#using strawberry kids toothpaste now

[fishthegenderwitch]

A couple weeks ago, I discovered that I'm allergic to oranges.

By eating an orange and Having a Bad Time.

Before I moved, I bought myself some non-mint toothpaste (mint is icky in my mouth and I hate it), and have brushed my teeth so infrequently using said toothpaste, I had forgotten til tonight that it was orange flavoured.

It did not appear relevant, until nearly the end of the comedy show I saw, wherein I had been coughing hard like COVID every time I laughed. I almost hork up a lung every time I laugh, when I'm having an allergic reaction. And I put an allergen into my mouthparts, just before going to a COMEDY SHOW.

My toothpaste is made with Actual Orange Extract, and I willingly jammed it all up into my mouthhole.

All I can think is:

[yyokkki]

Riddle Rosehearts

A former city boy who ran away from home after refusing to become a doctor like his mother was.

Actually works as a lawyer at a small firm in the nearest town. He commutes by car and it's only a 30 minute drive with minimal traffic (thank god cuz his road rage is abysmal) but he works remotely on most days.

Is often found at the town saloon (the community centre after you fix it!) holding tea parties with Trey, Cater, Ace and Deuce or at the local library.

Loved Gifts: Strawberry Tart, Fairy Rose, Ruby, Universal Loves

"...Oh! Ahem, thank you farmer. Expect a return gift in the mail soon."

Hated Gifts: Eel, Clay, Royal Sword Cola, Universal Hates

"Ugh! This is unacceptable!"

Trey Clover

The local baker! His family runs a bakery in the city and he moved to NRV on his own to open another branch of Clover's Confectionaries.

He says the fertile soil and rich foragables make it the perfect place to gather ingredients on his own.

Rumour has it he runs a backdoor business for specialty toothpastes.

Is often found at the town saloon serving his pastries for Riddle's parties or at his bakery tending to his mini garden at the back.

Loved Gifts: Limestone, Pearl, Candied Violets, Universal Loves

"Thanks farmer! How did you know I needed this? ...I don't owe you anything, right?"

For Limestone and Pearl: "This is perfect! Now, to extract the calcium carbonate..." (Yes, for toothpaste)

Hated Gifts: Broken Glasses, Mustard, Universal Hates

"Oh... Uh... Thanks?"

Cater Diamond

A social media influencer and former travel blogger.

Used to travel a lot but decided to settle at NRV. He claims it's because the scenery and people are 'cute'.

Occasionally will go to the city with Kalim and Lilia to perform and hold concerts.

Is in a band with Kalim and Lilia, plays the guitar.

Is often found at the town saloon with Riddle, Trey, Ace and Deuce or in the town square chatting up the other residents.

Loved Gifts: Spicy Ramen, Diamond, Universal Loves

"Aww, you shouldn't have! #lucky #cutefarmer"

Hated Gifts: Anything Sweet, Clay, Universal Hates

"Aww, thanks but no thanks. #lame"

Ace Trappola

The local carpenter! Stays at Night Raven Valley with his older brother who he learned all his tricks from (bad and good).

Loves causing trouble and playing harmless pranks on the other residents (Deuce is his biggest victim), good at magic tricks too.

Plays basketball on sunny Saturdays with Jamil and Floyd.

The first character you meet, who was assigned with fixing up Ramshackle Farm. Shit talks your farm right to your face and holds no remorse.

Is often found at the town saloon at Riddle's tea parties or at the back on the arcade machines.

Loved Gifts: Cherry Pie, Cherry, Royal Sword Cola, Universal Loves

"Dwoes the wittle farmer have a crush on me~ Ack, I'm kidding!"

Hated Gifts: Clay, Oyster, Universal Hates

"Gross! Do you hate me or something??"

Deuce Spade

The local mechanic/handyman! He's self taught and lives with his mom, Dylla Spade who handles the deliveries in town.

Used to be a delinquent but has since turned a new leaf.

His passion project is modding the hell out of his motorcycle and hitting the roads.

Goes on runs with Jack every sunny Wednesday.

Volunteers at the Adventurer's Guild and takes requests from the board for security as his goal is to become a full time officer in the future.

Is often found at the town saloon at Riddle's tea parties or at the back getting obliterated by Ace in Junimo Cart.

Loved Gifts: All Eggs (Except Void Egg), Omelette, Battery Pack, Universal Loves

"Farmer! I knew you were a real one!"

For Battery Pack: "Thanks dude! I needed this for the finishing touches..."

Hated Gifts: Void Egg, Juice (He drinks it, it just reminds him of Ace), Bell Pepper, Universal Hates

"Hah? Oh, I thought you were pickin' a fight..."

---

TWST x SDV Masterlist

Tag List (Interact with the linked post to be tagged in future updates mwah)

[daenysx]

Can you please write about Aemond doing Alyssa’s bedtime routine and them really loving the time together?

thank you for requesting ♡ i hope you enjoy

modern!aemond targaryen x fem!reader

aelyx targaryen was born three weeks ago today.

he's a lovely baby, you can't keep your eyes off him. you need to spend the majority of your time with him, of course, but he's not hard to take care of, not at all. aemond says he resembles you, it's a bit hard to believe when he shares your husband's hair and his eyes.

the thing with having two kids, which didn't take any time to figure out for both you and aemond, is that you need to divide your time and attention perfectly to not upset either of them. aelyx is still so little and he needs you to be with him all the time. with alyssa though, you are still trying to spend time with her no matter how tired you are. she's three years old and she misses you, she doesn't understand there will be changes in your routines now that there's a new member in your small family.

thankfully, you have a hero who never gets tired. that's what he says at least. aemond made himself a perfect timeline to spend his awake hours for his work, you, his girl, and his new baby. you know he actually took his time to plan most of the stuff; meal times, sleeping times, shopping times, how to run the office from home. he's trying to help alyssa get used to the new routines by being with her most of the time. she loves all the attention she gets from daddy, of course.

her favorite time is bedtime. she always liked sleeping, ever since she was born. now, she has her own bed, it's a perfect fit for her. she likes the soft, blue blanket and having all of her fluffy toys on it.

"time to brush our teeth." aemond comes into her room. "come on, princess."

"lyx?" she asks, always curious of her brother.

"he's sleeping." her dad answers. "mommy will put him in his cradle and she'll come to us, okay?"

aemond helps her brush her teeth with the strawberry flavored toothpaste that's specially for kids. it's not really brushing, of course, but you want her to get used to it. she plays with water just a little bit before her dad picks her up to carry her to the bed.

she's nicely tucked in by aemond when you walk inside the room. you give her a smile, her eyes immediately lighten up to seeing you. "hi, baby." you say, touching her hair. "did you brush your teeth?"

alyssa nods. she's tired, aemond took her to the park today. you kiss her soft cheeks, her tiny hands. she kisses you back as you bid her good night.

"i'm gonna clean up the kitchen, my love." you say when you meet aemond by her door.

"i'll meet you there." he says with a slow kiss on your forehead. "she won't take long to fall asleep." he says with a smirk.

"daddy, story!"

"i'm here." he sits down on the floor, right next to alyssa's bed. it's low so he can reach to her if he wants.

"so, which story shall we read tonight?"

"rapunzel!" it's her new favorite.

"rapunzel, it is."

she has her teddy bear next to her, snuggling close to the fluffy toy as she listens to aemond. his voice has always been soothing but when her tiny body is tired and her eyes are droopy, she falls asleep even sooner, when he just gets to the middle of the story.

aemond still finishes reading it, though. he waits until he's sure she's sleeping. the faint sounds from kitchen can be heard now that both kids are asleep. he needs to help you, but he can't help having a selfish minute watching his girl. she's perfect. he can't believe she's his.

he fixes her blanket, her pillow, her teddy bear. he brushes kisses on her cheeks and her forehead. she lifts her head in her sleep, her lips touching his cheek. that's good enough for a good night kiss, aemond thinks. he leaves the room.

"i'm almost done." you say when you see him standing by the kitchen door.

"let me do the rest." he insists. the rest of the work is done by two minutes.

"do you have any energy left for a cup of tea?" you tease, arms around his waist. you miss him in all these chaotic days.

"i prefer going to bed with you." aemond answers. "now."

"yes, please." you say. he holds your hand, leads you to bedroom. slow steps inside, you make sure the bed doesn't squeak as you lay down. when aemond gets in with you, you drift off. he kisses you good night.

[ms-demeanor]

Hello, dumb teeth question. How do you rinse toothpaste out? Like, with water, obviously, but like, the only cup in the bathroom is the one I used when I was a kid that's been collecting dust since then and would be difficult to wash now. I never washed it when I was a kid and ended up rinsing with (and also drinking) mold until my sister noticed and eventually I just stopped using it cause washing it was too much trouble and so I haven't used toothpaste for years. My dentist though said I had to use toothpaste and ig that's why I have cavities now.

Ig most of that's not super important. I don't see how my family is rinsing and at this point I'm too embarrassed to ask. Do I just like collect water in my hands and slurp it up? This is such a dumb question I should just wash the damn cup on a regular basis but it's hard enough for me to brush regularly without having to change my System and I don't see any other containers in the bathroom so like how is my family doing it and if there's just an Easier Way then I'd like to know about it, alternatively I'd like to give my brain a reason to just shut up and start using toothpaste

I don't rinse, and neither should you! You should spit, and whatever toothpaste that remains in your mouth is safe to swallow. Rinsing removes fluoride that protects your teeth after brushing and is not recommended best practice these days. (I was taught rinse-and-spit as a kid and I had to specifically ask for brushing information from my dentist to find out about this)

If you find having a strong minty taste lingering in your mouth unpleasant, look for other toothpaste flavors that aren't as overpowering - there are a lot of options available in fruit flavors. Sometimes I'll drink some water from my water bottle if the toothpaste taste is too much, but I don't intentionally swish and rinse when I do that. Also don't use mouthwash immediately after brushing! It does the same thing and removes the helpful fluoride.

