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dino-fart · 1 year

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The Bargain | Chapter 1: Routine

Pairing: Namor x Female Reader

Genre: Action, Adventure, Romance

Summary: To say you had a complicated relationship history was an understatement. Your ex was well...Not of this world? Yet he seemed to always find his way to you. One day he shows up with his new girlfriend asking for your help. You promise to assist if he never shows his face again. What is it he needs you for? And what are you all going to find when deep diving into the Atlantic Ocean?

I love you but my kingdom needs me...

I’m sorry...I choose...

No! Stop! I’ve made my decision!

Leave her to die!

You shot up from the bed and panted heavily. You wiped the sweat off of your head and reached over for your phone.

3:00 am...

You sighed and set your phone down. You got up from the bed and headed to the bathroom. Your eyes looked up at the reflection of you. Your hair was a mess, the bags under your eyes, and sweat dripped from your head. You looked sick. You turned on the cold water and washed your face.

The person that looked back at you in the mirror wasn’t the person you knew a few months ago. Everything started when you met him...You rubbed your eyes and went back to bed, maybe you could fall back asleep? Or maybe you were just kidding yourself and you would lie awake with night terrors as you have been.

After an hour of lying there, you got up and slipped on a jacket over your tank top and changed from shorts to sweatpants. You walked into your home library and sat at the desk, opening your laptop and continuing your research. The sun’s rays shined through the curtains and you grumbled. You picked your head up from the laptop keyboard and grabbed your phone.

8:00 am...

Time to get up and go. Well, at least you were able to go back to sleep, even if it was for a little bit. You went to your bedroom and put on a collared long-sleeved blue blouse, black slacks, and black ballet flats. You tied your hair in a bun and grabbed your purse. Being the owner of a museum your schedule was flexible.

This means you would find yourself in your therapy appointments every morning at 9:00 am sharp. You sat on the armchair across from your therapist there with your legs crossed and impatiently tapping your foot on the ground.

“Did you want to talk today?” Your therapist asked.

“What’s there to talk about?”

“Your night terrors...Are they getting better? Are you able to sleep without falling asleep at the laptop?”

“Nope.”

“I want...Delve into what happened to you...What started all this? You told me when we first met that your ex tried to drown you?”

“His side piece did.”

“Right, but he was there, and...Didn’t help you?”

“Yeah...”

“That must’ve been horrible. I can understand your fear of water.”

“I’m not afraid of water,” You quickly snapped at them, “I’m afraid of riptides...��

Your therapist was quiet and observed your body language. “You know it’s okay to talk about it here. That’s why I’m here right? It’s what you pay me for. Why see a therapist if you don’t want to talk?” They asked gently.

“I didn’t want to see one. My friend forced me to.” You corrected.

“Your friend?”

“...My aunt.”

Your therapist nodded and closed their book. They gave you a sympathetic smile, a type of smile you hated. It was a smile you constantly got whenever your story was shared.

“Don’t pity me...I made a stupid mistake that nearly got me killed.” You scoffed.

“Everyone makes mistakes. When you’re in love, you make all kinds of mistakes. Sometimes you don’t realize it until you’ve left the person.”

“Yeah well, guess I was stupidly in love.”

“...Have you picked up a hobby? Besides spelunking in caves?” Your therapist said changing subjects.

“I started sketching...It’s just been landscapes to help me memorize when I go research.” You shrugged.

“Good, that’s good! Maybe next session you can show me?”

“Maybe.” You said cautiously.

“Well that’s our time, see you tomorrow?” Your therapist stood up and offered their hand to you.

You stood up and shook it, “Guess so.” You were escorted out of the office and headed back to your museum.

The bustling city of Madison, Wisconsin was constantly backed up with traffic. You finally made it and walked into the museum. You made a beeline to your office upstairs and shut the door.

A knock on the door made you jump and you turned to open it. “Hey boss, you forgot to say hello!” The older security guard smiled.

You gave him a small smile and nodded, “I did, sorry about that.”

“It’s okay boss, I know you’re getting back into the swing of things after your travels. Take it easy okay?” He smiled and gave you a goodbye wave.

You waved goodbye and watched your door shut, “Unfortunately I don’t know what that means.” You sighed and walked over to your desk and began your work.

Night came and you were now downstairs at the Mayan exhibit. The museum was closed and everyone left. You sat on a stool over the coin display case, polishing the coins and checking for any scratches. You adjusted your eyeglasses when you examined them. You weren’t worried about authenticity, you were the ones that uncovered them after all.

You heard a knock on the door but ignored it, some teenagers were probably playing a trick, or someone scoping the place out to steal. You heard the knocking again and put your wireless earbuds in and turned on some music to block out the knocking. You continued to polish the coins and fixed the description on the name plates. You got to the final coin and polished it as you did with the others. The coin shined like new and you titled it away from you slightly. You froze when you saw the reflection of the coin of a man. You dropped the coin and looked up immediately.

“Hello, my friend!” The man said cheerfully.

Author’s Note: So I only tagged the reblogs and replies because there are SOOO many of you who liked the summary and preview uwu, so continuing on you can either reblog or reply to be added or just keep an eye out for the fic under the ‘Namor x Reader’ tag! Thank you all for the support and love!

Dividers By: @firefly-graphics

Tagging: @clea-strange-is-the-way, @bontensbabygirl, @deputy-videogamer, @anthonyedwinstark, @fangirlingbookworm1, @theyluvremi, @bbylime, @redcrayonsforwanda, @sidefanficaccounttohidemyshame, @missbeverlyhills, @bluskyy30, @sonadowloverf-blog, @spctorstrnge, @justanotherfanhere, @britty443, @lilithskywalker, @tzurue, @lego0city123, @livingdeadgirl7, @bl6o6dy, @didneyworld13, @bookfrog247, @thicc101q

#namor x reader #namor x you

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dollsonmain · 4 months

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Ok, Son's at school. I didn't realize they're getting out early on Thursday instead of on Friday, so I have a lot less alone time before another long holiday break than I thought.

Ugh. I do honestly like spending time with my Son, but not the noise videos he likes. They hurt. He's good about understanding when I can't take it anymore, though, and will either go in another room or is comfortable with me going down to the basement for a while.

I think maybe we'll listen to some of those records that I found unbearable together over the holiday. I think Son might like those, and while I don't like them, it doesn't mean he's not allowed to.

Still need to get a record cleaning kit.

That Guy is pushing both Son and me to get jobs somewhere in town without cars. I'm like, how we get to work????

He usually yells at me that I'm making excuses, then yesterday in the car yelled that he'd drive us, and had already said that.

He never said that.

He said he'd get Son a car once Son got his license, and then Son could take himself to work, and every time I mention how would I get to work he's said I'm making excuses and also said that I'd get the job first and then we'd figure out transportation which is illogical.

Not once did he say he intended to personally drive us to work, at least not until yesterday.

I don't think he means that anyway.

How's he going to do that? He leaves for work at 5 am, and if I don't start until like 9am to 6pm because I'd have to work full time to qualify for insurance which is what this is all about, I mean, I'm not sitting around my workplace for an extra 4-5 hours before my shift especially if I happen to find an office job and the office is closed until work time. That's just not possible in the winter.

Then he has to be home in time to drive Son to work after school but if he's not getting to work himself until 9 or 10 am because he has to drive me, then he's not getting home until 7 or 8 because it's a long commute (1 hr 15 minutes one way) to HIS work, and Son's work would probably be something like 5 to 10pm because he is a teenager in school.

Then he'd be having to go pick me up around 6 pm, and Son at maybe 10pm. They'd get home around 11.

The only other option is that I manage to stumble upon some legitimate work-from-home (I'd rather work outside and interact with people; I've been trapped in this house and isolated for 16 years) or work overnights, but he's vetoed the idea of me working nights because he doesn't want to sleep alone.

Depending on where Son and I would be working we might be able to manage our schedules such that Son goes to work right after school (5pm or so start time, gives him time to come home, shower, get dressed, and leave again) and then I start work when Son's shift is ending so that That Guy makes one trip to town to drop Son off at work, another to pick up Son and drop me off and that would be roughly 9:30 pm to 10:30 pm if we happen to work in the same place or at least nearby each other. He'd get home and get to bed around 11. Then That Guy has to come and get me at 7am which is right after Son gets on the bus (meaning That Guy would have to get up with Son in the morning to make sure he got on the bus because I wouldn't be there), bring me home, and then he might be leaving for work around 8:30 am assuming he did his morning get-ready before leaving to get me. Gets to work at 9:30, works the full shift so off work at 6:30 pm, then gets home at 7:30, though more like 8:30 or even 9 due to rush hour traffic out of the DC Metro area and at that point Son's missed most of his work shift...

It's the same as the insurance thing. He demands it happens then gets in the way of it happening and blames others for it not happening.

What he needs to do to make this work the way he wants it to is get at least one more car that son and I could share or for us to move somewhere the two of us can walk to work.

Either way, it's going to cost him money to not have to spend his money on us and he's short circuiting trying to figure out how to make this all work without him spending any money.

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444meat · 2 months

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this post is a bit long but please read it if you do not have a sleep disorder, more specifically if you don't have a circadian rhythm disorder, i need y'all to understand something

i never thought i would have to write this, but yes, sleep disorders can be incredibly disabling. my sleep disorder is a disability.

i had to drop out of highschool as soon as i was legally able to do so. i had health issues my entire life, both physical and mental, but the brunt of my physical health issues started when i was fourteen. i had to repeat grades and certain classes due to frequent absences. by the time i was sixteen, i could not attend school without a manual wheelchair. as a young adult now, i can't leave my house without a powerchair if i'll be expected to walk more than five minutes, and even then, it's much better for me to just use one unless it's totally impossible. on top of that, i experience flu-like symptoms that make leaving my house extraordinarily difficult. by the time i dropped out, these symptoms were disabling enough to keep me home, though they were not as bad as they are now.

i bring this up to point out that i am otherwise physically disabled, and to carry on to say that these symptoms were not the driving factor to me dropping out. living in a major city, there is a significant chance that i could have found a school to attend which could accommodate me. it would not be easy and i would still have a much harder time than other students, but it would be an avenue worth exploring. i would be able to try it. considering my financial situation, i would have been able to afford a private school. i could do online schooling. there were options.

because of my sleep disorder, we literally could not even look.

my waking hours vary wildly from day to day. sometimes for weeks at a time i will wake up after sunset and fall asleep after the sun has risen. i've had weeks where my sleep schedule more closely resembled friends i had made on the other side of the world than people i knew in person. even then, i cannot properly adjust to being awake at night, because there are also times when i'm awake on a seemingly normal schedule.

