#work. having something to fill your days with. is actually really important to maintain your mental health BUT the way work/labour is

[poppadom0912]

Excuses

Warnings: Mentions of fainting, diabetes, canon-typical injuries

Summary: You suffer the consequences just because your teacher thought you were making excuses.

A/N: First fic of 2024!!! I had plans that I was going to post weekly in the new year just like last year but things went downhill. This january and february has had its very good but also really bad moments and even writing this was a struggle. I've found myself in a weird place of wanting to write but struggling and all of a sudden not being able to balance my schoolwork and writing. So I took a lil step back to solely focus on my work but looking at everything now, my fic updates will be much less frequent but hopefully just as or if not, more fun to read.

I feel bad for not saying or posting anything since the new year but I'm here now and hopefully will be more alive. I've got lots planned for you beautiful people, several series and way too many fics in my drafts that I cannot wait for you all to read. This wasn't as long or as juicy as I intended but my brain completely failed me so I hope this is good enough. I initially wanted to post this at the beginning of March but I finished the final editing today so here you go!!

Final note before we start, I have general knowledge about diabetes but that's all from my grandma. I have no idea if it's the same for teenagers so I'm sorry for any mistakes. Happy reading!!

Your biology teacher had been on maternity for three weeks now and you were seriously contemplating life.

Because of the crappy rules surrounding maternity leave, when your teacher refused to return before her three months ended, your school had a supply teacher fill in for her till she came back.

Since day one, you knew you hated her.

It was mid lesson and you knew as soon as you started feeling sluggish that your sugar levels were dropping. Your thoughts were only confirmed when your Dexcom receiver let you know of your decreasing glucose.

This wasn't a usual occurrence. Will and Jay always made sure you had eaten enough and you had the means to maintain the needed glucose levels so that nothing happened.

Alas, you were up late revising and you were stressing about keeping up your good grades. Jay was rushing you out the door because he needed to go to a scene he'd just been called to and Will was out walking Kol and hadn't seen you leave.

In conclusion, it'd been a hot minute since you last ate something.

The school were well aware of your diabetes. It was one of the very important things your brothers stressed them about when you first started.

Most students knew about it actually, having seen your Dexcom and not understanding since a diabetic child apparently wasn't common according to them.

So, when you randomly pulled out a snack from your bag mid class, no one questioned it and instead would make sure you were okay. There'd never been a problem before in school and everyone wanted it to stay that way.

However, this new teacher, Mrs Byrne was apparently completely unaware of your medical condition.

"Y/N. You know the rules about eating in class." She said strictly, pulling away all the attention from the board onto you.

She stopped you in the middle of opening the packet of fruit gummies. You frowned, looking at her confused along with your classmates.

"I have diabetes." You said bluntly, continuing to open the packet. "I don't eat this and I'll pass out."

Mrs Byrne only rolled her eyes, smiling at you condescendingly. "I've heard that excuse hundreds of times, give those to me."

You scoffed at the audacity, refusing to hand over what was yours.

It was when she started walking towards your desk with a pep in her step that the entire class got involved. Their raised voices overlapped, some angrier than others over what was happening.

However, you too were Stubborn alike to your brothers so you kept as firm of a grip of the packet. You turned a blind eye to the anger fuelled cover teacher. You continued to smile as she spewed threats of all sorts.

Due to your frustration and annoyance over the teacher who wanted to take your gummies away, you didn't notice how everything started change; how hard it was to move your eyes and lips, your limbs getting heavier and you thoughts slowly getting muddled up.

Lost in a daze, you were no longer able to fight back when she pulled harder, successfully snatching the small packet out of your hands. It was now that the class got furious, your friends were already up and at your side but now they were verbally attacking the teacher.

Fed up with her petty behaviour, you were going to get up and go to the nurses office who would take care of you but getting out your seat was harder said than done.

With one of your friends help, you weren't too sure who was helping you from your hazy sight that cleared when you blinked too many times.

You were wobbly on your feet, taking slow and hesitant steps towards the front of the classroom but before you could leave, you felt your legs give out and everything went black.

*****

It turned out that supposed crime scene that he was imminently needed at was nothing but a prank by a bunch of college boys resulting in a grumpy Hank putting them in cuffs and having them fined for a very reasonable reason.

That's how the rest of the unit found themselves finishing up paperwork, catching up about life in general as they debated what they were getting for lunch.

Jay was smugly sitting back, eyes flickering between Kevin and Adam who were bickering over something trivial when his phone rung, catching everyone's attention.

They were all so bored and normally when one of their phones went off during work hours, it meant something came up and they were needed.

In interest, everyone turned their heads towards Jay and waited for him to tell them they got a crime scene.

Picking up his phone, Jay's brows furrowed at the number, confused as to why your school was calling him in the middle of the day. They'd only call him if two things happened: You'd gotten in trouble or you got hurt.

"Hello. Is this Y/N Halsteads brother Jay?" A voice he couldn't recognised asked, most likely some lady from the main office.

"Yeah, that's me." Jay confirmed, sitting up in preparation for whatever he was going to be told.

"So sorry to interrupt you sir but Y/N collapsed in class." The lady said with guilt laced in her words. "Your other brother didn't pick up the phone. We called to let you know we had to call the paramedics and they've taken her to Chicago Med."

"Uh yeah." Jay said, collecting his jacket and keys. "Yes, thank you."

Not waiting for a reply, Jay hung up and quickly knocked on Hank's office door frame.

"Sarge, I gotta get Y/N-"

"Go get her. We're done here."

*****

Wanting to pull his hair out, Will rubbed his eyes in frustration, glaring at his patients scans that only confused him further. He was tired and was coming to half way through his twenty four hour shift.

"Dr Halstead- Uh, Dr Rhodes in T4." Maggie stumbled, looking down at her brick and making sure she read it correctly.

"What's wrong?" Will asked, confused as to why Maggie changed her mind which she usually never did.

"It's Y/N."

Now fully awake, Will followed Connor towards the ambulance bay where you were being rolled in. You were groggily sitting up on the stretcher, you hair a mess and a few scratches around your face and hands from when you fell.

"Sylvie, what happened?" Will asked the blonde paramedic while looking you over. He desperately wanted to check you over himself but let Connor do his thing. He really did not need Ms Goodwin on his case today.

"Teachers didn't tell us much but her classmates said she collapsed after not being able to eat." Sylvie relayed the minimal information she knew, shrugging her shoulders when the two doctors looked at her weirdly. "No one would tell us anything more."

"Y/N, it's Connor. Can you hear me kid?" Connor said while pulling out his penlight. He was like another brother to you, his concern just as high. "Can you tell me what happened?"

You groaned, mumbling nonsense with your eyes screwed closed. Your words were mostly unintelligible but Will understood them mere seconds later.

Fixing the problem you complained about, Will turned down the lights and let Connor continue fussing over you.

It didn't take long to find out the cause of your collapse, Will sighing at the news when he read the numbers from your tests.

"I thought she was always on top of her sugar levels." Connor said, closing the room door so you could sleep in peace.

And what he said was completely true but they weren't aware of why you couldn't today specifically of all days.

"She is." Will said, rubbing a hand down his face in frustration. "Maybe her dexcom malfunctioned or something."

Connor hummed, agreeing with his friend.

"Hmm, maybe."

*****

Arriving at Med, Will gave Jay a detailed rundown of everything he new about your medical state but also the events pre your hospital arrival.

Getting a good look at you, holding your hand in his and kissing you on your forehead, Jay was more than happy to leave you in your oldest brothers safe hands while he got to the bottom of this entire ordeal.

He noticed Sylvie was still at Med, Foster mentioning they were running low on a few supplies so they needed some stocking up. Jay took this opportunity to interview the two paramedics and try to get further understanding on this situation that wasn't making much sense to him.

Arriving at your school, Jay had some thoughts in mind but they weren't very concrete and his confidence wasn't as strong as he'd like it to be.

Walking into the school, Jay immediately noticed an entire class sitting and standing around in the corridor waiting in front of the principals office.

One of the girls who had been sitting in a chair had caught sight of Jay, her eyes widening before she smiled, gently nudging the girl next to her and pointing in his direction. The girls reaction was the exact same.

This created a sort of domino effect as the boy next to her noticed Jay and everyone was telling the other of his sudden arrival. The once silent corridor was now beginning to fill with murmurs and whispers, all their eyes glued onto his figure that moved down the corridor, their shocked faces quickly changing into smiles and smirks.

It seems that Jay had a reputation of sorts.

"Why are you making so much noise? What did I just say about talking-"

The principal cut himself off from his scolding when he suddenly noticed Jay's presence, his face blanching as all the pieces clicked into place.

"Detective Halstead! What a surprise, we weren't expecting to see you so soon-"

This time Jay cut him off, not too bothered about his lack manners. "My brothers with Y/N at the hospital so I thought there was no other perfect time."

The principal remained silent.

"Now, why don't you explain to me why my sister fainted under your watch?"

The students behind Jay couldn't help but snicker knowingly.

[jmliebert]

☆ how to charm Tom Riddle (but you're lowkey evil)☆

also known as ☆ Tom Riddle x Evil!Reader headcanons ☆

Tom is collected, always knowing the secrets and his role in this wicked world. No one can stop him—not even himself—as he marches down the path of destruction for all around him, including himself. Nothing surprises him in his meticulously calculated world, but you.

Hidden behind his impeccable manners and simple brilliance, Tom observes. A lot. One crisp evening, when all the notable Slytherins gather in the common room, he watches silently. Then he notices he’s not alone in his scrutiny. He sees you observing as well (of course, you must be from Slytherin), your eyes shimmering with brightness and something darker he can’t quite decipher, but nevertheless it catches his attention.

One day, he sees you arguing with someone and, naturally, he observes. Situations like that reveal a lot about a person, and once again, he’s (mildly) surprised. You don’t shout. You remain calm, collected, your voice relaxed, your face blank. But your mouth, oh, your mouth, spits words veiled with well-hidden hatred. You have a sharp tongue, but you don’t let your emotions get the better of you. He likes that. You have your own mind and are definitely not a mere follower.

You are a perfect studen as well. He sees you’re bright and handle things effortlessly. What intrigues Tom even more is that you don’t try to fit in. You don’t seek attention; you’re quite a loner really, minding your own business. You don’t need your peers' approval or a crowd of friends. You are your own person. This independence is important to Tom because he prefers to be in the spotlight while you are content in the shadows. There’s a saying: "There cannot be two dragons in one village," and it fits your dynamic perfectly i think.

And also I think he sees behind this independence of yours. Tom feels you are lonely and misunderstood just like him and perhaps that made him want to be closer.

One time Tom "accidentally" walks into the prefect's bathroom where you are bathing. Let me just say; he’s not a pervert; he just wants to provoke a reaction, to see something vulnerable in your eyes he can use against you. You’re in the water, thick fog filling the room, and you remain in your place, unashamed, your body glistening with water. “How can I help you, Tom?” you ask simply and a delicate smile plays on Tom lips at that.

You are a challenge. You know the game he plays, and it’s refreshing. Another significant factor is your fascination with the Dark Arts. You spend much time in the library’s restricted section, where your conversations deepen over shared interests. Tom is charmed to learn you collect cursed tokens and have a hidden liking for the grotesque. You are truly fascinating.

