#my patience is so much better now that I'm medicated lol

[pallanophblargh]

Oh no, not me, human often frustrated by the willful whims of mammals, looking warmly at the profiles of mostly bully mix type dogs in local shelters.

Don't worry, I'm not that brand of impulsive. I just love their big smiles and I'd never met one I didn't like.

Alternately, I'm missing my childhood dog (who wasn't a bully type) but like all dogs, he was a certified Good Boy.

[emersonfreepress]

help i'm alive

So! Long time, no see. 2023 was a whole goddamn lot lol

I don't have a demo update to share yet, but that's because I had to scrap nearly everything I managed to write during a very, very, very bad stint of writer's block last year. I hadn't even realized it had been a block like that until I went over my work so far last month and realized it was bad -- like, trust me; a slog to read that didn't even sound like me. It's been extremely frustrating but I've finally broken free of that and it's been easy and actually fun to write again for the first time in actual years. I just hate giving updates that have no actual news in them. And I really had nothing to share other than: I deleted thousands of words and feel so much better now 😅

Anyway, little about my demo plans have changed: I'm still putting out the Chapter 3 demos in Choicescript/on Dashingdon and then will be going dark to move things over to Twine. Where I am in the process right now is... feeling like 35% done with the overhauled version of this chapter and 50% done for the next demo update.

As far as asks, I'm... not really sure what to do?? I believe I've read them all (I love you guys), but so much time has passed since getting most of them that I'm not sure if it's, like... still pertinent??? To go back and answer them?? I suppose some of them like character asks could be, but all the nice messages of support -- that feels weird since I've practically ghosted this blog since August! Idk. Y'all tell me what to do with 'em and I'll do it. Maybe I should make a poll.

Uh... that's really all there is to say regarding the game! I've added some personal stuff after the cut, but if you're done here: Thanks for reading and sticking around. It means the world, for real.

So what has occupied my time all this time? Doctor, therapy, money, and friends. And improv! But especially the first two. There was a lot of non-writing related stuff fucking up my ability to focus and write, so hopefully with my mind and body both feeling a lot better, I can get back to being present and active with the game. I didn't realize how physically unwell I was until last year and it's been like... life-long issues I've been treating. It turns out it's not normal to feel exhausted enough to sleep at any given time, at all times, for your whole life! wow!!

I also uninstalled Tumblr from my phone back in February, so you could say I'm sort of generally focused on offline life. (And what an interesting coincidence that my writer's block dissipated shortly after that...) I also just moved!! The last two weekends have been so expensive and stressful -_- But I can't even compare the old place to the new. We're basically paying the same price for idek how much more space. The cats are so happy; which means the house humans get to be happy.

My schedule is finally freed up from constant medical shit (there was a 3-month stretch this winter with multiple doctor appointments literally every fucking week 🙃🙃🙃). My mental health is doing a lot better -- literally incomparably better compared to where I was this time last year. There's live comedy now (which I dabble in, to be clear lol), but I've finally found myself able to like... balance it all. The physical and creative energy that goes into it all, anyway. The lovely thing about improv is that you kinda just show up and do your thing -- it doesn't cut into my writing time so much as it costs energy. Unless I end up in this comedy debate show thing next month, which I am very excited to give up writing time for

So like... Life is life-ing and I'm just vibing. Or something? I'll be around.

Thank you all again so much for your interest, support, patience, and readership <3

[hooked-on-elvis]

Hello!! I was just wondering about something...we don't really have a understanding of Elvis' personality, yeah we have books, videos and articles about the people they were around him but I'm talking about REALLY getting a hold of what personality he had is what's been circling my mind lately.

I don't know why, I've been really interested in personalities recently lol specifically Elvis'😅

Hi, sweetie! Yours is a good question to keep in mind, really. I like to wonder on this topic too. I guess Elvis' personality is very difficult to summarize because of the way his actions contradicted themselves in the messages they give. He was mainly a good person, as we all know, but also incoherent and even scary at times. It's frustrating trying to describe him because nothing seems to fit well-enough to describe how intense he was.

One thing we know for sure is how dual Elvis was - and we all are, no doubt, but Elvis's duality was very prominent, very much like changing one thing into the complete opposite in no time, as if there was no middle ground, just this or that.

The way I see it, EP was like a whole universe with all it's wonders and scary truths put together at once; like white and black, the good and bad, fire and rain, light and dark, a desert weather and a harsh winter in just one little space. He could be a spontaneous, extroverted open person, very sweet, generous, peaceful, attentive, warm, easy-going, friendly, supportive, affectionate, loyal, very wise, meditative, spiritually fervent believer in God, family-oriented, just an ingenuous little boy with a soothing peaceful and loving energy that could calm the most anxious of hearts that approached him, without even meaning to, and yet at the same extent he could also be shy, a loner, mean (here and there, both in words and actions), freezing cold, selfish, a loner, unreasonable, hot-tempered, promiscuous, sly, hopeless and lost, a control freak and a reckless disturbed man with such intense energy people could be afraid of doing something that could unleash the beast in him (that's why very, very little of his friends or family were brave enough to go against any thing Elvis would say/do or with his way of thinking), and then again he would turn into something else... He would look so confident, so strong and self-assured, a very powerful entity, but around the ones he trusted just enough he still let himself be vulnerable, acting just like a baby, begging for someone to take care of him, to show him patience, understanding, to make him feel safe, to hold him and never let go.

With the little knowledge we have about EP, we could use those and many adjectives to describe his personality but we can't summarize Elvis Presley better than to simply say he was human. Elvis was "too much of everything"... overwhelming, in a good and a little bad way too. The way he was such a good person, the way through his friends, family, co-workers and fans' memories Elvis sounds like one of the best people one could ever have the pleasure of meeting in this life, his moments of irrational and hurtful actions (towards people and himself) confuses us when we try to understand what Elvis was really about. I bet it was very confusing to understand him even for his family, lovers and friends, so it wouldn't be easy for us to understand him when we not really met him in person.

The King's personality is so intriguing! That's why there's books with analysis in both scientific medical and social fields, psychologists and psychiatrists wrote after studying Elvis' behavior patterns and what they tells us about him. Much beyond the stories their friends and general acquaintances told and how they portrayed EP in those many books and interviews we read/saw over the years, I think those psychological studies are the best way to go in depth about Elvis' personality. Even so I don't believe one single book can do all the accurate, proper work on it, one of those books I can mention now is "The Inner Elvis - A Psychological Biography Of Elvis Aaron Presley" by Peter O. Whitmer Ph.D. - I haven't read the book myself because I want to finish the friends and family books, the most important ones at least, before going deeper into Elvis' personality analysis but I've read parts of it and it's interesting. I would recommend you, if you haven't yet, to read this book.