But you should be using a fluoride toothpaste! Tell your brain you've got a good reason and go out and find some fun toothpaste - I just did a quick search and found watermelon, strawberry, coconut ginger, and mango sorbet flavored toothpastes. (I also found cinnamon clove flavored toothpaste and will probably get some of that because I am the opposite of someone who has a problem with mint, I want something even more obnoxious and also I want goth toothpaste)

[chapel-of-rizztual]

Random ghoul Headcanons 3 

Dew can blow smoke out of his nose like a dragon. 

Rain is a total ipad kid. Literally can’t eat anything if there isn’t a video in front of him. 

Aether thinks toothpaste is spicy. Dew makes fun of him for it. 

Dew absolutely loves spicy food and will just eat chilli peppers as a snack. Mountain grows them in the greenhouse just for him. 

Swiss constantly has mints or mint gum because he likes having cold breath and he likes blowing his minty cold breath at other ghouls. Rain is his preferred victim. 

Mountain can sleep anywhere. He is the abbey sleeper. He’s often found curled up in a ray of sunlight in random places in the abbey. Nobody has the heart to wake him up or move him. He smells like lavender when he sleeps. 

Cirrus is the resident clothes thief. Any clothes lying around are hers now. Good luck trying to get them back. 

Mountain is the tallest ghouls the abbey has ever summoned. Everyone was shocked and slightly scared of him before they learnt he was a gentle  giant. 

Ghouls get the zoomies. Copia thinks it’s adorable until he has all 6’10 of mountain running full speed towards him, Swiss and rain are doing running backflips off the wall and aether, dew and sunshine are chasing each other around the kitchen island. 

Sunshine can and will jump in the shower with whoever is in there. Dew is her favourite because of how warm he gets but cumulus is also a favourite because she’ll wash her hair for her. 

Mountain and rain always have a bath together. Always. They can’t without the other one. They both can spent hours together just soaking in the warm soapy water together. They’ve flooded the bathroom together more then once. 

All the ghouls absolutely love sushi. They will go feral over it. All and every kind of sushi they love. They would eat it for every day for every meal if they were allowed. 

Aether was the one to teach copia how to throw a baseball. He wanted to learn how to do it properly before he had to to it in front of all those people. Between them they broke 4 windows. 

Rain and cirrus are working on making a mini snow storm together using their elements. They’ve been unsuccessful so far because rain can’t get cold enough to freeze the water never mind make snow. But they keep trying. 

Despite his high energy and unpredictable temper Dew likes working in the office with copia. He sits on his lap, keeps him warm and get occasional head pats and scratches while the general office sounds lull him into multiple naps. It’s one of the only times he’s actually calm. 

Sunshine is scared of umbrellas. Will hiss and growl at them if she’s see them. 

Rain once tried to keep a frog he found in the lake as a pet. He named it Toby and only got Caught with it when he tried to take it on tour with him.  

Mountain has strawberry arms. Little red bumps that cover the tops of his arms and thighs. He didn’t even notice it until it was pointed out to him. Swill calls him strawberry shortcake because of it. He pretends to hate the nickname but the blush on his cheeks gives him away every time. 

Cumulus collects them little glass animals. She has so many they practically cover the vanity she has in her room. She gave rain the little frog she had when he had to release Toby back into the lake. He keeps in on his bedside table. 

Copia got a roomba for the ghouls den thinking it would make it make easier to clean. It didn’t last long as he quickly learnt that the ghouls were terrified of it. They wouldn’t even go into the room it was in. They would jump and hiss at it whenever it moved. Copia found it, drowned, at the bottom of a bathtub. Each ghoul claimed innocence. 

Rain and Swiss know sign language. They regularly talk shit about the others right in front of them without them even realising. 

[starfocks]

mint anesthesia.

!fic idea! A further exploration of the anesthesia concept; where the continuous surgery of the hunting dogs has given them an ever-present trace of whichever anesthesia they had. And their experiences with it.

Tachihara: mint anesthesia: won't ever use mint toothpaste. went out with the port mafia one time, got mint ice cream, and had to go vomit in a public bathroom. mint gum is a no-no. even fruity flavors with even a hint of mint will get the ptsd rolling. had to spend an hour in a warehouse with mint febreeze for a stakeout and was probably pale af the whole time.

Teruko: strawberry anesthesia: probably also the kind they gave me at the hospital when i was a kid. She's learned to endure the smell/taste because so many things are strawberry flavored, but still avoids the more artificial flavors if she can. One time a car had strawberry air freshener on her immediate post-surgery day and she blew it up.

Jouno: bubblegum anesthesia: the staff gave him this a joke an now he hates it. especially with his sensitive nose, is a person is chewing bubblegum next to him he'll probably punch them. also avoids bubblegum toothpaste. accidentally got bubblegum in an ice cream sorbet once and also 'accidentally' dropped it on the ground.

Tecchou: banana anesthesia: immune. he still eats bananas if they match the color of the other foods he's eating. Says he doesn't mind (probably does but doesn't show it). will only eat it in its fruit form and not artificial flavoring.

[brosser-les-dents]

Fun fact, you don't actually need toothpaste when you brush your teeth. The motion of the brushing is what stops the plaque buildup on your teeth. Toothpaste is to make your breath smell good and (for some people) help with staining. Mouthwash does the same thing.

This really helped me remember that I needed to brush my teeth because I always had sensory issues with toothpaste. Maybe it can help other people

That is absolutely true. Toothpaste does offer a couple things that are helpful, like fluoride and the foaming actions helps to clean. But you can totally switch to mouth wash instead if toothpaste is a sensory nightmare.

For those who can't handle mint toothpaste, there is always the option of finding a different flavour. There's absolutely no shame in using kids toothpaste (I use a strawberry kids gel cavity fighting toothpaste), it just has lower fluoride. Another option is finding a gel toothpaste instead of the paste (can't remember what it's called right now).

So there are def options out there. Thanks for sharing!

And to be sure I get this in: REMEMBER TO BRUSH AND FLOSS!

[desire-mona]

for those that are blissfully unaware, tiktok is becoming the new 2014 tumblr in terms of eating disorders and trends that revolve around trying to make people insecure about normal human body parts. can't pinpoint exactly when it started, im theorising around when y2k started to come back in fashion. but it's gotten to a point where people are outright putting a heavy emphasis on the fact that being skinny is superior? i guess?

influencers are posting about their horrendous diets in the form of "what i eat in a day" videos, but some go as far as to outright talk about their disordered eating in a glamorous way while doing their makeup and showing off their body.

the parts of the body that these people deem as ugly are frankly shocking for lack of a better word. people have been making up insecurities about the most mundane, essentially universal features of the human body. im not even sure how to word this because it's so ridiculous to explain out loud (im using voice to text rn). to name a couple: nose gap, which is the space between the bottom of your nose and your top lip (there should be a space there, by the way.) strawberry legs, which are the dots on your legs where the hair follicles are? im not even entirely sure because its just something on my body that ive never paid attention to.

the "micro insecurities" have gone so far that somebody essentially made the "toothpasting" of the modern day?? LMAO 

during a rant video, @ superkeara made up (what was intended to be) a hyperbolic version of one of these pseudo-insecurities, dubbed "vuvuzela arms." vuvuzela arms are when the top of your arm is bigger than your forearm, also known as how an arm works, that was the joke. but people took it seriously, not in that they straight up missed the joke, but more the fact that shit in this vein is so inherently ridiculous that it fit in with its more genuine counterparts. and i would find it much more funny if it weren't something that people actually found a way to be insecure about. i generally like tiktok as a platform but its main user base is becoming concerning.

to add: people also make videos saying that "we need to normalise (whatever pseudo insecurity they're talking about)" or "(whatever pseudo insecurity they're talking about) is sexy" which i suppose is vaguely better because they're encouraging people to like these parts of themselves? but at the same time, please stop making a thing of something that is nowhere even close to the blast radius of a thing.

i've known about the re-rise of eating disorder culture and fatphobia on tiktok for a bit over a year now, but i wasnt actually aware of how deeply ingrained its become, especially among kids. even with ozempic specifically, i thought it was a lot less mainstream and stayed within the sphere of LA influencers with podcasts. but no, random teenagers (and potentially younger) are trying / wanting to go on blood thinners to get skinnier.

if any of my following spends a majority of time on tiktok and sees these videos as something to take to heart: please don't listen when beauty influencers tell you that a part of your body is something that needs to be fixed. if you thought it was normal your entire life, and now somebody is making up a term to tell you that it isn't, youre probably the right one in this situation. a gap between your nose and your lips, dots on your legs, and whatever the fuck vuvuzela arms are, theyre all fine and should not be put on the same level as wisdom teeth or an appendix. 

and before anyone points it out, i know that fatphobia has never fully gone away, that much is obvious. but there is certainly a lot more now compared to 3-5 years ago, especially on tiktok, and ESPECIALLY targeted towards kids.

