#DOING THAN YOU SENDING PARAGRAPHS WORTH OF EMAILS

[lonlonranching]

oh i feel mentally FOUL this morning

[exeuntstormtroopers]

I worked at a university IT help desk for almost a decade so I can add/reinforce some things!

Seconding checking your student email account every day, multiple times a day. Add the account to your phone. Add it to your computer’s desktop email client. Link the account to your calendar app. So many students missed important information or got locked out of checking their grades, etc. because they didn’t see the five billion reminder emails we sent them that they would have to change their passwords soon.

Use your calendars! When I started in college I’d never had to keep my own schedule like that before, and I got very stressed very quickly until I discovered the magical world of the digital calendar. Put down when things are due, when you have events, what times your classes are every day. Keep the calendar open on your desktop or phone and reference it often. It might feel overwhelming at first but it will be much better than missing things because you can’t keep all those events in your brain. (Also, frees up your brain for Learning.)

Please for the love of Christ save your essays WHILE you’re writing them. Every semester, without fail, at least one person would come into the Help Desk asking us to recover a 10+ page essay they'd spent hours working on nonstop only to have Word crash or the webpage they were working in refresh. USUALLY programs have autosave features, but it's not worth the risk. Save after you first create the document. Save after every paragraph. Maybe even save copies in multiple places.

Whatever LMS (Learning Management System) your university is using, check it for every class you have every semester. Sometimes professors use the courses when they get uploaded there, sometimes they don't. Usually professors will make it clear whether they plan to use it or not. Check it out anyway so you know if there are extra resources uploaded there, if there are forum posts you need to respond to, etc.

Something very important to keep in mind is that sometimes the professors are worse than you at technology. Or they made a mistake. If they say something has been posted on the LMS but you don't see it, ask your classmates if they were able to find it and where, and if you still don't get it, let your professor know. It costs you nothing to check with the professor, and even if you just looked in the wrong spot, most of them will appreciate that you're reaching out for help instead of just sitting there and shrugging.

If you're going to pirate things in your dorm, get better at it. The system admins CAN tell when you've been on pirating sites, and those copyright issues can come back down on the university, so they will send you notices to stop doing it. So either get good at protecting yourself while pirating things or don't do it on campus.

Actual good first-time college student advice:

Wear jeans/pants that “breathe” and bring a sweater, even if it’s scorching hot out, until you know which building blasts the AC to 60 degrees F and which feels like a sauna

Backpacks with thick straps are your friend!  Messenger bags are cool and all but if you’re commuting with a lot of stuff, symmetrically styled backpacks are better for your back

You are your own person and you can walk out whenever you need to or want to, so long as you’re not disrupting the class.  Meaning you can go to the bathroom without permission, take a breather if you’re anxious, answer an important phone call, etc.

If you don’t like the class on the first day, if you can- DROP THAT CLASS AND TAKE ANOTHER ONE!  It’ll only get worse from there!

If you can, take a class outside your major; it’s a good break from your expected studies.

You are in charge of your schedule.  Your adviser and guidance counselor is there to ‘advise and guide’ but if you don’t like certain classes and you can substitute for others, that’s your choice.

Consequently, if you are changing anything drastic in your plan, talk with your adviser and instructors.

Pay attention to your credit hours and grades.  Never leave this to the last week of school, you will be sorry and stressed beyond belief!

Unless it’s a lab book or otherwise specified, go to the class for a week or so before buying an expensive textbook.  Some classes, while having it on their required list, do not actually use the textbook a whole lot and you might find some of it scanned online.  Rent if you can or buy used online (schools actually don’t give discounts).  Use your best judgement on what you think you need.

Tell the people who go up to you selling or advertising things you are not interested in that you are in a rush to class and don’t have time to listen to them.  It’s less rude and they’ll leave you alone.

The smaller the class, the better it is to have some sort of acquaintanceship with a couple classmates.  They might save your ass if you are absent one day or need to study.  And talking with them makes the time go by faster without it being so insufferable.

You don’t need to join a club or sport, but internships are cool and useful!

If you can afford it, take a day off once or twice each semester if you’re too exhausted.  Just be aware of what you missed and if it was worth missing!

Your health is the most important, this goes for mental health too!!  Note: College-age/upper teens is when mental disorders like depression and anxiety are most commonly diagnosed.  Most schools have therapy services, especially during exam time.  Look into it if you need to!

Communicate with your professor if you are having trouble with something.  Anything.

Eat and stay hydrated.  Bring a water bottle and snack to class.

All-nighters will happen but never go over 36 hours without sleep.

It’s going to be hard and there will be times you might think about giving up.  This WILL happen.  You just have to make sure what you’re doing isn’t making you absolutely miserable and/or there is something rewarding and positive to look forward to at the end!

[dollar2host]

The Benefits of Cloud Hosting for Small Business

In the past, hosting websites and apps just required paying a digital platform provider to rent out a single server or computing cluster. Services for web hosting have existed for as long as the internet. Over the past ten years, cloud hosting where the website or application resides on virtual servers dispersed across the cloud has emerged as a popular way to make digital assets accessible online.

A worldwide content delivery network can be connected to by Google Cloud to provide customers with optimal speed and minimal latency when serving material, or a domain can be registered and managed. Google Cloud also provides a range of hosting options for websites and applications.

What is cloud hosting?

Your data is stored on several servers rather than on a single server, which is what is meant by the term "cloud hosting." The term "cloud" refers to this network of several servers that collaborate to form the network. Cloud hosting services are currently being utilized by a multitude of businesses, both large and small. An investment of this kind is definitely worth the rewards, and it has the potential to achieve great things for your company.

You will have a single platform from which you can manage all of your applications and databases, which will allow you to streamline your operations. The productivity of your firm can also be improved by making an investment in cloud infrastructure resources. The various advantages of cloud hosting will be discussed in further depth in the following paragraphs.

Cloud hosting’s Significance for Small Businesses-

Adopting cloud computing has becoming increasingly important for small organizations. It helps small businesses to avoid the high initial investment and ongoing maintenance costs of having internal IT infrastructure. Small businesses can now access advanced technologies and capabilities that were previously exclusive to large organizations by utilizing the cloud.

What are the applications of cloud computing?

Although you might not be aware of it, there is a good chance that you are currently utilizing cloud computing. Whether you use an online service such as Gmail or Outlook 365 to send an email, collaborate on a document, save data, or stream a video, cloud computing makes it feasible behind the scenes to do all of these things.

Cloud Hosting:

Cloud hosting services make it possible to share a variety of information, such as using email services, hosting applications, using web-based phone systems, and storing data. Hosting your company's website, managing databases, and storing domain names are all things that may be done with a cloud hosting service. The fact that cloud hosting services are located offsite makes it simple to scale up in order to handle peak loads.

Backup services:

Backup services in the cloud are failsafe solutions that can be utilized in the event that your company suffers a server disaster, cyberattack, or other type of data loss. Storage, data synchronization and restoration, real-time backups, archiving, and a high level of security are all features that are included in the top cloud backup services. A great number of cloud storage firms now offer cloud backup and storage capabilities.

Storage in the cloud:

Cloud services guarantee that your data is stored in a cloud storage system that is located offsite, making it more convenient to access from any device or place that is linked to the internet. In cloud storage, you are able to securely exchange information with others and synchronize files across several devices. Companies such as Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, and Google Drive are examples of well-known cloud storage services.

Software as a service

Software as a service, also known as SaaS, is a solution for the distribution of applications that is hosted in the computer's cloud. SaaS solutions can be utilized by businesses in a variety of operational domains. For instance, you may adopt software for customer relationship management (CRM) that is hosted on the cloud, such as Salesforce, for the purpose of managing sales, accounting software, such as QuickBooks Online, for managing finances, and email marketing software for improving marketing communications.

Cloud Solutions' Advantages for Small Businesses-

Affordable

Small firms can minimize their expenditures on hardware, software licenses, and information technology by switching to cloud-based services, which results in cost savings. Companies that provide cloud computing services often provide a pay-as-you-go approach, which enables organizations to only pay for the resources and services that they actually employ.

Protection of Sensitive Information and Disaster Recovery

Cloud service companies adopt stringent security procedures to protect vulnerable information. In addition to this, they provide solutions for disaster recovery and automatic backups, which serves to ensure that vital corporate information is safeguarded, quickly recoverable, and less likely to be lost.

Scalability:

Cloud hosting solutions enable small businesses to swiftly scale their operations up or down as needed without the inconvenience and expense of physically upgrading their gear and software. Scalability includes the ability to scale up or down activities. This flexibility enables adaptability and growth prospects, both of which are essential in a market that is very competitive.

Advantage in the Market

Cloud hosting solutions give small firms the ability to compete on an equal playing field with larger organizations, which gives them a competitive advantage. It is possible for them to obtain insights, streamline operations, and make decisions based on data without breaking the bank by utilizing sophisticated software, analytics tools, and advanced information technology.

Flexibility

As a result of the fact that all that is required to access the cloud is an internet connection, one of the advantages of cloud hosting is that it provides direct remote access to the data that is pertinent to all of your employees, including yourself. If you run a small business, it's possible that you don't have the financial resources to purchase a dedicated office space. People are able to work from any location they choose thanks to this cloud-based technology. Having the ability to operate from a remote location is more important than ever before for the success of a company, especially in light of the recent epidemic.

Increased Capacity for Collaboration and Adaptability

Cloud solutions enable small businesses to communicate with remote team members, clients, and partners in a seamless manner, which helps improve the flexibility and collaboration capabilities of these firms. It makes it possible to share files in real time, modify them simultaneously, and gain access to the most recent versions of documents, all of which contribute to increased productivity and efficiency.

The Most Recent Technology

Cloud hosting eliminates the need for you to worry about the possibility of automatically upgrading and customizing your servers, in contrast to traditional hosting, which does not permit such activities. Scalability is something that may be easily achieved as your company expands and your requirements and preferences shift.

Because cloud hosting businesses are experts in this kind of technology, this is something that can be easily accomplished. Since they have access to more resources, they are able to undertake research and construct systems that are more robust and powerful. You will have access to the most cutting-edge technologies available if you make an investment in cloud infrastructure.

Very little to no upkeep is required

Recall what I mentioned earlier regarding the safety concerns associated with cloud computing. That being said, a portion of that security necessitates the routine maintenance of servers, the updating of software, and the administration of networks. The good news is that cloud computing relieves you of the responsibility of doing all of that upkeep and instead places it in the hands of skilled specialists.

Because none of the equipment is hosted by you, you do not need to be concerned about purchasing newer versions of it every three to four years. You are not required to deal with any of that maintenance, which frees up more time for your firm to concentrate on the product or service that it offers.

Remote access

When it comes to cloud computing, your email account is the ideal illustration. Providing that you have your login credentials and an internet connection, you are able to access your consolidated email account from any computer. Cloud computing is appealing to a majority of businesses because of the convenience it provides. Your colleagues and you will be able to access your work from any location in the globe thanks to the cloud, which eliminates the need to store your work on a desktop computer or on a local area network (LAN) server that is not linked to the internet. Your productivity and freedom in your workspace will both increase as a result of this remote access.

Conclusion-

Through the simplification of procedures and the facilitation of real-time collaboration among members of a team, cloud computing has the potential to boost both efficiency and productivity. It is possible for teams to collaborate effectively regardless of their geographical location or the time zone differences between them if they have shared access to documents and files. In addition, many cloud-based services provide automation technologies that reduce the amount of manual work that employees have to perform, such as data entry or report production. This allows employees to concentrate on high-value tasks that contribute to the success of the company.

Dollar2host Dollar2host.com We provide expert Webhosting services for your desired needs Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube

[margret-jons-blog]

8 Ways to Beat Writer's/Blogger's Block

I like to write. Heck, to be honest I LOVE to write. Yet sometimes I hate it as well – like when I HAVE to write another newsletter  or post and I'm thinking I just don't know what to say.

That's why I like to find ideas that jog me into writing, and I share them with you here. Because I know if I sometimes have trouble writing, then those who aren't that fond of putting words to paper must sometimes prefer to get a root canal than write another article or blog post. So take heart, here are 8 suggestions that should get your typing fingers flying and your blog readers happy they stopped by your site. Be impulsive. If you write on a frequent basis, then there should be a part of your brain that's always on the lookout for ideas, rants, complaints, laughs, etc. When inspiration strikes, WRITE. Yes, right then and there. If you can't, then at least make lots of notes for later, and at the first available chance sit down and type it out. You can always polish it up later. Some of my best writing has been where I feel possessed of spirit and the words simply fly into my head of their own accord. It's almost like magic, but if I don't immediately type them out then I lose both the spirit and the enthusiasm, and usually the post or article never does get written. So be impulsive and write the moment the spirit strikes. You may not even know at first where it's going, but that's okay. Odds are you'll be pleasantly surprised. Question everything. Question authority, rules, the way things are and the way things are done. Always be asking yourself “Why?” Why are things this way? Why do we do it this way? Is there a better way? And so forth. Even if you don't have the answer, sometimes simply asking the questions can make for a terrific post. Break rules. Above, we're questioning rules, and this goes one step further. Is your blog about weight loss? We all know there's a rule that you be kind to everyone, regardless. But sometimes people need tough love, and maybe your next post should be how grossly obese people need to sit down and write their obituaries because odds are really good that they're not going to live all that long. And before you send me an email telling me that I should not have said what I just did, I recently read a news story in which a doctor, a DOCTOR, told his patient to write his obituary and it was exactly what the guy needed to lose 376 pounds. So yes, sometimes it's more than okay to break the rules. Combine unlikely things. This is the peanut butter and chocolate trick, or the apple pie and cheese trick. Take two ideas, concepts, or whatever that normally do NOT go together, combine them and see what happens. For example, if your website is all about how to raise money for non-profits, find out what the greediest people in the world do to acquire their fortunes, and then see how that knowledge might be appropriately used to raise funds. Just write. I know I've mentioned this one before, but it's so good I've got to say it again – just sit down and start writing, even if you don't have a single solitary clue what you're going to write about. Odds are the first few paragraphs will throw away nonsense, but soon something will emerge from your subconscious that's been dying to get out. I've used this technique many times, and it seldom fails me. Make an outline. If you've got your topic and you have an idea of what you're going to say, then by all means make an outline. Once you've got it, just fill it in. And no, you don't have to write it in order – pick a section of the outline, write that section, pick another section and so forth. Making the outline first is a dynamite way to then write quickly and nearly effortlessly. Plus you'll get to see early if your idea is worth writing about or not. Be crazy. Okay, so this crazy idea popped into your head, and you just KNOW that it's silly, but what if? That is, what if it's not so silly after all? We tend to dismiss our crazy ideas too quickly sometimes rather than see them through. And here's something worth remembering – every great achievement started out as someone's “crazy idea.” So go ahead, follow through and see what happens. Chunk it. Write non-stop for a certain length of time, such as 20 minutes or 30 minutes, and then take a 5 minute break. Knowing that you cannot stop writing for that period of time makes you focus and get to work, and knowing you have a break coming up soon makes it all tolerable, even on days when you especially don't feel like writing. There you have it... 8 ways to beat writer's/blogger's block. Now get to writing, will ya! :) Read the full article

[fowlerblogs1]

Garmin InReach Mini Models – The Best Two-Way Satellite Messaging Device

Garmin has proven its worth in the competitive marketplace with its innovative satellite phones with greater advancements. It has made outdoor activities like traveling and hiking exciting with its two-way satellite messenger device. In most remote areas, where the cell network and Wi-Fi cannot be functional, the Garmin InReach mini model will be the savior. It can be the ultimate solution to get rid of off-grid communication worries.

Outstanding Messaging Capabilities of Garmin InReach Mini

As it was already mentioned above that the garmin inreach mini is the smartest two-way satellite communicator. With this device, you can both send and receive text messages. Therefore, it has outsmarted the other devices with only sending text message features. Its messaging capability has made it the most popular option in the market. Therefore, this device was found more reliable and flexible for outdoor activities.

Moreover, sending a message to an email address or a mobile number will also include the location data with an accurate geographical map location to get the exact detail. Every message the sender sends consists of the date sent, time sent, speed, coordinates, location data, and elevation. So, if you are stuck in some emergency situation with the help of garmin inreach mini2, you will be rescued immediately with the necessary help.

A New Innovative Way of Enjoying Texting

The Garmin InReach can now be paired with your smartphone via Bluetooth. This is one of the most innovative approaches by the brand. Connecting it to your phone lets you easily compose text messages, just like normal mobile texting. So, it will let you get rid of the pain of tying on the Mini’s interface.

