#and then i had to prepare for our lab quizzes- | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

rootin-tootin-cum-shootin · 4 years ago

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Copper and Iron

Synopsis: Y/N finds themself working as a volunteer in an experiment being done by a famous Robotics company. An experiment on a new AI program meant to allow their autonomous androids to have emotions. However what both Y/N and the researchers didn't anticipate was for their new experiment to fall in love with her human.

Ship: Hinata Hyuga x gn! Reader

Word Count: 9,320

Warnings: Yandere, Emotional abuse,Toxic Relationship, Manipulation, Gaslighting, Blood (from a broken nose)

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There are many factors that go into creating something truly magnificent. Often it takes ingenuity, a creative touch, patience, and a lot of perseverance. Not to mention bravery. Sometimes the creations are timeless, whether that be for a practical purpose like the invention of the light bulb or for a more spiritually fulfilling purpose like music. Despite this innovations such as these change form slightly as time progresses, however if one were to go back and look at something like a table from as far back as physical historical artifacts can be found, it can still be recognized for the purpose that it serves. Whether the table is made of plastic from 100 years ago or even Dysprosil from modern day. However none of that matters in the long run, because as previously stated time continues moving forward and so does innovation. It is very rare that the best inventions are ever made, after all the best creations are always the ones where eventually society can no longer live without them. Imagining a world where the thing an individual is most dependent on is missing, is quite often devastating. That is especially the case when it comes to the newest form of AI technology. And it is on that note that our story truly begins.

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The towering building of Baseline Robotics™ glimmered as the rolling holographic advertisement displayed along the outside shifted to the customary greeting message as the doors unlocked before Y/N. Walking into the surprisingly empty lobby they immediately noticed that the interior decorations seemed to be going for a theme of alien hospital. Everything seemed to be white or a reflective silver and it was very nearly maddening in it’s sterility. However what caught Y/N’s attention was a stiff pure white couch that laid empty. It seemed like nobody had ever sat down on it, whether that be from fear of staining it or how uncomfortable it appeared to be was yet to be determined. Despite this observation Y/N sat down, albeit hesitantly. Soon people began to enter the building and walk down one of the two brightly lit hallways, turning either immediately left or the right while not a single person entered the large door at the end of the middle hallway.

They had never been to Baseline Robotics™ as they never really saw a need to before now. AI was an essential part of society and for that Y/N was grateful that robotics companies existed. Without the people who can make the AI that is essential to daily tasks like driving, or customer service life would be far more difficult. And thus cities like Canphia wouldn’t exist. However recently Baseline Robotics™ had begun the shift from functional robots and computer programs to fully autonomous androids. Androids of course had already existed for a few years short of two centuries, but never had they ever looked so realistic. The only thing preventing them from being fully human was the lack of emotions. But since most androids were expensive and thus they were employed as nannies and maids in only the richest households. Being able to get angry or excited would make them neglect their duties and so nobody ever considered creating an android capable of emotions. And thus Y/N had never even considered going into the Baseline building. Besides what would a college student ever need with a robot servant.

“Greetings! How can we help you today?” A robotic voice asked Y/N as it wheeled closer to them.

“I’m here to answer the ad requesting volunteers for an experiment,” Y/N responded carefully.

“Follow me!” The robot chirped as it turned abruptly towards the hallway behind it, eventually both Y/N and the robot reached the door that nobody else had entered. The robot whirred softly as it unlocked the door in front of it,”Please enter and someone will be with you shortly.”

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“Hello, you must be here for the experiment. I’m Researcher Ino, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” The young woman was grinning excitedly at Y/N as she extended a hand towards them.

Reaching a hand out to shake Ino’s Y/N introduced themself quickly before they were suddenly being taken down a hallway by conveyor belt. It led down a series of short confined hallways before abruptly opening up into a large production floor similar to the ones that create cars.

“So Y/N before we get started with the paperwork I’d like to ask you some quick questions,” Ino hummed as she looked over the documents displayed on her Holo-Cast.

“Go ahead Ino.”

“Why did you want to sign up for this?”

“Well…” Y/N hesitated, to say they were embarrassed at their reasoning for signing up was an understatement, but figuring honesty was the best way to go they continued to speak. “I moved to Canphia about six months ago and it’s been very hard for me to make any meaningful relationships so most of my free time is spent alone at home. I figured that since I don’t really ever do anything I could dedicate my spare time to assisting the behind the scenes science that goes into creating the AI we depend on.”

“Is there anything in particular that’s been preventing you from making friends?” the researcher inquired pleasantly.

“If you haven’t noticed yet I have a difficult time speaking Katlior so it’s harder for me to communicate.” Y/N confessed with a light shrug as they entered Ino’s office.

“Well Y/N I believe that you will be a perfect candidate for the experiment. With your help we might be able to finally take the last step in advancing AI technology. Welcome to the team.”

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It had been eight months of working with Ino and Y/N was excited to finally see what all their work was being put towards. If someone asked them if their time spent in the labs was helpful, Y/N in all honesty would have answered no. All they did was take silly personality quizzes about themself and their relationships that inevitably lead nowhere interesting or have conversations with the same four bot programs. The strangest things that they encountered in the lab however were the days where Ino would sit with Y/N and eat a meal while they discussed normal things for two people who are getting to know each other, like hobbies, interests and ideal types of all things. And what made this the strangest of the lab days was the fact that Ino would always take notes during their conversations, so the conversations were always a little awkward.

