#(everyone takes 1-2 science per year of high school)

[m0onjellies]

I actually think that high schools should be set up more like colleges but with a little bit of extra help from teachers bc wtf is this

[liesmyth]

How do you decide on focusing on distance vs speed with jogging? I started jogging about 6 months ago and regularly jog a 10k with like a 14min/mile pace. Should I just keep doing that? Should I try to train for a half or do something specific to be faster? 🫂 really appreciate all your tips

HI! first of all, regularly doing 10k is A LOT and you're very cool for it (call me biased but I think running 10k at a slow-ish jog pace is more impressive than a very fast runner doing that same distance bc of how long it takes!)

if your objective is getting faster, and you already have the weekly mileage part down, you might want to transition into a training schedule! most of them follow the format of mixing up 1) "easy runs" (conversational pace / jog) during the week + 2) one "workout" (tempo run or interval run) + 3) a weekend "long run" which is longer than the others. Interval runs along with running volume (weekly mileage) are what really gets you faster in the long run. You don't have to sign up for a specific event, ofc, you can just follow a training schedule for yourself, but if there are some in your area I think it can be fun to have a deadline to train for and a goal to achieve. (Also I love the vibes of local races)

I think a 10k would be a sweet spot for you because it's a distance you run semi-regularly and know you can finish, which takes off a lot of the mental aspect of it IME, and you can give yourself a reasonable goal.

anyway here are some resources — lmk if you have any follow-up questions!!

r/running FAQs. reddit running nerds use a lot of slang and a lot of that stuff in there is majoring in the minors. go straight for the information that interests you and ignore everything else. includes links to popular training plans

bare bones training plan with no specific goal. Based on your jogging pace, aim for 12:10-ish for the "tempo" intervals, and 11:15-ish for the "speed run" intervals. For the long run, keep doing what you're doing finishing 10k; the "workouts" will be considerably shorter in terms of distance. If you run more than 3 times per week, throw in a fourth run in addition to those the comment suggests, at your usual jogging pace, 3 miles tops.

speaking of running plans — I kinda went off on a small rant under the cut that may or may not be useful to you if you're a nerdy type. Otherwise, discard

IF you are of the geeky persuasion, I would recommend picking up ANY "running training" book at your local library (or on the high seas. hit me up!) just to figure out once and for all the various jargon you'll see floating around online. I can't stress enough how many of the training plans out there are just riffs on the same basic principles with slightly different philosophies — once you get it, that's it. There's such a wealth of information in the jock nerdy spaces of the internet, but there's also kind of a big entry barrier because everyone uses slang like "lactate threshold" and "marathon pace" and it's very easy for novices to get lost.

If you're the kind who likes to do their own research, I do recommend picking up a training book. It's great for the slang but also for understanding once and for all the reasoning behind why running plans are structured in a certain way, and how to tweak them to suit your needs + a lot of advice about recovery, nutrition post workouts, how to pick paces etc. and the science behind it. However: I can't stress enough how absolutely optional this is lmao. I guarantee you that most people who run 1) don't need an elaborate program and 2) would never dream of "reading" about it. But, many habitual runners rely on experience and trial and error, or maybe they did sport in school or are part of a running club, or spent a few years fucking around and finding out. Personally, as someone who picked up running knowing nothing about it and not wanting to risk injury, I've found that doing a deep dive into "Why do people recommend X and Y" has really helped me feel like I knew what I was doing. But you don't have to!

^ I hope this wasn't too confusing lol or that it doesn't make you feel like you have to do homework to enjoy moving around. You really don't! But if you want to switch to a more methodical approach and see results, I think it's worth looking into it

[weirdthoughtsandideas]

Randomly thought about how Mean Girls would work in Sweden.

First of all, ”get in loser, we’re going shopping” would not work, because no one under 18 has a driver’s license. Unless Regina drives an epa tractor (which is a car not allowed to go past 50 KMs per hour and that you can drive already at 15 years old). However, epa tractors are kind of more of a thing for the kids living out in the countryside that have a far way to school, and is more dominant in small towns rather than cities. And Regina I don’t know would have one. But maybe.

”Whatever, I’m getting cheese fries” is complicated to pull off. Swedish school food is free, and they serve a different meal every day. Never ever do they serve cheese fries. However, Regina could have 1) Gone to the city during lunch time and bought herself cheese fries at some fast food place or 2) The high school does not have a cafeteria and all students have to fix lunch themselves, so Regina got cheese fries that way

Oh yeah. High Schools in Sweden are different. You see, after ninth grade, everyone picks a program, a certain theme they wanna focus on more in their education. Whether it’s science, languages, social studies… there’s also performing arts, and you can pick more kallar practical programmes like building, handyman and even makeup and animal care. When you have picked a program, you’re assigned to a certain school that provides it. All schools are different, and some do not provide lunch at school so you gotta get it yourself, and others do.

I’m imagining the plastics doing the social studies program. It works really well for them. Cady has the nature program (this is for science and maths). Now, Janis and Damian does seem like the performing arts types, but also, not every theatre/art kid does go performing arts. You can still choose art classes and stuff regardless of your program (my school also put up a musical every year even if we weren’t a performing arts school). I’m gonna be a little biased and I’m gonna put them in the humaniora program (the program I also took hehe). This program focuses more on language, but also on culture, there’s two alignments you can choose between. I think Janis chose culture and Damian chose language. So he’s taking french classes + getting to learn latin and Janis gets to learn about art and culture history. In the last year everyone in the humaniora program also get a mandatory film and tv class.

Besides mandatory classes every program provides, they also have choosable subjects you can pick from (and these classes are often with kids from every program together, so this is ways the characters could interact despite having different programs). You get to pick several, but I’m just gonna go with at least one I know everyone would pick. I know Janis probably picked art. Damian I feel would take russian or japanese or italian (languages you could take at my high school). Cady and Gretchen def would take rhetorics class and learn debate. Cady would also take advanced math ofc. However, Regina and Karen I’m very unsure about.

Cady would be in mathlethes, it could be possible. Many high schools have clubs, and it’s possible a math championship would be arranged.

We don’t have school buses in the same way here, at least not for high school (school buses and school taxis are more a thing if you live out on the countryside and every kid in an area is going to the same school, and is more of a thing in elementary school. Not in high school). This means the buses are often public ones. And, absolutely that Regina could be hit by a bus, although it would be a much bigger deal because it would most likely be a public bus with passengers inside. It would be city news about dangers in the street.

Though, tbh, besides some details with the culture difference and stuff, the plot could have still very much played out the same. Mean girls exist in Sweden too, and there’s def swedish Regina George types. I’ve met some irl (although in middle school, but still).

[hugintheraven]

I posted 4,434 times in 2022

That's 1,637 more posts than 2021!

33 posts created (1%)

4,401 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@hikari-ni-naritai

@jabberwockypie

@unpretty

@tooquirkytolose

@laikaspeaks

I tagged 2,212 of my posts in 2022

Only 50% of my posts had no tags

#q - 787 posts

#politics - 249 posts

#religion - 108 posts

#lgbtq - 92 posts

#dracula - 68 posts

#d&d - 54 posts

#science - 48 posts

#history - 44 posts

#about me - 38 posts

#linguistics - 35 posts

Longest Tag: 133 characters

#it's impossible for me to actually figure out how good it is because every single possible change is infinitely better than jj's crap

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

So, some basic thoughts

The sequence of events is basically Chris Rock makes joke, then Will laughs while Jada looks hurt, then Will walks up and slaps Chris, then Chris tries to play it off, then Will says “Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth” until Chris agrees.

So I think initially Will didn’t register the joke. He’s an actor at the Oscars, Smile and Laugh is basically his job for the night. Then he saw how Jada was taking it and reacted to that. Which I like. It makes the situation less “don’t insult MY wife” and more “don’t hurt the woman I love”. 

I also don’t think that was over the line. It was an extreme reaction, but this isn’t the first time she’s listened to jokes about her medical condition. It might be the last, though. Which appeals to me, honestly. It reminds me of high school, sometimes the only way to make people stop is to hurt someone. And Will kept it controlled. 

Honestly, a good reminder to all stand-up comedians, late night hosts, etc, there’s some jokes you shouldn’t make. Learn where the line is and stay on the right side of it. Or invest in a good dental plan, whichever. 

99 notes - Posted March 27, 2022

#4

Dracula Daily and Fanfic

So, I decided to look into AO3 and see what this fandom produced since the beginning of *gestures vaguely* ALL THIS. 

Historical context: Pre-2016, there were 166 fanfics total in the Dracula(Bram Stoker 1897) tag on AO3. 2016-2019, there was an average of 60 fics added to the tag per year. In 2020, Moffat dropped a BBC Dracula series and the fandom exploded, posting 242 fics in 1 year. 2021, things died down, only 156 fics posted, still far better than any pre-2020 year for the tag.

And in 2022, as of November 11, the tag has 320 new fics. Double last year, and the year’s not even over yet. Of those, 265 have been posted since May, which is more than the previous record year(Moffat), and this fandom did it in 6 months. Congratulations, that is legit impressive and I just want to say thank you to everyone involved. I hope to see more fanfics added to that list so that I have to revise my numbers even further in 2 months.

Now, some disclaimers. This data was gathered manually so I may have messed up some marginal things, and the practice of uploading other archives and backdating fics makes it more confusing. I have also not excluded crossovers. This means that this definitely includes some works based on the 2013 TV show(for example) that were tagged with this fandom as well, but defining a crossover in a useful way for my purposes here seems difficult. And I only checked the Bram Stoker Dracula tag, because the “All Works” Dracula tag will include plenty of other unrelated works. And of course, there’s fanfics that are in the tag for this year that aren’t Daily-related. But the conclusion is pretty clear anyway, this was a good year for Dracula fanfic.

181 notes - Posted November 11, 2022

#3

So, that one 911 scene is based on a true story

See the full post

223 notes - Posted April 25, 2022

#2

Summer is coming

Do NOT leave anything in your car that you aren’t willing to see melt. That includes pets and children. Yes, you’ll “just be 5 minutes”, but then there’s a line. You get some poor retail worker on their first day. And then you get back to your car and it’s 115 degrees inside. Don’t do that. Small creatures can’t regulate their temperatures as effectively as you, they can overheat and die very quickly. Bring them with you or leave them home, do not leave anything in your car. 

1,868 notes - Posted April 24, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Oh look, there’s a reason Elon’s suddenly become so transphobic recently. One of his 18 year old kids just filed name change paperwork. She’s going by Vivian Wilson now. All the support for her, and given how he’s behaved about this, hopefully one of Elon’s rockets screws up and renders him no longer anyone else’s problem. 

2,648 notes - Posted June 20, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[allalliecreate]

In middle school (I think seventh grade?) I learned there was potential for the books they made us read to be good because we were simultaneously reading The Giver in English and a sci-fi book that I don't remember in science.

But when I got to high school I was quickly disappointed. I hated 9th reading Animal Farm, The Odyssey and Romeo and Juliet. I was only vaguely bored reading the actual works (no strong feeling either way) but hated writing the papers they made us write. They always had very specific topics and it seemed like if I felt I did a good job, nope you get a D. I hate this paper? Much better, B+. I was so anxious I was constantly getting stomach aches and my mom had to institute a "one absence per month" rule. When it came time to pick classes for the next year, I tried to pick regular English rather than honors, but the counselor kept trying to convince me to continue in honors English, I was so smart, she knew I could do it. I was to anxious to say no I don't want to do more I only did that year because I was already doing the honors math and I thought I could just get the advanced degree (there was three degrees we could get: the standard, the advanced with 1 year honors English and geometry, and advanced with honors that had 3 years honors English and up to precalculus I think).

10th grade was better, but I was absolutely bored reading The Scarlet Letter and Julius Caesar. We might have also done papers or read more things, but I really can't remember them. All I remember is I did better in 10th grade than 9th. I was once again convinced that I should do honors English, was once again too anxious to do the opposite.

