#language 11 physics 11 and socials 12

[adelar-storytime]

OC questions

60 questions that can be made into an OC ask game, or you can just fill everything out yourself to get to know your character a little better :)

___

[1] What first impression do they typically make? Are they likeable from the get go, or take time to grow on people?

[2] How does their social personality differ from how they act when they’re alone?

[3] What emotion is the hardest for them to deal with?

[4] How physically and emotionally affectionate they are?

[5] Are they good at keeping secrets?

[6] How direct are they in conversations, do they speak in hints and riddles or bluntly say what they think?

[7] Are they a good liar, and what would they probably lie about?

[8] How open they are about their true feelings, both positive and negative?

[9] What is their love language?

[10] How quickly do they fall for someone?

[11] What are small things that make them happy?

[12] How high is their self-esteem?

[13] What kind of sense of humor do they have, if any?

[14] What does it take to make them laugh, and what does their laugh sound like?

[15] How do they act around people they don't like?

[16] Do they easily rely on others to help them out, or prefer doing everything themselves?

___

[17] What is their biggest struggle that no one around them is able to understand or believe?

[18] Do they ever have to hide their identity and for what reason?

[19] If they could change one thing about their past, what would they change?

[20] When they’re sad or upset, do they need company or some time alone?

[21] When they’re sick, would they want others to visit and take care of them, or they would rather prefer not to be seen at not their best?

[22] Do they have nightmares, and if yes, when did they start and what are they usually about?

[23] What was the worst, the darkest period of their life that they have been through?

[24] How hard it is for them to not allow their emotions to cloud their judgement?

[25] Do they have fears and phobias, and if they do, do they usually keep it to themselves or talk about it openly?

[26] Do they have any physical or mental ilness, how do they handle it and how open they are about it?

[27] Do they have any scars, how did they get them and how do they feel about them?

[28] What is something that they will never be able to forgive?

[29] How do they deal with loss, stress and anger?

[30] What are their most healthy and most unhealthy coping mechanisms?

[31] How hard it is for them to own up to their mistakes and wrongdoings?

[32] Is there something they've done in the past that they deeply regret till this day?

[33] What are one of their fondest and most treasured memories?

___

[34] Do they have vices they don't want others to know about?

[35] Do they like their own appearance, and what do they do, if anything, to alter it in any way?

[36] Do they own items that have sentimental value?

[37] How would they spend a lazy day when they have nothing specific to do?

[38] What do they usually do or where do they go when they need to feel comfortable and safe?

[39] What is their sleeping habits and favorite sleeping position, either alone and with someone?

[40] How picky they are with food, do they have specific dietary requirements based on their health or culture?

[41] What’s their usual morning routine?

[42] What is their idea of a perfect friendly hangout and/or romantic date?

[43] Do they enjoy flirting or being flirted with?

[44] On a party, where would you find them?

[45] For an event, would they dress like they typically do, or go all out?

[46] Would they rather dress to look attractive or to feel comfortable, and what would they never wear?

[47] Do they drink alcohol, and if they do, how much and how often?

[48] Are they, or were they at some point in their life, a part of any subculture?

___

[49] Do they possess any unexpected skill or knowledge that surprises others, and otherwise, what is something anyone would assume they know or can do, but in fact they don’t?

[50] What are they really good and really bad at?

[51] How good are they with money?

[52] Do they speak any other languages aside from their own?

[53] Do they like to sing and how confident they are with their singing?

[54] Do they like giving gifts, and how good are they at picking good gifts?

[55] How long does it take for them to make a new place feel like home, and what do they need for it?

[56] How would they react to hearing a dirty joke?

[57] What was the most stupid or dangerous thing they have ever done?

[58] In the situation where they had to choose, would they rather stay loyal to their morals or to people they love?

[59] What would they want to be remembered for?

[60] If they were to commit a crime, what kind of crime would it most likely be?

---

some of these question were written myself, some are the courtesy of my friend, and some were brought from my questionnaires in my old fandom. if you use them, please reblog or link back to this post

[bloomzone]

𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦 !

“Team work makes the dream work”

- bts

Summer is here finally and it's time to make the most of every sunny day! Whether you want to stay fit, work on a passion project or just have fun with friends travel camping ... here a good routine can help you balance everything :

by: 𖧷´ bloomzone 𝅄 ׂׅ

Morning

Wake up early: Aim to wake up around 9-10 AM (not everyday is perfect sometimes I can wake up until midday)

Exercise: Start your day with some physical activity, like running, yoga, or a workout.

Healthy Breakfast: Have a nutritious breakfast to fuel your day like oatmeal or simply a smoothie and a fruit salad

Me time : Dedicate some time to a hobby or project you're passionate about like writing, painting, or learning a new skill (learning a new languages...)

Midday

Study/Work: Spend a few hours focusing on academics or other productive tasks. This could include preparing for next school year. (personally I'm not that type of person)

Lunch: Take a break and enjoy a lunch

Relaxation: Spend some time relaxing, whether it’s reading a book, watching a show, or simply take a nap

Afternoon

Social Time: Hang out with friends or family somewhere like parks forest...

Outdoor Activities: If possible, enjoy outdoor activities like swimming or playing sports (volleyball is the best sport for the beach)

Evening

Dinner: Have a light and healthy dinner (it's your choice)

Unwind: Wind down your day with relaxing activities like listening to music, meditating, or journaling

Preparation for Next Day: Spend a few minutes planning for the next day, setting goals or making a to-do list to make every day different

Night

Personal Time: Spend some time on activities you enjoy, like reading or watch ur favorite show series..

Sleep : do your skincare and go to bed around 11-12 PM to ensure you get enough rest. (Ikr it's not a anough but u know.. it's summer haha)

[ash-says]

22 highlights for the next year for me and you:

1) Never trust a person who tells you other people's secrets even after them knowing they shouldn't. Yours aren't safe either.

2) Grooming changes the way you are perceived on a 360 degree.

3) Fake it till you make it but the making should be happening in the now simultaneously.

4) Multiple personalities always to the rescue but never forget the base. Change the sauce not the crust babe.

5) A colleague is always a colleague. Never a friend not on the job at least.

6) Surviving is your karmic duty. Are you thriving? That's where the real thing sets in.

7) Mental, spiritual, emotional health over anything and anyone.

8) Believe in God blindly. Have a strong belief system.

9) Play by ear on social media. Do it smartly. It's important to keep relevance and be on the trends in today's society especially if you are in a field like me.

10) People lie all the time. So trust with discretion.

11) No matter how low your personal life might be it shouldn't spill over in your professional life and vice versa.

12) Every man's love language is a physical touch. Don't be fooled.

13) A no is a no. Never a potential yes. Make sure you stick to your no's to keep them relevant in the market.

14) Make time for the things you love and enjoy. Don't let the creative in you suffocate.

15) Surround yourself with people that naturally bring out the good in you.

16) Being a little judgmental makes you stable. Too much open-mindedness leads to indecisiveness.

17) If he wanted he would.

18) Material, professional success takes you a long way.

19) Casual sex is bad both physically and emotionally.

20) Always wash your dirty laundry privately. Iykyk.

21) Save money but don't be stingy.

22) Do not let the burden of your past and others weigh over your present and future. Live as freely and wildly as possible. There's a reason we don't have a manual on how to live your life.

That's all for today's show on ash-says. Stay tuned for more illegal tricks and explosive opinions.

Here's a small snippet from my b'day

[botanical-garden-system]

Psychology is a very broad field, and there are a lot of different aspects to this field. It’s really hard to navigate this science without a bit of academic knowledge, so I’m going to open up my asks in general for people who are interested in psychology. I have access to several academic databases and I would love to share them with people who want them! I also really want chances to info dump and get excited over psychology more often :,))

My research surrounds psychology, especially psychopathology and DID research, so a lot of my support will be good through that. However, I do have a bit of knowledge on other branches of psychology if you are interested (e.g. sensation and perception, cognitive, early childhood development, some neuropsychology). I can also connect these to psychopathology fairly well, that being my specialty. If this actually gets interest, I may make a side blog to help give psychology education.

I have more information under the cut if you would be interested!

(Yes I know a lot of the tags are DID related but thats a big target audience of mine so sue me /lh)

If you do send me an ask, make sure to be as specific as possible. I can (and will) do some extra preliminary research to figure out things, but the more specific the better for me! Terms that are used colloquially usually have other terms in research/are misunderstood by general discussion. I also have access to general textbooks covering branches of psychology if you are interested in the overall field!

Also please be sure to ask me for a simplified explanation if you need one! The abstract, background info, and discussion sections are your friend.

No question is a stupid question!!

Here are some different overall categories to stir up some interest (and these are categories I definitely feel the most comfortable in, but it is not an expansive list):

Sensation and Perception: This is the study of the different senses and how this contributes to our perception of the world. The research surrounds the physical detection of stimuli through the senses (sensation) and how the brain interprets this information (perception). Some commonly covered sense are: vision, audition (hearing), vestibular, somatosensation (touch), interoception, olfaction (smell), and gustation (taste). (I am currently looking into the vestibular system, it’s very cool).

Cognitive psychology: This is the study of how people think and process things. A lot of this includes attention, perceptions, memory, language, and problem-solving skills. This branch is all about the process of information, including the ones we are not consciously aware of. (I have been a TA for this class).

Developmental psychology: This is the study of development through the human lifespan. It is typically broken down into early childhood (infancy to 10-11 years of age; infancy can also be separated on its own), adolescence (roughly 12-18 years), adulthood (age ranges from 18-65, but this is usually broken down), and later adulthood (65+ years of age). It can be very all encompassing of psychological functions.

Social psychology: This is the study of how society impacts the thoughts, feelings, and actions of the individual—regardless of whether it is an imagined or actual interaction. Social psychology can cover things such as race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, disability, etc.. Covers conformity, deviance, socialization, prejudice, and more.

Personality psychology: This is the study of personality traits we can find in an individual and how it influences an individual’s behaviors, adaptations, or interactions. The three levels of personality analysis: human nature (how alike we are to the entirety of humanity), individual/group differences (how alike we are to specific groups), and individual uniqueness (how we are like no one else).

Biological psychology: This is the study of the biological and physiological processes that make us react and behave in the ways we do. It includes human anatomy to explain the interactions of biology (endocrine, immune, neural pathways, etc.) to psychology. When I use the term “biomarkers,” it is most likely related to biological psychology

I can probably make a few posts about how to navigate research papers, the kinds of papers you will come into, different statistical tests, and some general basic introductory psychology information.

[uyuforu]

Hii, how are you doing? I'm loving your astrological interpretations! could you tell us how do you interprete degrees? thank you ^^

Hello! Thank you very much!^^

About degrees. I like to take degrees as "keywords" that can be added as details. It always add details.

Aries (1°, 13°, 25°): fights, war, not giving up, taking action, struggles, abuse, labor, leadership and leader spirit, beginnings, anger, etc.

Taurus (2°, 14°, 26°): money, food, luxury, chilling, the earth, nature, simple life, stability, voice, singing, seducing, etc.

Gemini (3°, 15°, 27°): voice, communication, speaking, languages, new technologies, phones, self-expression, books, learning, being curious, gossips, siblings, neighborhood, humor, witty, smart etc.

Cancer (4°, 16°, 28°): home, mother, nurturing, babies, pregnancy, feminine energy, moon, emotions, traditions, loyalty, food, faith, water, etc.

Leo (5°, 17°, 29°): fame, celebrity, shining, being the center of attention, life of the party, having fun, children, inner child, light, creativity, imagination, laugh, royalty, entertainment, hair, strength, natural leader, easily getting noticed for... etc.

