#Tmj How Do You Get It

[thebibliosphere]

So, two things:

1) Good luck with the new neurologist! Hoping they're a good addition to your medical team!

2) Genuine question, prompted by your recent posts about how a chiropractor messed up your neck: Is "...how dangerous chiropractors are..." a complete across-the-board no-exceptions thing? I ask because I'm in the early phases of looking for a chiropractor to partner with my dentist in treating my TMJ, since (from what I understand of the studies I found on the NIH site) that's a specific condition that chiropractic treatment can benefit.

I do know that the efficacy of chiropractic treatment is limited to specific conditions, is often hugely overstated, and that many chiropractors are quacks (or worse) so lots of research is necessary before seeking treatment with a given chiropractor. But now I feel like I'm missing something more, if that makes sense? And I don't want to do myself more harm than good. (Thank you in advance for any information you're willing and able to provide!)

There will always be some risk attached to chiropractic treatment, just like there will always be some people who swear it changed their life for the better.

Personally, I'd urge physical therapy for TMJ that targets the muscles involved in the joint dysfunction. A good chiropractor would recommend the same, so why not save yourself the chiropractic fee and seek out physical therapy in the first place?

A bad chiropractor will put their hands on your head/face and say, "Oh yeah, I can treat that," and potentially wreck your jaw. Maybe not at first, but it only takes one time to fuck up. I had my neck adjusted numerous times before a very gentle maneuver fucked up my life irrevocably. It wasn't a showy snap, crackle, and pop maneuver; it was just him turning my head too far to the side with a little too much pressure, and then I ended up getting an emergency MRI for a suspected brain bleed. If he'd been as knowledgeable as he claimed, he would have noted the hypermobility in my neck and never laid a finger on me.

The physical therapist I see for TMJ sees so many patients who had their jaws wrenched or even broken by chiropractors who were chasing the "crack" sound instead of actually paying attention to the muscles and the state they were in before applying pressure.

Unfortunately, you won't know what type of chiro you're letting put their hands on you until they've got their hands on you.

A PT who specializes in TMJ is safer. They might still fuck you up becuase that's always a risk with anything, but in my experience it's a whole lot gentler and has longer lasting benefits because it's aiming to correct the muscle dysfunction that's fucking up the joint. If you don't retrain those muscles, no amount of "correcting" the joint is going to do anything. It's just going to keep bringing you back into the office for temporary relief.

[professorjjong]

needed a reference letter from my psychiatrist back in the us and it’s so weird having like. a diagnosis. Iike no one straight up looked me in the eye and said “i diagnose you w/ major recurrent depression and social anxiety disorder” so just having it on a piece of paper like this is kinda wild

[togament]

" 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. windbreaker boys edition. "

pt. 1. (sakura, ume, suo.)

𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 : kinda suggestive (i mean it's me. ofc its gotta be suggestive somehow), some swearing, kinda ooc for suo. can you blame me though? we know so little about the man and we're already 140+ chapters deep.

𝐒𝐀𝐊𝐔𝐑𝐀.

- canonically doesn't own a pillow so he only sleeps on his side, curled up to conserve heat. like a cat. but after having you around? he's clinging onto you, man. he may deny it vehemently when you tease him about it in the morning, throwing pillows at you as he's blushing profusely, but he doesn't know you've taken a picture of him with his arm over your chest, tugging you close to him. - clenches and grinds his teeth when he sleeps. you buy him a mouth guard so his jaw isn't as tense when he wakes up. (TMJ sufferers rise up) - sleeps in his boxers when you're around but if not, he's going commando, baby. just... text him when you're planning on surprising him in the morning. give him prep time unless you're looking to eat sausage for breakfast. - gets bed hair but doesn't care. he'd have a huge cowlick on his head but he doesn't mind. best he could do is kind of wet his hair? anything more than that is too much effort. - very light sleeper. if he hears the smallest bump in the night, he's immediately up. - has only one duvet and it's kind of falling apart. you gifted him a new one and he almost cried in front of you (not without freaking out about it first.) - talks in his sleep sometimes. you record him whenever you catch him doing it just to play it back for him in the morning. he's always so confused as to how and why he does it.

𝐔𝐌𝐄.

- won't sleep unless you give him his goodnight kisses. you have to. how dare you deny him of the pleasure of kissing you before you sleep? - always lets you sleep before he does because he reads before he sleeps. - needs reading glasses and falls asleep with them on. CONSTANTLY. you have to remind him about them before you snooze or you peel them off when you wake up before he does. has broken one (close to a dozen) reading glasses before you came along because he kept sleeping on them. - has to read before he sleeps. it's a necessity. he reads stuff ranging from philosophy to manga. never fails to fall asleep with a book in his hand too. - checks on a spreadsheet he's got for his plants so he has a game plan ready in the morning. checks the weather and temperature and everything before he does his reading routine. worries endlessly if a heavy typhoon drops or god forbid hailstorms. - HUGE SLEEP HUGGER AND YOU CANNOT TELL ME OTHERWISE. his body just naturally gravitates towards you in his sleep. it's cute. it's endearing. until it's a hot summer night and you're damn near naked because just wearing a shirt's making you sweat. ume's just a happy sleeping puppy of a man, sweaty body clinging to your side. - a very light snorer. you rarely ever get to hear him snore. he only does after a particularly tiring day or after you've had rounds and rounds of se-- - gets a boner most nights. - wet dreams often. you have to help him out in the mornings. - that being said, he's very, very touchy in the mornings.

𝐒𝐔𝐎.

- sleeps like the dead. you may or may not have held your finger to his nose to check if he's still breathing. - never has bed hair. when he wakes up, he looks absolutely impeccable. it's crazy. - has a candle warmer set to a timer. likes sleeping when his surroundings smell good. also has a scent diffuser. - has like... a 30 minute long ritual before bed. candle warmer, check. proper pyjamas, check. pillows plumped, check. skincare routine, done. you always end up waiting for him on the bed while he's apologizing with that sweet voice of his while crawling into bed with you. - only ever sleeps facing up. if you want to cuddle, he could. but he can't engulf you in his frame or anything. just an arm around you or maybe with you pressed up against his side. - he runs cold so he's got thick duvets over thick duvets. they're really soft too. hotel quality. always gets them washed. - somehow you've never caught him in the process of waking up. he's always up before you, brewing tea or cooking breakfast. hell, he already has a set ready for you by the time you wake up. - who am I kidding suo never sleeps.

a/n: just a quick little thing before i hop into bed. doing part two soon bc i wanna clown on kaji so fucking BAAAAAD omg (affectionately) ok goodnight babycakes.

[wynnerwynner]

𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇

avengers au!joaquin torres x afab!toxikensis!reader

synopsis: y/n and joaquin have to keep their relationship hidden due to the avenger’s unspoken rule. meanwhile, joaquin shows y/n she is more than her trauma.

request: yes

warnings: hints at murder, trust issues, happy ending

wc: 3.2k

a/n: i never said i was good at endings y'all ����. also if anyone has any tips for tmj pain let me know bc im bouta go ape shit

There was no written rule for “no sexual relations among teammates”, however, it was heavily implied. After Natasha and Bruce’s relationship crashed and burned, rumours of teammates possibly hooking up or even liking each other seemed to set everyone on edge. It was too much of a risk, one person favouring another’s safety during missions or getting distracted. The only exception was for Vision and Wanda, who the team did not exactly count as committing a crime because Vision lacked human error.

As someone who was closed off, Y/N had never thought much of the rule. She’d conditioned herself to keep a distance from people, even after learning to tame her poison abilities. She was so used to burning someone’s skin by simply touching them or poison someone by sharing a drink that the idea of being able to return to some of her previous indulgences was discomforting. However, with Joaquin’s arrival, that rule suddenly flashed before her eyes like an obnoxious billboard.

