#okay first of all rude

[tanblaque]

[beautifulpersonpeach]

So,

As I said earlier this week, I'm on vacation and hope to get around to some of your asks soon. But in the time I posted that and now, things happened, the world has blown up and the life my 67 year old friend and helper had in Oahu, is upended. I'm currently helping with relief efforts for Maui, and if anyone is so inclined, please see this link for a list of local Hawaiian charities that can get real help to people who most need it right now. It's a list made by native Hawaiians with confirmed charities on the top tabs.

[tommygettingwrittenoff]

my favorite thing about bt is when there's an opportunity for buck and t to have a deeper connection, but then t just shuts it down. like, go girl, give us nothing!!!!

[crossbackpoke-check]

Why I Am Not Coming In To Work Today [abridged], Jess Zimmerman

part one | part two

[sysig]

Everything falls into place so nicely when they’re together (Patreon)

[aaami]

i shouldn't let the feedback thing bother me, but man... it does hit hard when everything already feels like too much and i'm barely holding my shit together :( idk it kinda made me feel like even when i'm doing my best, it's not enough

[owlpuddle]

[lucifer-kane]

There's been a discussion on tiktok about assigned seats at movie theaters and I'm gonna be honest. I like open seating more. Maybe it's because the theater I typically go to still don't do assigned seats, but in general I just. Am not a fan of them.

[quietlyblooms]

“Careful!” A feminine voice rings out from the near distance — Yet, a large hand immediately reaches for the blonde, encircling her wrist in a tight yet careful grip. With a light tug would the unknown person keep her back from the concrete staircase. Golden irises blinked at Chiyo, an indescribable expression lingering upon the male’s face as he holds her in place. With a huff would the brunette finally catch up to the two, a little hunched over before she straightened up again. “Sorry — W-We didn’t wanna scare you but, um . . .” Jovie trailed off, emerald gaze flickering from Chiyo to Luka and then towards the staircase. “It’s super awesome here but I think the second floor is a bit unstable.” And there was this large pit in the middle of this abandoned factory. Her facial expression lightened up momentarily as she clapped her hand together. “Wanna check out the basement with Luka & I? Heard there was some cool stuff down there and maybe . . . A ghost or two!~” The visible cheer had Luka cringe playfully at the other, still unrelenting in his grasp.

(Hehe thought abt this with the ghost hunting post :,) So could be a little pre-est if u want! Hope this is okay!! Chiyo has two hands to hold!!)

unprompted | @metrictita accidentally scares chiyo!

she isn't proud of the yelp that escapes her as she nearly jumps out of her skin twice. meeting luka's golden gaze, relieved laughter quickly follows her fright as chiyo realizes that it's only her newest acquaintances ( friends, she thinks -- nearly ) and not a couple of ghouls. she rests her free hand over her heart, breathing deeply to calm the frantic beating.

" you scared me, " she breathes out just as jovie catches up to them. that wasn't their intention, of course; they only wanted to stop her from going somewhere potentially dangerous. and it's a good thing they did because chiyo? alone in a dangerous area?? it wouldn't be the worst idea, but it would be just her luck that she'd fall through the ceiling or something else hilariously terrible like that. she doesn't doubt it after blowing her tire ( though, was it a stroke of bad luck, all things considered? ).

chiyo grins at jovie's suggestion, finding her cheerfulness contagious. basements just scream haunted, and the prospect of shuffling around one is more exciting than it should be. " count me in! exploring places like this is always better in a group, if you ask me. "

[florrentine]

𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑎 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 ❀ sass.

[corvid-language-library]

How is it that I've been back at work for ONE day and it was an EASY day and yet today I already feel ready for the weekend??

[galacticlamps]

very minor thing I still definitely deserve a medal for:

being raised catholic, and now as an adult repeatedly falling in love with characters that fandoms like to declare catholic, but still managing to reject those headcanons because at heart I'm too much of a stickler for accurate analysis to get behind them when i know the person in question is really meant to be anglican/episcopalian/whatever other flavor of christian

i am being, as the poets say, so brave about it

[softquietsteadylove]

Hello! I would like to make a request. Since I really liked your 5+1 things may I request another one? You can choose the AU :)

Five times Gil hid an injury from Thena, and one time he couldn’t hide anymore.