Virgo (6°, 18°): perfectionnist, hardworking, improve, health, routine, detailed oriented, work, pets, to be in service, help, hospitals, mental health, physical health, etc.

Libra (7°, 19°): beauty, fashion, harmony, fairness, law, justice, business, marriage, partnerships, love, makeup, luxury, charm, charisma, music, art, beauty of soul, etc.

Scorpio (8°, 20°): shadow, death, dark side, flaws, s3x, wealth, money, manifestation, rebirth, the spiritual world, intense connections, the unknown, jealousy, pregnancy, night, secrets, etc.

Sagittarius (9°, 21°): philosophy, wisdom, teaching and learning, college, studies, life smart, learning from life and experiences, spontaneous, curious, the spiritual world, traveling, exploring, etc.

Capricorn (10°, 22°): working, hardworking, money, abundance, luxury, cold, royalty, to take control, public attention, fame, fear, father, family, leader, depression, ambition, old etc.

Aquarius (11°, 23°): Spontaneous, humanity, being unique about..., weird, friends, new technologies, social medias, organizations, networking, internet, divorce, surprises, high places, etc.

Pisces (12°, 24°): spirituality, dreams, 5D, esotericism, astrology, psychic abilities, sleep, drugs, alcohol, addictions, the unconscious, emotions, art, poetry, water, madness, shadow work, endings, etc.

0° degree means either it's the same energy (as the house or sign), either there is nothing much to say.

For me, degrees are still needed when we analysis charts, it's very significant sometimes. For example, my mother has vertex in her 5H, and the degree is 29° (Leo). And the year she got me, her vertex was in Leo, with 29°... I'm Leo sun!

Hope it helped :)

- uyu

[sskybooks]

A world-building list. Enjoy! :)

1. Geography & Environment

What is the physical geography of the world: (continents, oceans, mountains)?

Are there any unusual natural phenomena or landmarks (e.g., floating islands, glowing forests)?

What is the climate like, and does it vary across regions?

How does the environment affect the lives and behaviors of the inhabitants?

Are there specific resources the world is known for?

What's the weather like?

2. Culture & Society

What are the main cultures or civilizations in the world?

How do people express their cultural identity (e.g., clothing, festivals, music)?

What are the major languages or dialects, and how do they influence communication?

What are the social hierarchies or class systems?

What role do gender roles, traditions, or taboos play?

3. Politics & Government

What are the dominant forms of governance (monarchies, democracies, councils)?

Who holds power, and how do they maintain it?

How are laws created and enforced?

Are there any significant political conflicts or alliances?

What role do religion or philosophy play in politics?

4. Religion & Beliefs

What are the dominant religions or belief systems?

How do they explain the creation of the world or existence?

Are there gods, spirits, or other supernatural entities worshipped?

What religious practices or rituals are common?

How do belief systems shape daily life, morality, and culture?

5. Economy & Trade

What is the primary currency or barter system?

What industries or trades dominate the economy?

How do people make a living?

What goods are exported or imported between regions?

Are there economic disparities or poverty?

6. Technology & Innovation

What level of technology does the world possess (medieval, steampunk, futuristic)?

Are there any unique inventions or discoveries?

How has technology shaped warfare, communication, or travel?

Is there a reliance on magic, science, or a mix of both?

Are there limitations or dangers associated with technology?

7. Magic & Mysticism

Does magic exist, and how is it accessed or controlled?

What are the rules or limitations of magic?

Are there magical creatures, artifacts, or phenomena?

Who can use magic, and is it regulated or feared?

How does magic influence politics, economy, or daily life?

8. History & Mythology

What are the major historical events or turning points?

Are there legendary heroes, villains, or mythical stories passed down?

How do different cultures interpret history or myth?

Are there ruins or relics of past civilizations?

What lessons or warnings do people derive from their history?

9. Inhabitants

What species or races inhabit the world?

How do different groups interact or coexist?

Are there unique traits, abilities, or traditions among species?

What challenges do they face in their environment?

How do they adapt or evolve over time?

10. Conflict & Change

What are the major sources of conflict (political, religious, resource-based)?

Are there ongoing wars or rebellions?

How do natural disasters, diseases, or other calamities shape the world?

What changes or innovations threaten the status quo?

How do ordinary people perceive these conflicts?

11. Transportation & Communication

How do people travel (roads, ships, airships, portals)?

What is the fastest or most efficient way to get around?

How is information shared across regions?

Are there any special navigational challenges (storms, voids, magical barriers)?

Do certain regions remain isolated due to transportation limitations?

12. Food & Daily Life

What is the staple diet of various regions?

How do people prepare and share food?

What is a typical day like for different social classes or species?

What sports, games, or hobbies are popular?

How is leisure time spent, if at all?

13. Art & Literature

What forms of art are celebrated (painting, music, dance, poetry)?

Are there famous artists, authors, or performers in history?

How do different cultures view or value art?

Are there shared myths, epics, or tales that unite people?

How is history or knowledge recorded (books, oral tradition, carvings)?

14. Science & Medicine

What is the state of medical knowledge or healthcare?

Are there known cures for diseases, or do plagues persist?

How do people approach science—curiosity, fear, or reverence?

Are there ethical debates surrounding scientific progress?

How do medicine and science interact with magic, if at all?

15. Relationships & Identity

How do people define family or community?

Are marriages, partnerships, or unions celebrated?

How is identity expressed (names, clothing, tattoos)?

Are there rites of passage marking maturity or status?

How do people honor their dead or remember ancestors?

[gmuffinhead]

Heres a Demon Slayer modern Au I came up with cuz I can.

Warnings, mentions of r*pe, domestic abuse and character death. Only short mentions of it, tho!

They are all college students, a level students. Cuz I'm British and i dont understand America.

College students:

Giyuu - 18 - A level computer science, A level physics, A level chemistry.

Sanemi - 18 - A level maths, A level physics, A level biology.

Shinobu - 17 - A level health and social, A level chemistry, A level biology.

Obanai - 18 - A level English Lit, A level English language, A level physics.

Mitsuri - 17 - Art level 3 btec.

Kyojuro - 17 - A level history, A level geography, A level business.

Tengen - 18 - A level preforming arts, A level art, A level music.

Gyomei - 18 - A level religious studies, A level Sociology, A level Psychology.

High-school students:

Zenitsu - 16 - Year 11.

Genya - 16 - Year 11.

Aoi - 16 - Year 11.

Tanjiro - 15 - Year 10.

Inosuke - 15 - Year 10.

Kanao - 15 - Year 10.

Muichiro - 14 - Year 9.

Nezuko - 14 - Year 9.

Senjuro - 14 - Year 9.

Facts:

Giyuu babysits Muichiro because Tsutako was Muichiro's nurse when he was in the hospital.

Kanae is a therapist. Tsutako is a nurse.

The Kamado family's bakery is right next to the Tomioka household.

Obanai and Shinobu live in the same apartment building.

Kanae and Tsutako are dating. They met at the hospital Tsutako works at.

Kanae is Inosuke's mum's therapist.

Shinobu has babysat Inosuke on multiple occasions before.

Tanjiro and Kanao are dating.

Mitsuri and Obanai are dating, and Obanai sometimes stays around hers during holidays.

Aoi has a crush on Tanjiro.

Zenitsu doesn't hold any romantic feelings for Nezuko.

Shinobu and Giyuu are very close.

Rengoku's family used to babysit Mitsuri and her siblings, but ever since Kyojuros mum died the families haven't interacted outside of Kyojuro and Mitsuri.

Mitsuri can't drive so Obanai drives her around.

Family:

Giyuu lives with his sister since their parents died when he was younge due to an illness.

Sanemi and Genya live with all their siblings and their mum. Their dad is in prison for domestic violence.

Shinobu lives in her older sisters apartment since their parents passed away when she was only 12.

Obanai lives with Kyojuro in the same apartment building as Shinobu. He was born and raised in a cult that he fortunately escaped from, and was adopted by the Rengoku's.

Mitsuri lives happily with her parents.

Kyojuro lives with Obanai, he used to live with his acholic dad and younger brother but left because his dad was getting worse. His younger brother stays with him during the weekends.

Tengen has an apartment with his three girlfriends. He doesn't want to live at home since his family is a military family and don't agree with his educational choices. His girlfriends also come from a military past. But all four of them have put it past them now to live normally.

Gyomei lives on his own, but does babysitting after school and on the weekends. He babysits Sanemi's siblings often.

Muichiro lives with his parents. Unfortunately when he was 10 him and

Yuichiro got into a terrible car accident. Where in the heat of the moment Yuichiro leapt across his seat to shield his brother. Muichiro got a serious head injury and can't remember anything.

Tanjiro and Nezuko live with their family and own a bakery.

Zenitsu lives with his granfather and his adoptive brother. Although they don't get along well.

Kanao was recently adopted by Kanae and Shinobu. She was trafficked and abused by many people before ending up in an orphanage, however the orphanage didn't know how to deal with her trauma so they contacted a known therapist, Kanae, who decided to adopt Kanao.

Aoi lives in the orphanage Kanao was sent to. She works part-time for Kanae.

Inosuke lives with his mother. His father (not douma) is in prison for r*pe of a minor (Inosukes mum). Inosukes mum gave birth to Inosuke when she was only 17. (WHICH IS LIKE CANNON??)

Other facts about school.

Shinobu, Giyuu, Mitsuri, Obanai, Rengoku and Sanemi all went to the same high School that the younger kids go to.

Tengen and Gyomei went to separate schools.

Sanemi had a small crush on Kanae during his high school years.

Giyuu and Shinobu shortly dated before finding out they were both gay. However, they continued to play date because they didn't want to come out.

Rengoku set Obanai and Mitsuri up when they were in year 10. They've been datingg ever since.

Sanemi and Obanai used to get detention quite often since they misbehaved. Giyuu also got detention but because he skipped many lessons. Thos caused Obanai and Sanemi to dislike him and think that he didn't value his education and must have thought he was better then it. Giyuu on the other hand just didn't enjoy sitting in the classrooms due to how anxious it made him, and would do his work on his own somewhere else.

Giyuu didn't have many friends as he kept to himself and skipped many lessons.

Shinobu and Mitsuri became good friends in year 9, Shinobu had a little crush on her but quickly got over it when Mitsuri and Obanai started dating.

In Tengens school, no one believed him when he said he had three girlfriends because they each went to different schools. That was until he took all three of them to his prom. It was pretty flashy.

A picture diagram to show how the friend group came to be and how they all are linked.

Ships (maybe):

Sanemi X Giyuu (but it's like subtleish)

Tengen X Suma X Hinatsuru X Makio

Mitsuri X Obanai

Tanjiro X Kanao

Kanae X Tsutako

[oceane4loveu]

☾𝕄𝕆𝕆ℕ𝕃𝕀𝔾ℍ𝕋 BEAUTY ☾: 1 week to glow up

I really need a quick and simple glow up because I'm starting my job soon so I created a program to glow up in 1 week and really get to know myself and improve myself physically and mentally. You can do this program in 2 weeks or more if you want.

* ੈ✩‧₊˚day 1: lunar preparation

★shadow work: It’s time to work on yourself, answer their questions to get to know yourself better.

