#While I'm in class so I gotta like set a thing that reminds me to do them when I'm at home too

[cyberscratch]

Swagbeast I drew yesterday

[hcsiqs]

| i love you, im sorry

• pairing: paige bueckers x fem!reader

• summary: inspired by gracie abram’s i love you im sorry

• warnings: angst ?? mean!paige kinda…

I like to slam doors closed

Trust me, I know it's always about me

I love you, I'm sorry

“Paige, please,” you begged as tears fell from your eyes and you tried to get the blonde girl to look at you, but she refused. “Don’t just push me away!”

“Go y/n! I don’t need you anymore, ok?” she replied, hurt evident in her voice. She jerked her arm away from you.

She had just torn her ACL and wanted nothing to do with anyone, especially you. It seemed like everything you had been doing for the past few weeks set her off. She hated the way you tried to help her and the fact that it seemed you pitted her, even though you weren’t trying to. You just wanted to help her, that’s all you ever want to do.

“I’m just trying to be there for you,” your voice dropped into a softer voice as mascara stained your cheeks.

“Well I don’t need you to be here for me or whatever the fuck,” she ran her hands down her face.

“I wanna help because I love you P,” you tried reminding her that all of this came from your love for her, but she didn’t wanna hear it.

“I don’t love you anymore,” her voice broke as she her piercing blue eyes made contact with your own and you could see that she meant every word.

You bit your lip trying to hold back your sniffles as your lips curved into a frown without you even trying. Your arms crossed over your body as you let out a hushed, “Ok,” before packing all your things from her room into a bag and leaving without saying another word. That was the last time you talked to Paige junior year.

Two summers from now

We'll have been talking, but not all

that often, we're cool now

Paige had decided to stay an extra year at UConn due to her injury that she suffered from a few years prior. And you just so happened to also be staying at UConn to get your graduates degree.

Obviously going to the same school you two had bumped into each other and exchanged a few words, but nothing much, both always seeming to be in a rush to avoid the awkwardness.

You had decided on taking a few summer classes and as you were walking with your head down you found yourself run into a taller figure. When you stepped back you immediately recognized who it was.

“Paige,” you said with a tight lipped smile.

“Y/N,” she replied with the same smile before shooing her teammates off. “How’ve you been?” she asked awkwardly pushing some of her hair behind her ear.

“Good,” you nodded, “Staying busy, you?”

“Yeah, yeah, good,” she replied nodding her head while shoving her hands into her pockets. “You—uh—you look good,” her eyes scanned you up and down, something you had gotten used to when you were together.

“Thanks. You too,” you were trying to keep the interaction short and sweet, not wanting to get into anything. “I gotta go, but see you around?”

“For sure,” she nodded before you walked off and tried erasing the entire interaction from your brain.

It wasn’t like you had talked at all in the past two years. You had your civil interactions here and there but never had them for too long. And you wanted to keep it that way. You wanted it to just stay cool between the two of you. Not wanting to bring up y’all’s past.

You were the best but you were the worst

As sick as it sounds, I loved you first

You had just finished your fall semester finals, so you and your friends decided to celebrate and get rid of all the stress by going to Ted’s and getting drunk.

It just so happened to be the same night that the UConn women’s basketball team had won a hard game against one of the best schools, and they had all decided to out to celebrate.

And that’s how you found yourself staring down a certain blonde at the bar who was obviously flirting with another girl. You kept telling yourself that it shouldn’t bother you because you had broken up almost two years ago now, but you could shake the “I loved her first” from your brain as you watched the two.

So, you took another shot to try and distract yourself. The burning sensation trickled down your throat before walking past Paige, ‘accidentally’ hitting her arm.

And once you found yourself in the comfortable muffled silence of the bathroom the door swung open to reveal the tall blonde basketball player. “What’s your problem? You’ve been staring at me all fuckin night long.”

“Have not,” you slurred, rolling your eyes and turning away from her to look in the mirror. Your lipstick was smudged from all the drinks you had taken and your mascara was messy under your eyes from continually rubbing them.

Paige moved closer to you, but not too close, almost scared that if she did you would run away and she would lose her chance. “Yeah. You have.”

“No,” you shook your head, meeting her gaze through the mirror.

“Dude, just fucking talk to me!”

“No! You don’t get to act like what happened is my fucking fault,” you raised your voice turning to the side to actually look at her up close. “You pushed me away, not the other way around.”

“I know and I regret it everyday. But every time I try to talk to you, you rush off!” Paige started moving her hands to represent her frustration with the situation.

“Why would I wanna talk to someone who is just going around flirting with random girls,” you snapped back before even realizing what you were saying. But as soon as the words left your mouth you immediately slammed your lips shut, afraid of what might come from them if you didn’t.

“So that’s what this is about?”

“No! Yes? I don’t know, okay?” your hands found their way into your hair, brushing it back with your fingers.

A moment of silence fell between the both of you. Neither really knowing what to say in the moment.

“Forget what I said,” you shook your head, wanting to disappear from the entire moment.

“I miss you,” she confessed as you tried pushing past her to get out of the small room.

You felt as if your heart was gonna beat out of your chest at those words. The words you had been wanting to hear since your fight two years ago. The words you had fought to hear that same night but never did.

“I miss you too, P,” your drunken self admitted. Your glossy eyes meeting hers. It seemed like your heart had stopped in that moment and nothing existed but the two of you.

I love you, I'm sorry

allie’s corner

this is lowkey poop im sorry

[semperamans]

nsfw! age-gap! cheating! daddy-issues (kinda)! clo being absolutely insane over johnny again! why is this so long? why am i so crazy?

good morning i'm currently thinkin' about stayin' at johnny's house because betty is away n'someone has gotta help him watch the girls.

you've been the davis' babysitter since you were in high school - the girls were just babies, then - but now some years have passed n'since you've been here ya can't help but notice how attractive johnny is :( he's so sweet on ya, too. placin' his hand on the small of your back as he passes you in the kitchen while you're makin' the girls' lunches :( tellin' ya your hair looks pretty when you've got it pinned up like that :( he even makes ya dinner even though that's supposed to be your job, but "y've been workin' so hard, peach. know the girls are a lot. s'let me take care of ya." and oh he's so lovely. he listens to music while he cooks and wears an apron the girls got 'em for fathers day and he helps you with the dishes afterward and you are in love with him.

you've never felt like this before. your heart hammers whenever he returns from a long day of truckin' n'his sleepy eyes brighten at the sight of you standin' in the foyer with a beer and a smile. he's so thankful for you, he says. y'make life so much easier, he confesses. and ugh :( what are you to do about this? i mean, these feelings so new n'unfamilar and the only thing you've found that somewhat tames them is when ya stick your pillow between your legs in the quiet of the night n'imagine it's johnny :'( your favorite thing to think about is when ya caught him slippin' out of the bathroom with a pink fluffy towel 'round his waist. you'd never seen a man in so little before, my god, your heart nearly lept from your chest. your cheeks flushed and he apologized and you told him it was fine because it was then slipped into your room to ride your pillow until you couldn't breathe :'( johnny was so pretty n'yeah, you figured men his age didn't like to be called that, but it was god's truth. his chorded muscles dusted with hair and tattoos and scars made want drip down your thighs because boys your age simply didn't look like that :( they didn't smell the way he did; a delicious blend of smoke and spice and cedar. boys your age didn't care, but johnny did :( johnny lit a fire one night once the girls were in bed n'he toasted your marshmallows and asked about your interest n'what you wanted to be when you were older and you wanted to tell him that you would love to be his wife - but you couldn't obviously, so you told 'em about the classes you had taken back in high school. how there was this program and you talked and talked but he never seemed bored. didn't shoot you down the way your father had. johnny placed his big ole hand on your bare knee n'smiled while he told ya "ya can do anythin' ya set your mind to, doll. don't let nothin' stop you. i believe in ya. know you're gonna do so so good." his wedding ring - a cold metal band - bit into your skin almost like a reminder that johnny wasn't yours... but you could do anything, right?

"momma's comin' home tomorrow." johnny told the girls the next mornin' and you were sure your heart shattered all over the floor. the girls were happy, of course, but you couldn't even fake a smile. it had been so easy to play house with betty gone. so easy to fool your mind into believin' that this was your house, those were your dresses in the closet, those were your girls racin' off to the bus, n'that johnny was your husband. but no :( none of it was true n'soon you'd be back at your parents' house - back in the real world - n'it was just so unfair :( johnny seemed to sense that something was wrong. before he left, he placed a soft hand on your shoulder n'made you turn to face him, but you shook your head n'swore you only had a headache. he didn't believe you, the frown on his face made that apparent, but he didn't fight you. he just pinched the round of your cheek softly, told ya to have a good day, n'left.

is it strange that despite your sadness you still have to ride your pillow over the thought of what didn't happen? probably. as you whine and pant and writhe, you envision what would've happened if johnny would've cupped your cheek n'pressed his lips against yours :( you would have licked into his mouth :( would've let his saliva coat your tongue n'drip down your chin and he would have placed his hand 'round your throat to pull you closer :( he would tell you how pretty you are. how you just know him like no one else does n'he's a lucky old man that a girl like you wants 'em. you cum over and over and over to the thought of him takin' you on the counter, but it doesn't satiate the ache between your thighs. you're so frustrated and overstimulated and upset, but you've got a plan.

it takes a while n'when you finally creep into johnny's room the wall clock reads 2:45 am. it isn't the best idea you've ever had, but it makes so much sense in your lust-addled mind. johnny said he'd take care of ya, right? said he'd always be there if ya needed anything, right? well, you need help because "johnny? johnny? it hurts." :( n'he's an old man, y'know, so it takes 'em a minute to wake up. he's gotta grab his glasses n'slide 'em on, but then he sees you in your silk nightie and jesus christ.

"what's goin' on, sweets?" you've got tears in your eyes and your lips are bitten bright red and you look so pretty in the shaft of moonlight that spills through the window and onto johnny's bedding. you don't answer right away, just nuzzle your way onto his lap and brush your nose into his neck. he can hear the scrape of your soft skin on his prickly stubble and you sigh like it's everything you've ever needed. "tell johnny what's got ya so upset. c'mon." he wants you to look at him, but he wouldn't be able to pry ya off with a goddamn crowbar. you're latched onto him, snuffling into his bare shoulder all sad and defeated. poor baby.

"hurts." you repeat, sniffling. "hurts so bad."

"what hurts?"

the clock ticks and you hiccup and your fingers wrap around johnny's wrist n'tug it over where it lands on your knee, first, then you're pullin' him up up up and he should stop you because he knows where this is going, but fuck he can't. sure enough, you stop 'em right when his hand covers your cunt. it's warm. he can feel the warmth radiating through your thin little panties and his fingers twitch with the urge to touch, but no. that's not okay. he figures he hasn't taken a breath in a minute, so he releases a sigh that shudders n'he squeezes his eyes shut tight.

"peach, i-"

"jus' need to cum, please johnny." you take his face in your palms the way you so badly wanted him to do to you n'his hand still lays protectively over your clothed center and god you just want to kiss him. "please. i'll be good, so good. promise." when his eyes open he's blinking at you, pupils pulsing back and forth between your own, but then they flicked down to your lips n'you know you've got 'em. and maybe he was right. maybe you can do anything. "jus' hurts."

"yeah?" johnny turns his cheek, kissin' your palm and you fuckin' gasp because you didn't think it would be this easy and maybe he is in love with you. "why don't i take a look? wanna lay back for me?"

his scent tangles around you as you lay yourself back against the pillows, blinkin' down at him so wide-eyed and mesmerized. he's smiling at you :( thinks the heave of your chest is so cute n'you're just such a precious baby who needs his help :( that's all he's doin'. just helpin'.

"open up, c'mon." he says, patting your thigh n'your knees part at his words, revealing the wet center of your panties and johnny coos.

"y've been touchin' yourself? yeah? s'that what's got ya all wet?" you can't respond. you just throw your head back at the feel of his fingers tracing patterns along the slick, but johnny likes good girls, so he ceases his ministrations, and glances up at you expectantly. "tell daddy, c'mon."

"i-i have - have been touchin' myself," you breathe, suddenly bashful. johnny just hums, hooking his index finger 'round your panties to move 'em over and he can tell.

"mm." he probes an exploratory finger against your folds and you really think it's goin' somewhere until he situates your panties back in place, then rocks back onto the balls of his feet. "show me."

you positively balk in response, shaking your head quickly because that's embarrassing. no way. there is no way -

"wan' my help, yeah? gotta show me what you're doin' so i know how to fix it."

and - well, he's gotta point, you guess. so you let out a pitiful little huff, rolling onto your tummy, shovin' johnny's pillow between your thighs :( and oh he is mesmerized and fucked and so hard it's almost comical how his dick sticks up in his briefs. he watches you so intently: the way your nightie rides up your back revealing the cutest little dimples at your spine, the roll of your hips, the tightening of your fists against the sheets. you make these sounds, sounds that he's only ever heard when he had his ear pressed to your door and they are so beautiful. so this is what you were doing all those times? grinding your clit against the cotton pillowcases his wife picked out?