Joaquin was speechless when he first met Y/N. He’d seen her in the media but in person, she took his breath away. When he’d tried to shake her hand, she stared at it for a moment before returning the formality. As their skin touched, she looked him in the eye and offered him a small smile. She was quiet, but he could almost see the gears turning as though she had come up with a particularly smart response in her head. He could tell that despite the cold exterior, she was all fire within.

The first time Joaquin went to the gym to train with his new teammates, Y/N was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Y/N?” he asked Sam.

“She doesn’t like to train with us,” he answered.

“She has her own space down the hall,” Natasha pointed over her shoulder. “Something to do with not wanting to hurt anyone.”

The room Y/N trained in was similar in size to a shipping container. The longest walls were made of glass but the shorter were of cement. He watched her from the other side of the glass, fighting off Tony’s training drones and dummies. As she raised her hands, thick neon-green liquid rose to her fingertips and sprayed out at the training dummy. She took down three others by blowing a cloud of yellow, billowing gas at them. Joaquin clapped, causing her to look around with furrowed brows. She went over to a high-tech panel a few feet from him and when she tapped a few buttons, her eyes widened as they caught his.

He raised a friendly hand with an abashed smile, “Sorry.”

Y/N only assessed him, then turned back to her work.

Joaquin proceeded took the long route to the gym every morning. His new path allowed him to walk past her training room and the more he passed by, the more sure he was sure she’d stopped using the two-way glass feature. One time, he caught her as she was exiting.

“You’re late,” she commented.

It was so rare to hear her speak that he savoured every syllable.

She was right, though. He was very late to training that morning.

“Yeah, I was on the phone with my mom,” he sighed. “I love her but sometimes I feel like she’ll never let me go.”

Y/N cracked an almost imperceptible smile and nodded.

“How come you practice alone?” he asked.

Her eyes roved over him, detailing his appearance for the morning. “I’m sure you’ve seen the news.”

“Don’t believe everything you see online.”

Y/N’s snort brought a smile to his face. It was like an achievement, making her laugh. To others it was nothing, but to him it felt like everything.

“It’s safer this way,” she glanced back at the darkened room.

“But you’ve learned to control your powers, right?”

Her head cocked and she peered at the ground. “I’ve been meaning to tell you…” She hesitated, “Thank you for shaking my hand.”

Joaquin’s brows furrowed. What an odd thing to thank him for.

“It’s only the polite thing,” he replied.

Y/N looked from one of his eyes to the other. He couldn’t tell if she was studying him or judging him. He felt like he was missing something. Without another word, she walked away.

Another morning, Joaquin knocked on the glass and waved her over. She stuck her head out the crystal door, waiting for him to speak.

“Hi,” he smiled with a sigh. “Uh, I was just wondering if you wanted to get some food sometime? Not—not as a date, just… just to get to know my teammate. I think you’re really cool and—”

“I don’t eat out,” she interjected his rambling.

“Why not?”

Her lips flattened into a line and she pushed her sweaty baby hairs from her forehead. “It’s not safe. I’m like a virus. I could kill someone by them touching my fork.”

“You touched me and I’m still here. See?” He held up the hand she shook.

Y/N sighed and pulled the door closed. Joaquin jammed his foot between it before it could fully close and grabbed the door.

“Let me cook for you,” he offered.

“That’s—”

“I can buy disposable dishes or you can wash them yourself,” he spoke quickly. “Whatever makes you comfortable.”

The look in his eyes was desperate and she almost felt bad saying no. She looked him over again, then nodded.

That had started it all. Y/N had spoke more than she had in a long time. As time went on, he would catch her in the halls and make conversation. He even managed to make her fully smile.

One late night, Joaquin found her sitting on the edge of the koi pond in the lobby, a ceramic bowl in one hand. He hadn’t seen her in anything other than workout clothing or their suits. A smile graced her lips as she dropped food into the pond. He’d never seen her so relaxed.

“Doesn’t Stark have someone doing that for him?”

Her head whipped to meet his gaze.

Joaquin cringed, “Sorry.”

Y/N returned to her fish, dropping a small piece of orange into the pond. The fish leapt at the food, splashing water on her sweats, but she didn’t seem to mind. “He does,” she replied to his inquiry. “When she’s on vacation I do it for her.”

“At one in the morning?”

She eyed him, “You’re one to talk.”

Joaquin chuckled at her quip. “Do you mind?”

At a shake of her head, he sat himself beside her. He watched her take another piece of orange and hold it out to him. Her fingers brushed his skin as she set the wet fruit in his palm and he wanted to say he was proud of her but was afraid it might scare her off.

“Did you know,” she began, grabbing some orange, “koi can recognize people?”

Joaquin watched her put her hand in the water and four fish fought for the food in her hand. He couldn’t look away from her satisfied smile. It made him feel giddy, like a school boy with a crush again. She made him feel things he hadn’t in a long time.

“Go on.”

Joaquin did a double take as he realized from her words that he had been staring. Instead of her usual blank expression she offered him, a small smile was tugging at the corner of her lips.

“Do I just… drop it in?” he asked, angling his hand over the water.

Y/N nodded encouragingly.

Joaquin let go of the fruit and a laugh left his lips as they dove for it. This time, it was Y/N’s turn to be caught staring. They both couldn’t seem to look away. Caught up in the moment, Joaquin reached for her free hand. His breathing picked up as she didn’t pull away from his touch. Her skin was warm, just as he’d imagined. He ran his thumb gently over her knuckles. A smile twitched across her lips and when it fully appeared, his world felt a little brighter.

“You’re beautiful,” he found himself saying.

Y/N looked to the wall of windows, out to the hanger across the property. The light of the moon and the glow of the lamplights illuminated her face. She came back to him, peering at their hands. Y/N raised her hand and he thought for a moment she was going to push him away, but she didn’t. Joaquin could only watch as she raised his palm to her cheek. His fingers were covered in the juice from the orange but she didn’t seem to care. As he ran his thumb under her eye, she closed her eyes.

“When I first came here,” she began, “no one shook my hand. They weren’t trying to be rude, I know that, but they knew what I was. They were afraid, even if they didn’t want to admit it.”

Joaquin almost couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but he also wasn’t surprised. She’d joined the Avengers years before him and if he guessed correctly, the articles that came out about her accidentally killing people because of her powers were still fresh on people’s minds. The only difference between Joaquin and the rest of the team was that by the time he joined, people with superpowers were normalized and rarely went about the world terrorizing others on purpose. Joaquin knew there was no way Steve Rogers would have agreed to have her on the team if she was a danger.

After that night at the koi pond, things began as innocent brushes, small conversations while their teammates were around, shooting a glance to each other across tables.

Y/N had kissed him first. He wanted to give her the control—only advance things when she was comfortable. The more she’d pull him into empty hallways and kissed him before running off again, the more comfortable he was with waiting for her. Joaquin was addicted to her and he wasn’t afraid to admit it.

After a while, he suggested she try using the same gym as them. The day she’d walked in, almost all eyes were on her. Joaquin had caught her rigid shoulders and took advantage of Sam’s distraction, slamming him to the mat with a loud smack. The entire room looked to Joaquin standing over Sam. Bucky’s laugh echoed from his spot on the bench.

“Hey, that’s not fair!” Sam exclaimed.

“Never let your guard down, Sam,” Natasha smirked. “Good one Joaquin.”

“No, man, get away from me,” Captain America smacked Joaquin’s offered hand.

He laughed, teasing him, “Don’t be such a sore loser, Cap.”

“Listen, I’ll get you back,” he pointed as he went for his water bottle.

Joaquin took the momentary breather to find Y/N again. She was wrapping her hands, preparing to use the punching bag. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at him and nodded her thanks.