Then summer reading came along. Every year before an honors English class, we had to pick a book from a list and read it over the summer, write a paper, and take a test on it. I picked And Then There Were None. I loved it. 10 years later, I still have it in my bookshelf. Then the school years starts, and I think I had the best English teacher that year that I had ever had. We did a poetry unit that I can't really remember other than I used canvas for the unit project. Then we did The Great Gatsby. It was so fun (a mysterious neighbor whose always throwing wild parties!) , and again we had a project to do rather than a boring pretentious paper to write. We had a big list of item we could pick from and we had to choose 2 to do. I don't remember any of them except two. One was to draw a scene. An artist in our class did a comic of when Nick met Gatsby that had everyone thirsting over Gatsby. The other option I remember was one I picked: you had to rewrite a scene from a different character's perspective. I did Daisy and when I presented it I even read it like I thought Daisy would talk. Everyone thought it was so good and I kept that writing for years. I think it got thrown away with my other high school writing and at the time I saved everything at school so I have forever lost it.

And then we were told we were going to To Kill a Mockingbird. I was so positive it would be back to the stuffy boring books about people doing very little and flowery language and stuffing your face with symbolism. I was completely surprised that it was about a little girl. That had adventures with her brother, who was also under 10! We did have to write a paper for it, but it was a short one. We had to argue whether or not the two sub-stories (Atticus's trial and Scout's adventures learning about Boo Radley) could be separated and still be complete stories. I think I argued that while they may not be able to be two independent stories, they could be separated into two companion novels and still be as satisfying. I don't know if I still believe that, I haven't read it since then, but it is one book I wish I had my own copy of.

12th grade wasn't as good as eleventh, but I did like reading Beowulf and The Canterbury Tales, and just a little of King Arthur. Macbeth was also fun. What I really enjoyed the best was that I was no longer in honors English. That year, instead of doing a long paper on a single vague word (like "honesty" or "bravery" or "love") that the honors students had to spend the entire year researching, I got to write a paper on what makes a hero using a movie hero. I know I wrote about Mulan and I think the main point of my argument was that she wasn't a princess with a whole country to consider, she wasn't some chosen one who had to make a choice to make or break the world, she wasn't even being specifically hunted by some evil. She was just a daughter that loved her father.

got thoughtful about opinions on bad books so here’s an inverse: what’s a book you had to read for school that you actually enjoyed/have grown to like? mine is Lord of the Flies

[andstilliam]

Got a sleep score of 87 with 8 and a half hours and I still woke up exhausted, so I went and got a cappuccino from my favourite cafe. Skipped my morning chem class. Chemistry is really stressing me out. If I could drop the course, I would, but I can't because chemistry is fundamental to my major. I need the intro credits. Thankfully, for neuroscience, a 70% is not a required grade for chemistry. I do need a minimum of 70% in biology and and psychology to get into the Neuroscience program.

I like chemistry. I just haven't studied it in well over a year and so I have to review all the concepts from scratch. Additionally, I have chemistry 3x a week this semester and there's 2 pieces of work due before and after every class. So it's a lot of work and I haven't completed any of that so far because I'm literally catching up on basic review. The grading scheme for the course is also really weird and I'm still trying to understand it. Not to mention the GPA scale for this school generally speaking is off the charts. It's not like this anywhere else. It doesn't stop at 4.0, we have 4.3, like what even is that? I don't really understand the purpose of that.

I dragged myself out of bed this morning for a psych lab that I realized doesn't start until the end of September. So here's my reminder to check the lab schedule because I did the same thing for chemistry on Wednesday; showed up to a lab that hadn't started yet lol.

3 courses is full time at my school, so I'm glad I'm only taking 3 courses. Plus I knew it'd hit different taking pure sciences compared to CS.

Still waiting for 1 more person to drop the online psychology class within the next 4 days so I don't have to attend labs in person.

Anyway, I chose this school for a variety of reasons:

1) Minimal entrance requirements. I took the Arts route in high school so it wasn't even required to have grade 12 calculus or any of the pure sciences (though it was recommended). I took a few junior and senior credits to prepare myself, but it was not an academic requirement for the program.

2) Course flexibility. Most programs for both CS and Neuroscience require physics, up to 3 levels of Calculus, Linear algebra and Discrete functions. This school had the least math and no physics. Not that it's a barrier or advantage per se, but I thought that was different. It also meant that for CS in particular, I could take introductory courses that were applied in nature rather than spending the first 2 years of my degree taking pure sciences and maths before learning applicable concepts. The Neuroscience program is slightly different because you have to meet the requirements before declaring the major and so you do have to spend the first year taking the required chemistry, biology, psychology, math and stats courses. But again, that's only 1 year and you can still take electives on top of that.

3) They have a Bioinformatics minor. Bioinformatics programs are usually not accessible to undergrads. They may have a course available, but an actual major/minor is a rare find. This also means that I can easily take CS courses without being a CS major. A lot of CS departments are incredible exclusive and you cannot take a SWE or SWD course without having been accepted and declared as a computing student, which is an increasingly competitive program to get into.

4) Co-op opportunities. Less competition than bigger cities.

5) Research. Everyone knows U15s have outstanding research funding and variety in types of research offered to students and the community at large. At least, that's what's advertised. They are also open to undergraduate students whereas some other U15s are exclusively for graduate students only.

6) Unique programs. They have a grad program in Medical Neuroscience. Who doesn't want a Neuroscience degree with the term "Medical" alongside it? LOL........

7) Combined Honours programs. Double majoring is easier when you can split the courses for each major in half instead of doing 2 majors at once. Some schools will allow double counting, but only up to a certain number of credits.

8) Low CoL compared to a big city where I'm from. I can raise a family out here and own property.

[starsstuddedsky]

Seventeen Masterlist - Reqs

Seungcheol

↳ In Sickness and Secondhand Embarrassment

summary: what’s the best part of a terrible date? the end. that is, until a roommate catches covid and you’re forced to stay together (wc: 5.3k)

Jeonghan

↳ Jeonghan's Guide to Insurance Fraud (And Falling in Love)

summary: your best friend offers a way for you to get your wisdom teeth removed without going into debt. the only catch? you can’t fall in love (wc: 11.2k)

Joshua

↳ Please Know My Feeling (3/4 of Soccer Boys)

summary: bitter about your ex boyfriend moving on so quickly, you decide to ask your friend to be your fake boyfriend to prove that you could move on just as easily. but what happens when you can't tell the difference between what's fake and what's real? (wc: 12.1k)

Jun

↳ Something In Between

↳ Your Existence (4/4 of Soccer Boys) coming soon

↳ Tip the Glass, Pour Me Out

summary: drunk confessions, one sided love, and late realizations (wc: 2.4k)

Soonyoung

↳ New Year's Eve

summary: how do you find a last minute partner on new year's eve when your friends spontaneously betray you to find partners of their own... OR what happens when you kiss a (not so) stranger (wc: 1.2k)

↳ What? Like It’s Hard?

summary: With the help of a little bit of bleach, Soonyoung is certified legally blonde–complete to last minute-dedication to scoring as high as Elle Woods on the LSAT. While he has no interest in law school, he’s notorious for never turning down a dare. So how does a frat bro in serious danger of failing his senior year get a 179? He asks the smartest person he knows. Or, studying for a law test has never seen this much chemistry. (wc: 24.3k)

↳ Pumpkin’ to Talk About

summary: (caratlibrary october event) “I thought Cinderella was supposed to come in a pumpkin carriage, not come with a pumpkin for a head.” (est wc: 3k)

Wonwoo

↳ Blown Up Love

summary: gaming is all fun and... well, games, until you start crushing on the only person that takes pity on you and saves you from mobs. (wc: 7.1k)

Jihoon

↳ Struck By You (literally) ⭑ bonus!

summary: the most embarrassing moment of your life happens when your crush accidentally hits you in the face with a ball. but maybe there's still a chance for romance somewhere in there (wc: 4.9k)

↳ As A Matter of Fact

summary: when you're caught in a simple lie, the best solution? dig in your heels and stick to your guns until everything inevitably goes wrong and everyone gets hurt

or, a serial dater and a pessimist fake a relationship in the vain hope that nothing will go wrong (full wc: 38k (varying per chapter))

Minghao

↳ 11:59

summary: your (very new) boyfriend has a surprise for you (wc: 1.7k)

Mingyu

↳ October 11

summary: fall rains are never your favorite but a warm smile might just change that (wc: 2.9k)

Seokmin

↳ If You Call Me (2/4 of Soccer Boys)

summary: choosing to be partners with the soccer player in your science gen ed was bound to be a mistake, but when he insists on bringing you gifts to compensate for the notes you always share with him, you decide it means war. who will win this battle of kindness? and will you ever know if the feelings you have developed will be returned? (wc: 7.9k)

↳ Lingering

summary: sunrise at the beach with a crush (wc: 1k)

Seungkwan

↳ As It Was

summary: working as a bodyguard for one of the most famous pop stars in the world turns out to be a lot different than you expect, and somewhere along the way, you find out you aren’t nearly as different from him as you thought… (wc: 10.2k)

Vernon

↳ Can I Make It Any More Obvious?

summary: telling everyone you already have a date to prom is a brilliant idea, until the one person you actually want to go with overhears (wc: 1.6k)

↳ Tangled in Love

summary: there's nothing in the world that vernon loves more than cats. at least, that's what you think (wc: 3.8k)

Chan

↳ Shall We? (1/4 of Soccer Boys)

summary: having a crush on your best friend made everything more complicated. would you be able to tell him how you felt, or will you be stuck in this limbo forever? (wc: 6.3k)

special:

Seventeen Halloween

Soccer Boys Masterlist

[kira-fluff]

Hi bestie! I was wondering if I could make a request for telling kuroo you used to have a crush on him in high school (you also still do bc who wouldn’t love this man honestly) and maybe he admits his feelings for you?? He’s such a dork I love him so much

a/n: lovely anon i adore this request! thank you for sending it in!! it’s so nice to have some more free time lately, hopefully i can answer more requests!

burning up inside

telling kuroo you “used to” have a crush on him

pairing: kuroo tetsuro x fem!reader; [tw: mutual pining and slowburn] NOT ANGST but lemme be honest the chem situation may or may not be from personal experience lol ,,, can you tell kuroo is my favorite character?

telling tetsu this, years later, would break him.

you’d been friends since high school, the kind that everyone sort of suspected of being a secret couple, but no one dared say a word lest it all become awkward.

you’d met kuroo in your chemistry class and god did you need all the help you could get — balancing equations was satisfying, easy even. but unfortunately that wasn’t all the chemistry was. you wouldn’t count yourself as someone who is a fan of micro sciences, preferring organ systems to atoms. so when you received your latest test back and scored a D, you blanched. there was no way you were going to pass this class. the teacher wasn’t very helpful, assigning worksheets that were so easy to google and find the answers for that a four-year old could achieve it. you didn’t like cheating, but with mounds of other other homework it seemed like the only option when you were nearing 2am. in all honesty, you’d tried to do the honest work, burning your eyes out from rereading the same sentences from your chem textbook, trying to make yourself understand how to make sense of it all. it seemed like whoever made the textbook decided they were going to explain everything in a way that will deliberately make every student question their intelligence and insanity. you felt guilty, getting the worksheets back with “100% ‘fantastic job!’” on the top, but if it meant you’d pass the class, you figured you could teach yourself all the material before the quizzes and tests anyways.

upon getting that D back, however you realized maybe it was time to ask for help. not from the teacher because, well, that would be 1) proving you 100% did not understand any of the content you so effortlessly completed on the worksheet and 2) if he were actually good at explaining the content you wouldn’t be in this mess to begin with.