"i know what the problem is, baby." johnny says, placin' his large hand on your back to still you. your head luls, tear-soaked lashes fluttering at 'em. "y'need somethin' inside. think that's gonna help so much." he maneuvers you so delicately - like he's afraid you're gonna break. "get on top of me, peach. daddy'll show you how to do it right, kay? y'trust me? yeah?"

you do. you trust him. you love him. you're so in love with him.

"gimmie some sugar first. let me kiss ya." the kiss is a distraction because what comes next is gonna hurt because surely you've never had fingers any bigger than your own in ya, right? but johnny is easy with ya :( eases ya open and praises you for bein' so good :( then it's time. he's hoverin' over ya - mouthin' at your neck because you smell so good there - n'his cock nudges between your lips in a dull stretch.

"daddy's gonna show ya."

and he does.

[xxgoblin-dumplingxx]

Logan and wade and reader? Thruple things would be cool ✌️

"Fuck me," you groan, setting down your work bag and slumping against the apartment door as you shut it, closing your eyes for a moment.

"Gimme a minute, Sugar tits," Wade called from the kitchen, "I'm just finishing dinner!"

You make a soft grumpy noise and wince scooping up Mary to pay the pet tax and nudge your bag out of the way, limping your way to the sofa. The cold snap has your back feeling like it's on fucking fire and you've been running all goddamn day. "Not literal," you murmur, "But I appreciate it." You hold the dog and make a fuss for a second, giving her pats and kisses until she wiggles to be put down- missing the look Wade and Logan trade while you're not looking. "I'm gonna get changed," you tell them. "It's been a long day."

They watch you go and Logan's frown deepened, "Ice," he told Wade.

"And drugs," Wade added in agreement. "We're gonna need a bigger bathtub," he mused.

Logan rolled his eyes. "Gonna be a long winter if it's just you an' me, bub."

"She does class up the place, Peanut," he said grinning, "But at least when it's you and me you can stab something."

In the bedroom, you sit on the end on the bed and take stock. Your back hurts so bad your ribs hurt and you can feel it all the way down into your hips. It's hard to take a full breath.

The first few weeks of cold weather are hell. Absolute hell. But you'll adjust. Eventually. You always do.

And at least the boys were understanding. There was also an abundance of oversized clothing. So you grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of basket ball shorts- one that belonged to either of them and got dressed.

__________

When you opened the door, Logan was waiting, arms crossed, "Couch, bub," he ordered, his eyes sweeping over you head to toe. Noting that you were favoring your right side and that your breathing was a little shallow.

"I'm okay," you murmur, "It's just cold."

His eyes narrowed slightly and he stepped forward, tilting your chin up and running practiced hands over your neck. The muscles were so tight he could bounce a quarter off them. "Couch," he repeated, "Either you go or I take you."

"Please don't pick me up," you plead.

"Totally okay," Wade put in, lighting candles.

You sigh and take the arm you're offered. There's no winning against both of them. But when Wade takes the other side, a warm hand on the small of your back it's comforting. They're not going to let you fall over.

"Face down, ass up, Angel baby," Wade chirped, letting go of you to let Logan lay you on the couch. "Gotta get ice on that spine before you rip it out mortal kombat style."

You grumble and Logan smiles a little and pulls a blanket over your legs, "Drugs now or later?"

"If you drug me up now I'll be asleep in 10 minutes," you remind him, "lightweight, remember?"

"So before bed and wake you up with head and good coffee," Wade said grinning, handing Logan half the icepacks so they could lay them from your neck to your hips.

"Giving or getting?"

"Getting!" Wade scoffed, "Can't have you choking in your sleep."

You huff a little laugh in spite of the pain and he strokes your hair, "20 minutes?"

Logan nodded, lowering himself to the floor next to your head and kissed your temple, "I know it sucks."

You don't answer, you just close your eyes and try to breathe. And not cry. It's not worth crying over. Not really. Clenching and unclenching your fists under your head.

"Hey," Logan said keeping his voice soft. You'd turned your face away from him but he could see the tension. And smell the tears slipping down your cheeks. "you gotta breathe, baby."

"I'm okay it just hurts. I'll be f-fine."

He didn't know what to do here. All he could think to do was lay his hand on your head and rub gently. "Tell me about it?" he pressed. He knew it hurt. Something hurt all the time. He heard the sharp gasps when joints popped and the whimpers of pain. He knew you had medication for it. It had been this way as long as you could remember. You dealt with it. They were learning how to deal with bad days.

Wade had had- still had cancer.

But Logan? He'd never even had a cold.

"It hurts so bad I can't breathe," you tell him. "Muscle spasms. Cramps. My fucking hands and feet are tingling."

"Fallin' apart on me, kid," he hummed.

"I'll only wish I was dead until I get used to it again- it gets better after I readjust to the weather change."

"Good news," Wade called, "My mornings just opened up to drive you to work!"

"I don't need-"

"To walk in this shit," Logan finished, "you're right."

"And Dinner is ready!"

Logan nodded, "Can you sit up?"

You sigh and take a deep breath, pushing yourself up slowly. Logan winced; he could hear every labored breath and every aching movement. "I'll bring you a plate. And a drink," he said.

"Picnic night," Wade declared, "And since I cooked I get to pick the movie!"

[male-fictioner]

Nerdo! Miguel O'Hara x Gender Neutral Reader Headcanons

Thank You so much @teletwobees for this images. You have greatly inspired me.

Pairing: Nerd!bf!Miguel x gn!reader (no use of any anatomy)

Category: Fluff

Warnings: None (ig)

Word Count: 983

A/n: I reallllly had an inspiration to write this post ever since I saw the drawing, but me being lazy, I didn't. Finally I wrote this!! This is a sfw post. Also I was trying for headcannons but ig i just ended up with a whole ass story

Nerd!Miguel who shared a common class with you where he always noticed you but never had the guts to talk to you.

He liked your personality, how you would always talk to people and joke around but you were not like those people who don't focus on their studies either. You really knew how to do it all.

Nerd!Miguel who was juggling a lot of books in his hands reaching his favorite spot in the library to start studying.

That was when he had his first interaction with you; when you tapped him on his back to hand him a pen he dropped (this made the place even more special) . He had not even realized when he dropped this pen.

All he knew was he liked how your hand felt even on the slightest touch. This is when Nerd!Miguel realized that he had developed a crush on the man who just delivered it back.

The next time, while Nerd!Miguel was going on his favorite seat, it was already occupied by none other than YOU!

Normally he would not have had the courage to ask you move, but he did ask you very politely.

"Miguel, it's just a seat, can't you sit somewhere else?"

"It's just that I can focus there better.' he felt foolish admitting that to someone else.

"Oh of course, I wouldn't want to bother Ace in his studies."

You moved seats saying that and Miguel was a little disappointed that you did not sit next to him.

This disappointment did not last for long as the very next day, you sat right across him.

You were there struggling with the subject that you both had in common and you knew Miguel was literally good in every subject, so after the frustration of not being able to understand it, you asked for his help.

"Um hey Miguel. Can you help me with this topic from economics? I'm really finding it difficult to understand." You said sliding into the seat next to him.

Miguel was so eager to help and he was a really good teacher too which made you understand it very quickly.

After this, you and Miguel became good friends. You would talk to each other in the class. You often times sat besides him and joked around.

One time you guys were joking so much that the professor kicked you out of the class. "You know you are a bad influence for me Y/n" Miguel said after being kicked out.

"Oh live a little Mr. Brainiac. Have you every been kicked out of class before? You gotta experience that once in your life too." you quipped back.

Miguel had to admit that it was a new experience.

Right before your exams, you had convinced Miguel to let you study with him at his dorm. To which he reluctantly agreed to because he couldn't let you know that he in fact enjoyed your company.

That afternoon, you went along to his dorm and studied till the evening, when you asked him if he planned on taking a break, he just grumbled his dissent.

You ended up deciding to get dinner for you both. Miguel was so busy studying, he hardly noticed your absence.

Although when you came back, you made it your business to make sure he notices you with dinner for both of you. Miguel felt so touched because no one had done such a thing for him, except his mother who he was reminded by your act.

"You brought dinner for me?" Miguel asked still a little shocked.

"Of course, you need to eat and also give that big brain of your a rest." you said setting the table for both of you.

Miguel did not believe that he could be more in love with you before, but you just loved proving him wrong about it. He had decided, he will ask you out soon.

After dinner you both went back to your studies. You on the bed and him on his table.

Some time passed and Miguel could not keep his love for you a secret anymore. He turned around to profess his feelings, but all he was met with was your sleeping frame.

You were curled up on the bed sleeping like a baby. He decided his feelings could wait and put a blanket over you so you don't catch a cold and went back to studying.

Next morning, when you woke up, you were well rested but you did not recognize the room you were in. You jolted up when you realized you were in Miguel's room. You were covered in a blanket that smelled like Miguel O'Hara, which you don't remember wrapping when you fell asleep. You look around and find Miguel sleeping on his desk on top all his books. He looked cute.

Right when you were about to keep a note on his desk telling him about how you had to leave, his alarm rang and he jostled from his sleep and looked you right in the eye.

"Good Morning. I was just about to leave." you clarified like a child who was caught stealing cookies.

"Oh, ok." was all he replied rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Before you went out the door, he spoke up again, "Um, Y/n. I was wondering if you would maybe want to go out on a date with me after the exams were over." He said this slowly, not looking directly in your eyes, trying to test the waters.

You stood there by the door astonished by his proposal for a date. After realizing that you had been quite for some time, you replied, "Yea I would really like that actually Miguel." You said this and left his dorm.

Both Y/n and Miguel had a date with their crush and luckily they both liked each other very much.

Also nerdo is nerd in Spanish (according to google)

Well that is it for this part. I might write a Part 2 depending on the response I get from you guys. So hopefully it's positive lol

[tulipsstudyblr]

How to Make it Through to the End of the School Year

I myself am pushing through to the end of my spring semester (gotta make it to finals week 😅) and it's rough, for sure. I'm rounding out my junior year of college and it's quickly hitting me that after this, I'll only have one more year left of school (as of right now).

I know I listed in the bio of this blog that there would be advice/study tips and while I am no expert, I can speak from my experience and what has worked for me. DIsclaimer: everyone is different and what I may or may not list here is not a cure-all for everyone, this is just how I stay productive and efficient.

Taking breaks! - I struggle a lot with recognizing my limits and taking healthy breaks so I can work best. Recently, a friend and I have been having outside study times ("picnics") where we sit and do some work and/or color. One evening, we even made chai lattes on the lawn to have while we colored. Personally, I love simple coloring books (like Disney, but I'm currently working in a Bluey book). Also, this past weekend, I made time in between my textbook readings to rewatch a favorite movie of mine, Ella Enchanted. I haven't taken the proper time to watch TV in a while, so it was a nice change of pace.

Properly eating and hydrating - This is also something I struggle with. I understand how easy it is to get hyperfocused and forget about food in the midst of studying. I am thankful to have a girlfriend who will check in on me when she can to make sure my water bottle is filled if I have been busy throughout the day, but I have also set an alarm on my laptop to ding every 20 minutes. I'm using the Google Chrome extension "Water Reminder", which has been super helpful for me! It's not super cutesy and aesthetic like other Chrome extensions, but I like the simple ding that reminds me to drink water in case I haven't in a while. Hearing a reminder to drink water also allows me to check in with myself to see how I'm feeling in terms of hunger. I try to schedule meals times specifically for myself so that I can remember to eat. Some people are really great about intuitive eating, but I am unfortunately not one of those people. Keeping track of the time and keeping meals times at 7:30 - 8:00 am (breakfast), 11:00 am - 12:00 pm (lunch), and 5:00 pm (dinner/supper), I find it easier to keep up with eating so that I can stay healthy and nourished.

Studying - probably a more obvious "tip", but with my own addition. I like to romanticize the idea of studying. I use specifically colored pens, marker, and highlighters to make each of my notes in class and outside of class to keep myself focused. I love things that are artsy and colorful, so using lots of colors keeps my attention on the material.