1. What did my childhood need most?

2. What am I avoiding?

3. What am I addicted to?

4. What secrets am I hiding and why?

5. Am I honest with myself and others?

6. What are my biggest misconceptions about myself?

7. What are my biggest fears?

8. What should I give up?

9. Am I a victim of trauma? Have I done enough to heal?

10. What do I need to forgive myself for?

11. What lessons do I still need to learn?

12. What do I want most in this life?

13. What are the first signs you notice and know that your mental health is deteriorating?

14. Do I try to hide parts of myself from others? Why ?

15. What was I like when I was a child?

16. What's the worst way someone could describe you?

★moodboard: makes a Moodboard that reflects your aspirations and your inspirations that you can look at every morning; you can put it as a wallpaper or hang it on the wall.

★ Do a major cleaning: tidy your room, delete numbers, sort through your phone, sort through your series and films, social media and my playlist, cut off toxic people.

★make a list of all your goals, choose 4 big goals in your life and separate them into smaller goals to make them easier to achieve.

★create a morning and night routine: you can copy that of someone who inspires you or simply create your own.

★do 1 hour of sport per day

* ੈ✩‧₊˚day2:inner radiance

★ start Journaling: write down your thoughts, your emotions, your thoughts for the day and also positive affirmations.

★make a list of things you like about yourself

★become softer:

1. When someone calls you, first turn to the person and smile: This helps you to be gentler and more polite towards the person you are talking to and after smiling it gives you the opportunity to speak in a kinder tone.

2. think before you speak: this is very important when learning to speak softer because it gives you time to pay attention to the tone of your voice and also be careful with the things you say.

3. Avoid yelling at others out of frustration: Yelling is the most important thing you should avoid when trying to speak softer. When you're frustrated or going through a tough time, try doing something you enjoy to calm yourself down like music, drawing, etc. instead of taking it out on others. if someone tries to make you angry, politely tell them to stop and don't let your anger control you.

* ੈ✩‧₊˚day3:educational brilliance

-listen to a podcast: I only listen to podcasts in French but if you don't like listening to podcasts you can watch videos from tam kaur, thewizardliz, simonesquared and more

-read a book: I recommend atomic habit, ikigai, the why cafe, the other books that I read are in French.

-learn a new language: on YouTube there are plenty of videos that you can find on the language of your choice.

-learn another skill: I chose to improve my computer skills but you can choose any skill it can be drawing, cooking whatever you want.

* ੈ✩‧₊˚day4:celestial radiance

-work on self-love

-work on self-esteem

* ੈ✩‧₊˚day5:lunar dream

-spa day at home

-meditation

-listen to your favorite music

-watch your favorite series or films

* ੈ✩‧₊˚day6: lunar flight

-find your ikigai: that is to say your reason for being, explore your passions, your values ​​and your talents to really find what motivates you here is an example:

-Black Swan mindset: the Black Swan mindset is about knowing your value and not letting others tell you your value, it is a mindset of trust and knowledge of your value.

* ੈ✩‧₊˚day7:moonlight beauty

become more feminine

1-have good posture: gives you more elegance, you seem taller and more confident.

2-smell good have a characteristic scent: could remind someone of you, smell good shows that you care about your hygiene.

3-Getting Your Nails Done: Getting your nails done could make you look confident and well-groomed.

4-style your hair: hair is a key point of your appearance and a good hairstyle could automatically make you even more beautiful.

5-wear jewelry: simple jewelry can enhance your outfit a lot and bring out your features.

things to do every day

☆ Workout

☆ Learn a new skill

☆ Listen to subliminals

☆ Meditate

☆ Read a book

☆ Do Journaling

☆ Listen to Podcasts

I'm going to start tomorrow and to stay organized and always have an idea of ​​what I have to do I created a simple Notion if you want it's right here જ⁀➴

𝕄𝕆𝕆ℕ𝕃𝕀𝔾ℍ𝕋 BEAUTY

[cosmicawg]

𝟐𝟎). 𝐖𝐚𝐲𝐬: 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐰𝐤𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝/𝐔𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬

To anyone seeing this, hi! You can go ahead and reblog with your own tips on this; or just comment! Am an awkward person by nature; so these come naturally to me (bad or good thing? eh, who knows.)

1. Mistimed Compliments

A character tries to give a compliment but it comes out completely wrong, leaving the other person confused or offended. Example: "Your hair looks... better than usual."

2. Socially Unaware Responses

A character doesn’t pick up on obvious social cues and keeps talking or doing something when they should stop. Example: Continuing to tell a long, boring story (like no one wants to hear about your birdwatching sessions, Randy, god!)

3. Unintentional Insults

A character accidentally insults someone by mentioning something personal without realizing it. Example: Complimenting someone’s outfit, then adding “It’s much nicer than the last one you wore.”

4. Poorly Timed Jokes

The character makes a joke in a serious moment, only to be met with silence or awkward stares. Example: Cracking a joke at a funeral or during a heartfelt confession.

5. Physical Clumsiness

Characters tripping, bumping into things, or knocking over a drink while trying to act cool or confident. Example: Walking into a room full of people only to trip on the door frame.

6. Talking Over Someone

Two characters start talking at the same time, both trying to politely yield, and ending up in an awkward back-and-forth. Example: “Oh, sorry, you go—no, no, you first—um, okay—wait, sorry…”

7. Silent Pauses

Long, uncomfortable pauses in conversation where no one knows what to say next. Example: After revealing a huge secret, and no one responds, just complete silence. "....so what? don't just ignore me guys!"

8. Accidental Spills

A character accidentally spills something on someone in an important or formal setting. Example: Nervously fumbling with a glass of wine and spilling it all over someone’s fancy outfit at a party.

9. Misread Signals

A character misinterprets someone’s body language or signals, leading to an awkward encounter. Example: Going in for a hug when the other person was just reaching for something. (this has to be feared more than death itself, change my mind.)

10. Unwanted Physical Contact

The character gives an overenthusiastic handshake, hug, or pat on the back that clearly makes the other person uncomfortable. Example: A lingering handshake that lasts way too long, or a hug that becomes stiff and awkward.

11. Inappropriate Laughter

The character laughs at the wrong moment, only to realize that no one else finds it funny. Example: Laughing during a serious discussion or an emotional outburst. (THIS IS SO ME AM SORRY...not really)

12. Misunderstanding Conversations

Mishearing someone’s question or comment and replying with something completely unrelated. Example: "Hey, how's your day going?" "I'm listening to, Anaconda, by Nicki Minaj!"

13. Revealing Too Much

Oversharing personal or embarrassing information during small talk or casual conversation. Example: “Yeah, I had this weird rash last week, I swear thought it was like, ass cancer or something... but anyway, how’s your day going?”

14. Unwelcome Compliments

Giving a compliment that makes the other person feel awkward instead of flattered. Example: “You look so much better without makeup!”

15. Embarrassing Confessions

A character accidentally confesses to something embarrassing, thinking it was common knowledge. Example: “Oh, wait, you didn’t know I still wet the bed... uh, never mind.”

16. Interrupting at the Wrong Moment

A character walks into a room at exactly the wrong time, overhearing or interrupting something sensitive or intimate. Example: Walking in during a personal conversation and saying, “So, what are we talking about?”

17. Flubbed Introductions

A character completely forgets someone’s name or introduces two people incorrectly. Example: “This is, uh... sorry, what’s your name again?”

18. Unexpected Silence After a Comment

The character makes a bold statement or question, only to be met with an uncomfortable silence. Example: Asking if someone is pregnant, only to find out they’re not.

19. Forgetting Basic Social Norms

The character forgets to do something basic, like shaking hands, making eye contact, or saying “thank you,” leaving an awkward atmosphere. Example: Reaching out for a handshake and being left hanging.

20. Accidental Eavesdropping

The character overhears something personal or uncomfortable but doesn’t know how to politely excuse themselves. Example: Being stuck in a hallway overhearing an argument but can’t leave without being noticed.

[jack-bloomie]

”intro post.”

”Clarie said this could help my social presence, I don’t get why I need this but.. whatever.”

(It’s me @iburntthewateragain and this is an ask blog about my FPE DANGER! AU OC named Jack!)

FUN FACTS ABOUT JACK!:

1: he can be cold and push people away, doesnt care too much about his safety, has soft spots can you can easily reach with affection or a personal talk, usually very respectful and calm.

2: he carrys a smith and Wesson model 19 and heckler and koch MP5A3 and a switch blade.

3: has been trained to kill and fight sense he was 8 4: he is 19

5: his birthday is on October 7th

6: he is friends with @danger-abbie , Claire, lizzy (his girlfriend :D), zip, and Engel.

7: touch starved!! very touch starved.

8: he’s actually pretty ticklish. (GO FOR THE HIPS! HIIPPPS!)

9: he wears a bullet proof vest which can stop a sniper rifle bullet and it goes around him so don’t shoot him in the chest or back, bullet proof pants that can stop a sniper rifle bullet that are also heavy duty and are black, bullet proof boots, bullet proof gloves that are heavy duty, and a black trench coat .. he’s hard to kill

10: despite being 19 he is physically stronger then mister Demi so he is the strongest studen and stronger then the teachers

11: his mother is @danger-bloomie … he hates her for killing students for failing, yeah I know he’s killed people before but he doesn’t like killing unless it’s someone who attacked him first. (Sorry if you don’t like that she’s his mom)

12: has the bloomie horns, just hides them.

13: he has the strength of a wendigo, meaning he can lift 85 tons. (Taken from Google.) how does he have the strength of a wendigo? I won’t reveal that yet.

14: he is pansexual. On top of that, if he was ever to date someone it would either be Abbie or lizzy.

final fact: his full name is Jack Sargent bloomie

UPDATE: he has the strength of a wendigo because he injected himself with a wendigos blood, it gave him super strength and poison resistance. Also him and Lizzy are now actually lovers.

ROBOT EYE ABILITIES:

1: facial recognition scan

2: eye laser

3: X-Ray vision

4: tracking (good for shooting)

5: voice volume raising

6: heat vision/infa red vision

all his weapons:

smith and Wesson model 19, heckler and Koch MP5A3, a switch blade, machete, colt 1911, heckler and Koch PSG-1, katanas that his father left behind. All stored in his dorm but he only carries around the revolver and MP5A3.

powers the wendigo blood gave him:

super strength (can lift 85 tons), super hearing, very tiny bullet resistance (Bullets up to revolver arent as fatal to him but still could kill him), sort of better healing factor because he can heal bigger gashes faster but no limb stuff, a lot more adrenaline so he can take some blows, big leap ability, can’t get addicted to anything like smoking or alcohol.. still it’s bad for his organs (smoking - lungs, alcohol - liver).

RULES!:

(NO NSFW, suggestive asks are okay because he is 19 but nothing too extreme.)

(tickle asks and M!As are allowed but don’t be weird.)

(kill him if you want, injure him, bully him, I can just bring him back.)

”students.”

@danger-zipster @danger-abbie @abbie-appleboy @zip-the-chaos-child @oliversoapeater-official @engels-ask-blog @claireslibrarycard @danger-oliverrr

“Psychopaths.”

@math-teacher-who-loves-oreos @wendigo-language-teacher @danger-circle

“My mother.”

@danger-bloomie

“The principal.”

@ask-principal-grace

“The actual instructors”

@best-art-teacher-miss-sasha @pansexual-music-teacher

“Others.”

@mister-hotchkiss-craft-teacher @ask-mister-barrel @ask-margaret-sterling @ask-april-stuff-ig @askmyfpeocs

extra facts:

1: him and @danger-zipster (or just zip they are technically the same person) have a frienamy relationship in zip likes to mess with him and Jack hates it, but if he needs to he will protect her from danger (or the teachers-)

2: the robo eye glow changes to his emotion, red = anger, blue = tiredness, yellow = neutral, green = happy (or the happiest he can get-), and purple = sad and grey = lying or holding back talking about something.