Before long, you’re performing dark magic rituals together—dark offerings and soul-binding spells. You cut your palms and share your blood, keeping your secrets to the grave. But you are still hard to break, your emotions hidden deep inside.

But sometimes, Tom manages to break through. When he does something you disapprove of, you maintain your composure in public. Yet, in secluded corners of the castle, you grab his neck and bite his lips until they bleed during kisses, showing that you do have feelings after all.

"Sometimes all I want is to ruin you."

Tom knows it’s not only lust and shared ambition that keep you close to him. You are strategic. You think ahead, coldly and calculated, which actually gives him peace. It's good to know that after all everyone is the same. That deep inside everyone is a monstrosity. That he can understand.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

you can find more of my works about Tom ♡here♡

[bangchansgirlsblog]

Broken headsets

- Chan

Warning: A lot of Angst, slight violence?

Pairing: BangChan x reader.

Summary: where he snaps at you while working.

!Not proofread!

(This is just a trail story, I lost my first story that was actually good ☠️I’m probably going to delete this)

**

“Channie?” I call for him. My hands gently rubbing his back while playing with his hair. So soft and messy.

“Mhm” he replies softly. The sound of his fingers typing against the keyboard as his headsets sat around his neck. His brown curls fluffy and everywhere.

His silver hoops sitting perfectly on both his ears and his black shirt tight around his muscle making him look delicious.

“Baby you need to eat something. You’ve been on that computer ever since you got home.” I plead with him.

He needed to eat, he hadn’t eaten all day due to the busy schedule and lack of time on his plate. The mangers were on him 24/7 due to their comeback in a few weeks.

Comeback season meant no time for anything, no time for dates, no time for sitting around, no time for spending time with one another and I hated it. I hate it so much. It made me angry.

“Baby this is really important, I’ll be there in a second.” He quickly says not even bothering to look up.

“Chan you’ve been at it for the past 2 hours, you haven’t even looked at me.” I complain. Yes I wanted attention, shoot me!

“I’ll give you all the attention you want my love, just please let me finish this.”

Sadness fills my heart as I silently put the clothes inside the closet.

A ringing sound in my ear and a tight feeling in my throat.

I was trying not to cry. I refused to cry.

Chan was a workaholic, no doubt in that. His days consisted of waking up early in the morning to head to the JYP building and coming home very late only to do more work. Some nights he wouldn’t come home at all and he knew I didn’t like it so to make my happy, he sometimes would bring me with him to the studio but that was when he thought he wouldn’t be coming home.

Our conversations in the studio normally contained:

“Just 30 more minutes my love”

Or

“I’m almost done”

Or

“I promise this is the last thing.”

He loves his job and he puts 110% in it but that makes him lack in other areas. His health.

Some nights he doesn’t sleep, some days he forgets meals and other days his mental health is the worst but still he doesn’t care because he loves his Job. He loves the boys. He loves Stay.

“Fine.” I sigh. One minute meant 1 hours at this point. I quietly leave the room closing the door behind me. Leaving him in his little world.

The cold tiles sending a shiver up my spine as I walked down the corridor.

“What am I going to do with you Channie?” I whisper to myself while packing up the food.

The dishes in the sink waiting for me to touch them while the laundry basket sat in the living room waiting for me to fold the messy clothes in them.

The house was quiet. The A.C hitting my skin with cold air as I sit on the floor and start folding the clothes one by one.

Berry by my side watching me.

Our apartment wasn’t big but it was huge for two people.

Some days it was a real big hustle to keep everything clean especially when they boys stay over but other days it wasn’t hard to maintain with the help of Chan.

“What am I going to do with your dad Berry?” I sigh again looking at the dog who seemed to be care free.

I grabbed the last set of clothes and walked over to the room. Chan’s back facing me. Not even noticing me in the room.

“Baby..” I call for him as I set down the clothes and start to load them into the closet.

“What Y/n?” He says a little harsh. I roll my eyes, frustration starting to build in my chest but I decide to be the bigger person and ignore his little attitude.

“Baby do you know what we’ll be doing for our 2 year anniversary?” I asked him trying to atleast have a conversation with him.

“I don’t know Y/n. You deal with it I don’t have time. Just tell me how much it is and when it is.”

“When it is?” I ask him obviously taken back.

“Ugh I didn’t mean when it is, I mean when you wanna do it.” He quickly corrects himself and rubs his temples with his fingers.

“Atleast act like you care Chan.” I tell him honestly.

“I’m not starting an argument with you right now so please can I get back to my work?”

“Chan why are you being like this?” Ignoring his request I decide to push because honestly I was tired of it.

“I’m not acting like anything I just want to finish my work in peace.”

“Chan you’re acting so selfish right now!” I say now slightly raising my voice.

“Y/n” he says firm and glaring over at me. What’s the worse he could possibly do?

“Just listen-“ I beg before I’m cut off.

“Y/n i said leave me alone!” His voice booms and the sound of breaking glass fills the room. My body freezes. Hands shaking.

The now broken headsets and mirror laying on the ground.

“Did you just throw that at me?” I ask him in disbelief.

“Babe-“ his body was stood up now and he was reaching out for me. His face filled with panic and guilt.

“Don’t.” I say getting away from his touch. The clothes that were once folded no scattered on the ground. Words refusing to come out of my mouth until I force myself to get up from the floor.

“I-I’m going to leave…” I say softly. My heart hurt and I hope he knew that. I felt the tears that were all built up from frustration, anger and hurt all start to flow down my cheeks.

When would he realize that being with him was starting to slowly ruin me?

**

Pt 2 ⬇️

[skyscrapergods]

i'm working on my own concept for my own mlp fanlore/au and i've been inspired by your take on alicorns to make my own more unique as well. my idea is centric around the concept that alicorns are ponies who acended into what's basically pony elves that get worshiped because of the mysterious way they ascended, but idk how to really make a religion set up that works cohesively with it. i am wondering if you possibly might have some tips and tricks for how to go about my alicorn religions.

The most important thing about religion is that it's made up. If it is based in observable fact, then it's not religion; it's just culture.

Paying taxes and bowing to the king is based on observable orders. Believing that the king has a divine right to be king, or that he has powers/blessings granted to him by birth/status is religion.

In skyscraper gods, things are different because believing something about a god actually has the power to make it true, or at least influence the god's form/powers in an abstract way. My gods are influenced/given power by belief and worship.

In the human world, you can believe whatever you want about any person or god, and that doesn't make it real. If there are gods about, they are unlikely to be controlled by human religion, and definitely aren't spawned by such (or we would have a lot more gods than we do)

In a normal world, religion is not based on observable fact, and it is designed and maintained by the people themselves.

So from my limited understanding of world religions, there are four "needs" that religion is designed to fill: Community, Ritual, Meaning, and Ethics.

I went off the deep end and wrote an essay about my philosophy. Whoops, hope you enjoy:

Community

Humans need community, and many religions involve gathering and doing activities together. This makes religion incredibly important to human social health, as we often fail to fill our need for community because we don't immediately die without it. Under capitalism especially, we are incentivized to ignore as many human needs as possible in order to be productive/survive. Religion makes itself more important than simple survival, and ensures we fill certain needs by promising metaphysical rewards.

Ritual

Ritual is also incredibly important to human health. We thrive when we have a consistent schedule to the day, month, season, and year. It helps us save our brain bandwidth if we already know what basic tasks will happen today. Instead of doing math to figure out optimum times to do so, we socialize, come of age, physically touch, meditate, sing, mourn, plant crops, travel, cook, keep records, hunt, celebrate, and more according to a calendar maintained by religion. These are all important aspects of life that we need to remember to fill, either by logic, community, or religion. Science even backs up the need for ritual, with brain pathways growing best in response to consistent habit-keeping. But brains aren't observable for most people, so we have culture and religion to keep time instead.

Meaning

Meaning is a tricky one. We ended up with brains big enough to wonder why we exist; a burden few animals share. Scientifically, we thrive in environments/jobs/roles where we feel that what we are doing has value. I look at every part of my life and see the value of being a person, observing and changing my environment. Many people on earth aren't sure that's enough, so they invent an unobservable force that assigns value to their lives and actions. Meaning is easiest to keep track of and believe if others share your definition. Culturally, you have a lot in common with your neighbors, you both probably work toward similar goals (housing, stability, connection with others, secular holidays) and are satisfied when those goals are met. Religiously, you have a lot in common with others in your religion (charity, proselytizing, meditation, celebration) and are satisfied when those goals are met. Religion also provides goals for your entire life and community which are helpfully defined for you, whereas you have to come up with that on your own outside of religion. Doing so can be frightening, frustrating, and difficult, so religion is very rewarding and calming.

Ethics

Lastly, there's Ethics. Not all religion deals with ethics, but many major earth faiths do. Humans desperately need to have a code of ethics to be healthy, and society works best when we all agree on some basics. That way when someone violates a law, you don't have to convince everyone around you that what they did was wrong; there's already a standing defined agreement. Ethics is about rewards as well as punishment. For example if you're the first one to read this whole thing I'll draw a pony for you just dm me. Community ethics are decided by those in power, and "those in power" can be: the people themselves via majority rule, chosen representatives, rich aristocracy, respected philosophers, religious appointees, kings and conquerors, holy mystics, sacred texts, etc etc.

Religion comes in with a code of ethics (written by the religiously powerful) and imposes it on its followers. This is useful and generally brings community harmony when they all agree on something. Religions based on ancient texts are tricky, because old, outdated ethics have to be reinterpreted to fit modern landscape. These interpretations split churches and create sub-religions, which mutate into cults, peter off into nothing, or go to war with each other. It's great fun. At the end of the day, having a group of people who agree on right and wrong within their community is the goal. We just got lost on the part that said everyone else in the world has to obey our ethics or else we're blowing up the planet.

...

Aaaanyway, this was about.... my little pony?

Does Religion Affect Gods?

The first thing you must choose is how much the religion is based on fact, and how much is made up. In my world, there's a lot of things that are made up by ponies, that either become true or influence the god's form/powers in some way. Luna used to be silver, but now she is dark blue.

You can do that, or you can be normal about things. Typically, religion does not actually do anything. Gods are gods whether or not they have worshipers. People believe things that gods tell them, and they make up their own lore as well.

What about People? What about this and that and everything?

You need to decide if your alicorns are participants in the religion about them, or just subjects. Do all/some/any of them take their place as religious figures and command the masses? Do they speak ethics? Do they inform ponies of the powers they have? Do ponies make up abilities they think alicorns have? Do they like being worshiped, or is it more like stalking?

Some alicorns may embrace godhood, while others flee from it. The ones that get the most involved will have influence over how the other alicorns are treated.

Is there a standard to which alicorns must live, failing which they can't be "real" alicorns in society's eyes and are thus shunned/killed? Do the alicorns ever give an opinion that is taken way out of proportion and suddenly became a major religious movement? Are marshmallows illegal because one alicorn doesn't like them? Do ponies get prosecuted for stepping on "sacred" flowers which are just regular lilies? Is there taxes/tithing to alicorns? Are alicorns promoted to political office for nothing except their nature?

How do ponies construct their sermons/temples/practices to fulfill the four tenants of religion? Does alicorn worship provide them with Community, Meaning, Ritual, and Ethics?