i briefly attended an asynchronous online school before dropping out. it was the best one i could access. it was awful. the lessons were bad, the teachers were bad, the work was bad... not even only in quality. there was a lot of ableism and other bigotries that demoralised me. because i couldn't attend the virtual classes due to my sleep schedule, i also fell behind academically, and because of my other health issues, i didn't have the energy to catch up.

making doctors appointments is terrifying because i never know what my sleep schedule will be like when the time comes. most doctors in my area are extremely booked. i've missed a rheumatology appointment and had to reschedule for six months in the future, and because i had to stop taking my pain meds from GI side effects and my allergy meds stopped working, i had to go without any medication that entire time. i physically cannot force myself to wake up without getting enough sleep because my body is fragile and i will start experiencing severe & unbearable symptoms of my other disorders. these cannot be pushed through. i cannot even try.

the "best doctor" for circadian rhythm issues in my area — a major city, might i remind you — only takes patients during early morning hours. this is not a joke. despite the most common circadian rhythm disorder causing people to wake up late and fall asleep late, the guy who is the "best" for treating them doesn't see people after 11 am. it is easier for me to maintain a 'wake up at 3pm, fall asleep at 6am' schedule than a 'wake up at 3am, fall asleep at 6pm' schedule. i cannot see this doctor. when i briefly managed one appointment with his secretary, she just told me to set an alarm and fall asleep at the same time every day. that was all of her advice. like i have not tried that.

as far as i'm aware, there is a single medicine approved to treat the condition i have. last time i checked, it costs something like three thousand US dollars a month. 6 times as much as my old heart meds, which were already very difficult to get covered, even with really good health insurance. the meds supposedly take months to even start working.

i had a delayed sleep wake rhythm my entire life and ran on very little sleep to get to school, to the point that i started uncontrollably falling asleep at school after my health issues started and necessitated more energy than my body had. my sleep cycle started moving forwards as it does now when i was sixteen. before i stopped attending, i would frequently attend school on 0 hours of sleep, get home, and fall asleep immediately.

the world is not built for people with circadian rhythm disorders. my sleep disorder makes functioning on a normative level impossible.

i NEED people without sleep disorders to stop treating this like it's some funky and low stakes thing to deal with. i am so tired of having people tell me they 'wish they could be nocturnal' or that they 'love staying up all night' when i tell them about my sleep disorder. you DO NOT want this, and this is VERY DIFFERENT from occasionally staying up late for fun. yes, being awake during nighttime hours can be freeing. it stops being freeing when you have no choice on the matter, have to be socially isolated for weeks on end, cannot reliably schedule doctors appointments, cannot attend school or work any job with specific hours, cannot maintain an eating schedule or a schedule for taking medication because you're never awake at normal times, etc etc etc.

and it's not as simple as taking melatonin. when i take melatonin it stops working after two uses and the times it does work i get at most 3 hours of non-restorative sleep and my sleep schedule either goes back to what it was before the next day or gets significantly worse much faster than it normally would. it's not as simple as not using screens. i've been in settings without screens for months and still had it happen. i've lied down for 8 hours trying to sleep and failed. there is no easy fix. this is how my body works.

yes it's a disability. no you don't want it. it's not a quirky character trait. think before you speak please.

a note: this is not intended to state that being otherwise disabled is not also a valid or genuine reason for dropping out of school. there's a good chance i would've had to drop out anyways, and i can't attend school now with how my symptoms have progressed, regardless of the sleep schedule. i wanted to illustrate how the combination of a sleep disorder and other chronic illness makes my life significantly more difficult and how it reduces my access to accommodations and care.

#n24 #n24swd #circadian rhythm #circadian rhythm disorder #sleep disorder #disability #✂️#words

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poisonousquinzel · 2 years

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Hey y'all, I really hate to be making a post like this, but in true 2020 2.0 fashion, life has been... rough.

I've been trying to get a job in my city since May, but I've been denied because of my health issues.

We also don't have a car. And our town is small so while we technically have a bus, it comes by near my house once per day and isn't reliable.

My mom can't work and my step dad's online work has been stretched dry recently so he's been making bare minimum for months.

I had been under the impression in the beginning of May that I would have the assistance of my parents in this, I've never done most of this before and they made it sound like my mom would help me.

However that wasn't really the case, personal stuff happened for them and I don't necessarily blame them for that, but then in June I got denied for a job because "I have too many health issues" and my step dad told me that we'd get back to it after my birthday. (Post 12th)

I've asked my step dad every morning when I wake up what we're going to do that day, because he had said he was going to be the one handling the job stuff when we started again.

And every day we've done whatever it is he said. We walked up to 7-11, turned in an application, looked up online jobs, etc.

We did the same on Wednesday and the only reason I didn't keep looking into more of them that afternoon was because I had a migraine. And when I have migraines they're not just headaches and they're not just migraines.

It's something I've been working through with my doctor about, because my previous long term doctor since childhood was completely incompetent at her job.

When I get migraines, it makes me nauseous. And being nauseated makes my heart slow down and I faint or collapse.

I can't sleep, it hurts to close my eyes or move them behind my eyelids. It feels like it's sparking against metal with every movement.

I've had to go to the hospital for it in the past when I collapsed into a pile of bags and was barely breathing, my previous doctor just... didn't look at the hospital's report on my visit. Like when I tell you in hindsight she really sucked, she really fucking sucked.

So, yeah, I slept a lot on Wednesday. I wasn't thrilled about it either.

And I told my step dad that I'd do all that stuff on Thursday.

My physical state was pretty visibly clear, I couldn't leave my extra darkened room without wearing sunglasses even though it was 8:30 at night.

But, then on Thursday instead I got into a really heated discussion with the two of them.

And... I am just very, very tired now.

I panic called my therapist 5 times in less than 10 minutes afterwards. It was a really bad day.

Thankfully I was able to get back to back emergency appointments with her and my doctor yesterday morning so dw emotionally wise. But I don't know how I'd be fairing if I hadn't been able to get those scheduled.

But Long Story Short:TLDR: we are a couple of weeks away from being on the streets.

Or in a shelter. We wouldn't be able to bring any of our cats. We would lose all of them.

I don't want to beg, but I suppose I am cause I'm terrified

We're behind on bills and next months are just around the corner, we've run out of local resources here that can help. I don't know all of the specifics, but I do know we're out of options.

If you're in a good financial situation and you feel like it, if you can, literally anything would help.

It'd mean the world. I don't want to end up on the streets or in a shelter, and I really don't want to lose my cats.

I can't.

They're the only thing keeping me going, so, please

PayPal •

[email protected]

Cashapp • $Poisonousquinzel

reblogs and signal boosting are also super appreciated!!

#signal boost #financial help #donations #rent assistance

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spei-sidus · 9 months

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Moonlit Musings

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

No Archive Warnings

Written for UsaMamo Week 2023, Day 7

Usagi was on her way back from Tokyo Tower, where she had been unwinding during the night, when Mamoru's out on a jog. Mamoru's protective instincts lead him to ask Usagi out on a date. Centered around Tokyo Tower.

I tried to get this out on time, but it struck midnight on me - irony of ironies. Well here you go. Thanks for reading.

I spent the day researching Azabu Juban, Tokyo Skytree, and Tokyo Tower...there's a lot I don't know yet. I've been an avid fan of Sailor Moon fanfiction for years, but I never really delved into the depths of the settings in which these stories take place, something that I was starkly reminded of when reading stories by FloraOne, for example. I'm really grateful I managed to complete this week's prompts, for my first ever usamamo week. It's been a dream of mine for a while, but I never thought I'd stumble into one shortly after I started writing fanfiction! So thank you, thank you, thank you.

Chapter 1

Sailor Moon perched upon one of the upper ledges of Tokyo Skytree. The youma battle had taken them further east tonight. Sailor Moon was feeling contemplative and in no hurry to head home. The battle had stopped a little after Tokyo Skytree went dark at 11 PM. She was going to linger for a while and then head towards Tokyo Tower, the tower that was the beacon to her little home in Azabujuban, hopefully timing it so that she’d get there at midnight. Sailor Moon could linger under the veil of darkness and think to her heart’s content.

It was strange, she thought, looking at the expanse below. Both had amazing views, but Tokyo Skytree - the tallest tower in the world and double the height of Tokyo Tower - made the world distinctly diminutive. Looking at Earth from such great heights seemed very familiar to her - as if staring at the Earth from space should seem familiar.

She loved the night. It made her energized. It made her tingle with awareness. She attributed it to her connection to the moon, the source of her power. She believed she’d happily be a night person if she didn’t have to go to school early in the mornings. She’d rather be up with the moon drawing or reading manga or trying some delicious food. Who knows what she would do if she had the optimal timeframe in which to exist? No, she had to conform to a Monday through Friday 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM schedule, with homework on top of that. She slept in bits and pieces because she had to – and because it was broken sleep, it was never enough, so of course she looked like she was a sleepyhead all the time. It was frustrating to have the others chide and mock her for her sleeping habits without being able to explain why. Or if she did explain, they’d probably minimize it and tell her to get over it somehow. As if magic worked that way. Maybe it did? The other Senshi were certainly more in tune with their powers and sleeping habits. It was only her that was out of sorts. Did they ever get issues if their planets entered a certain place in the zodiac chart? She didn’t think she could ask Ami about it without letting her in on her struggles.

Tonight was a Friday night. No school tomorrow – she could sleep in all day. Or would if her mother didn’t whack her awake by noon. Good habits and all of that. Nonetheless, noon was certainly better than seven. She was going to take advantage of it. This was going to be her time, away from Luna and the girls and annoying, gorgeous upperclassmen that made her think things probably no girl her age should. Oh, who was she kidding? She was a teenager, fifteen, for goodness’ sake. Her hormonal body vacillated between her nemesis and her savior without care even in one night of fantasies and self…care. They both made her tingle with a different kind of awareness. She didn’t understand why it had to be with two different guys – and two unattainable guys at that: one taunting, insulting, and generally denigrating towards herself; the other, while chivalrous and inspiring, was also distant and insistent she treat him as an enemy since they had different goals.

She started heading out towards Tokyo Tower at 11:45 PM, wondering if she’d get there at midnight. She decided to make a game of it, dashing from rooftop to rooftop with an exuberance that had her rolling after some leaps. She half thought to hold back a little, but she was having too much fun – it was so much like her morning dash to school. She needn’t have worried – she got there just after the tower went dark.

Perfect.

