#and the test was partnered! with the partner also having to do two+ reps of cpr while the main person does defib

[summerlycoris]

Like i brushed it off during cpr training but owowowowow my knees oh god my knees.

Carpet burn isnt a joke owowowow ow anytime i try to climb onto my bed i get a BRUTAL reminder that my knees are fucked up rn.

[dyslexic-book-swallower]

Books i read in 2023 in the order i read them in.

This poison heart by Kalynn Bayron

if you like herbalism, witchcraft, greek mythology and family secrest. This one's for you

blurb

To break an ancient curse she must let her power bloom. Brises has a gift. She can grow an apple tree from seed in a heartbeat, and flowers bloom at her touch. And when she inherits an old house, she suddenly has the privacy to test her powers for the first time. But as Bri starts to magic the house's ramling grounds back to life, she finds she also inherited generations of secrets. In a hidden garden overgrown with the most deadly poisonous plants on earth a dark legacy lies waiting for her. And Bri's long-departed ancestors won't let her rest until she finds it.

The wicked fate by Kalynn Bayron

in the sequel to 'this poision heart' you get ore time with Bri and her crazy but loveable family.

Blurb

To save the people she loves she must make her power blossom. Brises has one chance to rescue her motger, but she'll need to do the impossible: find the last fragment of the deadly Absyrtus Heart. To locate the missing piece she must turn to the blood relatives she's never known, learn about their secrets powers and take her place in their anicent lingage. But Bri is not the only one who wants the Heart, and her enemies wil stop at nothing to fufil thei own ruthless plans. With dark forces and deadly botanicals descending around her, Bri must harness her powers to change the most dangerous of fates ahead her. And her enemies won't make it easy.

Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Sone, Ashley Woodfolk, Angie Thomas and Nicola Yoon.

Are you a lover of YA with a focus on Black youth who all have trouble with love? why don't you try this loveable yet infuriating short story collection.

Blurb

Six of the biggest stars of YA bring all the electricity of love to a charming, hilarious and heartbreaking tales that shine the brightest light throiugh the dark. When a heatwave plunges new York City into darkness, sparks fly for thirteen teenagers caught up in the blackout. A first time meeting. Long-time friends. Bitter exes. And maybe the begnning of something new. When the lights go out, people reveal hidden truths. Love blossoms, friendship transform, and new possibilities take flight.

Other words for home by Jamine Warga

New to middle easten fiction? Here's a soft start with a heartwarming middle grad book.

blurb

Jude never thought she'd be leaving her beloved older brother and father behind, all the way across the ocean in Syria. But when things in her hometown start becoming Volatile, Jude and her mother are sent to live in Cincinnati with relatives. At first, everthing in America seems too fast and loud. The American movies that Jude has always loved haven't quite prepared her for starting school in the US, and for her new label of "Middle eastren", an identity she's never known before. But this life also brings unexpected surprises- there are new friends, a whole new family, and a school musical that Jude might try out for. Maybe America, too, is a place where Jude can be seen as she really is. This lyrical, life-affirming story is baout losing and finding home and, most important, finding yourself.

Hani and Ishu's guide to fake dating by Adiba Jaigrdar

A little fake dating with some Bengali rep and academic overachievering and a partner who fights for you? Try this!

Blurb

Easy going and popular Hani Khan has it all. Until she comes out as bisexual and her friends don't believe her. An academic overachiever, Ishu Dey has a lot to prove. But her shot at head girl relies on being popular. Their solution? Pretend to be dating, even though theu hardly know each other and definitely don't like each other. But as they get closer, things get messy. Can two Bengali girls find happliy ever after- even whe the odds are stacked against them?

Aristotle and Dante discover the sercets of the universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Do you wanna read a gay love story with a stubbon yet protective boy set in during the aids criss? Try this classic book who is still pretty timeless.

Blurb

Aristole is an angery teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all with a unique perspective on life. When the two first meet, they seem to have nothing in common; but as they start speading time together, they develop a special friendship - the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. Together, Ari and Dante vil learn the most important truths about the universe, love, and the kinds of people they want to be.

Last night at the telegraph club by Malinda Lo

Do you like a little history in your sapphic romance? Try this heartbreaking romance set in 1954, during red scare in Chinatown.

Blurb

Seventeen-year-old Lilly Hu can't remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kaltheen Miller walked under the flashing neon lights of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lilly. With deportation looming over her father - despite his hard-won citizenship - Lilly and Kath risk everthing to let their love see the light of day.

Aristotle and Dante dive into the waters of the world by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

In this squel to 'Aristotle and Dante discover the sercets of the universe' you get to see our loved couple have fun, fight, and make op. if you've read the first one, you needddd to read this one.

Blurb

Ari's spent his life hiding who he really is, staying silent and invisble - but something in him cracked open when he fell in love with Dante last summer, and he can't go back. Together, the boys are determined to make themselves seen and heard in a world that challenges their very existence. But when Ari is faced with a shocking loss, he'll have to fight like never before to create a life that is truthfully, joyfully his own.

Husband material by Alexis Hall

in this squel to 'Boyfriend material' see a couple fight through weddings and a funeral, and their own wedding nighmare.

Blurb

WANTED: One (Very real) husband Nowhere near perfect but desperately trying his best Two years ago, Luc O'Donnell and Oliver Blackwood met, pretended to fall in love, fell in love for real, dealt with heartbreak and disapointment and family and friends... and somehow fingured out a way to make it all work. Now it seems like everyone around them is getting mattied, and Luc's feeling the social pressure to propose. That's what you do when you love someone this desperately, right? But it'll take more than four weddings and a fueral and a hostly contested rainbow ballon arch to get this semi-disagraced son of a former rock stars and his tightly buttoned-up boyfriend from "I don't know when I'm doing" to "I do" Good thing Oliver is such perfect husband material

Whiteout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Sone, Ashley Woodfolk, Angie Thomas and Nicola Yoon.

Where you a fan of 'blackout'? check this out, hell. Even you weren't or haven't read it, if you like cozy love and chaos maybe this one's for you

Blurb

As the city grinds to a halt, twelve teens band together to help a friend pull off the most epic apology of her life. But will they be able to make it happen, in spite of the storm?

No one is prepared for this whiteout. But then, we can’t always prepare for the magical moments that change everything..

The other ones by Fran Hart

Are you a fan of cozy, haunting and gay? This is a perfect fall read for all thoses with wild dreams.

Blurb

Sal hates standing out. But he lives in a haunted house- and everyone know it. His oldest friend, Dirk, tries to help...but he wants to stay popular, and Sal isn't helping. Elsie was popular- until rescently. Now she's on the outcast's table too...and she doesn't want to talk about it. Then there's the new boy, Pax, who won't leave Sal alone. His idea of a good time is hanging out in graveyards. And for some reason. Sal just can't stay away. Meet the other ones Can they banish their ghosts together?

Wranglestone by Darren Charlton

Zombies, gayness, and secrets?

Blurb

The islands of lake wrangelstone are a safe haven in a world filled with the restless dead, but as the lake frezzes over. There's nothing stopping them from crossing the ice. Peter had never really felt at home in a place where practicality and grit are valued above all else. He's nothing like Cooper- the boy he's always watched form afar. But when he is ordered to join Copper on the mainland, they find more then just each other. There they unearth a dark secret about Wranglestone's past. One that forces the pair to question everything they've ever known.

You're not supposed to die tonight by Kalynn bayron

Are you a fan of horror movies but do you want a book version? Try this spine chilling book.

Blurb

Charity has the summer job of her dreams, playing the “final girl” at Camp Mirror Lake. Guests pay to be scared in this full-contact terror game, as Charity and her summer crew recreate scenes from a classic slasher film, The Curse of Camp Mirror Lake. The more realistic the fear, the better for business. But the last weekend of the season, Charity's co-workers begin disappearing. And when one ends up dead, Charity's role as the final girl suddenly becomes all too real. If Charity and her girlfriend Bezi hope to survive the night, they'll need figure out what this killer is after. As they unravel the bloody history of the real Mirror Lake, Charity discovers that there may be more to the story than she ever suspected . . .

Encyclopedia of Magical herbs by Scott Cunningham

Hoping to meet that spcial someone? wear a sprig of maidenhair fern. Having problems with your cash flow? Burn cloves as incense to attract riches. Want ot enhance your psychic abilities? Brew up some dandelion root tea. In days gone by out ancestors lived in harmony with the earth. They knew which plants could heal and which ones could kill. They also knewn that plants harbored magical powers, forces that could be harnessed adn dircted to fulfill a need- angthing from protecting a house to finding true love. Magical herbalism is the use of these powers to create postive changes. The revised and updated fiffteenth anniversary edition contains the folklore and magical properites of over 400 herbs. Far from the concentrating on esoteric, unobtainable plants, many of those mentioned within are old friends. the magical properites of onions, cashews, apples, rice, lettuce- as well as dill, basil, fennel, garlic, and parsley are descired. Extensive tables, a cross-reference of folk names, glossary, and annotated bibliography make this a comprehensive and valuable guide to the pratice of magical herblism.

The sun and the star by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro

Were you a Percy Jackson kid with a love for the mirror charaters? Go with Nico and Will on the worst trip ever.

blurb

As the son of Hades, Nico di Angelo has been through so much, from the premature deaths of his mother and sister, to being outed against his will, to losing his friend Jason during the trials of Apollo. But there is a ray of sunshine in his life–literally: his boyfriend, Will Solace, the son of Apollo. Together the two demigods can overcome any obstacle or foe. At least, that’s been the case so far... Now Nico is being plagued by a voice calling out to him from Tartarus, the lowest part of the Underworld. He thinks he knows who it is: a reformed Titan named Bob whom Percy and Annabeth had to leave behind when they escaped Hades’s realm. Nico’s dreams and Rachel Dare’s latest prophecy leave little doubt in Nico’s mind that Bob is in some kind of trouble. Nico has to go on this quest, whether Mr. D and Chiron like it or not. And of course Will insists on coming with. But can a being made of light survive in the darkest part of the world? and what does the prophecy mean that Nico will have to “leave something of equal value behind?”

I wish you all the best by Mason Deaver

Looking for read with non-binary rep? Live with Ben as their worst nightmare turns out to not be so bad

Blurb

When Ben De Backer comes out to their parents as nonbinary, they're thrown out of their house and forced to move in with their estranged older sister, Hannah, and her husband, Thomas, whom Ben has never even met. Struggling with an anxiety disorder compounded by their parents' rejection, they come out only to Hannah, Thomas, and their therapist and try to keep a low profile in a new school. But Ben's attempts to survive the last half of senior year unnoticed are thwarted when Nathan Allan, a funny and charismatic student, decides to take Ben under his wing. As Ben and Nathan's friendship grows, their feelings for each other begin to change, and what started as a disastrous turn of events looks like it might just be a chance to start a happier new life.

Home body by Rupi Kaur

Honestly, i didn't really like this one

Blurb

i dive into the well of my body and end up in another world everything i need already exists in me there’s no need to look anywhere else – home

The Lesbiana's Guide To Catholic School by Sonora Reyes

Did you too grow op in an unaccepting place? Bare witness to Yami's struggle at a new school.

Blurb

Sixteen-year-old Yamilet Flores prefers to be known for her killer eyeliner, not for being one of the only Mexican kids at her new, mostly white, very rich Catholic school. But at least here no one knows she's gay, and Yami intends to keep it that way. After being outed by her crush and ex-best friend before transferring to Slayton Catholic, Yami has new priorities: keep her brother out of trouble, make her mom proud, and, most importantly, don't fall in love. Granted, she's never been great at any of those things, but that's a problem for Future Yami. The thing is, it's hard to fake being straight when Bo, the only openly queer girl at school, is so annoyingly perfect. And smart. And talented. And cute. So cute. Either way, Yami isn't going to make the same mistake again. If word got back to her mom, she could face a lot worse than rejection. So she'll have to start asking, WWSGD: What would a straight girl do?

Timberdark by Darren Charlton

Well, if you read 'Wranglestone', i'd hurry to the book store for Timerdark

Blurb

With the tide turned against the Dead, Peter and the remaining community on Wranglestone prepare to leave for town, where the comforts of the world before await them. Could this be the home that finally brings both safety and unity for all? Cooper isn't so sure. He harbours feelings from that terrible night on the lake and worse, a secret... codename, Timberdark. With Cooper's new found connection to the Dead, Peter's suspicions about what he might do next grow. Faced with losing the boy he loves, Peter must uncover the truth about the mysterious Timberdark before their future together and the world around them is placed in danger.

Straight expectations by Calum Mcswiggan

Did you ever wish you were't gay? Well take a look at what that wish gives you.

Blurb

Seventeen-year-old Max has always been out, proud and just a little spoiled. Frustrated by the lack of romantic options in his small-town high school, during an argument with his lifelong best friend Dean, Max lashes out and says he wishes he had never been born gay. Max gets more than he bargained for when he wakes up to find his wish has come true - not only have his feelings for boys vanished, but so has Dean. With his school life turned upside down and his relationship with his family in tatters, Max sets out on a journey of rediscovery to find a way back to the life he took for granted, and the romance he thought he'd never have.

Cupid's revenge by Wibke Brueggemann

Honestly, this book is sorta just 'you had to be there' situation. If you like sad gayness, i'd give it a shot.

blurb

It was never Tilly’s intention to fall in love, but Cupid will get you when you least expect it. That’s exactly what happens when Tilly’s best friend, Teddy, ropes Tilly into a plan to woo his dream girl, aspiring actress Katherine Cooper-Bunting. It turns out Teddy’s not the only one who finds her dreamy. But Katherine is off-limits. The only thing more important than Tilly’s feelings for someone she just met is not hurting Teddy, whose heart has been broken in the past. Avoiding temptation is easier said than done, as Teddy convinces Tilly to help him audition for a local play as a way to get to know Katherine better―a complete horror for someone who grew up in an artsy family but doesn’t have a creative bone in her body. On top of dealing with her growing feelings for the girl she shouldn’t like (but who may like her back), Tillie is still grieving a loss while navigating her grandfather’s recent Alzheimer’s diagnosis. So yeah, that’s a lot for any sixteen-year-old to handle without Cupid’s vengeful arrows getting involved.

[girl-mercury]

I worked at an infectious disease specialist’s office 2004-2010 (as administrative staff, not clinical.) Even though I mostly interacted with patients as their charts, I still got to see our patients come to the office from the beginning. I saw who was following up from yet another hospital visit, who we were giving a case of ensure to because they were so terribly underweight, the number of patients needing anti-depressants alongside their HIV meds (I mean, don’t we all, but like, for legit stress over living with this condition, also the doctors did primary care so weren’t prescribing outside of their lane.) It was a hard life they had; I took HIPAA requirements so seriously because HIV stigma could endanger them if the wrong person knew their diagnosis.

And years passed, I filed charts and got through college and we talked about the potential of a vaccine, and the drug reps were telling us about new formulations of the antiretrovirals. Some patients didn’t get better and mostly couldn’t make it through a last case of pneumonia, but others put on weight and their T cell counts got better. They’d get partners and those partners could take PrEP, because you could actually prevent HIV transmission like that by then, which was kinda miraculous? Like you could just. Not transmit HIV. 🤯

I left that job to go use my new English degree as a medical editor elsewhere, so all these people whose lives I’d followed through their test results, their front desk sign-ins, their SSDI application medical record requests, and their visit notes were suddenly something I had no more knowledge of (and rightfully so.) I hope they’re doing well. There were two patients I worked with a bit who died right before I left; there was another who had been our patient from when he was on death’s door but years later when I last saw him he was just so jovial and healthy, and I feel so privileged to have been even a tiny footnote in all their lives, contributing mainly by making sure their doctors had all the information they needed to take care of them. Trying to make their lives a little easier, so they didn’t have to chase down paperwork during some of the worst times of their lives. It was an interesting time to be in that field of medicine, even if I wasn’t fully in it like the clinical staff.

But a miracle is a miracle, even one step removed, and the changes that happened during that time mean that so many people get to live full healthy lives with the people they love instead of the all-too-real alternative. There’s a joy in it you can’t miss.

FACTS!

[san-fics]

Felinette Prompts p.20

(part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6) (part 7) (part 8) (part 9) (part 10) (part 11) (part 12) (part 13) (part 14) (part 15) (part 16) (part 17) (part 18) (part 19)

(Ao3)

Family Shenanigans

Insidious Plan

Gabriel promises to return Felix his family ring if he makes some girl who has a crush on Adrien fall in love with him instead. According to his uncle’s plan, Felix must also dump her later on, right before the design competition, leaving her heartbroken for her to perform poorly. Felix doesn’t know or care why his uncle needs these intrigues when he agrees to the ugly plan (to fulfill his mother’s wish), but everything suddenly changes when he loses his head over the girl while carrying out his uncle’s task. What will be more important to him: a family heirloom or… love?

Unexpected discovery

Felix learns that his mother and Marinette have regular calls about him. It turns out they started when Marinette contacted Amelie as a class representative to discuss his school progress and also Felix’s questionable antics at the teacher’s request, who was sick at the time and needed help with her workload. But now the two are practically besties with how often they call each other, including weekly calls dedicated only to discussing Felix… He is ​​not sure how to feel about this revelation given his conflicted relationship with the class rep and his tiny (and completely insignificant!) crush on her...

Besotted By You

High on anesthesia, Felix falls for his wife all over again and tries to woo her by all means available to him, including refined manners and cunning—at least as much as his brain is currently capable of it—and without even refusing the help of extremely bad pick-up lines. But it seems to work, because the beautiful stranger seems almost caught in his net...

*

PV THEMES

Stay With Me (TW for Angst in this one!!)

After defeating Monarch, which cost Marinette so much that she still can’t sleep at night months later, someone pops up in her bathroom one morning. He looks and acts very much like Felix, only it can’t be Felix, because all the sentimonsters, including Chat Noir and Argos himself, were destroyed by the latter to save hundreds of lives in the final battle with Monarch. “Felix Agreste,” the stranger introduces himself, nervously rubbing his black cat head ring. Marinette doesn’t know from which dimension he came and why he is here, but she knows that she won’t be ready to let him go back after everything she’s already lost...

Unexpected Way Home

Argos and Ladybug are hit by an Akuma that sends them to another dimension. Marinette hopes that the influence of Akuma from her world will soon end and she and Felix will return—as the Guardian, she cannot leave him and his Miraculous here even if she wanted, so she decides that it’s better for them to stick together despite their hostile relationship. But then the local Ladybug and Chat Noir catch them for interrogation, treating the intruders with great distrust, and Argos has the brilliant idea to prove to local heroes that they aren’t enemies by testing his theory about the similarity of their worlds (starting with the identity of the local Hawk Moth) and Marinette is in for some very unexpected discoveries...

Hey Adrien, do you happen to have a brother named Felix?

Having barely met her new partner, Chat Noir, and not even having time to defeat her first Akuma, Marinette finds herself sucked into another dimension, switching places with the local Ladybug, who has been hit by local Akuma. This Chat Noir, who seems much more serious than hers and turns out to have been fighting Akumas for a long time, helps the aspiring heroine to believe in herself while they catch an Akuma together… and accidentally reveals his identity to her… Marinette returns to her world, determined to find the same Felix here. And although Adrien Agreste, who is probably her new hero partner, is clearly not at all like that other Chat Noir who fascinated her so much, talking to him might be a good place to start her search…

*

Random

Back And Forward

On a seemingly ordinary day, while saving Adrien from three classmates-turned-Akumas as Ladybug, Marinette suddenly finds herself at the altar, standing next to a guy who looks like Adrien, but is clearly not him, considering that Adrien is standing behind him as his best man.

OR: On a seemingly ordinary day, standing at the altar next to her future husband, Felix, Marinette suddenly finds herself back in her teenage body, carrying Adrien in her arms… Wait a minute, isn’t this the same day she first met…

Be Strict With Me

Marinette is always polite to everyone, and even resolves Felix’s conflicts with the class gently and with a smile, so it angers him how impeccably good she is. But one day something comes over her, because when he deliberately tries to piss her off, testing the limits of her goodness as usual, to his surprise, the class rep snaps right back, demanding an apology very harshly and adamantly. And Felix... Felix realizes he gets horny when Marinette is mad at him…

Waiting For You (Soulmates AU)

Each pair of Soulmates in this world manifests itself differently: someone has on their skin the first words their soulmate will tell them, some are born with a birthmark that symbolizes their pair, others feel their soulmate’s emotions from a distance, others hear their voice in their head—the only pattern is that when a soulmark manifests itself, it’s the same for both in a couple. From early childhood, there was always her soulmate’s double next to Marinette. He isn’t her age, but a teenager, the same age he will be when they met for the first time, he explains. He knows nothing else about her actual soulmate other than his name, but he is always there for her, invisible and impalpable to the rest of the world. He calms her down in difficult moments and supports her, every time changing Marinette’s life for the better. But most importantly, she knows that Felix is ​​waiting for her somewhere, supported by his own Marinette, who will only disappear when he meets the real one.