Do alicorns actually earn any of this? Are they regular guys that just look special? Can they abuse their powers? Can ponies abuse others in their name? Do the alicorns speak to the masses or to religious leaders? Do they have any control over their legacy or is it out of their hooves? Are they in danger of their worshipers deciding they need to be freed from their mortal bodies? Do religious leaders go power crazy and use alicorns to further their agenda? Are their schisms and wars over beliefs? do the alicorns command their followers to fight each other? Do they fight with each other? Does each alicorn have a different following or are they all part of a shared pantheon? Do they respect each others' role within that or struggle for change?

And remember, what is true for one alicorn/church/sect/country may not be true for another. Variety is the key.

It's all About the Questions

The trick to worldbuilding is to ask a lot of questions. You can answer them as you go, having the answers lead to more questions, or you can ask a bunch at once and answer them all later.

Every decision you make has consequences. Big social movements affect the environment, the environment affects food supply, food supply affects social movements. Everything is connected, and religion makes those connections more magical, for better or for worse.

[queenshelby]

Our Little Secret (Part 51)

Pairing: Cillian Murphy x Reader

Warning: Infidelity, Age-Gap, Triggers, Smut

With the wedding coming up, Cillian and you made even more of an effort to remain on good terms than you ever did before. While he was away, filming the Peaky Blinders Movie, you video called him so that Mara could see her daddy every day.

Every day, before she went to bed, you allowed Cillian to read her a story over the webcam, whenever he was able to.

It was a small gesture that meant a lot to Mara, and it helped her and Cillian to maintain a connection despite the distance.

Your therapist welcomed the positive communication and reminded you that you were doing an implacable job by keeping him involved even despite his busy schedule. 

During that time, you also noticed a slight change in Cillian's behavior. He seemed more relaxed, more at ease with himself, and with you. 

"So, what's the plan for Mara's birthday next week?" he asked one evening when he skyped in from London.

"I was thinking a party actually. She has been at daycare twice a week and made some friends. I was going to invite them and their parents. My mum, Siobhan and Emma are coming too, and I think even your mum is driving down from Cork. I also invited two friends from my mother's group," you said, filled with enthusiasm for Mara's big day.

Cillian chuckled, his eyes filled with warmth. "Sounds like you got everything planned out," he said, sounding genuinely pleased. 

"You know it would be nice for Mara if you could come,"  you added, hoping that he might be able to make the trip.

"I would love to," he said, "but you know I can't leave the set, Y/N. I have a busy schedule filming and I'm just hoping that things will ease up a bit in the next couple of weeks," Cillian said with sadness in his voice. 

You couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment, but you knew that filming was important for Cillian's career.

"I know, but what I am saying is that you are more than welcome to come if you wanted to," you repeated, looking him straight in the eyes through the camera.

"And I appreciate that, really," he nodded, taking a deep breath. "But I still need to wrap up this movie." 

"I understand," you said softly, biting your bottom lip. "And, you know, you can always celebrate with her when you come back by taking her to the zoo or something. She probably won't remember the party anyway, but she will also remember the zoo," you chuckled, seeing how it was Mara's favorite place to go these days. 

"You are probably right you know," Cillian conceded, his expression softening even further. "Now, did you call the carpenter to fix up the shelving in the living room? I told him that you would call and to invoice for it. You might need that done before the party," he continued, seeing how one of the built in shelves had collapsed after you tried to carry out some DYI work on it. 

"No, he can't do it until the week after next, but Sean offered to fix it for me before the party which is nice,"  you informed him, noticing how Cillian's expression changed for a second.

"Sean, huh?" Cillian chuckled; his expression unreadable but you could hear a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Don't start, Cillian! Don't fucking start!" you shot back with irk, already feeling the familiar burn in the pit of your stomach.

"I didn't even say anything," Cillian smirked, his eyes glimmering as he studied your reaction.

"Then why are you acting the way you are when I bring up his name?" you asked, rolling your shoulders back, trying to release some tension in your body.

"I'm not. It's none of my business who you spend your time with so long as you keep Mara out of it," Cillian growled, scratching the back of his neck impatiently.

"You know what, I was actually thinking about inviting him to the party, as a friend of course and only if you would allow it. Because he has been a big help those last few days, running errands for me for her party while I was sitting my exams and he asked me whether he could come," you told Cillian nonchalantly, secretly enjoying his reaction.

"Oh, did he now?" Cillian said with a sigh as he adjusted the display setting. "So, you two are getting more serious then?" he enquired  without looking at you.

You could tell he was slightly irritated, he clearly didn't want to give you the satisfaction of seeing it on his face.

"Well, we are still taking things slow and we not being too serious about it. We agreed on no labels, but I still only consider him as a friend, with benefits,"  you replied, being brutally honest while watching Cillian's reactions closely.

"So poor Sean is still in the friend zone then, eh?"  Cillian quipped, the corner of his mouth curling into a slight smirk before he quickly hid it.

You noticed it, and it stung a little, but you tried not to let it get to you.

"Yes," you confirmed, doing your best to maintain a neutral expression. "He has been very supportive and helpful lately and I like having him around, but there is no pressure between us. We are both free to see other people. That's the way it is for now."

Cillian nodded, turning his gaze back to the camera. "Fair enough and thank you for clarifying your relationship status for me. I just hope he knows that too, because I am not the one who needs convincing Y/N," Cillian said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Whatever Cillian. Can you just give me an answer?"  you asked, your patience wearing thin.

Cillian's smirk faded, to be replaced by a look of annoyance. "What do you want me to say, Y/N? I don't want Sean around my daughter," he said firmly.

You let out a frustrated sigh. "Why not? He is a decent person and Mara won't even know who he is. There are other people there who are no more than friends either and there most certainly won't be any public display of affection," you argued , trying to reason with him.

Cillian sighed deeply, knowing that he couldn't win this argument. "Fine. He can come, but only if you make sure that nothing happens between the two of you that Mara might see, at least not until you are serious about him which, it clearly seems, will never happen," he relented , eliminating any obvious doubts in your mind.

***

Your mind began working overtime to decide a strategic approach to the situation. On one hand, you were glad that Cillian was allowing Sean to attend the party, but on the other hand, the caveat gave you a sense of unease. 

You explained the situation to Sean on your next date when your mother was looking after Mara and, much to your surprise, he was very understanding about it.

"My parents separated when I was twelve Y/N. I get it, so don't worry, okay? I don't even have to come. I can help you set up and then leave before Mara and your mum arrive," Sean suggested, trying to make things as easy as possible for both of you.

"I really appreciate that Sean, but I don't want you to feel like you have to leave on my account, especially since you have been helping me so much those last few days," you  told him sincerely.

"And I like helping you Y/N, because I know that being a single mum can be hard. Your ex hasn't really been making an effort to be here for Mara lately, so if I can do anything to help, I will," Sean replied with conviction.

"Cillian is away filming. That's his job Sean," you explained wearily, wondering if he had brought this up to upset you or validate his actions. 

"I know, but he should really make an effort to be there for his daughter's first birthday, don't you think?"  Sean queried, a hint of frustration coloring his voice.

"Maybe, but it's not my place to say or judge what he does, because he is still looking after us both," you responded, attempting to defuse the tension that had suddenly risen between you. "So, lets change the topic shall we?" you suggested, trying to keep the mood light and pleasant. 

"I am sorry Y/N. You are right," Sean sighed, taking a deep breath before giving you a gentle kiss.

***

Later that day, after you picked up Mara and Sean went his separate way to catch up with some of his friends, he couldn't help but feel slightly let down by the conversation he had with you about the upcoming birthday party and confided in a friend about it.

"Dude, you're acting like you are in some kind of relationship with this chick," his friend Mark joked, taking a swig of his beer. "You told me that you two agreed to be friends with benefits. You don't owe her anything other than your time while you are hooking up and she doesn't owe you anything either! So why do you even want to go to that kid's birthday party?"

Sean sighed, shaking his head as he stared out the bar window at the busy cobblestone street outside.

"Because I want to make an effort for her daughter and make her see that I could actually be right for her, you know?" Sean replied, finally giving voice to his true feelings. "It's just that she is so damn stubborn most of the time, and I know that she still has feelings for her ex, which I can't really compete with."

Mark chuckled, slapping Sean on the back. "Well, he is Thomas Fucking Shelby, man," he laughed, burying the rest of his beer in one swift gulp. 

"You are not helping Mark!" Sean rolled his eyes at his friend's remark. "I am trying here, you know?"  Sean said, sighing again, exasperated.

"I know, and Y/N is a lucky woman to have you," Mark smiled, clinking his empty bottle against Sean's before signaling for another round. "But dude, you need to just relax and stop worrying about her ex. If she wants to be with you, she will. It's that simple."

"She said she just wants to be friends and I don't even want her to meet you guys because I am worried that I will look like a fool when she decides to go back to  her ex," Sean sighed, sitting down on the couch in his apartment, feeling frustrated. "I mean, how am I seriously going to compete with someone like him, a famous fucking Hollywood actor?" Sean mumbled to himself as he paced around his apartment. 

"You may not be able to, but she may also just play hard to get, which is what a lot of women seem to do these days," Mark reminded him thoughtfully as he watched Sean struggle with his thoughts. "Maybe you should focus on being the best version of yourself for your sake and not for hers, and then she will soon see if you are right for her or not," Mark added with a raised eyebrow. "Or you could find something that makes her ex look really bad. He is famous enough, so surely, with the right help, you can dig up some dirt," Mark suggested with a sly grin and Sean's brow furrowed as he contemplated Mark's words, his mind racing with ideas of how he could ruin Cillian for you, once and for all. 

"Maybe I should try, yeah, but I don't want to fight dirty. Despite, I don't even know him or anyone who hangs out with him other than Y/N herself," he said, his morals preventing him from considering such a devious course of action.

"Well, let me help you then," Mark offered, pulling out his phone and conducting a quick online search. "I work for the Irish Times after all," his friend smirked,  focusing on the task at hand. 

Tags:

@sunbeamseas @saint-ackerman @oatmealisweird @naxxsstuff @amanda08319 @r-m-cidnah @elysiannook @cillshot @infireddabdab @tastycakee @harrysbestiee @lilybabe22 @adalynlowell @henrywintersdearestgirl @ietss @thatgirlthatreadswattpad @ryiamarie @axionn

@nela-cutie @futurecorps3 @delishen @nosebleeds-247 @thirteenis-myluckynumber @gills-lounge @hjmalmed @lost-fantasy @tiredkitten @sidechrisporn @smallsoulunknown @charqing-qing @hopefulinlove @aporiasposts @shycrybaby @me-and-your-husband @hjmalmed @lacontroller1991 @galxydefender @aporiasposts

@galxydefender @hunnibearrr @saint-ackerman @lunyyx @gentlemonsterjennie1 @ihavealotoffandomssorry @nadloves @lost-fantasy @nolucesn@mcavoy-girl @hjmalmed @bloodybagels @obeyme4life @richiesgroupie @blushykiss @tatumrileyslover @teawithsatanx @orijanko @rhaenyra4ever @xcinnamonmalfoyx @budugu @nadloves @kmc1989 @bloodybagels @obeyme4life @richiesgroupie @forgottenpeakywriter @smailaway @sophiaaguirred @blondie-22

[selfhelpforstudents]

Any tips on how to create a proper schedule? I struggle a lot with time management.