3: despite being physically stronger then mister Demi (which makes him stronger then the teachers-) he doesn’t like getting in fights

4: his step mom is Sasha (I don’t feel like typing the @)

5: his voice claim is mark from invincible, it fits imo. (Update: I think his voice is just how I voice him now.)

6: he was at FPE before being transferred to the military school, he usually tried to be unseen by people. He was skittish and a bit timid but was known as a protecter because he saved students from being killed my teachers any time he could.

[forensicfield]

Forensic Linguistics

Here is a glossary of key terms related to Forensic Linguistics:

1. Forensic Linguistics: The application of linguistic knowledge, methods, and techniques to legal and criminal investigations, including the analysis of spoken and written language for legal evidence.

2. Linguistic Analysis: The systematic examination and interpretation of language, including its structure, usage, and meaning, to uncover insights and evidence in legal contexts.

3. Authorship Attribution: The process of determining the author or origin of a written text by analyzing linguistic features, such as writing style, vocabulary, and grammar.

4. Linguistic Profiling: The analysis of language to create a profile of an individual, including their demographic information, cultural background, and psychological characteristics.

5. Discourse Analysis: The study of language in use, focusing on how language is structured and used in different contexts, such as conversations, interviews, and legal proceedings.

6. Stylistic Analysis: The examination of linguistic features, such as word choice, sentence structure, and tone, to identify patterns and characteristics that can help identify the author or origin of a text.

7. Phonetics: The study of the physical aspects of speech sounds, including how they are produced, transmitted, and perceived.

8. Phonology: The study of the organization and patterns of sounds in languages, including the rules and structures that govern their use.

9. Morphology: The study of the structure and form of words, including how words are constructed from smaller meaningful units called morphemes.

10. Syntax: The study of the structure and arrangement of words to form grammatically correct sentences and phrases.

11. Semantics: The study of meaning in language, including how words and sentences convey ideas and information.

12. Pragmatics: The study of how language is used in real-world contexts, including the role of context, social factors, and implied meanings in communication.

13. Linguistic Variation: The study of how language varies across different speakers, dialects, regions, and social groups.

14. Sociolinguistics: The study of how language and society interact, including the social and cultural factors that influence language use and variation.

15. Language Documentation: The process of recording and preserving endangered languages, including their grammar, vocabulary, and cultural context.

16. Expert Witness: A professional who provides specialized knowledge and expertise in a particular field, such as forensic linguistics, to assist in legal proceedings and provide expert testimony.

17. Legal Discourse: The language and communication used in legal contexts, including legal documents, court proceedings, and legal arguments.

18. Miranda Rights: The rights of individuals in the United States, as established by the Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona (1966), which include the right to remain silent and the right to have an attorney present during police interrogations.

19. Linguistic Evidence: Language-based evidence, such as written documents, recorded conversations, or linguistic analysis, that is used to support or refute claims in legal proceedings.

20. Linguistic Proficiency: The level of skill and competence in a particular language, including the ability to understand, speak, read, and write in that language.

[lizardperson]

oc tag game <3

the awesome @dellamortte tagged me [here] and because i never pass up an opportunity to ramble about my idiots... *cracks knuckles* also i'm gonna cheat and talk about TWO just because i can :D

tagging: @twiggies-draws @clit-eastwood-spicy @ladyunderthemolehill @dragkingandreweldritch (no pressure tho obvs) and whoever feels like doing this :D

mika & gabriel as of current Dark Lights, Shine Loud status (chapter 11)

[art credits: lelelego / noxious-fennec / grozat ]

General

Name: mikaela jacobson (actually has a middle name but would rather die than tell it to anyone)

Alias/Nickname: mika. she *hates* her full name and only a handful of people actually know it. brat and menace also work as nicknames of course.

Gender: tomboy

Age: 32

Place of Birth: chicago

Spoken Languages: english; spanish relatively fluent

Sexual Orientation: very

Occupation: social worker

Favorites

Color: changes daily, but definitely ~colorful~

Entertainment: anything music (making, writing, listening, concerts, dancing)

Pastime: music, hanging out with friends, sex, running

Food: basically everything - loves most foods, loves trying out new ones, couldn't name a favorite dish

Drink: energy drink (all of them), coffee (order: dead eye, which is 3 espresso shots in a normal coffee, with no milk but an obscene amount of sugar)

Books: not a huge reader, but if she had to pick one then probably alice in wonderland

Movies: (sneakily adding this myself lol. in no particular order, and yes i have definitely overthought that) death proof; mars attacks; the boat that rocked; tropic thunder; across the universe; the men who stare at goats; rocky horror picture show; scott pilgrim vs the world; almost famous; boogie nights; legally blonde; yes man; wayne's world; napoleon dynamite; moulin rouge; lilo & stitch; the thing; dude where's my car; various jackass movies

Have They…

Passed University: yes but it took a while. has a ba in sociology

Had Sex: so much

Had Sex in Public: definitely, more than once

Gotten Tattoos: lots

Gotten Piercings: both nipples, and a bunch of ear piercings

Gotten Scars: a few from various dumbasseries

Had a Broken Heart: no

Been in Love: little miss demiromantic... definitely madly in love with gabriel by now (but wouldn't admit that ofc), other than that not really. bunch of crushes tho, but more in a horny way than in a love-way.

Are They…

A cuddler: huge. overall a very physically affectionate person with everyone. no sense of personal space.

Scared easily: no. fearless (dumbass)

Jealous easily: nope, not at all

Trustworthy: yes

Family

Siblings: no biological ones (that she knows of), but considers her foster brother aaron her real brother. met when they were both 12 and have been attached at the hip since then. also has a million other foster siblings, with various degrees of closeness

Parents: mother jess, had mika at like 19, died when mika was in her late teens. father unknown at this point, according to jess it was some drunk one night stand. foster mother charlotte morrison ('mrs. m'), mika lived with her since she was 12. died last year.

Children: currently none

Pets: always lowkey kinda wanted a dog but never got around to it

General

Name: gabriel l. wallace

Alias/Nickname: 'that old man', but of course only mika calls him that. will correct everyone who tries to call him gabe.

Gender: cis man

Age: 50

Place of Birth: some small town not far from portland maine

Spoken Languages: english; some rusty french and spanish which he has been meaning to brush up eventually

Sexual Orientation: straight

Occupation: lawyer (criminal defense)

Favorites

Color: black

Entertainment: books, music

Pastime: reading, spending time with people he likes, swimming, various other sport stuff, music

Food: doesn't really have a fav dish, but generally likes a lot of mediterranean food, lots of fish. pretty open to trying new things

Drink: water, some type of fancy whiskey

Books: seven pillars of wisdom (th lawrence), a lot of classics/'top 100 books of the 20th century' stuff - nabokov, joyce, steinbeck (doesn't care for hemingway tho). guilty pleasure: old detective/noir novels, the pulpier the better. mika makes fun of him for that.

Movies: would probably answer "none", but actually it's casablanca and various other bogart movies

Have They…

Passed University: yes. law school and all that.

Had Sex: yes

Had Sex in Public: probably got talked into something semi public by mika at one point or another

Gotten Tattoos: no

Gotten Piercings: no

Gotten Scars: a few, but none that have a meaningful story

Had a Broken Heart: yes, when he and kat 'restructured' their marriage

Been in Love: yes, couple times

Are They…

A cuddler: only with very selected people, but then yes

Scared easily: no. unshakeable.

Jealous easily: no

Trustworthy: very

Family

Siblings: none

Parents: marlene 'marly' and allan, both dead. there's a whole tragic backstory here.

Children: none, unless you count the baby that died during birth when he was in his 20s

Pets: none. he doesn't want any.

blank template below:

General

Name:

Alias:

Gender:

Age:

Place of Birth:

Spoken Languages:

Sexual Orientation:

Occupation:

Favorites

Color:

Entertainment:

Pastime:

Food:

Drink:

Books:

Have They…

Passed University:

Had Sex:

Had Sex in Public:

Gotten Tattoos:

Gotten Piercings:

Gotten Scars:

Had a Broken Heart:

Been in Love:

Are They…

A cuddler:

Scared easily:

Jealous easily:

Trustworthy:

Family

Siblings:

Parents:

Children:

Pets:

[eddiemunsonsmum]

Aftermath | Chapter 10 | Eddie Munson

Eddie Munson x Female OC | E.M x Karmen Jones

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 Chapter 15.

Chapter Summary: Eddie has spent a lot of lonely recovery time stewing on the fact that his new 'friends' seemed to have abandoned him. He's feeling stupid for hoping that they would invite him into their group instead. So what happens when one of those friends finally comes to visit him and offers an explanation?

Story Summary: Eddie wakes up in the Upside Down after 'dying' in Dustin's arms. He wakes up again in the hospital and is reunited with his loved ones. This story covers Eddie's time in the hospital and overall physical recovery after the Upside Down.

This fic is part of the She Feels Like Home series. It sits between Boxing Day and Drop Out but can be read as a standalone. 

Chapter Tags: Angst, Hurt/Comfort , Fluff, Mentions of being eaten alive, ASL, (American Sign Language), ASD !Eddie, Autistic Eddie, Non-verbal Eddie, Abandonment Issues, RSD, Misunderstandings, Friendships, Healing, Getting Better, Season 4 Spoilers.

Words: 6.7k

~~

Home time.

Finally.

But not for Eddie Munson. Instead it was Steve Harrigton that was covering ugly scars with house clothes. Today, a starchy polo that had previously been hidden in the back of his closet. 

Not one he ever would have chosen for himself. Instead, one that Robin had technically stolen from the Harrington household when she had technically broken in at his request.

He hadn’t had a key to give her when he’d asked her to please bring him some new clothes.God only knew where his parents had hidden the spare key… If they’d even left one out for him at all. 

The Harrington house had been in the middle of renovations before everything went to Hell. He knew there was no way his parents trusted the men from the Construction Company they hired to not make a copy and let themselves in off the clock if they happened to come across it. 

They were always so worried about the lower class and their nefarious motives. It was ironic really, considering one of the most nefarious people Steve knew in real life was his own Father.

His parent’s had always been of the impression that anyone less wealthy than them was waiting for a handout or their chance to rob them. 

He was glad that they hadn’t caught Robin going through his things. She wasn’t exactly their favorite person already simply based on their bigoted idea that she was from a different social class. He would hate to give them reason to believe their prejudiced mindsets had some validity to them.

Steve felt like he should probably be sad that his parents hadn’t visited him in the hospital. His Mother had called after she was notified of ‘the accident’. After Owens had been to visit him and explained the situation. But that was all from them. They knew he was alive and he supposed that was what mattered.

He wondered if they would come to his funeral if he hadn’t lived through it all. Maybe they would have just called and got the answer they needed to what was a simple yes or no question to them.

‘No,he didn’t make it. I’m so sorry.’

‘No problem. Thanks for letting us know.’

As if he was a package that had been misdelivered or a grocery item that was out of stock.

He tried not to think about it. He didn’t want to be sad. They’d just saved the world after all and he had plenty of visitors during his long and frankly unnecessary stay.

He hadn’t even been going to bring attention to his wounds the day they’d brought Eddie in. Didn’t think he needed it despite Nancy and Robin insisting that the grazes on his back were pretty bad and that the bat bites might get infected if they weren’t treated properly.

He had been ready to walk out without a word. But the quiet sobbing of Dustin in the waiting room changed his mind. He would never admit to the little Butthead quite how deeply he cared about him.