Anyhow, I think we'll never have an accurate picture of Elvis Presley as a person, friend. One: Because people in general are difficult to understand. We contradict ourselves all the time, according to the situations we face. And two: Because nobody, for the best they can be at reading people, can really tell us what goes on inside another one's heart and mind. I guess being such a mystery is another wonder of Elvis. Another thing we can be sure of about him is that he was even not close to be a boring person.

[gumpistol]

:: SEMI-HIATUS NOTICE ::

as some may have already seen when i said something about it a few days back, due to some other health concerns, i am being taken off of my adhd medication for at least the next 1-2 months until i can get other health issues at a better place. i have no idea the full scope of how this will affect me, as this will be the first time in about five years that i'm not on any sort of medication. i.e. i could be in for a WILD ride folks.

i am certain of one thing though, writing, especially long-form, is going to be so much harder, and as a result slower, and possibly even non-existent. i struggled keeping up with rp writing A LOT prior to getting placed on meds, to the point of nearly giving up on it because i genuinely thought i could not do it.

that being said, until the end of June, my activity is going to be very low, and things i reply to are going to be purely based on where the dopamine wants to go. i don't want to try and force any writing, i don't want to fall back into the mindset of writing being something i dislike. i LOVE writing Luffy, i love writing my other OP muses, and i love that i've been able to feel excited about writing again for the first time in a long time. i really don't want to lose that, but i also understand that my health is struggling right now and it needs to be prioritized.

i have no doubt that my moots here will be understanding and patient with me, it's just a matter of me being patient with myself. but regardless, i just ask for some extra patience as more typos potentially happen, if my grammar gets a bit muddled, and if my writing is generally shorter since i won't be able to focus on the same threads for more than 15 minutes or so at a time. or i just have a sleep attack at my desk and pass out mid-writing. it's gonna be high school biology all over again lol.

on that note, any replies i do have written up to now will get typed up and added to the queue to trickle out over however long. i will still be present on the dash and engaging in shenanigans as much as possible, and i will also still be available in DMs for chatting and plotting, but i can't definitively say how well i will do with responding when my brain is being a spazz. who knows, maybe i'll actually do better at it! aha, no promises 

[inkwell-intrigues]

TSTS Annoucement

I was hoping this wouldn't happen. Like, I always knew it could happen -I remember seeing this happen to a bunch of fanfiction writers when I was a kid- but it really sucks.

So, I'm crazy burnt out from writing AND Cuphead has stopped being my current hyperfixation. (I'm also on different medications now- which probably doesn't help.)

Even the thought of Cuphead right now gives me pretty bad stress, because of how far behind I've fallen in writing The Strength and The Sight.

I know I made a post literally a few weeks ago saying that I was back and all that stuff, but... After I sat down and started trying to write I began to realize that not only was I badly burnt out, but also The Strength and The Sight's plot/focus/etc has changed multiple times during the process of me writing it. This has led to a LOT of inconsistencies in terms of the plot, character arcs, and in general, the pacing ended up being all over the place because of it. 

For instance, Chalice is supposed to be one of the main characters, but her role in the story has changed a bunch AND I ended up focusing on her a lot less than characters who were supposed to be side characters- like Ginette. (I love Gin, I swear, but she wasn't supposed to be as big of a focus as she ended up being. -That mainly came about from me getting super obsessed with her character and forgetting my other characters- In multiple chapters, she even overshadows the brothers. Oops. xD)

This all has led me to realize: Even if I wasn't burnt out- I simply cannot continue writing a story that I know has inconsistencies. 

So, does this mean that The Strength and The Sight is over? No. No, it does not.

This post is me announcing that I will NOT be taking a break or canceling the story in the traditional "burnt-out fanfic writer" sense. Instead, I will be REWRITING the entire story- starting with outlining the plot from the beginning in lots of detail and sticking to the plot I set.

This rewritten version will be filled with full-color illustrations, more focused, and A LOT shorter. While mulling over the idea of a rewrite, I realized just how needlessly long TSTS has become. Like, the book which I use as a reference and inspiration, Scythe by Neal Shusterman, is only 102k words, while mine- which is not even halfway done- is 114K. (There are a lot more examples of my word count v.s. other books, but I won't bore you all with those numbers.)

BUT, I don't want to leave you guys in the dark while I begin this intense process of rewriting TSTS. So, instead, I want to continue posting on this current fic as a sort of "journal" of my progress. I know a lot of you guys are writers yourselves, so this could be a super cool opportunity for you guys to see my process and learn some tips and tricks along the way.

My long-term goal is to post a probably 100% finished redone version of The Strength and The Sight when The Cuphead Show is renewed and the new season releases on Netflix. (I'm manifesting so hard, IT WILL BE RENEWED I KNOW IT) Or I'll try and release it if/when Studio MDHR releases another Cuphead thing/game. Whatever comes first.

Until then, I'll be using this as my progress journal. I'll be posting rough sketches (because I'll also be doing updated illustrations!), rough outlines (with redacted spoilers, lol), and more! 

I know this is probably really disappointing. I'm kicking myself quite a bit here and wishing I'd been able to finish TSTS before I got burnt out, but I believe that everything happens for a reason. My hope is that TSTS will be a much better and higher-quality novel because of this rewrite.

Thank you for your patience and I'm truly sorry for all the delays. I promise that I'll do everything I can to make The Strength and The Sight worth the wait.

-- Your Friend, Inkwell Intrigues

[miniscrew-anon]

HSH Febuwhump Day 4 - Knife to the Throat

Lol this kind of turned into a joke at the end but I couldn’t help it. How could I write this duo and not make them sassy as fuck?

-----

"Gimme your wallet."

"Sure thing, friend." Wars reaches into his back pocket and brandishes his money. "Here, take it. No need for violence."

"Fuck that!"

Wind, arms pinned to his sides by arms three times thicker than his own, glares up at the man behind him fearlessly. "Put that shit away, Wars! He's not robbing us! I'll kill you, you sonofabitch!"

"Uh, Wind? Maybe don't threaten the man with the knife to your throat." Warriors is not used to playing mediator. He doesn't have the patience nor the practice for it. He prefers to leave that to people like Sky or Wild, leaving him free to mouth off. But even he knows when to hold his tongue. For instance, when an unhinged mugger is holding a knife to his throat. A lesson Wind clearly skipped out on. "You do like your head where it is, don't you?"