Would be awesome! And thank you for writing so many Thenamesh ones! ❤️

Little accidents were bound to happen, even in the end of the world.

"Gil?"

Gil startled, rushing to hide his little cut in his finger. He felt embarrassed.

Thena was such a badass, and she already had all the knowledge and skill needed to survive in what remained of the world. She didn't really need him. He was pretty sure she didn't really want him either.

"How is the food coming?" she asked quietly, in the same cool and even tone she said everything else. He was lucky, though--without her he would probably still be trying and failing to find a safe little spot for himself in a mall somewhere.

"It's good," he rushed to smile at her, pressing his palm closed, "nothing's spoiled."

Thena made somewhat of a face he was pretty sure was relief. But he would have to get better at reading her tiny little micro-expressions. "That is good news."

He had guessed right! He laughed, "finally, some good fuckin' food."

She didn't laugh at that, just offered a solemn agreement. Maybe it made sense that her meme knowledge before the end of everything wasn't a top priority.

Gil snuck his finger into his mouth to lick the blood clean. He had to be careful, sure there was something to be said about even the smallest amount of blood being a risk to have in the open.

But he was strong.

That was a big part of what he had going for him in a world like this, and he knew it. He wasn't a survivalist, he wasn't even a camping kind of guy. He wasn't brave and he certainly wasn't a fighter. But he was strong.

Gil pulled and pulled at the boards nailed over the doorway. Thena was on the other side of the office building looking for the odd supply. She had a very good mind for how to find supplies that people would forget about, like water in hotel mini fridges and snacks in office vending machines.

Thena was smart, and cunning, and she was a hell of a fighter.

Gil pulled at the wood more, trying not to verbalise his strain. The stairwell would be better for them to get back down and out than the crumbled elevator shaft they had used to get in.

"Gil?" Thena arrived, leaning over him, "are you okay?"

He chuckled, ignoring the muscle in his shoulder he definitely pulled getting the stupid boards ripped away from their escape. "I got it."

She smiled, though, and he felt a little repaid for his efforts already. She slipped away the little bags of candy into her pockets and helped him up, "I told you that you could."

Gil covered up how it wrenched his muscles for her to pull him up by his left arm. He chuckled, "you're always right, huh?"

"You don't have to go that far," she answered, although he was pretty sure she was humoured by his statement.

Gil followed Thena into the stairwell, hoping there were no more boards to pull off. Maybe he would suggest just kicking in the next ones they found.

And he liked helping Thena.

She wasn't used to letting someone help her out the way he was. She preferred to handle things herself. He was trying to convince her to rely on him a little more, but that didn't mean she had adapted to it overnight.

"Careful!" Gil called up to her as she moved from one branch of the tree to another. She looked down at him just to give him a very unamused glare. He sighed, "okay, okay."

It wasn't like she was stories off the ground, she was trying to get some low hanging apples out of a gnarled old tree.

Still, Gil couldn't help but feel nervous any time she was up off the ground that high, whether it be scaling the shelves of a supermarket or climbing a tree for sour little wild apples.

"Thena, really," Gil frowned, watching her stretch out her arm for a particularly plump and red one further down. It did look good--maybe it would even taste better than disgusting. But it wasn't worth her getting hurt. "Just leave it."

"I can get it," she grumbled, less down at him and more just to herself. She inched out into the branch a little more, like a cat testing its luck.

"Thena, please," Gil walked closer, positioning himself as directly under her as possible. "It's not-!"

Thena yelped as the branch snapped clean off under the weight she was putting into her hands in front of her. She tumbled forward, out of the tree and straight into Gil.

Gil grunted as a bundle of bones toppled over and into every soft part he had to offer. Thena was lithe and delicate, with the grace of a predator. But man, it felt like she was all elbows at the moment.

"Gil!" Thena exclaimed, scrambling to rid him of her body weight (as if she didn't weigh as much as a couple of grapes). She crawled off of him and leaned over to inspect the damage, "are you okay?!"

Everything hurt. "I'm fine."

"Gil, really," she frowned, that worry knot between her eyebrows forming like a storm cloud.

"Really Thena," he laughed. He would probably looked like he had been jabbed with a blunt object. "I'm fine."

"I'm so sorry," she practically whimpered. The only thing that made her feel worse than actually needing his help was when it did more harm than good.

