#the downside to being a regular commenter…

[catcake24]

There’s no worse pain than reading a fanfic youve subscribed to as realize: I don’t like this anymore.

Cause like??? Someone put their soul into writing that??? Their hard work and time and energy into this fanfic, which is well written, and you’re complaining that you just don’t like the plot???? You, little baby who hasn’t written this many words, is going to spit out their lovingly made home cooked meal that everyone else seems to be enjoying???

And it’s not like you can leave a comment, what are you an asshole, but if you stop commenting the author might notice and be sad, and UGHHHHHHH IM SORRY I DONT LIKE YOUR FANFIC ITS GOOD I PROMISE ITS JUST NOT FOR ME ANYMORE AHHHHHHHHH

[spikedfearn]

I Said Just a Little Bit, Then I Got a Taste of It

Chapter III

bjorn x fem!reader

summary: After being transferred to another sector of Jackson's Star you reluctantly befriend a ragtag group of people with the exception of one cocky asshole who knows just how to get under your skin.

On the surface, you hate each other, but after experiencing a particularly harrowing event together, the two of you grow closer than anyone else could ever imagine.

warnings: secret friends with benefits, enemies to lovers, angst, alcohol/drug use, explicit sexual themes, non-linear narrative, side rainkay, trauma bonding, near death experience, brief mention of child abuse, more tags to be added

a/n: haha don't hate me but I split the chapter up again! that means there's no smut in this chapter either but it was getting long and the place I chose to leave off felt like a natural end. that being said this chapter is entirely you x bjorn-centric and there is a lot of pay off!

tags: @asvtrials @urfavhanna @orangebeauty (comment if you wanna be notified when a new chapter drops)

wc: 4.4k

Masterlist Next Chapter

Bjorn is the fucking worst. 

A marginal part of you just assumed that maybe he was an angry drunk following your little exchange in the bar but no—he's just angry.

Despite your previous apprehension you begin to accept Kay’s invites to join her and the others whenever they get together, which is a lot. You know you're treading in dangerous territory, allowing yourself to get close to them, but you're powerless to stop it, unable to recall the last time you had this much fun, almost too much, feels a little wrong, like it should be illegal. 

The only downside is dealing with Kay’s asshole cousin Bjorn, like stepping on a dull thumbtack you can't dislodge when you see him joking around with Tyler, his eyes narrowing as soon as he notices you approach, like he has some score to settle. 

You don't let it get you, not immediately, not letting him run you off out of spite, just as petty as he is. 

You can only hold your tongue for so long however, before reacting explosively to whatever insult is thrown your way, giving him exactly what he wants. 

The others stop trying to intervene after so long, when they realize neither of you are willing to back down, deciding to just roll their eyes and ignore your immature back and forth, splintering off to start a new conversation of their own.

It's another one of those nights, the tension between the two of you thick, thicker than the smoke coming from the bonfire, gathered in the quarry again. It's a regular hangout spot for them, liking the exclusivity of its location, far from the hustle and bustle of the streets alive at night, when the majority of the colonists who’re assigned to work in the mines aren't slaving away underground. 

You and Bjorn have been taking digs at each other all night—what else is new?—cycling between something passive aggressive and flippant, or overt and direct, depending on how irritated whatever he says makes you. 

“Always so hot and bothered, ain'tcha’ sweetheart? If ya’ shut up and c’mere I can give ya’ a real mouthful,” he smirks, grabbing himself through the loose crotch of his frayed cargo pants.

Disgust pinches the bridge of your nose, nice and tight, hissing back, “ugh, you're such a pig. I’m thoroughly convinced the shitty apple didn't fall far from the shitty tree,” words soaked in venom, the aftertaste of acid burning the lining of your esophagus. 

It's like pulling the pin on a grenade, watching the way everyone reacts, a collective gasp shredding through the calm. Your revulsion is replaced by one of confusion, head cocking to the side as your posture wilts, losing all strength in your shoulders. You don't get why, not when you've said far, far, worse to one another, made a little game of it even. 

You don't see the usual anger or arrogance you've become accustomed to. Instead he looks hurt. Wounded. Blinking twice as fast like he's trying to stop his eyes from watering only to catch himself, schooling his face into something neutral, something mean.

Bracing yourself for the fallout, Bjorn does something completely unexpected—he leaves. Doesn't scream or swear or snark back, just silently turns and retreats, gravel loudly crunching beneath the black worn-in soles of his stormer boots, not sparing a single glance your way while he does.

“Not cool dude,” Navarro chides in your direction, slinging the strap of the backpack she bought the beer in over her shoulder before jogging off in hot pursuit of her brother, “Bjorn, wait up man!”

It's enough to kill the whole vibe, everyone awkwardly parting ways not long after. You return to your apartment sooner than predicted, playing the scene over and over in your head as you try and decipher what could've triggered that response, like he was on the verge of tears. And the others, with the exception of Andy, all seemed floored, clearly clued in on some context you're missing. 

But the thing is, why should you even care? For Bjorn and his infantile way of coping with whatever he's dealing with? When he's not once shown you the same consideration in return? You shouldn't. 

At least—that's what you tell yourself as you strip down to your underwear and crawl into the familiar warmth of your bed, cocooning your body in your blankets as the exhaustion and sleeping pills kick in, lulling you into a restless sleep. 

A sharp knock on the front door startles you awake, eyes bouncing off the walls of your cramped room before they're drawn sideways, finding the analog clock sitting on your bedside table. 

It's late in the afternoon, not nearly as late as you usually allow yourself to sleep on days off, still, that's not what's currently puzzling your still-waking brain.

There's a followup knock, reminding you why you're awake in the first place, begrudgingly removing yourself from the comfort of your sheets while you try and figure out who'd be visiting you right now, pulling on yesterday's jeans left crumpled on the floor by your bed. 

Maybe it's Kay stopping by to check on you. She looked like she wanted to say something last night, after Tyler smothered the bonfire and everyone had left but ultimately never did, choosing to run and catch up with Rain, weaving their fingers together once she did.

You swear though, if it’s just some corpo from the council coming to assign you mandatory overtime you might just take the automatic jail sentence.  

It ends up being neither. To your surprise it’s Tyler, fist raised like he’s getting ready to knock again, immediately taking one step down on the concrete steps leading up to your doorway to give you some room, cheeks a little red. 

“Sorry, didn’t meanta’ wake you,’” Tyler greets, probably taking note of your unkempt appearance, from your tangled hair to the rapid flutter of your lashes, trying to blink the sleep out of them. 

“Could—would you mind if we had a chat?” He amends, adding on, “it’ll only take a sec,” after the fact, the porch light above your head just bright enough to illuminate the hope on his face. Well, this is new. 

You’ve grown to like Tyler and the company he provides, always thoughtful and in high spirits, regardless if he just clocked out of a sixteen hour shift or not, hands shaking and wrapped in dirty gauze from the wounds he sustained. 

That being said, you’ve never met up just the two of you, only ever spending time in facilitated group settings outside of the mines. 

Nonetheless you move aside, a nonverbal queue to come in that he readily accepts, maneuvering around you to step into the tiny kitchenette adjacent to your bedroom. You watch as he gazes around, taking in the surroundings like all the apartments the colonists reside in don't look exactly the same. Albeit yours is pretty bare, not seeing a point in decorating when you could be transferred again at a moment's notice.

“So,” you say, shattering the quiet, leaning back against the laminate counter, arms folded out in front of you with one foot crossed over the other, right heel lifted off the tile floor, “what did you wanna talk about?”

There’s little doubt in your head as to what it's pertaining to, suspicion shortly confirmed by the sheepish look in Tyler's eyes when he meets yours again,“it's about Bjorn.” 

“I figured as much,” you sigh, waiting for him to go on, his hand coming up to anxiously rub over the back of his neck.

“Right, so. Is’not my place to share but Bjorn has a lot of baggage there—with his family. It's a super sore subject for ‘im,’ so when you said that it kinda dug all that shit up.”

Tyler continues, cutting you off before you have a chance to interrupt, “And I know you didn’t mean it, that you don't owe ‘im anything, and you certainly don't hafta’ listen to me but would you please just. Talk to ‘im?’

