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celaenacc · 2 years

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My Stance on Perma-paywalls, Early Access, and EA’s “nEw PoLiCy”

I really debated even posting about this or not, but I’m seeing so much hate and vitriol in this community targeted against creators that have played by the rules for years and have treated their followers/the community with respect, that I feel I need to say “Please stop the hate”. This post feels super long, but I hope that it helps clarify the situation and my stances thoroughly and effectively.

TL;DR: There’s no new policy and early access is not retired. Your “evidence” isn’t actually evidence of what you’re claiming. Stop treating early access creators like greedy criminals for no other reason than they’re still practicing early access.

Now that I’ve clarified that I am not addressing a “new policy” or an “updated policy”, let’s move to the hate some of you are harboring for early access creators in the community. Did you feel the same way about early access in relation to the EULA and community one week ago as you do now? If the answer is yes, then this conversation doesn’t apply to you. Since we’ve established the EULA/ToS for The Sims 4 has not been changed/updated, it should be obvious where I am taking this conversation. If you felt one week ago that simgurudrake’s allowance for early access was valid, then you still should today, as nothing has changed with the EULA. If you feel that an official sim guru (at the time) could not make that allowance, then that also has not changed. I’m not here to argue on whether or not early access is allowed, because the existing EULA would have it be a “no” and the simgurudrake comment (as well as an “EA App Team” member agreeing to its validity) would have it be a “yes”. I’m instead here to argue that whatever your early access stance was a week ago, that’s what it should be now. The only real change is that EA now has an actionable method of reporting EULA-violating creators and they might follow through on reports - that’s the only change and it’s not a policy change, it’s an enforcement change, which is different.

Edit: 350pm EDT : EA Help has updated the article to reflect early access still being allowed. So to all of the people who thought I was illiterate or stupid or whatever, turns out my stance was right. Please let this post die down now.

First off, to everyone claiming that EA “updated their policy on custom content”: They haven’t. This EA Help article that has everyone either celebrating, trying to figure out how to adjust, or outright going on a tantrum (specifically referring to a post I saw earlier saying stuff like “F*ck all of you” and “I’ll still love you when you all hate me” or whatever)- yeah, it’s not an update to their policies. It is a paraphrasing of the Sims 4 EULA; they used laymen’s terms to help those that can’t understand the terminology of the EULA to understand their already existing policies towards monetization of custom content/mods/”user generated content”. Some of us (including myself) asked them to do this via a petition we signed, which stated “To EA/Maxis, you have the time to release a paragraph-long statement explaining how the EULA relates to permanently paywalling UGC and the resulting doxing and harassment that follows players redistributing UGC that these creators have no legal rights to be committing crimes over. Use specific wording that cannot be manipulated, protect your players, and get yourself some easy positive publicity.“ EA did exactly this via the EA Help article. An End User License Agreement is not updated via a help forum article meant to help you “Learn about The Sims policy towards Mods” (their words); it simply serves as a rephrasing of the EULA to help users understand that permaaywalling cc has always been against the Sims 4 EULA. Please stop calling this a new policy, or an update to the TOS- it has not changed and saying it has makes the permapaywallers of the community feel like they previously had the right to practice permapaywalling, which has never been the case.

As far as my stance on early access, I like to go off not only the aforementioned allowance, but also the fact that the EA Game Changers/Creator Network program has had and still has early access creators in it as of today (August 2nd 2022). If we’re going off what EA does or doesn’t allow as the “right” thing for our community, you need to accept the fact that EA says early access is provisionally valid. If EA comes out and tells their creator network to stop early access, then that will be an actual change and I will agree with you at that point that creators should stop early access. Until then, stop shitting all over respectful creators simply because they continue early access if a week ago you agreed with early access.

“But Celaena, we asked EA Help via chat for confirmation and they said early access isn’t allowed!” ~ Asking EA Help via chat is like asking the McDonald's cashier what McD's corporate policy is on trademark infringement of the golden arches. I’ve heard they spoke with EA Help chat supervisors: asking for a chat supervisor to rule on early access is like asking your local McD's shift manager about the corporate policies on trademark infringement. They don't have the qualification to state that it is or isn't allowed, and quite honestly, they probably would have said the same thing a month ago as they are now because they aren’t decision-makers at EA. Without giving specific details as to my personal purchases, I’m going to use the fact that Amazon chat once refused to refund me for a purchase they never even shipped and I emailed corporate with screenshots of what a chat rep stated was policy; CEO Jassy ‘s assistant made sure I got my refund and told me chat was wrong. EA Help chat reps =/= EA decision-makers. EA Help chat reps =/= confirmation that cancels out a sim guru’s statements or EA’s creator network existing practices. Once more for those who may not yet understand: Chat representatives or even chat supervisors are not qualified to confirm something as against policy when EA literally has a program that provides early access incentives to creators who practice cc early access; if EA does not want or allow early access on cc, EA will make their creator network not use early access on cc.

“But Celaena, the EA Help article says cc has to be free for all users.” ~ Absolutely correct, but it doesn’t specify when, nor does the legally enforceable EULA, just as always. Perma-paywalling = direct violation. If you’ve never heard of “Contra proferentem”, it’s essentially the legal premise of "interpretation against the draftsman" when there is ambiguity in a contract (such as an EULA). Meaning, legally speaking (and I’m not a lawyer or law expert, so for legal purposes, this is in no way advice and you should look into the relevant legality yourself before you make decisions), early access creators could very well not face any legal repercussions if EA was to pursue them, which again is unlikely because the creator network supports early access creators. Early access does not require money as the only way to use a mod/cc because you can wait 2-3 weeks at which point it becomes free for all users, as required by the EULA and the EA Help article paraphrasing said EULA.

“But Celaena, you’ve always seemed against greed and paywalling in the community.” ~ Also correct. I’m against permapaywalling as it is against the EULA, the community's best interests, and is overall fuel for classist assholes to belittle those that can’t or choose not to pay for pixel clothing from every creator that makes at least a quarter-decent piece of cc or mod. I’m against early access that is purposefully longer than 3 weeks as a habit (frequency of like once or twice over the span of years is understandable when it was completely accidental/unplanned because maybe they genuinely forgot to schedule public release once or something serious came up). I do not see early access as “paywalling” because you have the choice of waiting instead of paying, therefore you could just as soon call it “waitwalling” instead of “paywalling”. If you can’t wait 2-3 weeks, then you might be the greedy one in the situation- and the reason I say might is for exceptions like pride cc being locked till the end of June or early July, or a game saving fix that’ll be patched/not needed anyway by the time it becomes a public mod. As a friend of mine likes to say, “it’s not black and white”. But as for the greys I choose? They’re closer to the side of early access than not.

“Celaena, there are early access creators acting absolutely horrible and throwing tantrums over this; they don’t deserve to make money off the community.” ~ Completely 100% agree with you there. That type of behavior should be seen as unacceptable here and they do not deserve money if that’s how they act. I want to specify here that this is not referring to great, respectful creators who have been explaining unfair treatment against them and asking for it to stop while remaining mature over it. This is referring to posts (and I’m not going to link it because if you haven’t seen it, you don’t need to) that are just like “Fuck you, fuck EA, you’re all going to hate me but I’ll still love you anyway, screw you,” etc. If you’re that creator, listen, I understand the hate that was coming down on you over continuing early access, but that response was a) clearly going to get you more bad rep and hate sent your way (to other readers, don’t send them hate, just move on from the situation please), and b) not at all the way to show you love your followers despite using those words somewhere in there. I’ve never heard of you before the last 12 hours, but I really hope you can find a better situation for you than this community you seem to hold rage towards; seriously, I do wish you well, it is not sarcasm. That being said, I want to see creators that react this way leave our community, but not by being harassed out, please just ignore these creators till they feel staying isn’t worth it rather than tagging or messaging them with a bunch of hate and attention. If any early access creator needs a tone reader before posting, just ask me or anyone else in the community, I’m sure there’s a lot of us who won’t mind helping you say the right thing the way you mean it. If you don’t care about what you say to the community and have the mindset of “can’t make money off you, don’t care what you think”, please get the fuck out and have a nice day. To the creators who do care about the community and are just struggling with what to do in this situation, please stay and wonderful day, you deserve the opportunity for people to choose to support you financially since you see them as people rather than dollar signs.

“Celaena, you’re just going off because you want early access money.” ~ If I get this as a response, I will genuinely laugh IRL because I’ve not only been on an accidental hiatus for like almost a year, but I also stopped even trying to practice early access back in like 2020 because it just wasn’t suiting my habits/self-discipline. When and if I create for the game again, it’ll be immediately free upon release, so I have no personal benefit from some of you chilling the fuck out about early access right now.

Put the pitchforks down and take a deep breath everybody. Do you want this community to move forward on a foundation of hate and vitriol? Or do you want it to be a place of understanding and actually coming together as a community to solve problems?

Letters to Creators

To the creators who a) are remaining respectful and community-oriented this week and b) are also continuing early access until EA publicly tells you using the words “early access”, I want you to know that I still appreciate you being here and I hope this situation gets easier for you going forward. If you don’t have the energy to write this much about why you’re not sure about the early access provision, feel free to link this post as an explanation.

To the creators who are a) are remaining respectful and community-oriented this week and b) are discontinuing early access to be safe, I want you to know that I also appreciate you for being here and that I hope followers continue to pledge to you without early access. If you decide to go back to early access after reading this post, feel free to link it as the reason why rather than having to summarize this ridiculously long post.

To the creators who are a) are remaining respectful and community-oriented this week and b) have already removed your paywalls, thank you for taking the policy clarification in stride and adapting with grace. You are also appreciated for being here.

To the creators who are not remaining respectful and community-oriented, please change that or leave. This isn’t the space for you. If you don’t like that, block me because I will not be arguing with you.

#EA policy clarification not update #please put down the pitchforks #ts4 permapaywall discussion #ts4 paywall discussion #ts4 early access discussion

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nazukisser · 11 months

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SHUFFLE ⨯ SCRIBBLE FESTIVAL ; An enstarsblr collaborative writing project

Ⅰ. SUMMARY

Scribble festival is a collaboration between writers in the enstars x reader community. All requests will be collected via a Google Form, which all participating writers will have access to. Any writer may write any request they want.

Ⅱ. WHAT IS THE SCRIBBLE FESTIVAL?

The scribble festival is a collaboration between writers in the enstars x reader community, where readers can send requests to all of the writers, and they won’t know who wrote their request until it is published. There will be a Google form for readers to submit their requests, and all the writers who are participating will be able to choose a request to write.

This provides an opportunity for writers to write requests they may not see otherwise and for readers to get a taste of all of these writers’ writing styles, as well as an element of surprise for the readers when they see who wrote their request!

Ⅲ. RULES & GUIDELINES

For requesters;

Please be respectful to the writers when requesting! We always love a bit of small talk, and we will respond to it. We love interaction, so please feel free to interact with us in your requests & our inboxes!