Note to remember that text messages are restricted to be under 160 characters limit. If you exceed that, the messages cannot be sent. Sometimes, you may find it limited, but it is enough to stick to your point. Rather than typing long paragraphs, you can simply text to the point texts. It is very helpful during emergency cases, where you can simply text “Help me soon,” “I am fine,” etc., to your contacts. So, do not expect to write lengthy updates with it. The Garmin inreach will be the right thing to carry during trips and outings.

The Most Exciting Pre-Set Message Feature

One of the best features of the Garmin mini Inreach 2 is the pre-set messages function. Before you start an outdoor activity, you can set up the pre-set message feature. Note that you can send three pre-set messages to your favorite recipients of your choice.

The Garmin Inreach Mini plans provide limitless pre-set messages. The users can instantly send pre-set messages to their friends, mothers, or colleagues. When you want to save your monthly message allowance but still want to keep in touch with your loved ones, then the pre-set messages will be very helpful. Setting the messages is quite easy and takes a few minutes. You just have to log into your Garmin account online, and you can type pre-set messages and log recipients.

Garmin inreach mini models’ exciting messaging abilities and features make it the best choice. Before you plan your next outdoor trip, don’t forget to rent or buy this extraordinary satellite device model.

[chaotic-archaeologist]

Hello!! I'm a queer archaeology student, and I keep reading like a few paragraphs about queer archaeology in connection to post processualism in different books and articles, but they never seem to mention much more than that it's a thing that exists:(

I want to know more, but I have no idea where to start. Do you have any suggestions for articles or similar? Thanks in advance, and sorry if you've answered this before<3

Hi there, you sent this ask forever ago, and I'm sorry for not getting to it sooner.

I think that I should clarify that while I am a queer archaeologist, queer archaeology is not what I specialize in. I can definitely give you some pointer, but I'm not familiar with the scope of everything that's out there.

I'll start with my two favorites, Google Scholar and JSTOR (my beloved). ResearchGate is okay too, but they make you sign up (it's free though) and send you a lot of emails. Here is the link to a JSTOR search for 'queer archaeology' and a Google Scholar search for 'queer archaeology'. Each of these turns up dozens of good articles that are worth reading. Many of the ones on GS are free, and if you go to a college or university, you can probably access JSTOR with your school credentials. If you can't, stop by your public library and they should be able to help you. If all else fails, you can reach out to the authors, and 99% of the time they will be more than happy to share a copy of the article with you.

My number one tip for reading articles looking for people/subjects you're interested in is to check the citations! Keep track of names and publications that come up in in text citations that get your attention and track them down. Citations are the glue that holds us all together.

Dr. Laura Heath-Stout is the queer archaeology person on my radar right now. You can check out her twitter, where she shares her work. She was just on a panel about LGBTQIA+ archaeology for pride month, and you might consider checking out her other panelists.

Best of luck,

-Reid

[theficcafe]

𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬. - 02

↳ Genre: Angst, Fluff

↳ Pairing: college!gojo x fem!reader

↳ Warnings: unrequited love

↳ Playlist: (will link here!)

↳ Masterlist: 01 02

“And what can life be worth if the first rehearsal for life is life itself?”

“Aki, I don’t know how to start this email. 

It’s my first time writing one (to you) after I transitioned from the traditional handwritten messages. I just found out yesterday that you haven’t been receiving the letters I have been sending—they were delivered, but scattered on the doorstep of your apartment. A kind lady had found one hidden in the bushes while she was tending to her garden, and decided to give the number a call to let me know that my letter has fallen astray.

 I’ve been writing for years, Aki. Just how much have you received? Read? Written back? You wrote back to me the first six months but that was three years ago. Was that even you? Where are you, Aki? What happened? What’s happening? I am seething with anger and resentment right now. But most of all, my heart hurts. 

Have you forgotten about me? I miss you terribly. 

Every day's the same since you left. I sometimes wish you hadn’t, but I’d be lying if I said that if given the chance, I’ll stop you. I would never. You have a dream. Bigger than us. Bigger than you. Bigger than me. You have a dream so big it won’t fit in your tiny little heart. And because I love you, Aki, I let you go. 

But I didn’t know you’d leave me. 

I didn’t know that letting go meant losing you. 

Write back. Or not. I love you. 

Toru.”

Your mind swirled with confusion and shock as you read the last paragraph. A minute ago, you were scrolling through your SNS feed when you got an email from a person called Gojo Satoru—who you have never heard of, in your entire life. Yet here you are, completely hooked in his emotionally written letter as if this was made for you. Just how much do random email occurrences like this happen? One thing stood out, though. Aki. There could be millions of Aki out there, but one thing’s for sure—that is not your name, and not close to it at all. 

The fact that he’d send this directly to someone else’s email has you perplexed; you could not wrap your head around the idea of this “Gojo” mistaking your ten-year old email made solely for game freebies for his girlfriend’s email address.

So why is this letter in your inbox? 

Your alarm suddenly went off, enticing a loud shriek from you as you accidentally fell off your bed. Groaning, you sat up, checking the time. The clock read 6:36 am. Thanks, you thought, as you looked up at the ceiling. What a great wake up call! 

“Just in time,” you mumbled breathlessly from the shock your alarm clock has given you, “just in time.” 

“You know, if you’re just going to space out, I’m gonna have to fire you.” Your manager, Mei Mei, playfully shoved your shoulders in hopes of snapping you out of your trance. You looked at her, void of any emotion - your mind too preoccupied with a certain person called Gojo Satoru. 

“Hey, Mei, do you ever get.. weird emails? From random people?” Mei Mei looked up from her phone and furrowed her eyebrows in curiosity. “What do you mean by weird emails? Like, chain messages? Of course I do! All the damn time.” 

Wiping the counter as you spoke helped you clean your mind a bit. It was Friday, and you received the letter four days ago—since then, it never left your mind. From the moment you woke up, to attending classes, to clocking in for your part-time job at Koi kōhī (a small café owned by a family friend: Mei Mei’s) -  the letter that’s been sitting in your mailbox has successfully infiltrated your mind ever since its existence. You have no idea why because technically, it’s none of your business—you can literally just delete it. Somehow, though, you couldn’t. The man seemed so melancholic that you didn’t even have the heart to delete it because then, that would mean writing this email would be in vain. He already sent it to the wrong person in the first place. At the same time, it bothered you; just looking at the message there. Opened. Waiting for a response. Begging, even.

While arranging the trays and paper-cups, it somehow dawned on to you—the reason why you couldn’t get the letter out of your mind. Because it is from a real person. And it happened in real life. 

There’s a girl named Aki, 

and a guy named Gojo, 

and somehow, there’s you. 

Guilty. Emphatic. Awkward…. Sad. 

It was a sad thing. To write and never be heard. To trust the wind to deliver your love and yet it fails you. To be acknowledged and discarded. It hurt to love. And if you looked close enough, you could see the corners of his words bleeding—and they’re not yours to wipe. 

In their ol’ little doomed love story, you’re only the spectator. 

An accidental one at that.

Upon giving it a thought, you hesitated telling her the truth of this so-called “weird” email; thinking about it, it would sound beyond weird if she asked why you decided to read it when you could’ve deleted it the moment it slid into your inbox. Shooting Mei Mei a shy glance, you spoke. “Yeah, like uh.. email promotions.. I guess.”

Mei Mei’s expression relaxed upon hearing it, sending a playful wink right your way before tossing the keys to Haru, your colleague, a usual sign that it’s time to close the shop. “Thank the heavens! I thought you were scammed.”

Oh how you wished it had been a poorly written scam campaign. Maybe if you saw the headlines “Congratulations, you won a car!” you wouldn't be feeling torn between keeping the message or deleting it. 

Before leaving, Mei Mei hugged you goodbye. “Be careful entertaining random emails, Y/N. You don’t know who you’re talking to!” 

Too late.

You could only nod in response. 

At home, you did exactly the opposite of what Mei Mei told you to do.

Your thumb has been grazing over the send button after an impulsive moment of typing the words “This isn’t Aki.” One send and everything would end. This Gojo guy would get the hint and perhaps feel a little embarrassed, but then, that’s going to be it—you’re pretty sure he will block your email address. No more heartbroken emails. No more Aki and no more Gojo. No more curiosity.

Send me a sign, you think to yourself. After all, you have the “God’s Tongue” - the universe won’t fail you now.

Except..

Today, it does.

As if the universe conspired to stop you, your phone vibrated upon receiving a notification.

Fuck your God’s Tongue indeed—you just manifested another email from Gojo Satoru.

In panic, you threw your phone on your bed, your heart hammering against your chest as if you just ran a marathon. And if that wasn’t enough, another notification came in: one that sounded exactly like another email. You squeaked a “holy shit!” as you scrambled to get your phone to quickly check your inbox. You were right: not one, but two emails from Gojo Satoru were sitting on top of your unread messages, waiting to be opened. You felt like you were violating his privacy. After all, these weren’t yours to read. But then again—the effort, energy, and emotions he’s put to write these—will be discarded. If you left it alone, it’ll just rot and be forgotten and you think he’s had enough of being forgotten; maybe it’s about time he forgets. 

So you click the first email, hands trembling nervously. Maybe this could be the last, you reasoned in your mind. Maybe he’ll get tired after two emails. After all - wouldn’t a normal person stop after getting no response?

Your eyes began to scan the first sentence.   

“Haruki Murakami. Norwegian Wood.

I’ve finally scored your favorite book. I went to the bookshop we’d often visit when we were in high-school. You know, the one next to lemon bakeshop near the old campus. You called it a cursed one—because every time you go there with a book in mind, you always left with a sullen look. You never once bought a book there because somehow, the universe always wanted you to lose. 

Well, today, we won, Aki. Took us years, but hey, better late than ever, right?

So come home. Read this. It’s for you. I always loved how you would annotate your books and run all the way to my house to show me the cool quotes you’ve found.

I miss your neon highlighters and your bright smile. Come home. Home to me.

Come home, Aki. 

Toru.” 

You felt as though you got punched in the stomach. The way he wrote this message was simple, as though relieving a memory, and yet your heart feels like it’s about to burst: he made sure to deliver it in a way that you’d remember, even if that memory isn’t yours. You could see it. You somehow could make out what they’d be like, minus the features of their faces; young, in love, stupid. You imagined a bookshop and relived a memory that did not belong to you; his longing and sadness bled and soaked through his words and you happened to be the unlucky one.

Lying down on your stomach, you raised your phone higher to get a good read before you click on the next one. 

“I never liked my coffee cold. 

You know that, right? I liked it hot. Even on hot days, you’d laugh at me for drinking hot coffee instead of iced ones. 

You said I’d get used to burning in “hell.” 

Hot coffee’s best for rainy days. When it feels cold and you could use some warm. When you were around, I drank coffee less. Even during the biggest storms, I’d bask underneath your warmth and laughter in bed all day and it would be the best thing ever - having to listen to the raindrops in tune with your laughter.

You gave me the warmth I needed in every season, Aki, and when you left for states, I drank coffee more. 

But everything is no match for the warmth you could only give.

My coffee’s been cold since you.” 

No sign. No usual ‘Toru’ or I love you’s. 

Exiting the mailbox app, you went to search for Tokyo’s weather forecast for today. 

It was raining.

↳  𝔀𝓮𝓵𝓬𝓸𝓶𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓴𝓪𝓸'𝓼 𝓬𝓸𝓻𝓷𝓮𝓻! 

hi everyone, it’s kao! i’m sorry for uploading a day late, i have added some revisions regarding the plot line to make sure y’all will be overloaded with angst  ૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა

how are you guys liking lightness and weight so far? 

a feedback/reblog would me a lot to me! thank you for the smol appreciation you guys have shown!  ପ(๑•ᴗ•๑)ଓ ♡

see u guys in chapter 03!

kao, out! ʚ♡ɞ

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

Engine Roars: Starting Line Chapter 1

Summary: Iida Tenya would seem like an odd choice for Midoriya Izumi, but she chose him out of all the other suitors, and they're both ready to face what comes. Public events, middle school, training with family and friends, a secret torch passed down through the ages: they're going to make it together as they work towards their dreams! Even as old friends turned enemies, new enemies and family drama litter their path, they have each other and new friends to make it work! Watch them go for their starting line!

On Ao3

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 “Who do you think you can spend the rest of your life with happily?” her mom asked Izumi as they looked over the files one last time. 

 “I could probably be with any one of them and be happy,” Izumi said as she flipped through Keigo’s file. 

 “Well then, who do you think would be a good husband? Someone who takes you seriously and listens to you without worrying about others?” Inko asked, putting down her own file. “You’ve been emailing them for months; you’ve got to know who can listen the best.”

 “... Tenya.” Izumi said. “He’s funny even if he’s stiff, and he knows a lot about heroes. He listens to me, and even their agency took my advice. So I think he’s the one I’d prefer out of them all to marry.” 

 “You sure?” Inko asked seriously. “Honey, this will end up like me and your dad; a marriage you can’t get out of at all.”

 “I know,” Izumi said, frowning at the file in her hand before putting it down. “Tenya’s nice and likes listening. He stumbles a bit when he’s talking, I think… I really do think he’s the best choice.” 

 “Well then, baby, let’s send them a message.” Inko smiled at Izumi. “Will the others be okay with it?”

 “I think so…” Izumi frowned. “They all said they would be.”

 “Well then, there’s no need to worry. You can still be their friend!” Inko grinned at Izumi, who gave a soft smile back. She hoped so.

-0-

 Tenya honestly did not believe Izumi would pick him. While he treasured his friendship with her, he did not expect her to view him as an option. Too stiff, too obedient, and a fun sucker were the common complaints about him from his peers. 

 He wished for her to pick him. Izumi was kind and intelligent, a bright flame that would burn long. Her sense of justice, her mind creating new things, how could he not want her to pick him?

 But Tenya knew better. She wouldn’t pick him, not when others were more fun or interesting to spend time with. Nevertheless, he still wished to be her friend and would not back down from her friendship. 

 However, walking into the kitchen to find his parents beaming one day, he was told differently than his thoughts.

 “Izumi picked you,” his mother told him gently. 

  He hadn’t expected it. Hadn’t thought it possible. But she had. 

 He would make sure that she wouldn’t regret it. He would help her reach her dreams of heroics and enable her to become the great hero he knew she could be!

 She picked him, him! He would make sure it was worth it.

-0-

  The meeting to agree on the contract occurred at the For the Future agency, with Haruno presiding over the agreement. Inko and Izumi sat across from the Iida family, no lawyers involved yet. Both had agreed with the preliminary contracts they drew up and felt it would be simple to agree to things together.

 “I don’t have an issue with this part,” Inko said, pointing at a paragraph. “But I would argue that Izumi would also be expected to go to University if she is not a hero at this time. Also, being pregnant in university isn’t a great idea.”

 “You and my wife can hit me for this, but if she is not a hero when she’s twenty-one, then why not have children as soon as possible.” Iida Tomomi said to Inko.

 “You don’t think she can be a hero?” Inko asked dangerously.

 “I don’t know,” Tomomi argued. “We won’t know until she’s that age. I have no issues with a Quirkless hero, but the fact is she might not-”

 “Tomomi,” Kin said, giving her husband a nasty look. He rolled his eyes but fell silent anyway. “What he means is this is a worst-case scenario. If she is a hero, we have another part asking for a child by age twenty-five.” Inko nodded, looking at the contract closely. Izumi and Tenya traded wide-eyed looks before quickly glancing away. Izumi just learned where babies came from! She didn’t want to think about that!

 Ingenium snorted, and a sharp sound came from under the table. He gave Tenya a pout as the younger scowled. “Mean Tenya.” Ingenium muttered.

 “Knock it off!” Tenya hissed at him. The parents ignored the two boys. Even Inko refocused on arguing about some of the contract. Izumi just giggled, smiling at Tenya shyly. He copied her, only kicking Ingenium again when the man made kissing noises.

 “Should your husband be here?” Kin asked after a few more arguments.

 “Hisashi is a Quirk scientist currently in Atlantis,” Inko said simply, looking at the contract in front of her. “He and I were arranged as well, except neither of us had a choice. I’m aromantic and asexual, making it worse for me.” she hummed, circling something on the page. “We can’t get divorced, so we live apart. He has little say in Izumi’s life. Hence why I would like to remove this part. We don’t know if either of them is attracted to the other.” she tapped on the contract. “Allowing a boyfriend or girlfriend on the side is the best option.”

 “Emily is nice,” Izumi mused. “Dad’s girlfriend,” she explained to Tenya. “I think I mentioned her to you.”

 “You did,” he agreed. “Do you see her often?”

 “Oh no. Dad is usually out of contact, and Emily might not care at all about him being married, but it’s weird, you know?” Izumi asked. “She’s from the Quebec island, so she’s really chill with it and totally fine with me not knowing how to refer to her.” 