Nonetheless Y/N was excited as earlier today Ino had mentioned that they needed to come into the lab a day early. She wouldn’t tell them exactly why they needed to come in but she sounded very excited and that made Y/N excited.

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By the time Y/N had arrived at Borderline Robotics™ Ino was very nearly bouncing off the walls from how exhilarated she was at what she was about to unveil to Y/N. When they walked in she immediately jumped on them, wrapping an arm around Y/N’s shoulders while talking a mile a minute. “Ah you’re here! I called you in because we’re finally ready to begin the next stage of testing, and I have a feeling you’re going to love exactly what this stage entails. So if you would follow me I need to brief you on exactly what you’re about to experience so you’re prepared for this breakthrough. Okay let’s go!”

“Ino where exactly are we going? Isn’t the lab the other way?”

“Yep but today we’re going somewhere else.”

“...I’m so confused,” Y/N shook their head as they walked down the otherwise silent hallway. Ino grinned as she unlocked a door leading to a spiraling staircase and ushering Y/N to follow her down.

“We need to go to the lab with the highest security clearance today, after all it’s not every day where you get so far in creating the first autonomous AI with emotions. So yeah, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, that’s what all the testing has been for Y/N. We want to be able replicate emotions in our autonomous AIs. So the information you gave us was used to create a personalized android based off of characteristics that you favored in the tests, and from that we created a personality for your android. She is as realistic as possible and fulfills the purpose you wanted, with a little extra thrown in too!” Ino was still talking very quickly and when combined with the endless winding of the staircase it served to only further disorient Y/N.

Frustrated at their lack of comprehension on the topic Ino was babbling on and on about Y/N grabbed Ino's arm and stopped her both from talking and walking. “Ino please slow down, I'm not following. What purpose did I ever say I wanted an android for?” Y/N said exasperated. Ino blinked at them, her mouth falling into an open o shape.

Looking away from them she flushed, when she spoke her speech had slowed down considerably, “Well you didn't explicitly say you wanted her to have a particular purpose but I assumed that you would like it if her purpose was to be a companion for you. You did say that making friends was hard due to your limited language skills so with her you would always have a friend. And on top of that we also gave her the ability to speak every known human language, so no matter where you go with her, she will always be able to help you with the language of that country.” She looked back at Y/N with a shy smile and continued, “She is going to be a complete sweetheart to you. I can tell you that, I programmed her personally. If all goes well with us fully waking her up, you and the other participants will all be able to take home your personalized android to continue testing. Our goal is to see if it’s possible to have an android with a near full range of human emotion that would allow them to do jobs that are stressful, dangerous and need careful action, while still maintaining the capability to de escalate and comfort those in need. Like… search and rescue paramedics or firefighters! And by having willing participants take the androids out and fully immerse them in day to day life, it will definitely prove if it’s possible.”

“What happens to her if the experiment succeeds? After it’s over I mean. Will she be scrapped?” Y/N said as they stared at the door at the bottom of the stairs.

“Of course not Y/N-san, she would continue living just like how she was before the end of the experiment, minus all the mandatory testings she needs to undergo… Oh that reminds me, before I introduce you to her there are some things you need to know, you know rules and the like,” she said now slowly descending down the remaining stairs to the door. Y/N now relieved at knowing what was about to happen when they entered the lab, followed after her, ready to listen intently to the rules they needed to follow.

“So first of all since this is an experimental form of AI you are going to have to bring her in biweekly for the first four months for little check ups, as there might be some problems with either the physical body she inhabits or glitches in her programming. If you happen to find any before the next check up feel free to bring her in before then, and we’ll fix her right up! Number two, she needs to be charged every 32 hours. She is able to use the solar panels embedded into her skin to self charge in direct sunlight but if she doesn’t get any direct sunlight and her battery starts to get low, then you will have to plug her in. Number three, while charging with the cord in she is not to do any energy consuming activities, so laying down or sitting are the best options. Light activity such as walking a very short distance is possible but not strongly advised, listening to music or watching children’s television shows will be fine, just make sure she won’t be processing any heavy amounts of information or moving too much. The last thing is less important for you to know but nonetheless, number four she is waterproofed so she is able to interact with water without being damaged. However just because she can wash dishes, walk in the rain and shower does NOT mean she can be fully submerged in water. So no baths or going scuba diving with her. Wading in a pool or lake is possible although not recommended.“

Y/N nodded sincerely as they programmed the instructions into their Holo-Cast so they wouldn’t forget them after leaving the lab, and despite their focus and serious diligence in recording the rules Ino could tell that they were excited. After all they were barely containing a smile as she opened the door to the room where the androids were all just awakening. Y/N looked up from what they were doing as Ino motioned for them to follow her into the room.

Once in the room Ino quietly greeted her two fellow researchers as she guided Y/N past all the other pairings in the room and over to the single lone android. Ino stopped a few steps from where the android was sitting on the table, there was nothing on the table beside her but the blanket that at one point covered her body before her awakening. Disappointed but not surprised, Ino nudged Y/N forward to meet her while she went to go get the bag of the things the android would need, “Hinata, I have someone here to meet you.” She said, causing the android to turn her head and look at the pair.

