#bit of a vent incoming so be wary

[melit0n]

"On sunny days I go out walking, I end up on a tree-lined street, I look up at the gaps of sunlight; I miss you more than anything."

[ntamain]

Is my (24F) neighbour (27F) into me or is she just being friendly? How do I know if she's gay?

another gay gem from the r/relationship reddit

Update:

Image ID under the cut, please let me know if I did it wrong!

[Image ID: four screenshots of a post from the relationship subreddit by tumblr user nta-main. The title reads “Is my (24F) neighbour (27F) into me or is she just being friendly? How do I know if she’s gay?”

The text reads “Update post is now locked, I cant believe so many people were interested in us!! Thank you again for your support, comments and messages.

Hi all, I can't believe I'm asking for advice from a bunch of strangers on the internet but I don't really have anyone I can talk to about this. Sorry for the incoming essay but I guess I need to give history. I bought my first house in September last year, It was an odd time but everything just fell into place. It's quite a small village and everyone is really friendly so I got to know my neighbours soon after moving in - yes, socially distanced. Then I met my over-the-road neighbour, let's call her Elle. I can't describe it but it's the first time I've ever met someone and been lost for words and my heart was racing and just thought "omg", y'know?? So after I blushed my way through a welcome to the village type convo we only saw each other for a wave and hello for a few days.

To help kinda settle in I had my dog (Bea) with me for the first few weeks. During this time there was a massive increase in dog thefts in a nearby town, not just from gardens but literally wrestled away from people. If I'd have been working (furloughed off and on since March) then I would've taken Bea back to mum's but since I was home with her all day she stayed. So the local police advised to not walk dogs alone but we go out twice a day, a 10k run in the morning and a few miles walk in the evening. So obvs this scares me, but at the same time she is honestly a pain in the arse and gets upset if she doesn't go for a run and needs to be tired out so I'm kind of stuck at this point. Then along comes Elle. She knocked on the door and offered to come with us as she'd seen Bea and me in the evenings and everything kind of spiralled from there. I told her about my morning runs but she didn't really bite so I thought nothing of it. Then a few days later I bumped into her on a run, so she started joining us on those too.

A few months later and we are spending more and more time together everyday. It has now progressed to a run early morning, afternoon coffee, dinner most evenings and then the evening walk. It just seemed to happen without me really noticing. I didn't read into things that much as I don't want to get my hopes up and ruin anything until another neighbour commented about how much time we spend together and how "it's nice to see you young gals getting on" and winked. She actually winked at me. I asked her what she meant but she just laughed and said "you know what I mean". So now I'm looking back on things and wondering if she could like me too?

Here's some reasons why she might like me:

I went running along the same route at the same time for nearly 2 weeks before I happened to run into her a few days after I told her this?

I make her a coffee every afternoon (Elle is WFH) and take it over in her fave mug. She says I make good coffee but I'm pretty sure I saw a fancy coffee machine the first time I went round (it's not there now?).

Elle carried on running and walking with me even after Bea went home. I told her she was going back to mum's and she said well "I'll have to make another excuse to join you" and then we just carried on everyday.

She has tried really hard to bond with Bea. Bea is a very anxious dog and is scared of everyone except me and mum. Elle bought special treats to give her everyday and has been so amazing with her and never tried to force anything. When I asked her she said "it's important to me that she likes me and is comfortable". Bea actually fell asleep between us on the sofa yesterday and It just makes my heart skip a beat guys.

She invited me to the zoom quiz she does with her friends every fortnight or so and they were all like "oh so this is who we've heard so much about "

We realised we had become each other's support bubble. Elle asked if I was meeting anyone else and I said no, she said she was glad she had me all to herself (!!)

We gave each other quite personal xmas presents. Like, it actually made me tear up it meant so much to me. And she bought stuff for Bea!!

Reasons why she might not like me:

All the reasons above, but that she's just doing them because she's a fucking great person and we're friends?

It might sound dumb but idk I need your help guys. She is the just the most incredible person I have ever met and I really really like her but if she isn't gay or doesn't feel the same I don't want to lose her friendship as she has become such a huge part of my life. I genuinely have no experience with these kind of things as I went to quite a strict all girls school, so it's not as if there were any relationships around me as a teen and then I went to a very small uni (8 of us on my course). I guess another reason is that I've struggled with anxiety and depression for the past 10 years, as well as my weight and working on my self confidence, but I can say that right now I am the happiest and healthiest (both mentally and physically) I have ever been. I've only just really become comfortable with the fact that I'm gay and I have never really told anyone in real life, but I don't think people would be too surprised lol. I don't have any close friends as no one stuck around when I was really struggling with my MH a few years ago so I can't discuss this with anyone irl.

So I need your advice : how do I find out if she is gay? And no, I don't have the confidence to just ask!! What if she says no and I ruin everything? She has never mentioned anything about past relationships and I'm pretty tactless so not sure how I could naturally slip it into the convo. Like, "hey tell me have you ever had a girlfriend? Do you want one now?" Lol. And how can I make a move without really making a move so I don't ruin things??

tl;dr : Don't know whether my neighbour is gay and into me or is just really friendly. How can I make a move without ruining our friendship?

Edit: Ok guys, thank you so so much for all your support and encouragement. You've all given me a lot to think about. I think I'm going to casually slip some gay stuff into conversation and see how she reacts. Then bring up the neighbours comment like some of you suggested, seeing as tho the neighbour was heavily implying that we're gay. I'll do it tonight otherwise I'll talk myself out of it again. I will post an update to let you know what happens (eek). If you never hear from me again assume it went badly and I am consoling myself with cake and watching brokeback mountain in floods of tears.

Hi reddit, yes it's me the useless lesbian. First off I want to thank you all for your support, encouragement and advice - and the undeserved awards! I never expected this many of you to take the time to comment and that so many of you were rooting for us.

So I had the plan to drop these gay hints into convo like you guys suggested but honestly it all went out the window. Elle was kinda stressed friday after a shitty work zoom and just needed to vent so it wasnt the right time to start anything. Though I guess I must have been a bit off thanks to spending all day overthinking things on here, as Elle turned up Saturday morning rambling about stressing me out and apologised (!!) for ruining dinner. Obvs I said "what are you talking about you can talk to me about anything", and she said "anything?" and I said "anything" back. And guys the tension was unreal, staring at each other and hoping our lesbian mind reading powers would kick in.

Then there was some loud noise like a car backfiring or something and the moment went. So I went to make coffee and then Elle asked me why I was a bit quiet the night before and I said something about overthinking stuff and she said "what stuff" and idk you guys I wasnt prepared to be put on the spot my casual gay pop culture references were useless in this moment. My mind just went completely blank and I forgot every single thing you guys suggested and my heart was pounding and I just blurted out you know I like you, right?.

...And then she kissed me. Kissed me. We straight up just snogged in the kitchen and it was fucking great. So...you were right. You were all fucking right. She's gay, she likes me and has been trying to drop hints for nearly 5 months. sigh

We were both just too scared to make a move or ruin anything. Turns out she's been burned by straight girls in the past, so she's pretty wary and was hoping I'd straight up say I'm a lesbian so she'd know for sure - maybe the I'm a lesbian wall hanging would've been a good idea after all? Her friends have been helping her drop hints, she showed me the group chat and guys their suggestions ranged from flirting more to just turning up in a trenchcoat and nothing else lol. Also, the winking neighbour has been making comments to her as well, so shout out to her for trying to make this happen too.

So no cake and cry watching brokeback mountain, just 5 months of dating to catch up on. As for worrying about how our current schedule could be more date like during lockdown, you were right it's kinda irrelevant when you've essentially been dating the whole time. Though we never made it to our morning run yesterday, in fact we didn't leave the house at all, ha.

Thank you guys for giving me hope, even if all your suggestions completely disappeared in the moment. Maybe I'll show her the post later and ask if any of the suggestions would have worked.

tl;dr: she's gay, into me and I'm an idiot”

End image ID]

[marvinswriting]

Kisses

Prompt: KISSES! PLATONIC K I S S E S 5 times Janis comforted Damian in the only way she knew how, VS, the one time it worked on her TW: d slur, falling (fear of or actually falling), death (fear of or actually dying), and gay (they’re gay- this isn't a ship fic) g/t mean girls

1.