She settled in, staring out from her familiar vantage point, smiling softly at the city below. They were her people, and she was proud to protect them. She hoped they were getting decent sleep, without nightmares. She worked hard to give them hope despite the terrors the youma were causing daily. No matter how terrified she was and underqualified she felt, she was proud to be in a place to do something good for the world. It was worth losing sleep over, getting even worse grades than before, getting scolded by nearly everyone. She knew everyone, in their way, wanted her to be her best self. She wasn’t very good at balancing everything like her Senshi, but she wasn’t going to give up, because to give up would mean to let Tokyo – all of what she could see from up here, and more – down.

She didn’t know everyone in Tokyo (or in the world, for that matter, but Tokyo was the only place terrorized for whatever reason), but she loved them, loved them blindly with the abandon that only Tsukino Usagi would do. Like the moon; she loved them, protected them, and shone the light needed to navigate the darkness, all without discrimination or reservation. She wanted to affect change, as the moon made waves, while being unwavering herself. Strong in her devotion. Strong in her ability to protect. Strong to always love no matter what.

She didn’t know how long she sat there, her mind wandering under the moonlit sky, but when she finally shifted to leave, she felt rejuvenated, uplifted, and calm.

She surreptitiously dropped her henshin shortly after descending from the tower, deciding that she would enjoy a good, meditative walk. As she wove through the light traffic of pedestrians and bicyclists, she came across someone she’d never thought she’d see at that time of night. “Mamoru-baka?” she asked incredulously.

He started. “Odango Atama?!” He checked his watch. “It’s 4 AM and you’re not in bed? Are you sick?!”

“I’m perfectly fine, baka,” she said with a scowl.

“Then what are you doing out at night like this?” he said with a scowl of his own.

“Walking,” she said shortly, “and judging from your attire, you’re jogging.”

He blinked. “I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to do my jog earlier than I usually do.”

“Jogging in the morning sounds like such a you thing to do.”

“But not you,” he countered, getting the conversation back on track.

“I couldn’t sleep either,” she said with a shrug, “so I was hanging around Tokyo Tower.”

“In the dark, alone?”

“Sure. It’s very peaceful there.”

“Why not go when it’s lit?”

“I like it better in the dark.”

A moment passed. “The next time you want to go, do you want me to go with you?”

The weight of that offer fell onto the both of them. Usagi’s mouth went dry. “Um, sure. We can wait until after the lights go out before, you know, going.”

“Right,” he said gruffly. “Unless you’d rather go early to get as much time as possible?”

“So…get there at midnight?”

“...That would be what I’m saying.”

“Wow,” Usagi managed, her heart galloping at a fast rate. “You - you’d do that - with me?”

He nodded, wide eyed, as if he didn’t realize what he’d let slip and was barely catching up to that fact.

She smiled. “Okay,” she said. “It’s a date.”

To Be Continued…

Chapter 2

Date, she had said, finalizing the symbolism of what they were about to do. Only couples went to see Tokyo Tower at midnight.

He stared at her, speechless for once. Had he really, finally, asked her out? Although going to Tokyo Tower at midnight was a bit too intense, too rushed for a couple that was just barely getting together. Or were they? “Do you mean a date date?”

She frowned. “Didn’t you?” she asked in utter confusion.

“I did,” he admitted, releasing the truth he’d masked for so long now. “But perhaps you’d like an actual date first?”

She gaped as everything caught up with her. “You really are asking me out,” she said incredulously.

“I only asked you initially to keep you from getting hurt at night, Odango. You really shouldn’t be out this late at your age-”

“What kind of date?”

The question threw him. He hadn’t expected her to accept. “Well, we could visit the tower beforehand. The second level has good views.”

“It does,” she said with a smile. “But that will only hold our attention for so long. I wouldn’t mind hanging out at Momiji Waterfall for a bit. I’m a lover of nature.”

“So am I,” he said with surprise. He never would’ve thought whirlwind Odango would be interested in the peacefulness of nature.

“Of course we have to go to that curry place nearby, CoCo Ichibanya. I love curry, and it’s not that expensive. I think it’ll be open until midnight, too.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Mamoru said with a smile.

“Yeah.” She took a deep breath. “This is weird, don’t you think?”

He shook his head slowly. “No, I’d say this was a long time coming. I promise it’ll just be fun.”

“Okay,” she said, trying to picture it. “I bet we’ll fight like cats and dogs though.”

He smirked. “I’m okay with that. It’s our thing.”

Our thing. She blushed. “So...when do we do this?”

“It’s already Saturday morning. Have you even slept?” When she shook her head, he frowned. “Then I don’t think we should do this today. What about next Saturday? We’ll make a day of it.”

“Okay,” she said shyly, butterflies erupting in her stomach. She was going to go on her first date! With Chiba Mamoru! “Well, I’ll see you then!” she said as she turned to walk away. He automatically followed her. She stopped and waited. “Sorry, I forgot you’d want to walk me home.”

“I don’t know why you’d think otherwise,” he retorted as he matched her stride. “I’m not leaving my girlfriend out in the middle of the city when it’s not even dawn.”

“Girlfriend?” she echoed faintly, her heart thundering in her chest. How many shocks could her body handle in one day?

“Okay, maybe that’s going too fast,” he relented. “But you get what I mean.”

“Yeah, okay,” she said dumbly, leading the way to her house. They walked in silence. When they got to the corner of her street she turned to him awkwardly. “See you around,” she said lamely.

“Arcade this afternoon? Or will you still be sleeping?”

“Oh, I’ll be up by noon. Mama won’t have it otherwise. I’ll be there.”

He nodded in satisfaction, gave a mock salute, and jogged away, leaving one dumbfounded Senshi of the Moon.

To Be Continued…

Chapter 3

Usagi went to bed feeling like everything that had just happened was nothing more than a daydream concocted from her wandering imagination while she sat a little too long on that ledge of Tokyo Tower. It’s gotta be. She’d only imagined something like this, oh, hundreds of times, so how could it be that reality even remotely matched up to her dreams?

She must have fallen and hit her head somehow. Although that would’ve hurt a lot longer than it would take her Senshi healing to fix it.

She was close to hyperventilating. Only consideration for her slumbering feline guardian kept her from fully freaking out right there and then.

How was she supposed to act now? Everything was moving so fast. She went from worst enemies to dating! The arcade was their usual haunt for their verbal battles. She didn’t know how else to interact with him. She reminded herself that he did say it was their “thing” to fight. So maybe another verbal battle would be in order? Business as usual…mostly…

She was so tired. Sleep beckoned her, causing her to squash her worries under its weight. She’d deal with it later. Much, much later.

__________________________________________

When she awoke, she was back to panicking.

“Usagi-chan, what’s wrong?” Luna asked.

She shook her head. Luna wouldn’t want to hear about her impending date, not when she was always going on about Senshi duties. A love life was just insignificant compared to their mission. “Nothing,” she mumbled. “Just a nightmare.” She pulled her clothes together and headed to the bathroom while Luna settled back into her earlier position. A quick shower refreshed her. She kept her outfit simple and normal: a pink dress that went to her knees, one she had worn many times. She wanted to look cute without trying too hard. Or so she told herself. She still half thought this was all just a weird dream.

A quick gathering of her things and she was off, walking to the arcade, her nerves getting the better of her. What if he’d just been impulsive? What if he’d changed his mind? What if he’d remembered all the things he’d called her in the time since they’d met and realized she was still very much undateable? She blinked away her tears and carried onward. She wasn’t going to know until she faced him. So with the strength and confidence she showed a youma in battle, she carried herself down the street and through the arcade doors. She found him sitting at the counter in his usual place, nursing his usual cup of coffee. She approached slowly, warily, as if he would suddenly turn around and shout, “Gotcha!” while laughing, rejecting her in the process. No, Mamoru would never do that to her. He was more of a gentleman than that.

“Hello,” she croaked as she stood behind him.

“Hello,” he murmured, turning slightly to face her.

She woodenly sat in the stool next to him, her bag tumbling carelessly onto the ground. “How was your day?” she asked awkwardly.

“I’ve been trying to stay busy the last few hours. I’ve tried to read. I’ve tried to write a paper due soon.”

“Oh,” she said, shuddering. Homework was an anathema to her.

“I can’t focus,” he confessed after taking a sip. “I’ve been waiting for you to get here since I got here after Motoki opened this morning.”

She shivered. “So this morning did happen?” she whispered.

His gaze darted to hers. “Yes it did.” Then hesitantly, he added, “Do you regret it?”

“No,” she said, a bit too forcefully. He winced. “No,” she said more softly. “Do you?”

“No,” he said vehemently. “As I said, it’s been a long time coming.”

“How long?” she asked. How long have you liked me?

“It’s come on so gradually I don’t even know.”

“It’s the same for me,” she admitted quietly. “The fights, they are…”

“Fun?” he suggested, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” she said sheepishly. “I’ve never done anything like that before with anyone else.”

“Exactly. It’s our thing.”

“So…what happens now?”

“What do you want to happen?”

“I need to order food first.” She opened her mouth to wave over Motoki but Mamoru beat her to it.

“Oi, Motoki-kun! Odango needs to fill her bottomless pit!”

Motoki walked swiftly over while Usagi started turning red like a tomato. “A bottomless pit?! You JERK!”

“Get her a double cheeseburger, a large fry, and a strawberry milkshake. Oh, and a strawberry mango smoothie with boba. My treat.”

Just like that, her anger diffused. “You’re buying me food?”

“Yep,” he replied like it was the most normal thing in the world - and, she supposed, it would be for a boyfriend to do for a girlfriend, but they weren’t even quite dating…yet.

“Can’t you call me by my real name?” she settled on, still peeved.

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“It’s unique and it’s our thing.” He tugged on one of her hair streamers.

She just blinked at him. He was acting so differently today, and yet, not - and she had no idea how to act around him.

“Relax, Odango. I’m not going to bite.”

She snorted. She thought of an image of a Mamoru-like youma biting her with amusement.

Her food came, and she was inhaling it in short order, hyper-aware of the male profile next to her, of the barest brush of his knee against hers.

“Thank you,” she got out after she’d finished off her smoothie - she was really stuffed from everything. She normally didn’t have the allowance to afford as much as he’d ordered for her.

“You’re welcome,” he said sincerely, glancing at her with tenderness. Her heart caught in her throat. He’d never looked at her like that before, and it made her feel funny inside.

The girls walked in then. Reluctantly, she slid off her seat, whispering, “I have to meet up with the girls. I’ll see you around, yeah?”

He regarded her with amusement. “Yes, indeed. Now run off to your friends. I have some studying to do.”

“Jerk,” she said, although the insult lacked any heat. She grabbed her bag in a hurry and started tripping. A hand shot out to steady her, to her mortification. His hand.

“Try not to trip all over yourself,” he breathed before releasing her.