Please try to keep the options open for writers who will write your request(s); that is part of the point of the event, but if you don’t like certain writers, we also would like to respect that.

The writers reserve the right to refuse any request sent into the form.

Please do not send spam/trolls into the form.

Platonic & romantic is available, as well as headcanons & drabbles.

Feel free to specify fluff/angst/comfort etc.

You can request SMAUs as well, but please know that not all writers may be inclined to write them.

Please do not request the following: yandere, nsfw, dark content, noncon.

For writers;

Please make sure to update the spreadsheet when you “claim” a request!

You will be posting the work on your blog, so please write a note somewhere in your post acknowledging this collaboration project.

If the user chooses to submit their URL so that you can tag them when the fic comes out, please tag them (whether in the post itself or in a reblog)

Writers must have at least one work posted to join.

Please join our discord server (link below in part Ⅴ) to best communicate with us! A channel for this will be created with only the participating writers for easy communication within those involved.

For all;

If you have any questions regarding this event, please contact Qian @nazukisser, Lin @yulin-chu, Kel @analog-heart-beater, Cherise @crazylovemail, or Yuuki @yuukienstarsera.

NEW! Please use the tag #scribblefes! 2023 for all scribblefes-related posts

Questions sent to us will be posted to the Q&A Post (link below in part Ⅴ) so please check this post before asking because it may have your answer there. Thank you!

Ⅳ. PROCEDURES & SCHEDULE

June 30: announcement is made, writer sign up form is opened

July 02: reminder announcement about the event

July 02: writer sign up form is closed

July 08: announcement about requests opening is made, requests Google form is released

July 18: request form closes

Writers will publish requests on their own schedule.

Ⅴ. QUICK LINKS

Writer Sign Up Form [disc link is within the form]

Participating Writers

Request Form

Q&A Post

Works Masterlist

#scribblefes! 2023 #ensemble stars #enstars #ensemble stars x reader #enstars x reader

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violetc4ts · 7 months

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things i noticed while thoroughly rewatching d2

i found this in my notes from back in july 2022 and stand by it. mostly mevie, including core four, ben, ben & harry, umal exes & a hint of lonnie appreciation

- at the curl up n dye, not only did mal let evie have her moment with dizzy, but as soon as dizzy said it would make her so happy to know that evie is wearing something of hers in auradon, she stopped dead. she immediately looked at evie to check on her, she knew that statement would have an impact on her. as soon as she saw the heartbroken look, she put herself back into the convo . "e, we gotta go." then when dizzy left she took evies arm and guided her to the side. she let evie have a moment to get herself together. "she's gonna be okay." when she caught evie feeling bad again, she tapped her arm and took her arm, leading her away, starting an easy conversation so lighten the mood.

- after mal says "and i am, and will always be, the girl from the isle." her eyes water and when evie looks away she looks up so she doesnt cry. then she finds a distraction by pointing to the sign

- carlos and jay making fun of evie i cant do this . "you know how spontaneous she is bro" it starts off as an excuse but its pretty fucking accurate so jay just goes "right???" and i just know evie has done some stupid fucking shit before and the boys are annoying ass brothers but wbk

- no straight man grinds his way up the king .

- i'm looking at you harry

- bens into it

- "she's not my gf anymore" yeah ben u go . make sure ur pirate crush knows ur available

- ben is the definition of :]

- EVIES CARRYING MALS BAG FOR HER :(((((

- lonnie looks like a scary dog from the pound being held on a chain lead taking a few steps back growling ready to pounce on her enemies no i will not elaborate

- i also just decided that lonnie has adhd

- evie jay carlos and lonnie looking behind mal when shes saying the plan bc they know shes in a vulnerable position with her backturned and need to be aware of every movement . lonnie is glaring in a threatening manner and standing in a position that shows she means business . jays eyes are flickering between mal and the pirates, showing he's listening but still watching for any movements. carlos is looking straight into mal's eyes. theyre communicating via body movement. evie is angled closer to mal, she's there to protect if anyone lunges at mal and watching closely for any danger

- as soon as mal turns back, evie's stance soon relaxes. she rests her arms against the sides of the bridge knowing mal no longer needs protection

- evie leaping through the air behind mal doing her little dancy dance while everyone's fighting

- evie was the one who noticed dude. after carlos went "we're dead." she subtly leaned next to him and whispered in his ear, when mal looked back for help, that's when he nodded to dude. evie saved her gf whats new

- ben getting held off the plank: :] vs ben when uma finally gives him back: :0

- mal after pinning uma "you miss me?" oh u wanna kiss so bad .

- harry is using sword fighting as an excuse to flirt with every vk such a pansexual pirate

- evie vs her heels being her best and favourite weapon

- mal i am in love with you

- descendants vs having the hottest fucking characters

- ben you dont just compare ur gf to her worst enemy and ex gf like that someone get this man a book on dating

- jay and mal being the emotionally stunted ones of the group and it works bc they understand each other and even though they bicker they love each other immensely i'm gonna punch through a wall

- "so ur not seeing happys son or anyone else." ur girlfriend is gay

- id love to go to auradon prep . like imagine the drama dude like . omg did u hear the king serenaded the new vk girl while his gf watched and then asked her to the coronation AND THEN his now ex kissed charmings son in front of him . then the kings new girls mother crashed the coronation and new girl cried and killed her with the power of friendship but then she got sad and ran away and king ben got KIDNAPPED and then at cotillion he cheated on new girl with an octopus and then they fought in water and then they kissed and kings ex was jealous of new girl so she terrorised the kingdom and turned us to STONE

- MAL CHECKING ON EVIE BEFORE TURNING TO A DRAGON

- JAY AND CARLOS CATCHING BEN WHEN HE SLIPS ON DECK IM CRYING

- EVIE MAKING JOKES :( "just a little bit"

- mal tracing patterns on evies back <3

- i started this movie four hours ago this is what happens when someone with adhd watches descendants

#i cut some parts off for length #comfort movie #mevie #core four #mal bertha #carlos de vil #jay #evie grimhilde #king ben

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talisidekick · 1 year

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Why Signs Showing Safe Binding for Children/Teens Is A Good Thing

Yes, this is going to stir some TERF's, gender criticals, rad-fems, and other transphobes into a bit of a frothing and angry mess, but good, because it needs to be said.

First off, no one is trying to tell your cisgender kid to bind. Signs that give steps for careful binding for under age teens or children just entering puberty aren't for cisgender kids.

What they are is informational posters for transgender and questioning kids that do bind and may be looking at binding products without a lot of information because of a lack of social support from their family or community. To re-state: No-one wants to encourage your cisgender kid to try binding.

Ideally, the solution that is the best is puberty blockers until the child or teenager has had time to consider how they feel about life. Puberty blockers are harmless, and allow any person on them to either pursue HRT at a later date (when they can sufficiently make an informed decision themself, or get approval earlier after lengthy psychological evaluation), or resume natural puberty later on in life. Whichever the individual lands on. Base point of this paragraph: easy access to transgender medical care via informed consent is necessary and the best solution, not bureaucratic hoops.

However, since many countries, and parts of other countries have decided the high rate of suicide amongst transgender and queer kids is an acceptable loss for the 'protection of cisgender children' in a situation (or situations) where cisgender children have never been at any sizeable risk, many transgender children and adults will take up the practice of binding. Why? Because they've been given no other option either by family, society, or due to a financial barrier.

So back to: why are these signs good? Because it means those binding who are unaware of the long term effects of it can be informed ideally bind a little more safely in a situation where it's their only option to be themselves. It's not propaganda for cisgender children or adults to be turned or fooled into being transgender, but rather to stop trans children and adults from causing extreme long term damage to themselves. Ideally, the best solution is to eliminate the need to bind at all; by providing sufficient medical care for a documented issue with literally decades of study behind it, and a satisfaction rate (99%~) higher than that of knee surgery (85%~); a practice that despite the amount of surgery's performed that end up leaving dissatisfaction in the resulting situation of the patient, no one seems to have a single issue about.

But I can already hear the argument coming of "what about those cisgender few that DO end up thinking they're transgender but aren't, that would bind or try transitioning?" And I'll give you three answers to that:

What about the transgender adults and children that commit suicide when sufficient medical and social care isn't provided? Are their lives worth less?

This also isn't a question that actually supports NOT having transgender care or information on it publicly available, but one that supports having more knowledge and psychological study being done on transgender care, the overlap of other medical conditions, and the easy access and publication of that information for the education of children and adults. Why? So adults, parents, and their children can understand more about transition and transgender peoples situation and make informed decisions with the aid of well trained and knowledgeable medical professionals who are supportive in helping the child make the right decision for them.

The number of cisgender folk that do unfortunately get lead to believe they are transgender and attempt transition is exceptionally small, and can be further reduced with the accurate publication and easy access to education on transition, transgender experiences, and possibly overlapping medical conditions as discussed in answer two (2) above. This doesn't mean stricter psychological requirements, but rather, more easily obtainable factual public information.

The end point to this: binding posters help transgender kids and adults reduce the level of harm to themselves in situations where the ideal options aren't available to them/have been deliberately removed to harm them.

If you are against these kinds of posters, that means you're for the deliberate harm of transgender and queer children and adults, not the protection of cisgender people.

You're just out to cause harm, and if you dislike that fact, perhaps consider what you could be doing instead to HELP without harming other people in the process.

Every person on earth is capable of good, but the line between doing good by causing evil for others, and doing good for all is a thin one. Make sure you're on the right side of it. Always double check. Transgender people need help being themselves, and ideally if we can eliminate any chance of cisgender folk thinking they too might be transgender, that's the goal. But one should never be at the cost of anothers life. Cisgender people aren't 'first' and transgender 'second', we're equal, we're all just people. Denying transgender people the care they need causes deaths. Lets all do better. Let us make sure transgender adults can live long productive lives in society as their true selves, and transgender children can make it past graduation.

Bind safely. The signs are there to help.

#suicide mention #tw suicide #trans #transgender #ftm #transmasculine #transmasc #trans positivity #2slgbtqia+#lgbtqia+#lgbtq+#lgbt+#binding #safe binding #protect trans kids #trans lives matter #trans rights are human rights #if you have a better binding guide please link it in the comments #queer

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goldazu · 1 year

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Okay, I know people are tired of my Pokemon shenanigans, but hear me out. Some people were also interested in what I thought about the overall plot and I will try to go ahead and give my two cents on it.

Personally, I'm somewhat sick of the same recycled Pokemon plot in which the rivals are overly friendly, hold your hand throughout your whole journey, and act a little too light-hearted for my tastes. Give me a mean rival again, those were fun. However, that isn't to say I didn't enjoy Nemona and Arven in particular. Especially Arven. His arc was very mind-blowing for me by the end of the game considering what happened with his family.

Truth told, before I started the game, I definitely heard rumors of people like "the story made everyone cry." So, I wanted to see what exactly was so heart-wrenching about it. Initially I thought it was the whole plot arc with Arven and his sick dog who showed little to no signs of recovery even as you collect the Herba Mystica (basically nutrient-loaded food for the Pokemon) for him to feel better, which I'll admit was indeed sad and tugging on my heartstrings at some point, but it wasn't anything too eye-opening for me all the same.