[crippy-tangerine]

This post is going to talk in depth about dental/oral hygiene and ways to (hopefully) make it easier. There will be a summary at the end- look for the bold orange text. This post is aimed at other disabled people, but abled folk are welcome too (just don’t derail or be ableist, please!).

If this is not a post you wish to see, or you just don’t want any advice/ideas for this, that’s ok!! We don’t want to give unsolicited advice, so now is the time to scroll! Okay love you 🫰.

If you want to read though, hi! On we go now, under the cut:

Hey! So, we were thinking recently about how tiring/challenging disability can make keeping your teeth clean. And we manage to keep pretty good dental health (/not bragging, just stating because it is relevant to this!) so we wanted to share what has helped us in the past and currently to look after our teeth best we can?

This is not going to be a guilt-trippy post (we hope anyways, if anything comes off like that please tell us and we shall change that shit!), we are all about just doing what you can. Okay, so:

1. If you struggle to brush your teeth because of the taste/strength of the taste of your toothpaste/mouthwash- you can change the brand & flavour. This is the one we’ve seen suggested a lot elsewhere so this may be already well known- but we did want to add a specific recommendation; if the mint flavouring in dental products being too strong is why you struggle to brush your teeth, there are brands that will do other flavours like strawberry or apple. When we were littler we got braces and got given this special orthodontic toothpaste with matching flavour mouthwash. It was an apple flavoured one- but not in an overly sweet way, just this fairly neutral, mild & minimally minty way.? It still contains mint afawk, but it is not the dominant flavour in our memories. We didn’t remember it having mint at all actually- we only saw it when we went to look it up for this. Anyways, the brand is “VITIS”- the one we had is marketed mainly towards people with dental appliances like braces, but from what we can tell that’s mainly because it has some ingredients that are meant to help any small little cuts or abrasions caused by the braces rubbing against your mouth, and not because nobody else can use it? Linked both the toothpaste & mouthwash below so it’s easier to find. (This isn’t sponsored or something by the way- this is just the ones we have personally tried & know!)

2. If the alcohol content in mouthwash is a risk factor for you/the alcohol is a sensory issue/the alcohol dries out your mouth & causes issues- there are brands that don’t put any alcohol in their mouthwashes. At all. Some brands also do alcohol-free versions of their main-line mouthwash aimed at kids. Which also means they may do it in fun flavours that, again, don’t have mint as the main flavour.

3. If the texture/size of the toothbrush itself causes sensory issues- there’s a lot of ways the design and bristle-strength of the toothbrush can be changed. If you find the bristles too hard/strong/coarse and it hurts your mouth- look for kids-range toothbrushes! They tend to have softer bristles that don’t give as much resistance when you brush your teeth. The toothbrush heads will also be smaller too. Some will also have more bendy stems (? The long bit that you hold) if that is something you need to think about too. For adult toothbrushes you can also get toothbrushes that have harder, stronger, thicker bristles than standard, if you need more sensory input. There are also some that will come with rubbery textures around some of the bristles. You can also get toothbrushes where there are textured rubbery parts on the stem (handle?) as well, which we like because of the added sensory input and because it makes the toothbrush softer and easier to hold for us. The rubber might also help if you also end up chewing your toothbrush at all, as it makes it less hard?

4. If the energy/motion/executive functioning it takes to physically move the toothbrush around your mouth is too much to deal with- it could be worth looking into electric toothbrushes? They seem to be (a lot) more expensive than manual toothbrushes, but if you feel it would help you to not have as much energy spent on dental routines, it might be worth looking into! The ones we have seen let you switch out the type of head you put on the toothbrush stem (which you can charge when the battery runs out)- so there should still be ways to customise things like texture & resistance. It removes the element of brushing back-and-forth over the same tooth, as you basically just hold the brush over each tooth and the toothbrush does the work. We do want to mention though that they can vibrate a fair bit (it feels like a buzzing in your hand when you hold it and on your teeth if that makes sense?). Which is maybe welcome sensory input for you! If you’re like us though that’s a big no-no, so that’s maybe something to bear in mind if you look into it.

5. If you just can’t handle the act of brushing your teeth at all right now- first of all, that’s okay. It’s not some moral or personal failing like we’ve seen some people imply. You just keep on getting by, however that looks for you at the moment. If you can’t keep to a routine (for example “brush twice a day, once in the morning & once at night”), you can change it. Or you can have no routine at all, and just do the things you can manage at whatever point in the day/night you feel up to it. If you need to go with brushing your teeth once a day? That’s so fair! If you don’t have the energy to hold a toothbrush to your mouth, it is an option to skip the brushing and go for only mouthwash. If you are too fatigued and/or bedbound and can’t brush your teeth with toothpaste/mouthwash? That’s ok! You could always try out things like taking a mouthful of water and swooshing it around your mouth (to try get any little bits of food or anything out from between your teeth). If you have some energy, but not the ability to get to a sink/basin/whatever to brush your teeth? There are chewing gums that are made to help with oral hygiene that you could try out. We know that personally the taste in our mouth can cause sensory issues, so this might help if you really want to brush your teeth but can’t in the moment. If you have limited energy for personal hygiene and don’t have the energy to physically carry out lots of tasks in a day? We’ve been there. It’s hard, and sometimes you just can’t get to everything, and that’s okay. If you like, you can try to merge hygiene tasks together- for example, brushing your teeth in the shower. Like, take your toothbrush into the shower with you. You could sit on the floor if it’s easier (we do!) and do your brushing routine whilst you shower.

6. If you struggle with brushing teeth because it feels like a demand/isn’t rewarding/is just generally difficult or unpleasant- this is a gentle reminder that you do not actually have to follow set rules about routines if they don’t help you. If demands like “you need to brush your teeth at this set time!” make you feel stressed out or upset, you can ignore them if you fancy it. Who’s to say you can’t do it an hour later? Or earlier? Five minutes later than expected because fuck being told what to do? Endless options really. If you struggle with the routine because it feels too boring, bland or just not worth the effort it takes? You can make that shit more interesting if you want. Put on some music with a fun rhythm and try to match your teeth-brushing with it. Get yourself a toothbrush with your favourite character or animal on it. Decorate the space where you brush your teeth- and if you need a checklist of actions around the routine, write it up and put it there for you to look at & remind yourself. Give yourself little & consistent rewards in whatever capacity you find most helpful every time you brush your teeth if it helps. If you feel up to it, make a chart where you can put fun stickers every time you brush your teeth. You brushed your teeth yesterday? Boom, gold star shiny sticker for you on the chart. You tried out using mouthwash today? Boom, another shiny sticker. And if you just find the task of brushing your teeth unpleasant- we want you to know that’s understandable. Personal hygiene can just be a lot to do and maintain!! If you want to try out doing more oral hygeine stuff/try to maintain a schedule but are just dreading it- we recommend distractions. In whatever form works for you. Brush your teeth with your favourite songs blaring through your headphones. Put on your favourite cartoon or show and watch it whilst you try out using mouthwash. If you’re extra good at multitasking, brush your teeth with one hand and use a fidget toy in the other,,, so many options really, if you can think of anything that’d be helpful to you personally, try it. Worst case scenario, it doesn’t work. And you know what- that’s ok too. It’s ok if none of this stuff helps you. Sometimes things are just really fucking hard, and that’s not your fault.

7. If you have memory issues/lose time/struggle to organise and remember what you need to do for oral hygiene- we cannot recommend phone reminders enough. Not alarms (loud and stressful for us!), reminders. On Apple phones there’s an app that’s just called “Reminders”. It’s basically an app where you can set up lists of tasks/appointments/important dates and give them time and date stamps. When that time/day comes, it just gives you a little pop-up notification the same as any other notifications you have from other apps. It’s quiet, and for us at least it means we’re more inclined to go do it because it feels less stressful. We’re actually very fond of this app now so if a separate post talking about how we use it would be helpful we can try to make one ☺️. But more broadly speaking; if you will find it useful, get your hands on an app that will send you a visible reminder of what you want to do with your dental hygiene. Be as specific as you want, set as many as you want. We put an example of how we do this below in smaller text (so it’s easier to skip if you don’t want it!). Skip the small text if you just want to continue the main post.

• Small and optional example here! When we have to do something and know we won’t like it/will struggle with the steps to do it, we will set a series of reminders. They may look like this: Alarm 1, “X thing needs doing in 40 minutes!”. Alarm 2 (30 minutes later), “time to get up and start preparing to do X thing now!”. Alarm 3 (5 minutes later), “Good job, it’s time to start doing X thing now! Remember that you need to do [insert steps for the task here]!”. Alarm 4 (5 minutes later again), “Great job, you did X thing! Time for [insert reward]”. You can set separate alarms for each individual step if you want to as well. We’ve also found that encouraging language in the reminders makes us way more receptive to doing the task (and not being angry about it while doing it). You could also set a fun ringtone to the alarms if that would help. Okay, back to the main post now!