Joaquin made sure to distract them any time she entered the gym and eventually, he didn’t have to anymore. The team could see she was getting more comfortable and yet no one seemed to question her sudden change in attitude. Natasha began to spar with Y/N, helping perfect her moves and teach her new ones. Joaquin was proud as he watched her day after day grow closer with their team. He was happy seeing her be herself, understanding that she wasn’t defined by her past.

After months of hiding their relationship, Joaquin strode into the kitchen late at night. Natasha was leaning back against the counter, spooning yoghurt into her mouth.

“You looking forward to tomorrow?” he asked.

Tony was hosting his annual Stark Expo and the Avengers attendance was mandatory.

“Not really,” she mumbled. “I’ll probably show up an hour before it ends. Then Tony can’t say I didn’t show.”

Joaquin chuckled as he grabbed an orange from the fruit bowl. “That’s smart.”

Natasha watched as he got out a cutting board, knife, and bowl.

“You gonna bring anyone?” she asked.

“Why? Wanna be my date?”

Natasha cringed, but a laugh escaped her. “You’re a little too young for my taste, kid. Besides, I don’t think it’d be appropriate.”

“Because of the no-dating-teammates rule?” he cut the orange into small pieces.

Natasha was quiet as she scraped the last of the yoghurt from the cup. Joaquin glanced up to find a small smile on her lips.

“You going to feed the fish?” she asked.

“Uh…” he looked down at the sticky mess on the counter, “yeah.”

“Sometimes thing echo around here, you know?” Natasha smirked. “Walls are made of glass. Lots of open space in the lobby.”

Joaquin continued to cut up the orange. “Yeah.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anybody.”

“Won’t tell anyone what?” he chuckled, feigning confusion.

Natasha threw out her yoghurt cup and put the spoon in the dishwasher.

“You’re a good liar, Captain,” she said as she made her way back to the hall. “It takes one to know one.”

Natasha disappeared toward the bedrooms with a wink, leaving him alone in the kitchen with his thoughts.

The next night, Joaquin was dressed in his best suit. He couldn’t keep his eyes off Y/N in her outfit. She was the definition of beautiful. There were a few times he was sure his teammates had caught him admiring her. 

Thor suddenly clapped a tipsy hand on Joaquin’s shoulder. The Falcon bent slightly at the knees from the weight of his grip.

“You’re a good man, Captain Falcon,” the god slurred a little. “You deserve a good woman. Y/N seems good, too.”

Joaquin had laughed awkwardly, trying his best to come up with a way out of the situation. “Thanks, man.”

“You should ask her out,” Thor encouraged.

“I don’t know…”

“What? Are you scared? Never be afraid, little man,” he squeezed a little harder with a good shake and Joaquin had to fight back a groan from the throbbing of his shoulder blade. “You need not be afraid of women. Or men. Whichever you prefer. You know, my brother is—”

“I don’t think that’d be fair to everyone,” Joaquin quickly replied. “I wouldn’t want to make things awkward.”

“You’re a good man,” Thor tapped him a little too hard on the cheek. “I’m sure no one would mind.”

Joaquin searched for Y/N in the sea of people as Thor walked away. He didn’t care if people noticed him staring. Maybe Thor was right. If they kept it professional around their teammates as they already had, there would be no harm. Besides, if Vision and Wanda could move out and build a family together, why couldn’t he and Y/N have a life of their own, too?

 That night, when their formal clothes were on the floor and Y/N lay against his chest, Joaquin spoke into the dark, “I think we should tell them.”

Y/N lifted her head, looking at him through the golden lamp light, “What?”

“Natasha knows,” he admitted. “And Thor—”

“Don’t tell me he does, too,” she sat up. “He can’t keep a secret, Joaquin. If he knows, everyone does.”

“Y/N,” he cradled her face in his hands. “He doesn’t know.”

She sighed, but her lips remained in a flat line.

“Thor suggested I ask you out. I told him it wouldn’t be fair to the team but he said he didn’t think they’d mind.”

“And you agree.”

Joaquin brushed his thumb under her eye, “Y/N, I love you and I want everyone to know. We’ve already done great at hiding it so it shouldn’t be difficult to continue keeping it professional once it’s out there.”

“When we put it out there, they will make assumptions,” she argued. “They will disregard how everything’s been in the past and they’ll think we can’t handle working together.”

He knew her words were coming from a place of anxiety and he didn’t wish to push her, only to reassure. She was good at listening and considering opinions, even if she didn’t agree at the time.

“These people aren’t just our teammates,” he said carefully. “They’re our family. Natasha and Bruce broke up, but they’re still cordial. They don’t make it uncomfortable for us because they are professionals and we are all there for each other. Most of these people don’t have anyone outside the compound they can call family.”

Joaquin never brought it up again after that night. He would let her think about it for as long as she wanted.

After a couple of days, Y/N decided she didn’t want to be cold anymore. She realized that she’d been using her trust issues as an excuse and a deluded explanation for why she didn’t deserve happiness. Joaquin and Thor were right, they wouldn’t care because they trusted each other.

She’d kept herself locked away for too long. She’d been scared of how people would perceive her for too long. Joaquin had proved to her that she was worthy of love; that she was perfect the way she was. It wasn’t fair to him to keep them hiding any longer, but it especially wasn’t fair to herself. She deserved to be something more than the water that had devoured her all those years ago. It may have ate at her blood and altered her brain, but her heart was still hers.

She deserved love.

The team sat in the common area eating take out together. Joaquin stood at the counter with Sam and Bucky when he caught sight of Y/N entering from the hallway. She stopped in the archway and looked at him before eyeing the rest of their teammates. The room went quiet as they took notice of her clear need to say something.

“Joaquin and I are dating.”

The room erupted in voices. Joaquin flinched at the sudden noise, almost choking on a piece of broccoli. Sam looked to him with wide, excited eyes.

“I knew it!” he exclaimed. “I told you!” he looked to Bucky, who smiled into his food with a shake of his head.

“I would like everyone to know this was my doing,” Thor raised a hand. “I set this up.”

“No, you did not,” Pietro laughed.

“I did!” the god insisted. “I suggested he ask her out.”

“How long have you been dating?” Wanda asked the couple over her shoulder.

Joaquin looked to Y/N, who stared at him like a deer in headlights. She couldn’t speak even if she wanted to.

“Almost a year,” Joaquin said.

“Yo, what the hell, man?” Sam back-handed him in the chest.

From the couch, Rhodey whistled.

“I thought we were close,” Sam continued teasingly.

“I can’t believe you two have been doing it under my roof for almost a year and I didn’t know,” Tony quipped, face serious.

“God, Tony,” Natasha chastised.

“Tony, really?” Rhodey reached over to Peter, clamping his hands over his ears. “There are children present.”

“I’m twenty-five!” Peter exclaimed, pushing his hands away.

Joaquin’s smile at Y/N from across the room seemed to shake her from her thoughts. She broke the distance and he slid an arm around her shoulders, shielding her from the excitement of the room.

“I only have one rule,” Tony said, catching everyone’s attention. “No kids under my roof. I don’t need any of those around here, especially ones shooting poison darts at me while I try to enjoy my breakfast.”

Joaquin laughed and gazed down at Y/N who hid against his chest. He placed a kiss to the top of her head and she squeezed him reassuringly.

[itsrlymine]

Hi, it's 🎸💫 anon! Before I start, how are you?

I have such a story to tell. This is the biggest breakthrough in my journey ever since knowing abt manifestation (and since I've been knowing it from middle school to high school years) I became aware of me being pure consciousness rather than inducing it (thank u for that) and I could cry out of joy, genuinely. My health is better—from dental, anemia, tmj, tinnitus, heart, etc. Those are all literally healed now. My life quality has increased, I have no more social anxiety or a fear to present infront of people, I've made my desired group of friends and even with me being naturally shy and an introvert it doesn't pose as an issue. I get equal treatment instead of being the one who gives so much or being a free therapist. I've manifested apologies from people who've wronged me. My grades are better now due to me having more of a motivational drive despite having ADHD. Everything mental is better as well—I was always getting depressed or low energy very quickly. Better self-concept, confidence, etc.