Little did I know, this was just the beginning of it.

As the player explores Paldea and collects the Herba Mystic for the professor (Sada or Turo depending on your version—I played Scarlet so I got Sada), your ride legendary also gains some new powers. Dashing, jumping, swimming, gliding, climbing, etc. It's clear throughout the adventure that Arven and the professor have strained relationships due to Koraidon/Miraidon yet the player doesn't really know why until the end, which I consider the most exciting part of the overall story.

Once the Herba Mystica subplot was finished, the player then has to make their way to the forbidden Great Crater since Arven just kinda goes "okay, we need to find my mom/dad." Yes, the professor is revealed to be his parent, though I didn't see it coming even when in hindsight they do resemble each other. That's on me, I guess. Oops? Anyway, the professor up until that point has and continues to communicate with you, the player, via Rotom phone so you never actually get to meet them. It turns out they're "trapped" in the lab in Area Zero, which leads you and the gang to travel there despite the prehistoric/futuristic Pokemon crawling about. All of which are quite powerful in their own right.

Eventually as you approach the lab, it's revealed those Pokemon from the past/future are too dangerous for the ecosystem and must be stopped/contained in their "respective times." It makes sense, to be fair. Should they escape Area Zero, then they'd undoubtedly infest all of Paldea and probably turn the whole region into a living Hell for all the other, much more weak Pokemon who are from the current time period. So, the professor asks you to disable the time machine that they themselves made to prevent that from happening, since a lot of the paradox Pokemon are already starting to go out of control.

Sounds easy enough, right? Well, there's just one small complication.

Turns out the professor is actually an AI based on Arven's real parent, who died in the respective time zone of their field of study. They died in an accident trying to protect Koraidon/Miraidon yet somehow the AI still lives on. Ironically enough, even the AI recognizes the whole time machine thing was going to be a bad idea and faults the original professor for it. They warn you that if you try to disable it, they will be programmed to fight you since anything that tries to stop the time machine is immediately deemed a threat.

Now, this is what I find very interesting. The AI is on your side, yet you have no choice but to defeat them in battle. Even though they don't want to fight, it's just how they're wired and programmed, unfortunately. This battle is also very exciting from a blind player's perspective because the AI's whole team is comprised of Pokemon solely from the "past" and "future" that the player has yet to encounter, forcing you to guess their weaknesses if you haven't already spoiled yourself by this point. For those going into the game 100% blind, I can see why the fight poses the greatest challenge yet.

Anyways, after you defeat them, the AI explains they can't leave the time machine which is why they were "stuck" in the lab all this time. Despite your efforts, it doesn't exactly "shut down." There are too many protocols and it turns into a Koraidon vs Koraidon (or Miraidon vs Miraidon, again, Scarlet vs Violet differences) showdown. Yes, there are two of them, by the way. Apparently the one you own is the more submissive one who lost a territory fight or something, but I think it's kind of awe-inspiring that it beats the one it originally lost against. It just goes to show that since you traveled with it all throughout the game, your bond overcame everything else.

Instead of disabling/destroying the time machine, the AI decides they, too, want to go on their own journey. All this time, monitoring you as you collected the Herba Mystica, beat all the gym leaders, challenged Team Star, etc., it's revealed they envied you. Makes sense, since they spent all that time tethered to the lab/time machine. I guess even AI can develop a thirst for adventure.

Enough recap, here's where I add in my opinions on everything.

Honestly, the idea of an AI character in Pokemon developed this way is very interesting to me. I know they tried to do similar in the past, but the exposition here was much more intense than other games. And the fact that it's revealed Arven's sole parent who already spent little to no time with him throughout his childhood as is died, I realized "wow, this is darker than I thought for a Pokemon game." I love it. I actually came to adore the professor more knowing they were an AI in the end. Their parting words to Arven before the time machine transported them was something along the lines of "s/he really cared about you." And I don't think they're lying, either. If you take a look at the lab, you'll see the original professor has a picture of Arven and his dog when he was just a child.

The whole game, all the side characters encourage you to "find your treasure." Yet, here we see with the professor that sometimes people go overboard with their treasure hunt, and they devote all of their time and energy to their goals that they forsake their loved ones, their kids, their family, etc. Hell, the professor even developed all those protective measures so that the time machine would never fail, which just goes to show they wanted to research those paradox pokemon no matter what—even at the cost of neglecting their kid.

If I was in Arven's shoes, honestly, I'd be devastated. The one parent I came to resent and never spent all that much time with turns out to be dead, and I was only speaking to an AI version of them all this time. Crazy, right? He surprisingly took it well despite all the rivals being kids, but still, crazy stuff. Makes one wonder what his life would be like if only he had an active parent around.

Now, I may be biased because I played through Scarlet, which means Arven had mommy issues with Sada. However, I just cannot imagine Arven and Turo for some reason. 💀 Maybe it's because I also played as a girl, and considering his beef with Nemona who is also a young woman, it makes sense that Arven has a distrust towards the opposite gender due to his mother's absence. Sound familiar yet?? Omg, Arven is even good at cooking.

Back to the paradox Pokemon, there are theories that they aren't actually from the past/future and that they're just the professor's imagination coming to life due to a third unrevealed legendary. To be honest, I think this theory is sound. After all, how can Sandy Shocks, a Pokemon resembling manmade magnets, come from the ancient past???

Overall, I loved how surprisingly dark the story in Scarlet and Violet were this time around. Please give me more plotlines like this. TL;DR, Arven is best boy and deserves everything good in this world. 😩

#shenanigans #pokemon rambling #pokemon scarlet and violet spoilers

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other-peoples-coats · 2 years

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coats hello!! you said you played ttrpgs, but do you have any favorite systems or rulebooks?? also do you have any recommendations for how to start a campaign / one shot and bring everyone into the game? that's kind of. the most difficult thing for me personally to do so I'm looking for advice skdjskns

Hi nonny!

My fave systems/rulebooks are a bit of a grab bag; I started playing tabletops with the classic DnD (4e is what I learnt on; the group I played with played some of the beta rules of 5e for a bit and then swapped wholly over to 5e eventually, once it, y'know, was published.), and I also played a bit of pathfinder, which, like, y'know, not a huge jump there. So I've got, y'know, nostalgic affection for both of those.

(for not table top nerds - pathfinder is literally DnD edition 3.75 - it's built off the rules of 3.5, with the names scrubbed off for not-getting-sued-out-of-existance-by-WotC reasons)

That said, I've had a lot of fun with the Cortex system - the Leverage RPG runs on it, which is a fuck of a lot of fun to play with the right group, though you do need people who are at least somewhat genre savvy and willing to lean into it-- and the FATE system, which, special shout out to 'under the table', which is a prohibition-esque take on authurian legend that is just. so sexy as a world building idea. so much fun to fuck about and do organised crime in. Some of it's a bit janky but what is ttrpg play if not jettisoning that which does not vibe with you.

(I also taught a class using a stripped back version of the fate system, so, y'know, bonus points there; we picked FATE cause it is literally so easy to pick up for newbies and doesn't need Weird Dice)

Annnd then we get into the weeds of sort of obscure/only kind of ttrpgs as classically thought of. My favourite fucking thing in this space is a game called 'the quiet year'; it's half a card based rpg, half a map making game, about a community after the collapse of civilisation. You get 52 turns -- a year -- and at the end the winter kills you all. Which is a bit grim, but it's a lovely, thoughtful game to play.

Similarly, 'dialect' is just...such a fascinating game to play. (possibly, this surprises no one who's shown up here via my ao3; I do love weird language shit). You play as part of an isolated community, and...well, create a dialect for that community, based on events they (you) experience.

And then my final one in this space is a game called microscope, which is...well it's really only kind of a game at all. It's more of a worldbuilding tool, honestly, but it's fun, and it's a great way to come up with some weird ass shit you can then use for a homebrew world.

Ok, so, that's a grab bag of weird ass shit that probably says a lot about me; lets talk about starting games and getting people into them. I'm sort of assuming you mean, like, narratively, not like, the mechanics of finding a group to play with or like, how to organise a session.

(if yes, that's what you mean: sorry bud, on your own there, I haven't had a group to play with since pre-plauge, and most the people I'd play with these days are approximately 10-14hrs behind me in time, which makes scheduling.....hard.)

Anyway.

Starting off a oneshot or a campaign is...honestly it's pretty similar, in my experience; a oneshot does compress the time frame somewhat bc you don't wanna spend an hour being like 'worldbuilding lore drop time' and/or 'plot hook baiting' when you're only playing for like. four hours total, y'know?

If what you're looking for is an inciting incident; some sort of 'hey here's a MEATY PLOT HOOK GO FETCH' sign for your players: the classic is, ofc, 'you meet in a bar'; there's nothing wrong with that, it gives a nice bit of space for players to introduce themselves either explicitly - 'I'm Longfang, a hunter from clan blackthorn' sort of thing - or implicitly, in the 'lurking around in a corner ala strider' school of character intros. Also a fairly easy way to set the tone - is the bar Notably Sketchy, what else is going on in the bar, are the patrons gregarious or all suspicious, etc.

(obviously, you can theme as appropriate for your world; maybe it's a cafe, or a market, or the guild halls, or a freighter bay.)

Other great inciting incidents that are endlessly adaptable:

You all wake up In A Place (where you were not before) - classic mystery hook. A group of strangers are brought together by Mysterious Forces, and need to a)get out of where they are b)investigate what happened and why they are all here. Bonus points if you have a mole; one player who knows — or thinks they know — why they've been chosen(they're secretly part of a gang, they're secretly royalty, they recognize the markings as The Cult That Killed Their [insert relation here], etc.) Extremely fucking funny to make every player think they know, and set up the spiderman meme when all your players stumble over revealing whatever secret they have.

You all have A Job. Another classic hook - you've been hired to [take macguffin/person] to [place]; you've been hired to [steal thing] from [fancy bitch party]; you've been hired to clear [local basement/dungeon] of [rats/monsters]; etc. Nice easy set up, very basic 'this is Why You Strangers Are Together'. Does require you to have players who will like, take the hook, even if they take it and then immediately wander off to do something else halfway through. The person who hired your players may or may not be a person in specific - it may be A Guild Job, and your players all just got assigned together, or they're having their Normal Bitch Lives travelling coincidentally together and then oh no a monster attacks your trade caravan roll initiative!

Fucked Up Shit Happens, What The Hell. This is the one where you wave the plot hook at your players and are like 'damn that was crazy!' and then let them be like 'shit that was crazy, can I investigate that?'. Obvious ones here are: oh god a body where there should not be one, oh god no body where there should be one, someone rich is doing something sketchy (and your players saw some of it), weird magic/tech shit happened and yr players are the only witnesses. Worldbuilding for this is a lot of contrast - being like 'x is a Weird Thing' helps show, like, what isn't weird, if that makes sense? so like, in star wars, no one is surprised when jedi pull out their lazer swords, so the viewer knows this isn't 'holy fuck you have lazer swords???' situation; on the other hand, when the demogorgon comes clawing out of the wall in stranger things, all the characters shit bricks and the viewer is aware that like, This IS Fucked Up Shit Happening. (obviously, it's a bit more complex than that in context; what I'm getting at is showing NPC reactions to [plot events] helps tell your players about the world.)