Janis felt- oddly optimistic for the first day of Sophmore year. Teachers were told that in the event Regina had a class with her, they were not allowed to sit near each other. Especially in tiny classes.

She may not have all her classes with Damian-

-in fact, they didn't have many together at all.

Ms. Sarkisian was fighting for that to be changed due to the past events of bullying. Neither of their parents were thrilled about these schedules and hey, Janis and Damian weren't either. 

The bullying was awful no matter what.

But with Damian- it was bearable.

Janis was at her locker in the tiny hallway right now. 

Taken the tiny bus typically means getting up earlier and getting to school later than most students, but, the bus arrived earlier than normal.

The giant part of the school was empty and few tiny teachers were here anyway.

The artist finished putting in her code, swinging open her comedically thin locker.

Maybe this year wouldn't be so bad.

She had what was practically an in school restraining order on Regina, and her schedule- while may not be perfect now- would probably be changed in the near feature.

Janis just needed to get through these few days first.

It shouldn't be too bad.

Janis shut her locker, her backpack was now filled with books only needed for morning classes and feeling a lot lighter.

The building slowly was filled with the familiar shouts and slamming of lockers echoing through the walls.

The giant busses have arrived.

Janis had her first class with Damian so she slipped her schedule into the front pocket of her jacket and made her way to the tiny pick up zone.

Despite her confidence in this year, she kept her head down and shoulders hunched as she walked.

She didn't need space dyke thrown at her first day of school before classes even officially begin. 

"You're here early." Damian smiled as Janis stepped onto the platform. "Thought you were gonna keep me waiting a lot longer."

Janis grinned, raising her arms as cue to be picked up. "Bus was early."

Damian brought Janis to his shoulder. "Just means we have more time before class starts."

Something was off about Damian. Janis couldn't put her finger on it.

The normally perky morning person of the duo seemed dull and distressed. It was clear his mind was elsewhere but Janis couldn't figure out what would have him so worried. Damian was the firm believer of new year new start. 

The first days of school were his thing.

"You good, dude?"

"Mhmm," Damian said as he began walking. "Don't worry about it. We've got time to kill before class. Where do you wanna go?"

Janis frowned. Mhmm wasn't a Damian answer. It was a Janis I'm-avoiding-my-emotions answer. She thought about the one place nobody would be, that way she could talk with Damian without worry.

"The art room."

"Jan, we have a bit of time. Not enough to draw."

"I know. I don't wanna draw. It's just- quieter in there."

"Alright." Damian nodded, making his way to the back area of the school where the art wing was located. 

His answers were short and lacking energy.

Janis didn't like it one bit.

She suppressed the urge to move closer to Damian's neck, not wanting to worry him by getting up while he's moving.

Instead, she concentrated on the hallway in front of them, trying to put her mind elsewhere. 

The further away from the lobby they got, the fewer students there were.

A bunch of freshmen went running by, almost barreling into Damian in an attempt to get to their class.

His hand shot up to Janis but she managed to hold onto the shirt underneath her.

"Jesus Christ," Damian mumbled, watching the kids turn down the hall. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Janis said, examining Damian's face.

He was looking forward but it wasn't hard to miss the bags on his face and the way when he smiled, it didn't quite reach his eyes. Whatever was bothering Damian affected him enough for an obvious sleepless night.

Janis' heart sunk a bit in worry for her best friend. 

She waited to speak as Damian entered the art room, shutting the door behind him and bringing Janis off his shoulder and into his hands.

She allowed herself to be lifted in front of his face, smiling sadly when the bags under his eyes were more prominent. "Hey, dude. You okay?" She asked softly.

Janis didn't really know what to say. Prying for information as Damian's thing. Her best friend never held out information. If something was bothering Damian, Janis was often the first to know. Damian loved to passionately vent, throwing hand motions and pacing around. But he wasn't now.

He was quiet for a while.

Before-

"Are you worried we don't have many classes this year?" Damian asked, shifting Janis so she was cupped into his hands.

"I mean, yeah but- it's probably gonna change. We just gotta deal for a couple of days." Janis says. "Are you worried?"

"A little." Damian admits.

A little wouldn't have him worked up like this.

"Just a little?"

"No."

Janis's heart melted for the boy holding her. "Dame- you don't gotta worry about me. Teachers know to keep Regina and I separated, Regina knows she isn't allowed near me in the halls, and this schedule thing? It won't last long. My mom just has to mention eight grade and they'll make sure we've got classes together."

"What about giant classes I don't have with you?" Damian's voice was nearly a whisper but Janis was so close that she could hear it loud and clear.

"I'll figure something out. I can sit in the front row, right by the teacher. I'll be okay. We'll be okay." She stepped forward to the edge of Damian's hand. "Okay?"

"Okay." He agrees softly. 

She placed her hand on the tip of his nose for balance, leaning on the very edge of his hand. 

"Jan." Damian's voice is wary but he doesn't dare move

Janis ignored him, pressing a kiss to his nose, giggling as her lipstick leaves behind a dark smudge. "I love you, Damian."

"Love you too." 

2.

"Janis Sarkisian I love you, I really do. But if you don't stop that I'm putting you in my jacket and zipping the pocket."

Janis grinned from where she dangled over the very edge of Damian's shoulder. "Sure."

"I'm serious," Damian continued. "You'll be imprisoned for your crimes. I'll go to study hall instead of joining you in art and I'll take you with me. No painting for you."

Janis swung her legs. "I don't believe you."

"You should." Despite the deadly serious tone in Damian's voice, he had an affectionate grin on his face.

Janis, following her better judgment (and her best friend's orders), moved in slightly as the hallways grew more crowded. 

"Thank you." Damian said genuinely.

He stuck to the side of the halls in a vain attempt to avoid crowds as they reached a typical traffic jam area of the halls. 

Janis gripped the shirt underneath her tighter as Damian made his way through one of the clumps of students.

Maybe she should have listened? She'd feel a lot safer closer to his neck, that's for sure. Janis scowled to herself because as always, Damian was right.

Janis was vaguely aware of a group of freshmen behind Damian, messing around. Damian, on the other hand, seemed hyper-aware as his shoulders stiffened.

Janis flipped her hair over her shoulder facing forward. 

They were almost at the end of the group.

Then the hallway went in two different directions and it wouldn't be so crowded.

They were almost-

One of the boys behind Damian shoved another forward, bumping- probably unintentionally- into Damian. 

Janis yelped as the shoulder beneath her jerked forward. She tried to keep her grip onto Damian's shirt but her body slipped forward faster. 

Before her brain could catch up-

-she had tumbled headfirst off Damian's shoulder.

There was nothing to grab too, nothing to stop the fall. Nothing to prevent her from crashing into the tile floor that was incoming fast and faster. 

Until it wasn't.

Janis' whole body jerked as a hand wrapped around her, halting the freefall.

She gasped, waiting for the world to stop spinning. 

The hands she was in brought her up, adjusting to hold her properly. 

Damian.

Holy shit.

Holy fucking shit.

That happened.

Janis swallowed harshly. She almost fucking died. One look up at Damian and he seemed to be having the same realization. 

He stared at her momentarily with wide eyes before pulling her in close, changing course. 

Janis didn't ask where they were going.

She didn't feel like going to class.

Even if it's art.

She watched silently as Damian entered an empty classroom. 

I almost died.

It was the only coherent thought on Janis' mind.

It wasn't the first time shes almost fallen in the hall.

But shes never actually slipped off Damian's shoulder.

Just- bumped around a bit.

Damian sunk down one of the classroom walls, drawing his knees to his chest, his hands resting onto of them.

Janis sat from this new perch with a frown.

"Woah." She said softly.

"Yeah."

They sat in relative silence for a couple of moments. 