“Hello, I’m Hinata,” she said inquisitively.

“Hello Hinata, I’m Y/N. It’s nice to meet you,” Y/N responded enthusiastically albeit they did feel slightly uncomfortable due to the others around them already having extensive conversations.

“Hi!!” Hinata said enthusiastically, she seemed to be a very bright and nearly childlike person and that made Y/N smile softly at her. They truly didn’t know what to say to Hinata and thus their conversations were short, and the silences between them long.

Ino soon returned with a very large duffel bag and handed it off to Hinata’s waiting arms, “You’re going to be living with them from now on Hinata, that means you can leave the lab!” Hinata looked at Y/N intently and nodded slowly. She was starting to realize what the humans wanted from the other androids and she was wondering if Y/N was the same way.

“Y/N one thing before you leave, feel free to bring her by anytime you want. We’d all love to see how you’re both doing. Okay?” Ino interjected as Hinata put on her jacket so the pair could leave. Y/N smiled graciously as they agreed to stop by sometime soon. And with that they left with Hinata in tow.

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The pair were silent as they ascended the stairs, not a word was spoken between them until they got outside of the building at which point the bubble of awkward tension burst between them. Hinata reached out in a move that mirrored the one that Y/N did to Ino not even a half hour earlier. “What am I to you Y/N? I know all of us were created with a role in mind and I want to know the one you think I’m going to play.” Hinata said intensely, her eyes were locked on Y/N as she spoke.

“It’s embarrassing to admit but I want you to be my friend. I moved here a year ago and despite spending time with my classmates after lectures I haven’t been able to make any real friends by myself due to a strong language barrier between us. I can understand if you-”

Y/N had looked away from Hinata in shame while they spoke and they only looked back after Hinata’s once hard and quite frankly intimidating voice softened, “Do you really mean you want to be friends? You’re not going to make me into a servant or something?”

Y/N blinked in shock at how quickly her attitude changed but nodded with a smile, "No Hinata, I’m not going to make you my servant. I want to be friends, although in all honesty I wouldn’t mind if you help with chores sometimes…” They trailed off as Hinata laughed brightly. She intertwined their hands and swung them back and forth as they walked away from Baseline Robotics™.

“Can we go to a zoo? I want to see a real life hippopotamus Y/N!” Hinata asked excitedly. Y/N nodded as they giggled, Hinata was just so full of wonder at everything and it was endearing.

“Of course we can Hinata, you little sweetheart.”

They hadn’t gotten more than a block away when Y/N’s Holo-Cast lit up with a call from Ino. It was strange that Ino was calling them so soon after leaving but thinking it might be important Y/N picked up the call. As soon as they hit the receive option Ino’s frantic voice was heard, “Oh thank goodness you’re okay! You need to bring Hinata back here right now for deactivation befo-”

“Deactivation? Ino what the hell are you talking about? Hinata hasn’t done anything to me other than hold my hand,” Y/N said while looking at Hinata who looked just as confused.

“The other androids, they just... flipped out all of the sudden and attacked the volunteers. Most of the humans were sent to the emergency room from the damage the androids caused. We were supposed to have a program put in that stopped them from harming their humans unless they were in direct danger but the volunteers were all just trying to leave to go home and the androids just went crazy unprovoked… Y/N are you sure Hinata isn’t going to-”

This time Hinata cut Ino off, “Why would I ever want to hurt my friend Researcher Ino? We are even going to the zoo together, I really want to see a real life hippo! Please don’t take me away from Y/N, i really like them… ” Hinata was pouting at the idea of not getting to spend time with her new best friend when they had met.

Ino paused her pleas as she realized that Hinata must have not seen Y/N as a threat judging by the behaviour Y/N described and the way that Hinata spoke of them.

In shock from Hinata at all but admitting that she would have lashed out in anger had their conversation gone differently, Y/N looked at the small form of Hinata who was now crouched down and cooing at a pigeon, having been distracted from the conversation at hand by the small avian’s appearance. “She doesn’t seem to want to hurt me,” Y/N thought, “And if she was going to do it she would have done it when everyone else did. Plus she acts a lot like a child, so I doubt she would do it now.”

Ino sighed, “It’s your limbs that are at stake here. Fine, if you feel safe, then...carry on your way then.”

The last thing Y/N saw before the call ended was Ino shaking her head in disbelief. With a chuckle Y/N called out to Hinata, “You heard the woman! Let’s roll out.”

“Okie Dokie!” Hinata affirmed, reaching for Y/N’s hand once more. Swinging their intertwined hands between them as they walked to the zoo.

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Two weeks later Y/N and Hinata went in for the first scheduled check up, where amazingly Ino found the same abnormalities in her code as the other androids displayed; and yet she still didn't attack Y/N. Outwardly there was no evidence of violent tendencies anywhere in Hinata. “But the code doesn't lie, so what made her refrain from attacking Y/N?” Ino thought aloud as she watched the physical portion of the check up from a safe distance.

Everything seemed to be going how it should be going and despite the excitement her colleagues were showing at having a working android, Ino thought that she needed to be deactivated like the others or at least reprogrammed.