Run before the Plot gets you. This is basically a variation on living normal bitch lives -> surprise roll initiative, where your players have Witnessed Something, and now need to Get Fucking Gone before [whoever] Makes Them Gone. Maybe they want to investigate, maybe they don't and the plot is coming for them anyway, but either way, Someone (or something) is trying to find them, and silence them. Sets up a very nice cat and mouse, if you're into that sort of thing - maybe your players saw local prince eating a person, and now they're trying to reveal that the monarchy are all fucking vampires without becoming vampire chow themselves, maybe they're just trying to avoid the government making them sign a bunch of magical NDAs. Very nice way to drop a bit of worldbuilding, because power structures tell you a lot about the world - are the cops corrupt, is this unusual, who's in charge and what's the social contract look like, if you fuck up and get caught are you looking at state sanctioned execution or imprisonment or a quiet knife in an alley, etc.

Nine plot pile up. This one probably has an official name; I always called it this in class, because, well, I think I'm funny. This is the one where your player('s characters) all have their Own Goals going on, and whoopsy, they all overlap! Either they overlap like they're the same goal, 'we might as well work together to Do X', or they overlap like 'I'm trying to steal the orb of magic from the same guy you're trying to kill and wow this is awkward, they need him alive to answer for His Crimes.' This one is a bit more work; you do have to talk a bunch with your players about what sort of character/plot they want to run for their specific character, and keep track of that as well as like, your overarching plot.

For an example: I once played a warlock who had a creature companion that got stronger as I fed it the corpses of defeated enemies, but those had to scale with us; my warlock pact required me to keep feeding it, which ended up with me having to choose between giving up my powers or slaughtering my party-mates after we'd levelled high enough. The main plot of the game was your standard war between kingdoms/gods sort of dnd plot; my character's plot was just… one of the background plots goin on. Another party member was secretly using the party to cover their hostile takeover of their family company; a third was basically a catch me if you can sort of conman who got in way the fuck too deep. The inciting incident for us was being hired by the local king to go Do War Shit (aka You Have A Job); my character had signed up bc war is great for corpses, hostile takeover had signed up bc their family company supplied War Stuff, and conman "signed" "up" and accidentally ended up assigned to do work instead of being left to fuck about with (and steal) supplies.

Also, just generally — fucking steal that shit. Steal like it's your job. Steal like you're in the british museum and all the security just flipped off. Got a movie you like? how's it start, what can you lift from that. Got a book you like? the first ten pages are yours now. If there's an scene or two in a show you like, think about why you like it, and then…copy it. 'My city now' your way through it; for all there's different considerations when it comes to writing the whole of a game, the opening is basically the same as any other story - hook the reader/viewer/player, make them want to find out what happens next. Starting in media res is a time honoured tradition for a reason; work out what your plot is, and then start your players about five minutes after it starts going off the rails, narratively speaking.

If you're looking for worldbuilding advice, though— or, rather, introducing people to your world — well, that's a lot shorter. Throw it at them! drop them right the fuck in. Let them pick it up as you go along - if you're starting in a city, describe the city. Is it cobblestone? are the skyscrapers so tall they vanish into the smog? are the crowds bustling, or are they harried, darting from place to place in fear. When all else fails, go off the five senses - what can your players see, what would they notice? what would they find unusual - their characters, that is. If you're playing in star wars, you wouldn't be like 'HOLY FUCK LAZER SWORDS EXIST???' but you might be like 'oh wow a jedi, I didn't think I'd ever see one in real life!', and 'oh there's a droid' is like, 'oh, a chair'. You might call out that it's a weird chair, maybe, but otherwise it';s like, 'you enter a room, there's wooden chairs around the outside'/'you enter a room, there's a couple of cleaning droinds doing their job'. lets your players know there's droids, but it's not like 'holy fuck robots?'.

Some of this worldbuilding is stuff you should cover in your session zero, if you're running a campaign - that's the one where you set up player characters, etc - and just…y'know, give your players an overview of your world. If you're running a oneshot, cover it when you pitch it to your players - 'I've come up with this cool as shit idea about a world where there's a group of monks with lazer swords in space, also theres robots', for instance, or 'ok, like, a teen coming of age movie set in the eighties, but also there's evil monsters'. Don't be afriad to use a reference point that your players know - emphasis there, no good being like 'imagine the ethical nightmare of animorphs but set in like, a round the twist sort of world', if your players haven't read animorphs and don't know what the fuck round the twist is.

Zero idea how to end this, so. uh hope that helps even a little bit, anon? if you've got more questions, or are like 'dude what theee actual fuck are you on about here', feel free to hit me up again. (also, anyone else reading this).

#dnd #ttrpg design #coats chats #coats originals #coats makes games #long post #also like. soz for any spelling issues here it's now midnight. and the dsylexia. also that.#good fucking god this is like close to 2k sorry anon.

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fairycosmos · 2 years

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god do you also get scared when your parents are angry even though you're an adult?? i feel like crying and my heart goes crazy and i want to hide im terrified of their anger and i always seem to be the cause

hi yeah i totally know what you mean - i think a lot of ppl do, for those who were raised by fear, that's always going to be the go-to reaction unfortunately. so i like my dad, but i'm trying to get really good at talking to him in a way that doesn't set him off. i know if is say the slightly wrong thing at the slightly wrong time, esp if he's had smth to drink, it's going to end badly. so i've been trying to learn to not outwardly react or entertain it as much. but it's like navigating a landmine. i also feel like crying, and my heart goes mad and i feel kind of sick whenever i make a misstep, it's awful. i wanted to say that i know it's easy to internalise guilt and self-blame when this happens, but i think it's important to understand that they are the only people responsible for how they express their own anger. it's up to them to communicate like a mature human being, and if they refuse to even try, then you don't have to give their words any credence at all. it says everything about them and their own lack of emotional intelligence / empathy, and nothing about you. you're not the cause, you're just witnessing their bullshit.

they are are grown adults. nothing you ever do or say means that you deserve to feel so unsafe around people who are supposed to protect you, and be there for you and take care of you. yes, even if you're not a kid anymore. it's not right and it's not your fault, and it's not a sign that you're doing something wrong either. some people are just shitty individuals and even shittier parents, but that's never going to be on you. obviously, we can't just stop feeling scared, or simply "get over it" - especially when this response has been ingrained in us since childhood - it sounds like your parents have been putting you through a lot of crap for a long time, and your brain is acting intuitively based off of that mistreatment. i understand that that can take years to truly work through, maybe the entirety of our adult lives. these thinking patterns are burned into your mind + your core beliefs, which is partially what makes it all so fucking unfair, so painful and disorienting. but we can start with grounding ourselves in reality via self compassion, we can start by reminding ourselves that it's not our job to make ourselves small to avoid our parent's toddler tantrums. we can start with emotionally or literally distancing ourselves from toxic individuals to preserve our own mental health, we can start with considering therapy or other avenues of support i.e a hotline or a support group - maybe that feels drastic to you, but i'm trying to get across how worrying this ask is and how much you deserve to feel listened to, to feel like you have options beyond it. because you do, even if they take a while to open up to you fully. anyway, i won't ramble for too long but just know i completely get where you're coming from, and i'd fucking eat ur parents alive if i could. if you need a friend or anything, don't hesitate to say hi in the inbox, i'll be willing to lend an ear. ur absolutely not alone. sending you a huge hug. please take care of yourself and fuck the rest! x

#anon #tw abuse

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our-time-is-now · 1 year

Text

September 16, 2019 (3): Seriously… you two with your sappiness…

(previous play)

You can find more information about the authors, translators, content warning and additional information about the plays in the pinned post on our blog.

Attention! This play includes transgender topics. For more details see our interjection.

Monday, 3:49 pm:

Heike: *went down to the cafeteria with Susanne and, just like her, ordered coffee and cake* *feels pretty uncomfortable and keeps wondering what Susanne knows* *kneads her hands on the table in front of her a little nervously and then nods a little absentmindedly at her question* Yes… Laura is going to pick me up here. I’ll sleep in her room and she’ll sleep on the couch? I don’t know exactly - You know the apartment better than I do. I’ll be there for the first time today… *then the waitress brings their coffees and cakes and she thanks her*

Susanne: *watches Heike and suddenly feels compassion* *remembers the time when Matteo moved out and when he didn’t really react to her* *thinks that back then, she didn’t know how things will turn out, either* *sighs slightly* I’ve only been there once, as well… for breakfast… *looks at Heike* That was very special for me, that’s when David came out to me. That was about two months ago… *slightly clears her throat* *wants to say more, about maternal feelings and guilty consciences, but doesn't know how to and is therefore quiet*

Heike: *looks a little surprised when Susanne says that she’s been at the flatshare only once, as well* *then hears her say that David came out to her on that day and immediately thinks how brave and fearless her son is* *but also hears that the situation was special for Susanne and can’t help but say quietly* He trusts you… *tries to push aside the feeling of envy, takes a deep breath and then shakes her head a little* *hesitates, but then asks, after all* May I ask how you reacted?

Susanne: *smiles softly at Heike’s words and feels very proud that it’s true* I think so… *then looks at her when she hears her question* *can imagine that it’s painful* *but still thinks that it’s important to tell her that there’s also another way* Yes, of course you may. I told him that it doesn’t change anything, that my son loves him and that he’s a part of the family. And that I feel very honored that he told me. *sees Heike struggling and now feels compassion, after all* But I have to admit that I’ve been engaging in the topic since Matteo came out. Not transgender, but the whole LGBT community, I think it’s called. So I already knew some things… *remembers when Matteo came out and hesitates slightly, but then tells her, after all* Matteo came out to me via a text message. He didn’t even tell me in person… *swallows slightly* I understand it, it wasn’t always… easy… and it also took me several days until I was able to answer… but that was really… difficult.