"Take my wallet and I'll fuck you up!" Wind struggles but he's not the most athletic; the man holds him easily and digs into his pockets. Wind snarls and squirms, hissing threats and spewing vitriol at the man with his life in his hands. He’s completely unaffected by the thin red line across his neck that dripped blood into his collar. 

The mugger actually looks at Warriors, a flat expression on his face as if to say is he serious? Wars shrugs, tossing his wallet over to the mans expecting hand.

The mugger unceremoniously drops Wind to the floor, turning and running before Wind can pick himself up.

"Yeah you better run! Motherfucker! I'll find you, you dipshit! Don't think you're safe! I'll track you down and sell your fucking kidneys on Ebay!" Wind fumbles to his feet and tries to make chase, red in the face and seething.

"Whoa there!" Warriors catches him across the chest and forces him back. The ex-guard steps into Wind's path to block the boy from making a terrible decision. "Wind, stop! Are you crazy? What are you doing?"

"Chasing down a bitch!" Wind tries to push past Warriors but gets shoved back again. "Move!"

“Absolutely not!” Wars tugs his scarf off and pressed it to the wound on Winds neck, dodging swats. “You’re not chasing after some criminal. What would you even do if you caught him? Get your ass kicked again? No, we're going home.”

Hopefully Warriors will avoid an eviction if he brings Wind back only slightly damaged. So much for getting Wind out of the house for some fresh air. 

Wind was still pissed but he gives up trying to push past Wars. “He’s gotta pay”

“And he will. I’m sure you can find him - his name, his address, his bank account. Just like I’m sure the Old Man would be happy to have a conversation with him. No need to get yourself killed over a few rupees. Revenge is best served cold and all that.” Satisfied that the cut was only surface deep, Warriors pulled back, grimacing at his stained scarf. Well, that’s something to toss into Times dry cleaning pile. “Besides, if I let you get yourself killed I'll never get a replacement card! The Old Man will be far too busy with funeral arrangements.”

"Are you serious? Is that all you're thinking about right now? The Old Man’s credit card?"

Warriors makes an offended noise. "That's not all I'm thinking about! It's just one of the things I'm thinking about. There's also my license and my medical card and - damn! My platinum membership card to Starlit Memories! Goddess, that's going to be such a pain to replace. That shop is so stingy with their membership cards, too. I hope this doesn't affect my standing with Isha - she hates when people are careless."

Wind hits him with a dead eyed stare he must have learned from Four. “Your stupid punch card? Really?”

Warriors is only kind of offended. "What? I’m allowed to have priorities."

------

Wind is a goblin and a terror and he has zero self-preservation.

[astro-ellie]

sorry!

big apology to y’all, to everyone who’s sent asks asking where i am and not gotten a reply, every request i just never finished/published. i’m making this to apologise for going MIA and also explain why :P

at first i was hit with a severe case of writers block, i tried to write but couldn´t get anything done at all. when i finally started getting my motivation back i started having health issues, i was in sm pain and couldn´t work, couldn´t eat properly and several nights i could not sleep. eventually, i went to the hospital thinking i would get some simple medication prescribed and it would go away after a few days.

instead i got really bad news. i´m in the middle of getting the right treatment and i´ve been more times at the hospital the past weeks then i´ve been ever in my life. it´s not something life threatening right now, but it´s something that has to be treated now so it doesn´t come to that. i haven't really understood what this actually means, like i can understand what this means in theory but to understand what this means to me is like impossible. long story short, my body seems to be losing the ability to do its' job and that's why i have been in so much pain and why my bloodwork looks so fucking weird.

i´ve decided to take a break from my studies and also i´ve quit one of my jobs both because i have to take it easy both for my physical health but also for my heart, this entire thing has affected me a lot. i feel like i´ve, for the first time in my life, has had to face my own mortality and i can barely even understand that this is actually happening to me. feels unreal and i´m kind of heartbroken for myself if that makes sense lol.

on the other hand! i need a hobby because i have so much free time on my hands compared to what i´m used to. i need to do something to keep myself sane and i´ve been thinking about getting back to writing. even though i´m still sick. it´s not as bad as it was before and i feel like as long as i still try to take it easy i am in the right headspace to get back to writing! expect to see more of me here, and feel free to send requests and asks again!!!

to end this, i´m sick but it could be worse, i´m getting the help i need to get better, i apologise to all of y'all for disappearing. also i am very grateful i have amazing friends who have had the patience to wait since i was too sick to even like talk on the phone at one point, and i'm so glad that i have people (both here and irl) that are just here for me. and i'm also glad that i have you, this place and platform for me to write and keep myself occupied and feel a bit more useful than i have the past weeks.

okay, that was all, sorry for making it so long. bye babes, hopefully talk to y'all soon <3

[returntosaturn271995]

Thursday, November 30th: Healthy Girl Era

Being an adult, much like staying hydrated, is never never-ending process. This is kind of nice in that there's no real destination you can be beaten to or end up in, but it's also kind of annoying to wake up and realize: wait? I have to do it again? But I did something mature yesterday!

That's how they get you. No good deed goes unincorporated into the daily schedule.

Today's outfit going into my date: Oversized cream turtleneck, Chanel necklace, light wash jeans, white veja sneakers. Hair in a loose bun, minimal makeup.

Excitement going in: 3/10. He's giving off kind of douchey vibes (used the word prolly), but this is more about my dating strategy than it is about our likelihood of getting along. Considering I'm given to limerance, my only goal is to enter a date to observe the other person as opposed to trying to seem datable.

Review pending. I'm also walking to Costa Brava because I'm trying to beat the little move meter on my phone and am giving my shins a rest from running today.

Little wins:

Homemade delicious bagel with lox, chicken salad sandwich, and epic carrot and spinach smoothie for health reasons. I will destroy my food-ordering habit and it will be O-V-E-R for these hoes.

25 minutes of leg stretching yoga action, I am currently over 30 hours of practice.

Meditated on patience with the recommended straight back, at this point it's just pleasant as opposed to mind-numbingly boring. My breath is actually under control.

Dropped off rent check early for once

Cleaned the kitchen and bedside table

Lookin' fly in my Levi's.

I'm so peaceful and healthy now. Sigh. Boring. Pleasent though, would cancel on this guy and nap if I hadn't promised.