Hello again! Continuing on for point 7. If phone reminders aren’t for you, or you don’t check your phone enough for them to be useful- physical calendar-type charts may be helpful! If you put a physical chart somewhere you will see it, and make it big enough that you’ll catch sight of the written reminders on it, that could help if you’re struggling to keep up with dental stuff because you just don’t remember. You could put it somewhere like beside your bed, next to your medication (if you take any), on the wall outside your bathroom, or on your desk/fridge/front door if those are places you see/go to regularly. And decorate it if you like!! Spend time making the chart if you like, design it however you want- make it a fun thing to look at and engage with. A physical calendar may also help if you lose time and can’t remember when you last did certain dental things. If you check off what you do/don’t do each day, then hopefully when you next lose time you’ll have at least some idea of what has/hasn’t been done recently. If written reminders don’t work for you though, and you’d rather have a physical and verbal reminder, consider enlisting the help of others if they’re available and up for it! If you live with others that would be okay with doing this (for example your partner/partners, a parent/guardian, a roommate, a carer, a sibling), you could always request that they help you out by verbally reminding you to brush your teeth/use floss or gum/use mouthwash. If they want to/are able to and it’s something you’d find helpful- you could also consider some hand-over-hand physical guidance to help you complete dental hygiene tasks. For example, if you have a carer, you could request that one of the things they help out with is reminding and physically helping you to brush your teeth. You could also request that they give verbal instructions and/or encouragement throughout the task, so that you don’t get stuck or confused part way through what you’re doing.

8. Miscellaneous things we didn’t manage to fit in earlier- there are likely a lot of disability aids out there to help with things like physically holding the toothbrush to your mouth. We don’t have enough information on them- so we don’t feel able to give proper advice on this, especially as we haven’t tried any out ourselves. But they’re out there!! There are other things like keeping hydrated that will help you out a lot, from what we have seen! Dehydration means you produce less saliva, which can have an impact on your dental health. So if you can, keep water close by you (for example by your bed, by your desk, somewhere visible in your kitchen, in your work/school bag). If nothing else, we find that drinking enough water means our mouth doesn’t feel uncomfortably dry and start tasting “funny”, as we call it. Water bottles are your friend if you’re prone to spilling/knocking cups of water over, and if you need to get non-reusable plastic straws to help you drink more? Do it. If you spend a lot/all of your time in bed, you can keep a lot of water beside it- along with any chewing gum, mouthwash or floss you may want- and somewhere to spit out the gum/mouthwash (could literally just be an empty cup or bowl, there are no rules!). If you have braces (or just generally struggle to get into all the hard-to-clean areas in your mouth, like between your teeth) there are these little things called “Interdental Brushes” that are specifically designed to make it easier for you to get into any hard-to-access places in/around/between your teeth. They have a small plastic handle, and then a single, pointy bit of bendy wire that is covered in little bristles. It is basically a tiny, pointy toothbrush for spots you’re struggling to clean. The bristles come in lots of different sizes (for different-sized spaces in your teeth!). There are also versions with much longer (and slimmer) handles- similar to an actual toothbrush. We’ve found them helpful because unlike a toothbrush, the heads can be bent at different angles so you can get behind your teeth easier. We’ll link the ones we use below (again not sponsored, just don’t feel comfy recommending brands we haven’t tried!). You also, by the way, do not have to use any energy over the bare minimum to do dental hygiene stuff. You want to sit on the bathroom floor to brush your teeth? Go for it, it’s what we do too! You wanna lie propped up in bed to use dental floss? Awesome! Just please, please make sure you don’t lie on your back to use dental health stuff that could be accidentally swallowed or choked on. On that note- if using certain dental health items/substances will be physically dangerous to you in any way, please be careful, either don’t use them or make sure you have assistance/support using them. Safety is the priority. And good luck if you try any of this, we really hope at least some of it can be useful!

With that, we will probably end our long-form rambling there. We have undoubtedly missed things (feel free to add on!) but we hope this helps 💖. Below will be a TLDR (we realise this is so much text, so it will summarise key points!). We will also put the links we promised at the bottom.

TLDR for the post:

- You can change the size, shape, texture and resistance of your toothbrush. Kid’s toothbrushes are also an option!

- You can change the flavour and strength of your toothpaste and mouthwash. There are types that aren’t so minty, or minty at all! We’ve seen strawberry and apple flavours.

- You can get mouthwash with zero alcohol content. Look for types aimed at younger children.

- You can get electric toothbrushes. They’re more expensive, but worth the investment if they’ll help you save energy/prevent symptom flares. Do be aware they vibrate when you hold them and they vibrate when they touch your teeth.

- You don’t actually have to follow set timetables/routines for dental hygiene if they don’t help you/make things harder. Mess around with the routines if you like. Do what you can, when you can.

- Reminders are a thing! Phone reminders/alarms, physical copies of timetables/charts/reminders you can put up around your space, verbal reminders from people you live with… We personally use phone reminders.

- Chewing gum that helps with dental health exists. If you can’t brush your teeth/use mouthwash/floss but you have enough energy to chew for a bit, this might help!

- You can give yourself little rewards every time you manage a dental hygiene task. Because go you! Sticker charts are what come to mind, but do whatever you find helps you best 💖.

- Staying hydrated is important! For lots of reasons, but also for dental health!

- Interdental brushes are a thing, and they’re made to get between your teeth or behind any braces you may have.

- Use as little energy as you can. Sit on the floor to brush your teeth. Brush your teeth in the shower. Floss while you sit up in bed. Literally just do what you can, where you can, when you can. No rules to this stuff except “do what’s possible” & “stay as safe as you can manage”.

- If you have people around who can help, and would be willing to help? Ask!! Anything from verbal reminders to hand-over-hand guidance is an option if you want it and can get it.

- Make it fun and/or give yourself distractions! Loud music, your favourite show, YouTube video essays, stimming at the same time… All options!! And you can decorate your dental hygiene products and buy a toothbrush with your favourite animal/character on too if you want! Do what you want/can to make it all bearable/doable.

//End of post summary. End of main post.

Below are the links we promised. Number 1 is the VITIS orthodontic apple toothpaste.

Number 2 is the VITIS orthodontic apple mouthwash.

Number 3 is the TePe interdental brushes (we use the pink ones personally). For some reason it won’t show an image on the link sorry, it’s a link to the official TePe site, specifically the page that shows their interdental brushing products 💖.

//End of list of links. Below are the actual links.

[hirameca]

Note 23/11/3

"Who are you?! What are you doing?!" "None of your busness." "Ofc it is! She's my sister!!" "This is my child. Now let go of her arm. I'm taking her to Disneyland."

So I've recovered enough to have energy to make silly extra doodle like this now... Hopefully go back to my normal condition in a few days I've also been doing oc fun facts on other places recently (twt & blsky) so here are some cherry picks:

Jules is left-handed.

Ricky doesn’t like seafood, especially fish.

Viv used kid’s toothpaste up until they moved out for high school. Her fave flavor was strawberry.

The siblings used to sleep in bunk bed.

Viv has never gone to a doctor in her life. She never gets sick.

Jules has a tong at their laundry room because he doesn’t want to touch viv’s dirty underwear that she’s too lazy to put into mesh bags.

Ricky’s stepdad is the “He’s a little confused but he's got the spirit” type of dad. (I was going to draw a comic of him gifting ricky a glitter sparkly barbie hat even tho hes not sure whats going on as a reversed version of the mountain dew hat joke. but i decided i dont wanna get too carried away)

[minty-tea-soup]

Spiders can have little a toothpaste, as a treat

So this was from god knows how long ago but considering I might actually start posting on this app I figured hell I'll start with the spider toothpaste rant as a treat.

It starts when I sit down to write a Spider-man and Daredevil fanfiction where Peter Parker gets changed very young and due to the world being a bit more dystopian after the Sokovia Accords May Parker has to give Peter to Matt to take care of and hide. Because Peter isn't just given powers, he is definitely a whole lot more spider. Extra limbs, eyes, venomous, picks up spider mannerisms etc.

So where does toothpaste come to play here? Well most toothpastes are mint and I happened to know Mint was a good spider repellent cause I love mint and dislike spiders near me.

And I went: wouldn't it be funny is little Peter didn't want to brush teeth cause mint to Matt's confusion.

It was supposed to be one maybe two lines to show that Peter was very much spider now.

Then I was looking up stuff that was repellent for spiders and I see baking soda. And I go…. fuck that's what's in non-minty toothpaste/the only toothpaste I know that isn't minty off the top of my head. That page also tells me that something called DE is instant kill for spiders. I go "what's DE?" Turns out it is an instant kill for spiders and great for dental health so much so that it is often used for homemade toothpaste so you don't have to buy all the chemicals and some toothpastes already have it.

So Fuck. I'm lucky that Matt didn't instantly make Peter sick/kill him.

Then I think wait what about salt water?

Instant kill for spiders.

Holy fuck why does everything kill spiders. This thing is curing my arachnophobia cause hot damn spiders are shit at surviving it seems. And like yes I know they can survive fine but they cannot survive toothpaste via my google searches. And now I'm also very very into trying and finding a toothpaste that Matt can give Peter and not have Peter reject cause it makes him sick.

Also at this point I've decided that all of this is going into the fic, cause I'm doing all this research and it's funny.

Finally I find charcoal toothpaste that doesn't have any instant kills or repellents in it. Charcoal's only use against spiders is that if you are not it can help draw out the venom but you can do that with snakes too. Great amazing.

Then just to be sure cause I've been cursed to be the curious cat that keeps using up it's lives for research I look at what is on charcoal.

Sawdust.

I look up what type of wood sawdust is normally made from.

Pine, for, spruce, hemlock, CEDAR, and redwood.

Cedar is repellent for spiders which means there is a 1 in 5 chance that everytime that Matt tries the toothpaste on Peter, Peter has a reaction cause heightened senses remember? So now something that was supposed to be two lines and funny is about a page and Matt is feeling tested by god because I'm feeling tested by god.