You can tell Tyler means well, that he wants to smooth things over between the two of you and, while you’d never readily admit it aloud, you do feel a little bad for Bjorn. Bjorn. Sunlight must be shining through the perpetual polluted cloud cover from up above.

It’s just, you know what it’s like, dealing with the aftermath of familial trauma, trying to navigate a world that’s taken so much and given nothing back. Learned to bare your teeth rather than your soul, the only guaranteed method to alleviate the emotional damage life on Jackson’s Star brings.

Maybe Kay is right. Maybe you and Bjorn are alike.

And maybe Tyler is too, about talking to Bjorn, maybe it's time you two talk it out, try and find common ground so the others don't have to play referee anymore. 

“Fine,” you agree,“I’ll talk to him.” 

All the tension in Tyler's shoulders melts away, a relieved sigh deflating his chest, like he had been steeling himself for a potential refusal. 

“Lovely, that's—thank you. Really.” Tyler beams, drawing you into an unexpected hug, a quick, thankful little squeeze despite your arms still being crossed.

Tyler pulls away so you can face each other again, “I know he can be a total fuckin’ wanker but he's one a’ the only people Kay and I got left. And Kay’s got you now and—you don't have to like ‘im. Hell I don't half the time, but if you could just try and tolerate each other maybe?” 

A giggle bubbles up out of you, offering a reluctant nod in return, “sure, I can try. No promises though.” 

“S’okay. I don't expect Bjorn to listen anyways but if I can at least get you on board, things should be smooth sailin’ yanno?” 

You doubt it'll be that easy, that Bjorn will even be receptive to talking but you're willing to honor Tyler's request and try, for him, Kay and the others. 

Once Tyler leaves, you decide it's better to just rip the bandaid off and go looking for Bjorn, who's apparently putting in overtime, something he's prone to doing whenever he needs to blow off some steam according to his older cousin. 

You clock in and check out a drill, the only way low-level colonists gain entry down here, lugging it through one of the series of carved paths towards the sound of shrill cogging you hear echoing off the walls just up ahead in the distance. 

Bjorn isn't hard to find. He's the only one laboring on his day off, the only one in this section of the mines at least, save for the lone guard stationed at the mouth of the tunnel, paying you little mind as you pass. 

The drill head Bjorn's wielding bores into the hard rock, heavy handed from the anger he's trying to work through, sparks flying off as a result. 

Your stomach swoops low when he looks at you, anticipating some kind of reaction, his muscles sagging just a little but, like the guard, he goes back to working, drilling a little harder than before. You can tell this conversation will be like pulling teeth. 

“Bjorn,” you call, trying to be heard over the sound of grating metal, pulling your goggles up and your mask down, letting it hang around your neck. “Bjorn!” 

The lean lines in his forearms built over time flex harder, highlighted by the sweat gathering there, gloved fingers constricting around the worn handle of the power tool as he readjusts his grip. Even through the face shield you can tell he's gritting his teeth, grinding them just as hard as the drill against the rock, the muscles in his neck straining from the way his jaw is set so incredibly tight.

“Bjorn!” You repeat, growing frustrated, taking the risk of losing a finger or two by pushing at Bjorn's shoulder, “can you please just—look at me?”

He’s quick to snatch your wrist, startling you, strong enough to keep the drill upheld with his other arm while he thumbs the off switch. 

“Wha’ in the bloody fuck d’ya want?!” He snarls, eyes narrowed and brows pinched, twisting your arm to hold it down in between you, mindful not to actually hurt you.

“M’sorry,” you mumble, avoiding the angry scowl he's wearing, now the one unable to make eye contact.

“Wha’ tha’ fuck was tha’?!”

Your throat feels rougher than sandpaper, finding it harder to swallow than the pills you pop every night. “I said I'm—sorry.”

The laugh he gives in response sounds hollow, bitter, “oh thas’ bleedin’ rich comin’ from you. Come ta’ say sorry so you can sleep a little easier tonight, have ya?’ Well I don't want ur fuckin’ pity.”

Your head whips up at that, doing your best to keep composed, despite your fight or flight urging you to combat his animosity with your own. 

“I didn't come to apologize to make myself feel better, that's not who I am. Whether we get along or not doesn't matter. I realized I crossed a line and you deserve better than that. That's why I came to say sorry.” 

His face softens just a bit, just long enough for you to notice before his expression hardens again, lips parting to say something more but he never gets the chance to, interrupted by a low ominous groan that shakes the entire roof of the tunnel you're standing in. Shit, that doesn't sound good.  

You share a look of dread then, before either of you can react, a crevasse three feet wide fractures up the entire length of the rock right above your heads as the deafening roar of a cave-in drowns out every other noise.

The only thing you feel is Bjorn’s calloused hand still holding onto your wrist roughly yanking you into his body right as everything collapses around you.

The first thing you register is the fact you're still alive. Aching all over and windpipe tight from inhaling the harsh toxins released into the air all at once, but—alive.

The next is the ringing in your ears, a high frequency whine that sounds like a mortar shell just went off by your head, leaving you disoriented, possibly concussed.

And the last is the solid body of muscle you're lying on top of, the same one that just saved you from biting it several moments ago. 

He's sprawled out on his back, the rapid wide-eyed blinking and quick rise and fall of his chest trying to draw air back into his lungs an indication he's in much the same condition as you, goggles cracked and his face shield missing. 

Your breath catches when you notice how close the two of you are, so close you can see the dirt clinging to his goatee and the dried cracks of his chapped lips, breath smelling like rolling tobacco and polar ice gum. As much as you hate it, you can't help but think how attractive the view is.

He seems to regain his focus, looking down to lock gazes with yours, realizing the position you're in. His eyes roving over your face as if he's appraising you, as if he's checking you out. 

“Ahem,” you clear your throat, the severely dim lighting disguising the blush bleeding into your cheeks, rolling off and away from him, hoping he didn't feel the rapidity of your heart beating against your sternum like a battering ram. “Thanks.” 

Once the kicked-up soot and debris has settled a bit you take in everything around you—what's left of it. Both your headlamps are busted, both of which you discard along with the goggles and gloves, drills buried somewhere underneath the rubble you just were, the entrance to the tunnel you're in decimated to a cataclysmic degree, the only way in or out. You guys are trapped. 

“Ah fuck,” Bjorn swears, grasping the utterly abysmal situation you’ve both found yourselves in. “This is bad.”

“Thank you for your valuable insight. Where would I be without your brilliant observation skills,” you snark, the two of you sitting up to face each other, backs against either side of the walls that are still intact, knees drawn up to your chests to give each other a little more leg room.

“Shoulda just let ya’ get crushed by them rocks,” he huffs, “woulda saved me tha’ headache. And tha’ oxygen.” 

He's right about the oxygen. In an enclosed space like this with no ventilation, you're both in short supply, aware you'll run out of it soon enough. Even if the collapse didn't initially kill you, the suffocation inevitably will. 

“I seriously can't believe I'm gonna die down here with you of all people.”

“Ah yah,’ cuz this is how I wanted ta’ spend ma’ last moments before I kicked the bucket,” he rolls his eyes, untying the simple knot of his red bandana, which is grimier than usual due to the ash and sediment lingering in the air, setting it on the ground beside him. 

Bjorn pulls a rolled joint out of the breast pocket of his shirt, lighting up as soon as it's in his mouth. You almost tell him to put it out so you can preserve the limited oxygen you have but ultimately you elect to stay quiet. What's it matter anyway? Dying sooner might just be a mercy. 

“How much ya’ wanna bet some synth fuck’s up there right now tellin’ tha' council we're not worth tha' time or trouble?”

“You really have it out for synthetics, don't you?” 

You were aware he didn't like Andy, an opinion he made known every time Rain brought him to group hangouts but you didn't realize it ran that deep, never connecting the dots between his insults and the prejudice he clearly harbors. 

He chuckles, smoke billowing out of his mouth as he does so, a pungent cloud of weed looming over you, “ever tha' observant one, aren't cha babes?” 

“Fuck you,” you bristle, arms loosely wrapping around your shins, fingers lacing together just below the kneecaps. Although, to be fair you did more or less say the same thing to him not even five minutes ago. 

“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” the few oil lamps the cave-in didn't snuff out highlighting the wink he throws your way. “And if ya’ must know—yeah, I do. Every fuckin' last one of ‘em.” 