ANYWAY, I don't wanna yap TOO much. So, desired face, body, voice, talents, the whole fucking nine. I look so gorgeous I get compliments at school from my looks to wardrobe it's honestly amazing. I've joined multiple clubs which will look hella good on my report for College like forensics, dance, physics, (I used to be so bad at math but guess who. Manifestation!) My grades in school are amazing, I'm richer and can help out more people when I want to, which has always been my thing. If I could describe my life in one word I would probably say y/n. I finally feel as if my teenage years aren't wasted. On the lines of that, I've also revised lots of stuff in my life and I'm planning to do so much more. (I can't wait to go to a concert for the first time.)

BOOM SHALALAKA YES GAWDD🗣️ I am so glad I decided. I am so glad your blog was a tool for me to realize everything so quickly. Guys, when I say don't wait—don't. Just see what's behind that door, open it. Don't procrastinate, none of that shit.

[creations-by-chaosfay]

Are your scissors dull? Would you like tips regarding sewing needles?

If you're having a difficult time cutting through material, your scissors likely need sharpening. There are two ways I've used for this, and they're both very effective.

The semi-free version:

Take aluminum foil, a long sheet of it, and fold this into about four layers.

Cut through all four layers, in thin strips, with your scissor. I make the strips less than half an inch apart, and cut the long way. You will need to be careful because the edges of the foil will be sharp.

After you get through all four layers at least six to eight times, fold what's left of the sheet in half. This will create eight layers, cut through these until the sheet is gone.

Test your scissors by cutting through scraps. I've made children's scissors sharp enough to cut through four layers of fabric when I use this method.

The inexpensive version.

Purchase this. You can find it in fabric stores, craft stores, and even a department store (like Walmart) in their crafting supply section. I bought mine at Joann Fabrics, when they had a sale, for less than $8.

Scissor sharpeners are super easy to use. Just follow the instructions they come with. Basically, you slide them in, and pull them out like you're cutting.

You won't need to do many passes for most scissors, but you will make children's scissors very dangerous.

For very small scissors, like applique or embroidery types.

Use the semi-free section.

You will only need two layers for the first pass, not nearly as much as you would for larger blades. So make the sheet smaller.

After five or six passes, fold the layers in half for four layers. Make several more passes.

Test your scissors to see how sharp they are. If unsatisfied, make more passes through the foil layers.

I hope this was helpful!

For hand-sewing sharpening needles, the little strawberry attached to the tomato pincushions serves that purpose. Stab your needle through that a few times. I find it works only so many times before I simply need to switch to a new one.

As for machine sewing needles, sharpening them borders on pointless. I suggest using Organ Needles if price is a big issue for you. My experience with Organ Needles has been phenomenal. The low price and high count, and the fact they last just as long as the name brand stuff you find in supply shops is just a bonus.

I have a pack of 100 sewing needles for less than $30. Compare that to the $10-$20 a package of five or ten name brand needle packs cost. Even if half the needles in my 100 pack start dull, it's still less than what I would otherwise pay. Thus far, this hasn't happened.

My needles go dull swiftly when I do any foundation paper piecing, stitching through fabric and paper, and paper dulls scissors* real quick. Imagine how fast that is with a needles, making hundreds of stitch through all those layers. If I notice the stitches look messy, I switch out my needle. I still have over half left, and have been using the same pack for around a year now.

If you're wondering how to dispose of the used sewing needles, may I suggest a plastic bubblegum container? I used to chew gum all the time, but had to stop after my doctor explained it's very bad due to my TMD/TMJ (and having hEDS also explains why large pieces of gum would dislocate my jaw). Because of my habit of keeping perfectly acceptable containers, I had two empty ones. One is used for my handsewing, like a little trash container. Opening and closing the floor models is irritating, and the fact I have a cat means all trashcans in this house must have a lid. Anyway...I use my second to hold used needles, broken or bent pins, and after four years of using this, the thing isn't even a quarter of the way filled. It'll likely be decades before emptying it will be necessary. The hard plastic edges make it impossible for any of the pointy ends from puncturing, thus making it safe for all and no trash bags will suffer.

[ren-054]

Random unassorted headcanons for BlushBlush boys (main game and phone flings)

!! Also some of the guys just won’t be on here, sorry akdnsm

- Nimh used to have strong compulsive tendencies due to worrying over his health, but he’s been trying to form healthier habits like working on grounding and meditation

- Fabian would have a guilty pleasure fascination with legs and feet but he’d never fully admit it

- Garret isn’t entirely as himbo-like as he lets on and sometimes uses people’s expectations of him to his advantage, but on the whole he’s still the sweetheart we know

- Garret gets a kick out of (lightly) teasing his partner and may play around using his strength on them sometimes (consensually obv)

- Stirling had a considerably long phase where he had long hair (think mid-back length)

- Logan has a lisp

- Cole is hypermobile in his arms and legs (and that also means chronic pain wooooo)

- Eli is a sex-favorable aroace

- Reece is autistic and also maybe aroace

- Ferris is a fidgeter and either currently or needs to collect fidget toys to play with at work so he doesn’t pull at his hair or pick at his skin absentmindedly

- Anon has freckles and moles all over

- Jaxon has intimacy issues and it’s relevant to his future character growth

- Ferris is a chronic Twitter user and doom scroller

- Boss has TMJ disorder

- Poe has a hobby and decent knowledge on scavenging for, bleaching, and collecting animal bones

- In that vein, Poe keeps a box of sterile latex gloves in his room

- Most of the guys don’t really have six packs (aside from maybe Kelby and Logan)

- Garret has a Lot more hair than his game sprite

- Cashew has conflicted feelings about his father

- Haru can be a bit choosy about who gets to touch/handle his hair, he doesn’t get aggressive about it usually tho. More like a “ahhh someone’s being a little handsy in places they shouldn’t!” or whatever

- Poe, Cash, and Cole all go to the same college

- Cole goes to college? I guess? Idk

- Kelby has ADHD and horrible impulse control when alone (I will never let him live down the time he admitted to eating flowers off the side of the road)

- Ace and Kelby have karaoke nights (Ace’s idea)

- Scale entered the assassin academy at a young age and is probably a bit developmentally stunted in areas outside of physical wellness

- Scale knows how to speak Mandarin nearly fluently

- Volks is secretly a picky eater (meaning you can usually tell when he doesn’t want to eat a certain food but he’d still force himself to eat it anyway)

- Nimh can get irritated/overwhelmed by loud noises such as when he’s in crowds, so he brings around earplugs and/or noise canceling earbuds with him just in case

- Sven works in stocks as his day job and is a streamer on the side, sometimes giving quick advice and lessons on finances every now and then

- Dmitri is much more of a jokester than he lets on and would use brainrot speak for its effective psychic damage on anyone in earshot

- Reece has frequent conversations with his ship whom can communicate back, especially to help work through his thoughts

- Anon has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and he has cleaning compulsions which he often does whenever stressing

- Seth can bring back his cooler horns, ears, and tail, but he doesn’t doesn’t care enough to

- Cole was one of the most disappointed when he changed back into a full man, no longer manimal, and lost all his cool traits

- Drake’s accommodations for his spell casting class had to do with the sensory aspect of casting which made him too physically uncomfortable (from sweat or itchiness or just general overheating) which led to the solution of casting with less clothes on

- Eli has a collection of those gaudy socks with text and funny patterns on them

- Poe is a thrifter and DIY master for his clothes and accessories, but he still thinks he’s an amateur

…… There’s probably a bunch more but I need to go to bed so uhhh goodnight akdnsk

[butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway]

Okay well as long as we're talking about sex, have you covered blowjobs yet? Cause like. I swear I used to know what I was doing but apparently I lost that knowledge cause I have been *struggling* to give a decent blowjob lately and surely there has to be some advice that's not just "ask your partner what they like."