Felinette Tag list (ask me to join)

@mochegato

@thepapillonnoir

@snow-leopard-777

@loves-books

@turiankitty

@toodaloo-kangaroo

@readingismyoxygen

@aespades

@starlightshield

@jessigurl-design

@trippingovermyfeet

@apasponsor

@avs17

@fangirlingfanatic

@psychicdelusionwerewolf

@ur-beautiful-when-u-smile

@spicemallow

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@frieddonutsweets

@miraculous-panic

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@its-maemain

@unoriginalmess

@achaoticmess1

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@peachayim

@starling218

@iloontjeboontje

@jennifer-rose123

@a-slytherinish-gryffindor

@wegetitethan

@jacimari

@hammalammadamdam

@rosewood1sedona

@rosesandsailboats

@soap-lady

@queens1234

@cafedeagua

@lizslibrary

@jdcarmelo

[astridhobbit]

FUN WRITING EXERCISE

So you’re doing a worldbuilding and you want to have different cultures/planets/nations/city-states and have them be distinct, but you also want to have them a) not be homogeneous and b) not be racist about it.

Here’s what I came up with:

0) Pick one of your groups. As practice, pick whatever country you currently live in or grew up in.

1) List five things that are BROADLY true about that group. My partner added: these things can be ideologically true (this is what we strive to be but pobody’s nerfect), normatively true (this is what we SHOULD be and if you aren’t you’re kinda weird), unconsciously true (whether you like it or not), or things they think are true but are actually not. Or any other kind of true!

1a) At least two of those things should be contradictory.

2) Now think about the character that you’re gonna write to rep that group. At least one of the things on your list should NOT be true for that character.

3) (optional) When you think about groups who are

EXAMPLE:

0) I’m an American so let’s go.

1) Americans love nature. Americans love shopping. Americans prize rugged individualism. Americans have expensive healthcare. Every American owns a gun.

1a) I see “love nature” and “love shopping” as contradictory, but maybe I can do better in a different iteration. Whatever, I’m rolling with it.

2) ::waves:: I’m a character! I’m medium into nature, I do enjoy shopping, find individualism creeping into my actions and thoughts when I’m not paying attention, BUT! I have experienced cheap healthcare (though I didn’t stress-test it) and I do not own a gun.

I think it’s super important that the broadly true things about the group should still be somewhat in whatever individual character you are writing to rep that group, because the character is the window to the reader learning about the group. But groups are made of individuals, and no individual perfectly matches the group, so it is also super important that one or two of the “this group always” things be NOT true for your character.

Thinking about things that are broadly true about a group and how a character meets or does not meet those truths is a great way to build an interesting group in a hurry while keeping the group character-focused. I think this will be useful to me in my writing, and I hope it’s useful to you!

[prof-peach]

if fans wanted to include peach in stuff they write, would that be okay? and how would they write peach's personality? aside from "FIGHT ME" anyway, i think that much is a given lol. i only really write the anime characters 'cause that's what i know, but it sounds like it'd be kinda fun to try making a version of ash that fits into this blog's universe! nerf'd Obviously, but i think she'd probably appreciate how hands-on he gets when training his pokemon!

Ok, I get a lot of these messages, and I often hear folks wanting to throw peach into their stories and comics and writings, and I will always simply ask that if it’s published online publicly, to be linked to it so I can snoop and enjoy the content too. If someone asks about her in your work, let them know about the blog I guess? But literally I love that people take this stuff, these characters and stories, and make new stuff with it. No ones making money off my work here? So where’s the issue? Go for it buddy, knock yourself out, I’m all for it.

For you, and all the others out there who want to add peach, and other characters to your world building, I will give you a detailed rundown of the main lot, and how they behave, what they do, how they function. You can use that, use bits, or use none of it, I do not mind at all. If you’re creating something, you’re in control, not me.

So, peach doesn’t actually fight people as much as you’d think. She’s very aware most cannot and do not want to do that, and so she likes to keep to herself with regards to that aspect of her life, she doesn’t ask to spar with people, or even bring it up at all, but people ask her all the time, even if they clearly would lose or become hurt should she miscalculate during the fight. She looks at people like they usually create problems, and often has a somewhat reserved nature to other humans. You have to work quite hard to get anything more than formalities out of her. She will dead-pan handle people with blunt and very to-the-point statements, aid whenever possible, but very quickly get back to handling the Pokemon she so carefully tends. Her focus is clear, she’s all about hard work, her very small select family, and the Pokemon.

Her brutal, loud and brash personality only comes out with friends, family, difficult humans, OR any Pokemon. She will joke and laugh and play with Pokemon, but clam up around humans, maintaining tight body language and generally will be a little cold by regular standards. She does however have some weaknesses in this emotionless shield she puts up. When peach was young she was always angry, which swung so fast to sadness, back and forth. Her teenage years it just got worse and worse, it was crippling at points. She is to this day, full of fire and rage, even sadness, but now she has learnt to control it, to use it. When she sees that in others, it’s familiar, and she is pushed to drop the front, and be very real with the person. Underdogs I suppose, people who get bad reps, but deserve the same as everyone else. She can’t ignore it.

Once you start to pry open her personality, you’ll find she’s a lot more laid back and fun than originally appeared, you just have to work hard to find that side of her. She will meme reference, can’t dance to save her life, loves her coffee, and can be caught in quiet contemplation while gardening. This hobby is her calmest, and often is why she can stay so level headed when her quiet rage boils up again. Without time outside she will become grouchy, a little snippy, and lethargic. Will not go in the ocean for any reason other than life or death, is fine with ponds and rivers, or water at wading height. Likes the rain.

With regards to her training others, they usually have to tolerate her somewhat strict nature. She is a little....unforgiving, holds a grudge if you make a lot of mistakes, and has no tolerance for ignorance in the age of information that we all live in. In previous posts I’ve mentioned she’s only recently selected two students, after many years of testing kids who want to learn from her. Hundred tried out, only two have ever been approved. How she teaches is very fast paced, be prepared to get some scrapes and bruises, she will test your physical and emotional tolerances with intense tasks, carefully watching students like a hawk. Bad posture in your stance? She’ll be the first to tell you to sort it out. Not hearing your Pokemon partner? Right, now you spend the day without using words trying to communicate, let’s see how you like not being listened to.

This is a woman who has spent her life saying very little, and watching everything, she watches Pokemon and can see an issue from a mile off, and in battles, her observations are why she can react fast, and chose effective strategy to avoid damage and achieve results. Don’t let her body fool you, her strongest asset is analysing, watching, planning. Those skills have over the years transferred to people too. As a student, mistakes don’t go unnoticed with this professor.

Her methods are harsh but fair, and should you prove yourself, she will protect you with her life.

Because of her disinterest in kids and lots of noise, she does pass the training of students on to the other staff members whenever possible. Grey takes on the lions share of battle lessons, he is far calmer, more open and friendly, with patience for people, and an empathy that peach sometimes struggles to have. When you go through a lot of harsh training, and difficult events, it’s hard to change how you feel or think, with peach, well, she’s been through it. Most do not come out the other end in one piece, but she did, and it made her strong. You may think I mean strong like buff and big, and yeah sure she is, but I mean it mentally more than anything. Peach will not quit. She has learnt to destroy the boundaries that stop people getting hurt, gone is the fear that freezes you in your tracks, that feeling that you’ll pass out if you go one more step. She’s learnt to ignore it.

This means she’s a little forgetful at how it is to be normal, to be vulnerable and soft and squishy like students so usually are.

She has her issues, but for the most part, visitors get a laugh, a smile, a calm assertive confidence, and facts. She will indulge those who have genuine interest, or show a connection with nature, an understanding of the balance that needs to be struck for everyone to live well together.

Despite her many flaws, she’s fiercely protective, and will go above and beyond to defend the island, it’s staff, the Pokemon and the visitors. Injustice is her biggest gripe, along with littering, and she doesn’t stand by quietly if something happens that seems unfair.

You will not see her without Valka, her vulpix, close by. That Pokemon doesn’t like to be touched by strangers, at all, and will run the second someone comes at her with that intent. Peach will scold you for pushing yourself onto her, should you persistently try to get close to pet Val. They are in sync, if peach is sad, Val is sad, if Val is stressed, peach is stressed, and so on. They are inherently connected, it’s just been that long, the psychic bridge between them has been built, and reinforced over the years.

The only other Pokemon who follows her so endlessly is Booker, a teddiursa who’s pretty rough looking. He quietly trots behind, grouchy and stoic, they fight closely together a lot. He lost his mom a long time ago to poachers, and peach took him in, and changed her whole life for him. Not many people know, but Booker was the reason she left the rangers, changed career, and got so strong. Will tolerate people petting him but isn’t keen at all, grumbles a lot and tries to move away.

You may also need to know about the others, for the sake of writing, she here a few more bits that may be important to you, or others wanting to do this.

Grey is very tall, very burly, composed, tells bad dad jokes, is a bit of a goof if allowed to be. If he sees a pun, he’ll say it. Can’t help himself. Very nice guy to work with, good at keeping people calm and grounded. Pokemon are drawn to him like a moth to a flame, he gives off warm energy, and has inhuman amounts of patience. If you wrong his family however, he will snap back.

He grew up in the city, loves to swim and hike and cycle, can snowboard, is really sporty. A total brain box with held items, and boosting stats. He will explore many paths, to make sure visitors and students get the information they need, in a way that can be remembered and retained for later. Is a huge guy, but will get on the floor to play with a tiny Pokemon. Treats big “meaner” looking species like babies, very good with all pokemon.

His free time is spent either tinkering, swimming, or trimming his bonsai trees. This guy stares at screens a lot, so appreciates time away from them. Peach built him his own little greenhouse for his trees and tools, which he keeps clean and loves dearly.

His methods as a teacher are built around fun and games, he makes hard work easier to do by distracting trainers from the difficult bits, and focusing in on something more interesting or compelling.

His most commonly seen Pokemon would be a houndoom, Saxon, old battle veteran, retired now to herding and being a good boy. Very gentle, loves a pet.

Pari, now a fully fledged nurse, often oversees the labs front desk and pokecentre features, such as healing pokemon, and informing trainers who come to visit. Her skills with eggs and hatchlings is high, she’s great with younger Pokemon, and hands out good advice to trainers a lot. She’s not a fighter, never was, but can find any file, any study, any book, and any refrence you may need. A true bookworm, loves her romance novels, chat shows and upbeat celebrity gossip mags. Will cry at a lot of stuff, be it sad or happy.

She’s got a seriously upbeat personality, but if caught off guard or shocked, she gets a little flustered. Too much chaos will overwhelm her, but usually she’s on top of things. The years spent on the island have made her better at maintaining composure in emergencies. With lots of siblings, she’s very competent with others, and has a good ability to disarm cagey people with her jolly nature. Because of this, she can sometimes gain information from trainers that some of the more harsh professors may not have access to. Charming is a word for it.

Her partners are an eevee, and a happiny. They are quite sweet and well adjusted, the eevee gets a bit bouncy if you get it too excited.

[imthepunchlord]

Out of curiosity, are there any animals (mythological or otherwise) that you think would fit the Wu Xing quintet better?

Alright, to make this doable for me, we're not counting the existence of yin-yang duo or the Zodiac. Also not going to worry about balance for this or having an appealing color wheel. Just doing my initial picks of what I think would work best and fit best for Wu Xing in terms of elemental personality, behavior, and symbolism. 

My best pick for Wood: Snake

Wood is an element about new beginnings, the start of a new cycle. That is a major symbolism for Snake, new cycles. It's canon power even relates to it.

This element is about adventure, branching out, exploration, testing boundaries, and growth. The Snake bravely travels forth and has pushed the boundaries of it's capability, able to travel on land, underground, water, tree tops, and even able to glide through the air. Like a growing tree, it moves at it's own pace and takes it's time, but it'll thrive, with the sunlight helping it grow and thrive.

This element is known for provision and life, the Snake is known for healing and wisdom. Some cultures turn to it to bring protection (like India's Naga). This element can have issues of being either too grounded or have their head too up in the clouds, you could count this as snakes being actual animals that are usually low to the ground, but have inspired/associated with mythical creatures that can soar through the air (specifically eastern dragons). This element is associated with creativity as its the Snake, the Celtic Zodiac Snake’s personality is defined by its creativity, and many cultures associate the Snake with fertility and the source of life (the Hopi people of North America). 

This element has a flaw of anger, and the Snake is infamously vindictive. While not malicious in nature, it's associated negatively with danger and aggression, and will strike out if limits are pushed. Negatively, Wood can be constricting, reaching its roots and spreading farther than it should, and there are some plants that seek to choke out the competition, similarly to some snakes that seek to choke the life out of their victims. 

Another big appeal is that snakes (or draconic creatures) are largely seen wrapped around trees in the mythology of other cultures, specifically seen wrapped around the Tree of Life. There’s Ladon of Greek mythology, Nidhogg of Norse, Mucalinda who arose to wrap around Buddha to protect him from the elements while he meditated under a tree; just to name a few. 

Lastly, it's a nice nod to the Azure Dragon. Even more that canonly, the Snake is cyan/turquoise, and in some shots leans more blue than green, and the Azure Dragon is blue themselves. If there’s to be a nod to the Four Symbols, this would be a good one. 

Alternatively, Snake could be a very solid Water rep, even more so is that it is largely associated with Water, matches it in being withdrawn, mysterious, healing, and having hidden danger; but in symbolism of new cycles, life, and anger; Snake stands out to me most as the best fit to represent Wood. 

My best pick for Fire: Rooster or Peafowl

This is an element of boldness, expression, flamboyance, passion, and love. These two birds are known for their expression and charisma, both vocally and in plumage. They seek to stand out from the crowd like a beacon, and have the drive and ambition to grab attention and to keep it. 

Fire is a very sociable element, thriving off attention and being around others. Like Fire, these two birds are incredibly sociable, seeking to catch the eyes of potential partners and to be amongst the flock. Like Fire, they can give off a new sense of life with their presence, giving a sense of warmth and comfort to those around them, many hens of both variation knowing that the males they put trust in will do what they can to watch over them and their chicks. 

This element is known as a capable leader, the Rooster steps up as THE leader and protector, readily alerting his hens of where food is and sounding the alarm if there's danger. The Peafowl not only does similarly, but culturally has more weight to it; is an iconic symbol of wisdom, guidance, and divinity, making it a reassuring bird to look towards. Many cultures see the Peafowl as an “all seeing” figure with its many eyespots. Vigilant as it is, nothing will get past this bird. 

These two are fiery symbols associated with the sun. The Rooster is a Japanese legend awoke the sleeping Amaterasu, now traditionally it announces the coming dawn and is associated with being a herald, always announcing the arrival of a new day. In Norse mythology, there are 3 roosters who announce the coming of Ragnarok. For the Peafowl, it is thought to be the earthly phoenix, and the Persian Simurgh (a peacock-dog like creature) symbolize the miracle of life, prompting plant growth with its mere presence, much like the sun prompts plant growth with its shine alone. 

And as Fire consumes plants, both birds will devour snakes when they find them. To the Peafowl especially seeks them out as the venom brings out the vibrancy of their feathers. To add to it, there is the symbol Mayura, which is a peacock standing upon a snake, representing a cycle of time. As Wu Xing is tied to the elements, if doing Peafowl, this can represent the end of spring and the start of summer. 

As Fire can be aggressive, known for anger, and be overwhelming in heat and intensity; these two birds can surprise and overwhelm people with their ferocity. There’s a reason why a lot of videos have people running from roosters. And there are forewarnings to people about thinking of getting a peacock. Commonly, they are not so pleasant birds to keep as pets. 

With their intensity, dramatics, expression, coloration, and terms of symbolism and mythology, either of these two would be my pick for Fire. There’s no other element that stands out to me for them to click with alternatively. Color wise, the Rooster would be a better nod to the Vermillion Bird.

My best pick for Earth: Bee

While not the most iconic insect in Chinese culture (Butterfly, Cicada, and Mantis are more known), it still has presence, used for medicine and it was admired for its work ethnic and representing an ideal working empire. And I find it to be the most fitting of Earth for the element’s personality and this insect’s own nature. 

Earth is an element of order, structure, boundaries, and rules (largely based around personal views). Despite this, it can be adaptive and open minded, willing for changes and to compromise. Bees work off their own sense of order and rules and all have a role to fill, but are open enough to work with humans (this animal in animal husbandry that will leave if not cared for well) and being capable of moving to a new location to rebuild if required. 

This element is very community driven, seeks to keep order and tranquility, and will go so far as to meddle whether desired or not. Bees are famous for their community and teamwork, and will do what they have for the greater good of the hive. Even worker bees that are meant to defend the hive will join in the fight to defend and protect. 

This element is known to be nurturing and providing, and can be easily a leader or team player that helps others move forward naturally. It’s not a must be the leader sort, but a major team player that will do what’s best. And if a leadership role needs to be filled, they will do it. Bees are a source of all life, and work hard to provide for themselves and welcome others (like us humans) to share their work. It doesn’t hurt bees at all for their honey to be harvested by us, it keeps their lives productive, protects them from predators and invaders that would be drawn in from the honey.  And despite what is commonly thought, it's the worker bees who run the hive, not the queen. They work together as a unit to run things, sharing leadership positions and being flexible on given directions; when a bee returns to share where there are new flowers to go to, all listen and follow directions given. The queen bee herself only has a purpose of continuing the hive life and nothing more, and if she is a bad queen, the worker bees will end her and appoint a new queen bee (so canonly things with Chloe and Pollen should’ve really gone differently; @nobodyfamousposts even has a headcanon that Pollen referring to users as a “queen” is a lowly term, meant to be demoting as she evaluates new users. Either way, if canon was more true to bees, Chloe would’ve been in a lot of danger). 

This isn't an element known for aggression, but it can be harsh and critical in the face of disorder. Bees themselves aren't aggressive animals, they only sting when feeling threatened but otherwise will happily mind their own business. A bee flying near typically isn’t even going to consider stinging you, at most it might pause because your colorful caught it’s eye, but its not what it’s looking for and will move on. But if push comes to shove (like getting too close to the hive), they will stand their ground and be willing to use their last resort to protect the hive, their fatal stinger (to them). 

As the earth supports all life, so do the bees, potentially playing the most vital role of all. By how this element is in personality and how bees work in their own nature, this is what stands out to me most as the most fitting match up to represent Wu Xing Earth. 

My best pick for Metal: any cat miraculous

This element is known to be refined, poised, charismatic, and arrogant. Like Earth, Metal lives off it's own sense of rules, but lacks the flexibility or care for a majority, caring for a small few instead. This element aims high for itself and largely succeeds in its goals, though it can be too ambitious to a fault. In its goal for success, it can be chaotic/inconsiderate of others. Sometimes on purpose, sometimes accidental. 

Cats as a whole I find match Metal in their nature. They are known to be elegant, poised, dignified, and independent. And all are associated with power and royalty in some way. Lions are largely regarded as the king of beasts, though in more eastern regions, it’s the tiger who holds that regard, even being an equal to the divine dragon. Cats were worshiped by Egypt and in a wide variety of cultures, are associated with magic and protection. In the east, it’s believed that cats could look upon malicious spirits and scare them away with a single look. And much like Metal, these creatures know their worth, and walk with much pride and self-love. Typically when they act out their agenda, they see it through, even if it doesn’t bode well for other, from a hunting lion or tiger, to a mischievous cat about to knock something off the table. And much like Metal, these creatures can be selective in the affection they share, not so open to give it to all (like lion will kill cubs when he takes over a new pride, or some cats hiding away when new people come, not willing to see them). This really matches with Metal as it’s one of two yin elements, it’s known to be “cold”, “detached”, and “distant” with others. Not to say its a heartless element, typically it’s more withdrawn, not caring to involve itself with others and more focus on itself. This often makes it out to be arrogant or cold in personality.

As this element lacks the flexibility of Earth in terms of working off it’s own sense of structure, cats are equally difficult to have working with another’s agenda. Compromise is not a word they know. The common house cat can demand attention whether the owner can give it or not. The legendary tiger would cause chaos and disorder as a means to challenge the dragon, unwilling to yield to the desire for order. And lions will not bow or yield to others, they will not compromise or share their territory, there can only be one strong leader to stand on top of the pride. 

This is the reason why any cat (Cat, Tiger, Lion, ect.) I can see filling the position of Metal. These creatures know their worth, carry themselves with much self-pride and love. They can be big iconic symbols of nobility, protection, and power; but these aren’t entirely noble creatures themselves, and will disrupt things for others to meet their own agenda. This does not make them malicious in nature, it largely shows their drive and ambition. And despite the chaos they can cause, there is much admiration stemmed from these cats in terms of mythology and symbolism. 

The Tiger especially can be a good nod to the White Tiger and include how of the cats, this is the most important in Chinese culture. 

My best pick for Water: Butterfly or Turtle

Water is a typically a tranquil element that is always moving. It thrives at finding new ways forward, taking it time or rushing on when the path is clear for it. It likes to be on the move as stagnant water becomes ill and infected. Through this, Water represents a sense of adventure and a want to expand, typically it falls in the means of knowledge. Water thrives off learning and mental exploration. Its known for integrity and to be wise and knowing, but can be a secretive element, withdrawn and quiet about what it can know. 

Butterfly and Turtle come to mind for it. The Turtle in Chinese culture is known for wisdom and knowledge. People used to write their history on turtle shells, believing that turtles would live forever and as would their history. The Butterfly is associated with forewarnings, in some culture, typically in Europe, to see one around one’s home can mean that death is near in the future. Butterfly and Turtle are also associated with secrecy and being withdrawn. The Turtle will hide away in its shell when under threat, not daring to leave itself out around another. The Butterfly can have amazing camouflage, hiding itself away in plain sight, rather not be seen in comparison to others who want to stand out. These two can even match with Water’s nature to always be in motion. The Turtle is a creature that’s always on the move, never lingering for long. Same for the Butterfly, even since being a caterpillar, it has a goal to reach, and will move and continue until that end, leaving a new cycle in its wake. 