Deciding to tread carefully you simply ask, “why?” exercising a level of caution you normally never do.

Silence drags between you, expecting Bjorn to ignore your probably invasive question when, to your surprise he replies, answering with a painful degree of honesty that nearly blindsides you, “my mum. She worked in tha’ mines like most o’ us had to. When I was eight, there wuz a collapse much like this one. ‘Cept she was one o’ three miners on one side o’ the tunnel while there were a dozen in tha’ otha. A synth convinced tha’ council her life wuzn’t worth theirs. So—they let her die. Scared. Confused. Probably hopin’ for rescue. She always told me ta' keep tha' light on fo’er when she'd tuck me inta bed before her shift every night so she could find’er way back ta’ me.” 

He yanks out two sets of dog tags tucked underneath his shirt by the chain, one of them his and the other presumably his mother's, just like the ones you’re wearing, the corporation’s way of identifying bodies of miners lost, his thumb running over the engraving etched into one of the nameplates. 

Sympathy swells inside of you listening to him, “that's horrible.” 

You had assumed Bjorn's past was traumatic based on the little information Tyler was willing to share but you never expected it to hit so close to home.

“I get it,” you murmur, head tipping back to stare at the chiseled rock and remaining support beams to hold back any stray tears that might threaten to fall, clenching at your dirty pant legs a little tighter.

“My mom. She was pregnant and forced to work down in the mines until the shit she was inhaling induced her prematurely. Guess toxic fumes are bad for a pregnancy,” you roll your eyes, biting off a sarcastic, watery chuckle. “She ended up dying during childbirth.” 

There's a pause, your words hanging heavy in the air. You've never shared that with anyone who didn't already know. Word traveled fast around each sector, gossip the only news worth spreading, people talking about the girl orphaned by a reckless mother who should've known better. Fuck, it makes you sick just thinking about it.

When Bjorn speaks it's soft, comforting. “Thas’ horrible. So thas’ why you been volunteerin’ for Kay.” 

“Yep,” you confirm, popping the p, head rolling forward to lock eyes again, watching him put out the remnants of his joint on the wall next to him before flicking the butt into the pile of debris. 

“And ur dad?” he asks, the bend of his elbows resting on either one of his knees, leaving his forearms to dangle. 

“Never knew him,” you shrug, becoming detached at the very mention of him, like you’re discussing a stranger, which in a way you are, “he left right after knocking my mom up. Didn't want the added responsibility of raising a kid.”

“Fuck, I wish my old man woulda jus' dipped out from tha’ start. Woulda been the only decent thing he ever did fo'us,” Bjorn spits, words dripping with vitriol, clearly holding a hatred reserved for his father only. 

“What happened to him?” No longer trying to tiptoe around the questions that pop into your head since you're both over sharing. Since you're both dead anyway. 

“He’s still around but 'e's not around if ya know whadd’i mean. After my mom died 'e started boozin’ heavily to deal widit. When he wasn't in the mines 'e was out gettin’ piss drunk. Stupid prick gave fuck all about me and Navarro.” 

There's a growl that rumbles deep in his lower register, rotating his arms so they're pointed wrist-up towards the ceiling. You follow his line of sight, seeing scars littered across his skin, raised and round and purple from healing. Cigarette burns. 

“Bjorn…” you trail off, a level of sadness you haven't felt in a long time settling deep in your skin, “That's—what the fuck. Did Jackson’s, did they do anything about it?” 

“They don't give a rat's arse, yanno that,” he scowls, but not at you, turning his arms back down, “s’long as I'm alright enough to work they'll overlook a black eye or busted up lip. They can all fuckin’ eat shit far as m' concerned.”

“I'm so fucking sorry about earlier. I really, truly am,” You stress, even more genuine than the initial apology you offered, feeling like a total bitch for what you said to him in the quarry. 

He waves you off, combing his fingers through his sweaty, clumped bangs to separate them, “s’alright babes. Already forgiven.” 

You never thought you'd say it but you're actually glad Tyler convinced you to talk things out with Bjorn, even if it inevitably did lead to your approaching demise. If, by some miracle, you both survive, maybe you can be friends. At the very least, friendly. 

“Can't believe m' gonna die a bloody virgin,” Bjorn groans, head falling back against the rock. 

“Really?” You laugh, a full-body chuckle that has you coughing into a loosely curled fist immediately after, your lungs burning from all the shit you've breathed in, “that's your concern?”

“Uh yah! What else do I hafta' be worried about? Dying? That shit’s imminent at this point, hate ta’ break it ta’ ya’ darling.” 

He has a point. Besides, maybe focusing on a smaller problem will diminish some of the fear about the larger one at hand. 

“You're right,” you concede, though you can't help but be surprised by the revelation, with the way Bjorn carries himself he seemed like the type to sleep around with anyone willing to let him, “that does suck.” 

“Oh? So ur not one then?” he asks, raising an eyebrow that disappears under his hair, curiosity piqued. 

“No. Made a few mistakes back in my old sector, had a few one night stands. Nothing serious,” you shrug, indifferent. None of them ever meant something to you anyhow, just a brief period of time when you used alcohol to cope, when you just wanted to feel someone's arms around you. 

“Course—I don't hafta’ die a virgin.” 

His eyes openly roam over you, from your face down to what he can see of your body with the position you're sitting in, tongue parting his lips to slowly lick over them. You feel your stomach flutter, like you'd just swallowed a congregation of butterflies. Okay, he's definitely checking you out now. 

Are you seriously suggesting I sleep with you?” You ask in disbelief, the question entirely rhetorical considering you're the only other person here and he's eyeing you like a prime cut of steak, “what are you, high?”

“Clearly babes. That's beside tha’ point. Wouldn't be tha’ worst thing in tha' world, now would it?” 

“It might be,” you retort, “so was this just your plan all along? Get in my pants?” 

“Ah yah, I collapsed tha' mine so you'd drop ya' knickers fo' me, fucking come off it. And come with me, why don't ya?’” He smirks, doing that signature cocky head tilt of his.

That's not what you meant. Moreso wondering if that was his goal from the start, the tension between you seeming sexual in retrospect. You spear your bottom lip between your teeth, actually considering the offer, always finding Bjorn annoyingly, stupidly, attractive. Maybe you're the one that's high.

“I—” 

As if on queue you hear a familiar rumble, just like the one that trapped you here to begin with, rubble and soot raining down on top of you and Bjorn, looking up just as the ceiling bows.

Bjorn is quicker to react than you are, lunging at you right as one of the wooden support beams gives way and topples sideways, taking another chunk of the mine with it, the both of you avoiding another close call as the tunnel around you continues to shrink and shrink. 

This time he ends up on top of you, the full weight of his body pressing down onto yours, his gaze drawing away from the roof to meet yours again, the intensity of his stare causing heat to pool low in your core.  

Then he kisses you—and you let him. 

[sopiao]

Hiyyyyyaa, how would the 141+könig react to military y/n being a goth girl? But they didn't know because she doesn't wear her piercings or makeup due to stranded military rule regulations, until they all meet up at the pug. Please and thank you. Take your time.

EHEHEHHE I LUV DIFF STYLE REQS LIKE THESE ^^

i tried my best 😭

Being apart of the task force was probably the best decision you made, you like the people, you have fun, and it pays good. Only downside of having to take off each of your piercings each time, especially if their fresh or barely healed, which could be dangerous (don’t do that kids) but rules are rules.

You never really told them about your style or anything since you didn’t really think it would be important, or if it would even matter.

When Soap reaches out to everyone and suggests to all meet up at a pub, you were more than willing to come. You had more than a handful of missions together and spent quite some time with them, but have never seen your teammates out of work before.

You’re the last to arrive since your time management is shit, you were stressing and messing up your makeup, but hey, at least you came. Parking your motorcycle and kicking the stand, leaving your helmet on the handle. At this point you realize that none of your comrades has never seen you in your attire, with all of your piercings in.

Entering the warmly lit and semi-busy, you saw them at a wooden table off to the side, laughing and talking about whatever has been going on in their lives, you see six drinks assuming they bought one for you. You decide to fuck with them since this’ll be the first time they see you in the full get-up.