Janis' heart was beating so loud she was pretty sure Damian could hear. She didn't ask.

"Are you-" Damian paused like he was scared to ask. "Hurt?"

Janis shook her head, not trusting her voice.

"I'm so sorry," Damian said, his head slumping down. "I didn't mean to grab you so roughly, I just- you were falling. I was so scared. What if I didn't catch you? If something happened to you, Jan- I-" His took a shaky breath, his voice trailing off.

Damian's hair had fallen in front of his eyes, but Janis knew that strained voice and shaking shoulders. 

Damian was crying.

Janis was momentarily frozen, at a loss of what to do.

She was normally the one to break down.

Damian would hold her close and tell her she's safe.

Janis can hardly hold Damian close.

She stood up, the familiar yet overwhelming feeling of uselessness washing over her.

"Damian-" She hesitated, at a total loss for what she should say.

What she could say.

What do you say after this?

'Hey don't worry I'm fucking breathing with no broken bones.'

Something told Janis that wouldn't do much to help comfort Damian.

"I'm okay. I didn't get hurt. I'm right here. You saved me."

She stepped forward as Damian looked up, teary-eyed. "But-"

"No buts. I'm alive. I'm right here."

Damian leaned forward, resting his head on his knees. Janis leaning into his cheek, holding her arms out in the best hug (?) she could give at her size. 

"Thank you for saving me." She whispered, kissing his cheek. "I'm okay. We're okay. Right?"

"Yeah."

3.

Where was Janis?

"Jan?" Damian called out, knowing that if she wasn't here, she wouldn't hear him.

He stood at the tiny pick up zone, waiting for her. But she was late.

Actually, Damian was late, but he go here ten minutes ago and Jan was still yet to arrive, so she was later.

He looked down the tiny hallway, but there was nobody visible in the dim strip in the wall.

Where was Janis?

Damian sighed, pushing down the pit of anxiety bubbling in him. He reached into his pocket to pull out his phone but- it wasn't there.

Fuck.

He might have left it at the theater.

Damian shifted his weight momentarily.

He could run and grab it quick as he waited for Janis since she insisted on running late as fuck.

Damian quickly turned on his heels, rushing down the hall to grab his phone before Janis came out.

It wasn't in the theater.

Where the fuck could his phone be?

There was a vibration from his pocket.

The fuck?

His phone, which was definitely not there before, had gotten a text message.

From Janis.

Courtyard

And what about it?

Damian huffed, making his way to the courtyard.

Why would Janis say tiny pick up zone they wait at the courtyard?

Where was the courtyard?

Damian looked around.

When did he take a wrong turn? He knew where the courtyard was- so why did he walk in the opposite direction?

Damian made his way through the school, this time concentrating on where he was going. Because apparently, he's still making freshman-level direction mistakes.  

Janis wasn't responding to his text messages asking him to clarify the 'courtyard'. 

Damian paused at the tiny pick up zone one last time. 

"Jan?"

No response.

Unsurprising.

The silence throughout the school was almost jarring. There was no hum of the vending machines as he passed. The teachers that normally stayed after were gone, their classrooms all dark and deserted.

Then Damian heard it.

Despite being nowhere near the courtyard, it rang thought the school, turning his blood ice cold.

"Leave me alone!"

Damian's heart stopped.

He knew that voice.

He knew that tone.

He now knew why Janis needed him in the courtyard.

Damian's stomach twisted, the familiar feeling of impending doom wrenched his gut.

No matter how quickly he moved, he couldn't reach the courtyard fast enough.

Damian's throat felt tight. He couldn't yell, He couldn't cry out for help. 

He couldn't make it in time.

The courtyard doors were shut. They locked from the inside, but Damian couldn't open them no matter how hard he tried.

He shoved against the push bar as hard as he could, growing more anxious when it wouldn’t budge.

He could see in the window, but it was almost worse.

He couldn't get in. 

He couldn't help

He was right there.

Shane Omen stood in the courtyard, Janis in his hand. 

Like every time he sees it, Damian felt his heart stop.

But normally, he could help.

But these god damn doors.

Damian shoved at the doors one last time and they flew open like there was no force needed. 

He stumbled in but it was too late.

He was too far away.

Shane smirked, his grasp on Janis loosening.

Damian couldn't move.

His feet were glued to the ground, his eyes glued on Janis.

She landed on her side, falling deathly still.

Quiet, just like the rest of the school.

Damian gasped, jolting upright in bed.

Bed.

Bed.

Oh.

Damian was vaguely aware of a startled cry as weight on his chest disappeared, landing in his lap.

"Dude. What the fresh fuck. It's tits early an I just wanna know what fucking made that a good idea."

Janis. She was- she was okay.

It was a nightmare.

A god fucking awful nightmare.

A nightmare.

Janis is okay.

It was a nightmare.

Tears burned in Damian's eyes. He felt conflicted. Yeah, it was just a dream, Janis was okay. But what a god fucking awful dream.

"Damian?" The annoyance from her abrupt wakeup was no longer in Janis' voice. "You okay?"

Damian laid back down. "Yeah," His voice was shaky but he pretended like he didn't notice. If he didn't point it out, maybe Janis wouldn't either. "Bad dream. That's all."

He felt the weight of his best friend walk back up his chest. But when he expected her to lay back down, she slipped off, continuing her trek until Damian felt weight shift on the pillow next to his head.

"Jan," He turned to look at her. "What are you doing?"

"If your bad dream resulted in me being fucking catapulted at three am-" She took a breath. "I can only imagine it was worse for you to actually live it. Wanna talk about it?"

"Not particularly, no." Damian turned to lay on his back again.

"That's okay too." Janis said. 

Damian felt the pillow sink into next to his face followed the warm presence of Janis curled up against his cheek.

Janis was alive.

She was safe.

She was right there.

Damian tried to hold back a sniffle, not wanting to cue Janis in on how much he was letting that stupid dream get to him. She was asleep before. It's his fault she wasn't asleep now.

"You can talk to me, yknow," Janis said knowingly. "I always go to you. It's a two-way street."

"I know," Damian said. "You're gonna think it's silly."

Janis sat up. "Nightmares aren’t silly. They’re scary as fuck. It’s in the name, dude."

Damian smiled.

Janis was one of the bravest people Damian ever met. She would never let a nightmare get to her like this. She dealt with real issues. Like a real Shane Omen. Not in some dream courtyard. Janis dealt with it all and she handled it so well. It had to be Damian who got worked up over the nonfictional things.

"It was-" Damian took a shaky breath. "The whole thing was disorienting. But I guess the major take away was- you died Jan. There was nothing I could do to help. I just sat there. And-" 

He took a shuddering breath, his entire chest heaving.

"Woah- Woah-" Janis was up in an instant. "Damian. Hey, breath. I'm not dead. I'm here. Right here."

Damian felt a tiny hand wipe away a tear he didn't realize he had even let fall.

"I'm right here." Janis repeated.

Damian turned on his side again to face Janis. "I love you."

The small girl visibly melted on the spot. "I love you too." She leaned in placing a soft kiss on the bridge of Damian's nose.

"I'm right here."

Damian smiled,  bringing his hand up to pull Janis close to his chest once more. As he faced the ceiling Janis spoke up. "I don't care how much I love you, you wake me up like that one more time I'll murder you."

Damian laughed. "At that height?"

"Oh sure."

4.

Janis wasn't quite sure what was up with Damian, but she wasn't stupid.

She knew it was something major.

She didn't like to jump to conclusions, but Janis was pretty sure it had something to do with the fact that- the past week she's been at the Hubbards, there's been a significant lack of Mr. Hubbard. 

But Damian didn't want to talk about it.

She wouldn't make him.

If Damian wanted sulk all day and pretend he was fine, the best Janis can do its support him and make him feel loved.

And she was trying her fucking best.

But it was getting hard.

Damian wouldn't smile as much anymore. He didn't care as much when Janis did reckless shit- which hey- she wasn't complaining.

But, she literally used the locker/tiny hallway to get to class and Damian just shrugged.