Mastering Time Management: How to Create a Schedule That Works for You

Time management can be a tricky thing to master, but the good news is that with a little planning and a few smart strategies, you can create a schedule that keeps you on track and reduces your stress levels. If you’ve been struggling to get a handle on your time, don’t worry—you’re definitely not alone. Here’s how to create a proper schedule that works for you.

1. Start by Setting Clear Goals

Before you even think about scheduling, take a moment to define what you’re trying to achieve. Whether it’s finishing an assignment, studying for exams, or balancing school with extracurricular activities, knowing your goals will help you prioritize your time. Break these goals down into smaller, actionable tasks that you can tackle day by day.

2. Understand Your Natural Rhythm

Everyone has different times of day when they’re most productive. Some people are morning people, while others hit their stride later in the day. Pay attention to when you feel most alert and focused, and try to schedule your most challenging tasks during those times. Use less productive times for easier or routine tasks.

3. Use a Planner or Digital Calendar

Having a physical planner or using a digital calendar (like Google Calendar) is essential for keeping track of your time. Start by blocking out your fixed commitments like classes, work, or meetings. Then, fill in study sessions, homework time, and any other tasks. Don’t forget to include breaks and time for relaxation—these are crucial for avoiding burnout.

4. Prioritize Your Tasks

Not all tasks are created equal. Use the Eisenhower Matrix to categorize your tasks into four groups:

Urgent and Important: Do these first.

Important but Not Urgent: Schedule these.

Urgent but Not Important: Delegate if possible.

Not Urgent and Not Important: These can be minimized or eliminated.

By prioritizing your tasks this way, you ensure that you’re focusing on what really matters.

5. Break Tasks into Manageable Chunks

Large tasks can be overwhelming, leading to procrastination. Break them down into smaller, manageable pieces that you can tackle bit by bit. For example, instead of blocking out an entire day to “study biology,” break it down into specific chapters or topics to study in shorter sessions. This makes the task less daunting and helps maintain focus.

6. Set Realistic Time Blocks

When scheduling your tasks, be realistic about how long each one will take. It’s better to overestimate and have extra time left over than to underestimate and feel rushed. Start by tracking how long it actually takes you to complete different tasks, then use this data to plan your schedule more accurately.

7. Use the Pomodoro Technique

If you struggle with staying focused, try the Pomodoro Technique. This method involves working for 25 minutes, then taking a 5-minute break. After four cycles, take a longer break (15-30 minutes). This technique helps maintain focus and prevents burnout, especially during long study sessions.

8. Review and Adjust Your Schedule Regularly

Your schedule isn’t set in stone. Life happens, and things change, so it’s important to review and adjust your schedule regularly. At the end of each day or week, take a few minutes to assess what worked and what didn’t. If you find that certain tasks took longer than expected or that your priorities have shifted, make adjustments accordingly.

9. Build in Flexibility

While it’s important to stick to your schedule as much as possible, it’s also crucial to build in some flexibility. Allow for buffer time between tasks in case something takes longer than planned or if something unexpected comes up. Flexibility prevents you from feeling overwhelmed when things don’t go exactly as planned.

10. Stay Consistent, But Be Kind to Yourself

Consistency is key when it comes to following a schedule, but it’s also important to be kind to yourself. If you have an off day or something doesn’t go as planned, don’t beat yourself up. Simply adjust your schedule and keep moving forward. Remember, the goal is progress, not perfection.

11. Use Apps and Tools to Help

There are plenty of apps and tools designed to help with time management. Apps like Todoist, Trello, or Notion can help you organize your tasks and keep track of deadlines. Experiment with a few and find what works best for you.

12. Balance Work and Rest

Finally, remember that a good schedule isn’t just about getting work done—it’s also about ensuring you have time to rest and recharge. Make sure to schedule in downtime, hobbies, and social activities. A balanced schedule will keep you motivated and prevent burnout.

By implementing these tips, you’ll be well on your way to mastering time management and creating a schedule that supports your goals. It might take some trial and error to find what works best for you, but with persistence and a bit of flexibility, you’ll get there. Good luck, and happy scheduling!

Love,

Sophia

[psychhound]

ttrpgs in the classroom (part 4)

howdy!! back again after,, a time away (grad school is insane <33 save me <33) for a long overdue classroom post!!

so this one is about our first big essay assignment, the personal narrative essay! we'll actually be going over a number of games for this one!!

the assignment:

write a 900-1200 word personal narrative essay by playing a solo journaling ttrpg and reflecting on the experience using the prompts provided

the prompts:

What memory surfaced while you were playing the game, and why do you think that is?

What was your main emotion while playing, and where do you think that emotion came from?

What story from your childhood did your playthrough remind you of, and how did you come to know that story?

How did playing through the game inspire you? Is there a change you want to make in your life because of this experience?

Did playing through the game remind you of a success or failure from your real life, and if so, how did playing help you reflect on this?

the games: (as presented on the assignment sheet)

The Lighthouse at the Edge of the Universe by @lostwaysclub

You are a lighthouse keeper in the far reaches of space. Every day, there is work to be done to maintain your lighthouse, safeguarding passing ships from the edge of the universe. Log your observations, maintenance, and events while facing threats like emotion-driven weather.

Yourself

You have just discovered that you are a changeling: something between human and fey. Over five acts, you will reckon with this new discovery, and let your feelings shift and grow.

Snow

There’s something on your mind. There’s snow in the driveway. As you take the time to shovel it out, you think through and process your situation, whether mundane or life-altering.

Long Haul 1983 by @seanpatrickcain

You are a long-haul truck driver making a journey through an empty but dangerous world. Each day, you face a long, lonely highway filled with threats—whether mechanical, supernatural, or psychological. Each night, you make a payphone call to your most important person and leave them a message, though they never pick up.

Last Tea Shop (CW: death)

You own a tea shop on the border between the worlds of the living and the dead. As people pass from the first to the last, they stop into your teashop to have a drink and talk with you.

&

village witch - which was not on the assignment sheet but one student asked special permission to play this one after we listened to an actual play podcast that played this game (alone at the table by @ladytabletop) and the themes of the game really spoke to her

(if folks know other tumblrs for the creators feel free to tag them!!)

the results:

i was really really happy with these essays overall. the students wrote about some very impactful memories and emotions, and all seemed to get a lot out of playing

i had a lot of essays that came back and said "i never thought i'd be a gamer but i really enjoyed this" or "i didn't think i would get anything out of this experience but it really moved me". i was particularly happy with the essay from the business major that said "this was way better than being on my phone" considering these are 18 year olds still adjusting after years of the pandemic and leaving home for the first time and also this was homework

the most popular game played was last tea shop, and i had a mix of responses of "this made me realize how much i value my friends" to "i really need to value my friends and memories with them more" to "i really want to make more friends". i also had students who said this game helped them process grief over losing loved ones

long haul was also a popular one, and i got my most descriptive writing out of this game. it was interesting who the students chose to make their calls to, as well as what they chose the threats to be. one student got a bad ending and decided to play the whole thing again so he could make it home

the students who played lighthouse found it really soothing, as the game intends, and said it was a good way to process things that were on their mind after some of them had rough days leading up to playing (one student said he had to start over because he almost fell asleep on his desk after the game was too relaxing)

and with snow, none of the students chose to meditate on things directly from their lives, but all ended up finding that they had unconsciously put things they needed to process into the game and found new perspectives on them from playing. the kids who chose this one were the most surprised at what they got out of the experience

no one ended up choosing to play yourself, so i may switch this one out for future classes

the reason i chose these games in particular is that they all have an element of choice, and they all deal with emotions in some way. i thought this was a really successful first assignment and was glad the students all seemed invested and excited to play more after this

[cookinguptales]

So back when I was much younger and much newer, I took a class at UChicago on ancient Egypt. This was so exciting for me, especially because UChicago has an extensive collection of artifacts from the ancient Near East -- which meant that we got to learn using actual artifacts.

It wasn’t that unusual for us to be sent off to the Oriental Institute to translate something as homework, and one of the things I remember vividly was this (partially restored) fragment of a tomb wall.

In ancient Egypt, names were important, and so was memory. The continued existence of the soul was associated with the continued existence and memory of a person’s name, which is one reason why we have all of these beautiful carved monuments to this day. They wanted to write their names down. They wanted to be remembered. They knew that they could live forever as long as they lived in one person’s memory.

But tombs are expensive. They take a lot of time, a lot of resources, a lot of work. It’s a lot easier to just scratch out one person’s name and replace it with your own. A lot of memorials were repurposed in this way, sometimes because they were actively trying to erase one person’s memory and sometimes simply in an effort to maintain their own. So there was a very real anxiety about tomb desecration and name erasure that comes up again and again and again.

That was what we’d learned about in class that day, but I didn’t know why this wall fragment was our homework until I finished translating it.

I remember sitting there, huddled over my notebook as I crouched on the floor of the OI, sixteen years old and just beginning to learn the world. I remember painstakingly copying the inscription and then translating it to the best of my ability. And then I remember giggling as quietly as I could, not wanting to bother the other guests, when I realized it basically said, “HAHA, I MADE IT SO YOU CAN’T ERASE THIS.”

You see, he’d invented a technique that involved filling the carvings with a certain kind of colored paste. It was very, very difficult to completely remove -- and he was right. No one had managed to do it.

I remember sitting there on the floor and laughing and thinking to myself that humans don’t change, not really. We don’t ever, ever change. Our beliefs might and our goals might, but people? Our souls can traverse millennia.

Because over four thousand years had passed but I still felt this odd connection to a man whose pride in his own ingenuity had made me laugh. 

This all happened around fifteen years ago and I no longer remember how to read this wall. But you know what I do remember? His name.

I remember you, Nefermaat.

[heichou-ackerman]

Texting Levi fluff

Levi hates texting but he likes you. Another modern!AU which I am re-uploading since tumblr was stupid about it

TW: Some slight cussing but nothing MORE

It was rare for Levi to actually utilize his phone for  anything more than just make necessary calls, checking the weather, and keeping up to date with his monthly Tea Box subscription.

Lately, however, he found himself spending more time watching the bright screen on his phone, face scrunched up, as he began to understand the means of what it meant to actually meant to maintain consistent communication.

Unfortunately for him, you seemed to have a knack for coercing him to text you throughout the day no matter how busy he actually was with his actual work or with his own personal chores.

He both liked and hated this about you. Although your apparent clingy behavior was charming at best, it was a bit exhausting for the introverted man to keep up with some of your needs.

Like clockwork, your good morning texts would pop up at almost the exact same time every weekday (he actually began to depend on that more to wake up than his actual alarm). He learned the hard way you really had expectations of him texting you back and in maintaining a conversation with you from morning to night, at least during the days where you both were unable to see each other.

It was a pain in the ass.. Single word responses were insufficient to satisfy your need to drag out his opinion about a variety of things, ranging from your choice of lunch for the day and where he saw himself in ten years. He really didn’t understand why you valued his opinion so much about these things or why it was important for you to know.

>where do you see yourself in 10 years Levi? :)

> I dont know.

>Come on! Do you wanna live in a different city or something like that?

> I see myself being 10 years older

>You suck

He got a bit better over time, unaware of how he began to think a little more in depth about his responses to you. If he was curt and short, you would become upset at him. When it was something more of a slight flirtatious advance, his screen would be filled with heart emojis. He wouldn’t admit it but there was some satisfaction in seeing you reply eagerly to him. A curious feeling but not a bad one.