 “Really? That sounds fascinating!” Tenya said. The parents looked at one another, and Kin nodded.

 “Scrap the infidelity part, then. Unless it is done in secret without the other’s knowledge, I mean.”

 “Agreed, an actual affair is disgusting,” Inko said. She made the corrections. Haruno sipped her tea. “Something wrong?” Inko asked the agent.

 “What? Oh no. This is easily the simplest job I’ve ever had.” Haruno waved her hand. “Keep going!” The parents looked at one another as the kids snickered before getting back to business.

 “You said you were thinking of sending Izumi to Yavin?” Kin asked.

 “Yes, I was,” Inko agreed. 

 “We can afford to send her to Soumei,” Tomomi suggested. “Keeping her and Tenya close would build their bond and give her a much more prestigious education.”

 “I see,” Inko hummed. “Agreed for that; it would allow her a better education. And you will pay for everything?”

 “Of course,” Kin said. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear before pointing at the contract. “I would also like to stress that this contract can be broken if either party becomes abusive. Not that I think so….”

 “But better safe than sorry.” Inko nodded. The rest of the meeting went smoothly, and they had a new contract by the end of the day, thanks to Haruno. With the contract there, the parents took one more time to speak to their children.

 “Are you sure about this, Izumi?” Inko asked her daughter. Izumi nodded.

 “I am,” she agreed. 

 Across the room, Kin looked at her son seriously. “Tenya, if you don’t want this, you can back out. We messed up as parents, and this offer was made before we realized what we did,” she told her youngest. Tomomi winced, looking down at his hands. Tenya shook his head.

 “No, I do,” he said. He had never been picked before. Not for being himself. Izumi may have chosen his family for their connections, but he knew she had other people who had more as her suitors. She still picked him, Tenya, over them. He’d been chosen.

 He would never say no to that.

 With the children still in agreement, the contract was signed to make it official. Midoriya Izumi and Iida Tenya would marry at age nineteen. 

 The two kids traded a hopeful smile, ready for the start of their lives.

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Notes:

-With removing the emails from the beginning, the old chapter 1 and 2 were kind of collapsed into one chapter.

-I want to be clear that this is ONE path. I do plan on doing all of the others to. 

-Hisashi and Inko also you know HATE each other so… yeah him hanging around often isn’t something she likes. 

-I want to clarify: an affair is something done without a partner’s permission or knowledge. Inko is saying that if Tenya and Izumi aren’t compatible in the future, they should be allowed to seek out others without it being classified as an affair if both are aware of this. 

[helliontherapscallion]

(Y/n) and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week: Thursday (Part 2)

Monday     Tuesday     Wednesday     Thursday (Part 1)     Friday     Saturday     Sunday

Spotify Playlist (collaborative)

Warnings: panic attacks, swearing, puking, concussions, mentions of injuries/bullying, homophobia

Word count: 5,138

After school, you were sitting on the couch as you furiously typed on your keyboard at an extremely fast pace. You were on a roll with these essays, they were probably going to be finished by the time you had to go back to the school to get on the bus with the team. You figured that you could even finish Annie’s essay and get started on Sammy’s US history presentation on the sociopolitical climate of the United States in the mid twentieth century to today. However, instead of covering a variety of topics like the rubric requested you to do, you were only going to talk about the significant events that happened to the LGBT+ community starting with Stonewall and going to Obergefell v. Hodges. You were also going to go in depth about how even if there are more opportunities available and more laws set in place to protect for LGBT+ people in the present then there were in past, members of the LGBT+ community still suffer heavy discrimination in the workplace and in the public. With receipts of course, the assignment required a minimum of three pictures per slide, and the group chat was a perfect source.

After that was done, you would email Sammy’s teacher (you had her last year for US history and you knew that she had a son in the grade below you currently transitioning from female to male) that you were the one that did her project and send screenshots of Sammy calling you slurs. Luckily for you, you had receipts of her being transphobic in the past that you could also send. Everything was effortlessly falling into place for you today. 

As you were typing, the front door swung open and two overly excited fifth graders ran into the house and up the stairs. A tired Schlatt followed them. “I will never know how the hell Phil keeps up with them.” 

“I dunno, maybe because he’s already raised three kids before.”

You watched as your uncle jumped and whipped his head over towards you, his hand clutching his chest. He lightly glared at you, “christ kid don’t do that, you nearly gave me a heart attack.”

You smirked at him before turning back to your laptop to continue typing the essay. You were almost done with the conclusion paragraph on Annie’s essay and you wanted to get to Sammy’s presentation as fast as possible. As you were typing, you felt a warm air fan across your neck and your uncle’s voice right next to your ear, “whatcha typin?”

You lept off the couch and almost fell into the coffee table before steadying yourself and deadpanning at Schlatt. “I was typing an essay before you interrupted me.”

He snorted, “it looked like you were on a roll, just thought I’d see what my beloved niece was writing. Can I read it?” 

Your eyes lit up as an excited grin split your cheeks, “yeah, but lemme catch you up real quick. Adrian, Sammy, and Annie got mad at me a few days ago and wanted me to do some homework for them as a sort of payment. But after they pulled that little stunt in the lunchroom yesterday, they decided to be little bitches to me and call me slurs. So naturally, I decided to change the essay prompt into an in depth analysis about discrimination LGBT people face from their peers on the daily. My english teacher’s really against homophobia and the project’s worth twenty five percent of our overall grade, so it’s perfect.”

While you were rambling on and on about your detailed plot for revenge, Schlatt couldn’t help but be proud of the person you’d become. A major part of him was impressed that you came up with a detailed plan so quickly, that meant that his cunning nature was rubbing off on you and that made him ecstatic. Sure you mentioning not being straight was new to him, but he was prepared to accept you for whatever you identified as. He didn’t care how people identified, he just cared if they were good people. And his niece was one of the best kids he knew. He’d let your slip up slide for now until you felt comfortable enough to properly come out to him. 

“That an amazing plan, fuckin brilliant. Though, you could do more.”

That piqued your interest, “I’m listening.”

“Do you have any blackmail?”

Your eyes glinted with sudden understanding, “why yes I do, uncle dearest. I just so happen to have thousands of texts from them talking shit about each other and basically the entire school. And them being incredibly racist. They would be destroyed if that came out.” 

“Two things. One, never call me that again. Two, perfect. Keep it as leverage if they try to do something. You don’t pull out all the good cards in the first round, you wait for the right moment to strike so you can win. You need to constantly defend yourself against other players and anticipate their every move. If you leak everything right now, you won’t have anything to use against them if they have something up their sleeve you didn’t know about. Patience is key in things like this.”

You absorbed every single word that came out of his mouth like it was the holy gospel. Although he was your uncle and you loved him with all your heart, but he was a sly bastard when he wanted to be. He knew his way around fighting and manipulating people just right, so you were incredibly happy that you were on his good side and he absolutely adored you. Though questionable and morally gray, he was giving you advice because he cared about you and you’d be an idiot to not heed his advice. 

“That’s genius, Uncle Schlatt. What would I do without you?”

“You’d get along just fine without me, you would’ve gotten there eventually. You’re smart. I’m just givin you a little push in the right direction.”

“I honestly would’ve never thought about waiting, I was so dead set on getting revenge that I would’ve just leaked everything all at once. I want them to feel how I felt when they were around me. I-” you paused. Would this make you the same as them? You’d be screwing up all their grades, Adrian’s job, and Sammy’s athletic career. You came to the chilling realization that you’d be the same as them. You’d be as manipulative as they were. “...Uncle Schlatt, would that make me the same as them?”

“Fuck no! You’re always gonna be better than them no matter what. When they’re at their best, you’re always gonna be a whole lot better than them. They deserve what’s happening to them, it sounds like they put you through so much shit the past few years. I actually think you could do a whole lot worse to them if you’re willing to put more work in, but it’s your plan and if you think that what you’re doing is too much,” he darkly chuckled, “you wouldn’t like my idea.”

“You’re right, they deserve everything I have planned for them. God, I don’t know what I was thinking, ‘would that make me the same as them,’” you mocked what you said earlier, “what a load of shit. Anyways, thanks Uncle Schlatt. I’m gonna get back to writing this. They’re due tomorrow and I wanna finish as much as I can before I have to go.”

“Alright, whaddya want for dinner? Phil’s gonna be like thirty minutes late from work so I’m cookin tonight.”

Oh no. No, no, no, no. That man can barley cook boxed mac n cheese, let alone anything else. He’d burn down the house if you left him alone in the kitchen with the stove. “On second thought, why don’t I help you with dinner? We can make some chicken alfredo.”

“Awe, you’d rather hang out with me than finish your homework? Ya really do love me. C’mon let’s start.”

The process of making dinner was… interesting. Multiple times, Schlatt almost spilled boiling water on himself and he even managed to burn the pasta while it was in the water. How he even managed to do that you’d never find out, you had your back turned cutting up vegetables and herbs at the time. That was when you subtly started to take over in the kitchen, giving him smaller tasks while you handled everything else. You felt bad for Tubbo, his father can’t cook for shit. 

By time you finished, about an hour passed and Philza had come home and changed out of his work clothes. The two adults sat at the table discussing something that you didn’t pay attention to while your brothers and cousin were in the living room waiting for you to finish dinner. Finally, you set the table and it was time to eat. 

Because you couldn’t have many fatty foods before any matches or practices, you had made a separate plate for yourself that only had plain pasta, chicken, and broccoli. You were surprised with how well it turned out, you were following an iffy recipe you found on the first link Google brought up. 

After dinner, you went upstairs to put your uniform on and pack a little bag full of things you might need: a small blanket, some snacks, a water bottle, and a portable charger. Oh, and fuzzy socks and a pair of crocs. You could never go wrong with fuzzy socks and crocs. Feeling a vibration in your pocket, you pulled out your phone.

Hales : )

(Y/n), I’m omw to your house

Gonna give you a ride to the school

(Y/n)

Hales you don’t have to give me a ride, I can drive

Hales : )

Don’t care

Omw, be there in like 7 mins

You swiped out of yours and her conversation and opened up the family group chat

(Y/n)

I don’t need a ride to the school, Haley’s giving me one

She’s gonna give me a ride home too

Dadza

Alright, thank her for me

Tell her I said good luck too!

Uncle Schlatty Patty

Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do

Dadza

(Y/n), do everything he wouldn’t do

Uncle Schlatty Patty

Fuck you I’m a good influence

Dadza

You’re really not

Wilby

^^^^

Technology Sword

^

Uncle Schlatty Patty

Fuck all of you 

You heard Haley’s car pull into the driveway and dashed out of your room with your bag. Just as you put your hand on the doorknob, a hand stopped you.

“Coat.”

You grumbled as you reached past Philza to grab your coat. After you slipped it on, you were pulled into a hug. “You’re gonna do great out there. I know you’re gonna win this, we’ll be watching in the stands.”

“Damn right she’s gonna do good, she’s my niece after all.”

Schlatt pulled you away from your father’s hug and tried to ruffle your hair before you swatted away his hand, “don’t. You have no idea how long it took me to get a perfect ponytail. I have an ungodly amount of hairspray and bobby pins in my hair right now.”

“Fine. You’re gonna kick their asses tonight.”

Tommy and Tubbo pushed past Schlatt and both tackled you into a hug making you stumble slightly back. 

“Kick their asses good (y/n)!” Tommy cheered, making you crack up before one stern glance from Philza completely stopped you. “Tommy, don’t say that. (Y/n), not funny.”

“Alright, Haley’s waiting for me. I gotta go, love you guys!” As you turned to walk through the door, you could hear your family following you and shouting “good luck”. You felt heat creep up on your cheeks as Haley rolled down her window and wove at your family with the biggest grin on her face. 

“Thank you! We’re gonna take home the gold for sure!”

You hopped in her car as she rolled up the window and chuckled. “I love your family, they’re always so full of energy. It’s refreshing to see compared to how boring my family is.”

You glanced at your entire family gathered on the front porch. Tommy and Tubbo were practically vibrating with excitement, Wilbur and Techno calmly smiled and wove at you, Philza was grinning widely at you as you saw his mouth forming words that you couldn’t hear or read, and Schlatt was grinning cheekily at you. You raised your hand to wave at them as they vanished from view when Haley pulled out of your driveway. You smiled softly, “I love em too.”

The car ride was relatively quick with the same soft indie pop music floating from the speakers and an easy going conversation with Haley about the match tonight. You both thought that you could beat the other team if everyone focused 100% and played exactly like you guys did in practices. If everyone did that, you would be unstoppable. 

Luckily for you and Haley, you were the first ones in line to board the bus so you two got the back seat with Zara and Jazzy sitting across from you guys. The hour long bus ride passed quickly and lively with you four passing around your phone and playing some mad libs, you were sure that by the end of the last game you four were laughing and crying. Sometime in the middle of the trip, you noticed that Haley would start to lean on your shoulder and continuously glance at you as she laughed. You desperately wanted to believe that it was because she liked you, but she was straight and she was your best friend. She was probably trying to make sure you were having a good time. 

When the team had gotten to the opposing school and left the locker room to stretch in the gym, you could hear your family start to scream your and Haley’s names from the front row next to you, Tommy and Tubbo being the loudest amongst them with Philza trying to get them to quiet down so you could focus. You felt your cheeks heat up as you smiled at them and Haley wove enthusiastically back at them. Zara was laughing at you two. Stretching went by in a flash and before you knew it, you were on the court facing the opposing team. 

The first match was won by the opposing team by five points. The second match stretched on and on until it was won by your team narrowly by two points. The team was going to have to shape up in the third match if you guys wanted a chance at winning, the opposing team was good. Before the third match started, Coach Williams called for a time out so you guys could talk about strategy. Before Haley could go back onto the court, you pulled her aside.

“Hales, we need to do what we practiced. The other team won’t be expecting it at all, I’ve been setting you up this entire game. They’re never going to expect you setting me up for a spike.”

“When are we going to do it though? We need a better plan.”

“I’m sure the opportunity will come and both of us will recognize it. We just can’t do it too early in the game though, that’ll ruin their surprise.”

“(Y/n), I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“When do I not Hales? We gotta get gold this year.”

The third round went by with both teams constantly swapping places until you both were tied fifteen to fifteen. You saw the ball flying towards Haley, giving her the perfect opportunity to set you up for a spike.  “HALEY NOW!” 

You watched as her face hardened in determination as she pretended like she was going to spike it by jumping high in the air and stretching her arms back, making the opposing front row players all gather in front of her. Much to their surprise, she launched it towards you as you leaped up and went for the kill. The stinging of the ball hit by your wrist and the smack sound the ball made when it slammed onto the open gym floor was something you’d never forget as the crowd around you went wild over the unexpected play. You could hear the high pitched screaming of Tommy and Tubbo over everybody else. Glancing at them over your shoulder, you saw them jumping up and down on the gym floor and looking at you with awe filled eyes and gaping mouths. The rest of your family looked at you with similar expressions, their cheers echoing in your mind. Winking at them, you turned back to your team and went straight to Haley. Clapping a hand on her shoulder, you pulled her into a quick hug, yelling over the raving of the crowd. “HALEY WE NAILED THAT!” 

“HOLY SHIT I DID NOT THINK THAT WAS ACTUALLY GONNA WORK!”

“You have such little faith in your setter! You wound me Hales.”

“Well, I would have more faith in you if you weren’t chaotic on the court, sweetheart.”

You felt yourself surge in happiness at the nickname, but you couldn’t afford to focus too much on it. Your team only needed one more point to win best in the state and go to nationals. It would be the first time in your team’s history if you reached national level, and you’d be damned if you were the one to screw it up for them. 

The last rotation went on for a while, each team fighting tooth and nail for the state championship title with clashing determination. You tried your best to block every hit and try to set Haley up for a spike, and you were successful for the most part, only missing a few blocks. You saw the setter adjacent to you set the spiker up for a spike and jumped up in time to try to block it, your arms stretched upwards and your palms out. Only, the ball didn’t hit your hands. It collided painfully with your nose, ricocheted off your face with a thwack and sailed over to the other side of the court. Your head whipped back as your body followed suit and flew backwards onto the floor. Without giving you any time to react, your head bounced back and cracked against the polished hardwood floor of the gym. Everything went black. 

“...(y……”

“..(y/n)......”

“(Y/n).”

You faintly heard someone calling someone’s name over the continuous ringing noise. Was it your name? It felt right, so it had to be your name. You peeled your eyes open to see a blurry figure hovering over you. It was swirled with tans, browns, and backs. After a while of the figure repeating your name, it slowly became more recognizable, albeit appearing twice in your vision. It took you a while to figure out who this was before your muddled brain recognized Haley.