you frowned at your lab partner. he bit back a grin of pride with his hand over his mouth as he eyed his “A+ ‘excellent use of Avogadro’s #!’” seriously, was that even real japanese? it kind of pissed you off, this guy seemed to be good at everything. you had all your highlighters and pens at the ready, vigorously taking notes during each class only for you to still barely pass despite reviewing all your sheets of information. he seemed to at least be paying attention, which was good because that would REALLY do you in if he got As and he wasn’t even listening… but all he did was occasionally scribble down a formula with his dull pencil or perhaps work through a scientific process during class and BOOM! you peaked over at his notes at one point and couldn’t make sense of any of them. kuroo tetsuro. chemistry genius? no, probably genius in all subject areas. and then there was you. you weren’t dumb per-say, in fact, you were known as an overachiever with the intellectual skills to back it up. but let’s just say there are some subjects that, no matter how hard you worked at, no matter how many notes you took, you couldn’t quite wrap your head around the concepts. you tried to reassure yourself, there were some classes people excelled in and others they don’t - you don’t have to be good at everything.

but why was he!?

after going circles in your mind like that for the entire lecture following (which was thankfully gothic architecture, a subject you already knew a lot about), you’d made up your mind to talk to him.

you (1:34pm): hey, kuroo, right? this is y/n. i sit next to you in chem (it’s ok if u can’t remember) anyway, i was wondering, can i ask u a huge favor?

you turned your phone over, not expecting a quick reply when you heard a chime.

kuroo tetsuro (1:35pm): hey y/n! of course i remember you :) sure, ask away!

your heart warmed - what a sweetheart.

you (1:35pm): thank you so so much!!!!

you (1:36pm): so, basically, i was wondering if you could possibly, maybe, perhaps help me with chemistry? tbh i’m kinda struggling to get the concepts down haha

you (1:38pm): if you are busy tho i totally understand!! and like if there’s a subject you need help with i’ll do my best to assist!!!! :)))

kuroo tetsuro (1:39pm): absolutely!! no worries. i am the captain of the volleyball club so maybe a weekend would work if that’s okay with you?

kuroo tetsuro (1:39pm): is there a specific part that you need help understanding or all of it?

you (1:40pm): ;;;;

you (1:41pm): all of it….

kuroo tetsuro (1:42pm): hey, no shame! the first step in getting better is admitting you need help, right?

how is it possible for anyone to be this nice? is an angel among us?!

you (1:43pm): thank you so so much you’re a life saver seriously! i’ll bring you coffee or tea or something!! does sunday at 5pm sound good?

kuroo tetsuro (1:44pm): of course :) anytime!

kuroo tetsuro (1:44pm): no need, thanks tho :) that sounds great to me.

little did you know that behind this screen sat a slightly flushed and extremely ecstatic kuroo tetsuro - grateful at the perfect chance to finally talk to you.

sure, he had talked to you before - even had a few deep conversations. yet, you weren’t really quite able to escape the topic of small-talk. still, he was thrilled!

and so began weekend study nights. you’d felt comfortable enough with him already to invite him over to your apartment you’d rented out in order to study in a quiet place where you wouldn’t be disrupted. it was always a gamble in public places (even cafes and libraries) that there was a chance there’d be some large group that didn’t respect other’s right to privacy and shouted in the quiet places.

you sighed, rushing around your apartment nonetheless, attempting some last-minute touch ups. there was a knock at the door as you finished shoving some of your snacks into your small cabinet.

“kuroo! hi!” you gasped, as if you hadn’t frantically ran to your front door, jumping at the sound in a panic.

the air was just nearly knocked out of him. what a sight you were to behold. tucking a stray hair behind your ear, your eyes glimmered, shining brightly in contrast to the rather dreary day. he prayed you didn’t notice him eyeing you up and down, unable to help the soft sweep of his eyes across your gorgeous figure.

damn, the uniforms did not do your body justice, not one bit—what the fuck? kuroo, come on!

the last thing he needed was thoughts like that taking over his mind just as he’s trying to teach you fucking chemistry. you allowed him in, sitting yourself at your coffee table, patting the table next to you in invitation. damn, you were so cute. he bowed, taking off his shoes as he sat at the table with you.

“so, first chapter, then?”

you couldn’t hold back your light chuckle, a slight flush covering your cheeks in embarrassment. still, a little half-smile adorned his face as he flipped to the beginning pages of the book.

it went on like that for weeks and soon you found that there weren’t really any gaps in your conversation, no awkward pauses or strange moments. even after you were passing chemistry with flying colors, you and kuroo continued to make weekends you thing. that must’ve been the reason why it was so easy for you to fall for him — not that he made it especially difficult. in fact, falling for him felt about as involuntary as breathing. he was so considerate and hilarious, yet he thoroughly enjoyed any deep conversation you threw his way. he’d ponder your questions and take time to think about them, and if you disagreed he was always the first to find common ground. kuroo was sweet — that’s all there was to it. he had so many ways of showing you how much he cared about you. when you’d had your first fight, you heard a loud wrap on your door at 2am, finding a tearful kuroo apologizing as you immediately enveloped him in a hug, apologizing just as much as he did. you’d find little notes he’d written in your shoe locker, things like “good luck!” as if he mirrored your letters you’d sneak into his shoe locker before big exams or games. he talked about you so much, to the point that it was a running joke within the volleyball club that kuroo couldn’t go a single conversation without bringing you up. falling for you wasn’t easy for him because he wasn’t even aware that he had by the time he noticed. it wasn’t until he felt a moment in time that was completely frozen - nekoma had just won against one of their biggest rivals: nohebi. the very first person kuroo turned to, face elated as equally as it was sweaty — was you. all of a sudden, his face fell, his eyes growing wide. your face fell with his, thinking perhaps he’d hurt himself. you frantically ran over to him, embracing him and asking him if he was alright. his adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he peered down at you. he hoped his eyes told you what he was thinking - and yes, you saw he was desperately, feverishly trying to tell you something… but you couldn’t quite place what it was. but oh, those golden eyes. they shimmered like gold, smoldering like fire.

i want you, his eyes were trying to tell you, i want you so bad i’m burning up inside.

—

your hands carded through his hair, a soft hum vibrating through your chest.

you weren’t sure what in you led you to say it. maybe it was exhaustion, or perhaps hurt. maybe it was resignation - that it was time to move on.

“you know, tetsu,” you began, eliciting a rumbling hum from him in response below you, “i used to have a crush on you in high school.” you accompanied this confession with a laugh, but it came out as shrill and nervous - you cringed. you felt kuroo stiffen below you. he was silent for a moment, as if choosing his next words with great care.

“…in high school?”

your hands paused their ministrations for a moment. replacing your frown with a fresh smile, you pressed forward, “yep. the good ol’ days, right tetsu?”

you cursed inwardly as he sat up, those golden eyes piercing into your eyes. he’d sometimes do that - he’d try to tell you something with his eyes, but you could never decipher the message, yet too cowardly to ask.

“in high school.” he repeated. he wanted nothing more than to scream.

you scoffed sarcastically, “uh, yeah, weren’t you listening?”

his eyes searched your own, as if looking for an answer in your own - or maybe a question. you steeled yourself, lest his perceptive eyes uncover your true feelings.

“well, that kind of sucks then.” he finally said after sighing.

your eyebrows furrowed in a hurt expression, “hey, i know it was kind of cringe and you obviously didn’t feel the same way but you don’t have to be rude about it.” you huffed.

his eyebrows rose in shock, “is that what you think this is?”

you were beginning to grow angry - this was the most common reason for your fights - kuroo wanted you to read his mind, thinking his intentions extremely obvious. (they were to everyone except you.) you recalled the time you’d went out with a guy named matsukawa and you swore you remember kuroo glared at him for the whole week you went out.

you let out a sharp breath, “then what is ‘this’ kuroo?”

he winced at your use of his surname but continued on, “so you’re saying that you don’t like me now?”

you sputtered. “like” wouldn’t begin to describe it all. you long since had resigned yourself to the fact that you’re completely and utterly in love with him. you folded your arms, attempting to counter, “that’s not the point, you were being—“

“do you like me right now?” kuroo pressed, rising to his feet and inching toward you, a look of both desperation and pleading on his face.

you looked away, muttering something under your breath. he gently held your chin between his thumb and index finger, angling your face back to his. his face was incredibly close now. his breath fanned your lips as he whispered a soft, “please.”

you allowed yourself a shy nod. that was all it took for him to kiss you like it was the last kiss you’d ever had. his face was that of pure desire, desperation, and needing. if you’d only been aware of how badly he’d needed this, how badly he wanted this - for so, so long. he’d do anything for you. his kiss seared you, leaving you gasping for air and pushing at his shoulders to give him the hint that you do in fact need to breathe. he was a gentlemen, pulling back long enough to gaze lovingly at you, pulling his thumb across your plump lip, before he dove back in and kissed you just as long and hard. this process repeated for what felt like hours - sublime, magnificent hours.

at last catching your breath, he let out breathy, “i…love you…so, so much…”

you were everything to him, and you finally knew it.

[uwu-co-in]

What majors 'Attack on Titan' characters would have in a college AU:

Source: My Majors

Word count: 1.2k

1. Eren: Low Observables and Stealth Technology

• Something tells me that Eren would be really interested in weaponry and technology as such related, but not immediately

• 100 on 10 I'd bet, his father was the one who admitted him to this course

• At first, when he'd join the classes, he'd probably whine about how much he hates the subject, but he'd start becoming interested in it when a veteran from the same area of expertise came up one day in college for a seminar

• Score incredibly low in his first semester exams but he'd then start seriously working hard behind it

2. Mikasa: Linguistics

• Being of mixed ethnicity, Mikasa would've been brought up in a household that speaks both the languages so that the children inculcate the cultural heritage

• Would've been fascinated by languages from a really young age, and wanted to learn about it's history

• Almost went to the Low Observables and Stealth Technology major as well, to keep Eren company, but stopped at the last moment when she realised Linguistics had been her dream all along and she should not abandon it for someone else

• One of the toppers. You cannot convince me otherwise. Writes really neat and pretty notes in her perfectly cursive handwriting

3. Armin: Oceanography

• This was nobody's surprise. Armin knew what he wanted from the moment he heard about 'oceanography' while doing a science project in sixth grade, and had been talking about it ever since

• Exceptionally well in the statistically part of the subject, loses marks only in the theories. He has promised to improve it even more

• On the contrary to what everyone thinks, Armin does NOT study all day. I mean, not exactly the subject. He does look up on stuff about ancient history, geographical findings, scientific experiments along with having a small library of his own at home. About his subject, he studies smart and bags all the highest grades

• Poor boy was exploited by many in his first year, for everyone took his notes yet did not want to hang out with him, but knows better now

4. Hange: Evolutionary Biology

• Hange was the kind of kid who would've been extremely curious about everything that moves on the Earth's surface and after passing high school, they knew they would take something related to biology, but were extremely confused between the two favourites: anthropology and evolutionary biology

• Chose the later, because apparently someone told them evolutionary biology has a lot of hands-on practicals

• Bunked theory classes a lot, and were once hence almost not allowed to sit for the exams in the first year by the college. After that, they diligently attend all the classes

• Party equally hard, so they are not always sitting in front of the books. Prefer reading from printed notes than hand-written ones

5. Levi: Bioethics/Medical Ethics

• Unlike most, Levi didn't really choose his major per se. It was more like he applied for a bunch of different majors in a bunch of different colleges. While he got accepted in most, he randomly picked this because he had to pick one of them anyways

• Hange jokes how they will do the mad evolutionary experiments, and would employ Levi for consultation whether the experiments would be ethical or not. They will be a team!