He also would never admit to the kid that he didn’t think Eddie was going to make it. So he needed to quietly make sure that Dustin didn’t lose both of them in one fell swoop. 

After the adrenaline finally wore off for good he had started to feel the pain of being nibbled on in earnest. 

Nancy and Robin had been right in the end and his wounds did get infected. So while he was rolling around in agony, a cold sweat on his forehead; he tried his best to be grateful that they had insisted he get checked out.

It was easier to be grateful when the narcotics kicked in and he could float around in the clouds. His mind was too muddled to think about anything other than the fact he was no longer in pain.

Unfortunately that reprieve hadn’t lasted long. They had taken that away from him on day three. His body was stronger than Eddie’s and he hadn’t been attacked as badly.

It only took a few days of healing for him to be doing quite well. He could move around on his own pretty ably.

He was itching to go home by the end of the week. 

The issue with that?

It would fuck up Eddie’s cover-story. 

Steve needed to be a little more injured for the car accident bullshit to make sense. 

The nurses were just as confused as him when Owens had announced that their doctor had ordered he stay for an extra week or two due to the nature of his injuries and how serious they were. It was obvious to everyone that he was relatively fine by that point. 

Sam had held up his hand and waved the medical staff off with a simple 

‘Confidential.’ 

Steve had been surprised that they actually listened and stopped asking questions. He figured someone had been made an example of in the past because no one had another thing to say about it. The nurses even continued taking his vitals twice a day without complaint or comment on the fact that they physically proved he was fine.

He and Robin had also theorized over his stay that maybe all the staff he interacted with actually worked for the lab and there wasn’t a single regular Hawkins Memorial Hospital staff member on their floor. Considering he, Max and Eddie were all taken to the same ward.

It wasn’t out of the question. But he was pretty sure they were all just scared of being fired.

A fear of his own that had recently come to fruition. 

Steve had resigned himself to playing the part for the sake of not breaking his NDA and getting to keep the Hush-Money that the government offered him for being cooperative.

He needed it. Apparently. Because according to the one phone call he had with his Mom. His Father was cutting him off after the owner of Family Video had called his house in a rage, asking why Steve had abandoned the store on their busiest day of the week.

It didn’t matter that it was later revealed that Steve had been in an accident. He couldn’t explain to his parents why he had abandoned the store in the first place and apparently Owens hadn’t bothered to come up with a cover for that part.

He was hoping now that he was finally free, to head over to the video store and explain to Keith  the version of events that he had spent his time in the hospital working on. 

He had been the one to abandon the store. Alone. Robin was already gone when Steve had learnt about the murder and left his post. He had assumed it was Eddie that was murdered when he’d seen the trailer on the news and he and Eddie were totally friends…

God he hoped Robin hadn’t gotten to Keith first. He’d asked her to stay away after she’d told him that they’d both been fired. He was going to fix it for them. He really hoped she’d listened and not gone in there and tried to explain it herself, contradicting all the lies he was about to tell.

He really hoped he could at the very least convince Family Video that Robin had done nothing wrong. That he could tell a captivating story that persuaded them to hire her back. Convince them that before Steve had left, she had a family emergency that had forced her to leave first. That she had asked Steve to work the rest of the shirt alone as well as her next few in her place.That he had absolutely agreed but forgot about his promise in the wake of learning his very best friend Eddie Munson was being charged with murder.

He also very much hoped that Keith had never heard him talk shit about Eddie in the past.

Steve hated to admit that there was a high possibility. That the prejudice and bigoted mindset he had been raised with had taken a lot longer to completely shed than he’d liked to acknowledge. That even after he’d begun to move on from that mindframe there were certain people that he had put into little boxes in highschool and not taken out to reexamine when he should have.

Eddie was one of those people and there was a 65% chance that Keith knew that already. That he’d already fucked his own cover story months before he would need it by being needlessly cruel about Dustin’s new friend Town Freak, Eddie Munson.

Maybe even if Keith knew he was lying, the dude would take pity on them. Maybe if he went in there all wet eyed and floppy haired with his best vocal quiver, he would be just pathetic enough to entice the man and he would hire them both back. 

But he doubted it. 

Even if he did, there was no way in hell he and Robin would be allowed to work together anymore and that was pretty much the only bearable part of the job.

So Family Video was where he was headed. His confidential discharge papers with most of the information redacted were tucked neatly into his satchel as he exited his hospital room for the last time

But he had a stop to make first before he took the bus across town to plead his pitiful case to his former employer. 

A doorway down the hall caught his eye. A doorway that he knew to currently belong to the room of his oldest and most cherished best friend, Eddie Munson. 

As he headed towards it he was surprised to see a woman exiting. Figuring in the few seconds he had to look at her that she was a nurse before realizing she was not dressed as such.

She was wearing a black polo shirt similar to his own although hers appeared to be of necessity rather than choice. There was a business logo on the back.

She also wore what appeared to be steel-cap boots with blue jeans.

Maybe she was a maintenance worker. 

She had long brunette curls pulled into a ponytail that swayed from side to side; masking the full name of the company she worked for. She walked across the hallway in front of him, heading towards the elevators. Steve stopped outside the door she’d just left. Trying to read the logo on her shirt and only making out the word ‘Construction’. He watched her walk away for a long moment before he realized he was staring and shaking himself out of it. 

About time this place did some renovations.

He thought to himself as he turned towards Eddie’s room, spying his friend reclining on his side in the bed and watching as he jumped out of his skin when Steve’s knuckles wrapped on the doorframe.

“Knock knock.” He called as an afterthought.

Eddie stared at him with shocked eyes that were magnified slightly by the glasses on his face. He closed his book, one hand obscuring the cover as he looked Steve up and down in a way that seemed like he was assessing if the other man was real or not.

Dustin had told Steve recently when he’d asked after Eddie that the man wasn’t speaking right now. Steve wasn’t really sure what that meant and Dustin hadn’t been much help. Explaining in an overtechnical way that made him feel like an idiot and not want to ask questions. But what he took from it was that Eddie could speak, he just didn’t want to or as Dustin had said:

‘His mouth wants to but his brain doesn’t.’

That was a few days ago though so Steve wasn’t really sure what to expect when he appeared for the first time in front of the guy who he’d nearly, accidentally, left for dead in another dimension.

He had been straight up avoiding the visit and it was probably obvious to everyone. He hadn’t been too injured to walk around and he frequently left his room to visit Max when she was there or buy food from the cafeteria. He’d run into Wayne a couple of times. Not speaking to the other man since he wasn’t sure he even knew who he was. He’d only known who Wayne was after all because he’d seen him coming and going from Eddie’s room and Nancy had mentioned that she saw Eddie’s Uncle staying with him.

But despite being able to move around he hadn’t yet visited his very best, oldest and most cherished friend, Eddie…

Because well…

Were they friends?

Steve remembered with shame the way he had referred to the other man as ‘Eddie the Freak’ when on the phone with Dustin the day Chrissy died. 

He looked back on the way he had acted at Family Video on that faithful Saturday morning with regret in his stomach at the thought that he actually voiced the idea that they call the cops. That he could have thought for even a second that Eddie was guilty.

He had pre-judged the other man in a way that he was honest to God embarrassed about after spending a couple of days with him. Even in the mess of being accused of a murder he didn’t commit and having the whole town on a man-hunt for him, Eddie had barely stopped smiling.

Whether it was a brave face for the kids or his own personal brand of coping with the horrors. Eddie Munson had laughed and joked his way through his ordeal.

It was refreshing, honestly. To not be constantly surrounded by Negative Nanc- uh.. People.. That always assumed the worst was about to happen.

Steve surmised that the mask Eddie wore probably was a brave face for the children considering how he noticed Eddie’s facade slipping more and more when he was alone with the other adults as opposed to in front of the younger tribe.

Either way, it was admirable. How he had gone out of his way to make sure the kids didn’t suffer more than they were already going to.

Eddie had laughed like a maniac and headbanged to the radio as Steve tore through the trailer park in their stolen vehicle. He had played with Dustin like they were kids while they were making their weapons. But when they had been alone in the boat and then later in the Upside Down, he had seen the terrified glint in the other man’s eyes. He had seen the jovial shield fall and the real Eddie come out in short bursts of anger and exaggerated, exasperated sighs.

He wasn’t laughing anymore now though. According to Dustin, he had let the mask fall completely.

Steve knew even when it was in place that the man was scared but he had put that aside for Dustin and the others. 

Him, even.

Eddie had jumped into the fucking lake and swam into another Goddamn dimension to chase after Steve who he’d barely known and to be honest, only known at his worst before they were thrust together during that situation.

He wouldn’t have dove into the lake after Eddie. Hell, he wouldn’t have even lifted a finger to help find the dude if he wasn’t the only one that could drive.

If Nancy or Jonathan had been there to take the lead, he probably would have just stayed at work and gone home after until the kids could prove to him that the things that had happened were Upside Down related.

Eddie was a good dude with a heart of gold. If their conversation in the woods had been any indication of Eddie’s feelings towards him, the other man had realized in kind that perhaps he had misjudged Steve as well.

Eddie had said he wouldn’t have jumped into the lake to save his ass. But he did. Even if at the time it had just been because he knew the others, Dustin included, would be distraught to lose Steve... He still did it. Which was more than Steve could say he would have done for Eddie.

So, they were friends now.

Steve assured himself as Eddie pulled his pillows closer to himself to hide the corner of the novel he had sheepishly pushed under them and nodded for Steve to enter the room.

“Hey man.” He greeted, as casually as he was able while he made his way inside. “Who was that?” He asked after the woman that had just left, to try and break the ice. He jutted his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the door and found himself unsurprised when Eddie didn’t answer.

Steve nodded to himself, slipping into the visitor chair that was usually occupied by Wayne. It sat him lower than Eddie’s bed. He hoped that worked for him. That knowing Eddie was able to physically look down upon him would help dispel any unease or frustration the other man had about Steve’s absence since ‘the accident’. He hoped that he appeared less intimidating from down there. He looked up at the other man with an expression that he hoped was friendly and maybe a little pathetic to boot.

He may not have a good grasp on how someone like Eddie was raised compared to himself but if he only knew one thing about the people he used to consider to be in a different social class to himself, it was that they liked it when he looked pathetic.

Eddie did look down at him but it was with wary eyes and a sense of sadness instead of the sharp glare he had been expecting. The brunette slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. The awkward angle of the visitor chair made it far too hard to keep lying on his side if he was going to have a ‘conversation’.

Steve watched quietly as the other man moved. Eyes roaming over his face as his muscles strained to right himself shakily.

He was paler than Steve remembered. Although he hadn’t really spent too much time studying Eddie’s face during the events of late March. He seemed noticeably pale like Steve would clock it even if he had never met him before.

The dark circles around his eyes were obvious even behind the glasses and the raw scars visible on his cheeks and neck gave Steve a lot of answers to questions he didn’t need to ask.

Eddie definitely still needed to be here and he felt guilty for bitching about lying around and being brought 3 meals a day for the sake of the other man’s recovery. When one look at him told him that it had been hell.

He was still bruised in some places while Steve’s own bruising had long since healed. Although now that he was really looking, he wondered how many of those bruises were new. Brought about by rough care on fresh, tender skin.

He couldn’t see much of Eddie’s chest. His body was covered by the papery sort of hospital gown that he hadn’t been wearing since his first week.

He couldn’t tell if Eddie was too sick and sore to wear his normal clothes or if he wasn’t allowed to. Either way the hospital had more comfortable options than the sort of thin material that adorned Eddie’s body.

