Nightmares leave you riddled with anxiety, but if you push through it, you'll find comfort on the other side.
You’re running for your life.
You’re running for your life in environments that don’t make sense, but you don’t care because whatever’s chasing you is still coming for you. You don’t know what it is, it changes shape every now and then, but it’s still coming after you. You run into a dead end, skidding to a stop. You don’t want to turn around, but you can still hear it behind you. Suddenly, it lunges and-
You wake up with a gasp.
The room around you is dark. This makes sense, it’s still the middle of the night, but after your harrowing experience, suddenly the darkness feels far more terrifying. You know there’s nothing hiding here… but what if there was?
Even after turning your bedside lamp on, you don’t feel safe anymore… at least not by yourself, that is. You’re not sure if going upstairs to wake up one of the brothers is a good idea, still not wanting to impose on them too much, but you know you’re not getting back to sleep until you do. With a shaky sigh, you slide out of your bed, constantly looking around to make sure no monsters have suddenly manifested to come after you.
The further you trek into the darker sections of their house, the more alone and exposed you feel. Being mini-giants, their house is massive compared to you, and while that doesn’t normally frighten you, it makes this journey seem much more perilous right now.
You keep close to the walls, your eyes adjusting to the limited light shining through the windows until you make it to the staircase leading to the second floor, where Drew and Erik are currently sleeping.
Thankfully, they’ve just installed a ramp at the side of the staircase, making it trivial to scale it, just for situations like this where you might need one’s attention. They may not have thought everything through when taking you on as a roommate, but to their credit, they are changing things as fast as they can to accommodate you better, and in such a huge place, it helps you feel more ‘seen’ by them. It’s evident that they care about you a lot, the reminder of which emboldens you to keep going.
You step onto the ramp, still clinging to the wall as you walk up, grateful that you never had to try and climb those stairs. Obviously, you could do it, but it would be quite the workout, and not one you necessarily feel up to right now. Your ascent up the stairs is completed with relative ease, the only problem being the anxiety that is now constantly tugging at you now that you’re so deep in the midst of the darkness.
After making it to the top of the stairs, you glance down the massive, pitch black hallway, a shiver shooting down your spine that almost makes you reconsider. Memories of your nightmare, of being chased, however, have you worried about what could be chasing you right now despite knowing there’s nothing there.
You continue to cling to the walls as you blindly venture forward, hoping that this journey will end with the comfort and security you desperately need right now. You jump when you feel a doorframe, noticing that the door itself is open, and you breathe a tentative sigh of relief knowing that you’ve made it somewhere with your sanity intact.
You slowly feel your way against the door, quickly realizing by the familiar smell that this is Drew’s room. With the limited light shining in through his window, you try to work out what is where, discovering his bed tucked in the back corner of the room. Thankfully, it’s not very cluttered, and you venture further into his room, occasionally turning around to see if anything is behind you.
As you approach the massive bed, you manage to find the mini-giant sleeping soundly. You can hear his slow, smooth breathing as he rests, guilt creeping up at the idea of disturbing him before you feel a wave of anxiety taking over. You feel a general sense of dread, knowing you can’t stand to cope with this by yourself. As quietly as you can, but still loud enough to be heard, you call out to him.
“Drew?” you whisper-yell, hearing his breathing pattern change as his sleep is interrupted.
He takes a deep breath, and you hear him mumble briefly before he reaches over and turns his lamp on, illuminating the room around you. You glance around warily, grateful to be able to see but still incredibly uncomfortable. He raises himself up on one arm, resting his head in his hand for support as he looks down at you, blinking sleep from his eyes.
“Hey short stuff, is everything alright?” he asks in a soft, sleepy voice.
You fidget nervously, feeling shy now that you can see him, and he can see you. You also feel safer, however, knowing that he can see behind you. You sigh shakily, wringing your hands in front of you.
“I-I had a nightmare,” you start slowly, but your words become frantic as you panic, “it woke me up and I tried to go back to sleep but now I just feel really anxious and I don’t know why and I can’t calm back down and I’m really sorry to wake you up, but I-“
“Whoa, hey, take a deep breath,” he interrupts, lifting his other hand vertically in a ‘calm down’ motion.
You do as he says, taking in a deep breath before letting it out. You feel a small bit of relief, but it’s not enough for you to let your guard down. You feel calmer the moment Drew speaks up again, however.
“Okay, let’s try that again,” he says gently. “You said you had a nightmare, yeah?”
You nod your head.
“What happened?”
You pause, taking a moment to try and collect your thoughts before you speak up again.
“Something was chasing me. I ran as fast as I could, but it got me anyway, and that’s when I woke up, but I still feel like I’m being chased, like there’s always something behind me even though I know nothing’s there, and it’s so dark, and....”
Drew nods his head, his sleepy gaze softening as he responds.
“And I’m assuming you need some help getting your mind off of that?”
You softly nod your head.
“I-If that’s okay, if not, I-“
“Of course that’s okay! Do you wanna sit up here with me for a bit?” he asks with a soft smile on his face.
