#GOTTA MANAGE FOR 5 MORE GENERATIONS NOW

[goldetrash]

I NEED TO BRAG

I GOT PERFECT CHOCOBO AT GENERATION 4

IM WINNING AT GAMBLING

YAAHOOOO

[floral-hex]

ayyyyyyy I set up an appointment for medication this Friday (telemedicine but whatever) and I get to see my former therapist again later this month. I’m kind of excited. More than kind of. Little sad, but I’m lonely and want to talk to someone. He’s a real cool dude. I’m a little worried to trauma dump the last 6 months on him, but whatever, it beats sitting there for an hour feeling like I’m wasting his time and struggling to think of things to say. dang dang dang, I’m excited.

[orcelito]

It's a little funny. I spend so much time compartmentalizing that I convince myself I'm totally fine, of course, all the time.

But when I was filling out the questionnaire before my therapy appointment yesterday, it was like

.... OK yea maybe I have some problems

Also this one 😂😂😂

[rakkiankh]

God I'm so tired

[tkbrokkoli]

relapsed, but I stay silly 😜😋🤣

[weirdgenetic-fuckup]

You’re like the best writer of smut here ☺️☺️☺️

Please I’m begging 90s James (can be any era) taking reader’s virginity? But he didn’t know she’s innocent and she thinks after all the groupies he fucked he’d be disappointed in her? But he’s actually super turned on, cause no one touched her and now he gets to ruin her??? So I guess corruption kink, purity kink, dirty talk, size kink (he’s big, we all know that)???

A/n: I've had this conversation with a friend a few times, my idea is that -going off of the picture of James on the record, we all know the one- he's roughly 5-7 inches (8 being a generous amount) because he's holding himself in his hand and there's still some poking out, plus he looks flaccid SO by my calculations I've come up with said lengths, let me know if you want to hear more of my thoughts on sixty year old mens dicks🫠

Warnings: Smut, size kink, dirty talk, fingering (f receiving), idk about corruption and purity kinks but I tried lol, if you think I missed anything let me know otherwise enjoy!

You straddled his lap, arms around his neck with your fingers laced in his hair. James's arms were around you, holding you close while he attacked your lips with your own, his tongue exploring your mouth.

You'd been dating for two months, getting closer to three, and you still hadn't told him he would be your first. You'd gone on a few dates, some highschool romances but those didn't mean anything really.

You were quiet and kept to yourself, you didn't go out, you didn't get dates, how you managed to get him was beyond you but here you were, in his bed, in his lap, in his arms with his hard on pressed firmly against your ass.

Honestly, you didn't think you'd make it this far with him. James was a rocker, the lead singer of a big band, he'd been with so many women it was hard to believe that he went cold turkey just because he met you.

"Sweetheart," he spoke, getting your attention, "what's wrong?" He asked, bringing a hand up to your face and thumbing your cheek in a soothing motion.

"What's wrong..?" You repeated softly, letting him move your face further away so he could look at you. "Nothing's wrong, why?"

"You were thinking about something." He said with a warm smile. "You stopped kissing me."

You gave a small nod, understanding why he was stopping now. "Right, sorry." You leaned closer to kiss him again but you only got a quick peck before he pushed you away again.

"What were you thinking about, sweetheart?" He asked, eyes flicking down to your red lips.

"Nothing." You assured.

James rolled his eyes. "It's not nothing, tell me." He said sternly, looking you in the eye. You chewed your cheek, he knew just what eyes to give to make your knees weak.

"I'm sorry." You finally said. "I know you're used to a lot of women, you're used to groupies, and I'm not them and I don't think it'll be good enough but I want to try, I just literally don't know how..?" You explained.

James blinked at you, expression blank. "Sweetheart, I mean this politely, what the fuck do you mean?" He couldn't hold back a small chuckle. "Are-are you saying you're scared you're not good enough at sex for me?"

Your mouth opened before the words came out. "Well, yeah but that's not exactly what I meant." You mumbled. "I mean... I-I might be lacking in the, um, sex...ual... intimacy? With, you know... others?"

James inhaled deeply, he gave a nod and rested his forehead on your shoulder. "Sweetheart, are you trying -and failing miserably, might I add- that you're a virgin?" You huffed at his comment but you had to nod.

"Yes." You mumbled, fingers curling in his hair to scratch his scalp. He gave a small hum and pulled away from you again, planting a soft kiss on your cheek as he did.

"Right, and I'd be upset because?" You thought for a while but whatever train of thought you were on was cutoff when you felt him twitching against your ass. "Sweetheart, we can take it slow, you just gotta talk to me."

You inhaled deeply, nodding along as he spoke. "Jamie," you started, "I-I want you to take me... my virginity..." Your voice fell to a mumble, embarrassed at actually saying it out loud, so bluntly as well. Straight to his face.

James smiled up at you. "Alright then." He said, hand going to undo your shorts.

Your face flushed as he did so. "What-what are you doing?" You asked, slight panic slipping into your voice.

"Don't worry, I told you we can take it slow." He assured, closing the gap between you for a moment as he helped you out of your shorts. "But that means I have to get you ready for me, sweetheart, it's not gonna be easy fitting me into you if you're not ready." While it made sense you didn't want to think too much about it.

James continued to pepper your face with kisses as he pushed your panties to the side. He ran a finger through your folds, giving a small hum of approval at how wet you were already. He pushed a finger into you, enjoying the soft gasp that left you when he did.

"Tell me, sweetheart, and be honest." He spoke. "You have touched yourself before, haven't you?" He asked, combing his free hand through your hair.

You hesitated before answering, cheeks already dusted a candy red colour. "Um, I-I have toys..." You mumbled, unable to look him in the eyes as you said it.

James's smile widened. "You do, do you?" He asked. "And when you use them, you think of me don't you?" He questioned further, started to pump his finger in and out of you.

Your breaths grew heavy, eyelids fluttering as his finger moved. "I think of you, Jamie." You said, but it wasn't enough, you were already going this far, you had more to get off your chest. "I-I think of you on top of me, I think of the faces you make and I think of what you sound like... I think of you naked, I think of-of what you'd look like with my-my hand around you... your cock... I think about what it-it looks like when you cum." Once you started you couldn't stop, all the filthy things you'd been thinking about coming out like dirty commandments.

James listened in slight shock, he hadn't known you to be so needy. "Filthy slut." He said with a smile, adding a second digit. "Keep talking." He urged. "I want to hear what else you think of when you're getting yourself off."