Self care - I love face masks, body lotion, and moisturizers. I can't afford the super expensive skincare that you see on TIkTok and Instagram, but I have found some products that work well for me. I like the non abrasive Neutrogena face wash, Nivea body lotion (with shea butter - this also helped heal my tattoos!), and peach slices acne patches (my current lifesavers). Freeman is a brand that makes some really good face masks that have worked for my somewhat senstiive skin and they have a good variety so that you can find what you may be looking for you. They're an inexpensive brand (I think) that works pretty well. Even my sister who is into cosmetology and skincare and knows all the nitty gritty details about what ingredients are good recommended the brand to me so I definitely love to use those when I can (no more than twice a week, though; no need to wear down my face)

Get a study buddy - if you're like me and you find it easier to be productive with another body around, see if you can find someone to study with you or to at least hang around you while you work. As I saif before, a friend and I have been having little picnics outside in the nice weather to work, but I have also met up with others in a library space or a study room to keep myself prodcutive. Some days, I am really productive on my own and in my room, but other days, I really need a change of scenery. Being outside of the space where my lovely bed is and having someone else bear witness to how productive or not I am being is certainly a motivator.

I may discover new habits that can help me as I progress through the next month, but as of right now, these are the main things that are helping me.

[eponymous-rose]

A full day today, so I figured it might be fun to write up what a professor's day might look like when not lecturing!

6:30AM: Got up early to virtually attend a friend's wedding on the East Coast! <333

8:00AM: I have been very careful this quarter to shuffle lectures/meetings around so that I have a little time to myself in the mornings to sit at home and drink coffee and eat breakfast and pet a cat while I get the day's work started. No exception today! I pull up an application my PhD student has been putting together for a tech grant and use the proverbial red pen to make some (a lot of) comments. It looks good overall, though! I send him a note to encourage him to send it to our collaborator in the computer science department when he's done with edits. Monday's the deadline, we gotta get moving on this.

9:00AM: I load up a bag with books I keep putting off taking to my office, plus some extra Halloween candy I found to add to my office candy bowl, and head out to take the bus in to campus. Also, pet the cat goodbye (she is unconcerned).

9:45AM: At the office, books and candy put away! Time to prep for my first meeting, which is a committee meeting with someone else's PhD student. He struggled a bit with a recent exam (entirely his advisor's fault, but that's a different story), so we're reconvening as a group to see his progress and cheer him on. He sent an update document, so I run through that and take a few notes. Then it's responding to e-mails (setting up my participation in a federal review panel next year, responding to two prospective graduate students interested in working with me - the combo of a fun research topic and a beautiful campus means I'm now up to 20 inquiries so far this quarter, eep - and sending out an update to the department about the charitable giving opportunities I'm coordinating).

10:30AM: Great presentation by the PhD student about all the things he's done since our last meeting back in April-ish. He's made huge changes to his work, and we applaud (literally and figuratively) how much he's accomplished in such a short time. Also, amazing data visualization! Great work all around. He's set to defend his PhD by 2025 at this rate, definitely back on track.

11:30AM: Time to rush back to my office to meet with my own PhD student! We usually meet on Fridays, but we get tomorrow off for the holiday so we jumped the meeting back. He's a few minutes late due to a missed bus, so my next-door colleague and I talk about cats for a few minutes. As you do. When he does arrive, he's got some cool stuff to show me - we talk about the notes I made on his grant application, and I remind him (and myself) to book flights to a conference in December that is rapidly approaching somehow. (I guess this means I have to do some cool and innovative research before then that I can talk about. Go figure.) He also shows me some cool preliminary results from a project he's been doing with a friend out in Pennsylvania. He's late enough in his PhD that my role as advisor is primarily to get out of his way and make sure he has enough supercomputer core-hours to get his work done!

12:30PM: A break for me! I start in on e-mail again, sending a coordinator my bio and abstract for a talk I've been invited to give (virtually, thankfully) at a student conference in January. I also realize that, because of the break tomorrow, I should really put together a homework assignment and next week's lectures for the class I teach Monday-Wednesday-Friday. Hmmm. I dig through last year's lectures and assignments and realize they've gotten a little out of sync this year. The solution? I may just offer 5 instead of 6 assignments over these ten weeks and give them this one a week later. Class average has been extremely high on them, and I think the students will appreciate a bit of a break. Also means today's job is just to prepare a few lectures based on last year's material. I've got a big chunk of open time later this afternoon to deal with course stuff, so back to e-mail. Going to be joining a friend (who I can't help but think of as the undergrad who sat in during all my grad classes, but is now somehow a full research scientist) on a very cool project putting together a new thunderstorm dataset. Also reached out to another friend about setting up biweekly meetings to hopefully start a new research collaboration and... possibly some fieldwork! I also almost forgot to put a forecast together for our forecasting competition, but I got there in time. Phew.

1:30PM: Meeting with a colleague and the undergrad research intern we co-supervise who is sadly having to leave to go attend school closer to home. This meeting is mostly just us reinforcing to her that we're still here if she needs advice/reference letters or ever wants to work on a similar project with us remotely in the future, but we are going to continue with the research until the end of the quarter, at her request. After the meeting, I get an e-mail about another undergraduate looking for a research project! I present her with the options of a cool lightning project with my colleague next door (waiting to hear back about federal funding for that project, fingers crossed) and that other cool thunderstorm project led by my friend in Oklahoma.

2:30PM: Seminar time! A very cool freshly-minted PhD from California tells us all about her research, a complicated topic about which I knew very little going in and now know... slightly more. There was a very geeky moment in which she showed what happened to a particular part of the climate system when CO2 was added, then showed what happened when CO2 was removed, and the asymmetry of it made everyone in the room gasp and then self-consciously giggle.

4:00PM: Post-seminar snacks acquired (a big cookie and coffee are definitely a good late lunch, right? I kid, I kid, I had a big breakfast and have a big dinner waiting at home) and small-talk survived, I scramble back up to my office. Time to get those lectures ready for next week (pretty quick to do - rather than last year, where I'd show the code on the screen and we'd talk about it, I'm having us write the code together live and debug as we go; harder in the moment for me, but the students are learning so much better!). Get an e-mail back from the new undergrad research intern expressing interest in the lightning project, amazing! Time to get her registered so she gets credit for this starting in January. Also finally get a teensy bit more editing done on a draft of a review article that one of the top scientific journals in the world tapped me to write (???? still surreal beyond measure).

5:30PM: BAND PRACTICE. Our department is so nerdy that the faculty/staff/postdocs/grad students put together a giant band to perform popular songs but as covers so we can make the lyrics about our nerdy research. This tradition has been going on for 30+ years, and the big performance is for an hour at our holiday party every year. It's a riot, and this is my first year joining in the chaos (I'm on keys on three songs!). There are like 25 of us, we have a horn section, a professor plays the mandolin, the students create elaborate musical roasts of their professors, it's great. My parts go great, to the point where when there's some trouble with key drift during an a capella part they call me in to play chords under it and keep them grounded. I love playing music with other people!

7:00PM: Time to pack up and head home for dinner. Phew.

Long day, but also LONG WEEKEND BAYBEE. I don't actually have to do any substantial work this weekend, so that means BALDUR'S GATE WEEKEND BAYBEE.

[siri-ike]

2500 hours of audio

Authers note: to be completely honest I forgot about this until I got a notification that someone rebloged it. So I guess have a part two.

Part 1

reasearch links: affects of isolation

Donnie's nice and accurate account of events in exact detail and order of occurrence, category 6: severe injuries and illnesses. Part 172: Leo's recovery from the prison dimension part 1.

"Mission log. I've managed to avoid the enemy for now"

"Enemy? He must be talking about Kraang."

playing hour 59.

"59? No, Shelldon. Rewind to the start."

If Donnie didn't know better, he'd say Leo had been listening to these himself. Even if we accept that he'd been stuck for a bare minimum of 2500 hours, assuming he hadn't talked to it the full week he had it before the prison dimension, and also assuming that he was talking to it 24/7 from capture to rescue. Which is unlikely, even for him.

104 days is just so hard to even comprehend.

Donnie looks over at Leo, sleeping peacefully.

"I'm... sorry you had to endure that, Nardo."

rewind complete.

"Play recording."

"Leo's notes: found some jewelry that fell into the sewer. Mostly, engagement rings, wedding rings, and class rings. None of them fit me, of course, so I'm gonna sell them for pizza money."

Click.

"Shelldon, skip to when he got sent to the prison dimension."

=]

Right, gotta reprogram his artificial intelligence.

"Fast forward 10 minutes."

He could probably get a solid 10 minutes of rambling in a week.

"I don't know how to lead. Raphs, the oldest, why couldn't he just stay leader? Or if it had to be someone else, why not pick April? She's just as good at rushing in without a plan. Maybe even better. Or Mikey, he can get anyone to like him. Remember when he got all the kids in the mystic library to follow him?" Leo shudders audibly. "Maybe I should just ask dad. Or maybe I should wait for Donnie to finish rebuilding Shelldon so I can ask him and then have him erase his own memory. Yeah, that's it. Don! Buddy! Tello. What's up?"

Click

"I remember this. He asked me about my progress rebuilding you. I thought he actually wanted to hear about the process of, ugh never mind, it's not important. Shelldon, fast forward 2 minutes."

Click.

"Leo's notes: Pick up 125 pizzas, any toppings."

Finally.

"Leo's notes: uhm, sorry I haven't talked in a while, things got really crazy for, I think it was a few days. Anyway, Kraang got bored of kicking my shell for so long. I could have sworn I'd be dead by now, but it's like no matter what he does to me, I can't die."

"OK, I've been fiddling with the wrist comm for a while, Donnie put a bunch of 8 bit games on it like frogger, snake, and pong. At least I'll have something to do. At least until I run out of battery... I definitely need it too, It's barely been, what 8, 9 hours? And I'm already talking to a photo."

Click.

Donnie looks up from sanitizing his surgical equipment (ok, so it's really Leos, but it's not like he's using it right now) to remark snidely

"As if I would make a machine that runs on batteries. These babies run by replenishing quartz energy converters. You just have to move it around to charge it. I got the idea from these old watches, you know just because an idea is old doesn't mean it can't be utilized by my extreme gen-"

He stops as he looks over at his unconscious brother.

"Some other time, perhaps."

setting reminder for "other time"

"Shelldon, disregard previous order."

reminder canceled

Donnie sits back down and presses a button on his console.

"Update. I beat snake. Turns out if you manage to make the snake fill the whole screen, the game just ends. And it only took me like- 178 hours according to the time log... I can't believe I've been playing snake nonstop for 178 hours. I'm not even tired or hungry. It makes sense kind of. I mean, they were in here for a thousand years, weren't they? Probably don't need food or sleep"

"Dear wrist comm, Kraang found me again. spent a couple hours getting thrown around, totaly ruined my frogger streak. I could have sworn he cracked your screen. Can things also not 'die' here?"

"I think I've been here for about 8 to 10 days. Hopefully, the next thing Don adds to the wrist comms is a clock. Maybe he's hearing this all the way back home. Are you? Are you listening in on me? Sneaky pancake."

"Kraang ruined my rock sculptures of you guys! Can you believe that? He's suck a jerk. We have an entire dimention! It's not like I go around breaking the stuff he makes. Even if he did make things, I wouldn't destroy it! I almost feel bad for the other two Kraang. I can't imagine having this guy as a brother."

"I ran into some people here. They looked somewhat human. Like the aliens in the first Jupiter Jim film: the 1968 classic Jupiter Jim's Atomic adventure in space. Before they had the budget for alien costumes or a full 20 minutes of film. So they just hired some college students and heavily contoured them. Exept the guys I met were also short. So, short. Like. Shorter than me, anyway, I'm gonna follow them to see what's up."

Click.

"That's strange I didn't pick up any other life signs. Check again."

the only signs of life picked up by Leo's wrist comm were his own and kraang

"They got a flying car, it looks so 60s. I half expect it to have lava lamp floors."

"Reminder: ask Donnie to make the floor in my room a lavalamp."

"Wait, no, a waterbed floor. That way, the whole floor is a bed."

"I got even closer, and they use 60s slang, too. Like daddyo, check and far out. I'm pretty sure I heard one of them say the word splitsville. I'm gonna try to talk to them. How do I look... yeah, like a homeless person, I know, I meant more like. Do I look approachable?... No, no raving loonatic is not my idea of approachable. Hang on."

"Ok, I dusted off my bandana, harness, and wrappings. Is this presentable enough?... too bad, cause it's the best we're gonna get."

Click

"Maybe it's a robot? Inorganic life wouldn't be detected on the scanners. That would explain why we can't hear a response. It's just communicating through text." Donnie denies.

"They call themselves Neutrinos. Their people are the original inhabitants of the prison dimension. Which means that somehow, they have been avoiding the Kraang for generations. Isn't that great, I'm not alone."

"Is there such a thing as interdimentional ethics?"

"If I had a nickel every time our world sent genocidal balls of over-chewed gum to the neutrinos dimention, I'd have two nickels. It's not a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice."

"It happened, I've officially survived a whole month in the prison dimension. Wooo." Leo says flatly. "Should have had the foresight to bring a cake, no; pizza... who am I kidding? If I had either, I would have eaten it by now."