Water represents the end of the cycle, and both can relate to this. The Turtle is wise through experience and survival, the one who made it and saw things to the end. The Butterfly is a famously tied to souls/spirits of those who passed on. The Greek word for butterfly is Psyche, which means soul of the dead. 

Water is an element that, while largely associated with gentleness, tranquility, life, and healing; it does have a hidden danger to it. The surface can be murky and you can see beneath it, or it can be moving rapidly and sweep others along with it with no care or mercy. The Butterfly matches with dark omens. The Turtle can have a strong and dangerous bite. 

These two can also represent two polarities to Water. It’s an element of making a connection, and Butterfly could represent this, playing off the term social butterfly. In Chinese culture, they’re strongly associated with love (young love specifically) and that can play off making a strong connection with another. But it’s an element of being withdrawn into one’s self, which Turtle can better represent as it literally able to withdraw into its shell. 

With a lot of these, it’s Turtle and Butterfly who come it mind for Water. Turtle could be a good nod to the Black Turtle. 

[leiascully]

Fic: Citius, Altius, Fortius (MSR, T)

This ficlet is dedicated to the commercial about the adopted Paralympian that makes me sniffly every time.  I don’t even know what they’re advertising.  All credit to AAVE for the “hip” slang Mulder uses and basically all cutting-edge words in American English.

The Olympic theme was more of a suggestion than a fanfare, but Scully still leaned forward and turned the volume down a few more notches.  She could feel Mulder giving her that crinkly-eyed smile.  She knew the remote worked just fine over the distance between the tv and the couch, but it felt like it worked better when she leaned.  It was like Jackson and his video games, a sympathetic movement.

“I don’t want to wake Gracie,” she said.

“Good plan,” Mulder said, and put his arm comfortably around her shoulders as she leaned back.  Jackson snorted and looked away, but peeked back at them to check in.  Scully was glad she was there for him, the Ginger from his journals, she and Mulder solid presences in his life, bracketed by the ghosts of his adoptive parents.

“I didn’t think you two would buy into all this jingoistic shit,” Jackson said.

“We are still employed by the United States federal government,” Scully pointed out.

“They’re basically our coworkers when it comes to repping the flag,” Mulder said laconically.  “Gotta respect the hustle.  Besides, compared to a lot of national anthems, ours kinda slaps.”

Jackson winced, predictably, at Mulder’s attempt to use slang.  Scully sensed Mulder mentally adding a few tallies to his side of the imaginary scoreboard.  It was all so sweetly familiar, a song she hummed in her dreams.

“Still,” Jackson said.  “It’s all so fuckin’ rah-rah America.  I thought you knew better.  Like you said, you work for the government.  You know all the shit they pull.”

“For two weeks every two years, I support the finest athletes that wealth, health, grueling training, and the opportunities inherent in living in the country possessing the world’s largest economy can produce,” Mulder said, a trace of irony audible in his voice.  “And also anyone competing against Russia.”

“It’s a distraction from all the shitty things happening in the world,” Jackson said.

“It’s a damn good one,” Mulder countered.  “At least they’re not supersoldiers.”

“Some of them might be,” Jackson grumbled.

“Those abs,” Mulder said, sounding a little mournful.  He patted his stomach.  “I should have gone for the upgrade when I had the chance.”

“When I was little,” Scully said slowly, “my mother would tell me that the prowess of Olympic athletes was proof that God loved us.  She said that their bodies were miracles.  I don’t think about it exactly the same way now, but there is something almost holy about that quest to go farther and faster than anyone else ever has.  In a sense, we fly without wings.  We climb higher than we thought we could.  We run faster and farther than early humans imagined.  We lift heavier burdens.  We test our nerve and our resolve in feats of endurance.  We subject our bodies to almost-unbearable forces and conditions.  We test the laws of physics, twisting in the air or gliding over the ice.  For a moment, we defy expectation, gravity, and in a sense, mortality.  The athletes of the Olympics show us the potential of the human body and the human spirit in a way that our daily lives don’t, and we feel like we are there with them as we perch on the edges of our seats, our bodies echoing their movements as if we could lend them our strength.  It’s possible that sometimes a distraction is a welcome respite.  For a short time, the world is focused on something other than war.  Many of the results may be predictable, but astonishing things happen and we learn to expect the unexpected.  Athletes from nations and peoples that have been overlooked and exploited dazzle us.  A runner falls and someone pulls them up.  Someone may shatter their leg and because of that tragedy, someone else realizes their lifelong dream.  The Olympics are a microcosm of our own attempts to strive for perfection, a supercondensed spectacle that reminds us of all our potential.  In pitting us against the people of other nations, the Olympics somehow unite us in the pursuit of a singular goal, reached by various paths: a gold medal, and the accolades of an awestruck world.”

“I love it when you give a dissertation on everyday life,” Mulder murmured, kissing under her ear.

“A spectacle that displaces the people who are already the most fucked-over,” Jackson said, but there was a little less disdain in his words.  “A profit machine for corporations and a propaganda outlet for governments.  It’s a slippery slope from athletic superiority to eugenics.  Only the strong survive.”

“George Orwell said that athletic competitions were essentially a proxy for war games,” Mulder told her.  She craned her head to look at him.

“I thought you liked the Olympics.”

“I do,” he said, “but Jack has a point.”

“Hell yeah, I do,” Jackson said.

“I wasn’t saying the Olympics are perfect,” Scully argued.  “Just that they could be perceived as creating a net good.”

The broadcast cut to commercial, sentimental strings music welling quietly from the speakers.  Mulder looked away, rubbing at his eyes.  Jackson chuckled.

“It’s that easy, huh?” he said.  “All they need to get into your psyche is footage of someone winning something and some sad music, maybe a Morgan Freeman voiceover.”

“Wait until you get old,” Mulder said.  “Then you’ll be welling up at every Visa commercial.  These ads are designed by experts in psychological warfare.  The Olympic mindgames.”

“They remind us of you,” Scully told Jackson.  “You weren’t supposed to exist.  You weren’t supposed to survive.  And here you are, capable of things your father and I could never have dreamed of.”

“Whatever,” Jackson muttered, looking away and definitely not dabbing his face on the shoulder of his t-shirt.

Scully settled back into the couch.  Grace would be waking up soon - she wasn’t an Olympic-level napper - but until then, she had a moment to enjoy the half-scripted pageantry of the Games, savoring the bittersweet combination of impossible victories and unpredictable defeats.  It wasn’t unlike her own life, in a way: she’d accomplished things she’d never imagined, uncovered truths too painful to endure, run up against her own limits over and over and overcome them all to be sitting here, in her comfortable home, with her stalwart partner, dragged back from the dead, and their miraculous children.  The glint in Jackson’s eyes as he argued with Mulder was more precious to her than any medal; the sound of Grace’s sleepy sighs stirred her heart more than any anthem.  She stood atop the podium of her destiny.

She leaned her head on Mulder’s shoulder and watched the marathon swimmers cut through the water, one stroke after another, keeping themselves afloat for hours. She understood their exhaustion.  She understood their triumph.

“I like the dressage,” Jackson said unexpectedly.  “It looks like mind control if you do it right.  I’m not, like, asking for a pony.  I just think it’s cool.”

“I knew we could find some common ground,” Mulder said.  “What’s your opinion on medals for horses?”

“Horse-sized medals,” Jackson said immediately.  “Bankrupt the IOC.”

“That’s your son,” Scully told him.

“No denying it,” Mulder said in a smug voice.  The broadcast changed to gymnastics and they all sat forward, watching in awed silence, as history was made.

[ratherthepoint]

Hello can I interest you in the best books I’ve read in the past two years?

The Second Rebel came out last week and I just finished it, and it has joined its predecessor as literally some of the best books I’ve ever read. They are INCREDIBLE, beautifully crafted, wonderfully diverse, absolutely dope sci-fi books that everyone needs to read.

Here’s the goodreads summary:

First Sister has no name and no voice. As a priestess of the Sisterhood, she travels the stars alongside the soldiers of Earth and Mars—the same ones who own the rights to her body and soul. When her former captain abandons her, First Sister’s hopes for freedom are dashed when she is forced to stay on her ship with no friends, no power, and a new captain—Saito Ren—whom she knows nothing about. She is commanded to spy on Captain Ren by the Sisterhood, but soon discovers that working for the war effort is so much harder to do when you’re falling in love.

Lito val Lucius climbed his way out of the slums to become an elite soldier of Venus, but was defeated in combat by none other than Saito Ren, resulting in the disappearance of his partner, Hiro. When Lito learns that Hiro is both alive and a traitor to the cause, he now has a shot at redemption: track down and kill his former partner. But when he discovers recordings that Hiro secretly made, Lito’s own allegiances are put to the test. Ultimately, he must decide between following orders and following his heart.

Sounds dope, right? I promise you, it’s ever better than it sounds. Here are some specific dope things to look forward to:

Did I mention diversity?? I don’t mean just a little diversity; I mean SO MUCH diversity. One of the three main characters is non-binary. One is canonically bi, and the other canonically ace. In the second book, there’s multiple new non-binary/gender fluid characters, multi poly relationships, and just generally a very cool view of gender and sexuality because it’s literal space. Also, chronic pain rep in the second book.

Some very Pacific Rim drift compatibility relationships which have me SHOOK.

Touches on topics like racism, imperialism, and medical experimentation on people who can’t say no

Bechdel passes and WOMEN 👏🏻 SUPPORTING 👏🏻 WOMEN 👏🏻 (more in the second book than the first, admittedly)

Beautiful and loving platonic relationships that make you wanna rip your soul out!!!

Listen there’s more but you’ve just. You’ve gotta read them for yourselves. I’m telling you, they’re incredible and deserve ALL the attention!!

[meimae]

Language Learning Through Immersion: One Year Japanese Update

11/03/2021

I did it, you guys! I’ve successfully reached my very first year of Japanese language immersion! I honestly thought that I would have given up by now, but this really has been a fun and ultimately rewarding endeavor.

Studying the language has been at the back of my mind for years since elementary school, I just never really knew how to go about it before, and I always thought that I could learn it in a classroom setting someday. That someday for me was in two elective courses in university, and while those were fun as well, it did not give me the same gains that I have achieved in this past year.

It’s probably easier to quantify learning a language in a classroom setting, especially when going through a program to earn a language degree. Learning through immersion, however, I had to really consider what my goals should be on my own. Eventually, I stumbled upon an article saying that for an English speaker, Japanese was exceptionally difficult to learn and that at least 2,200 hours must be spent with the language to reach a certain level of proficiency. So I said to myself, “well okay internet, if you say so!”, and set that as my long term goal going forward.

Spoiler Alert: I did not hit that goal in my first year. I am not crazy and will never listen to Japanese in my sleep regardless of what Khatzumoto (the creator of All Japanese All the Time) says. 

I did, however, hit a total 1,226.65 active immersion hours in my first year, so I guess I’m still a bit nuts. That is 874.96 hours of active listening and 351.69 reading hours. I also did 270.59 hours of passive listening, also known as the time in the very beginning of my immersion where I was using Japanese subtitles (therefore not really concentrating on listening alone). That’s a cumulative 1,497.24 hours spent with Japanese. That’s more than halfway towards my goal! 

To further break that down for curious animanga fans out there, that’s 973 episodes from 109 anime, 765 episodes from 33 dramas, 7 movies, and 967 chapters from 107 volumes of manga (21 series). Here’s my anilist and mydramalist to see what I’ve read/watched.

During all this, I was also doing my daily Anki reps and now I have a 530 day SRS streak (includes the time prior starting immersion and only doing RTK and some vocabulary cards) and a total 8,857 sentence cards. I’ve been averaging 406 cards daily (because I’m trying to cure my leeches) and I spend about an hour per day doing reps and learning new cards. I don’t really track my time on Anki, but I do have a set timer that goes off after 1-1:30 hours.

What I haven’t touched upon at all is output. I have not gone out of my way to find a tutor or a language partner. There’s still plenty of input out there to immerse in before I even consider outputting.

Graphs, stats, and more thoughts:

Here's my current card count in my main deck (minus the cards in my new/learning queue and leeches I've been relearning which are in separate decks):

That one day in 2019 where I did not do my cards because I was seriously doubting whether I can actually stick with language learning this time around will forever haunt and inspire me to keep going everyday.

Workflow and Tips

You might be wondering, how do I have a lot of time? I started this whole endeavor in the middle of a pandemic, which eliminated the option of me going to a language school, and a slew of other things I were considering doing last year became impossible (and if anything, very scary to do in a pandemic). All I can say is that, things work out eventually if it is His will, and if I can learn a skill before everything properly settles back down again, then why not? 

I wake up at 5 in the morning everyday to either do my Anki reps or read until the time when I need to get up and I listen to compressed audio throughout the day. The biggest tip is to switch the time you spend watching/reading in your native language to your target language instead. Listen to a podcast during your commute, watch an episode during lunch break, read before going to bed, do your Anki reps in the bathroom if you have to. 

But, if you’re feeling burnt out, there is no reason for you to not take a break! I have been watching a lot of Among Us streams before bed, and I chat with my friends from time to time. Language learning is not a race.

More Stats

Here are a couple of grids of the kanji characters that I have encountered at least once in my immersion and how well I have answered them in my vocabulary/sentence cards.

It's interesting that after almost 9000 words, I have yet to encounter every single character from the Remembering the Kanji 1 (RTK 1) book by James Heisig, which teaches you the most common use characters that are part of the 常用漢字. Which brings me to the question, was writing down every single character being taught in RTK worth it every time it came up in my reviews for the first 3-ish months I was reviewing them? Maybe, maybe not. It certainly removed my anxiety whenever looking at blocks of text in Japanese, but the longer I think about it, the more I feel I should have switched to Recognition RTK earlier. Still, being able to write in proper stroke order is cool I guess, and it also helps me when looking things up in the dictionary.

Here’s the same grid but in JLPT order:

I clearly need to grind those N2 and N1 level cards! Speaking of which, I have apparently almost covered every single character that could possibly appear in the JLPT (except for the N1 which I have only covered half of) in just a year's time. If the JLPT word frequency lists I’m using are accurate, I have about 2,000 words more to go to to cover most vocabulary that could appear in the test. This makes the "10,000 sentences/words to fluency" argument a reasonable milestone to aim for for Japanese learners if said aim is only to pass the test. That said, 10,000 words is just that, a milestone. It's more akin to a comfortable level of comprehension, but not my own concept of fluency which is being able to read with ease, speak articulately, and write comfortably.

READING IMMERSION GRAPHS

My biggest motivation for tracking my stats is for the purpose of seeing whether my reading speed is improving over time. Reading speed is also easier to measure than listening comprehension which is kind of subjective, so I had a lot of fun making these. What I found is that for the first volume or chapter of whatever it is I’m reading, I always take the time to get used to the writing style of the author. My speed really improves whenever I keep reading the same topic over and over again. On the other hand and quite obviously, looking up many new words in a row and trying to parse sentences slows me down.

Manga: Reading Speed Progression per Volume

I clearly love ちはやふる and I am not ashamed to admit it.

I need to start reading longer manga. When I do, I’ll probably split this graph into less than and greater than 20 volumes. Imagine if I start reading something ridiculously long as 名探偵コナン or ワンピース, these graphs will start breaching the bounds of time and space.

Novels: Time Spent Reading per Chapter

#neverforget the time I read chapter six of Norwegian Wood for 9 hours when it took me less than half that time in English RIP. Also, my interest in Kitchen plummeted LOL. Still planning to finish it don’t worry. 

I also need to start branching away from manga and start reading more novels and light novels, too just so I can make more pretty graphs.

Visual Novels: Time Spent Reading and Daily Word Count

Also known as images that clearly show that I’ve already spent several days only reading the prologue of Island. I’m not sweating. 切那 needs to stop using words I don’t know in succession. More thoughts on this VN far into the future.

Thoughts on Immersion

I can’t really say anything else other that that it works for me, and needless to say if you’re considering this method, remember that the SRS is your friend but immersion should be your one true love.

Prior to all this, I couldn’t even read a sample paragraph from Genki without being confused to my very soul. Yes, I know, it’s embarrassing, but that’s the truth. I was way more scared of failing my Japanese classes than my actual thesis for my bachelors degree, I kid you not. I would quite literally spend all my free time in university trying to understand grammar, memorize vocabulary, and answer my workbook exercises with little to no success. 

I tried so hard to get all the grammar “formulas” into my head for 1.5 years and it only brought me more confusion. I’m never going back to traditional classroom study for language learning, but I will still refer to grammar books when I need to, and not because I feel like I need to answer 4783342 different workbook exercises like my life depended on it.

I still can’t believe it, but with immersion this statement is actually true to a point, don’t try shadowing anime/or calling your boss anime language slurs, use your common sense:

study anime to understand Japanese > study Japanese to understand anime 

Future Goals/Plans

2,200 immersion hours was my initial goal, but honestly I feel like that number could be much higher. There’s still a lot of stuff I don’t understand (news, politics, sciences, etc.), so I’ll make attempts to cover more of those things in my immersion. 

I’ll continue reading more, because that’s a natural SRS in itself. Try to read longer manga, more novels, visual novels, and light novels, and maybe news articles. 

I’ll try to mine as much “JLPT vocab” as I can before making any attempts at taking the JLPT. I noticed that a lot of the words I know don’t appear in the JLPT word lists as much, even though they appear a lot in media/daily conversation. 

Continue mining all words I don’t know because all words are useful anyway. There is no such thing as useless words. I never really understood mining only “interesting words” or words that “pop up” in your immersion. As I said in my previous blog post, 美人局 is an interesting word and I certainly caught it being said in my immersion, but in the three languages I know, I wouldn’t know when I would be able to use such a word, as compared to something like ジャガイモ which is a significantly less interesting word, but is certainly useful to know. 

_

I have managed to talk up a storm, but if you have any questions regarding my process or recommendations for new immersion material, please feel free to send an ask/reply to this post. I love hearing about other people’s language learning/immersion journeys. 

See you on my next post!

[notchesandbullets]

Saving Her (Ojiro Mashirao x Wolf!Reader)

Part 12: The day for the Provisional Licensing Exam has arrived!! You attend to spectate along with your dad, when he runs into an old colleague of his. Aizawa gets reassured that he’s not a terrible father. Then, an unknown threat turns into an unexpected surprise (feat Todoroki) when a tuff of grey fur shows up. Class 1-A is chaotic and it’s even worse when you’re in the mix.

Word Count: 8.4k

Before you knew it, the day arrived for Class 1-A to take the provisional licensing exam.

“Stop shoving me!!” You shouted loudly, catching the attention of everyone else who was in the vicinity.

“Hah?! I’m not fucking touching you!!!” Bakugou yelled, his palms lighting up in aggravation and you glowered at him.

“There’s nowhere for me to sit!!” You protested, huffing and crossing your arms over your chest. 

“Fucking deal with it, dumbass!!” He screamed at you and you covered your ears.

Aizawa glared at him, eyes flashing red once in warning and reprimanded for his language and crude behavior towards you, Bakugou grumbled as he sank back in his seat. 

Your eyes scanned for another place to sit aboard the cramped bus. Almost every inch of space left no room for you and shrugging your shoulders, you were about to tough it out on the floor near Kirishima’s feet when a throat cleared softly.

“Y/N,” Ojiro called, his voice almost lost as the rest of the class chattered in a mixture of nervousness and excitement. “Here.”

Your ears perked up as he scooted to the side, making room for you even though now he was pressed flat against the window of the bus. Tail flicking, you paused upon approach, hesitating. 

“What’s wrong?” Ojiro asked, concern seeping into his tone as you halted in front of him. The railing blocked most from seeing the two of you interact clearly, since Ashido was currently engaging the other girls in a game to take their minds off of the pressure of the exam and your tail fluffed up.

He frowned, wondering if he did something that made you uncomfortable. 

Your brow furrowed and your nose wrinkled as your lips formed into a small pout. “There’s not enough room…”

Despite your dejected tone, Ojiro’s shoulders slumped in relief and he smiled reassuringly, patting the spot beside him. Tokoyami had moved to sit next to Shoji in order to free up the space. It would be a squeeze but he didn’t want you to sit on the floor where you could get hit by Kaminari’s unpredictable feet that flew up when he got startled by something or shocked by Jirou’s earphone jack. 

Padding forward, you jolted, eyes shooting open and a squeak tumbling from your lips as the bus went over a pothole in the road, losing your balance. 

You floundered for a second before a muscular tail slammed into your stomach to prevent you from hitting your head in time, lifting you up and carrying you the rest of the way over to him. 

Ojiro was quick to examine you, double-checking to make sure you were really okay after your ears warmed and your heart skipped a beat at his proximity. Just like you thought, his leg was pressed right up against yours in the corner of the back of the bus where the two of you sat in a chair that was only meant to hold one. 

“You’re too clumsy, Y/N.” Ojiro breathed endearingly, patting your head and you pushed against his hand, pouting up at him when he pulled away. 

You took no offense to his words, simply begging for more pets and his chest shook with laughter before he obliged you.

The two of you were locked in your own little world, the knowing look Shoji and Tokoyami exchanging passing by unnoticed as you enticed Ojiro in a spontaneous game of seeing how many times you could get Bakugou to explode before you reached the exam arena. 