The addition of another finger made you whine but he slowed down to let you get used to the stretch. You swallowed thickly and nodded, mentally preparing yourself to continue.

You closed your eyes, letting his fingers resume the same motion, in and out, slow and curling to find what made you tick. "I think ah-about riding you, my-my hands on your chest while you tell me wh-ah- what to do, how-how good I'm doing."

"What kind of toys do you have, sweetheart?" He asked, pulling you from your thoughts. You bit your lip, he wasn't even supposed to know you touched yourself, now he was supposed to know what you're using to do it with? "C'mon, I won't judge." He said, kissing the tip of your nose as his fingers curled in you, making your eyes roll and he knew to hit that spot again.

"They-they're vibrators."

"They?" He repeated. "As in multiple?" Your eyes widened as the realization of what you'd admitted to. "Naughty girl." He curled his fingers again, bringing you closer to your already nearing release.

James added another finger, moving his hand faster now as he scissored your hole in an attempt to prep you for his cock. "When you're alone in bed with your toys, that's how you do it, isn't it?" He asked for confirmation.

You gave it willingly, nodding your head as more moans started falling from your lips.

"You're thinking about me." He continued. "What kind of vibrators?" He asked again. "You've never had anything inside you, sweetheart, right? I'll be the first?" You nodded, his fingers making it hard to focus on anything else. He chuckled as he saw how close you were. "That's it, that's my good girl, cum on my fingers."

Your gut tightened before bursting, your eyes rolled back. Your hands resting on his shoulder clutched his shirt in your fists as you came, a string of curses leaving you.

James groaned lowly at the sight, his fingers still moving in you and letting you ride out your high on them.

As you came down from it, though, he let you melt into him, slowly and carefully shifting you to lay on your back on the mattress. Your head fell back onto his pillow, his scent filling your nose, completely taking you over.

James hovered over you a moment, propping himself between your legs and holding himself up with his hands firmly planted on either side of your head. "Is this what you fantasize about, sweetheart?" You could only nod and let him undress you before following shortly after.

"I'll go slow, so just relax." He said, brushing some of your hair out of your face. "And if, for any reason, you want to stop, tell me. I want to know- I need to know if you're uncomfortable with anything for whatever reason, am I understood?" He asked firmly, cupping your cheek in the palm of his hand.

You nodded, staring right back at him as he used his other hand to line himself up with your cunt before pushing in. He did just what he said he would, moving slowly.

He stopped to pepper kisses all over your face and tell you how good you were doing. "That feels good, doesn't it? Feels good when I stretch you out like this." You nodded, arms wrapped around him, hands splayed out on his back.

"You-you're so big." You mumbled, looking down at him in hopes of catching a glimpse of where you both connected. Only, what you saw was a few more inches still needing to be pushed in.

James let out hearty laugh when he saw your eyes widen. "Only halfway, sweetheart, you'll know when I'm balls deep, don't worry."

You slowly relaxed back into the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, mind full. "You're gonna tear me in two." You muttered to no one in particular, James was the only one there to hear and it made him laugh.

"Damn right I am." He agreed. "I'm going to ruin you for anyone else, sweetheart, no ones gonna stretch you out like this, no ones gonna make you theirs." His eyes flickered over your face, taking in your expression of wide eyes and the small pout on your lips. "No one else gets to be your first."

In a quick motion he pushed the rest of himself into you, burying his cock deep in your cunt. Your eyes rolled back, hands clawing at his back and making him groan. He looked down, grin only getting bigger as he saw the bulge he made in your stomach.

"No one else gets to do that." He purred, reaching a hand down to press on your stomach. A whine left you as he did, your legs tried to close but he was in the way. "Not so fast, sweetheart, we haven't even gotten started yet."

[astrallytadpoled]

Companion Underwear Tier List

Do you know how hard it was to put this together? Did I at any point think I'd be sitting here overthinking underpants? No. Never. I hope all my teachers are proud of me!

Underwear was assessed based on FOUR criteria: sex appeal, description, bulge/clam protection, and bondage appeal.

Are you ready for the break down? Of course you are.

More under the cut!

First up, Lae'zel.

Sex appeal: That is quite the sexy underwear. It being leather means everything is swampy down there, though. BUT that would be a perk for some of you heathens. 9/10 Description: Built for function rather than fun. What? Have you SEEN that thing? Imagine the wedgies you get trying to fight in it! 6/10 Bulge/clam protection: It covers the most important bits, and it's leather, but enough is uncovered that a direct groin hit would hurt 6/10 Bondage Appeal: Leather? Straps? Tie me up, mommy. 10/10 FINAL SCORE: 31/40, or 78% or C

Shadowheart:

Sex appeal: They're a nicely made matching set of underwear 8/10 Description: If pants could brood… Absolutely fucking hilarious 10/10 Bulge/clam protection: Material seems weak, and it doesn't provide good coverage 6/10 Bondage appeal: Pretty generic mildly sexy underwear with a bit of an edge. 7/10 FINAL SCORE: 31/50 or 77% or C

Astarion:

Sex appeal: It's Astarion I'd be eaten alive if I don't give this a 10/10 Description: Embroidered into the cloth: 'If you're reading this, you managed to bed or behead me. Either way, you got lucky.' Made me laugh out loud irl, so 10/10. Bonus 5 points since he embroidered them himself (effort wins points from me ok) Bulge/clam protection: Look it's cloth. No protection there. And it shows his butt wrinkles (+2 for butt wrinkles) 6/10 Bondage appeal: Generic tighty-not-whities do with them what you will. 6/10 FINAL SCORE: 37/40 or 92% or A

Gale:

Sex appeal: Sorry, Gale. That waist. 7/10 Description: Energy crackles around these. Gale wouldn't… Surely he didn't enchant his… Description? Funny. 10/10. But one has to wonder what sort of enchantment he went for. Prestidigitation? Or some sort of temperature control? A smart man would go for prestidigitation. Extra 7 points for the enchantment. Bulge/clam protection: It's cloth, but he's got good coverage going AND they're magic9/10 Bondage appeal: Who likes shorts? Are shorts bondage-able? 3/10 FINAL SCORE: 36/40 or 90% or A

Wyll

Sex appeal: Bonus for cut, but I gotta ding you for the drawstring. Sorry, Wyll. 6/10 Description: Long may these gird the Blade of Frontiers. Yes, yes, we know. You're the Blade of Frontiers. Makes it sound they're his only pair of underpants, too! 5/10 Bulge/clam protection: It's cloth. Do you think Mizora protects his bulge in any way? I doubt it. 3/10 Bondage appeal: They're white underpants. 2/10 FINAL SCORE: 16/40 or 40% or D