>cant wait to see your face on the weekend!

>you literally saw me yesterday

>so you dont wanna see me then?

>I didnt say that

>so you are excited to see me too :)

>I didnt say that either

>awe, getting tired of me already I see

>I told you Im not going to respond to anything stupid you say

>You just did! :D

>everything you say is stupid so Im at a loss

He wondered  if you acted this way with anyone else. He supposed, the way you tended to be, that you were equally as warm and inviting to most of your circle. Not to say, he wanted to have this particular ‘treatment’ for himself only, but it genuinely felt like you did dedicate most of the day to stay in touch with him as much as you could.

In the past, Levi would had found this overwhelming. He appreciated his friendships and relationships with others, but he was also someone who valued his privacy, and most people in his semi social circle understood this of him. He would be the type to hang out a Saturday evening and then would be completely out of reach for the rest of the month, which was minimal for him. He was unbothered for most of the time, which to be fair, is the way he preferred it.

Once you and him became an item however, there was a noted disruption in this rather, exclusive lifestyle of his. It wasn't awful but it was something he was not attuned to, so it made things feel awkward during some of these interactions.  Despite his standoffish demeanor and his lack of substance in some of his messages, you still kept at it. You didn't shy away from him or even become too upset when his responses seemed bland or cold. It seemed like you had an understanding of the type of person he was, but you still wanted to simply spend as much time in touch with him as possible. You genuinely craved for his attention and treated it as something important and precious.   And this simple fact made him like you so much. So, he would make an effort.

---

After a long day at his office job, Levi arrived home, throwing his belongings onto his couch, not caring much about things spilling out, and flopping onto his bed, a deep sigh coming out from his nose.   It was a shitty day at the office to say the least, which soured his mood for most of the day. As usual, you made attempts to message him throughout the work day, but he would be lying if he said there was a bare minimum effort at responding back to you. He knew you were probably peeved off at his lack of consistency for today, but he was far too exhausted to really explain himself about the matter.

He closed his eyes for a bit, feeling he might literally drift of to sleep still in his day clothes, when he felt the vibrations from his phone go off in his pocket. He groaned slightly, knowing only one person in the world would message him at such a time. He reached into his pocket to pull it out, squinting at the bright screen to see your name pop up with the following message:

> are you mad at me? :(

Jesus fucking Christ. He knew if he began to entertain the conversation (and no he wasn't mad at you), he would probably be up for another couple of hours trying to reassure you of this fact. He debated to leave it as it was for the sake of being able to go to sleep, but at the risk of you blowing up his phone the entire night.   "Goddammit." He muttered to himself. He sighed heavily, bracing for the worst as he gave into it and began to message you.

>no, long day at work

There, that should be sufficient, right?

Not even five seconds later, he saw those three dots appear, indicating you were messaging him back. He pictured you literally hunched over your phone like some gremlin, texting him rapidly.

>awe, im sorry to hear that. you home now?

Okay, not too bad. It seemed like you were considerate of his situation at the moment. He blinked forcefully, feeling his eyelids begin to droop as he stared at your response on his screen. No, he wouldn't be able to last long like this, he might as well just cut it short.

>yeah im home, super tired, need to sleep.

He hit the send button and set his phone down, allowing his eyes to droop shut, feeling the inbound sleep coming to him. He would literally be able to fall asleep and wake up in the same position the following morning, and for a couple of minutes, it felt as if this would be the case.

And then his phone begins to ring.

His eyes shoot out open as he become startled by his ringtone, and by nature, he immediately picks up the phone, being met with its bright screen.

It was you. Of course it was.

Levi rubbed his hand over his face, muttering curses at you and at the situation. It really didn't even fucking matter at this point if he tried ignoring you. He sighed heavily as he lazily answered, bringing you over to his ear.

"What." He muttered, not even as a question.

He could hear you slightly giggling over the other line, which made him kind of irritated. He told you how tired he was, we’re you really just fucking with him?

"Just wanted to check in to see if you're okay. But I can tell that you are super sleepy." He heard you on the other line.

"Yeah." He replied simply. "I told you I was."

"Sorry. You mentioned you had a hard day at work, I figured you wanted to talk about, buuuut I didn't think you'd be this tired. You usually stay up pretty late, even during your worst days."

Well, you weren't wrong about that. He would usually be a night owl most weekday evenings, entertaining your text shenanigans well off into midnight.

"I'm fine." He iterated, allowing his phone to fall next to his head, close enough to still hear you. He kept his eyes closed, still somewhat attentive to you. "Work was shit but I'm fine. Sleepy."

"Want me to tell you a bed time story?" You asked softly, jokingly of course.

"No. "

"Didn't think you'd want one. Want me to sing you a lullaby?"

"No, fucking weirdo."

“Kidding, kidding. Kinda sucks, but I’d be so down to just do that thing you like me to do to you. If I was there of course.”

He raised a slight eyebrow, eyes narrowing slightly towards his ceiling. “I literally don’t have the energy to talk nasty right now.”

“No!” You exclaimed. “Not that stupid. I meant like, that one night when I was playing with your hair and you fell asleep on my lap.” He hummed in consideration. “Ah, yeah. Maybe. That was nice.” It wasn’t too long ago, but it was another of those exhausting evenings for him, similar to this one. You mindlessly began to run your fingers through his hair, coaxing him to rest on your lap as you minded yourself on your phone. Your fingers were soft and it seemed like they knew exactly which parts of his scalp would respond the best. It was no secret he enjoyed your pampering from time to time, although he would never directly ask you for it. He would always hope you would initiate it however and it seemed as if you had an intuition of when he really needed. This being one of those times.

You chuckled softly on the other line. "Okay, okay, let me leave you be then sleepy head. Can I text you tomorrow then?"

Why the hell are you asking that?

You didn’t need his permission to do so, and its not like you ever asked him for it.

"Why are you asking that?" He asked you bluntly, his voice low.

You stayed quiet for a bit on the other line for a bit, and Levi could feel the hesitation from you.  "Don't know. Just wanted to be a bit considerate."

Considerate? Considerate of what?

He should really go to bed, he thought. But there was something weird about you right now.

"What's with you?" He continued to probe. "You're being weirder than usual."

"Gee, thanks." You respond dramatically. "But nothing is wrong, I just wanna be considerate of, your time lets say."

He sighed loudly enough for you to be able to hear him on the other line. "Okay, I'm too tired to be subtle about it. What's wrong? What did I do?”

" "Nothing Levi!" You exclaim with a laugh. "I just wanna be mindful of not bothering you too much during the day, especially when you got all this stuff to do at work. I realize I can be a little too demanding of your attention, but I also don't want you to feel obligated as well. Hence...why I asked if it was okay."

Yeah, he agreed in his mind that you were a little bit demanding at times with this, but you weren’t overtly intrusive about it. Plus, if he was actually bothered by it, what was stopping him from simply blocking your messages during his shift? He obviously didn't do it because he didn't think of it that way.

"Don't be stupid." He replied lowly. "Let's be real, you'd lose your shit if I didn't reply to you during the day. Regardless, I'm fine, it doesn't bother me."

"You sure?" You asked a bit skeptically. He could tell you were genuine about all of this, and even if you did like to be overtly clingy, he understood you were capable of understanding necessary boundaries about things. He would never admit it to you, but you were capable of making mature choices about things.

He kept thinking of that particular pout you'd make when you tried to be serious with him. He didn't know if you made it on purpose but it was a rather cute feature about you. He imagined you making that same face right now as you tried to see if he was actually okay with you. He felt a smile form on his face.

"I'm sure, you brat." He responded back. "I enjoy talking to you, it makes work a bit more bearable. So stop asking me for permission like some kid."

He could hear you hum rather approvingly on the other line. "Okie dokie then. But legit, go ahead at get some rest. I'll check in with you in the morning yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Good night, love you."

He grunted back to you as his response. Yeah, he was still like that about those words. It was hard for him to say it back to you without feeling the need to be swallowed whole by the entire earth. He did care deeply for you, without a doubt, but it was as if he physically couldn't utter those things to you. At least not yet, it was still a work in progress.

You hung up on him on your end, and Levi rolled over to his side, breathing in deeply. An image of you kept popping into his head, wondering how this conversation may have ended in person. He wondered what kind of stupid face you'd be making or how annoying you'd be with your necessity to touch and hold him. He imagined a situation where you'd get upset at him for swatting his hand away, unaware that he would do it on purpose just to rile you up and to encourage you to forcefully grab a hold of it. He felt a crooked smile form on his face as he recalled your goodbye to him, your soft voice lulling him in his head as he felt a need to share the same sentiment to you in some way.

He rolled over back in his original position, eyes slowly peering open as he grabbed his phone, slowly tapping on its screen, soon pressing send to you before finally drifting off to sleep.

>I love you too.

[slashhinginghasher]

Dog Day Afternoon - Ghoap x reader

I've been binge-reading @ohbo-ohno's blog all day and just had to write a companion piece to their amazing story Don't Leave Me Locked In Your Heart.

No warnings, just fluff, but like, really really stupid fluff.

***

In a normal housing situation, you'd be baffled by how quickly your shampoo tended to disappear. You'd carefully measure how much you used each time, eye every roommate with suspicion when they emerged from the bathroom with wet hair. Maybe you'd even hide the bottle in your room between baths for safe-keeping, or fill an empty bottle with something gross to see who came out covered in a gunky mess.

But you didn't live in a normal housing situation, and you didn't have to wonder where all your shampoo was going because the thieving Scot who took it also made you wash his fucking hair with it. Every. Damn. Time. Sometimes even more than once.

"Can't have me gettin' split ends, bonnie," he said knowledgeably. "No' like Simon over there."

You didn't inform him that washing one's hair multiple times in the shower did not make the shampoo work better. You did not point out that he and Simon, being military, both cut their hair too short and too often for split ends. You didn't even accuse him of only knowing what split ends were because it was written on the shampoo bottle.

No, you kept your thoughts to yourself. Because while Johnny was apparently in possession of mad military skills - including manhandling, referring to Simon by his rank, and probably guns or something - they paled in comparison to his true talent: spouting an endless amount of bullshit at you until you accidentally said something sexual in return, and then taking that as an opening to be actually sexual.

Once, when you were fussing over a blemish forming on your nose, Johnny had sworn that you could contract flesh-eating bacteria and he'd still love you, holes and all. You had been physically incapable of stopping yourself from muttering that his love of your holes was what had gotten you into this situation in the first place. Johnny immediately got an evil gleam in his eye, and Simon had laughed. Out loud. Then they took you to bed for an entire day. Literally a full twenty-four hours. You hadn't been able to walk right for almost a week.

So yeah, you'd learned your lesson and you didn't goad Johnny, even when you had something spectacularly clever to say.

"Think you're a bloody show dog now, Johnny?" Simon rumbled. "Yappin' on about your hair like a damn poodle."

"A poodle!" Johnny shouted, affronted. "Am no fuckin' poodle, LT. Naw." He rubbed his hands together, warming up to the subject. "A german shepherd, maybe. Or a doberman. One a' those fuck-off big boys that makes you piss yerself a little when you get too close. What d'you think, hen?"