When the other researcher finished with Hinata, Ino got an idea. The best way to find out a person's reasoning behind their actions is the simplest way. To ask them. She took a deep breath and walked over, rehearsing what she'd say in her head on the way over. Putting a hand on Hinata’s shoulder Ino carefully asked her the question all the while trying to not to give away her true intentions.

“Hello Hinata I'm happy to report that the physical evaluation shows you are in perfect condition, Y/N must be taking good care of you," That got a smile and a pleased nod from the android. Ino patted her shoulder and continued, "But I do have a question for you in regards to your code. You see when we were looking at your coding today during the psych testing, we found the same anomaly that caused the other androids to attack their human volunteers, in you, and yet you were the only one not to attack anyone. So I figured I'd ask you what all us researchers were thinking, why didn't you attack Y/N?”

“They wanted me to be their friend, and I wanted to be their friend too! Friends don't hurt friends Ino,” Hinata said cheerfully. She looked towards Y/N like a child looking to their parent for affirmation of their good behaviour. Y/N smiled at her and squeezed her hand as they watched Ino take notes.

“Well as much as I would like to take out that particular section of code that created the violent behavior, I have been ordered by the higher ups to leave it in as they don’t want to potentially compromise Hinata. Plus if she says she’s not going to act on it, I suppose we'll just have to trust her," Ino gave a good natured smile directed at Hinata before continuing, "However I will implement a tell that would allow you, Y/N to see if she's getting to a state where she would act violent.” Ino said as she plugged some of the cords that were laying next to the table Hinata was sitting on into the nape of Hinata's neck; quickly pulling out a tablet, Ino typed out a sequence of numbers and letters before setting the tablet back down. Turning back to the pair she grinned, "and now we wait for it to upload, Hinata just make sure to lay down otherwise your balance could get a little wonky. You'll undergo a quick recalibration of the senses and all that, and then you're free."

Hinata nodded and laid down carefully, Y/N kept a hand on her back to help guide her down. Their face betrayed a look of shock and a hesitation that looked closer to fear than worry to Ino as by now Hinata's eyes had turned a milky white to allow for the update to her code to complete.

"Don't you worry about the eyes Y/N, that's supposed to happen. Any update to her code or recalibration of her senses will limit her sight in order to not overwhelm her in the process. You probably haven't had to charge her using the cord yet but you'll notice her eyes will do that when charging as well."

Y/N shook their head, shaking the image of Hinata sitting in a dark room looking limp with wires coming off her body and her eyes as empty as a corpse. In a quick attempt to permanently banish the thought from their brain they looked at Ino and spoke once more. “And what is the tell you put in, Ino? You're being very vague…” Y/N inquired, wary.

Ino handed Y/N a sheet of paper as she spoke, “Her hair will lighten when she’s in a bad mood, and darken when she's in a good mood. The lighter it is the worse her mood is, the darker her hair is the better her mood is. If she's sad, it will have blue in it. And embarrassment will create a pink tinge to the tips of her hair. Both of the last two are because she has no fluids to convey those types of emotions, and with plenty of deliberation between the researchers we determined they’re both essential."

Y/N was not convinced that this whole "tell" thing wasn't a predetermined plan instead of the on the fly programming that Ino was trying to make it look like it was. After all why else would she have a sheet of paper already printed off with a comprehensive guide to the colouring of Hinata's hair?

Realizing that Y/N had caught on, Ino hurriedly got Hinata unhooked so that the pointed look Ino was being given wouldn’t turn into another question, "Okay you are both ready to go, see you in two weeks.

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“Y/N can we watch Iron Man again? Pretty please?” Hinata whined.

“No, but only because you were whining again. Remember what we talked about Hinata, we don't whine to get what we want.” Y/N chided as they put on their coat.

Hinata slumped down in the chair, she was disappointed in herself for making Y/N upset at her again. She was really trying to act more sophisticated and not like a toddler but everything was so new to her and she wanted to see it all, but it was just so hard to curb her enthusiasm for life when her wants were sidelined to more important things. But she would have to try harder so that Y/N wouldn’t be upset at her anymore.

“Hinata! Sweetheart, I know you’re sulking out there. Get up and come put your shoes on so that we can go out, my friends are waiting for us at the restaurant and I don’t want to be late,” Y/N called out from in front of the door. Standing up, Hinata smoothed the wrinkles out of her clothes and walked over to where Y/N stood.

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“Hello Sakura. How are you?” Y/N stood with Hinata beside them as they greeted the back of a person.

The woman turned to face Y/N as if she was surprised that they had spoken to them, when she locked eyes with Y/N she immediately began to smile. Sakura stood up, her short pink hair bouncing as she pulled Y/N into a hug,“Y/N! There you are, it felt like you were never going to meet up with us again. Sai and I were missing you.” After pulling away she looked at Hinata and spoke again, “Who’s this Y/N?”

Y/N grabbed Hinata’s hand as they spoke, “This is Hinata, she’s my friend and roommate.”

Hinata was pleased by finally being acknowledged by Sakura, she smiled timidly and waved at the girl, the ends of her hair shifting to a rosy pink , “It's nice to meet you Sakura.” Her voice was gentle when she spoke, she really wanted to appear as mature and polite as possible so that Y/N would be even more happy, so she let Sakura tug her down into the seat next to her.

