#and I used to go to a speech therapist as a kid

[rubbish78]

Me desperately not trying to fuck up this pronunciation on the announcements:

[finelinefae]

tongue-tied

synopsis: y/n has a stutter and harry likes to hear her talk

word count: 3.1k

contains: fluff, highschool romance, harry's a football player, popular boy x shy girl, brief mentions of bullying

a/n: happy soft girl Sunday !! I wasn’t planning on posting just because I posted the second part of the aviator a little later than I was meant to but I could resist putting this one out <3

. . .

“E-excuse me!” Y/N weaved her way through the mass exodus of students heading in the opposite direction to the lunch hall. She had tried to leave class a few minutes before the lunch bell to avoid the large groups of people but she had been so invested in writing her essay, she’d lost complete track of time. 

She was running as fast as she possibly could to get to the library, knowing the person waiting for her wouldn’t get too impatient but she didn’t want to waste a second of their lunch break not being with him. Her bag slipped from her shoulder, her braids flying behind her and her knee-high socks falling down her calves. 

Y/N barely registered the people around her, wondering where she could be going in such a rush, until her face collided with soft, grey fabric. Before she could even get embarrassed and profusely have to apologise for bumping into them, long arms snaked around her, hands clasping behind her back. She caught a whiff of his woody cologne and the floral fragranced detergent his mum always used to wash his school uniform.

“There y’ are, Dove.” He murmured, “I was starting to get worried.”

Y/N looked up and settled on those familiar green eyes she loved so much. She relaxed into his embrace, “Harry,” She sighed. 

Harry and Y/N had been dating since they were fourteen. If it weren’t for the fact that their parents all worked together at the local hospital, they probably would never have met at all, although Harry liked to believe they were fated to be together so they would have ended up meeting each other some way or another. 

Harry had always been popular at school. For one, he was on the football team which instantly made him a name within their year group. He was also very handsome for his age. Girls would whisper and giggle whenever he passed by in the hallways even those from the lower years. Despite the fact they had just turned seventeen, Harry could honestly pass for an almost twenty-year-old with how tall and mature he was. 

Y/N was the complete opposite. When it came to her social life she was shy and not often one to make friends easily. She was part of the arithmetic club and had made a few friends there and in some of her other classes. She liked to keep to herself and struggled to talk in class not only because she was quiet but also because she had a particularly bad stutter. 

It had developed when she started High School. She had been to multiple speech therapists to help her get rid of it and although it wasn’t as bad as it used to be, it still never failed to make her life all the more difficult than it already was.

A lot of the other kids liked to pick on her for it too. Whenever teachers picked on her in class and she’d reply, the rest of the class would start snickering, whispering in each other’s ears. She wanted to be invisible to everyone but it was her stutter that made her stand out.

When Harry’s family would come over to Y/N’s house for dinner, her parents would often force them to go off together whilst the adults spoke in the dining room. She remembered the first time she invited him into her room and how embarrassed she was when he saw all her comic books lying on the floor that she had forgotten to put away. But it eventually became the seed of their relationship, the common ground that allowed them to bond. 

Soon Harry was inviting Y/N to his football games and up to his room every other weekend when she’d come over with her parents. They’d exchange comic books and talk about their favourite characters. Y/N was always apologising for her stutter whenever she’d ramble on for too long but Harry never cared, he loved hearing her talk. 

Their first kiss was on her bed whilst their parents were in the room below them. Harry was the one to initiate it and Y/N hadn’t been expecting it so it was slightly awkward at first but then she got used to it and eventually all she ever wanted to do was kiss him. Every weekend, whether at her place or his, all they did was sneak around and kiss each other, giggling and falling in love all at the same time. 

Now, three years later, things were still the same except they were older now and more in love than they were yesterday. 

Wherever you looked, Harry was there, and Y/N was never too far behind. Students had grown accustomed to their relationship, and the bullying Y/N endured wasn't as severe as it used to be. Even teachers couldn't help but be enamoured with their young love — how fortunate it was to find love at such a young age. 

Things were great, everything was great and Y/N had hoped she could finish her last year of High School on a high note. That was until she entered her English class on a Friday afternoon when the teacher announced it was time for their presentations which would go towards their final grade. 

“I can’t Harry!” Y/N cried into her pillow after school, Harry was sitting on the end of her bed with his back against the wall as he rubbed his hand up and down her back. 

“I know Dove,” He comforted her, already knowing the reason she was so upset over it.

“Everyone’s going to l-laugh at me,” She could already picture herself standing up in front of her class and everyone pointing and laughing at her. 

Harry sighed, “Dove,” He shook her gently, “Will y’ look at me?” 

Y/N hesitated before turning her head so her cheek lay against the pillow. Harry smiled and lay on his side in the spot next to her, their faces inches apart, “There’s m’ pretty girl,” He cooed, his heart hurting at the tears on her cheeks. He cupped her cheek in his big hand and wiped some of those tears away with his thumb. 

“I-It’s not fair,” She huffed, “Why’d I have to have this stupid stutter.” 

“Hey,” He frowned, “Enough of that hmm? Everything about you is beautiful, y’ know I love to hear y’ talk. Could sit here for hours and just listen.” 

“But you’re d-different,” She whined, shuffling closer to him so she could hide her face in his grey jumper. Her stutter was rarely ever that bad in front of Harry which was why he was the easiest person she could talk to. 

Harry laughed breathily, his hand going to her hair to play with the strands, “Would it help if I helped you a little?” 

“How?” Y/N asked, her words muffled by his jumper.

“We could practise in the library at lunch, y’ could read me a few things and it might help your stutter.”  He thought.

Y/N’s head looked up to his face where she could count every mole and freckle on his nose and cheeks. She couldn’t help but pucker her lips to kiss his jawline, “That’d be nice,” She murmured. 

“Yeah?” He smiled, kissing the top of her head in return, “I only want to help you so if you don’t enjoy it or you’d rather practise alone then y’ can tell me,” 

She shook her head, “N-No, I want to do that with you. I’d like it very much.” 

So it became a daily occurrence, five days a week during lunch hours when Harry didn’t have practice, they’d sit in the library and Harry would pick out a book for them to read. They started with simple YA books with less complicated words. 

“Good job, Dove!” Harry cheered every time Y/N finished a chapter. 

“Wait I’m not done,” She huffed and then said the last line just for Harry to cheer for her again just as proudly as the first time. 

Now that the day of her presentation was getting closer, they had finally made their way onto Classical novels which Y/N had come to despise. 

They walked with their hands intertwined to the library after Y/N had bumped into him in the hallway. It was natural as they stepped into the library and headed straight to their table in the corner hidden away by two tall bookshelves. 

Y/N placed her bag under the chair whilst Harry unzipped his to pull out the book they were currently reading. It was Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, even looking at the front cover made Y/N’s stomach turn. 

“A-Are you sure we can’t go back to YA books?” Y/N huffed, taking the book and opening it up to the chapter they were last on. 

Harry laughed, “But you’re doing so well, Dovey.” 

“I-it’s hard though and the w-words are so tiny.” She pouts, Harry can’t help but lean forward and kiss her. 

“C’mon, jus’ a few pages and then I can show y’ something I got for you.” He tried to persuade her, knowing the surprise would be enough to win her over.

“Fine,” She sighs dramatically. 

She read for five pages, Harry listening intently to every word. His eyes focused on her lips as she spoke, stumbling over a few words here and there. He tried to hold back from smiling so much with how concentrated she was on each letter of every word. He thought it was adorable how her eyebrows creased and her hands gripped the book. 

Eventually, she had enough, placing the book down on the table and closing it shut. “Good job baby!” He cheered, pressing multiple kisses to her cheek, “M so proud of you.” 

Y/N giggled, “Thank you, Harry.” 

Harry smiled and reached into the pocket of his blazer for the surprise he had promised her. Y/N looked down and saw a small, black pouch in his hand. He gave it to her, her fingers carefully pulling on the ribbon before pulling out the small item inside. 

“It’s an anxiety ring,” Harry explained as she held the silver ring in the palm of her hand. He picked it up and slid it on his pinkie finger to show her, “Y’ can twist this band whenever you feel nervous, thought y’ could wear it on the day of your speech.” 

He passed it back to her, Y/N narrowing her eyes to look at the spinning band which had a small inscription written on it, ‘i love the way you speak almost as much as i love you, your harry.’ 