She was losing her best friend.

And fast.

And she was running out of ways to help.

Janis looked at Damian from where she sat on his pillow.

It was a Saturday night and of course, Janis spent it at the Hubbard's. And just like last night and every night before that- Mr. Hubbard was nowhere to be seen. 

Damian was laying in his bed, on his side so he was facing Janis. His eyes were shut and his breath was even.

When Damian was asleep it was pretty easy to see the boy she first met. Scared and alone, just like Janis was.

She saw that boy a lot more often recently.

He just looked- more peaceful now.

Janis had snapped at Damian today. She hadn't meant to. She was angry at herself. For not being able to help Damian more. Angry at Mr. Hubbard for leaving behind his son. Angry at the world for not giving Damian the life and friends he deserves.

But she was in no way mad at Damian.

Yet he was the one she snapped at.

Janis sat up, overwhelmed with guilt and worry.

Damian deserved the world. Not just in her eyes, but anyone who ever got the chance to really know Damian would say the same.

He didn't deserve any of the hurt he felt. Ever.

Janis just wished she could do more. 

She moved close to her friend, stopping where the pillow began to sink with the weight of Damian's head.

If they were the same size, maybe Janis could do more. Pull him into a hug, promise it would be okay.

But- 

they were hardly the same size. 

Janis brushed a strand of hair that had fallen in front of Damian's face away. 

Whether Damian wanted to open up to her or not, Janis would stand by him.

She wouldn't leave him.

She'll be there when he needs her.

Janis may not be able to scoop up Damian and hold her close, but she could comfort him in other ways.

She leaned down, pressing a kiss to Damian's forehead. 

He's gonna be okay.

Janis will be here to make sure of it.

5.

"Damian Hubbard is too gay to function?! That's only okay when I say it!" Janis was livid.

She crumpled the paper in her hands, flinging it at the ground, watching as it fell from her perch on Damian's shoulder.

"Only Cady could have written that."

The clear hurt in Damian's voice felt like a wave crashing on her. All Janis' anger disappeared, replaced with worry for her friend.

Damian's eyes were trained on the crumpled paper on the floor, all the way below them.

"Hey-" Janis said softly. "Let's go somewhere quiet, kay?"

Away from the girls fighting. 

Away from the space dyke comments.

Away from that god awful paper and however many more there were.

Damian nodded, separating himself away from the crowd of raging girls. He walked slowly, like in a daze. Janis' heart broke.

She remembers how it first felt.

To see space dyke on her locker.

If Damian felt even an ounce of that right now? She'd kill Cady Heron with her bare hands. Size difference be dammed. 

Damian pulled into the girl's bathroom. It was empty of course. The entire female student body was at each other's throats in the halls. 

Janis forced herself to push down her anger. Push down her own hurt. 

Damian needed her right now. 

"Are you okay?" Damian asked her, stopping in front of one of the mirrors.

They both looked like a mess.

"Why wouldn't I be okay? Are you okay?" 

Damian's eyes were trained on Janis' reflection ."It said space dyke too."

"I'm used to it," Janis mumbled. "It doesn't hurt anymore. But you-"

"I'll be fine." Damian snapped. 

Janis opened her mouth to say something but closed it. Damian wasn't the one to snap or lash out. That was supposed to be Janis.

She was at a loss for what to do. 

"Wanna-" Janis faltered. "Wanna talk about it?"

"No." 

"Okay. That's alright. It's whatever you want to do. I totally understand whatever you choose to do. It's gonna be okay. Right? It's gonna be fine. Just- yeah." Janis laughed nervously, looking at her boots. "We're both gonna be fine." 

Damian didn't respond.

"We don't need Cady. Right? We kinda figured that out when she threw that party. She's a bitch. So what. It doesn't mean anything. She's just like the rest of them. Plastic. We can't let her get to us. I mean- yeah. We thought she was our friend but she wasn't. There's nothing we can do about that. Plastic be pla-"

"Will you shut up about it?!"

Janis gasped at the shoulder underneath her jerked with a wild hand motion. 

She was so caught up in her own anger for Cady- she totally forgot why she was taking about Cady.

"I'm sorry," Janis whispered, looking at their reflection in the mirror. Damian was looking away, and his arms recrossing in front of his chest.

Janis didn't talk for a while. Damian didn't seem to mind.

She knew deep down Damian was a lot more hurt they he was letting on. It wasn't hard to tell he wasn't okay. And he won't be okay- not for a while at least.

She was there before. 

But-

-she went through it alone.

The harassment, the bullying, the feeling gross about your own sexual identity.

Damian wasn't going to go through it alone.

Janis was going to make sure of that.

She stood, walking slowly across Damain's shoulder, mindful of any sudden movements. 

Damian turned his head to face the mirror, watching Janis carefully.

She reached out, placing her hand on his jaw. "Hey. You don't have to talk now- you don't have to talk anytime soon- but, I'm here. When you want to."

Damian nodded, leaning slightly into Janis' touch. "Okay."

Janis smiled sadly. "Okay."

They've been through worse together.

They can make it through this.

Janis reached onto her tippy toes, pressing a kiss into Damian's cheek. "I love you."

The boy laughed softly. "I love you, too."

6.

Janis was having a shit fucking week.

That was phrasing it lightly.

She tossed over from where she lay on Damian's pillow, facing away from him.

It wasn't uncommon for school night sleepovers.

Frankly, some weeks Janis spent more at the Hubbards than anything.

It was only Wednesday. 

Only Wednesday.

Long ass Wednesday.

After the spring fling, groups started merging. Cady was like glue, sticking the plastics and art freaks together. 

Janis wasn't totally opposed.

Regina did apologize.

She just-

Janis wasn't ready to trust her again.

Janis didn't even fully trust Cady again. 

All these people Janis now surrounded herself with, they could leave, at any moment.

Get bored of space dyke again. And just leave.

It clearly didn't hurt them the first time.

Janis laid back on her back, hyper-aware of the boy lying next to her.

She couldn't tell if he was asleep. She didn't want to disturb him anyway.

Would Damian leave too?

In the past- Janis knew he would choose her.

But they were all friends now.

Janis wouldn't blame him for picking the group over some worthless tiny.

If he stuck with Regina, he'd be safe, from all the bullying, from all the comments, from the general burden of associating with space dyke.

Maybe it was selfish, to want Damian to stay. He deserved better.

Yeah, they found each other at their lowest. Damian knew more about Janis that anyone should. But that didn't mean he had to stay. 

Regina knew a lot about Janis too.

She left and didn't look back.

Why didn't Damian?

"Jan, you okay?"

Of course, Damian's awake. 

Of course, he can tell something is off.

His voice was clear. There was no post-sleep grogginess. Damian had been awake for a while too.

Janis didn't turn to look at him. She could feel his eyes trained on her small form, even in the dark. 

"I'm fine." She exhaled after a while. 

"No, you're not." There's shuffling as Damian rolls slightly, propping himself up on his forearms so he's hovered over Janis. "Talk to me."

If anybody else did that, Janis would freak. But it's Damian. She forced a smile as she looked up at him. "It's nothing. It's- it's stupid that's what it is."

Damian frowned. From this close, Janis could feel the heat radiating off his face. The way Damian loomed over her should make her nervous- but it doesn't. She feels secure and safe. And loved. "I'm sure its not stupid."

"I just-" Janis crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't wanna be alone again."

Damian blinked, moving back slightly. "What do you mean, Jan?"

"What if- what if the plastics decide they don't want to be friends with me again. And its eighth grade all over. And- what if you decide to leave with them?" Tears that Janis would really rather not be there burned in her eyes. She felt foolish. Damian was right here now, but she was to busy worrying about a time when he won't be here.

Damian exhaled softly, his face falling. His breath was hot as it washed over Janis, a reminder of how small she was. Janis shook her head. "I told you it was stupid." She mumbled.

"It's not stupid." Damian insisted. "You have a perfectly good reason to worry about that. But- just know I'm not going anywhere. Certainly not with some plastics. If they do leave again, I'll still be here. No matter who leaves, I'll be here."