"I met the Neutrinos again. Currently following their directions to a village inside a meteor. I can't wait to spend some time with people. I was about to start losing it."

"They've got everything here. Plants, technology, people, a religion. I guess those just pop up whenever you have a group of people living together."

"They're no teenage mutant ninja turtles, but it's a community. And if I'm being completely honest, I think I would even take the company of Meat Sweats right now over nothing."

"I guess this place isn't without strings attached. If I want to stay, I have to join a religious faction. I thought it was all one belief system, but it turns out there are three major ones and, like, 20 small ones. All of them want me on their side, and I suspect that whichever one I choose will try to use me to 'sort out' the others as they put it... but... I can't be alone again. I was alone for 36 days, and it was,-" Leo's voice breaks. "... I can't do that again." He stutters.

"Ok, what would Lou Jitsu do? Dad would probably pick the cannibalism faction. So I can rule that one out. What would Leo do?... I would pick the most powerful group because they've been offering me the most. I can't do that, I'm pretty sure they are evil. They wanted all neutrinos shorter than 3 feet to classify as property. That's like, almost half of them. The second most powerful is no better because they want all neutrinos who have antena to be executed. What is wrong with these people? What would Donnie do? The permanent social distancing faction. Eh, ruling that one out, too. Raph, probably the solving everything with love and snuggles faction. Nice but impractical against Kraang. Plus, their leader tried to make me assassinate the leaders of other factions so they might be messy. April would try to expose each of these dangerous liars, but it seems like everyone already knows they're corrupt. Mikey... he'd just take them over. I guess I could do that. I mean, I'm much bigger and stronger than all of them put together. No, then I would be ruling through force, and I've only lived here for 3 days. I can't decide what's best for them when they've survived well over a thousand years on their own. I think the best choice would be to leave. I can't be of any help here."

"Donnie! Time for breakfast!" Mikey shouts from outside the room

Click.

"I'll be right there"

"Was that Leo's voice? Is he awake?" He asks excitedly.

"No, just some recordings. Could you bring my dinner in here? I can't leave him alone."

"You look awful. Did you sleep? And, no, you can't have breakfast here because Draxum said he needs to look at your wounds." Mikey waves his arms around, showing off the new bandages and braces.

Donnie looks guiltily at Leo, still sleeping.

"I'll stay. I'll even snuggle him. He won't miss you a bit, " Mikey said teasingly, clearly trying to get a response.

And usually, that would get a rise out of him. But right now, Donnie doesn't want to be missed. He just doesn't want his brother to be alone anymore.

Donnie hasn't even left the room before Mikey's gotten all cuddly in bed with Leo. Turtle shells aren't exactly the softest blanket to wrap yourself in, but Leo probably wants to be touched way more than he wants to be comfortable. Besides, it's well past time for Donnie to get the cracks on this arm examined. Yeah, that's it. It's not like he's avoiding the other 2489 hours of Leo's mad ramblings.

"Hmn," Leo purrs,leaning into Mikeys affectionate embrace.

"I knew you'd appreciate a good cuddle 😘. Even if you sleep for a thousand years, I'll still hold you tight." A realization dawns on Mikeys face. "I might be dead by then, so you'll just be nuzzling a skeleton 🤭. But at that point, you really can't be picky."

good morning, donnatello. would you like to continue playing the recordings

"Shelldon, I'm Mikey. Donnie left the room."

do any of us truly leave the room

"What?"

playing recording

"Wait, no -"

"Nothing is real! All of it, it was a hallucination. The Neutrinos, the flying car, Barbara Walters, the village. It was just my imagination... is anything real? Is Kraang even real? Are you real?!"

"Leo?"

"IS THIS ALL THERE IS? Just wandering around forever, talking to myself, and making up others to talk to?"

"Leo," his voice fell flat this time.

"They're really not coming to save me. I probably told them not to. That sounds like me. But, I still thought. *sniff* This is so selfish. If they tried to get me out, they'd risk releasing Kraang. It's better this way. *sniff* They're better off without me. Sure, they'll be upset at first. But, then. Raph'll be less stressed, Donnie will be free to focus on his own projects instead of constantly building stuff I ask him to." He inhails unsteadily. "Someone else'll be team medic, probably Don or April, and they'll figure out that Mikey needs glasses. Real glasses. Which means he won't crash into stuff anymore because they'll actually deal with it instead of putting it off to avoid sneak attacks from doctor feelings, doctor delicate touch, and doctor positive." He sounds out of breath. "Dad finally won't have to deal with me either. He won't have to admit he was wrong to make me lead. And April can finally graduate without me constantly distracting her. *sniff* Th'this is b'better."

"Shelldon, stop the recording." Donnie says from the doorway.

"He, he," Mikey blubers out. "How long was he..." he's too mortified to finish.

"By this point, at least more than a month and 3 days. If we assume every 11 hours is another month. That means it would have taken 227 months to fill up the whole thing." Donnie pauses to see the horror in mikeys eyes. "That's 19 years."

[miraculous-magicalconnections]

MMC: Arc 1, Chapter 2: Statuesque (Origins - Part 2)

Ladybug smiled brightly, a small chuckle escaping her lips as she leapt over another rooftop. Chat Noir wasn't too far behind her, but without his weapon, he didn't seem to be as agile as her. She wasn't sure if it was because she was simply more acrobatic than him, or if their Miraculous has some part in it, but she wouldn't complain about beating him in the race.

"C'mon Spots!" Chat Noir calls out, "Let me win just once!"

This was their fifth race today, and so far he'd just barely come close to winning on their third match, and he's been desperate to win at least one. She didn't mind indulging him though, it allowed them to learn how to move without their weapons, and got them used to traversing the city.

"Nope!" She calls back, "You gotta get some more parkour training in Noir!"

She made one final jump, landing at the bottom of the Arc de Triomphe and began climbing. Chat Noir was a bit better at climbing than her, but with her head start, she easily made it to the top before him.

"Damn." He muttered as he got to the top, "How do you do that?"

"I'm flexible." She shrugged before handing him his baton.

He gave her back her yo-yo as he asked, "So, any plans tomorrow night? I'd love for another round but I'm gonna be busy until then."

"As much as I'd love to wipe the floor with you-" He playfully rolled his eyes, "-I have school."

He blinked, repeating, "School?"

Her eyes widened, "Fuck. Uh, yeah, school."

"Hey, no need to worry Spots, that doesn't narrow down your identity at all." He tells her, "All I know now is that you're within the age range of five to twenty-something."

She chuckled, "Well I can assure you I'm not a child."

He smirked, "You sure about that? You seem to love winning."

"Oh hush," She says, shoving his shoulder, "Like you weren't begging me to let you win."

"Speaking of which!" He says, opening his baton, "I spoke to Plagg and I figured out we can sync our weapons."

She looked at his baton, "Sync our weapons?"

"Yeah, it'll help us out a lot." He explains, "We can do a bunch of things, the most important of which is make a calendar for us to be more organized."

"Really?" She asks, opening her yo-yo, "That could be useful, but how can we be sure it won't expose our identities? If we happen to know each other in real life we could accidentally uncover ourselves by our schedules matching up."

"We don't have to be specific with it," He reminds her, "Like, we know we both have school, so we can just put 'school, busy for the afternoon' or something. Plus, what're the chances we're so close we know each other's schedules so well?"

"Pretty slim." She mused, "Alright, let's set this up."

-----

"You allowed him to attend public school?" Gabriel asks, voice monotone.

"Yes sir," Nathalie answers, stepping up to his podium.

"And you did this without my knowledge or consent?" He asks, voice unwavering.

"It's his final year before université, I thought it'd be best for him to attend public school before he was shoved into the deep end." She explains, "Not to mention he's been taking self-defense classes, and while he won't be without Gerald, it'll soothe your worry to know he'll be able to handle himself."

"Nathalie," He says, "Why did you think this was a good idea? To go behind my back?"

"Because otherwise Adrien wouldn't have had a normal life for once." Nathalie states.

"Adrien has been having a so-called normal life since he began disobeying us a few years ago." Gabriel states, "He likely would've gone even without you allowing him."

"He needs to trust you Gabriel, even if you think he'll just accept it." Nathalie explains.

He's silent for a moment before a small smile crosses his face, "Thank you Nathalie."

-----

"Okay," Adrien says, mostly to himself, "First, I gotta make sure my classmates know not to treat me any differently just because of who my father is."

"Kid, you do remember this is a private school, right?" Plagg asks, the feline perched on his shoulders, "No one's gonna treat you any differently then they treat each other."

"I remember," Adrien says, "Father wouldn't allow any worse even if I am going to a public université. The problem is, I'm a model, it's not just my father who's famous."

"And what about your blonde friend, Chloé Bourgeois?" Plagg asks, "She's famous."

"I think infamous is more accurate." Adrien says.

"Well my point stands," Plagg states, "Your school, your class, is not gonna be just everyday people, they're not gonna treat you differently just cause you're an Agreste."

Adrien is quiet for a moment before sighing, "Yeah, you're right. Remember to stay hidden once we get there."

"No one will see me."

-----

"I can't believe I'm gonna be late!" Marinette exclaims, rushing down the stairs, "I live right next door! How am I gonna be late for the first day back?!"

"You were busy with Chat Noir last night," Tikki reminds her, "It's not your fault."

Tikki was currently residing within the Miraculous and speaking to Marinette through her head; how that works, Marinette honestly didn't want to think about it. This was Tikki's "Hidden Form" as the Kwami called it, it usually resides in its False Form, and apparently Plagg likes to stay in its Animal Form.

"Given we were just talking, it kind of is." She says, grabbing her phone to put by her ear as she opened the front door, "Besides, he has school today too, neither of us should've slept in today."

"If it helps," Tikki offers as Marinette hurries to the crosswalk, "Being friends with your partner is a great thing, it'll help in the long run. Even if you're late to a few classes."

"I know that," Marinette says, "It's been fun to get to know Chad-" A stupid but functional codename for her hero partner, "-but we still shouldn't have been up so late."

"Marinette!" She looks up as she crosses the street, smiling at the sight of her friend.

"Gotta go." She says before putting her phone away and rushing up to her, "Alya! Good to see you."

"You too girl," Alya says in greeting, "And lucky for you, school doesn't start for a couple minutes."

"Oh thank goodness." She muttered, "I thought I was so late."

"Nah, but we do need to hurry to make it to class before the bell rings."

"Crap!" She exclaims, the two girls rushing inside the school.

-----

Adrien was a few minutes late but thankfully it seemed no one in his class seemed to care. Well, more like they were so used to big names that being in the same class as famous model Adrien Agreste was just another day to them. He sat in the front beside a shorter person with pink dyed hair who was enthralled in whatever they were sketching. Plagg was within the ring, something Adrien didn't even know it was capable of until now, so he didn't have to worry about anyone accidentally seeing it.

"Now that role is complete," The teacher, who Adrien is fairly sure her name is Mendeleiev, "I'm going to explain the project you'll all be working on for the next month."

A collective groan filled the classroom and the teacher rolled her eyes, "Oh hush. This is a difficult lesson and unless you want to make it even worse for yourselves, you'll be glad to work with your seatmate. Thomas, since you don't have a seatmate, join the two in front of you."

"But Mme. Mendeleiev, I think I speak for everyone here when I say we don't know our seatmates." One student spoke up, which was quickly backed by several others.

"I did that on purpose," Mme. Mendeleiev said, "I wanted you all to meet someone new, who may become a new friend, as this is your final year before université. Soon enough, you'll need to work with people you don't know, even those you don't like, and this is your chance to learn to work with people who you do like. Besides, I won't be your last strict teacher, so I would hope you enjoy your time remaining with me given I'm a fairly kind teacher compared to those I had."

Everyone, besides Adrien who didn't know the teacher, visibly flinched. It was clear to him that this teacher wasn't the kindest teacher, hell she even said so herself. Adrien was a bit worried about needing to leave in the middle of class due to being a hero, but he supposed his father could be his excuse for it. Besides, so long as he wasn't abusing his privilege of his name and he got good grades, she would probably excuse an absence or tardiness here and there.

"Since it's still the first day, I ask all of you to do the usual packet that needs to be done at the beginning of the year," Mme. Mendeleiev pulled out a large stack of papers, "These go over the lessons planned for the year, as well as the reward trips I have planned that you'll need a parent or guardian's signature for. Apart from that, feel free to talk quietly amongst yourselves for the class period."

After Mme. Mendeleiev passed out the packets, his seatmate spoke, "You're Adrien Agreste right?"

Adrien blinked, "...Yes?"

They hum, holding out their hand, "Alix Kubdel, they/them but I don't mind fem terms, nice to meet you."

"You too," Adrien says, shaking their hand, "Uh, he/him for me."

They nod, "So, Gabriel Agreste actually let you come to school?"

"Well, I think his assistant did most of it," Adrien says, "My dad's... protective."