Eyyyyyyyy babes that's literally how this started you're in luck, I sent this to my service top this morning

I got SO FUCKING OFFENDED that twice now I've tried to give Youtube Boy a blowjob and my performance has been fucking LACKLUSTER AT BEST and don't get me wrong he's been great about it and doesn't seem disappointed by my performance, but ALSO last time afterwards he fucked me so hard I just didn't stop cumming for like five minutes, so OBVIOUSLY the imbalance in quality cannot be allowed to stand

There are SO many useful things to know about blowjobs and so far I haven't actually talked about them, just bitched about how mad I am that my gag reflex is back

Things to think about when you want to suck some dick:

The head of a penis is very sensitive. This is technically less likely to be true for circumsized folks, but lets be real, the penis head and clit have a lot in common and both are more easily overwhelmed by sensation than the rest of the bits

Differently shaped dicks will require different breathwork to "breathe through" a blowjob. This isn't as much about size as you'd think (altho it obvi can), and has a lot to do with how a penis curves. Gets one with a compatible curve to your mouth and throat, and everyone's having a much better time immediately

Gag reflexes get worse the more you trigger them, and numbing aids don't necessarily help with the psychological effects of having an obstructed airway. Even if you don't deepthroat, a lot of us breathe through our mouths more than we realize

Things that inflame your throat (smoking, eating spicy food, etc) may not be smart to do before a blowjob because it might make your gag reflex more sensitive

You can DESENSITIZE your gag reflex with "the toothbrush" method, and then once the physical desensitization has taken place, you can move to "the dildo" method to help learn to relax and breathe through the initial discomfort and anxiety of a triggered gag reflex

Temperature play is fun. The classic is "drink some peppermint tea right before" but I'm a fan of cinnamon tea myself

Don't forget to get wet! mouths are self-lubricating same as vaginas, and I promise the wetter the mouth, the easier the blowjob, so try and make sure you're well hydrated, and maybe even do something like eat sour candies to induce salivation, use an edible lube, or even hold your mouth open wide long enough to start drooling a bit.

Do some TMJ exercises. If you're suddenly struggling to suck dick, you might be experiencing tension in your jaw that's constricting your range of motion. Consider learning how to safely give yourself a gentle scalp massage, and making a routine of some TMJ exercises like this one:

I am begging yall (gen) to pay attention to the balls! They are so fun! Have you ever heard a girl squeak when you suck on her balls like the head of her dick and let them gently *pop* back out of your mouth???? Fucking phenomenal. The look on a man's face when you use your fingers around his shaft and balls like a cock ring and he feels you massaging the perineum??? God-tier shit. The testicle deserves respect-icle, come on

My fellow autistics and blind sluts, this is where we shine: you want *scalding* amounts of eye contact (perceived, not actual). You want the only time that eye contact is broken to be when your eyes close you can moan like a pornstar around something sensitive and watch the vibrations rattle their psyche. Pick a spot near the eyes and anchor your gaze there like a ballerina anchoring their sights for their pirouette. I like the tip of the nose because my favorite blowjob position is kneeling in front of The Blowjob Chair (everyone with a dick that I've ever fucked has this chair. At this point I assume it comes standard with the dick and look forward to receiving my delivery upon completion of bottom surgery) and from down there, staring at the tip of their nose with my glasses of consistently has the effect of me staring deep into their fucking souls while I suck it out through their dick. 10/10 strongly recommend for the sounds they make alone. Get a knee pillow though. I recomend about 2ft square and min 3-4inches thick for my creaky jointed baddies. I'm in my 30s bitch, I suck that girl off for an hour on the hardwood, I ain't getting back up under my own power, yall young sluts revel in your range of motion while you have it

As with ANY kind of sex, USE FOREPLAY!! Even if the blowjob IS foreplay for something else, you want to escalate the temperature of the encounter steadily as you move through activities. Give them a hickey on their thigh, dig your nails *gently* into their hips and moan when you blow them, have fun with it!

Stop focusing all the movement in your neck bruh, bounce your ass to bounce your mouth off that dick, use your momentum!

Take a page out of the kinky risk management book and decide on an SOS **gesture** with your partner (your mouth will be busy, dispense with the safe word) i'm deeply physical with my hands on my partner's thighs during oral so the classic "slap their thigh 3×" type approach doesn't work for me. But if I'm pushing away from my partner with my hands, that's the sign for them to help me come (heh) up for air and maybe check in.

It's easier to ask your partner what they like about your oral performance after it happens than to ask them what they want from it before they've experienced it

This post actually got way longer than I meant so I'm going to cut it here lmao bit thanks for letting me ramble about my literal favorite thing in the world to do: oral sex lmao

[dollybites]

i’m finally home from the hospital <333 i have the worst luck bc i lost a job opportunity, they called me on friday inviting me to an interview but obviously i couldn’t go and i called them back yesterday and it was already too late :( i’ve been looking for a job for months and i only get a call when i’m in a fucking hospital

not sure anyone cares but i’ll update you on my health, my results were mostly fine which should be great but it’s so frustrating because then where did the illness come from, it’s like it’s invisible, the 5th cranial nerve looks fine on the mri but it hurts so bad, i also had rheumatology tests done as well as hip x-rays and they’re fine as well but the head neurologist is sending me to a rheumatologist and an orthopedist anyway cause she says that i have white matter lesions in my brain which doesn’t mean that i necessarily have a brain disease but that a disease might develop in the future like rheumatism which is just soooo great i’ve always wanted one <33333333

the worst thing is that trigeminal neuralgia is so complex no one can tell me too much about it, like am i just gonna keep having these extreme pain episodes, how long will they last, will it go away, everyone is just like idk, i also have tmj and they almost use that as a crutch like they’re gaslighting me that the pain i’m feeling is coming from the joint but idk how to explain that i just know it doesn’t, i felt both types of pain separately and they feel different, the nerve pain is much worse and much sharper and it’s like i feel it spreading along the branches, the joint pain is set deeper and doesn’t spread out that much

anyways i’m visiting another neurologist on monday and then i’m gonna have to see an orthopedist cause my hip hurts so bad i can’t walk, i had a really bad episode during the first night, i was shivering and i got a fever and i threw up, i felt all of my muscles tensing up so hard and i felt like something was crushing my hips, they gave me a hefty iv bag with ketoprofen and valium which knocked me out, the next day i couldn’t stand up because every time i did everything went black and i felt pressure in my skull and i was fainting, they had to haul me in a wheelchair to the bathroom, right now i’m fine but the hip pain stayed and now i’m limping like a loser, before i ended up in the hospital i had been working out and stretching and going to physical therapy and my hip was doing so much better, i went through an acute hip inflammation as a child and i struggled with my hip my whole life but i had done so much progress within the last few months and it was all undone in a single night which makes me wanna cry cause i’m back where i was

if anyone read this, thank you for caring ily 🤍

[inhurtandincomfort]

My answers to the Torture Your Ocs Ask Game! I knew most of my answers would be the same haha so I decided to fill it out myself rather than using it as an ask game

1. Which of your ocs do you most often imagine sick? In what ways?

Eldwin. Easy. He's such a sad pathetic grumpy wet cat I need him to suffer in all kinds of ways. I have so many ideas that I'll never write but exist solely in my fantasies, like terminal illness. I put him through everything. Respiratory illness is my favourite tho. Make that man cough until his chest hurts and his throat is raw and it's just so exhausting and no one knows if his eyes are watering from the coughing or if he's actually crying :)

2. Which of them do you most imagine injured in other ways?

..Eldwin again. This is why I'm doing this myself, it's always Eldwin XD Broken ribs are my favourite, Ooh, broken ribs combined with respiratory illness…

3. Who do you put through the most emotional turmoil?

Honestly? All of them. Eldwin's my favourite to daydream about, but in writing Kieran's gonna have a lot of emotional turmoil before Eldwin does, probably. Jowan's gonna get it too. He thinks he won't. But he will.