The look in his eyes befuddled her brain. Whatever retort she had was lost. With a firm shake of her head she walked off to the booth where her friends sat impatiently waiting. Usagi tried desperately to keep up with the flow of the conversation, especially as pertaining to Senshi business, but her thoughts and her gaze kept straying to the upperclassman sipping coffee at the counter.

Chapter 4

Usagi avoided the arcade on Sunday. She needed time and space to think things through. It was all so sudden. She could hardly believe it. She could barely be in the same room as Mamoru without wanting to look at him.

She cried off going, using her homework as the excuse. The girls were shocked, but gave her the benefit of the doubt. Usagi put on some nature soundscapes then settled into her desk chair, pulling out her homework.

Luna watched, stunned speechless. Usagi ignored her, wanting desperately to prove herself - not only to her Senshi, but also to Mamoru, Mr. Straight A student. She felt her flaws now more than ever. She also had a theory she wanted to test…

She set a timer for twenty-five minutes, then set to work on her English assignment. She wrote notes. She brought out different colored highlighters. She drew. But she did get some sentences in. When the timer went off, she set a ten minute timer, then pulled out some manga.

“What are you doing?” Luna asked curiously.

“I’m trying something out that might help me study.”

“You’re turning your homework into art and barely getting anything done. Now you’re taking a break?”

“Hush, Luna. It’s part of the plan.” Luna huffed and turned away. Usagi tried to shrug off Luna’s dismissal. Usagi didn’t want to talk about it, but she suspected she had ADHD, and if true, then there were ways she could work around that issue to get things done - like homework. She was terrified to be wrong, though. What if the others thought it was just an excuse? What if she was making up things?

Well, there was no harm in just trying out some methods, right? It wasn’t the official diagnosis that was important, she reasoned. If the methods worked, maybe then she could confess her suspicions - because then it wouldn’t look like a bunch of excuses, at the very least.

How she was supposed to work around ADHD while being Sailor Moon she had no idea.

She set another twenty-five minute timer and worked some more on her English homework. She got frustrated halfway through the assignment though, so after her second break she pulled out her math homework. Three problems into that she gave up and started working on her Japanese. It wasn’t a lot that she got done, but she put in effort that she hadn’t before, so she counted that as a win - no matter how much Luna sighed.

“I’m going to Tokyo Tower,” she told Luna tiredly.

“It’s Sunday and almost midnight; shouldn’t you be going to bed?”

“I won’t be gone long. I just need to unwind.”

Luna grumbled under her breath about Usagi ‘unwinding’ already with manga. Usagi studiously ignored her.

“Moon Prism Power, Make Up!”

Then Sailor Moon was off, racing across the rooftops until she reached the top. Then she did a double take. “Tuxedo Kamen!”

“Sailor Moon,” he acknowledged from where he sat, as if it were normal he should be hanging out there, and at that time of night. “Youma?”

“No. I just wanted to relax.”

“By all means.” He indicated the area beside him. She accepted the invitation, leaving a few feet between them.

“I’ve not seen you here before.”

“Do you come here often?”

“I do,” she admitted. “I like to see the view.”

“It is nice,” he admitted.

They fell into silence. Sailor Moon felt hyper-aware of his presence, his slight movements. Her heart rate picked up its tempo, and she felt so warm, even in the cool air, that she wanted to fan herself. She reminded herself sternly that she had just accepted going on a date with another man. But it was Tuxedo Kamen! He was always swoonworthy. But due to her hyper-awareness, she noticed that he seemed to be scanning for something. “What’re you looking for?” she asked curiously.

He started. “Just making sure the people below us are safe,” he said.

How sweet! Even when there wasn’t a youma, he was still caring about people. “You’re a good person,” she said reverently. Here she would use the tower to take breaks, not scope out dangers!

He looked like he wanted to say something, but changed his mind. Silence fell over them again until he spoke.

“So, what did you do today?”

Such a mundane question. “Homework,” she said truthfully, proud to be able to be honest with him. “You?”

“Same.”

“What wonderful lives we lead,” she said sardonically.

“Well, we need normalcy to balance out the ‘Saving the World’ stuff.”

He had a point. “I’m not sure what good school does for me, when I have to be committed to saving the world.”

“We might not be saving the world forever.”

She started. “If that happened, would I ever see you again?”

He tensed. “It depends,” he said carefully.

“Oh.” That hurt. She couldn’t imagine living her life without ever seeing him again. “I hope, when it comes down to it, that we become friends,” she said sincerely.

“Me too,” he said just as sincerely. “You should treat me as an enemy now, but maybe someday we won’t be.”

“I’d like that,” she whispered fervently. “Well, see you at the next battle?”

“Of course.”

She jumped away, feeling flustered. She didn’t get much sleep that night.

#usamamoweek2023

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unbidden-yidden · 2 years

Text

A rough accounting of what has happened since last weekend:

Had a slight sore throat but tested negative, so I still drove ~6 hours out of state to see family with Spouse

Did a couple things with Spouse's family while mostly masked/outside and then went back to the hotel

Woke up completely out of it and Bad on Sunday; I stayed in the hotel while Spouse spent time with family

Fire alarm goes off sometime in the late afternoon-ish. I ignore the first shorter run. Second time it goes off long enough that I realize that it's not a test and throw on my shoes and grab my bag and head out to the parking lot in my pajamas.

Turns out the hotel was on fire??

But like only a little bit

I couldn't see any smoke during my slow lap around the building, but that doesn't mean much

Basically every other person there is a 25 - 50 year old man, which makes the fact that I'm not wearing a bra more awkward than it strictly needed to be

Some guy runs up to another group of guys and asks "this motherfucker on fire?" This is greeted with laughter but no answers.

An hour and ten fire trucks/cop cars later, we're cleared to reenter the hotel

Smells kinda smoky but I really can't otherwise tell that there was a fire so that's good I guess

Also did I mention that this hotel doubled as a trucking school?

Seriously one of the most liminal places I've been in a hot minute, not helped by being deliriously sick and out of it

I go to lay back down and realize by now it's dinner time and I desperately need food

I order some soup and go on a delirious ten minute drive for this food

The food tastes weird, but it's hot so it's fine enough I guess

Spouse brings home Covid tests he's been randomly gifted by his family

The next morning I test myself since hey - we have tests and it never hurts to be safe than sorry even though it came up negative a day and a half ago

And

Comes

Positive

So now, I'm in another state with a ~6 hour drive home, Major Work Things the scheduled the next two days, and now I'm tamei for Covid

(Spouse tests negative for Covid miraculously, and so far is asymptomatic)

(We skip out on the goodbyes with his family anyway though and hit the road)

It takes us 11 1/2 hours to make this normally 6 hour drive home, because I keep having to stop to set up work-related coverage

My driving is mostly okay but this is the loopiest I've been driving in a hot minute

(Spouse doesn't drive, so I am the only driver unfortunately)

We get home stupid late, and I collapse into bed only to get up very early the next day and proceed to work 6+ hours for coverage reasons.

I manage to work slightly less on Tuesday, which is good, because by that point I physically cannot stay awake for more than an few hours at a time and can barely talk.

Spouse is also now very obviously sick

Wednesday I sleep

Thursday I sleep

Friday daytime I sleep

I bring in Shabbat on time, and then proceed to fall asleep at 9:00 p.m. and sleep until 12:30 p.m. on Saturday

Sunday - well, after I got up on Saturday I managed to stay awake 14 whole hours! But I'm still sick as hell. Spouse is also still very sick, and both of us retested positive as of Friday afternoon. We'll see what the rest of Sunday holds I guess.

So anyway, time is fake, last weekend feels like a year ago, and some things are better not smelled or tasted whilst sick anyway.

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morimakesfanart · 2 years

Text

Sindria's Prophet #25

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [Intermission]

[AO3] [wattpad]

*please send Sin to horny jail immediately *HBO's Rome S2 reference *JoJo's reference ~POV Sinbad~ The previous day started with news of his future death, and only ended after Sinbad found a solution. Well... his day outside of his bedroom ended that way. The wave of relief made other pleasures much more enjoyable. He also slept better than normal as a result.

So it was a shame that Ja'far came to wake him at the normal time. Sinbad had Ja'far leave. The woman that took care of him last night would still be waiting in the other room in case he wanted her again. She was taller than the person Sinbad was craving, but that was never a problem for him. And as a King, he shouldn't have to deal with the pitched tent he woke up with alone.

((HBO's Rome S2 reference "I am not leaving this bed until I've fucked someone", the vision with the caption text is on my tumbr))

After cleaning up, getting dressed and saying 'good bye' to the lovely lady, Sinbad finally had the emotional energy to deal with Ja'far's morning rant while he ate breakfast.

"Bla Bla Bla ...meeting with the delegates from Sassan... Bla Bla Bla ...new shipment of spices has been confirmed and is on its way... Bla Bla Bla ..." --- ~POV Mori~ When the maids came with breakfast, I was still asleep. I only had the vaguest of memories of one of them coming in to deliver food and leaving quietly. They were probably still used to when I was sick so couldn't always get to the door on my own and slept all the time.

I pulled myself out of bed. I was half asleep and just as dressed. That must be why I felt the sun on my back so strongly. This country is far too hot for me to manage to sleep clothed consistently. The more conscious I became, the more aware I was of a familiar pain in my gut. It was a good thing I had bought period supplies the previous day. Since I had apparently started already, I finished getting changed before eating my breakfast.

I ended up in the same outfit as the previous evening, but with a tweak. I took two of the clasps from each side of the cover to use to keep the sides of the pants relatively closed. This outfit was definitely comfortable and breathed well, and now it didn't feel as exposing. I could tell that if Sinbad hadn't shown up when he did then I probably would have ended up in this back then. His timing had to have been the Great Flow catering to his desires.

As I ate, the sight of the new scroll kept calling to me. The waves might not be as high as the previous night, but they were still high, and I was not in a position to find out why. I needed the distraction of finishing that scroll so I wouldn't ruminate on things outside of my control. Yesterday, I was swept up in everyone else's waves and had to deal with way too much. But today? Today was for me. It's not like anyone gave me a schedule yet, so it should be fine, right?

Besides, I hadn't hyperfixated on Sinbad or Magi canon in days -the irony of which was not lost on me. I hadn't written or drawn anything in days either. I needed this outlet and after the taste I had the previous night, I wanted more. --- ~POV Sinbad~ The delegates from Sassan had requested this meeting with the Alliance; there had been a cave-in in one of their mines. There were a few deaths, and even more injured, so this was a request for aide, and understanding that they were going to have to drastically cut back on the amount of precious metals they could produce as a result. What was needed from Sindria, and the Seven Sea's Alliance should have been obvious and straight forward, yet an hour later they were still talking in circles.