• Becomes absolutely engrossed in his self study time. He likes to really organise things before sitting down to study: his college notes, his own personal notebook where he has hand-written all of it, his laptop, his stationary, his green tea and butter biscuits

• Very diligent about deadlines; often gets praised from professors about his meticulous projects and practicals

6. Historia: Juvenile Corrections

• Historia has had a rough childhood with her father being absolutely out of the picture and suddenly re-emerging in her high school days. With a negligent mother, she knew how easy it was for a young child to resort to crimes and thus, had chosen the subject after quite a long period of deliberation

• Does group studies; has a nice friends group of about seven to eight people, all of whom hang out and study together

• Is an average student, but her heart is in the right place

• Can't study for too long, takes a lot of breaks in between her study sessions; claims that snacking helps her study more efficiently

7. Ymir: Physical Education teaching and coaching

• While everyone was sure Ymir will take up something a bit aloof of the academics, no one expected her to take up a major that would entail her being a teacher later on

• Curses the subject every single day, but loves it too much to change it

• Originally thought that it would be more games than studies, but oh boy, how wrong was she :')

• Not really a good student in the theory, but does outstanding in her practicals; has even got the offer of being a TA of one of the professors, because apparently, the teacher was impressed by her agility on the field

8. Bertholdt: Developmental and Child Psychology

• Originally wanted to go forth with an English major, but did not get in his favoured college, so opted for this at a momentary decision because it seemed interesting

• Started studying seriously very late, because initially he was a bit depressed on this sudden decision; psychology had never been a part of his plan and was still processing the fact that he could not get into his dream college, even though he worked hard for it

• Even though he was an introvert, made friends pretty quickly and started becoming really engrossed in the subject

• Would work closely with Historia in future because their subjects are very inter-related in terms of future job opportunities

9. Reiner: Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution

• Reiner was a jock throughout his entire school life, and his choice of subject had his mother falling of her chair when she heard about it. His father, who had recently re-united with his mother, tried to butt in, but Reiner had firmly declared his decision

• Truthfully speaking, Reiner had wanted to choose Juvenile Corrections as his major to be closer to Historia, but didn't make the cut for it. Instead, he opted for this in the same college

• While feelings for Historia slowly dwindled, he seemed to have a newfound love for the subject. As an immigrant himself, he found the subject very close to his heart

• A bit better than average, he is more interested in the academic aspect of the major than those pertaining to an actual job

10. Annie: Nuclear Engineering

• It was during submission of college forms that Annie heard of this subject. It's calculations, experiments and would pay well one day is what she told everyone

• Always frustrated about how she couldn't score more than the the topper of the class (please take a break, sweetheart :')

• Would sit quietly while her father brags about how his daughter has chosen one of the most complex subjects to ever exist, and has been acing it with ease. Only she knows the mental exasperation she faced everytime she gets a score lower, because she wants to strive for perfection

• Drinks a lot of caffiene, to help her stay awake at night

(part 2)

[duggardata]

Anna and Mary Maxwell Might Be Attending [Bible] College.  (Wow!)

Recently, an eagle–eyed Anon spotted the 2 Youngest Maxwell Girls, Anna (28) and Mary (25), in the absolute last place you'd ever expect—a college campus.  It's all on Facebook... Anna and Mary appear in a photo posted by Appalachian Bible College to its official Facebook Page, along with caption: "The first day of classes. That's something to smile about!"  (Permalink.)

Why Are We So Surprised By This?

Ordinarily, two young women attending college wouldn't be at all shocking, but the Maxwells are not ordinary.  Anna and Mary's Parents, Steve + Teri Maxwell, are openly anti–college.  Steve thinks that state–run education, including higher education, is "a godless, promiscuity–promoting, humanistic environment," and that it traps young people in debt.  He is wary even of Christian colleges, since he believes they cause children to rebel.  He’s proud of his sons' lack of higher education, and praised them for "avoid[ing] the influence and cost of college." Teri is, sadly, just as opposed to college—especially for women.  Back in 1999, she wrote an article speculating that college may undermine a woman's ability to be a good and godly wife.  Her article laments—

"As far as our daughters go, I wonder how many of us developed independent spirits during our college or working days. Has this made it more difficult for us to submit to our husbands in the meek and quiet way we would like?"

Finally...  Anna and Mary's views on this topic seemed to be aligned with their parents, until now. According to Steve + Teri, all of the Maxwell Daughters had planned to be Stay–at–Home–Daughters until marriage.  (See Also.)  (And all 3 Daughters seemed to be doing so, since none had moved out.)  What is more, in 2010, Anna described college as "silly," and said that she thought attending would expose her to unsavory influences, and possibly hold her back from her ultimate goal of "be[ing] a stay–at–home wife and mother."

So, yeah...  This is quite a surprise!  And, while neither Steve + Teri, nor Anna or Mary, has actually confirmed that they’re enrolled at Appalachian Bible College, their appearance on the Facebook Page is definitely suspicious!

Tell Me About Appalachian Bible College.

TL;DR   If you just want to know how conservative and restrictive Appalachian Bible College is, skip down to “Student Life.”

Appalachian Bible College (ABC) is a tiny (~250 Students), insular bible college, located on 150 Acres in rural Mount Hope, West Virginia.  (The Maxwell Family hails from Leavenworth, Kansas, which >800 Miles Away.)  It self–describes as a “non–denominational and fundamental” institution, primarily associated with “Baptist and Bible churches.”  Unlike many so–called “bible colleges,” ABC is nationally and regionally accredited.  (Hurray!)

A lot, lot more information...  After the jump.

Admissions—

ABC requires prospective students to submit an application; transcripts from high school or home school; ACT, SAT, or CLT test scores; and two reference letters, one from a pastor and one from another mentor, e.g., teacher or youth group leader.  A high school diploma or GED is required, unless the student is homeschooled.  In that case, a detailed homeschool transcript is needed, and standardized test scores are “especially important.”

As part of the application, prospective students must attest that they agree w/ the college’s Doctrinal Statement.

Academics—

ABC offers four degree programs—Bible Certificate (1 Year), Associate of Arts (A.A.) (2 Years), Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) (4 Years), and Master of Arts (M.A.).  In addition, it runs an online program for degree–seeking or non–degree seeking students.  (But, Anna and Mary were spotted on–campus, so they don’t seem to be in the online program!)  Anna and Mary haven’t gone to college, so they almost certainly aren’t in the Master’s program.  Let’s just look at the rest...

(Sidenote—Before we go on, just want to point out...  All ABC graduates must, in addition to completing academic requirements, show that they are members of a church and that they possess good Christian character.  If they don’t, they won’t give their diploma!) 

Bible Certificate—ABC describes the one–year program as an “opportunit[y] for you to dig into Scripture and build your life on its unchanging truths.”  The program has two tracks—Bible + General Education and Bible + Ministry.  As the names suggest, both tracks’ core curriculum is the Bible and Bible study.  Both also require three courses in ministry—Foundations of Ministry, Biblical Theology of Missions, and Personal Evangelism & Discipleship.  Where they differ is is what else they require...

For the Bible + General Education Certificate, students must also take four ‘core’ classes—English Composition, Speech, Physical Education, Music, and “Success Seminar”—plus, an elective of their choice.  (This curriculum also mirrors the first–year curriculum of ABC’s A.A. and B.A. Degree Programs, so students can easily continue their studies, should they decide to do so.)

For Bible + Ministry, ‘core’ classes are waived in favor of extra theology.  Students take Principles of Biblical Interpretation, along with classes on Systematic Theology (2 Classes), the New Testament (Survey Class + 2 Classes), and the Old Testament (Survey Class + 2 Classes).

Associate’s Degree (A.A.)—ABC also offers a 2–Year A.A. Degree in Bible + Theology.  (That’s the only major offered.)  For this degree, the curriculum is a 50/50 split between General Education and Bible + Theology courses, plus a few ministry classes and electives.  All students take the following courses—

General Education   English Composition (2 Classes), Speech, Physical Education, Music, Biblical Worldview, and Ethical Issues in Ministry

Bible + Theology   Principles of Biblical Interpretation, Survey of the Old Testament, Survey of the New Testament, Matthew to Acts, Genesis to Deuteronomy, Paul’s Letters (2 Classes), and Doctrine (2 Classes)

Ministry   Theology of Missions, Foundations of Ministry, Evangelism & Discipleship, and Homiletics I (Males) / Bible Teaching (Females)  

Additionally, students must take a history class, a science or sociology class, and an elective.

Bachelor’s Degree (B.A.)—Finally, ABC offers a 4–Year B.A. Dual Degree in Bible + Theology and in Ministry.  Each student completes General Education classes.  Beyond that, each student is also a “double major.”  Everyone’s first major is Bible + Theology and everyone’s second major is ministry–focused—but, not everyone has the exact same Ministry Major.  (More on that in a bit...)  As far as curriculum, students must complete the General Education, Bible + Theology, and Ministry courses required for the Associate’s Degree, plus the following additional core classes—

General Education   Health, Psychology, Sociology, Finance, 2 History Classes (History of Western Civilization and American Church History), and 1 Science Class (Earth Science or Biology)

Bible + Theology   Joshua to Esther, Hebrews to Revelation, Isaiah to Malachi, Job to Song of Soloman, Doctrine (2 Additional Classes), and Bible Capstone 

Ministry   World Religion and Cults, and Homiletics II (Men) / Women’s Ministry (Women)

Finally, students must also pick a Ministry Major and complete its mandatory coursework.  At ABC, there are seven ministry majors to pick from—some of which have concentrations.  Here’s the list of Ministry Majors, with additional concentrations or sub–specialties listed in parentheses—

Biblical Counseling  (Youth & Family or Women’s Ministries)

Camping Ministry 

Elementary Education

Missions  (Biblical Languages, Foreign Language / Spanish, International Studies, Nursing, or Teaching English)

Music  (Pedagogy, Performance, or Worship)

Pastoral Ministry  (Biblical Languages or Youth & Family Pastoring)

Interdisciplinary

The Pastor Ministry Major seems to be limited to male students.

Click the links to check out the coursework each Ministry Major requires.

Student Life—

So, yeah...  ABC is not a progressive place.  At all.  They’re upfront about it, though, which is nice.  Their Student Handbook is online, available for all to read.  Here are some highlights...  (All italics are mine, not in original.)

Discipline / Consequences—Students who break the rules face discipline in the form of “a verbal or written Carefrontation, a fine, a work assignment, a temporary room or dorm confinement, a social [or] ... campus restriction,” or “some other determination.”  Egregious offenses may result in the student being “suspended ... , asked to withdraw from the college, or dismissed.”

Dress Code—There’s a detailed Dress Code, with different different activities requiring different standards of dress.  Perhaps surprisingly, pants are allowed for female students for all but the fanciest standard of dress.  (For that, they’ll have to wear skirts or dresses.)  Here are a few of the rules...

“Earrings may be worn by females only,” and “all other body piercing is prohibited.”

ABC students are prohibited from getting new tattoos.  If a student has an old tattoo, they may be required to cover it at all times if the Dean of Students deems it “offensive.” 

Prohibited Activities—ABC says that, “in order to remain above reproach,” students are prohibited from the following “questionable activities”...

Consuming “alcohol as a beverage,” tobacco in any form (including e–cigarettes), or drugs for non–medicinal purposes.  (Penalty for violating this rule is dismissal.)

Serving alcohol to others, even if done in the course of a student’s off–campus employment.

Gossiping, or engaging in “other forms of impure speech.”

Listening to, viewing, or reading “unwholesome” media or literature, or accessing websites “that do not promote godliness.”  (See Prohibited Media and Prohibited Music.)

Attending “commercial movie theaters.”

Gambling.

Dancing.

Prohibited Media—Per the ABC Student Handbook, ABC students shall not consume “any media (including social media) that features vulgar or obscene language, sexual innuendo, nudity, immodest clothing, or ... a blatantly non–Christian message.”  Additionally, students may not—  

Watch movies rated PG–13, R, X, or NC–17, or shows rated TV–MA.

Play video games or use apps rated A, M, or RP.

... and, they’re strongly cautioned to avoid media that promotes “unbiblical definitions of love”; endorses “witchcraft or the occult”; mocks “law or law enforcement”; denigrates “marriage and the traditional family”; or contains “excessive violence.”  Students are urged not to consume media made by people—e.g., actors, producers, directors—“known for their stand against Christian values.”

Prohibited Music—Students are banned from listening to music “that includes God–dishonoring language, anti–biblical messages ... , a prominent resurfacing beat, pulsating and driving or dance rhythms, or sensual overtones in the music itself or in the performance.”  They’re specifically cautioned to avoid...