“Boo!” At first their startled, then confused. Soap interested, he’s never been with a goth girl before, he’ll try anything— or anyone— once. Gaz is the first to realize who you are

“[NAME]?!!” Gaz shouts, making everyone look at him then to you, all making the same conclusion at the same time, Soap a little slower, but that’s normal. You chuckle, smiling as Price scoots to the side to make room for you, pulling out the chair next to him. It’s regular for him to want to sit next to you, he even had his jacket draped over the back rest to save it for you.

“You look sick” Gaz smiles, it soothed you. At first, you were worried how they’d think of you looking like this, but seeing his genuine expression eases you a little more. They wanted to say something, a comment or compliment, but they didn’t know how to say it properly without making it sound weird, not wanting to make you uncomfortable.

“Oh! We got you a drink” Soap slides over your drink, a fruity strawberry Cosmopolitan. It was all new to them but familiar at the same time. They always kinda pictured this look on you but never thought they’d actually see it. In a way it kinda reflected how you are in the field.

“Did it hurt?” Ghost speaks up from beside you. Of course it hurt. But you were glad that he was interested, especially because he is almost never interested in anything.

“Some more than others” You shrug, hands resting in the pockets of your DIO sweater. Ghost leans forward, arms crossed and resting on the wooden table, slight nod of the head signaling for you to continue.

“Top 5?” Price asks, his arm wrapped behind you to rest on the backrest of your chair. You’re surprised that they’re even this interested, you kinda expected them to just accept it and move back into the conversation.

“Uhh.. I guess the first would be these. Took a while to stretch these out” Turning your head to show the others, poking the tip of your finger through the hole of your gauges. Chuckling awkwardly until you heard oohs and aahhs from them.

“Industrial is second, couldn’t sleep on my side for a couple months” Turning your head to the other side to show the metal bar coming between the shell of your ear.

���But this put me through hell, couldn’t talk or eat for a while. Lived off of smoothies for like forever” Sticking your tongue out to show the small metal star on the center of your tongue. Ghost’s eyes slightly widened, he had one too (i luv referencing my other stuff) but didn’t wanna mention anything yet.

“This hurt, but after a week I didn’t even feel it” Twisting the metal bar of your bridge, careful not to smudge your makeup.

“Didn’t even feel this, my lip was a little swollen for a while though” You pull your lip down to show off your snake bites. You didn’t really notice this until now, they were intently listening, not just hearing you but actually listening. Not expecting them to be this interested since people either were a little weirded out or just a dick about it.

“Wow… And I’m too scared to even get my ears pierced” König chuckled nervously, hand unconsciously coming up to lightly pinch his smooth and un-poked ear lobe.

—

“It was nice seeing you guys again” Grinning warmly as you all stood outside of the pub. The snow made you wanna leave already, but the company of your friends made it bearable.

You give Gaz a kiss on the cheek. A simple and platonic act of affection. Forgetting you had black lipstick on, seeing the black mark on his cheek made you embarrassed. Especially with Soap’s teasing.

“Hey, give me one, too” He bent down and tapped his cheek, with a cheeky grin. Laughing it off as you planted one on his cheek. Price leaned in too, wordlessly asking for one.

König was still not ready to lift his mask up that high yet, but he still wanted a kiss. So you just settled a smooch on the back of his hand like and prince would do to his fair lady. After you left a kiss mark on each of them they all looked at Ghost, waiting for him to lift his mask up for one.

He looked around with a shrug, then shaking his head with a sigh, as he uncrossed his arms and lifted the side of his mask only up to his nose. Making sure to press with a little more pressure with him since there was less lipstick on your lips since it was faded.

—

Extra:

Omg. Imagine like showing off cool but weird tricks. Taking off one of your lip piercings and showing off how you can squirt out water from the opening. Soap wondering if you could slurp spaghetti through it.

[yridenergyridenergy]

Is there a way to know if members are healthy and feeling well? Shinya's last video, he looked really really thin, the voice note on his last blog update felt sick and tired. The tour was very compact, the bus looked uncomfortable (for musicians over 45 years old, I mean, c'mon). They must be resting now, but I feel that their company is exhausting them for the sake of saving/gaining more money. I don't know if it's just me, and I'm worrying for no reason. Does the company even do routine check-ups on their health? Is it reasonable for us as fans to ask this to their management?

Shinya always has a particular voice, but I haven't heard that voice note that you mention. It's no news that Shinya is incredibly skinny, as even h.Naoto's assistant commented that he was the only one that she could wrap the dark tunic on at the smallest holes/size and she seemed surprised.

Traveling and being on a plane in general tends to make people sick, so if he did hit a bad patch, hopefully he is getting better now that he is back in Japan.

For Shinya, I have my own opinion, but at the end of the day, I'll trust that he is a midlife adult who must have at least learned how to manage maintaining that size in a sustainable way.

Nobody on the band has been outspoken about the downsides of touring overseas this year except Kyo, and I'm always baffled by how much Kyo is allowed to complain so publicly about his own management hah. Good for him, and I mean, he's an artist and their primary one when you think about it, so you can't really restrain him much.

It's difficult for me to form an opinion on the management's frugal tendencies when I don't actually see numbers. All I know is that Kyo is able to afford Gucci, expensive toys, etc. and when that impersonator was arrested, from what I understood, he assured us that he wouldn't have ever needed to ask for loans like that. Whatever sacrifices the band is making to apparently make touring abroad profitable at least translates into them being well paid, even if that's just from performing in Japan.

Money also may play only a small role into the decision to have them sleep on a bus and only carry one luggage each. Extra luggage would have to be checked in and could get lost. Checking into hotels, where fans are also staying, presents its own series of issues.

Either way, Kyo had mentioned going to see a doctor in a monthly birthday video on kyo-online (I won't give more details but it was a super minor issue, don't worry) and I think even in another type of content where it sounded more like a regular checkup.

Ultimately, they are adults, they're the main moneymakers fo sun-krad and I'm sure that they would be able to push back against at least future decisions if their health could be jeopardized in the long term. Kyo had mentioned in 2012-2013 that he had warned his management time and time again that the grueling schedule of their tours and shows would grind down his throat, so it was no surprise to him when it became so bad that he needed surgery and the band had to go on a hiatus. I'm sure that everyone learned from that, and Kyo's singing has been spot-on every time I have seen him since 2015 or so.

[pokemonxhyperfixation]

So, basically every note on my last post told me to post the Touhou’s I’m down atrocious for. So you’re gonna get that, along with (sfw) propaganda ;)

List below cut.

Call me a chaser all you’d like, but the first two are (I’m pretty sure) canonical trans women. Is Miko already married? (At least in my head) Yes. Is she 2 trillion percent out of my league? Absolutely. Am I largely anti-government while she’s a major political figure? Yes (though I’m also an American, so I’m pretty sure being “anti-government” is just called being fucking sane). But holy shit, I want this hot ass lady to FUCKING DESTROY ME! That’s a common trend actually. These are all women I want to have destroy me. The difference with Miko is that she’s less inclined to do so.

You know that one clip?

The one I linked right here? Yeah, that’s me with like, basically the rest of these. This is also the other one trans woman btw (I THINK she’s based on a real buddhist in the same way Miko is a real person). Hisami and I are kindred spirits, in the sense that we both want Zanmu to keep us on a leash. I also now realize that I like women in shorts. Not like, booty shorts per say, but just like, regular (or as regular as you can call Zanmu’s fit) shorts. This is not like, a horny thing either, It’s just a look I like. (Same with glasses.)

You know, sometimes being down bad for a character is like an infection. Artists draw a character you like but aren’t down terribly for REALLY HOT, and now all of the sudden, I’m horny for a blonde elf! I’ll have my monster fucker card revoked!/j Anyway, what really does it for me is a nice mixture of some artists making Parsee’s top a bit sheer (as in the black bit obviously) and also the fact that I’m just kinda a whore for green eyes. Personal favorite eye color right there. The main downside with this one is that she’d kill me… but honestly? Barely a downside. (Also she has a bit of that bear branded “if deadly why so soft and cuddly looking?” Thing going on. It’s her sweater thing. I want one.)