What aide they could and couldn't give seemed arbitrary to Sinbad, but the Alliance required understanding and acceptance to survive and strengthen. Sometimes negotiating with Sassan was the easiest, and sometimes it was the hardest of all of the countries in the Seven Seas Alliance. All of their religious doctrines meant that there was that much more Sinbad had to keep in mind when suggesting anything. At the same time, those same views said that all Dungeon Capturers were specially chosen by God, and Sinbad had captured 7; they obviously held him in high regard.

If he didn't know better, Sinbad would have thought that the waves were actively encouraging them to drag this out. No, they were intentionally wearing him down; the only question was what were they after? What request did they have that they thought Sinbad would have to be mentally drained to agree to? --- ~POV Mori~ Thinking about making a new Fate scroll reminded me that I thought I saw a hint to the taboo knowledge in the First Fate scroll. Rereading it, I found I had mentioned how Yunan could remember all 9 of his lives, how the Magi were driven to choose Kings by the roll given to their Rukh, and how all of the Kings he chose had tragic ends. None of it directly gave away anything about the Alma Taron stuff, but if Sinbad read about Rukh being given rolls, he'd never believe what I said about free will. I took my ink knife and carefully scraped off that section, before rewriting it in a way that covered up the mistake area and avoided mentioning the Rukh. You could tell that something else had been there once, but the creases from the original text were not deep or consistent enough for someone to read past the new text written on top.

I'd have to be more careful going forward.

I continued the 2nd Fate scroll while I was thinking about it. I had managed to write down everything up until Sinbad leaves Riem to go to Sassan the last time I worked on this. It became a bit scribbly towards the end from how fast I was writing, but I thought it was legible enough. I had only drawn one picture -Harun and Sinbad talking in the pub. I'd illustrate the next parts more. --- ~POV Sinbad~ The stand still in the meeting broke when one of the delegates brought up something unexpected. "We heard that you found a Prophet in Balbadd."

This was why they were being difficult -they wanted access to the Prophet. Sinbad had already been planning how to use Mori's knowledge as bargaining chips with other nations. She clearly knew when to hold her tongue, but he still needed time to talk to her about how much she could say to help other countries. She was *his* Prophet after all.

It seemed like the King's Generals hadn't shared the contents of Mori's visions with the delegates from their home countries -they were proving their loyalty to him yet again. If the various delegations had learned about the 2 Calamities there would be no way they wouldn't have confronted him about it directly. Instead, the people from Sassan were using news of a personal tragedy to confirm Mori's existence.

"It's true." There was no reason for Sinbad to deny it. It was only a week until her official announcement anyway. "And I can vouch for the legitimacy of her visions."

They talked amongst themselves, and then one asked, "Would we be able to speak to the Prophet? If she has truly been blessed by God then we would like to learn what she has seen in her visions. I'm sure that sharing this blessing with us would negate any other issues."

There it was.

Sinbad gave his answer with a smile. "I plan on formally introducing her to everyone soon. I can make sure you'll be the first to be able to speak to her."

With that positive answer they were far more amicable during the rest of the negotiations. --- ~POV Mori~ This was definitely some kind of self indulgent fanfiction because how else had I gotten an entire scroll written and drawn by the time I finished lunch? I had finished all of the Sassan and Artemyra arcs. This was the true definition of wish fulfillment.

I grabbed the practice scroll; I had to be sure. I drew something quickly then dipped the pen back into the ink. I intentionally didn't let the excess drip off. Instead, I flicked it towards the drawing and sure enough: I had made a mess; I was in fact not an art god like Rohan Kishibe even in fanfiction. I had just wasted precious ink, but at least I used my scrap paper to do it. With that experiment of pure stupidity behind me, and my curiosity satisfied I decided it was time for a break.

((JoJo's reference, manga panels redraw))

My back was killing me after sitting in the same position for so long. I had been doing leg swings to help counter it, but I hadn't managed to do them every 30 minutes like is recommended. I stretched until my joints stopped crackling and my muscles stopped straining.

I looked back at the table with my supplies. This wouldn't be much of a distraction if I was writing one of the arcs I was trying not to think about, and I was coming up to the Slave arc. When Sinbad had asked me directly if the painful events of his past could have been avoided, I answered him on a technicality. With his over confidence and hubris he'd never make a different choice unless something major had changed. Sinbad doesn't listen to anything that tries to humble him unless he's already experiencing self doubt. Ja'far and the other Generals were blind to a lot what Sinbad was doing, but even when they did recognize what was going on and tried to talk to him, the conversations always ended with Sinbad being supported regardless of his decision. It didn't make sense that I would be able to make him see reason when no one had been able to in the original. I'm just one person. And yet, the waves had changed while and after I talked with King Sinbad. I was clearly doing something right. Was there anything more self indulgent than causing a paradigm shift in a problematic fave? But was this change really for the better? The waves were still on the high side. Just like last night, I couldn't think of anything I did that could have led to this shift. I closed my eyes and took a slow deep breath. What was the direction these waves were headed? Did this mean he wouldn't reach the same heights, or that he would go even farther? --- ~POV Sinbad~ King Sinbad went over some documents at his desk while he let the back of his mind ruminate about Sassan's request. He knew they would request this eventually which is why he had already made plans for when and where to introduce the Prophet of Sindria to the Seven Seas Alliance. The medical knowledge she shared with them was going to be worth a lot to Heliohapt which prided itself in having the best medicine in the world. Sinbad doubted he could appease Sassan with some science Mori might know. They wanted to hear the "word of God" so nothing short of her knowledge of Fate would satisfy them.

Mori was bound to have knowledge of the past and future that would fulfill their request, but it didn't sit right with Sinbad. He had come to recognize her pattern of hinting about things to lead others to whatever conclusion she wanted. If Mori doesn't give him more information than she gives Sassan, then guessing what she's planning would be more difficult.

The waves caught Sinbad's attention and drew his gaze to the wall of windows right of his desk. Maybe he had been working too long. After pushing his seat away from the stacks of papers, the King walked to the windows to look out at the rest of his Palace. The sky came into view and then the green domes of the Palace followed the white stone holding them up. From his office windows, Sinbad could see a few of the other Towers including the Green Sagittarius Tower. --- ~POV Mori~ The waves washed over me as I stared out the window. This was really nice actually. But this was fanfiction. This peace was either being juxtaposed to someone else experiencing the opposite, or it was the calm before the storm. Or both.

*KNOCK KNOCK*

"'Speak of the devil."' I turned towards the source.

Ja'far's voice called for me through my door. "Lady Prophet." He waited for my answer. The waves started to move in his direction.

I did a quick scan of my space to make sure it wasn't too messy outside of the table, and out my cover back on before opening the door. "Hello. Does this mean his Majesty wants to continue the conversation from yesterday?" Given how things had ended this was the only reason I could think of.

Ja'far had a friendly tone and expression. "Actually, he-" The General blinked down at me. His eyes scanned my clothes and focused on the lilac cover. "Where did you buy purple clothes?"

uh oh. I did not like the implications of that. "Pisti picked them out at most of the stores we went to. She said it was okay..." I had made a terrible mistake.

"'Most?'"

I felt like I was caught red handed and needed to defend my actions even knowing I did nothing wrong. "At most of the stores Pisti would find something purple and even sent some items to get dyed and it's my favorite color so..." Saying it out loud made me realize just how much she had set me up. There were no purple options until she pulled them out.

Ja'far's polite customer service expression fell completely and I felt like humanity existing at all in any universe was a mistake. "You were wearing this yesterday, weren't you?" He sounded so tired. I guess we weren't around each other last night for long enough for the color to sink in. His focus was mostly on SInbad anyway. "Yes." I wanted to cry. "I need to cancel everything that Pisti sent to get dyed, don't I?" I was only going to be allowed to wear purple in my room. This was my fanfiction! Stupid Sinbad hogging my favorite color all to himself. "I should've listened to my intuition. 'Thought it seemed weird." I couldn't hide my disappointment if I tried.

Ja'far softened. "It's not your fault. Pisti is a known trouble maker." He looked to the side with a grimace. "I will deal with this later."

"Do I need to change?"

He thought about it. "Do you have any outfits that aren't purple?"

Fuck. "Not really, no."

The General let out a very exasperated sigh.

I ran behind my changing wall, pulled my uniform jacket out of my chefferobe, and put it over what I was wearing. "Is this better?"

After another scan of my person, answered, "I suppose."

#magi prophet fanfic #sinbadxoc #sinbad x oc #king sinbad #sinbad magi #magi sinbad #magi fanart #magi fanfiction #oc #jojos reference

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dzpenumbra · 11 months

Text

5/27/23

I'm officially angry with my upstairs neighbors. And I honestly don't know what to do about it.

I got to sleep around 6 or 7 AM. I was woken up at fucking 9. Some kind of hammering or pounding on the wall right next to my bed, on the floor above me. It went on for like 30 minutes, at least. Long enough for me to give up on falling back asleep. Then I got sucked into an internet black hole for like 2 hours... then I went downstairs, made some cereal and ate it while watching skate videos. Then I got ready to go back to sleep, and picked out a binaural beat thing because that actually does help me fall asleep really well, especially for daytime naps, which I've always struggled with. The second I put the video on... they started pounding again. Not even exaggerating, it's fucking comical. I had to straight-up restrain myself from yelling. Really really bad fucking timing. And I could hear it plain as day with the noise cancelling and the audio in the headphones too. After a bit, they stopped long enough for me to fall asleep.

I shit you not... get ready for this... I woke up at like 3:30... on a Friday afternoon... to the sounds of them screaming while having sex. So loud that I could hear it over the noise cancelling, so loud that it fucking woke me up.

And... I'm just gonna get personal here, because... that's what journals do... I have some sexual-related traumas, and I have PTSD. And... though it's definitely not the dominant theme of my PTSD shit, it definitely sets off some really difficult shit for me. So... sex-related things can be a bit complicated for me, and waking up to that... it's really hard to put into words how unsettling that is. And, honestly... now that I'm thinking about it... I really feel for anyone who has young kids who lives in my apartment building. Like... that would be really fucked up for a young kid to hear that at 3:30 on a Friday afternoon.

And I'm once again in this position where... I'm getting thousands of reflexes pushing back against me right now. Years of training. "Do not complain. Do not be an asshole about this. Don't be that guy." Saying "something you're doing is causing severe disruption to my daily life" is me being an asshole. Saying "please don't vacuum at 4 AM the day before Easter" is me being an asshole. Saying "please let me know before you do building maintenance on an adjacent wall, especially in the AM hours" is me being an asshole. Saying "please don't hammer on the walls at 9AM on a Friday morning" is me being an asshole. Me saying "please don't blast action movies 6 feet above my bed at 10 AM when I go to bed at 5" is me being not just an asshole, but a dysfunctional member of society on a backwards life schedule. This is the narrative that has been trained into my head, and reinforced over the course of years... possibly my entire life. Likely my entire life.