"That doesn't surprise me," They state, "Your old man is a piece of work, no offense."

"None taken," He chuckled.

Adrien couldn't help but smile; it hadn't even been five minutes since meeting Alix and Adrien could already tell they'd be friends. Not only did they seem to not care of his status, but they didn't care for his dad either. Not to say he didn't, he loves his dad, but he didn't like a lot of what he did either, and Alix didn't either.

-----

Marinette lets out a deep sigh as she puts her head in her hands, devastated at the knowledge that she had to deal with Chloé in her class for the fourth year in a row. Not only that, but she didn't know anyone in this class outside of Chloé and Sabrina. She was thankful she had Mme. Bustier though, she's one of the kindest teachers in the school so at the very least she knew the class wouldn't be too bad.

One of those issues could be remedied if she befriended one of her new classmates, maybe even her seatmate. The person beside her looked kind enough, texting someone with a small smile on their face. Marinette wondered idly what to say to start a conversation, when they spoke up.

"I would appreciate it if you stopped staring at me."

Marinette flushed, "S-Sorry! I got lost in thought."

They gave a small hum but otherwise didn't react to Marinette and she sighed, "I was almost late to school even though I live right next door, then I realized I have to deal with the worst person in the world again and... I've been having a bad day."

They looked up and Marinette went to apologize for rambling only for them to cut her off, "Kim, my boyfriend, is in a similar boat as you today."

Marinette stared at them and they continued, "I'm sorry your day hasn't been going well. Your day will get better eventually."

Marinette gave them a small smile, "Thanks."

"You said you lived next door? Do you happen to work in the bakery?" They ask, "Apologies for the question, I just realized you look very familiar."

"My parents own it." She confirmed, "I work there from time to time when I'm not busy with school or my designs."

"Designs? What do you do?" They question, curiously.

"Fashion," She answers, "I'm creator and owner of MDCDesigns."

"Max Kanté, it/its." Max greets, holding out a hand, "I believe we're going to be friends."

Marinette smiled, taking its hand, "I think so too. My name's Marinette, she/her."

-----

As lunch continued, Adrien smiled brightly, chatting with Alix as they spoke about their friends Kim and Max. Adrien idly wondered if he could meet them and maybe befriend them as well but his thought was cut off when the cafeteria doors slammed open and he whirled around to see a... statue?

"Adrien!" The statue called out, the voice eerily familiar.

"Uh, you know them?" Alix stage whispers to him.

"That's...." Adrien blinked, something about the person seemed so familiar yet so different. Wasn't this the Quantum Masking? Adrien didn't know it'd apply to the Akuma victims... this just got so much harder.

-----

Marinette ducked into a classroom, heart racing. When she thought about her first real battle, she never expected it'd be in school, let alone after Adrien Agreste of all people. How did he anger them in the first place anyway?

"Tikki, transformez-moi!"

As the magic washed over her, she rushed towards the window and leapt out, using her yo-yo to swing herself to the cafeteria window. She peered inside, eyes scanning the room. It seemed no one dared move once the Akuma barged in, and the villain hadn't moved much since she left, barely a few inches as their marble eyes scanned the room.

The only thing that stuck out about them besides them being a, y'know, marble statue, was the cane in one hand, "Lucky Charm."

Ladybug blinked at the booklet filled with several mobility related medical problems. She didn't have time to read through all of these! She flipped open the booklet and let her eyes scan over as much as she could, barely catching a glimpse of one before a voice that sounded way too similar to Tikki told her to stop. She listened, looking at the page on people who suffered from chronic fatigue. She had no way to know for sure, but if the Akuma did have chronic fatigue, the abilities they gained from an Akuma could only do so much to nullify it.

Her Miraculous beeped, warning her of her new time limit and she swore under her breath before leaping down into the cafeteria, landing a few meters away. Her arrival jumpstarted the students as they all began shouting, all now attempting to escape despite the villain blocking the only exit.

A blue mask appeared over the Akuma's face, "Ladybug holder," They addressed her, "Hand over your jewels, I have no reason to fight you."

"And what of these innocent kids?" Ladybug questions, grabbing her yo-yo, "What would you have done to them if I hadn't dropped in?"

The Akuma smiled, the gold glinting off their skin, "Why don't you move so you can find out."

"Hey, uh, ladybug girl?" She barely glances back at Adrien Agreste, who seemed surprised and relieved at her presence, "You can't fight a supervillain alone."

A thought crossed her mind but her heart clenched at the thought, "I... will they listen to you?"

"U-Uh, maybe?" Adrien answers.

"They'll listen to me." A shorter person besides Adrien says.

"Charge her." Ladybug states, "She'll be overwhelmed and exhausted, I'll make sure no one is hurt."

With only a slight hesitation, they got onto the table and shouted, "GET THAT STATUE!"

Ladybug charged, yo-yo grabbing onto their arm and slid under their legs as they tried to grab her. Ladybug pulled on the yo-yo, causing the Akuma to lose their balance just in time for several people to begin hitting and kicking them. Ladybug smiled, glad they trusted her to protect them but just as quickly, her smile vanished as nearly everyone who attacked the Akuma turned to stone.

"Nice try." The Akuma says, turning to Ladybug, "Perhaps you shouldn't trust in amateurs kids."

"What about two?!"

-----

Chat Noir kicked the Akuma in the back, sending them flying forward, thankfully Ladybug moved out of the way in time. He hurried to her side, looking at the booklet attached to her hip.

"Chronic illnesses?" Chat Noir says, "The cane's not for show?"

"If my power's to be trusted, it isn't." Ladybug answers, both heroes readying themselves as the Akuma recovered. Ladybug's earrings beeped in warning of her rapidly approaching time limit.

"Go recharge, I'll deal with the statue for now." Chat Noir says, moving in front of his partner.

"We do this together." She states, "Follow my lead."

"You're still outplayed kids!" The Akuma snaps, grabbing one of the students turned statues and grabbing his arm, "One more step and I snap his arm off."

The two heroes froze, no, not just them, no one in the cafeteria dared to breathe at the threat.

"You wouldn't." Ladybug hisses.

"I'm here to get what I came for, revenge and your Miraculous."

"Revenge?" Chat Noir repeats, "What could a teenager have done to you do warrant this kind of revenge?"

"Gabriel Agreste fired me simply because I sought best for his son when he refused to do so, I had to act and yet he fired me anyway!" The Akuma snaps, "I'm here to take Adrien and get him far away from the man who refuses to be a father!"

The Quantum Masking protecting the Akuma's identity shatters instantly as the dots in Chat Noir's brain connected. It seemed the magic that protected the Akuma's were much weaker than Miraculous holders.

"Nathalie Sancoeur?" Chat Noir questions, eyes softening.

"I am Statuesque now." She corrects, "Now, hand over your Miraculous or else."

Another beep from Ladybug's Miraculous made his heart race.

"Okay." His head snapped to Ladybug, "Fine. Let the kid go, and we'll hand over our Miraculous."

"You think I'm stupid?" Statuesque asks, "Hand them over first."

Ladybug tossed the booklet to her, "Look, I already summoned my power, my timer's in effect."

Statuesque pauses for a moment before shoving the kid to the side and walking up to Ladybug, at which point her yo-yo shot forward, wrapping around her arm and yanking forward. The cane fell free and Chat Noir moved fast, grabbing the cane before snapping it over his knee.

As the magic faded from both Nathalie and the students, Ladybug's earrings beeped once again, "Times almost up, I need to go."

"Stay safe Spots." Chat Noir says, holding up his fist.

"Pound it." She says, fist bumping him.

"That should be our victory thing!" He calls out and she rushes through the cafeteria doors.

"Wh-What happened?" Nathalie asks, a hand clutched to her head as she looks around.

"You were a victim of a supervillain," Chat Noir informs her, "Would you like a lift back?"

She shakes her head, "No, thank you."

As she begins walking away, a person wearing an orange flannel rushes up to him, "What was that?!" They exclaim, "Who are you? Why'd you let her walk? What's going on?!"

"That was an Akuma, my name's Chat Noir, my partner that was with me was Ladybug." Chat Noir answers, "She walked because she wasn't in control of herself, someone forced her to act that way, and what's going on is that Paris has two new protectors. I should be going, stay safe."

-----

Monarque growled, gripping the tablet as the live stream ended, "Dammit! They're better than I thought..."

-----

The following day, Marinette simply wanted to crawl in a hole and die. Alya, her best friend in the whole world, started a blog in honor of the heroes. She'd have to keep an eye on her now, but that wasn't the worst part, the worst part is people haven't stopped talking about Ladybug and Chat Noir since Alya's stream ended and Marinette honestly didn't want to hear another word about them.

"That was so cool!" Alya says, "Gah, I hope I can interview them one day."

"Didn't Chat Noir answer a bunch of your questions though?" Aurore asks, Mirielle nodding along.

"Yeah but that was the basic stuff, I wanna know everything!"

"Just be careful," Mireille reminds her, "This is dangerous stuff."

"Agreed." Marinette says, "Please don't run face first into any supervillain."

"I make no promises." She says, making the other three sigh.

Next Chapter: Stormy Weather

Previous Chapter: Ladybug and Chat Noir (Origins - Part 1)

Chapter Index

[alexx013]

Platonic (could be interpreted as romantic) Mammon X Reader

Also a bit of platonic Luke X Reader

Angst🌧️ -> Comfort⛅ (-> Chaos🌪��)

TW: academic validation, school sucks, MC has daddy issues

Word count: 823

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A/N: Hii, it's my first post here. Hope you like it

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When life on Earth was a hard task, the one with the seven Princes of Hell in Devildom isn't much easier. Not only does the RAD have very high expectations for its students, so you often found yourself barely getting any sleep just to finish some tasks and study, but the brothers are a pain.

Their constant bickering, calling each other names and then coming to you for reassurance or to get things of their shoulders was tiring. Between Lucifer complaining about the others driving him crazy, Asmodeus being insecure about his looks, and Mammon just wanting comfort and few nice words coming from you, you barely found time for bettering your own mental health. You loved them dearly, but being the therapist friend and feeling good about yourself almost never worked together.

One day the teacher gave back the tests you spent ages studying for. You felt pretty confident about getting an okay-ish grade, but when the teacher put the white as snow paper with the red like blood marks you felt as if a knot was tightening in your stomach. Even after studying so much you.. didn't pass. You quickly pinched the bridge of your nose to avoid any tears forming in your eyes and started counting the points, maybe the teacher made a mistake? They didn't, you really didn't pass.

Before you could get of out the class and go home, since it was your last the teacher told you to stay in class for a bit longer. Once everyone left they sat at their desk and with a disappointed look said:

"You didn't pass, I'm very disappointed. You should have studied more".

You quickly left the building and made your way towards HoL, wanting to barricade yourself in your room as quickly as possible.

You locked the door and jumped on the wooden bed with grey duvets, finally feeling safe in the closed space of your room. You left a few sniffles, as the words said by your teacher lingered in your memories. They reminded you of your dad, never showing any signs of being proud, yet always nitpicking every mistake you made.

Tears started forming in your eyes as you tried to muffle your voice by covering your mouth with a hand. You whispered:

"Haven't I given enough?"

to yourself as tears started streaming down your cheeks and started gathering on the pillow. You held your duvet tighter, as if was the only form of comfort you believed you deserved. You heard voices in your head and they were laughing at you:

"You're such a failure. You never can do anything right. You don't deserve anyone"

But before you could do anything about them you heard a song coming from your phone. It seems that someone was calling you. You quickly wiped away your tears, not wanting to ruin the facade of feeling fine even for yourself and looked at the screen. It was Luke. You answered and with your hoarse voice said:

- Yes Luke?

- MC, are you sick? You don't sound the best. Hold on for a while - the angel anwsered as he ended the call

Not so long after that, you heard a knock on your door. You staggered towards it thinking if you should open it, when you heard Mams voice:

- MC, Luke told me ya are sick. Why didn't ya tell me. I've got some tea and meds.

You unlocked the doors and opened them, so that the white haired demon could walk in. He set the things he was holding on your night table, then walking over to you. He gently patted your head saying: "You gotta take better care of yourself. Are you okay?"

That last sentence was too much for you. Tears started pouring out of your eyes as you hugged the demon tightly, to hide them. He was surprised at first from the sudden action, but then started softly stroking your back. He whispered: "Do ya wanna talk about it?", not wanting to startle you. When you shook your head, he asked again "How 'bout cuddles, and a little nap?", which to you agreed.

He laid on your bed, opening his arms so that he could embrace you later on. You joined him, nuzzling your face in the crook of his neck as his arms wrapped around you. Your eyes started getting heavy and both of you started falling asleep accompanied by the sound of each other's heartbeat.