Y/N’s eyes watered, unable to come up with the right words to say how much she adored it as well as the boy sitting in front of her. Instead, she leapt forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, “Thank you,” She murmured, “I love it. I love you.” 

Harry softened even more from her embrace, “I love you more, Dove,” He whispered. 

Y/N pulled away enough to kiss his lips, she was thankful for the privacy they had in the back of the library since she was never that good with public displays of affection and all she wanted to do now was kiss him because she was so grateful for him being there all the time. 

It wasn’t long before the day of her presentation. After school, Y/N had been working on a short essay. She was going to speak to the class about her favourite comic books and why she loved them so much. She had recited the words out loud to herself and Harry and even her parents, that she could probably speak it off by heart. 

Harry and Y/N stood outside the school. Her English class wasn’t until the third period but she knew she wouldn’t be able to concentrate in her morning classes until the presentation was over. Harry was wearing his football uniform because he had a game against another school in the morning. Y/N had been with him after school as he practised for it, wearing his coat as she wrote out her speech on a notepad. 

They stood side by side facing the school building as if it was some kind of beast they had to tackle, “O-okay,” She huffed, “I can do this,” 

Harry looked down at her smiling and then reached for her hand, “You can do this,” He squeezed her fingers in encouragement. 

“Good l-luck with your game today,” She grinned, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek. 

“Thank you, baby,” He spoke softly, “Y’ can tell me all about your presentation and how well it went afterwards.”

“Okay Harry,” She nodded, completely determined despite how nervous she was. She had spent weeks preparing, she couldn’t let fear get the best of her. 

“Good luck kiss?” Harry grinned, cheekily. 

Y/N playfully rolled her eyes and craned her neck to kiss his lips. Harry held her face in his hands, unable to pull away from her even when she tried to, “I love you,” He murmured against her lips.

“I love you too.” She sighed, blissfully. 

When third period came around, Y/N stood outside her English classroom, counting to five in her head. She clutched onto the piece of paper where her speech was written out in gelled ink, spinning the ring Harry had gifted her on her finger. With a deep breath, she opened the door and stepped foot into her classroom. 

. . .

Harry could hardly concentrate during the football match but he was trying his best. His team were two points ahead and it wouldn’t be long before the game was over. Since it was the morning and the game was mostly practice for the two schools competing, there wasn’t a huge audience watching them. 

He was glancing down at his watch every few minutes when he was supposed to have his eye on the ball, checking to see whether third period was about to start. All he could think about was his little dove and how nervous she was when they stepped into school this morning. 

She had been working so hard on reading things out, even stopping in shops when they went to town together to read the labels on the backs of food containers. He fully believed in her and her ability to speak in front of the class even when she didn’t and it killed him not being able to watch her do it. 

So when the whistle finally blew marking the end of the game, Harry ignored the celebrations with his team after they won the match and ran across the field through the entrance of the school. He raced up the steps, his football boots clicking against the crowd. He knew he probably didn’t smell the best and his knees were muddy from falling over but he didn’t have much time to think about it as he searched for Y/N’s English classroom. 

“Y/N?” He heard the teacher’s voice call her name as he approached. 

“A-Already? O-Oh, O-okay.” He could hear her nerves just by listening to her speak. 

Harry was about to knock on the door but he hesitated, wondering if it would worsen her nerves if he was in the classroom watching her. He knew how much of a big deal this moment was for Y/N and he didn’t want to intervene or make a spectacle of the moment especially since he wasn’t in her class. 

He lowered his hand and instead pressed his ear up to the door. 

“H-Hello,” Y/N started, “My name is Y-Y/N and today I will be sharing with you m-my love for comic books,” Harry’s heart ached as her voice came out quietly. 

“C’mon Dove,” He whispered, wanting her to do well. 

Y/N cleared her throat and let out a shaky exhale, “A-As you can probably tell, I-I am not all that good at speaking. I s-stumble over letters and sometimes even have to replace words with o-others because my mouth t-turns into mash potato and I can’t seem to get t-the words out.” People chuckled and Harry’s heart began to beat against his chest, “T-That is why I love comic books so much because of the l-lack of words. Instead, there are pictures,” Y/N continued, her voice gaining strength the more that she spoke, “T-They tell stories without the need for p-perfect sentences or flawless speech.” 

Y/N continued her speech and Harry spent the entire presentation with his ear pressed up against the door. He ignored the looks of teachers and other students walking past as a huge grin spread across his cheeks the more Y/N spoke in front of the class. 

By the time she had finished, it fell silent before the class responded with a round of applause, “Brilliant work, Y/N,” Her teacher said. 

Y/N felt like she was floating on a cloud as she left her English classroom. Even if her speech wasn’t perfect, she had done it and gotten through it all in one piece. As she stepped out, two arms snaked around her waist and lifted her off the ground, “Harry!” Y/N giggled as he spun her around.

“M so proud of you, Dove.” He kissed her softly, lowering her to the ground but refusing to move his hands from her waist. 

“I-I can’t believe I did it, Harry!” Y/N almost squealed. 

“Heard every word, y’ did so good, M so proud of you.” He rambled, unable to cease his admiration for her. 

“You heard?” Y/N’s eyebrows creased, her lips pouting slightly. 

“I ran here as fast as I could and stood outside to listen to you,” Harry explained, “Y did perfect, honestly, the best speech I’ve ever heard.”

“You really ran h-here to listen?” Y/N asked, still in disbelief.

“I did,” Harry smiled, “It was all I could think about when I was on the field.”

“Did you win?” Y/N asked. 

Harry pulled her flush against him, “You already know I did baby,” He smirked, kissing her. Y/N smiled against his lips.

“Let’s go out tonight,” Harry murmured, “To celebrate.”

“And do w-what?” Y/N wondered, even though the idea of spending any time with Harry was always her favourite. 

“Maybe go to the bowling alley and get dinner after,” He shrugs.

“O-oh and maybe we can stop at the comic book store on the way home!” Y/N said, excitedly. 

“Course m’love,” Harry’s smile widened the more she spoke, “We can do whatever you want as long as I get to hear you talk.” 

Y/N grinned broadly as Harry interlaced his hands with hers, feeling the cool metal of her ring against his skin. Together, they walked hand in hand down the hallway, Y/N unable to stop talking the entire time, while Harry hung onto her every word.

[k-pepp]

With the final season of YR coming up, I’ve been thinking about Wille’s journey again. Because he’s 16, we won’t know if he actually chooses to renounce his title or remain in his role as future king, but I have a feeling this season will give us an indication which way it will go. So, before we get any type of confirmation, I want to get my current thoughts out. I’m aware that a lot of YR Tumblr skews toward King Wilhelm so my pro-renounce post might not resonate with anyone and that’s ok. I just want to put all my thoughts together before S3 comes along with something that totally blows all my opinions and assumptions out of the water 🙂 I understand the idea of wanting Wille to be King because he could be such a great leader. He is kind and compassionate and can be good at taking charge. BUT just because a person could be good at something, doesn’t mean they should be forced to do it. My number one reason for being in favor of Renouncing his Title is the sheer fact that Wille doesn’t want to be King. He doesn’t want the title. He doesn’t want that life. Wille has been shown a multitude of times talking about how he struggles with the duties that come with being a prince. Whether it’s with Erik:

Or August:

Or Boris:

(honestly, this boy will spill his guts to anyone who is willing to even half listen to him. My god. I’m so glad they gave this poor kid a therapist) He's also talked about how he feels trapped in this position. For him, to renounce the throne would be freedom. Freedom to live a life he actually wants.

Even the mere idea of staying in his current position makes him physically ill.

Some people take the end of episode 2x06 to mean he’s moved beyond all that and accepted his role as the future king. I didn’t personally see it that way. I saw it as a combination of a few things. 1) When come face-to-face with it, he just couldn’t let August give the speech (But the fact that he was initially willing to let someone who distributed revenge porn against him become king really speaks to how much he definitely doesn’t want that position) 2) He didn’t want Simon to have to compromise his happiness and give in to a situation he didn’t actually want 3) He didn’t want to hide anymore. He wanted to be himself. Wille is a person who craves authenticity. Which brings me to a bigger point… Life as the Crown Prince / King is inherently inauthentic. One of the main pro-King arguments is that he would blaze his own trail and do things his way. But how? Being a member of the royal family is a job. The basic responsibilities of that job are to do things like diplomatic visits, hosting events, being part of photo ops, schmoozing with people… pretty much all things having to do with putting on a public persona. It’s great that he could be himself in the sense that he would be the first queer Crown Prince / King, but the baseline duties he would have to fulfill are still inherently inauthentic. And I don’t know how he would “do it his way” aside from just not doing it. He hates putting on fake smiles

the photo ops

the schmoozing with people

Erik even told Wille, the way to get through that stuff is to just pretend to be someone else.