(Pixiv did NOT wanna give me propaganda I like for her, holy shit.) Anyway, this is the least consistent one. With all the rest, it’s like, I’m ALWAYS a simp for them, but for Seija, it like, comes in waves. I don’t even particularly enjoy her character in most things! But I still want her to do AWFUL things to my body! It’s weird…

FUCKING LOOK AT THIS WOMAN! Remember the green eyes comment? Yeah, I’m also down bad for redheads. And alt fashion. Especially when it’s kinda tacky. Her Hot Topic core fashion just fucking kills me. Oh my god, holy shit. Insert that one Hecatia Nip-Slip gif here. As I said, I’m not selling you with nudity!

Chimata wins the award for being my favorite character on this list. I was going to partially cheat by putting MomoChima here, but then I realized I only like Momoyo as much as I like buff women (which is admittedly quite alot) while alot of what I do in my head with them as a couple is partially me projecting how much I’m down bad for Chimata. It’s also worth noting that I’m actually less horny for her than most on the list, but that may also be from me not wanting her to dominate me. Because let me be real, she doesn’t have that vibe. (For reference, my mental take on MomoChima is pretty damn horny.)

THE WHITE PHAROH! (Says the guy who fucking mentally color corrects art of her to this skin tone) Michigan is very new, and CURRENTLY joins the Seija club of really down bad for her in waves. I say emphasize currently because this is also how Zanmu started. I already mentioned shorts, but thigh highs (and thighs in general) also fucking KILL ME. SHE GOT THE KAHKI SHORTS AND THE THIGH HIGH SOCKS HOLY SHIT. God I love this woman…

Honorable mentions:

Momoyo, who I mentioned in Chimata’s section.

Tsukasa, but like, in a way where I also want to see her cracked like a glowstick.

Ran, fox milf, enough said.

Doremy, honestly, I’d rather just cuddle, but sometimes the horny mind virus takes over.

Kasen, demon/oni girls are top tier to me, and Kasen is hot. Especially the evil one.

Aya, everyone does this. If you say you aren’t at least a little down bad for Aya, you’re either Ace, or lying/j. She does it for me, but I’m not deranged about it. Same as Ran and Doremy basically.

Join me next time where I’ll talk about how I want Nagoriyuki to turn me into a fucking meat pretzel.

[zorossugarmama]

A Dragon's Hoard

You have eaten the mythical zoan type fruit!

word count: 780

AO3: zorossugarmama

You groaned and yawned as you opened your eyes. The clear blue sky greeting you with a fervent blistering heat radiating down on your leathery skin. You raised your head and looked around the ship and saw that it was near empty. By the height of the sun you guessed that it was around mid-day and that most of the crew was in the mess hall eating lunch. You wondered what Thatch had cooked for today. Raising your nose to the air you sniffed the salty and humid air and caught hints of meat. Your mouth began to water as you looked over to your side and saw that diamond Jozu was standing beside you looking at you expectantly.

“Time for lunch kiddo.” He said with a hint of a smile and motioned to the doors that lead down to the galley. You peered at the door and nodded your head.

It smells good! You tried to say, but there emitted a growl, hot and humid breath swept past Jozu’s face and he scrunched his face up in disgust. Right, you couldn’t talk in this form.

“We need to clean your teeth…” He commented as he turned to walk away. That’s right, you were in your mythical zoan type form. 

You recalled that you had landed on the Moby with a rather harsh landing and walked your way up to where pops was sitting, taking in the morning sun.

“The horizon’s clear?” He had asked as he gazed up at your large and foreboding form. The red tint of scales glimmering in the sun as you rounded your captain and curled your long spikey tail, encompassing him in your embrace as you laid your head down. You groaned and growled in a dismissive response. Of course the horizons were clear. Your form alone had warded off anyone who dared enter into pop's territory. Pops had laughed heartily as you breathed in and out deeply. You were tired, but you also didn’t want to switch back to your regular human form. You much rather stay a dragon. It was nice and honestly not having to talk to anyone while also commanding a strong presence was enough to sway you from ever turning back into a human. 

Pop's large hand patted your head as you slowly drifted off to sleep. The crew was working hard around you. Being the only predator on the open waters allowed you a lot of leeway when it came to chores around the ship. Of course you would help when it was desperately needed but for the most part you were granted permission to sleep for most of the day. 

“Sleep for now, everyone here is safe.” He cooed as he returned to watching his diligent crew. You purred deeply at the touch and grazed your piercing yellow eyes across the ship once more making sure that everyone was indeed safe and sound. With a grunt of approval you closed your eyes. 

If there was one thing a dragon protected above all else, it was its hoard. Your hoard was in this case your family. You would burn the word to ashes before anyone laid a finger on them. Possessing one of the most sought after devil fruits not only made you a world threat, but also a person of high interest. The waters of pop's territory were always being contested with either invaders or bounty hunters who thought that they could take on a dragon of your stature alone. You always repaid them with fire and strength. No one would harm your family, no one would dare to touch your hoard. You would protect it with your life. 

Jozu turned around and gave you a pointed look. “Come, Thatch prepared a large meal for you specifically, don’t let it go to waste.”

You raised your head and stretched your wings, they spanned over the edges of the ship. Your cumbersome form moved and you felt your fruit retreating within you. Scales fell off of you as you returned back to your human form. 

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” You said giddily as you hopped down the deck and to Jozu. The only downside of sleeping in your dragon form was the awful stiffness in your limbs. You however, were blessed with Marcos ability. You would go see him later to ease you back to normal. 

“What kind of meat did he make?” You asked excitedly as you looked up at Jozu. in your human form you were actually quite small. Standing at 5-foot on the dot. 

“All your favorite kinds!” Jozu said happily as he placed a hand on your back and lead you to the galley.

[r0gue-taxidermy]

PACKERS AND PACKING INFORMATION AND REVIEWS:

Cw: prosthetic male genitalia/penises for informational purposes only 

I’m going to start this by first introducing myself so hello I’m Jackson I’m a plus size ftm trans teenager and I’m going to go over the best and easiest way to pack as a trans dude

You may be asking what a packer is? Well a packer is a gender affirming tool that creates or mimics a bulge or a penis which may seem like it’s a thing meant for adults but actually it’s very useful for everyone it helps with dysphoria or even just helps if your wanting to appear more masculine

Another thing that will be mentioned are STPs; STP stands for stand to pee device which do make it possible to as said stand to pee which can go from looking realistic or just being a cup with a tube

so I will be ranking my favorite packers/STPs/packing alternatives and will include where to find and price ranges and packing ability’s. If you have any questions either message me or comment them down below! Starting off strong with number one my favorite packer is

1. STP FREELY:

This is my favorite STP packer it’s 3.5 inches long and is a SOFT packer with a wide brim cup with a lip so no worry about spills or anything made with a skin safe soft silicone , definitely more of an affordable packer + STP it ranges from 45-50$ and it comes in 5 different skin tones! there is a XL Version of this packer that is 5 inches that I have not tried that is 50$ (you can also buy the XL rod which turns this into a pack and play “toy” for around 16$) and both xl and regular come with the option of being circumcised or non circumcised which I think is a neat feature! This packer also requires a harness ! I recommend the cake bandit packing harness it’s comfortable and not too tight. you can find both of these on TransGuySupply.com

Packing ability:9/10 definitely my favorite packer I’ve owned packs very well

Looks:9/10 nice weight, decently realistic but there are definitely better packers on the market but overall a wonderful packer

Stp ability: 10/10 very easy to get used too, big cup with a lip and semi realistic urethra hole

Can’t stress how much I love this packer will buy again

2. EZ bulge:

Here’s a cheap simple packing option for people who want to try out packing as it’s a foam insert made of a thicker foam material that you put In your boxers, these usually range from 5-10$ which isn’t bad the only downside is that they are stiff and if your bigger like me it will rub against your thighs and become uncomfortable and there’s definitely pros and cons for this packer like it’s latex or silicone free but it is kind of stiff and hard to position you can get this packer from transguysupply.com or Etsy!

