#i say school

[factorialsotherfandoms]

Prompt by @rabbit-harpist - Chayanne and Tallulah finally meeting in person. (Also @becauseplot as I saw you were also thinking of this one). I hope this is fine. I rotated it a few times too many oops.

Mention of injured child, but it's just the comfort that comes after.

Chayanne only sits still because Papa has him trapped. Dad isn't here, but his closest sister had updated him on that. She is here now, he knows that, her reaching out every few minutes to check if something scaring her is actually dangerous or not.

None of it has been; Chayanne is still a bit uncertain about some things here, but Dad is with her and would never let anything bad happen to anyone ever. So, he promises her it's okay, that he'll see her soon, that she just has to let Dad and the Doctor look after her and then they could see each other. That's what Papa had said, and Papa does not lie.

(It does not change the fact that he wants his sister /now/.)

She updates him on the other children she was with, too, just like she always has - and just like he does for her. He worries about all of them - Bobby and Pomme and Richarlyson and Trump and Allie and Dapper and Ramón and Leonardra and all his siblings without names - but he worries about her most of all. He can talk to her, and has been able to talk to her since the day she was dragged into life, listless and not yet screaming. He remembers things she cannot, and that he never wants her to, and now he finally, finally gets to see her!

Chayanne asked, once, what she looks like. She didn't know, and he doesn't know either.

Finally, finally, she lets him know that the Doctor has told her she can leave. There's more that she doesn't understand, and if she doesn't understand then she cannot explain it to Chayanne either, but what she does know is that Dad has picked her up, and is bringing her to see Chayanne.

Papa cannot keep Chayanne any more; he squirms his way out of Papa's arms, dropping to the floor and running.

"Chayanne!" Papa calls, also standing up to chase.

Chayanne is little, but he is fast. Papa is also fast, but Chayanne has the head start and knows where he is going; out the door, down the stairs, cross the balcony over the "subsidiary power generator", then-

He does not make it to the then. In the little walkway between that room and the next, he collides with Dad.

Dad only laughs, and ruffles his hair, and yells, "it's okay, Missa! I caught him!"

Chayanne does not have attention for his parents, though; he stares up at the little girl being carried on his Dad's hip.

She is much smaller than him, but then he knows people grow and that she has only been alive for half of his life. Curly brown hair, glowing yellow eyes, a patch on her cheek and neck where dark skin fuses with grey-purple insect shell. She is dressed in one of Pomme's dresses - one of the simpler ones, left open at the back so that little blue wings have the freedom to move - a little loose on her, but also too short.

Under it, Chayanne can see bandages - they make a thicker patch, and poke out of both the sleeve and neckline of the dress. He shudders, remembering the agonising pain from when she was shot.

She stares at Chayanne, before turning to Dad and tugging on his arm. He laughs, and Missa scoops up Chayanne, and Dad says, "I'll let you down once we get to the common room, okay Tallulah? It's still a bit dangerous here."

Chayanne can feel the warning in the back of his mind. He would sulk at being picked up again, except that Papa is picking him up, and Chayanne will never actually refuse him.

Instead he rests his head on Papa's shoulder, ignoring the way his parents talk to instead watch his sister. With one hand he waves to her, and she smiles back - fangs and all.

"/Is Tallulah your name?/" he asks her, in the same way they have always talked.

"/I think so!/" she replies. "/Do you like it/?"

"/It's pretty/."

"/So are your arms/!"

Chayanne looks down to where the glowing patterns on his arms are providing a low light. Wanting to make her happy he pulls up his sleeves, showing off more of the intricate - if random - designs.

He doesn't ask if she is hurting, because he knows that she is. He doesn't ask if she is okay, because he knows that she isn't. He doesn't ask about their sisters, because he knows the two Tallulah came with are safe, as are the ones already here, and that the rest of their siblings are dead.

Instead he shows off the patterns, and points out people they pass, and tries his very best to entertain her.

Eventually they make it to the common room - Chayanne's parents are always slow when they decide to walk and talk, no matter how impatient Chayanne is feeling - and set the two children on the floor.

"Chayanne, this is-" Dad begins.

Chayanne does not listen to him. Instead he runs across the room, and pulls his little sister into a hug.

"Careful!" comes the warning from both parents, one in English and the other in Spanish.

Tallulah is in no more pain from the hug than without it, so Chayanne does not let go. He tucks his precious sister close and he knows he cannot protect her, that the hurt is already done, that he could not even save Bobby when he was right there beside him.

But...

She's here now! Dad actually found her! Helped her! She's safe, and she's okay, just like he promised and promised that she someday would be.

He did not know what a hug was until Papa gave him one, and Tallulah is still a little unsure. Carefully he explains, in that silent way which comes most naturally to them, and she hesitantly wraps her arms around him too.

Carefully, he leans down and taps their foreheads together - the gesture of welcome, of comfort, of family that they eggs developed for themselves, before the adults of The Order came and taught them what hugs are.

