#Mechanical Engineering Tuition | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

esggs · 3 months ago

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College Major Headcanons:

[Extra content for The Homo Economicus in Love - noritoshi kamo x reader, cute college au]

Yuuji Itadori - Media Studies, on a full sports scholarship even though he's not too interested in sports. He doesn't show up to practice that much but carries the team in tournaments. Not really very academically inclined but everyone he meets loves him so much that he's gotten a shit ton of internships and work experience just cuz he's nice to work with. Stays on campus dorms.

Nobara Kugisaki - Fashion Merchandising (yay legally blonde). Another one who's not very academically inclined but does great at the practical aspects of the job. Gets 40% off on tuition, but has some funds from her grandma. also gets money from her fashion blog, part-time jobs at fashion mags, and manages clothing for photoshoots on a freelance basis (if she commits she commits). Saves on residence by renting with Inumaki and Panda.

Megumi Fushiguro - Computer Science with a minor in Math. Full scholarship and bursary grant by the college due to his shitty financial conditions (orphaned and destitute at a young age). Prof Gojo is his legal guardian. grew up in and stays on campus dorms.

Maki Zenin - Star Athlete, literally training for the Olympics. Her degree is in Mass Communications but she doesn't actually have to attend classes cuz the Uni wants her to focus on sports. Disowned by her family. Full sports scholarship and occasionally gets sponsored by sportswear companies. Trying to go pro.

Yuuta Okkotsu - Sociology and Anthropolgy. He enjoys talking to and meeting people and works as a part-time Journalist for local news channels to bring attention to issues like poverty. Gets a bursary grant from the uni, gets paid for and is decently recognized for his journalism work. Both Geto and Gojo want to mentor him. He talks to himself when he's alone but that's a secret.

Toge Inumaki - Architectural Design, chose this degree just for the hell of it, is a solid B+ student. Has a YouTube gaming and ASMR channel with 200k followers but is struggling to monetize it profitably. Got in on legacy admissions but gets a sports scholarship of 30% (he's pretty good at athletics)

Panda - ???

Noritoshi Kamo - Economics and Finance, specializing in Private Equity and Investment Banking. he's the heir of the Kamo Conglomerate. Full legacy admission even though he graduated valedictorian of high school and is the captain of the Archery team.

Todo Aoi - Quantum Physics. he's literally the top student of every class he takes. he keeps taking random other classes from different majors based on his whims. his genius was recognised and personally mentored by Yuki Tsukumo, but is now undergoing formal college education for the certificate even though he already knows all this and more. he spends half the day in the gym and the other half streaming Takada-chan variety clips.

Mai Zenin - Economics and Finance, her family made her take it. good at academics even though she's not super into it. legacy admission.

Momo Nishimiya - Literature and Creative Writing. She posts regularly for a gender and sexuality magazine. loves nobara's blog.

Miwa Kasumi - Computer Science with a minor in Software Engineering. She just wanted a degree that would lead to a well-paying job. Cabinet Member of the Student Council. She vouched a lot for Mechamaru/Kokichi to get disability-friendly accommodation. she struggles a bit with academics but pulls through with A- all around. Kokichi/Mechamaru helps her if she finds something particularly difficult to understand. has her own campus residence but has practically moved in with Kokichi.

Arata Nitta - Health and Medicine, focusing on Emergency Care Medicine. he TAs for Prof Shoko's classes. his sister works in college admin office. has campus residence but mostly stays in the college affilitated hospital, bit of an over-worker.

Mechamaru/ Kokichi Muta - double major in Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering. Another top student of his classes. Found it a bit difficult to adjust to campus life at first (not enough disability accommodation) but with Miwa's help he got around. campus dorm with Miwa.

Professors!

Gojo Satoru - graduated from top Ivy colleges, has 5 PhDs, and wrote 1000 papers and books, and is the one of the most respected physicist in the world but insists on teaching Intro-level Physics and Math. drives a Bugatti to college. highly competitive relative grading. prescribes his own books for his class. expect a problem set every day after class. gives a lot of individual attention to students tho, n is very nice in general. he'll accept a late submission if u bring him sweets. his lockscreen is prof geto?

Geto Suguru - teaches one class named Ethics, Philosophy and Law every semester. doesn't answer questions over email, only during Office Hours. great at explaining difficult concepts, his course is the one students fight to get into and say "opened their eyes". has a devoted cult of worshipping students, voted student favorite every year. his adopted daughters took a gap year to travel abroad and he talks about them in class. he always has sweets in his pockets?

Utahime Iori - teaches modules on Economics, Politics and Philosophy courses. great teacher, very clear explanations, bumps up the grading slightly (absolute grading) and is very accommodating as a prof. hates getting emails at night tho.

Shoko Ieiri - Shitty ass prof tbh but everyone takes her class cuz she gives everyone an A. teaches Surgical Anatomy. focuses on practical experience rather than theory. she has a no attendance policy and takes few very exams or assignments.

Yuki Tsukomo - Visiting Faculty, takes one super high level class Quantum Physical Theory one semester and comes back after 4 years. Independent researcher funded by the uni.

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razorblade180 · 10 months ago

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Itto: I will be the number one beetle champion and show that overgrown lizard what’s what!

Aether:Yeah!!!

Kuki:You were supposed to be the reasonable one with me.

Aether:It could be fun! What could happen?

xxxxx

Itto:I’m gonna earn tuition and get a mechanical engineering degree.

Kuki:…..What?

Aether:It’s never a dull moment with you two. Godspeed Itto.

Paimon:If Paimon had a Sticky Honey Roast for every time someone unexpected ends up going to school, Paimon would have two.

Itto:Who’s the other?

xxxxxx

Nahida:Interesting paper, but you’re going to need more substantial evidence to back up your claim on the decline of Inazuma’s weapon smithing if you want to convince people.

Wanderer:….Now you know damn well why that’s impossible.

#genshin impact #arataki itto #kuki shinobu #gi aether #gi paimon #gi wanderer #gi nahida

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chr0macide · 9 months ago

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guess what fellas. I finished the oc. finally.

Magdalena Mercer

Or Lena for short. But she gets mildly annoyed when people call her that, especially if she doesn't know them.

She has a tragedy mask instead of a comedy mask. I headcanon that the people who had always worked for Mary had roses on their masks and the ones who originally worked for Larry had theirs blank, so Magdalena has roses on hers.

Pretty short, about 5 feet tall. Her bad posture makes her look even shorter.

Constant thousand-yard stare. She emotes only when the emotion is strong enough (i.e. not often, kinda dead inside), and there would be an immediate jarring change in her facial expression.

Hair covers left side of her face. Definitely not just because I don't want to draw the roses all the time 🤫 but I drew her headshots without that so you can see what her entire face looks like.

Left eye doesn't open all the way. The eye is fine, just the eyelid doesn't work properly

Sallow skin, bloodshot eyes, skinny to the point of looking unhealthy, always shivering for a reason that I am gonna explain

She would be in her 20s as of the first Break In game. She went to Purge University, but not at the same time as the Scarys of course because she would've been too young

Ok now for her backstory

Magdalena was a student at Purge University who double majored in mechanical engineering and biotechnology. She made no friends because she actively distanced herself from everyone. She was destitute, so she took out a loan from the mafia to pay tuition as no banks in the city were willing to lend her the amount she needed. She was ultimately unable to repay the money soon enough and ended up working for the mafia to pay it off. It's possible that they sabotaged her career to ensure such an outcome.

Anyhow. Mary was the one in charge of her, and Magdalena was highly skilled in the engineering field, so she eventually became one of Mary's chief assistants. As such, they worked together closely, but the relationship was extremely businesslike since Magdalena wasn't much more than an indentured servant. If you asked one of them about the other, they'd say they know each other but neither of them would have claimed they were friends. As for her fellow mafiosos, she was on neutral terms with most of them. Some of them might have liked to antagonize her or kick her around since her demeanor is utterly pathetic, but Magdalena is the highly observant type and knew when some bullshit was about to go down. She would always just leave the area when it was about to start. One person who she was on relatively good terms with was the Brute Villain (who I gave the fanon name Markus so I don't have to keep typing out Brute Villain. And I'm gonna act like he survived Break In 2 since he doesn't fall into literal pieces like the other minions when you defeat them). Markus hated being annoyed, so he preferred her company because she was quiet and unobtrusive. The number of times she talked to him without being spoken to first could probably be counted on one hand, but Magdalena liked to hang around Markus because other mobsters were much less likely to start shit when he was there. Mutually beneficial relationship. Plus, neither of them liked Mary that much. Markus worked for Larry before he was defeated and he was a little bit iffy about the new boss.

Magdalena was one of the personnel involved in Mary's experiments on Larry. For the record, Magdalena never liked working for the mafia, and she liked it even less whenever Mary assigned her to work on one of her experiments (which was all the fucking time). Not that Larry would give a shit about that if he ever got his hands on Magdalena. And she dresses like she raided Spirit Halloween's steampunk isle during the last purge, so he would definitely recognize her if he ever ran into her post-Break In 2. Anyway. When the players defeated the final boss at the end of Break In 2, Magdalena and Markus took advantage of the chaos to escape the base. Markus thought he might be able to ally with his old boss. Magdalena wanted to break away from the mafia entirely, but she didn't tell him that. However, Magdalena ran away when they were cut off by a group of Mary's loyalists, and Markus followed her into a storage room where some wind-up key prototypes were being kept, kind of like the small ones that Larry kept in his mansion (I remember they exist because of one of junkzinterlude’s posts lol). These ones hadn't been tested before--at least not on humans--but Magdalena urged Markus to use one on her anyway as she was worried about getting killed by the other mobsters that were after them, so he did. He did not want a key used on himself, and she didn't ask him if he did either.