I just...suck it up. And on good months, I find some way to... tap into compassion. Like my sloppy reflexive take on the Buddhist monk approach. "They have a right to their lives too." "They don't know they're upsetting me." "I can just sleep later." "I'm the one with the weird schedule that I can't fix."

I dealt with this same shit at my last house with my landlord fucking mowing my lawn outside my window, like literally a foot away from my head... twice a week... starting as soon as fucking possible. He mowed that grass so fucking much that it was all dirt in the corners around the fence from him over-mowing. And I told my landlords multiple times "I work nights, I sleep in, please mow the lawn after noon." But it was nearly always around 10 or 11, and never on predictable days... just whenever the dude felt like it. And it would take all day. And it would rile my dog up and get her barking, so I'd have to chill her out and hang out with her, on like 5 hours of sleep... and that just became my life until the snow started falling again. I even offered to mow the entire lawn for them - they were retired and lived in a building on the same property - if they gave me a little deal on my rent, and they flat-out refused to even talk about it.

I genuinely don't know what to do. I feel like sleep disturbance is probably the most significant factor in my difficulty functioning in society and my difficulty in managing my mental health. And... I'm writing this at 4:30 AM.

I don't know what to do anymore.

I love the peace of these hours so much. I love the creative flow I get at this time. Plus... I just keep gravitating back to this schedule. I can't fucking help it, it just keeps happening. And it's been happening for like... half my life. What the fuck do I do about it? Do I write an email to my building manager, ask for a meeting and just chat with her about the problems I'm having and see what she suggests? Do I try to find out what room is right above me and leave them a note saying, "Hi, I live below you, you have really loud sex and I can hear all the screams and (no offense) I really don't want to hear that. I also would really appreciate it if you could keep it down a little bit in the AM hours, because I work nights. I'm assuming you don't know how loud you are because you don't have an upstairs neighbor, it's not the end of the world, but it's fucking with my sleep a lot so... if you don't mind keeping it down a bit I'd really appreciate it." Do I go with my plan of playing recordings of babies crying through a bluetooth speaker pressed directly against their floor while they're having sex? Do I find those noise machines that make annoying sounds that only young people can hear, and play that when they're making noise in the morning until they leave? I just... I don't know what to do.

I mentioned in therapy about my brainstorming on this here a few days ago. I struggle confronting people. Because it has gone so fucking horribly, traumatically wrong for me, so often. And not by fault of my own, by the way. That's the fucked up part that I'm really starting to wake up to.

God, okay... let's go down this memory road, because it's a super important one for me to remember. I was at the retreat place... trying to get off of meds that I was stuck on for what ended up being mental health misdiagnoses... living with about 10 people in their very early 20's. We were at a workshop with the eccentric founder, who was also the head of the Psych department at a local university. She was actually pretty cool, just... pretty out of touch with people like me, struggled to relate and communicate with me. She was running a workshop she called "The Shame Game"... where we all go around the circle and write a moment when we felt most ashamed, then we share it with the group, and hear what others think of it. I think it's a genius idea, and the fact that I'm referring back to it years later is pretty clear proof that it really is helpful for the right people. But it's a big step for people who aren't really... there yet.

For me, I wrote a moment that - at the time - happened pretty recently. This is probably not going to make any sense when I tell it, but I swear it's exactly how it went down. Let me get some ice cream first, so I can get through this, this one's a bit rough for me.

Alright, so it was Summer 2019 and I was well into my return to smoking weed and reconnecting with being an artist after my breakup and first experiences with death. I had been going out to the stream on my property every day with my dog, rearranging rocks to make the stream into a sculpted Zen Garden. I saw a standing dead tree trunk out there, about 4 feet tall. I was inspired to chop it down and make a bench out of it. I had no idea how, I was just going to figure it out as I went along. I called up my mom and floated the idea, because my hatchet and axe were over in her garage - along with the majority of my possessions. See... I used to live above that garage for about... 7 years? And I was assured that it was okay for me to move in at my own pace, and having my stuff there wasn't a problem. I felt some pushback from her on the tree trunk idea, and I have no idea... why? Or... why that was really any of her business? Like... I wasn't asking her permission, I was sharing an idea hoping for something like "wow, that's a cool idea" and just like... being respectful to let her know that I was planning on coming over (I lived 5 miles away) and getting my shit from her property, so she wasn't caught off-guard. I don't remember that conversation going poorly, but in the years since, she recalled it as very clearly telling me "no". ... As though she... has a right to keep my personal possessions away from me... her (at the time) 32 year old son... because she thinks I'm having a mental breakdown or something? That was the fucking paranoid narrative going around in that house. All because I was smoking pot and grieving a lot of losses alone, and reconnecting with art and spirituality.

But I digress... I... thought we were on good terms. I remember clearly, I was wearing a bandana and sunglasses, a white wife-beater with a big rainbow peace sign from the band Parkway Drive, camo shorts, barefoot. And I had my dog with me, with her bandana on as well. I got her in the car and we went over to get either the axe that I had used to hand-chop down a tree on my parents' property years prior... or my hatchet that I had since Junior year of high school. The hatchet I took on my 3-day thru-hike with me. The hatchet that had a ton of sentimental value to me. I pull in the driveway and my dog has her head out the window, because you know... she's a dog... And my parents are on the front porch. My mom's dog comes charging across the driveway at my parked car and the dogs start barking at each other. Her dog started to jump up on my car. See, despite these two dogs being around the same age, and very similar personalities... my mom outright aggressively refused to introduce the two. Despite my poor girl not having any dog friends, and being super sweet and social. And my mom's dog was a really nice girl too, who also had no friends. But my mom was fed some weird rhetoric like 20+ years ago that female dogs will fight to the death? And you never have female dogs around each other. And... I tried to disprove this to my mom. I tried to show her examples. My girl's first best friend was a big 2 year old mutt named Luna, they were wild, they played rough, but they would like... cuddle up together. There was never aggression, they were always overjoyed to see each other.

So... I'm guessing that panic primed the interaction. My mom came racing off the porch. I had already pulled her dog away from my car and closed the window on that side. There was no issue at all with the dogs and I took care of it swiftly and without incident. My mom starts freaking out on me. She started acting like I had done something wrong. Which, I'm now realizing like 4 years later is like... blatant reflexive gaslighting. Like, obvious. She's ashamed of how her dog reacted, so she makes me the bad guy. But that shit... it escalated quickly. And it got even worse when my dad came over and backed her up. I'm standing in her driveway, barefoot, and they're just like "what do you want? why are you here?" And I keep repeating, "I'm just here for my axe and my hatchet. I told you I was coming over. Are they in the garage? Are they in the barn?" And my mom starts telling me I can't have them. I remind her that they are my property... and she is simply storing them... and she can't really like... tell me I can't have access to my own tools... She doubles down. This escalated to them threatening to call the cops on me for trespassing if I didn't leave. And I still don't even fucking know why. Like... it's got to be panic. It's still so surreal looking back and going... "yeah, that actually happened."

They freaked out and went inside. I gave up on the axe and went into the garage and looked around for my hatchet in the last spot I remember it being. I couldn't find it. In fact, the area where all the tools had been was just... gone. I went upstairs where all my shit was stored and... it was a fucking warzone. She had gotten construction done on that building while all my shit was still there. There was drywall dust and spackle and paint and shit all over my stuff. My fucking college degree was bent and covered in drywall dust. I took fucking photos, it was so appalling that I was worried I might need them for a court case or something. Half of my tattooing supplies were ruined. I told my mom I was using this opportunity (since I was there) to organize my shit and get it the hell out of there ASAP. That if she was going to try to control and regulate my access to my own fucking possessions? And after seeing how horribly my shit was treated? I was getting my shit out of there as quickly as possible. And as I sorted important stuff very quickly, still in my search for the hatchet... I found some sentimental stuff from the past. And I... like a fucking crow with an abusive owner or something... brought sentimental things over to her back door and left them outside, as an offering. A reminder of who the person she was treating like this really was. Trying to elicit any fucking conscience or soul I could, through memory, to snap her the fuck out of whatever was going on. And... that was when I had the moment that... was my shame. Yes, I actually do remember why I was telling this story! XD The Shame Game...

I had the pile of offerings by the door. And my mom came over to the glass door and yelled at me to leave. And I tried one last time to beg her to reconsider. And my dad came over and backed her up. And she threatened to call the cops on me again. And I offered to do it for her. I offered to fucking do it for her. And I pulled out my phone and had the police station number stored in my phone and scrolled the phonebook to that number and had no fucking hesitation to do it if they threatened again. And... honestly? Maybe I should've called. Maybe I should've had a witness to that shit, and they'd have to explain how they were trying to call the cops on their 30 year old hippie son for "trespassing" when trying to reclaim tools for an art project. When he's a fucking artist, with a mangled degree in art.

I just want to note, for myself... I am trembling right now. It's not me being cold, it's not me being overtired... though those are factors... it's me reliving abuse. And it sucks. It's a unique feeling. Shaky, trembly, weak, tense. Yeah. Sucks.

But we're not quite to the part I was telling this whole story for yet. So... I didn't call the cops. And... my little brother appears behind my parents. And starts screaming at me to get off their property. I can see it in my head like a fucking nightmare, so vivid. The three of them silhouetted behind the glass door, screaming at me like chimpanzees behind the glass in a zoo exhibit. Very primal. And I... I broke. And I spat on the fucking glass, left the offerings for nature to take them, got whatever I could salvage and left.

And that was my shame. That I spat on the glass. That I let all three of them break me. I had a moment of weakness, and I did something petty. Out of aggression. Out of spite. Out of retaliation. And I'm better than that. I'm fucking better than that.

Can you see how strongly I feel about this?

But the point of all this was... when I told that story to my group... not only was there not a single jaw that hadn't hit the fucking floor... but people in the group were actually a bit upset with me because... because of how tame that was. Because no one could actually see themselves reacting that tamely in that situation. Like 10 people, all from different backgrounds, some very passive personalities, some more outburst-y... all unanimous that... I really didn't need to carry that shame.

But I do. And it showed me just how fucking important perspective can be. Especially for someone who grew up in or has spent a substantial amount of time in a manipulative, controlling and/or abusive environment.

So... now that you know that story... a little taste of my upbringing... Now you know what my brain thinks it's going to get as a reaction to spitting on a window and storming off. Imagine what my brain thinks is going to happen with... direct confrontation with a stranger.