Steve had been complaining about the thick fabric gowns that didn’t have the back cut out.

Just one more thing for him to feel guilty about.

Eddie sat cross legged on the stiff mattress. Looking down at Steve and shifting under his gaze. The grimace-like smile on his face hadn’t shifted since he sat down made Eddie question the motives of ‘The King’s’ sudden appearance. 

“So uh…” Steve began. Clearing his throat with a fist by his lips before he folded his hands in his lap. “Dustin said you don’t… Feel like talking right now?” He said as conversationally as he could manage. Pausing in the middle of his sentence to choose his words carefully and yet still managing to add an inflection on the end as if he was asking a question and expecting Eddie to answer.

Eddie shrugged softly, clenching his jaw at the action as his shoulder twinged in protest. He looked away from Steve, not able to take the strained eye contact any longer and instead focusing on a discolored spot on the arm of the chair. 

“How’ve you been?” Steve asked suddenly despite the gnawing feeling in his gut telling him to leave it alone and change the subject. Despite knowing the other man wouldn’t answer even if he could.

He had every right to be angry. To tell Steve to shove it and never speak to any of them again.

Eddie wasn’t able to hide the roll of his eyes at the question. An indignant huff left his lips as he shook his head slightly in astonishment.

It had been weeks and he’d not heard from any of them.

Wayne had told Eddie when he first awoke that the person driving the car didn’t need any surgery and would be out of the hospital within a few days. So Eddie hadn’t found it that hard to justify the fact that Steve was probably out in the world trying to get his life back on track after everything that happened.

Finding out from Dustin that Steve had been forced to stay for longer to help their cover stories… It had been a low blow. 

Not only had he only been a few rooms away the entire time Eddie had been suffering. But apparently Robin, Nancy and the rest of the younger crew had been visiting him the entire time to stave off his boredom.

Other than Dustin, not one of them had stopped in to visit Eddie.

The Kid had been hesitant to let that information slip. Obviously aware that it would hurt Eddie’s feelings. 

He had brushed it off at the time. Acting like it didn’t hurt. But Eddie had been through something spectacularly life altering and he was lucky enough to have people that related to it. So when suddenly the only other people in the entire world that understood his plight weren't interested in being his friend, it kind of sucked.

A lot.

Like, a lot more than he could have ever anticipated.

It wasn’t like he could talk about the extra hurt with anyone either. 

Literally or figuratively. 

How exactly would that sound without the extra context of monsters, other dimensions and trauma bonding? 

Hello Family, I know I didn’t contact either of you for the entire time I was on the run and I kind of let you think I was dead or at the very least, a cheater and a murderer to boot… BUT I made a bunch of new friends!! We had so much fun while you guys were suffering because you chose to love me but now I’m sad because even though you both spend every waking minute of your free time here with me…  My new friends I barely know won’t visit me. :(

Wayne might actually think it was a funny turn of events. Especially if he worded it like that. But he could only imagine the look of betrayal on Karmen's face...

No, he’d rather be back with the bats.

Anyway, he supposed he should have expected this. None of the gang had really been interested in being his friend prior to the ordeal. 

Robin was nice. They were in Band together and she had always been kind, even chosen to be his partner on a project in the past. But she had her own friends and hadn’t seemed interested in talking to him outside of that.

He understood. 

He didn’t know what he had been thinking… Traipsing around in another world with these people and feeling for the first time in a long while that perhaps he was a part of something again. That beyond Wayne, Joey and Karmen, maybe there were good people out there that cared for him and would want to be his friends. 

Real friends. His age. The kind of friends that he hung out with outside of DnD and on weekends. Friends that he could talk to about anything, not just the otherworldly horrors they had all experienced together.

He had a hunch that being the Town Pryer probably wouldn’t be so bad if he had some peers on his side to bat for him.

Bat…

He sighed internally. Dustin was the only one out of all of them that would always be willing to bat for him.

To go to bat-tle on his behalf.

I should have laughed at the kid’s joke.

Steve sat in silence as Eddie frowned at his own memories. Unsure if he had intentionally not answered the question or if he had been trying to decide how to respond and gotten lost somewhere in the past.

It was a bit of both but Steve would never know that as he opened his mouth to speak again and Eddie chose that moment to snap out of it. Huffing dramatically and crossing his arms over his chest in a juvenile way he was honestly embarrassed about but couldn’t help when he was feeling things like this.

He was frustrated. Exasperated. Resentful. But above all, hurt. Not necessarily by Steve specifically but his own silly brain for letting him believe for a hot second that he would just be welcomed into the group with open arms because they shared a spooky experience.

He may as well have let himself believe he was best friends with the gate attendant of the Haunted House carnival ride.

They had about as much in common as him and Steve.

“Sick scars Man.” Steve offered suddenly, pulling Eddie from his thoughts again and making him wonder exactly how long he had been silent for. “Very…” Steve paused, thinking. “Metal.” He said, remembering back to how Eddie had complimented him in The Upside Down.

Eddie looked to him tiredly, nodding once as an acknowledgement and a thank you before looking away again. He did appreciate the compliment. Also the fact that Steve had gone out of his way to use language that Eddie vibed with. 

There’s no way Harrington would organically use ‘metal’ as an adjective.

He was trying.

“Chicks dig scars.” Steve continued, pushing it too far and making Eddie feel like he was being pandered to instead of understood. His eyes hit the ceiling once more and any sense of confidence Steve had begun to feel at the way Eddie reacted to his correct use of ‘metal’ faded away as he deflated in his seat. “I mean… I don’t know what I mean.” He admitted softly. Throwing his hands up as Eddie’s shoulders seemed to soften slightly at the confession. “I guess, I mean, I don’t know, don’t be like, worried about them or anything. I’ve never seen a woman balk at scars you know? If anything it’ll only help your game.” He joked as Eddie furrowed his brows. 

Steve for sure wasn’t listening when they had been walking in the forest and he had mentioned wanting to get back to his girl after everything.

To be fair, he had worded it ambiguously. Partially because he wasn’t really saying it to have a conversation, it was just something he needed to voice aloud. But also partially due to the reaction of his actual friends in the Hellfire Club when he tried to tell them about her. It had scarred him and he didn’t feel like arguing with Harrington in the middle of the Upside Down about the fact that his girlfriend did exist. 

He supposed he could have shown him her picture. But he doubted the one in his wallet would have been salvageable after diving into the lake. Not that he ever wanted anyone else to see Karmen in that light anyway. That polaroid was just for him. Although… He could have covered the indecent bits with his thumb.

“Especially when you become a rockstar.” Steve added, leaning forward as if he was divulging a secret. “If Dustin’s retelling of events is accurate, I hear you’re pretty damn good with a guitar.”

Eddie didn’t take the bait. He wanted to. So badly. It helped that he couldn’t verbally reply. Out there somewhere, in an alternate reality was a verbal Eddie that was rubbing it in Steve Harrington’s face that he was quite possibly, the best guitar player in all of Indiana.

But not today. Not this Eddie. This Eddie was silent and staring at his own feet under the covers in an effort to seem uncaring. Pretend like he wasn’t hurt and didn’t need or want an explanation from Steve on why he wasn't good enough to be a part of their little gang.

Steve’s shoulder slumped when Eddie didn’t reply. He didn’t really know what else to say to try and entice the other man into engaging with him.

Maybe he should just tell the truth? He considered as he studied Eddie’s sunken features. The man had been through the wringer. Steve and his friends may have saved Eddie’s life but what did that really matter if they’d only brought him back to silently suffer in a world he’d never see the same way again.

What was the point in dragging him out of The Upside Down if he was going to spend the rest of his life alone or at least lonely and full of traumas he could never talk about. 

It would have been kinder to let him bleed out.

“Listen…” Steve began, not really sure how to continue while Eddie seemed to be physically closing himself off from conversation. 

His arms were wrapped around himself and he was refusing to make eye contact. The icy glare Steve had expected when he first entered the room had arrived but it was directed at the mattress, not him. 

That was a start.

“I um… I should have visited sooner.” Steve admitted softly, completely catching Eddie off guard. “I wanted to!” He continued eagerly, encouraged by the way Eddie’s face changed so suddenly from anger to curiosity. He still wasn’t looking but Steve was honestly glad for it because what he was about to say was going to feel humiliating even without eye contact. “It’s just that um…” He trailed off. A long sigh leaving his lips as Eddie all but twitched his ears expectantly like a dog that thought he’d heard his favorite word.

He stared at his feet, determined not to give Steve the satisfaction of having his attention as he waited with baited breath to hear the excuse he could practically feel sitting between them like a giant elephant with a neon sign that demanded him to look at it.

“It’s just that…” Steve started again, trailing off once more and causing Eddie’s inner monologue to become one long, frustrated screech. His eye twitching slightly as he ripped his vision from his own feet and finally looked at Steve in a way that screamed:

SPIT IT OUT!!

The other man took the hint, unnerved by the sharpness of Eddie’s gaze as he shrunk under it. His hands wringing together in his lap as he spoke.

“It’s just that I didn’t know if you– wanted to be my friend?” He confessed sheepishly, the end of his question a cluttered mumble of words that blended into one another but Eddie got the gist. His mouth falling open brazenly in surprise.

Oh…

He thought simply. Staring at the other man as his expression became unreadable and he sat with the new information for a moment.

He hadn’t considered that.

That maybe Steve “The King” Harrington would be just as confused about where they stood after their escapades in The Upside Down.

That Eddie was… right? 

That High School popularity and pecking order didn’t actually extend to the real world and it took leaving High School to fully realize that. 

That this wasn’t High School. 

That social class didn’t dictate who people were allowed to associate with…

That Steve was not better than him. 

That maybe, Eddie wanting to be friends with Steve didn’t mean that by default Steve was the one that got to decide if they were friends or not. 

That maybe, the ball had been in Eddie’s court all along.

Shit…

Steve swallowed nervously, his hands graduating from wringing together to rubbing the fabric of his polo between his thumbs and fingers as he looked away from Eddie with pursed lips and wished the floor would open up and swallow him whole.

Eddie still wasn’t saying anything.

This was a mistake. 

He’d misjudged the situation. Of course Eddie hadn’t been wondering the entire time why Steve hadn’t shown his face. Of course he wasn’t angry that Steve hadn’t been around and was instead annoyed that he’d shown up at all and ruined his peace. 

Of course Eddie had a bunch of friends already and didn’t need Steve encroaching on that just because they’d spent a few days together in a traumatic situation.

His friendship with Robin had skewed his sense of reality and how these things normally work. He was lucky she had chosen to stick around with him after Scoops and didn’t go back to her regular life. 

People didn’t really just become super close friends with someone out of nothing despite not having much in common.

The kids were already friends before their lives were turned upside down. He and Nancy had been dating. He already knew and mostly got along with the kids from that. Jonathan already knew the kids just by being Will’s brother but then he started dating Nancy and basically took his place… But they were all running in the same circles and had enough in common with at least one other person in the group to keep them all spending time together.

Robin was the exception and while he was glad every day that she was still his friend, it wasn’t usual.

Hell he didn’t really have any friends besides Robin anymore did he? If friends could be made that easily one would think he would have more of them.

He had thought Eddie hated him up until he’d called him a ‘good dude’ in the forest.

He wasn’t sure why he’d thought being perceived as a good dude was the same thing as wanting to… What? Hang out on the weekends? Talk shit about life, love and bro things he couldn’t force out of his mouth in front of the girls or the kids?