Karlach

Sex appeal: It's Karlach, she's by default hot. Look at the cut! The straps! 9/10 Description: How do these not burn off? THAT IS A GOOD QUESTION, GAME, and now I'm wondering too. 9/10 Bulge/clam protection: Coverage is not that great BUT, they can take the heat. They should probably grant some sort of fire immunity or something. Larian, fix this. 8/10 Bondage appeal: They look pretty bondage-y, but also Mama K. 7/10 FINAL SCORE: 33/40 or 82% or B

Halsin

Sex appeal: To be honest it looks like he's wearing something a size too small, Halsin, hun, give your crotch room to breathe. 6/10 Description: Why does it smell like a herb garden? So at least we know he keeps it clean? Unless HE smells like a herb garden… have you considered that? 10/10 Bulge/clam protection: Keeping everything close and tight to minimize damage. Genius. 9/10 Bondage appeal: They can be worked into bondage easily. Halsin provides the vines. 10/10 FINAL SCORE: 35/40 or 87% or B

Jaheira

Sex appeal: The mesh-y vest-y look on the bra, hello? 9/10 Description: Embroidered with little ducks. ….WAIT A MINUTE is that why Halsin likes ducks?! 10/10 Bulge/clam protection: Not very protective, but she goes cougar mode anyway (yes I know it's a panther, I just need that joke in there) 8/10 Bondage appeal: They can be worked into bondage easily. But she's got to be in charge. 9/10 FINAL SCORE: 36/40 or 90% or A

Minsc

Sex appeal: It is Minsc 10/10 Description: Tight, aerodynamic, and built for maximum breathability. Humidity is no friend to hamsters. MINSC PLEASE DO NOT PUT HAMSTERS IN YOUR UNDERPANTS. THINK OF LEMMIWINKS 1/10 Bulge/clam protection: No protection, the hamster is a liability 2/10 Bondage appeal: Lemmiwinks 1/10 FINAL SCORE: 14/40 or 35% or F

Minthara

Sex appeal: It is Minthara 15/10 Description: Woven with as much toughened cobweb as cloth. It is an evocative mental image 10/10 Bulge/clam protection: Spidersilk stronk, but coverage could be better 7/10 Bondage appeal: It is Minthara 10/10 FINAL SCORE: 42/40 or 105% or S

[blacknight7890]

I gotta say, one of the best aspects of the Interloper ARG series, is absolutely how grounded it all is. There's no inherently supernatural elements, just strange ones. It's improbable, but not impossible to have happened irl. Especially lately with advances in ai tech.

Like, normally games being interconnected would be explicitly supernatural, but not here. In this, the games are all on the same baseline engine. It's plausible that their programming could be compatible.

Even with the particularly strange demos the Interlope command makes, it makes sense. It's clear that some of theme are just made on the spot, but others seem to be pulling from events that have already occurred. This makes sense, because he isn't pulling them from some mystical spirit world or something, it's from a server. Servers exist, they generate and store tons of info, it makes sense that some things would get stored on there and then spit back out later.

Even the strange type 5 demos, those are clearly attempts at artificial intelligence, a real thing that we, even now, are working on. And they only exist due to the server, not the games. Without the server, the games are perfectly mundane. It's only after Anomi managed to snatch one of their AI's into his own computer that the "normal" games started to act supernatural.

Interloper sits on the razor thin edge of plausibility, balancing ontop like a damn pro. Not too plausible that the magic is lost, and not too impossible that it loses its grounded nature. Hell, we have the files, they can exist physically on your very own machine! The demos and type 5's can all be yours! That's how plausible it all is.

I also just love how grueling it is to get any details from it. Anomi has to spend hour and hours making demos, exploring the void, and scraping the bottom of the internet barrel for even a hint of a clue. There are no clear answers, the type 5's are cryptic, the archive is barebones at best, skyghost is skyghost, and the only other person on the planet who would know more about this refuses to tell Anomi anything except the absolute bare minimum that they have to.

Nothing is easy, nothing is free, and nothing is boring. I love it.

[rock-omelette]

MAFIA AU

In the light (or more precisely, the dearth) of Mafia AUs in this fandom, I have resolved to shut my trap and make my own.

BASELINE (Gerald, Ivo and the Family Business)

The founder and patriach of the Botnik Family Business is Gerald, and immediate family consists of Maria and Ivo, his surviving grandchildren.

The Family Business started off as a fairly powerful gang, due to Gerald's own efforts in commanding a good portion of DC and San Francisco. But it didn't REALLY take off until he took Ivo in as his right hand man after the deaths of Ivo's father, who had been his eldest son.

Gerald did most of the raising, in some sense of the word. He didn't like Ivo much--Ivo was a neurotic, combative, insubordinate and was even more ambitious than he was. But Ivo was a GENIUS.

Gerald paid for Ivo's education, middle school to every doctorate. He had 3 PhDs by 25. He had 5 by 30. He had 7, technically, on account of several new academic developments in medical industry, but Ivo had always regarded the last two were just "honorary."

Ivo respected Gerald, but he knew he could be better, could be greater than Gerald ever could be. He started developing weapons in high school, and it was his idea to establish a military liaison selling his inventions in college. They took off focus from crude revenues like "Protection rackets" and instead focused on global underground arms dealing, mercenary work, biochemical drug testing and organ harvesting. The Family Business exploded. They were calling it a proper "Empire." People were more scared of Ivo than they ever were of Gerald, and all these combined, Ivo and Gerald's relationship only got more tetchy as they grew.

MARIA

Gerald discovered Maria in his 90's, and Ivo's 50's. She's the daughter of an old mistress, left on his doorstep when she died of cancer. Gerald fairly adored Maria from the get go. She's sweet, charming, kind and obedient.

He doesn't say it out loud, but Ivo suspects Gerald plans to name Maria as his heir whenever he finally dies despite...everything. Ivo doesn't HATE her. He has too much affection for family, or he'd have killed off Gerald years ago. No, he wishes he could hate her, but he doesn't really. Maria thinks he does though, and is fairly confused and frustrated by Ivo's cold shoulder. She hasn't got any other family. She's 14.