That's when the tears spill. Not just Tallulah's, but Chayanne's as well.

"/It hurts it hurts it hurts/," Tallulah whispers into his mind. "/Big brother, I'm scared./"

"/You're safe/," he promises back. "/You're safe, you're safe, you're finally safe - I will protect you now. Together, we're together, we won't ever be apart again. You're home now, this is home, nothing will ever hurt you again, Dad and Papa won't allow it./"

Tallulah does not know what /home/ means, but that's okay. Chayanne is going to teach her.

And that starts with letting go, but holding her hand, and dragging her to the box of children's toys and accessories to pick out the first thing that she will ever own.

[frostedpuffs]

HAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[egophiliac]

bring back zooterkins, the best 17th-century swear word

I don't normally do Just Characters Swearing, but. ...this kind of wrote itself and then wouldn't leave my head. it comes from both a piece of character-writing advice that has always stuck with me, and also my conviction that Leona is 1000% funnier as a character if his dialogue has to stay G-rated. let Kalim say fuck, but don't let Leona say bastard.

(I'm sorry)

[melxhunter]

I feel like there are a lot of people out there who needs to hear this:

If you dropped out of school because of diagnosed (or undiagnosed) ADHD, Autism, ADD, OCD, Dyslexia, Anxiety, Depression, Bipolar disorder, psychotic disorders, schizophrenia etc… You did not fail. The education system failed you.

[anonymousdandelion]

A general tip for students who are sending those dreaded Religious Absence Emails to your professors: Rather than asking permission to take the day(s) off, politely let them know that you will be taking the day(s) off.

In other words, consider not saying this:

"May I miss class on [date] so I can observe [holiday]?"

It's not that there's anything wrong with the above, per se. But because it's phrased as a request, it risks coming across as optional — a favor you hope to be granted. Problem is, favors are not owed, and so unfortunately asking permission opens the door for the professor to respond "Thanks for asking. No, you may not. :)"

Instead, try something along the lines of:

"I will need to miss class on [date] because I will be observing [holiday]. I wanted to let you know of this conflict now, and to ask your assistance in making arrangements for making up whatever material I may miss as a result of this absence."

This is pretty formal language (naturally, you can and should tweak it to sound more like your voice). But the important piece is that, while still being respectful, it shifts the focus of the discussion so that the question becomes not "Is it okay for me to observe my religion?", but rather, "How can we best accommodate my observance?"

Because the first question should not be up for debate: freedom of religion is a right, not a favor. And the second question is the subject you need to discuss.

(Ideally, do this after you've looked up your school's policy on religious absences, so you know what you're working within and that religious discrimination is illegal. Just in case your professor forgot.)

[marimbles]

kiss kiss fall in love

[scarlct-vvitch]

in honor of ace week id like to shoutout every asexual who first thought they were bi/pan because they looked at all the genders and felt no difference and zero is equal to zero so they said "huh. must be bisexual" and then shoved their sexuality back under the rug for 3-5 years

[raynedayys2]

Normalize letting trans kids live.

Every trans child on this planet deserves to be safe & supported.

[mammutblog]

damian is like this is so stupid i do not need to be accompanied by two idiots

[moncuries]

actually can i have 5 more of these little blond bitches? 2 year redraw

[bixels]

Just gonna have to wait and see, right? Just wait and see! Just gotta wait and see! Who knows, we'll just have to wait and see! It's anybody's guess, we'll just have to wait and see! The future is exciting, we just gotta wait and see!

[sm1l3b0t]

watching mob psycho 100 right now and the funniest part of this show to me is that mobs status as an esper is well known at his school and no one gives a shit. and that would lead you to think that espers are common enough its no big deal to go to school with one but no theyre so rare one of his school friends thought he was the only one. and yeah they still dont really care. imagine how fucking wild it would be to transfer to that school and everyones like 'yeah thats mob hes kind of lame. also psychic or whatever' and when you reasonably respond with 'HES PSYCHIC????' everyones like 'yeah and kind of lame. anyway-' i would go insane. i would go insane!

[dazais-crab-addiction]

Tonight I learned that my 20 yr old partner has never played chess and doesn't know how to play chess. This is mind boggling to me. They claim its not weird for people to not know anything about chess so I. I need to see. Please.

Okay so, I made a mistake in not elaborating the meaning of the options. You do not have to be good or know what you are doing in the slightest to pick that you have played before. The middle three options are for your understanding of the game having never played it at all. The reason there's a percentage on the last option is because my partner made a tumblr so they could pick it because they think they are hilarious.

[asteraws]

my clown college grad project from december last year 🎪

[charlottan]

have always hated when people are like "stories are supposed to crush u👿" "media is supposed to comfort u☺️" why are there people trying to prescribe art. something famously known for its very consistent style format background intent and audience