They both confronted the other mobsters, but Markus knew Magdalena was useless in a fight and was also skeptical about how strong an effect the key was going to have on her, so he told her to flee the base without him. Joke was on him though since she was about to do that anyway lol bye Markus. She didn't see what happened to him, but I will tell you he fucked those mobsters up and escaped the base as well. He and Magdalena haven't managed to reunite, though (at least not yet).

Magdalena hid in the woods surrounding the base, and now she had a suspicious untested key in her back. Well, turns out this particular type of key functioned more like a parasite. Either that or she just didn't have the physical toughness to handle the effects. She was always frail and kind of sickly. The strength boost only lasted about a day, and after that she was even feebler than before. That's why she looks like such shit underneath her mask.

So. Magdalena is weak and alone in the woods. Next purge is in eight days. She has her crowbar, toolbox and nothing else. How does she survive? Well. She avoids confrontation whenever she can, but I told you she was highly skilled when it comes to engineering and I meant what I said. When expecting to be attacked soon, she shows up at an abandoned factory. Any machine factory would do. Where does she find them? I don't fucking know, they just spawn in near her whenever the narrative demands it I guess. She held more than a few engineering jobs before she got sucked into the mob. She probably knows where the factories are. Anyway. Magdalena has enough expertise to refit one of the assembly lines to produce small robots out of scrap metal and whatever else is lying around in the warehouse. They're not hi-tech killing machines or anything like that, but they are enough to cause problems for anyone trying to reach her. They'd come at you in groups, maybe swarms if that type of bot is small enough. They would have a fair shot at killing anyone who wasn't prepared for them, and if they were prepared then they'd still likely buy Magdalena enough time to escape from her would-be attackers.

And now we have reached the present day, backstory over 👍

Yeah I made the 1324874th Break In OC with a wind-up key, I know I'm so original lmao. Magdalena's is silver instead of gold and has a little rust on it. It's also smaller than the ones on the Scarys.

About her personality and other stuff:

Magdalena has a polite enough disposition, but in a vaguely unsettling way. Her "vibes are off" so to speak. Most people who talk to her for a bit will be able to tell her cordiality is fake. If you speak to her for long enough she will gradually drop the fake shit and become snippy, or outright verbally belligerent if you're some random colleague of hers who is refusing to leave her alone.

Primary personality trait is bitter. Bitter about being born into poverty. Bitter about having to attend Purge University because she had no better options. Bitter about not being able to hold a job. Bitter about being forced to work for Mary. Bitter about the parasite stuck to her back. You could probably taste the bitterness on your tongue if you spent enough time around her. She holds long grudges but is generally too cowardly to be vengeful, so she tends to just marinate in even more bitterness.

Post-Break In 2, she doesn't really mind the presence of other mafiosos but will avoid the bosses at all costs, Larry for obvious reasons and Mary (plus the others) because she doesn't want to be roped back into the mob.

Very cowardly. Unwilling to stand up to her superiors. Will run from a fight whenever possible. And she runs fast as fuck when her life is in danger, that's her one and only physical advantage. So evasive that she would be gone if you looked away from her for a second, as if she teleported or some shit.

Very disinclined towards violence. During the purge, Magdalena steals a bunch of shit instead of killing. This stems partially from her cowardice plus her unwillingness to hurt people without a good enough reason, but also the fact that she is hopeless in melee combat. Mary never sent her to fight for this reason. She is fairly good with a gun (one-handed, the recoil from anything two-handed would probably knock her on her ass) but she was not allowed to have one back in the base, and she still doesn't have one.

She blinks way less than usual. Like maybe a couple times each minute. That's part of the reason why her eyes are always bloodshot. Speaking of her eyes, her left eye is like that because her wind-up key's roots burrowed into her slightly incorrectly (again, janky untested key model that maybe wasn't even meant to be used on humans) and fucked up her nervous system a little bit. Nothing too important was damaged but yeah that's why her eyelid is weird.

Here is Magdalena's toolbox. She keeps her tools in it (obviously) and maybe some spare parts and scrap metal. Also one of her little mechanical weirdos. This one could fit in your palm and she had a handful of these even when she still worked in the base. They would carry stuff to her sometimes (all of them would have to help drag the object since they're small). When they weren't doing that, they'd be crawling all over her, which some of her coworkers thought was creepy, especially the ones that happened to be entomophobiacs, lol.

Here have the first pic I drew of Magdalena. Actually I think the headshots might have been finished before this. But I definitely started this one first. Idk. Who cares. Started making this post on the 11th and now it’s the 21st that's 10 DAYS bruh. Why did I put so much effort into an OC that I might never even use for anything lol this is dumb. too lazy to check this post for typos. I'm going the fuck to sleep now lmao gn.

#roblox break in #break in roblox #roblox #break in 2 #scary larry #yeah i'm tagging him because the first pic has larry in it fuck u #break in oc #me when I make my oc completely insufferable instead of likable

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xsherewrytesx · 5 months ago

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↳ Toji Fushiguro x f! black reader

summary. You and Toji were broken up for 8 months+. Your constant pressure for him to improve led to frequent fights, driving him to spend more time at the mechanic shop and racing than with you. Despite knowing you meant well, the strain became too much, and Toji eventually ended the relationship.

genre: heavy angst, modern au, 18+, explicit smut, street racer au

fic warnings. ooc, profanity, mental health issues, toxic relationships, cheating, explicit smut, drug use, mentions of depression + more to be updated as story progresses.

Prequel

In the early days, before everything unraveled, before the weight of expectations and dreams became too heavy to bear, there was a time when your and Toji's relationship burned bright with hope and passion.

You were deep into your architecture studies at SCAD university, your days filled with drafting tables and design critiques. Toji, on the other hand, lived a more unconventional life. He worked at a mechanic shop during the day, fixing cars with a skill that hinted at years of hands-on experience. But it was the nights and weekends that defined him—a street racer, known for his daring maneuvers and his loyalty to his crew.

Their worlds collided one night at a local hangout spot, where street racers gathered like modern-day gladiators ready to battle it out on the asphalt. Toji's presence was magnetic, his confidence matched only by the roar of his engine. You were drawn to his intensity, the way he seemed to defy the rules both on and off the track.

Their first date was unconventional, to say the least. Toji took you for a ride in his prized Eleanor Mustang, pushing the car to its limits under the cover of night. The rush of adrenaline, the thrill of speed—it was intoxicating, a glimpse into Toji's world that you couldn't resist.

As their relationship blossomed, you saw potential in Toji beyond the mechanic shop and the late-night races. You believed in him fiercely, pushing him to dream bigger. It was you who planted the seed of owning his own shop, a place where he could showcase his talents and build something lasting.

Toji was hesitant at first, wary of your relentless optimism. "You think I don't want it hard enough?" he would argue, his voice tinged with frustration. "I take my time to learn things right, not rush into something half-assed like you want."

Their arguments became a cycle—a dance of passion and frustration, love and misunderstanding. You both made up after each fight, drawn back together by their shared fire, only to fall into another argument soon after.

The highs of victory at the races were often followed by the lows of heated debates over dinner, their friends, Sukuna, Geto, and Gojo, bearing witness to their volatile love affair.

One night, after Toji lost a crucial race, your disappointment turned to biting criticism. "You were too slow off the line," you snapped, your words a slap in the face. Toji, already raw from the defeat, snapped back with equal force. "I don't need this from you, Y/n! You think you know everything, but you don't understand what it takes!"

You scoffed and rolled your eyes," You sure act like you don't have what it takes." Toji's eyes widen incredulously at your words. He felt his heart crack for the first time since you guys started arguing almost daily.

Toji voice was raised,

"So, this is how you see me huh, just some bum mechanic. I hold my own. I pay my share and more. I do everything I can and more for you, for us. You want L.V, Bottega Veneta, anything you got that plus more. Trips to see your family back home. Tuition fees I help you pay that AND ONE FUCKING NIGHT IM OFF MY GAME AND THATS WHAT I GET Y/N. FORREAL"

Their friends watched in silence as the argument escalated, the air thick with tension and unspoken truths. Sukuna, usually the voice of reason, exchanged a worried glance with Geto and Gojo.

They had seen this before but not to this extent—the clash of two strong-willed souls who loved fiercely but couldn't find common ground.

Toji walked off leaving you with his friends. He walked over to his cousins Maki and Mai who were hanging with Yuuji, Nobara and Megumi, his younger brother.

Megumi sensing his older brother's tension offered him a beer and a quick smoke. Toji took the beer and the joint leaning against Megumi's custom built 2000 Mazda rx7 series 8 in orange.

Megumi stood next to Toji analyzing him before asking. "Wanna talk about it bro. We all saw the commotion from over here. The music was too loud for us to hear but we know it was bad."

Toji sighed not wanting to talk, just think. "Just the usual these days honestly but I'm good man......For the most part." Megumi studied his older brother's face for a moment. He's never seen Toji look so stressed out before. He's usually a bit more carefree and relaxed. Yuuji strode over to offer Megumi another drink and glanced at Toji, who was deep in thought. "Is y/n trippin on him again?" Yuuji inquired, to which Megumi nodded in confirmation.

"Why doesn't he just...idk take a break or end things. They went from the it couple of the meet ups to that old miserable couple who hate each other but stay together for the kids and mortgage." Toji laughed at Yuuji's analogy of his and your relationship.

As the night wore on, Toji retreated into brooding silence, nursing his wounded pride. you, to hurt to stay, stormed off into the night, leaving behind a trail of regrets and unresolved emotions.

The weeks following that pivotal night were filled with tension and distance for you and Toji. What was once a vibrant relationship had deteriorated into a fragile shell of its former self. Intimacy had become a distant memory—

No more shared moments of passion, no lazy mornings in each other's embrace, no whispered promises. Instead, your interactions were marked by tense exchanges and the heavy weight of unspoken issues weighing on you and Toji's mind.