SHADOW

Maria is closest with Shadow, who was a homeless orphan Gerald randomly takes a liking to when he found him in DC. Gerald liked his moxie. Up until he found Maria he treated the kid as some kind of foster son of sorts (Ivo thinks Gerald's gotten sentimental in his old age. He DOES hate Shadow.), so now he entrusts Maria to Shadow as her primary bodyguard. They have a sibling-like relationship. Shadow is 17.

STONE

Stone is Ivo's right hand man, bodyguard and assistant, and he has been so for a decade.

Stone is an ex-CIA who discovered the Robotnik through work and has, shall we say, developed an obsessive one sided crush on Ivo through the years.

Like he's heard of Ivo since his years in active military duty, and his inventions never fail to be groundbreaking. And they only grow more and more impressive over time.

He's been trying to find a way to get on Ivo's radar for years. He gotta be smart with it. He got his chance when he was deployed for a retrieval mission by a ticked off general. It's an off-the-book mission. His fascination with the Mad Doctor is an open secret among the ranks, and his perfect ops record made him the perfect agent for the job. Ivo had managed to get some dirt on him that he's threatening to use as blackmail, and he needs Stone to steal it back from him.

Stone uses the opportunity to prove his worth. He steals the data, and "slips up", getting caught. He confronts Ivo face to face, and reveals his intentions to be an interview of sorts. Proving the fact that he had succeeded in his mission nonetheless. Ivo was greatly amused (and slightly impressed) by the sheer recklessness, audacity and skill.

He tells Stone to prove himself by assassinating the General who sent him on the mission in the first place, and to do it in 5 hours. Stone succeeds in 3. Ivo hires him. The rest is history.

MISCELLANEOUS

Rouge, Omega, Cubot and Orbot and Sage are all part of the family as well! Human AU. They are all Shadow's inner circle, and are exceptionally fond of Maria.

The goons are called Badniks, which consist of both human people and mass produced drones. 90% of any added human goons are done by Gerald. Ivo works primarily with his drones, because he thinks people are too "squishy, annoying, stupid and inefficient." The divide in loyalty is clear but unspoken--the drones and tech are more loyal to Ivo, and the people (save maybe a few like Stone, Metal and Sage) are more loyal to Gerald.

Ivo usually hates like. Touch and bodily fluids. He wears long sleeves and gloves. But he DOES enjoy killing and maiming and the like. He thinks its entertaining as all get out. Nothing like a good torture session to let off some steam.

Ivo walks with a cane sometimes. Not for any specific reason he just looks hot.

[inuyashaluver]

jacket kisses - leah williamson

leah williamson x reader

description: in which your girlfriend always shares her jacket with you - insisting it’s the only way you can get warm

warnings: swearing, suggestive media post teehee

⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆

your girlfriend, leah williamson loved the cold weather. the only reason why she loves the cold weather is because she dedicated herself to being your personal heater.

whether it was at training, during games or just in general, leah HAD to have her body enveloping yours, she couldn’t let her baby get cold she claims.

“do you think i’ll need a jacket?” you question, looking over at leah, she was perched against the doorframe, arms folded over her chest as she watched you get ready for your date.

“nah, baby, we’ve got our jacket right here” she pats her chest, referencing the jacket she was wearing.

you roll your eyes and shake your head lightly at her with a giggle.

“when i die of hypothermia, will you speak at my funeral?” you pout at her, moving across the room to stand directly in front of her, grabbing her hands and swinging them side to side.

she smiles down at you, rubbing her thumbs lightly over your knuckles, “baby girl, if anyone dies of hypothermia, it’ll be me” she scoffs, “would i really let my girlfriend go cold?”

you laugh at her again, “my silly girl” you coo, lightly pinching her cheek, “off we go then, williamson chop chop!” she laughs and pulls you out of the door, giving your tangled hands a kiss.

as soon as you step outside. it’s cold. it’s really fucking cold - she knew straight away and moved to take off her jacket and holding it above your shoulders, waiting for you to slip in each of your arms. when your arms are in the jacket, she squeezes your biceps and places a sweet kiss on your cheek.

“now you’ll be cold lee, baby”

“this is a thermal shirt, i’m all good, baby” you give her a peck in appreciation. leah felt so accomplished in this moment, she knew she needed to keep this up.

—

both of you were extremely talented football players, hence why you both play for england as well as arsenal. you loved playing together - it strengthens your relationship as a whole and you just loved to watch each other do what you do best.

unfortunately, leah wasn’t able to get back to the pitch just yet, her acl preventing her to do so. however, this didn’t stop her coming to every game to watch her teammates and her lovely girlfriend.

it was game day for arsenal. a home game - leah could not be more excited to live out her wag life, wearing your jersey under her giant puffer jacket. the game had gone exceptionally well, you had managed to get two goals amongst the 5 from your teammates. an easy 5-0 win.

when the final whistle blew, you and your teammates hugged each other with exhaustion. staying in the middle of the pitch before doing your lap of photos and signatures.

“our little superstar!” katie yells as she picks you up over her shoulder, running around the girls as they laughed at both of you. “oh, here’s your missus, off you go!” she places you on the ground and spins you towards your favourite girl.

there stood your beautiful girlfriend, looking so warm and snuggly in her puffer jacket and tracksuit pants while you suffer in your kit. she outstretched her arms to you and you jog over to her, pulling her into a tight hug. she immediately placed her face in the crook of your neck, placing numerous kisses there. she moves her hand to scrunch the back of your head and faces you.

“i know i told you to score me a goal but two? i’m so spoilt” she boops your nose with her finger. your arms were still tightly wrapped around her waist, the cold breeze starting to pick up when your post match body heat goes down.

“gotta show off to my wag, baby” you wink up at her and she grins at you brightly.

“i’ll never get over you in this kit, arsenal suits you well” she unwraps your arms from her waist in order to hold your hand and twirl you around, taking in your appearance.

“baby, i’ve played at arsenal all my life”

“woah, show off! let me compliment my girlfriend please” she scoffs,

“baby, you’ve played with me, at arsenal, for majority of our lives, you’ve seen me in this kit more than regular clothes”

“you’re no fun” she pouts at you, you give her a kiss on the lips in apology. before you could pull away, she grabs the base of your neck, making the kiss longer but still keeping it tame as you were in public.

you pull away for a moment, both of you looking at each other with wide pupils and cheesy grins.

“is this appropriate baby?, i think we’re traumatising the children” you point over your shoulder, referencing victoria and alessia who was looking at you guys and grinning. she laughs loudly at that, bringing you close to her again.