Heike: *looks at her attentively when she really starts to answer, but then immediately feels a big lump in her throat when she tells her how she reacted* *can feel her eyes tearing up a bit and automatically lowers her gaze* *thinks that she should have reacted like that, that her husband should have reacted like that and how alone David must have felt when they didn’t, and how great it is that he now met people who have accepted him just the way he is from the very beginning* *swallows hard and tries to take a deep breath* *nods slightly when Susanne continues and as a sign that she’s listening, even though she can’t look at her right now* *then hears her say how Matteo came out and it takes a moment for her to understand that maybe Susanne wants to tell her that Matteo didn’t always have so much trust in her, either, but isn’t sure about it* *wipes her eyes inconspicuously and looks up again* *nods slightly when she says that it was difficult and also hears her say that it wasn’t always easy, but doesn’t know what Susanne means by it and thinks that it’s indiscreet to ask* *says with a quiet and slightly broken voice* I can imagine… *takes another deep and quiet breath and then says hesitantly* It feels a little good to hear that for you, not everything went perfectly, either… earlier, it sounded a little like it.. don’t get me wrong… David really deserves it that now everything is perfect and Matteo surely does, as well… I really wish that for the two of them… and that they are doing good and that they are happy… and I wish… *hesitates again and then realizes that she somehow lost track* *feels the lump in her throat again when she realizes how much she wishes that she could turn back time and do everything differently* *exhales and runs a hand over her face* *murmurs quietly, as if to herself* God, I made so many mistakes…

Susanne: *can see that it takes a toll on her and then also hears her broken voice* *feels bad again when she says that it all sounded so perfect* *knows that this was her intention, but feels bad now that she wanted to belittle her so much* *was just about to say something on that matter when it bursts out of her* *says emphatically* Mrs. Schreibner… *wants to somehow cheer her up, say something, but only feels reminded of her own mistakes* We all make mistakes… someone smart once said that it’s not about the mistakes we make but about how we deal with it… or something similar. I… *hesitates and swallows hard* I also made mistakes… I was… not a good mother, either, and it kills me. *looks at her and waits for her to look at her as well* I think that’s why I was a little mean to you earlier, I’m sorry about that. I like it that the boys trust me so much and that our relationship is so good now. And yes, I admit, I can’t understand how you and your husband have reacted to David’s coming out. And I felt a little superior… but only because… because… *takes a deep breath and thinks about her therapy and that her illness is nothing to be ashamed of* I was… have… mental problems… depression. I wasn’t the mother that Matteo deserved, by far. And he had to grow up way too soon. I… *slightly shakes her head* We all make mistakes, Mrs. Schreibner, but what counts is the here and now, isn’t it?

Heike: *hears Susanne’s compassionate tone of voice, but shakes her head a little when she says that we all make mistakes* *laughs tunelessly and a little desperately* But only few people abandon their own child… *hears her say that she also made mistakes and at first thinks about banalities, but then hears that it kills her and now also looks a little compassionately* *then hears her words and thinks that in hindsight, she can’t understand how she reacted, either* *wishes that she had informed herself sooner and better* *but concentrates on Susanne again when she sees her hesitate, hears her admission and it takes a moment for her to really understand what this means and how Susanne’s reaction is connected to it* *takes a sip of coffee first and tries to sort her thoughts when Susanne repeats again that they all make mistakes, but then even smiles slightly, takes a deep breath and nods* You’re right, yes… what counts is the here and now. And the children had to live with our mistakes for long enough and we should somehow try to deal with our bad conscience, if only for their sake, so that we can be in the here and now and be there for them… *now looks at her a little more openly and says hesitantly* Thank you for telling me about that… I hope… well… but you’re doing better now, right?

Susanne: *can see that Heike really smiles as well, albeit only slightly, and doesn’t regret being so open to her* *then nods* Yes, absolutely. We don’t help Matteo and David if we drown in self-pity… *then hears her question and automatically spins her mug in her hands* Yes, I’m doing better. I am… well fine-tuned to my meds and I go to therapy regularly. *smiles a little sadly* By the way, in my case my son also had to move out first for me to really tackle it…

Heike: *smiles slightly when Susanne says that she’s doing better and takes another sip of coffee after saying* I’m glad to hear that… *then also smiles sadly at her next words because she understands how she feels* *says quietly* That somehow opens one’s eyes, doesn’t it? That they’re suddenly gone… and then you really realize that you lost them… *sighs quietly and slightly shakes her head as if to wipe away the bad thoughts* But Matteo… he’s such a great guy. Well despite everything… despite your illness. You can be really proud of him. I saw how much he supported David when they visited us… *even laughs quietly now* …he even called my husband an asshole and believe me, he really deserved it just then, but no one else dared saying it. *gets more serious again* And I probably can’t really imagine all of the things he did for David here, so that David trusted him so quickly after his history in Lychen and Fürstenberg… I’m really very happy that David has him.

Susanne: *smiles slightly when she says that she’s glad to hear it* *then hears her next words and feels a strong connection to her* *nods slightly* Yes, that opens one’s eyes… for me, it was also realizing all of the things he did for me before… no child should have to care for his mother like that… *swallows hard and hopes that the lump in her throat will go away again* *but then beams when she praises Matteo and can feel her maternal heart swelling from love and pride* Yes, he’s really wonderful. *then even has to laugh slightly when she says that he called her husband an asshole* Oh dear… yes, he can be a bit hotheaded if something is important to him… *can see her getting more serious and nods* *doesn’t know the extent of what David had to deal with, but can imagine it* I think the two of them have really found the perfect match in each other… and David did just as much for Matteo, believe me… the two of them, that’s really something special.

Heike: *listens to Susanne and nods slightly, because she can relate to her thoughts of having asked too much of Matteo* *wants to show her that she isn’t the only one who “failed” and therefore admits* And I only really understood how bad David felt with us once he was gone… and how alone he must have felt. I should have supported him a lot more - not only with some signatures, but also mentally… *then chuckles slightly when Susanne agrees that Matteo can be hotheaded if something is important to him, and adds more seriously and quietly* …and David seems to be pretty important to him… *smiles and nods when she says that the two have found the perfect match in each other and smiles a little more when Susanne says that David also did a lot for Matteo* *can really imagine that very well and admires him for having the strength for it after everything he went through* *then realizes that Matteo had it almost as difficult and that he also has the strength to be there for David* *slightly shakes her head and smiles* It’s actually unbelievable that they can be there for each other so much even though they both had to deal with so much… strong… *smiles a little more* We have strong, great children! *lifts her mug and toasts at Susanne before taking a sip*

Susanne: *nods slightly when Susanne also mentions that she only understood once David was gone* It really is a shame that it had to get that far for the both of us… *then smiles slightly and nods again* Yes, very important. *smiles even more when Susanne emphasizes how great their children are* We have the best children! *also lifts her mug and toasts back to her* And now we’ll enjoy the delicious cake and then we’ll show David how great he is. *checks the time* I didn’t even pay attention to what time it was when we went downstairs, is the half hour up yet?

Heike: *smiles when Susanne confirms how great their children are and then reaches for the fork at her suggestion* *takes a deep breath* Yes… I only realized just now that i’m a little hungry… I was so nervous because of today, because I really wanted it to be nice… and then you came and that made me feel so insecure… but… I’m really glad and grateful that we could talk. Now I really feel better! *then also checks the time and shakes her head* I think not yet… but once we finished the cake then we can surely slowly make our way back upstairs… *smiles at Susanne again and then starts eating her cake*

Susanne: *smiles slightly* Yes, I’m sorry that I made it so hard for you. I’m also glad that we could talk. *nods when she says that it isn’t time yet* And better a little too late than too early, right? *then takes a bite of cake* What time is it, anyways? Matteo will be there around five, I’d really like to see him briefly, apart from that I don’t want to stay for too long and exhaust David…

Heike: *smiles when Susanne apologizes and nods* It’s okay… *glances on her phone again to tell Susanne the exact time and sees that she has a message from Laura* *excuses herself from Susanne briefly and reads it before looking back to Susanne* It’s quarter past 4 now. My daughter was actually also supposed to be here around 5 but she just texted me that she’ll be late. *puts her phone back in her handbag* *then nods* Yes, David usually has a knack for overtaxing himself… but right now, I think that for the first time, he’d tell us if something’s too exhausting for him. Before you came, he laid back down on the bed voluntarily because he was in a bit of pain. *smiles* He said that he promised Matteo to take care of himself… it seems to be really important to him to keep that promise… *reaches for her mug* When the two of them visited us, he took off the binder in time for Matteo’s sake… what do you think how often I had to chide him to not wear it for more than eight hours… and with Matteo, all it takes is a brief sentence and a look… *laughs quietly*

Susanne: *nods slightly at the information* But that fits, then you’ll still see Matteo… that’s nice. *nods again slightly when she talks about David* Yes, I thought so… *but then smiles when she says that he’s taking better care of himself, also for Matteo* Yes… sometimes it can do wonders if there’s someone who really cares about you. *then also laughs slightly* It might also have depended who it was that said it… I think the two of them are taking quite good care of each other.

Heike: *smiles and nods* Yes, I’m happy to see Matteo again… and also in a different surrounding… *briefly has to think about how tense most of the time was when they were at their place* *then nods at her next words and smiles at her last words* Yes, it’s really like that, isn’t it? *laughs quietly* As you said: They found their perfect match… *then they finish their cake and talk a little more about the children before they go back to the ward* *eventually really end up at childhood stories and she is just telling Susanne about David’s first hospital stay when they reach David’s door* *knocks, waits for him to say “come in”, presses the handle down and tells Susanne while already going inside* Anyways, he made such a fuss that this rabbit was missing that my husband and Laura had to go home again to get it… *laughs quietly and only then does she look at David* *can see that he’s stretched out on the bed and that he’s about to sit up when he sees them* Hey… just stay down, honey… that looks comfortable… *sits down on her chair again, briefly puts a comforting hand on his arm and asks* Did everything go well?

David: *has waited a little impatiently after the laser treatment and kept checking the time and wondered what took the two of them so long* *really hopes that they get along more or less and that they won’t go at each other’s throats* *already considers if he should text his mother that he’s finished when there’s a knock on the door* *takes a deep breath and tenses a little when he calls “come in”* *frowns slightly when he hears that apparently they are having a normal conversation and that his mother even laughs quietly* *looks at her confused and was just about to sit up when his mother tells him to stay laying down* *therefore leans back again and nods mechanically* Umm… yes, everything as always… everything good. *looks between the two of them and realizes that they both really look much more relaxed than they did half an hour ago* *smiles hopefully*

Susanne: *laughs slightly at the story when they go inside* But that’s really important in such unfamiliar surroundings… *then also looks at David and smiles when Heike immediately tells him to lie down* *also pulls the second chair close again and takes a seat next to Heike* *smiles when David tells them that everything went well* I’m glad to hear that… I already told your mother that I don’t want to bother you for much longer, but I thought if Matteo comes over soon then I’ll just quickly wait for him and then I’ll leave you alone. Is that alright?