4. Which oc has been tortured? Through what means?

I'm not gonnaspoil Kieran's bc that's like, his whole story, and you saw Jowan tortured in the fic (byheldymine my beloved) hmmm I wanna torture Ancassius at some point too. He's gonna get whipped I know that.

Do I even need to bring up Eldwin

5. Which of them has the worst luck?

Hmm. I don't know, I don't really think of luck.

6. Who goes through the most relationship conflicts? (applies to any relationships)

If we're including familial and platonic then yeah that's Eldwin. Usually his own fault. I don't write much romance or romantic conflicts but I mean… yeah. I guess Kieran and Lukas count as a relationship conflict…?

7. Who do you put most into stressful situations or other drama?

I do like to put Cass in stressful situations :D He cares so much it's so easy

8. Who ends up in survival situations the most? How do they fare in them?

Ancassius is an explorer for a living, so it would be him. Because of that he handles them well.

9. Has any of them had to be saved from the brink of death? Were there any consequences after?

Well Eldwin has literally died. I haven't got detailed consequences yet but I'd like to so I'll probably talk about that at some point. Probably Ancassius too, but idk how yet. (Also he's not gonna die - maybe like, a normal resuscitation thing at most, no necromancy)

10. Has any of them had to be revived / brought back to life? How did this affect them?

Ah. See above.

11. Who is afraid the most? How does this effect them?

Eldwin is constantly afraid so much so that he doesn't even recognise it as fear anymore, that's just life. He is very reclusive and hostile and pushes people away.

Other than him, Kieran. As for how at effects him, well, we'll have to see :)

12. What kind of health repercussions has your oc experienced through intense stress? How do they manage them?

Eldwin has brain fog and memory issues. He does dissociate sometimes, not super often but sometimes. Insomnia. General body pain from being so tense. Likely TMJ though I think I maybe have that and I'm a hypochondriac so uh not gonna do anything with that. Probably. In the same vein heart palpitations/maybe tachycardia and high blood pressure but again, uh, might not be able to follow through on that lmao

Ancassius suffers from migranes. It may not be all stress related but stress definitely brings them on more.

13. Who cries the most often? What are the usual causes?

mmmmm idk I've already discussed the crying in that questions post

14. How does your oc cope?

That's the neat part, they don't!

Eldwin and Jowan: Repress repress repress. In Eldwin's case also drugs and violence and cigarettes an alcohol and violence and-

Ancassius is also prone to repressing but he does have friends he can lean on. Reva sees right through him and gets him to take care of himself.

Kieran, sweet boy. He was doing everything right. Might be a bit harder for him from now on…

15. To cap off what kind of hurt/comfort scenarios do you put your oc in?

Oh what don't I put them in…

[good--merits-accumulated]

🌵🕯️🥤🔪 for the writer ask game!!

Thanks for the ask!!! (Finally getting around to this T_T)

🌵 ⇢ share the link to a playlist you love

I can't actually do this because I don't use any music apps, I just go onto youtube and play songs on loop 😅Also tbf I don't really listen to anything on a playlist unless I'm working, in which case I'll slightly modify the prompt and link to this oddly specific playlist which got me through approx 200 flashcards and a very confusing tmj anatomy session on tuesday

🕯️ ⇢ on a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you enjoy editing? why is that?

I like editing well enough! It doesn't have the unfiltered thrill of actually writing, but then again it doesn't have the struggle either. So it's good and bad in its own way. But editing something just before publishing it is its own kind of happiness, so exciting :]

🥤 ⇢ recommend an author or fanfic you love (I will do four. I can't choose!)

You will not be surprised to hear that these are (almost) all historical AUs of some kind, and the one that isn't fucks with form. Firstly, the one that doesn't:

Written by the Victors, by Speranza

OK, so I know that WBTV is *THE* McShep fic and also one of *THE* Stargate Atlantis fics but hhhhhhhholy shit. It deserves all its flowers and then some (and I haven't even finished it properly yet!). Written by the Victors has a) A BIBLIOGRAPHY AND INDEX, b) some really meatily written and densely interesting academic excerpts:

And c) some really good prose. A seminal fandom work and also insanely compelling in the way it plays with format and perspectives.

2. All Lost to the Ceremony of Progress by fluorescentgrey

So I used to read a lot of Wolfstar fic and although it's been years and years since I last looked at anything HP, some fics by fluorescentgrey (and also the next author on this list, zambla) have stuck with me extremely for their very niche and fascinating subjects (Dust Bowl AU, anyone? Vietnam-War-draft-dodgers-being-smuggled-over-the-border? Professional bullriding?) and also their fluid, dynamic, incredible prose. All of their fics are incredible but this fic in particular is set in the aftermath of Los Alamos and it is dark and foreboding and intensely, sinisterly rich in vocabulary and language and atmosphere and good lord, I wish I could write like this.

3. EXILE/RETURN by zambla

fluorescentgrey and zambla are somewhat similar to me in that they both write these wonderfully evocative fics which are often but not always historical AUs, and while fluorescentgrey's work often picks apart, examines and demands the concept of America, zambla is similarly preoccupied with the UK. EXILE/RETURN is about the AIDS epidemic and national identity and death and queerness and is partially modelled off of Derek Jarman's diaries, and it is terribly, wonderfully sad, beautiful, envious, by turns.

(^^ fic that got me preoccupied with the concept of interregna, a fascination which has lasted to this day.)

4. Presence by kakikaeru

Presence is not the most technically impressive fic on this list nor is it what I would consider the most well-written, and yet it is my personal fic Of All Time, which has affected me the most. If I say it's a Yuri!!! On Ice fic which is an alternate 20th century history AU involving Yuri as a "living God" and Shinto priest exiled during WWII and Viktor as a reporter living in exile post-WWI in New York, it makes the actual text seem different to how it actually is. What Presence actually is is a meditation on decade-spanning love and affection, holiness, religion, tranquility, the goodness of people, and. Well. Presence. I do have the world's biggest soft spot for this fic, but you should read it nevertheless.

(It also indirectly changed the way I think about my own religion a couple of years ago - but that's a much more complicated story!)

🔪 ⇢ what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

Hm. I don't think I've ever actually researched anything quote unquote weird (I will of course remember something which fits this bill exactly the second I post this), but probably one of the more ridiculous things is that time I spent the better part of a week researching early 20th century American textile mills and jacquard fabrics and acceptable Edwardian dinner jackets for the first part of A Gleam of Light, an unfinished WIP where Todd spends about five seconds actually IN an Edwardian setting and then disappears into a pseudo-medieval faerie world for the entire rest of the fic. ...It did lend its hand to some fun description, though.

(^^ Still one of my favourite fic openings I've ever written!)

[mulderscully]

tagged by @kizzyedgelll obrigada 🙏🏼 i needed a distraction

1) What was the last thing you drank?

woter

2) Where was your profile picture taken?

is this fb? lahsjsj no idea

3) Worst pain ever?

for me it was when i had my root canal. it took about 3 days, 4-6 hours at a time and i have tmj so having my mouth open for that long caused the most agonizing pain in my face when the numbing wore off. i remember the pain was so bad i was banging on walls and screaming 💀 the tooth itself was nothing compared to that, but it had to be done!

4) Favorite place you've ever traveled?

puerto rico 💖

5) How late did you stay up last night?

1am or something (same laro)

6) If you could move, where would you move to?

canada or ireland

7) What do you collect?

living with a hoarder has made me averse to collecting i think. books, i guess?