Rock—Because the “lyrics may be unacceptable” and “[t]he beat of the music may become the most prominent element.”

Country—Because the “lyrics may be unacceptable” and the underlying “music may be connected to a heavy rock beat.”

Folk—As “[e]xistentialism, humanism, or hedonism may be propagated through the lyrics.”

Jazz��Since syncopation may be “extensive[ly] use[d],” and “a sensual performance style may be employed.”

Contemporary Christian—Since “a sensual performance style may be employed,” “a beat may be overly prominent,” and the “lyrics may be theologically incorrect or existential in their emphasis.”

Relationships—

“The Bible restricts sexual activity to marriage between a man and a woman.  Thus, fornication, adultery, incest, sexual abuse of a minor, homosexuality, indecent exposure, sexual harassment, and other such activities are forbidden.” 

“[N]o display of affection through physical contact (including holding hands) on the part of non–married couples, on or off campus.”

Dating students are forbidden from sitting together in class or chapel.

No male–female pair, dating or not, may be alone together in anyone’s home or residence, on– or off–campus.

No male–female pair, dating or not, may socialize off–campus without a chaperone, unless they’ve been at ABC for at least 4 Semesters.

Divorced students “shall not be permitted to date other ... students.”

According to ABC’s Student Handbook, all these rules apply to all students, at all times, on– or off–campus.

All in all, it’s great if Anna and Mary are attending college, even if it’s a super–duper conservative one, like ABC clearly is.  The fact that they’ve possibly left home and are out there, living on their own...  Crazy to even think about, given Steve’s apparent iron grip on his household.  It can only be good from them to venture out on their own, even if it’s just to a slightly less stifling place.

[thecrimsonjaguar]

A Short List of Adventure Time AUs

So I got a google doc of adventure time aus I’ve made over the past two or three years. Here are some of my favorites (and also the ones I came back to and edited)

If you’ve got ideas for an au or ideas to add onto the preexisting ones I’ve got here, please tell me! I’m always up for some au discussion. 

1.) Jermaine AU: Jermaine comes to live at the treehouse after his house blows up. This, unlike canon, happens rather early in season 3. The rest of the series mainly stays the same, except this time there's three brothers instead of two. He's a kinda anxious dude with demon hunting expertise and a painting hobby. He sometimes wonders if he made Dad disappointed by letting all his work explode. Finn and Jake help him out, and he helps them. Despite this, Jermaine is the only one with a brain, and Finn and Jake share exactly one (1) braincell that they trade every so often. Jermaine is tired. (Jermaine is the only one who tries to clean regularly, and he's also the one to keep Neptr, Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant, and a few others company. He's a bit of real wisdom the early series Finn and Jake needed.

2.) Melted Ice AU: Mid season two, IK is hit with something that de-ages him. He turns six. Maybe this mystery de-aging thing blows up the top of the ice mountain, who knows. Maybe he wakes up in the snow, with no memory of how he got there or why. No memory of the last one thousand years. Finn and Jake don't know about his backstory since that happens in season three. Simon is carried by a snowman out of the ice kingdom where he breaks down in the plains. Finn, of course, finds him and is ecstatic to meet another human. Completely missing the fact that this small child is, in fact, the Ice King, Finn declares to help this boy no matter what. That promise soon becomes difficult when people hear about the second human in Ooo, and whatever effect that's keeping him young starts to wear off. (Marceline comes to visit and has a heart attack)

3.) Adventure Falls AU: AT x GF baybee!! Seventeen year old Stanley Pines hops on the Stan O' War and sets sail when he's kicked out. Unfortunately, that boat is nowhere near sea worthy, and all it takes for him to go overboard is one sudden (magical) storm. But, miraculously, Stan doesn't die. He washes up on Ooo, the island of misfits. Where there's daddy issues galore and punching things and getting gold is a legitimate career. He's found on the shore by none other than Finn, who asks if he's okay and if a dungeon adventure would soothe his worries. Stan accepts, because that sounds awesome, and they maybe date. For the next ten years, Stanley is a professional hero. He travels with Finn, he lives in a tower with tons of gold, he's respected, adored, and has made a family for himself. Ooo has a habit of forcing traumatic therapy onto to people, so Stan gets (read: is forced) to work his issues out. And then, somehow, he gets a postcard from his brother.

4.) Young Pups AU: Jake's kids grow up fast- but not that fast. He stays with lady for a few episodes being Dad and when the Pups are old enough, go visit Finn and Jermaine. Also Jermaine is there when the pups are born that always bothered me in canon like what the fuck. This whole AU results in Jake the Dad being a better father than in canon, because he actually has time to make mistakes and learn from them. He sometimes shapeshifts into one of those baby carriers but suited for five kids instead of one. Finn and Jermaine fight for best uncle privileges. Finn is considerably more awesome but Jermaine's got magic junk and juicy stories about Jake. So far the votes are: FINN: Jake Jr, T.V.  JERMAINE: Kim Kil Whan, Charlie. Viola remains undecided.

4.) Evilgreen AU: Evergreen was evil. His idea to make the crown to stop the comet was actually a cover story to take control of all the elements and freeze everything. Of course the same thing happens here as it did in canon, Gunther gets the crown and wishes to *be* evergreen. This is bad. Very bad, so bad in fact, that things get FUnKy. A couple eons later, Simon gets the crown as per canon, and then things start to slide downhill. Since the crown is significantly worse, Simon tries to get rid of it. No amount of magic pull is going to get him to put on the eldritch hat. It teleports back. When things go to shit, the crown tells him he's got two options: He can either live, or he can live unwillingly. This all coalesces in super angst and mild horror as Simon has to fight off evil urges and somehow keep both he and Marceline safe. Things start looking up, though, when he summons Hunson Abadeer.

5.) Nightmare Therapy AU: Simon, now himself post canon, has some funky nightmares. Problem is: he's due for a visit from the cosmic owl due to some mystical bureaucratic bs. If that were to happen, Simon's dreams of Golb and Orgalorg and the world ending and everyone dying and maze would come true, without the veil of metaphoric junk dreams are known for (also due to bureaucratic bs). So, Simon gets a dream therapist. An OC, probably, that would fight off his nightmares when they came and talk to him about his issues.

6.) High School AU: Except they're all still magic and crap. Finn's a jock that's part of the LDnD club(Literally Dungeons and Dragons), Jake's got a job at a pancake place and hosts the Card Wars clubs on Wednesdays, Jermaine's in college and their parents were still detectives/demon hunters. PB is preppy/nerdy girl with weird fucking family and is absolutely a mad scientist. Marceline is still a demon/vamp (vampire biker gang, they all died, deaths pending) and her uncle is Simon. Simon is a history teacher whose ex wife might be an eldritch abomination (the students wonder, but there are no answers)((simon says cryptic things every so often that are the subject of much ridicule, but he's a nice guy)). Ooo High has all of the AT characters in some shape or form. Tree trunks is the lunchlady, Mr Pig is a janitor. Lemongrab is just there. LSP(Q?) is a teacher because that's hilarious. Hunson is dead along with Marceline's mom because fuck hunson. Magic Man is a hobo that snuck onto campus and can't be chased off (his brother is the superintendent, Glob). there's a lot more but that's for a different word doc.

7.) Back to the Future AU: So PB fucks around with time travel, right? For science. She gets sent back in time a thousand years, before the war. Now, she's a pink lady who can shoot jelly beans from her hands, of course needs to lay low. And of course she needs to get home, but she's in a Futurama situation where she only has one type of time machine; the one that can go into the past. Not to mention her own time machine got busted on her way there, so she's double screwed. But, she remembers something. There is an individual (two, actually) that knows about time travel in this time period. She knows him, and he's likely to help her if she plays her card right. She needs to find Simon and get back to her own time, preferably without dooming herself in the process. (perhaps she tries to steal the notes Simon has, and Simon's completely oblivious, except Betty can smell trouble from a mile away and immediately notices some pink woman trying to steal books and she goes ham. Perhaps she goes ham in such a way that Simon doesn't notice. Perhaps this goes on for seven acts.)

8.) Bread and Butter AU: Bella Noche during the episode Betty creates a huge black cube that engulfs all of Wizard City. This box acts as a cage and prevents Wizards from escaping the magic purge. Simon is unable to bring Betty back from the past, and he's fading fast. In a desperate attempt to stop things from escalating, Simon chugs a bottle of anti-magic like a fucking god. He gets through the cube that surrounds Bella Noche and knocks their lights out. He passes out, and when he comes to, the anti-magic he consumed as merged with him. This is because of a simple rule: Magic sticks to magic, anti-magic sticks to anti-magic. And since humans have always had just a little bit of anti -magic present within them, humans and anti-magic go together like bread and butter (badumtish) ((I have actually written a fanfic about this, you can find it here))

9.) Swapped AU: Through various shenanigans Ice King's and Magic Man's powers gets swapped. These shenanigans somehow land them in space as well. This happens before Magic Man's trial. The swapping of their powers results in Simon getting his memory back. It also gives Magic Man the Ice Crown, unfortunately for him though, it seems to hate him. Simon's glad to back, but quickly realizes one issue: He's still crazy. So the pair try to make it back to Ooo. MM needs his powers to swap himself with some other shmuck so he doesn't croak when his trial comes, but Simon's made it clear he isn't giving his powers up without a fight. The pair starts off rocky, neither trusting the other, but space trouble forces them to work together. Simon's a nice enough guy he wouldn't leave someone to die and MM really needs Simon alive so it works out. A weird friendship forms, and they learn get along. Just a couple of crazy space wizards. Then the crown is destroyed. MM is freed from the crown's control, and he's freed from magic. He gets his sanity back, just in time for his trial.

that’s all I’ve got for now!

[elianthvia]

7 Reasons Why I Quit

(only for a little bit)

It has, alas, been another few weeks since I posted. I have an excuse for my unpunctuality: I've been spinning non-stop like a top. The conclusion of the last Zoomester and the start of summer are to blame. I have seven partners in crime.

Culprit 1: Puppetry Workshop

Towards the end of the year, DTI (Design Thinking Initiative), in collaboration with the Theatre Shop, hosted an in-person puppetry workshop where a small number of people could participate per covid protocols. In-person events were few and far between this semester, so of course I rushed to sign up. The workshop ran for about 2 hours on three consecutive Mondays. We met in the theatre shop inside Mendenhall Center for Performing Arts.  

The first day we made shadow puppets (and mine was a bee); the second day we made hand puppets (mine was a ... cyclop ghost king?); the third day we made marionette or string puppets (I attempted to make a teru teru bōzu, but everyone thought it a ghost). I had a lot of fun trying different fabrics, re-learning how to use a bandsaw, and magically joining things together with the help of a hot glue gun. (Side note: Polymer chemistry is the magician behind the scene, and I will be learning more about the science of hot glue guns in the polymer class I am taking next semester!) The workshop was surprisingly not as popular as I anticipated, maybe because people were busy as the semester came to a close. The good news is that DTI will be running the workshop again in the fall so more people will get to participate.

(Is she a ghost or teru teru bōzu?)

Culprit 2: Spring Piano Recital

I did not expect to attend a live concert this semester, but I was invited to the spring piano recital as a "special guest." It is a habit I developed while working as a concert crew at Sage, to sit outside the Sweeney Concert Hall and listen to the rehearsals after I finished setting up the stage. That day I was going to do homework outside the concert hall while waiting for my performing friend to finish. The piano instructor spotted me and asked me if I wanted to join. Disbelieving in my good luck, I accepted the invite. About ten students were scattered in the almost empty concert that felt sad and lonesome, but soon music filled the air. I thoroughly enjoyed every performance. Lots of Chopin were played, but my favorite one is Rhapsody in Blue which just entered the public domain this year. All pieces are about or more than a century old, which is not a surprise, but refreshingly, there is a piece by a female composer, Amy Beach, whose granduncle co-founded Bates College. You can find the full program here.