Toji sought solace in the familiar clang of tools and the smell of motor oil at the mechanic shop. It became his sanctuary, a place to bury himself in work, tuning up cars before and after races, avoiding the suffocating atmosphere of his once-shared apartment.

His boss and uncle, Naobito, initially tried to send Toji home at reasonable hours. But seeing the turmoil in his young mechanic, he relented, letting Toji work as long as he needed to find peace in the roaring engines and the adrenaline-fueled world of street racing.

Days stretched into weeks, and Toji's absence from home became the new normal. He spent his evenings at Geto's or Sukuna's place, smoking, chilling and talking about life and racing. He liked being around them. They understood the allure of the fast life and how the life is, especially for him.

When Toji finally returned home, it was almost three weeks since he had last stepped foot in the apartment. Exhausted, he unlocked the door, hoping for a moment of peace, but you were waiting for him, your eyes blazing with anger.

The sight of Toji, worn and distant, triggered a burst of accusations and pent-up frustrations. “Where the hell you been, Toji? Do you even care anymore?” Your voice cracked with anger and hurt.

Toji just sighed not wanting to argue with you as soon as he got through the door. He opted for silence, but you pushed on again

“Toji, where the hell have you been?” you demanded again, your voice sharp. “You think you can just disappear for weeks and not tell me where you are?”

Toji, weary from weeks of turmoil and external pressure, finally snapped. “You think I don’t care? You think this is easy for me? Plus, I’ve been working, racing. I needed some space."

His words were sharp, each syllable laced with bitterness and exhaustion. He was trying not to unleash everything that had been brewing inside him for weeks.

“Man, miss me with that,” you fired back, tears streaming down your face. “You been out here actin’ like I don’t exist. You think I’m stupid? You out there wit’ somebody else? and what's this bullshit about Space...SPACE! You needed space, so you just leave me here, not knowing if you’re dead or alive? You didn’t even call!”

Toji’s eyes flashed with frustration. “I ain’t been with nobody else! I’ve been at the shop, tryin’ to get my mind right. But you always jumpin’ to conclusions. I didn't wanna fight with you almost every night after a day at the shop. I just needed to clear my head."

“You expect me to believe that? You ain’t been home in weeks, Toji! Weeks! and you talking shit about clearing your head” you shouted, your voice rising with every word.

“Clear your head?” you echoed again, your voice dripping with sarcasm. “You mean avoid your responsibilities. Avoid me. Toji, this isn’t working,” you said, your voice breaking. “You’ve been gone for weeks, and you didn’t even think to call me. What am I supposed to think?”

“I needed space! You don’t get it, do you? Every time I come home, it’s like walkin’ into a battlefield. I can’t breathe here! You think I was out there having fun? I was working my ass off, trying to keep my head above water! And you? You didn’t check on me either! You didn’t care if I was alive or dead!”

Toji yelled back, his frustration boiling over.

“That’s not fair, Toji! You shut me out!” you shouted, your voice trembling with a mix of anger and hurt. “You didn’t give me a chance! You needed space? So you just leave? Just like that? What about us? What about our plans, our dreams?” you cried, desperation seeping into your voice.

“Toji, I’m tired of this!” you yelled, your frustration boiling over. “You never take anything seriously! Not our relationship, not your future. You just coast by, doing the bare minimum.”

Toji scoffed, “That's bull shit and you know it I've been busting my ass trying to make something of myself. All you do is nag and push and talk and push and fucking frustrate me and the fuck you mean by plans? dreams? You mean your plans, your dreams. You never asked what I wanted. You just assumed. You pushed and pushed until there was nothing left of me but your expectations.”

“Nah, that’s bullshit!” you cried. “I was tryin’ to make you see your worth. You got talent, Toji. You could be somethin’ big, but you stuck in that damn garage like you scared of success! Why can’t you see that I just want what’s best for you?"

“You don’t get it!” Toji roared back, his face contorted with pain and anger. “I love working on cars. I love racing. It ain’t about throwin’ away potential. It’s about doin’ what makes me happy. But you... you always want more. Nothing is ever enough for you NOTHING I DO OR TRY IS ENOUGH!”

“So it’s wrong to want the best for you? For us?” you countered, desperation creeping into your voice. “We had dreams, Toji. Big dreams. What happened to those?”

“They turned into your dreams, not mine,” Toji shot back. “You never asked what I wanted. You just assumed. You pushed and pushed until there was nothing left of me but your expectations.”

“You think I’m just naggin’ you? You think I don’t want you to be happy? I just wanted us to be happy. To build somethin’ real,” you whispered, your voice breaking.

Toji’s voice, when he spoke again, was cold and detached. “I can’t do this anymore,” he declared.

“I’m done, Y/n,” Toji said, his voice cold. “I’m done fighting. I’m done trying to be someone I’m not for you.”

Toji stared at you for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then he pulled out his phone and dialed Sukuna’s number.

“Yo, Sukuna. I need your help. Can you come over and help me move my stuff?”

Your shock turned to disbelief, then to a desperate plea. “Toji, please, don’t do this. We can work through this, I promise.”

Toji paused, his gaze hardening. “Nah, it’s too late for promises,” he said flatly, his eyes devoid of emotion.

“Sukuna,” Toji said into the phone, “I need you to come over. Help me move out.”

Sukuna’s voice came through the phone, confused and concerned. “What’s going on, man? You sure about this?”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Toji replied, glancing at you. “I need to get out of here.”

As he hung up, you continued to shout at him, your voice desperate and raw. “You can’t just leave, Toji! You can’t just walk out on us!”

Toji ignored your pleas, moving through the apartment with a sense of finality. He packed his belongings swiftly, each item a silent testament to your shattered dreams.

Pulling out a wad of cash, he dropped it on the table. “Cover my share of the expenses. It's about 15k”

Overwhelmed by a mixture of emotions—anger, sadness, betrayal—you snatched the money and flung it at Toji hitting him in the back. “I don’t want your damn money!” Your voice cracked with emotion, your heart breaking with each passing moment.

Toji picked up the cash calmly, placing it on a side table without a second glance. He took off his apartment keys, dropping them next to the money. “Use it or not, I don’t care anymore.” His voice was hollow, his gaze distant as he turned away.

“You runnin’ away again, Toji! Just like you always do when things get tough!” you shouted, anger and pain mixing into a volatile cocktail.

Toji froze, his back to you. Slowly, he turned around, his expression hardened by years of unresolved conflict. “Maybe I am,” he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.

“But I can’t keep pretending everything’s okay when it’s not. I’m tired, Y/n. I’m tired of fighting, of trying to live up to your expectations. I need space to figure things out.” Toji said dejected rubbing his temples.

Just as the tension reached its peak, there was a knock at the door. Sukuna entered; his usual smirk replaced with a look of concern. “Yo, you really doin’ this, Toji?”

Toji nodded, his resolve unwavering. “Yeah, I’m done. Just need to be out of here.”

You followed them through the house, your pleas growing more desperate. “Toji, please! Don’t do this. We can fix this; I know we can!”

Sukuna glanced at Toji, his brow furrowed. “You sure about this, man? You wanna throw all this away?”

Toji’s frustration boiled over, and he snapped at Sukuna. “I said, I’m sure! Just help me pack and let’s get out of here!”

Sukuna nodded, silently helping Toji gather his things. You trailed behind, tears streaming down your face, your heart breaking with each passing moment.

“Toji, you can’t just walk away. What about all the good times? What about us?” you begged, your voice cracking.

Toji paused, his eyes filled with a mix of sadness and determination. “I’m sorry, Y/n. I really am. But I can’t keep doing this. I need to breathe. I need to be me, without all this pressure.”

You watched helplessly as Toji packed his belongings, his movements mechanical and distant. In a desperate attempt to stop him, you grabbed at his clothes, trying to yank them out of his hands. “Toji, don’t go. Don’t leave me like this.”

Toji, startled by your physical resistance, tugged his clothes back with a firm grip. “Let go, Y/n. This ain’t gonna change nothin’.”

“Stop it, Toji! Just stop!” you screamed, your voice filled with a mix of rage and desperation. “You can’t do this to us!”

The tussle escalated, both of you pulling at his belongings until Toji managed to wrench them from your grasp. “Enough!” he shouted, his voice echoing through the apartment.

Breathing heavily, you looked at him with tear-filled eyes, your voice a trembling whisper. “I hate you, Toji. I wish I never met you.”

Toji froze, his eyes widen at your words, his expression one of shock and pain. He stared at you; his voice dangerously quiet. “Say that again.”

“I said I hate you! I wish I never met you!” you repeated, each word cutting through the air like a knife.

Toji’s face hardened, the weight of your words settling heavily on his shoulders. Slowly, he reached for the double Cuban link bracelets on his wrists, removing them one by one. He placed them gently on the coffee table, followed by the matching ring and the promise ring you both exchanged on Valentine’s Day last year.

He looked at you one last time, his voice filled with a cold finality. “I hope you’re happy now. Goodbye, Y/n."

With those words, Toji turned away, grabbing his packed bags and walking out the door without a backward glance. Sukuna lingered for a moment, casting a sympathetic look your way before following Toji out of the apartment.

Alone in the silence that followed, you collapsed onto the couch, tears streaming down your face. The apartment felt emptier than it ever had before, the air thick with the weight of shattered dreams and unresolved emotions.

Weeks turned into months, and the ache in your heart slowly dulled to a persistent throb. Toji’s absence became a void you learned to live with, the memories of happier times a bittersweet reminder of what once was.

You threw yourself into your studies, burying your pain in the relentless pursuit of your dreams. Architecture became your sanctuary, a place where you could lose yourself in the creative process, if only temporarily.

Occasionally, you caught glimpses of Toji’s life through mutual friends or social media—snapshots of him at races, laughing with Sukuna and Geto, the tattooed sleeves on his arms a stark reminder of how much had changed.