It shouldn’t have been as easy as it was the whole ride there. You lost count around fifty times in half an hour because you were laughing so hard you couldn't breathe and Kirishima held Bakugou back as he raged at you. 

Aizawa rolled his eyes at the racket caused by his rowdy students. He was wrong to think you had a calming presence. If anything, it was the exact opposite. 

But you had potential, he was not denying that fact. And you had gotten strong. You were going to be a great hero one day, he was sure of it. 

You were the first one off the bus when it pulled up to where the test would be administered. Since you were still behind, you couldn't take it this time around but Aizawa had gotten special permission for you to watch.

You had a feeling that Principal Nezu also had a hand in that. The chimera had made sure you had everything you needed in order to succeed at his school and he probably thought that this would be an enlightening experience for you.

You liked to think of him as the uncle you've never had. 

The licensing exam changed every time it came around so you weren't cheating by any means. By the time you were going to take yours, hopefully six months later, you would be in the same ring and on the same level as the other students taking it.

Before you could sprint off to who knows where to explore, a hand gripped your arm and hauled you backwards. You pouted as you faced your dad, who was shaking his head at you.

"Y/N..." He warned and your ears drooped, eyes watering.

Aizawa sighed, looking away. No one was a match for your puppy dog eyes.

"Don't run off." He scolded lightly, resting a hand on top of your head to block his view of those impossibly cute eyes but it did no good.

You just tilted your head innocently and stared up at him hopefully, tail wagging behind you.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he corrected himself as he caved into you. "Just don't go too far, alright?"

You nodded eagerly before racing off and he turned to his students who filed out of the bus, giving them last-minute instructions on what to expect once they got in there. They were all panicking.

Mineta thought he didn't have what it takes to obtain his license, Ashido was clinging to Yaoyorozu, Asui was hanging onto Kaminari who was playing with Ojiro's tail and the rest of the class remained indifferent except for unique ticks that gave away their stress.

Iida's vibrating in place, Tokoyami twitching every so often, Koda and Shoji hiding in the back, Aoyama's smile not as bright as usual, he could tell that they were all nervous.

Only Todoroki appeared to be completely unaffected. 

Aizawa tried to keep an eye on you but you disappeared from his sight in a flash and he glowered, wanting to find you but he had a responsibility right now.

Continuing with his brief answers to Iida's endless questions as the class rep fired them one after another, he waved a hand at his students to prevent any more and was going to leave them to get changed into their costumes when he heard his name being called.

"Eraser!! Eraser, is that you?!"

He flinched. He knew that voice.

A woman with mint-green hair in her hero costume waved at him enthusiastically. "It's been so long!!"

Shakily, Aizawa turned around and saw the pro-hero known for making villains laugh with her Outburst Quirk, Ms. Joke. An old friend, if he could call her that. No, a colleague seemed more accurate.

Almost as annoying as Yamada.

He buried his face further into his capture weapon as she approached him. Maybe she would go away if he ignored her long enough.

Fukukado flicked a finger back and forth between them and Class 1-A watched in confusion at the stranger’s sudden appearance. "Let's get married."

"No thanks." Aizawa retorted dryly.

Ashido was already hooked on this love story, her eyes turning into hearts at such a blatant rejection from her homeroom teacher, already forgetting the impending licensing exam. 

Fukukado laughed heartily, doubling over and clutching her stomach. "No thanks?! Good one!!"

Shaking his head, Aizawa stared at her impassively, done with this conversation before it even started. "As always, you've got an unamusing sense of humor, Joke."

"If you married me, we could start a family filled with unbearable laughter and joy." She said with a cheeky smile.

"A family like that can't possibly be happy." Aizawa deadpanned.

She burst out laughing again and Asui smiled, letting go of Kaminari as her nerves calmed down with the ease that her teacher interacted with this woman even though appearing like he was irritated. 

"You guys seem pretty close..." The frog girl commented nonchalantly.

"Huh?" You tilted your head, gazing up at the adults curiously as you came wandering back to their ranks, finding your way to your dad's side. "Dad, I didn't know you were dating someone."

"I'm not!!" He shouted at you, bonking you on the head.

You cried out, rubbing the sore spot forming and pouted. "That hurt!!"

He sighed, then ruffled your hair somewhat apologetically.

"Sorry, kid." He grumbled out shortly and you beamed.

"It's okay!!" You cheered, good mood restored.

"Aww, Eraser!!" Fukukado cooed at you. "She's so cute!!!

You squeaked in surprise when she pinched your cheeks, blinking up at her, puzzled and a little intimidated by her outgoing personality. When she released your face, you darted behind your dad’s back, poking your head out to inspect the strange woman. 

"Emi, knock it off." Aizawa glowered, glaring at her.

Everyone else was just watching, jaws dropped in shock at such a ridiculous and chaotic exchange. They didn't know what to make of it.

The spunky pro-hero wasn't deterred in the slightest, going as far as to drag you out from behind him and hug you. "But Eraser!! She's adorable!!"

Aizawa practically hissed, but he backed off when you didn't seem to mind it. You didn't look uncomfortable, just mildly curious and very interested.

"How do you know Aizawa-sensei?" You asked, echoing the unspoken question that was going through every single person in 1-A's head.

It felt weird calling him that now since he had taken you in for good but hey, it was the most respectful way to address him in front of his potential partner. You still weren't fully convinced that this woman wasn't secretly dating him. 

"We had hero agencies near each other!!" Fukukado laughed brightly, placing her hands on her hips and grinning brightly at the other students. "We'd help each other out, coming to each other's rescues. Eventually, our mutual love turned into—"

"That never happened." Aizawa interrupted, narrowing his eyes at her as if looks alone could shut her up and get her to stop spinning this tale.

It never changed no matter how much time had passed. His glare had never worked on her. Of course he knew it wasn't going to do anything now but it didn't hurt to try.

You were practically preening at all the attention Fukukado was giving you now as you warmed up to her endless amounts of energy, eagerly hanging onto her every word as she told you of the adventures the two of them used to go on when they were younger.

Eventually, she called her class over and they introduced themselves to your friends while you drew back to Aizawa’s side. 

You waved goodbye to Ojiro as you found him in the crowd and wished him good luck as he left to go ready, the two of you heading in opposite directions once Ms. Joke sent off her own students.

Ojiro sent you a smile and promised that he would do his best before Ashido came to drag him away.

But not before teasing him how he couldn't stand to be apart from you.

He ignored her for the most part, looking the other way before she could catch a glimpse of his smile. If he had to deal with her for the entirety of the test, he was going to be screwed. It was already going to be distracting enough knowing that you were watching him in the stands. 

Ojiro pushed it in the back of his mind for now. Test first. He had to get past this first. 

Down the corridor leading into where the exam would be taking place, you skipped ahead of Aizawa despite his best attempt to stop you from going too far, dashing into the rows and rows of seats overlooking the huge arena.

Eyes rounding in awe, your lips parted in astonishment at the setting, filled with all sorts of different terrain and a box in the middle of it that looked kind of awkward amongst the mountains, factories, and made-made rivers.

"This is so cool!!!!" You cheered, jumping up and down as Aizawa and Fukukado caught up to you.

Other than a handful of other teachers and chaperones, there didn't seem to be anyone else here. You assumed that was due to being only the homeroom teachers needed to attend for the first and second years, since the third years could probably handle the transportation all on their own. 

Aizawa let you pick out where you wanted to sit, following you as you finally settled down somewhere in the mid-range that would give you a good view of all the arenas.

You bounced in your seat eagerly as you waited for the test to start.

"Aw Eraser, look!! She's so excited!!" Fukukado exclaimed, pinching your cheek as she took the other seat next to you. 

You whined as she tugged on your cheek again, batting her hand away as you curled up on Aizawa's side for comfort.

His eyes went wide as you snuggled into him but he didn't push you off. He rolled his eyes when Ms. Joke continued to pester him with questions. Where you came from, how old you were, what your quirk allowed you to do.

She was way too curious about all of it and he didn't find it nearly as endearing as he did with you.

Your eyes lit up when the center box in the building finally opened up and Fukukado ceased her relentless questions, revealing all of the heroes-in-training and you were on the edge of your seat as the licensing exam began.

After watching your classmates for a while as they scattered in different directions, you gathered the rules. They had to knock people out with the targets they had put on their body while avoiding getting knocked out by others.

You were stunned as Class 1-A outmaneuvered and managed to outsmart the other candidates at every twist and turn.

How Midoriya rallied the group to stand against everyone when they came after them first and how he managed to come up with a plan to counter so quickly.

You weren't surprised that Todoroki went off on his own but you really wished that he would one day come to realize that he could depend on them too. You didn't know what he had been through, but you knew it had been bad.

You wouldn't push him. He needed to take his own time.

Besides, he had shown that he was more than capable of handling things himself when he was the first one from your class to finish. 

But once you spotted Ojiro amongst the crowd, you found that you couldn't take your eyes off of him. His physical prowess was something to be feared on the battlefield.

You didn't get much of a chance to ever see him in action, Aizawa preferring to separate the two of you so that you weren't distracted by each other while you were training and in the classroom, hence why your desk was all the way in the back where Ojiro couldn't see you.

It didn't matter. It wasn't like you looked away from him at all during class but you weren't going to tell your dad that his seating arrangement ended up having the best view to daydream about your crush. 

Eyes sparkling as you watched Ojiro take down one after another, you were struck with how strong he was and how he managed to use his tail to the best of his ability. All while not moving quite like how you expected him, too.

"Dad..." You trailed off without taking your eyes off of Ojiro. "The way he's fighting..."

"Hmm?" Aizawa hummed, in the middle of looking at something else but strayed from them to align his sight with yours. "Who is it?"

"Mashirao— Ojiro-kun." You corrected yourself hastily when his gaze snapped to you at such an informal use of his name. "He's kind of fighting like you."

The corner of his mouth quirked up in a lopsided grin. "He's been working on his style for a while now, it's come a long way since Ectoplasm helped him with it."

You tucked your hands under your legs, tail swishing behind you as you raised an eyebrow. "You gave him some pointers, huh?"

Aizawa turned his attention back to the several battles taking place. "He's my student, of course I did."

He spared you a glance and rolled his eyes when your knowing grin didn't fade.

"Pay attention." He instructed with an underlying warning to his tone and you conceded for now.

You would get him to admit it one day, that he was the dad of the class. It was inevitable. Fate called for him in the form of twenty-two troublesome kids. 

You watched as your classmates fought and cheered when they finally won, springing up from your seat when you saw that Ojiro passed.

Aizawa, on the other hand, glared at the group of ten students who just barely managed to pass as the limit was called. "So... there were that many of you left."

Fukukado leaned back, grinning at Aizawa from behind your back as you shouted your ecstatic congratulations down to them. "You're happy aren't you?!"

He scowled slightly. "No, I'm not."

"You are!!" She shouted with a loud laugh, slapping her thigh. "Your leg is bouncing happily!!"

Forcing it to still, he schooled his expression into one of indifference when your attention panned to him.

You leaned forward and bent your head, the tip of your fluffy ear poking his cheek cutely before you straightened up to beam at him. "It's okay to be proud of them, Dad. They worked really hard, right?"

Aizawa smiled faintly, resting a hand on your head and ruffled your hair.

"Doesn't matter." He huffed, suppressing the pride swelling in his chest as all twenty of his students passed thanks to their dedication and hard work. "They'll have to train even harder when we get back."

Your grin matched Ms. Joke's and she winked at you as the first test of two was called.

Aizawa didn't have to say it but you both knew. And you were definitely going to tease him later when he put up pictures of you all in his office tomorrow, hanging them proudly for the rest of the teachers to see when they walked in the lounge.

His kids had made it.

For all twenty of them to finish as part of the 100 that were allowed to pass out of thousands and thousands of students, that was already an accomplishment in it of itself. 

There was a short, twenty minute break for the people who passed as they filtered out the ones who didn't, the examiners asking for them to leave so that they could continue promptly after the break was over. 

"Dad, I'm hungry..." You said with a slight whine at the end, unable to help yourself, your stomach growling as if on cue.

Your stomach had been rumbling since the start and it only increased with your apprehension as the numbers were called. The first hundred to pass and the majority of Class 1-A had been in the last ten.

It was a close call, that much was for sure.

Still, they had all managed to pass. You were stoked. Ojiro even flashed you a thumbs up when he succeeded, finding you in the stands so effortlessly you were kind of hoping that it was because he was looking for you too.

Fukukado threw an arm around your shoulders energetically, causing you to squeak and almost lose your balance as she declared that she could take you. Your stomach rumbled again, louder this time and your cheeks tinted in embarrassment.

Removing his colleague's arm from you, Aizawa gestured for you to stand up. No way was he going to let you go off with his crazy colleague. "Come on then, kid."

Bounding up, you raced him to the concessions stand. Well, you raced. He kind of lumbered behind you, finding great amusement in the way your tail would twitch behind you in annoyance once you realized he wasn't racing you.

You pouted as he ambled over to you. "You're so slowwwwwwww."

He flicked your forehead and pinched your cheek in retaliation and you batted him away, growling but there was no bite to it.

Hopping in place, you whirled around and he had to actively jump back to avoid crashing into you.

Not wanting to draw unnecessary attention, Aizawa quickly paid for your armful of snacks that you collected when he wasn’t looking. Nobody needed to see your canines when you ate.

He was wary of your surroundings as you sprinted over to a bench positioned under a large tree, plopping down and tearing ravenously into the food. Settling down beside you, he leaned back against the tree and crossed his arms. 

“How did your internship with Hound Dog go?” Aizawa asked, unable to mask all of his curiosity from you. He hadn’t gotten a chance to ask you yet, he had been too busy training Shinsou for his transfer. 

Cheeks stuffed with food, you attempted to talk around it but all that came out was gibberish and you winced as your dad reprimanded you for talking with food in your mouth. Once you finished chewing, you were able to respond, albeit cheekily since it was so fun to see him like this.

“Why do you ask?” You asked, pretending to be clueless about the fact that you and Hound Dog both picked up on his scent when he lingered near the two of you the first day of your internship. “It went alright.”

At the sight of his irritated scowl, you did a double-take. You didn’t expect him to actually care this much about it, it must’ve really been bothering him.

Your eyes widened. “Did I do something wrong?” 

Aizawa was quick to hush you, pulling you in for an awkward hug as you maintained your hold on your snack, cheeks bulging with food.

“No, kid.” He sighed. “Just wanted to make sure.”

You didn’t push him, knowing that if he wanted to say something he would. He wasn’t the type exactly comfortable with confrontation and you couldn’t say that you blamed him. But you couldn��t deny that you were curious as to why he asked. You couldn’t figure it out. 

“... Why do you ask?” You repeated slowly.

Aizawa’s shoulders stiffened before he forced himself to relax. 

You leaned forward, but your eyes widened as he vocalized his feelings at the time, admitting that he had felt a tad bit jealous that you didn’t ask him to train you. 

He knew that Hound Dog was the best choice for you to train under, you hadn’t had much of an opportunity to hone your quirk for combat and the pro-hero who practically ran security for UA along with Snipe was the topic choice. 

You lowered your crackers, losing your appetite as his words sunk in. 

“I didn’t want to bother you.” You confessed softly, your ears pinned back on top of your head at how difficult it was to express your thoughts into a sentence that made sense. “I know you were busy with Toshi, not that I mind it!! I’m really glad you’re training him and I can’t wait until he joins our class—”

“If he chooses my class.” Aizawa interjected pointedly.

“Oh hush.” You snapped playfully at his negativity. “There’s no way he’s not going to choose us.”

Transfers had the option of choosing which hero class they wanted to be enrolled in. Principal Nezu liked to think of it like a gift for those that worked extra hard to follow their dreams, a reward as their efforts paid off and were recognized. 

There was no way Shinsou was going to choose Class B over Class A when the latter had both you and your dad. 

The corner of Aizawa’s mouth crooked up in a smile. He’d seen a lot of himself in the teenager with the brainwashing quirk. The likeness was uncanny. 

The love for cats and coffee, the sleepless nights, the fact that their quirks didn’t enhance their physical combat abilities. He connected with Shinsou on a level he honestly never thought possible. 

But he was worried that he might’ve been lacking in the attention and love he was supposed to give you while he was occupied with Shinsou’s training.

“You have that look on your face.” You told him, going back to eating your snacks, finishing one in record time before opening another one.

Aizawa scoffed. “What look?”

“The brooding look.” You grinned.

This time, he really did glare at you and you collapsed into a fit of laughter. His eyes softened at the sound. 

“What are you so worried about, Dad?” You said, your fluffy ears poking his cheek as you snuggled up to him. 

“Nothing, kid.” He muttered. He could figure this out on your own.

You shrugged your shoulders, willing to let it go if he was so stubborn to hold onto it. “I think you’re too worried, Toshi’s gonna do great when it comes time for his evaluation.”

Aizawa blinked. That wasn’t what he was worried about at all. Okay, maybe a little bit. But not much. He was more worried about whether or not you felt less loved ever since Shinsou had come into your lives. 

“What?”

He froze as he realized he had said that last part out loud, mind racing to cover up his mistake when you suddenly threw your arms around him and hugged him tight.

“Of course not.” You whispered in disbelief that he was worrying about you all this time. “That’s what you thought?”

Your internship with Hound Dog must’ve made him insecure about his parenting abilities now that he was officially your dad. You were surprised, you didn’t think anything had the capability of rocking this man’s boat. He seemed so stoic, unshakable. 

It was good to know that even the people you idolized the most were human too. 

“I’m not offended, Dad. Toshi’s family too, right?” You questioned though you weren’t really asking. “You’ve never made me feel unimportant.”

Aizawa had hesitantly hugged you back. It felt wrong to hug you after he just voiced that he was having second thoughts about being the right kind of dad for you and here you were, comforting him. It felt weird.

But it was nice.

“You’re lucky I love you, kid.” Was all he said, a hint of a smile creeping up on his face.

You nodded, smiling softly against his shoulder. “I love you too, Dad.”

After somehow convincing him that you had to have ice cream as you headed back, Aizawa stopped short when you nearly devoured it in a heartbeat. There was nothing left by the time you got back to the stands.

He shook his head fondly as you raced ahead. And by the time he had found his way over to his seat, you were eagerly talking to Fukukado about something. 

By the time the next test started and your attention had been stolen away once more, he waved to catch her attention.

Raising an eyebrow, Fukukado’s tease died on her lips as she noticed the serious expression on his face. She would recognize that look anywhere. Shooting him a questioning look, his gaze flitted to indicate something behind him and she followed it discreetly, with the experience of a pro. 

What she saw had her eyes widening in shock. 

Aizawa’s eyes narrowed a fraction as he gauged her reaction. His heart stopped as she shook her head, slight enough not to catch your attention and his jaw clenched, fists balling at his sides. 

He would take care of them later. 

This time, when the pro-heroes turned their attention back to the arena where the second test was in full swing, there was something a lot more ominous in the air. 

A threat that promised Aizawa he hadn’t seen the last of them. 

“So Eraser,” Fukukado grinned, leaning forward as she caught your attention. “I didn’t know you liked playing dad.”

“Enough, Emi.” Aizawa sighed exasperatedly, masking his distress from you. 

You, however, didn’t pick up on the social cue and scampered behind him before he could stop you.

His voice raised as you left his vision field but before he could twist around to see you, you plopped your chin on his head. “Kid, what are you doing?” 

Your tail was thumping so hard against the back of his chair that he could feel the vibrations through the cheap plastic. 

“Scary…” You whimpered and his head immediately swiveled to the person he had spotted before, narrowing his eyes when he didn’t see them or the thing that they were torturing earlier. 

But before he could instigate emergency protocols and whisk you out of there, you were shakily pointing towards the area where Gang Orca and a mini army had just crashed through the wall and was terrorizing your friends.

Aizawa couldn’t help but relax. You weren’t scared at anything other than the test.

You winced as one of the cement bullets came close to hitting Ojiro and Ashido. “Dad, are they going to hurt them?”

“No,” He said, settling back in his chair now that he knew there wasn’t any threat. “This is a test, remember?”

“I know that, but—” You winced again as Todoroki got hit, immobilizing him instantly, and covered your face with your hands. You couldn’t look. 

Aizawa sighed, reaching up to awkwardly pat your head. It was harder to do when he couldn't see you.

“They’ll be fine.” He muttered, more to himself than to you. “They have to face this if they want to become heroes.”

You nodded, more of a reaction than an agreement with what he was saying. Peeking through your fingers, you shot up with a cheer as a paralyzed Yoarashi from another school worked together with an immobilized Todorki to trap Gang Orca in a spiral of flame. 

“They did it!!” You burst out, a wide smile on your face as the end of the second exam was called. “Way to go you guys!!!!”

Aizawa sighed heavily, slumping back in his seat. Having to see his class go through a test more rigorous than usual was bad for his heart. 

But a proud smile made its way onto his face as his students raced towards each other, congregating around a stage so that they could get their results.

He had said before that they needed to succeed, but that was to push them. The truth was, the fact that they all tried and ended up with results like this even though they had to overcome their personal differences and mistakes just proved that they all had what it took to be just like the heroes that they all admired. 

Annoyed at the warmth that bloomed in his chest, he hid his face in his scarf so no one would see he’d gone soft. 