We know he’s capable of doing it. We saw how charming he could be at Parents Day weekend. But that was because he wanted to sit with Simon and impress Simon’s mom. Other than that lunch, he mostly hid in his room. And it goes back to my original point. Just because someone may be good at something doesn’t mean they should be forced to do it. (And yes, even if he walked away from the line of succession, he could still have familial obligations, but it wouldn’t be anywhere near the level of what is expected now) At this point, Wille is only continuing as Crown Prince because of a commitment to his family. Mainly Erik.

He doesn’t want to let him down or feel like he’s betraying his legacy. To Wille, Erik was perfect. We only saw two full conversations between them and in both conversations, Erik was telling Wille to get his act together because “it’s not that hard”.

That quote is probably something he told Wille a lot. So much that Wille later regurgitates it to Boris. Three different times.  

Going on to say that Erik could handle everything easily.  

Based on the fact that Erik was going to Boris, he probably wasn’t managing everything with ease. But in Wille’s perception, he was. Wille is basically chasing a ghost. Self-imposed pressure of unattainable perfection. He bears a guilt that pushes him to want to be someone he thinks Erik would be proud of.   The problem with that is, Erik was a monarchist. Maybe he struggled a bit (which is why he went to Boris), but based on the things he would say to Wille, he backed the monarchy / family completely.

Ultimately, I just want Wille to be happy. Maybe S3 will completely change my outlook and I’ll root for him to become king because that’s what he wants. But right now, I think he only wants it out of a sense of obligation to Erik. And honestly…maybe my most controversial opinion…if he did stay in his position because of Erik, he probably wouldn’t change that much within the institution. I mean, he couldn’t change much even if he wanted to. He wouldn’t be allowed to do big things without the consent of the Swedish parliament and maybe a public referendum. And I doubt he’d even have the capability to make small changes. As already pointed out by @piebingo in this great post, Kristina didn’t actually want August to be next in line. But she was overruled. The Royal Court has a lot of power and making any sort of reforms or independent decisions is not that simple. Especially within an establishment that relies on keeping everything exactly the same. But even if that weren’t true. Even if Wille could snap his fingers and make all these huge changes… part of me doesn’t think he would. I know a lot of the folks who are pro-King Wilhelm want him to become the king just so he can completely destroy it from within. But to me, in Wille’s eyes there would be no bigger betrayal to Erik’s legacy than Wille burning the institution to the ground. And if he wants to live up to Erik’s legacy. Not betray him. Not let him down. He will act as he thinks Erik would act. If Wille becomes king because of Erik, he’ll maintain the establishment because of Erik. And he would be miserable doing it. Miserable and without Simon. Yes, my other controversial opinion. If Wille stayed as king, Wilmon wouldn’t make it. Simon is described to us as a socialist. One of his introductory scenes is him calling the monarchy the country’s biggest welfare scammers. I can’t imagine Simon giving up his musical dreams to join an institution that he hates. I also can’t imagine Wille letting him do that. That was such a big part of Wille’s growth in Season 2. Wille wouldn’t let Simon sacrifice his happiness for the sake of his own happiness (being with Simon). Even if Simon didn’t end up pursuing something in music, he made it clear in his talk with Rosh and Ayub that he wants to work hard to make something of himself.

I mean, look at him. Look at this sweet baby angel’s face when he’s told he has an opportunity that will open doors to his future. I can’t imagine him giving up his ambitions or autonomy to become prince consort. Having to live every day under royal rules and protocols. Maybe he would. I personally can’t see it. And finally, I know a main reason people like the idea of King Wille is because we like the idea of a queer king. But as much as we all want queer representation; I don’t think it should be anybody’s responsibility to be the political representation that people want to see. Wille shouldn’t be in a position he hates because he’s queer. A queer person living their life and getting out of a toxic situation is also good representation. A person can’t fix the problem by becoming part of it. Having him be the face of an institution that’s been about exploitation and oppression isn’t going to solve it. It's always been said by Lisa and Edvin that Wille’s problem is not that he’s queer. It’s that he’s a prince. Everything about what’s making him unhappy is about him being prince / the future king. Him walking away from his title would be about him escaping a future that would make him miserable. Personally, that’s what I’m hoping for.

[vaspider]

re: your reblog of the "kids are like mockingbirds", would you care to expand on what you mean by "baby-talk", which you don't recommend using with kids? (As a speech-language pathologist one of my pet peeves is people dismissing all child-oriented speech as useless babble, which is not the case at all.)

Sure, I mean that it's generally best for adults to not simplify their language deliberately when talking to children in terms of grammar or cadence, or to 'talk down' to kids. If you just... talk to kids like they're people, they do better in terms of being able to pick up communication.

When my daughter was a baby and we would go places together, and she babbled at me, I would talk back to her as if we were carrying on a conversation, using full sentences, correct grammar, and talking to her as if she could fully understand me and was speaking comprehensibly. So if she'd go on an extended babble, I'd make acknowledging noises when she paused, and then respond, "That's very interesting, can you tell me more?" or whatever. If she pointed out a bird and made excited noises I'd say "oh cool, yeah, that is a bird! Do you think it's pretty? Thanks for showing me!" I didn't use an exaggerated tone or repeat back to her "see bird" or whatever, I would respond to her as if she was already utilizing "adult" language, with full sentences, in my normal speaking voice.

(My one exception is 'tell me your day,' but that's because it's a family thing -- my younger sister used to sit down at the dinner table at age 3 and prompt my parents very seriously, "Okay, Mom, Dad, tell me your day," which is her mockingbirding my mother's 'tell me about your day, kids,' and became a Family Thing.)

I've worked with a speech therapist, so between that and my mom's very adamant 'just talk to kids like they're people,' that's what I was always taught.

[darkbluekies]

Can I request your OC’s with a darling who has an accent? Like they grew up in speech therapy and they get made fun of for it sometimes and that causes them to not like their voice and stay quiet?

-🦇

[I kinda want to make Hedwig's and Jerry's ones oneshots. They're my favorite :>]

Warnings: violence, threats of cutting of tongues, genitalia, fingers and heads, arson, knives,

Silas:

You don't talk often and when you do, you only talk to him. Silas adores your voice. He encourages you to speak everytime you're together. He loves everything about it — everything from how you stutter slightly to how you pronounce your words. When you gather enough courage to tell you about the kids that used to make fun of you in your past, you can tell that something in his demenour shifts.

"Those little fuckers. Y/N, you're going to tell me their names with that wonderful, sweet little voice of yours and I'll pay them all a personal visit. I'll cut their tongues out, see how they feel about not being able to speak 'correctly'. Or better yet, I'll make them never be able to talk again."

Dr Kry:

As your personal doctor, Dr Kry has taken it upon himself to become your speech therapist as well (even if he doesn't have the license). He sits with you everyday and comforts himself with the thought that it's only him you actually talk to when he doesn't get many words out of you. He often compliments your voice and when you let him know that he seems to be the only one who likes it and that others have said something else ... he scoffs.

"Those kids were childish. You'll never have to speak with them again — you'll never have to speak to anyone again. If you really don't feel comfortable with your speech, I'll do it for you. I'll take every conversation ... if you just talk to me. I adore your voice. I love to hear it. I'll never mock you, okay?"

King Edmund:

There's much he doesn't know about you, but you know all about him. He wants to learn more about you, but you never open your mouth. It pains him like knives through his heart. He wants to talk to you more than anything. He wants to learn about your childhood, your family, your interests and where you're from — because he's noticed the accent, but he can't tell where it originates from. But when you do open up and he gets to know the horrors you've been through, he suddenly stops you.

"They'll pay. I'll tell my secretary to fix a public behading! Their heads are going to roll to my feet and I'll cut their tongues and grill them for supper! Don't worry, my queen, they'll never hurt you again, not as long as I'm here."