So I have him make his own charcoal and in turn his own charcoal toothpaste and declare himself victorious at being able to find spider safe toothpaste.

Will anyone appreciate the effort?

Probably not.

Matt will continue to scream into pillows.

However this rant became my go to silly rant during Covid and is almost two years old now? and when meeting new people cause it's funny and it lets me see how they react when I info dump. Like my dad who told me I was wasting my time verses my friend who has now heard it like 4 times start to finish and thinks it is great.

But then I got a development on this rant after two years because I too hate toothpaste with a passion it just feels gross and leaves mouth weird and fucks with tongue. And so my mom as a joke got me kids strawberry toothpaste which upon reading the ingredients realized that children's toothpaste might have worked perfectly fine to solve Matt's problem which is fucking funny as hell. However the silica that a lot of them have might actually not been great cause it can dry out bugs, which is partly why you can use some types as toothpaste in small amounts as a pest repellent! The other reason is they fucking hate the smell. Again toothpaste against bugs is an interesting thing.

But yeah your right spiders can have toothpaste, but they probably won't like it.

[dentalcaremodesto]

Why Is A Good Dental Hygiene Essential for Kids?

Instilling good dental habits in your child is vital for their growth. A healthy smile contributes significantly to overall well-being. Therefore, it’s essential for kids to grasp the importance of dental care.

Guiding children toward excellent oral health begins at home and can be an enjoyable adventure! You shouldn’t ignore or overlook it.

As a responsible parent or guardian, here’s what you need to do:

Start Early: Initiate a brushing and flossing routine as early as their first year. Demonstrate proper techniques in front of them. Emphasize the significance of these habits.

Use Fluoride Toothpaste: Use a pea-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste on a soft-bristled toothbrush. Commence flossing as soon as their teeth touch.

Regular Dental Visits: Schedule biannual pediatric dentist Modesto appointments for cleanings and exams to monitor their oral health closely.

Early Start: Begin cleaning your child’s teeth when they first appear, usually around 6 months. Use a soft cloth or toothbrush with water initially, progressing to low-fluoride toothpaste at 18 months. Brush twice daily, ensuring they spit out the toothpaste without rinsing.

Parental Support: Assist and supervise brushing and flossing until your child is around 6 years old. Flossing can be made easier with special tools, some even designed with fun patterns.

Making Dental Hygiene a Joyful Experience

Dental care doesn’t have to be mundane; it can be a delightful journey for your child:

Colorful Tools: Allow your child to pick a toothbrush with their favorite colors or characters. Personalizing the experience adds excitement.

Tasty Toothpaste: Opt for fruity flavors like strawberry or watermelon, enhancing the appeal. Some toothpaste even features beloved characters, making it visually engaging. For more information, get in touch with Pediatric Dentistry Modesto now.

Time It Right: Set a two-minute timer or play their favorite song during brushing. This makes the process more enjoyable and helps them understand the recommended brushing duration.

Reward System: Motivate your child with rewards. Avoid sugary treats; instead, offer toys or activities they love. A gold star chart, where they earn stars for each brushing session, can be a great incentive.

Be a Role Model: Practice good oral hygiene habits together. If your child is too young, brush and floss first, then help them. Creating a family routine fosters a sense of togetherness.

Educational Resources: Explore children’s books and videos about dental hygiene. These resources simplify oral care and make learning fun.

Book Your Child’s Dental Adventure Today!

Encouraging proper dental hygiene is not just a duty; it can be an exciting journey for both you and your child. Remember, your role as a parent is crucial in instilling these habits. Schedule an appointment with Modesto kids dentist today and embark on the path to a lifetime of healthy smiles!

[chapel-of-rizztual]

Papa Headcanons

Primo is an Insanely heavy sleeper. World war 3 has to be going on for him to wake up. He sets 7 alarms for the morning and still ends up sleeping through them.

Terzo has the Biggest sweet tooth. Especially for chocolate but will absolutely devour anything sweet.

Copia Had a really big head as a baby. He Had to wear a helmet.

Primo never wears matching socks. Like ever. He says he doesn’t have any that match anymore. He suspects copias rats may be stealing them…or maybe dewdrop.

Copia was a Leash kid. Use to wonder off and get lost all the time. Terzo was also A leash kid not because he use to wonder off but because he use to cause trouble.

secondo once got his head stuck in the stair banister. It would have been funny but he was a grown ass man when it happened. They had to call the fire department to get him free.

Primo has a little dog that he walks around the abby. They wear matching jumpers.

Copia still has a blanket from when he was a baby. He knows he shouldn’t still have it as his age but every time he’s tried to donate it he can’t. He keeps it stuffed under his pillow.

Terzo and secondo use to perform wwe wrestling moves on each other when they were younger. They were banned when terzos collarbone got broken.

Primo knows how to sew and knit. He taught copia when he was a kid so he’d have something to do to keep his hands busy when he got anxious. His mum had originally taught him for the same reason. Copia knitted all the ghouls them gold Christmas jumpers.

secondo had frosted tips in the 90s. Nobody lets him forget it.

As a teen Copia once got stuck in a baby swing. Terzo dared him that he couldn’t still fit and copia had to prove him wrong. Terzo was right. He also ran away and left copia stuck there.

Primo makes jam for everyone that lives at the ministry. He grows all the fruits and berries he needs in his garden in the summer and by winter he has hundreds of jars of jam to give out.

Copia is terrified of balloons…and slugs. Don’t ask.

All of the papas are fruity in some kind of way. Not one of them is straight.

Terzo has terrible eyesight. When he was a kid he head to Wear glasses. Proper milk bottle ones with the thickest rims you’ve ever seen. Practically magnifying glass’.

Copia had really curly hair as a kid. He still does now but he brushes the curls out when it’s wet.

secondo has no idea how to use an iPhone. He still has a flip phone from 2006. No one knows how it’s still working.

Copia use to eat glue as a kid… And sand… And glitter.

Primo is a big Disney fan. Especially the classics. They remind him of his childhood.

secondo Is the chef of them and he’s very good. He can make literally anything from scratch. He doesn’t even use a recipe half the time.

Copia hates mint flavoured toothpaste. He uses a strawberry flavoured one.

Primo loves Pringles. Will eat an entire tube worryingly fast.

Copia has a pink hello kitty dressing gown. It was a gift from Terzo.

secondo has a large collection of terrible graphic T-shirts. The worse they are the more He likes them.

Terzo absolutely loves Pokemon.

Copia use to hate his freckles until he realised they must have come from his mum seeing as his brothers or his dad didn’t have them. They became his favourite feature of himself after that.

Primo is vegetarian. He has been since he was 14.

They all have matching 666 tattoos somewhere one their body. Terzo cried when he got his. secondo Called him a pussy.

[dashiellqvverty]

lmaoooo i have been using the same kind of children’s toothpaste for literally my whole life bc of sensory sensitivies and they just fuckin. changed the formula and it tastes completely different. what the fuck.

[frostbittenbucky]

Wayne family on the red carpet playing beanboozled during a small side interview

Interviewer: [reading the flavors] “ok so… Damian you either have strawberry banana smoothie or dead fish”

Tim: [whispering loudly with fingers crossed] “pleasebedeadfishpleasebedeadfish]

Damian: [pops it in his mouth] “it’s the smoothie” [steps on Tim’s foot] “and why is it called dead fish? Aren’t fish typically dead when they’re consumed?”

Interviewer: “that’s a good question that I don’t have an answer for. Tim, spin the wheel and pick your bean”

Tim: [flick the spinner] “oh man, toasted marshmallow or stink bug. Bottoms up” [grimaces and spits it out] “oh god, oh god, how did they make that a flavor??”

Duke and Damian: [snickering]

Dick: ”my turn, let’s go” [flicks spinner] “ cappuccino or liver and onions. Oh gross” [puts the bean near his mouth before smiling innocently] “do I have to?”

Interviewer: [laughs] “yes, yes, you gotta!”

Dick: [dances on his toes before taking a deep breath and eating the candy] “oh thank god, it’s delicious”

Interviewer: “you’re safe now but I’ll make sure to have you play this again if we see each other”

Dick: “oh I’ll be ready”

Interviewer: “Duke ready to spin?”

Duke: [shy smile] “I guess” [spins] “blueberry or toothpaste, that’s not bad” [eats his bean] “it’s toothpaste”

Interviewer: [light teasing] “I think you should go again, that’s not fair”

Duke: [doing a victory dance] “I’ll take my loss as a win today, thank you”

Interviewer: “ok Mr. Wayne, it’s your turn. We can’t let the kids have all the fun”

Dick: [is a grown man, looks into the camera with a bitch what look]

Bruce: [smiling widely] “the old people need to be apart of the wild shenanigans”

Tim: “please don’t embarrass us, B”

Interviewer: “oh! You like to embarrass your kids?”

Bruce: “it’s a hobby of mine. They’re annoyed when I make twits on twee— Twitter!” [laughs at himself]

Duke: [wants to set himself on fire]

Bruce: “ok let’s do this” [shit spin] “oh that was a bad spin”

Damian: [mumbles] “you should’ve worn your glasses”

Bruce: “shh” [spins] “ok buttered popcorn or rotten egg. I don’t want either of those” [takes bean]

Interviewer: “1 2 3 go”

Bruce: [chews it and swallows]

Interviewer: “buttered popcorn?”