Damian leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to Janis' middle. She smiled, holding the tip of his nose as it pushed against her.

"I promise." He said softly, sitting up a little. 

Janis looked at the boy above her. Damian did so much for her, all the time. Even the smallest things made such a difference.

Janis isn't even sure Damian knows how much he means so her. "I love you, so much." Janis said sitting up as Damian scooped her into his hands.

"I love you, too. So much."

Damian repositioned himself so he was laying on his back, with Janis held to his chest.

Janis got comfy. Between the heartbeat underneath her, the hand above her, and the newfound confidence that her platonic soulmate was going nowhere- Janis had no issue falling asleep this time.

AHHHHH YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH FUN BEAR AND I HAD WRITING THIS? WE PULLED AN ALL NIGHTER- i took a five and a half hour nap at six lmao- AND FREAKED OUT OVER HOW SOFT IT WAS giant kisses just- kergbqr @realmisspolarbear @smallsoysauce @musicallygt 

[obeymematches]

(Part 1) I only use Tumblr to lurk and I've never done an ask before, so I hope this comes through ok! You're an angel (devil?) for doing matchups, so I thought I'd humbly request one! I'm Nikki, and I'm an old lady by fandom standards. I grew up in the deep South US (NC and New Orleans), and lived in Italy for a while. I wanted to be a linguist when I was younger, and I still love learning foreign languages. I have a degree in French (cont in pt 2)

(part 2) and I'm now a lawyer, because academics don't pay the bills. I work with child abuse victims, which is rewarding. I love to travel, but I can't much because a) I got court to go to and b) I also love animals, and it's hard to find someone who will take care of dogs, guinea pigs, and reptiles all at once. I'm sarcastic, kind of flippant as a defense mechanism. I'm usually the funny friend, but I get sassy when I'm on the whiskey (cont in pt 3) (part 3!) I'm a big fan of nonfiction books, especially about science and history, and historical dramas on Netflix. I love Netflix and chill with my partner, but I am pretty independent, so I like spending time alone traveling, taking care of critters, or working out. My love language is acts of service, so I show I care by cleaning the house or running errands for my man/lady. (last part incoming!) (last part!) My partner needs to be independent, with a dark sense of humor, who doesn't mind me venting about the grisly and/or weird stuff I see at work. I do like a responsible guy, 'cause I don't wanna be your mama and your gf at the same time. He should also be accepting of weird backwoods southern-isms, like buying taxidermy, saying "bless your heart", and listening to Dolly Parton and Rebirth Brass Band. Thanks! I love your blog!

Hello love!

Thank you for sending in a request! awwwww i’m glad to be your first! 

I hope you like the result! 

Okay so lets’ see... I’m kind of torn between Lucifer and Barbatos. 

I decided to match you with Lucifer! 

So i’m going to keep it real with you, I think your southern upbringing would add to this relationship a lot. First I thought it’s super risky to do this but let’s go anyway. I mean I don’t really want to bring religion into this, but we all know their background in the game. 

Lucifer would be very wary with anyone coming from a highly religious area, but sooner or later he would learn about your own perspectives. (since you play the game I assumed you’re not the stereotype being an English major taught me)

It would take him quite some time to share his views with you in depth, honestly you have a better chance at getting anyone else to open up about their past than him. But I think once you get someone else to do it and now you already know briefly whats up, he would just tell you himself. After all he takes buliding a relationship seriously once he is truly interested in someone.

I think your academic career and the fact that you are a lawyer would impress him and after he learns this about you, his respect for you will grow. Which is very important when it comes to Lucifer.

Lucifer had quite a lot of centuries to pick up languages. Although he isn’t speaking them all either (i mean he is a demon how many languages would he really need), he sees the value of being a multilingual human. Just to test you, he would sometimes switch between them.

It is canon that he is supposed to be outgoing as well, were it not for his very limited amount of free time. So he definitely understands your struggles to get away, as he is the most responsible demon in the household. Once in a blue moon he would probably get to have a couple of days off with you though. I’m sure he knows people who’d take care of your animals for a few days. (probably not one of his brothers though.) 

He appreciates a sarcastic s/o as he can be a bit sarcastic as well. Your flippant nature will only turn him on, especially since you are also responsible so flippant attitudes coming from you hit differently. 

Drinking with him is something you probably wouldn’t be able to avoid. I’m sure he would enjoy your sassy nature, he is one of the best at handling that so don’t worry about conflicts.

 I’m sure he would be able to talk in detail about historical events as he was there when it was all written. So this would be a common topic of conversation! in a healthy relationship good conversations are a must, so you two got that down as well. None of you is bored! Also I don’t really see him reading fiction tbh, so you are on the same page. 

Netflix and chill is up on his priority list as well, so again no trouble on either side.  

Lucifer in canon can fall in love with whoever it happens with, but an independent partner makes his life easier. By this I mean that he is usually busy so his partner would be very disappointed if they expected him to entertain them for many hours a day. Sure, he does make time for you so you don’t feel neglected as he wants to be a good partner. At the end of the day he is in love. 

He would definitely appreciate your love language! He always needs a helping hand, although he is usually too full of pride to actually ask for help with big things. So basically you’d probably get to do the easy stuff. 

His love language is affection so hopefully you are prepared for lots of private times! 

Also love language is just something you have to talk about with him, I think for his beloved he is willing to do things he normally wouldn’t. like you need a new dress?? want to hold hands in public?? want some reassurement?? gotcha (ok with some of these he might struggle but he tries so we gotta give him that)

I think he fits into everything you described your wish for a partner. he is mature and respnsible, and don’t worry he has heard and seen some stuff your stories would be hard to compare. 

so he has his own sense of decoration and if you look into his room, some taxidermy is just fine... 👀

hmmm idk about “bless” in his case because of reasons mentioned above but thats a conversation he will have with you

 He is also very keen on music, so thats also a topic to discuss. he is probably more into classicals, but he just wants to learn more about his partner to be able to fully love and understand them. so if it means listening to Dolly Parton, then so be it. 

[kendrixtermina]

(Fe3h discourse incoming) So I'm not sure if this is still around but I remember some people calling characters "racist" due to how they initially view the Almyrans and it just annoys me? If you lived in basically medieval times and all you knew about a group of people was that they invaded your homeland and are good fighters it makes sense you'd be wary about them. The fact that we see them easily discard any initial opinions to work with them in VW shows the opposite and how accepting they are

Part of this does probably come from this purity culture sentiment that there is one obvious right answer that should be apparent to anyone not evil when we’re really all to an extent limited by the knowledge we can access. 

This is something I feel strongly about precisely because I know how much I don’t know and how much ppl have been wrong in the past - so much BS is still widely believed these days like Diet culture or counter-evidential beliefs about economy. So that makes me be careful to claim we have the truth now. As my grandfather used to say, “the middle ages will step on us”, that is as long as our time isn’t barbarism free it will come to be considered barbaric times eventually. 

In the middle ages people used to give their children mercury and bankrupt themselves as someone might for real medicine. Emotionally to the mammal brain it’s the same. That’s why knowledge is power cause it helps you know the real consequences of your action. Otherwise you get what seems like caring parents wondering if they're harming their children by not doing barbaric stuff like physical beating or fgm. One can notice by oneself that it’s wrong and causes suffering but someone who only believes their own ideas and never takes outside data into account would be either mad or an arrogant jerk. At some point you need to consider outside data unless you can discover all of science and psychology by yourself. 

So to put it short no one is immune to propaganda and the closest thing to a cure is self-awareness and self-questioning, no one is born with all the answers; instrict, thinking, emotion and intuition can all lead you astray. 

Though the correct word here would be xenophobia. (generic distrust/prejudice about foreigners)

‘Racism’ is a very specific early modernity variant of it with pseudoscience mixed in, or maybe it could be thought of as an ideology meant to keep xenophobic-like distrust going in a mixed society. Normally that sort of prejudice desintegrates as people interact more (a big plot point here actually) - or rather, communication & interaction changes how people define in group and out group, which is ultimately arbitrary. A lot of what is thought of today as countries or races used to be considered wildly different peoples when the reach of communication reached further. 