"Thena, honestly, I'm okay," he promised her. It wasn't so much of a lie--they were pretty mild injuries, all told. A few bruises, maybe his back would be a little sore.

She had just barely managed to not knee him in the balls, so he considered that escaping unscathed.

Some were actually kind of a big deal.

They had run into other people travelling again, and again, the exchange hadn't been...friendly in nature.

At least they hadn't split up this time, as per Gil's insistence. He knew having him with her slowed Thena down but he couldn't stomach the thought of arriving to her as a hostage again.

They had come out of the fight alive, but he was keenly aware of a cut on the underside of his bicep. It was a very tender area, and the muscle kept stuttering the more he agitated it.

There was nothing that would help that but time, though. He was actually lucky she hadn't noticed it as of yet. And he planned to keep it that way, specifically for her peace of mind.

Thena always ended up drowning in guilt when something happened to him while they were on the road. She seemed to have developed this protectiveness over him that - while he utterly adored it - he didn't always agree with.

It wasn't her job to protect him. They were...partners. Or something.

So he kept walking with her silently as they tried to put the fight out of their minds. Thena wasn't a talker anyway, and at least this injury wasn't making him limp or breathe weird. That one she had sniffed out a mile away.

"Hey."

Thena looked up, curious but maybe a little charmed as he held his hand out to her--the injured one. She slid her hand into his gently and silently, walking through the nothing around them.

It wasn't the first time they'd gone hand in hand, and it wouldn't be the last. And it actually felt kind of nice to have his arm stretched out.

"You were right," she said barely louder than a whisper, "about not splitting up."

He had his own protectiveness about the woman with him, whether she knew it or not. He still wasn't a fighter, but he was capable of more than a few punches if it came down to her life. "We work best together, I think."

She smiled at him, although he could tell she was still deep in thought over it all, "I think you're right."

Gil tightened his hand around her, drifting a little closer. His arm was back to being a little cramped against his side, but he just wanted to be closer to her.

And some of them were just too small to bother mentioning.

Gil pulled his hand back with a hiss, immediately popping his finger in his mouth. He had been reaching back as far as he could to see what might be hiding in the back shelves. Shelves he didn't realise were rusted and jagged all over.

He sighed, returning with nothing to show for all his rooting around except a scraped finger he would not be telling her about. "Find anything?"

"Not much," Thena commiserated with him, producing the singular can of olives she had found under some of the restaurant's old equipment. "I imagine there's a reason these are still here."

Gil winced; he hated olives. "Might not be worth the trouble."

Thena nodded, both of them looking around the once operational kitchen. Supply runs being a bust was always a hard loss.

Gil looked around them too. It was different enough from his old one, but it was still a restaurant kitchen. "Looks so familiar, in a funny way."

Thena looked at him with those bright green eyes of hers.

He chuckled, rubbing his pricked fingertip against the others. "Never thought I'd get to be in one again."

Thena smiled gently. He talked about his past life more than she ever did (which was never). But she always seemed to like it when he did. "I bet you made food I'd kill for, now."

"I don't know about that, but it was definitely worth more than 14.95."

Thena laughed, and did he ever love that sound. It made the entire world around them seem a little less bad. She tilted her head at him in a distinctly cute way. Her ponytail sure was getting long. "I'm sure it was priceless, even back in those days."

He blushed.

"I wish I could have-" Thena cut herself off. There was no sense talking in those terms of 'could have' or 'would have' or 'wished'. There was only now, and tomorrow. She shook her head, smiling at him again, "we'll have to find some decent ingredients for you at some point. You can really show me what you're made of."

He would make her the grandest feast of her life someday, if he had to search every last corner of the earth.

But he couldn't hide them all.

Thena trudged along at a snail's pace. She didn't have much of a choice, completely without a better way of moving Gil within the confines of the city.

When he had first shown signs of his fever, she had at least been able to get him in a car and drive for the longer stretches of highway. She could keep him in there, let him rest, recover what of his strength he could.

She wasn't a doctor, but she knew he had a hell of a fever, couldn't eat or drink much, not that she had much to spare for him. But at least if he had a fever, he was alive. And if he was alive, then he wasn't one of those things.

"Shit," she cursed, lurching and landing against one of the walls along the street. She lowered her center of gravity and adjusted Gil on her back. Poor guy's hands were bound in front of her with his feet dragging on the ground as she used all of her strength just to pull him a block and a half.