Text out of context:

Erin Burks: I want to get an MRI done again but I do not want to look at the co-pay for it

Hannah Mcpherson: Lmaooo my coworker has the same insurance plan I do and she got one on her knee and it was insanely expensive

Erin Burks: Lol yeah, better to just stroke out. If I pass out make sure to call an Uber and not an ambulance, I’d actually rather lapse in to a coma that wake up in medical debt.

Hannah Mcpherson: Honestly depending on if during a coma feels like 2nd life or not could be fun!

Erin Burks: If they don’t take blue cross/blue shield, so be it! Bring on the next simulation

Hannah Mcpherson: What if that’s what were in rn 😇

Erin Burks: Then I’d like whose controlling mine to give me a roommate who gives me less intrusive thoughts Preferably Jacob Elordi in a white T-shirt and jeans while we’re asking for things

[the-pan-trash-can]

Rant

Hey y'all I get into it pretty deep here, I talk about extreme depression, self harm, addiction, covid, physical disability, socio political issues and I am very blunt about how I feel. As a rule of thumb this rant is really negative and really long .

I think a terrible realization that I had about the long lasting social and behavioral effects of covid is that I used to be a completely different person three years ago and I've regressed significantly since then. I used to have plucky optimism, I mean I was still super depressed but I could at least look forward to something cheering me up somehow. I was able to romanticize my life, find beauty in everything, have the patience for everyone and everything because I vowed to myself that my morals were out of respect to most people ( obvious exclusions apply, I generally dislike hateful mother fuckers, take of that what you will yadda yadda) and to see the best in everyone. I now resemble a corpse of that person and I mourn that person. I lay down most of the time, I'm on my phone most of the time, I hate people most of the time, I am aggressive, I am irritated, I am spiteful, mournful, I am starting to romanticize addiction and self harm. I feel pretty bad all of the time, and when I realize that I feel bad I can't seem to pep talk myself or distract myself to something positive even a little. Every time I give myself a chance to realize there is something better than this I wanna hide away more. Of course there was going to be medical and mental long term effects of covid, it'd be foolish to expect otherwise, it's true we are all traumatized, I fully know this, but I think the problem I'm grappling with is that I can finally grasp how betrayed I feel by the world, betrayed by expecting that common sense is doing right by others, betrayed by my job and all future jobs by expecting patience, betrayed by myself in some way by expecting better of everyone. My scoliosis is getting worse, I often deal with what feels like my muscles and bones are shriveling up within myself, my depression is obviously significantly worse, and my quality of life is god awful. I have been rotting inside myself protecting myself from all of the hurt in this world and I don't know how to even describe how much that terrifies me, to watch the world burn and suffer alongside it while others say they came out of it all just fine. I know there are other faults in myself that I could fix to help this feeling, my coping mechanisms can definitely be called into question and reviewed professionally but I stand firm in the fact that I feel robbed. I was a much healthier person back then, I was pushed to the ground so many times before that it was natural to get back up and try again, but I don't foresee that for myself for a very long time, I am devastated. This topic can be stretched longer by the current state of the world such as housing and constant political fuck ups or I can add further context to all of the things I haven't healed from previously to add more to how unfortunate and pitiful I am; but I don't aim to write an essay on how to fix the world or call to action to bring in a lot of pity towards myself, I suppose I could ask for some sympathy lol but I mostly wanted to scream to the world that I am not okay. And maybe hoped others were dealing with this pain too. I hope we can all find solace in something, respite, calm, or just a fucking break through all of this. I know we deserve it.

[saltymongoose]

Since everyone is talking about bringing other characters into MadCom, why not bring in the guy who is voiced by the same guy who voices Sanford? What if: John Captain (Tankman) was in Project Nexus?

I spent forever drawing Sanford’s hook. Also, I decided to draw the bois in a more canon like style than my usual style for a change.

I also imagine they would also do this and be like “YOU SOUND LIKE ME!!”

Anyways I hope you’re having better luck than I am IRL, lets just say I went to the ER for leg pain and then got covid. Real fun times.

Oh god, I'm so sorry to hear about that. I hope you're recovering well from Covid and whatever caused your leg pain, remember to get a lot of rest and not overwork yourself in the meantime. 💖 (And thank you for the art, you've been sending me a lot of it and I appreciate it immensely haha. 💕)

As for the Sgt. John Captain appearing in Madcom with the Player, that would be extremely chaotic lol. I'm not quite sure what relationship Captain would actually have with you, since that would depend on how self-aware the characters could be if they weren't from a technical "game".

If he became aware of someone's eyes on him and the rest of the Tankmen during the moments of the series, then your explanation of who you are would probably be taken without much question. Though if he didn't, you'd have to talk at length about how you've, well, watched him and his group for a few years. Either way, you'd probably get a few crude jokes about you being a "voyeur" or something in the end, since that's just what he does.

With the boys, they'd probably be on alright terms with him, at least at first. Nevada fits Captain quite well; save for the noticeable lack of Tanks, the amount of violence is just like home for him. And the grunts notice how well he fights and acclimates to their realm, and that paired with how friendly and outgoing he is towards them would generally soften their immediate hostility towards him (barring Hank, of course). At least until they spend more time around him and find that he's a bit too friendly. Towards you, specifically.

Sanford and Deimos would probably get along with him well enough once they first met, even if his litany of dick jokes became a bit much at times (Deimos still thinks they're hilarious, but the timing can be off). However, the fact that he sounds exactly like Sanford causes a lot of confusion. Deimos will turn to Sanford only to realize he hadn't said a word, and even Doc would probably get them mixed up if he didn't check who it actually was. Sanford also would feel oddly self-conscious about it. Like his voice is, or was, something completely unique to him, so a part of him worries if he isn't as "special" in your eyes. You'll reassure him, of course, but also make it clear that the reason they sound so similar is that the same person "gave" their voice to them. Some guy named Jeff, apparently.

Hank and Doc, on the other hand, would have little patience for his jokes and how "buddy-buddy" he is. To begin with Hank, he isn't one to fraternize with his own comrades most of the time - sometimes he can't even tell Sanford and Deimos apart, that's how little he cares - so he's even less likely to bother getting involved with Captain. He doesn't respond to his jokes or his quips, instead leering at him whenever the Tankman comes closer to you. That's the most attention he'll deem fit to give him, though he might interfere physically if Captain seems to be a bit handsy with you. (Meaning when he puts a hand on your shoulder and leaves it for a few seconds too long, or touches your back when he moves past you. Hank's definition of touchy is quite broad.)