Extra ending:

You heard a loud knock on your door, stirring you awake. But before you could get up and do anything the door was kicked down. A certain demon with orange hair appeared in your room and asked:

- Do you have any snacks in your room? I'm hungry.

You laid there dumbfounded. Beel decided to leave the room but then a small blonde hair angel barged in yelling:

- I CAME HERE TO THE RESCUE... oh.. um, is it a bad time?

Luke ran out of your room as quickly as he could. You looked at Avatar of Greed peacefully sleeping beside you. In pure disbelief you said:

- How tf aren't you awake by now?

[robo-drake09]

Brawl Stars ☆ BeaRosa Short Fic ☆ Monster Academy AU

「 ✦ 1244 Words ✦ 」

Pining sillies who are just gals being pals (not romance quite yet, but just a charming little story of the two of them interacting in this AU!)

Bea is a Biology Major, while Rosa is only pursuing Botany on the side (for now. She later decided to study it fully after some thought.)

˚ʚ☆ɞ˚

"Hey, honeycomb."

Bea jolted awake, her wings suddenly fluttering fast enough to take off. If she hadn't been sitting down, she definitely would’ve gone straight through the ceiling. Instead, her knee hit the bottom of the desk, earning her a yelp, and quite possibly a bruise later. She looked up to see the cheer captain herself, holding two cups from the campus cafe. Rosa looked down at her with that warm smile she liked so much, gesturing to the cups.

"Fancy a cuppa?"

"Oh! Thank you...." Bea nodded, smiling up at her. She looked around, remembering her current setting. One of the many hidden little study areas for the students of the academy. There were just a few around here, but that was just how she liked it.

"And, good afternoon Rosa. I didn't know you had class today," the biology major greeted.

To be woken up by Rosa without any notice… she may as well have just flown off and out the window. It was embarrassing, really, she wasn't prepared at all! Now that she finally saw the cheer captain properly, it was curious that she was wearing the school’s gym uniforms. She didn’t recall her having a fitness class on this day. She had her bag over her shoulder as well, filled to the brim with what she could only assume was equipment.

Rosa stared at her, before laughing softly and setting down the cups carefully on the side.

"Afternoon? It's half past six, mate. It's evening by now."

"What?!" Her antenna stuck straight up, before she clasped her hands over her mouth, remembering they were in the quiet study area. Some murmurs from students around her, followed by slight glances to the two women, before focusing back on their work. "What do you mean six?” Surely it was just a joke on Rosa's part, right? “It was just two when I..."

Rosa hushed another light laugh, taking a seat next to Bea, crossing one leg over the other. "You might've missed ya alarms then... no wonder you didn't pick up when I called ya phone," she picked up her cup, taking a sip.

"It seems so."

"Good thing you didn't have classes this afternoon. Woulda been late if I hadn't gone looking."

Bea nodded, sighing as she looked at the desk she had fallen asleep at. Her books were still open, thankfully no vandalism or thefts as far as she could tell. She put a lavender bookmark in between the pages of the larger textbook, closing it carefully before she put it away in her bag.

"Been up studyin’ again?" Rosa asked, earning an answer with a tiny buzz of confirmation. It wasn’t a new thing where Bea would fall asleep while studying, especially during weeks like this where all nighters were more common.

"You gotta be careful though, remember what happened that one time you fell asleep in the library."

Bea shuddered at the thought, shaking her hand to dismiss the unwelcome memories, "please, don't remind me. I'm actively trying to forget that whole event."

She picked up the cup, taking a sip of the lovely drink her dear friend had brought her. Rosa always knew her order, honeydrop earl grey tea, four added sugarcubes, a swirl of vanilla syrup, and topped with just that perfect squeeze of lemon. It was just amazing that Rosa knew her order down to a T, and on top of that, the fact that she found her here of all places. Speaking of...

"How did you know I was here?" Bea asked, setting down the cup. Rosa set down hers next to her, leaning back in the chair.

"Called you a few times to see if we were still meeting up today, but you didn't answer."

Rosa tapped her cup with her finger, looking at her. Bea blinked in confusion, taking out her phone to see it had been entirely set to silent. On top of that, sixteen missed calls from the cheerleader. Her face reddened, finally realizing.

"Oh."

She missed that many calls from Rosa.

"...oh."

The Rosa.

The same Rosa she had promised to go out with this very same day. The same day she'd foolishly fallen asleep at some desk in the middle of the school.

"We were meeting at the cafe today! I'm so sorry, the time passed me by! You were there for ho—" Rosa ruffled her hair, making the shorter lady stop talking.

"Oi, let me finish! I'm not blaming you or anything."

Rosa's hand remained in Bea’s hair. She had leaned closer to do so, just hovering above her head. Now she could see, very closely she might add, that her hair was a lovely orange, kinda goldish colour, like honey itself. A golden crown atop her head. The curls bounced back as she gave her each pat. Bea had closed her eyes with the pats too.

Rosa pulled back her hand quickly after, fixing her glasses as she fixed herself in her chair.

"It's alright mate, I called so much since I was running late too..." She admitted, scratching the horn on her forehead with one of her nails, a habit she’s picked up when she felt embarrassed. Bea would never comment on it though. How could she, since she did the same in some situations. In all honesty, it was hard to tell which one did it first before the other copied it.

"I figured you got busy somewhere, since the last thing you sent was that you were studying somewhere on campus. So, I went around checking the usual spots you study at. Couldn’t let the drinks get cold, right? Lucky you were in the first few places I checked, or I woulda been here all night."

Bea couldn't help but giggle at the thought of Rosa jogging about the school trying to find her. Mind you, the place is buzzingly big! It was a miracle she'd found her. She'd rather her out of anyone to be the one to wake her up though, and with tea as well? What a lovely, very good friend she was.

"Bea?" The question snapping her back to the moment at hand.

"Oh, yes. Thank you, again, for bringing the drink. It was very sweet of you," Bea said, her warm smile beaming like golden treasure.

Rosa met her eyes for just a moment, before brushing it off with a wave. The cheerleader smiled widely, only growing at Bea's words. The boundless glow of her cheery voice always felt different. Comfortable, one could say.

"Don't worry about it, honeycomb. Now, hm...can you tell me about what you were studyin? You know it helps to see how much you even remember, can’t let all that time go to waste." She suggested, turning in the chair to face her.

Bea's face lit up, the flow of thoughts rushing in as she started to carefully explain everything. Her wings occasionally flapped with each new subject, a very gentle breeze blowing by each time. For Bea, Rosa was just the perfect listener, giving questions after each fact and piece of information that allowed Bea to email all the necessary details of the topic. Rosa leaned closer in her seat, making sure she truly took in all the information as well.

In Rosa’s honest opinion, Bea did a wonderful job of explaining a topic, you know. Perhaps a bit too much to some, but it was all welcome for Rosa. Always would be.

˚ʚ☆ɞ˚

Made it all this way? Thank you for reading! Here's a doodle of my own Bea design for this au:

I hope I find it in me to write a follow-up with some scene of them confessing 😭😭 they're literally so oblivious it's so silly. Mutual pining is my passion. ❤️

It's been a while since I did any writing, so I'm very happy I was able to gain some inspiration for this piece!

[limeade-l3sbian]

I made the decision to go back to uni at 22 and honestly I'm so glad I did.

I was terrified of being the oldest one in class and whatnot but honestly I just don't care anymore, I figured we're all gonna be a bit nervous during our first week because we all have our fears and this is just mine.

I always tend to overthink and kind of like overplan, but I was like you know what, just go to uni, you picked a major you sorta liked, If you don't like it you can switch, and you don't have to work in the field you got your degree in if you change your mind.

Like I always have to remind myself that nothing is set in stone, like don't get me wrong actions do have consequences like yeah ofc, but at the same time don't be paralyzed like you don't gotta have 100% certainty of where your life is gonna go or what you're planning on doing.

Just make a plan that has the least amount of cons and go from there. And that's what I did.

I'm starting as a 1st year but I'm so glad I went back, I feel so honestly grateful I get to have my ideas challenged, be around like minded people, get to study maths and physics again. It just feels good to feel liek you're contributing to something ya know.

And if anyone's hesitating and like if you have the same mindset as me, I can promise you none of us have everything figured out and I'm not trying to be a motivational instagram speaker or whatver, I think it's good to have a sense of direction and aspirations, but when it comes to the details and nitty gritty you'll figure it out. Don't stay stuck trying to figure things while life passes you by.

Anyway, I'm glad i did it. I was full of fear and doubts but now I'm scared and excited too.

YES I LOVE IT! CONGRATS ANON! <3 <3 <3

[nothoughtsjustmhaandotherthings]

"I Know The End" - Katherine's Playlist

In honor of the latest chapter of Vengeance <3

I discovered Phoebe Bridgers in the throes of drafting Vengeance and this song single-handedly rewrote my brain chemistry so this should be fun!!

!!!MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE KATHERINE RIDE SAGA!!! Get to Chapter 26 of Vengeance and then come back if you want to be properly heartbroken!

Somewhere in Germany, but I can't place it Man, I hate this part of Texas Close my eyes, fantasize Three clicks and I'm home

For me, this song essentially maps out the whole plot of Vengeance, starting here with Katherine's vigilante era. As much as she puts on a brave face, she's miserable. She wants nothing more than for things to go back to the way they were.

When I get back I'll lay around Then I'll get up and lay back down Romanticize a quiet life There's no place like my room

Katherine's post-vigilante spree routine. She "gets back" to the dorms and wanders, wishing things were different.

But you had to go I know, I know, I know Like a wave that crashed and melted on the shore

"You" being Izuku. Despite her resentfulness, Katherine understands why he did what he did.

Not even the burnouts are out here anymore And you had to go I know, I know, I know

The "burnouts" refer to the lesser (sorry that sounds awful) Pro Heroes, the ones who didn't have the guts to stay in the game.

Out in the park, we watch the sunset Talking on a rusty swing set After a while, you went quiet and I got mean

This jumps ahead to Izuku rejoining the class and his attempts to reconnect with Katherine, though I can also see it as her looking back to the very last chapter of Survival when everything fell apart

I'm always pushing you away from me But you come back with gravity And when I call, you come home A bird in your teeth

Katherine's best efforts to ice Izuku out fail, and her forgiveness is eventually won when he saves her from plummeting into the ocean after the Star and Stripe confrontation.

So I gotta go I know, I know, I know When the sirens sound, you'll hide under the floor

Jumping ahead again to when Class 1-A is leaving for the final battle. I see this entire verse as Katherine talking to her dads. "When the sirens sound, you'll hide under the floor" is pretty fitting for the U.A. evacuation system.

But I'm not gonna go down with my hometown in a tornado I'm gonna chase it I know, I know, I know

Katherine knows she has to face what's coming, and she knows what might happen to her when she does.

I gotta go now I know, I know, I know

Here, the "I know" feels more comforting than resilient.

Driving out into the sun Let the ultraviolet cover me up

From here, we get into the events of the final battle. Katherine and Izuku "drive" (more like fly) out into the sun to begin the mission.

Went looking for a creation myth

The "creation myth" being One For All.

Ended up with a pair of cracked lips

Neither Katherine nor Izuku could have anticipated what One For All would cost them.

Windows down, scream along To some America First rap, country song

This lyric just reminds me so much of Hizashi and Katherine. I really loved/hated writing their little spat in these past two books because that's usually reserved for her and Shota.

A slaughterhouse, an outlet mall

Shigaraki coming after Izuku in the mall energy.

Slot machines, fear of God

I see Aoyama's face whenever I hear this lyric. The switch from shining, assured, if not slightly arrogant princely type to scared kid had me hooked.

Windows down, heater on Big bolts of lightning hanging low

Big bolts of lightning...foreshadowing, anyone?

Over the coast, everyone's convinced It's a government drone or an alien spaceship

Your reminder that the final battle was being live-streamed globally. These kids are scaring the shit out of everyone.

Either way, we're not alone I'll find a new place to be from

Okay, back to seriousness. Here I switch to having an individual character focus. This one is Shoto's, hands down. His whole arc in this final battle is him reminiscing on how he could have turned out like Dabi, had it not been for Class 1-A. He knows he's not alone in this fight, and he knows he doesn't have to be like his father or his eldest brother.

A haunted house with a picket fence To float around and ghost my friends

Now we switch perspectives to Katsuki. He's not afraid to die if it means getting the upper hand on Shigaraki. And yet in his last moments, all he can think about is Izuku.

No, I'm not afraid to disappear The billboard said, "The end is near"

Speaking of Izuku, he shares Katsuki's value of self-sacrifice. However, he still wants to do it in a way that saves everyone, including Shigaraki, at the cost of his own life. This is the end of the line for One For All, anyway.

I turned around, there was nothing there Yeah, I guess the end is here

And we end it with Katherine, right before the (soul-shattering) outro. This lyric encapsulates her total resignation to what she assumes is her destiny. She's going to die in this battle, and she knows it. When it happens, she accepts it. Ugh. This song makes me physically ill (in the best of ways).