Packing ability: 7/10 it works but is kind of uncomfortable and if not positioned right can look funny

Looks: 6/10definitely a more discrete option if you don’t get one with a dick imprint

3.HOMEMADE SOCK PACKERS

Omg I can’t express how much these save my life if I’m dyphoric these are a simple, cheap and easy way to pack I can’t express how much I use these on a daily basis, there are plenty of videos on YouTube on how to make these (kade cooks has a good tutorial on YouTube btw)

Packing ability:5/10 definitely a easy packing tool but can look kinda wonky if not made right and may take some trial and error

Looks: 2/10 definitely not a good looking packer but gets the job done

4.FOAM INSERT PACKER

Similar to the EZ bulge this is another foam packer insert but definitely is more comfortable, it’s a thin foam works well with most of the packing jockstraps,briefs, or boxers it’s about 5$ usually. I had one for a couple months then it started falling apart as the first layer of thin fabric came off of back but was a cheap and easy packer and is way more discrete option you can find this packer on transguysupply.com

Packing ability: definitely a solid 6/10 it works well but can fold or bunch up easily if you have bigger thighs

Looks:5/10 decently discrete looks similar to a bra cup

5.PACKER GEAR STP

this was my first ever STP or packer in general and can I say how much I hate this packer very small cup with no lip so spills are a big problem, it is almost physically impossible to use this as a packer this is the stiffest packer I’ve ever had IT WILL MAKE YOU LOOK LIKE YOUR HARD, the urethra and hole of this packer is massive and it’s unrealistic you will piss a stream the size of a no.2 pencil. One of its cons though is that it is the cheapest stp packer I know it’s 15$ and comes in two different skin colors, it is around 4.5 inches and can be found on transguysupply.com

Packing ability: 0/10 it’s trash

Looks: 5/10 it definitely tried to look realistic

Stp ability: 5/10 definitely not the best on the market but for how affordable it is it’s not too bad minus the firm cheap silicone and small cup

6. ANY FEMALE CAMPING URINAL

Such a honorable mention this fuckin thing well these can be found in most camping places, Amazon or anywhere online really. I can’t say I hate them but I can’t say I like them either but definitely work, they look mad dumb honestly and make me dysphoric lowkey but they work as STPs but unlike the other two options on this list this can’t be used as at a urinal but they don’t spill and are easily found and can be used by people who aren’t FtM or transmasc and usually range about 5-20$ online

Packing ability:0/10

Looks:0/10 mad Fucking ugly

Stp ability:10/10 definitely does the job

And that’s the end of my review folks I hope this can help out other trans people

[ltwharfy]

This was sort of inspired by some posts by @unclefathersantateddy and @ratguy-nico talking about some of the ship names in "Bob's Burgers" fandom. I'm a big Louise/Rudy fan and I've always found it kind of funny that it has two different names and I was kind of curious to see if one was more popular than the other. So, the poll is to satisfy my curiosity. (I'll probably still keep using both tags).

I personally prefer Louwheeze. I love ship names that are a little clever and refer to something about the characters or their relationships rather than being a name-combining portmanteau, which just seems like kind of a default option across all fandoms now. (Although some portmanteau names can also be really fun and clever, like Trickey for Trev/Mickey.)

On the other hand, I suppose the downside to Louwheeze is that if you are actually saying it out loud it would be hard to distinguish from Louise (but, all my communication this stuff is in writing so that doesn't really matter.)

Anyway, this is just a silly poll about a silly thing I've thought about! Feel free to vote even if you don't really care about the relationship (but please don't put any negativity in the comments or tags)!

[post-punk-revival]

Swift??? Changed your url?? I thought you liked stillflight? Not that the new one isn’t cool but?

I did, and I did.

They both have meanings to me, and yeah, stillflight is my favorite url/username I've ever had so I would have kept it for longer than this. But I prefer having a custom theme and accessible archive, and my biggest worry over the past year of having the url stillflight is that people I know irl (who follow my previous blog, which had the url stillflight for like two years) would see my username on some post on their dash and recognize it, and even though I have all of them blocked, it's possible to pull up anybody's blog in a private window unless they restricted it to dashboard-only. If you're curious enough why this blog with the familiar url has you blocked for no reason.

I think I'll like not having to worry about if a comment I make on someone else's post gets reblogged, or if a tag I write gets screenshot, or if one of my posts crosses their dash before I can turn reblogs off. Actually, I think I'll also like not having to turn reblogs off any time a post exceeds 900 notes. I won't mind a post blowing up as much if I'm not constantly worried that the downside would be me getting outed as alterhuman, plural or delusional to people I literally live with. I was kind of expecting I'd change it as soon as I came across something equally perfect, if it could never be better.

Also I like myriadeyed, I like my personal meanings for it and the way it sounds almost as much as I did stillflight. Stillflight was a reference to a track from the game Everything (2017) which is my favorite game and changed my philosophy and worldview, not actually my favorite song from the OST but it was also a secret reference to a ton of other stuff (my first regular username online when I was like 12 was Timeflight; I have a personal emotional regulation routine involving the words 'still' and 'flight'; the word still has more than one meaning; I'm literally a bird that can't fly; etc.)

Thing is, I'm not the same person I was in 2020, I'm not even the same person I was months ago. I called it my "forever url" but nothing about me is ever gonna be forever. That's kind of my archetype, shape-changer. I was bound to change it eventually, same with everything on my blog that's stuck for a while. The only reason my pfp changes so much is because nothing else has yet. (Really, I don't think I'll even use the name Swift forever.) I think it's fitting for me personally to change my url at this specific time in my life I'm kind of in a kick of "updating" my appearance to match some things, like for example no longer being a ghost (which I should maybe explain at some point idk). Call it spring cleaning.

Anyways

[cavicape]

longass advice seeking post incoming, bay bee !

tldr: i’m looking for a good social media to post my art and make art friends on

so, i used to be a regular deviantart user back in the day, yah? i had toyhouse/artfight but deviantart was where i did eeeverything on. i didn’t know how good i had it back then, as ever since i left in 2022 due to everyone else leaving, i’ve never been fully satisfied with another social media.

here’s my best guesses at identifying why i liked it so much:

mostly artist user base: i do art as a hobby, not looking for commissions atm, so i have a preference to interact with other artists over the average twitter/instagram users

community: i loved the little niche communities that formed there (2018/19 mario/koopaling community my beloved 🥰). the site is full of people who comment thoughtful things, and it’s easy to go back and forth. i really miss that. i remember spending most of my time in the mario community, but also a lot in the adoptable and original species communities. dA adoptable culture is something i miss- it was really fun to make and buy amateur adopts with points and art offerings alone. if i was older when i joined dA, i probably would have been into ARPGs too (like bagbeans and midveil). (wait actually if you know any good ARPGs active today i’m interested to know 👀)

page customization: genuinely had so much fun with this, i loved looking at f2u page codes and i even made some of my own. some days i think i spent more time customizing my page than posting art! probably (subconsciously at least) why i’m into website building nowadays…

but now i’m on tumblr! …right? i’ve been lurking on this site for almost as long as i’ve been on deviantart, so it was kinda like a natural progression of things. however, i’m not 100% happy with it. mainly, i dislike how tags are the main way of communicating. some people have said nice things to me in tags, and i want to thank them, but wtf do i do? not like i can reply to tags, so send a private message? that sounds waaaay too personal. well whatever, i still like it here, so i’ll stay for the time being. but i want something else.

so. what do i do now?

i’m considering a couple options:

neocities: you wouldn’t know from my currently unmodified layout, but i do know html/css. i’ve coded whole webpages for fun already, and i adore the creative freedom it allows. the downside is though, i probably wouldn’t get much interaction there, even if i include a chatbox or some other way to reach me on my website.

sheezy.art: on surface level this looks like something that would scratch my dA itch, but i’ve yet to do more research, so i can’t say for sure yet. i worry the user base is too small now though.

toyhou.se: i mean, i already have an account here. what i’d do is make it public and… trying to interact more with others? i don’t know if th can be used as a main social media. at least it appeals to my old adoptable/original species community nostalgia.

newgrounds: i’ve been told it’s great for artists. however, whenever i look at the comments of anything, nobody says much of anything. i’m looking for a site where yapping is more common! also everyone is SO talented on there, i feel like i’d stick out at my skill level there.

any other suggestions i get from this post (although i’m wary of sites that take your art for ai purposes) (yes i know tumblr does this 😭)

this is actually quite important to me so like. any advice, suggestions, or thoughts are appreciated. thanks in advance!