Bruce: [shakes head] “no, it was rotten eggs”

Interviewer: “you didn’t have to swallow it!”

Bruce: [waves her off] “spitters are quitters” [eyes widen and face turns beet red] “oh sh—“ [looks at his kids expressions]

Duke: [slowly turns his head to make eye contact]

Tim: [leaning down trying to stop himself from laughing too loud]

Dick: [looks like he might murder Bruce]

Damian: [is a bastard child] “what does that mean, papa?”

Bruce: [is sweating bullets] “I think we need to move along, thank you for the game. Come on boys”

[poisonedapples]

Patton’s Home for Traumatized Kids - Chapter Three

New School and Friendships

Chapter Summary: Roman has his first day in a new district while some bonds are strengthened.

First Chapter Previous Chapter Story Masterlist

Warnings: Past abuse mentions, mentions of hidden cameras, anxiety, some bullying, crying, and food mentions

Chapter Word Count: 5,860

Taglist: @shade-romeo, @grayson-22, @pixelated-pineapple, @acrobaticcatfeline, @astrozei, @edupunkn00b, @princey-7258

“Hey, dad?”

“Yeah?” Roman’s dad turned to face him. Roman felt his whole body start to shake.

“You know how you said that…I could ask for anything from you? Since, uh- since you didn’t know what present to get me last time?”

His dad smiled in a way so normal it was disturbing. “Got an idea?”

“Yeah, uh…I want a canopy bed.”

His dad’s face dropped, and Roman could feel the anxiety and regret bloom through his chest. “You know why I can’t do that, Roman.”

“Please? I know it’s probably a bit much to replace my whole bed frame, but I could make my own canopy for cheaper! I’ve already looked at a bunch of ways online how, I just need you to buy the materials-”

“It’s a no.” Roman’s dad looked angry, and Roman would’ve done anything to run the other direction at that moment. To burst out the door and never come back. “Nice try, Roman, but I’m not stupid. Come back when you have a better idea.”

Roman blinked to fight back the tears. “…I’m sorry.”

“Go back to your room.”

Roman ran up the stairs as fast as he could, wishing more than anything that there was a lock on his door. Instead, Roman took his desk chair and propped it against the knob for some kind of security, curling into the corner of his room as he shook and tugged at his hair.

He tried to block out the knowledge of the security camera on his shelf, hidden well but not well enough, pointed right at his bed.

***

Several fast knocks came onto Roman’s bedroom door, waking him up with a jerk. He groggily pushed open the curtain in front of his head to grab his phone and look at the time. Six o’clock on the dot, it read. Ugh.

The knocking on the door didn’t stop, and Roman whined. “What?” He called out.

“Get dressed, we need to leave the house by 6:30.” He heard Logan call back.

“Fine, fine.” Roman pushed the curtains out of the way and practically rolled out of bed, grabbing the clothes he’d organized for himself the night before. He put on a pair of jeans with a white and red t-shirt, nothing fancy but fancy enough for a first day surrounded by strangers. He grabbed his backpack and put his phone and some earbuds in his pocket before heading downstairs to the kitchen.

“Morning, kiddo!” Patton chirped as he made breakfast, “Didja sleep well?”

“Yes, I did.” That was a lie. He had some strange dream where his dad was also there, and he only managed to calm down and fall back asleep an hour ago. He still couldn’t stop thinking about it, even if the dream was hazy now.

“Good to hear! Be ready by 6:30 so I can drive all of you to the school. Then once you get there, you can ask about your schedule at the office.” Patton laid down a plate of bagels with cream cheese and strawberries in front of Roman, so Roman began to eat.

Once he finished his breakfast, Roman rushed back upstairs to style his hair and brush his teeth before they had to leave. As he brushed his teeth, he stared at the shower to the left of him and sighed. He touched his hair, feeling the grease slick onto his fingers.

He really needed to shower. He hadn’t showered since he got here, and with how thick his hair was it was really starting to gross him out. He hated feeling greasy and grimy, but Roman hadn’t checked the bathroom for cameras yet and he refused to shower until he did. Though, he knew that was also just an excuse. Roman also felt too tired to take care of himself.

Just brush your teeth, he thought, they told you that if you can’t shower, at least brush your teeth. Greasy hair can be fixed, cavities are expensive.

He spit out the toothpaste into the sink and rinsed out his mouth. He grabbed some face wash and decided to use it as quickly as he could to hold back the gross feeling he felt. It would help him feel a little cleaner, at least. A little more presentable for the first day.

A loud bang came onto the door. “Roman, hurry up!” Virgil called out, “Some of us need to piss!”

“Just a second!” Roman vigorously splashed water on his face and quickly dried it with a towel, rushing out of the bathroom so that Virgil could run in. He sighed again, walking downstairs to wait on the couch until it was time to go.

“Alrighty, everyone got everything?” Patton eventually asked, making Roman crack open the eyes he didn’t even realize he closed. Patton smiled and clapped his hands together when his response was tired hums of agreement. “Perfect! To the car!”

All three kids bunched themselves together in the back of Patton’s car, Roman and Virgil at the window seats while poor Logan was squished in the middle. Roman squeezed his legs together so he could fit his backpack between Logan and himself, acting as a barrier so Logan couldn’t touch him. It was uncomfortable, but it was what Roman had to do.

“So, Roman, are you excited?” Patton asked, making Roman open his eyes again to look at Patton through the rearview mirror. Roman leaned his head against the window.

“More nervous. I’ve never been to a new school before.”

“Well, hopefully you can make lots of friends here! The school is pretty big, so there are certainly lots of options!” Patton laughed at himself and Roman closed his eyes again.

We’ll see about that.

Eventually, after a failed attempt of getting in some extra minutes of sleep before school, Roman felt the car come to a stop. He opened his eyes and looked out the window to see the front of the large school building, kids with smiling faces talking to each other as they walked inside while others looked tired yet excited. Roman wasn’t feeling it.

“Alright, kiddos, have fun!” Patton exclaimed, “Remember to check in with the office for your schedule, Roman!”

All the kids started to pile out of the car, grabbing their bags off the floor to rush inside. Once they were all out, Patton’s car drove away to head for work.

Roman looked at the building as Logan and Virgil walked inside. It seemed huge compared to his old school, where the county was much more rural than here. They still had twenty minutes until school started and kids were already swarming in from multiple entrances, both from the main entrance and other doors connected around the building. Roman walked inside and held his arms close to himself, desperate not to be shoved around by the other students. 

The office was fairly easy to find, considering there was a giant sign over the door in bold, white letters reading Office. Roman opened the door and stepped inside to get in line, feeling a little bit better that he wasn’t the only student having first day issues. The line shrank very quickly until it was Roman’s turn to ask questions, being faced with an old lady who could either be very sweet or the rudest person in the building. Roman could never tell.

“Uh, I’m a new kid at this school, and my guardian told me to come here to get my schedule?” Roman asked.

“Name.” Okay, well, rude it was, then.

“Roman Goldsberry.”

The desk worker didn’t respond, only typed something on her computer and didn’t make eye contact. “Next door to your left of that entrance is the counselor’s office. Your counselor is Mrs. Walters and she’ll call for you shortly.”

“Okay, thank you.” Roman had never scurried out of an office so quickly in his life. So much for a great first impression.

In the other office, Roman sat on a waiting chair and awkwardly glanced at all the college items they had hung up on the walls, waiting until his name would be called. The school day hasn’t even started yet, what’s taking them so long?

Roman drummed his fingers on the armrest of his chair and waited. There was a lot of college stuff in this room. Granted, high school’s whole thing was trying to take you to college, his old school was the exact same. And he should really start thinking about that stuff since he’s a sophomore now. He only had two more years left after this, but it’s not like he could go anyway. He wasn’t even supposed to graduate high school, let alone college.

Besides, his dream was stupid anyway, so it didn’t matter.

“Roman Goldsberry?” A voice called out, taking Roman out of his thoughts. Roman stood up to follow the counselor into her office.

“I’m Mrs. Walters, and it’s nice to meet you Roman!” She said cheerily as she sat at her desk with Roman sitting right in front of her. “Your schedule was a bit last minute to pull together, but I tried my hardest based on your last school’s transcript and your test scores from last standardized testing. All I need is to schedule some extra electives for you. You have advanced English 12, advanced geometry, advanced biology, and world history. You can also choose Spanish 3 here if you wish to continue that. You also still need your gym credit, so you can take regular PE or strength training. I also have a list of other electives here if you want to look at that.”

“Yeah, I can look.” The counselor handed Roman a paper of all the electives organized by their subject. Well, Roman definitely wanted to continue Spanish, so that choice was easy. Strength training sounded like a fun way to do gym class with less dodgeballs to the face, but it was only a semester long, so he’d need to pick another semester class for the second half of the year. And he could join another painting or drawing class as his last elective, but he’d already taken those at his old school…

Roman gazed at the arts section of the packet, trying to find something he might like. His eyes lit up as he noticed the names of two classes: set design, which was a semester long and sounded magical, and something called sculpture. “What does the sculpture class teach?” Roman asked.

“It’s an art class that teaches you how to sculpt with different things. Like clay, wood, things like that. It’s a very hands-on class if you’re interested.”

Roman smiled. “I want that one then.”

The counselor typed something into her computer. “Have you chosen your other classes?”

“Yes, Spanish 3, set design, and strength training.”

