down at a broad, grey colored chest. There’s no Decepticon symbol to be found there, just as there was no Autobot symbol engraved on his own chest plate either. 
Both of them were not part of their respectful factions in that place - simulation did not allow it to happen, thus highlighting the reached neutrality between two parties. Nothing there was real, even if it seemed or felt like one, and never was portrayed accurately to real state of things. Just like Cybertronian armor of theirs, something so personal which felt almost alien by that point.
Bumblebee was not the same unsophisticated person he was prior that grueling journey. 
Megatron was not the same mech who’s been haunting minibot in his sleep on a duration of a 50 stellar cycles long stasis.
… a more forgiving part of Bumblebee wished to trust his partner, the one patiently waiting for his response. Because belief in their truce was giving a chance of reaching something more meaningful.
It was the reason why that notion in combination with a promise of a challenge in a Decepticon’s gaze made Bumblebee feel relieved and more confident of choices he made.
“Have more faith in me, Meg! After you’ve agreed to participate in that gliding session upon Lake Erie, I am ready for anything you’ll throw my way.”
----------
Mix of depression with health issues and mad schedule at work is not a fun thing to experience. Hence a prolonged hiatus. But I am glad to see this picture being finished after all these weeks of a slow progress).
To be honest, I have never predicted MegaBee ship evolving into such an important thing to me, coming to my rescue second time in a row (in terms of motivation to create). The narrative around this duo has grown from a mere joke to a full on serious plot. In a way it's given me a rare opportunity to look into some philosophical concepts and to study them through Bumblebee's and Megatron's unique perspectives. And I can only hope that you'll enjoy what I am planning to share with you in a near future).
P.S. Full "oneshot" can be found below alongside two close-ups of a painting, as well as a photo of a traditionally drawn base. Yes, pens-only miniart strikes back again with canvas measuring 9x9 cm)).
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Megatron stretched his back cables and limbs, the biolights feebly glowing along the edges of reconstructed Cybertronian armor. The HoloRing around his helm has disappeared, signaling the end of an upload of a memory unit into a simulation module. As if to prove it, the Zero SubMental level began to change, the array of data scattering around in peculiar patterns alongside twisting geometric lines, the latter rearranging the place around to suit the input information. 
Mesmerizing as it was, Bumblebee found himself unable to tear a wary gaze away from his companion. A bizarre thought struck him then, one which, he knew, was birthed out of sheer isolation, both mechs’ve found themselves stuck in. 
A thought that the Earth based variant of a grey Decepticon’s armor was more preferable to a minibot than his native one. Gone was the familiar simplicity of cubic shapes, being replaced with flowing lines which ended in sharp angles and spikes. Everything in that armor seemed to glint in something akin to predatory agitation under ever changing light source of a subreality. 
That was a stark reminder of who exactly Bumblebee was dealing with, and it made an anxiety in his Spark feast upon his qualms. 
After what was, most certainly, mere several nanoclicks, those ruby optics got locked straight on an Autobot, making him instinctively hold his breath. It was uncalled for, really, but he could not help himself. 
The last time Megatron was looking at him that way was during their very first confrontation on Omega Supreme. 
Said distress in a smaller mech has not gone unnoticed to the Decepticon. Part of him relished in realization he was still capable of putting minibot in place if needed, but that was not his intent. Not that time. 
Intensity of Megatron’s gaze dropped a certain amount, despite a glow of optics staying at the same level. An all enveloping EM field was tucked close to a frame, its owner squatting down in order to appear less intimidating (even if he’s still slightly towering over a standing minibot). 
It was the first time in their interactions when an Autobot had enough courage to look straight into enemy’s face with barely any space left between them. 
Bumblebee suddenly realized that at a such close proximity he could finally make out the outlines of pupils in Megatron’s optics. 
… those optics which once spoke of a murder. 
… he’s almost died back then from the same servo which was now resting upon his shoulder. 
The clash of behavioral differences between two versions of a Decepticon kneeling in front of him made a minibot think that he’s loosing his mind. For he’s not certain of who out of those two was in charge of actions anymore. 
“Think you can handle what I had in mind for a today’s session, Bumbler?” The Decepticon rumbled while caressing the helm of a companion with a single digit in a calming, if slightly playful, manner. “I am the one choosing location and activity after all.”
Quiet question seemed to pull Bumblebee out of his inner musings. He blinked and looked down at a broad, grey colored chest. There’s no Decepticon symbol to be found there, just as there was no Autobot symbol engraved on his own chest plate either. 