Sometimes you'd even attend street races, it's been apart of your routine for so long. It was hard to stop.

And yet, despite the passage of time, a part of you couldn’t let go. The memories of Toji—

��𝕟𝕖, 𝔼𝕔𝕙𝕠𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕒𝕤𝕥

You hadn't planned on driving through this part of town. Memories lurked here, painful and poignant, like ghosts whispering from every corner. Your hands tightened on the steering wheel as you navigated familiar streets, the echoes of old arguments and broken promises haunting your thoughts.

The engine of your car hummed steadily, a contrast to the erratic beat of your heart. The shop came into view, its neon sign with the words Zenin Auto's flickering even in the bright midday sun.

As you approached, the sound of an all-too-familiar song filled the air, blending with the scent of gasoline and burnt rubber. "Same Old Song" by The Weeknd. Ironic, really.

You saw him before he saw you. Toji was at the center of the garage, his presence commanding, even now. His back was turned, engrossed in conversation with Sukuna near the open hood of a sleek, black Dodge Hellcat.

Sukuna, his lean frame leaning casually against the car, glanced up and caught your eye with a grimace, his cigarette dangling from his lips as usual. He nudged Toji, and Toji turned slowly, a spark of recognition igniting in his eyes.

Toji looked different yet the same. His muscles seemed more defined, his sleeves of his jumpsuit tied around his waist to reveal new tattoos that snaked up his arms like wild vines. A silver lip ring gleamed on the opposite side of his lip scar, a bold addition to his rugged appearance.

His hair, always a bit tousled, now fell just a touch longer, framing his face in a way that made your heart ache with nostalgia. He wore his usual navy-blue jumpsuit with the sleeves tied around his waist, paired with black Timberland work boots and a black fitted vest.

You felt frozen, caught between the urge to turn away and the magnetic pull of unfinished business. Your car idling in front the shop. Memories flooded back, unbidden. Late nights spent waiting for him to come home, the scent of motor oil clinging to his clothes.

The fierce arguments, the passionate reconciliations, and the relentless push from you for him to strive for more. You had meant well, always. But sometimes, love alone couldn't bridge the gap between two people heading in different directions.

Toji's gaze locked onto yours, his expression unreadable at first. For a fleeting moment, it seemed as though time had stood still. Then, a flicker of something crossed his face—was it surprise, regret, or resignation?

He scoffed lightly, a faint smirk tugging at the corners of his lips as he lifted a joint to his mouth and lit it with practiced ease. The flame briefly illuminated the scar on his lip, a mark you used to trace with your fingers in quieter times.

"What the hell is she doing here?" Toji thought, the anger he had buried resurfacing. "After all this time, she just shows up. For what?"

The sight of you, unchanged yet somehow different, tugged at memories he had tried to bury beneath the noise of the racing engines and the smoke of his joint.

He remembered the way your eyes sparkled when you smiled, the softness of your touch that could soothe even his fiercest temper. But alongside those memories, there was also the weight of unresolved issues, the fear of falling back into old patterns that had left you both scarred.

Your thoughts were a whirlwind. "Why does he have to look so good?" you wondered, struggling to maintain your composure. "Does he even care that I'm here? Does he even miss me?"

In that charged silence, you found yourself grappling with a whirlwind of emotions.

The lyrics of the song playing in the background seemed to mock you both.

And now I'm poppin', yeah Ain't nobody showed me how I made it big poppin', yeah Tell me how you like me now I swear I loved you, girl,

a bitter reminder of the love you had once shared and the pain that had torn you apart.

Toji wanted to say something, anything, to break the tension that crackled between you. But pride and stubbornness held his words captive, leaving only the smoke of his joint to fill the silence.

"She really had the nerve to come here," Toji thought, his jaw tightening. "Ain't no way I'm letting her see me sweat."

In that suspended moment, neither of you moved. You could feel Sukuna's eyes on you, a silent observer to the reunion that neither of you had expected.

Toji's jaw tightened imperceptibly as he pushed a hand through his hair, breaking eye contact and turning away with a dismissive gesture. The casualness of the gesture masked the turmoil beneath the surface, a storm of conflicting emotions that threatened to engulf you both.

"I should just leave," you thought, the weight of the past too heavy to bear. But before you could gather your thoughts, Toji turned his back completely, disappearing deeper into the shadows of the garage. Sukuna's lingering gaze followed you as you stood there, grappling with the weight of unfinished conversations and unresolved feelings.

"Toji really gonna let her presence fuck his head up like this?" Sukuna thought, watching Toji retreat.

The decision was made in a heartbeat. With a deep breath, you turned the wheel sharply, the tires squealing in protest as you sped away from the shop and the ghosts of the past that lingered there.

As the distance between you and Toji grew, you fought to steady your trembling hands and quiet the storm of emotions raging within.

#jjk x reader #jjk x black reader #toji fushiguro #toji x black y/n #black reader #jujutsu kaisen #toji x you #toji x female reader #toji x black reader #toji smut #jjk x fem! reader

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crazylittlejester · 1 day ago

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Alright I'm aimed at the whiteboard of an unrelated lecture hall the way I'm about to be projecting

Warriors: bitches about how much he hates chemistry. Is a chem major. This surprises people and then he gets to senior level classes and is like "oh I learned how to make meth four different ways and also how to make a pipe bomb" and it makes sense bc forensic science. Alternative to him being a cop cause acab

Wild and Wild started political major then switched to rec management and worked there as a park ranger/trip guide. Then he got a phd in some very niche history specialization bc Flora informed enough for him to basically test out of an entire other undergrad degree.

Hyrule: also switched to rec management from nursing. Theydo their assignments together and those are things like: go camping, catch bugs. Wild works at the university climbing wall, and Hyrule works in the first aid tent at uni events

Legend: undecided for a while, fashion major, switched to political science but was way too far into fashion to NOT have that be his minor. When he switched, Wild gave Leg his notes. They were not helpful.

Sky: didn't go to uni bc he went to flight school. Paying the same as their tuition for lessons, but he's got a guaranteed job and fucking excellent pay lined up.

Time: got an associates in art at a community college, met Malon, and then decided to live his best stardew valley life and we love that for him.

Wind: hear me out: scuba diver/submarine operator investigating shipwrecks. This I feel is trade school more than university but college isn't needed for every field. He'd work at ocean gate for like 2 days before seeing their shady business practices and even sharper and moping the fuck out.

Twilight: went to a trade school to be a mechanic as his day job and the reason barrel racing isn't an Olympic sport is bc there's no point when Twi will win until the day he or Epona dies

Four: so many majors he cant keep track of his sophomore year his advisor got fed up and made him pick four. Literature and criminal justice became minors, music and engineering are majors.

OOOOOOOOH I REALLY LIKE ALL OF THESE

Wars: I LIKE THIS, THATS VERY COOL. i have a lot of thoughts about potential majors for him because there’s literally just so much to do with him, depending on the au i’ve made him a political science/history major with the intent to become a lawyer, i’ve made him an engineer (for a big hero six au), fashion, and a dance major. I like the chem to forensic science thing thats VERY cool :)

Wild: PERFECT NO NOTES.

Hyrule: PERFECT. NO NOTES. whatever he ends up doing it involves being outside and exploring or discovering things >:)

Legend: I HAVE HIM AS A POLITICAL SCIENCE MAJOR IN MOST MODERN AUS TOO (except the big hero 6 one because, like wars, he’s an engineer)

Sky: PERFECT. I LOVE IT

Time: HIS BEST STARDEW VALLEY LIFE ALSKDKKS YES

Wind: I LOVE IT. ive had him interested in marine biology before :)

Twilight: OOOOOOOOOOOOOH YES

Four: he’s definitely any advisors worst nightmare alskdkdslkskd

#jes ask

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demonsfate · 3 months ago

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OKAY SO I FOUND THE LIL SNIPPET FROM A STRATEGY GUIDE THAT SAYS JIN STUDIED MECHANICAL ENGINEERING IN SCHOOL - WHICH HARADA CONFIRMED AS CANON AND ?????

OVERDUE TUITION FEES?

JIN HAS STUDENT DEBT?

HEIHACHI COULDN'T EVEN PAY FOR HIS GRANDSON'S ENROLLMENT/CLASSES???

IT WAS HEIHACHI'S SCHOOL

#✏️ - ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴏsᴛ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏsᴛ // (ooc)#// LIKE I KINDA FIGURED THE WHOLE REASON JIN EVEN WENT THERE WAS JUST 'COS HEIHACHI LET HIM ... BUT ... WHAT ???#// THIS IS OS FUNNY TO ME #// I'M MAKING IT CANON ON THIS BLOG #// AND NO - ABADDON DID *NOT* PAY IT OFF DURING THE TIME HE HAD THE ZAIBATSU #// BC WHY WOULD HE -#// LEE PLEASE COME AND GET YOUR NEPHEW OUT OF DEBT HSDFHASHAHSHASHDFHASHAHHAA

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welcomingdisaster · 6 months ago

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Indis, College AU. With Nerdanel, if you like ;).

ohhh i would like. cannot resist the absolute scandal of nindis in a modern au.

(I feel I am cheating by making neither of them particularly college-aged, but it is also juicier this way).

Indis Centore, the niece of Old Money gentleman Ingwë Centore, is absolutely a trust-fund kid. With no real worries about making money, she spends her 20s getting a degree in equine studies, which she uses mostly with her 4 beloved horses.

When she's like 28, she meets Finwë, an older widower (he's 55ish) with a 19-year old son, at a nature retreat for the very wealthy. The age difference between them is fairly notable, especially with Finwë being the CEO of a fortune 500 company, but the power dynamic isn't quite as extreme, with Indis knowing she has her own money and her own family support. They bond over riding horses and an interest in ancient historical texts.