But if you spread some ideology that leads people to be artificially segregated, or indirectly causes that through economic disadvantages, bam, you can keep prejudice alive & well for centuries and whatever institutions you built on it, like colonial resource extraction gigs or political hegemony. 

That said tho, certain lines there are definitely written to evoke rl xenophobic comments as people commonly experience them, and to tell people who recognize this & might have charged responses because of their own backstories that their lying eyes deceive them because you like those characters is not good.  “Oh but they’re a good person with a bright future” is exactly how this behavior fails to get recognized in real life. So to that extent I’d disagree with you.

At least their past incarnations at the point that they said those lines they were “xenophobes”, that is, fulfilled all criteria of the definition & engaged in typical behavior as people affected by xenophobia experience it. 

Hilda, for all her good qualities (and don’t get me wrong I love her to bits) is still sort of a frivolous rich girl. Sylvain for example did take the time to inform himself ‘bout the neighbors (See that lost item that’s info about sreng) though his family also holds a border territory & much depends on its defense. The system isn’t an universal brainwash, the truth is that both system and individual responses matter and dynamically influence each other.

But note that that’s all I’m talking about: Recognition, sober reasonable acknowledgement of bad behavior. You can’t talk about bad behavior if you don’t show anyone doing it and if it was only irredeemable monsters that did it, it wouldn’t make ppl question themselves. 

To acknowledge that they acted xenophobically (adverb) isn’t to say that they’re an embodiment of all xenophobia ever (noun) and that you’ve got to hate them now. But as long as they don’t hate at you for liking them ppl affected by xenophobia are allowed to vent & use a story as a projection space for it because that’s how everyone uses stories - the same story can in fact mean different things to people without either being “wrong”

Also, scale. Hilda making one or two not even especially malicious comments is on a whole different level than Ingrid actually cheering for destruction. Neither of them compares to the various unrepentant antagonists who never change their views when confronted with evidence cause it benefits them. 

Some of that distinction is lost if you just slap the same label on all and demand they be reacted to the same way, or that ppl add a disclaimer each time they want to talk about a character they like. We don’t make everyone who likes Jeritza say “mass murder is bad” first. 

But also context: After all a big plot here is that the system these characters live in encourages and cultivates such attitudes  - that’s why the various leader figures you can choose to back all want to change it it different ways.

That’s why Winston in 1984 starts the story very paranoid, repressed & full of violent fantasies, to show the effect the dystopia has on people. 

  (important point imho, a lot of ppl look at atrocities and judge that human nature is just bad but actually human nature is programmable. Evil can be engineered as much as civilization and education can foster good)

It’s generally the problem with Purity culture (wether it wears a right or left wing hat) that it’s more focussed on applying loaded, out of context labels (which are then treated as static) than constructive solutions focussed on promoting the desired end goals. 

The labeling tactic is probably appropriate sometimes (active, unrepentant nazis, that you thereby deprive of big dollar platforms or ad revenue) but no tool/tactic is ever a silver bullet. 

tl;Dr I agree with you that labeling/purity culture doesn’t have the right approach to it,  but ppl should be able to call a spade a spade and say & respond to depictions of xenophobia because to say otherwise would be tantamount to saying that victims of xenophobia or racism aren’t allowed to have feelings or engage with media. 

Obsly the characters can’t be reduced to that & you’re right about that & the importance of context, but if just stating/acknowledging that they at one point fulfilled the criteria for xenophobia feels like bashing to you I’d work on decoupling those emotions to see clearer. 

People can have done something wrong at some point & still be interesting people - especially in a media context where they’re as imaginary as their victims, it’s not like you’re giving money to real unrepentant perps. 

I’d ease up on real ppl too if they repent simply because then they stop being a problem and solving it so it stops harming RL ppl takes precedent over cathartic punishment that makes you feel good, the goal should be always to stop the harm (at the root, if possible) because it’s intolerable for ppl to be harmed

Or that’s my 2cents anyways. 

[rainforestgeek]

If you lose your strength to stand (I’m gonna reach for your hand)

I got chapter 5 written! Ao3 link here

Part 1  Part 2 Part 3  Part 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, Part 6

Sneaking onto the ship was the easy part. Pidge landed her undetectable lion on the hull close to the wide-open bay doors of one of the many hangars. The cavernous room was bustling with drones, low-level galra soldiers, and ­­damaged space fighters being repaired, so with all the activity Pidge had little trouble getting past them.

Actually finding the engine room was the hard part. With little knowledge of this particular class of battleship and no way to scan it without the Blue Lion, she was left to take an educated guess of its location. But after half a varga of running around the empty corridors with no results and a handful of close calls almost being discovered, Pidge was about ready to scream in frustration. She hadn’t found any primary access panels, either. The locked doors she hacked easily enough but gave her no access to the central computer. She kicked the wall and was considering risking having her comms intercepted by calling Hunk for help when she heard the steady clanking of a sentry’s footsteps coming toward her from around the corner. She dove for cover in an alcove in the wall and waited, crouching at the ready.

Thankfully, the big metal biped clanked right by without noticing her. Seizing the opportunity, Pidge leapt onto its back and deactivated it with a few swift keystrokes on the control panel below its neck. It slumped to the floor, taking her with it, and she landed painfully on her hip. She bit back a curse then quickly synced her gauntlet to the sentry’s control panel. She uploaded a virus that she’d written based on the data she got from that first sentry she hacked at the Galactic Hub.

If it worked, the virus would hijack the robot’s artificial brain, rerouting the stored and incoming data and the command controls, to her armor. It took several doboshes to complete and Pidge kept a wary eye out for any more patrols coming her way. The robot the way too heavy for her to try and drag it into the alcove she’d hidden herself in before.

The holographic screen from the gauntlet flashed and the sentry’s head-lights glowed red. Yes! I have a minion. It stood up. She pulled up a map of the frigate from her sentry’s data core.

Fucking hell. The engine room was on the other side of the ship.

Pidge followed her robotic minion as it led her to the engine room. She walked backwards at the ready with her bayard out, keeping an eye out on their six while Minion would alert her of anything ahead. It took her in a circuitous route, avoiding the more bustling sectors of the ship. It was a smart precaution but with every tick that passed Pidge cursed her slow progress. She hoped Lance and Hunk had a handle on the situation outside.

Finally, finally Minion stopped at a set of important-looking doors and pressed its palm against the entrance pad to open them. They went inside – and Pidge immediately ducked behind a huge support beam because the engine room was teeming with galra. Sentries, floating drones, soldiers, and even an officer or two milled about the cavernous and noisy chamber. At its center was a glowing engine straight out of a cyberpunk novel that would make Hunk shit his pants.

Quiznaking fucksticks. Okay, Minion. Let’s see how much we can get away with.

Pidge crawled toward a vent at the bottom of the nearest wall, carefully opened it, and slid inside feet first. Her visibility wasn’t great, but it was better than nothing and it would at least help her guide Minion where she needed it. She pulled up a holographic screen that streamed what the robot was “seeing.”

Let’s see if you know the engine schematics. Turns out Minion did. She supposed that made sense – the droids were probably programed to be all-purpose. Pidge studied the mechanisms of the ships energy source.

Oh, holy hell. It uses xanthorium crystals to enhance the power of the weapons and the hyperdrive. Like most of these huge ships, it used a balmeran crystal as it’s primary power source. She was no engineer, but Pidge was sure she found bastardized elements of Altean technology that must have been integrated into Galran designs in the empire’s early decaphoebes.

Minion approached a station (quietly deactivating the sentry manning it) that appeared to direct the current of quintessence-enriched electricity to various parts of the ship. Much of the xanthorium was used in the engine room, but there were also strategically placed chambers of the crystals close to each weapons station. Pidge smirked as she realized she could use this. This whole place was littered with weapons stations. Keeping the explosions at the exact right magnitude required meticulous control over the energy flow throughout the ship’s guts. She had Minion get to work.