“Sorry.” Steve said suddenly. Staring at the ground. His hands clasped together tightly in between his knees. 

Eddie looked up at that. Staring for a few seconds as he tried to work out what he was sorry for. He squinted in confusion as he watched Steve sit up straight and place his hands on his knees like he was about to push himself up.

No!

Eddie exclaimed internally. Realizing in that moment how it must have looked when he just went silent and spent God only knows how long in his head instead of answering the question.

Stop! Don’t go!

He tried to convey, leaning towards the edge of the bed and reaching as far towards Steve as his body would allow. Gesturing with a flat hand for him to stop and holding the other man in place without actually touching him.

Once he was sure Steve wasn’t going to move, the other man staring up at him all doe eyed with creases in his brow; Eddie took his hand away. He reached for the book on his nightstand, flipping it open and sliding glossy pages roughly through his fingers as he looked for what he wanted.

He found it, sighing in relief and holding out the open book out for Steve to take.

Eddie had decided what he was going to do with the ball and he was handing it to Steve to put in the laundry basket thingy because he knew he would never make the shot. Besides, they worked better as a team.

Steve took the book hesitantly, confused by what it even was as he pulled it into his lap and studied the pictures on the page.

He looked back up at Eddie, ready to ask what he was looking at before realizing he was making a gesture with his hands. His index fingers hooked together before he let go and rehooked them, giving each hand a turn on top.

Steve’s brows raised in understanding as he looked back down at the page on his knees. Unconsciously pointing to the picture that matched the sign Eddie had made.

“Friend.” Steve read. The corners of his lips beginning to quirk. “Looks like your fingers are giving each other a hug.” He smiled, reading the description and looking back up to Eddie who dropped his hands to his lap, shoulders losing tension at the smile on Steve’s face. He nodded simply, smiling back but unsure where to go from there.

Steve had thrown the ball through the basket but Eddie didn’t really know how to play basketball. He was much better at words and metaphors. 

“So, will you be my friend?” Steve asked earnestly, needing the confirmation that he was understanding and accidentally sounding a lot more like a five year old than he had intended as Eddie cocked his head at the question.

It took a second for his brain to catch up to his ears but when it did, the absurdity of the situation hit him all at once and he found himself laughing aloud. 

A good, hearty laugh that startled even himself as he slapped a hand over his mouth in response. He stared wide eyed at Steve who was equally wide eyed and mouthed. Eddie had let forth a quick bark of laughter here and there but he hadn’t laughed like that since before.

Actually, since they were tearing through the Trailer Park in Marueen’s house.

It felt good to laugh. But was entirely inappropriate for the situation at hand.

“Did you just laugh at me?” Steve asked in disbelief as Eddie shook his head vehemently, ignoring the searing pain in his neck from the repeated motion. “You did!” Steve argued, his tone lighthearted as he shook his head in mock exasperation. The giant grin on his face giving away that he wasn’t actually mad. “I ask you to be my friend and you laugh at me?” He asked incredulously, placing Eddie’s book back on the nightstand and leaning back in his chair. “Honestly.” He huffed for dramatic flair. 

A silence fell between them and Steve continued to shake his head playfully. A sniff from Eddie making his head snap up in horror, thinking he had upset him. Before realizing the bastard wasn’t crying. 

He was still laughing. 

His eyes were closed, hand clamped over his mouth so tight his fingers were digging into his injured cheek. His shoulders shook as he tried hard to stifle it. Opening his teary eyes and locking them with Steve’s deadpan expression tipped him over the edge as he gave up on being quiet. 

He let his hand fall away as another hearty laugh left his lips at the ridiculousness of it all. Doubling over as the wounds on his chest stung and his belly burned from not being able to take a proper breath.

Of all the things he’d expected to happen to him in ‘86, he would have confidently put ‘Steve Harrington asking him verbatim to be his friend’ below witnessing a murder, being wanted for said murder, discovering monsters exist and finally, almost being eaten alive by said monsters.

Maybe Steve wanting to be his friend was a little more believable than him finding a girlfriend that loved and cared for him but that happened in ‘85 so really, it didn’t count.

“Do you want to be my friend or not you Bastard?” Steve asked through a chuckle. Eddie’s laughter was the only infectious thing in this place that could make him smile.

Eddie nodded definitively. His own grin that stretched his cheek scars a little too tightly played on his lips as he looked over at Steve and nodded once more to be extra certain he had seen.

Yeah Harrington, I really do.

“Great.” Steve responded simply, happy to finally have one of his long standing anxieties melt away with a positive outcome. “Henderson is going to have a field day with this.” ~~ More Notes: I just want to point out that while I do mention a couple of times later in the series that Eddie doesn’t have any friends or he/Karmen actually says he doesn’t have any friends, that it has never been true. It’s not about whether he physically has friends or not but his perception that he doesn’t. He basically has strong imposter syndrome and struggles to feel like one of the gang despite them ensuring him that he is. He doesn’t reach out to them when he should and they kind of take it as him distancing himself on purpose when in reality he’s got that RSD bad and I hope I conveyed well here that Steve does too. Both during this story and in the future they’re both as scared of being rejected as each other but Steve has other friends he believes love him whereas Eddie puts all of the gang (bar Dustin) in the same box and doesn’t trust any of them not to hurt him, especially when he’s at his worst mentally and struggling to even trust that Wayne loves him.

Part 11

Read the rest of the series here :)

This series is so personal to me, so it means the world to me when someone let’s me know they enjoy a work from this series. If you guys liked this please pleaseee consider letting me know via comment, reblog, message, anon ask etc.  

Tag List: @3ddi3-daydreamer @micheledawn1975 @munson-blurbs @wheels-of-despair @browneyes528 @stevemunsons

[theinquisitxor]

Mid-Year Book Freak-out Tag 2024

Another year, another Mid-Year Book Freak-out Tag! I believe this set of questions originated on booktube, but I see it circulate around all social media. I usually do this set of questions every year. Feel free to copy/paste the questions if you're interested!

I try to only answer 1 book per question (but sometimes I can't decide) and I try to only talk about a book once throughout the set of questions too, so I'm not too repetitive, but it doesn't always happen!

1.Best Book so far in 2024: I'm going to have to say Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer. I read this on audio back in January, and it's stuck with me since. I bought a physical copy and have been reading & marking up the book over the past few weeks. I'm not a religious person, but this book could be my bible lol.

A close runner up is North Woods by Daniel Mason, and the Beartown series by Fredrik Backman.

2.Best Sequel you've read so far in 2024: Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett. This series is just so fun and exactly the type of book I like to read.

3.New Release you haven't read yet, but want to: Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel. I really enjoyed her debut, Kaikeyi and she's an author on my radar now. I'm also interested in Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland.

4.Anticipated Release for the second half of the year: The new T.Kingfisher book, A Sorceress Come to Call in August, as well as A Dark and Drowning Tide by Alison Saft later in the fall.

5.Biggest Disappointment: The Atlas Complex, the third and final book to the Altas series by Olivie Blake. This was a big disappointment and let-down :(

I also found Song of the Huntress and A Winter's Promise to be disappointments this year. Both were books I was anticipating liking a lot, but was let down.

6.Biggest Surprise: The Throne of the Five Winds / Hostage of Empire trilogy by SC Emmett. This became a new favorite fantasy series, and I went into the first book without much of an expectation, but was surprised by how much I liked it.

7.Favorite New Author: I did not read many new (new to me, or debut) authors this year so far, but I did enjoy reading the Greenhollow Duology by Emily Tesh. So I would say Emily Tesh is a new favorite.

8.Newest Fictional Crush: usually I struggle with this question, but this year was easy 😂. It's easily Zakkar Kai from The Throne of the Five Winds without no doubt. Takshin from the same series is also a contender!

9.Newest Favorite Character: Komor Yala from The Throne of the Five Winds, she was such a great main character, and had such a quiet strength and intelligence that made her an instant favorite.

10.Book that made you cry: The Wall by Marlen Haushofer had me crying by the last page. I might not make everyone cry, but it certainly made me emotional.

11.Book that made you happy: A Fragile Enchantment by Alison Saft was one of the first books I read this year, but it was so delightful and had me smiling throughout. I read it in a day and couldn't put it down.

12.Most Beautiful Book you've bought/acquired this year: The Language of Trees: A Rewilding of Literature and Landscape by Katie Holton is such an artistic and unique book.

13.Book you need to read by the end of the year: I've been meaning to do a re-read of the Pellinor series by Alison Croggon for a few years now, maybe I'll get to it this year

[compneuropapers]

Interesting Papers for Week 50, 2024

Synaptic rearrangement of NMDA receptors controls memory engram formation and malleability in the cortex. Bessières, B., Dupuis, J., Groc, L., Bontempi, B., & Nicole, O. (2024). Science Advances, 10(35).

Quantitative modeling of the emergence of macroscopic grid-like representations. Bin Khalid, I., Reifenstein, E. T., Auer, N., Kunz, L., & Kempter, R. (2024). eLife, 13, e85742.

Individual gaze shapes diverging neural representations. Borovska, P., & de Haas, B. (2024). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(36), e2405602121.

Competitive processes shape multi-synapse plasticity along dendritic segments. Chater, T. E., Eggl, M. F., Goda, Y., & Tchumatchenko, T. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 7572.

Neural circuit basis of placebo pain relief. Chen, C., Niehaus, J. K., Dinc, F., Huang, K. L., Barnette, A. L., Tassou, A., … Scherrer, G. (2024). Nature, 632(8027), 1092–1100.

Morphine-responsive neurons that regulate mechanical antinociception. Fatt, M. P., Zhang, M.-D., Kupari, J., Altınkök, M., Yang, Y., Hu, Y., … Ernfors, P. (2024). Science, 385(6712).

The limited memory of value following value directed encoding. Filiz, G., & Dobbins, I. G. (2024). Memory & Cognition, 52(6), 1387–1407.

Dynamic control of sequential retrieval speed in networks with heterogeneous learning rules. Gillett, M., & Brunel, N. (2024). eLife, 12, e88805.3.

Disinhibition enables vocal repertoire expansion after a critical period. Heim, F., Mendoza, E., Koparkar, A., & Vallentin, D. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 7565.

Dopaminergic manipulations affect the modulation and meta-modulation of movement speed: Evidence from two pharmacological interventions. Hickman, L. J., Sowden-Carvalho, S. L., Fraser, D. S., Schuster, B. A., Rybicki, A. J., Galea, J. M., & Cook, J. L. (2024). Behavioural Brain Research, 474, 115213.

Cl − -dependent amplification of excitatory synaptic potentials at distal dendrites revealed by voltage imaging. Higashi, R., Morita, M., & Kawaguchi, S. (2024). Science Advances, 10(35).

A circuit motif for color in the human foveal retina. Kim, Y. J., Packer, O., & Dacey, D. M. (2024). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(36), e2405138121.

Super-optimality and relative distance coding in location memory. McIntire, G., & Dopkins, S. (2024). Memory & Cognition, 52(6), 1439–1450.

Detection of Memory Engrams in Mammalian Neuronal Circuits. Niewinski, N. E., Hernandez, D., & Colicos, M. A. (2024). eNeuro, 11(8), ENEURO.0450-23.2024.

Distinct roles of monkey OFC-subcortical pathways in adaptive behavior. Oyama, K., Majima, K., Nagai, Y., Hori, Y., Hirabayashi, T., Eldridge, M. A. G., … Minamimoto, T. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 6487.

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[wintily]

60 questions with Marci | gameplay

[1] What first impression do they typically make? Are they likable from the get-go, or take time to grow on people?