They're married two years later, and a few months after that Indis is pregnant with their firstborn daughter, Findis. You can imagine how (now 21 year old) Feanor feels about this turn of events.

Life goes on. Indis mostly devotes herself to her child and her horses, Feanor pursues a PhD in electrical engineering, Finwe keeps trying to keep the family conflict free (he is delusional).

Feanor avoids Indis and his half-siblings like the plague, and is cruel when he cannot help but interact his step-mother. Tension also begins to rise between Indis and Finwe, mostly because she is frustrated with his tendency to always prioritize Feanor over their other children.

When, at 24, Feanor meets Nerdanel (25), a mechanic, and begins to date her, he keeps her far from his family. Nerdanel is quite an outsider in the circles he runs in, coming from a working-class family. She went to trade school despite a passion for sculpture.

After Nerdanel and Feanor wed, she goes to university to pursue a degree in Fine Arts. She's probably pregnant with their first or second at this point.

At the same time, Indis begins to feel frustrated/limited by the role of "mother" only, and after having her fourth child decides she's going to return to school to pursue something artsy -- maybe poetry eventually? This is quite easily facilitated by having all the money in the world for nannies and tuition and writing retreats.

The two women grow closer as they find out they have, by coincidence, been put into some of the same core/background classes. Nerdanel begins to open up about some of her frustrations with Feanor's emotional issues and single-minded intensity, while Indis confides in her about feeling neglected.

Certainly no scandalous affair could possibly come from this :0

#in case people are curious about the ages this is like 36 year old indis and 29 year old nerdanel #couldnt make them college aged and keep the juicy #lena speaks #this is very silly rambly but. fun maybe #nindis

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brucenorris007 · 4 months ago

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Tails, in his late thirties and early forties, is approached by several people asking if they can use his name for a school of engineering.

Being about as disinterested in fame as his late older brother, Tails' offhand way of saying no without saying no is:

"Make tuition free and I'll lecture there."

The one wrinkle in this bluff is that eventually, someone appears who calls it.

Three years later, Tails gets a call, an email and a home visit to make sure he knows that the Miles Prower School of Engineering, offering electrical, mechanical and chemical tracks for students to pursue, has opened and is accepting enrollments.

Tails, having been woken up to receive this news, can only mutter to himself:

"Well, shit."

#Miles Tails Prower #Sonic the Hedgehog #Functionally Immortal Crew #this is canon btw #to my AU

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mechatronophilia · 1 month ago

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I want to go to college and study mechanical engineering, but I'm slow and don't understand math, and my mom thinks I should do art or writing . . . :// I just wanna be a smart stem major guy. What do you think?

a noble goal. youve got options

engineering is rough, i'll be honest. the only degree path that's more math-intensive, aside from applied mathematics, is probably astrophysics. if you pursue this you'll have to very quickly identify, troubleshoot, and patch any issues you have with math. this is sub-optimal but workable. it's taken me a couple years of introspection and medication to identify the ways my disabilities affect my ability to do school, and it's very possible and very difficult. (the people in my family who struggle the most with written math are also the most mechanically apt.)

if that feels daunting (and it is for me as well, and i believe in you), think about what specifically you want to do in stem. what are you passionate about, what impact do you want to have on the world? what technical things are you best at and/or most interested in? what are you absolute dogshit at? what tools feel best in your hand?

stem is big and there's a lot of ways of fitting into it. when i went to tech school for IT I didn't have to do any math, and there are plenty of trades that pay just as well and are just as sexy, for lack of a better word, if underrated. look into the career fields you're thinking of going into after college and see if they all require mechanical engineering degrees, and see if there's another, more comfortable way of being part of that field. i really recommend vocational school and community college in general. lots of programs, low tuition.

and remember: nothing has to be permanent. if you're not dead yet, you can always pivot to something else. our culture says otherwise, but if you weren't interested in taking what you're given and rebuilding it better, you wouldn't be here. :)

#op #anon ask #text #i believe in you and your ability to get your hands dirty in a spiritually fulfilling way #the arts are a great as well and the craftsmanship in painting/writing/etc is just as appreciable

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mokadevs · 10 months ago

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hi .. ive been wanting to get into gamedev and your stuff inspires me... do you have anything you used to get into it in particular? or just any advice in starting?

aw ty ^_^ the advice i have for basically any creative endeavor can be 100% applied to gamedev:

start small; do not make your magnum opus game the first game you make, or the second, or the fifth. make tiny games, enter 48 hour game jams, do things small that have a tiny deadline and you can make yourself finish

for gamedev especially, i'll emphasize- Set Deadlines. again, true of any creative endeavor, but w gamedev especially i find it incredibly easy to be like "oh, i'll just add x and y to it-" and it quickly bloats out of size, its why i have a lot of trouble releasing games that i don't work on with someone else. when i'm on a team it forces me to scope a lot better because i'm not just throwing myself under a bus

as for how i got into it... i majored in gamedev but only because it was the closest to a creative field my parents would let me major in and still help with tuition since i pursued it with a programming focus but i will be honest. did not learn a lot from the curriculum itself, it mostly just put me in the mindset of "ok this is what i want to have as a job, so i need to learn it" and followed youtube tutorials

which is what i recommend- for a Bit. for your first few games, pick an engine you like (i recommend godot or unity if you want to actually go into "gamey" gamedev and create original games w mechanics, rpgmaker or renpy if youre not really into programming at all and/or want to create very hyper specific games) and follow a few tutorials from tip to tail. "how to make a flappy bird clone" or something.

however, after a few of those, stop using them and instead try to create something original. you can use them for specific things (like maybe you need to search up what a specific function does, or whatever) but largely the game needs to be made by You. the purpose of the tutorials is to familiarize yourself with the engine, but you need to make sure you aren't reliant on them forever or you'll screw yourself over

hopefully that was helpful ^_^

#kiki speaks #answered ask

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umichenginabroad · 5 months ago

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Week 8: Cost Breakdown!

Okay 8 weeks in let's get down to business, how much money have I spent and where. First of all, there is the tuition which was base of $5,205 which includes housing and tuition for 3 months in addition to various trips that were planned by IPE. Through the trips, they likely spend a decent amount of money. However, I got a scholarship for $3,500 which most people in the program got if not more. The most pricy part of the program was probably the plane tickets which was approximately $2,000 for a round trip. Since coming to China, I’ve spent ~12,000RMB (1,500 USD). Here is a breakdown of my other expenses and how far everything can go.

In the first week, I spent a lot of my money on various dorm necessities like toilet paper, trashbags, and miscellaneous expenses. In total, it added up to approximately $300RMB (40USD) which is fairly cheap for all the little purchases that added up. Here is the rest of the breakdown for the past 8 weeks.

Utilities/Essentials: 504 RMB (68.85USD)

This includes hot water which we need to pay for separately which isn’t too bad since it is so hot I don’t end up using the hot water much and this also includes laundry which I do often because the hot weather makes me sweat through all my clothes at a lighting pace.

Food: 2043.18 RMB (279.12 USD)

This is crazy cheap considering I only eat out and I don’t pay attention to my food budget whatsoever (before I decided this blog was going to be a cost report). However, this is just my actual meals, I summed my snacks/drinks separately.

Snacks/Drinks: 1469 RMB (209.86 USD)

How have I spent almost the same amount on snacks and drinks as real food? I am ashamed but also it is so easy to buy snacks here and there when there is a convenience store everywhere (including in our dorm) and each snack is approximately 1 USD but those costs can add up for sure.

Shopping: 2964.3 RMB (404.92 USD)

It is sooo easy to spend so much on clothes when everything here is so cheap and cute. I also have been buying gifts and souvenirs for friends and family back home but I think I definitely need to reel in my shopping addiction.

Experiences: 1261.56 RMB (180.14 USD)

This includes fees and transportation for miscellaneous activities such as watching Inside Out 2 (which was really good), doing an escape room, going to a gaming cafe, or exploring downtown. This I would say was all 100% worth it.

Solo Trip: 3290 RMB (449.45 USD)

A few weeks ago, I went on a 4-day solo trip around Shanghai to Hangzhou and Nanjing. I ended up spending 449.45 USD for the train tickets which were approximately 120 RMB (17 USD) each and for the hotel rooms which were 340 RMB (48 USD) per night. Although, my friend who took a solo trip to Chongqing only spent 150 RMB on a hotel so it can definitely vary a lot. It was definitely worth the experience and you can definitely solo travel for even less money too!

Hopefully this helps put in perspective what studying abroad means in regards to money. To be honest, I have not been the most careful with money, because my parents have money in RMB that they won’t be using anytime soon. Regardless, hopefully my breakdown was helpful!

See ya next week!

Erin Xia

Mechanical Engineering

Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute

#umichenginabroad #ipeshanghai #china #ErinXia #ipesummer24

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illarian-rambling · 6 months ago

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💭🖊📚 for the ask game! Any characters, but I'd love to see it with all of them and I'm interested in Astra.

-@cedar-sunshine

Yeah, I'll do Astra!

💭 - What is your character's mbti, enneagram, or other personality type?

According to the test I just took, she's an ENFP, but very close to an INFP. According to the clearly best personality test - the official Knight's Radient quiz - she's a Willshaper. This is funny, because I waffle 50/50 between INFP and INTP, and I also got Willshaper. She really always has been the most like me of my characters, huh?

🖋 - Does your character have any tattoos?

No, but she should. I think once she figures out how to rig a rune as a tattoo, she'd tattoo all sorts of magic onto herself. She'd also probably like one of those handy measurement tattoos. If she's feeling romantical, she'd convince Mashal to get matching tattoos (an etching, in his case). I think she'd get a design of his heart rune and he'd get a design of a human heart.

📚 - What level of education has this character completed?