Doc just finds him to be a nuisance, to be honest; one "flirty" person is enough, but now he has to deal with another one who's far cruder, and a non-essential waste of medical supplies (harsh, but that's just his opinion). Having another person who's competent at fighting is beneficial, yes, but sacrificing resources and time with you because of it is too much of a waste for him.

Speaking of flirtatiousness, Captain's crude remarks are the main gripe your vessels have with him. Sure, he also aims his lewd jokes at them too, but they can ignore that. It's just somehow different when it's towards you, maybe just because they revere you so much and they find it disrespectful.

Or because Captain soon notices the weird way they act around you (he'd be an idiot not to, and he's not that stupid) and thinks that flirting with you - actually flirting and not just something the boys would misconstrue - is a good way to screw with them. And judging by the way they stiffen up and shoot him dark glares whenever he leans too close or boldly puts a hand on your hip, it works pretty well. Though that can't compare to how pissed they get when he pairs the physical gestures with a suggestive remark, or two.

(You paused from taking a sip of your soda when you felt Captain's shoulder brush against yours, turning to give him a curious look as he leaned up against the counter closer to you. He gave you a flirty grin, and you nearly snorted at how stereotypical he was being. If this was a sitcom, it would've been normal. Maybe.

"You know, if I'd have known somebody as hot as you were watching us, I'd have given you a bit of a show. I still can sometime, you know. All you gotta do is ask, sweet-cheeks." He followed up the remark with a smirk (and what you'd imagine to be a wink, if he wasn't wearing his helmet that is). How incredibly cheesy.

You blinked and cocked a brow with an amused look, but before you could respond verbally, the sound of shattering glass caught your attention, as did the cursing from Deimos. You turned and were met with the sight of the smoker on his knees picking up bits of porcelain, and your humored expression dropped to worry as you rushed to help him (his bandaged hands were only getting more bloody).

Sanford stood frozen beside him, glancing between you and Captain from over his shoulder as he bent to get a beer from the fridge. Doc was staring from over his tablet, and made no move to stop Hank from approaching when the taller grunt suddenly stood up to confront the Tankman. He was legitimately growling when he saw the smug look on his face, but Captain just smirked again and took a step closer to you, knowing that your red-gazed companion couldn't do a thing when they were in your company. Thought that didn't stop the feeling of uncharacteristic apprehension from welling up in his stomach. God, you really did keep the weirdest company, didn't you? (And yes, that includes himself.) He wondered what Steve would think about this.)

[no-psi-nan]

Okay, after writing that previous post, I realized that I was using a nonstandard description that I just made up because I'm a stem major and my last writing class was in high school lol.

Slowburn romance (we all know her): physical and emotional intimacy slowly develops between the partners in question, where they both unintentionally become closer and closer until they mean everything to each other.

Frog-boil romance (Nopsi nomenclature): for whatever reason, one of the partners (or possibly some of the partners, in a poly relationship) is already much more comfortable with physical and/or emotional intimacy than the other(s), so they deliberately, slowly guide them through a slowburn romance in a way reminiscent of the metaphor about boiling a frog.

This might be because the active partner is more experienced in love or is too shy to more obviously woo their crush. Or perhaps the unaware partner hasn't yet come to terms with their sexuality or is distracted by bigger problems or is an undead spirit who has been singlehandedly seeking vengeance for millennia and has trouble remembering their humanity.

Either way, the active partner will take small steps into deeper intimacy (like holding their hand or helping them apply medical treatment) and check the other's reaction to see if that was welcomed and whether they should back off temporarily or can continue. It's deliberate experimentation borne of love and patience.

The key point with frog-boiling though is that at least one partner involved doesn't realize what's going on, because the active party has been subtle about it (though ideally would fess up if directly asked). The perfect end to frog-boiling is the unaware partner waking up one day being spooned and cozy in bed and realizing "wait a fucking minute. Weren't we just friends 3 months ago? And we signed a mortgage together yesterday?? Are we... are we MARRIED basically???" and experiencing incredible joy at the realization.

If they figure it out before that point, then it would typically transition to a more traditional romance where they're both intentionally working towards greater intimacy together. And there's the fun inversions where both partners think they are frog-boiling each other, or even funnier, one partner thinks they are frog-boiling while the other thinks that they are just really shy and so is allowing them to approach at their own pace (one of my fave fics of all time has this premise and it's glorious).

...Admittedly "frog-boiling" is a terrible name for the concept because it implies some malicious intent on behalf of the active party but I just don't have a better term for it right now so that's what it's called in my brain lol. Feel free to suggest a better name if you can think of one and I'll share it and update my mental dictionary!

[pfreadsandwrites]

Congrats on gaining 100 followers🎉🎉You deserve all of them and more! 🥳 I'm looking forward to everything you're planning to write in the future❤️ As for the prompts, would you please do #160 with Kakashi? Go wild with it 👁👁 Thank you and I wish the best for your blog❤️

100 follower celebration

Okay, here it is! I want to thank you specifically @madaras-housewife because you have been so amazing and supportive from the first fic I posted here and your encouragement has really helped this blog grow and made me write more. So thank you so much, and I’m sorry this took me forever to get out!! This was a bit of an unusual one so it took me a while to think about, and apologies if it’s not wild enough heh but I tried my best to develop it into something. But thank you for everything and I really hope you enjoy this :) I tried my best to go ‘out there’ and wild with it lol.  Also can I just say this mangacap is perfect for the last part of this one-shot lol. 

warnings/notes: third person, Kakashi pov, female civilian reader (she works at the hospital but plz don’t ask for details beyond that lol), pining Kakashi, kinda fluffy, then kinda sad, then kinda hopeful, marking this as 18+ since there is a paragraph that is brief NSFW mentions, in my mind this takes place between the time skip between part 1 and part 2 but it doesn’t really matter. Told in 4 small vignettes/parts essentially. 2.7k words.

taglist: @allthingskakashi @datblobbyfish @enchantedpendant @madaras-housewife @ibukiirisha @praisingkuroosbedhead @cinam00n @feelingsandemotionsnotexplored

160. “Do you think you could teach me that?”

i.

It’s a simple question.

Of course, it’s also a pointless question, one that Kakashi’s sure she’ll see through, one that he shouldn’t even think about asking.

Of course, he’s in the hospital again. Of course, she’s the one with the misfortune of tending to him again. Of course, he’s mesmerised while her hands dutifully wrap the tourniquet around his arm, like she’s cutting off the blood to his brain.

So, of course, he asks it without thinking.

The self-admonishment starts before the words finish leaving his mouth.