You smirked, nudging his shoulder. “You’re proud of them~”

Aizawa rolled his eyes and snorted. “You’re just as bad as Mic, kid.”

“Eh?! That’s not fair!!”

“Life’s not fair.”

Pouting, you crossed your arms petulantly over your chest. “I’m telling Uncle Hizashi!!”

At Aizawa’s snort of indifference and nonchalance, you revoked your threat and gave him your very best watery puppy eyes. 

But he didn’t cave like normal. In fact, his attention wasn’t even on you. He was staring off into the distance but you had no idea what he was looking at. 

You were confused when Aizawa hurried to walk you to meet up with his students, but not before whispering something to Ms. Joke that you couldn’t make out, even with your enhanced hearing. 

Then, as soon as Ojiro was within sight, Aizawa motioned to you in some sort of code and left you with him before disappearing from sight. 

You blinked and Ojiro held out his hand for you to take.

“What was that all about?” He inquired curiously and you shrugged helplessly. 

“I have no idea.” You said honestly. 

But the energy buzzing in the air took your mind off of it as Ojiro led you to where the others were at. 

Class 1-A were granted their provisional licenses, with the exception of Bakugou and Todoroki. Both were vastly disappointed but while Todoroki understood his shortcomings in the second test, Bakugou was having a bit of a tougher time coming to terms with it. 

“Bakugou, calm down!!” Kirishima shouted, blocking a rogue explosion from hitting anyone else passing by. “C’mon man, they said you’ll get it once you attend that class!!”

“I don’t need a fucking class with those shitty extras!!” Bakugou exploded, storming off a little ways away to brood and process everything that had just happened.

With the sun setting, the other examinees had trickled out and gone home for the day with the exception of their class while they waited for their homeroom teacher to come back from whatever he was sorting out.

Yaoyorozu, Koda and Aoyama left to go get food from the same concessions stand that you and Aizawa were at earlier. Everyone was starving and Iida figured that some food couldn’t hurt while you all waited. 

Midoriya bounded over to you eagerly, capturing your attention and you congratulated him enthusiastically on his success. While he talked to you about all the interesting quirks he came across, you couldn’t help but stray from him every so often to glance up at Ojiro. 

He was scanning the premises every so often but would mask his concern and shoot you a reassuring smile every time you glanced at him out of the corner of your eyes. 

After the three of them returned, Midoriya flocking to Koda to get some food to replenish his energy as Kirishima dragged a protesting Bakugou the entire way over, you tugged on Ojiro’s hand.

You were worried. Your dad hadn’t returned yet and come to think of it, you hadn’t seen Ms. Joke either. Her students had passed by awhile, saying that they were getting on a train to make it back to their academy but they didn’t say a thing about her, so either they weren’t worried and this was a normal occurrence, or she was in trouble.

Your heart started to beat faster as your mind raced with possibilities of what could have happened and you couldn’t keep up, panic constricting in your chest and your breathing getting heavier until you couldn’t take it anymore.

You couldn’t sit here and wait, you had to help them!!

But your joined hand with Ojiro’s didn’t slip out as you tried to run off in the direction you had seen your dad go in last.

Ojiro’s tail wound around your waist and he hugged you tightly, suppressing his own conflicted feelings as you trembled in his arms. He was worried too, but he had to trust his teacher. Aizawa was more capable than any of them when it came to villains and if one had snuck in, he’d be the best qualified for dealing with it. 

But the security for the licensing exam was flawless so he highly doubted that was the case. Still, he understood your distress. 

Your knees knocked together but you stayed put due to the lock around your middle and you gritted your teeth. 

The apprehension didn’t fade, it only seemed to get worse as the seconds ticked by but when the rugged appearance and bright costume of your dad and Ms. Joke stepped out of the shadows, you were wrestling out of Ojiro’s hold as the breath you had been holding in rushed out of your lungs. 

“Dad!!” You cried out, bursting into tears when you reached him. 

Any other time you would’ve scolded yourself for being so emotional in front of others but you couldn’t help it. He had just left and you didn’t know where he went. It felt just like the first time Ojiro met you and treated your injury before disappearing from your line of sight. 

Aizawa caught you with one hand as you tunneled into his chest, stumbling back a few steps at your force. 

“Geez, kid, what’s the—”

His eyes widened at the sight of the drops of water streaking down your cheeks and he cursed himself for not telling you where he was going to be. He had been so focused that it narrowed his field of vision.

“Sorry,” He murmured apologetically, resting his free hand on your head. 

You closed your eyes as his reassurance and guilt washed over you, batting your head against his hand again just like earlier to show that you were okay. 

You weren’t exactly sure why you got so nervous when people left without any explanation. Maybe because it reminded you of your birth parents but you honestly couldn’t say because you didn’t remember them all that well. 

A soft ‘meow’ snapped you out of your trance and your eyes trailed down to where you heard the sound coming from, a loud squeal erupting from your lungs before you could stop it, startling everyone within a ten foot radius of you. 

Which included Aizawa, Fukukado, and all the students of Class 1-A. 

“A kitty!!” You squealed, catching sight of your dad holding it in his other hand. “Where did you find it?!”

You stretched out a hand to pet it but Aizawa lifted it far out of your reach. Your protest died when Fukukado ushered you a little bit away, still within Aizawa’s earshot but far away enough so that you couldn’t touch it. 

“Why can’t I—”

“It could be a spy.” Fukukado whispered to you seriously and your tail fluffed up. 

“What?”

“The Quirk Traffickers.” Aizawa glowered, glaring at the small cat as he held it up by its scruff. “Some people were messing with it earlier, tossing it around and holding it up, making a show before kicking it to the side.”

The troublesome kids had scattered before he got a chance to capture and question them so he couldn’t say for certain but he was pretty sure they were involved.

Your fur bristled at those people doing something so cruel to an innocent animal. But that still didn’t explain why they thought it was a spy, let along a spy for the Quirk Traffickers. 

“Eraser thinks it might be a lure.” Fukukado explained, all amusement gone from her eyes as she folded her arms over her chest. “A kid who’s got a shapeshifting quirk that’s being forced to spy on you.”

You couldn’t say you were completely astonished that he had filled her in on your rough past but you were a bit surprised that he seemed to implicitly trust her despite saying that he wanted nothing to do with her earlier. 

How interesting. You would have to question him later.

Ms. Joke jabbed a thumb over to where Aizawa was having a staring contest with the grey kitten who was battered and bruised from the treatment earlier. Your blood was boiling just thinking about it. 

“Eraser’s trying to see if he can get it to change.” Fukukado told you.

Everyone, the students who had crowded closer to see what the commotion was all about and the two pro-heroes, stopped short when you burst out laughing.

“Dad, put him down.” You wheezed, still trying to catch your breath from your laughing fit.

Now everyone was really confused. 

Ojiro, who had overheard the tailend of Ms. Joke’s information, was wary when she mentioned that Aizawa thought the Quirk Traffickers might be involved. He caught your arm but faltered when he saw the twinkle in your eye. You wouldn’t look like that if you were in danger.

Reluctantly, he let you go. 

Aizawa still hadn’t let go of the cat, despite what you had said. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust you, he just didn’t exactly trust that there was nothing going on and—

“It’s just a kitten, Dad.” You reassured, giggling slightly when the sharpness in his glare dulled just a bit. “I promise it’s completely harmless.”

Aizawa stared at it suspiciously as the creature weakly batted at his hand but set it down in his hands so that he was gripping it gently to not add to its injuries but firmly just in case you were wrong and it tried to escape. 

He hummed lowly, not completely convinced. “And you know this how?”

Tapping the side of your nose, you smiled as you nonverbally reminded him of your enhanced senses. 

“Humans have a different scent than animals do.” You said softly. “If he was someone who had a shapeshifting quirk, he would still smell like a human even in animal form.”

You could pick up on the kitten’s distress at being handled so roughly by so many strangers but you couldn’t say you blamed him. Plucking him from your now shell-shocked dad’s hands, you petted it soothingly, careful to keep your canines tucked away so that you didn’t scare it.

“There, there…” You comforted, hugging it close to your chest. “It’s alright.”

Aizawa couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He had been so convinced after seeing such irregular behavior from people. And while he still couldn’t explain why they had been beating up an innocent animal who hadn’t caused any harm, he supposed it wasn’t important anymore. What mattered was that you were safe.

“I didn’t know you could do all that…” Aizawa trailed off, underlying wonder following his voice. He had no time to feel flustered or embarrassed by his mistake, seeing as how if he ended up being right, you would’ve been in grave danger. 

He was glad that wasn’t the case. Better to be safe than sorry.

You grinned cheekily as the kitten purred contentedly in your hold. “Maybe you should take me with you next time then!!”

“No.” He rejected bluntly and you exclaimed indignantly. 

“Eh?! Why not?!”

“No.”

“That’s not an answer!!”

Ms. Joke laughed at your quick retorts, planting her hands on her hips now that the threat had been cleared. She was glad you weren’t in any danger and that the situation had been contained with cuddles. 

You stopped petting the kitten as you noticed the longing expression on someone’s face and stared down at the dirty, grey little cat. It could use love. Someone who would care for it and love it to the max. 

You knew just who that was going to be. 

“Todoroki.” You called out, gesturing for him to come over. 

Ojiro hid a smile. He knew exactly what you were thinking. Your kind heart knew no bounds. 

Once the half-and-half boy was closer, you thrusted the kitten out to him so that he had no choice but to take it. “Want to care for it?”

Todoroki blinked at you blankly, an unusual flicker of warmth shooting through his heart as he cupped his hands to delicately cradle the tiny bundle of fur. “I’m sorry?”

You sighed dramatically, a hand over your heart as you pulled out your very best theatrical performance. “It’s just that Dad’s already got a cat—”

“Y/N!!” Aizawa burst out. His students weren’t supposed to know about that!! You were exposing all of his secrets!!

You didn’t miss a beat. “And Coffee doesn’t take too well to other animals, just like Dad with people!!”

“Y/N!!!” Aizawa yelled, trying to scold you but it came out exasperated. He was already defeated. 

By now, Fukukado had doubled over with laughter, clutching her stomach as she lacked the strength to remain standing and collapsed to the ground, rolling from side to side as she laughed hysterically. 

Lowering your hands, you got serious for a second so that Todoroki could see you weren’t messing with him. 

“He needs a home.” You murmured softly, stroking the kitten’s head and your eyes softened as it mewled happily. “Do you want him?”

You knew he had never had a pet before. The two of you had talked before when you caught him staring longingly after the strays that roamed the campus. Those were off limits. The students were allowed to leave food out and pet them, they were domesticated, but because they were enjoyed by everyone, no one got to take them into the dorms. 

He had told you his dad didn’t really ever let him play with his siblings, let alone entertain the idea of getting a pet since all his time was spent training every since a young age. 

Todoroki’s heterochromic eyes grew misty. Out of everyone you could’ve chosen, you picked him. It was true he wanted a cat so badly but to just accept this out of the blue seemed a bit too fast. He didn’t even know if this kitten liked him—

A throaty purr erupted from the soft ball of fluff as it snuggled into his left hand, finding the warmth too heavenly to leave.

You barked out a laugh, a grin so wide that it hurt your face and you clapped your hands gleefully. “I guess that settles it then!!”

“Dad, he can stay right?!” You tossed over your shoulder, already knowing his answer.

Aizawa sighed heavily. “I assume you’re referring to the cat.”

You beamed brightly, bounding over to him without a second thought. “Pleaseeeeeeeee?”

He glanced over the top of your head. “Todoroki, are you willing to take care of it and be responsible for it?”

The hot and cold teen looked down at the kitten in his hands, cuddling up on his left hand. The side that he thought only had the ability to bring about harm to the people he cared about. It had only been a total of five minutes and now he couldn’t bear to part with it. 

“Yes.” He said quietly and Aizawa nodded decisively.

“Alright then.”

The whole class cheered, ecstatic that they now had a dorm cat, even if it was going to be Todoroki’s. Koda was practically bouncing in place with excitement, a sight that had never been seen before. Jirou tried to hide it but even she was enchanted by the kitten.

Midoriya and Uraraka high-fived each other, celebrating the fact that there was going to be a tiny cat roaming around the halls of their dormitory. So cute!!

Animals made everything better. 

Ojiro drew to your side like a magnet. “So that’s what you had up your sleeve.”

You smiled widely. “Do you think I went overboard?”

You knew the kitten would like him. Todoroki was quiet and wasn’t overbearing. He wouldn’t feel the dire need to pet it every single second of the day, but would take comfort in its presence, just like you believed the kitten would come to reflect it all the same. 

Ojiro pointedly glanced at your friends who were surrounding Todoroki, Ashido and Hagkure begging for a turn to hold it and the former giving in even though he clearly didn’t want to let go of it yet. 

“No, I don’t.” He said anyways, laughing along with you when Bakugou demanded to hold it next, only for Todoroki to make him promise not to launch the kitten halfway across the street if he let him.

It was clear that Todoroki was touched by your decision to give it to him. You didn’t know how much he treasured it already. 

“What are you going to name it?” Asui piped up thoughtfully as Midoriya got a turn after the explosive boy.

Todoroki’s brow furrowed and he was silent for a long time as he mulled it over before coming to a conclusion.

“... Soba.”

Uraraka’s jaw dropped open. “Eh?! You’re going to name it that?!”

“Is it not appropriate?” Todoroki asked cluelessly. He thought because of the color it would be a good fit. Plus, you did say Aizawa’s cat was named Coffee. Were all cats supposed to be named after drinks?

Maybe he should change it.

“Just don’t eat it.” Sero said, eyeing him oddly. 

“Ignore him.” Tokoyami said and Shoji nodded in agreement.

Todoroki cocked his head to the side. “Why would I eat it?”

“I dunno man!!” Kaminari exclaimed, throwing his hands up. “You named it Soba!!”

“Ignore them.” Tokoyami corrected calmly and the two of them shifted their attack to him instead for his poor choice of names to approve for the unofficial dorm cat.

“Y/N, what do you think?” Sato interjected, quelling the argument before it could get out of control. He knew you would approve no matter what Todoroki decided to name it, that was just the type of person you were. 

You tapped a finger to your chin in thought. “Well… considering I was just going to call it Dusty, I think Soba is better.”

Your claim sparked outrage at your unoriginality of names, effectively taking all the pressure and uncomfortable attention off of Todoroki and dumping it onto you. 

“Dusty?!” Kaminari shouted, waving his hands wildly.

“What?! I thought it fit!!” You objected stubbornly, hiding a smile. 

“That’s the worst name ever!!”

“Hey, don’t judge me!! I’m uncreative, okay!!”

Kaminari scoffed. “That’s no excuse!! It’s clearly a Cloud!!”

“That’s even worse!!” You shrieked in horror. “The bar was so low, Kaminari, and you buried a hole just to avoid it!!”

Ojiro’s shoulders shook with laughter at your sharp comeback and Kaminari pouted, betrayed, as Jirou, Sero and Sato burst out laughing. 

“All of you, be quiet. You’re giving me a headache.” Aizawa groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose as his students slowly but steadily started to file onto the bus to get back to UA. 

You winked at Todoroki, who continued to softly pet Soba still purring in his hands as his failure to obtain his license faded into the background with every happy noise the kitten made. Today wasn’t what you expected it to be. 

It was even better.

Taglist: @katsukis-sad-angel​

[countessofbiscuit]

If it’s not rude to ask, would you write a post war-no order 66 with codex, I just read joiuny command, and loved the way you wrote them. And also of course I always want a happy future for them instead of depressing canon

:3 ask and you may receive, with a hefty scoop of Self-Indulgence. 

Field Day | 1k, Teen | also on Ao3

. . .

The room was cold and the birthers were miserable, just as Marshal Commander Cody, GAR (Retd) intended.

Drawdown had been good to him.

He wouldn’t have predicted so, two years ago, when the only thing worse than war was the Great Unknown looming at its end. Sure, he bitched, but that was a soldier’s god-given right. Privately, Cody figured a forever war would be fine. Forever wasn’t that long for a clone.

But then a series of unexpected events occurred.

Skywalker stowed away with the 212th, General Grievous was eliminated, and Special Advisor Tano popped into Cody’s palm in Pau City, sheepishly asking for Master Kenobi.

Why? Because she’d kind of ditched Mandalore with Maul and he wouldn’t fucking shut up.

Shut up about what? This guy named Sidious.

Everything afterwards was a holosoap wrapped up in a spice dream. A cascade of the most bizarre reports and message chains to ever brighten Cody’s HUD. Even before the twins.

General Skywalker, Dad (Busy) was praised for ending the war with the press of a button. It wasn’t that simple. Nothing ever was.

But after months sweeping up droid cysts and pockets of dyed-in-the-jar Separatists and excising the corrupt cancer of Palpatine, the Jedi Order had done the most extraordinary thing. They’d taken joint responsibility for the creation of the clone army. In public. Before a horde of holocams. And after stepping forward for the clones, they’d formally stepped down.

Overnight, the cadre of marshal commanders became the flavor of the month. They were tapped for every paying civ-mil role going, from Coruscant to Csilla.

Cody had survived Kenobi and his Padawans. That wasn’t something to celebrate behind a desk. There were plenty of junior officers who’d mastered interoperability, C2, force design, and all that other big-brained shit in daily expectation that Cody & Co. would snuff it. Proximity to a Jedi often did that to a person.

Cody celebrated by saying no to the Chancellor of the Republic.

That he’d turned around two minutes later and said yes to a different job offer wasn’t the point.

The point was this: this morning, Cody had rolled out of bed, gone for a run, and molested Rex in the shower, all in his own sweet time; and he was now holding court before a platoon of birthers to declare without any regret:

“Ladies, gentlebeings, and other people who aren’t clones, welcome back to Self-Defence and Incident Response 101.”

His audience remained unmoved. They were a motley crew of Senate aides, interns, and staff. The sort of folks who could afford anything but complacency.

“You all made some real progress last week,” he continued, lying through his teeth. Barring the dug, most possessed all the proprioception of a whiff-whaff ball. GARMAP this wasn’t. “Today we’ll start practical hand-to-hand drills. And I’ve invited a special guest to help demonstrate the manoeuvres.”

He turned to Rex, who’d turned out in blacks and limmie shorts, to really test Cody’s commitment to professionalism.

“Rex Torrent. Decorated former army commander, current skipper of Anaxes LC, and veteran of more than his fair share of brawls — oh, and my little brother.” Cody ruffled his partner’s handsome hair. “Like last time, we’ll start with calisthenics, before moving into the main body of instruction. After lunch, there’ll be presentations on mobile urban assault, PERSEC, first aid, and other shit you best remember if you want to survive in the Federal District. Estimated finish time: 1900. Any questions?”

A nervous wobbling of heads indicated a negative. For now, anyway.

“Right. If you could please pair up — ”

He was interrupted by a dull throbbing that shook the plasteel walls.

Music. Shitty music.

Cody frowned. This was a converted Guard drill hall. And the redjobs still lived next door.

Clearing his throat, Cody deployed his field voice. “Please pair up with somebody of roughly equal weight, height, and limb count and join Rex on the floor. He’ll lead the warm-up while I fix this.”

Rex chuckled, knowingly. “Fix this. Someone is so dead.”

“Just take care of them,” Cody said, indicating to his students as he marched out.

He may have been only a civilian himself nowadays; but Cody’d never had trouble visiting the fear of Fett upon anyone. Least of all pink-nippled shinies who were probably finding inventive ways to waste credits.

He crossed the wall of noise into their gym.

Whatever he expected to find, it wasn’t Marshal Commander Fox, RG (Active) benching 300 and Prime Ambassador Chuchi to an audience of guardsmen.

They broke off ogling to glare at Cody.

“Got something to say, Sunshine?” Fox shouted over the godawful din, as he suspended enough weight to dent the floor.

Cody did. But with an eyeful of Chuchi’s ass, if it didn’t jettison right out of his head.

He shuffled a couple feet to his right. “Yeah, I do. Turn — this — racket — off.”

He was actually suffered to wait a few reps and one obnoxious chorus more before being acknowledged. Fierfek, Cody still hated this guy.

“Jams, cut the tuneage,” Fox grunted, racking the bar and his girlfriend, who swung down smilingly into his arms. He rolled up and regarded Cody coolly. “Yes?” he prompted in the silence, cocksure as a crime lord. Which he basically fucking was these days, sitting pretty atop the Republic security food chain. Even the Senate Blueys bowed to him now.

Cody rolled his eyes. “I just needed you to lower the music. I’ve got a class.”

“Well, why didn’t you just say,” Fox deadpanned. He stood, chucked Chuchi into a fireman’s carry, and led his posse to a different machine.

“Fuck you, too,” Cody shouted after them, leaving them to their occult rituals. The Corries had been decanted in a separate facility and remained a breed unto themselves.

As he walked back, Cody marvelled how little martial order remained in his life.

He wasn’t ready to wish for another war, though. Not even when he returned to find Rex signing autographs.

Happiness was an undisciplined thing.

. . . . . 

Ao3

[braided-roses]

What is the best way to tease someone?

A 3,449 word essay broadly covering the methods with which we tease

Twenty-five minute read

"There can be no true despair without hope... I will feed the people of Gotham hope to poison their souls."

Bane: Dark Knight Rises

“Without hope, there is no despair. There is only meaningless suffering.”