“Hales! There’s two o’ya. Twice as beautiful babe…” You slurred out as you attempted to smile at her.

“Oh thank god, PLEASE WE NEED A DOCTOR SHE HIT HER HEAD!” Her usually angelic voice gritted against your brain like sandpaper making you cringe as pain exploded in your head.

“God babe you’re so loud, why’s so bright? I-wha's goin on?” You blearily tried to move your head to look around only to be stopped by a pair of large hands on each side of your head gently holding it in place. You moved your laggy eyes around to look at the figure. He was a blonde man with blue eyes and a hint of stubble on his chin. His eyebrows were knitted together and he looked… he looked… your brain worked to figure out why he looked how he looked. Who was he?

“Please don’t move hun.” His muffled voice was baritone. You squinted at him trying to figure out who this man was.

“Who th f-fuck… why?”

“I’m your dad hun. Do-do you not recognize me?” You made a noise in the back of your throat as your stuffy brain finally put a name to the face.

“Dad- wha’s goin on? I’on feel so good…”

“Shh, I know, I know. Just stop moving and talking. Everything’s fine. I’m here. You’re okay.”

“Mmk… Dad, where are we? I’ont know- you’re so quiet.”

“Stop moving so much. You’re on the floor in a gym. You just won your team the state championship. Now stop talking please.”

Huh. So that’s why everybody seemed to appear from above you. You strained your eyes to look around you, but you could only see your dad’s face hovering above you. “Shit I- who’s aroun’ me? Where’s Hales?”

“I’m right here sweetheart. I got the doctor, Mr. Minecraft.”

Your dad’s face moved away from your vision so fast that it made your head spin and your stomach twist. Another face appeared above you that you once again didn’t recognize.

“I’m Doctor Martin, can you tell me your first and last name?”

“Uh, (y/n) Minecraft?”

“Good, what month are we in right now?”

“Nov-November?”

“Close, it’s late October. Can you tell me who this,” he pointed to your dad, “is?”

“S’my dad Phillip.”

“That’s your dad Philza.”

The questioning stopped as he suddenly shined a blinding light into your sensitive eyes. You hissed as you tried to move your head away from the offending light only to be held in place by your dad’s hands. Your head spun as you moved too quickly and a wave of nausea hit you, making you groan and move your arm to cover your eyes. Your hand was stopped by something warm and soft wrapping around it and holding it tightly. Everything was so overwhelmingly and painfully bright and loud. You wanted to make it stop. 

“Mr. Minecraft, your daughter appears to have a concussion. I don’t have the tools on hand to determine the severity of it, but it’s worrying that her pupils are asymmetrical, she’s delirious, and has slight memory loss. I understand you live about an hour away from here, and it’s alright for you to take her to a hospital closer to your house. Make sure you keep her alert.”

Your delirious mind only registered about half of what came out of the doctor’s mouth. You mumbled gibberish as you once again opened your eyes to look around. You were only briefly able to crane your neck to the left. Several figures large and small were standing behind your dad. Your family, your mind supplemented. Slowly, your mind was starting to recognize your surroundings even if there was currently double of everything and everything was blurry.

“I’m going to help you stand up. Do ya think you can do that?”

“Yeah Dad.” You lifted your upper body off from the ground with a gentle hand on your back helping you sit up. Fighting the wave of nausea that slapped you in the face, you reached up to rub at your eyes. A hand once again stopped you. You peeked your eyelids open and lightly glared at whomever stopped you. “Hales you’re lucky you’re so cute I woulda slapped you. I like holdin but you’re bein annoying. Stop.” You attempted to make your voice sound firm, but the words that came out of your mouth were slightly slurred.

She was silent as she helped her dad haul you to your feet. Once on your feet, you saw the room spin and felt yourself start to sway slightly. An arm wrapped itself around your shoulders and pulled you close to them so that your weight was supported. They were a little taller than you were making it easy to lean on them. 

“...Can you walk?” A deep, monotone voice rumbled the chest of the person you were leaning against. 

“Mhm. ‘M not weak.” Though your limbs felt like they were made of molasses, you placed one foot in front of the other slowly. The person moved alongside you, “you’re doing so good, keep going.” That sparked familiarity in you as you stopped in your tracks and tried to look up at the person you were leaning against making the person tighten their arm around your shoulders when you almost fell over.

“Tech?”

“Yeah, it’s Technoblade. Just focus on walking. You’re almost out of the gym.”

When you realized that you were out of the gym, you sighed in relief. It was so much quieter and darker. Though it was still relatively bright, it was better than the gym. 

“S’better.”

“When we get her to the car we can give her some sunglasses or something if it’s still too bright for her.”

“Wilbs-”

“Focus on walking.”

You huffed in irritation, “don’ tell me what to do bitch.”

You felt Techno’s body jolt slightly as he chuckled, making your head throb at the sudden movement. “Just walk.”

When you walked outside, you shivered as you felt the cool air nip at your exposed skin. Right, you were in your volleyball uniform. “I’ll go pull the car around, you guys stay with her.” 

You saw a tall brunet start to walk away from you. Uncle Splat? Uncle Schmat? Whatever his name was, you were sure he was your uncle. You tried to snuggle closer to Techno, craving warmth but never being satisfied. Where was your uncle? 

After a while, you saw a car moving towards you and blinding light pointed right at you making you cringe away and groan. Techno started to slowly walk towards the car. “C’mon (y/n), you’re almost there. When you’re in the car you can relax.”

“Tommy, Tubbo, and Techno, you’re in the back row. Schlatt can drive and Wil, you’re taking the passenger seat. I’ll stay with her in the middle row so she can have some room to lay down.” Tommy and Tubbo were with you? Why weren’t they talking, they usually were very vocal.

“Tom, Tubbs didja like the game?”

They didn’t say anything as they climbed into the car. Did they not hear you? 

“They’re just… tired (y/n).” Your dad’s voice reassured you as he took Techno’s place holding you up. 

“I wanna nap. ‘M so tired.”

“You can’t sleep yet. We gotta get you to a doctor first.”

“Mm. Makes sense.”

“Let’s get you in the car hun.”

As he helped you climb into the car, you felt an overwhelming wave of nausea wash over you making you lose your balance and almost faceplant into the cloth seats. You felt yourself being gently, yet urgently taken out of the car and led to grass as you felt your esophagus shorten. Something burning made its way up your throat and spewed into the grass. You felt someone rubbing your back as you puked up your dinner. 

When you were done, you reached up with a shaking hand to wipe your mouth. “You feelin better? Think you can get back into the car or do you need to sit down for a bit?”

“Car.”

After some difficulty, you were successfully in the middle row of the car laying down with your head on Philza’s lap. Soon enough, your shoes were taken off and a blanket was draped over you. 

“(Y/n), what do you remember?”

You scrunched up your face as you squinted at Philza’s face. “I remember playing volleyball with Hales. She’s so pretty, she’s straight though. I remember the other team hitting the ball, me jumping, then nothin. Wha’ happened?”

You watched as Philza winced, “well, you got everything right so far. You got hit in the face with the ball so you fell and hit your head on the floor. You were passed out for a minute before you woke up. It was a pretty nasty fall, we’re going to the hospital now. How’re ya feelin?”

“Head hurts, ‘m seein two of everything, an I can’t think.”

“Do you know what a concussion is?” You nodded in his lap slightly, “you probably have one.”

After a while of talking, you were slowly starting to come to your senses and your speech was clearing up, but your head was still too stuffy to think about what you were saying before you said it. You didn’t have a filter.

“Do you wanna tell us about your week so far? Do you remember most of it?”

“Mhm, it was shit. On Monday I had a panic attack and Adrian, Sammy, and Annie were being bitches to me all day. They fucked up my back. On Tuesday, they got mad at me for ditching them and they had me do their homework, had another panic attack, and Haley told me that someone took pictures of our boobs ‘n stuff and they were gonna leak it to the school if Haley didn’t stop hanging out with me. Haley and I almost kissed, but she’s straight. Pulled an all nighter and Wednesday I accidentally came out to Tech and Wil and had another panic attack. Annie, Adrian, and Sammy took more pictures of me through my window, Annie outed me to the entire school and slapped me. Another panic attack, skipped the last two classes and felt like shit the entire practice. Today Adrian and Sammy told me to kill myself and I had another panic attack. ’S about it.”

As you were going through your week, the hand that was previously gently stroking your hair had frozen as the car was enveloped in a tense silence. Luckily, Tommy and Tubbo were passed out in the back seat so they didn’t hear how bad your week was. Everyone awake knew that you had a few bad days this week, but they didn’t know the full extent of it. You watched as Philza’s expression had turned downright murderous, but you didn’t really care. You were busy talking about your week.

For the rest of the car ride, Philza asked you simple questions like what your favorite color was, your favorite animal, basically your favorite everything. Eventually, the car pulled into the hospital parking lot and Philza helped you get out of the car. “Schlatt, can you take the boys home so they can get some rest? I’ll stay with her.” 

“Yeah, I’m on it. Don’t cause too much trouble (y/n), we all know you can raise hell.” He watched you for a reaction, but when you didn’t react, he coughed. “Well, I’ll see ya later kid. Good luck.”

The car drove off leaving you and Philza at the front of the emergency room building. “It’s gonna be a long night (y/n).”

“I gotta finish Annie’s essay and Sammy’s presentation though.”

“No you don’t, I’ll email your teachers.”

You two checked in with the front desk before moving to sit on the uncomfortable chairs. It was going to be a long night. You were so tired.

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[jabord]

Cover Letter 101: A Complete Guide to Getting Your Resume Noticed

The recruitment environment is changing. With shifting demands in working requirements, a new wave of applicants is entering the working world. With this wave comes a torrent of resumes, cover letters, and interactive, multimedia introductions. This makes standing out not only more important but significantly harder. 

Your cover letter is your first impression. Down to the first words of the first sentence, it’s important not to allow your reader to lose focus. A bad one will certainly ruin your chances of anyone reading your resume. A perfect one will greatly improve them, but still, there’s no guarantee. 

So, do you really need a cover letter? And if so, what exactly is it and how do you design one that stands out and really gets you noticed? If you want to find out, keep reading – we’ve got you covered. 

What’s a Cover Letter?

A cover letter is an introductory insert from a time before modern communications technology, used for letting your prospective employee know who you are and what you’re applying for. 

While technology has evolved, cover letters are still a useful and respected means of introducing yourself. It can take many forms: It might be an email, a video cover letter, or even a paragraph on your professional profile that will be tagged via social media or applicant tracking systems. 

Whichever format is used, the principle is the same, and as such there are important fundamentals to consider. For example, while the main elements of a cover letter are introductory, this doesn’t mean referencing your work history or interesting moments in your life story is a good idea. 

Essentially a cover letter is a written or recorded account of who you are professional, in the context of the role you are applying for. A cover letter can be unsolicited (a cold cover letter) or can be in response to a role opening up. 

Either way, the information included needs to be relevant and concise to bring across your job fit and lead the recruiter to your resume without boring them. It does this by being brief, creating intrigue, and summarizing your fit for the role in just a few short paragraphs.

Is It Necessary?

You might be wondering, if you’re sending a resume with all this information in it already, do you need to attach a cover letter? To answer that, it’s worth pointing out the differences between the two. 

A cover letter plays a different role than a resume. While a strong resume is almost always the most important part of your application, the cover letter acts as a wingman to pump up the readers and get them interested in reading your resume. 

This complementary invocation of emotion is something that should be kept well out of a resume but fits perfectly into your introduction for it. 

So, do you need a cover letter? Yes. It’s always good to assume that you need a cover letter in an application unless the listing specifies that it’s not necessary. A cover letter is the face of your application and will be critical for drawing the interest of your recruiter. In fact, a poll by Office Team found that 86% of executives valued cover letters in applications.  

In the current era of reshuffling and remote work opportunities, the dynamics of recruitment and employment are changing. Applications for certain roles are as high as they’ve ever been and the need to stand out is therefore particularly great. In order to push your way to the top, you’re going to need a memorable introduction.

It’s useful to know that while a good cover letter won’t guarantee you the job (though it may significantly improve your chances!), a bad cover letter will guarantee that nobody will read your resume. So, how do you put one together? Let’s take a look at the basics. 

‍

Cover Letter 101

The first thing to remember about a cover letter is to respect your recruiter’s time. The person you will be introducing yourself too may be faced with 150+ applications a day, and simply won’t have time to follow a lengthy page of information. 

Here are six cover letter 101 rules to consider: 

Rule number 1: Keep it Brief.

Many experts recommend that your cover letter should be readable in around ten seconds. This means being exceptionally relevant and concise. You may not be able to get it down to ten seconds, but keep in mind that by far the most important rule of the cover letter is to keep it short. 

Do this by only focusing on what needs to be said to draw someone in and alert them to your fitness. More on that later.

Rule number 2: Have a Tasteful Header

The cover letter needs to be framed with the date, your name and address, and other contact information. These can be placed at the top right, as in a traditional letter, but more modern styles can provide an aesthetically-appealing visual for your first impression. 

Rather than having your details above the letter, consider having a header column to the left of your main text and use color combinations for accents. You can do this by following basic PowerPoint fundamentals or online templates. Pay attention to the tasteful use of white space, and don’t crowd the page. 

One useful tip here is to have your job title under your name. Many cover letters that are uploaded are scanned by bots for keywords, so you want to take advantage of that where possible.

Rule number 3: Start with a Hook

The first line of your cover letter should stand out from the crowd. If you’re competing with over 150 cover letters that day, you need to be fresh and intriguing. The first line should be a statement of connection to the company, and intention to work in the role you’re applying for. 

To find a good hook, it’s useful to do your research. If you can find some industry professionals to talk to, you can glean some insight into the right statements to make in your cover letter hook that will show your motivation, energy, and willingness to learn to the recruiter in a single sentence. 

Rule number 4: Be Focused

Each sentence should have a reason for being there. Redundancy and irrelevant information are your enemy in this introductory letter, so don’t worry about listing your previous position or your name and background; this information isn’t immediately significant. Instead, focus on what you’re offering to the recruiter in this moment. 

List relevant achievements; if your role isn’t looking for your years spent gathering leadership or admission skills, don’t put them in. It may be difficult to discard the fruits of your labor here, but remember that less is more, and don’t let pride get in the way.  

Rule number 5: Be Humble but Confident

Nobody finds cockiness attractive, but you do need to showcase what you’re selling and that you’re confident in your ability. For some, this can be a tricky balance to navigate, so do consider looking for outside inspiration if you need to, for examples of what sounds right and what doesn’t work. 

Sticking to more balanced terms about your fit, such as “a powerful asset to the team” rather than “the perfect person for the job”. This is particularly necessary for a team player cover letter since the role will be looking for someone who works well with others, and not someone who is off-putting and full of themselves.

Rule number 6: Your CTA

At the end of your cover letter, finish with a call to action. This may be in the form of your leading sentence to the resume or something simple as calling for an interview. 

Thank them for considering you, and tell them you’re looking forward to meeting them for a follow-up. And/or, highlight the relevant part of your resume to start with, so encourage them to keep reading. 

Formatting

To expand upon the previous section, it’s important to get a feel for the useful formatting that keeps things simple while including all of the above. Andrew LaCivita, founder of the Milewalk Academy suggests the following four sentences that apply to any means by which you will introduce yourself to your employer.

In the first sentence, tell them exactly why you’re inquiring. Address them in a comfortable manner, with whatever sounds right to you – it could be “Dear Sir/Madam”, or if you have a name, use that. You could also use “Dear Hiring Manager” if it sounds like it fits. It’s usually better to find out the name of the recruiter, but make sure you spell it right! Then, immediately tell them you’re the reason you’re addressing them. 

Next, summarize what you offer and why you’re qualified State your experience briefly and why it’s a fit for the opening. 

Thirdly, in the same paragraph, draw attention to the top section of your resume to lead them to the most relevant information about your job fit. This is a leading sentence, to create curiosity and inspire the reader to continue. 

Lastly, thank them for their time and welcome the opportunity to connect to discuss your strength as a candidate for this role, or any other opening in their organization. This demonstrates both humility and the fact that you’re open to other roles and puts the idea into the recruiter’s head. 

These four sentences cover everything you need to gather interest, cut to the chase, and don’t present a hurried recruiter with a wall of text that’s hard to navigate. They also allow the letter to function as a lead to your resume with very little reading time involved. 

‍

Cover Letter Example 

Putting all these elements into practice, we can design a template for the content of a fictional cover letter. In this example, it’s for a remote role. 

Your particular visual formatting will be done to your taste, but in this example, we cover the content basics to give you a head start and demonstrate all the above points in action. 