“oh no, can’t have that, love, can we?” she places her hands on your hips, pulling you closer. she quickly unzips her jacket, grabbing your arms and wrapping them around her waist.

“baby, what’re you-”

“hush” she tutts with fake annoyance on her face

you hug her waist tightly and she pulls the jacket around you, holding it in place with her arms. hugging you tightly. she quickly lets go of you and puts the big hood over her head. you’re now in your own little cocoon. everyone knowing to leave you alone in this moment.

she moves down to place a passionate kiss on your lips, both of you moving completely in sync with each other. there’s so much love in the kiss, it honestly felt like the both of you had been away from each other for weeks instead of 90 minutes.

she pulls away from you. giving you a kiss on both of your cheeks, your forehead, your nose and a quick peck on your lips for good measure. you grin up at her and return the kisses in the same spots, both of you giggling with each other, still wrapped up in the puffer jacket.

“okay williamson, duty calls, baby, gotta sign some shirts and cheese for pics” you let go of her.

“hey! me first!” she grabs out her phone from her pocket, holding it out for a selfie. you both immediately share cheesy grins at the camera, leah spamming the photo button. before you move to run away, she pulls you back by your wrist,

“one more” she pouts, you pose again, this time grabbing her cheek at giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“okay, i’ve really got to go!” you quickly run away before she pulls you back. little did you know, leah was too busy staring at the picture and making it her wallpaper and profile picture on every social media platform that she had

⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ★ ⋆

just pretend it’s youuuu - sorry jordy ily x

liked by alessiarusso99 and 44,232 others

leahwilliamsonn: wag life couldn’t be better

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yourname: so nice meeting such a big fan today!

↳ leahwilliamsonn: oh fuck you

↳ yourname: oh fuck me yourself, gorgeous

↳ leahwilliamsonn: is this a challenge or something?

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↳ yourname: whoops

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[puckpocketed]

"People in the Long Island hockey community have known about Hagens for years and always knew he was destined to be the next great player from the Island."

James Hagens' rise from Long Island youth hockey to top-five NHL Draft prospect (archived) by Colin Stephenson, published May 31st, 2025 on Newsday - Full text below the cut

The NHL’s scouting combine, which begins Sunday in Buffalo, will gather the top prospects for next month’s draft in Los Angeles. The prospects will have a weeklong series of fitness and strength testing and interviews with all 32 of the league’s teams.

James Hagens, a lifelong Islanders fan who grew up in Hauppauge, will get a face-to-face chance to try to convince his favorite team, which holds the first overall pick in the draft, to choose him.

When the Islanders won the NHL Draft lottery on May 5, it was a delicious wrinkle for Hagens, whose first NHL jersey as a youngster was that of former Islanders star John Tavares. But even before his childhood team got the No. 1 pick, Hagens always hoped to go first overall.

“Just being competitive, you want to be first,’’ he told Newsday last month. “You want to be the first guy off the board. But you know, it’s something that — it’s out of your control now. It’s the team’s choice.’’

Whether the Islanders will choose Hagens with the No. 1 pick is a fascinating question. A year ago, he was projected by many to be the top pick in 2025, but he’s no longer considered No. 1. And it was only last week, on May 23, that the Islanders hired their new general manager, Mathieu Darche. Darche has to hit the ground running as he prepares for his first draft as an NHL GM and, as a Montreal native, he isn’t likely to take Hagens with the first pick simply because he’s a Long Island kid.

Hagens, a 5-11, 178-pound center, became the early favorite to be No. 1 overall after he starred at the World Under-18 Championships in 2024 and led that tournament in scoring. This season, though, scouts and talent evaluators fell in love with a 6-2 defenseman from the Ontario Hockey League named Matthew Schaefer.

Schaefer, a native of Hamilton, Ontario, is rated the NHL’s No. 1 prospect among North American skaters, even though a broken collarbone suffered in the World Junior Championships limited him to 17 games for the OHL’s Erie Otters. The experts are nearly unanimous in saying he projects to be a No. 1 defenseman at the NHL level, and the Islanders surely could use that.

Michael Misa, a 6-1 center from Saginaw of the OHL, is the NHL’s No. 2 North American prospect, and Hagens, who just finished his freshman year at Boston College, is No. 3. Sweden’s Anton Frondell, a 6-1 center with Djurgardens IF, is the NHL’s No. 1 European skater prospect.

Even if the Islanders don’t take Hagens, he still would be the highest-drafted hockey player from Long Island if he goes within the first six picks. Mike Komisarek, a defenseman from West Islip, was selected No. 7 overall by the Montreal Canadiens in 2001.

Long Island has been producing more and more NHL players over the last decade or so, such as the Rangers’ Adam Fox (Jericho), Boston’s Charlie McAvoy (Long Beach), Washington’s Sonny Milano (Massapequa), Ottawa’s Shane Pinto (Franklin Square) and Calgary’s Matt Coronato (Greenlawn). People in the Long Island hockey community have known about Hagens for years and always knew he was destined to be the next great player from the Island.

Standing out early

“I mean, you saw it when he was 7 or 8,’’ said Steve Rizer, the hockey director and general manager of Superior Ice Rink in Kings Park, where James and his older brother, Mike Hagens Jr., first started playing hockey. “You could see, OK, he’s definitely more advanced than some of the other 7- and 8-year-olds.’’

Benoit Hogue, a former Islanders player who stayed on Long Island after his NHL career was over, saw James for the first time around that age and instantly knew he was special.

“People were like, ‘You gotta watch this kid,’  ’’ Hogue recalled. “And then I just noticed how skilled he was with the little kids. And listen, with the little kids, there’s always one that pops out. But just the skills that he had, the way he looked at the ice, the way he found the open guy, the way he skated, stickhandled. I’m like, this kid’s got it. He’s got all the skills.”

Hogue had met James’ father, Mike Hagens Sr., while playing in a local men’s league right after he retired from the NHL and moved back to Long Island. Mike Sr., who grew up in Baldwin and Freeport and played Division III college hockey at SUNY Brockport, got his sons on the ice for the first time at around 5 years old. Soon after that, he introduced them to Hogue, who by then had begun coaching youth hockey.

Hogue holds tryouts every summer for an all-star team he puts together for the Quebec International PeeWee Hockey Tournament, a world-famous event in Quebec City for players 12-and-under. Players from as far away as New England and New Jersey try out for the team, the Long Island Stars, and Hogue has had future NHLers, including Coronato, on previous teams.