D. Morgenstern

For this essay I will define teasing as a playfully enforced delay of indulgence. While the above quotes are dark for sure, and do not directly apply to this topic, I think they highlight aspects of teasing that are foundational to its differences from other forms of play. I believe there can be no true teasing without hope of gaining one's desire. If one feels they cannot reach their goal or desire, I believe that becomes an expression of submission to another, to the situation, but not a teasing of the mind.

Studying the possibilities of this field of play is one that takes special care because it draws on what we know about our counterparts like few other disciplines do. It requires us to first know what our counterpart desires most, and how to then playfully enforce the delay of indulging in that desire. Finding out what another craves, and creating structures with which to playfully impede the immediate gratification of that craving are challenging enough on their own, but combining these working pieces of teasing into a system is incredibly complicated— requiring intimate knowledge of one's counterpart’s boundaries and turn offs. While there can be no best way to tease someone, because of our inherent human complexities, this essay will attempt to put forth the best practices I know to have a mutually rewarding and pleasurable experience.

I think the first step in the process of teasing is to gain understanding; Get to know each other, build understanding, rapport and trust. This knowledge may be gained through focused, play specific conversations. Communicating in this way allows effective play to happen sooner. For example one could have a conversation as brief as please rub my clit until you break my mind, I'll beg you to let me cum, but don't let me. I'll tell you to stop if something goes wrong, and we'll talk about it after. The two drawbacks of this style of conversation is that it will remove some surprise as there isn't enough information yet to synthesize possible play patterns on your own, and one will lack a whole understanding of the person one is going to play with.

If a more holistic experience is desired though, it comes through best, in many cases, through a conversation as broader life and fantasies are discussed over many conversations that take place naturally and organically. The bits of information that may apply to play may be more separated, but they come with so much more information that can all be used to generate a deeper relationship, and broader play. We learn about each other through the listening mentioned above, and in our turn sharing our own desires and hesitancies. We have to open up also so we can be cared for ourselves and build trust through reciprocated, honest, vulnerability. These conversations inform us and build trust as we learn that both sides hear each other, want good things for the pairing and will not shy away even from the more sexually hungry sides of each other.

While this type of understanding centered communication is meaningful on a grand, human scale, even in the comparably limited topic of teasing it is needed in many ways. First, that trust built will be necessary in teasing play as it often leads to walking the edge of what a person can handle in the moment, both mentally and physically. To what degree we can trust, we can relax our fears of being hurt, allowing us to enjoy each sensation with less calculation of how to protect ourselves, allowing us to live in the moment in proportion of our trust, and to have the confidence that our partner cares to hear us when we make objections. Secondly, the information gathered in good communication is essential in order to know: the desire we are waiting to fulfill, the stimuli we will later use to push our counterpart to the point until it consumes every bit of them, warn us of the stimuli that could end play terribly, and how to recover from that event should it happen.

Some examples of what we may learn about play in everyday life- You may learn how meaningful it is to your partner when you hold your partner's face in your hands as you kiss them, or he/she may ask you if the you like being made to chase them down in a kiss. They might mention how they love the pain of their workouts, or that high rep sets are their favorite because they get test how long they can go before their will breaks. Watching a movie, and seeing one of the couples depicted playfully kissing each other, your partner might reveal that pulling away from a kiss doesn’t read as a building of desire to them, instead it feels like one is trivializing their highest expression of love— Making them feel their love is disrespected and devolved into a game. These lessons should be drawn deeply within ourselves. Making note of what makes them feel loved and pleausured, and special note of what makes them feel awful. Violating these turnoffs by accident or design may have terrible trust breaking outcomes. It is important to understand the reasonings and depth of their dislikes. One's dislike may be superficial, like forms of pain that, with a different approach, can be enjoyable, but some, like the kiss, may be fundamental to their world view. (Example of what could be synthesized from the above person’s information may be found at the bottom — Bonus Example 2)

The second thing is to determine how you will delay their indulgence in what they crave, by means of space, time, or even their own will. All of these modes and tools can be used in vast and narrow applications. Space, for example, can be used in inches or miles. Suppose your submissive wanted to touch, but you knew they wanted to be teased even more than to rub. You could grab your trusty ropes and tie their hands, one to the bed post, and the other by way of slinging a rope through the head board. You could release the tension until their hand is an inch away from their most sensitive spot. They can twist and moan and beg as they can almost reach, their finger tips just able to move the sensitive flesh nearest their most sensitive spot. They could reach up and play with less sensitive spots, but they won’t be able to reach any more, at least not without raising their hips to their hand, which can become quite challenging. Space has now been used as a tease. A boundary on their experience that they cannot get out of, nor do they truly wish to escape. A second instance of space as a teasing tool, known as "The Kiss" will be given in my final example at the end of this essay (Bonus example 1)

As examples for time and space — At work, one could be sending sexy texts to their counterpart who decides to be a little bratty. The dominant in this exchange could text back, “Say that again and I’ll have to remind you what happens to brats when their dominant gets home.” Knowing that their submissive will have to wait hours longer for the thrill of the attention of the punishment they asked for. In the same way a domme could send, "You've been such a good boy today, working so hard at work. I’ll keep dinner hot for you." Attached to this text would be little gif of her rubbing herself for him. He too will have to endure the boundaries of time and space. Time has been a tease in that hours will pass before they get their desire. Space has been incorporated in time because even if all parties from the individual couples decided to meet in the middle somewhere, they'd still be teased by time as they cannot magically teleport home to cross the space (if you can, please teach me). An example of time alone being a tease would be giving a submissive a vibrator with only five or ten minutes charge left in it. They can play all they want with it, but they don't know how long it will last.

The previous examples examined using time in minutes or hours, Time, like space, though, is incremental. Time can be used in minutes, hours, or like in the next example, seconds. Suppose you had an exhibitionist submissive walk with you in the woods and told them that they will flash you whenever you want them to. Already they’d be excited to have their desire at hand, knowing you crave to see them exposed, as well as the desire to be under your caring control. As you two walk you command your submissive to flash you for a few seconds here and there. Blushing, but proud, they obey. You praise them appropriately and enjoy your walk. Eventually you two hear the distant, barley audible, murmurs and stompings of a team of hikers. This time you turn to your submissive, order them to stop walking and command them to flash you, they willingly obey, but the knowledge that hikers are approaching you they risk discovery. They can hear the hikers drawing closer and they continue to obey, trusting you. Each tenth of a second registering in their minds and each snap of a twig causing their heart to pound in excitement. Time has become a tool for this second by second tease. As soon as you hear the first full word of the hikers you know they are almost close enough to see, so you order your sub to cover. You then praise your sub highly for their perfect submission and continue on your walk, no hiker the wiser.

Will is unique among the teasing tools. Time and space exist outside of our bodies, but will is our’s alone to interact with. Of all the tools of teasing will is perhaps the most wicked and most variable of all. If your submissive is a lawful-good type and aims to please, then you could use their will as a tease and simply ask them to spread their legs and start to rub or stroke for you. Tell them that they are not to cum without your permission. The pleasure from their body mixes with the pleasure from their mind as they internalize the fact that they are uniquely pleasing you, hopefully bolstered by your praise. These stimuli serve to push against their will to obey. What makes this particular mode so wicked is that their desire to please and obey is fueling their mental pleasure. Their will to obey forces them to stay within the boundaries you set, or lose what they truly crave- the sensation of pleasing you. As they get closer and closer their requests turn to quivering moans and groans- the craved treat of a teasing dominant-. You tell them no, and they continue to obey, rubbing or stroking for you. Their requests are denied until they speak in pleadings and beggings. In a bounded, short term tease of ending play, you simply let them cum, and praise them for their perfect obedience. In a boundless, pushing kind of tease though, you could deny permission until they slip over the edge and spectacularly cum. This form of play, for an obedience minded submissive, will feel like disobedience to them. — You must reinforce the fact they did all they could to obey you. You wanted to find their limit and they showed you beautifully.

For long term teasing you could tell them they are not to cum without your permission, if they do they will be punished for it. This punishment is one they are okay with, but might not know. This leaves them to fight their own will for pleasure, obedience, freedom, and even pain. Lest they slip over the edge, they might force themselves to stop altogether, or you could command them to stop, leaving them quivering in utter denial. Their will has been the tease preventing them from indulging in orgasm. You comfort them and tell them maybe you’ll change your mind tomorrow, but, for know, they're done. Now time and will act as the tease. You cannot supervise them at all times, and especially without chastity- their own self will begins tease them until eventually they must resist their own desires at all hours of the day. Proving to themselves they crave metaphysical pleasure more than the physical release.

You may also balance will with consequence of pain if your submissive is bratty or masochistic in a way. Telling them that if they slip over the edge they will be punished, even tortured. Without knowing exactly what it is they may fight harder to stay on the edge. They edge spectacularly for you, but eventually crumble under the self inflicted stimuli, they cum and you deliver the next stimuli- maybe you simply force their hand to hold the vibrator against them, turning teasing play into overstimulation, or turn them over to spank them.

The third thing that must be done is to manage the environment we are in to best suit the play we will have. The space we are in should be constructed to do as much of the heavy lifting in our communication of the tone of the experience, and the desires of our counterpart, that we can. For example, an environment that is clean and bare suggests that nothing else will be happening in this space but what the two of you create. This type of room seems fitted to a private submissive who cherishes time and quiet exploration, and will become stressed or distracted by a number of other stimuli. A single sash and short rope laying on the couch suggests light bondage will be involved. A kind of quiet in the room implies that no one will be interrupting their play. They can take all the time in the world. On the other hand, a hot kitchen that is just a few steps from a noisy living room full of friends can generate a whole new tone. One of desperate craving for your counterpart, a contrast between the necessitated quietness of your actions and the noise and business of the space, a daring display of desire as you two risk discovery of your intimate acts with even the smallest allowances of expression- such as slipping your hand under their shirt and scratching up then down their back. If they let out a noise, they could be discovered. If someone walks in, they'll have to act like they haven't been delightfully toyed with for who knows how long, or the two of you might have to talk your way out of it. (Bonus points by the way if you pretend to be casually doing something else while your sub enjoys the predicament you're creating) Suddenly a kitchen becomes an environment perfect for sadomasochism and borderline exhibitionism. A room were will, time and space are used to holistically create a tease.

Finally, words and tone should be used to highlight the teasing. Drawing on the hope of the situation, highlighting what prevents them from indulgence, seems like the most fundamental approach to using our words to tease. Even in a relatively SFW tease with a short sub that is into strength kink, and having her height used against her. You could hold a stuffed animal out of her reach, she'd enjoy her feeble attempts at trying to snatch it away from you. Highlighting this exchange with your words would likely be welcomed. "Oh come on, hun. You have to be stronger than that. Maybe get up on your tip toes and reach for it. Haha. You're using both of your arms. Can't you pull harder? To end this form of play you could simply hand it to her, or let her gain some ground and take it from you before you transition to another fun game.

In summary, the best general approach to teasing someone is by fully utilizing the knowledge we have of their desires and drives, selection and use of proper abstract and practical blocks to that desire formatted to what degree they like to be pushed in their comfort levels or have their impulses blocked, that balance hope and the knowledge they will likely not succeed should then be traced with our words. All of which is bounded within trust and care for their overall well-being.

Bonus examples

1. The Kiss

I grasp her face with both my hands, knowing this makes her feel desired. My eyes meet hers and she knows this will be no little kiss. She shuts her eyes. I use her favorite kiss, placing the softest kiss I can on her waiting lips. She lets out a little shiver. She pushes into me gently, and I pull away just enough to keep our kisses feathered. I kiss down her jaw line, moving my face nearer to her ear and whisper a command to stay perfectly still as I let her go. I pace around her once, gently caressing, with one finger, places that catch my eye, her sensitive jaw line and clavicle, along her lower spine. I slip a finger into her waist band and slide across a few inches. Then I tug her by her waist band to me. I catch her by her shoulder and steady her, placing my hand on her jaw I pull her in for another kiss. I praise her for keeping her eyes shut. What a good girl she is. While I caress her cheeks and brush her hair away from her face, kissing her cheeks and forehead as I do this. I ask “are you going to continue to be a good girl for me? She breathes out a hot “yes” , “Look up”, I command. I place my hand on her neck and pull her into a deep kiss- gently moaning into her lips. I push her off and again praise her for being so obedient, so compliant. Praising her plump lips. I bring her back this time for gentle kisses. This proceeds until they become more insistent again, my grip on her neck tightens ever so slightly and she kisses me more intensely. I push her off and tell her soft kisses now. We return. She does so well at first. It’s not but a minute or two before she starts to get more intense though, whining and squirming into me trying to kiss me more deeply. Now I begin to pull slightly away each time the kiss becomes to firm. Leading her in a chase. Backing myself slowly into the corner she has lost track of. I push her off of me and say “You will kiss me gently. Yes, baby?” “Yes. Please” “Good girl. Now kiss me”, she goes to lean into me, but realizes my strong arm will no longer let her. She fights my strength, choking herself in my grip- I’m careful to keep my palm away from her trachea. I see her hunger flicker to desperation- I tell her to open. Her eyes snap open and I see her pupils constrict as they focus in the light and on me. As soon as she opens her eyes I grab her shoulder with other hand and pivot my hips, stepping forward and slinging her to my former spot as I switch places with her- now she is in the corner and I say, leaning in to just outside of her necks reach “oh, come on, baby. I thought you wanted to kiss me?” I feel her hot breath on my lips. “I do, please” I extend my arm again. “Prove it” she pushes again. Hungry eyes on mine. I watch her expression waiting for the slightest break in arousal, a second or two later I allow my arm to bend and let her come to me. It’s her turn now to lead. I grab her rib cage and let her press her lips into mine as she please. My hands caress her sides as she spins, pushing me into the corner. I match her passion and rhythm. She presses her body into mine, squirming against me as she places kisses on my lips, fevered and then soft and then heavy again. When she seems to be fading in decision, I slowly spin her back into the corner. My forearm framing her face on one side, my palm on her cheek, my fingers in her hair, and my extended arm on the other side boxing her in. I place soft kisses on her flushed skin and proceed to praise her and hold her gently.

2. Bonus example two. Referencing paragraph six. — Once we have this information of preferences and possible obstructions of it we can begin to synthesize it into possible modes of, and tools for, play for long or short term. For instance, using the above examples we can put together a possible play session that involves lots of skin to skin contact, unbroken kisses and maybe a pushing of minor, but prolonged pain to be a style this counterpart would enjoy. Such as having your sub straddle you, so your legs are touching theirs, putting your hand under their jaw, you drawing them in by it, using slow, soft kisses, but putting a teasing parameter on the kiss of a moderate painful stimuli, like slowly twisting the sensitive flesh on their ribs as long as they kiss you. They get a small dose of pain that they enjoy, lots of kisses and lots of skin to skin contact- both of which they adore. The pain they enjoy mixes with all of their love languages and make a special thing happen in their mind while it acts as a form of a will tease. After they limit is reached one could return to normal kisses and start a form of aftercare.

[creativelyderangedme]

The Boy in the Blizzard

Happy @mlsecretsanta to @normalfanaccount!! I hope you’ve had an amazing holiday and an even better new year! You said you were a big Mari Stan, so I focused on Adrinette!  Fluff, Angst (VERY SMALL AMOUNT), Friendship/family bonding, Hurt/Comfort

Synopsis:  It’s the last school day before winter break in Paris, and the miracuclass are all excited for the holidays and the time they’ll spend with family! But when the weather takes a sudden turn for the worse and half of the city experiences a blackout due to a massive blizzard, everyone finds themselves set free to rush home, celebrating the early start to their vacation!

Well - almost everyone. Adrien ‘sunshine’ Agreste finds himself left out in the cold. 

But have no fear. A certain ‘Everyday Ladybug’ may just have the powers necessary to help them both brave the blizzard. And maybe, just maybe, work a little winter magic to bring them closer together than ever before.

"Class, settle down! I know you're all excited about the holiday break," Madame Bustier called for attention at the front of the room, a knowing smile on her lips even as she reprimanded the boisterous students under her tutelage, "but please keep it down while your peers finish their tests."

No one could blame Madame Bustier's students (or any student in the school for that matter) for being as rowdy as they were. Not even their teacher; despite a third of the Class still working diligently on the multi-paged literature test, scribbling their answers quickly so they could spend the rest of the period hanging out with their friends.

Even as the students quieted, the restlessness was still palpable through the room. Teenagers are itching for the day to end and winter break to begin! 

Of course, there was also something to be said about the energizing effect heavy snowflakes falling and whiting out the world just beyond the classroom windows had on a group of teens.

Every few minutes, a handful of eyes would peer up at the white-washed skies, a mixture of anxiousness and excitement for what the view could mean.

"I'm still shocked they didn't call for a snow day when the forecast changed for the worse this morning," Alya whispered for the third time since their second period began to her bestie and seatmate, and Marinette did little more than nod.

As a teenager longing for that extra day off, she agreed. As a superhero in a time of magical terrorists and emotionally driven villains? Well, she couldn't fault the Mayor and Ministry of Education for that one. When classes were so often disrupted or canceled due to Akuma attacks, the Ministry was hard-pressed to meet parents' concerns. Which meant snow days were probably a 'last resort only' sort of thing.

Understanding that didn't make it any less frustrating for a teen counting down the seconds until the holiday break.

Marinette had plans, after all. And several friends (and partner) related gifts to finish and wrap before delivering them in time for Christmas day. 

Of course, as she was wont to do, thinking of gifts brought her attention to the head of blonde hair in front of her—the boy of her dreams, leaning over slightly to whisper animatedly to his seatmate. A dreamy sigh would have escaped her had her attention not drifted to the carefully wrapped gift lovingly nestled and burning a hole in the backpack sitting on the floor at her side.

Given her luck (or lack thereof) when giving Adrien gifts in the past, the aspiring fashion designer had been fighting herself, gathering the courage to give him the present—and failing. Because, frankly, she was starting to wonder if she was cursed or something? How many other people could claim they'd had their handmade gifts stolen and causing the end of the world - what the hell? 

Barring anything cataclysmic and world-ending this time—what if he didn't like it? What if he took one look at it and laughed and called her a joke and told his father to ban her from the industry and-

"Marinette!"

The call hadn't been loud at all, but the sudden proximity of the voice to her ear, while she'd been distracted, made Marinette squeak loudly, drawing several giggles from her classmates and a raised brow from her teacher. 

Sheepishly, she muttered a soft apology before turning a pointed look on her best friend, who giggled softly behind her hand, "Sorry, Girl. You were so spaced out I couldn't help myself."

All the fight left her in one quick sigh, "No, it's fine. I should have been paying better attention."

"What had you thinking so hard over there?"

The reminder did little to settle her stomach or nerves. Both only worsened when she glanced up to indicate towards the boy who occupied most wayward thoughts and found he and Nino had turned around and was watching her, waiting for her answer. 

What escaped her mouth was less of a handful of words and explanations and more like a series of mimicked animal calls.

Awesome. 

If she didn't have the courage before, she definitely didn't now.

And they were looking back at her with strange looks and soft grins at her awkwardness, and she could feel her face flushing with each passing second and - dear god, could this get any humiliating?!

Marinette had just opened her mouth to explain herself when the room went dark, and everything went quiet with a dying hum. 

Well, as dark as it could get with the large windows allowing muted light in past the winter storm raging outside.

A rumble of whispers and panicked looks washed over the students as they waited for the school to come humming back to life, but nothing came. 

"Everyone settle down! I'm sure there's nothing to worry about! Please stay in your seats while I check in with the Principle." Madame Bustier announced as she wrapped her coat around herself and exited the room, sending a frigid breeze through the door before it closed behind her.

"Do you think it's an Akuma?"

God, she hoped not. Marinette shivered again, this time, not just because of the new coldness in the room. An Akuma meant going out and fighting in a suit less insulated than anyone gave it credit for in the middle of a storm. And being Ladybug meant she was more sensitive to the cold than she'd otherwise usually be.

"I don't think so," Adrien announced, having turned to the rest of the Class, but gaze focused on the device lit up in his hand. "There's a report that a big part of the city is experiencing rolling blackouts due to the storm. I think this is a disaster of the natural kind this time."

If she hadn't been sitting as close as she was, she would have missed the quiet "thankfully," he added under his breath as he moved to put his phone away.

The curiosity piqued by the mumbled comment vanished, though, as the buzz from his phone had him pausing before frowning down at whatever had popped up on the screen.

"Adrien?"

Emeralds darted up to meet her, and she had to swallow the rush of nerves to get her next words out with minimal stumbling, "I-is everything alright?"

He blinked momentarily before offering her a well-practiced smile, "Yeah! Everything's fine." His reassurance was quick. As was the apprehensive glance, he threw at the windows.

But the way he smoothed that nervousness over with a warm grin made her think he probably hadn't meant for her to see it. And as much as she wanted to press the issue, Marinette respected his desire to leave it be.

Cold air rushed into the room once more as the door opened and closed quickly behind a shivering Madame Bustier, patting herself off of the lingering snow that had stuck to her in her trek through the open-air commons area.

She had everyone's attention before she'd even opened her mouth to call them to order, "Alright, listen up, everyone! With the quickly turning weather, the school had already been in the process of contacting your parents to let them know that the school would be closing early, but with the Blackout, we have no choice but to send you all home as quickly as possible."

There was an excited murmur picking up as everyone began to chat with each other before Madame Bustier cleared her throat, "With that said, Happy Holidays, everyone! And I will see you all in two weeks! Please be safe getting home, and don't forget your projects due the first week back! I don't want to hear any excuses about late work."