Oh, there were so many answers you could give to break this man's ego. Breeds they'd have to look up on google to feel the full impact of your devastating wit. But no, you had to stay strong. You pressed your lips into a tight line and maintained a dignified silence.

"Oi, I'm askin' ye a question."

"You ask me a lot of questions, and almost all of them are stupid."

Johnny looked positively offended.

"They are not stupid!"

"'If a guy was on the moon and he jumped hard enough in the right direction do you think he could launch himself back to earth?'" you quoted. "'Do we say things suit people because suits look good on you or is it called a suit because it suits you?' 'If unicorns were real do you think they'd let people ride them and if they did would you attach the reins to their mouth like a normal horse or would you tie 'em around the horn?'"

"All of which are important questions and not at all stupid!"

"Everything is stupid when you're asking it at 3 am, Johnny!"

Simon's eyes were bouncing between the two of you like a tennis match. He looked like he was having the time of his life (in Simon terms, which meant that one corner of his mouth was turned up in a microscopic smirk).

"I cannae help it that my deepest thoughts come late at night," Johnny said solemnly. "An' you're avoiding the most important question: what dog am I?"

"You're a mutt, Johnny," Simon said. "A scraggly little mutt that's gonna get muzzled if it doesn't learn to stop asking stupid questions when people are tryin' to sleep."

Johnny grinned. You weren't sure if he was the sort of person who could shrug off vitriol from anybody, or if he was so over the moon about Simon that he would preen under any kind of attention he got from him. And the last thing you wanted was to feel bad for either of your captors. But damn, the bigger man could be downright mean sometimes.

"Belgian malinois," you said.

"Come again?"

"Mouthy police dog that starts trembling if you order it to stay still for too long," you clarified.

"Sounds about right," Simon muttered.

Johnny cocked his head, mulling over this with extreme deliberation, before pointing at Simon.

"What about him?"

You considered Simon. Big, scary, unflappable Simon. "Shit your pants if you see him in a dark alley" Simon who could definitely rip your head off your body but also somehow gave the best hugs and turned into a pile of goo if you scratched his head right.

"Caucasian shepherd," you announced. "Also known as the Russian bear dog."

Simon nodded. You were pretty sure he had no idea what kind of dog that was and would have agreed with anything that sounded appropriately large or menacing enough.

"Aw fuck off!" Johnny cried. "How come I've gotta be the vibrating cop dog while he gets to be the fucking bear dog?"

"And that's what you get for askin' stupid questions, mutt."

Johnny huffed and pouted for a moment before turning back to you.

"And you, love? What kinda dog are you?"

"I'm a cat," you replied. "Obviously."

Your stomach dropped as that devious spark kindled in Johnny's eyes.

"Too true, kitty, too true," he purred. "Fancy a bit of a chase?"

How the fuck did he always manage to do that???

[heartlandians]

Filling Empty Spaces (Amy/Mitch), part 234

Mitch and Amy find an unexpected connection due to absent lovers. Set around season 11->.

A/N: I didn’t have a beta for this story, so hopefully there won’t be too many grammar errors.

****

The next morning when Mitch woke up, he still felt the weight of the world and all of its worries on him, but at the same time, he could tell his heart was slightly lighter after his talk with his dad last night.

The guilt of letting him down and then choosing his own path had been something that had been holding Mitch back from reaching out to his father more.

Growing up, Mitch had always looked up to his dad and wanted to be more like him, and in some ways he still did, but he knew it had been important for him to explore other options as well, just to know for sure that it was the right path for him all along, even if it would potentially come with the price of letting people closest to him down.

Reaching out his hand so he could get his phone, Mitch already knew better than to expect a good morning text from Amy, but he was still holding out hope for maybe getting some positive update when it came to her situation.

After all, he was in better terms with Lou now and she knew he was desperate for any news.

But as his eyes adjusted to the brightness of the screen, Mitch could tell nothing had popped up besides the weather app's notification telling him it was going to be another sunny day.

As he moved the cover from top of him and let his feet hit the floor, Mitch did few light stretches, only now realizing how stiff his body had gotten from all the stress he had been under these past few days. He needed to take better care of himself, he noted.

Mitch didn't want to wake his father, so he tiptoed to the bathroom and brushed his teeth as quietly as he could. As he wiped the traces of toothpaste from the sides of his mouth, he allowed his hand to glide across the beard that had began to cover his lower face and neck.

Ever since joining the army, he had maintained a clean-shaven look. Keeping his chin bare was just something he did, without even really thinking about if it was "his style". But the stubble didn't actually look that bad.

Or maybe it was nice that it covered some of the signs of fatigue that were showing on his face?

Still, perhaps it was time to try something different?

Ditching his shaving kit for another day, Mitch stepped out of the bathroom and bee-lined toward the kitchen, still trying to keep the floorboards from creaking.

As he was about to reach the kitchen, he glanced toward the couch where he expected his dad to be sleeping, only to find it empty. Someone had definitely slept on it, but had already woken up and was up earlier than him.

"Dad...?" Mitch called out, realizing there was no use of trying to stay quiet anymore since it was obvious his dad wasn't sleeping.

When he couldn't hear him reply, Mitch began to wander around the house. There wasn't really room for his dad to hide, so Mitch was done with his search in no time.

Had he gone out? Mitch wondered.

After getting his boots on, Mitch opened the screen door and stumbled on the porch. He saw from the corner of his eye someone on his right doing something in the yard. And when his head turned toward the person, he noticed it was his dad.

It was barely 6 o'clock, but Garrett was already going through the bricks Mitch had collected together for the firepit he planned to build some time soon.

"Dad...? What are you doing?" Mitch asked, half-expecting his dad to be sleepwalking or something.

"Oh, I couldn't stop thinking about the state of this firepit", he said, clearly already working on how the bricks should be arranged. He wasn't asleep or even half-awake.

"It's... really early", Mitch pointed out the obvious, partly wondering if there was cause for concern. Was his dad's memory slowly giving up...? "I think the thing can wait. You haven't even had your breakfast."

"I know, I know", Garrett said, putting down the brick he was holding and waving his hand dismissively, "but... I was just excited."

Mitch tilted his head, listening. "Excited about what?"

"Well, just... this", Garrett said, gesturing around them, "being back in the country. It's like old times. I always had an early start back then. And so, I was thinking what you said about the safe place thing and building a legacy and whatnot... Maybe I could help you with this thing and leave my mark here, at least in some way."

Mitch had to admit he was surprised; he had not expected the speech about this ranch going over so well with his dad, especially after his father had said his piece about the legacy of Saddle Road - which had been completely justified.

But at the same time Mitch knew his dad to be a very caring person when he wanted to, so in some ways something like this shouldn't have come as a surprise to him.

"Okay. You can help", Mitch finally agreed, feeling like it probably meant a lot to his dad to be able to do something like that for his son, even if Mitch was completely capable of just doing it himself too (well, when he'd have the time, that was).

Mitch knew it wasn't about his dad doubting his skills; it was about the sentiment his dad wanted to commit to.

"But first, breakfast. And then there are couple of other things we need to do before that", Mitch laid out the plan as it looked like his dad was excited to join him to do the chores.

Garrett walked to the porch. "Alright. What's on the agenda?"

"Well, there's a fence that's bordering the neighboring ranch that needs fixing. I was thinking we could get started with that, so you can get familiar with the land and Whisky, too. And then we need to run some errands before we can make that firepit happen. Sound good?"

Garrett nodded, smiling. "Sound good, son."

****

After breakfast, Mitch introduced his dad to Whisky, and while he was happy to make acquaintance with the horse, Garrett's face lit up when he saw Maverick.

Seeing his son's horse was another thing that brought back the old times. It seemed like Maverick remembered him too as he nudged Garrett's chest and expected him to scratch his neck like he had always done in the past.

"Alright, alright", Garrett laughed and let his fingers feel Maverick's coat. The warm breath of the horse against his shirt allowed his heart to swell even more on his chest. "I'll scratch ya, don't you worry, buddy..."

Meanwhile, Mitch was getting Whisky ready for the ride and fetched his brush from the grooming kit.

"They had to put down your old friend, Tonka, late last year, you know", Garrett spoke to the horse in the stall next door, and Mitch realized he had not known about his dad's old horse passing away.

"They did...?" Mitch had to ask, even though his dad was talking to Maverick.

Garrett nodded and reached for another spot on Maverick's neck while the horse hung his head low as he relaxed.

"Yeah, I guess time turns for us all", the older man said with a wistful tone. "But I'm glad he got couple years of retirement before passing on. He deserved that... Never had a horse more hardworking than good ol' Tonka..."

"I'm sure Mr. Landry took good care of him", Mitch spoke when he didn't know what else to say.

"I know he did, otherwise I would have never sold Tonka to him."

Mitch glanced at his dad's way, and even though he couldn't really see his face under the brim of the cowboy hat, the younger man had a feeling that being here and experiencing these things was opening his dad up to being more vulnerable about everything.

It wasn't something he was used to seeing, but then again Mitch had never really seen his dad without his mom after she had had her stroke and that was when his focus was on her.

His dad had always been in a caretaker mode and now, with his mom not here and Mitch all grown up, he didn't need to keep up that front; he was just a retired cowboy, reminiscing about the old times.

"You know, you could ride Maverick today", Mitch suggested. "I could take Whisky."

Garrett looked at him. "But Maverick's your horse", he said as if Mitch was confused about that fact.

"I know, but... you two already have a bond, and I don't mind riding Whisky once in a while", Mitch figured. "It could be good to switch things up a bit sometimes."

Apparently, he was in some type of mood today, with changing the routine, Mitch thought.

But maybe that was good, to shake things up - that weren't that serious - every once in a while, in order to get used to the discomfort change could sometimes cause, so eventually that could expand into bigger leaps too.

And life was all about change, after all, so it was better to get used to it.

Garrett let his hand rub circles around Maverick's neck as he thought about it. "Okay, yeah, sure. Why not. -- How do you feel about that, bud?" he asked from the horse.

Seeing his dad like this made Mitch smile.

All of this was actually helpful with getting his mind out of worrying about Amy every second as there was not much he could do about that.

Taking care of himself had to become a priority now so when the time came for Amy to get back to them, he would be ready to help her - if needed.

He couldn't be a wreck.

****

After their brief ride to the fence, that included Mitch showing some of his land, they located the section that needed fixing. Both of them dismounted and tied their horses to a near-by tree, and while for Garrett it took some time to recover from the riding and getting down, Mitch almost immediately put on his gloves and was ready for the work.

Mitch began by clearing the area while Garrett took his time and admired the view. The younger cowboy didn't mind his dad taking it easy, because while he had asked Garrett to join him, Mitch thought he was mostly here for the company. If he did anything else, it was just extra.

More importantly, it felt like it was important for Garrett to be included.

"Funny seeing the Foothills from this angle", the older man said, admiring their snowy tops. "They look just as beautiful as ever."

Mitch smiled, nodding. "Yeah. Doesn't really get better than this."

"No. No, it doesn't", Garrett agreed, then looking how Mitch brought out his wire cutters and started taking out the damaged sections off. "So, you have the cattle business with this neighbor of yours?"

Shaking his head, Mitch thought how to summarize the whole thing. "I used to work at this ranch. The Heartland ranch."

"Oh yeah", Garrett realized then. "Jack Bartlett's farm, right? Or at least that's who used to run the ranch back when I lived here."

"Uh-huh. He's still there."