Y/N sat across from her and immediately turned to talk to the person next to them. His voice was deep when he spoke and had a strange way of pronouncing Katlio that led Hinata to believe he must be foreign, and therefore probably the Sai that Sakura mentioned.

Sai had fully black eyes and his arms were covered in slowly morphing tattoos. Hinata was shocked, she didn't know that humans could come out like that, it made her feel very strange, she couldn't quite place the emotion she was feeling when she saw the human.

What she did know was she absolutely hated the way that Y/N was looking at him.

“Examining his tattoos Hinata?” Sakura teased from beside her, “They are really cool I will admit. But still tell us about yourself. Where are you from, how did you meet Y/N, you know all the good stuff.” She tossed her hair as she spoke although it didn't go very far due to its cropped length.

Y/N spun their head to look at Hinata directly in the eyes, they were silently pleading with her to not reveal that she was an android. Hinata didn’t like knowing she had to lie but she understood that she needed to do it to keep Y/N happy. So after sending a reassuring smile to Y/N she turned back to Sakura. Carefully and with practiced grace, as if she was a spider moving across the strands of it’s web to trap a still fluttering butterfly, she began to spin her lie, “Well…it’s not a very exciting story guys. I was born in Canphia but moved away when I was really young. I recently came back to the city and the two of us met through a mutual friend not too long ago and we hit it off. Y/N asked if I wanted to be their roommate after they found out I was looking for a place.” Hinata shrugged nonchalantly after she spoke, Sakura seemed pleased with her answer and thus turned her attention to Sai. Hinata immediately looked over at Y/N with the hope that she did a good job.

Y/N smiled at her in relief and thinking she looked a lot like a puppy reached over and ruffled Hinata’s hair. So far, having Hinata around was going really well for Y/N because even though they still weren’t the best at Canphia’s unique language they got confidence in knowing that they had someone who would always be able to help them out.

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When Y/N and Hinata arrived home from the diner, Hinata grabbed Y/N’s hands and stopped them from going inside the apartment. When they looked at her in confusion she giggled nervously, the tips of her hair going light pink for the second time that day, “I saw something in a drama and I want to try it. May I Y/N?” She tilted her head in inquisition and waited for their answer.

“As long as it’s not going to hurt anyone then sure,” Y/N responded.

Hinata smiled at them, went up on her tiptoes and placed a gentle, lingering kiss on Y/N’s forehead, “It’s not because I love you, it’s because I love only you. If it’s not you then I won’t have anyone else.” When she pulled away she was smiling very brightly, she had been wondering why the men in movies always did this sort of thing to people they like, but after doing it herself, she could completely understand why. It felt really nice to show affection like that, so much so that it created a small fluttering deep inside her chest.

After a beat of stunned silence Y/N blinked repeatedly at her as they spoke, “Are you quoting an old romance drama at me? Remind me to no longer watch sappy shows with you.” With a good natured eyeroll that Hinata could tell wasn’t genuine annoyance, Y/N dragged her inside.

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Hinata and Y/N had been meeting up with Sai and Sakura every Saturday for months now and although the number of people who attended, the food ordered and the conversations had were always different, the one thing Hinata could expect during these times was to be ignored by the group of humans and only used as a translator by Y/N. She was always kept at an arm's length and unless she forcefully inserted herself into the conversation nobody would seem to notice she was even there, not even her best friend and roommate, the beautiful shining and incredibly social butterfly, Y/N.

They used to do almost everything together. From grocery shopping and cleaning, to going out to the movies Hinata and Y/N were inseparable, no matter what they were doing they would always make it fun. Nothing was done around each other without trying to make the other laugh. Throwing popcorn, random tickle fights and long cuddle sessions on the couch when Y/N had a stressful day. Hinata cherished all of the moments they spent together, but now Hinata was not sure Y/N felt the same.

But then it changed.

Soon Hinata practically had to beg for a simple good morning from Y/N. They had been coming home from school and immediately retreating into their room. They didn’t come out for anything and the light would stay on until very late into the night. Hinata tried everything to get their attention and yet no matter what she did none of it mattered because they never saw it. It was like she didn't even exist to her butterfly anymore.

Afterall what is the spider who must stay grounded on her web to the butterfly with the freedom to explore not only the skies but the world below.

She even had to go to her last biweekly checkup without them, and those days were always spent together no matter how busy Y/N was.

Then just that morning Y/N had asked Hinata to come with them to lunch and she was ecstatic, she dressed up nicely and did her hair just the way Y/N liked it. Soft bangs styled to frame her face, with the rest of her hair cascading down her back, it was perfect for them to run their hands through, but that same hair which was normally a deep purple, nearing black was now a striking platinum blonde.

She was at one point during the walk to the diner, hopeful that her relationship with Y/N would go back to normal and yet here she was still being ignored after months of the same torture over and over again. And any hope of waiting for things to go back to normal was crushed as the new guy, Neji wrapped his arm around Y/N's waist. He had been flirting with Y/N the whole time and what was making it positively intolerable was the fact that Hinata had to keep translating the flirtatious comments to Y/N.

And what made it worse were the reactions Y/N gave. With every laugh and turn of their head to hide their flustered face, or the casual touches that Y/N would reciprocate Neji’s advances with, Hinata felt a sharp pain in her chest. Like a knife being shoved in and twisted. Hinata was starting to resent her creators for giving her the capability to feel. What exactly she was feeling was a mystery to Hinata but she knew that it hurt. It hurt a lot.