“I’ll put you in strength training for this semester, but next semester you can join the set design class. I’ll email your elective teachers to inform them you’ll be joining their classes, but for now…” The counselor printed off a piece of paper and handed it to Roman. “This is your new schedule. Your first class is English with Ms. Fritz, and her class should be up on the third floor at room 316. Do you think you can make it there?”

“I can, thank you.”

The counselor smiled. “Have a nice first day.”

Roman walked off to head toward his first class, going up two flights of stairs and wandering across half the floor before he finally found his classroom. Thankfully, the halls were full of students desperately trying to locate their classrooms, so Roman didn’t feel as weird. He eventually stumbled upon the correct room number after checking multiple hallways and trying to follow their scattered number system. He looked at the door with a paper rabbit and a book with a phrase reading hop into a good book, and could guess immediately what type of teacher this would be.

Roman pushed open the half-cracked door and stepped inside.

The dozen kids who were already sitting stared at him when he walked in, but quickly resumed their conversations shortly after. Roman glanced at an empty seat off in the middle row near the other end of the class and moved to sit down in it. He looked around at the other kids off in their own worlds, with no one to get excited to see him and strike up a conversation. He was sitting alone in a class where it seemed like no one else was.

Roman got bored quickly with no one to talk to, drumming his fingers on the table and starting to daydream instead.

The long lost princess with the power to see into the future is forced to hide in protected wilderness, Roman thought, picking up from an old story idea he’s had for a while. Can’t have a teen novel without an orphan, so she lives with a guardian healer instead. Then, she needs a trusty companion to not only start her adventures, but to assist her alongside them. Perhaps he could be a peasant boy born with more magic power than the normal peasant has? It sure would be interesting. Or maybe, he’s not a trustworthy companion at all! What if he’s using the princess to promote his own selfish ideals? But as the story goes on, they actually become close friends and he has an intense internal conflict as he turns into the antagonist! Then maybe-

“Alright class, I think it’s been late enough for us to start!” Roman tried not to be aggravated at the teacher for interrupting him. The teacher stood at the front of the class with a wide smile. “I’m Ms. Fritz, but of course I’m sure a lot of you already know that since you had me last year. I teach all grade levels for advanced English, so if you keep down this path you might stick with me until graduation! Now normally, teachers will start their first day with class expectations, maybe a rubric or a supplies list, but I have a better idea! How about we travel across the class and try to get to know each other better? I can pass around a ball, and if you catch the ball, you have to share three fun facts about you!”

A sense of dread filled into Roman after hearing that. He usually didn’t mind games like this since it was a mindless way to pass the time, but he didn’t have any friends to pass him the ball anymore. Was he just going to sit there until the end? Sounded awkward, no thank you.

“I think,” Ms. Fritz said with her hand gripping her chin in thought, “I’m going to start with the new kid.”

Roman perked his head up as all the other kids turned to him. Well, that was unexpected.

Ms. Fritz tossed Roman the ball, and thankfully he caught it without making a fool of himself. The teacher smiled at him encouragingly as he stood up, looking around at all the kids waiting for him to talk. What should I even say?

“Can you say your name first?” Ms. Fritz asked.

“Well…I’m Roman. Uh, I like to paint, I’m half french, and…” Roman tried to think. What else was interesting about him? Something that shared a lot about him as a person?

Quickly, it dawned on him. One idea that I could possibly share, he thought. Well, it’s a bit invasive, but they’re all looking at me. So whatever.

He took a deep breath in. “…I’m a foster kid.”

When Roman admitted that, all the kids seemed to be more interested in him, leaning closer as their eyes widened. It was the first time Roman ever said it aloud, and it was so strange to hear coming from his mouth. He was a foster kid. That was an important part of his identity now.

He didn’t know how he felt about it.

“You’re half french?” Ms. Fritz pulled Roman out of his thoughts with that question. “Do you know any french?”

“I’m fluent.”

“That’s so cool! Can you say something in French for us?”

Roman seemed to think about it. “Quelque chose.”

Ms. Fritz blinked. “Well, I hope it was appropriate to say in a classroom. When did you move here, Roman?”

“Like…four days ago. Very recently.”

“You only got added to my roster last night, so I believe you! How about you pass the ball to another kid now?”

Roman looked around the room awkwardly before making eye contact with a random girl and tossing her the ball. He sat back down and only paid half his attention to what the other kids were saying. Well, at least he didn’t have to wait awkwardly anymore.

The rest of the class went like that. It seemed like a lot of these kids were students that Ms. Fritz had in the past, as well as being students that were also close friends with each other. They talked a lot and made lots of jokes with the teacher, and they seemed really close, which Roman understood since he was the same with his old group of advanced kids. The extra conversation dragged the game out longer than it probably should have been, but Roman didn’t mind. He didn’t want to actually work or anything anyway.

Eventually, the game ended, and the last kid tossed the ball to Ms. Fritz. “Alright,” she said, “That game dragged out longer than I thought it would, but that’s fine! The bells are shorter the first few days anyway. We only have a couple minutes left, so talk amongst yourself if you want, I don’t care. The assembly should be after your fourth bell for the sophomores, so don’t let your teachers forget!”

All the students turned around to talk to the kids around them. Roman simply watched their conversations with no one to talk to himself, realizing how all the new kids at his old school must have felt. It was like looking in from the outside, where no one else could see you. Roman was just…there.

“Hey,” the kid in front of him turned around to face Roman. Roman almost jumped at the sudden attention. “What’s your name again?”

“Oh, Roman. Roman Goldsberry.” Roman turned to sit properly in his seat and leaned in closer. This was a good start! He seems nice, maybe I can make a friend!

“Roman Goldsberry!” He mocked, turning to his other friends to laugh. “That’s such a pretentious name. And very American sounding, by the way. I thought you were French?”

Roman’s shoulders sagged. Nevermind. Eight in the morning on my first day, and apparently I’ve made an enemy before a friend. “I’m half french, not fully french.”

The kid turned to his friends and made a face at them before they all laughed. Roman felt his blood boil.

“So your dad is the American?” The kid asked.

“Yes.” Roman hoped his sharp tone would help them realize not to mess with him.

“Are you close with your dad?”

Roman froze, and the group of kids turned to each other to make faces at each other again. He really didn’t see what was so funny. Who asks a complete stranger a question like that out of the blue?

Before Roman could snap and tell the kid to mind his own damn business, another kid from the other side of the room scoffed. “Mitchell.”

“What? I’m just asking!”

The other kid opened their mouth to retaliate, but a loud and obnoxious bell went off before they could. Kids started to get up to rush to their next class, and Roman joined them. The sooner he got away from Mitchell (who had no right to bully Roman for his name when he was called Mitchell), the better.

Roman rushed out into the hall and hyper focused on the schedule in his hands. World history, room 203. The next floor down.

Roman was so occupied in trying to find a flight of stairs, he didn’t notice the kid trying to catch up to him.

***

The rest of Roman’s day wasn’t half as eventful as his first bell. History class had a chill teacher, which was nice, then next was his strength training class. His teacher was a little confused when he showed up but was happy to have Roman on board. He seemed very strict with his class rules though, and Roman hated that considering one of his rules was they had to change into gym clothes. Which meant Roman had to wear gym shorts.

…Well, guess he’d have to get used to wearing multiple pairs of boxers again.

Besides that, he also got lost on his way to sculpture, so he showed up ten minutes late telling this random teacher he was her student now. At least she didn’t seem bothered. After that, they all went to the sophomore assembly where they were told the school rules and updates, which Roman’s pretty sure he was the only kid who actually listened. Then, after the assembly, Roman went to the cafeteria to eat a lunch that Patton packed him. He hadn’t actually brought a packed lunch to school in years, so the sentiment was…strange.

Not that Roman would complain about an edible lunch, though.

Roman looked around the cafeteria for a place to sit. The place was starting to become crowded as more students got out of line for buying lunch, so Roman needed to find a spot fast. It’d be easier if he made a friend to sit with, but after the morning Mitchell incident, Roman hadn’t cared to try again in his other classes.

That’s when Roman spotted him. A kid with thick glasses eating a fruit cup as he worked on some papers next to him, completely ignoring the world to finish some homework. Roman wasn’t exactly close with his foster brothers, but hey, maybe Logan could prove himself a little useful. He had to be lonely too, right?

Roman took his chance and sat across from Logan. Logan didn’t look up from his papers. “Hey there, nerd!”

Logan glanced an eye toward Roman. He focused back on his work. “Hello.”

“How’s your first day of high school going?”

It took Logan a solid minute before he responded. “It’s going alright. I got unlucky with a teacher of mine, who already gave us a homework packet for the week, so I’m trying to get a head start on it.”

“Really? What teacher?”

“Mr. Owens, he’s the more strict teacher of the two that teach medical technology.”

Roman’s eyes widened. “Medical technology? That’s a class here?”

“Yes. I had to do a lot of things last year to get into it, however. It’s part of the intensive medical learning path. However, the extra work is necessary.”

“…Right. What other classes are you in?”

“Advanced biology, advanced geometry, advanced English, medical tech as I just mentioned, German 2, health, and painting.”

Roman tilted his head to the side. “Wait, I thought most of those were sophomore classes?”

“And I took freshman classes my eighth grade year. Your point?”

Roman blinked. “…Fair enough.”

Roman brought out his own sandwich and ate it in awkward silence. Logan seemed so focused on his paper that he wasn’t saying a word, and trying to spark conversation with him when he was like this was next to impossible. He felt like he was intruding by sitting next to Logan, the air feeling thick for a reason Roman couldn’t quite place. Once he finished his sandwich, Roman had enough.