"I remember people talking about that place. It had that, uh, that horse rescuer lady, didn't it? Jack's daughter", Garrett could recall as he touched his lower lip thoughtfully. "And her husband, that young rodeo cowboy used to live there too, didn't he? Think they had couple of kids as well..."

If there had been some fleeting doubt about his dad being forgetful after Mitch had found him at the yard working on the pit, he didn't doubt it now; his dad's mind was sharp as a knife.

"I'm sure Tim would be flattered to hear you call him "young"..." Mitch laughed. "Especially because he's a grandfather now."

"Well, yeah, I suppose he's not that young anymore... Around the same age as me, probably", Garrett realized his description was probably a little off since his knowledge of the place was dated.

"But yeah, that's where Tim used to live, but not anymore. He's the one I'm in business with. Our business used to involve Jack too, but he's retired now", Mitch summed up. "Tim lives not too far from here, but Jack leases us part of his land. That's his side, this is mine", he added, gesturing both sides of the fence.

"They still rescuing horses in there?" Garrett wondered and came to lean on one of the posts.

Mitch felt both sting of sadness but also a beam of pride when he thought about Marion's legacy. "They do. Jack's daughter, Marion, died in a car accident over a decade ago, but her daughter, Amy, has continued in her footsteps."

"That's good. You can never have too many healers in this world."

Mitch nodded. "Agreed..." he said softly.

While Garrett was looking around and saw some of Heartland's horses on the other side of the fence, Mitch wondered if this could be the moment when he'd ask about something he had thought about ever since Amy's accident and again yesterday when Lou had brought it up.

"Can I ask you a question...?" Mitch began, nervously. "About you and mom."

Garrett's eyes moved toward Mitch just as he realized the post under his arm was a little bit unstable and so he tried to adjust it better. "Sure. What is it?"

Mitch moved to get the barbed wire they had brought with them.

"I know it's a delicate subject, but... I was wondering how did you felt after mom had her stroke...?"

Garrett shook the wooden post between his hands, digging it deeper into the ground, while his boots secured the ground around it.

He also listened to his son's question, wondering what Mitch expected the answer to be.

"You gotta be a little bit more specific. There were a lot of feelings involved."

"Just... I guess, when you heard she'd be using a wheelchair for the rest of her life", Mitch slimmed it down. "How did that make you feel?"

Garrett let the post go just as Mitch began to splice sections of the wire to complete the fence again.

"That's a specific question", the older man noted.

Mitch sighed a little. "Well, you asked--"

"I know, I know", Garrett said, lifting his hand up to calm his son down. "It's okay. Was just wondering if there's a reason why you wanna know. After all this time."

"There is", Mitch added, even though he still wasn't sure how much he was actually ready to talk about yet, as everything was just all over the place, but he at least wanted to work on the thoughts and feelings he had right now so maybe they'd take a different shape.

For Mitch, his dad was probably one of the only people he knew who would understand his situation better than anyone else.

Garrett studied the younger man next to him, letting him explain.

"I've been seeing someone, and she... got into an accident recently. Right now she's in a coma, and we don't know what's going to happen, but... I've had a lot of time to think about things. There's a chance she might come out of this... disabled."

"I didn't know you've been seeing someone", Garrett said right away.

"Well, yeah, I have but it's been... complicated, so I haven't been telling people about it. So, don't take it personally."

Garrett nodded thoughtfully, trying to put these two perspectives together now that he was a little bit more informed. His eyes drifted toward the Heartland horses as he went back in time.

"I can't lie, it was a shock, of course", he began then. "So many questions that were waiting for an answer. Practical things, like, would the house be suitable for her to live in. What would happen with the ranch. How would our marriage survive it all. There was this... pressure of wanting to know all the answers right away. But you never do, not until you look back. It's only now that I can fully be in peace with it all. I'm glad to say we made it work."

Mitch held the crimp tool in his hand, but had seized his work as he listened.

"Did you ever... wonder if you were equipped for that?" Mitch asked.

Garrett hummed. "No one's ever fully equipped for anything. But you learn. And so, I did. I had never cared for anyone that intensely, not even you. Your mother did most of that while I was busy running the ranch. So when the stroke happened, it was daunting, but... I knew I had to do my best - and I think I did."

"And you two made it", Mitch pointed out, seeing they had just celebrated his parents' anniversary not too long ago.

"Yeah, we did. And I'm extremely lucky I got to keep her in my life. I was close to losing her, but I'm so thankful I didn't", Garrett said, sounding profoundly relieved.

Mitch still didn't know what was going to happen with Amy, but he was hoping they'd still get to have that similar moment too.

"Our lives have changed, and so has our love, but love never stays the same, anyway. I think the best thing to come out of this all was the way we had to learn to communicate better; I needed to learn to listen and hear what she wanted", Garrett added.

"It's just amazing what you did", Mitch wanted to say.

Garrett shrugged. "It's not heroic. It's just how marriage is; for sickness and in health. And that's what it was - what it still is. She would have done the same for me."

Mitch had to shamefully admit to himself that big part of the reason why he had only invited his dad to visit, for now, was a feeling he was trying to avoid.

"And now, well, she doesn't need me as much, but that was always the goal; that she would be able to be as independent as she wants to be", Garrett continued. "The transition was difficult at times, but now everything is just... well, normal. Even the part with her having to rely on a chair to move around; it's not really something we think about that much."

"Yeah, I guess so", Mitch nodded.

"When you're in it, like very deeply in it, you can never imagine how it could just become your new normal, but it does - and it doesn't always mean it's bad. It's just different. But there can be good in it", Garrett wanted to add. "Lots and lots of good."

Mitch couldn't help but think maybe it was a good thing his mother had had that choir performance so she didn't have to be some kind of subject for his projection.

She wasn't just her disability.

It wasn't until now, with Amy's situation, that he had began to see her through that lens as he tried to navigate this situation and make sense of it.

"Well, yeah", Mitch admitted. "I guess ever since I came back home from Afghanistan, I've just felt like... I haven't been able to do enough with anything. Like I'm not enough."

"I don't think your mom ever expected you to help with her. That's why we didn't want you to know about it when it happened. We thought we'd figure it out - and we did", the older man offered him some absolution.

Mitch nodded. "I know..."

Garrett came closer and put his hand on his son's shoulder. "Whatever happens with this girl, as long as you have open ears, you're doing the most you can do. That's enough."

[best-underrated-anime]

Best Underrated Anime Group F Round 3: #F3 vs #F1

#F3: Daily lives of tiny forest women

#F1: High school girls go to Antarctica

Details and poll under the cut!

#F3: Hakumei and Mikochi (Hakumei to Mikochi)

Summary:

In a world inhabited by people only a few inches tall, young women Hakumei and Mikochi live together in a house built into a tree. Hakumei is an energetic and tomboyish carpenter, while Mikochi is a feminine and calm tailor. Despite their differences, they get along well and spend their days having fun living their lives in the woods. The two of them spend their time working, going on sightseeing adventures, and taking shopping trips into Tsumiki Marketplace by the ocean. They make many friends along the way, be they sentient woodland creatures like Iwashi the Weasel or fellow miniature people such as the songstress Konju and the inventor Sen. Hakumei to Mikochi is a relaxing look into the day-to-day lives of its titular characters as they explore and interact with their tiny world which seems to be straight out of a fairy tale.

Propaganda:

It really is super adorable, and the art is gorgeous. Every bit of the world is rendered lovingly with a great level of detail, from the characters to the environments. The anime has this really cool effect where they use paneling to emulate the manga’s style while also making the characters visually smaller on-screen, which works because they’re tiny.

For a slice-of-life show, there’s a good amount of continuity. They introduce the swamp necromancer Sen in one episode, and she keeps showing up later on, helping rebuild their house when it explodes, then Mikochi repays her for that by designing and making a dress for her. The show gets really into the intricacies of everything, like how dying fabric is a multistep process that is similar to chemistry, or how soap is made with aromatics.

Every character is well-realized, with their own set of quirks, profession, the tricks and tools they use in that profession, and they make pretty consistent re-appearances. And the writing is very dry and witty despite the whimsical setting. It’s cute, but it feels very adult, all the characters are adults with jobs who get drunk sometimes. Everyone is very professional and responsible, and it’s a nice change of pace from teen shounen.

Trigger Warnings: None.

#F1: A Place Further than the Universe (Sora yori mo Tooi Basho)

Summary:

Filled with an overwhelming sense of wonder for the world around her, Mari Tamaki has always dreamt of what lies beyond the reaches of the universe. However, despite harboring such large aspirations on the inside, her fear of the unknown and anxiety over her own possible limitations have always held her back from chasing them. But now, in her second year of high school, Mari is more determined than ever to not let any more of her youth go to waste. Still, her fear continues to prevent her from taking that ambitious step forward—that is, until she has a chance encounter with a girl who has grand dreams of her own.

Spurred by her mother's disappearance, Shirase Kobuchizawa has been working hard to fund her trip to Antarctica. Despite facing doubt and ridicule from virtually everyone, Shirase is determined to embark on this expedition to search for her mother in a place further than the universe itself. Inspired by Shirase's resolve, Mari jumps at the chance to join her. Soon, their efforts attract the attention of the bubbly Hinata Miyake, who is eager to stand out, and Yuzuki Shiraishi, a polite girl from a high class background. Together, they set sail toward the frozen south.

Sora yori mo Tooi Basho follows the captivating journey of four spirited girls, all in search of something great.

Propaganda 1:

This show literally changed my life I’m not even kidding. It’s messages about living your life to the fullest and finding, creating, and maintaining important friendships in your life literally got me to pick myself up and actually start living my life. All of its main characters are all incredibly memorable, and they all bounce off of each other very well. It’s fun and cute as hell, but also a really powerful story about dealing with grief and moving on. The final three episodes of the show are an emotional gut-punch, but they leave you with a sense of bittersweet fulfillment and a drive to get out in the world and have your own adventure.

Propaganda 2:

Let’s start with the fact that this is Madhouse doing a (relatively) grounded coming of age story about high school girls - the show looks gorgeous, of course. The music’s solid as well. (I still regularly listen to the ending.) But what really shines is the writing and characterization.

The pacing on this is perfect. For a show that spends half its runtime getting to Antarctica, you never feel like the time should be allotted differently or that you’re missing out on hijinks. Episode 12 is a particular standout, with tension building up until it explodes, and then goes still for the true emotional climax of the show. The four main girls all feel like believable teens, and seeing their relationship develop over the course of the series and watching them come into their own is well-done. The way it handles Shirase and her emotions, and how this complicates her relationships with them all is a particular standout. This may not be eligible in that it’s one of those anime people who watch A LOT of anime will recommend highly—it was on Crunchyroll and IGN’s best anime of the 2010s lists and on several “best of” lists for 2018. But it never quite took off the way it truly deserves, so I’m submitting it. It’s getting an English dub soon, though, and I really hope that gives it a resurgence of popularity. The girls are alright.

(Admin: Propaganda has been edited slightly to remove spoilers)

Trigger Warnings: Death via freezing

When reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

If you want to criticize one of the shows above to give the one you’re rooting for an advantage, then do so constructively. I do not tolerate groundless hate or slander on this blog. If I catch you doing such a thing in the notes, be it in the tags or reblogs, I will block you.