After over an hour of being positively miserable Hinata had finally had enough. Abruptly standing up she stormed out of the diner. As she left she accidentally knocked over the chair she was sitting in and the clang of the metal chair hitting the floor caused the conversation at her table to screech to a halt.

Y/N was extremely embarrassed by her behavioural changes and they apologized for Hinata. Excusing themself, they picked up the chair as they left, catching the door before it shut, thus the bell failing to ring again. When they got outside they were greeted with Hinata leaning against a light post while pouting. Normally Y/N would have simply talked to Hinata about her terrible behavior but they had never seen her hair such a stark white before. Sure they'd seen her hair a light brown or even a natural looking blonde but never white, immediately getting concerned and scared, Y/N walked around to the diner's alleyway where they could still see Hinata while not allowing her to see them. Y/N commed Ino on their Holo-Com to make sure she was available for an emergency visit.

Hinata was even more miserable now, she was alone in the middle of the day and she had nothing to do. Now she couldn't even send dirty looks to that Neji guy who kept flirting with her Butterfly. The street was mostly silent save for the passing of vehicles along the road, which was a blessing. At least she had the quiet rhythm of the late afternoon traffic to help calm her down. Brushing her now blue bangs out of her eyes, she started to count the cars passing her on the street. At least that would give her something to think about other than Y/N and that stupid human man flirting with each other.

Behind her the door to the diner opened up, the bell above the door rang and soon the sound of footsteps followed. Whoever it was moved towards where Hinata was standing, watching the movement along the busy street. The footsteps stopped behind her and immediately Hinata knew who was standing there.

“Hey Himiko right? After you left Y/N followed, have you seen them? I just want to see how-” Neji cut himself off as Hinata slowly turned around, something wasn't right with her eyes. They were soulless, empty, and not at all human. Neji staggered back as Hinata began to smile, a smile that didn't reach past her lips.

Hinata walked towards Neji, enjoying how he was trying to pretend he wasn't scared of her. In a split second of panic Neji wound up and punched Hinata in the throat only to be met with something rock hard that hurt him more than it hurt Hinata. But that was all Hinata needed. In the blink of an eye Neji was on the ground, his nose broken and bloody.

Y/N was watching this from around the corner in shock. Hinata with her snow white hair had just sent a man crashing to the ground with blood pouring from his face. She stood over the now unconscious Neji, blood dripping from her knuckles. Y/N was shaking in fear when Ino picked up the com they had sent.

“Come here now,” Ino said before hanging up.

Y/N nodded and walked toward where Hinata was. They stood beside her and offered their shaking hand. “Hinata how about we go for a walk together okay? To clear our heads, maybe we'll go see our friend Ino.” Y/N said tensely. At this point Sakura had seen Neji and was rushing out to go help him thus Y/N felt comfortable leaving him.

Hinata on the other hand was excited, she hadn't seen Ino in a while and her Butterfly wanted to spend time with her again. Clasping their hand in hers, they began to walk toward Baseline Robotics™. Y/N wanted to vomit due to the sticky feeling of Neji's blood on their hand.

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“So you're concerned because her hair turned white after you spent over an hour using her as a translator so that a guy could successfully flirt with you? And then she punched the same guy who was flirting with you after already being incredibly annoyed by him. Y/N you realize how ridiculous that is right? Hinata did that because she was jealous and didn’t know better than to lash out physically, especially since from what you said he threw the first punch. That registered to her coding as an immediate threat, so of course she removed the threat by incapacitating him,” Ino said as she sipped her smoothie. With a chuckle she set her drink down and motioned to Hinata who was playing with one of the robotic hands on the table while listening in.

“Y/N we made Hinata specifically so that she could emulate human emotions while still being fully autonomous. You have to remember, she's comparable to a puppy, she has you and that's about it at the moment. She probably feels very protective of you since she doesn't know anyone as well as she knows you, and because of that she is very attached to you. So when you bring her places with you and then ignore her in favour of other people it irritates her. Just like how you'd feel if the person you love was ignoring you constantly. She may have copper wires instead of iron in veins but she is essentially human so treat her that way. Then everything will be fine and you won't face that problem again. Okay?”

Y/N nodded relieved and mildly embarrassed, walking over to Hinata who was listening intently to the conversation. “I-... I think that I owe you an apology Hinata. How I treated you today was unfair, and I swear I won’t allow it to happen again. Come on sweetheart let's go home, we can watch your favourite movie and cuddle, just… let me make it up to you?” Y/N said as Ino's words replayed over and over in their head.

Hinata grinned widely, her hair slowly darkening at the roots, turning her whole head black once more, the bangs however still remained tinted blue, but in the dimmed light of the lab it was near impossible to notice. She dropped the disembodied arm and grabbed for Y/N’s hands and as the pair made their way home one thing in particular about what Ino said stuck out to Y/N. Did Hinata really do that to Neji because she was in with love Y/N? Y/N didn't really believe it, after all why would she, they were friends.