Culprit 3: End of Classes

The end of classes was epitomized by professor-resembling pixels on our computer screens bidding us goodbye. Usually professors would plan something fun for the last day of classes, virtually as well. 

I remember last semester my Multivariable Calculus professor changed his virtual background to a wall of donuts, explaining that during the pre-pandemic times he used to bring a box of donuts for students on the last day. This semester in Mathematical Methods for Physicists and Engineers, we explored the applications of Fourier Transform by looking at the velocity of a star and detecting the number of planets around it. Our last Circuit Theory lab was in person, where we got to listen to a song/piece of our own choice through the low pass filter and the high pass filter pictured below. The professor handed out prizes (cool items she accumulated in conferences) to students to reward them for their participation in the pre-class trivia games. I received a mini glow moon. In addition, our circuits professor left out end-of-class fun packs with origami papers and stickers outside her office. Our last Organic Chemistry lab was also in-person, where each lab group presented their experiments and findings (through a projector rather than Zoom screen share!) My presentation group decided to dress up for this special occasion after a long year of virtual school. Lastly, for Organic Chemistry, we played organic chemistry jeopardy in our last lecture.

With all the professors wishing you a happy summer, you start daydreaming about the sunny beach and breezy wind. Oh wait, you still have final exams to take. All in three days!

Culprit 4: Final Examinations

This semester we had a three-day final exam study period (or reading period) when professors are not allowed to assign any homework or set deadlines. Right after the reading period is our final exams. Smith is known for its flexibility when it comes to exams thanks to its Honor Code system. Many exams are self-scheduled. Some are open-notes, and some are untimed. In a normal year, students go to Seelye Hall to print out and take the exams when they feel prepared. 

For the classes I am taking this semester, I had three hours to take my Math Methods final, a whole day to take the Circuits Theory final, and the entire finals period to take my Organic Chemistry I final. Besides the exams, I had several other writing assignments to turn in. I was very fatigued at the end of the semester, so even though I only had three exams, I struggled to muster up mental energy to study. To make things worse, I got my second Pfizer shot during the reading period and had a pretty bad reaction. As a result, I asked the class dean to give me an extension on an exam, which was generously granted, and I was gratefully less overwhelmed.

Culprit 5: SmithCycle

The finals are now over, but my vacation didn't start yet. I am staying on campus for a few extra weeks to work for SmithCycle. SmithCycle is a program that collects, sorts and redistributes gently used dorm items students donate in the move-out process at the end of each school year. It gives purpose to items of reusable value and creates a more sustainable campus. In the past week, we have collected hundreds of bags (no exaggerations!) of items. Besides clothes, books, school and dorm supplies, some of the unexpected items include coffee makers, brand new water filters, and a monitor. One of my coworkers commented that first-years shouldn't have to shop clothes hangers again while they were going through three boxes of donated hangers.

The winter clothes we collected are going to the International Students and Scholars Office. They have an event called Winter Clothes Closet every fall where international students "shop" for free to help them get accustomed to the New England weather. School supplies will be moved into the Common Goods Resources Center which CEEDS hopes to launch in Fall 2021 (very exciting!). I cannot plug SmithCycle enough. If you are an incoming first-year, visit the Common Goods Resources center before you head to Target! 

I have always been interested in sustainability and renewable energy and want to get more involved. When I saw the SmithCycle worker position posted on Workday, I immediately applied. Every SmithCycle worker's job varies. I am mainly responsible for washing and drying the linens and blankets. When waiting for the washer and dryer, I help with unloading the van that circulates between houses to pick up bags of donations. I also help with sorting. Pictured below is the inside of Scott Gym where all the items are currently stored.

Culprit 7: Summer Housing

As college transitions into summer, students who are staying on campus for some part of the summer had to move out of their spring housing assignment into their summer housing. I moved from Chapin, the house in central campus, to Capen, which is on the periphery of Smith. I know Chapin and Capen sound alike, but they are very different houses location-wise and personality-wise! To make up for its distance to the academic buildings, Capen House has its own garden, Capen Garden. The garden a gorgeous place many current Smithies are missing out on. There is a mini fountain, hedges, a garden temple, a plant arch, and a bizarre owl statue. Look at the last picture of the garden in this blog, and you will agree with me that the Paradise Pond is overrated.  

Built in 1825 and acquired by Smith in 1921, Capen House is named after Bessie Capen, the second woman to be admitted to MIT. She taught chemistry at Smith College. Fun fact: Bessie Capen was once the associate principal of the Mary A. Burnham School for Girls, now Stoneleigh-Burham School; I went there for horseback riding lessons during my first year at Smith. Small world, right?

Case Closed

Thanks for reading this long-ish explanation. I hope my tardiness in delivering this post may be justified by the causes above. To compensate, I will write about my other summer plans and updates in the next few weeks. Stay tuned! Meanwhile, enjoy your summer!

[orlissa]

Since @agenthaywood and I talked about this the other day, and since apparently I’m a bit of an insomniac, here it comes: a little intro to the Hungarian educational system. Because it’s a mess.

First of all, we need to talk about two things: classes and the matura.

Unlike (as far as I understand) the US, where you have kinship with the people you were in the same year with, in Hungary, you have kinship with the people you belonged to the same class with. Classes are teams, closed entities. It’s 20-odd (elementary school) to thirty-odd (high school) people, who have most of their classes together, except for specializations. So everyone in the class has basically the same schedule for the whole duration of elementary/high school. They take school trips together. They often compete as a team against other classes in their year.

And then the matura--the matura is the national, centralized exam that marks the end of high school. Each student has to take it in at least five subjects: Hungarian Literature & Grammar, Math, History, one foreign language, and one freely chosen subject (back when I did this, it could be anything. Now I think it must be some science subject). You can take each of those on two levels: “middle” or “advanced.” The middle levels happen in your own school, overssen by your own teachers. The advanced levels happen in unfamiliar schools (one appointed for each subject in each district), and you’re never examined by your own teachers. Advanced levels are of course harder, but the percentages for each grade are also lower. As far as I know, you have to take at least one advanced level matura. They happen in two rounds: the written round starting in early May (Lit & Grammar on Monday, Math on Tuesday, History on Wednesday, English/German on Thursday of the first week, with all the other subjects following in the next two weeks or so), and then the oral round in mid-late June (the middle level orals happen throughout a 2-3 days period, a person doing all of their oral exams in one go). The outcome of your maturas, given in points, determine your college admissions (but, like, for example if you wanna go to med school, your elective subject needs to be Chemistry or Biology. If you wanna get into an English as a foreign language program, you have to take an advanced level English matura. Every year, there’s a huge book listing all the programs in all the universities in the country, where you can check what are the exact requirements for each program).

Personally, I took advanced level Lit & Grammar and English, middle level Math and History, and middle level Art/Art History. All the programs I applied for were in the field of humanities, all asking for Lit/English/History/whatever, so I really only did Art for “fun.” I got 98% on English, 95 or 96% on Art, 90-something% on History, 90% on Math, and 84% on Lit (for middle levels, A starts at 80%; for advanced levels, it starts at 60%), which meant that after some complicated math, my overall score was, I think, 468 out of 500. That year you had to have 422 points to get into my first choice

Okay, so, yeah XD I told you it was complicated XD

Anyway, the actual educational ladder: kids go to elementary school at 6/7 (back when I was in school, if you were born during the summer, so you didn’t turn six by the time the school year ended, your parents could decided to keep you in kindergarden for one more year. Now I think if the kid turns 6 by the time the school year starts in september, he or she is required to start school), and it consists of grades 1-8, which is divided into two parts: junior (grades 1-4), where all the classes are held in the same classroom, taught by the same teacher, and senior (grades 5-8) part, where the students migrate between classrooms, and each subject is taught by a different teacher. BUT the class itself remains an entitiy--you attend grade 4 and grade 5 classes with the same people. 

Then comes high school. High school application works pretty much like college application: 8 graders take a centralized, national-wide test on Math and Literature in January, and their scores there, plus their previous grades determine which high school they have applied to will take them. But, like... even this system is not as clear cut as it might seem at the first glance :D for example, I didn’t take the centralized test. My first choice of high school (where I eventually went) was out of town/district, and it was a special program that required its own entrance exams. My other choices were withing my district, but the december before I started high school I came second out of 200+ at an IT studies competition, which meant that I had “admission exam amnesty” or whatever. Basically all the high schools within the district were obliged to accept me on merit if I applied to them.

Okay, so elementary school finished, you go to high school--but not necesarrily the one that is the closest to your home. Instead, as stated above, you apply to different high schools, based on which one is the best/strongest/closest to your personal level. So, basically, C students will mostly end up in one class with other C students, B students with other B students, A students with other A students... You get the picture.

High school generally lasts 4 years, however, there are other programs as well. There are 8 and 6 year long programs--they have their own admission exams, and they start after grade 4 or 6. These are usually good schools, often require tuition fees and focus on foreign languages. Meanwhile, 5 years long programs start after grade 8, and have a “0th” grade which focuses on a foreign language (I went to a program like that--I had 9 English classes a week in the first year).

For example, my high school had 4 class in each year: Class A and B were 6 years long programs, A focusing on languages and B on Math, class C was a 4 years long program (general curriculum), and Class D was 5 years long (special government-funded program for gifted kids from difficult backgrounds.)

Also, there are different kinds of high schools. What I wrote above applies to what we call “gimnázium”--gimnázium teaches no vocation, and instead focuses on readying people for university. You are basically expected to go to university if you go to a gimnázium. Then, as per as current terminology, there are szakgimnáziums: they also ready you for university, and they end with the matura exams, but they also focus on a specific (usually white collar, such as accounting, healthcare, electric engineering, etc.) vocation. People who go to a szakgimnázium have to take a matura in their chosen vocation. And then there are szakközépiskolas: in a szakközépiskola, students study a specific (usually blue collar) vocation, and take an exam on that vocation after three years of study. Szakközépiskola do not end with the matura exams--if you wanna take the maturas, you have to stay for two extra years.

So, yeah... I told you it’s complicated :D

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 269: LAID HIM OUT LIKE A BROCHURE

Previously on BnHA: Endeavor, Mic, and Aizawa finally caught up with Crust and Miruko after 19 years to help deal with the High End Noumus. Aizawa used his quirk on them, but Girl Noumu was able to get away and shoot acid at them all, and that one bone-tentacle-y Noumu was also able to attack Mirko with his quirk. Speaking of Mirko, she spent most of the chapter kicking away at Tomura’s Noumutank like those guys with the battering ram in Beauty and the Beast. Or maybe just kicking it one time very, very slowly while we cut back and forth from the scene. It was hard to tell. But either way, she didn’t quite manage to shatter it and instead just left it all cracked and leaking. Anyway so everyone keeps saying that if Tomura escapes that would be Very Bad, and I’m inclined to agree, especially since Aizawa and Mic are looking all serious and vengeful, and I’m really going to need them to not die, ever.