8) Favorite day of the week?

whatever day i dont have work the next day #retail

9) Amusement park or concert?

concerts. i did love amusement parks as a teenager but i'm afraid to get on rides since my epilepsy diagnosis

10) When was the last time you cried?

this afternoon, a few times lol

11) Who took your profile picture?

nasa? idk

12) Who's the last person you took a picture of?

my roomates cat

13) What's your favorite season?

fall!!! 🍂🍁

14) If you could, would you have any other career?

i would love to be a librarian which is adjacent to bookseller but pays much better and has more impact so yes

15) Who's your celebrity crush?

simone ashley right now and gillian anderson forever

16) Are you a good influence?

i dont think i have much influence on anyone either way

17) Does pineapple belong on pizza?

for me, no. i dont like warm pineapple in general but you do you

18) You have the remote, what are you watching?

right now i'm watching a documentary then i'm gonna watch flow i think

tagging @firstprinced @judasofsuburbia @hotgirlmeg @guillermosfamiliar @pennywises @graciehart @aarontveit and anyone who wants to (no pressure!)

[lovelynim]

Gains

Uta no Prince-sama - Ittoki Otoya x Tokiya Ichinose

A/N: FELIZ ANIVERSÁRIO @ppystkposts!!! EH NOIS QUEBRADA, TMJ VOA MLK TE ADORO E É ISSO AI!!!!!

Okay, jokes aside, I hope this is not too f*cked up because I didn't have a lot of time to research about them and I wanted to be really subtle about it so... yeah. I tried my best, but you deserve more than my best, but I can only offer you my best and-

*ahem*

Anyway, happy bday!!!

also i kind of inspired of that drawing off "lee mood otoya" you did cuz it was really cute, ehe

Summary: Otoya decides to show off his "gains" after months of workout.

Word count: 1078 words.

After months- no, probably a year already, it finally paid off! All those days struggling with lame diets and privating himself from eating tasty food… it was all worth it! 

Beaming with contempt, Otoya continued to admire his own brand new physique in the mirror, flexing his arms and turning around to check the defined muscles tensing up. He looked so cool! And even hot! Now, with his ultimate goal achieved, what should Otoya do?

Show off, of course.

Reaching for the plain white shirt that was laying around next to him, Otoya quickly got dressed up again and was ready to show off his brand new look. He couldn’t wait to brag about how awesome he would be in summer photoshoots or anywhere where he could show off his abs. So exciting!

Now, who should be the first one to know? Hmm…

Ah, of course. Who else better than the one next door?

“To-ki-yaaaa!! ~” Otoya sang, knocking on the door multiple times before walking inside the other’s room anyway. They were already beyond the level of intimacy where you’d need to wait for consent before walking in (at least, in Otoya’s view of their relationship). “Are you busy?”

No, he was - in fact - very busy. It’s been hours since he was drafting and trying out new lyrics, searching inside his head for anything that sounded nice in an eventual new performance. By now, even his legs hurt a little from sitting so long, waiting for the gears inside his head to turn. 

Still, just because he wasn’t making any progress, it didn’t mean he had time to waste with other things, like paying attention to whatever Otoya came up with this time. “Yes, so d-”

“Oh, oh, I promise it will be very quick!” Otoya spoke hurriedly, pushing the door close behind him - just to make sure he wouldn’t be shoved away again. “I just need to show you something. It’s really, really important!”

Tokiya rolled his eyes, already doubting anything from him would, actually, matter. Memories of previous “important things” scrolled through his mind and, so far, he couldn’t find one that was, actually, important. Still, if that would allow him to get back to work and satisfy Otoya’s need for attention…

“Sigh, fine,” Tokiya sighed, leaning back in his chair and spinning it to face Otoya. His arms were crossed in front of his chest, but his eyes were fixed on the redhead, which was enough for the latter. “What is it?”

“Heheh…” Otoya grinned in a way that made Tokiya shiver in his place. He made sure to stand right in front of him, tugging at his shorts with one hand and at his shirt with the other. Tokiya widened his eyes, already thinking about and expecting the worst.

“Wait, Otoya, don-”

“Check this out!” Otoya cheered while Tokiya let out a squeal and covered his eyes, hesitating to peek at… Otoya’s stomach? “Huh? Huh? What do you think?” The redhead added, arching his back a little more to highlight… well…

“What am I supposed to see?” Tokiya sighed, already composing himself again after the initial scare of being flashed with Otoya’s stomach. “Are your stomach hurting?” He said nonchalantly, looking up from his midriff to his face.

That was clearly not the answer Otoya was expecting from him. The beaming smile quickly faded into a pout with furrowed brows and eyes, totally offended, staring at him. “W-what?!”

Tokiya sighed. “Did you burst into my room just to show me your- ahm, stomach?”

“No! My gains! Look at my gains!” Otoya whined, how could Tokiya not see his totally-awesome-and-hot six pack?!

Tokiya’s eyes moved back down and stared some more into Otoya’s body and, after focusing a bit more, he could see the faint outline of some muscles. Was that what he was bragging about? He couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle and peek back at Otoya’s reaction, his eyes almost meeting the latter’s expectant gaze. 

“Ohh,” he gasped, “I think I see now. Can I feel it?” He asked and cocked his head to the side, watching quietly as Otoya nodded to his request.

Tokiya’s hand slowly reached out, dragging his fingers - one at each direction - as he pressed his palm flat against the spot just above Otoya’s navel. The muscles were a little more perceptible through to the touch, he thought, caressing one of the nods of his pack.

“P-pfft…”

To think about it, Otoya was working out a lot more lately, and even stopped eating th- Tsk. “Stop moving,” he groaned, looking back up.

“T-then don’t tickle me!” The redhead complained, puffing out his cheeks.

“I’m not tickling you.”

“You totally are,” Otoya continued, tightening the grip around the hem of his shirt and biting his inner lip as Tokiya resumed his inspection. There was no way he wasn’t doing it on purpose, he thought, sucking in his stomach as Tokiya’s digits brushed around his stomach.

“T-Tokiyahaha,” he giggled, stomping his feet like a kid throwing out a tantrum, “don’t be so gehehentle!”

It was almost as if asking for the exact opposite. Resting his hand in other hand, Tokiya continued to wiggle his fingers up and down, “feeling” Otoya’s so-called gains as he did so. If it tickled so bad, why was he holding out his stomach like? Did he really want to show off his stomach so bad?

“It’s not my fault you’re so ticklish,” he mocked, pinching Otoya’s left side and making him jump out of reflex, a high-pitched yelp leaving his smiling lips. “See?”

“S-stohohop it! You’ve seen enahAHAH!!” He laughed out loudly, letting go of his clothes in a desperate attempt to stop the two hands that had suddenly latched onto his exposed body. “T-TOKIYAHAH!!”

“What? There is no way you grew only that much muscle after working out for so long,” he continued, dragging Otoya closer to his chair at the same time as he dug into his sides, letting his fingers vibrate against the spot below his ribs.

“N-NOhohoh! L-LehEHEHET GOHOH!!” Otoya protested, nearly falling to the ground as his knees gave in to the ticklish feeling. “T-thehehere is no gahAHAhains theheHEHere!”

“Are you sure? Because I think I feel something right… here,” Tokiya grinned, sparking a new chain of reactions as his hands crept to another spot. Well, surely Otoya didn’t expect to come to him and not go through a whole inspection, right? This was definitely what he came for.

[marbleboa]

Hiii sorry but lately I've been hyperfixated on the 7th division and Takeuchi ended up being my fav... And I saw your art of him and I loved it, I wanted to know if you had any headcanons about him ;3

Absolutely delighted to see a Takeuchi guy here, take my hand op. I do indeed have Many Thoughts, a lot of these more character musings than straightforward headcanons but! I hope these rambles interest you!

-I made this post a bit ago talking about how his whole Battle Mode deal changes his body, and further building on that— I imagine the frequent use of this has taken its toll, similar to Shibata: issues with his back, joints, etc. Projecting my TMJ on him as well, though I think all of this does ease somewhat as he uses his powers less and starts taking better care of himself.