Do you think you could teach me that?

His cheeks heat up as the words catch up with him. They echo again and again, serving only to jeer at him further. What the hell is he thinking, making a request like that? A request that’s so nonsensical, so outlandish, so flimsily shrouding its true intent that she’d be justified in ridiculing him right there.

But it’s done now. Here he is, asking a bizarre favour of a civilian woman already doing him a favour.

Kakashi’d be content if the ground gives away underneath him, snatching him from this damn hospital bed. When he ponders the situation further, and he finds himself contemplating her reaction - no doubt a bewildered, adorable expression would grace her beautiful features (God, how much deeper could he get?) - he almost wants to slap himself. How did he go from the Copy Ninja, Konoha’s best jounin, to an awkward dork so swiftly and smoothly? Not only that, but she hadn’t even said anything yet. Kakashi wanted to die.

Fortunately, she only pauses. Unfortunately, her delicate fingers still against his skin, and the sensation flusters and soothes him simultaneously. But it’s only for a moment, before she diligently returns to the task at hand. Even if she’s surprised, or worse, amused, she knows to conceal it. Taking his question seriously in that earnest way that only she can. It should have eased his mind, but instead there’s only guilt at having perplexed her.

“…You want to learn this? Don’t you have enough on your plate?” She asks, bereft of judgement or ridicule.

He shouldn’t have expected any less, he knows that, and yet he still finds himself on the edge. On that precipice between anxiety and comfort, where he’s always standing around her. He can’t even formulate a response to her simple question. Yes - he probably did have enough to do. And yes, he wouldn’t have got this far without some knowledge of first aid and basic medical ninjutsu - and she probably knew that too.

“I could probably manage. It’s not a problem if you don’t have the time.” As typical as it is for him to answer a question without explaining himself further, he berates himself for it this time. Why had he made this so convoluted? And why does she let him?

“I could probably make time,” she retorts, though her voice remains gentle. “I just didn’t think there’d be anything useful you could learn from me, or that you didn’t already know.”

Nothing useful you could learn from me, or that you didn’t already know.

This time, her words echo in his mind. They’re just as kind and nudging as he thought they would be. But that didn’t mean they were any less ridiculous.

Apparently, there’s nothing he can learn from her. Nothing she can teach him.

Nothing he can learn from the woman who always smiles so brightly and indiscriminately at anyone who graced her that it renders them all equal - turning everyone from the grumpy old curmudgeon to the innocent newborn to cheerful, optimistic entities at her mercy. Nothing he can learn from her inability to use her mysterious power for anything but good, to see the value in everyone, in him, against all better judgement.

Nothing he can learn from her selflessness, and her weird knack for chiding herself for her momentary lapses in kindness, for things others don’t think twice about. Nothing he can learn from her patience and empathy in the most ridiculous situations, and her faltering in it when she draws the attention inwards.

Nothing he could learn from the woman who’s determination to revel in life, even as the opposite surrounded her, surrounded him, surrounded everyone in this cursed village, managed to bring even the heavy weight of death to its knees. Nothing he could learn from the woman who didn’t even seem fazed by it, as she tended to the hospital’s neonates with a giggle and a zest for life that he barely comprehends, much less hopes to emulate.

If - he surprises himself at his optimism, but he owes it to her - he’s incapable of learning nothing from all that, then there isn’t much hope for him at all. And if there’s one thing she inspires, if he can even pick one, it’s hope.

Kakashi eventually stops ruminating. And of course, she lets him. A wry smile forms on his lips. “I wouldn’t say that.”

She glances back at him expectantly. Curiously.

“I think there’s a lot you could teach me, you know.”

She’s already taught him without intending to, he remembers, when she doesn’t press him for an explanation. She only smiles that shy, powerful smile.

But they both know it’s acknowledgement. Of what he’s trying to say, of what he’s asking her in his awkward, haphazard way. Kind as she is, even if she shouldn’t be, she agrees.

***

ii.

And so, ever the one to keep her promise, she sets about teaching him. And Kakashi, ever the one to falter, but never one to abandon, keeps coming back. He’s a quick learner in more ways he thought.

She teaches him that finding something to smile about in the day is easier than it seems.

She teaches him to laugh when he drops by the hospital to see her and a very small patient points at his hair and berates him from escaping from the geriatric ward.

She teaches him allowance for his mistakes, and respite for his suffering.

She teaches him what a fool he’s been for denying himself an embrace all these years.

She teaches him that a kiss might be more eternal, more damning, more fate-consigning that it has any right to be.

She doesn’t have to teach him just how intoxicating, addictive it is to kiss her between the legs. She doesn’t have to teach him just where and how to move his tongue before she’s tugging at that wild silver hair of his. And when he moves in her, when she clutches onto him for dear life, whispering his name in that weak, but lingering whimper, when their breaths mingle together and she manages to exalt everything from him - his love, his strength, his seed - she doesn’t have to teach him that though the price of vulnerability is high, the reward is even higher.

She teaches him, when he dares ask what he sees in a man like her, that there’s an answer to that question that satisfies him.

She teaches him that whilst leaving for a mission used to be easy, it might one day become difficult - even for him, the one who has over a thousand under his belt, the one who only has that many because he wished one would kill him. She teaches him to admit that, too.

And when it does become difficult, just as she taught, he learns that a person waiting back home is much more motivating than a death wish could ever be.

She teaches him to forgive himself, as she begins to accompany him on his graveside visits. She teaches him that there’s a chance - a small chance, Kakashi admits, but a chance nonetheless - that there’s more for his life than living it as a penance to ghosts.

She teaches him that dreaming isn’t just for the young, the idealistic, the good. It’s for the hurt, tired veteran too.

She teaches him that hearing those three words aren’t as terrifying as he’d convinced himself all these years.

He learns, when he finally returns them, that he should have said it back long ago. Because it was all worth it just for that look on her face.

***

iii.

Their time together, dreamlike as it is, is always interrupted.

She’s used to it, calmly nodding in his direction at the summoning bird that’s taken to pecking at her window now too. He nods in kind, and with a quick kiss, he’s off on his next mission. She’s always accepting, always understanding, but the patient stare that bores into his back as he leaps off towards the gravestone (an eternal part of the farewell ritual) belies her anxiety.

Still, Kakashi does make it back. And he does again and again. Sometimes his returns are at the hospital - and that expression of hers, where she doesn’t know whether to chide him for his injury or cry that he’s still in one piece - fills him with equal parts guilt and encouragement.