The hospital was in sight, at least.

Never had Thena wished more to stumble upon someone--anyone. One of those groups of people who always seemed to be floating around and who would happily take in a strong, decent guy like Gil.

They wouldn't want her, and they never did. But that wouldn't matter; she would leave Gil with them to live his life the way he was supposed to--with good people, happy and healthy.

Thena blinked as new tears rose in her eyes. She couldn't afford the dehydration. She would have to get on the road again before nightfall.

"Stop!"

"Please!" she called out, her voice raw from giving Gil all the water she had to spare. She coughed as she dragged him up to the gates of the parking lot, where they had sectioned off an area for safe passage. "Please, help him!"

The two in the watch tower looked at one another.

Thena coughed some more and stumbled as her knees finally gave out under her. She held Gil's hand in front of her, "please! You don't have to take me! B-But him--he's not bit, he's just sick! You have to help him, please!"

Her vision was fading. She was at the end of her rope.

"Get out there! Help them!"

Thena nearly collapsed as the weight of Gil left her back. She watched as best she could as the two keeping watch pulled him into the hospital, away from her. "G-Gil!"

It was barely more than a squeak.

Thena swayed, catching herself on her palms. She was exhausted, and everything hurt. It had been hurting for days, since she started carrying Gil small distances at a time. But she could live with that if it meant getting Gil the help he needed.

If she had to carry on by herself then so be it.

"Sersi, help me get her upright."

Thena tried to keep her eyes open as she was manhandled. They were helping her inside, like they had done with Gil. No stretchers to spare, huh?

"I can't believe she carried him here from that wasteland."

She would have carried Gil across what remained of the world.

[wizardnuke]

yalls tags on the caleb astrid post are all SO spot on thank you for understanding the uh. canon that was given to us. not saying that anyone doesnt. but i am.

[thedevotionaltour]

karen is MY special white woman. my problematic fave. because i understand why she sucks. i think in order to be allowed to be a karen fan you have to actually understand why she sucks. if you don't understand why she sucks then you're a bad karen fan i think.

[waterberry-strawmelon]

heyo!! I’m yelling out into the void for some quick friendship/communication advice for anyone who might be able to help!

Lately I’ve been struggling to positively interact with a friend of mine because it feels like anytime I say something, she feels the need to insert her own dissenting opinion or to “correct” me on a subjective thing.

I know this friend thinks very literally, and she’s mentioned a few times in passing jokes that she thinks she’s autistic, so as an allistic person I don’t want to be rude by not prioritizing her perspective. But at the same time, since every conversation i have with her ends up including her correcting me on something I don’t need correcting on—whether it’s A) something I actually already know, B) a detail that to me feels minute and thus nitpicky and irrelevant to correct because my point was still clear, or C) something that’s entirely subjective, like if I make a passing joke and say, “Lol, that’s us!” And she replies, “Ehhh, not really, actually.”

She will often undercut what I’m saying by plainly and bluntly disagreeing with it, and to me it feels like she can only have things her way and she needs to have the last word. BUT I’m hoping that’s not how she actually feels or intends for this to be coming off, and that’s largely just my personal perception of it.

From what I can tell, I think she struggles a lot with basic empathy, in the sense that she is very focused internally on herself and does not think to look at things from anyone else’s perspective. (And just to be clear, I mean this in an entirely neutral way, because she is compassionate and sympathetic, and lacking empathy doesn’t mean you can’t be a kind person.)

So from someone who is overly-empathetic and somewhat emotionally sensitive (I’m learning not to take things personally, but it’s still easy for me to feel hurt or upset about little things), does anyone have any advice about this? I guess I don’t know for sure if she’d say she has low empathy, but it feels likely that she does, because otherwise that would mean she’s doing all these things on purpose, knowing that it sounds rude.

The longer I go without telling her that this behavior upsets me, the more I stew in it, and it makes it very difficult to hang out with her because I end up very irritable. And that’s not fair to her, since I’m not communicating what the problem is. But I also don’t want to hurt her feelings, because maybe she just thinks she’s doing a favor by correcting me, as she sees it. idk. let me know if this makes sense! Shoot me a DM if you have any advice/the space to chat about it.

TLDR; any advice for communicating kindly with a low-empathy friend to let them know I’m feeling hurt and irritated by the frequency of some of these habits?