-The power of his energy blasts is somewhat dampened by comparatively long charge up times and the way he always announces his attacks to enemies. He’s very particular about making sure all of his battle moves have impressive names—often several-words long.

-He and Mob are on a similar wavelength to me. Something something Ishiguro talking about how hard to read Takeuchi is, the way he skirts on the edge of the rest of the Scars’ circle, the way his powers seemed to be the only part of him valued by others…it’s like a different, lonelier path Mob could’ve gone on. I think he has similar difficulties figuring out what he wants from his future, like we see from Mob at the start of season 3.

-I think he’s close with Tsuchiya. Granted this is an anime only thing, but I really liked the detail where when Tsuchiya tackles Shimazaki off a building she calls out for Takeuchi by name and he immediately moves to help. It feels like a maneuver they’ve done before, like they know each other well enough to know what the other needs in a fight. It makes sense that they’d train together with both their powers being classified as qigong too.

-Post-Claw I feel like a few of the Scars go through this phase but Takeuchi especially, he gets in this mindset of like. I must now use my powers against Evil™️ so I can make up for what I’ve done. Because…fighting with powers, black/white ideologies, that’s a lot more familiar to the Scars than writing resumes or apartment-hunting or dealing with other people. Once Claw falls he does this vigilante stuff aimlessly for a while(maybe even runs into Teru again doing the same thing, haha).

-Following from that, I think eventually he gets back in touch with Tsuchiya and stays with her and Mukai for a while as he figures out what he wants to do. (I’m. Not quite sure what that is myself. I’m working on it)

-After Claw, he, Muraki and Sakurai have a book club every other Saturday. Takeuchi enjoys mystery novels.

-There’s more I’d like to research on the particulars re: ethnicities especially so I can improve on how I draw his features, but thus far I’ve been imagining at least part of his ancestry being somewhere from southern India.

-I’ve dabbled with the idea that his name is actually a tsūshōmei, or legal alias, something long-term residents of Japan from other countries can get for various reasons. One thought I had was that Toichiro picked him up in his global search for espers, and he was given another name by Claw to cover up any connection to his family. Or, someone in his family made that change after they started living in Japan, and he was born there under that name. Not sure if I’ll commit to this though, more to look into there too.

-I definitely think he was kidnapped by the organization some way or another— his powers were likely very strong at a young age so they probably got to him under the guise of mentorship. I’d like to think he eventually tries to get back in touch with his family once Claw’s gone.

-Really likes birds. He and Muraki are in close competition for Pigeons of Seasoning City’s Favorite

-He’s ambidextrous!

[antlered-lycanthrope]

TMJ vent - tw talk of non-intentional starvation, malnutrition, death, and insurance denials

I think the way I end up dying will be from malnutrition tbh.

My damned mouth doesn’t work anymore. I can’t eat. It hurts so bad. My left jaw joint is dislocated, my right jaw joint always hurts from compensating so much but now it’s starting to go too. All four of my wisdom teeth are impacted, insurance refuses to pay, and I am disabled & unemployed with $30 to my name. My wisdom teeth are making my other teeth unaligned, making my TMJ even worse. My mouth hurts so bad that it hurts my head & neck. My left TMJ is so dislocated it puts pressure on my left ear, and now I’m having trouble hearing in that ear from all the pressure and pain in my ear. And ofc ear pressure and sudden hearing loss makes people disoriented and dizzy, so that adds onto my existing dizziness and bad spatial awareness. So I’m falling more often now. Im absolutely covered in bruises and I hit my head on things several times a day, i literally cannot tell where my body is in the world bc there’s uneven pressure in my head.

So… all of that constant teeth, jaw, head, and ear pain plus the fact that when I open my mouth bc of the dislocation it’s bone scraping on bone… means I can’t eat anymore. I’m eating less than the amount of food a person my size would eat in one sitting in my entire day. Every day. I’m always hungry now. It makes my stomach hurt, it makes my head hurt, it makes me more dizzy, it adds to my pre existing anemia, it makes me even more malnourished.

I have to take breaks to cry while I’m eating. It hurts that bad. I think I might actually end up dying if this goes on for yet another year. I now look sick. I’m pale now (my natural skintone is the “olive” Mediterranean skin), I have dark bags under my eyes, i bruise so easily, I’m cold all the time, I’ve lost 1/3 of my body weight in just a year and I do not exercise at all - I mostly stay in bed all day bc I’m too tired to move, the only exercise I get is PT. I’m exhausted and malnourished. My body in failing me in a dozen different ways. I’m deficient in iron, magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium, and vitamin D - there may be more that’s just what I remember.

I’m passing out so often. I’m apparently having seizures again. I haven’t had a migraine-free day in months. My heart races with the tiniest movements. Im shaking and shivering all the time. I’m so cold even if im sweating. I’m thirsty no matter how much water i drink. My vision is almost always blurry and/or spinning. My blood pressure is so low that if I put my hand over my head for less than a minute it loses its color and I lose all feeling in it. My feet get swollen & purple and the veins in my feet like they could pop when I stand up bc my body is too weak for my heart to pump my blood enough so it ends up just pooling in my legs & feet.

IM TIRED. IM HUNGRY. IM COLD. I NEED MY FUCKING TEETH REMOVED.

I can’t do any treatment for my TMJ until my wisdom teeth are removed, but fucking Medicaid refuses to pay for it bc it’s “not necessary” FUCK YOU IT IS NECESSARY I CANT EAT ANYMORE IVE LOST FIFTY FUCKING LBS JUST LAYING IN BED ALL DAY EVERY DAY

[sos717]

I’ve been endlessly trying to change my tmj/jaw issues but no matter what I still look and feel the same. I don’t want to simply imagine the change, I want to experience it physically and ikkkk that’s not the point of nd but like idk I’m just stuck. I want to change things at will.

Yes soooo, because I actually did start developing TMJ and jaw issues when I had very very crowded teeth cus of my wisdom teeth growing in SIDEWAYS 😭😭 I know exactly how you feel. This being said, let’s move forward.

The pain and jaw issues actually started going away well before I had my wisdom teeth removed and this is when I understand LOAssumption, if I knew ND I’d literally would have snipped that sh🤭t so fast.

Yea so knowing what we know, even then, I’m not telling you to ignore physical pain, if you have medication that can help you relieve pain right now because I know how bad it can get, pls don’t just ignore taking care of yourself because you want to prove something to yourself first 😭😭😭 (I literally made the mistake of doing this)

But yes, okay it’s as easy as realizing that, as “ “ your everything, you appear as everything, so even the

“I have TMJ/Jaw Issues” (instantly true)

“I’ve been endlessly trying to change my issues” (instantly true)

In the same way that

“Finally my Jaw problems are gone” (instantly true)

“My TMJ is finally gone” (instantly true”

So what I want you to understand is that, this is and never will be a doing process, do not get yourself stuck in trying to change option A to B, because nothing is being changed and nothing is being transformed, it’s all you. Anything realized is now the truth (so to speak)

There are no opposites, only what you realize. It’s really just option A or B, no “I need to change this into that”

It’s one claim or another, one idea or another, one realization or another, not turning one into another

There’s no effort or trying you have to do.

“But what do I do when it hurts” either take medicine or if it doesn’t bother you that much just ignore it, because if someone who doesn’t have jaw issues felt sore or some pressure in the jaw, they wouldn’t just go in a spiral about how it’s not working or it’s still here or whatever, you brush it off as a weird sensation that’ll go away. Don’t abandon what the new experience is just because the old one feels comfortable to return to. Don’t feel powerless in a world that literally is you.

I honestly hope this made sense, I’m sorry I’ve been lacking sleep recently 😭😭😭🤭🤭🤭