It's... complicated. Astra grew up on a debtor's farm (debtor's prison basically), and was homeschooled by her momma in lieu of a regular school. Elwe DuClaire used to be a merchant, so she taught Astra well in terms of math and literacy, but when her little girl decided to learn magic, Elwe was at a loss.

Not a person for giving up, when Astra was sixteen, she walked barefoot for a week until she reached Yewbury and its famous College of the Arcane. Once there, she asked to take the entrance exam. Unfortunately though, there was a little thing called 'tuition' she'd never heard of. Astra was all but thrown out on her ear when she admitted she owned nothing but the clothes on her back.

But, again, not a woman for giving up. Astra got a room in the city. She bribed a professor with stolen money and free labor to let her use his lab space and textbooks. She snuck into lecture halls where no one cared if there was an extra face in the crowd. Slowly but surely, with lots of stealing and library trespassing involved, Astra learned the science of runic engineering. The final project she set for herself, the test of her skills as a mage, was the construction of the Extraordinaire - a mechanical, dragon-legged vardo powered by a steam and rune engine. After five long years, she built the thing from scratch and decreed herself graduated.

Even with her skills though, Astra isn't a certified mage - a state that earns her the title of witch. She can't accept more lucrative government projects, apply for grant money, or take advantage of government resources. She'd be committing magical malpractice except for the fact that she lets people know she's a witch before she enters into a contract. This is why she's very touchy about being called a mage. Because if the wrong person calls her a mage in range of the wrong ear, she might get arrested.

That said, I'd say she has a PhD equivalent with the five extra years of freelance research she's been doing since leaving Yewbury.

Thanks for the asks!

#writing #writerscommunity #writblr #my ocs #writing ask game

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religion-is-a-mental-illness · 9 months ago

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By: Zack K. De Piero

Published: Dec 23, 2023

Looking for a job in today’s politicized job market?

Prepare to submit a résumé, cover letter, references — and a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement: A page-long explanation of how you intend to bring those three seemingly benign principles into the workplace.

DEI statements have become standard practice in academia, but a tide might be turning: UNC and UMass Boston recently un-required mandatory DEI statements for student admission, employee recruitment and faculty promotion.

Here’s hoping this sets an industry precedent — a step towards reining in DEI in every sector.

When I taught at Penn State Abington from 2018-2022 as an English professor, their obsession with DEI created a hostile work environment teeming with discrimination.

Case in point: writing faculty were subjected to a video called “White Teachers are a Problem.”

After making my opposition known, I was retaliated against.

My perceived insubordination was branded on Affirmative Action Office notices, and I was sanctioned by HR as well as on my annual performance review.

Penn State’s stance was clear: Blind loyalty is required by the DEI machine.

The premier job board across academia, HigherEdJobs, shows how deeply entrenched compulsory left-think has become.

Whether you want to teach French at SUNY Oswego, Dance at Chapman, Soil Science and Nutrient Management at Colorado State, or Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Syracuse, your prospective employer will expect a DEI statement, so prepare to bend the knee.

Even if you aspire to become the Beef Center Assistant Manager at Washington State University: Yep: DEI statement.

And these are just a few random examples posted since Thanksgiving.

It’s an epidemic.

Make no mistake, the DEI machine has always been about toeing an ideological line — never any meaningful change.

Consider the case of Dr. Tabia Lee — a former faculty member of De Anza Community College in California.

While facilitating a “Decentering Whiteness” event featuring a BLM co-founder, Lee (who’s Black) made waves by allowing students to ask unscripted follow-up questions. For doing so, her tenure was sabotaged.

Despite being “diverse,” it turns out that Lee’s actual diversity didn’t gel with De Anza’s agenda.

A commitment to actual diversity requires respecting diverse viewpoints.

But wrong-think isn’t tolerated by the DEI Industrial Complex.

Fortunately, federal law has something to say about that: neither De Anza nor Penn State has the authority to suppress Dr. Lee or my speech, nor can they discriminate on the basis of race.

That’s why she and I — supported by the nonpartisan group, the Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism — are bringing lawsuits against our former employers.

Pull back this sacred academic curtain, and see the emperor’s new clothes for yourself.

In 2021, Pennsylvanian’s taxes and students’ tuition went towards workshops on microaggressions, intersectional feminism, anti-racism, and white privilege led by the Penn State Abington DEI grifters.

Its leader’s Juneteenth email directed white faculty and staff to “stop talking,” “find an accountability partner,” and “stop being afraid of your own internalized white supremacy.”

Such DEI efforts ooze with divisiveness, so yes, DEI statements are clearly a form of compelled speech, and thus, a violation of First Amendment free speech protections.

[ Dr. Tabia Lee says her tenure-track position at De Anza College in California was derailed after she failed to conform to DEI orthodoxy. ]

What’s worse, though, is the type of educational environment that DEI-ified initiatives create for students — and the culprit is the “E”: Equity.

Here’s how “equity” played out in the misguided minds of my DEI-obsessed former colleagues. A former supervisor, who endorsed the view that “reverse racism isn’t racism,” also announced that “racist structures” exist “regardless of [anybody’s] good intentions” and that “racism is in the results if the results draw a color line.”

The apparent guiding subtext here: students should be graded on the basis of race so all achieve similar outcomes.

Suppose you deflated the grades of Asian-Americans — a group that often disproportionately excels — much like Harvard deflated their acceptance rates until the Supreme Court put a stop to race-based admissions.

That’s somehow acceptable in the name of “equity?” Of course not, but disagree with enforced equity in education and in the eyes of antiracist activists, that makes you – you guessed it — a “racist.”

Alternatively, performative equity could be achieved by inflating everybody’s grades — straight A’s all around!

Harvard’s almost there: in 2020-2021, 80% of all grades were A’s, according to an October article in the Harvard Crimson.

The road to equity is paved by the soft bigotry of low expectations.

And in a world where grit, labor, and integrity win the day, academia’s obsession with “equity” breeds a “survival of the weakest” mindset.

Nevertheless, the DEI machine continues to reign supreme.

Over a five-year span, Ohio State’s DEI annual budget bloated to $20 million with nearly 200 DEI bureaucrats who cite the leftist scripture of Ibram X. Kendi and Robin DiAngelo.

But before we can enter their church, us natural-born sinners must repent by issuing performative DEI statements?

Yeah. No thanks.

Paradoxically, the more elite institutions obnoxiously virtue-signal their allegiance to DEI, the less committed they are to actual diversity and inclusion — and the more they obscure actual equality in the process.

These institutions aren’t hiding what they’re doing.

Even in the throes of my lawsuit, Penn State Abington has doubled down on DEI: there’s now a sister office — the Office of Inclusive Excellence — complete with its own cabinet-level director.

Folks: this isn’t going away unless you take action.

Here’s a start: if you’re ever asked to submit a DEI statement, don’t bend the knee to their “E” — Equity.

Reframe their game, and tell them how and why you stand up for the honorable “E”: Equality.

Zack K. DePiero (Ph.D, M.Ed) teaches writing at Northampton Community College.

#Zack K. De Piero #Zack De Piero #diversity equity and inclusion #diversity #equity #inclusion #racism #neoracism #antiracism #antiracism as religion #diversity statements #DEI #DEI bureaucracy #higher education #institutional capture #ideological capture #ideological corruption #corruption of education #religion is a mental illness

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thenationaltreasuregazette · 2 years ago

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Ben Gates & The Navy, a Rabbit Hole

For a recent article on injuries I was looking into what exactly Ben’s diving experience and qualifications are (and whether they would have equipped him to jump the ~100 ft off of the Intrepid). Which led me to looking into Ben’s relationship with the U.S. Navy. Which led me to questions.

When the FBI arrives at Ben’s apartment in the first half of National Treasure, Agent Hendrix reads off this list of Ben’s academic background:

degree in American history from Georgetown

degree in mechanical engineering from MIT

Navy ROTC

Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center

It’s the second two items that have me particularly intrigued.

Let's dig in:

Now, the out-of-universe screenwriting explanation seems pretty straightforward: this is a streamlined way to tell the audience that Ben is an experienced scuba diver. From a character perspective, it lets us know he’s been training to be a treasure hunter for a long time, and is perhaps a little bit more badass/physically capable than we've been taking him for.

And more concretely, it sets the stage for two plot points later on: Ben’s trading his diving watch as collateral to the Urban Outfitters cashier, and more significantly, setting up the plausibility the he is prepared to make the jump and torpedo-aided swim from the Intrepid later on in the film.

The Navy Diving and Salvage Training Center is a) a real thing, b) fancy and formal sounding, and c) even includes “salvage” in its name so we require no further context as to what Ben was doing there. And why was he allowed to be at this Navy diving facility? He did ROTC. So from the screenplay’s point of view: exposition dropped, moving on.

But I’m much more interested in what this implies from an in-world perspective, because it leads us to two fascinating questions:

Did Ben Gates serve in the Navy?

When and why did he choose this path?

Did Ben Gates serve in the Navy? My suspicion is that no, he didn’t, and I think that for a couple of reasons. Firstly, Agent Hendrix didn’t mention anything about military service during his background on Ben, and service records would be as easy to come by and important to mention as his education history. Second, I think this would change the way the FBI approached the hunt for Ben. Maybe not hugely, but I think they would see him more as “one of their own” than as some crackpot historian. Or perhaps even a bit more “armed and dangerous” than some overzealous idiot out of his depth.

And thirdly, I think Ben having actual military service on his resume would change the narrative in a way that would become distracting. Again, this is more from a writer/audience perspective, but “Veteran steals Declaration of Independence to prove family theory” plays differently than “Local weirdo steals Declaration of Independence to prove family theory.” It just does. There in an implication of subtext there that, at least in my opinion, would detract from the central plot and theme of the film rather than add to it.

So from in- and out-of-universe, no actual military service for Ben.