Fun fact! If you start playing this song around the point where Katherine gets clobbered by those Twice clones, you'll get that screaming in the outro right as she dies :D

[millenniumringg]

Arggg I’m stressing! My latest chapter for my fic is technically finished but it’s got so many flaws; the over-wordyness, the lack of good flow, and also it ends abruptly with no good resolution. I can’t stand it. I want to fix it but I don’t know where to start, and although I would like to work on later chapters I can’t do them until this one is fixed. Help meeeee I need advice and also my creativity is at a slump, I’m so stuck it’s making me stressed

oh noooooooo I am so sorry to hear you are in a slump :(

The good news is: YOU'RE NOT ALONE!!!

I think this is something all of us writers experience a lot. I totally understand the desire to hurry and get the chapter finished, but it sounds like you might need to take a step back and look at it with the freshest of eyes!

I feel a little silly giving advice, as I certainly don't have all the answers in the world, but I've certainly been in this position before and can share some of what I do to try and get past it:

To begin, are you suuuuuure you need to finish the chapter to move on to other ones? Sometimes, jumping around chapters and plot events can help you to come up with more interesting resolutions/situations! Don't go into writing the chapters with the set intention of having them be THE final draft. Moving on from the place your stuck on is most important! So, I say try starting a later chapter anyway! See what you can do. Sometimes it helps you fill in the gaps of where you might be stuck :]

Second, I recommend doing some light reading of books/articles/blogs about writing! Search the web for writing exercises or read about how other authors follow through with the writing process (like now! See? You're already on the right track, anon!). There's plenty of material out there to get you writing, either for the chapter you're stuck on or for something else entirely!

Which brings me to my final suggestion: Move on to something else for a little while! Sometimes you have to set your work in progress aside and do something else that's got you motivated. I know you want to finish your current project (believe me, I toooootally understand), but your brain can only think about one thing for so long! You gotta exercise the creativity in other projects to oil up those brain gears! Then, after you've taken a break, try going back and reading through the chapter again and see what happens.

For me, taking a break and moving on to something else works the best. Honestly, and you're gonna hate me for this, I would probably not look at the chapter for at least a week..... You really need to reset your brain in order to make appropriate edits! Like, for real, sometimes I get so frustrated and I won't look at a wip for like. a month (mainly because work and class get in the way anyways lmao) but then when I FINALLY am like ok. I'm just gonna remind myself what I have (because you will FORGET hopefully) and then boom. You'll have fresh eyes, fresh thoughts, and will be more likely to be able to fix what you don't think is working :]

ah...... not sure if this was the advice you were searching for.... but truly the most important thing for creativity is to both exercise it and give it breaks! I know... confusing... but its true I swear you just gotta get reach creative homeostasis....

I BELIEVE IN YOU!!!!!!!!!!

[omori-aus-archive]

Chapter 27: Sense Of Normalcy

For once, Mari was getting a somewhat normal day.

No heavy discussions.

No tears.

Nothing to remind her of her mistakes.

Nothing to make her feel worse about herself.

It's just her spending time with Bowen and Daphne while Sunny's talking with Mihkael and Angel.

It's just Mari with her peers.

“So, what’s the plan for the kid’s eye?” Daphne asked as the three sat in the cafeteria. Mari sipped her tea, “Sunny’s getting a glass eye. Though he’s also getting an eyepatch.”

“So you’re both basically pirates now….” Bowen said with a hint of humor, receiving a grin from Mari, who nodded with a hum.

“How’s your brother healing up?” The young man asked. “I know you’re trying to avoid heavy discussions, but….”

“It’s alright. He’s healing well.” The older of the three said. “He’s been given the okay to do physical therapy to make sure everything works properly.”

Daphne raised an eyebrow, “You look like you’re exhausted from everything.”

Mari nodded with a sigh, setting her tea down, “I am…SO fucking tired of the craziness that’s happened.”

“This is literally the first…I guess, “normal” day I got in a long time.” She explained, rubbing her neck. “I just want Sunny and I to have a regular day with our peers.”

“Good. You need something to break the tension.” Bowen said. “How’s your long-overdue sophomore classes coming along?”

The wheelchair-bound woman pouted, “It’s boring is what it is. No fun. At least Aria makes it less stressful and annoying to deal with.”

“I’m guessing that is one of the few things you did not miss at all?” Daphne asked with a chuckle. Mari groaned, “High school is a bitch to deal with.”

“We know. Aria also knows.” Bowen replied. "But you'll get through it. Because you're not alone this time."

After a few moments of silence, Daphne said, "So, tell us your progress with your shiny new leg. Clearly you're walking again."

"It's a hassle." Mari rolled her eyes, rolling up her pant leg to reveal her prosthetic leg. "Docs are making it a lot more work than it needs to be."

"I can walk and move just fine now, but apparently, they still wanna do more testing." She added. She laid back in the chair with a heavy sigh, "Pain in the ass."

The other woman nodded, "Certainly sounds like it. Sure it feels like it."

"I gotta ask.... Sunny mentioned that Basil had an argument with him." She said. "Any word on where or not he's gonna visit...?"

Mari sighed and shook her head, "I don't know.... It's a part of him that he struggles with a lot." "Being too scared of facing repercussions or accepting the truth of his actions." She added.

The older of the three rubbed her eyes, "Believe me, I'm just as upset as Sunny is towards him...."

"But...that does not mean that I don't want to try and reconcile with Basil." She explained. "I just...wish that he got proper help...."

A silence fells on the trio.

Why did she feel so conflicted over this...?

Mari knew that what Basil tried to do was wrong, despite his good intentions.... But even so, she wanted to try and understand...and get the boy legitimate help.

What's so wrong with her trying to understand people?

Omori: Recovery Route (A Coma-Mari AU by pyroanime2k16)

A/N: Sorry. No special cover this time. Also, this will primarily focus on Mari and Sunny's interactions, as that's what I write best.

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

Chapter 1: Case Of Awareness

Mari would've had to be a fool in order to NOT notice what her brother was going through.

Even now, as they were practicing for the recital one more time, the girl could tell how stressed Sunny seemed.

She could tell that he was growing tired and frustrated with the constant practice of the recital. Her perfectionism and their father's expectations certainly weren't helping and she knew it....

The older of the two siblings wanted to apologize in some way. A way that could actually be felt.

Mari was also worried about straining or ruining her sibling relationship with Sunny.

Eventually, the practice ended and Sunny quietly left the room. Mari felt a sickening feeling in her abdomen.

....

And then there was the sound of something shattering on the floor, cuing Mari to immediately stand up and rush to the foyer, spotting a broken violin at the bottom of the stairs.

The teenage girl paled. She screwed up. She was certain that she had fucked up now....

Especially when she turned to face Sunny, who was struggling to calm down. He was heaving, his arms shaking as he tried...and failed to take in deep breaths.

Mari went up the stairs. She had to fix this. She let this happen for too long. She had to do something to make up for it.

"Sunny...?" The teenager called out, cuing the boy to instinctively turn away. "Sunny, please look at me."

The boy didn't say anything for a few moments, before mumbling, “Please leave me alone….” His sister shook her head, “Brother, please talk to me…!”

“Mari, please stop….” The boy mumbled at a volume that was to quiet to hear. He was struggling to keep himself calm.

He wanted to run. He wanted to leave.

"Please just...talk to me, Sunny...!" The teenager pleaded. "Please let me try to help...!"

The boy shook his head, trying to block the words out. He needed to leave. To be alone to calm down.

Eventually, after a few more moments of back and forth, Sunny just...couldn't take it anymore and chose to push Mari away to give him some distance....

...Except both parties forgot that they were on top of the stairs. Upon being pushed, Mari's bad knee ultimately buckled painfully, causing her to fall towards the stairs....

Almost on pure instinct and in a state of shock, Sunny lurched forward and grabbed Mari's hand with his left, holding the railing with his right.

Almost immediately, the boy's weak grip began slipping, cuing him to tighten his hold as much as he could. The two siblings looked at each other, still in shock by what just happened.

The older of the two siblings, much to Sunny's surprise, just gave a weak and sad smile as the boy's grip ultimately failed.

The boy could only watch in horror as his sister collapsed on the stairs and tumbled to the floor.

The boy stood in fright and silence, before eventually working up the courage to walk down towards Mari. Of course, he understandably assumed that she was dead....

That he accidentally killed his own sister....

Then he heard the very faint sound of breathing. After kneeling down and putting his ear near his sister's face, he was able confirm it.

The breathing was obviously strained...as a result of severe pain and a near-fatal incident....

But Mari was miraculously alive. Unconscious, but alive....

Though, before he could react to that, Sunny realized that there was another person in the house...right in the front doorway as he glanced up.

"Basil...?" The boy whispered, noticing the equally shocked and frightened blonde.

Basil then asked in a shaky voice, "I-Is she...?" "She's...alive.... Needs help. NOW...." Sunny responded as attempted to control his breathing.

"Get Kel and Hero's mom or dad...." The boy pleaded, which resulted in the blonde rushing next door in a panic....

...Leaving Sunny alone to hold Mari in his arms and whisper apology after apology....

[jigujellee]

THROUGH WITH YU -> karina yu hates your guts and you don't really know why. | read part 2 here!

karina x reader angst word count: 3.8k warnings: there might be a swear word or two, nothing crazy

a/n: wow, another fic in less than 2 weeks? who is she? lol i'm jk but the first part to the karina enemies to lovers college au is here! there's only two parts, so hopefully, i should be able to get it out soon. don't worry, i'm also working on the requests you've all sent me so please look out for those. take care everyone, thanks for reading!

smu was home to numerous intelligent and hard working students who were slowly losing their sanity every day in order to achieve their future. if they weren’t burying their faces in their laptops or textbooks, students were drowning themselves in caffeine as they desperately try to work through the hell known as university. it’s definitely not easy for most, but then there are people like karina who make the university life look so easy.

karina yu graduated from kwangya high as valedictorian and received a full grant scholarship at smu where she is now a biomedical student with a dream to pursue a career in medicine. she also manages to maintain the top spot in the entire school while being the captain of the swim team and balances a part time job. the girl’s credentials are unmatched, you’d think she doesn’t have a social life but no. everybody and their grandmothers know exactly who karina is, and with a god given face, brain, and talent like hers, who wouldn’t be drawn to her? dubbed as the campus goddess, she captures the hearts of anyone who glances her way. karina could care less about the title though. she was nice to everyone she encountered and remained humble despite being treated like royalty at school. so when everyone’s attention is focused on something else, or rather someone else, karina suddenly becomes intrigued.

“alright class, that wraps it up for today. don’t forget, your assignments on DNA mutagenesis are due next Friday so i hope most of you have at least started on it”

as soon as the campus goddess finished typing up her last few notes, she sets a quick reminder for herself to finish the references for the assignment. karina’s work ethic was something every student dreamed to have in a perfect world, hence why it isn’t uncommon for students to ask her for help every now and then. her best friend ningning is a perfect example of these said students.

“so you’re going to help me with my assignment, right?” the blonde says, not even sparing a glance to karina as her eyes remained glued on her phone.

“ning, why do you still have to ask? i’ve been helping you with your assignments since we were in high school. but let me remind you that you’re smart enough to do it on your own. maybe if you spent less time on your phone, you would’ve gotten it done early”

“thanks for the ted talk but you know i gotta stay updated with the tea around here”

“right, so what’s new gossip girl hm?”

“well, jeno recently got injured after their last basketball game so he’s sitting out for the next few. then there’s yeji and ryujin who got into a pretty nasty fight and people are saying they still haven’t talked it out”

“isn’t it gonna be their 3 year anniversary in a few weeks? i hope they resolve things soon”

“well well well, would you look at that? seems like someone is fairly updated too” ningning chuckles and finally tears her eyes away from the phone to find karina putting her stuff away into a tote bag.

“you live and breathe tea and drama, and unfortunately, i’m the only one who has to hear all of it since i’m pretty much the only friend you have,” karina jokes.

“you make me laugh miss yu,” her best friend says dryly as rolls her eyes and continues to scroll through her phone once more. “oh, and there’s a new student coming in today. apparently they’re coming all the way from canada,” ningning turns off her phone and grabs her bag before sticking her arm out so that karina could link arms with her. the latter didn’t care much about the new transferee, not with her empty stomach practically ringing in her ears.

“yeah yeah whatever, let’s go grab lunch. i’m starving” she links her arms with ningning and the two make their way to the campus cafeteria.

they were greeted with crowds of students, which wasn’t a new sight to the two. almost all of campus knew karina ate in the cafeteria during lunch so they would always have an audience as they ate in peace. what was surprising to karina was that the students weren’t swooning over her like they usually do. instead, they were running right past her and making their way to the table where karina and ningning usually sat. confused, karina looks over at her best friend.