Today on BnHA: Endeavor helpfully and terrifyingly cauterizes Mirko’s wounds while Aizawa holds off the Noumu with his quirk and buys time for Mic to go after Ujiko and Tomura. Mic and our new optician friend Exress race down the corridor and Mic immediately uses his quirk to shatter Noumuraki’s tank, which is the fastest and most efficient action we have seen in this entire arc so far. Mic then CORDIALLY INTRODUCES UJIKO’S FACE TO HIS FIST, which caused me to have an awakening, but unfortunately the same can’t be said for Tomura, who’s now lying on the ground very much not awake and seemingly dead. So I guess that’s it, guys. Looks like Dabi is the main villain now. Good for you Dabi, those are some pretty big britches to fill. No that wasn’t a crack about your height. God you’re sensitive. And so now we get to wait another two weeks! You know what, let’s just focus on the part where Ujiko got flattened like a paper bag.

so this is the chapter that was originally scheduled to be released on Kacchan’s birthday, but what are the odds he’s not even in it. how do you all think the traffic light trio is doing. this has been the world’s longest evacuation. or do you think they already finished a long time ago and are just hanging out now and being all “can’t wait to hear back from everyone else, I’m sure they’re all fine and dandy.” which would be funny, you see, because everyone else actually isn’t fine and dandy at all! do you get it. ahaha jokes

anyway so this chapter is titled “the three of us”, so I’m guessing there’s more Aizawa/Mic/Shirakumo angst on the horizon! so you’re just going to keep on assaulting my battered heart then, Horikoshi. cool. coolcoolcoolcoolcool

HEY NOW

HORIKOSHI WE TALKED ABOUT THIS. I WILL LAUNCH YOU INTO SPACE

fffff -- okay well whatever!! it’s a manga!! she’ll be fine! they have manga science! Recovery Girl can heal her legs and her side and everything else, and get her a nice new robot arm, and she’ll have a cool scar on her ear. happy thoughts happy thoughts

FFDFSF

IS HE TALKING TO ME OR HER. I FEEL LIKE HE’S TALKING TO ME. don’t worry Endeavor I will look away for this part

lol excuse me what now

5 minutes?? by whose reckoning, exactly?? jesus christ. I bet if he turned his flames off we’d learn that he has grown a whole new actual beard. Endeavor. civilizations have risen and fallen. okay you know what, new theory, Ujiko’s basement lair is somehow running on Narnia time

OH MY FEELS HE SAYS HE OWES HER A DEBT AFTER KYUSHU. referring of course to when she showed up out of the blue to save his ass from Dabi. anyways though how nice of him to express his gratitude by setting all of her wounds on fire

I guess we can stand down from red alert now though since Mirko is clearly going to be just fine

somehow she has more calm while getting her horrific injuries cauterized than I do when trying to decide whether or not to sell electronic turnips in a video game

wuh oh

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT HE’S A BARREL OF LAUGHS. actually no that’s a lie, you definitely would have had and did have more fun while fighting Mirko

also, this angle of Endeavor’s face, though

AWAKE! AVAST!! HOLD TIGHT YOUR BUNS! IF BUNS YOU DO HOLD DEAR

god damn it as per usual I have no idea what is going on in action panels even when I stare at them intensely for a full minute or more

I don’t even remember how many Noumus are left at this point now. who’s that sunfish-looking one on the right near Mic?? is he a new one?? is that Crust jumping around in the middle, or is he the one standing near the sunfish Noumu? who is it that’s firing that laser or whatnot in the middle?? did this big Noumu in the foreground on the left just get decapitated??

honestly it seems like they almost have things under control at long last. Aizawa and Mic should just head after Ujiko is already and leave the rest of them to it

so Mirko is now giving them all the details about Tomura and how he’s currently chilling out floating in his sensory deprivation tank

and she’s all DON’T LET SHIGARAKI WAKE UP as if she wasn’t the one trying to smash the capsule open in the previous chapter?? or did she assume he would just sleep through all that lol

also the High Ends have apparently still not completely woken up themselves yet. guess we should be grateful

WELL HELLO

if Aizawa Shouta ever cuts his hair I will declare a national day of mourning

anyways though, reinforcements! about fucking time

did anyone else immediately blink right after reading that last sentence, and then feel a profound gratitude for being able to blink freely at will. holy shit. blinking is so great

what happens if he has to sneeze?? oh my god. and what the fuck why is this a one-man show anyway, where the hell is your husband

okay there he is

“I’m here, too,” says Vision Hero: Exress. and so he is. so what kind of quirk do you have, then, x-ray vision? really hope not, no offense. just don’t see how that would exactly be useful right now. or maybe it’s laser vision, in which case yeah okay we can work with that. you heard the man, go on ahead then

this motherfucker is still alive?!

I really cannot express enough just how steep of a cliff Endeavor has fallen off of in this arc. he has not done a single useful thing aside from the cauterizing. so now it’s up to Eyeballs Hero: Sees Real Good to hopefully somehow oneshot this guy whom the number one hero barely managed to scratch

OH MY GOD AN ACTUAL PLOT TWIST

CRUST ACTUALLY DID SOMETHING. took me a minute to realize he was shouting “go” in that speech bubble, as opposed to randomly screeching out his age, 60

Mic and Aizawa are so hot but I’m feeling such impending doom right now

-- oh no. oh fuck. I just realized -- why are they splitting them up?? sir that’s his emotional support hero

ffff for reals though I feel like Mic doesn’t have the same plot protection as Shouta. and I also feel like this is a very stupid decision in general, and that the guy who can cancel out quirks should be included in the group of people rushing in to capture the scary big bad whose quirk is an insta-kill. but what do I know, I’m just a regular person who didn’t go to hero school and get their hero MBA so MAYBE I’M WRONG. but am I

oh shit oh shit oh shit

not really clear on what Mic is doing here since he should in theory just be running like a normal person, but I can’t complain much about the dynamic pose. and meanwhile Ujiko has finally snapped to the fact that he should have woken Tomura up a good half hour ago!

and on top of all that, it sounds like they didn’t destroy all of their supervillain research data either, so if he does manage to escape we could be right back to square one before long. good thing they definitely positively won’t let him escape!!

OH MY GOD THIS SHIT IS FINALLY HAPPENING AHHHHHH

MIC’S VOICE IS SO POWERFUL IT INSTANTLY SHATTERED THE GLASS WHICH EVEN MIRKO’S NOUMU-DECAPITATING RABBIT LEGS COULD NOT BREAK, OH MY BISCUITS, WE STAN AN ICON AND A LEGEND

DID HE MANAGE TO STOP HIM BEFORE HE ACTIVATED THE WAKEUP SEQUENCE OR WHATEVER THE FUCK? IF YES WHAT IS EVEN GOING TO HAPPEN NOW, WILL TOMURA JUST CURL UP IN A LITTLE BALL AND CONTINUE TO SLUMBER PEACEFULLY WITH HIS HAIR ALL WET. HE’LL CATCH A COLD

BUT FOR REAL THOUGH OBVIOUSLY HE IS GOING TO WAKE UP AHHHHHHHH

nghhh everything’s shattering all dramatically and in slow motion

swear to god if this chapter ends with Tomura opening his eyes while we cut to another two week break, I will... ... ...well I guess I’m about to find out though because that’s exactly what’s going to happen isn’t it

(ETA: if you can sleep through Present Mic’s attack you can really sleep through anything huh.)

lol but first

sploosh. down he goes. timber. still a sleepy boi. I take a nap right here

LORD, MIC IS ABOUT TO RIP UJIKO A NEW ONE AND I’VE NEVER FELT SO ALIVE?!

CUE HORIKOSHI CUTTING TO SOME MORE FLASHBACKS OF OBORO TO MAKE US ALL SAD. THAT’S RIGHT, I KNOW ALL OF YOUR TRICKS! BRING IT

1) the fuck is he doing, 2) is this the first time we’ve seen Aizawa call Mic by his name??, and 3) WHAT DID I TELL YOU THOUGH

MY HEART IS A STONE! I FEEL NOTHING! YOU CAN’T HURT ME SO GIVE IT UP. please give it up sob

OH NO

UNDONE BY AIZAWA’S SOFT EXPRESSION AND WISTFUL EYES NOOOO I lied I am not a stone at all I am a big squishy marshmallow of feels oh fuck

OH WOW

DON’T EVER LOOK BACK. ON THE WORLD CLOSING IN!! BE ON THE ATTACK. WITH YOUR WIIIIINGS ON THE WIIIND

he straight up ENDED HIS LIFE. holy shit. 4/24/2020. the day I was sexually attracted to Present Mic

anyways now back to your regularly scheduled sad feelings at the reminder of the fact that yep, Ujiko and all of his fucked up experimenting absolutely did make Aizawa cry. not that I’m saying that’s a crime of even greater magnitude than all his other crimes of kidnapping and torture and research using human children. I absolutely am not saying that. just implying it. in a joking manner. semi-joking. partially. kind of

(ETA: also, belated shout out to the fact that his excuse for doing it was so he could verify that it wasn’t another clone. and since it’s Present Mic, there’s a 74% chance he screamed out “CLONE CHECK!” in English too, which, bless.)

I know there’s a particular side of fandom that largely thinks that all heroes are Garbage Scum, but I mean, look at this scene though of Gazerbeam crouching down to gingerly check Tomura’s vitals. idk, I thought this was surprisingly gentle

I should probably be more concerned about that statement, but truth be told, I’m much more anxious about Gazerbeam going the way of his namesake shortly henceforth. please be careful please I know he looks all floppy and wounded and surprisingly vulnerable --

-- okay, very surprisingly vulnerable --

I really do have a thing for the hair covering the eyes huh. I’m learning things about myself!

but still! he could basically just blink at you at this point and you would turn to dust, Gazerbeam. DUST. ASHES. DEBRIS SCATTERED TO THE WINDS

wow apparently that space tube was doing a lot more than I thought

mhmm. sure. Horikoshi. dude, I can see you sitting there shaking with barely suppressed laughter. did you really think this would get us to let our guards down. are we a joke to you. did you think we would just be all “oh gosh I guess he really is dead then, wow, what a twist”

oh!! the reinforcements!!

did you hear that guys. it’s done. the heroes won and Tomura is dead and it’s really over just like that. what a positive ending for everyone. except Tomura I guess

I’ve said before that U.A. needs to add a course about tempting fate to their curriculum, and I stand by that. this is absurd. it’s like y’all want to die

oh look at that Endeavor finally killed one

was that really so hard. could you not have done that earlier

-- GODDAMN IT ARE YOU REALLY DOING THIS AGAIN

“what if... I dragged it out so much that the dragging-out was the cliffhanger?” that’s some galaxy brain you got there dude. let’s just end the chapter on that WHY NOT

anyway. so there you have it guys. just look how dead he is. that’s the smile of someone who is absolutely, certainly, one hundred percent dead. look at him, all at peace. definitely not gonna finally wake up two weeks from now and properly introduce himself to our new friend Gazerbeam and my new we’re-just-trying-something-out-and-taking-it-slow-and-we’ll-see-where-it-goes boyfriend Present Mic!

lol I can’t lie, these last couple chapters have tested my patience a bit! fortunately this chapter had many saving graces in the form of Mirko, Aizawa, Mic, and for reals though Gazerbeam whom I genuinely did grow attached to almost immediately for reasons beyond my grasping. but I’m starting to get an inkling that Horikoshi is just incapable of pacing himself well whenever the story moves to a basement. or maybe I’m just cranky on account of being holed up in lockdown since time immemorial and only getting my new BnHA fix every other week! maybe, that could be it. maybe. ah well. at least Present Mic punched Ujiko in the fucking face

[butterbeeryuta]

johnny as your boyfriend; radio!au

a/n: thIS was requested a looooooong time ago, and i am so sorry that i only wrote this now. My mocks are finally done, and they actually went pretty well, so i hope my results will match whatever i am claiming skdjkjd. This headcanon was really fun to write, and it was overall just adorable oof alright, imma head to over to my next oneshot now. Hope all of you have a great day.

Okay so ya’ll are in uniVersity (as expected because I am writing this)

You met johnny 2 years ago when you were freshman looking for a job on campus cause um,,, college is a bitch

And you saw this uni radio show ‘Night Night’ which went live every wednesday at 9 in the evening

You honestly had no idea what they talked about since you’ve never listened to one

Despite the fact that your roommate Sicheng always talks about it and claims how great it is

BUT ANYWAY

You always enjoyed radio shows in general, and saw that they were hiring for another radio show personality

HMMmmMmmmM i wonDEr wheRe tHIS Is gOInG

You were one intellect my dear; you were studying political science at Konkuk University, meaning, you were one opinionated ass individual

But, you also had your crack side acCording to ur roommate

You fucking chased Sicheng around with those incense sticks cause you couldn’t find your go-to rolling pin to scare the shit out of him for eating your pack of strawberries

I swear the two of you are great friends ya’ll just show love to each other in quite a unique way

ANYWAYS

YeAH so you went to ask for the job cause you need money to buy a safe for your precious strawberries

You brought whatever requirements they asked for, and nyyOoooOOooooOOOOnged your way over there

It was a pretty old building, or radio station per se. not that it was bad or anything but, it isn’t exactly a place you would like to step into

Going up the stairs, you just saw a really TALL and attractive guy clearing out a few things in the booth. Your guess was that he was also probably new to this and whoever lent him the place didn’t exactly clean up the place.