The principle behind her plan was simple: blow the ship up using its own power boosters. It was easy to think of each weapon station as a primitive firearm, with the current acting as the spark and the xanthorium as gunpowder. The xanthorium had been cut into uniform sizes that would explode at the brief contact of a tightly-controlled current and direct the resulting energy into the weapons’ mechanisms, giving the galra a nice boost of power behind their attacks. Once a piece had been used and disintegrated, the next one slotted into place to be exploded next. But if the chambers overloaded, all the crystals in the chambers would explode uncontrollable at once. It would completely cripple their weapons and breach the hull in a dozen critical places.

Minion reprogrammed the algorithm that controlled the paths of primary power into secondary channels. She needed at least seventy-five percent of the xanthorium chambers to overload at exactly the same time. It was tedious work, but I thankfully took less time than Pidge had anticipated.

Pidge breathed a quiet sigh of relief. She had fifteen doboshes to get back to Green before her DIY bombs went off. She slowly crawled out of the vent to sneak to the door and make a swift, painless escape.

If only.

She wasn’t as annoyed at getting caught so much as that it was a stupid way to get caught. She didn’t epically fuck up, didn’t trip a hidden alarm, didn’t run headfirst into an enemy that popped up out of nowhere. Nope. All those missions when she had perfect timing, only to now just get spotted for being a split second too slow.

Pidge charged at the nearest sentry – which was not-so-coincidentally her own minion. It blocked her attack easily and bent her arms behind her back, metal hands clamping her wrists together. Discreetly, she whispered instructions to her robot through her helmet comms. Her escape wasn’t totally busted yet.

What appeared to be the ranking officer approached her. He was average-sized for a galra, just under seven feet, and the fuzz covering him erred on the blue side of purple. “What is this? Wearing the armor of the Green Paladin?” He gave her a critical once-over. “This tiny thing?”

Pidge growled at him and struggled against the robot holding her. “Tiny, huh? You wanna fucking go, assface?”

She couldn’t tell if the officer rolled his eyes – given the lack of pupils – but his expression grew irritated and just over it. But she swore his tone was smug, though, when he said, “Escort the whelp to General Sendak. From what I’ve heard, he’ll want to deal with this one himself.” He then turned around like he had better things to do than worry about Pidge – good. Meant he wasn’t suspicious of any meddling. The sentry marched her out the door and through the cold corridor. A squad of other sentries followed, much to her chagrin.

They passed right by the hangar outside of which she’d left Green, but the sentries surrounding her meant she couldn’t make a break for it. Pidge suppressed a frustrated growl. Guess we’re going to see Overlord Fur Face after all, she thought. She’d anticipated that; but why couldn’t things go the easy way for her just once?

Pidge and her entourage of robots walked through corridor after corridor, took multiple elevator-lift-things, and she was getting nervous. She counted the ticks in her head: time was running out before everything blew up, and this escort was taking forever.

Finally a set of double doors swooshed open to reveal they’d reached the bridge. It was a spacious room with a raised command podium in the center and floor-to-ceiling windows (no doubt made from space-grade reinforced glass). Apparently the galra were less fond of view screens than humans. Standing on the island, Sendak turned toward Pidge with a sneer.

“How did you get uglier?” Pidge blurted out.

“Petulant child for a Paladin of Voltron.” Ugh, that voice was terrible on her senses. Somehow like oily gravel and sunburn. Sendak walked closer to her. “You’ve been a nuisance, whelp. I will take great pleasure in killing you.”

“I kicked your ass once. I’ll just do it again.” Pidge’s internal clock told her she only had two doboshes left.

Sendak leaned down, his meaty breath stinking too close to her face. Was it possible for something to smell like flies? “As I recall, it took all of the paladins to even trap me. This time, you’re the one on my ship. You’re the one all alone.

Fifty ticks left. Pidge’s heart pounded with anxiety and excitement. She’d have to be quick for any hope of escape. And the dumbass didn’t have his helmet on.

Sendak straightened. “Initiate a full sweep,” he barked. The attention of everyone on the deck snapped onto his orders. “The girl probably brought aboard accomplices; only two lions –”

Twenty ticks. Minion released her hands. Quick as lightning, Pidge summoned her bayard and shot its electrified blade into the exposed spot between his neck and jaw. The shocks arcing through the warlord jerked about his massive body. He hit the floor with all the grace of a boulder falling off a cliff.

Ten ticks. Pidge wrenched her weapon out of the furry carcass. Behind her, loyal Minion started beating up as many enemies as it could. She took advantage of the crew’s moment of paralyzed shock to sprint for the nearest window, activating her energy shield. She heard blows land, metal creak violently, felt shots collide with her shield.

She raised her bayard. Three ticks. Shot straight ahead. Two. Leapt through the nebula of glittering, shattering glass and into empty space. One.

Obviously, she didn’t hear an explosion. Sound can’t travel in a vacuum. But Pidge sure as hell felt a storm of heat and shrapnel shoot her even deeper into space.

She called for Green desperately in her mind. Everything hurt, and made it hard to think. She was quickly recompensed by the sight of her beautiful glowing lion rapidly approaching. She scooped Pidge up in her mouth, and Pidge landed hard on the cockpit’s floor with a sideways roll. Groaning, she hauled herself into the pilot’s chair.

“Mission accomplished, guys.”

Loud whoops and cheers blasted through her helmet’s speakers. She flinched.

“Pidge, you beautiful, miracle Wonder Woman! That was amazing!”

Adrenaline aready had her heartbeat drumming up a storm. But hearing Lance say that made her cheeks feel even hotter and her very blood vessels jitter.

“Captain Olia? Sergeant Bark? How we lookin’?” Lance called out.

“The remainder of the fleet on this side is retreating,” the seargeant reported.

“We’ve picked off a few dozen squads over here,” Matt chimed in. Pidge felt relieved to hear his voice. “Anyone else are also turning tail.”

“We won? We won!” Hunk celebrated. “Great job, Pidge! You really hit them where it hurts!”

“And you thought it was too dangerous. Hey Pidge, high five!”

“We’re in our lions, Lance.”

“Oh, right. High giant mechanical paw!”

Pidge was so high on adrenaline adrenaline that she enthusiastically acquiesced. Red and Green flew at each other and crashed their right paws with an enormous clang. The impact reverberated violently through the cockpit and gave Pidge a throbbing headache.

“My skull is vibrating,” Lance said. “So worth it.”

The chatter radio chatter in Pidge’s ears began to fade to the background, as she slowly exited fight/flight/freeze mode and weariness set into her bones. “Guys, I’m completely beat. I’ve gotta go back to the Castle.”

“See you down there, Pidge. Go take care of yourself,” Hunk replied.

“Yeah, sure.” Pidge deactivated her microphone and shot towards Olkarion’s surface. With every kilometer she grew more and more tired. The adrenaline drained from her body, leaving behind the deep soreness of whatever injuries undoubtedly littered her body. She broke the atmosphere and her hands started shaking. The Castle came into view and a wave of exhaustion crashed over her. She landed the Green Lion in her hangar and tried to get up; but her body felt made of molten lead. Pidge gave up struggling against the darkness tugging at her consciousness. She submitted to the respite pulling at her brain and her vision went black.

[vernicle]

Flight Attendant SECRETS You Probably Don’t Know

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four - Be Wary of Water By no means consume the tap drinking water made available on a airplane, this incorporates inside that little closet bathroom and expands all the way to swallowing the colourful selection of coffees and teas. And this is why. The ports to eliminate bathroom waste and refill the plane with potable drinking water are much more typically than not only a couple inches absent from each individual other. Quite a few flight attendants, on a survey, admitted to filling up drinking water bottles with drinking water from the keeping tanks. Also, people keeping tanks are ordinarily as aged as the airplane itself and are not cleaned incredibly typically, if at all. That drinking water in the espresso pot may well be swarming with all kinds of germs, finest to stick with bringing your possess bottled drinking water. And if you simply have to have espresso in purchase to survive, you may want to spend the extra bucks inside the airport concourse on Starbucks.