David: *wonders if they were seriously talking about Mr. Rabbit and briefly looks to his side where he’s lying, or rather where his head is peeking out of Matteo’s sleepshirt, which he has dressed him in* *hears Susanne’s words, smiles and nods immediately* Of course that’s alright. Matteo will be happy to see you! You don’t bother! *says it a little hesitantly and looks at his mother while he says it*

Heike: *immediately shakes her head at David’s look* No, you don’t bother! Don’t worry, David. We had a really nice conversation earlier! *smiles at him encouragingly*

David: *smiles broadly when his mother says that they had a nice conversation* Oh really?! *frowns slightly and says hesitantly* When you left this room, it didn’t really look like there was a prospect of a nice conversation… *also looks at Susanne scrutinizingly to see if she agrees or if they both just don’t want him to worry*

Susanne: *laughs slightly but is then a little embarrassed about it* Really… we had a really nice and open conversation… I apologized for my hostility… everything’s good. *sees how relieved David looks and is happy that it’s important to him that they get along* *wants to say something to Mrs. Schreibner when there’s a knock on the door*

Matteo: *really managed to get an earlier connection, which in total only brought him here 15 minutes earlier* *therefore knocks on David’s door at a quarter to 5 and then opens it when he hears a “yes”* *sees both mothers sitting on the chairs and David still in bed* *smiles at him encouragingly* Hello… I was able to get off work a little earlier… *holds his hand out to Mrs. Schreibner and waits for her to shake it* Hi… *then hugs his mother, who got up* Hello Mama, please sit down… I’ll sit down on the bed… *but first leans down to David and kisses him briefly* *then sits down on the edge of the bed and looks from one to the other* So? What did I miss? *hopes to loosen the mood a little but can actually see relaxed faces*

David: *is pretty relieved that Susanne is apparently of the same opinion as his mother and says that everything’s good* *then looks a little surprised when there’s a knock already at a quarter to 5 and beams when Matteo sticks his head in and when he sees his smile* *waits for him to greet the mothers and then murmurs a loving “hey” when he kisses him in greeting* *hears his question and grins slightly* *looks between Heike and Susanne again and says* Not much… there wasn’t anything special going on here… *but then adds* Although they possibly might have talked about us while I got lasered - I didn’t have an eye on them then… *sees his mother chuckle: “Of course we talked about you guys… things you have in common is always a good start for communication if you barely know each other.”* *bites back a grin and nods mock serious* *then searches for Matteo’s hand and entwines their fingers* *tries to capture his gaze to somehow tell him telepathically that this relaxed mood is also completely new to him*

Matteo: *looks from one to the other a little astonished* *but then sees David’s look and can imagine that apparently during the laser treatment, the hatched was buried* Well, that’s nice… and I understand the thing with having things in common. David didn’t understand me and Bea talking about him, either… *grins slightly and squeezes his hand while Susanne says: “How was work, my boy? Are you adjusting well?”* *nods immediately* Yes, everything good, I’m getting used to it more and more… I don’t have to ask so much anymore, that’s quite good…

David: *is glad that Matteo seems to understand* *but then pfffs when he mentions the conversation with Bea* Yes, because I know /how/ Bea talks about me… *grins slightly* *then listens to him talking about work, is happy for him that it’s getting better and better and is also a little proud of him that he’s adjusting so well* *runs his hand over the back of Matteo’s hand a little absentmindedly* *then hears his mother: “I thinks it’s normal that it takes you a little to get the jist of it at first, isn’t it? It’s only been two weeks… have you been enjoying it so far?”*

Matteo: *smiles slightly when David strokes over the back of his hand* *but then answers Mrs. Schreibner* Oh yes, it’s a lot of fun… sometimes it’s also exhausting, of course, if suddenly ten things happen all at once… but the people there are great… *then remembers something and looks at David* Oh, and Kay and Sannik told me to say hi to you, the first thing they did is ask how it went and if you’re okay and such… *smiles slightly* I told them that I wouldn’t be there otherwise… they understood that… *then hears his mother: “Oh, I’m happy that you have such nice colleagues. I’ll go now, but maybe we could meet up for dinner again or something? Once David has recuperated?”* *sees her getting up and gets up as well to say his goodbyes*

David: *sees his mother listening to Matteo with interest and smiles broadly when he tells him that Kay and Sannik said hi* That’s really nice! Tell them thanks and hi back… *nods at Susanne’s words about the colleagues and then hears her say that she wants to leave now* *immediately nods at her question about dinner* Sure… should we just call you once I’m good to go again?! *sees her nodding: “I’d love that!”* *also pushes himself out of bed and gets up to say his goodbyes to Susanne with already considerably less pain* *sees her looking at him in shock: “Just stay down, David!”* *shakes his head and smiles slightly* I already didn’t hug you in greeting - now you’ll at least get a proper goodbye… *sees his mother looking away a little embarrassed and plans on definitely also hugging her later as a goodbye*

Susanne: *hugs David* Keep getting well, David, we’ll see each other soon. *then hugs Matteo and whispers quietly* Tell me if you need anything, okay? *then shakes Heike Schreibner’s hand and smiles openly* It was really nice to meet you. See you soon, hopefully. *waves at everyone again and then leaves the room*

Matteo: *helps David a little to get back into bed and then sits back down on the edge of the bed again even though now there’s technically an empty chair* *reaches for David’s hand again once he’s lying down again* *doesn’t really know what they could talk about and is therefore quiet*

David: *says his goodbyes from Susanne and then sits back down on the bed* *smiles slightly when Matteo helps him sort the blankets and entwines their fingers when Matteo reaches for his hand* *then asks his mother* Did Laura also text you that she’ll be here a little later? *sees her nod: “Yes she did… I hope that’s okay for you two if I stay for a little longer…”* *laughs slightly and briefly holds his belly* No, we’re going to kick you out now… *receives a secretary’s-office-look from his mother and hears her say: “Well, you haven’t seen each other all day…”* *shrugs one shoulder and tenderly pulls Matteo a little closer* But we see each other now… and we still have all evening… and I haven’t seen you in 6 weeks… so everything’s good, isn’t it? *looks at Matteo questioningly, but is actually pretty sure that for him, everything is good as well*

Matteo: *watches with a smirk as David’s mother gives him the secretary's-office-look* Oh, I know that look… *grins slightly at the conversation that follows* *then nods quickly* Everything good, of course… I have him all the time… well almost all the time… *smiles at her in a friendly manner* And I’ll stay here until they kick me out, so I still have some time…

David: *looks confused for a moment when Matteo says that he knows this look, but then understands what he means and grins* *can see that his mother is also looking confused and explains* He always gets that look from me! *hears her laugh quietly: “Well then you apparently inherited something from me, after all…”* *grins and shrugs one shoulder* Seems like it… *then smiles when Matteo confirms that everything’s good and looks at his mother a little triumphantly* *sees her smile when Matteo says that he always stays until the end: “Yes, I already heard about the nice night nurse who gives you a heads-up so that you have enough time to say your goodbyes…”* *sees her getting a little more serious again: “...although I just remembered: Didn’t you say in Lychen that so far, you only spent one night apart from each other? Isn’t that super strange for you now!? - Oh, or is that question too indiscreet?”* *grimaces slightly at her question and nods* You can also leave out the strange… it’s actually only horrible…

Matteo: *laughs slightly when she talks about the night nurse* Oh yes, she is very attentive… and she doesn’t want to always kick me out at ten… *grins slightly* *but then gets serious when she mentions spending the nights apart* Yes, we’ve already had 6 of those now and it’s really pretty horrible… *then hears David’s mother: “6? Why 6?”* *lists it for her* This one first night where we thought it would be possible, then last weekend, because I was on a seminar for my Voluntary Year, and now the three nights where David was at the hospital… *sees her smile and nod: “Well, hopefully you’ll have each other again on Wednesday…”* *grins slightly* Not hopefully. Hopefully is crossed out. It’ll be on Wednesday.

David: *nods at everything Matteo says and eventually sits up to lean a little against his shoulder, but realizes that it twinges and therefore only presses a quick kiss on his shoulder before leaning back in the pillows again* *then grins slightly when Matteo crosses out the hopefully and hears his mother laugh quietly: “You’re optimistic! Alright… the hopefully is crossed out!”* *confirms* Definitely on Wednesday. That’s the plan… *is still hoping that it’ll be tomorrow already, but doesn’t want to get his hopes up too much to not be disappointed* *hears his mother ask: “And do you have enough support when you’re back at the flatshare again?”* *nods* Yes, definitely… and if not, then I have the coupons… *grins and sees his mother smile: “True - I already forgot about those…”* *sees her glancing at the nightstand, where there’s only the ointment, the photo of Heidesee, the notebook and the case, because he already put the coupons back in the nightstand again* *then remembers that he also wanted a photo of himself and Matteo and plans on asking him later if he remembered it* *then hears his mother again: “And what is the first thing you’ll do once you get back home?”* *briefly smiles at Matteo again at the mention of home, but knows that his mother means the flatshare and therefore tells her* At first nothing… and then eating… *grins slightly*

Matteo: *smiles when David leans against him* *but can imagine that it hurts and quickly presses a kiss to his hair before he leans back again* *then grins* That’s the plan! *also nods at David’s mother’s question, even if David is the one to answer* *laughs slightly at the mention of the coupons* They are worth a lot. *then follows her gaze to the nightstand* *sees the photo and remembers the photo for David in his backpack* *but only wants to give it to him once they’re alone* *but then also sees the ointment and the notebook* Oh, you got presents? *then grins at David’s answer* Nothing and then eating are good priorities… Hans wants to cook, you might still meet him tonight… he’s already looking forward to David being back again…

David: *nods when Matteo says that Hans wants to cook* *sees his mother smile: “Yes, I hope so… Hans and Linn, right? And Hans is also gay and colorfully eccentric and Linn has a very special odd charme - well, at Least that’s what Laura says…”* *grins and nods* Yes, she described it quite well… *hears his mother again: “And why is Hans looking forward to you coming back so much?”* *looks mock outraged* Because I’m such a nice person!? *but then grins and shakes his head* Linn will also be happy about it… but Hans… he just likes to have everyone together… like some kind of flatshare-family… he likes it domestic… *then sees that Matteo is also looking at the nightstand and hears his question* *smiles and nods* Your mother brought Tiramisu - this will be our dessert tonight… and my mother… *stretches a little to reach the notepad and the case and grimaces slightly in the process* *but manages it and holds both items out to Matteo* Look… that’s really good… *gratefully glances at his mother again and sees her smile* *smiles back and glances at the nightstand again* *sees the ointment and gets serious again* *murmurs quietly and rather quickly* And my father gave her the ointment for me…

Matteo: *grins when Heike and David describe Hans and Linn and nods* Yep, that fits quite well… but those two are really great… all of us really are something like a family… *then hears that his mother has brought Tiramisu* Awesome… that’ll be delicious… *then looks at the notepad and the pencils* *has also done some research on it and knows that they’re good* Not bad… *grins at Heike Schreibner* You found exactly the right ones. *looks at David pretty horrified and immediately forces himself to quickly put on a normal expression again* Oh wow, that’s… surprising? *briefly thinks that he should better not use the ointment, in case there’s something in it, but doesn’t say it out loud*