With whatever courage you had in yourself

Or i guess how much sugar you consumed this morning cause you casually just walked it without contacting the guy

‘Uh... hello?’

HE JUMPED, whatever shit he was holding? Yeah it dropped

Which caused you to jump too, not expecting the huge ass pretty guy to have that big of a reaction

he looked over to you, surprised to see a person in the radio station because um,,, nobody ever goes there except for him

‘Hello to you too??? uhhh, not meaning to be rude or anything but, why are you here? Are you lost?’ He asks, looking extremely concerned

You just shook your head and deadass told him that there was a job offer for another radio show personality, and he looked eveN more concerned

Sorta like a ‘are u fucking serious’ face

‘Oh! Right. That job has been open for about a year now so I didn’t expect anyone to come at all...’

OHHhhHhh????????

Well,,,, i guess you have a better chance of getting the job?

‘Well.... do i get a higher chance of being accepted then for being the first to show up? You ask, unsure if whatever you said made sense, or was even socially acceptable

Imagine going to a job interview being like: ‘so i saw ur job offer, and since i actually showed up, I’m accepted right?’

Babe i dont think it works like that, but let’s continue

Johnny honestly had nothing to say against you though. You were right in a sense that you had no competition since you were the only one that actually came to apply. At the same time, he wanted the quality of the show to still be good even if there was a limited audience

‘Higher chance is indeed right. But tell me, uhh, what’s your name again?’

‘I actually never introduced myself, but it’s _______’

‘I’m Johnny by the way. So _______, why do you want to be a radio show host for Konkuk University?’

you had two ways to answer this question: (1) be blatantly honest that you really need the money, and talking to earn cash seems pretty great in your opinion or (2) repeat whatever the fuck sicheng has told you about the show

And of course, you were going with the first option

‘i honestly need the money because college is a bitch. And also talking and having discussions is a pretty fun and interesting method to get some cash in. Also because my roommate loves your show and why not ruin it for him by including me in it’

Babe

BABE SKDJKSDJKDSJKSDJSKDJKSDJ

Johnny actually wanted to accept you immediately. I mean for starters, he found you pretty adorable marching up to the radio station determined to get the job. And not only that, you were quite the talker, which is something that could spike up the show since it was just always johnny speaking

And also because he was feeling quite lonely but he would never admit that

‘Alright _____, meet me this friday to talk about next week’s segment’

OOFT

And let me tell you, tall boi’s assumptions were right. During your first show together, the two of you decided to talk about the book ‘1984’ by george orwell and although it may sound boring on a superficial level, yOU made it sound pretty interesting and johnny was actually just laughing the entire time

You and johnny just clicked in an instant, and your way of describing things made ‘Night Night’ known by the students

Nobody could ever forget your infamous line about the book: ‘george orwell’s sexual frustration is honestly so transparent in the book; all he needed was to get his dick wet then maybe he wouldn’t have let julia and winston be caught by the thoughtpolice.’

And things like this happened every wednesday. The pattern of your radio show just included you being you, and johnny trying to make shit be on track

The two of you were doing it for a very long time now, and back to toDAY where ya’ll have been doing it for two years, well... it would be a lie to say you hadn’t developed feelings for johnny

of course the man was beautiful and well-built. But his personality and laugh? Yeah sicheng should’ve warned you about that.

He is probably one of the most open-minded person in the world, and he knows a bit about everything, making him so well-rounded. And and and he’s to kind???

If you tell him that you can’t make it to the radio show, he says it’s okay and even gives you snacks the moment you come back and he just makes you so soft in general i—

Meanwhile for johnny, damn is he in love with you

Over the past 2 years, you definitely helped him open up more. With the way you speak along with your galaxy brain, he couldn’t help but fall for you? You were intelligent, you had your own mind, and being friendly and funny in general is something johnny really liked about you

The time when he realised he loves you was when you curled yourself up against the seat while you were discussing about what to talk about next week, and you just fell asleep. He noticed how soft and peaceful you looked, and that he would want to see you like this on a daily basis

Shit this is getting me all soft i wasnt planning on this nsndnsndnd

So yeaHHHHH this week’s segment, you guys were talking about the spanish conquest of mexico and peru woohoooo

AND you were very excited for this because this was one of your (my) favourite topics you learnt during your time in high school

‘OKAY, good evening everyone I am ______D,’

‘And I am JohnD, and welcome to’

‘Night Night. Oof, we’re getting better at our introductions aren’t we JohnD?’

‘Nope, you just learned how to say it without cringing’

‘Touché’ and ya’ll began your discussion. And things actually got pretty interesting.

‘So _____ you’re telling me that it was Cortes’ leadership that allowed the Spanish to successfully take over Mexico?’ He asks you in disbelief.

‘No you tall dumbfuck, it’s one of the attributes that led them to succeed. Both Cortes and Pizarro had disease on their side and better weapons, so of course they’d win. I just wanted to include leadership as i don’t know, to see the defeat of the aztecs from a new lens?’ You respond, deadass looking at johnny in the eye

‘Well, i don’t think i can argue with that, mainly because i am too scared too. That is it for today, but before we end this, i would like to add one more thing.’ Johnny says, which took you by surprise

huHhh?

You looked confused, in fact, you were confused.

What the fuck was going on?

‘This academic year is ending, and this so happens to be my last year here at Konkuk University...’

Oh shit

Your eyes softened at his words, just realising now that johnny was two years older than you, and yeah, he’s graduating this year

‘... this year has honestly been one of the greatest years here at Konkuk, but for me, I think of my my most memorable memories here was when ______D entered the station and giving me a huge fright’

You laughed a little, remembering how much you scared the man

‘Taking this opportunity, ______D, I want to ask you something’

Shit

Shit

Shit

BRUHHHHHHHHH

‘I just want to congratulate you and thank you for joining “Night Night.” You made the show livelier and massively increased the viewer rate with that big brain of yours—‘

‘I prefer the term galaxy brain’

‘—yes, galaxy brain. I hope that you can continue this radio show, and maybe recruit someone else while i’m out in the world of disgusting adults. So yes, thank you ______. And because we won’t be colleagues in a bit, will you be my girl/boyfriend?’

You were initially teary eyed, buT yEET those tears out biTCH what????

You wanted to say yes, bUt how?????

Do you just nod at him and go ‘ye,’ or do you like, confess?

You felt weird in the stomach. Not that you can exactly do 459343948 cartwheels in one go, but that’s exactly what your stomach was doing. If you were to speak, you could have vomited.

Idk what happened to you, but you took off your headphones, and went to the tall boy and just hugged the shit out of him cause umm,,,, SAME????

And johnny wasn’t sure what that exactly meant so he just hugged you back, bringing you to his lap and holding you tight against him cause honestly, when will he be able to do this to a person he genuinely loves

There was a moment of silence of you two just holding each other, until you realised you were still live with lord knows how many people were listening.

‘U-um, yeah Johnny, I w-will gladly be yours—‘

‘_____ I love you’

OKAY RETRIEVE THOSE TEARS BISH YOU CRYING NOW TF

You sorta just placed your head on the crook of his neck, quietly whispering to him

‘I can’t believe I love your tall ass too...’

‘SHE SAID SHE LOVES ME TOO!’

[newsaajtak2021]

Debate in India over pricing of Covid-19 jabs as pandemic rips through country

BANGALORE - Days before India expands its vaccination drive to people between the ages of 18 and 45, a debate has erupted over the high price fixed for citizens to pay and if it will adversely impact national immunity.

In the grip of a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, India recorded over 350,000 cases on Sunday (April 25), taking total infections to more than 17.3 million. As the coronavirus rips through the country, herd immunity has become urgent.

But the central government has announced that "vaccines will not be free of cost" for those between 18 and 45 years old who are eligible to be vaccinated from Saturday. The only two approved vaccine manufacturers in the country have now set rates per dose that are higher than those meant for export to the European Union and Britain.

India has been vaccinating health workers since January and those above 45 years old since March, with the central government procuring the vaccines at 150 rupees (S$2.67) from the manufacturers and allotting it to all states. Select private hospitals were allowed to charge people 250 rupees per dose.

Less than 2 per cent of the population have now received both doses. At least 70 per cent of adults have to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity: that is 654 million people for India.

For the rest of the adult population below 45, the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to decentralise vaccine purchase and distribution. It will now buy only half the vaccines from the manufacturers, and state governments will have to foot the bill for the rest, sharing their quota with private hospitals.

the Serum Institute of India (SII) that makes the AstraZeneca-Oxford University vaccine called Covishield announced that it will charge US$5 (S$6.63) per dose for state governments and US$8 for private hospitals.

Bharat Biotech has priced its indigenous Covaxin even higher, at US$8 for state governments and US$16 for private hospitals, which in turn may charge citizens even higher prices, citing tax and transportation costs.

In short, 28 state governments will foot the bill at one rate and private hospitals will buy directly from the vaccine makers at a higher rate.

Both companies said in press statements that without the central government making confirmed advance purchases of the vaccine, these prices were the only way they could expand production.

Most countries, including the United States, France, Germany, China and Singapore, are vaccinating their citizens free of charge. India, the second-worst affected country in the pandemic, is among the few that are getting their citizens to pay for the jab.

Health minister Harsh Vardhan justified this approach as giving "flexibility to the states" who can directly purchase and negotiate prices. Some states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Assam have already committed to offering the jab for free at its state-run centres.

"The balance 50 per cent quota is also open for corporate and private sector to pool in their resources so that the combined effort of Team India can be deployed to vaccinate every adult in the earliest possible time," Dr Vardhan added in a four-page written statement which dismissed criticism and called for "shared idealism".

But public health experts, eminent personalities and opposition parties decry the strategy as unethical "differential pricing" that will lead to skewed supply and uneven vaccination across the population that will eventually not arrest the surge in infections.

"With every state individually contacting the suppliers and bargaining price and supply, the discretion will be with the supplier - who to sell to, when, where, how much and at what rate," former Indian health secretary Sujatha Rao wrote in The Indian Express.

📷People wait in queue to receive a shot of the Covid-19 near a vaccination centre in Mumbai, on April 26, 2021. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

"This will undoubtedly create interstate inequities, where the poorer states will stand to suffer due to poor bargaining power, while the better-off may end up paying higher rates but at the cost of sacrificing an already underfunded welfare programme," she added.

In India's last Consumer Expenditure Survey, monthly per capita consumption expenditure of an average Indian was 1,872 rupees in rural areas and 3,859 rupees in urban areas.

The vaccine price is thus not affordable for most Indians - a family of five will have to fork out sums ranging from 4,000 rupees to as much as 12,000 rupees to receive both doses.

"It will push and exclude millions of poor people in India from accessing this health measure", thus defeating the crucial aim of achieving universal immunity, said Mr R. Ramakumar, an economist and professor in the School of Development Studies at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

India's finance minister allotted 350 billion rupees for vaccination on Feb 1 and Mr Ramakumar has questioned the purpose of this funding, if not for vaccines for citizens or to pay manufacturers to increase capacity.

Both SII and Bharat Biotech are currently far short of their production commitments, threatening plans to vaccinate everyone.

"With limited supply, there is a danger of a black market emerging in these vaccines, as has been the case with oxygen cylinders and medicines," said Mr Vivek Kaul, a commentator on economic affairs.

The supply crunch may ease when Russia's Sputnik V is available from Saturday. Russia has signed deals with five Indian manufacturers for 850 million doses a year, but it is unclear how much of this will be for the Indian domestic market and at what price.