You ready for a fucked up formula? The PTSD spiral? My trauma is set off by these people fucking up my sleep. And it gets to the point of crippling my entire life if left unchecked. How do I address it? Communication, right? Which... in this case... is almost exclusively confrontation. Confronting disruptive behaviors. And my ability to confront... is affected by how severely agitated my PTSD is. So... the more I need to confront people, the more my primal threat detection systems shut me down, the more I self-sabotage and find ways to talk myself out of confrontation. To protect me from blame, to protect me from shame, to protect me from harm. Be it physical (threat to housing stability, living near a known enemy), psychological (the way I think) or spiritual (the way I feel). My survival instincts will very quickly start to paint any narrative they can to keep me from confronting others and thus putting myself in harm's way - and lucky me... I've been fed plenty of easily believable self-protective (self-blaming/self-destructive) narratives my entire life, taught to me by my gaslighting family and toxic past relationships.

Welp... it's 5:30 now. XD

It's exhausting living like this. And, in a fucking weird way... I envy the people who live above me. How simple and carefree their life must be!

But I have to remember... as much pain as I've suffered, as much as I have never deserved any of what I've been through. I've grown so much because of it. I am so fucking strong because of it. In so many ways, I am not a victim any more. I am a survivor. And though the war may be over... for now... I still carry habits, and I need to learn how to navigate things like this. Specifically confrontation and setting boundaries. And the only way to learn is to practice.

I'm just upset that I've been begging for help with this for years... just someone to go with me and hold my hand, or proofread shit, or something. And... that person just doesn't exist. And I don't think I've ever met anyone (except maybe my little brother) who needs help with that more than me.

Alright, enough of that for now. That was very intense.

I spent a huge chunk of the evening inking the skull. It looks so fucking cool. I know I had my doubts and shit, I always do... but... this is really sick. I, with my obsession for clean forms and details, decided to start inking with a wooden skewer instead of my tiny detail paintbrush. It allowed me more precision. So I spent most of the night dipping a wooden kebab skewer into Kuro Sumi outlining ink and inking an abstract design onto a goat skull. And the ink from last night did not bleed or smudge. It dried on it really well, actually. So I went buck wild with it, and I got... probably 2/3 of the abstract design that I penciled done. The ink flows incredibly well on bone, it's hard to really explain. I'm glad I polished it first. It feels like plastic, very smooth application which lets you make really smooth lines and fill areas really quickly. But unlike plastic, it's naturally porous, so a lot of the ink actually does subtle absorb into the bone. I enjoyed the process and look forward to working on it tomorrow! I'll most likely share the final product on here.

Since it's already 5:30, let's just go whole hog tonight and do tarot too. Fuck it. It's not like I have anything to get up for tomorrow, and there's like an 80% chance I'm just going to be woken up in a few hours anyway. Same spread as always.

First Position - Past - Two of Wands (Planning, scrutiny, taking risks and moving a plan forward. The active force needed to put a plan into motion.) Second Position - Present - Ace of Swords, inverted (Intellect, apply logic and reason, Clarity and focus of mind.) Third Position - Future - I: The Magician (Balance between conscious and subconscious, unity between spirit and matter. Indicates a period of ability to manifest will.)

Alright. So we're starting with a period from my past... a thread that originates in my ambition, determination and planning. This led to... present situations where logic and reason are actually causing dysfunction. Or... something's out of whack with my clarity and focus? Like my plans aren't coming to fruition because of a disruption in the Ace of Swords symbol in the Present. And... if that thread continues... there will continue to be a disruption in my equilibrium as a well-balanced person. Disrupting my ability to become the ideal version of what I strive to be.

I mean... it's a pretty simple message, really, right? My planning... through the lens of skewed focus and logic... leads to me not being able to manifest great things. And that logic skew is mostly surrounding shitty experiences and false lessons taught to me. Like some of the shit I talked about tonight. And... I'm actively working on that. So, that's good!

Cool, welp, that makes sense. Alright. Off to bed for me. Wish me luck. I'm bringing the headphones upstairs with me this time. Maybe when those fuckers inevitably make noise, I can just pop the earbuds in and roll over. Fingers crossed.

But on a brighter closing note? The skull is coming along really well. I'm excited to share progress once I get to a comfortable stopping place.

#diary #journal #online journal #stream of thoughts #stream of consciousness

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oldguy56-world · 10 months

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While You Were Sleeping

Has anyone else noticed that whenever Joe Biden makes an appearance on TV it looks like he just woke up? It also looks like he is getting ready to take a nap. How he can pull off both at the same time is an absolute marvel.

Why do I think he looks like he just got out of bed? Personal experience. When I get up I am ready to go but my body isn't quite ready yet. I see that in Joe. His arms look like he is moving fast but his legs seem to be saying 'wait for me' as they move at about half the speed of his arms.

Why do I think he looks like he is ready for a nap? Aside from the drooping eyelids, watch his eyes moving from side to side. I do that too. It happens when you are looking for a comfortable place to lie down. Sometimes he wears sunglasses to hide this from the public. I do this too.

I recognize that as you get older sleep is not only important, it ranks up there with eating as something you want to do all the time. I suspect that those trays with the little legs you can put on your bed so you can eat while you are lying down were invented by an Octogenarian. He never had the chance to patent it because he fell asleep while thinking of going to the patent office.

Getting back to Mr. Biden. Last weekend must have been very puzzling for him. He went to bed as usual at 8:00 PM Friday night (giving his stomach a full four hours to digest his supper) and nothing unusual was going on. He got up to take a pee at 11:00 PM and found out that the Wagner mercenaries were marching on Moscow. This kept him up until almost 11:30 PM before he succumbed to the call of the sheets.

He woke up at 6 AM to find they were halfway there. He was so excited he had a bran muffin and celebrated with a power nap. He woke up in the afternoon (when the effects of the muffin kicked in) and found out that Putin was not in Moscow. A big fan of playing 'Where's Waldo' Joe started guessing where Vladdy was hiding (he heard the name on TV being mentioned but it turned out to be a broadcast of the Toronto Jay's game) until he nodded off on the couch.

When he got up from this nap he was happy that the Jay's Vladdy had hit a home run but confused when he heard the Wagner group had turned around.

"Why?" he asked.

"No one knows" he was told.

"Wake me when you do."

He finally was awakened Monday morning, but not because anything new had been discovered about anything. They woke him up because the U.S. was accused of causing the insurrection.

"What has January 6th got to do with the Russians? Has there been a connection made? "Different insurrection Mr. President."

"I better go on TV and straighten this out. Schedule a news conference for around 12:30, or right after lunch. Make it short one so it doesn't interfere with my afternoon nap."

And the story will continue at another time, unless it is nap/sleep/dinner time.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK: A lot can happen in a short period of time. All you have to do is pay attention.

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miruac · 2 years

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004

masterlist

warnings: sexual assault, cussing, violence

comfort. ˈkəmfərt. a state of phyical ease and freedom from pain or constraint; or the easing or alleviation of a person's feelings of grief or distress.

I.H CAMPUS DORMITORY; TUESDAY NIGHT; 10:10 P.M

it was nighttime at the dormitories, and everyone was busy in their rooms studying, or preparing for bed. that was not the case for casey ruang and yunmei qi. the two were in the dorm lounge, busy playing video games together. isabelle in a scooter zoomed past gold mario who was in first place.

"dude move, you're in my spot!"

"win first then, loser boy."

the two made a bet that if casey won, yun would take all his notes for him. but if yun won, casey would have to be yun's servant for a day. isabelle quicky sped through the glowing power up icon, obtaining a banana. yun quickly swerved right then pressed the right shoulder of the controller, dropping the banana.

casey's gold mario barely hit the banana, swerving right and falling off the map. it was a fierce battle between isabelle and gold mario, both speeding to the finish line. a chime rang from the console as the two characters crossed the finish line, the white loading screen flashing on the television screen.

the results of the race cued, showing the highlight reel. isabelle's name was proudly displayed at the top.

"beat that, loser boy!"

yunmei giggled, gently tossing her controller onto the sofa cushions, she leaned back and propped her feet up, stretching. the girls caramel eyes opened to find casey staring at her with big eyes, his eyes filled with hidden admiration.

"...why are you staring at me like that?"

"like what?"

"you were..never mind. anyways loser boy, since we both have no classes tomorrow i'll make you my servant from exactly 11 a.m tomorrow to 11 a.m the next day~"

yun quipped, hopping off the sofa and putting her slippers on. she waved a little goodbye before darting to her dorm room.

"q.y signing off!"

how is she so pretty...wait, q.y?

I.H CAMPUS DORMITORY; WEDNESDAY DAWN; 1:20 A.M

"hello everyone and welcome back to a new episode of goodnight central. for new listeners, i'm q.y and you're listening to goodnight central; a podcast devoted to helping struggling sleepers sleep. tonight's episode is about...shower thoughts! they are indeed...random. shower thoughts are somewhat like philosophy, no? like how philosophy is the study of reality and the working world around us."

another episode of goodnight central live played from casey's phone. ever since losing his mario kart match, he's been thinking about yun. he's come to the conclusion that q.y is yun; they both sound similar, use the same nickname.

but how could he confirm it? only one way to find out. well that would have to wait until morning, as he already fell asleep to yun's soft voice.

I.H CAMPUS DORMITORY; WEDNESDAY DAWN; 10:58 A.M

the day of the bet has arrived. loyal casey ruang bowing down to royalty yunmei qi. yun sat at the counter in the communal kitchen, a bowl of rice in hand.

“good morning, miss yun. I am here to fulfill any service you need for the day.”

…what the hell…

casey stepped into the dorm in his pyjamas, making his way towards yun. he spoke in his best british accent, bowing down to her. as he got back up, he smirked and his eye slightly twitched.

"well good morning, casey."

yun giggled behind her hand at how ticked off casey looked. his handsome face was scarred with a forced smile and furrowed eyebrows. his dark black locks were messily styled, hanging down his face.

"what's on the schedule for today, madame?"

"well, your first task is to take care of things i would not like. now, i would not like it if i were to leave this bowl and spoon out and dirty on the counter. be a dear and wash them for me?"

yun cooed, holding out the bowl and spoon. casey reluctantly took it, cursing under his breath. it was fun, playing around with casey. he washed the bowl and spoon and placed it in the drying rack, turning back to yun.

"is that all, madame?"

"nope!~"

what did i get myself into.....

I.H CAMPUS STUDENT CENTRE; WEDNESDAY NIGHT; 8:00 P.M

throughout the whole day, casey was at yun's hands. he did everything he asked her to for the day. now that it was time for the event, both separated ways to get ready. the student centre was bustling with people chatting and wandering around. yun stood in a corner of the room, sipping her fruit water. yun knew no one, and everyone seemed intimidating to a five two woman.