3 - Money Me Outside Voucher! A sad point of flying, most airways not only overbook, but it transpires way much more typically than not. This is carried out to be certain that they make as a lot income from each individual flight as possible. Most persons would be shocked at the staggering total of flyers who transpire to miss out on their flights. Airlines are counting on it. Nonetheless this technique isn't going to usually go according to prepare, which outcomes in several travellers receiving overbooked and for that reason, receiving bumped off their chosen, previously compensated for, flight. If this unfortunate traveller transpires to be you, know your rights! Your airline will most probable try to bribe you with vouchers, which can be exchanged for purchases through that airline. Nevertheless, the execs will inform you to refuse people bits of paper masquerading as income and instead, go for chilly tough money payouts. If you are involuntarily denied boarding, you are entitled to a money payment, on the location. This can web you up to one,300 bucks, or four hundred % of the value of the one particular-way fare, depending on the duration of your unscheduled delay.

two - Oxygen Mask Time Restrictions If you have at any time flown before, you might be almost certainly acquainted with that song and dance the flight attendants will do before acquire off, you know the one particular, that tedious speech with the weird arm movements about what to do in scenario of an unexpected emergency. Perfectly, it's possible future time you need to set down your Apple iphone and in fact listen due to the fact people couple moments of instructions could incredibly effectively help you save your lifetime. Here's a handy tidbit to enable you survive an airborne tragedy, as quickly as people oxygen masks descend from their containment cartridges, you only have approximately 15 minutes well worth of oxygen positioned inside people confront strapping units. This need to very easily be adequate time for the pilot to reduce the aircraft's altitude, which will restore oxygen levels back to where by you can once yet again breathe quick. Nevertheless, at altitude, you will only have all-around 15 to 20 seconds to secure your mask before your system succumbs to absence of oxygen, resulting in you to move out or even worse. So, when people attendants of flight inform you to set on your mask before encouraging other folks, they actually signify it.

one - Imagine Planes Are Clear? Imagine Once more. Though most persons fret about that sickly recycled air pumping through the airplane's air flow vents, chill out, the air onboard is constantly filtered, approximately 20 situations an hour in point, through clinic-quality HEPA filters. Now, as for the sterile ailments of every single other element of the aircraft's interior, any person scared of germs, may well want to close their eyes for the relaxation of this phase. Term to people who fly typically, check out out for all people nasty contaminated surfaces. These fold down trays from which travellers typically take in their onboard food, are described to be the definitely nastiest and filthiest portion of the airplane. That's proper, be very careful about resting your head versus this tough plastic, due to the fact that innocent looking tray, is almost certainly protected in germs! Get precautions if you want to avoid receiving ill, for occasion, you should not relaxation any meals on that tray without having a napkin or two positioned beneath! Other surfaces to check out out for contain, armrests, seat belts, and buttons in the bathroom. Because of to time constraints, several of these parts of the airplane are almost never, if at any time, correctly cleaned. These pillows and blankets you typically bug your flight attendant to bring you, effectively people almost certainly have not been cleaned in many years. Imagine folded and reused indefinitely! Be weary, for, in these sordid ailments, even the most significant jar of hand sanitizer in the globe will not likely help you save you! Although, people of us unafraid of germs for one particular cause or a different, generally make it off the airplane alive. Germs for believed. source

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[christophergill8]

IRS letter announcing latest private tax debt collection effort going out to affected taxpayers

Remember that assurance from the Internal Revenue Service that its agents never call you about an overdue tax bill.

That's changing.

A call from a bill collector can seem as terrifying as the one Drew Barrymore received in "Scream." Even worse? A collection agency call about an overdue IRS bill.

The IRS is about to turn over some delinquent tax accounts to private debt collectors. Again.

And those companies' employees, as subcontracting agents of the IRS, will be calling folks about the money they owe the U.S. Treasury.

Bill collecting concerns, scams: If you think this opens the door -- and windows and attic vents -- wide for tax scammers, you are probably correct. And you are not alone.

I'm worried about increased scam phone calls where con artists will use private bill collecting as a hook to steal taxpayer money.

So is the IRS, which isn't thrilled with this latest involvement of private collection agencies, or PCAs as they're called in Washington, D.C. acronymese.

Collecting tax money is the most important job the IRS has and agency officials have long argued that it's one best done by IRS employees.

That proved to be the case the two previous times the IRS used PCAs. In those instances, it cost Uncle Sam twice as much (or more) money to use debt collectors as the private firms recovered.

But Congress decided the IRS should give it another go, and included the PCA mandate in a 2015 transportation bill.

Third collection effort a, uh, charm? This third private tax debt collection effort kicks off this spring.

Last fall, the IRS hired four collections agencies: CBE Group of Cedar Falls, Iowa; Conserve of Fairport, New York; Performant of Livermore, California; and Pioneer of Horseheads, New York.

No, it is not just coincidence that Capitol Hill's two biggest PCA tax collection cheerleaders are Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Charles Schumer (D-New York). But political implications aside, we're stuck with them again.

In this relaunch, about 380,000 accounts will be transferred to collection companies. 

And IRS is getting ready to send letters to those taxpayers who will be hearing from one of these collection companies.

New letter, new safeguard: The new letter, Notice CP40, will be sent to individuals when the IRS forwards accounts to one of the collection agencies.

On it, the taxpayers will find in the upper right corner a new "taxpayer authentication number." That account number will be used as a two-party verification method so that taxpayers who get collection calls will know the phone contacts are real and not scams.

The calling bill collector will ask the taxpayer for the authentication number's first five digits. The PCA rep then will tell the taxpayer the final five digits of the number.

You should talk to the caller only after that individual taxpayer dual authentication process is completed.

But before that call is made, the IRS says the collection agencies also should send taxpayers letters alerting them that their overdue accounts are now in their hands.

Other taxpayer resources: The CP40 notice also contains info for affected taxpayers about their general taxpayer rights, the Taxpayer Advocate Service and where delinquent taxpayers can find help in resolving their tax bills, such as the IRS' credentialed tax preparer directory and Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITCs) can help.

You also can check out the new IRS Publication 4518, What You Can Expect When the IRS Assigns Your Account to a Private Collection Agency. The IRS is stuffing a copy of this brochure in the CP40 envelope.

Stay on scam alert: Now about those potential tax scams that everyone expects to crop up as this latest PCA program gets underway.

They will occur. You can bet on it. Tax identity thieves know well what's going on in the tax world and try to get into the scam act quickly before their potential victims become aware of their nefarious schemes.

The IRS hopes, however, that the preparatory moves for the upcoming PCA calls will assuage taxpayer concerns and help the process go smoothly.

First, if you don't get letters from both the IRS and a private debt collector with details on this latest tax collection effort, be wary of any calls from bill collectors saying they are working on behalf of the IRS.

Only talk to a PCA representative after completing the two-party taxpayer authorization number process.

Check your caller ID. The agency's letter should include a phone number that you can look for when the legitimate collector calls.

And of course, follow the general advice on how to avoid becoming a tax identity theft and/or tax scam victim that the IRS has issued many, many times.

Pay only Uncle Sam: That means you should never, ever send a requested payment to any third party, not even to the collection agency.

Never, ever wire money directly to any individual or company.

Never, ever make a tax payment via a gift card.

Send all payments on your overdue tax bill only and directly to the IRS, either electronically using one of the agency's approved e-pay methods or by snail mailing a check made out to U.S. Treasury.

Finally. Take every step you need to confirm that the call is not a scam.

If you're not sure that the collection call is real, hang up and call the IRS at the number on the CP40 letter you got. Or call the collection agency back directly.

The IRS has waited this long for your money. It shouldn't have a problem giving you a bit more time to make sure the tax collection effort is legit.

You also might find these items of interest:

Have big tax bill? You could lose your passport

Will IRS be able to rein in private tax debt collectors?

National Taxpayer Advocate joins fight to stop private debt collection of delinquent tax bills

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