And with that, the students clamored to gather their things and wrap themselves in their winter gear to head to the locker rooms to get any remaining materials they needed for the break. 

It wasn't long before Madame Bustier's Class was all saying their goodbyes at the front gates, promising meet-ups and fun times over the break.

"Nino and I are going to head back! We've got a blizzard date! I'll catch you later, Girl!" Alya waved enthusiastically as she grappled arms with her boyfriend and dragged him away into the storm.

Marinette chuckled at the couple's antics watching until they disappeared around the next block's corner.

An uptick in the wind made Marinette take in the weather and the heavy snowflakes falling fast into the streets. Visibility was worsening by the minute. The snow fell, making the sky hazy like a heavy fog and the day darker despite being early afternoon. The frigid wind swirled around her, making her wrap her coat tighter around her body.

She should be heading home soon before she and Tikki became bug-icicles.    

The class rep nodded to herself and glanced around, satisfied that all of her classmates were already mostly out of sight or on their way.

Good.

With one last glance around, Marinette was about to take a step out into the snow when she had to stop herself. She nearly slipped on the steps with how quickly she spun to what had caught her attention.

Surely she was mistaken. She could have sworn…

But no. Even when she blinked a couple of times, the scene before her was unchanged. 

Right there, just hidden off to the side of the school's entrance, bundled up but still looking oh so cold as he pressed himself back under the small respite the school's roof gave the door, was Adrien. 

His blonde hair was what had caught her eye. But it was the rather distressed frown he shot something in his hand before glancing between the quickly dwindling crowd of students and the streets rapidly piling with snow. 

How hadn't she noticed he hadn't left yet?

And why was he still here?

A glance of her own pretty much answered her question, though, as cars that had managed to approach the school were quickly finding themselves stuck and unable to move much without some help from someone with a shovel.

His driver took him everywhere. So if they hadn't already been on the way or close, there was a good chance his ride wasn't coming. 

So why was he still just standing there in the cold, she wondered.

Well, standing there speculating wasn't going to get her any answers. Marinette took a deep, steadying breath, straightening her back and glancing down to the reassuring pat and smile from Tikki before pushing herself forward to approach the blonde.

"Adrien?"

Bright emeralds snapped up to her. The way he gripped his satchel's strap and fidgeted made it seem like he was almost… embarrassed for having been found, "Oh, uh, Marinette, I thought you were headed home."

She tried offering him a soft smile, even as a wary thought that she hadn't noticed him because maybe he hadn't wanted to be seen occurred to her, "As Class rep, it's part of my job to make sure all my classmates make it out safe."

A delicate blonde brow furrowed at that, almost worriedly, "But doesn't that mean you might get caught in the blizzard?"

God - beautiful and empathetic? What a dream-boat. The man upstairs broke the mold when he made this one, she decided. Then had to quickly shake herself out of the dreamy reverie as Adrien waited for her to reply, "N-not really. I live right across from the school, after all."

He chuckled, but the mirth didn't quite meet his eyes, "Right. I almost forgot about that."

"What about you? Why are you still here?"

The fidgeting was back, "Oh, well… father wants me to wait for my bodyguard to arrive." His eyes skipped back to the device in his hand, his expression slipping back to a frustrated frown before a defeated sigh brought a tired gaze back to her. "I told him I could walk, especially when half the city is in a blackout. But he wouldn't hear it. Said there would be consequences for disobedience."

No, this was more than tired. This was the face of someone who'd fought many battles against authority and lost every single one. And it broke her heart - for about two seconds before his words really sunk in, and she was suddenly furious.

"But-but it's freezing out here!" This time, the stutter in her voice was more from the anger and less about her debilitating crush, and she punctuated her words with a wild gesture to the building snow. "And the school is going to shut down soon. Who does that to their son?"

He gave her a small smile at her outburst, after recovering from the shock - it wasn't often she would be so outspoken around him. But it was enough to get the tension to leave his shoulders, "Father's always a little uptight around the holidays. And he just wants to keep me safe. I get it. I really do. I just wish he'd… I don't know… listen to me every once in a while, I guess. Is that stupid?"

"Of course, it's not stupid, Adrien. everyone deserves to be heard."

This time when he smiles, it's warmer, more genuine, "Thanks, Mari."

But that didn't solve his problem. Adrien was still stuck waiting in a blizzard for a ride that was likely not coming. 

And as the class rep (and definitely nothing to do with her crush on the guy), it was her sworn duty to make sure he was safe too. It takes one quick glance over her shoulder towards home and one back over Adrien (who is shivering but trying to hide it, the poor boy) for Marinette to make up her mind.

And grab his hand, pulling him out into the snow and down the school steps with her.

"Wait! Mari, where are we going?"

She just barely peeks at him behind her, trying to focus on not losing her footing and sending them sprawling into the snow, "To the bakery! It's nice and warm at my house, and my parents are sure to have plenty of pastries they didn't sell today! They'll need help eating them all!"

From where she's peeking at him, she sees Adrien's eyes light up, and even as he peers back at the school, she can tell his resolve is wavering. Even still, there's hesitation in his voice, "But what about my father?"

She shrugs even as a fresh wave of panic sets in. But she can't let her idol scare her away from taking care of the lo- one of her very good friends. "If he wants to blame someone, he can blame me. But I wouldn't be doing my job as class rep if I just left you here in the snow, now would I?"

He chuckled, still looking unsure, but following anyways, dragging less behind her as her reasoning set in, "I guess you're right. And I would hate to get you in trouble."

"Exactly! So off to the bakery we go!" Marinette crowed triumphantly, pumping a fist into the air, earning yet another amused chuckle from the blonde behind her.

The walk to the bakery isn't long, but it feels like it takes much longer as they navigated the slippery roads, piles of snow, and harsh winds. What would typically take no more than five minutes takes them at least fifteen before finding themselves in front of the darkened storefront doors.

"Guess the bakery was hit by the blackout, too," Adrien observed as Marinette pulled the doors open with some effort, opening them enough to allow Adrien to slip in before closing them behind them.

Darkened as it was, it was still light enough from the windows to allow them to see the empty seating area and two figures bustling just beyond the counter and register.

It wasn't even two seconds before both figures glanced up to give them happy smiles as the two teens shook off the snow from their clothes. "Hello, you two!" The calm and melodious voice of Marinette's mother rang out.

"Maman, Papa! You remember Adrien, right?"

Her mother's warmth radiated from where she stood, melting the bitter cold from the outside just with the sweet smile she gave the young man at her side. "But of course! Hello, again, Adrien. How are you?"

He smiled back, politely, "I'm good. Thank you, Madame Dupain-Cheng."

"Adrien's ride isn't here yet, and with the way the snow keeps piling up, it likely won't be for some time. Could he -"

The hulking figure of her father came to wrap an arm around her mother as he spoke, "Stay and help us eat all these pastries while the snow blows through? Of course, he can! You two take your school things upstairs, and we'll eat something tasty!"

Adrien's face lit up like a Christmas tree as he turned to Marinette - like he needed her permission too. Despite having been dragged here. Despite her less-than-necessary pleading with her parents. It warmed her from the top of her head right down to her toes to see him so happy to be accepted and wanted. 

But it also made her so very sad. 

What must life be like for him to be so genuinely thrilled by the idea of an offered snack shared with a friend? A place to hide from a raging storm? What kind of loneliness must he experience if this was considered out of the norm?

It was then that Marinette decided that for as long as he was there, no matter how she felt about him or how he felt about her, she would make sure that he knew how much he was cherished and wanted. 

Time seemed to fly by as they rushed up to deposit their bags in Marinette’s room, before racing down to the living room where her parents had set up plates with food stacked high. Together, they ate pastries and drank hot chocolate warmed by a propane burner her mother brought out for occasions such as this. All are sitting in the living room of the Dupain-Chengs, keeping each other warm just with the company they're keeping, and while they did, watching people bustle in the storm outside.

There were a couple of families out with kids playing in the snow. Building snowmen that would be buried before the hour was out.

It was fun getting to watch them play.

Marinette peers up at Adrien, and her smile falters as she sees the longing look in his eye as he watches on, a forgotten half-eaten pastry in his hand. 

"What is it?"

Adrien's cheeks warmed a bit at having been caught staring, his gaze fixating on the pastry and steaming cup clutched in his other hand, "It's nothing. I just… I hadn't played in the snow since mom- well when I was much younger."

Just how much childhood was the boy robbed of? 

This wouldn't do at all. No siree. Not if she could help it.

"Would you want to?" Marinette asked unassumingly, like she asked if he'd pass the sugar, making the blonde glance up at her confused.

"Want to what?"

A playful grin broke out over her lips as she brought her own cup up to take a sip, "Play in the snow!" She takes a healthy bite of croissant, pointing it at him, "You can't not go out and play in the snow when a blizzard comes to Paris!"

"Would you really?"

He looks so excited; she has to fight a giggle. "We shouldn't right now since the power is still out. But once it's back, we could. But only if you want to."

"Mari, that would be-"

"Adrien, dear? Is this your phone?"

The festive atmosphere seems to come to a screeching halt. The blonde's face drains as he glances up and sees the device in the woman's hand. The caller ID is lit up with an incoming call, and even from here, Marinette can read the name. Uh-oh.

Adrien climbs to his feet, making his way over. He answers the phone, and everyone in the room can tell. His father is enraged. His voice is booming through the receiver, and the blonde can only open his mouth, sputtering where he can to get a word in edgewise.

"Father, listen, please-!"

"Of course not. I'm with a friend and left my phone on the-." 

"Marinette. I'm with her and her family at their ba-"

Desperation and frustration are filling the boy's features quickly as he's interrupted at every turn.

"Father, please! It's too dangerous and-"

Suddenly Marinette's mother takes the phone and gives Adrien a soft smile before speaking into the receiver. "Hello? Monsieur Agreste? Yes, this is Marinette's mother, Sabine Dupain-Cheng. I'm sorry for interrupting your conversation, but it was our idea to have Adrien join us. Surely you've seen the weather? We couldn't just let the poor boy stand out in a storm waiting for a ride that wasn't coming."

While they could not hear the words, it was clear Gabriel Agreste was angry as his harsh tone came through the phone.

But it wasn't long before Sabine cut him off, ice in her words, colder than the storm raging outside.

"M. Agreste." She spoke calmly, but in that way that demanded the room's attention. "Are you telling me you'd rather your son brave, what is possibly the worst blizzard Paris has seen in decades, risking not only his health and safety but also the health and safety of those who would attempt to retrieve him? Rather than trust his care to my family? Surely you wouldn't suggest something so absurdly asinine."

The line goes silent.

The room is silent too. 

Would someone dare suggest something like that? By the look on her mother's face, she hoped not.

"That's what I thought. Now, since the storm isn't set to pass until sometime late into the night, it might be best that Adrien stays with us. I promise he will be well taken care of, and once we deem it safe, he will be returned home. Is that agreeable for you?"

While it's phrased as a question, there is very little room for argument in how she presents the option. 

There must have been an answer on the other end because Sabine is nothing but warm smiles once more as she says, "Wonderful. I'll put Adrien back on." and hands the device back to the blonde, who stares on like he's just witnessed a supernova.

"Hello?"

There is the briefest of pauses before Gabriel relays something and then hangs up.

"H-He said I could stay." Adrien whispers in disbelief before he turns starstruck eyes on her mother, "how did you do that?"

The woman chuckles, but the sound seems suspiciously darker than usual to her husband and daughter, "it's a skill all mothers know dear. Never mess with a mama bear." 

Before he can ask her to elaborate, she changes the subject back to the two teens finishing their snacks, "Since the power is still out, it would be best if you both went and gathered up some warm blankets from upstairs and brought them down. We'll find ways to occupy ourselves, hmm?"

Having just witnessed the consequences of a mother scorned, both teens merely nod before Marinette leads the blonde up to her room, passing him her coziest blankets and pillows. She gathers up a warm sweater for herself before turning to Adrien. He looks so awash with emotion. It's bubbling just under the surface, and she knows he's just barely holding on. 

If memory served, this was probably the first 'sleepover' he'd ever had.

On the other hand, he's clutching all the blankets she gave him, and he's practically nestling into them. Like a cat pawing and kneading and rubbing themselves over a spot they intend to sleep, Adrien has effectively buried himself in the pile of blankets where he stands, and she can't help but giggle.

He looks so soft and warm and cozy in the things she has to physically stop herself from joining him. 

"What?"

"Sorry, it's just, you look so happy like that. And warm." A blush began to break out over her cheeks, and she couldn't quite meet his eyes anymore. Choosing instead to look down at the sweater in her arms. 

Which had her gaze shifting towards the abandoned backpacks on the floor where they'd left them earlier, and the carefully wrapped gift just barely peeking out of hers.

Was it wrong to take advantage of the situation? Was it okay for her to be giving him a gift in these circumstances? What if he hated it so much he decided to leave and he got stuck in the blizzard and froze to-

"Marinette?" Adrien's soft call pulled her out of her spiral as she looked up into his concerned gaze, "Are you alright? You looked really pale all of a sudden. Do you need help going back downstairs? Is there something I can do?"

He looked a little panicky himself, and the sight made her heart sing.

He was worried. About her. He wasn't the type to be insensitive with someone - not the way she feared. And the revelation was enough to set her resolve. 

She shook her head softly, smiling as she went to the bag and took great care pulling the gift out to cradle it to her chest before coming back to stand in front of the blonde, holding it out to him without another word.

Emeralds bounced between her face and the neatly wrapped box in her hands before he set the blankets on the nearby chaise lounge, "I-Is this for-for me?" his tone was a little breathy, a little awestruck.

Not trusting her words, Marinette nodded quickly, placing the box in his hands.

"Can… is it okay if I open it?"

This time the Girl giggled, nodding again before she lost her nerve.

He took great care in opening the gift wrapping, unfolding it almost reverently, before finally pulling open the lid to find a cream knit pattern inside. Pulling the garment from the box, Adrien held up a thick knitted sweater - chunky yarn woven expertly into one of the softest pieces she'd ever made. She'd been so proud of it. 

And the boy holding it looked like he was nearly in tears. "D-did you make this?" He asked softly, running his fingers over the pattern.

"Do you… like it?"

"I love it. It's the best gift anyone's ever given me." He whispered, watery eyes finding hers. Lips trembling despite the softest smile she'd ever seen. "It's so warm and soft."

Before she knew what was happening, he'd engulfed her in a hug so tight she couldn't breathe, but not once did she complain.

"Thank you so much." He whispered into her hair, and if she felt the tell-tale wetness of a few shed tears, she kept it to herself as she wrapped her arms around the boy who had wrapped himself securely around her heart, "Thank you for everything." 

That day, as she watched him put the sweater on over his lighter shirt, wearing it with pride to show her parents (and then the day they went back after the break, telling anyone who would listen that it was his gift from the most talented Girl in all of Paris), she swore to herself and the blonde that he would never be left out in the cold again. Every year, she'd make him something else that would be 'the best gift someone had ever given him'. 

He'd always find warmth. Even if they were buried in the snow, she would be there to make sure he'd always be able to brave the blizzard.

[wholesomemendes]

The Final Attempt | 2

College and Hockey Shawn Au

Summary: It’s the championship game for the hockey team and you’re going to support the team just as you did for the opening game, except this time, you’re repping a certain curly hair boy that you met at the library. (This is the part 2 to The Final Attempt which I will link right here)

Author’s Note: This was highly requested and while I didn’t have a part 2 in mind I’m kinda proud of how this came out so I hope you like it! This is the longest fic I have ever written with a little over 4.3k words and I worked really hard on it to make a good story arc for you guys! As always please tell me what you think!

The championship game. If you had thought that the opening game was a big event, the championship game had blown all expectations out of your mind. You weren’t one for big crowds, but here you sat amongst the hundreds of people, Shawn’s large practice jersey adorning your body with the word MENDES written in bold letters along your back. “I love it,” you recalled him telling you the first time you had put it on for a game, “Lets everyone know you’re mine.” It seemed like just yesterday you were sitting nervously at the opening game, watching the boy that had won your heart with something as simple as cups of tea and messages written in sharpie. Fast forward to this afternoon when you had kissed your boyfriend good luck before he went to practice and were now watching him skate across the ice at a rapid pace. There was only 5 minutes left in the game with the score tied up, and everyone in the stadium could feel the nail-biting tension in the air. The puck was now in Shawn’s possession as he skated across the ice towards the goal, determination set in his eyes.

“Come on, Shawn,” you whispered to yourself, watching his every move with bated breath. 4 minutes 31 seconds...30 seconds....29 seconds...CRASH. A loud gasp escaped your lips and you stood in your seat, watching as his body got checked viciously into the boards with a loud bang. Shawn slumped down onto the ice, unable to get up while his opponent stole the puck and began to skate towards the goal. “No, no, no,” you prayed, hands covering your mouth, “You’re ok, baby, get up, you’ve gotta get up.” You saw him shake his head carefully, worried that he had a concussion from the amount of impact his head took, before looking up at the timer on the wall. 2 minutes 54 seconds. His head pounded, eyes wanting so bad to just close and rest for a few seconds, but he saw the clock, knowing that this was his last chance to make his team and school proud. He looked into the crowd, eyes landing on the one person he could always trust. Your eyes connected and as he saw the look of pure concern on your face, he knew that he had to use every last bit of strength inside of him to make you proud because at the end of the day, you were the only person that truly mattered to him. The cheers of the crowd were deafening as Shawn regained his ground, skating towards one of his teammates that had managed to to steal back the puck. Passing him the puck, his team flocked him on both sides, protecting him from defenders while he approached the goalie, the clock only seconds away from the end of the game. 5... Shawn maneuvered around an opponent, puck still against his stick ...4... he stared the goalie dead in the eyes as his heart rate increased from adrenaline ...3... thump thump ....2... shoot ....1... score. The crowd erupted into cheers causing the stadium to move up and down with the excitement in the building. You jumped up, smile so wide your cheeks hurt from the action, but you couldn’t help the proud feeling that erupted in your chest. 

His teammates crowded him on the ice, adrenaline and victory rushing through their veins as they piled on one another, spirits high all around. The team’s all star player and captain was handed the winning trophy, National Champion written in bright gold lettering along the front. Cheeks flushed from the ice, Shawn held the trophy high above his head with a smile on his face that could be seen for miles, the stadium roaring in response. The energy was electric among the students, cheering from every inch of the team’s supporters as the team huddled around their winning prize and soaked up the crowd’s excitement. Shawn’s eyes met yours for a split second and you blew him a kiss, a silent message to him to show how proud you were, before he was whisked away for picture with his team. 

_________________________

The outside of the stadium was packed full of students, all waiting for the victors to finally emerge from the stadium. They were chanting the team’s name, the school’s fight song blaring from their mouths in celebration. The doors swung open and the boys came out to the wild applause and screams of the crowd. Shawn led the pack, the team’s captain smiling wide from ear to ear as the students crowded him. You leaned against the wall of the stadium, watching as all of the fans congratulated him, not wanting to disrupt his moment. He thanked them profusely, but his eyes kept wandering around searching for one particular person. Shawn’s eyes met yours and they lit up, pushing past all of the girls begging for his attention. You noticed him moving towards you and lost all restraint, running into his arms so he could pick you up in his strong grasp. You wrapped your legs around his waist, nuzzling your face into his shoulder as he did the same, “I’m so proud of you, bubs.”

“Couldn’t have done it without you, baby,” he told you sincerely, head lifting to show off that dazzling smile, “You’re my good luck charm.” Shawn had sworn by this fact after the only game they had lost had been the 3rd game of the season, the one you skipped in order to study for an upcoming test. Ever since then, you made it a point to be at every game and they hadn’t lost since, furthering proving Shawn’s theory. You giggled as he placed you on the ground, hands coming up to cup your face in a passionate kiss. Breaking away he placed an arm around your waist and kept you close while more people came to talk to him about the game. You snuggled closer to his arm, using him as a way to keep your calm over how crowded the situation was, especially when you began to feel the jealous stares of the puck bunnies around you. Shawn felt your discomfort after a moment and he squeezed your waist in reassurance before beginning to maneuver you out of the crowd. “Do you think you’ll be ok going to a party with me or do you just want to go back to your dorm? I’ll do either, it’s up to you.”

The idea of going to a party tonight made you sick when you’d much rather just cuddle in the arms of your man, but there was no way you were going to let him skip out on a championship after party, “I’ll be fine, you’ve gotta go to the party.”

He turned your body to face his, a serious look on his face, “I’m serious, though, if you don’t feel comfortable going we can just...”

“We’re going,” you replied confidently, hiding the nerves bubbling inside of your chest, “And what you’re not gonna do is worry about me and instead let loose and have fun.”

“I always worry about you babe, but thank you. I don’t deserve you.” He gave you a kiss on your forehead before he led you to follow the crowd in the direction of the chaos.

_________________________

It was 2 hours into the party when you lost your boyfriend. He had been glued to your side the whole night in an attempt to make you feel comfortable, but once the guys tried to drag him into a game of beer pong after you had begun to strike up a conversation with a girl from your math class, you convinced him to go have fun, assuring him you would be fine. You weren’t one to drink so you had been nursing a beer all night long which only gave you a slight buzz. Shawn on the other hand was about 3 drinks in and had reached the point where you knew he was going to have a nasty hangover the next day. You couldn’t blame him though, you had actually promoted it when one of his teammates, Brian, had handed him another drink. “Shawn, I promise I’ll stay sober so you can have fun,” you had told him, but he protested, claiming that he didn’t want to ruin your night. However, you happened to love drunk Shawn because although you didn’t see him often, he was known to be extremely cute and clingy even if his energy was also to the max. 