Jerry:

She doesn't pressure you to talk. When you're ready, you'll talk. She has looked up your personal information, but e few pieces of paper can't tell her everything. She wants to know more. One night when you're lying in her bed, skin touching and breaths trying to calm down you take the opportunity to tell her what she wants to hear now that you feel so warm. Jerry has placed your head on her bare chest and runs her fingers through your hair. Her acrylic nails feels like heaven. You can feel her tense.

"Who are these lowlives, hm? Tell me their names. Come on, baby, I'll revenge you. What should I do to them? Cut of their fingers? Their dicks, maybe? Why don't you want to tell me? Use your pretty, little voice and tell me. Don't protect them, they don't deserve it." As soon as you've told her, she gets up from the bed and starts dressing herself. "Don't stay up, I won't be back for quite a while. I'll give them what they deserve. Fuck, how much I love you. I'm the only one allowed to mock you."

Hedwig:

Hedwig takes care of everything for you. You don't want to talk? No problem. She'll talk for you. You'll whisper what you want to be said in her ear and she'll say it out loud! She's waiting for you to finish your sentences while you stutter and talks back to the teacher when they ask you to answer a question. When you one day tell him why you're so quiet and why you switched school ... she explodes. She forces you to tell her the names. While you're sleeping, she calls her private hitman and asks him to help her. Just a few hours later, five houses are set aflame and Hedwig's standing on the road with a smile on her face.

"That's what you deserve. That's what you all deserve. I'll never let anyone hurt my sweetheart."

[plum-pitt]

Holy shit. I just realized i’ve never even yapped about my headcanons for the rise guys. This is a criminal offense on my part! Must be rectified immediately!!

Disclaimer: Don’t think there’s a lot of hot takes here, but feel free to disagree and talk about your own interpretations if you’d like!! Headcanon is fun and i love discussing it. it’s all fictional and since the text doesn’t give us much concrete shit on these topics we’re all free to make our own, equally valid readings of it. :3

Leo- Transmasc He/Him, gay as fuck who here could’ve guessed, ADHD haver, definitely smokes weed. Fluent in spanish from watching telenovellas as a child. Wants to be a flirty whore/aff so fucking bad but whenever he sees someone he’s legitimately attracted to any charisma he might’ve had gets thrown out the window and into a woodchipper in favor of helpless stuttering. His portalling mishaps early in the series have led him to silly sidequests all over the world that he just,,,, doesn’t really talk about. This won’t come up until they’ll end up in some random ass place and find out just how well travelled and connected he actually is. He’s also got a job at Hueso’s for fun and extra cash to fund his addiction to pot and ordering stupid shit he doesn’t need online. He’s a server, wears rollerskates to “move faster” on the job, just ends up running into shit more often than not. Great with the kids tho, performs little sleight of hand magic tricks and tells jokes to make them happy, never had a fussy kid he couldn’t calm down in a snap. Calls himself Hueso’s nephew and nepotism hire, ignoring the fact that he’s actually a decently competent and well liked employee outside of the several skating related accidents. Shell was cracked badly in the invasion, when they sealed it up, he asked Mikey to paint the healed cracks gold, mimicking the japanese practice of Kintsugi.

Mikey- Definitely queer but not into labels ;3 He/Him is what he defaults to, but any pronouns work for them. Semi fluent in italian, don’t ask me why, just feels right, let chef boy speak italian dammit. One of those mfs on instagram who insists on posting pictures of the food he makes, except his actually looks good and not painfully mediocre so they get a pass. Has been tagging walls in hard to reach spots all over the city for years at this point, after Raph confronted her abt it, fearing that he’d get caught someday, he told him that he’d stop. Yeah, that was a lie he kept doing it, just sneakier now. Makes money off of art commissions, still broke as hell tho cuz he spends it all on bougie ass ingredients and art supplies. Post canon definitely delved more into mystics and spirituality, trains with draxum but also took up meditation in his free time. Fucks with weed and the occasional psychedelic when working on art, says it helps get the creative juices flowing. Considering asking donnie to forge some documents for him so he can attend college online and earn a psych degree. His speech patterns flip on a dime between vague, wise fortune cookie therapist man and typical gen-z slang so abruptly it gives anyone not already familiar with him total whiplash.

Donnie- NonBinary They/He Bisexual but i can’t decide if they’re the kind that can’t stop pulling or can’t pull to save his life. Fluent in several languages, ASL, French, Russian, Japanese. Actually one of their few acedemic endeavors that he doesn’t typically show off and gloat about, makes it all the scarier when his siblings hear him muttering vaguely threatening sounding shit in russian when shit doesn’t go their way. Has tried most substances for “research purposes”, ultimately decided he doesn’t like the feeling of their big ol brain being hindered under the influence, this has a few exceptions tho, mainly when it’s with Leo. Has John Bishops IP address and threatens to drop it on 4chan to “see what happens” every time he tries messing with their family or stopping him from “borrowing” material resources from the US government. Almost considered bs-ing his way into college before they used a cloaking broach to shadow april at school for like 2 days. It was there they learned that the education system fucking sucks and he probably knows more than most professors about his topics of interest anyway. Does freelance work for cash, as far as their brothers know they’re not building and selling anything dangerous (which is code for probably arming both sides in a far away military conflict with deathrays). Spends his free time cyber bullying children on roblox and twitter, and caring for their greenhouse of plants that all have names. (yes he grows weed. his GeniusGrown™️ zaza is known far and wide for its consistently excellent quality. and no, Leo does not get a family discount. Mikey does tho.)

Raph- Someone please send the big man some help😭 he/him(?) Definitely queer in some way shape or form but refuses to confront any identity crisis because he’s just so busy keeping his dumb ass siblings outta shit. Tried weed once and will never touch a substance again, makes his anxiety spike real bad when he doesn’t feel in full control of himself. Runs around with Cassandra and sometimes Jr to do vigilante justice on the side of he and his siblings’ usual patrols. Living garbage disposal and i mean that quite literally. He has and will eat anything, rocks, toys, silverware, sometimes on accident, sometimes on a dare, and sometimes just because he wants to. He grew up gnawing on the legs of furniture, rusty sewer pipes, really any nonliving thing that he could fit his choppers around (unlike donnie who just bit any living creature within a 5 mile radius of his location). Since the invasion made Leo step up as leader Raph has been able to step back a little bit and not have everything in a chokehold, he has a mini crisis about his place in the family and his sense of identity without being a leader. Tries to hide how much it’s affecting him but ofc, living with mikey, this does not last and his ass FINALLY gets chucked (very lovingly) into therapy. Loves to knit, definitely in some kind of old lady facebook group centered around it (he has so much nursing home gossip floating around in his brain hehe)

Alright that’s all for the teetlez. lmk if yall wanna hear about my thoughts on the rest of the main cast, or some of the side cast! Can’t promise i’ll have this much to say on all of em but i’ve definitely got thoughts lol. I might even make a post diving into different character dynamics. idk tho, my fingies are tired typing all that shit😭

Anyway i hope u enjoyed my ramblings, have a lovely day :3

[eboneeblak]

Touched (Short Story)

A supernatural Southern Gothic tale. (6 minute read)

CW: Ableism, Murder, and Domestic Violence

Everything is black, an endless pit of nothingness. In the void, where no constraints exist, I gleefully experience many sensations. The sound of ambiance lingers around me. The air feels…fuzzy on my skin. The cool grassy earth beneath me sinks. Gravity weighs down on my shoulders, rendering me still. I wince. There is a sharpness that pokes at my flesh. Annoyed, I clench my hands and pull!

Go away.

Go away.

Go away.

GO AWAY!

“Ophelia, baby!”

I hear a voice from outside, and the comforting blanket of nothingness passes away. Finally, I open my eyes; it is my mother. Her eyebrows furrow with concern. Her velvety, well-manicured hands clasp mine. I see a clothing tag in it.

Stupid itchy tags.

“Baby, Sister Inez was askin’ how

speech therapy was goin’?”

It was dark now, and we were still alone in the church's parking lot. Choir practice only lasts two hours. However, in my mother’s usual fashion, her chatting forced us to stay late. My eyes glaze over Sister Inez, and I notice her scowl. Her burgundy lipstick lips tighten.

“It’s going okay.”

I look down at my shiny black shoes that Mother bought, notice the cute bows, and excitedly squiggle my toes inside.

“Ophelia has only been in it a few

weeks; the therapist says it can take a

while for her to catch up to regular

kids.”  

Sister Inez’s judgmental eyes gawk at me, sharp enough to pierce a gaping hole.

“That daughter of yours reminds me of

someone; she was also a little…

different.”