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Another lunch over and Hinata was excited to go home so she and Y/N could hopefully watch a movie together. Over the course of the week Hinata had been formulating a plan, a plan that she carefully acted on all throughout that day’s lunch meet up. She was just waiting for Y/N to come out of the washroom so they could leave when Sai and Sakura came over to say goodbye after lunch.

“Hey Hinata before we go, we wanted to remind you to tell Y/N that next week we’re going to eat lunch at the cafe closer to campus. Oh and one more thing... thank you for giving us our Y/N back.” Sai said with an uncharacteristically soft voice before Sakura managed to drag him over to her bike.

Hinata's hair lightened in the blink of an eye at the comment Sai made, she was on the verge of starting to scream at the pair when the familiar voice of Y/N interrupted her, “What did they say about me? I heard my name but couldn’t quite catch anything else” they asked sweetly.

She plastered on a fake smile and shook her head, “You don’t want to know.” She laughed awkwardly and held out a hand for Y/N to take. Y/N frowned and took hold of her hand as they walked back home.

“What. did. they. say. Hinata.”

“They told me that I was ‘too good to be stuck hanging around’ you,” Hinata sighed deeply, really uncomfortable with saying it.

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Y/N had been getting more and more suspicious of Hinata with every weekly lunch meetup. It seemed as though every time that Y/N didn’t understand a remark made about them during those times Hinata would frown and look away as if she was in pain. If they pressed her to say what she'd heard she would confess that the people they were with were insulting them. At first they didn't believe it but now they were starting to believe her, since they stopped getting invited group activities with their so called friends.

Y/N was actually getting lonely from the lack of contact they were getting in the brief amount of time they were actually invited to go and meet with friends. But the greatest sting was when not even a week after their exams finished, the people that Y/N thought were friends had ditched them. And the one person they thought they could rely on was being distant.

It was getting harder to fall asleep every night as the hole in their chest just kept eating away at Y/N, telling them that all their worst fears were true. They had cried themself to sleep as many as six times in the past two weeks. The worst part however was just how exhausting the isolation had become.

The clock read 3:45AM and Y/N was just starting to fall asleep when a loud crash was heard from out in the living room. Thinking it was an intruder, Y/N immediately thought of Hinata and how valuable she would be if some devious rival to Baseline Robotics™ had found out about her existence. Leaping out of bed in a panic to protect her, Y/N grabbed a heavy book and slowly crept their way into the kitchen. The noise continued while Y/N made their way to where the sounds were originating from. Once in the kitchen they continued to creep forward into the living room where they flicked the lights on ready to attack the intruder; only to see Hinata now standing over a now completely decimated roomba.

“Hinata? What the hell are you doing to our roomba!” Y/N whisper yelled, Hinata only pouted in response and raised her leg presumably to stomp on it again. With a sigh Y/N put the book down and looked at Hinata in the eyes, they were fed up with life, exhausted, angry and very willing to take it out on her, “I'm going to ask you this one more time. What the fuck. Do. You. Think. You're. Doing?”

Hearing the anger in Y/N's voice Hinata lowered her leg and the colour blue creeped into her hair, “I missed you and I wanted to see you again without having to be around those... humans,” she said softly.

“But what does that have to do with the roomba, which, need I remind you, is nothing but a vacuum?” Y/N whisper-yelled, they were so very confused.

“Because you love it more than you love me,” Hinata screamed. She paused and ran a hand through her deep blue hair in an effort to calm down before she spoke again “Ever since you got it months ago you've been ignoring me, you said when we first met that you wanted to be friends. Now you ignore me unless you want to go see those humans you call friends when all they do is insult you to your face when they know you can't understand them. I hate the fact that despite being used as nothing more than a translator by you, I still can't find it in me to stop loving you… You're my whole world but I know I'm not yours and that scares me. I'm scared that you will leave me all alone…” Hinata hung her head, if she could cry, she would have. She walked off into her sparsely decorated room and shut the door with a heavy sigh.

Y/N was left alone once more and as they stood in the oppressive silence of the living room, they realized just how much they messed things up. Their priorities clearly hadn't been straight in a very long time and instead of being the person Hinata needed, they were selfish and used her. “But even though all that, she still cares for me…” Y/N said in muted shock, a hand rushing to cover their mouth, it was sickening to realize, and Y/N’s stomach lurched at the thought. They attempted to look at the floor but everything blurred as their eyes filled with tears. All those feelings of abandonment, of isolation, of loss and desperation; like a butterfly desperately searching, flying high and low to find a particular flower to feed off of, these past few weeks could have been avoided if they had simply looked to their side where Hinata was waiting for them. Hinata, the shy violet that was consistently rooted in Y/N’s life even when they willingly became blind to her.

Y/N didn't see it before but they truly did love her more than anyone else. And all that it took to come to this realization was facing the potential loss of the only person to still love Y/N even after countless weeks of neglecting both Hinata’s emotional needs, and their own.

With a newfound determination they looked towards where Hinata's room was. The hallway leading to the bedrooms was still dark but despite this Y/N traversed it with the familiarity of their many months with each other, they needed to make right what they nearly completely messed up.