_____________________________________________________

‍

[Your Name]

[Job Title]

[Address]

[Contact Details]

‍

[Their Name]

[Company]

[Address]

‍

Dear [Recruiter Name], 

I’m happy to inquire about the opening for [Remote Role]. I first noticed your company at [Career Fair/Convention] and have been following a number of similar organizations online for the past few years. It’s clear to me that [employer] stands out from the crowd.

What drew me in specifically, is the online culture of your staff and their outreach methods. Having collaborated remotely with [demonstrate fit] for [demonstrate experience] years, this role really appeals to me on a personal and professional level. I would therefore kindly request that you take a look at the four key points in my career profile at the top of my resume to highlight why I think I will be a valuable contributor to your team. 

I’m very excited to hear what you think and look forward to your opinion on my strength for this role, or any other current opening in [organization]. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope to hear from you soon. 

Regards, 

[Your Name] 

‍

_____________________________________________________

‍

Clearly, the specifics of the role change the content of the cover letter somewhat, but from the above example it’s possible to spot how the key points and order of display can be fit into three short paragraphs that take little time to read, contain genuine personality and display job fit, motivation, and research skills; all backed up by experience referenced in the resume.  

In the heading is the job title, used for keyword searches on uploaded applications. Then, in the first paragraph, there is a link to the company and a demonstration that you’ve been doing your homework by visiting related events. 

The second paragraph demonstrates your job fit and experience and a personal desire to join the team. It then proceeds to present an intriguing point of interest in your resume to encourage the recruiter to look further. 

Finally, before the intrigue wears off, it quickly ends with a gracious call for feedback, further demonstrating character and imploring the reader to act. 

This template is easy to modify and does not take long to customize.

Customizing your Cover Letter

Each job is different, and it’s a good idea to create a bespoke cover letter; even usually a tailored resume as well, to find the best fit between the recruiter and the material. However, the template doesn’t need to change much. 

Keeping in mind the key points and best practices, it shouldn’t take much time to knock up a new cover letter for each role, assuming you’ve done the homework to demonstrate your enthusiasm. 

Getting your Resume Noticed

Following the Cover Letter 101 above will dramatically improve your chances of pulling in a recruiter. By using these guidelines and basic principles, you’re far more likely to draw their attention than the hundreds of other applicants who haven’t got a clue where to start. However, in an even more competitive environment, there is a way to stand out further by increasing the dimensions of your introduction. 

As mentioned, advancements in technology have opened new approaches to cover letters and resume introductions in general. The traditional written cover letter is often converted from a 2D text presentation to a video introduction or even a more multimedia and interactive approach. 

A video introduction follows most of the same rules as a traditional cover letter but opens up a wealth of other dimensions such as visual and audio presentation cues, while at the same time creating a more personal greeting with the recruiter. 

These presentations are particularly useful for customer-facing roles or social media presence but can help you stand out for many more positions too. There is a lot more room for personality to shine through in a video cover letter. 

From video cover letters to entire interactive resumes using integrated multimedia tools, Jabord helps you with the complete process, making you stand out and get your resume noticed in a climate where the traditionalists are falling behind. 

An interactive resume puts all your cover letter principles into an enhanced application.

It can give agency to the recruiter and allow them access to all the relevant information in the order they see fit.

Conclusion

A cover letter comes in many forms. However, each form acts as a brief introduction and an overview of why you’re fit for the role you’re applying for. A good cover letter grabs the recruiter’s attention, respects their time, and humbly leads them to your resume. 

By following a series of basic principles, you can condense your experience, desire, and character into three short paragraphs that engage the reader and greatly improve your chances of recruitment. 

Should you want to take your cover letter to the next level, it’s worth considering multimedia approaches like video introductions and interactive resumes. For that, take a look at Jabord’s range of services and rapidly boost the power of your cover letter. 

[causeiwanttoandican]

Harry, Meghan and me: my truth as a royal reporter

I've covered elections and extremism, but nothing compares to the vitriol I've received since I started writing about the Sussexes

By Camilla Tominey, Associate Editor27 March 2021 • 6:00am

It is probably worth mentioning from the outset that I never, ever, planned to become a royal reporter. I mean, who does? It’s one of those ridiculous jobs most people fall into completely by accident.

I certainly wasn’t coveting the position when I first found out how bonkers the beat could be after covering Charles and Camilla’s wedding in 2005. Desperate for ‘a line’ on what went on at the reception, journalists were reduced to flagging down passing cars in Windsor High Street and interrogating the likes of Stephen Fry about whether they’d had the salmon or the chicken.

Watergate, this wasn’t.

Yet when my former editor called me into his office shortly afterwards and offered me the royal job ‘because you’re called Camilla and you dress nicely’, who was I to refuse?

Having planned to get married myself that summer, and start a family soon afterwards, I looked to the likes of Jennie Bond and Penny Junor and figured it would be a good patch for a working mother as well as being one I could grow old with. Unlike show business, when celebrities are ‘in’ one minute and ‘out’ the next, the royals would stay the same, making it easier to build – and keep – contacts.

So if you’d told me that 16 years later, I would find myself at the centre of a media storm over a royal interview with Oprah Winfrey, I’d have probably laughed in your face. First of all, only royals like Fergie do interviews with Oprah. And since when did journalists become the story?

Yet as I have experienced since the arrival of Meghan Markle on the royal scene in 2016 – a move that roughly coincided with Twitter doubling its 140-character limitation to 280 – royal reporters like me now find themselves in the line of fire like never before.

We are used to the likes of Kate Adie coming under attack in the Middle East, but now it is the correspondents who write up events like Trooping the Colour and the Royal Windsor Horse Show having to take cover from the keyboard warriors supposedly defending the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s ‘truth’.

Accusations of racism have long been levelled against anyone who has dared to write less than undiluted praise of Harry and Meghan. But even I have been taken aback by the vitriol on social media in the wake of the couple’s televised two-hour talk-a-thon, in which they branded both the Royal family and the British press racist while complaining about their ‘almost unsurvivable’ multimillionaire lives at the hands of the evil monarchy. And all while the rest of the UK were losing their loved ones and livelihoods in a global pandemic.

Having covered Brexit, general elections and stories about Islamic extremism, I’ve grown used to being sprayed with viral vomit on a fairly regular basis, but when you’ve got complete strangers trolling your best friend’s Instagram feed by association? That’s Britney Spears levels of toxic.

Having a hind thicker than a rhino’s, it wasn’t the repeated references to my being ‘a total c—’ that particularly bothered me, nor even the suggestion that I should have my three children put up for adoption. At one point someone even said it would be a good idea for me to drink myself to death like my mother, about whose chronic alcoholism I have written extensively.

No, what really got me was the appalling spelling and grammar. I mean, if you’re going to hurl insults, at least have the decency to get my name right.

Yet in order to understand just how it has come to pass that so-called #SussexSquaders think nothing of branding all royal correspondents ‘white supremacists’ regardless of who they write for, or sending hate mail to our email addresses, offices – and in some cases, even our homes – it’s worth briefly going to back to when I first broke the story that Prince Harry was dating an American actor in the Sunday Express on 31 October 2016. Headlined: ‘Royal world exclusive: Harry’s secret romance with TV star’, the splash revealed how the popular prince was ‘secretly dating a stunning US actress, model and human rights campaigner’.

Despite my now apparently being on a par with the Ku Klux Klan for failing to acknowledge Meghan as the next messiah, it was actually not until the fifteenth paragraph of that original article that the ‘confident and intelligent’ Northwestern University graduate was described as ‘the daughter of an African-American mother and a father of Dutch and Irish descent’.

Call me superficial, but I was genuinely far more interested in the fact that Harry ‘I-come-with-baggage’ Wales was dating a former ‘briefcase girl’ from the US version of Deal or No Deal than the colour of her skin. A ginger prince punching well above his weight? This was the stuff of tabloid dreams. Little did I know then that covering the trials and tribulations of these two lovebirds would turn into such a nightmare.

The online hostility began bubbling up about eight days after that first story, when Harry’s then communications secretary Jason Knauf issued an ‘unprecedented’ statement accusing the media of ‘crossing a line’.

‘His girlfriend, Meghan Markle, has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment’, it read, referencing a ‘smear on the front page of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments’. Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, had apparently been besieged by photographers, while bribes had been offered to Meghan’s ex-boyfriend along with ‘the bombardment of nearly every friend, coworker, and loved one in her life’.

Suffice to say, I did feel a bit guilty. Although I hadn’t written anything remotely racist or sexist, I had started the ball rolling for headlines like the MailOnline’s ‘(Almost) straight outta Compton’ (referencing a song by hip-hop group NWA about gang violence and Meghan’s upbringing in the nearby LA district of Crenshaw), along with her ‘exotic’ DNA (which I subsequently called out, including on This Morning in the wake of ‘Megxit’ in January last year).

Omid Scobie, co-author of Finding Freedom, a highly favourable account of the Sussexes’ departure from the Royal family, written with their cooperation last summer, would later insist that the couple knew the story of their relationship was coming out and were well prepared for it.

I can tell you categorically that they weren’t, since I did not even put a call into Kensington Palace before we went to press for fear of it being leaked. (I did later discuss this with Harry, when I covered his trip to the Caribbean in November 2016, and to be fair he was pretty philosophical, agreeing it would have come out sooner or later. But that was before the former Army Captain decided to well and truly shoot the messenger, latterly telling journalists covering the newly-weds’ tax-payer-funded October 2018 tour of Australia and the south Pacific: ‘Thanks for coming, even though you weren’t invited.’)

The royal press pack is the group of dedicated writers who cover all the official engagements and tours on a rota system, in exchange for not bothering the royals as they go about their private business. It was a shame this ragtag bunch, of which I am an associate member, was never personally introduced to Meghan when the couple got engaged in November 2017.

I still have fond memories of a then Kate Middleton, upon her engagement to Prince William in November 2010, showing me her huge sapphire and diamond ring following a press conference at St James’s Palace with the words, ‘It was William’s mother’s so it is very special.’

I replied that she might want to consider buying ‘one of those expanding accordion style file holders’ to organise all her wedding paperwork. (Reader, I had given birth to my second child less than four months earlier and was still lactating.)

Not meeting Meghan did not stop royal commentators like me writing reams about her being ‘a breath of fresh air’ and telling practically every TV show I appeared on that she was the ‘best thing to have happened to the Royal Family in years’.

As the world followed the joyous news of the Windsors’ resident strip billiards star having finally found ‘the one’, the couple enjoyed overwhelmingly positive press culminating in their fairy-tale wedding in May 2018, which we headlined ‘So in love’ above a picture of the bride and groom kissing. I tweeted the wedding front page, along with the original story breaking the news of their relationship with the words, ‘Job done’. Yet, as Meghan would later point out in a glossy Santa Barbara garden, that was by far the end of the story.

According to the Duchess’s testimony before a global audience of millions, the seeds for their royal departure were actually sown by an article I wrote in November 2018 suggesting she made Kate cry during a bridesmaid’s dress fitting for Princess Charlotte.

Claiming the ‘reverse happened’, the former Suits star railed, ‘A few days before the wedding she was upset about something, pertaining to, yes, the issue was correct, about flower-girl dresses, and it made me cry, and it really hurt my feelings.’

She then went on to criticise the palace for failing to correct the story – suggesting that royal aides had hung her out to dry to protect the Duchess of Cambridge.

All of which left me in a bit of a sticky situation. As I told Phillip Schofield on This Morning the following day, ‘I don’t write things I don’t believe to be true and that haven’t been really well sourced.’

Having seemingly been completely bowled over by Meghan’s version of events, Schofe then went for the jugular: ‘I have to say, though, that’s all addressed in that interview, isn’t it, because she [Meghan] couldn’t understand why nobody stood up for her?’

Yet someone had stood up for her, on that very same This Morning sofa: me.

As I told Phil and Holly on 14 January 2019, as more reports of ‘Duchess Difficult’ started to emerge, ‘I think she [Meghan] is doing really well, she looks amazing, she speaks well. She has played a blinder.’

So you’ll forgive me if I can’t quite understand why Meghan didn’t feel the need to correct this supposedly glaring error once she had her own dedicated head of communications from March 2019 – or indeed when she ‘collaborated’ with Scobie, who concluded in his bestselling hagiography that ‘no one cried’?

Moreover, how did the Duchess know a postnatal Kate wasn’t ‘left in tears’? And if she doesn’t know, what hope has the average troll observing events through the prism of their own deep-rooted insecurities?

It appears the actual truth ceases to matter once sides have been taken in the unedifying Team Meghan versus Team Kate battle that has divided the internet.

Make no mistake, there are abject morons at both extremes spewing the sort of bile that, ironically, makes most of the media coverage of Harry and Meghan look like a 1970s edition of Jackie magazine.

It perhaps didn’t help my case that the day before the interview was aired in the US, I had written a lengthy piece carefully weighing up the evidence behind allegations of ‘outrageous bullying’ that had been levelled against Meghan during what proved to be a miserable 20 months in the Royal family for all concerned.

The messages – to my Twitter feed, my email, my website and official Facebook page – ranged from the threatening, to the typical tropes about media ‘scum’ and the downright bizarre. Some accused me of being in cahoots with Carole Middleton, with whom I have never interacted, unless you count a last-minute Party Pieces purchase in a desperate moment of poor parental planning.

Another frequent barb was questioning why the press wasn’t writing about that ‘pedo’ [sic] Prince Andrew instead – seemingly oblivious to the fact that no one would know about the Duke of York’s links to Jeffrey Epstein if it wasn’t for the acres of coverage devoted to the story by us royal hacks over recent years.

It didn’t matter that I had repeatedly torn the Queen’s second, and, some say, favourite son to pieces for everything from his propensity to take his golf clubs on foreign tours to that disastrous Newsnight interview.

Contrary to the ‘invisible contract’ Harry claims the palace has with the press, royal coverage works roughly like this: good royal deeds = good publicity. Bad royal deeds = bad publicity. We effectively act as a critical friend, working on behalf of a public that rightly expects the royals to take the work – but not themselves – seriously.

So when a royal couple preaches about climate change before taking four private jets in 11 days, it is par for the course for a royal scribe to point out the inconsistency of that message. None of it is ever personal, as evidenced by the fact that practically every member of the monarchy has come in for flak over the years.

If Oprah wasn’t willing to point out the discrepancies in Harry and Meghan’s testimony, surely it is beholden on royal reporters to question how the Duchess had managed to undertake four foreign holidays in the six months after her wedding, in addition to official tours to Italy, Canada, and Amsterdam, as well as embarking on a lengthy honeymoon, if she had ‘turned over’ her passport?

While no one would wish to undermine the extent of her mental health problems, could it really be true that she only left the house twice in four months when she managed to cram in 73 days’ worth of engagements, according to the Court Circular, in the 17 months between her wedding and the couple’s departure to Canada?

And what of the ‘racist’ headlines flashed up during the interview purporting to be from the British press, when more than a third were actually taken from independent blogs and the foreign media? The UK media abides by the Independent Press Standards Organisation’s Code of Conduct ‘to avoid prejudicial or pejorative reference to an individual’s race’, as well as by rigorous defamation laws. And rightly so – the British press doesn’t always get it right. But social media is the Wild West by comparison, publishing vile slurs on a daily basis with impunity.

Some therefore find it strange that such a litigious couple would claim to have been ‘silenced’ when they have made so many complaints, including resorting to legal action, over stories they claim not to have even read. There is something similarly contradictory about a couple accusing the tabloids of lacking self-reflection while refusing to take any blame at all – for anything.

In any normal world, informed writing on such matters would be classed as fair comment, but not, seemingly, on Twitter where those completely lacking any objectivity whatsoever are only too willing to virtue signal and manoeuvre.

As the trolling reached fever pitch in the aftermath of the interview, veteran royal reporter Robert Jobson of the Evening Standard called me. ‘Don’t respond to these freaks,’ he advised. ‘It’s getting nasty out there. Watch your back!’

Yet despite my general sense of bewilderment at the menacing Megbots, I can’t say it didn’t appal me to discover a close friend had received online abuse, purely by dint of being my mate. After discussing the lengths the troll must have gone to to track her down, she asked me, ‘Do you ever worry someone might do something awful to you?’ Er, not until now, no.

Of course it’s upsetting, even for a cynical old-timer like me. Worse still are people who actually know me casting aspersions on my profession on social media. Often these are the same charlatans who would think nothing of sidling up to me for the latest gossip on the Royal family, while publicly pretending that reading any such coverage is completely beneath them.

Most pernicious of all though – not least after Piers Morgan’s departure from Good Morning Britain following a complaint to ITV and Ofcom from the Duchess – is the corrosive effect this whole hullabaloo is having on freedom of speech. When you’ve got a former actor effectively editing a British breakfast show from an £11 million Montecito mansion, what next?