David: *grins at Matteo’s reaction to the Tiramisu* *sees his mother smile even more and that she’s happy, also when Matteo praises her for her gifts, and confirms with another smile* Absolutely! *sees Matteo’s horrified expression when he mentions the ointment and nods slightly as a sign that he had pretty much the same reaction* *then nods again when he says that it’s surprising* *doesn’t really want to talk about it with Matteo in detail in front of his mother, but then hears his mother say a little insecurely: “I also really considered if I should even give it to you. It seems so weird and… impersonal… and I suppose none of us really understand the reason behind it… but I already told David earlier: Jörg is a miserable father, but he’s a really good doctor. And he did some research on the surgery - the why is anyone’s guess - and apparently, the ointment is supposed to be really good to support wound healing. I can understand if that seems very strange to you guys and if David would rather ask /his/ doctor again, really…”* *nods* It’s alright, Mama… you don’t have to explain yourself or anything…

Matteo: *is pretty surprised when David’s mother says something on the topic and especially /what/ she says* *nods slowly* But you are right… well, that it’s a medical reason… but yes, it really is strange… *then looks at her and smiles* But hey, you’re just the messenger… so don’t worry… *looks at David* Maybe you’ll ask Dr. Fratschen again… just because of the ingredients, if you can tolerate it…

David: *sees that his mother seems to be relieved that neither Matteo nor he blame her for the fact that she brought along the ointment, and nods again in confirmation at Matteo’s words* *but also nods at Matteo’s suggestion* Yes, I was definitely planning on doing that when they do rounds tomorrow… also, at what point I’m even allowed to use the ointment… or should… or have to… you read a lot of different things… *puts the notebook and the case into the nightstand drawer together with the coupon book, so that his nightstand isn’t so full once the food is brought* *then hears a knock and thinks that this was the right timing* *but doesn’t see a nurse coming in and thinks that then it surely must be Laura and therefore calls “Yees?” and a moment later, sees her stick her head inside with a broad grin: “Hey, naaa? That looks cozy in here…”* *sees her pressing a kiss to their mother’s cheek and then sees her looking at him questioningly: “A hug today or still not yet?”* *grins and slightly holds his arms out* It’s been possible for two days already… I just can’t squeeze very tightly… *gets a hug from her: “I don’t mind” and gets his hair ruffled and can see her ruffle Matteo’s hair, as well, and hears her tell him: “Na, brother in law? Everything good?” before she drops down on the empty chair*

Matteo: *nods when he says that he wanted to ask, anyways* Good… *then also hears a knock and grins automatically when Laura comes in* *grimaces and elbows her lightly when she ruffles his hair* *shakes his head and pushes his hair back into order* *but then has to grin when she calls him brother in law again* Everything great… and what about you? Long day? *sees her wave it off: “Oh just stop! Why do people have children if they don’t take care of them? How can a person forget to pick up their child? Or at least contact us? I’ll never understand that!”* *shrugs one shoulder* I don’t get that, either… Car broke down and the battery died?

David: *frowns when he hears Laura’s words* *already knows similar stories and can’t understand it just as little as she can* *hears her answer Matteo: “No, it was really “I forgot the time”! Unbelievable!”* *pffs quietly and sees Laura wave it off: “Oh, come on, now I’m off work - I was annoyed enough earlier.”* *sees her turn to him now with a smile: “You already look much better than on Saturday! How’s the pain?”* *smiles* I am doing better… my big goal is it to sleep on my side tonight! *grins slightly and hears his mother: “Oh, I can understand it! I’m also very bad at sleeping on my back! But do you think that it’s already possible?”* *shrugs one shoulder and sighs* I hope so - the big problem is getting on my side. I think once I’m laying sideways then it’ll work… *then hears another knock and gets his dinner delivered* *but leaves it for now, because he doesn’t want to eat in front of everyone* *asks instead* Do any of you want anything to drink? Or eat? *points at the food basket and then looks at Matteo in particular, because he’s pretty sure that he hasn’t eaten in a while* *presses their entwined fingers against his stomach for a second*

Matteo: *smiles slightly when David says that he wants to sleep on his side* *squeezes his hand and says quietly* But if it doesn’t work, then it doesn’t work… *grins at the nurse who brings in the food, but doesn’t know her because it’s no longer a weekend-nurse* *then feels that he really is hungry when David asks* Do you have any waffles left? *grins slightly when he presses against his stomach, because he probably hints at the telepathy* *then sees Laura pull out a pack of waffles from the basket and hand it to him* Great, thanks… *opens the pack and also offers them to Laura and Mrs. Schreibner* *but hears both of them decline and Laura say that she’ll cook something small later at the flatshare* Oh okay… *hears her say: “If there are any leftovers, then I’ll put it on your shelf, okay?”* *smiles at her gratefully* Thanks…

David: *hears Matteo’s quiet words about sleeping on his side and also squeezes his hand a little* *nods and murmurs quietly* Don’t worry… *then smiles when Laura hands him the waffles and is quite glad that he eats something, and also that Laura promises him to put something on his shelf if there are any leftovers from her cooking* *then hears Laura tell him: “The way it looks, you’re really lucky and it’ll really be Wednesday?”* *beams and nods* Yes, like I planned… *hears her laugh: “You and your plans… but are you still well-taken care of tomorrow? Will you have any visitors or are you going to chill until Matteo comes over?”* *smiles at his mother and explains to Laura* Mama is going to come over again tomorrow morning… and Alex has also announced himself. *sees Laura looking between him and his mother and sees her smile, as well: “That sounds good!”* *hears his mother ask: “Alex is the boy who you became especially close friends with? The one who will drive you home once you get released?”* *nods*

Matteo: *has opened the pack and eats a waffle* *grins slightly* That’s the plan! *then hears the plan for tomorrow* *grins slightly at the mention of Alex* *didn’t know that he’ll be there again tomorrow* He’ll come over tomorrow? In the afternoon? *sees Laura grin: “Jealous?”* *shakes his head* No, envious. I have to work until 6 again tomorrow and then I’ll only be here at 7… really sucks… *but then shrugs one shoulder* But better than nothing…

David: *shrugs his shoulders at Matteo’s question* We didn’t agree on a specific time yet… *sees his mother smile: “Maybe then I’ll also meet him.”* *smiles back* Yes, maybe… *can feel that by now, he doesn’t really mind if his mother meets his friends, but also feels that he definitely also wants some more time alone with his mother* *then hears Laura and Matteo and grins slightly* *squeezes Matteo’s hand a little more and confirms with a sigh* Yes, better than nothing… *leans over again and presses a kiss to his shoulder* *then hears his mother: “I still find it incredible that you go through such lengths and travel so far just to see David briefly… isn’t that awfully stressful for you, as well? This way, you’re barely at home…”*

Matteo: *nods slightly* Okay… *then grins at Mrs. Schreibner* I have a feeling that you’ll like Alex… *sees Laura grin and nod* *squeezes David’s hand when he kisses his shoulder and briefly gives him his David-smile* *but then looks back at the mother at her question* *shrugs one shoulder* Yes, it really is a little stressful, but definitely better than the alternative… *hears her ask: “Which would be?”* Well, to not see David…

David: *nods at Matteo’s suspicion that his mother will like Alex, but then sees that she seems to be a little insecure due to everyone’s nods and Laura and Matteo’s grins* *therefore confirms again* Really… *still hears his mother check again: “And you’d be okay with it if I met him?”* *shrugs one shoulder* Yes, I think so… well, if the opportunity arises. I don’t really want to tell him to come at a certain time when you’re here… I want… well, it would also be nice if we’d had some more time alone… but maybe it will overlap coincidentally or something… *sees that she seems to be happy that he wants to spend time alone with her and hears her say: “Yes, we’ll just see… if the opportunity arises. And if not, then maybe another time…”* *nods and then follows the conversation between his mother and Matteo* *can feel his heart skip a small beat when he hears that for Matteo, not seeing him isn’t an alternative - already knows that, actually, but still likes to hear it, but also feels a little bad that he has to go through that trouble* *looks at him lovingly and says quietly* Once I’m fit again, I’ll return the favor… then you can rest for a week and I’ll serve you or something… *hears Laura sigh and can see her roll her eyes a little out of the corner of his eyes* *looks at her skeptically and then hears her say a little annoyed: “Really… you two with your sappiness…”* *wonders what’s wrong now, pffs and bitches a little* What about that was being sappy?! *hears his mother: “It’s nice to see how much the two of them like each other… Don’t begrudge them that fact, Laura!”*

Matteo: *can also see how happy David’s mother is when he says that he wants to spend time alone with her* *is really happy for David that the relationship is getting better and better* *then looks at David when he talks about his stress* *slightly shakes his head* Oh nonsense, you’d do the exact same thing if I were in hospital… you don’t have to return the favor. *then looks at Laura in surprise when she’s annoyed* *is surprised, because usually, she never has a problem with it and does wonder what has changed* *then hears David snap back and thinks that maybe it really is due to the tense mood between her and David* *hears the mother and hears Laura pff again: “Yes, yes, I don’t… but they still don’t have to rub it in like that!”* *looks at her in honest apology* Sorry… I was single for long enough, I can understand if that’s annoying…

David: *smiles slightly when Matteo says that he doesn’t have to return the favor, but thinks that he’ll still think of something* *briefly looks at his mother gratefully when she tells Laura to not begrudge them their luck and then shakes his head slightly indignant at Laura’s words* *thinks that other times they might really sometimes be a little sappy and that they really show their happiness, but that this right now was completely harmless* *then hears Matteo and shakes his head even more* *doesn't really like him showing understanding right now because he thinks that Laura doesn’t have a reason to be annoyed in that moment* No! I can’t understand that! This just now wasn’t anything! I also could have had the same conversation with Laura. Or Carlos. Or with my mother! I only said that I want to return the favor. Maybe I also want to return the favor to Alex, because he’ll pick me up from the hospital and drive me home… am I also rubbing it in that I have friends or what?! *huffs quietly* Sorry Laura, I’ll gladly do that any other time… any other time I’ll concede to it… but right now!? No! Then you could also be annoyed about the fact that Matteo and I hold hands. Does that bother you!? There you go… *lets go of Matteo’s hand pointedly and crosses his arms in front of his chest - which tuggs uncomfortably, which is why he immediately lowers his arms again and puts them down on the blanket next to him* *hears Laura huff and sees her shake her head: “Don’t be ridiculous, David!”* *shrugs* I wasn’t the one who started it! *hears his mother interfere: “You’re acting like you did 10 years ago. I actually thought that you’d be done with that! What is the matter with you two?! I thought you get along so well…”*

Matteo: *gapes when David doesn’t let it go* *looks between the two of them a little shocked and looks at David a little indignant when he lets go of his hand* *then hears the mother interfere and, weirdly enough, for the first time feels like a family is sitting in front of him* *has to smile involuntarily, but quickly bites back on it again* *hears Laura instead: “Nothing is the matter! Nothing at all! David is right, I overreacted, at least then everyone’s happy, right? That’s what I seem to be here for, for everyone else to be happy!”* *looks at her in shock and is pretty certain now that there’s more going on than just the situation with David* *but then hears the mother: “Seriously, Laura, that’s not true at all and that’s also not what this is about. What exactly is it that bothers you? Is it really the fact that they’re so attentive to each other?”*