Which leads us back to question 2, and opens up a third question as well:

How did he get out of his ROTC obligations?

When did Ben choose NROTC? If you’re unfamiliar, ROTC stands for Reserve Officer Training Corps. It’s a scholarship program that provides full tuition to top U.S. universities so students can “enjoy a traditional college experience while preparing to serve as a Naval Officer.” Basically, on top of your regular university courses you attend naval science classes and other training and participate in summer training cruises. After graduation, Naval ROTC students are commissioned as officers in the Navy or Marine Corps and are required to serve for five years. (ROTC is actually the largest single source of Navy and Marine Corps officers. There are also ROTC programs for the U.S. Army and Air Force.)

There is also a second way you can participate in ROTC called the Navy ROTC College Program. In this program, students pay their own expenses instead of receiving the scholarship. Upon graduation they own 3 years of active duty service, rather than 5.

It is possible to do ROTC as a graduate student, which invites us to ask for which degree Ben participated. I’m assuming, by the way, that Ben accrued these degrees in the order Hendrix reads them, making them a bachelor’s degree in American history and a masters’ degree in mechanical engineering. The fandom wiki disagrees with this, btw. We’ll get there.

I think this order makes sense because I don’t see Ben putting off the history degree. It’s his real passion, and there’s always the risk that he wouldn’t get to go back for a second degree for any number of reasons. There’s also the difference between a bachelor’s and masters’ degree to consider. The higher you get in higher ed, the more specific you get. A bachelor’s in American history would give Ben the greatest breadth of study, and the freedom to explore any and all topics he was interested in. A masters’ degree in the same field would ask him to zero in on a topic, perhaps more than he’d want to. Likewise, I think that depth over breadth would benefit him in his engineering degree. That way he could focus in on the areas most relevant to him and treasure hunting.

MIT and Georgetown both have celebrated NROTC units (Georgetown is part of the George Washington University battalion), but he would have a much better chance of being accepted while pursing a masters’ degree in mechanical engineering rather than a degree in American history, especially if he was taking the scholarship option (per the Navy academic major tiers.)

However, I think it's plausible that he participated during either. (Or even both! It is possible to do ROTC in undergrad and also receive an ROTC scholarship for graduate school as long as you’re only using up 4 years of tuition total. So Ben could have joined ROTC as a junior and then continued on to MIT still in the program. That level of maturity and investment may also have helped his case for getting trained at the NDSTC.)

Let’s talk about the wiki The National Treasure fandom wiki lists Ben’s education as follows:

“a Bachelors degree in archeology and cryptology at the University of Philadelphia, a Masters degree in mechanical engineering degree from MIT and a Doctorate in American History from Georgetown University. While in Georgetown, Ben also enlisted in the US Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps for the next four years and received official certification from their Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center”

That's a whole extra degree! I don’t see a source for this though, so if you know it, please leave a comment or tag!

For the purpose of this analysis I’ll be focusing on the information presented in the first film. However, if this is Ben’s actual academic history, it follows the previous logic while also introducing new factors. At least presently, applicants must not have reached their 27th birthday upon graduation and commissioning. Ben is smart, but I’m not sure he’s “finished a B.A., M.S. and Ph.d. from different schools before age 27” smart. I think it's more interesting if he isn't! He's just a normal-ish guy with an obsession! But feel free to disagree.

The wiki article also says he did ROTC for four years. Most of the ROTC graduate scholarships appear to be for 2 year programs, not 4. And I don’t know how keen the Navy would be on an American history Ph.d, given that their priorities are on STEM.

So I’m inclined to disregard the Ph.d.

How did he get out of his ROTC obligations? No matter when Ben might have participated in ROTC, if we think Ben didn’t serve for five years in the Navy, we have to consider how he got out of his service obligation. Once they’re past what’s called the Obligation Point (the point at which you owe the Navy service in exchange for participation in the program, which is the start of sophomore year if you join as a freshman, and on joining for all other students) students who want out of the program, or who fail to meet the academic requirements, owe the Navy one of two things:

two years of enlisted service (vs commissioned service as an officer, which is what ROTC is signing up for)

full reimbursement of tuition

Again, I don’t think Ben spent any amount of time in the active duty military. That means he would have had to pay back his tuition in full to get out of his service obligations.

But before we go farther into how he got out of it, let’s talk about why he joined in the first place.

Why did Ben choose ROTC in the first place? In order for ROTC to make sense to Ben as a path forward, he has to be reasonably confident of two things:

The ROTC curriculum contains material or access to material he needs and cannot get through other means.

He’ll be able to pay back the tuition. Otherwise he’s taking a huge gamble! 2-5 years away from the hunt?? That’s Ben Gates’ worst nightmare.

I don’t think Ben ever intended to join the Navy, at least not as his primary objective. The man has had one (1) goal since he was 10 years old and that is finding the treasure. A 5-year stint in the Navy would take him much farther from the treasure than he’d be willing to be.

The obvious answer here is that Ben joined ROTC with the specific intent of training at the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center. The NDSTC does train several types of Naval officers, although I don’t have concrete evidence that ROTC students would have access. However, if we believe he was never a commissioned officer but did train at the NDSTC, then he must have trained while in ROTC.

The Navy or local police departments can be the best places to train as a salvage diver, but there are other options that don’t risk giving up 5 years of potential treasure hunting in exchange. If order for this to be the best path to the treasure for him, Ben has to either feel that the Navy will give him unparalleled training and/or be the more affordable option. Commercial diving programs can cost up to $20,000 (nowadays anyway), meanwhile with the scholarship option, ROTC is paying for you to learn. Then after he disenrolls, he has ten years to pay back the debt.

So yeah, ROTC probably was the best option for Ben to get trained as a salvage diver (assuming that kind of specialized training was available to him before commissioning.)

But plausibility is actually not my main interest considering Ben’s time with the ROTC.

My main interest is this:

Ben and Patrick Whenever you think Ben spent time in the ROTC—as an undergraduate, grad student, or Ph.d. candidate—that marks the latest possible time for Ben to become estranged from his father. As with so many things in the National Treasure-verse, the secret lies with Charlotte.

When Ben shows up and says he found the Charlotte and Patrick responds,

“The Charlotte. You mean she was a ship?”

Patrick seems genuinely surprised by this revelation, as if he had never even considered that Charlotte might be a ship. And that means he never knew Ben was looking for one. Patrick is a smart guy, so if he knew that Ben was participating in ROTC at all, let alone studying salvage, taking diving lessons, or in any other way involving himself in the world of aquatic treasure hunting, it would have occurred to him that Ben could be looking for a ship.

Obviously the treasure wouldn’t have been something they openly talked about much, since both Patrick and Ben made their opposing views on the hunt very clear from the start, but you’re telling me that Ben pursued ROTC in college and attended the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center and Patrick never once considered that his son was searching for a ship?

Which makes me think he didn’t know about it at all.

The earlier you think Ben joined ROTC, the earlier he and Patrick would have to have essentially stopped speaking in order for Patrick to never even get wind of what Ben was up to.

Oof my heart.

But actually I think Ben’s going off to college (or grad school etc) makes a lot of sense as the boil-over point for the two of them. With each degree, Ben was officially declaring what he wanted to pursue with his life and Patrick wouldn’t have it. (Or Ben wouldn’t have his dad’s not having it. I’m not sure who boiled over first.)

So yeah, there’s your angst for the day.

The Charlotte By the way, I’m ignoring what Riley tells Jess in Edge of History. It’s my general policy that any years-later sequels or franchise additions work on an “a la cart” canonical basis. If I like something, it’s mine; if I don’t, it doesn’t count.

All evidence we have suggests that Ben used his ROTC status to get certified at the NDSTC with the specific intent of being able to find and salvage the Charlotte. No other piece of the treasure legend points to an aquatic clue, so the latest you think Ben trained at the NDSTC is the latest he could have realized Charlotte was a ship. And he would have done massive amounts of research before committing to the theory. He would be checking old port records, shipping manifests, sailors’ journals, and shipbuilding companies to see if a ship named the Charlotte even existed in the time frame necessary to be a plausible answer to the clue. Only once he’d confirmed that the Charlotte existed and had been lost at sea would he know he needed salvage diver training.

And if he could only train at the NDSTC while he was an ROTC student, that would have been way before he met Riley. When they find the Charlotte, Ben says to Ian that,

“Two years ago, if you hadn’t believed the treasure was real, I don’t know if I ever would have found Charlotte.”

Ben was not in the ROTC two years ago, because based on his driver’s license he’s 39 at the time of the first move, way past the ROTC age restrictions. Furthermore, what is Ian investing in if Ben doesn’t have a concrete theory by this point? “I think there’s this treasure out there somewhere and you should pay for me to look,” is a much less convincing investment pitch than “I’m looking for this ship and my theory is that it’s in this place.”

And yes it definitely would have taken Ben the full two years to find the ship, even with Ian’s financial support. And probably much longer than that. The Whydah Gally, the only authenticated Golden Age pirate shipwreck, was only discovered 260 years after it sank under just 14 ft of water and 5 ft of sand even though there were eyewitness accounts of where it sunk just 500 ft off shore. Shipwrecks are hard to find. That’s why I also don’t think he hooked Ian with a different theory and then pivoted to the ship-Charlotte idea later. I think those two years were all shipwreck all the time.

Also, Riley didn’t join the team until after Ian got involved. Ben says,

“Riley, you’re not missing the little windowless cubicle we found you in, are you?” (emphasis mine).

So Ian was involved in finding Riley. And while Ben is pretty buddy-buddy with Ian in that first scene in the snowcat, Riley is much more guarded. I don't think it's just that he doesn’t like being ragged on; I think he was the last one to join the expedition and isn’t quite 100% sure about these people.

So while it made for a cute callback in the show…I’m not buying it, at least not for the purpose of this analysis.