I cannot help but think we are in danger of setting race relations back 30 years if people are seriously suggesting that any criticism of Meghan is racially motivated. It’s the hypocrisy that gets me. When Priti Patel was accused of bullying, the very same people who willingly hung the Home Secretary out to dry are now the ones defending Meghan against such claims, saying they have been levelled at her simply because she is ‘a strong woman of colour’.

Of course journalists should take responsibility for everything they report and be held to account for it – but Harry and Meghan do not have a monopoly on the truth simply because the close friend and neighbour who interviewed them in return for £7 million from CBS took what they said as gospel.

If she isn’t willing to probe the disparity between Meghan saying someone questioned the colour of Archie’s skin when she was pregnant, and Harry suggesting it happened before they were even married, then someone must. There’s a name for such scrutiny. It’s called journalism.

The public reserves the right to make up its own mind – with the help of the watchful eye of a free and fair press. But that press can never be free or fair if journalists do not feel they can report without fear or favour. I’m lucky that a lot of the criticism I face is more than balanced out by hugely supportive members of the public and online community who either agree – or respect the right to disagree. Along with the hate mail, I have had many thoughtful and eloquent missives, including those that good naturedly challenge what I have written in the paper or said on TV, which have genuinely given me pause for thought.

I am more than happy to enter into constructive discourse with these correspondents, who are frankly sometimes the only people who keep me on Twitter. I mean, let’s face it, I wouldn’t be anywhere near the bloody thing if this wasn’t my day job.

With the National Union of Journalists this month declaring that harassment and abuse had ‘become normalised’ within the industry, never have members of Britain’s press needed more courage. As Winston Churchill famously said, ‘You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.’

Who would have thought that the preservation of the fundamental freedoms that we hold so dear should partially rest on the shoulders of those who follow around a 94-year-old woman and her family for a living?

If I’d known then what I know now, would I still have written the bridesmaid’s dress story?

Yes – doubtlessly reflecting sisterly sobs all round. But after two decades in this business, I am clear-eyed enough to know this for certain: whatever I had written, it would still have ended in tears.

[whoiwanttoday]

I have always known people who like to give me flack for liking sad music. From amused to why do you listen to that. That is related to today's post cause I was digging through Phoebe Bridgers' tag the first time I posted her and I saw someone say she just made crappy sad music and clearly that was an insult. I mean even without the crappy, the tone was only losers like that kind of thing. Which is maybe accurate but we need comfort, too. Which is why people need sad music sometimes. Sometimes they need someone to hold their hand and say, "Hey, that thing that happened to you? That thing that feels terrible? You're not that alone, it happened to me, too". Sometimes you just need to hear something beautiful that makes you feel not alone, even when that's sad. Cause that sad song can tell you that you know, there is real cruelty out there. Vile, terrible people. There is reason to be scared. There are thing that will hurt you. It will be cold and dark and frightening but here is the thing, there is beauty out there, too, even in the darkness. That this is all worth it in the end because there is that beauty, too. I get some people don't need that hand holding and that's ok, I am glad for them, and they have a point. It absolutely is valid to ask, "Do I listen to pop music because I am miserable or am I miserable because I listen to pop music". But sometimes it's all you have and you need that comfort and it's noble and important that it exists. I have debated how much to share here and I cut out whole swaths because I don't like being vulnerable, that's when they get you in my experience, but part of me also feels like I shouldn't be so ashamed of the things in my life. I bring this up because Phoebe Bridgers helped serve that roll for me a handful months ago and I guess it feels important to recognize (This post has bounced around in my head a bunch this year. Not these exact words but it was there. I didn't want to post it, I don't like being emo and I don't like admitting when things aren't going well because it seems attention seeking and rather gauche. But I also want to enter the new year with this off my my mind and out of my head. A clean break so to speak. Get it out, move on. Part of me still isn't sure I'll hit post but some of me has this voice in the back of my head that likes to whisper, "You can't be a coward all your life". That voice makes me do shit I regret sometimes but sometimes it's right. Who knows. 2021 was a pretty rough year for me in a lot of ways and I am ready to leave it all behind me). I was at a pretty low point and it was a few things going wrong in my life but I know the catalyst, it was someone going through the making amends step of their 12 steps and I have to say, it strikes me as a remarkably selfish step. Or maybe it's only selfish when done by selfish people. It seems selfish to me to go, "Hey, I know I hurt you and you don't want to hear from me but I need this so I am going to do what's best for me and open up and old wound that you thought was gone". Maybe it doesn't feel that way when it's done right but I had an abusive ex send me a long email out of the blue after more than a decade. She sort of apologized in the, "Sorry if you feel like I hurt you," way and came really close to admitting she was abusive. Then there were three more paragraphs about how hard it was on her to abuse me and how great her life is now because if I am being generous, I think maybe she thought that would help? To know it was hard on her but now she's ok so I shouldn't worry. Which you know, brings me to Phoebe Bridgers who is one of the many people I listened to but has a line to open Motion Sickness that is simply, "I hate you for what you did/But I miss you like a little kid," which is one of those lines that may not mean a lot to most people but is so relatable to me. Cause guys, I so wanted her to admit what she did was wrong. And I so wanted her to say she missed me or made a mistake or that losing me was some great crime but it is never coming and it never will and I thought I was long past those feelings but an abusers hooks get in deep and even when you think they're gone one or two is still in. I was so ashamed of myself but I couldn't shake the part of me that wished I could get the tiniest bit of validation from someone I have avoided for years and thought I had made my peace about. I dunno why. Maybe because her life looks like everything she wanted now and I was sitting here wondering if she was right when she made me think no one else would ever want me. It sucked and it was one of the songs that helped in the moment. Lots of songs did, lots of my sad mopey nonsense. It didn't cure anything and it didn't solve anything but it did help me ride it out until I felt better. Which is what you need sometimes and a thing that makes me thankful. And I guess I felt like it should be said, rather than hey, she's pretty. I like artists because frankly their art has been an important part of my life many times over the years. Today I want to fuck Phoebe Bridgers.

[btswishes]

Love me for who I am now

Bucky x Reader ( Chapter 1 )

Part1 / Next 

Summary: You apply for the Stark internship and end up getting it, so now you have 5 months to make a good impression to continue working with the Avengers.

A/N: This is my first Marvel fic and I am taking it as a challenge. It is opposite of what my account was made, but here I go. Sorry for any mistakes made, hope you enjoy it even a tiny bit.

Word count:  3,281

Warmings: fights, harsh language, not part of the original MCU 

Y/N- Your name Y/L/N:  Your Last Name

                                   --------------------------------------

  Through sleepless nights and dark circles, books and pens, through months of work you reached your goal. The moment you received the acceptance letter from Stark University you almost flew out the window without a fear in your mind. This was it!

  Time had passed since that moment, but it is still engraved in your mind- a memory keeping you strong during the hard midterms and piles of work, even the small glimmers of regret. Trying your best wasn’t an option, you could do only that and no less. It was no easy task, lost social life as much as you tried to keep it. You were really lucky you had good friends that understood and supported you. University wasn’t easy for anyone making this one even tougher. People of all ages, backgrounds and cultures were piled up with you in this building. The best of the best as the slogan said, the ones that proved themselves and emerged victorious.

  When you were young ,you used to spend a lot of time with your uncle at his places outside the country. He would introduce you to his work colleagues and things you had never seen before. There was a time where you would spend months on end with him. Not many memories were left from those moments in your head. At one point you spend a few years with him, your mother thought it would be good experience for you and it turned out to be nothing but the truth-at least you hoped so. You learned a lot from him and his friends, it felt like each spend day would offer you more knowledge in areas you never knew of. Computer work, ways of thinking and so much more that had become second nature to you.

  The sky was tinted in a wash of oranges, reds and yellows bleeding one into the other, swirling around the sun emitting them. The day was ending, but you found yourself filling up an application in the library, covered by the silence and smell of exam worry.

  Sponsored and founded by the one and only Tony Stark, this establishment offered an internship. Being part of the Avengers, Tony didn’t let just anyone from the students attending in, even if they were the best labeled by the school. It had been a year and a half since you started pushing yourself harder to be able to apply and there was nothing that could stop you. Pressing your finger over the enter button was very nerve wrecking yet simple. Even if it didn’t work out this year, you planned to do it again and again ,till he had no other choice but give you a chance.

  Usually F.R.I.D.A.Y. went over everything and left only the applications worth going over by Tony himself or Pepper. The next 5 weeks for you were very stressful, but there was nothing more you could do but wait and focus on your own work. The first person you wanted to tell about this was your uncle. He went to work in some distant place where they had no internet so you switched to mail. Not as much paper under his name passed through your hands, as he had stopped answering you. You missed him, but the muddy childhood memories kind of compensated for that.

“Did you send it in?” the phone muffled a bit the sweet voice coming from the speaker 

“Yeah, a few days ago actually.” You answered with a gentle sigh

“And no answer yet?” the girl’s pitch rose at the end of the sentence, amazed at that what she just heard

“I know, I know. Think about it though Nea. Who knows how many applications get submitted. Someone has to brush through them after all.” defending the situation was a form of coping for you, made you feel hopeful.

“So you are trying to tell me Tony Stark’s interface or whatever it’s called, can’t sort them out in a couple of hours? Come on Y/N! You and I both know you are trying to make yourself feel better.” The small pause made you anxious over what Nea said “Listen.” A breathy start of the sentence “ I don’t mean to brag, but I think I am one of the people who know exactly how much you deserve this. You were never the studious type, plus that you were gone for years on end with that mysterious uncle of yours. I never expected you to suddenly go for Stark University. Your dream changed you, from this quiet kid to crazy ol’ you right now on the call with me.I ain’t letting you bust yourself up over this just because it didn’t happen the first time around-”

                Ding ding

  Nea’s deep speech was cut off before she could unleash herself completely, by the slight ring of your phone’s notification.

“Who tf has the audacity to text while the great me is giving this legendary –“

                Ding!

  The second time the sound sung out made her choke up with anger, you could almost see the fumes coming out of the phone.

“WHO IS IT!” a loud hiss pierced your ear

“Maybe if you gave me a minute I could answer your question.” Pulling the call down, your finger ran over the screen to the email, making your notification lamp blink like a car. Almost instantly it opened before your eyes and you gasped. The action made you swallow suddenly and cough out a bit ,giving poor Nea an idea about the level of shock you were in.

“What?What? You can’t just almost die and not tell me what is going on.” She proceeded with a not so tasteful interrogation.

“I-…they accepted my application…” at the end a small smile flowed over your lips contorting the sound coming out

“Stop!?” she choked up as well “You gotta be fucking with me!? No fucking way this is real!”

“I am honest. It says here that they liked my skill set, my grades and the way of thinking I presented in my essay. I got the spot Nea! I fucking did it!” you threw the phone on the bed letting it bounce as you started dancing.

“Of course you did! I told you! You will be working with THE AVENGERSSSS!” at some point it sounded like your best friend was more excited than you “When do you start?”

“Well…” taking a second to calm down and re-establish contact with your phone, you looked up the schedule that came attached with the email “…ok…so it says here that I will be starting on Monday so~ in 2 days? “

“So soon! Any requirements for the job miss Avenger’s sidekick?” and the teasing begins

“A list, surprisingly.” Rolling onto your back, you held the screen away and above your face, scrolling past “ I guess my first job will be with Dr. Banner in the lab. Apparently I will be given some sort of assignments throughout the 5 months work span. I will be monitored by Dr. Bruce Banner and the grading, I guess if you can call It that ,will be done by Tony Stark himself.”

“Basically Hulk will be your babysitter.” once this girl starts teasing she never stops even in amazing situations such as this one, good thing you loved her “That sounds so cool though! You will be able to meet Captain America and Black Widow~! I am so jelly of you I swear! When you leave work make sure to wait for someone from the group to walk by, omgggg I am fangirling so much right now.What if you go to dinners with them!?AAAAA!”

“Fun thing about that.” Your eyes landed on the last paragraph of the email “It says here that I am supposed to move into the compound and stay there till further notice. The whole idea is that if I do things well I will get a permanent job. Weird…” you hummed

“Weird !? How? That is so cool! Who knows you might even become an Avenger! You will be living with them anyways.” at this point Nea was either not breathing or hyperventilating so fast you couldn’t hear it

“Don’t be ridiculous.” your attention landed once more on the thought process you had a moment ago “I don’t get one thing. They say here that my PE grades combined with my IT and overall studies make me a great candidate, but I don’t remember sports being a requirement at all, or even providing them in the first place. Does it mean that if my grades were low in that department I wouldn’t have gotten the spot?”

“I guess people of science aren’t that flexible. Who cares anyways! You got in, no ifs and buts. I am telling you, at this point you could be an Avenger.” poor girl began thinking of names and suit designs for you “ Hurry up and pack those bags before I drop by with take away, so we can gossip over Steve Rogers’s abs.”

“Um…don’t get me wrong he is super hot, I just see the Cap more like an older brother figure than anything.” It was true, you looked up to him since the first time you studied about the Civil War. Fearless, gave his life in a way for his people, astonishing man over all.

“Hey! Let me drool over him! You were always more of a Winter Soldier fan anyways.” Nea pouted audibly . Her words made some lone memory pop up in your head, but it was as murky as the rest. “I don’t know why I am interested in him. Somehow his look is very nostalgic and rugged. Anyways. ”you shook your head out of the mental image of the soldier “I will go pack up, tell my parents and fix up all my documents. Probably find some stuff from former Stark employees online. I want to have a bit of an idea of what he expects and what I am getting myself into.”

“Fine fine, you could have just said you like troubled guys. You were the one who was happy Loki got a second chance after all. I will be over in like 3 hours.” She informed you

“Hey! He deserved to redeem himself, he was used!” a firm Loki supporter as always “Ok then, see ya.”

   Hanging up the call you placed your phone to charge and rolled off your bed. The email gave vague information about what you needed, but clothing wise you would still be able to come home and get stuff if you had to. What was on top of your priorities were papers, documents, all your research materials and tech. Those things had to be organized no matter what ,since they got you this far in the first place.

  Nae came over as planned and you two had a nice sleepover talking about you know who. The night came and left, letting the morning find you in your bed at 11am. Your forearm rested on top of your forehead in a relaxed manner, letting enough space for an exhale to linger in the air in front of you. Your mind was going over everything that was about to happen to you. It was one of your dreams, you worked for it nonstop day in day out, so why were you so worried about meeting the rest of the Avengers? Maybe it was just anxiety or fear of the unknown, yeah made sense.

  All you did during the day was make lists for every piece of tech you were binging with yourself. Things seemed to be in order, but worry kept nibbling on your bones. The moment of truth finally rolled up and so did your suitcase in front of your house. Nea came to send you off as she promised.

“Sweetie, make sure to call us every day. Eat well, don’t overwork yourself and-“ your mom went off with caution about anything and everything that came to mind

“Mom, you know I am going 3 blocks down from here right? Plus I can come home at any time I want to. I am not moving to Mars or getting arrested.” You smirked the panic away from her, giving them a big hug.

“Call me or text me when you get there.” Nea pulled you in, whispering in your ear as quietly as possible “And don’t forget to sneak me a booty pick of good ol’Cap. You know what they say-”

“That is America’s ass.” Your voice came out in a mocking tone

“That i-…let me at least finish it by myself! Geez!” she pushed you towards the door “Ok ok, go now before you spoil me something else” her arms crossed in front of her chest

  The walk wasn’t that long, you were too invested in your own thoughts to notice when the time and distance had passed. The glistening windows of the compound building shined into your eyes. Your lungs filled up with a breath that they kept in for a moment, before releasing it back in the outside world. Pulling out the documents you stepped in. The fresh smelling air hit you making you close one eye for a second.

People were walking around you fast and concentrated. Some looked in a hurry, others were on break with a cup of coffee and a strain-leaving expression.

 Your feet, as slightly shaky as they were, took you right up to the front desk were a lady with a dark rich red colored uniform looked at you. She flashed a professional smile, her eyes asking for your purpose.

“Um, hello. My name is Y/N -Y/L/N.” she saw the logo on your papers and gasped

“You must be the new intern Mr. Stark told us about.” She signed something and reached out “Can you give me your hand for a second.” Your fingers didn’t go past the surface of the desk when she pocked your skin. Pulling in your extremity, your palm wrapped around the spot that began to sting a bit “Don’t worry about it. This is your identification pass. Fancy, no?” she smiled winking. Her body stood up as she pointed at the elevator far in the back of the foyer.