You nod again, much more quickly this time. You know you’ll calm down if you’re closer to him, trusting that if something were to come after you, he would protect you.
He chuckles quietly, sitting himself up and adjusting his pillows and blanket to clear a spot for you to sit.
“Okay, let’s getcha up here, now.”
He leans over and lowers both arms over the side of his bed, his hands carefully reaching under your arms and wrapping around your back before he effortlessly lifts you up. Just feeling his fingers around your back relaxes you immensely, and you’re already much calmer when he sets you down in the spot he cleared for you. He then lays back down on his side, his hand holding his head up again as he watches you fondly.
“Those nightmares suck, I haven’t had one in a while but I know they definitely don’t just disappear after you wake up.”
You shake your head, glancing behind you again nervously.
“And this place is so big, I just feel so much more exposed, and it’s so dark…”
“Oh, I’m sorry… I can’t imagine what that must be like for you.”
“N-Normally it’s fine, but tonight, I just… I don’t know, I just don’t want to be alone right now.”
“Well, you’ve come to the right place, then. I’m right here, and I will be until you’re ready to go back to bed.”
You nod gratefully, idly fidgeting with your hands. He reaches forward with his own and offers it for you to hold onto, and you grab it tightly with both hands. He uses his thumb to brush over the back of one of them, and you’re grateful for the point of contact.
The two of you chatter for a while about various, trivial subjects, and it’s actually nice to get to know him a bit better. He hates coffee and thinks Erik drinks way too much of it, playfully warning you to be careful around him when he’s fully caffeinated. Both of them enjoy video games, but he prefers more relaxing video games while Erik enjoys more fast-paced, competitive games. You start to look forward to watching either of them play, now that you’re more comfortable around them.
He also plays the piano, and is learning the guitar as well. Erik plays an instrument too, but he wants to save some stuff for Erik to reveal to you himself.
Drew continues to softly talk to you until you feel calm and comfortable again. As you relax more, the conversation slows. You yawn softly, blinking your eyes to try and keep them open. He smiles triumphantly, and you can tell he’s pleased that he was able to help you with this.
“Looks like someone’s getting sleepy, are you ready to go back to bed?” he asks quietly.
You look back at the doorway to his room warily, then at him, watching his expression soften as he reaches out to brush the backs of his fingers across your face.
“Aww, you still look spooked. Don’t worry, I won’t make you go back out there.”
You watch as he lays himself back down fully on his side, the arm he’s laying on reaching around you and lifting up the edge of the blanket.
“C’mere,” he urges gently, his other hand reaching down to pat the surface of his bed right beside him invitingly.
You flush as you watch him beckon you to sleep under the covers with him. You figured he would just have you sleep in the spot you’re currently situated on, but instead he makes it clear he wants you right next to him.
You slowly crawl your way under the covers, immediately surrounded by warmth as you navigate your way over the biggest mattress you’ve ever encountered. Once you’re fully under, you turn around and look out at him, seeing him watching you adoringly. His hand pats the spot again before lifting away, leaving the spot open for you.
You crawl closer to him, peeking out to see him nod his head and further encourage you. Once you’re next to his chest, you lay down about a foot away from actually touching him. He then turns off the lamp, plunging you both back into darkness, and lowers the blanket over you both. As your anxiety returns, he reaches down and pulls you in the rest of the way, nestling you up against his chest and draping his arm over you.
Now tucked snugly against him, completely hidden away under the covers, you can feel his warmth and his presence completely enveloping you. Any fears of nonexistent threats hunting you down are immediately snuffed out as he holds you close, making sure you feel completely safe and protected with him. You take a deep breath once more, releasing it slowly and feeling it actually calm you this time.
The darkness around you, much more intense than it was before now that you’re hidden away under the covers, feels much less scary now that you have a mini-giant to hold you close.
“Sweet dreams, short stuff. I’ve got you,” he murmurs, giving you a small squeeze to him for comfort.
Feeling his voice rumbling behind you soothes you, and you snuggle backwards against him to fully embrace the comfort he’s offering you. He tucks his arm closer against you, and you reach your arms out to wrap them around him and hold him as well. You feel his chest expand behind you as he takes in and releases a deep sigh, followed by a content hum, leaving you wondering what you ever had to worry about with this idea in the first place.
Earlier that night, you awoke from sleep feeling vulnerable and terrified, but as you lay here now, cuddled up with Drew, you can’t think of a time where you’ve ever felt safer falling asleep than right now. You quietly yawn one last time, feeling the softest chuckle from him as he makes sure you stay nestled in close.
With his comforting presence surrounding you, you close your eyes and let yourself drift off to sleep, treated to far less terrifying dreams.
Washington Post is paywalling the article but it looks like Taylor Farms — a consumer bagged salad brand that also supplies produce to grocers and fast food chains like Taco Bell, Walmart, McDonald's, Chipotle, Burger King, KFC, and Meijer —may be at least one of the sources of the current cyclosporiasis outbreak.