When Mike Jr. made the team as a 12-year-old, Hogue asked Mike Sr. and his wife, Kristine, if James, whom he likens to Devils star Jack Hughes, could join the team as a 10-year-old.

Hogue was excited by the talent he saw in James. One night, when James was about 12, Hogue said he had a chance meeting with an NHL GM in a hotel bar and told him, “Remember this James Hagens . . . You’re going to hear about him.’’

Taking the next step

When it was time for James to go to high school, the family chose to send him and Mike Jr. to Mount St. Charles Academy in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. For almost all top hockey prospects on Long Island, the path to playing top-level hockey generally requires leaving the Island at about age 14 or 15. Some go to New Jersey, some to New England and some to the Midwest or Canada, where the competition level is high, the coaching and the facilities are top-notch and the exposure to college and junior scouts is great.

So the brothers left their parents and little sister Emma and went to Rhode Island. They didn’t go alone, though; they were joined by a few of their friends, teammates on their Long Island Royals youth team, who were trying to shape their own hockey futures.

“It was like you’re having a sleepover with your buddies every night,’’ James said.

They stayed there two years, playing hockey and lacrosse, before James left to go to the U.S. National Team Development Program in Michigan. Mike Jr., a defenseman, went to Chicago to play junior hockey with the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League.

Hagens was not eligible for the 2024 NHL Draft upon graduation from the NTDP, as most of his classmates were, because of his November birthday. He’d been drafted by London of the OHL in 2022 and could have gone there, but he chose to go to Boston College, where he reunited with his brother. His father believes that decision may have played a part in why he slipped in the draft rankings.

“Maybe [the OHL] would have been an easier path, a safer path, in his draft year,’’ Mike Sr. said. “He maybe would have put up more points — he’d have been playing against 16-year-olds [in junior hockey] instead of playing against 24-year-old men [in college].’’

As a freshman this past season, James was one of the youngest players in college hockey. He was BC’s third-leading scorer — behind first-round picks Ryan Leonard (Washington) and Gabe Perreault (Rangers) — with 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists) in 37 games. Misa had 62 goals and 134 points in 65 games for Saginaw.

Hagens played on the gold medal-winning U.S. team at the World Junior Championships, recording five goals and nine points in seven games. Schaefer had a goal and an assist for Canada before getting injured. Misa didn’t make the Canadian team.

Family ties

Having the brothers on the same team again definitely made life a lot easier for the Hagens family. With Emma, 14, playing travel hockey, things would have been super-hectic for two parents trying to follow three kids, all playing on different teams. That’s how it was when James was with the national team development program and Mike Jr. was in Chicago.

“Most weekends, [Mike Sr. is] in a hotel, one city, I’m in a hotel, another,’’ Kristine Hagens said. “And one of [the kids] is off with another family somewhere.’’

This winter, Mike Sr. and Kristine had only two teams to worry about, and if Emma had a game in the Boston area, her brothers would come and watch, allowing the family to be together.

Often, people at Emma’s games would recognize James and ask him to pose for pictures. It was a reminder that life is about to change for the Hagens family.

With James about to be drafted, Mike Sr. and Kristine, who are both middle school teachers on Long Island, finally may be seeing some light at the end of the tunnel after years of making financial sacrifices for hockey. Maybe now they can build the extension on their three-bedroom ranch home that they’ve long fantasized about. The brothers share a bedroom, and Emma’s room is so small that Kristine calls it “barely a bedroom.’’

If not an extension, perhaps they could start with a smaller splurge, maybe a new car.

“All our cars have 250,000 miles on them,’’ Kristine said.

That’s the life for most hockey parents, who often have to shell out $10,000 or more for travel hockey fees plus buy expensive equipment — sticks are $300 to $400, top-end skates can go for up to $1,200 — and pay for travel and hotel rooms every weekend as they bring their kids around the country for games, tournaments and showcases.

“One of the things that’s unique about the Hagens family is, I think most of the top players that go through this hockey circuit are super-affluent,’’ said John Osei-Tutu, the Hagens’ family adviser. “They’re not that.’’

“You have to work more than one job,’’ said Mike Sr., who has a summer gig as a fishing boat captain with the Captain Lou Fleet in Freeport.

For the Hagens family, the sacrifices, financial and otherwise, would have been worth it even if James wasn’t going to play professional hockey. When he gets drafted, Mike and Kristine will have a new favorite team to root for.

Unless, of course, it’s the Islanders.

“What a story that would be, right?’’ Mike Sr. said. “I hope it happens, obviously, but he just wants to play pro hockey and play in the NHL.’’

[takaraphoenix]

I'm so curious about all your fics, it's hard to pick which ones to ask about. I managed to narrow my curiosity down to 5, but I totally understand if you don't want to do all 5 at once. Would you be willing to share details/summary of any of these? 😊

His Partner's Son

Shadow of the Sun

A Spark Into a Flame

Blood and Magic

Sober

Okay so first of all I need you to know a secret about me (and most other authors I have met): Absolutely LOVE talking about my stories!! You are ALWAYS free to send asks about them. Any time. Any of them.

Though I do have to admit that I prefer separate asks for separate topics/fics, beeecause as you may have noticed I am not good at Shutting The Hell Up so my answers tend to be long anyway and an answer about five fics is gonna be... long. Very long. Which makes the post long and also takes a lotta time to answer, as opposed to taking time multiple times to answer multiple asks!

So, that just. For the future. Never hold back on sending asks. Ask away. But to make the answering easier, send multiple ones? ;)

His Partner's Son

So, this one is totally @kimmycup and @kymera219 's fault.

It's a Steter cop!Peter AU where Peter and Noah are partners and Stiles is head over heels for his dad's partner, desperately trying to seduce the man while Peter is clutching his last bit of self-control because he can't start something with his partner's son!!

Shadow of the Sun

Multiple chapter Steter Darklina AU. I don't wanna call it a Shadow and Bone AU, because it is NOT that, there won't be any Grisha and I won't follow the show's plot. I just really want that Darklina dynamic for Steter, because these ships hit the same spot.

Basically, instead of Grisha oppression we do supernatural creature oppression. Peter's still a werewolf. But I do need that darkness/light soulmate-ism of Darklina and the centuries old general who has been alone for so long and given up hope.

Gotta solve that with the Nogitsune. Three hundred years ago, Peter lost his pack to the royal family's bigotry and in his despair, summons the Nogitsune to help him get his revenge. He accidentally creates the threatening shadow wall, filled with deadly shadow creatures (the oni).