“I think…” Roman said, “I’m going to sit…somewhere else.”

Logan didn’t react. “Alright.”

Roman stood up and awkwardly shuffled to an empty spot at a table on the other side of the cafeteria, placing down his lunch box and trying again. Well, he thought as he opened up a cheese stick wrapper, better get used to being alone, then.

“Hey, excuse me?”

Roman looked up at the voice while he was mid-bite. It was the same kid who scolded Mitchell back in his English class, tired circles under their eyes and a gray sweater on despite it being August. Though, Roman had been freezing in most of his classes today, so maybe this person had the right idea.

“Oh- I’m sorry, were you sitting here?” Roman asked.

“No, you’re fine, I just…” The kid looked side to side anxiously. “…Mind if I sit with you?”

“…Oh! No, I don’t mind at all.”

The kid smiled and set their lunchtray across from Roman. “Thanks. I’m Elliott by the way, they/them pronouns.”

Roman’s brain took a minute to process what they meant. “Uh, hello! I’m Roman…he/him?”

Elliott seemed to get happier when he said that. “Nice to meet you. How’s your first day been so far? Besides for you-know-who this morning.”

Roman laughed. “Well, aside from that uncalled for mess, it’s been quite normal. I got lost a few times, but that’s not new for me. My teachers seem quite alright so far.”

“That’s good to hear. We have a lot of good teachers, I think, unless they teach calculus, then they have some serious issues. But so long as you don’t act like an idiot it’s easy to get past those teachers.”

“I’ll keep that in mind! Hopefully I stay on this hot streak, though.” Roman took out a water bottle from his lunch and started to drink it. “But it’s the students I’m more worried about. They all seem so off on their own. Or just outright rude like that guy this morning.”

Elliott groaned, leaning his head on his hand and slouching. “I’m really sorry about him. He can be a huge jerk for no reason. I think he’s just itching for a fight.”

“You seem to know him quite well. Old friend or something?” Roman asked.

Elliott groaned again. “…He’s my ex.”

“…No offense to your type or anything, but…ew.”

“Oh no, yeah, dating him was definitely an ew,” Elliot sighed. “We broke up like, four times in the span of a year and a half. It was a mess. Eventually, over the summer I broke up with him for good. I think he’s still upset about that and taking it out on the first easy target he finds. That, and he’s a jerk.”

“Well, he’ll soon learn I’m not one to be described as an easy target.” Roman gave a cocky smile and posed.

The bell sounded off again, and all the students stood up from their tables and started to swarm the trash cans and cafeteria exits. Roman and Elliott gave each other a look as they also stood up.

“So…what class do you have next?” Elliott asked nervously.

“Let’s see…” Roman pulled out the schedule from his pocket and looked at it. “Advanced biology with Mr. Weber.”

Elliott’s eyes lit up. “Me too! Uh…wanna walk together then? I can show you where it is.”

Roman smiled. “Of course!”

The two kids headed down the stairs, talking more and laughing long after they sat down in the class and the bell rang. Roman continued to whisper to Elliott during class until the teacher gave them both a warning glance, shutting their mouths but smiling at each other.

Even as Roman tried to pay attention, he felt a weight lift from his chest.

He’d obtained a friend after all!

***

The entire bus drive home, Roman spent it texting Elliott’s number that they’d given him right after biology ended. He talked about his last two classes and listened to Elliott ramble about his bad luck with classmates this year, grinning to himself with his eyes glued to his screen until his stop came. Virgil banged his fist on Roman’s seat to get his attention, making him jump and stand up to get off with Virgil and Logan.

During the walk home, no one said anything. Roman was off in his own world and Virgil just looked tired, with Logan staring intently at his own shoes as he walked. Virgil unlocked the door for them all to come inside, and they all branched off into their different directions. Virgil got a snack from the kitchen while Roman and Logan ran up to their rooms.

Roman spent a lot of his time in his room now that he’d gotten the curtains around his bed. Lying there was a lot softer than hiding on the bathroom floor with his legs propped up, and Roman was still confused as to how he managed to get away with installing this. He’d have to make sure Patton never entered his room again in case he planned to rip the curtains off their hooks.

He’d have to make a plan to effectively keep him out.

But for now, Roman actually needed to talk to Patton as soon as possible. He needed to ask for gym clothes, since that was the only thing Roman still needed to get for class, and he wanted to get it over with so Roman wouldn’t need to keep worrying about it. He was almost certain Patton had come home half an hour ago, but Roman just ignored him and stayed in his room. But he had to take advantage of the fact that he was remembering to ask for the clothes, so there was no time like the present to go find him.

Roman hopped out of bed and exited his room, making his way downstairs to the living room. He figured Patton would be either watching TV or doing something in the kitchen, but when Roman looked around, he didn’t see him anywhere. Virgil was sprawled across the couch on his phone, but no one else was around. Roman put his hands on his hips.

“Where’s Patton?” He asked Virgil.

Virgil didn’t look up. “Upstairs. In his room I think.”

Roman groaned and stomped back upstairs. He hated going into an adult’s room, so he instead opened the door and poked his head in so he wouldn’t have to step inside. But before he could get a word out to Patton, Roman stopped himself.

Patton was sitting on his bed with the lights dimmed, his back resting in the headboard, but what shocked Roman was that Logan was there also. He had his face hidden in Patton’s neck as Patton rubbed his back and played with his hair, holding him tight to his chest while Logan sniffled. Roman had never seen Logan emote before, so watching him cry was…disturbing. Roman wanted to run over and rip Logan from Patton to protect him.

Patton looked at Roman in the doorway and smiled. “You gotta remember to knock before entering, kiddo. What do you need?”

Roman forgot the main reason he came here. “Is Logan okay?”

Patton looked down at Logan and whispered something in his ear. Whatever Patton said, Logan agreed with a quiet nod of his head. Patton rubbed at Logan’s neck in a way that made Roman’s skin crawl as Patton began to speak. “He’ll be okay, kiddo. He’s just a little overwhelmed from school today. Do you need anything?”

Roman took a step inside Patton’s bedroom. It made his whole body shift into fight or flight, but he couldn’t leave Logan alone with him in good conscience. “I just wanted to say I need to buy gym clothes by next Wednesday. I’m in a strength training class this semester.”

Patton smiled. “That’s fine, we can go shopping this weekend.”

Roman looked down at the floor. “Well…I was more thinking, like…I go into the store while you wait in the car.”

Patton raised an eyebrow at him. “I need to buy the clothes, kiddo.”

“You can just give me the money. I’ll stay within the budget and give you any left over, so…please?”

Patton’s face dropped a little, but he didn’t get angry, so Roman considered that a win. “Sure, kiddo. We’ll do that Sunday.”

Even after the conversation seemed to end, Roman still stood near the door, shifting on his feet awkwardly. Patton shifted his eyes between Logan and Roman as if he was analyzing both of their mental states, but Roman’s throat felt stuck as he tried to bring out the words he wanted to say. He was so scared, but he couldn’t force himself to ask the question he knew he needed to ask now. Yet his feet refused to make a run for it out the door despite his fear.

“Do you need something else, kiddo?” Patton lightly prompted. Roman attempted to swallow the rock he felt in his throat.

“Can I…Can I stay with you and Logan?” He hated it, but he had to do it. He didn’t know what Patton would try when Logan was vulnerable.

Patton looked down at Logan, and Logan nodded. Patton turned to smile again. “You can if you want, Logan doesn’t mind.”

Roman carefully walked to the other side of the bed, sitting as far as possible from Patton but keeping his eyes glued to Logan. He knew he wasn’t helping much, not saying a word and not even being close, but it was something Roman had to do. Just because him and Logan weren’t close didn’t mean he’d leave him in danger. Even if Roman felt stuck in his head and couldn’t find the power to move his arms.

Roman sat there for a while, watching Logan’s chest rise as Patton rubbed his back. It felt like ages before Logan’s chest slowed and he fell asleep on top of Patton, somehow not caring at all about being asleep in Patton’s presence. Roman’s heart ached for him. He was too trusting and innocent for his own good.

“I gotta do some chores,” Patton whispered, “So I’m gonna tuck him in and let him nap. Do you still wanna stay with him?”

Roman nodded, not being able to get the words out himself. He felt stuck as Patton lifted Logan up gently, petting his hair to soothe him when he stirred. Roman helped by tugging the covers back from his end of the bed so that Patton could tuck him in and let go of him sooner, his hand on the back of Logan’s leg making Roman anxious. Patton tucked Logan under the covers and watched his reaction. After a few seconds, Patton grabbed a squishy stuffed frog from his bedside table, handing it to Logan who curled around it in his sleep. It’d be cute if Roman wasn’t so worried.

“Tell me if anything happens, okay kiddo?” Patton said right as he was halfway out the bedroom door. Roman nodded, only finally relaxing after Patton left and slowly closed the door. 

Roman immediately ran over to lock it. He didn’t have his security bar, but this would be good enough. Hopefully Patton wouldn’t test anything when he knew Roman would be by Logan’s side.

Despite all of Roman’s worries, Logan slept peacefully on the bed. He didn’t shift or seem distressed at all, just snuggling closer to Patton’s stuffed frog and resting. Logan was calm.

Roman sat on the floor to block the door and watched to make sure no one took that away from him.