Both of them were not part of their respectful factions in that place - simulation did not allow it to happen, thus highlighting the reached neutrality between two parties. Nothing there was real, even if it seemed or felt like one, and never was portrayed accurately to real state of things. Just like Cybertronian armor of theirs, something so personal which felt almost alien by that point.
Bumblebee was not the same unsophisticated person he was prior that grueling journey. 
Megatron was not the same mech who’s been haunting minibot in his sleep on a duration of a 50 stellar cycles long stasis.
... a more forgiving part of Bumblebee wished to trust his partner, the one patiently waiting for his response. Because belief in their truce was giving a chance of reaching something more meaningful.
It was the reason why that notion in combination with a promise of a challenge in a Decepticon’s gaze made Bumblebee feel relieved and more confident of choices he made. 
“Have more faith in me, Meg! After you’ve agreed to participate in that gliding session upon Lake Erie, I am ready for anything you’ll throw my way.”
“Is that so?” Megatron asked, a sudden boost of confidence of a companion of his making him smirk in amusement.
He looked an Autobot over, taking note of how biolights were dancing across the broad shoulder pads. It was the first time he witnessed Bumblebee in his native armor, never before paying any attention to its details. In a way, he almost thought of it being an oversight on his behalf, finding the pridefully puffed up plates and a more sleek design suitable of a splinter in his side a minibot used to be prior their team-up.
... but only almost. For the Earth based variant was the one to properly describe of who his companion truly turned out to be.
“Well then, shall we begin?”
Despite a fact that the loading of subreality was already in process, Bumblebee, giddy with anticipation, decided to nod anyways.
Upon the end of calculations, the blinding light enveloped both mechs, and they finally started on a new trip down a shared memory lane.
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andhumanslovedstories ¡ 1 year ago
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I’ve been struggling lately with the feeling that my job is pointless. Intellectually I know it is not—nursing is one of those professions where you get to be real smug about knowing the value of your work. But it’s still felt very pointless. Like I’ll start a shift thinking, “what am I even doing here,” and end it thinking, “what have I actually even done.” It’s been a ROUGH couple months.
But I had a really good shift last time I worked, which was good for the soul and also a very useful data point. I got to do pain management advocacy and symptom management, met a bunch of cool patients, did education for new nurses, and had several long heart to hearts, which the kind of midnight heart to hearts that I think are the most important part of night shift, all of that while being well staffed with very pleasant and appreciative patients and coworkers, and I was still like. Pretty depressed. I had a sense of satisfaction and moments of joy and meaning, but it turns out that one good shift did not cure the depression that has been latched on to me for the last few months like some kind of fucked up mental health leech. As I realized I was still depressed and that it was still interfering with my life even when everything was going well, the sense of peace washed over me was the best I’d felt in a while. Because I was like, okay! None of my usual stuff as worked! I have no excuse not to try something new to get my brain out of the shit ditch it’s slipped into.
So I’m applying for short-term disability. I’m worried I won’t get it, and I’m not sure what the next step is if I get rejected, but I feel so much better having decided to pursue it. It’s so much fuckin paperwork for sure, to a degree that’s overwhelming except that that the form could be a checkbox that says, “you want money?” and I’d be like “THIS IS TOO MUCH.” I’m totally not writing this post instead of finishing an email to my manager. I’m definitely not writing this post to avoid dealing with coordinating all my various care providers. I’m certainly not at every moment worried that I’m secretly faking all this so I can get three to nine weeks of a cool summer vacation.
I was thinking about how I almost flunked nursing school in my final semester because I turned in assignments late for a class with a “no late homework” policy. The professor said that this was reflective of real life, where if you miss deadlines you’re just fucked. I ended up appealing my grade and passing, because frankly it was a weak reason for making me repeat a final semester when there was no issues with my actual work or knowledge. During my appeal, I was like “I also think this policy is ableist. Harsh penalties for late work hurt students with health problems, especially chronic health problems when you aren’t asking for one week off due to the flu but instead for a general and never ending flexibility. I’m not trying to make an excuse but explain why this policy is a bad one. Disabled healthcare workers are an asset to healthcare.” I’m trying to remember my own argument as I pursue help. My depression and ADHD and eating disorder do help me be a better nurse, not because like depression gives you superpowers, but because I manage my chronic illnesses every day, in ways that range from hardly noticeable to life or death. Being kind to patients means being kind to myself, and vice versa.