He's working for the royal family, the Argents, training and leading the army of werewolves that are used as cannon fodder by King Gerard, seen as nothing but useful tools. He's desperately looking for his match, because to take them down and liberate his people, his shadow needs light. A Spark.

Finally, after all this time, he finds his Spark. Hardened by the centuries of oppression and abuse his people have faced, Peter has become ruthless and just wants to use that Spark as a tool in his war. Until he actually meets Stiles. And Stiles is... so much more than he could have ever hoped for. The snarky, clever and powerful boy wakes something in Peter that he had thought had died with his family all these centuries ago.

That's the parts from Shadow and Bone that are important to me for this. And with that, we go off-script because Stiles will work with Peter to actually take down the king and the royal family and actually liberate their people and they will be a badass, devastating power couple.

A Spark Into a Flame

My upcoming (March 15th) Stetopher multiple chapter fic!

Stiles is a phoenix in this, making this my first creature!Stiles fic, actually. He's kept this secret safe... until the Argent basement, when Gerard's torture forces him to reveal his wings to Boyd, Erica... and Chris, who comes down there to get the teens out. Now Stiles has to adjust to people knowing his secret.

Blood and Magic

I genuinely don't know if this will be a oneshot or a multiple chapter fic. Which... probably means it'll be the latter, won't it?

This one features vampire Stiles and Stetopher.

Where a group of vampires comes to Beacon Hills to kill the last Argents to avenge the former clan leading representative of Beacon Hills and reclaim the land for the clan.

Only that the clan is the Gajos clan. And the dead representative is Lady Claudia Gajos. Stiles' mom. And Stiles is kind of not a fan of some random vamps coming in, using his mother's death to try and kill his friend and one of his crushes.

In this, vampires are kind of the only real natural predators werewolves have. So the pack is at a clear disadvantage. The only thing that will save them is if Stiles reveals his status as not just a vampire, but as the heir to the Gajos clan. But due to the history between vampires and werewolves, Stiles is afraid the pack will hate him for it and won't want him around anymore.

Sober

A short Stetopher fic that's meant to punch you in the Stiles feels.

After college, the pack moves in together into the Hale House. But Stiles has one condition to moving in. He needs all alcohol to be gone, because he knows he can't live in a house with alcohol. He doesn't want to risk his sobriety. And he now has to... explain that, to the pack.

You know that thing where alcoholics sometimes tell their kids that alcohol his 'medicine for adults'? Well... a smart boy like Stiles would think "but I'm hurting too? if it helps dad, it'll help me".

When Stiles, at nine years old, has to be rushed to the hospital with alcohol poisoning, that's... the wake-up call Noah needed to sober up himself, get his shit together and be the dad Stiles needed. But Stiles doesn't like talking about all that.

My WIP Files

[ashyslashyy]

sad that there isnt more of a friday the 13th fan community here. i know everyone is generally aware of jason and most ppl have seen at least the first movie but i love those movies soo much and i gotta talk about them. tommy jarvis being an awesome character yet also being a completely different guy in each movie. the sick ass disco music intro from part 3. the ripoff carrie from part 7. the fact that jason supposedly drowned so his mom got revenge for him but then she got decapitated so now hes getting revenge for her but also that doesnt really seem to matter after a while because by part 8 hes just going after anyone. speaking of part 8 the fucking rooftop head punch kill. fucking amazing. the fact that the fucking necronomicon from evil dead is apparently canon to the f13 series as of part 9 (but also that movie is batshit insane in its own right). jasons hockey mask being arguably THE most iconic part of him but hes not even the killer until part 2 and doesnt even get the mask til like halfway through part 3. the fact that they replaced a jason actor in part 6 because his ass was too fat. the one guy from part 2 that managed to survive because he went out for drinks and never went back to the camp. the fucking amazing characters of part 5. i dont remember what part specifically but i know theres one where a guy is getting attacked by jason and just stands there going "AHHH AHH HES KILLING ME!!! HES KILLING ME!!!!!!". how could you all ignore such great cinema. i havent even mentioned jason x

[desicanary]

Some thoughts after finishing the double that I need to expel from my consciousness:

1. I haven't enjoyed a show so much in a while. It had all the drama, and it didn't sacrifice it for the romance

2. Princess Wanning! She killed her dad and I think that was queen shit. She should have killed more people, frankly. She deserves to do so much murder

3. Shen Yurong how I hate you. This man is not only a murderer and a coward, he's also incompetent. None of his plans have ever worked. Mans couldn't manage to successfully kill his wife even if every god were on his side. I loved every time Xue Fangfei did psychic damage to him simply by existing

4. Xue Fangfei! Xue Li! Jiang Li! Xiao Limao! A'Li! Many other terms of address I've missed! She truly is that girl. She is gaslight gatekeep girl boss. She's a girl's girl. She stabbed a man in the dick 7 times. She has the man who once called her a pawn wrapped around her pinkie. When her man tells her he has to get into a political marriage for the nation she says do it then, and then he has to admit he was never gonna. She inflicted +9999999999999 damage on those who wronged her and Jiang Li. She can't fight to save her life (as evident) but can and will confuse her opponent into tripping over their own nonexistent shoelaces

5. I loved the progression of the relationship between A'Li and Xiao Heng. They weren't immediately lovers or friends. They fully used each other until they were willing to be used. The chemistry, the flirting, it's too much and too good. Also, Xiao Heng serves. See: the fans, the fucking gold plated murder fan, a walk-in closet full of capes, the most dramatic entrances known to cdramas, and all the audacity

6. BUT what were the last 20 minutes! They don't exist to me! My buddies Wen Ji and Lu Ji are watching their boss embarass himself at Duke Su's mansion and sharing in the hot goss, to me

7. Plus, I've gotta be missing something about the Longwu army. I do not understand them at all. Not a single one of them would survive the Nuremberg precedent. Not only are they not guided by ethics and morals, they're also not guided by loyalty or revenge or anger or hate or any understandable motivation. Instead, they're guided by a rock carving of a fish. wut. They find out the dude holding the fish works for the guy who betrayed and killed their general, their comrades, and even some of their family. And their response is: "How could they?!?!?! But we still have to listen to them because they have the fish!" Truly what. Someone explain this all-powerful rock fish to me

8. I do think that the Jiangs deserved more. And by more I mean worse. I think Xue Li should have told Jiang Yuanbai exactly how Jiang Li lived and died, and that she hated him for his negligence. I think she should have told the grandma too. They had their hand in this and they deserve to feel the full weight of Jiang Li's life and death and hatred