At first glance, Marci looks like she doesn’t want to be bothered but is sociable! She’s quite the charmer, a skill she developed when she had to charm representatives to get into the most prestigious ballet schools. So, Marci’s quite likable sociably.

[2] How does their social personality differ from how they act when they’re alone?

Despite her outgoing exterior, it’s a mask to hide how much of an introvert she is and how much she prefers to be alone and cooped up at home. She’s not a people person but she just can’t turn the charm off. It’s almost second nature to her now, a fake mask she can’t take off.

[3] What emotion is the hardest for them to deal with?

Joy. Not to sound depressing but it’s just that whenever Marci ever achieved something that was meant to bring her joy, it was just instilled into her to compete with herself and get better. Every achievement wasn’t met with celebration in her house but instead critiques on how to become the better version of what she was. So, it’s hard for her to live in the moment and feel genuine joy for something instead of thinking of the next steps in what to achieve.

[4] How physically and emotionally affectionate they are?

Marci is not physically affectionate. Stiff as a board in hugs. She’s a handshake girlie and may or may not allow you to put your arm around her shoulder. Depends on the day and her mood. But generally, she’s not super affectionate.

[5] Are they good at keeping secrets?

The thing about Marci is that she is a great secret keeper only because she forgets the secret right after. And it’s because she’s got so much stuff going on in her head she will genuinely forget the secret.

[6] How direct are they in conversations, do they speak in hints and riddles or bluntly say what they think?

The way she talks is almost blunt and manipulative at the same time. She was just taught to always use conversations as a way to get stuff out of people that would benefit her. She’s used to dishonest people and using it to her advantage.

[7] Are they a good liar, and what would they probably lie about?

Scarily, yeah, Marci is a great liar. Mostly, that came from her having a strict mother and a head-in-the-clouds father.

[8] How open they are about their true feelings, both positive and negative?

The household she grew up in wasn’t known for being open or candid about their feelings. Just a lot of bottled-up emotions and resentment. So, Marci isn’t easily open with her feelings. It honestly takes a lot to just figure out what’s she thinking at that moment.

[9] What is their love language?

Marci loves praise. Strives for it. As much as she doesn’t like to admit it, she does care about what people think of her because of this.

[10] How quickly do they fall for someone?

Marci is romantically reserved. First off, it takes a bit for her to warm up to you enough to open herself up platonic-wise. But romance? You’d have to be a very patient man or woman to break down those stone walls just to tickle her heart.

[11] What are the small things that make them happy?

Genie, her cat. And music! Music was the one thing she and her father bonded over.

[12] How high is their self-esteem?

Self-esteem is one of the larger things Marci is still dealing with. While she is confident in her skills, her mother’s voice is always hounding her and critiquing every little thing about her which has a great effect on her self-esteem. So, it’s not high. It honestly, depends on the day she’s having.

[13] What kind of sense of humor do they have, if any?

The driest sense of humor. Whenever she’s joking she says it in such a serious voice that you honestly can’t tell if she’s just crazy or joking.

[14] What does it take to make them laugh, and what does their laugh sound like?

Dark jokes make her laugh. And self-deprecating jokes--she will laugh at you whenever you make a self-deprecating joke about yourself like she’s not sorry.  And her laugh isn’t like a full belly laugh but more of a huff of breath and a small upturn of her lip. 

[15] How do they act around people they don't like?

Marci is two-faced when it comes to people she doesn’t like. She will fake a smile on their face and then talk shit about them. Like she hates Dina Caliente but invited her to one of her parties just for the messiness of it. 

[16] Do they easily rely on others to help them out, or prefer doing everything themselves?

Nope! Marci doesn’t ask people for help at all. She’s always been taught to figure things out on her own and that asking for help would be another way of giving up. 

[17] What is their biggest struggle that no one around them can understand or believe?

Being herself. Everyone would always tell her to “be herself” but Marci doesn’t even know who her true self is yet. She’s still unlearning the skills and the fake mask she’s built because of her mother and while being a competitive ballerina. 

[18] Do they ever have to hide their identity and for what reason?

Marci doesn’t necessarily have to hide her true self but it’s more like she doesn’t know how to show it without hiding it.

[19] If they could change one thing about their past, what would they change?

Honestly, becoming a ballerina. It was something she was passionate about when she was younger but well into her adulthood, she lost a lot of love for it.

[20] When they’re sad or upset, do they need company or some time alone?

Marci needs all the alone time she can afford. She doesn’t want anyone in her face asking if she’s okay. She just wants to isolate herself until she’s numb to the anger or sadness she’s feeling.

[21] When they’re sick, would they want others to visit and take care of them, or they would rather not be seen at their best?

This goes back to asking for help. She does not like asking for help, especially when she’s sick. She’d rather no one see her and just take care of herself.

[22] Do they have nightmares, and if yes, when did they start and what are they usually about?

Most of her nightmares used to be about messing up her recitals but after leaving home and giving up that career, she hasn’t had those nightmares as of recently.

[23] What was the worst, the darkest period of their life that they have been through?

It had to be when she noticed how much her parents’ relationship was strained. And it doesn’t help that her birth was supposed to be the saving grace to their marriage. It just made Marci feel as if it was her fault somehow. She had to be around seventeen at this point and she had no one to talk to about this. She didn’t know who was her real friend or who was just sucking up to her simply because of her parents’ fame. In that moment she felt utterly alone.

[24] How hard it is for them to not allow their emotions to cloud their judgment?

Usually, Marci doesn’t allow emotions to cloud her judgment. 

[25] Do they have fears and phobias, and if they do, do they usually keep it to themselves or talk about it openly?

I think her fear is pretty obvious and that’s a fear of failure. Or having no direction in her life.

[26] Do they have any physical or mental illness, how do they handle it, and how open they are about it?

Marci does have depression but she doesn’t acknowledge it as much as she should. Usually, she dulls it down with alcohol or whichever drug is the most effective.

[27] Do they have any scars, how did they get them and how do they feel about them?

No scars yet!

[28] What is something that they will never be able to forgive?

Her mother essentially told her that she didn’t want her at first and now she should earn her place in the family.

[29] How do they deal with loss, stress, and anger?

As we discussed before, she doesn’t deal with either healthily. Marci drinks and smokes. She doesn’t deal with her emotions very well.

[30] What are their most healthy and most unhealthy coping mechanisms?

A healthy coping mechanism that she has is cross-stitching. The unhealthy part is her constant abuse of substances.

[31] How hard it is for them to own up to their mistakes and wrongdoings?

Unless someone explicitly calls her out, Marci will not say a thing about it. It’ll just be swept under the rug and never addressed again. And even if she is called out she will give a half-assed apology.

[32] Is there something they've done in the past that they deeply regret to this day?

Sabotaging another ballerina just to get ahead. It was a competition and Marci ended up winning one of the spots instead of the girl. It made her mother proud but the guilt was heavy.

[33] What are some of their fondest and most treasured memories?

Probably with her dad and grandmother. Her grandmother was the one to give her a vinyl player and lend her some of her older albums, starting her love for music.

[34] Do they have vices they don't want others to know about?

Sabotaging or just her overall cunning nature.

[35] Do they like their appearance, and what do they do, if anything, to alter it in any way?

That’s one thing that Marci does like about herself. She worked hard on her appearance all her life, of course, she’s going to love it. 

[36] Do they own items that have sentimental value?

Despite the less than pleasant memories, her first ballet slippers. They’re just something she can’t give up so she keeps them in a small box under her bed.

[37] How would they spend a lazy day when they have nothing specific to do?

Listening to one of her grandmother’s favorite bands, cross-stitching, or hanging out with her cat.

[38] What do they usually do or where do they go when they need to feel comfortable and safe?

Since she lives with people, she mostly hangs out in her room where she feels the most safest and comfortable.

[39] What are their sleeping habits and favorite sleeping position, either alone or with someone?

Marci unfortunately is a night owl so she has a habit of staying up late and doesn’t go to sleep until the a.m. And she prefers lying on her stomach and her cat would sometimes lie on her back while she sleeps.

[40] How picky they are with food, do they have specific dietary requirements based on their health or culture?

When she was a ballerina, yes. Her diet was very strict. But lately, she’s been indulging herself in all kinds of food.

[41] What’s their usual morning routine?

Having a moment to herself, putting music on in the background, and then grabbing a cup of coffee, having more time to herself, and then finally allowing herself to speak to her roommates or people in general.

[42] What is their idea of a perfect friendly hangout and/or romantic date?

Just being in an intimate setting. She’s not one for doing romantic dates or gestures in public. She’s very private--and that mostly comes from having an actress mother who had paparazzi follow them throughout her entire childhood.

[43] Do they enjoy flirting or being flirted with?

Marci is a charmer so she’s pretty decent at flirting. Usually, she used to make people flustered, not for them to flirt back with her.

[44] At a party, where would you find them?

Here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKp2CrfmVfw

[45] For an event, would they dress like they typically do, or go all out?

Marci knows how to dress up for an event. She keeps it lowkey, not one for drawing attention to herself.

[46] Would they rather dress to look attractive or to feel comfortable, and what would they never wear?

Both depending on her mood or for what kind of event she’s dressing for.

[47] Do they drink alcohol, and if they do, how much and how often?

Yes. Pretty often, mostly at parties.

[48] Are they, or were they at some point in their life, a part of any subculture?

Marci doesn’t dabble in subculture, maybe if she continues finding herself she will one day.

[49] Do they possess any unexpected skill or knowledge that surprises others, and otherwise, what is something anyone would assume they know or can do, but they don’t?

One thing no one expects is that Marci can skateboard. Like doing tricks and shit type of skateboarding. Most assume she’s super classically trained along with being a ballerina but Marci plays no instrument.

[50] What are they really good and really bad at?

She’s good at writing, skateboarding, and dancing obviously. Bad at gardening, cooking, and cross-stitching (even though she loves doing it)

[51] How good are they with money?

Okay, Marci’s kind of been spoiled. Growing up with a lot of money around her, she had no problem spending without worrying about where the next paycheck was coming from. But she’s also good at saving up as she’s done with her paid recitals and working as a waitress at her father’s diner.

[52] Do they speak any other languages aside from their own?

No.

[53] Do they like to sing and how confident they are with their singing?

Marci hums, she doesn’t sing and no she can’t sing. That’s just not one of her talents.

[54] Do they like giving gifts, and how good are they at picking good gifts?

Gift giving is a thing Marci enjoys, more so than receiving gifts. She does listen and learns to incorporate it into buying gifts for her loved ones and or friends.

[55] How long does it take for them to make a new place feel like home, and what do they need for it?

When it came to moving into her place and before she got roommates, it did take a while for her to get used to being on her own and away from her parents. Two months is when she started feeling like she was at home and that she’d created a safe space for herself.

[56] How would they react to hearing a dirty joke?

She would roll her eyes or very rarely snort if the joke was a little more creative instead of on the nose.

[57] What was the most stupid or dangerous thing they have ever done?

Jumping out her bedroom window just to sneak out to a party when she was like sixteen.

[58] In a situation where they had to choose, would they rather stay loyal to their morals or to the people they love?

Marci doesn’t care much for her morals. They’ve already been blurred so she would rather stay loyal to her loved ones.

[59] What would they want to be remembered for?

Marci would want people to remember her and her accomplishments. Away from her mother’s or anyone else’s shadow.

[60] If they were to commit a crime, what kind of crime would it most likely be?

Murder. Hey, sometimes, Marci will scheme a plan.