How did Ben pay back the Navy? That leaves us with our final question: How did Ben pay back his tuition and thereby excuse himself from the ROTC service obligation? The boring answer is that he paid the debt back over the 10 year installment period, probably sometimes scraping by with the minimum payments of $50.00 per month. While the Gates’s aren’t poor, the movie makes it clear that treasure hunting doesn’t pay (until it does), and nobody in the family has accumulated much wealth in the course of its pursuit.

“You know what that dollar represents? The entire Gates’ family fortune.”

The more interesting answer is: he found a treasure. Not the treasure, obviously, but a treasure. Maybe he salvaged a different shipwreck, or discovered a reasonably valuable object on land. We know that in the course of his quest he found a George Washington 1789 Inaugural campaign button. He’s almost certainly found other objects of value as well.

So, for the purposes of drama, let’s say he’s left ROTC and is pursuing his next degree and/or searching for the treasure, but this debt is eating him alive. He owes too much not not be working full time, and that's slowly whittling away at the number of hours he’s able to spend treasure hunting, until it’s virtually none at all. He can’t ask his father for money (and while he probably could ask his mother, we’re sticking to the information given in the first movie, which implies she's dead). Then, shortly before he’s really in trouble—give-up-the-hunt kind of trouble— he finds it. Treasure.

Maybe he scrapes together his last few hundred bucks to go on one last dive off the Florida coast and finds a long-sought Spanish Galleon or a Gilded Age cargo steamer that sunk in a hurricane. Maybe he’s exploring the basement of a big old house in Maryland and, in a crack between the bricks and the molding, finds a soldier’s discharge form signed by George Washington himself.

So Ben pays back his scholarship and is free to treasure hunt full time, or at least as full-time as he can manage before Ian comes along to foot the bill.

Conclusion My conclusion here is that I hadn’t spent a lot of time thinking about Ben's time in the ROTC, or what his and Patrick’s relationship was like between Ben hearing the legend as a kid and showing up on his dad’s doorstep with the Declaration of Independence thirty years later. I hadn’t imagined just how messy it might have gotten, or how little they’d been involved in each other’s lives, but based on the timeline that ROTC constructs, even Ben’s latest entry point means they haven’t been speaking for ten years. And, as I think the screenplay hoped all along, thinking through Ben’s education impressed upon me just how intensely he was willing to train to put himself in the best possible position for find the Charlotte, and how long he had to have been searching for the ship.

My other conclusion is that I have no first-hand knowledge of ROTC or any other topic here so if you do and you’ve got a different theory, I’d love to hear it!

Thank you for joining me down this rabbit hole.

#the national treasure gazette #national treasure #national treasure meta #ben gates #patrick gates #articles

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elleaitch22 · 2 years ago

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Chapter 1

“Ma!” She screamed crawling towards the limp body. “MAMA!” She continued, curling her body around hers. Her eyes were blank; nothing was there. She’s gone.

She heard a cough and a wet gasp behind her. “Ri,” the weak voice called as she turned around.

“Daddy,” She cried, her eyes blurring with tears. “Please don’t leave me. Please don’t leave me all alone.” She wept.

“Love you babygirl.” He smiled, gasping with each word. “Make me proud, Rianna.”

His chest was still, no longer rising and falling with the life that filled them. “NO! Dad! Daddy please! NO!”

 She shot up quickly, heart pounding in her ears. It’s just a dream. You’re safe. You’re fine. Just a dream. She reminded herself as she forced her lungs to fill with air. So much for getting a full night of sleep. She scoffed as she rolled over and looked to see what time it was. 2:39 a.m. The phone light almost blinded her, making her even more frustrated than before.

As she laid in her bed, she went over the answers she would be giving in her interview later that day. It certainly wasn’t the most lucrative option, but hopefully she would get the job. If everything goes as planned, she would be babysitting a two and five year old within the next three days.

From the short conversations she’d had with Ayo and Aneka Buhle, they just needed childcare for their little ones as Aneka was going to be returning to work. They would be meeting at some coffee shop called Verve, which sounded too expensive, but they wanted to pick the location, so Riri agreed to the first thing they offered.

When the sun started rising and the rays began to peak through Riri’s crappy blinds, she forced herself to get up and find an outfit.

The Buhle’s had said that this was a casual interview, just to be sure that Riri was the right fit. She pulled out a pair of black skinny jeans and a black turtleneck. To add some color, she went with an oversized hot pink cardigan and a pair of white Converse. She took down her Bantu knots and fluffed them out, deciding on a side part. She finished her look with some gold jewelry to compliment the chain and wedding rings she never took off.

Once her phone dinged to notify her that her Uber had arrived, Riri swiped on some Carmex, put her AirPods in, and walked out the door.

The ride to the coffee shop wasn’t too bad, in terms of LA standards. Despite it not even being 7 a.m., there were still lots of people on the roads. As they pulled up, Riri left a five star review, noting that the driver was friendly, even though he said nothing to her.

She walked in quietly, taking in her surroundings; incidents from her past had left her extremely scarred and constantly on edge.

“Ms. Williams.” She heard a voice call out. Riri turned her head to her left, and there they were. Ayo and Aneka were seated at a table with four chairs, looking as poised and regal as one could in a coffee shop.

Riri walked to the table wearing a small smile before she took her seat. “Good morning,” she began cheerfully, “I am happy we are finally meeting in person.”

The couple smiled at her warmly, “As are we.” One said with an accent. “I am Aneka, and this is my wife, Ayo.”

Aneka had a warm accent, like she was from the Caribbean or maybe Africa. Riri wondered if her wife shared the same accent.

“Thank you both so much for taking the time to meet with me.” Riri wore a bigger smile this time.

Ayo smiled lightly and straightened her back. “We were pleased with what we saw in your application. We just wanted to get a few answers before we officially offered you the job.”

Same accent! Riri thought to herself. “Well I am happy to provide you with a bit of background if you’d like.” When the women gestured, she continued. “My full name is Rianna Williams. I am 20 years old. I was born and raised in Chicago. I was previously studying chemical and mechanical engineering at MIT, but tuition was too steep to continue my education there. I am looking to save up so that I can finish my degree. I really love children, so I thought that being a nanny would be a good way to make money and help others.” Riri paused as she tried to think of anything else that would be necessary to the conversation. “I don’t have any allergies, that I know of. I love throwback shows like Living Single and Martin.” Why would you talk about your favorite shows??? That’s so dumb. Stay on topic and be professional.

“Martin is my favorite show!” Aneka exclaimed. “We have to hire her Ayo. I need my kids to be with someone who has taste.”

Ayo looked at her wife with fond eyes before turning back to Riri. “We will have to do a trial run with the children, but I believe you will be a great fit. We have two children, as you know. Our son’s name is Olufemi, Femi for short. He is two, though he is much calmer than his sister. He likes to read and cuddle, like me.”

“Thandiwe is five. We often call her Thandi or Love. She is loud and funny. She can be sneaky, at times, but she will never lie. She will want to play dress up to get out of her schoolwork, so you will have to be firm, or she will walk all over you.” Aneka describes her daughter with pride.

“Their names are beautiful,” Riri says with a smile. “Would I be able to meet them at some point this week? I want to make sure they are comfortable with me before there are any job offers or accepting.”

The two make eye contact, speaking in some sort of telepathic way, the same way Riri had seen her own parents communicate before they told her no.

“Of course,” Ayo began. “We could go now, if you are free, and discuss some of the other components of the job.”

The only thing Riri had planned today was to wallow in self-pity and figure out how she would be paying her rent if she different get this job. “That sounds great!”

The three women walked to a blacked-out Escalade parked on the side of the street. Before she could open the door to get in, another bald women opened the driver door and came around to welcome them into the backseat. Aneka slid into the front, while Riri and Ayo got into the back.

“Thank you, Nosipho.” Aneka addressed the woman. “Home, please.” She continued before she turned to Riri. “So, if you are a good fit with the children, and decide to accept the job, Nosipho will be your driver. Driving is already stressful enough, and we want our little ones as safe as possible at all times. If you agree, you will also be staying with us. Our jobs have unforeseeable issues that need our immediate attention at times, and it will take away the hassle of having to call you in. You will not be expected to do any of the cooking, cleaning, or other errands, unless you wish to do so. We will pay 1,000 dollars per week if you work from 8 to 6, but 2,500 if you decide to be a live-in nanny. You will have one day off each week if you desire. We will provide you with a new phone and anything else that you feel you may need to be happy.”

By the time Aneka had finished with her speech, Riri was reeling. $2,500 a week? That’s 10 grand every month! I can go back to school in no time! She’d thought to herself.

“We will be at our home shortly, so think on that while you are getting acquainted with the children.” Ayo spoke softly.

Riri could only nod her head as she replayed everything in her head. There has to be a catch. People are not like this for no reason. She thought. So what. You have good instincts. If this goes badly, you know how to get yourself out of sticky situations. Just wait a few months, stack your bread, and you’ll be free of it all before you know it.

They lived at that fancy Four Seasons apartment building, or Private Residences as the sign called them. The “apartment” was incredibly beautiful. It had the most amazing views. The children were adorable. Thandiwe showed Riri all of her favorite dresses and costumes, even forcing her little brother in them sometimes. Despite sticking to his moms, Olufemi eventually pulled a book out of the basket and wordlessly gave it to them.

“I would love to work for you.” Riri stated confidently. “If the offer is still on the table, I would like the fulltime option.”

Ayo and Aneka smiled at each other again sharing the same thought. Riri would be perfect for her. She would be perfect for them.

“Welcome to the family, Ms. Williams.”

A/N: super nervous and nauseous about posting my first fic. If you have any suggestions lmk pls!! I hope you enjoyed :)

#Shuriri #shuri x Riri #science wives #au #mob shuri #bpwf au #background Aneka x Ayo #background Attoye

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