David: *was just about to snap that he also used to think that when he hears his mother’s words, when Laura already talks* *huffs quietly when she simply says that he’s right, because he knows exactly that she only says it to be left alone* If you’d just say for once what it is that bothers you… but for weeks, I'm getting snapped at for trivialities for no reason at all and a normal conversation isn’t possible anymore! If you’re acting like that, then I don’t want to, either… you can also say all of that in a nice way… You were always able to talk to me normally and suddenly that’s no longer possible or what!? *then hears his mother and sees Laura cross her arms in front of her chest defiantly* *really feels like this really isn’t about those trivialities when he sees her act like this, and thinks that there’s somehow more to it, something that she’s taking out on him* *weirdly enough feels good to see her like that, because it shows him that she’s not as perfect as she often pretends to be* *then hears her huff and sees her shake her head: “Of course not! I’m just annoyed that they…”* *sees her stop and look between him and Matteo, sees her swallow, avert her gaze and shake her head: “It’s okay, I’m not annoyed by anything! It was only a long day… I’m sorry…”* *frowns slightly and looks at her skeptically* *thinks that he should really talk to her in a quiet moment* *hears his mother: “Yes, that’s true - you’ve been on your feet since this morning… maybe we should get going soon…”*

Matteo: *is still pretty surprised about the fact that this is escalating so much* *plans on asking her in a quiet moment if it’s maybe really because of him and that she never has David to herself anymore* *sees Laura hesitate at her mother’s suggestion, but then nod, after all: “Yes, maybe… sorry…”* *shrugs one shoulder, which is useless because no one’s looking at him right now, anyways* *then hears the mother: “Okay, then we’ll leave now… David can eat in peace… and I’ll just come back again tomorrow morning, okay? I’ll text you when I leave, okay?”*

David: *doesn’t really know what to say when his mother suggests that Laura and she should get going now, but then sighs quietly when it’s apparently decided, and nods* *starts getting up because he wants to say his goodbyes and is grateful to Matteo for scooting a little to the side so that it’s easier for im to get off the bed* *hears his mother, while she reaches for her handbag and gets up: “David, you can stay in bed…”* *smiles slightly and shakes his head* *says a little sheepishly, but with a small smile, the same thing he told Susanne earlier* I didn’t hug you earlier in greeting… now you’ll at least get a proper goodbye… *sees her smile, put the handbag back onto the chair and hold her arms out a little* *hugs her and closes his eyes for a moment, when he immediately gets hit by the typical Mama-smell* *briefly buries his face on her shoulder and hugs her a little tighter when he realizes that she wants to pull away* *can once again feel how much he wants it that she’ll be a real part of his life again, and how good it was for him that today they spent such a normal day together* *hears her murmur quietly: “We’ll see each other tomorrow, okay?”* *nods and slowly lets go of her* *can feel her ruffle his hair once and then sees her reaching for her handbag and turn to Matteo to say her goodbyes* *turns to Laura a little helpless, who doesn’t quite know how to say goodbye, either, but who eventually asks: “Do I also get a hug? Even though I’m an overworked, oversensitive, stupid big sister right now?”* *smiles slightly and immediately wraps her in his arms* *murmurs quietly* I’m sorry, I didn’t want to bitch at you… but… *can feel her shake her head and let go of him and sees her looking at him: “No “but”. I’m sorry, as well!”* *nods and then says hesitantly* Maybe we should really talk in peace and quiet or something… *sees her hesitate again and finally shrug: “Yes, maybe… once you’re fit again, okay?”* *nods and sits back down on the edge of the bed*

Matteo: *moves aside when David wants to get up to say goodbye* *then sees David’s mother turn to him and is a little out of his depths for a second* *sees her hesitate as well and wants to decide for her* *holds his hand out to her, which she eventually shakes* We’ll maybe see each other later, or tomorrow morning… *sees her nod and scrutinize him for a second, before letting go of his hand again: “Yes, that would be nice.”* *only nods slightly and then turns to Laura, who has just finished with David* *grins when they ruffle each other’s hair at the same time but then also hugs her briefly* *is quite glad that she doesn’t seem to be too mad at him, after all* See you… *watches the two of them leave the room, and sits down on the bed again afterwards* *looks at David* Whoa… that was quite… tense, wasn’t it?

David: *takes a deep breath after Laura and his mother have left the room and then realizes that Matteo is looking at him* *laughs briefly and drily at his observation and doesn’t only think about the last minutes with Laura, but also about the weird behavior of both of the mothers before and after the laser treatment* *slightly shakes his head and then says to Matteo* Be glad that you’ve only been here for the last 1.5 hours… *exhales briefly and says* Hey, but something’s up with Laura… that isn’t normal… she wasn’t like that in the past…

Matteo: *laughs slightly* I really am a little bit… but at least our mothers seem to have gotten a hold of themselves… *then nods immediately when he mentions the thing about Laura* Yes, totally… I already thought so, too… *then remembers his thought from earlier* Do you think… well maybe she’s really a little annoyed that we’re always hanging around each other? In the past, it used to be mostly just the two of you and now she’s barely got you to herself anymore?

David: *nods at his words about the mothers* Yes, good thing that the laser treatment interrupted it… although I’d really like to know what brought this change on. You should have seen them before… Your mother was somehow totally on the attacking-mode - I’ve never seen her like that… and mine… no idea, I think she was really crushed when she realized what a good relationship we have with your mother… *slightly shakes his head and pulls the nightstand closer to him to make his sandwiches for dinner* *realizes that pulling it closer is already easier than yesterday and that it barely hurts anymore* *listens to Matteo while he unwraps the butter and shakes his head* *lowers the butter and looks at him* First, I don’t think so… why now? Why since a few weeks ago? Why not right from the beginning?! Besides, I think that she’s quite glad and actually happy that I have you… and the others, because this way, she can concentrate on her own friends again… and two… *huffs quietly and then says maybe a little more forceful than intended* …even /if/ that were the case… why doesn’t she just say something? And /if/ it really were the case, what are you going to do? Should we forcefully keep away from each other when she’s around!? No way! *grabs the knife and starts spreading butter on the bread*

Matteo: *slightly shrugs at his words about the mothers* Well, you told Mom what happened with your parents… I can understand that she’d be a little aggressive… but it’s a good thing if they have talked… however that happened… *then listens to him talking about Laura and, when David talks so forcefully about it, thinks that the tempers must be flared on both sides* *but then quickly shakes his head* Nooo, not keeping away from each other forcefully… but when was the last time you did something with her? No idea, maybe it takes a while for a person to miss that… especially BECAUSE she’s actually happy for you… *shrugs one shoulder* I mean, maybe I’m also completely wrong… but might be? I really think that you have to talk to her… there’s definitely something going on…

David: *listens to him with a frown* If she misses that, then she can simply say so! She’s usually very straightforward, after all… besides, I’ll spend enough time with her once we’re looking for apartments again… *quietly huffs again and says sarcastically* I’m sure that’ll be fun… *puts the salami on one of the slices of bread and the cheese on the other* *then cuts both slices in half and presses one half of the one with the salami into Matteo’s hand while he takes a bite off the other one* *says a little grumpily* Yes, I’ll talk to her…

Matteo: *thinks that it might also be that David said or did something that caused Laura to be angry at him, but doesn’t know what that might be and therefore doesn’t mention that and instead only nods* Yes, you should talk to her… it can’t go on like that… *then gets a slice of bread handed* Oh, thanks… my stomach also says thanks… *grins slightly and leans over the table to kiss him quickly* And now we’ll enjoy the delicious feast… you can’t clear up the thing with Laura today, anyways.

David: *doesn’t think that talking to Laura will be of much use, because she’s always shut down when it was about her, but nods at Matteo’s words regardless* I’ll at least try… but I bet it doesn’t have anything to do with me… or with us… probably it’s about something completely different… *smiles slightly when he gets a kiss and thinks that somehow, Laura ruined the mood and he could also sit here with Matteo and laugh and talk and enjoy the evening, but that instead, he’s in a bad mood because of Laura* *humms in agreement to his words and takes another bite off his sandwich* At least we have a delicious dessert…

Matteo: *shrugs one shoulder* That’s even better right? Then you might really be able to help her… *grins slightly when he mentions the dessert* Definitely… this will be the highlight…

David: *doubts that Laura would let him help her if it’s really about something personal, but doesn’t really want to talk about this with Matteo right now, because he’s in such a weird mood and because they actually wanted to talk about the Laura-thing calmly, but he doesn’t feel calm right now and instead feels annoyed and treated unjustly* *therefore only nods and humms in agreement* *reaches for the bottle of water next to his bed and takes a sip* *then puts it on the nightstand in case Matteo is also thirsty* *pushes the plate with the rest of the food toward Matteo, because somehow he isn’t hungry anymore, and then asks, to somehow change his thoughts* And did anything funny happen at work? Was your café-shift very stressful or was it okay?

Matteo: *does notice that the topic bothers David* *but doesn’t really think that his advice does much good, either* *therefore lets him change the topic and only shrugs one shoulder* Somehow not really… it was pretty quiet today… Kay actually announced a group that wanted to look at the facility… some LGBT-bicycle-club, but they cancelled… *eats the rest of David’s dinner, after he reassured himself that he really doesn’t want to eat it anymore* *then pushes the table aside and lies down next to David* *then tells him some more about a few things that happened at the café, while they eat the Tiramisu out of the tupperware box* *groans when the night nurse comes in, because he thinks that 10 o’clock arrived way too quickly again*

David: *it takes some time for him to get out of his bad mood again and he realizes only after they finished the Tiramisu and were quiet for some time afterwards, that today probably had been a little much, after all* *talks to Matteo about how happy he was that it went so well between him and his mother and how much the thing with his father and the ointment occupies his mind and how much it annoys him, because he doesn’t understand it* *also tells him how happy he was that Susanne really came to visit - even though it was weird at first with her and his mother - but also that he’s ultimately glad that they somehow managed to bury the hatchet and that they got along so well in the end* *eventually feels calm enough to talk to him about Laura, as well, and tells him that he’s naturally also worried about what’s going on with her, but that it’s sometimes difficult to get close to Laura, especially when it’s about herself - that in that case, she wants to be strong and that she thinks that she has to manage everything by herself* *tells him that the fact that she lets it out on him really annoys and bothers, and especially hurts him, and that he hopes that it’ll get better once they have talked and that Laura, whatever her problem might be, can somehow resolve it - with or without his help* *realizes that he’s able to relax and calm down a little because he talked about it and because he’s finally lying in Matteo’s arms and getting some physical closeness, and can feel how much he needs this closeness and how much he has missed it over the course of the day* *would love to ignore the night nurse and the fact that it’s soon already 10 o’clock again and instead keep Matteo with him* *thinks that they had way too little alone-time today and is annoyed that part of this time was overshadowed by such a foul mood* *really hopes that it will work out and that he’s able to go home so that they won’t have to say goodbye again tomorrow night* *clings to him a little when they finally say their goodbyes, but then lets him go, after all*

(next play)

#Druck #druck og #matteo florenzi #david schreibner #davenzi #davenzi plays

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