  Instructions were given with each step of the way, calming your nerves a bit. The moment you found yourself inside the elevator she pulled your hand to the sensor on the wall next to the buttons.

Recognized: Code 2514. Welcome Miss Y/N  

 Your head shot up when F.R.I.D.Y.’s voice echoed in the small space. The women smiled giving you a small nod and stepped out of the vicinity. Once her body was outside ,the doors slid closed. Over them glowed a protective blue light layering over the material like a soft veil.

 It felt like you weren’t moving an inch. Your body flinched when the sun stung at your eyes from the window. Your gaze landed over the view of the city, as you went higher and higher, ascending into the clouds  The blues and yellows were covering the inside of the elevator, such vibrant and lovely colors warming your body. For a moment your heart felt heavy- lost memory tugged onto it again. An often occurrence lately, yet you kept brushing off as deja vu. 

Floor 134. Welcome to the Avenger’s compound Miss Y/N

“134!?” the numbers cracked out with your voice. The interface made you turn towards the opposite opening doors revealing a room as big as a hall, if not almost a stadium. The ceiling was high being the lid to this round area. Your heart beat increased pumping blood to your body, dilating your pupils at least twice their original size. It look amazing, almost like you had just entered heaven. The walls were white, the furniture was perfectly placed and cream colored. Stepping outside you jumped at the sound of the elevator doors closing behind you. 

“Wow” escaped your lips, your hand pulling the suitcase closer. So this was the common room or the shared space. The windows were so big they were practically a wall of their own. The bright rays were making themselves at home giving the white paint a new color with each passing minute. The ceilings were probably the equivalent of 3 floors in height. There was this weird feeling of home inside, a bit of isolation maybe mixed in. 

“Miss Y/N?” your head swung to the side when you recognized that shy but bright smile. Throwing the papers on top of your suitcase, you extended your arm at the man.

“Ah.” Good thing your mind automatically responds politely to people without you giving it much thought “Dr. Banner. It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance.” you shook his hand gently a couple of times and let go ,finding the papers and showing them to him “My name is Y/N-Y/L/N.” gentle bow and a smile followed the words skillfully chosen

“Welcome Welcome. Tony is out right now so I might be the only one actively walking around the compound. Well…”he scratched the back of his neck, lightly hunching over with a sheepish smile “I am one of the people you will be working under anyways, so I guess it is good that I came to get you. I would love to show you the lab, but I am sure you would like to set up your things first.” You nodded and he showed you to your room. The corridor had 3 tall doors scattered on the walls, all looking modern and elegant.

“This is the side where usually we have our female members. Natasha and Wanda will be your nextdoor neighbors. Hope it won’t be any trouble.” Bruce looked at you ,when an aggressive shake took over your neck

“No, no. Not at all sir. I am very grateful to have such amazing heroes next to me. As a matter of fact won’t they be troubled with me here?” and here came the normal anxiety that you had for everything

“I am sure they will like you. Don’t worry about it.” Bruce stepped next to the door and waved you over “You don’t have a key or a door handle as a matter of fact. Tony’s idea, don’t ask. If you got up here on your own I assume he made the girls downstairs give you an identification implant. That is basically your entrance for everything here. Kind of an Avengers thing.” You nodded and him wiggling his fingers like a spell. Placing your hand on the door like he told you activated F.R.I.D.A.Y.

Recognized: Y/N. Access and ownership granted.

  The metal frame slid open and you found yourself standing before a big room. It was nicely furnished. The desk was big enough for you to work on it and have everything around. Bookshelves empty and ready to be used on your left and a large bed on your right flush against the wall. The window was once more its own wall right in front of you standing behind the desk. The bathroom door was opening a space before the shelf the same color as the paint in the common room.

“I will let you set up. If you need anything F.R.I.D.A.Y. is always here. The room is interactive, you can ask exactly what works under the interface’s control. The door is one.Take your time.”he was on his way out “Would you like some coffee or tea?”

“I would like some tea, thank you very much.” Bruce flashed you a smile “F.R.I.D.A.Y. the door please.”

Door closed 

  Done as said and requested, clicking behind you. 

Would you like an extensive list of my functions as an assistant?

“Please do.”

[writerforfun]

How to Write a Query Letter an Agent Will Read in 9 Steps

What Is a Query Letter?

A query letter is a condensed version of a book proposal: a brief, one-page letter containing all of the relevant information pertaining to who you are, what your novel is about, and who its target audience is. A good query letter is your ticket to capture an agent’s attention.

The Importance of Writing an Effective Query Letter

If you’re not interested in taking the self-publishing route, you’ll need an agent to help you get published—and a successful query letter will determine whether an agent even reads your work, let alone takes you on.

A query letter serves the same function a cover letter does for a resume. It neatly summarizes the most integral and enticing information about you and your submission. A successful one will grab the agent’s attention, and keep them interested enough in your novel to want to read more—and, best case scenario, take your work to a publishing house.

How to Write a Query Letter in 9 Steps

The perfect query letter is short and to the point. It contains everything you need to sell someone on your novel. A good query letter makes an impression and brings you one step closer to getting your book published. Reading successful query letter examples is a great way to get familiar with the query letter format. If you think you’re ready to start writing one of your own, the following steps can help get you on your way:

1. Write an Outline. What are the bullet points? What do you want to accomplish with this letter? What are the selling points for your book? Why is this story important to tell and why are you the one telling it? You only get one page to make your case, so going in knowing all the things you want to include will make the process slightly easier.

2. Follow the Rules. Every agency is different, so make sure you brief yourself on the submission guidelines for each agency you’re sending queries to. An agent shouldn’t get the impression that you don’t know how to follow directions, and any submission that does not meet proper criteria is likely to be instantly rejected.

3. Tell Them Why. The (short) first paragraph of your letter should inform the agent of why you want them to represent your manuscript. Whether they gave you their contact information, you were referred by another client of theirs, or you’re submitting cold, say why you’re sending this query to them specifically. Include how you found out about them—if it was at a conference, public speaking event, or even if you’re just a fan of the people they represent—let them know whatever your connection to them may be.

4. Provide the Hook. A query letter is asking another human being to do something that’s going to be difficult for them—spending six or seven hours with your manuscript. What’s the most interesting aspect of your book? Why will people care about the main character? Why is this world worth exploring? You want an agent to see the value in your concept right away, and a solid hook will help them do that.

5. Summarize Succinctly. You need to give an agent the big picture in a short amount of time. Along with the title, genre, and word count, a mini-synopsis will be critical in catching an agent’s interest and should be included in your query letter. It should be concise (no more than three paragraphs) but just as exciting and suspenseful as your novel. Here is where you can provide an example of your tone and voice, and give the agent something to look forward to in the rest of your writing.

6. Make it Personal. Provide personalization in your query letter for the specific agent you’re targeting. Begin with the agent’s name, not “to whom it may concern.” You don’t just want to find any agent, you want to find the right agent for you. Knowing which agent you’re querying and why (and including it in your letter) will show you’ve done your research, and have knowledge about the industry you’re trying to enter. Avoid over-flattering the agent you’re after, though, as your work should speak louder than your compliments.

7. Include a Short Bio. You may not have a long list of publishing credits, but disclose any relevant writing experience you do have. Keep it short, though, as you don’t want to bog down the agent with innumerous details about your life. If you don’t have much experience and you’re just a newbie with your first book, you can include that too, but give the agent something about you that lets them know what kind of writer you are.

8. Sign Off. Thank the reader for their time, include your contact information like phone number and email (if it’s not already an email query), and just keep it simple.

9. Proofread. Typos in your query letter are a red flag. An agent isn’t expecting you to be a professional editor, but they want to see that a writer knows the basics of grammar and spelling. A poorly proofed letter may give agents the impression that that is the level of editing they can expect from your novel as well, deterring them from wanting to read it. Article source: here

[yeocult]

ATEEZ as students studying

HONGJOONG:

king of self-care! but studies for 15 minutes then take a 2 hour break and calls it self-care (omg he thinks he’s me or smth)

has power naps every single day at least 30 mins because he’s Stressed

always thinking of ways to drop out during the middle of lectures

that one kid that talks to nobody & sits at the back of the class with his hood on to hide his airpods

doesn’t do it anymore bc one time it disconnected and “there’s some whores in this house” blasted out loud & now he’s paranoid

shows up to group studies but lets the group carry him,,, but he puts out One Really good idea to get his name on the paper

only cares about topics he’s interested in, other than that he’s just astral projecting

“yo can you send me your answers so i can compare mine?” but he copies it and says “we got the same answers” (all men do is lie</3)

calculates his marks; “ok so i need at least a 80 on this...oh wait no, a 95...damn okay...”

the type to arrives late with ice coffee

SEONGHWA:

wakes up at 5 am to study instead of staying up

scented candles and lofi music for the ~studying mood~

a linguistic learner

learns best by teaching others so he’ll do group studies often to help other people

teaches people without making them feel dumb

uses grammarly for his emails with 3 paragraphs asking 1 question with a proper greeting and a ‘sincerely, park seonghwa’

professor: ok - sent from iphone

you’ll never see him during exams week, he’s Gone

a loyal user of the outline method

his desk must be cleared at all times! a clean workspace makes it easier to focus

brings extra pencil just in case anyone needs them bc he’s the sweetest person ever (he’s fully aware that he’ll never get them back but it’s okay bc sharing is caring)

does his readings on time (you’ll never catch him slacking)

actually has his shit together for the most part 1/2

YUNHO:

writes “i love you” or “sorry” at the end of his tests (that he bombed)

the type to ask you to print “just one thing real quick” and it’s 15 page and at 2 am

uses emojis like :D & \(^o^)/ when sending emails to his professors

has a bad habit of copying word for word on the slide and he doesn’t actually understand/learn anything

goes to the library bc he thinks that’ll help him be in the ~studying vibe~

it doesn’t. ends up texting or watching youtube gameplay

has never heard of the colour-coding system in his entire life and ends up with a page filled with neon highlight

snacks breaks are the only thing keeping him Normal

leaves himself an encouraging note at the end of the reading page so when he’s finished he feels good !!

friends with all of the professors and uses all office hours

strongest points are his guessing skills in multiple-choice questions (process of elimination ftw!)

he tries his best, doesn’t care about marks that much because he knows it doesn’t determine him (and he’s right!)

YEOSANG:

probably runs a studyblr/gram

has the cutest note ever, his handwriting is so pretty!!

he thinks that buying an ipad pro & apple pencil will make him smarter

likes it bc he can doodle on it then erase them easily :”)

has to wear blue ray glasses because of how he looks at a screen so much

mildliners, muji 0.38 gel pen, 6 ring binder, minimal planner, washi tapes, you name it! he visits muji and daiso every other week

buys wayyy too many planners and notebooks which he never ends up using

only uses pastel mildliners because they’re easy on the eyes. cringes every time he sees yunho’s highlighters v_v

his flaw is that he spends 10 mins writing his header with brush tip pens

mutes the group project gc but gets his part done like the good classmate he is

sweats every time he gets an assignment back, takes a whole ten minute to mentally prepare himself

a visual learner; makes mind maps, flow charts, etc

actually has a working printer that he uses pretty often to prints lessons before class just to be Extra prepare

tells everyone he slept well but his bullet journal habit tracker for sleep says otherwise (plz rest!!)

exclusively uses college ruled paper like the sane person he is

SAN:

uses wide-ruled paper (unfortunately not everyone is perfect</3)

starts off very positive, motivated, and organized

then everything goes downhill by the second week

will definitely set byeol on top of his keyboard, take a picture, and send it to his professor as an ‘excuse’ as why he needs an extension (it works)

can’t sit still for any longer than 30 mins, his legs are always bouncing or fidgeting with pen

flashcard king! spends a lot of time on them but it’s worth it

a utensil chewer (always willing to share his pencil but when ppl saw the bite marks they’re like No Thanks >_>)

can’t study well with groups or himself bc he’ll be distracted,,, so he needs one person that can ground him bc when they’re in the zone, he will too be on his x game mode

sends his assignment at 11:58 pm hoping his professor will take the Hint (plz don’t be afraid to ask for help u_u)

prefers listening to ghibli studio soundtracks but then he either gets emotional or sleepy

sometimes forget to mute his mic and we just hear him groaning in frustration

“haha sorry i just stubbed my toe...”

then mutes his mic and goes back to his mental breakdown

MINGI:

the only person that studies every single day just to get his brain used to the information and running

probably listens to anime op or edm music for that Energy Boost

everyone either hates or love him because...

1. loves him bc he always comes clutched with study guides (and willing to share if he likes you enough)

2. he’s good at everything even if he’s not paying attention/doing it last minute

just naturally good at retaining information and applying them

asks Big Brain question that even the professors are shook

sometimes he gets super into the topic and wants to know Everything

“i’ve never failed an exam in my life” and he’s right! big brain mingi

fetal flaw is that he forgets easily (hence why the last minute) and has to write on his palm as a reminder

clicks his pens All the time so he switched to pens with caps just to keep others from jumping him

takes naps 10 mins before classes

actually has his shit together for the post part 2/2

“if no one got me, i know khan academy and quizlet got me. can i get an amen”

WOOYOUNG:

y’all know that one mf that doesn’t have a pencil?

yea he’s been using the same one someone lend to him before a test and never returned it

it’s been two months and it’s still working well and they’re never going to get it back

a minimalist,,,, but in a bad way</3 bc he carries his stolen pencil and paper that he spilled his energy drink over and that’s about it

just throw loose papers in his bag and forgets about their existence

doesn’t do binders or notebooks, just crumbled up paper

sometimes carries a textbook just to show everyone that he’s got his life together

really noisy for No reason, always wants to know other’s marks

a kinesthetic learner

hides his screen with he gets the kahoot questions wrong (you’ll never catch him slippin)

plays coolmathgames.com during class

doesn’t really know what to study/prioritize so he overwhelms himself with every single topic ever

thinks he’s god by pulling an all-nighter to look at the 60+ slides last minute

Swears he’ll change and do better next semester,,,</3

goes to the cafe, takes pictures of his notes & laptop, post it on his story, then leaves

JONGHO:

thrives off of red bull and ice americanos

gets notes and study guides from his upperclassmen because everyone loves jongho

an audio learner so he’ll probably work out or go on a jog while listening to lessons/audiobook

never pulls all-nighters bc it messes up his sleep schedule and says he’ll do it in the morning but he never does

doesn’t even own a highlighter, he’ll circle or underline stuff with a red or black pen

has never touched a textbook in his life

only the study guides and slides, his textbook is collecting dust rn

his notes are literally Only for him because his handwriting only makes sense to him

has questionable handwriting,,, it’s like decoding

multitasks a lot but it ends up taking a lot longer than he wanted to (bc it’s a myth)

very spontaneous; he’ll grind for 5 hours straight but sometimes he won’t even touch a pencil

works best when he talks about the work in groups and share information with each other, like having a convo about the topic

unmutes his mic Once after the lesson to say “bye”

does his work right after the lessons but then takes a short break & doesn’t even Look back for the rest of the night

-

a/n: tag yourself ! i’m a bit of hohong (i projected myself on all of them in some way lmaooo)

[twomoonstwosuns]

sick day.

back to you [series masterlist]

previous part · next part

pairing: professor!poe dameron x reader

warnings: swearing, smut in a dream (18+), heavy amounts of fluff

word count: 4.0k

a/n: i’m sorry for the delay, it’s been a weird week. i hopefully won’t make you wait as long for the next part. this is kind of a filler chapter, but i hope you guys enjoy it still! the poe dameron x reader tag hasn’t been working so if you’re missing updates, blame Tumblr. 

also thank you @dameronsgalaxygal for helping me when i was stuck <3

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“Baby, fuck you feel so good.”

Poe gripped your hips, sliding you to the edge of his desk and sliding his cock into you. The hand on the back of his neck tightened, grabbing some of his curls in its grasp at the intrusion. Your mouth was on the base of his neck, decorating it with different sized bruises. One particular bite to his pulse with a tight clench of your pussy made him groan loudly and you quickly pulled his mouth down to yours with a tug of his tie.

“Do we have to worry about you being loud?” You breathed heavily. Poe lifted your legs higher up on his waist, the new angle allowing him to drive deeper into you. A loud gasp left your lips as your eyes fluttered closed and a smirk crossed his face. He leaned down to your ear, taking the shell of hit in his mouth. 

“You know what I’ve thought about?” He said lowly, his breath hot against your ear as he slowed his thrusts. You gave a quiet, strangled moan as a response as he bit down on it. “Taking my tie, tying you up. Completely at my mercy.”

His hand was on the side of your neck, his thumb slowly rubbing up and down the front of your throat. You were a trembling mess, the thought of him putting just a little more pressure there enough to make you come hard right on the spot. 