For a woman who proclaims to be so holy and sanctimonious, Sister Inez has barely mustered an ounce of empathy and kindness towards me and my mother since we arrived several months ago.

         “We’ll pray and hope she turns out

better.”

Mother and I had to travel across four states to escape my father’s abuse; the place where we are supposed to be safe has yet to make us feel welcomed.

“I’m afraid we can’t pray away what

Ophelia got goin’ on.”

“What a shame.”

My mother’s soft palms began to feel clammy and tense; I must escape this conversation.

“Water.”

I make a beeline for the church.

“Ophelia, don't take too long, dear.”

Cold water splashes into my mouth. A creaky air conditioner buzzes above, and the sound is deafening. I look around, continuing to quench my thirst. New Hope A.M.E. has seen better days; vinyl walls peel away, revealing the 200-year-old frame. Beneath the wooden floors is a mismatched array of new and old bark, with small cracks cascading across the floor, each getting larger and larger….

“What is that?”

It’s a shadow. My eyes lift, revealing a dark figure of a woman. I blink, and she vanishes. A chill shivers throughout me. My body stiffens; a deep scream traps itself in my throat. Slowly, my eyes search the room. Passing the wooden doors, there's a loud creak; instinctually, I follow the sound.

Moonlight beamed through the colorful stained windows, accentuating the dusty pews. As I inch down the aisle, the old floor bends under my weight with each step.

Demons?

My eyes examine the small, quaint church back and forth. The pulpit sits steeply above the congregation. “Minister Hezekiah Thomas” is embellished in gold on an oversized dark cherry chair. It stands tall like a throne directly in the middle of the pulpit.

A foggy memory clouds my mind.   

                                                      

Evil…

Minister Thomas’s boisterous sermon lingers in my head.

“Demons often disguise themselves as human and come to earth to harm us good Christian folk.”, so he says.

But why didn’t that woman hurt me?

Could she be something else?

Gravity rushes past me, I'm suddenly falling. Bracing my hands, I strike the hard floor, wincing in pain. I had just fallen on the edge of a staircase. The red carpet is beaten and worn. Flustering, I push myself up. There's a shrill, almost childlike cry from above, then I see her…

Her eyes glowing…

                   Her face was veiled in black.

                                 She stands still…

                                                 Watching me…                                          

“Who are you?”

Before I could utter the last syllables, she vanished. Footsteps run above me. I dash past the staircase, loudly creaking as I stomp my way up.

At the top, there’s a small corridor. A small bulb dimly lights the hallway. To the right, a door is wide open. Hanging from it is a sign that reads “Minister’s Office.” I catch my breath. A cold breeze brushes past my body. Trembling, I tread inside.

The smell of mothballs burns into my nostrils. Minister Thomas’s office is quaint but heavily decorated. White curtains cover a large window that overlooks the church’s parking. A worn bible is on his desk, and a family portrait is next to it.

I pick it up; it's Minister Thomas; he wears large silver-wired glasses that match his salt and paper hair. Next to him is First Lady Thomas and his four teenage sons; they all smile except for her. I place the framed picture down and notice an open drawer below.

I persist through piles of paperwork until I notice the back of a photo. I turn it around and see a couple, but I could hardly make out their faces.

Quickly, I pull the curtains back and re-examine the photo.

The woman’s smile is bright, her coily hair is pulled tightly into a French roll, and her eyes shimmer with colorful eye shadow. Next to her is a visibly younger Minister Thomas.

                    “Could this be her?”

I look out the window; Mother and Sister Inez are gone. The office doors slam behind me! A familiar chill touches my skin; a strong force holds me still. I look down and see no arms. My heart palpates. Slowly, I turn my head, quivering in fear.

Large, black, and socketless eyes stare back; a decaying black veil covers her face. What should be her mouth widens, and an ear-splitting cry erupts.

The scream wrestling within me explodes. There's a loud banging on the door. I shut my eyes.

                          “Ophelia!”

I cry out in terror, stricken with fright.

                             

  “Please don't hurt me, demon!”

I am held tighter.                   

                   

            “Ophelia, open your eyes, baby!”

It’s my mother's voice. I open my eyes to see her warm almond ones staring back. Relief washes over me, and I collapse into her arms.

“This girl has no business being in

Minister Emmanuel's office. It is

strictly off-limits!”

My mother's soft, plush skin calms me.

—————————————————————

           “What scared you back there,

honey?”

I squeeze Mr. Charlie, my stuffed bear. The old Honda Civic bumps over the dirt road leading away from the church.

“Was Minister Thomas married to

another woman?”

My mother has a stunned look on her face.

          “Why do you ask that, baby?”

I shrug my shoulders.

                      “Just curious.”

She sighs.

     “He was a long time ago, according to

Sister Inez. Her name was Violet. She

was quiet, kind of like you.”

       “Do you know what happened to

her?”

My mother stares at me through the rear-view window; she grips the steering wheel harder.

“Well, Sister Inez says Minister Thomas always seemed angry at her. Said she couldn't bear any children for him. After a while, she stopped showing up at church. Then, one day, Minister Thomas announced to the congregation that the poor girl cracked her skull on a gardening hoe and died. There was no funeral; she just disappeared, everyone moved on, and he got a new, pretty wife, First Lady Thomas.”

I look down at the photo studying Violet’s face.

           “What you got in your hand,

baby?”

I stuff the photo into the pocket of my velvet dress and lean back into my seat. I watch the maze of trees pass us by.

      “You saw her poor ghost, too,

didn't you?”

I stare at my mother through her rear-view mirror; slowly, I nod my head.

   "I don't believe a garden hoe killed her,

Mama."

My mother rolls down the window and lights a cigarette.

                   "Me neither, baby."

I sink back into my seat and close my eyes, waiting for a pool of darkness to embrace me and retreating into nothingness. Instead, a pair of large socket-less eyes gaze back at me.

Demons ain’t the only ones harming us.

                                                                                                                                                            THE END.

[kennysboxergf]

niko x reader with a stutter?

Lemonade? ~ Niko Omilana

You had always been quiet. In primary school you had noticed the kids around you talking with each other and playing, sometimes you wanted to join in but there were many times you found the sound annoying.

As you grew up, the loneliness overtook the need to be alone and you started trying to talk to people. It was always difficult for you, you were different, sometimes your tongue just got stuck on a sound. You had tried to stretch the sound out so your wouldn’t repeat it and that seemed to work but sometimes people would be annoyed of that too, they said it was too slow.

You had no explanation for it, neither did your parents and the doctors always repeated the same things, “it’s a stutter”, “it’s untreatable”, “maybe try speech therapy?”

You had gone to the speech therapist, she was kind and always treated you with respect. But she couldn’t help you either.

You entered high school knowing you were different from the other kids. That you couldn’t speak as fast, that you wouldn’t ever be able to match the speed at which they spouted insults at you. You retreated into yourself, to avoid speaking.

There was only ever one person that never made you feel like you couldn’t speak. Niko. You had met him through Sharky, your TikTok friend. The first time you had met him you had kept your head down and barely spoken to him, thankful for all the other men in the room to keep everyone’s attention away from you.

You had gotten used to interacting with Sharky, well basically everyone, online, that was a place you could type as fast as you wanted without having to slow down and work over the sound or repeat it over and over before moving on to the next syllable. You were nervous to meet his friends, if they were anything like they were on camera you knew that a joke could be made and gone in a flash and you couldn’t even reply.

That’s why you sat a little ways away from them. They ate and joked, you followed along, laughing at the right moments. You saw Sharky give you a few looks as you refused to speak but brushed them off.

You had left that meet up early to go home. 

The second time you had met Niko things changed. It was another day when they were all there, talking. They had started planning ideas for a new video and you were thankful for the topic as you didn’t have to contribute much.

You saw Niko spare you a glance or two as they talked around the table and thought nothing of it. Having excused yourself away from the group you sat on the couch, scrolling through your phone, reading old messages wondering why you had come here in the first place.

You saw a message from Sharky pop up, a simple, ‘r u ok?’ from 12 minutes ago. You replied with a ‘👍’ before turning your phone off and putting it aside. That’s when you saw him. 

He had approached you and between your thoughts and the messages on your phone you hadn’t even noticed. 

“Hey. Can I sit down?” He asked simply, you fought to keep the confusion off your face as you nodded in answer.

“Sharky didn’t even tell us your name.” He said turning his head to face you. 