She still never loses that smile, though. The smile that everyone knows.

He has to leave it behind again.

He makes it back. Without a scratch, for once, but figures he might surprise her at the hospital anyway. Strange. He used to be so good at avoiding this place, and now it’s the first place he comes to of his own accord. It’s just another way he’s lost against her, but he doesn’t begrudge it. Maybe he wants some praise for being more careful, but he won’t admit that outright. Maybe he’s getting worse and worse at waiting for that smile, too.

His optimism is never rewarded. He’s been through enough to remember that, but he’s still foolish enough to forget.

It feels different, today, walking through the corridors that she’s made so inexplicably light, so jovial. She easily leaves her mark without trying, to the awe of shinobi and civilians alike.

So when the atmosphere is dense, experience teaches him to dread it. He asks at the front desk, forgetting his tendency to hide all he can about his personal life. The woman stares up at him with wide eyes, hesitating before regaining her composure.

“(Name) isn’t working at the moment. She’s in room 175.”

She doesn’t say anything else, but it wouldn’t matter if she had. The familiar dread creeps up through his bones.

He’s prepared himself for the worst by the time he’s at her room, but it’s moot when he sees her lying there. She’s lost all her colour, she’s thinner - everything about her that’d remembered these few weeks had become so weak. Her vivacity, her will to endure, had even fooled him. But she was just as fragile as anyone else. Except for him. Why the fuck couldn’t he break, instead of someone else, instead of something that meant anything just this one fucking time?

He sits at her bedside, his calloused fingers touching her dainty ones. She’s only sleeping, at least. Purple and blue spread like constellations over her skin, bandages on her arms and cheeks - the kind of injuries he’d expect on a ninja. Of a ninja too. Thoughts upon thoughts flood his mind - how the hell did this happen? Who did this to her? If she’s not safe in the damn village that he fought to protect, where the hell could she be safe?

And, of course, the curse that he’s done so well to forget he has. Did this happen, somehow, because against all judgement, he had let himself become close to her? It makes sense that he’d only be able to fool himself to a point.

And, of course, as if to shush his self-loathing and anxiety, in that fucking selfless way she always did, that broke his heart even more - her fingers move against his.

She blinks her eyes open slowly and turns her gaze to him. She doesn’t have the energy to smile, but she tries to mimic it in the look in her eyes.

“I wasn’t expecting you back so soon.”

He clasps her hand tight - and lets go just as quickly when she winces. “What the hell happened, (Name)?”

She softens her gaze. “It’s funny that I’m the one that ended up like this, when you’re the one that went out on a mission.” Her tone is light, but somehow the hum of her voice brings gravity, whether she wants it to or not.

She won’t answer his question. As if she feels guilty that she’s putting him through something, which only hurts all the more. And Kakashi knows that insisting too strongly is too unfair, too cruel when she seems so tired, no matter how much his blood boils.

There was an attack, he figures that much, and he overhears more from a nurse. A drunk jounin who’d come across her on his way home.

It’s dealt with swiftly, with the speed and efficiency Kakashi prides himself on, but it isn’t enough. He can’t forgive himself, even if she does.

She recovers soon enough, but only to a point.

Her smile is gone. The openness she’d inspire in everyone around her, the joy she’d invite - it dwindles down to nothing. It’s all too much, too familiar, a sad story he’s seen up and close too many times.

Any smile she makes now is a facsimile, a ghost of anything she could have offered previously. But her kindness still forces her to attempt it, no matter how much it hurts, when Kakashi looks at her.

As impressive as her will is, it’s only finite. He berates himself as she breaks one night, and sobs into his chest.

But she doesn’t do it again.

She doesn’t seem to do much of anything anymore.

He has another mission.

***

iv.

Kakashi’s at the training grounds again. He’s here a lot these days. When there isn’t a mission, he’s got into the habit of putting his body through the wringer. It’s what he deserves, at the very least. Besides, he has a lot more free time than he used to. As the raindrops mix with his sweat, his lightning style blends just as seamlessly with the sky.

“Do you think you could teach me that?”

The voice is familiar. Gentle, just like it used to be. Shakier than it used to be, but there’s a faint hint of the quiet resolve he used to hear, that he was foolish enough to take for granted.

He pauses. The chakra he’d gathered in his hands dissipates, and he turns around. He’s no amateur, he knew he wasn’t alone. But he could tell his little observer wasn’t there to pose a threat, either. She watches him with her wide eyes, the wide eyes that historically and even now freeze him in place. She was never one to marvel at his ninjutsu before, only acquiescing or being impressed where appropriate, - and that’s not quite what she’s doing now, either.

“Well -,” she holds her right arm with her left. It’s a normal gesture. One that would have endeared him, but only makes his heart sink now. Suddenly it’s difficult to watch her doubt herself. “Not that exactly. I don’t even want to do that even if I could. But anything you can teach me. It doesn’t have to be a lot. I think I’d be fine with a little. It’d be enough to feel better. If you don’t have too much on your plate.”

He’s watching her now, studying that expression in her eyes. Where she’s determined and defiant, even in that modest way. He believes her - she doesn’t want to learn a lot. She doesn’t want to be too much like him. But she’s allowing herself to learn from him. She’s letting herself take, not just give.

“Alright. Tomorrow, then. But let’s get you home first. It’s late, raining…,” his voice trails off, brushing off the rain from his hair sheepishly. “And I could use a break.”

She begins to smile that shy, powerful smile again. It’s sincere, and her ability to infect others with it seems to have returned. “That’s fine by me. I hear you’ve been overdoing it lately."

Kakashi finds himself grinning back.

Do you think you could teach me that?

It’s a simple question.

[scorpiosanssexy]

Hi there! HQ!! Matchup, please? I'm a straight, 5'3 Gemini ENFP girl who's slightly chubby with tan skin, black wavy hair, and glasses. I may come off as slightly haughty, but I'm generally a talkative and curious person who loves discussion. It's also very easy for me to cry, either because of a movie or when I'm mad or overwhelmed. I'm not good with tangible gifts to show how much I love someone, so I show it through words or actions. I'm also a worrywart and it messes with my stomach (1/2)

often. Some of the things I'm passionate about include visual novels, singing, psychology, and just talking to others in general. I love rabbits, pastel colors, and pop/folk/acoustic music. In my friend group I tend to be the more chatty and dreamy one. In relationships two things I prize highly would be honesty and communication. I usually end up falling for people who I deem worthy enough to be my "rock". Thank you so much!