9. Also Jiang Yuanbai being like "It's not that I didn't know what was going on at home it's just that I was so busy working for the nation uwu". Sir, disrespectfully, no. You had not a clue. And if you did, that makes it worse. Like "Oh no! I'm so busy working that I have no choice but to let my wife frame my 8 yr old for her own attempted murder! The murder of the same stepmom that she, until yesterday, adored! Oh well, I gotta go to work so I'll just let that happen and abandon her for 10 years until politics makes it necessary for me to bring her home! And I'll feel really bad about abandoning her now, but I'll also never believe a single word out her mouth!" Actually, I think he should be hunted for sport

10. Anyway, that got off track! But I love this show, and how even the antagonists have arcs and backstories and aren't countering our girl just cuz. I love the fleshed out characters, all the looks it serves, the drama, and the adorable Wen Ji and Lu Ji and Jiang Jingrui

[copperbadge]

Immediate Writer's Block

Had a comment on another post where I thought I'd probably need more space than the notes in which to respond, so:

constant-state-of-self-discovery Oh I get the envy I feel it right now how the fuck do you manage to write without impassable writers block after 5-9 sentences because I haven't fucking figured it out lol

I do have some advice on this!

I think most writers get blocked from time to time, it's normal and my general strategy is just to wait it out, but if you're frequently blocked after only writing a very little bit, I think the problem is one of two things: either you don't know what you want to achieve with the scene you're writing, or you don't know what should happen next within the scene to achieve that goal. If you frame "I'm blocked" as "I don't have an answer I need" then often you move from just sitting there, sweating and staring at a blank page, to thinking productively about how you're going to get where you're going. It's the difference between not knowing an answer and not knowing an answer but knowing where to look for it.

An invaluable piece of advice for this, which I think I picked up from someone who got it off a National Novel Writing Month messageboard, is "When in doubt, ninjas attack." It's not meant to be literal, you don't need to have ninjas or fight scenes just because you don't know what to do, but it helps to get the creativity flowing again. If you don't know what should happen next, or you know but you're having trouble actually writing the scene, it can be very helpful to induce a moment of uncertainty or surprise -- to have a metaphorical ninja attack. One time I did this literally -- the POV character was just on the road somewhere and I didn't know how to get them from a pastoral country road to their actual destination in an interesting way, so I had them get attacked by highway bandits and have to fight them off, which also allowed me to demonstrate that the character had significant unarmed combat skills. But it can also just be like, two characters who are having a boring conversation can be interrupted by a third person, even just a stranger asking for directions, or there can be, IDK, an explosion, or something goes missing, or etc.

Sometimes it also helps to leave it alone but keep it in your mind and go do something else -- listen to a podcast, take a walk, read a book, not because those things are distracting but because all our inputs eventually feed into our brain and come out as reactions. If you're thinking about your book while you're wandering around a park, something you see in the park might have an impact on it. If you've got YOUR story in mind while reading someone else's, you might be more inclined to look at what they're saying and see what you think of it, how it might play into your work.

And honestly, sometimes you just gotta go past it. I'm working on the next Shivadh novel right now and it opens basically with Simon the chef getting into a spat with his love-interest-to-be over some cheese. He want the cheese, she won't sell him the cheese, so they get off to a very contentious start. But I suck at writing conflict especially when it's basically "A character I like is being pompous and another character I want people to find likable is being stubborn and somewhat unpleasant". I've been stalled on it for a while. But I know where the scene ends up, like I do know what the goal is, so I just...skipped it and went on to writing a scene I like better, where they meet a second time and actually discover each others' identity and that they're about to be forced into the grownup equivalent of a school project. Once I've gotten dug deeper into the story I'll come back and write it, and by then I'll have the benefit of knowing the love interest a bit better.

So yeah -- I think a lot of breaking a writer's block, especially when you don't need rest but are just stumped about what to do, is to twist and look at it from another angle. It's not that you don't know what to write, or don't want to write what you know you have to -- it's that you don't have the correct answer to a question, or you need to leave that part alone to ferment and come back to it later. At least, for me.

[andhumanslovedstories]

is there an appropriate time/way to contact one’s care team about post-op pain meds outside of the hospital? one of my parents had a TKA a few days ago and is in excruciating pain despite their meds but is hesitant to reach out to the dr about better pain management and i don’t know to advocate for them.

I gotta say, once you’re out of the hospital, you’re fully out of my area of experience. So I’ll say what general thoughts I got, and then I welcome answers from anyone with better expertise.

Is the patient reluctant to ask for more pain meds because they think they shouldn’t need them, because they’re worried they’ll get addicted, because they don’t want to be a fuss, or because they don’t want to get labeled as drug seeking? People are hesitant about pain meds for a bunch of reasons, it’s always helpful to know exactly what concerns your patient has.

From working with patients doing rehab in the hospital, I find framing pain control in terms of functionality is helpful. Pain is a nebulous concept and varies a lot from person to person. So saying “10/10 pain” is not always as effective as saying “my patient literally will not reposition in bed nor allow me to touch them because they are in agony.” Or being like “my patient would literally rather soil themselves than try to stand up to pivot to the bedside commode.” You link insufficient pain control to an observable limitation. The patient is also able to do this for themselves. What is pain stopping them from doing? Does this patient have PT/OT? Are they able to do it if they are in excruciating pain? You could frame pain med parameters to provider and patient as “what dose/type of med is sufficient to facilitate recovery so the patient doesn’t keep needing pain meds.”

Being able to link medications to observable problems and outcomes is helpful for everyone. Saying “patient was in 7/10 pain and is now in 5/10 pain,” sounds objective, but it’s actually not. That’s the number the patient gave you, it’s ultimately their perception of the pain—useful and good to know, but not by itself the most compelling metric. Adding “patient was unable to walk more than a foot due to pain and is now able to transfer from bed to bathroom and back,” is a more complete clinical picture and gets more to the heart of pain control—pain stops people from living their lives. It is an impediment to function. Pain relief through pharmaceuticals is one way to restore function while pursuing other methods like exercise, decreasing fear and anxiety, and improving sleep.

All this to say, I find more effective communication about pain control frames it less as being pain free (or even decreasing pain) and more about restoring what pain takes away (movement, sleep, ability to participate in therapies, ability to independently perform ADLs). That provides more context to requests for pain meds, establishes a more concrete metric for success, and helps sidestep the emotional and “moral” aspects of pain (that both patients and providers can feel) by focusing on pragmatic function.