“Y/n” you said, thanking the gods of stuttering that you hadn’t stumbled over that.

“That’s beautiful,” he smiled, a smile that took your breath away, just what you needed when you were already trying not to stutter. “I’m Niko.” He extended a hand.

You shook his hand and nodded back, trying to keep you answers to a minimum. 

“So, what would be your ideal date?” He asked, suddenly turning his entire body to face you. 

You were surprised at his question, but kind of charmed. It wasn’t a question you were asked very often so you took your time answering it. He didn’t seem to mind, watching your face with the same attention through the time you took to think.

“Pic… nics” you stretched out the c in your word to avoid repeating it, finding that people responded better to that, “in the park” you finished, hoping and praying he didn’t mention the elongated consonant as you flashed him your best smile.

He smiled again and nodded along, “what would you eat at a picnic?” He asked again, the look on his face was simple and innocent otherwise you might have thought he was doing this to show your stutter to the other boys.

“Cake? And maybe s-s-some” your voice trailed off after the stuttering and you dropped your head. Fuck everything, the man sitting in front of you was already making you nervous so it was bound to happen eventually but fuck it all. Why’d this always happen to you?

His smile didn’t even falter, “some what?” He asked. 

You head snapped up. This was the first person other than you family that was barely fazed by your stutter. 

“Lemonade?” You asked in an unintentional question.

“That’s sounds great. How about I take you out to a picnic with cake and lemonade? Would you say yes?” He answered with ease. His voice was gentle, like he didn’t want the other boys to hear him but you saw a certain nervousness on his stance, his hands were fumbling with each other and his eyebrows were turned up in question.

You nodded back at him with enthusiasm. Relief flooded his body, he relaxed his stance and his face fell into a natural smile.

“I talk a lot tho, hope that’s alright with you?” He asked in a genuine question. You almost laughed at him, like he didn’t know that was absolutely perfect.

“I don’t talk mu…ch, so it’s cool” you answer, for some reason this man brought you comfort. You stretched out a sound and didn’t feel like you had to watch his face to see his reaction, you somehow knew he would be ok with it.

—

GIRL IM SORRY ABOUT HOW LONG THIS TOOK 😭 also my apologies to anyone with a stutter if this ain’t entirely accurate, I would love feedback on how to make this more accurate, I don’t have a stutter myself but I did go to a speech therapist 🫶🫶

as always requests are open and please come by and say hi <3

[pikapeppa]

15 questions for 15 friends

Tagged by @elveny and @johaerys-writes -- thank you, my loves!

ARE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My mom. Apparently my dad really wanted to name me after my mom and she was like "ugh really fine" LOL. My dad is also named after his dad, who was named after his dad... REAL ORIGINAL. This is going to sound like a total humblebrag, but my mom and I are both published academic authors, so we have to use our middle initials to distinguish who published what 🙃

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Probably in therapy last Thursday LOL. Though I got a little prickly-eyed earlier this week watching the episode of ATLA where Zuko and Aang go on their lifechanging field trip to the Sun Warriors' secret village 😂❤

DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Nope! Childless by choice.

WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY/HAVE YOU PLAYED? I played T-ball when I was 5 or 6 (hated it, cried so much that my parents pulled me out LMAO) and I was on the volleyball team in Grade 6. I'm left-handed and I had a habit of serving into the wall, unfortunately, and the habit got worse when I was nervous. During one game, they took pity on me so much that they paused the game until I got the ball over the net. I was fucking humiliated and have never played a team sport since then. 🤣💀 Re: other physical activities, I like dancing! I've taken a ton of different kinds of dance classes including swing, salsa, bellydancing, and Bollywood dancing, and loved all of them!

DO YOU USE SARCASM? No. Me? Never. 🙃🤣 Forreal though yes. All the time.

WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Uh...! I don't know if there's any one specific thing? I usually take in an "overall impression" of appearance. Vague, but that's all I've got. If the question was "what's the first thing you notice in people you're attracted to", that might be a different story 🤣

WHAT'S YOUR EYE COLOUR? Brown.

SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? I am going to copy Johaerys's answer and say it doesn't matter to me, as long as the story was good. But also, who says scary movies/horror media can't have happy endings?? 🤣Haunting of Hill House, anyone? (Bittersweet, maybe, but it counts as happy to me!)

ANY TALENTS? Would it be wretched if I said I feel like writing might be a talent? Whatever, I'm saying it. 🤣😅

WHERE WERE YOU BORN? In a hospital in the same city where I currently live! Which I will chose not to reveal openly! 🤣

WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES? Writing! It takes up a solid 75-90% of my free time. Also gaming (which I might count into the writing time since it often becomes Research™ for the writing 🤣). I also enjoy baking and cooking, though I don't know that I'd count those as hobbies since they're necessary ADLs?

DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS? A cat named Meeko. She is my daemon. We can never be apart when I am home. Case in point, a photo taken in real-time while completing this quiz:

HOW TALL ARE YOU? 5'3".

FAVOURITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL? Uhhh... what level of school are we talking here? In undergrad, I took an incredible linguistics/history course about writing systems, and that was probably my favourite class ever. I took a course during undergrad about different schools of psychotherapy that was pretty damned influential too.

DREAM JOB? I also loved Johaerys's answer here: "I don't think there's any sort of job anyone could do in this capitalist hellscape we're all currently living in that would be enjoyable enough to make up for, well... living in a capitalist hellscape." I'm lucky enough to work in the public healthcare system so I'm pretty safe from the worst of capitalism, I guess, though my job (speech-language pathologist) is one I chose more for practicality (certainty of employment) than because I was really passionate about it. If I could do something else and not have to worry about money, I would either want to be a fiction editor, or a sex therapist.

Tagging forward to @ranaspkillnarieth @iamcayc @heroofshield @fantasy-girl974 @hellas-himself @midnightacrobat @alyssalenko @vorchagirl @elinorbard @stuffforthestash @mwasaw @lordofthenerds97 @y0ureviltwin @ladyofthelake91 @perhapsrampancy @cha-mij and genuinely, anyone else who wants to share!!! Tag me so I can spy on your life! 🤣❤

[chrisevansonly]

Arlie Goes To The Paediatrician (Little Duck Au🐥💛)

Pairing: Momma Evans (Female Reader) x Arlie Mae Evans

Summary: It’s Arlie’s annual checkup with her lovely paediatrician, this time Momma’s got some questions about her speech, and Arlie’s got lots of hope she’ll get one of those rainbow-coloured lolly pops!

Warnings: no warnings, doctor talk, some medical stuff, just very precious Arlie and her caring Momma<3

A/N: I postponed this for a little while because I just didn’t feel like writing anything, but I finally had the time to sit down and get some work done so here we are!

Word Count: 831

The doctor’s office was the one place in the world a kid would normally hate, the slight smell of hand sanitizer, the noises, other children crying or throwing tantrums, well every kid but Arlie. You don’t know when it started, and you had a pretty good feeling it had to do with Dr. Charlie, who was one of the best paediatricians you and Chris had ever met, but Arlie loved coming to the doctor. She sat quietly beside you, playing a game on her iPad, which was only ever used in situations where you would be waiting around for a while, you sifted through some quick emails, and made sure to keep Chris updated on what was going on throughout the morning

“Arlie Evans?”

You looked up and smiled at Dr. Charlie, before leaning over to Arlie 

“Okay baby, let’s go see the doctor!”

“Okay momma”

Arlie handed you her tablet and you slipped it into your purse before taking her hand and going towards the exam room, Arlie of course took her usual spot up on the big purple exam table, kicking her legs gently 

“Alright, how are you today miss Arlie?”

“I’m good, can I have ‘wainbow lollipop?”

Dr. Charlie laughed as she sat down on her rolling chair with her clipboard 

“As soon as we’re done, you can pick any one you’d like, okay?”

She nodded and then the doctor turned to face you, getting her pen and clip board ready 

“So how is everything going at home Y/N?”

You crossed one leg over the other smiling in Arlie’s direction while she played with some of the fidgets that Dr. Charlie had given her 

“Everything’s been good, a little hectic with the new baby on the way, but she’s been eating well, getting lots of sleep, I guess our only concern is just her speech right now? She seems to be having a difficult time with pronouncing her R’s and certain syllables”

The doctor nodded making some notes 

“Yes, that’s right, congratulations to you and your husband of course that’s very exciting!”