reblogs are welcome to spread this around

[accirax]

New Greetings!

https://youtu.be/2z3bZ6wiBDU?si=VQ8gJ3uf0RmD1q3Y - Krystal

https://youtu.be/DVD_OD_Fkrl?si=z2b5dV93Agzil7Ru - Dan

https://youtu.be/CvLsGiiCNMw?si=XgmefEwAh4U9uHHO - Alec

https://youtu.be/NngLxfUxZFY?si=gwn1zyi93XJB2old - Riya

https://youtu.be/LVcR1YKx4jc?si=TqMuzs1E5F3YmU7B - Aiden

yippee, more greetings! still in our "one person per" era, i see. well, it's always nice to focus in on folks specifically :)

a killing game greeting?!?!?! now that's what i'm all about!

strong disagree with Kristal on Lake being the first victim. like, Lake nearly survived the horror episode for a reason-- she's strong and smart. instead (though it's hard to pick who the victim would be without knowing who the killer is), i think that the first victim would be someone frailer, like Aiden or Tess. although, their social capital might save them, if it's too hard to catch them alone. i'd say Fiore, but her smarts would be scary to face off against, and you have to kill a literal child. you could also kill Yul, under the rationale that anyone would have a reason to target him, so it doesn't reflect poorly on you? i'm assuming that Danganronpa "you have to get away with it" rules still apply, given that Danganronpa was in the video title.

honestly not sure how i feel about Riya making late game, either. on one hand, she definitely has the skills for it, but i also feel like she would kill on the earlier side. she would definitely want to get out to her regular life and/or win any prize that's offered, and i think she would trust in her acting skills to help her get away with the crime (whether that turns out to be accurate or not). tbh, i could totally see Gabby surviving. kindhearted enough to probably not kill anybody herself, but also enough of a wildcard that other people probably wouldn't want to mess with her. biggest downside is definitely that she could get roped into doing something with Ellie that could get her killed. but, if Ellie was the only one who died, then Gabby would get the "someone i was really close to died and i have to live on to remember them" bonus points!

i wonder who the mastermind would be...?

sorry, i'm getting distracted. you activated my trap card!

okay, so, like, i tried every trick in the book i've learned thus far to get the Dan link you sent me to work-- swapped I's for l's, checked for spaces, pasted the link directly into the search bar, pasted the second half of the link on to what i could determine as the "command" for playing a linked video-- and none of them would work. so, i investigated by searching "dan disventure camp greeting" on youtube itself, and as far as i could gather this was probably the right one...? the playlist i found it on had the DVD_OD part of the link in it, and it was posted 4 days ago, so it would make sense if it was something you were sending in now. if this was the wrong one, then you can try to send me the right one again some other time. but i just wanted to prove that i really do try to get it to work any time that i say that there's a link that doesn't work :,)

anyways, Dan! and in a spiffy new look as well ,':) definitely agree on his analysis of Riya's game. to be honest, Grett probably should have targeted Riya at that final 6 vote (just due to being afraid of her cheating), but then you still have Alec's strength to deal with, so what do i know?

i completely forgot that Dan had a sister until i read it in the comments. Disventure Camp: Blood vs Water goes crazy.

"you've truly got ✨the rizz✨" will haunt my nightmares (/j)

honestly, kind of sad that Alec has never felt this flattered before. what, was Alec (pre-kids) not a good enough husband for you to spoil him a little, Cheryll?! maybe he can treat himself a little more with whatever's left of that $100k post-alimony payment.

RIP to everyone who hcs Alec as any sort of achillean, though 😔✌ he seemed pretty resolute in only being interested in women, in this greeting at least. not to say that should stop you, but i'm sure it stings a little. maybe he's just in denial :P

ooh, she is absolutely SLAYING that outfit! just like how she tried to slay the rest of the competition...

Riya making her own production company with the $3 mil is honestly really cool! especially if she used it to help elevate the voices and careers of more women of color like herself who are having a hard time getting their careers off of the ground.

of course, that also then re-raises the criticism some people had that Riya's super sad and deep ending really doesn't work, because other than the opinions of her fellow competitors, her life is pretty great (rich, dream job, sister who loves her, likely still plenty of fans, etc). you can't win 'em all over, i guess.

Aiden deserved more of a chance to chew out Riya after her win in the finale. it's great to hear more of his sass.

also, yay, Meant to be Yours! quite possibly my favorite song off of the Heathers soundtrack (that or Candy Store, naturally), and Viester performed it stunningly as usual. i also really like the acting that the animator implemented to accompany the song-- i feel like there was more care put into it than some of the standard "stand and talk" greetings. i mean, how can you not with such a sweeping track? :D

[roseofblogging]

I've grown up with the internet first starting to become a more regular thing for households, and for texting to become more commonplace and for us to have cell phones when I was in high school, and I've lived through this long enough to go from "It's not harder at all to communicate over text" to "WHY IS IT SO HARD TO COMMUNICATE OVER TEXT????"

What's difficult about it? Body language truly does say a lot, as does tone of voice. We also usually don't assume the worst of someone when you're in person with them and can see one another's faces. Not that humans don't have fights in person over miscommunications with people they know, but there seems to be less of an issue with strangers on this matter. Either you have a pleasant conversation, or you try to disengage and remove yourself from the situation. It is really only ever text that I have regularly seen--and also done--huge leaps in logic where one person says something with the intention of a neutral tone and then another person assumes malicious intent or some slight against them.

There are ways we can try to mitigate the lack of information. Some people use tone indicators, but those are neither widely used nor widely understood. Emojis exist, but I have several friends who just don't use emojis very much because it doesn't totally mesh with their style (whereas I am an emote FIEND on Discord). There's the basic decency of checking in with someone when they've said something that kneejerk offends you but sounds out of character.

I genuinely think the internet lowers our inhibitions, and that's not entirely bad. I think in ways it's been especially good for people who are neurodivergent. I've had really deep talks with strangers online that have been great for us being vulnerable, because there's no expectation of us ever seeing each other or necessarily talking again. And it can be really nervewracking to be watched while you're putting your thoughts together. But this also comes with the downside of us acting impulsively--whether it be that ragey tweet you throw at a stranger or assuming the worst of your friends and acquaintances. And it's easier to ignore the judgment of onlookers when you throw out a comment online and can immediately check out compared to being in a physical space baiting a fight.

I don't think humans are meaner now than we were pre-internet, but I do think there are more avenues making it easier to be mean. (And various companies reward you for it with more eyes on your content.)

[andromeda4004]

For the ask game! 5 and 15! <33 :D

For Morningstar Abbey:

5 - which part was hardest.

I don't often go through many iterations of a draft - I mean, I'll keep tweaking for as long as I have time, but it's rare for a draft to change substantially. There were two scenes in Morningstar that I had to scrap and redo. The biggest rewrite was in Chapter 16, with the introduction of the prophecies, where the story has to shift from period drama into slightly magical realism, and it took me a couple of goes to get the scene to work right. But the scene I worked on for longest before it was right was the ending of chapter 8, the game of piquet. This was a nightmare because 1, I've never played piquet, 2, I don't know anyone who does, 3, I don't even play any other card games, and 4, I needed to make the scene do a lot of character work. Even though the rest of that chapter was finished weeks in advance of the planned posting date, that scene wasn't done until about 12 hours before it went out, and I spent hours reading up on rules of a game I will never play, just in case there's a random reader out there who actually has real-life experience with it. So far no one has commented to say they have, but that's fine- in the end I was pretty happy with it, so it's all good.

15 - what did I learn.

Well, apart from piquet, and British 18th century military history, and a detailed mental map of Bath, the main thing I learned is that I can write a novel-length story in 5 months if I focus. My previous writing has been a very long novel which took over a decade, and included long gaps of no progress and hefty rewrites near the end to get the old stuff to match up with the tone of the new. I really would like to get back into writing my own IP, but there had never seemed to be time - I've proven to myself that I can make time when I want to. Downside being that writing on AO3 and getting regular lovely emails with kudos and comments is frankly addictive, and my IP can't provide that, so fanfic is winning right now! 😀 But the important thing is that I'm writing again - I had missed it.

Thanks for the ask!