You followed the loud yells coming from within the house only to find Brian standing on top of the beer pong table in victory as Shawn laughed beneath him. Two guys you recognized as some of his teammates grimaced on the side as they took a swig of an unknown substance, immediately souring their faces in disgust. “Hey bubs,” you placed a tender hand on his shoulder, causing Shawn’s face to turn around with a dopey grin on his face.

“Babyyyyy,” he cooed, wrapping his arms around you, “I missed you.”

You could smell the alcohol on his breath, but you chose to ignore it, focusing on the feeling of being in his arms instead, “I missed you too, did you and Brian win your game?”

“We did! Baby, I’m so good at beer pong,” he mumbled into your hair as his hands roamed your sides, “I should play you sometime.”

“Nah, I’d rather play on your team.” 

“Will you lovebirds stop hanging on each other over there, I need my beer pong partner back!”

Shawn’s head perked up after hearing Brian’s words and he pulled you in front of him, back to his chest with his arms still wrapped around you. “I’m not your partner anymore I’m hers,” he said confidently, placing his head on top of yours, “You wanna play us, Craigen?” 

“I don’t want to drink anything, Shawn,” you whispered to him while Brian went on the hunt to find a partner.

“I know,” he took your hand in his, kissing the back lightly, “I’ll drink for you, ok?”

“You really think you need more to drink?” you teased and he laughed, throwing his head back causing him to hiccup. His eyes widened at his own actions and a giggle escaped his lips, “Probably not, but I’ve got a pretty girl that’ll take care of me.”

“Oh, I’ve gotta take care of you?’

“You don’t have to, but you’re the only one I want to,” he showed his puppy dog eyes, even though you were fully planning on ensuring he got home safely, “Pleaseeee.”

“I’m just messing with you,” you told him, ruffling through his curls, “I’ll always take care of you.” Just then, Brian came back with his newest victim, giving the both of you a mouthful after you pecked his lips before starting the game. Shawn wasn’t lying, even drunk he was good at beer pong allowing you to win even though you only made 3 throws. Brian’s team still managed to make a considerable amount of cups which led to your beloved boyfriend becoming even drunker than he already was. Once the clock hit 3 am and Shawn began suggesting that you join in on the body shots that people were beginning to do in the kitchen, you decided that it was time to bring your champion home.

_________________________

“Come on, bubs, let’s get you out of these clothes.” Shawn was busy mumbling something incoherent as you stumbled into his dorm room and placed him on the bed. You knew Brian was probably not coming back tonight, so you weren’t worried about him barging into the room in the middle of the night. You lightly tugged on his alcohol stained shirt, a result of him getting a little clumsy during his second round of beer pong, “You gotta help me a little bit here, big guy.”

He lifted his arms up to help you out, eyes glazed over as he sat on the edge of his bed, “’M tired.” 

“I know, bubs,” you sighed, beginning to unbutton his pants, “Just gotta get you into some clean clothes.”

“Hey, missy, no funny business there,” he slurred out with a drunken smile on his lips as he grabbed your wrist from pulling down his pants, earning a giggle from you in response. 

“Wouldn’t dream of it, bubs,” successfully tugging his pants off, you reached behind you for the pair of pajama pants you had placed on the dresser and turned back to the giant man child that now had a pout adorning his face. 

“You don’t dream of it?” he asked hurt, eyes drooping from the lack of sleep, “But, but, I’m your boyfriend...and you’ve said I’m handsome, and, and I’m hot!”

You laughed at his antics, getting the pants around his ankles and putting your hands in his to help hims stand up. He leaned against your much smaller body as you pulled the waist band up and held his face in your hands. “I think you’re very, very handsome,” you told him, admiring how adorable he looked even with glazed, drunken eyes and a bright pink tint to his cheeks from the alcohol, “I also happen to think you’re the hottest man alive, but you just so happen to be extremely drunk right now which means you need to go to sleep.” Shawn collapsed into your arms, giving you a bone crushing hug as you stumbled back trying to regain your footing.

“I love you,” he mumbled into your shoulder, “so, so much.”

Your heart fluttered at his words. You had only been dating for a little over 5 months, so the words were still very new to the two of you and they almost made you cry at how lucky you were every time he said those 3 simple words. “I love you too, champ. Let’s get you to bed.”

You maneuvered him into the tiny bed of his dorm room and he immediately snuggled into your chest like a little puppy once you laid down. With his head rested comfortably on your chest and his arms wrapped around you, his breathing began to even out while you slowly ran your fingers through his curls, “Goodnight, my little champion.”

_________________________

Your alarm went off at 9am much to your dismay, and you struggled to reach over the curly headed boy on your chest to turn it off. You didn’t have a single clue as to why you still had a lecture today, but you did, and as much as you wanted to just lay in bed all day with your boyfriend, you couldn’t miss one of your hardest lectures. You tried to move out from underneath your giant of a boyfriend earning you a groan while his arms tightened around you. “Shawn, I have to get up,” you whispered, tracing over the freckles on his muscular back.

“Don’t go,” he mumbled into your chest, “Just wanna cuddle for a little bit.”

“I know bubs, but I have to get to class.” 

At this, he finally let you leave his strong grasps, grabbing onto the pillow to hold onto in place of you, “What class?”

“Mr. Howard at 11, but I have to go home and get changed.” You had put on the sweatshirt you had under his jersey along with your jeans from the game, knowing you couldn’t just wear the shirt you had stolen from his closet to sleep in last night to walk back to your dorm. “I left you some water and medicine for your head on the nightstand, make sure to get some rest, ok?” you ruffled your hands through his hair and he relaxed further into the mattress from your motions. You gave him a soft kiss on his mass of curls, mumbling an I love you into them, before grabbing your belongings from atop Brian’s bed and turning towards the door.

Shawn grabbed your hand to stop you from leaving, placing the sweetest of kisses on the back of your hand while looking you in the eyes, “I love you more.” Your cheeks heated up at his words and you squeezed his hand lovingly before making your way out of his room. 

Walking as fast as you could to your dorm room, you got ready in a hurry, knowing you would have to rush to make your lecture in time due to the extra moments you had spent at Shawn’s place. You put on the first reasonable outfit you could find and packed your bag at a rapid speed in order to make it out the door with 15 minutes to spare. It usually took about 20 minutes for you to walk to class, but you were determined to not be late today. You practically sprinted to the large stone building and managed to walk through the door just as the professor was about to lock it. Giving him a sheepish smile, your eyes searched for an open seat, only to let out a disappointed sigh when you noticed that your typical seat towards the front had been taken. The only available seat was right next to the door and you begrudgingly sat down in it as you took out your laptop to take notes.

30 minutes into the lecture and your brain was fried. Your mind kept on wandering off and daydreaming about being back in bed in Shawn’s arms no matter how much you tried to concentrate. This had to be one of your hardest lectures, but you were having such a hard time focusing that you were wondering if you should just pack your things and leave. The growling of your stomach cut off your thoughts and made you realize that you hadn’t eaten or drank anything before coming to class, which was definitely taking a toll on you. You sighed, looking back up at the professor when you heard the door of the lecture hall closing. Whipping your head around, you couldn’t see anyone entering the room so you focused your thoughts back to the screen with a confused look on your face. As you went to move your laptop to better see your professor, your eyes were drawn to something that had definitely not been on your desk a few seconds prior. A white cup of tea, noticeably from the school’s cafe, was sitting right on the corner of your desk, staring back at you. Tentatively, you picked it up, turning it around in your hands only to be met with Shawn’s signature handwriting written in Sharpie. 

A hot hibiscus tea with one scoop of sugar.

Sorry if I made you late to class today, thank you for taking care of me beautiful.

Love you loads, Shawn aka Bubs aka your Champ aka Best Boyfriend ever

P.S. because you’re an amazing girlfriend and you spent the whole night making sure I didn’t kill myself I’m taking you out tonight. I’m picking you up at 7, dress warm;)

You bit your lip to hide the wide grin forming on your face and suddenly, you wanted to get out of class as soon as possible for a completely different reason. The lecture seemed to drag on for hours and the moment your professor was finished you were rushing out the door to your dorm. You still had almost 6 hours left to kill before Shawn picked you up, so you texted him letting you know that you were done with class as you began to distract yourself with homework and notes from other classes. Once 6pm approached, you heart was beating rapidly with excitement and you decided it wasn’t too early to get ready. You didn’t quite know what to wear when he said dress warm because the weather was considerably nice outside and did not require a warmer dress code. Nevertheless, you decided to put on one of Shawn’s hockey sweatshirts that had his name printed on the back in bold with the school’s logo on the front and some warm leggings underneath. 

7 o’clock rolled around as a knock sounded on your door. Opening it up to reveal your perfect boyfriend, you launched yourself into his arms which he responded to by pulling you closer with a light laugh, “Hi baby.” 

“Hi handsome,” you giggled as he looked at you sheepishly while holding out a bouquet of yellow roses to you, which he just happened to know were your favorite, as if it was your first date all over again. You thanked him with a blush on your face and a kiss to his cheek, causing his face to light up pink when you turned around, just from your presence. 

“That’s an awfully nice sweatshirt you got there.”

You laughed as he made his way into your dorm room, wrapping his arms around you from behind while you were finding a place to put the flowers, “I got it from the greatest college hockey player I know.”

“I’m the only college hockey player you know,” he pointed out as you turned around in his hold.

“Exactly,” you teased and he feigned offense, pinching your sides lightly in protest and pouting out his lips. You leaned up to kiss the pout off his lips and he immediately deepened the kiss, pushing his body closer to yours until he suddenly came to his senses and pulled away, “Stop distracting me woman, we have places to be.” With that he grabbed your hand and began to pull you out of the dorms and towards his jeep, the two of you laughing the entire way.

_________________________

The drive to your unknown location took less than 10 minutes and before you knew it, Shawn was pulling into a parking stop at the school’s hockey stadium. “What are we doing here?” you curiously asked through giggles from the last joke he had just told you.

“I may or may not have gotten the rink free for tonight so we could skate together,” he confessed, a bashful blush on his cheeks as he got out of the jeep and came around to open your door.

“How did you manage that?”

“Being the school’s star player and captain does have its perks. You’re practically dating a celebrity baby.”

“Oh shut up,” you pushed him jokingly and he retaliated quickly, lifting you over his shoulder and running towards the door.

“Shawn! Let me down!” you laughed as your arms tried to grab onto a part of his muscular back to no avail. He grabbed your legs to insure you wouldn’t fall and spun you around one last time once he reached the entrance, putting you down gently. Shawn opened the door for you, the stadium feeling oddly empty with how quiet it was. Guiding you towards the rink, Shawn felt his heart bubble in anticipation at the thought of having his girl alone with him in his favorite place to just skate around. He handed you a pair of skates that he had already placed on a bench for you, having asked your roommate for your shoe size earlier in the day. “I haven’t been ice skating in about 5 years,” you admitted, a nervous chuckle leaving your lips. How you managed to have a star hockey player as your boyfriend when you could hardly skate on two feet you didn’t know, and even though you knew Shawn wouldn’t judge you for your skills, or lack of for that matter, you still felt a tad bit embarrassed.

“Don’t worry, hun,” he told you as he helped you lace up your skates, “I’ll hold your hand every second we’re out there.” With one last tug on the laces, he patted your skate securely, looking up at you with doe-like eyes, “How do they feel?”

“Perfect,” you leaned down and pecked his lips before he sat down next to you to begin his own skates. Taking your hand in his, he pulled you onto your wobbily feet and led you towards the ice. 

“Now I’m gonna get on first, just hold onto my hands.” This wasn’t your forte for sure, but Shawn was a patient teacher and after a few laps around the rink, you were feeling much more confident, probably a little too confident. You had been skating for about 45 minutes when you had suggested that he taught you how to skate backwards. Shawn’s face had lit up, loving every second of you being interested in something he loved and he immediately turned himself around to hold your hands to show you how to start. For a beginner, you weren’t doing awful, but you were far from perfect and that became clear when your feet fell out from underneath you. Shawn wrapped his arms around you just as you were about to fall on your butt, effectively having you land on top of him on the ice, the both of you laughing your heads off. 

Once the laughter began to settle, Shawn’s eyes began to turn softer, the lights inside of the rink making them glow brighter than usual. “How’d I get so lucky?” he mumbled to himself as he tucked a stray piece of hair behind your ear, but you heard it loud and clear. 

“I ask myself that everyday, bubs.”

He cradled the back of your head in his hand, lifting his head to meet your lips in a passionate kiss. “I love you,” you whispered softly against his lips.

“I love you too, baby. You mean more to me than any hockey championship I could ever win.”

[edie-k]

Legally Ginger - Prologue (PG-13, Romione)

Now, for something totally different...

Title: Legally Ginger

Chapter 1/9

Rating: PG-13 (I use fuck more than the MPAA allows for PG-13 but that's a stupid rule - there's no explicit content)

Pairing: Romione endgame

Summary: When Ron Weasley's college girlfriend declines his proposal because he doesn't meet her standard for future husband, he decides comes up with a plan to let her see him in a new light.

Notes: This is an AU Muggle reimagination of Legally Blonde. It's very different than anything I have ever written - and my first chapter story. I intend to update each Monday.

Thank you to adnei for all of her beta feedback!

While I really enjoy Legally Blonde, it has some things that need a bit of updating or calling out in the year 2021. This fic will attempt to do those things but not lose the fun and fluffiness of the concept.

Also... I love the pop culture/time capsule references of the movie so plan to see that same vibe in this fic. If any of them are unclear to you, let me know in the comments because I love to talk pop culture!

Finally, lots of our favorites are scheduled to appear throughout the story - I eagerly anticipate all guesses as to who will be who!

Disclaimer: Neither Harry Potter or Legally Blonde or any of their characters are owned by me and are not being used for profit.

Link to AO3 or click below to read more.

“Hey Tim!” Ron Weasley shouted, raising his hand to greet the guy behind the coffee cart but not breaking his stride.

“Hey Ron! Thanks for that recommendation. She loved it!”

Ron grinned and kept on running his recreational route that wove through the Los Angeles campus of California University. Even though his cross country career had come to an end with the conclusion of his senior season this fall, he didn’t intend to let his personal records slip. In fact, he was almost working harder. If everything went according to plan tonight, he planned to be competing in the iconic Boston Marathon next April.

“Ron! We still on to study tomorrow?” shouted his chem lab partner Kelsey as he strode past her.

“Yep! We’re going to rock that test out!”

“Hi Ron!” he heard a few female voices chorus together as he passed the Zeta Beta house. Several girls were doing yoga out on the front lawn.

“Great form ladies!” he yelled back, grinning as he heard the giggles.

He grabbed his shirt to wipe his forehead and glanced at his watch. 4:30. He was approaching the house and he had time to do some cool down stretches, shower, check that they had enough brothers to cover the Animal Aid fundraiser tomorrow, send his Econ professor his problem set, and dress for dinner before he had to leave for the Delta Nu house.

He slowed to a jog as his feet hit the driveway. He took the porch steps two at a time before entering the house. Immediately, he was greeted by a snort.

“Pig! Good boy,” he greeted, scratching the pug behind his ears.

“Come on boy,” he said, starting up the house stairs to his room, Pig following dutifully behind. As president, he lucked out with his own room with an en-suite bathroom but as was typical for his life, it wasn’t empty.

“Hey brother brother!” two voices said.

Ron rolled his eyes at the twins. “That joke will never be funny.” Fred and George grinned, one sprawled on his bed and one in his desk chair.

“We just have this last semester to even make the joke. Afterwards, it’ll be pathetic,” Fred said.

“That 40k is so close I can taste it,” said George.

His twin brothers were two years older than him, however, they’d dropped out after their sophomore year to open a retail shop selling joke and novelty items. They quickly realized they were more interested in conducting their own research and development; manufacturing their own products to distribute and sell. It was certainly more profitable. In order to get the seed money, they returned to college after two years. Their schooling, like Ron’s, was financed by his Aunt Muriel and upon receiving their bachelors degree, Muriel also handed over a $20,000 cash gift. The crotchety old broad put a lot of value on their schooling.

“And little Ronniekins is going to spend his on a girl,” Fred teased. It was then that he noticed Fred was fiddling with the small gray ring box that had previously been hidden in Ron’s sock drawer. He moved to snatch it back but Fred tossed it across the room to George.

Ron frowned. “First, I’m not spending it all on a girl. Part of it will be for the wedding and the rest I’ll save for a down payment on a house. Maybe not in Boston because we may not stay there after she finishes law school.”

“Oh yes, Bah-stan,” George mocked in a truly terrible accent.

“Yes. She’s sure that it’ll happen. She’s a legacy or something like that. I hope so because I think Boston Beer Company is going to make me an offer.”

“Free Sam Adams? I’ll take it,” Fred nodded.

“Secondly,” said Ron. “She’s not just a girl.”

The twins groaned. “Ugh, Ronnie, there’s no free beer yet. I can’t listen to this sober.”

Ron rolled his eyes.

“I have to ask,” started George. “Are you sure about this? You’re so young and it hasn’t been that long. You could still go to Boston with her without getting engaged.”

While it was annoying to get another “you’re too young” speech, it wasn’t often that his brothers asked him a serious question. “I’m sure. She’s the one.”

“Well then,” said George, flipping the box to him. “Go get her.”

A few hours later, he was shifting nervously in his seat at their table at Chaudron Qui Fuitfont, playing with the same gray ring box in his pocket. The dinner course had been cleared and they were now waiting for dessert to arrive as well as the bottle of champagne he’d surreptitiously requested.

“Astoria, have I told you that you look absolutely breathtaking tonight?”

“Just three or four times,” she laughed.

“Well, I might tell you a few more,” Ron said.

“It’s not everyday that you put so much effort into a date. I had to deliver on my side as well,” Astoria replied.

“It’s appreciated,” Ron smiled. “I-I appreciate everything about you. How gorgeous you are, how driven… the past 18 months with you has really made me sit down and focus on what I want for my future, you know?”

“That’s great, Ron,” Astoria said, reaching across the table to give his hand a squeeze. She glanced around him. “I want another glass of Merlot.”

“Yeah. You know I’m in the final stages for jobs at three companies,” he said.

“Mmm,” she said distractedly.

“Including Boston Beer Company,” he added.

“That’s a reputable company. Although make sure the job isn’t on the Truly brand. They’ll never get the market from White Claw. Mark my words, they’ll fizzle in two years.”

“Astoria, I see my future with you.”

She looked up at him sharply. “What?”

“Yes. I love you. I’m ready to start the next stage of our relationship. Astoria - ” Ron stood up, pulling the ring box out.

“No.”

“Will you marry me?” Ron asked, kneeling next to her.

“No, now get up.”

Ron’s blood suddenly ran cold. “Wha-what?”

“I said, no, now sit down.” He numbly followed her direction.

“Ron,” Astoria sighed. “Oh, honey, I’m sorry.”

“But… why?”

Astoria gave him a pitying look. “Look, we have had so much fun. You’re a great guy.”

“Great guy? You told me you loved me,” he hissed, trying to keep his voice low to avoid more embarrassment.

“And I do. As a college boyfriend. You are a great college boyfriend. You’re president of the second best fraternity on campus so you get all the best party invites. You’re on the cross country team so I can tell everyone I’m dating a Division I athlete, but you aren’t in one of those sports where it like, takes up all your time. You had a cool internship, everybody on campus loves you because you volunteer and help and you’re nice to everyone, even the janitors. You’re sweet and you’ve got a great body and you… you know,” she dropped her voice now “always deliver on what’s promised. You’ve been the perfect person to spend the last few semesters with.”

“I… I don’t understand what the problem is. I sound great from what you’re saying,” Ron seethed, frustration clear in his tone.

“I need a man for the next part of my life. Not a frat boy, not even if he doesn’t exactly fit the stereotype. I’m going to Harvard Law School in the fall. Do you understand how big of a deal that is?”

“Yes! That’s why I am pursuing a job in Boston. To be with you.”

“At a beer company.”

“I’m not opening a bar with my buddies. It’s a research and development role at a major corporation!”

“You have a degree in food science,” Astoria replied, rolling her eyes.

“It’s not like we spend all our time eating. It’s a real field. I got an A in Organic Chemistry.”

“Org Chem with Murphy. The serious students take it with Professor Kettle.”

Ron just gaped at her.

“If I’m going to be a federal judge by the time I’m 40, I need to stop dicking around. And I’m sorry, you’re not a Marty Ginsberg.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not an Armie Hammer either. Feels like there’s some wiggle room between those two extremes.”

“You’re a great guy. And I’m sure you’ll be a great husband to a marketing specialist or a pharmaceutical sales rep. And maybe if I was going to go to Wayne State or Northwestern, things would be different. But this is Harvard Law. There are just… expectations that any potential spouse meet a certain intellectual bar. Or at least a social bar. I mean, my sister is engaged to a Kennedy!”

At that point, the waiter approached the table with their desserts. Astoria stood up. “I’m really sorry. I’ll just call an Uber.” She paused and kissed him on the cheek before exiting the dining room.

“Uh, should I wrap these to go?” asked the waiter as Ron watched Astoria leave.