“Thank you, yeah we are very thrilled”

You watched her make a few notes before she paused to look at you 

“As far as speech goes, it is normal for kids to sometimes have a harder time pronouncing letters or certain sounds, but seeing as she is turning 4 in April, there are a few questions I do have, it could just be that she is developing slower, she may have a slight speech impediment, but the one thing I will rule out now is the chance of her being tongue tied. We’ve had this discussion before, so that isn’t a factor in it”

You nodded feeling a bit relived it wasn’t anything that would require the potential for a surgery or procedure of any capacity

“Well, that’s certainly good to hear, is there anything we can do to kind of help her with those words or sounds?”

Dr. Charlie nodded again 

“Yes, so you can just keep working with her on words she has trouble with or sounds, really take your time and help her hear how the word sounds and then get her to repeat it back! If there is ever a continued issue where it becomes more prevalent when she’s older you can look into a speech therapist, but I highly doubt she will need one!”

“Okay, that’s perfect we can definitely do that!”

Dr. Charlie then moved on to finish Arlie’s exam, checking her height, weight, listening to her heart and lungs, checking her ears and her eyes, all while she asked questions about the tools being used, she’d always been such a curious girl and you knew she definitely got that from Chris. Once everything was done, Dr. Charlie gave you a few handouts and tips for working on Arlie’s speech, as well as some baby materials for baby boy, Arlie waiting patiently to get her lollipop

“Momma I pick lollipop now pwease?”

You chuckled moving some hair out of her eyes before nodding 

“Yeah baby, go pick one out”

She clapped her hands excitedly, getting down from the table and going over to pick one of the sweets from the jar, showing you proudly when she’d chosen one 

“That looks perfect my love, ready to go?”

“Let’s go Momma, thank you doctor chawlie!”

Dr. Charlie smiled giving Arlie a high five before holding the door open for the two of you

“You are very welcome miss Arlie, we’ll see you guys in a few months!”

You said your goodbyes and made sure to book another appointment up at the front this time for baby number 2, you’d come in before he was born to start a file and get any notes from the paediatrician that you’d need when he arrived. Arlie was more than happy with her rainbow lollipop and couldn’t wait to show daddy all of the colours, that is if she didn’t finish it on the drive home. 

[justagalwhowrites]

Get To Know Me pt 1

Thank you for the tag, @sheepdogchick3 !

1. Were you named after anyone? My middle name is my paternal grandmother's name.

2. When was the last time you cried? I teared up a bit Tuesday night but fully sobbed was probably last Friday.

3. Do you have kids? No BUT I have a bonus kiddo in the form of my foreign exchange student!

4. What sports do you/have you played? Softball and figure skating when I was in school.

5. Do you use sarcasm? My therapist once said "I can't picture you being anything but witty and bitingly sarcastic at the slightest provocation" so take that for what you will.

6. First thing you notice about people? Generally their demeanor, I will tiptoe around people who seem mad and like they might direct that anger at me. Second, probably height lol

7. What's your eye color? Hazel

8. Scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings, I am NOT a scary movie person! I just don't like being scared like that. I love roller coasters, I love suspense but I'm not big on horror.

9. Any talents? The closest thing I have to a talent is probably writing. I'm also a pretty decent cook and baker. I was a decent actor and director back in the day but now I mostly just use those skills to be a decent public speaker. I also did speech and debate all through high school and college (so if you were on the college forensics circuit in 2008-2011 we probably bumped into each other at least once.) That's about it, I don't have much going for me lol

10. Where were you born? Texas but I don't live there anymore! I love leaning on my Texas history when writing pre-or-no-outbreak TLOU fics though lol like hell yeah I'm going to include little Texas things in there like HEB and Shiner Bock and kolache and Dublin Dr. Pepper FIGHT ME (please don't I will lose)

11. What are your hobbies? This lol But I read a lot, play a lot of board games and D&D (if you want to geek out about these things please DM me I'm so serious), we go hiking and camping a fair bit. I also love film and am going to be starting my big Oscar movie binge probably this weekend.

12. Do you have any pets? One dog named Yondu! He's a lab/pit mix and he's my baby boy, I birthed him myself. He's also incredibly stupid but he's just the sweetest dog you will ever meet, I love him. He's currently wearing a sweater because he loves being warm and he's a snuggly thing.

13. How tall are you? 5'10" (I know, I'm a giant)

14. Favorite subject in high school? English, psychology, theater, journalism.

15. Dream job? Novelist and columnist who is sometimes a talking head so I can get paid to rant about my political opinions. I was a columnist for a few years in there with some syndication when I got picked up by wire services but that's the closest I've come!

NPT: @tightjeansjavi @diversemediums and anyone else who wants to do this! My brain is oddly fried atm and coming up with tags is overly difficult lol

[nerdasaurus1200]

I saw Dragon Prince season 4 and hoo boy do I have thoughts (in no particular order)

First off, it's adorable how much of a magic nerd Callum is. He's grown so much and become so much stronger in two years

Stella is baby. She's living her best life with her cuddlemama and future cuddle papa. Speaking of, let Callum becalled a cuddlepapa by himself or Rayla next season

Zym and Ezran have grown up so much and it both breaks and warms my heart

Okay, so Rayla is a Dragonguard. Good to know.

Terry is my son now. I adopted him, he's mine.

I feel like Callum is just a little bit jealous of Stella getting love from Rayla

“The other elves saw me as a doe, but I knew. I always knew that I was a buck. I..chose the name Terrestrius.”....This line here. This line is gonna stick with me forever. I honestly didn't expect them to outright tell or show us Terry is trans but I'm so glad. That's gonna mean so much to trans kids watching this show. And the fact that Viren has no problems with it at all makes it even more special. Although Terry's wording makes me wonder if someone in his family didn't accept him.

Oh man I just read his wiki page and apparently Terry is still mid transition

I'm calling it now, that girl that figured out Araavos is Harrow and Ezran's descendant

Well, at least we know how loyal Terry is to Claudia.....someone get this poor boy a mug of hot cocoa, a blanket, a hug, and a therapist; he's earned it. He was 100% having a panic attack

"I'm gonna feel all the feelings!" THAT'S RIGHT YOU GO MY FUNKY BOY

I KNEW IT! I KNEW RAYLA'S PARENTS WERE IN THE COINS!GOD POOR RAYLA! ETHARI AND CALLUM ARE GONNA LOSE THEIR SHIT!

Hot damn, Ezran's speech combined with Ibis and Claudia fighting was powerful...that whole scene really encapsulates what the entire show is about, I think

Zubeia gets more and more badass with every episode

I wasn't expecting the chocolate tart to be brought back but it's nice that Rex Igneous liked it. Although how could he taste so much of such a little thing?

Ohhhhh wait, I just got that! Rex means king, he's KING Igneous!

Oh man I had no idea Ezran's crown is made from Harrow's sword

That possesion scene was straight up creepy, I honestly thought Callum died for a second

Speaking of creepy, I never wanna see snake Claudia again, please and thank you

I know Callum is angry at Rayla but he needs to talk to her, really. I feel like he's using the possession thing as an excuse to not talk about their relationship. Like, I do think he's genuinely shaken up by it but he's choosing to focus on that because it's easier

Soren...god, Soren has changed so much. In just 3 years, this boy has gone from picking fights with dragons and being eager to kill them to not being able to turn away from a dragon in need. He even shed his armor for her. Season 1 Soren would NEVER have done that in a million years

Another thing S1 Soren would never do is that talk with Claudia. Man, that was deep.

Also I love Soren's new look, I feel like it suits him way better than his knight armor

I dunno why I expected an out of the gate dramatic conversation when Soren found Claudia. Although I am glad we still got them having that conversation

I will say though, I do wish we got more of a reaction to Terry from Soren

Can Squeaky return next season as Soren's dragon pal? Please? he's the only one that doesn't have an animal companion

"I wanna spend the last month traveling with my daughter, the most important person in the world to me" I....it's nice that you're finally learning to not be a jackass Viren, but did you forget that you have a son??? Is Soren just chopped liver to you?

That said, I do appreciate that Viren has changed. I feel like he's definitely not gonna become immortal.

Regarding Claudia's speech about human suffering....either she's been fed TONS of propaganda by Araavos or she's taking it way too personally after all this time. Like, girl, you have an elf boyfriend, calm down

Awww the return of big feelings time!