[tenpintsofsundrop]

Oh my god, hi, you’re back. I saw one of your stories on AO3 and then remembered I saw it here so tracked it down again to follow you (again). I’m the anon that talked about No Place Like Home and how “It’s rotten work” “Not to me, not if it’s you” it is. (RIP those posts)

Oh my god, you're back!!! I'm so excited that you're here!!!

I am upset that one downside of my blog being deleted is that regular anons and nice people would have trouble finding me, but I am really enjoying the new clean slate and how nice it feels to start fresh with a new blog and a low follower count.

I am glad that you found my blog through one of the new fics! I'm curious which one it was? Did you enjoy it?

Also yes rip to those posts - I loved talking about No Place Like Home with you, and you should get excited, cause I have something similar (but different in the best ways) brewing in my drafts and I am so fucking excited about it. Like ooomf

Your comments have literally always made me so happy and fuelled my creative energy so much, so just know, even though I technically don't know who you are - I often think about you because your comments are on my mind often <3 knowing that my fics have touched people like that means everything to me

[socialmediaonmentalhealth]

The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health

Social media has revolutionized communication, connecting people worldwide. However, its widespread use has raised concerns about its impact on mental health. While social media offers benefits such as instant communication, entertainment, and access to information, excessive or negative use can lead to stress, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. This blog explores the positive and negative effects of social media on mental well-being and provides strategies for maintaining a healthy digital balance.

The Positive Effects of Social Media

Despite the concerns surrounding social media, it also provides numerous benefits that contribute to mental well-being when used responsibly.

1. Social Connectivity and Support

Social media enables individuals to stay connected with family, friends, and like-minded communities, especially for those who live far away. It can also serve as a support system for people dealing with mental health issues, offering platforms where they can share experiences and find encouragement.

2. Awareness and Education

Platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter provide access to educational content, mental health resources, and self-help strategies. Many mental health professionals use social media to share valuable insights, helping people recognize and manage symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression.

3. Creative Expression and Opportunities

For many, social media is a tool for creativity and self-expression. Artists, writers, and content creators use it to showcase their talents, gain recognition, and even find job opportunities. This can be a positive outlet for personal growth and self-esteem.

4. Encouragement for Healthy Lifestyles

Fitness and wellness influencers promote positive habits, such as regular exercise, meditation, and healthy eating. Many users find motivation through online communities that encourage goal setting and personal improvement.

The Negative Effects of Social Media on Mental Health

While social media offers several advantages, its negative impact on mental health cannot be ignored. Excessive usage, unrealistic comparisons, and online toxicity contribute to various mental health challenges.

1. Anxiety and Depression

Studies have linked excessive social media use to increased levels of anxiety and depression. Constant exposure to idealized portrayals of others' lives can lead to self-doubt, dissatisfaction, and negative self-esteem. Fear of missing out (FOMO) can also contribute to anxiety.

2. Cyberbullying and Online Harassment

One of the biggest downsides of social media is cyberbullying. Many individuals, especially teenagers, face online harassment, trolling, and negative comments that can damage self-confidence and lead to emotional distress.

3. Addiction and Reduced Productivity

The instant gratification of social media can be addictive. Scrolling endlessly through feeds, notifications, and messages can consume hours of time, leading to procrastination and reduced productivity. This addiction can also disrupt sleep patterns, causing fatigue and mental exhaustion.

4. Unrealistic Comparisons and Low Self-Esteem

Social media often showcases curated versions of people’s lives, creating unrealistic standards of beauty, success, and happiness. Comparing oneself to influencers or peers can lead to feelings of inadequacy and low self-worth.

5. Privacy Concerns and Stress

Many users experience stress over privacy issues, such as data breaches, identity theft, or unwanted exposure of personal information. The pressure to maintain an online image and receive validation through likes and comments can also lead to emotional strain.

How to Maintain a Healthy Relationship with Social Media

To ensure that social media has a positive impact on mental health, it is essential to use it mindfully and set healthy boundaries.

1. Limit Screen Time

Set daily usage limits to prevent excessive social media consumption. Apps like Instagram and Facebook provide time-tracking features to monitor and control screen time.

2. Follow Positive Content

Unfollow accounts that make you feel insecure or anxious. Instead, follow pages that promote mental health awareness, motivation, and positivity.

3. Engage in Real-Life Activities

Balance online interactions with real-life activities such as exercise, hobbies, and face-to-face conversations. Spending time in nature and engaging in mindfulness practices can reduce stress.

4. Be Mindful of Social Comparisons

Remember that social media often presents an edited version of reality. Focus on your own progress and achievements rather than comparing yourself to others.

5. Take Social Media Detox Breaks

Regularly disconnecting from social media, even for a few days, can improve mental well-being. Use this time to focus on self-care, relaxation, and in-person relationships.

6. Seek Support When Needed

If social media negatively affects your mental health, consider talking to a trusted friend, family member, or mental health professional. Online therapy platforms can also provide guidance and support.

Conclusion

Social media is a powerful tool that can positively or negatively impact mental health, depending on how it is used. While it offers social connectivity, education, and self-expression, it also comes with risks like anxiety, depression, and addiction. By setting healthy boundaries, being mindful of content consumption, and prioritizing real-life interactions, individuals can maintain a balanced approach to social media. Ultimately, responsible usage is key to ensuring that social media enhances rather than harms mental well-being.

[chocolatedetectivehottub]

Sure tips,

Sure tips

In a world full of uncertainties, having a reliable set of tips can make all the difference. Whether you're navigating personal challenges, climbing the career ladder, or striving for a balanced life, certain principles stand the test of time. Here are Sure Tips to guide you toward success and fulfillment.

1. Set Clear Goals

Success starts with knowing what you want. Write down your goals, break them into actionable steps, and regularly review your progress. Clarity of purpose not only boosts motivation but also helps you stay focused.

Tip: Use the SMART framework—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound—to define your goals.

2. Embrace Lifelong Learning

The most successful individuals continually invest in their growth. Whether it’s learning a new skill, taking an online course, or reading books, staying curious and open-minded keeps you ahead.

Tip: Dedicate 30 minutes a day to learning something new. Over time, this habit compounds into expertise.

3. Cultivate Discipline

Talent is wasted without discipline. Consistency in small, daily actions leads to significant achievements over time. Make discipline your superpower by sticking to routines and avoiding distractions.

Tip: Use techniques like the Pomodoro Method to manage time effectively and build momentum.

4. Prioritize Health

Your physical and mental well-being are the foundations of a productive life. Regular exercise, a balanced diet, and mindfulness practices enhance focus and resilience.

Tip: Incorporate a 15-minute walk into your day or try mindfulness apps to reduce stress.

5. Build Strong Relationships

Networking and meaningful connections can open doors to new opportunities. Prioritize authenticity and generosity in your interactions.

Tip: Set aside time weekly to check in with friends, colleagues, or mentors. Relationships thrive on consistent communication.

6. Take Calculated Risks

Growth often requires stepping out of your comfort zone. Embrace opportunities that challenge you, but ensure they align with your goals and values.

Tip: Before taking a leap, assess the potential benefits, risks, and backup plans to mitigate downsides.

7. Practice Gratitude

Focusing on the positives in your life shifts your mindset and attracts more opportunities. Gratitude is scientifically proven to enhance happiness and well-being.

Tip: Start a gratitude journal and list three things you’re thankful for each day.

8. Learn from Failure

Every failure is a stepping stone to success. Instead of fearing mistakes, see them as opportunities to learn and grow.

Tip: After a setback, ask yourself: What went wrong? What can I do differently next time?

9. Stay Adaptable

The ability to pivot when faced with unexpected challenges is invaluable. Flexibility ensures you stay relevant in a rapidly changing world.

Tip: Develop a growth mindset by viewing challenges as opportunities to innovate and evolve.

10. Give Back

True success includes contributing to the well-being of others. Helping others not only brings fulfillment but also strengthens your community.

Tip: Volunteer for causes you care about or mentor someone who could benefit from your experience.

By incorporating these Sure Tips into your daily life, you can create a path toward sustainable success and personal satisfaction. Remember, consistency and effort are the keys to transforming these tips into life-changing habits.

What tips resonate most with you? Let us know in the comments or share your own strategies for success!

Let me know if you'd like additional customization!

4o

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