Taylor makes bagged greens, salad kits, chopped salads, the works. Keep avoiding supermarket greens, but keep an especially close eye out for this brand/supplier. The above list of grocers and fast food chains is NOT exhaustive, so please continue getting lettuce and other raw produce taken off your burgers, sandwiches, etc.
Computers are so scary what if I accidentally hit F12 in a steam game and it takes a screenshot. What if I press shift + F12 while in word and accidentally save my document 😖
If you had to learn what the F keys on your computer do through me reblogging this post, then I'm glad you did. Computer literacy is not a skill that gets taught anymore, and it is absolutely one that needs to be taught in order to be learned. Don't ever feel bad for not knowing something, but ☝️ don't ever stop learning learning about your environment, the tools you use, and especially the people around you
shocked and appalled at the lack of bisexuality merch that uses hydrangeas
look at this thing
it already has the right colors and everything! this should be everywhere! we already have the lesbian violets and the gay green carnations, so why not the bisexual hydrangea?
so far I have scoured etsy and found one pair of socks with a nice hydrangea gradient (and it has bees, 10/10), an enamel pin with hydrangeas and a bi flag (not terribly subtle, 7/10) and a sticker that says "bi-drangea" (I am SO MAD that I didn't think of that pun myself, 11/10) AND THAT'S IT.
I REQUEST, NAY, DEMAND MORE BI-DRANGEA MERCH. COME ON, PEOPLE.
Whitebeard: sees right through you and laughs fondly, then gives in to whatever you want (he loves spoiling you)
Marco: is never fooled, and will only relent if he's tired or overwhelmed by his work (you give up quickly, he's no fun compared to the others)
Ace: falls for it so easily, he hates to see you upset and is clueless when it comes to manipulation (you sometimes feel a little bad for tricking him)
Jozu: is confused because he knows you're not genuinely upset, but gives in because he doesn't like to see you cry
Thatch: falls for it every time and always gives you the most dramatic reactions, he's the most fun to mess with and he never makes you feel bad for tricking him
Vista: knows you're playing with him (most of the time, you can fool him if you try hard enough) and will sometimes tease you a little before giving in, too happy to see your sad pout morph into a pretty smile
Blamenco: laughs at your antics and will placate you with some strange trinket or little gift he keeps in his many magical pockets (you can't trick him, but you'll still get a little something from him)
Rakuyo: 50/50, he's either completely fooled or calls you out on your lies with a loud cackle
Namur: does not understand your strange displays of fake emotions and will call someone else for reinforcement (if he gets Marco you're getting scolded, if he gets Thatch or Ace you're getting your way)
Blenheim: it depends what you're crying for, he tries to be reasonable and not spoil you as badly as the others, but he can't really resist your teary eyes and pouty lips
Curiel: so easy it's almost too easy, he caves in immediately and is one of the reasons Blenheim tries to be more stern
Kingdew: he doesn't understand what there is to cry about, and your little show doesn't work very well on him so you give up after a few disappointing attempts
Haruta: becomes very uncomfortable when you start crying, and it became more fun to try to make him cringe rather than try to get your way
Atmos: chuckles at your little show because his younger brothers tried that on him many times before, and you're no better than them (he thinks you're very cute so he will still spoil you, don't worry, he'll just make you work extra hard for it)
Jiru: frazzled and worried he'll get in trouble for making you cry, so he tries to remedy the tears immediately, which makes him both an easy and fun target
Fossa: is never fooled but always gives in with a heavy sigh, then gently reprimands you for trying to trick him like that (which Blenheim always tells him is pointless, since Fossa keeps rewarding your behavior)
Izou: unsurprisingly, he is never fooled, no matter how genuine you try to appear, and unlike Fossa he doesn't reward your attempts and will wait until you calm down to respond to your request
Roger: falls for it soooo easily, despite Rayleigh's assurances that you're tricking him, but will try to comfort you instead of giving you what you want
Rayleigh: chastises you and refuses to give in, so you don't often try that trick on him unless Roger is nearby
Gabban: laughs at you and then gives you tips to put on a better show and be more convincing (and will probably give you whatever it is you came crying for, he doesn't care either way)
Shanks: is (almost) never fooled by you, but can't resist spoiling you despite Beckman's admonishments (sometimes you really do fool him, and his crew will laugh at him for a while)
Beckman: responds with tired silence and tries to patiently lecture you, but his efforts are thwarted by his captain (and in the end he loves the smile you give him when you get your way)
Buggy: panics and gives you random things before finally listening to you and giving you what you wanted (you'll leave with an extra carnival plushie, balloons, candy, coins, whatever was in his pockets, and what you initially wanted)
Mihawk: your attempt to fool him is endearing, and he might let you work for a bit before either caving in or denying your demands (it's always worth a shot, you never know what mood he'll be in)
Crocodile: hates it when you cry and will throw expensive things at you to get you to stop, he doesn't really care if you're genuine or not, he just wants you to stop
One year ago today I posted this practically shot Iron Giant photo I created using real figures, lighting, miniature sets & my trusty old tin foil for water technique & cotton wool for the splashes.
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