Know one of the shows above and not satisfied with how it’s presented in this tournament? Just fill up this form, where you can submit revisions for taglines, propaganda, trigger warnings, and/or video.

[strayslost]

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR MOOTS BETTER !

Fill out the info sheet below & tag your friends to do the same ! Repost , don’t reblog !

🌊 🐇

Name / Pen-name : Meri!

Pronouns : She/her (okay with they/them too!)

Country / Region : England.

Timezone : GMT

Age / Age group : 25, as of this month!

Favourite colours : Pink, turquoise/teal, yellow, cream & brown, and maybe green too???

Favourite foods : How can you expect me to choose!! if I listed them all I'd be here all day ;~; I suppose a couple are cheesecake, custard (and sweets/cakes generally tbh), spaghetti bolognese, salmon... I've gone too braindead to think of more, sorry :')

Non - RP Hobbies ? : Watching/reading anime, manga and visual novels (when I've got the executive function for it), music, video games, decoration/design, and working on my own stories/songs! I'd love to stream someday, but I'm a bit too nervous to start atm, haha. Same with blogging about some of the things that are important to me - I'd love to do more in that regard, but I'm not really sure where to start.

Favourite animal : BUNNIES and sea creatures in general!! In particular, octopi, sea otters and sea turtles have my whole heart <33

Any allergies ? : I actually have had an allergic reaction to something like. once in my life, but unfortunately I have no idea what it was to, otl ;w; so uhhh. I guess my answer is a "not really"??

Favourite Season : Ooooh, I can't choose. Aesthetically, maybe summer or winter, with autumn close behind. In practice, I'm terrible with temperatures that are too hot or too cold, though!

Scents you like : Vanilla and coffee! Though my sense of smell is pretty bad generally, I'd say these are my favorites.

Coffee / tea / hot cocoa : Tea (with a bit of sugar!). Hot cocoa can be great too, and I don't like the taste of coffee, but I do benefit from the effects of caffeine, so I tend to drink lattes instead.

How long have you been in your current fandom ? : for BSD, it's only been about a year! Actually, I'm pretty sure I got into the series sometime around December 2022, since that's when I first made my Chuuya blog?? It's pretty quickly risen to the spot of my favourite piece of media ever though, at least currently, so congrats to BSD are in order, I think!

Do you prefer to ‘ wing ’ your threads or discuss plots with your partner during or ahead of time ? : I enjoy both! I think my favourite thing to do is to have or discuss a general idea for the starter/thread, for example like... "my muse is time traveling from the future to meet yours", or "my muse discovers a secret yours is hiding," so like basic plotting, and then just seeing where things go from there. But I absolutely enjoy winging it too/just seeing what happens, and I love just as much when my partners have something they particularly want to explore and let me know, so I'm pretty flexible in that regard, I think! (aka send me your wishlists >:) )

Are you okay with getting to know your RP partners outside of writing / becoming good online friends or even offline friends ? : 100000%, honestly I would love this so much! But full warning in advance, I am... very bad at being active and replying to messages quickly in general, otl. I don't have many friends irl as a result of this, even though I really would really like to make more... unfortunately my functioning issues in most areas of my life are pretty bad and this extends to maintaining conversations too. HOWEVER, you're absolutely always welcome to message me whenever you'd like, even if I haven't replied to your last message yet! I find that this can help prompt me to reply to my old messages as well, and I can promise you that my slow replies are absolutely not an indication that I don't want to talk with you or of how I feel about you - I'm just very awkward and find socializing hard, but that doesn't stop me from really enjoying talking with you nonetheless!! (This applies to my RP reply speeds too, tbh) There's way more I could say on this but I might make it it's own post tbh, this section is already getting too long. tl;dr i love you all, let's be friends!! <33

Finally , what are your favourite genres of RP ?: I'm not so good at defining genres, so instead I'll say - I love angst and conflict between characters but also resolving conflicts too, seeing characters get to know and relate to each other better... I'm a big fan of threads with supernatural elements, in particular those that are shocking to the characters, and of secrets being revealed generally too! Exploring character's insecurities and beliefs and having them change their perspective is great as well... basically, I'd say I enjoy "meaty" threads with lots of emotions or action over like slice-of-life, casual interactions, but even those can be fun if they're well done, honestly!

Tagged by : @chaosbled ( thank you so much!!! ;w;)

Tagging : I haven't been logged in enough to know who's done this already if I'm honest so I'm just gonna say anyone who wants to and hasn't done it yet - say I tagged you! <3

[decadentlightthing-blog]

“He who controls the mind controls the minds of the public.” - Noam Chomsky & Jim Morrison.

Most of us accept the fact that social media shortens our attention span.

But do we really understand the fact that it does not only do that, but much more - affecting our whole way of thinking?

“But it doesnt affect me” Is a commonly cited quote, which might be relevant to many readers of this text too. This is a projection of our everyday consciousness, which is ignorance. Our minds are very selective, and we are very prone to live in a one firmly set of habits. 

And in our day to day life, what are we actually working with, internally? 

If one can really be honest about this, one can observe that Memory is mostly being acted upon for the most part. That’s the main instrument that we are playing with. But there’s a downside to using primarily just memory. As wears out the brain, and gradually, when one gets old, brain gets slower and slower.

Unfortunately this has been taken as some sort of a fundamental truth, like there’s no other way to live, act, and learn. This is a very concerning trait of our Western culture. 

Piling up knowledge into our brains without really facing the fact that our brain has limited capacity, there are inevitable consequences and therefore the fragmentation of the brain will happen. The increasing amount of distractions in society and modern lifestyle takes us away from our true nature which is far beyond the common way of life, with a biased way of thinking and superficial emotional life.

What over indulgence of social media and the noncritical way of internalizing information does to us internally, is that it evades that essential spaciousness needed for the mind.

We don’t seem to realize that “Nothing is something”.

I strongly encourage you to take a step towards a better life and for the next moment when you notice yourself caught in the same behaviour pattern, just stop. When you’re after short term pleasures or constantly amusing yourself with entertainment, take a moment to reflect on your life. 

Another phenomenon of our state of mind is that “ It is not that deep bro “, also known as Postmodernism. This I wont go into into any further in this post.

Going back to what I was saying, it is essential for us to not always try to fill our boredom with something. Fun fact, indigenious people did not have a word for boredom. They were so aligned with nature, and the nature of universe, which is a gift and the alignment to that naturally brings out gratitude to oneself. Indigenious people would be stimulated to just see that the green is grass, wind is blowing, and the sky is blue. And the culture was more about mutual good. Meanwhile in our modern culture mental disorders are becoming more and more complex. 

Where do we go from here?

Order in the mind can only come out of the understanding of disorder.

Looking at ‘what is’, presently operating in the mind, IS in in fact disorder.

Our everyday consciousness, like previously said, is ignorance. 

There are at least 6 grand illusions that are inherited from the very beginning of our childhood, and are encouraged by educational system. 

1) The illusion of thought 2) The illusion of self 3) The illusion of knowledge 4) The illusion of time 5) The illusion of control 6) The illusion of fear.

Look up: Self-enquiry

It is also to mention, that division inevitably brings about conflict. Very dangerous way of thinking is that there’s one truth, that my side is the good side, and others are bad. This is just one trait of the habits of War, and all the ugliness in the world made by man.

Last words,

althought I might paint a very gloomy picture of our way of living, I see the radical honesty of that fact as essential. And it does not end there, this is perhaps the more important part. Once we really delve into this ‘living’ we call, we can start to go beyond it. A one single moment, an insight can bring about radical change in oneself. Maintaining this positive change within oneself, implies constant awareness of unawareness. Being present when our negative impulses kick in, we’re there in the moment and in that we have all the power to act rationally, sanely, and not to go along with it.

[fly-sky-high-09]

Weeewaahwoowhummm (slight tmi bellow with more Teo stuff, it's past 5:30am and I am sweating from my warm room while cooling off)

After few days, it seems like I can tell Teo has been urinating on his own just fine now. He use to do small but multiple rounds but now he's really going and hopefully no struggle!

The slightly bad news is that, at first, he was reluctant to even enter the bathroom with the litter box inside but as soon as we changed the litter it was no issue. Strange how that works, he might have sceneted how his old pee was now astrange with a new diet or something? Because the litter was just about fresh even then, I changes it and washed the box right before he got this issue going on

Anyway, he is doing better now, still shying from the bathroom due to probably traumatic experience of me "wrangling" him to open and close the catheter while peeing in pain but he has to get use to it being safe again

So he did started entering the bathroom more bravely and he does use his litter... To poop in it. But when it comes to peeing, as good as he got with it, he's either missing the box or pissing right next to it. I can't teally tail him to see, especially since he absolutely dislikes having me around close to the bathroom after all that catheter mess and connecting me letting him pee on the bathroom floor while he's yelling in pain when pushing the urine out

Traumatized boy... :( I hope he will trust me again with time but even if he doesn't it's ok, understandable, have a nice day

What's important is that his urine is much clearer now and he has no issues peeing. The only obstacle seems to be the bathroom lol but I don't want to bother him about correction on where to pee just yet. I'm just really glad that he can ;w;

The luck in bad luck is that the blockage happened earlier while his struvite crystals were still not as dangerous of a level but still making an issue so this quick shift in diet seems to be doing wonders!

It's pricy food because it's medical but the good bit is that he's not demanding more than what we give him for various parts of the day when he usually eats. With his old food, he always seemed to yell for more and eat more until he felt full. I don't really understand the whole nutrition value with cat food but I'll assume the old bad food wasn't as helpful as I thought... Which is a shame, I wish I knew it sooner.

The worst bit is that when ever I was looking up locally sold brands of cat food everyone claimed different shit about different brands! And I complained about this to the vet and she rolled her eyes like "trust me, I know" then explained to me that majority of the brands here commercializating so much are usually the not good ones but also that they can't be fully blamed as proper cat diet is not something that can be packed with what they usually need.

Cats both feed and hydrate on kills originally and unlike with dogs, they still retain that need for their physiology to maintain itself, they aren't bred out of it so technically no cat food will be able to replace that. She said it's one of the main reasons why cats suffer with crystals and stones so much that it's potentially lethal: cats lacking hydrating from killed food and drinking water instead, as well as oats filled mixes to make them full instead nutritioned like real meat

Realistically, making your own food for cats it the best option but it's not something everyone can do or afford (<- she didn't say that but I assume since I noticed a lot of folks in yt videos with cats actually do make their own cat food for their cats resembling fresh meat and such)

Anyway, Teo is on anti-struvite food for the rest of his life. Which is great, since now I'm sure he both loves this food and is keeping him healthier than before! Reading the ingredients inside it's a decent mix of various poultry meat and oils, fish and such. Frankly it smells tasty! No oats!

He has to go for an ultrasound soonish to check back on the amount of crystals inside him

As for me, I still have some heart palpitations and nervous stomach every now and again during the day :') the stress got me really good this time around I am a little concerned but also know this happened before and will probably stop once things get fully back to normal and I stop over worrying (I am anxious snail I can't help myself)

Which, idk how long will last because august is so soon and mom was still suppose to check in for the pace maker implant... If her doctor would actually call her back for a check up and process results to the committee before then... But it's been two months so.... Idk wtf is going on :I she still has hospital surgery consultations scheduled for august so... I guess we'll see?? Sigh

[realestatecalendars101]

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