"hi! i'm heather, heather shin!"

woah...pretty girl..

a tall, thin girl approached yun. the stranger's face was covered with a thin layer of makeup, her pastel hair flowing down those narrow shoulders. heather seemed...extroverted. heather's hand was extended in front of her, as if she was waiting for a handshake.

"hi, im yunmei qi."

yunmei hesitantly took heather's hand and shook it firmly. her hand was soft and warm. the two chatted for a bit about what classes they have. turns out, the two share an animation class together.

"hey, yun! meet my friend, cupid!"

casey walked over, dragging over a tall person with dark red hair. he seemed to be on the lanky side again.

"hi, i'm yunmei. yunmei qi."

"cupid shin."

"ew, it's the uglies."

heather seethed, scrunching her nose and taking a sip of her drink.

"shut up, you're uglier than i am."

casey and heather began arguing over who know's what. yun felt a slight twinge in her chest, watching the two argue. the atmosphere in the room felt heavy and tight; the student centre was getting more crowded as more people came in for the event. everything got too much for yun, so she quickly and quietly made her way to the washrooms. well, she would've made it if someone hadn't grabbed her arm.

"hey hot stuff? where you going, let me come with you."

ugh. jocks. an athletic boy held tightly onto yun's forearm, his grip so tight it could bruise.

"let go of my arm."

"what's wrong? come on, just come and get a drink with me."

yun reached into her pocket, turning on her phone and swiping to the camera slide. she tapped the red recording button, and contiunued to try and get away from this certain individual.

"let go of my arm, now."

"stop being so defensive, you know you want it. you were walking by yourself here, in this hidden corner just asking for it. you knew it was going to happen, hm? now come on, just one night with me."

the jock pressed himself against yun, as if he was trying to relieve an erection. his hands went closer to her privates. the world went silent in yun's mind, was she going to get hurt? in her first week of college? her whole body froze, but her mind was racing.

come on, move. move, for fucks sake!

yun snapped out of her shock and swung her leg up, kicking the man in his private. she swung at the individual, poking his eyes in her finger and slapped him across the face. for a short girl, you wouldn't expect her to be able to hurt, but when you're a former athlete you'd have to put that to use. yun proceeded to swing, until someone pulled her off the jock. she was attempting to fight back the person whos arms were around her waist, but he had a firm grip. her phone fell out of her pocket, which was still recording.

"yun, calm down."

ah. casey. casey ruang.

"let go of me, he fucking deserved it."

yun picked up her phone, and pointing it to the bruised jock who was writhing in pain on the floor. she zoomed in on his face, getting a clear picture of it. the girl stopped recording, and glared at the jock.

"yun, are you okay? you're crying, let's get you some water."

casey consoled, placing a hand on her shoulder. yun shook it off, her head lowering down as she ran into the washroom. cupid and casey looked at heather. they shared a moment of understanding, as heather followed yun into the washroom. the only sound in the room was huffing and silent cries.

"yunmei? it's heather, are you alright?"

all of the stalls were open, except for one. heather walked over to it, crouching down.

"it's okay if you don't want to talk. you don't have to stay here. i'll walk you to your dorms. casey and cupid can come to."

the stall door slowly opened, revealing yun with red eyes and her mascara running down.

"yeah, please."

I.H CAMPUS DORMITORY; WEDNESDAY NIGHT 11:32 P.M

yun sat on her bed, freshly changed into an oversized hoodie and sweatpants. casey held her hand in silence. the two were sitting in her dorm room, the only sound were yun's silent sniffles. casey had only known this girl for a few days, yet he wanted to help her and be there for her. he opened his arms and hovered.

"can i touch you?"

yun looked up into his eyes, nodding. casey wrapped his arms around the girl, holding her head. she began to tear up and silently sobbed into his shoulder. everything was all coming down at one moment for her. one moment yun was talking to everyone and enjoying the time, then someone is about to assault her.

casey and yun held each other in silence. nothing mattered except for each other in the minute. it was nearing midnight, and the two had classes the morning. after a couple of minutes, casey let go. yun looked up at him with teary eyes, softly smiling at him.

"thank you. the bet's over, you didn't have to do this."

"hey, i would've been an asshole if i didn't help you."

"i know. but-"

"when will you stop blaming yourself for everything? i've already known you two weeks yet you're so easy to read. you have to stop blaming yourself for everything. what happened tonight isn't your fault, it never is and never will be."

"...yeah hey, i know you have classes tomorrow but can you..stay the night? i there's an extra bed and the mattress is under my bed, you can-"

"yeah, i'll stay. i'll be right back, i have something to finish up.

casey walked out of the room, and began to run out of the building. he ran to the school recreation centre and entered the fitness center. it seemed that he was looking for a certain individual. the male found who he was looking for, hunched over a sink in the centre's change room.

"hey, mr jock!"

it was the jock from earlier who assaulted yun. he turned his head over to casey, and grimaced. the jock's face was covered in scratches and bruises. well, it was about to be covered in one more bruise.

"what? can't you see i'm busy here? what do you wa-"

THWACK

casey swung his fist at the jocks face, punching him across the face. he then kicked the jock in the stomach, stepping on his chest. the look on casey's face was of pure digust. his eyes were clouded with pure hatred and could kill someone.

"you really need to learn how to shut your filthy mouth, hideous swine."

after this friendly little interaction, casey made it back to yun's dorm with a warm smile. yunmei turned to the door, her expression softening when she realized it was casey. casey waved, hiding his bruised hand behind his back.

oh, the things he'd do for her.

I.H CAMPUS DORMITORY; THURSDAY DAWN; 1:20 A.M

casey was awake. at this hour? well, he was. it his insomnia was keeping him awake. at this time he'd get a notification from his phone saying goodnight central updated. he looked over across the room to yun who was peacefully asleep. her steady breathing somewhat put him at ease, but what happened to the podcast?

no notification. she's goodnight central.

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HELLO EVERYONE AAAA ITS BEEN SO LONG SINCE IVE WRITTEN SUCH LONG CHAPTER

i've been working very hard on this but tumblr didnt work so i had to postpone the original publication(is publication even a word idk i barely passed english) date

a lot of stuff has happened in the past few months i've been offlibne hehehe its making me happy that goodnight central is doing so well okay im rambling

miruac signing off <3

#casey ruang #qi yunmei #yunmei qi #goodnight central #fluff #oc #podcast au #college au #love story #miruac #original character #heather shin #cupid shin

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bookwyrminspiration · 2 years

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How the hell do timezones work in the lost cities- like. They all live on completely different parts of the world, it could be midnight where one person lives and 11 am for another, how in the world would that work with anything at all? Like- rest in peace to all the kids that go to foxfire at 3 am i guess- how would they even decide when foxfire opens with that? How would they schedule meetings?? Do they all have a specific time they all run on and their little force fields mirror that, or do sleep schedules not exist at all. Time? Never heard of it. And if the "same time" theory is right, how did they decide the time. Like? I have so many questions about it. This has been bugging me for weeks.

oof sorry it took me a moment to answer this ask! for some reason it only shows up on mobile so I missed it for a while, but now I've got it!!

as for how they work, that is a question many in the fandom have asked over the years! my best answer? I think all of the Lost Cities are using the same time zone, regardless of where they live in the world. Doesn't matter if it's the middle of the night, it's elf time. It seems to be something Shannon is ignoring for the sake of convenience for the story, which is fine! Sometimes you gotta ignore the logistics of things because other stuff takes priority

The few mentions we do have of time are in Everblaze and Legacy, at least of the ones I can remember off the top of my head. I won't use an exact quote, but when the scrolls are delivered about who the new councillor will be (Alina), Grady says they have to wait 23 minutes so everyone can open their scrolls at the same time. This doesn't necessarily mean everyone is in the same time zone, but it does imply that everyone is coordinated time-wise.

This one's more important, and its on pg 568 of Legacy: "The time on Big Ben said 11:11 p.m., which probably meant that London was somehow on the same time zone as the Lost Cities." Here we see that the Lost Cities, the entire elven world, are apparently using the same time zone. So all elves apparently follow the same time as London. So this does, as far as I can tell, confirm the same time theory. Which I think the elves didn't decide on, but Shannon did because it's convenient for writing purposes.

But if we're looking at it outside of Shannon then my guess is that timezone for the elves are correlated to daylight of the major cities, like Eternalia. They all follow the schedule of Eternalia or something because it's a concentrated group of people and also an important city, and everything related to time is structured around that. Foxfire is kinda close to Eternalia, so it's also operating during daylight hours and following Eternalia Elf Time. It's when we get to the individuals that it all kinda falls apart.

With everyone in completely different parts of the world, there's no way for them to all be experiencing daylight during the same times, so I'm assuming that's like...an acknowledged factor of building a house? Like when an elf chooses the location they do so knowing whether or not their daylight hours align with the rest of the worlds, and then they live with the consequences of it by choice.

Although another question here is: how often does being on the same schedule matter? They don't seem to have set work hours, so they could just do things when they have daylight--could even be a benefit because work can be done 24/7 with people around the world. So while the question of timezone is interesting, I don't think it matters as much to the elven world as it does to the human world. It would only really be a problem when everyone needs to convene, like with the new councillor announcement, but like I said that could be a chosen downside of choosing your house location.

This doesn't apply to foxfire, however, as that definitely has specific start and stop times with attendance taken. So it seems some kids would have very different morning experiences, but also by physically going to foxfire when it's daytime they're still experiencing the daylight? And it's just when they're at their own home that it's not synced, if that makes sense. Like they may be waking up in pitch black, but if that's their routine then that's their 8am or something, it wouldn't be like they're waking up at 3am because their schedule would be accustomed to that.

As fascinating as that all is to theorize about though, I do think it's done for convenience on Shannon's behalf. Keeping track of times of day in multiple locations all over the world is very annoying, so she just writes it as Sophie experiencing the day when she does things and night when the day is over. And her friends all operate on the same schedule because then it's easier to write them together because they're all on the same page.

There really is no explanation that will fully encompass and explain anything, because it contradicts itself! Havenfield and Everglen are on opposite sides of the U.S. yet somehow experience sunset at the same time (Exile), which is just not how time works at all.

I wouldn't worry to hard about trying to make it make sense because time in this series truly doesn't. like it literally contradicts nature. and that's because there's a lot of other things going on that take precedence!!

#kotlc #keeper of the lost cities #kotlc worldbuilding #quil's queries #nonsie #'time? never heard of it' is an excellent summary #it's really just too complicated to figure out given how little importance it has compared to the rest of the plot #so shannon just dropped it #and decided it's elf time all the time now #she makes the rules not the sun

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