I’m rambling. I really do not want to do this paperwork or send these emails. And I’m not sure if I deserve the leave I’m trying to take. But I miss being love with my job. I miss enjoying it. I wouldn’t judge someone else for going on medical leave, and my job doesn’t want me to burn out or quit. It almost feels like I have to be skeptical of applying for leave because no one else is. Everyone I’ve spoken to has been very supportive, including my manager. And considering how many unpaid days off I’ve had to take lately, disability leave would be an improvement over some of my recent paychecks. All in all, short-term disability makes sense and seems like a reasonable response to circumstances. But FUCK. I wish it required like 90 percent less documentation.
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ginnysgraffiti ¡ 26 days ago
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I freaking adore your Patrick Bateman headcannons!! I wanted to know your thoughts on how Patrick would deal with an s/o that wasn’t very physically affectionate/touch-adverse? Thank you for your time!
sureee! thank you for using your time to leave a request <3
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PATRICK BATEMAN x yn.
head-canons:
his ego cracks at the silence.
patrick isn’t used to being denied. not in restaurants, not in bed, not in the smallest gestures of daily control. he’s not necessarily sentimental about affection — his physical touch tends to be performative, part of a rhythm of dominance, a checklist — but it’s supposed to be expected. when he leans in to kiss your cheek and you turn slightly away, or flinch (even slightly) from a hand on your waist, something in him stalls. not rage, not immediately — just confusion. then a bruised sort of insult.
“is this…deliberate?” he might ask one evening, with a half-laugh that isn’t actually amused.
he says it like he’s joking. but he isn’t.
he’s watching you like you’re a rubik’s cube someone solved wrong on purpose. and he hates not understanding.
he becomes uncomfortably fixated.
he’ll pretend not to care. “everyone has preferences,” he says casually. “some people don’t like oysters, some people don’t like to be… touched.”
he shrugs like he means it. then spends two hours lying awake staring at the ceiling and wondering if it’s because you don’t like him.
he starts cataloguing when you withdraw, tracking it like data. at what time of day? during which moods? did he say something before it happened? he’ll create elaborate internal theories and rewrite them hourly.
and because he has no healthy concept of boundaries, he’ll test you on purpose — just to see. a kiss on the shoulder. brushing too close while passing.
if you stiffen, his mind spins: what the fuck is wrong with me?
but eventually, it gets worse — because he gets better at pretending.
when he realizes this isn’t something you’ll “get over,” he adapts — but with that hollow, sociopathic efficiency that always masks a darker intent.
he becomes gentlemanly. tactful. unnervingly patient.
“no touching today either? alright. can i at least walk you home?”
he doesn’t raise his voice. he doesn’t push. instead, he becomes the perfect partner.
he buys you gloves in winter so he has an excuse to hand them to you, fingers brushing.
he picks up books about neurodivergence, emotional processing, body trauma — he doesn’t read them all the way, but he flips to sections he thinks are relevant.
to anyone else, he looks like a partner trying to be sensitive.
but to patrick? this is sick manipulative strategy.
if you won’t let him touch you, he’ll make sure you still need him. emotionally. financially. existentially. in any other way.
when you do initiate, even gently, he spirals.
the first time you touch him, of your own volition — a hand to the chest, a kiss to the temple — his body goes still. for a second, his entire world freezes into that gesture.
he won’t show it. won’t breathe wrong.
but when you leave the room, he sits down on the edge of his bed and stares at his reflection like something irreversible just happened.
because it did. you gave him the one thing he didn’t demand.
and now he’s addicted.
he starts seeing your resistance as purity.
in the most twisted part of his mind, he begins to associate your touch-aversion with something higher. you’re not cold, he tells himself — you’re sacred.
you don’t give out pieces of yourself to just anyone. and that means what he gets from you — even just a slight lean against his side during a movie — is worth more than everything he’s taken from everyone else.
and this makes him territorial. disturbingly so.
the idea that anyone else could touch you — emotionally, sexually, even accidentally — starts to feel violating to him.
“they don’t even know what they’re handling,” he mutters once, eyes dark. “you’re rare. they’d ruin you.”
but the longing doesn’t go away — it warps.
he doesn’t stop wanting you physically. he just learns how to suffer it.
he kisses your hair when you’re asleep. runs his fingers along your arm when you’re not paying attention. leaves notes instead of touching your back.
every gesture is quiet, controlled — until one day it won’t be.
because patrick bateman is not patient by nature.
and eventually, the mask always cracks.
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