“why is everyone rushing to get over there? we’re not even there yet”

“you think i would know? i was beside you this entire time. but it looks like someone is sitting there already, i can’t see who it is though”

a girl in front of the two overhears their conversation before realizing who it was and immediately moves out of the way to let them pass. everyone else followed suit and the two manage to get a clear view of who was causing such a big crowd. they walk towards the table, but even as they get closer, they are unable to put a name to the face sitting in their usual spot.

as soon as they approached the unfamiliar person, ningning doesn’t hesitate to speak, “hi! i’m ningning and this is my friend karina!” the purple haired girl’s eyes widened at her friend’s sudden introduction, but not wanting to be rude, she just smiled and gave a small wave.

“hello! i’m y/n, it’s nice to meet you both” you say with a big smile plastered on your face.

“ah! you’re the new student, right? from canada?” you eagerly nod your head and continue to answer ningning’s never ending questions about your home country. meanwhile, the girl beside her stayed silent and just stared at you. you couldn’t tell what she was feeling, her face remaining stoic the entire time you were talking with her friend. you open your mouth to address her and try to include her in the conversation, but another student calls your name and invites you to eat lunch with them.

“karina and ningning usually sit here, so just sit with us for lunch” the student then whispered in your ear. you look back at the two girls and realize that they’ve been standing this entire time, so you immediately get up and allow them to sit at their respective table.

“well i’d be glad to answer your questions about canada some other time ning,” you chuckle. “i hope to see you both around more! sorry about taking your seat,” you say as your gaze lands on karina, who just quickly bows her head out of respect before taking a seat at the spot you were just in. ningning quickly hands you her phone for you to put your number in before letting you go. as you leave, you turn to take a look at the purple haired girl one more time.

you now understood why she was called the campus goddess.

-

funnily enough, the campus goddess wanted nothing to do with greek gods and goddesses, or any greek mythology in general. she hated history classes. the only reason she was taking it is because she needed an elective that wasn’t related to her major, so she chose ancient greek mythology and apparently, it was a really easy course. but even if this course was super easy, she got bored so easily. it was the only class that she rarely paid attention in and it made her want to fall asleep.

it doesn’t help that this class was a dreaded 3 hours of her professor going on and on about information that had nothing to do with what karina wanted to do with the rest of her life. oftentimes, her thoughts loved to wander off during class, and to her surprise, you are the one currently taking up space in her mind. karina couldn’t help but think about your smile, your dark brown eyes, your soft voice, the way your hair sat perfectly against-

“miss yu?” karina shakes her head and brings herself back to reality. was i really just thinking of the new student just now?

“sorry sir, what were you saying?”

“i asked which two groups fought during the battle of cynoscephalae?”

karina couldn’t bring herself to answer. she should know this, she did her readings on it so why couldn’t she remember? oh right, because some new girl was distracting her, that’s why.

“it was fought between the romans and the antigonids,” you spoke up after minutes of silence from karina. she looked back in shock, finding you three rows behind her. great, the person who’s been wrecking my train of thought is also in the same class as me.

you shoot her a wink with a smile, causing karina to immediately turn back around to the front, hoping you wouldn’t see her cheeks heating up out of embarrassment.

“that’s correct y/n, thank you. pay more attention karina, this isn’t like you”

“yes sir, it won’t happen again” karina sinks into her seat and groans internally for letting herself get distracted and embarrassing herself in front of you… and the class.

and now, she despised you for making her feel this way and decided that she wanted nothing to do with you.

so any attempt you made in trying to be her friend, whether it be buying her snacks, coffee, cup noodles, and even a whole cake, or trying to follow her on instagram and her other socials, karina shut all of it down. she couldn’t afford to be embarrassed like that anymore and she tried her best to avoid you, but she quickly learned that you were stubborn and you weren’t going to stop until you two were at least acquaintances.

“hi karina! i grabbed you a triangle kimbap and a choco pie in case you were hungry,” you hold out the snacks in front of her, hoping she’ll actually take them this time. but as usual, she just stares at them and her hands remain still by her side.

her eyes shift from your hands to your own eyes, and you could feel a bitter coldness being emitted from her dark brown orbs. “i’m going to make this very clear, y/n. i do not care who you are or where you came from, but i do not need you around me. buying me snacks is not going to get me to be friends with you, so drop the act. we are never going to be friends,” she says, words hitting you like a knife. your hands that are filled with snacks drop to your side as you watch the campus goddess walk away from you. from that moment on, you do your best to avoid her, hoping that you are finally giving her something she actually wants.

-

it’s only 9 in the morning, and karina is already having a horrible day.

“what? what do you mean i’m failing? that’s nearly impossible-”

“calm down karina, you’re not behind by much. with a little tutoring and some catch up assignments, you’ll be able to bring your grade up in no time,” her english professor says.

karina huffs in frustration. how could this happen? she swore she handed in all her essays on time and they were all done very well, so she had no idea how could she be failing the class.

“i asked the student who will tutor you to come in today so that i could introduce you two,” and as if on cue, there was a knock on the door.

“perfect timing. come in!”

karina doesn’t bother turning around to see who it was, still trying to rack her brain over how she could possibly be doing badly in english class.

“you wanted to see me professor lee?”

the purple haired girl’s eyes widened and her mouth falls slightly agape. she didn’t need to look at who it was; the voice said it all.

“thank you for coming, y/n! i wanted to introduce you to karina, have you met before?”

“yes, we share a few classes together” you say dryly.

you were aware that you had to tutor someone, but you didn’t know it’d be her. from where you were standing, you could see that she didn’t want to be in this setup either. she was avoiding your presence, putting all her attention onto the stack of papers on the professor’s desk and studying it as if it were the most intriguing thing in the world right now.

“with all due respect professor lee, i’m sure there are a number of other students who would be willing to help karina out. not to mention countless other students who speak english at a much higher level than i do, such as aeri, chaeyoung, jennie, yunjin, jisu, seungkwan.. need i list more?”

for the first time since entering the office, karina looks at you with a confused expression; she didn’t expect you to turn the opportunity down, not after all the nice things you’ve done for her just to be her friend. your focus remains on the professor as you wait for a reply, ignoring the other girl beside you who was trying to figure you out, the stack of papers on the desk now long forgotten.

“nonsense y/n, what better way to learn english than from someone who’s just transferred from canada? besides, english is your first language, correct?” you nod your head, unable to lie because the records were right there in front of the prof.

“then it’s settled! think of it as a way to get closer to one another. karina, i promise you won’t regret this and your grade will improve in no time! you two are dismissed, i’ll see you both on wednesday”

both of you bow your heads, and karina is the first one to get up and leave. you follow suit, rolling your eyes once you’re at the door because she didn’t even have the courtesy to hold it open for you. once you’re both outside of professor lee’s office, you’re about to retreat to your own dorm but karina stops you.

“hey”

you say nothing and just turn to look at her, waiting for her to continue what she wanted to say.

“2pm tomorrow at the library. don’t be late,” she says sternly.

with no ounce of emotion on your face, you turn around and leave the purple haired girl standing in front of the prof’s office.

you hoped this tutoring session will go somewhat smoothly.

-

no, it’s not going smoothly.

karina was the one who said not to be late, yet she’s the one who came almost 20 minutes late. she blamed it on ningning for asking her to accompany her while she talks to one of their other professors.

and now, karina hasn’t spoken a word to you since she got here. she didn’t bother asking for any clarification or any questions and just began working on her assignment, but you couldn’t care less. if she didn’t want to fix her grade, then so be it. you allowed yourself to enjoy this quiet time by catching up on your favourite book, but unfortunately, it doesn’t last long.

“here, check this for me”

you scan the paragraph writing assignment she had to do. with a pencil, you lightly circled her mistakes and even wrote down some comments on things that could be improved. when you hand it back to her, you watch as her eyes scan over the paper and she huffs in frustration. you continue to watch the campus goddess scribble onto her paper, erasing and rewriting things every other second. your eyes move to the paper and you notice her making the same mistake again.

“you did the same thing aga-”

“shut up, i got it” but even after she erases it, she does it again. this time, she realizes what she wrote.

“not a word, y/n”

“rina look, i just-”

“first of all, do not call me that. we’re not close, okay? and second, i don’t care that you were asked to help me. i just need to pass english and then i’m through with you,” without missing a beat, she continues writing her assignment.

you won’t lie, it hurt whenever karina dismissed you like that. you don’t even understand why she hated you so much. was it because you answered for her in class? or was it because you stole her seat on the first day? whatever it was, it still hurt. but if she was going to be like this towards you, then you figured you should be the same back.

and that’s how the rest of your tutoring sessions go. you both arrive at the library, not uttering a single word to each other. you immerse yourself in your book or in other school work, and you only say something if karina asks you. as you meet up more and more, however, you notice karina is slowly starting to ask more questions and actually initiate conversation but you always gave her a dry reply, not even bothering to look up at her as you answer. why should you? you were just here to help her.

after one of your tutoring sessions, you were walking back to your dorm when you suddenly receive a phone call. the caller ID was enough to make you decline the call, but you answer it anyway. you don’t bother saying hello, and just wait for the other party to say something.

“not even a hello? wow, who do you think you are?”

“what do you want?”

“jeez, what’s gotten into you? i just called to check up on you”

“i never asked you to check on me”

“god, you’re unbelievable. you should be thankful i’m even checking up on you even after what you did to your-”

“stop trying to act like my mother. you are not her and you will never be her, so just shut up and leave me alone,” you angrily say as you hang up, not letting her get a response in. you shove your phone back into your pocket and stormed off to your dorm, but you don’t notice the girl behind you who heard everything.

she didn’t mean to eavesdrop. if anything, she blames you for stopping in the middle of the hallway and answering the call, and even putting it on speaker phone. but she heard it either way, whether she wanted to or not. karina watched as you stomped away and she felt a heavy feeling in her chest - it was guilt. she’s been rude to you all this time when all you wanted was to be her friend. you even agreed to tutor her (though it was pretty much forced) and she was still acting like such a bitch to you. but after hearing the conversation, she couldn’t help but feel sad. she didn’t have the best relationship with her mom either, so in a way, she kind of related to you. she starts thinking that maybe you weren’t so bad after all.

-

a few more tutoring sessions and three assignments later, karina manages to get her grade back up. once she hears the good news from professor lee, she immediately goes to find you.

“y/n!”

you turn around to find an ecstatic and smiley purple haired goddess coming your way. she crashes into you and wraps her arms around you, but you just stand there and look straight ahead, leaving your arms glued to your side.

she finally lets go of you after what seemed like minutes of hugging, and she shoves a paper in front of your face.

“look! i got my grade back up, and it’s all thanks to you!”

“good. now we can go our separate ways,” you try to walk pass her, but she grabs your arm to stop you.

“wait! let me treat you to something to eat! as a thank you for helping me”

“i’ll pass,” and you try to walk by her again. she doesn’t stop you this time, but she starts following you instead.

“how about tomorrow? or next week? i’m free whenever, just let me kn-”

“what’s your deal, hm? why are you so nice to me all of a sudden? just because you got your grade up or what?”

karina’s smile fades and a nervous expression appears on her face, scared to tell you why she was acting this way. she fidgets with the paper in her hand, avoiding your gaze and biting her bottom lip.

“so what do you want?” you ask, trying to get an answer out of her.

“i..” she starts. “i overheard your phone call with your mom. i didn’t mean to, it’s just you were right there and you even put it on speaker phone so i just happened to hear everything..” you say nothing, and you wait for her to continue.

“i feel bad for how i’ve treated you all this time. the truth is, i get it. i know what you’re going through, and it’s okay to-”

“stop,” karina looks at you, and she looks scared but she’s not scared that you were angry, she knew you’re probably pissed at her. what was scaring her is the lack of emotion you were showing. she wanted you to scream at her, to cuss her out for being such a bitch, but instead you’re as calm as ever and it terrifies her to her core.

“she’s not my mother. that was my stepmom who tries way too hard to be my mother,” you say calmly. you start making your way to her, making sure that she hears what you have to say next loud and clear. once you're right in front of her, you continue.

“don’t act like you fucking know me just after hearing one phone call. if you’re being nice to me because you feel bad for me, then just save it. i don’t need your pity and i don’t need you around, got it? i’m through with you” you’re close enough to feel her breath on your lips, but you back away as soon as you’re done talking to her and you leave her in the middle of the hall with people were staring, but you didn’t care. you didn’t need karina or her pity, and the campus goddess got that message loud and clear. but it still hurt her. it hurt enough to make tears fall from her eyes, and karina rarely ever cries. she wipes away whatever tears were on her cheek and starts making her way to meet with ningning.

karina didn't want you to be through with her, but she deserved it. especially since she's the one who said it first.