[ashleywool]

HTDIO x H*R quotes, part 3

[Context for newbies: How to Dance in Ohio. Homestar Runner. Author is an autistic elder millennial who was in the original Broadway cast of the former, and is a regular degular superfan of the latter. Tumblr is for niche content.]

Jessica: Isn’t that like going to the prom with your dad? Marideth: And we’ve all been there, right gals?

Drew: Drew, did you make the best omelet ever during the commercial break? I sure did.

[answering the phone at Paws & Claws, too nervous to comprehend they’re using the wrong social script] Mel: Ma’am. Please calm down. Your CD tray is not a cupholder. I cannot help you clear your browser cache. No, I’m not in India.

[trying to find new places he might like to eat in Michigan] Drew: Pizza belongs in a triangle.

[after being grounded for crashing his brother’s truck] Tommy: Sitting on the couch is zero amounts of fun when there’s not a TV or hang-glider in front of it.

[asking Reddit for tech advice after content mysteriously disappeared from their phone] Remy: Back up my files? Are you kidding? Is that…a real thing that you have to do? I always thought that was like, y’know, a figure of speech.

[after the interview, re: Rick Jenkins] Ashley: Ugh, I feel like I need a chemical shower after talking to that guy. Do we have an emergency eyewash station?

[coaching Jessica on asking Tommy out] Caroline: We’re on a collision course with sultriness.

Marideth: [vocal stimming] TER-ti-A-ry.

Amy: Mommy’s got a grown-up headache, Drewby. Why don’t you take the boat out for a while?

Jessica: Ooh, my husky head commands a pretty penny. This’ll bring home a few months’ worth of bacon.

Tommy: Now, it is my intention to sit down and play video games for several hours.

[“Reincarnation,” but Mel is high] Ashley: No job, no apartment, no college degree—please God, in my next life, can I be someone other than me? Mel: You gots to look inside yourself. Positate the negative. When life throws pies at you, you make yourself a tall, cool glass of piemonade.

[having an anxiety attack while unable to get in touch with Jessica] Caroline: You can’t be dead! You’re my best friend and concubine! Oh, I should really look up what that word meeeeeans!

[trying to explain his midlife crisis logic to his own therapist] Dr. Amigo: No, no, no, no, no, no. No, no, no, no, no. It’s like this: The ransom money becomes the new retirement money. And the retirement money becomes the new college fund. And the college fund…eh, we blow on a really tricked-out van.

[mintycurry]

Simon & Parentification

Credit to @raincitygirl76 and @darktwistedgenderplural on their conversation here for inspiring me to also say my two cents about this. This is way longer than I expected, so apologies in advance.

In short, the talk was basically about Simon being a parentified child (and parentification is rooted in a lack of healthy boundaries) but he can set boundaries with Wille, while at the same time, still protecting his mother's feelings. Oh, and that he would benefit from therapy.

I agree with all of it, but I want to expand more on the why and how.

Speaking of Wilhelm, Simon being able to set boundaries is due to him subconsciously viewing Wille as someone he cares about, but not someone who needs his protection specifically. In his eyes, Wille is strong and capable, or at least has other people (more capable than Simon) protecting him / has his best interest in mind. Simon doesn't feel responsible for him. He is there when Wille needs him simply because he wants to be there for him (football field scene, anyone?). So, when things went south, he can easily redefine his relationship with Wille or lack thereof because he has set his boundaries to begin with and has continued to maintain it.

Maybe that's what drew him back to Wille in the end. That, at one point, he was "with" Marcus, and he was a guy who is also "strong and capable". He is older, he drives, he lives on his own (?), and he "works" at the shooting range that his parents own. But, he doesn't respect Simon's boundaries at all, while Wille (eventually) keeps demonstrating that he does.

Marcus wouldn't even let them "break up" and chose to persuade him to stay together, but Wille was different. From him "letting him go" at the ball, to respecting Simon's decision to go to the police even to the detriment of Wille's own plans for the future, Wille lets him make the decisions. He lets Simon have control and, essentially, power over the situation, both of which are something neither of them have when the video was leaked.

With Simon being used to "taking over others burden", having control (over his own life, at the very least) is what he is comfortable with, and Wille can give him that now. Which is why I initially thought that Simon would feel miffed that Wille just went ahead and said "it was them" in that speech without warning him, but given that he had wanted him to do it from the start, Simon wouldn't actually mind.

Additionally, while I do agree that he would benefit from therapy, I don't think he is already at the state to open up properly to a therapist, because he is not used to opening up about anything. He opens up to his friends, and I'm sure they know the most about everything that went down, but they're his peers, not someone with any authority. He would have opened up to Sara in the gap between S1-S2, but not afterwards. He wouldn't so easily open up to an actual adult like a therapist (but maybe a therapist on the younger side would help?). He doesn't even open up to his own mother, someone he clearly loves and trusts, because he still doesn't see any of his own "issues" as wrong. Sara had even called him out on it at the end of S1 (very poorly, I may add) that he "constantly lets people piss on him", but he still continues to protect his mother, and even Sara as well, from the full extent of what went down.

So, yes, therapy would benefit Simon a lot, but he still needs to get to that point where he already lets his guard down enough with the therapist before any progress can be made, which can take a very long time. He's a stubborn kid after all

[spooksforsammy]

Even though grew up undiagnosed (and still not but another story another time) learn how self advocate. Which don’t think many who grew up in similar way as self know how do. But thing is. Only. Way get through was learn speak up self

Even though no autism diagnosis as child grew up aware was special needs and needed extra help accommodation etc etc. in elementary and especially middle school only way able be heard and get things needed was to speak up say something. And think going school where kids rude teachers don’t care everyone think only self right (aka underfunded “horrible” school) changed how self avodate for self help learn how not care what others think.

Because middle school especially 7th grade really needed those accommodations. Fidget toys break ear defenders. Only way allowed have was if placed in iep, but family didn’t want fully believe needed those thing.

Middle school experience most definitely taught how say what need without care if rude or if they disagree. Because agree or not know self best and know those things help.

This year in class teacher asked say something important know. And told her would use my accommodations placed in iep even if she didn’t like it (because many teachers in middle n high want go against what put in place. Because “gifted student, don’t need”). Told her would switch out what fidgets used if absolutely necessary (because knew teacher from elementary school. She knew my needs and I liked her. And she also disabled didn’t want cause her problems) but wouldn’t just not use.

She congratulated me because not many students able or willing do that. She told me and sister and speech therapist that was proud and had good self adovcate skills. Which is true but only way able make it though is be able stand up talk for self say what need.

And that’s why many teachers student etc think self rude. Because stand up for self and “talk back” about what need. But if speak for self is “talk back, rude” then ok. They definition wrong but won’t bother try change 

Like with another teacher this year. Didn’t like that used fidget toy (and was first time used) and she told put away. Told her no and had permission on account [iep] and that if had problem with what used is welcome buy another because was only one had was trying get more but just couldn’t at that moment. She and classmates found that rude). But she aware speech language disorder so say things wrongly and that wrong can come off as rude. She aware of problems with tone. She aware have iep and iep allowed use fidget. Yet the problem was told her no wouldn’t put away for her comfort.

Eventually just stop care if seen as rude or not. Because when try be “nice” they needs come before self and then they upset shut/meltdown. In the end they upset. So they can be upset and will just let them be upset while self have what need.

[magnetocerebro]

There was a conference in my hometown for local early intervention programs, and it’s so, so obvious that the people who put it on actually know what they’re doing.

There was a sensory room where the kids could go where the music wasn’t playing and the lights were dim.

The food offered was common ARFID-friendly stuff, to the point that even the Mac n cheese was separated so you could get plain noodles if you preferred. None of the food was touching.

There was an actually decent ball pit, and I loved watching the small toddlers immerse, giggling, into it.

The princess and superhero cosplayers obviously understood what they were there to do. They always stood at a distance first, talked to parents first if the kids were shy to show they weren’t scary, and got down to the kids level only if the kids were comfortable. Agent Carter complimented my girl’s curly hair and said they matched, but when she only got a muted smile in response, she never pushed for more. 5. a few state-sponsored people were there and they were great and had fidget toys and were never loud or oushy

I definitely helped the lady who was putting the whole thing on and sent a few testimonials about how awesome our local speech therapist was that she can use to continue to beg for funding for more things like this. I wish this kid-led, compassionate help had been available when I was a kid, and I’m gonna do what I can to advocate for this, not ABA, to be funded.