“I could—fuck yes, Poe—get into that.” Poe’s mouth covered yours, swallowing the sounds coming from you. You giggled against his lips as an item fell off of his desk from the harsh movement against it. 

A knock on his office door made you both freeze, horrified looks on your faces as you looked at each other and then at the door. 

“Just a sec!” Poe yelled before dropping his voice to a whisper. “Get under my desk.”

You both scrambled as quietly as you could, pulling your pants up and fixing your shirts. You tucked yourself underneath his desk, feeling very grateful for the backing on the front of the desk. Poe tamed his hair the best he could as he unlocked his door and opened it, immediately greeting the person on the other side. 

“Ackbar, how are you?”

“I’m good, I’m good, I just wanted to run something by you.” Ackbar said, nodding towards the door handle. “Who are you trying to keep out, Dameron?”

His tone was suggestive, but Poe shut it down with a shake of his head. “Some of my students like to barge in and hang out in here because of my very lenient open door policy and I have several phone calls I’m taking today. Including one in five minutes, so you have to make it quick.”

Ackbar left the door open as he sat down across from Poe’s desk. Poe sat back in his chair, scooting all the way in so his entire lower half was underneath the desk to shield you. 

“So, what’s up?” Poe spoke, providing cover for the movement you were making under his desk to make room for his legs. 

“What do you think about forgoing a final exam for anyone who’s averaging a C in the class?” Ackbar asked. “I mean, if they want to take the final to try and raise their overall grade they can, but if they fail it’ll count against them.”

Poe squirmed in his seat as he felt your hands on his thighs, rubbing slowly and traveling higher. His leg hit the underside of his desk when he felt the vibration of his zipper being slowly pulled down, which he told Ackbar was a muscle spasm. 

“You’re teaching two hundred freshman over four lectures, you sure you want to do that?” Poe said slowly, the attempt to keep his voice level and controlled extremely difficult. 

“It’s definitely less grading for me to do, but I was also thinking that—“

Everything Ackbar was saying was going in Poe’s ear and right out the other as the soft skin of your hand made contact with his cock, applying firm pressure and pumping him. He wasn’t entirely soft yet and a few strokes of your hand brought him back to fully hard. He coughed to cover the groan that almost erupted from him. 

“Here’s my opinion,” Poe said, interrupting Ackbar, sucking in a breath as your thumb brushed over the head of his cock. “I’d do it for seniors but freshman? They’ll most likely take the easy way out and skip it. Don’t let them settle for mediocre grades. Not one of them will willingly take the final.”

“Alright, you’re right.” Ackbar put his hands up in surrender. Poe felt his cock start to tighten up, the thought of coming in your hand under the desk with Ackbar just a few feet away stoking a fire inside him. Instead, Poe felt you carefully tuck him back in his pants and skillfully disguised the deep groan he let out as one of agreement. “You catching the game later?”

“I’m going to try.” Poe looked at his watch. “Sorry man, I have to take a call in a minute.”

“No worries,” Ackbar stood up, Poe doing the same and straightening his shirt so it covered more of his groin area as he walked towards the door. “You wanna grab a beer at Maz’s later? Watch the game?”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

Ackbar shook Poe’s hand and patted him on the back. “Have fun with those calls. Take it easy, Dameron.”

As soon as the door shut and the lock clicked, Poe let out an exasperated laugh. You crawled out from under his desk laughing so hard that you had to lean against his desk to keep yourself from falling over. Poe came around to his desk again, laughing as he plopped back into his chair.  

“I can’t believe you did that,” he said in disbelief, though the smile on his face said he wasn’t the least bit upset about it. 

“Exhilarating though.” You leaned down and pecked his lips, your hands going back to his pants and unbuckling them for the second time as you got on your knees. 

“Let me finish what I started.”

Poe woke with a jolt as a cough rocked through him, groaning at the congested pain it left behind in his chest. His eyes screwed shut and his groan grew louder at how turned on he felt at that moment, knowing he had no energy to take care of it and no energy to enjoy you taking care of it for him. Poe looked up just as you came in, a cup of water in one hand and a sleeve of crackers in the other. You set the items on his nightstand and sat on the edge of his bed, rubbing his back. 

“You ok?”

“No,” he said, shoving his head into the pillow. “I was having a good dream about you.”

“Oh yeah?” Poe pushed his hips into the mattress, looking for relief. You stifled a laugh. “Oh, that kind of dream. Do you want me to help you out?”

“No, ‘m too tired.”

You leaned down to his ear, your voice lowering. “You know, I have those dreams about you too.”

Poe reached over and squeezed your thigh. “Y/N…”

“Baby…” you mocked his whine. Poe shivered and you saw goosebumps appear on his skin. You placed your hand against his forehead and then the cheek that wasn’t resting on the pillow. “You might have a fever, do you have a thermometer?”

“I don’t think so.”

You went into his bathroom and looked for anything that would help. You found some ibuprofen and you helped him sit up enough to swallow them. Pulling the blanket up around him, you leaned down and kissed his head. 

“Sleep. I’ll be in the living room if you need me.”

You left the door opened a crack, enough to hear if he needed you and for Beebs to come and go as he pleased. He was already snoring by the time you got to his kitchen to make yourself a cup of tea. 

You knew Poe wasn’t feeling great when you talked to him the night before and you were surprised when you got an email saying he was canceling class. In the two semesters worth of classes you’d had with him, he’d never canceled a class without notice. You skipped your last class of the day and went straight to Poe’s. He tried to argue with the very little energy he had that you didn’t have to skip class to take care of him, but the minute you got him to lay in bed, he was completely submissive. 

Your phone vibrated in your pocket with an incoming call and you grabbed it to see it was Jessika calling. 

“I’m at the grocery store, do you need anything?”

“Actually yeah, do you mind picking up some things to make soup and dropping them off at Poe’s? He’s sick and he has nothing here to help him feel better.”

“Yeah you bet, send me a text?”

“I will. I’ll send you his address too. Text me when you get here.”

“No problem, see you in a bit.”

You tossed your phone onto the table and grabbed your backpack, setting yourself up on his couch. You had a long list of things that needed to get done, midterms coming up quicker than you were prepared for. You also had to order your robe for graduation so you had time to get it hemmed if needed. But an assignment that was due the next day required your immediate attention. You opened your book and you’re notebook and dove right in. 

Fifteen minutes later and you’d read the same paragraph four times. You alternated between staring at your book and tapping your pen against the page to staring to scrolling through apps on your phone. There was no motivation to do anything productive. What you really wanted to do was curl up with Poe under his blankets and just sleep, but you were already risking getting sick by being there and cuddling with him would pretty much guarantee it. Throwing your stuff aside, you walked over to the shelves that lined Poe’s living room, seeing if there was maybe a book he had that would be far more interesting than reading about marketing and trade shows. You looked through all the titles of his books, some maybe’s coming to your head when you spotted a picture frame stuck between a book and the back of the shelf. You carefully moved the book, grabbing the picture frame and wiping the dust off of the glass. 

He looked just like her. Thick and curly raven-hair sat on top their heads. They shared the same eyes, deep brown like milk chocolate, though hers were just a bit lighter. Their smiles matched, easy and laidback like it took no effort at all. You recognized the ring on her finger as the one worn around Poe’s neck. In the picture, Poe was mid-laugh as his mother carried him on her back, his tiny arms wrapped around her neck and his head against hers. You felt a pang of guilt in your chest. The way Poe talked about her and seeing the picture that you found, they were clearly very close. You couldn’t even begin to imagine how devastated Poe must’ve been when she passed. 

Poe had said he’d forgiven you for what you said, but you still hadn’t forgiven yourself. If you were being honest with yourself, you didn’t know if you’d be able to. 

Your phone vibrated in your hand, the message telling you that Jessika had arrived. You told her the code to enter the building and a few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. 

“Thank you so much for doing this,” you said as you opened the door, immediately taking the bag from your roommate. 

“No problem at all.”

Jessika looked around behind you, her eyes curious. You chuckled and held the door open.

“Come on in.”

“Inside a professor’s apartment,” Jessika said as she stepped in. She looked around the room when Beebs came up and jumped on her. You tried to apologize and tell Beebs to stop but Jessika just leaned down and picked him up. 

“Ah, the infamous Beebs,” she laughed as he licked her face. “You really are cute, aren’t you?”

You stepped into the kitchen and put a couple bottles of gatorade in the refrigerator, leaving out the ingredients to start making soup with and digging around the cupboards for the items you’d need to make it. 

“So, what’s he sick with?” Jessika asked. 

“A cold from what I can tell. He doesn’t have a thermometer so I don’t know if he has a fever.”

“How’s he doing?”

You sighed heavily. “Poe’s amazing and wonderful in many ways, but he is still a man who thinks he’s dying because he has a cold.”

“You hear that, Beebs?” Jessika said in Beebs’ pointed ear. “He’s got a man-cold. And they’re supposed to be the superior sex.”

“Yeah, supposed to be.”

Beebs wiggled in her arms and she let him down, watching him walk off. You watched Jessika laugh quietly at the adorable dog before looking back around the apartment, giving a small nod of approval. 

“Hey Jess?” You spoke quietly, your voice hesitant and unsure. You walked over to Jessika, who had been looking at you with a questioning look. “I’m sorry.”

Jessika opened her mouth to speak and you put a hand up. “I’m sorry for being a bitch, for treating you like shit, and taking forever to forgive you. You said things and I said things and even though what you said hurt, it doesn’t mean you’re a terrible person and I’ve been treating you like you were. And I’m really sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry.” Jessika replied and you shook your head. 

“Yes, I do.”

“Well, I forgive you then. Because I’ve missed you.”

Holding your arms out, Jessika met you in a tight hug. You really had missed her too. She had been there for you when she didn’t have to be, and thinking back you were surprised she was because you felt you had treated her like shit. Beebs jumping up on both your legs trying to be included in the hug tore you apart, Jessika leaning down and scratching his ears. 

“When we’re done with school and all that and it’s fine for you guys to be in public together, I’d really love to sit down with Prof—Poe.” Jessika said, the use of his first name foreign on her tongue but the effort graciously appreciated by her friend. “You know, get to know him. As one of your best friends, it is my job to tell him that if he hurts you I’ll destroy him.”

You chuckled. “I’m sure we could arrange that if you really want to. I’ve met his friends, seems only fair that he gets to know mine.”

“Exactly!” Jessika said. “Alright, I have to get going. I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah, I have class a 7:45a.m and he needs to sleep, so I’ll be back later tonight.”

Jessika squeezed your shoulder as she passed and you thanked her once more before she left. You set to work, setting up everything you’d need and pulling up the recipe saved on your phone. 

Chopping vegetables in your boyfriend’s kitchen was oddly domestic, like you were waiting for him to come home from work and you were cooking dinner. You wondered what you would be doing at that very moment had you not pursued your professor that Halloween night. Would you have given Ben another chance? Would you be in a relationship at all? You pondered the what if’s, yet each scenario couldn’t bring you to the level of happiness that was your reality. You really thought you had lost it all during that fight and you would never go another day without being grateful to Poe for forgiving you.

As you added all the ingredients together, your mind went to the dark place you tried so hard to push to the back of your mind. Graduation was just two months away. What was going to happen after your relationship graduated and the lease for your apartment was up and you moved back home? Poe certainly didn’t act like he would dump the relationship just because you were done with school, but you couldn’t help but think that way. You copped it up to having developed a small fear of abandonment, no doubt thanks to the sudden departure of your father. 

Slow, heavy footsteps filled the empty silence as you adjusted the temperature on the cooker. Poe slid his arms around your waist, his chin resting on your shoulder.

“You didn’t sleep very long,” you said.

“Can’t sleep anymore. Smells good,” Poe mumbled, leaning into you to see what was in the cooker. You gently bumped your head against his. 

“I’m glad you can smell,” you said. “It’s my grandma’s recipe. My mom used to make it for Tallie and I when we were sick. It’s done now, eat some. You need to eat.”

You moved around each other, him scooping up soup and you grabbing him something to drink. 

“Did I have all of this stuff?” Poe asked, looking at all the ingredients he could see in the soup as he walked to sit on the couch. 

“No, Jessika dropped off stuff. You have nothing here,” you teased, taking a seat next to him. Your expression turned a little more serious. “She wants to sit down and talk with you, you know. Get to know you. When the school year’s over. If that’s ok with you.”

“I’d like that,” he said, taking in a spoonful of soup and groaning at how nice it felt against his sore throat. “I didn’t know you could cook.”

“I still have some secrets left,” you smirked. “I’m glad you’re feeling better enough to eat something. I was starting to worry a little bit.”

“I’m hoping I can kick this in a few days. I’d hate to cancel class again.” You assured Poe that no one would be mad if he did, to which he laughed and then immediately coughed. You hoped he’d be able to get rid of it soon, too. “You’re going to Cabo for spring break, right?”

“Yeah, with a few girlfriends from high school. Why?”

“I just forgot.” There was something about the tone of his voice that sounded nervous, but he didn’t say anything else. You and him had discussed your spring break plans and you knew he was going to California for a few days with Finn and Rey. 

“So, I’m—“ Poe started, pausing to figure out how he was going to ask what he wanted. You urged him to continue. “After California, I’m spending a few days at my dad’s. If you can make it work, would you want to spend two or three of those days with me?”

Your mouth dropped and a small smile started to form on your face. 

“You want me to meet your dad?” Poe shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal, but it was to him. And it was to you too. 

“Yeah, I do,” he said, putting his near empty bowl on the coffee table. You were happy to see he was able to finish most of it. “I was thinking you could fly out Thursday and we’d get a late flight back here on Saturday night so the chances of running into people from here are slim.”

“That’s very specific, how long have you been thinking about this?”

“Since we last talked about spring break. I just didn’t know how to ask you.”

“Were you scared to ask me?”

“I thought it might be too soon to be meeting family.”

“It might be,” you said softly and Poe nodded in understanding, but his face fell a little. You placed your hand on his leg. “But I still want to.”

“Yeah?”

You nodded and Poe’s face lit up. This was so important to him, like meeting his friends had been. And it stirred something in your chest that he already wanted you to meet his dad. It gave you more hope for your future together. “I’ll call my friends tomorrow and see if we can figure it out.”

Poe put his hand on top of yours and squeezed it, not exactly what he wanted to do but trying not to heighten your chances of getting sick. “I’ll get the soup put away, do you want to watch a movie before you leave?”

You nod and get up at the same time as him, grabbing the blanket from the floor and stretching out on the couch. You opened up Netflix and scrolled through, deciding on a movie that you’d both seen before in case Poe fell asleep. Poe turned a couple lights off as he came back, taking the blanket from you and settling between you and the couch. Half of his body laid on top of yours, legs tangled together and his cheek resting in the middle of your stomach. His arm laid along your other side, hand curved in so his fingers grazed against your side. You were his body pillow and you didn’t mind one bit. 

Poe was a physically affectionate person. He loved to be touching you in some way, from something simple like holding your hand or throwing your legs across his lap to wrapping you completely around him while you laid in bed together, limbs so intertwined you wouldn’t know where he started and you ended. You weren’t surprised to find out that Poe was extremely cuddly when he wasn’t feeling well. A lot of people got that way. 

You started the movie and brought your hand up to run your fingers through Poe’s hair, gently massaging his scalp as you did. You had learned pretty quick that his hair was a weakness for him, something that both relaxed him and excited him depending on what you were doing with it.

It had only been about a month since your first date but you were so incredibly happy with Poe. You adored everything about him, especially the way he treated you. He didn’t talk to you or see you or treat you like a naive girl in her early twenties. He respected you as an equal, an adult in an adult relationship. It was so early in your relationship, but you couldn’t help but think about a future with him. 

This was the real thing for you. You were young and very well aware that a lot of people your age didn’t get into serious relationships. But you really wanted this to turn into something long-term. You hoped he did too. 

He had your heart; completely, fully.

“You’re staring,” Poe mumbled. You chuckled. 

“I can’t help it. 

He looked up at you, his chin on your stomach. “Thanks for taking care of me,” he said quietly, placing a kiss on your stomach over your shirt. You smiled softly down at him.

“Of course,” you said. “If I wasn’t, you’d be curled up in the fetal position starving and dehydrated.”

“I would not.”

“You would too. You’re such a baby when you’re sick.”

Poe nuzzled your stomach, the action making you giggle when his two day old stubble made contact with your skin. You relaxed into him, the hand that was in his hair traveling down to rub soothing circles on his back. Within thirty minutes of the movie starting, you were both fast asleep. 

When you were sick with a cold a few days later, Poe was better prepared to tackle the cold. You slept in his bed all day in his bed and he took care of you the same way you did for him.

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