-----

Dear User

congraulations, we have found you a potential roommate. We have throughly looked through your application and we hope you are happy with you result. Below this posts are the details all about them. 

Yours Sincerely 

The Accomodation Team

Name: Yamaguchi Tadashi 

Birthday: 10th November (Scorpio)

MBTI: INFP

you now have this precious bean as your roommate awwwww

I feel like Yamaguchi is a very understanding person and wouldn’t mind the fact you come across a little bit haunty at first, have you met tsukishima  this boy really doesn’t care

also you wear glasses too (tsukki 2.0, just kidding) 

It is great that you are talkative because sometimes yamaguchi has troubles in regards to starting a conversation, through your late night chats you help him to become more confident in himself

also, having deep discussions with you , over a glass of wine/elderflower (if you are underaged) is a great evening actvity you guys do

Do not worry about getting judged for your crying tendandies yamaguchi too can be a crier 

like when you watch a sad movie sometimes the both of you are in tears, tissue boxes surrounding you, tsukki has to console both of you

Now yamaguchi can completely understand when you start to worry , however he helps you find some better coping mechanism because he knows how the anxiety can drown you

If you ever start to worry you can always count on him to give you are really good hug (you know those bear hugs that just make your worries melt away, those kind, carla is soft )

obvs he would be a bit blushy afterwards tho 

If your stomach started to hurt this boy will not leave your sight, like congrats you have your own personal butler 

Tsukkishima goes forced to get you some medication and other things to make you feel better by yamaguchi

Now unlike yourself, yamaguchi goes to bed quite early this boy needs 9 hour + sleep 

he doesn’t mind too much if you are up in the night as long as you keep quiet he do be sleeping 

also thank goodness yamaguchi can cook and he makes really nice stuff as well 

he likes to try out different cuisines and makes you be his little guniea pig , not that you mind too much

you too also have some spring cleaning afternoons once a month (seeing as you both don’t mind doing the chores) and you will have some accoustic music in the background 

Now yamaguchi loves the fact that you love to sing

he sometimes has listened to you sing in the shower

Now i feel like he is someone who also enjoys to sing and he is also really good at it (have you heard the haikyuu xmas drama cd because boiiiii yama got a set of vocals on him).

So at the weekend you guys go do some karaoke together, sometimes tsukki would get dragged along too 

You and Yamaguchi combined have the highest score for the duet songs and no one has beaten it yet 

now yamaguchi wasn’t really into visual novels but since having you as your roommate he has become obsessed 

I feel like he is a bit of a hopeless romantic so he loves reading the shoujo type ones 

please never show this boy killing stalking because he is too precious

I feel like yama yama has the same aesthetic as you when it comes to cottagecore and pastel colours

Your apartment would look something like ghibli film ( i am coming over)

You also have some of those hanging baskets with cute flowers on 

Tsukki feels like he is in heaven when ever he visits lol

Now you like to have someone you depend on kinda like your “rock” as you elloquently put it

so this choice may have come as a susprise to you 

but i can see yamaguchi as a “rock” kind of person 

he may not be the most level headed person out there but you have to admit he is incrediably loyal 

and that’s on being a scorpio

Like he will never leave you side now matter what, come rain or shine he will always be there ( I mean he has put up with Tsukki dramatics for a long time) 

You can always rely on him to just sit and listen to your problems and help you find solutions 

Overall you have a loyal, compassionate but somewhat of a timid roommate 

Other Potential Matches: Sawamura Daichi and Akaashi Keiji 

miffy I hope you likes this, and thank you for your patience

[lonestorm]

Hi! I'm new to your blog because i really really enjoy your writing. Tho i hope this won't be offensive in anyway but seeing as you're an American i would like to know you view in what's going on rn. What with Covid, Trump, BLM. It just seems everything's wrong nowadays but anyway i hope you and your family stay safe!

Hello! I’m so glad you happened across it! Thank you! It means a lot that there are people out there that still find some happiness from my writing :D Lol it’s fine, I don’t mind. There is a LOT going on over here, no doubt. I try to view the situation as the bigger picture. It’s a challenging time that will pass, as every other has before.

COVID is confusing, and it’s almost impossible to find true information between people that want you to be afraid to maintain their control and the people that have already made up their minds from one doctor’s words without hearing opinions from other medical experts. But with deaths and hospitalizations trending down, I hope the country can begin to open more--those who are vulnerable I think are smart enough to stay safe, and the government needs to trust them to make the right choices. The rest of us need to be more courageous and recognize how many risks we take on a regular basis to live instead of just survive. 

Trump is heavily shrouded by his own stupid big mouth and a media that does lie about him on a regular basis. Both of these things are true, and the people that understand the nuance of that are largely forced to be silent lest they lose their livelihoods. I investigate when he does or says something new, and usually the latest outrage is a far cry from what actually happened-so much so that I’m exhausted and hardly believe anything I hear anymore. After the whole Russia thing turned out to be nothing, I just lost my patience with media. Most Americans I know have already made up their minds, and many tune out of traditional news media in general because it’s so hard to get anything true. I’m not very bothered by Trump like some Americans. People react to every time he wipes his ass, and I’m over it. 

Black Lives Matter is a funny statement to me, because it’s so obviously true and everyone agrees with it, like naming an organization “don’t kick puppies.” It seems obviously deceitful to name the organization something that no one with a conscience would disagree with, and then make a platform that many people WILL disagree with. I tend not to want to align with trained Marxists and people that disavow the nuclear family. I want to have a conversation about helpful police reform and policies that will actually help the black community, like disincentivizing single motherhood with the welfare system and promoting school choice/school vouchers. But it seems that peaceful protests tend to turn into unhelpful and deadly riots, and the conversation is being drowned in chaos. Virtue signaling abounds and does no real good for people who are suffering. The riots are damaging black neighborhoods and if the city officials actually gave a damn, they would have done their jobs and helped protect their communities rather than ignore the destruction of people’s livelihoods. Most of the talk about it from government officials and people on social media I see as disingenuous and shallow, and the BLM organization’s radicalism doesn’t improve the situation either. I don’t know the solution to this much built up anger, but as for me, I tend to spend time with people who recognize the issues and try to better themselves to better the situation as much as they can. You are all you can change, after all. 

This is my overall position at the moment. I’ve spoken to liberals and conservatives about it, and we agree a lot more than we think when all the screaming is going on. Luckily, my family is safe from the riots for now, and none of us are at risk for COVID complications. Thank you so much for the kind and thoughtful ask, and I hope you and your family are doing well too!