Knocking on Hinata's door Y/N called out to her, “Hinata, sweetheart, I'm sorry. I want to apologize to you, I haven't been treating you very well recently and I'm so sorry for that. I got so excited by the idea that I would end up with more friendships than before and I ended up using you. I realize now that I made a huge mistake. The people who I wanted to impress the most turned their backs on me and instead of spending time with you I became a recluse. Everything I thought I knew about the people I cared about was a lie. And I've been so damn blind to all the signs around me that even though I knew that you loved me, I never even realized that this whole time, I loved you back. Avoiding you even though you were the only person who was ever truly my friend was the biggest mistake I could have ever made. And I did it… I don't expect you to forgive me… I just- ... I just really want you to know that I am so sorry for how I've treated you, I never deserved to have someone as kind as you in my life.”

Y/N's face was hot with shame as tears rolled down their cheeks. Their strength was suddenly missing from their legs and they slid down the wall next to her bedroom door that they had been using as a crutch.

When the door opened Y/N heard soft whimpers that weren't their own, in the doorway stood Hinata looking like she was on the verge of tears. Everything was silent for a moment as the pair just stared at each other. Y/N knew that in that moment if Hinata could cry, she would have been.

“I-I forgive you Y/N. But y-you have to promise me th-that you won't do that to me ever again. I would never leave you all alone, so if you're feeling upset you could always talk to me. Just don't shut me out again okay?” Hinata hiccupped. She knelt down and put her head on Y/N's shoulder and an arm around their side as tears continued to make their way down Y/N's cheeks. “One more thing… I want you to say that I'm yours. Like they do in all the dramas.” she said gently, she wanted to improve the mood somehow and at the moment that seemed to be the best way to do it.

“I will, but only if you're going to do the same,” Y/N murmured as they clung onto Hinata's pyjamas.

Hinata's arms reached around and pulled them into a warm and tender embrace, allowing Y/N to take comfort in finally seeing that they were not alone at all. The duo stayed just like that until Y/N became tired enough that they fell asleep, their hand still bunched up with a fistfull of Hinata’s nightgown.

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When the beginnings of the golden light of the sunrise entered their apartment Hinata couldn't help but look down at her sleeping lover. They looked so peaceful, so sweet, so pretty, so delicate, just like a little butterfly; lying there with their head on her lap as they clutched onto the hem of her nightshirt in their sleep. Hinata wanted to live in that moment forever. The warmth of the sun hitting her face made her feel energized and the soft fluttering feeling was back, much stronger now, like the beating of one thousand pairs of wings. This time it filled her up so completely she imagined that she had lots of little birds flying through her chest. As silly as it sounds, to Hinata anything and everything felt possible in that moment.

It was wonderful, although a small dark flicker passed through her mind. She didn't let it affect her pleasant mood though, after all she did spend so much time carefully weaving her little web. It had taken months for her to carefully weed out the people who were taking her Butterfly from her. Hours upon hours of listening to meaningless conversations, waiting for a phrase that could be twisted around to become insulting or demeaning and then relaying that information back to Y/N in her native tongue. And all of it so that they would realize that she was the only person for them. They didn't need anyone else if she was by their side.

It was so adorable that they maintained their naïvety throughout their life, but it was also just as dangerous. If she was able to manipulate Y/N so easily then who else would see that and try and take them away from her. Especially because they fell for every word she told them hook line and sinker without suspecting anything at all.

“Yes it is far safer for them to have only me,” she thought as she stroked Y/N's cheek with her thumb. And yet it still weighed heavily on her mind, afterall she was taught that lying to the people she cared for was very, very bad. She didn't like that she was forced to do such a thing to the person she loved more than anything else, but plenty of relationships where one person lies to the other work in movies. After all love is stronger than everyone and everything that would attempt to get in the way of it. Hinata knew that they would be an example of this now that she finally had Y/N all to herself.

Hinata hummed a soft tune as she picked up Y/N to put them in their bed. They were soon gently slipped under the covers with it, tucked snugly around their body.

Sitting next to them for a moment Hinata lingered a while, they looked positively delectable afterall. Irresistible in fact. So gathering what courage she had and mixing it with that light floaty sense of contentment she felt, Hinata leaned down and with a soft smile kissed Y/N's forehead as they slept. Torn between wanting to surprise them when they woke up and staying to watch them as they slept; eventually after much deliberation the android stood up to go make them breakfast.

Savouring the moment for a little longer she pet Y/N's cheek fondly, as she thought aloud, “Ino was right, we aren't so different at all. In fact we are perfect together. Copper and iron.”

#hinata hyuga #hinata hyuuga x reader #yandere naruto #yandere hinata hyuga #yandere naruto x reader #neji gets f*cking decked #yandere x reader #naruto reader insert #ino yamanaka #naruto au #gn!mc #gn!reader #gn! mc x hinata

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ask-a-vetblr · 4 years ago

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I'm currently a vet tech/nurse student & although I know it's not the same as vet school, I wanted to see if any of you had any tips for being able to really grasp material & or good study habits. Going to college during this pandemic has changed up our learning a bit (they've provided some great online sources to help) & labs are still on campus but I'm having a bit of difficulty adjusting to this change. I understand there's a lot of asks so please disregard if you want/need to. Thank you!

vet-and-wild here.

For me, group studying helps a lot. I retain things by quizzing people/having people quiz me. I also would make flashcards and go through information that way. I honestly struggled a lot with information retention in vet school. l’m a use it or lose it person. The random biochem facts I learned first year totally jumped out of my brain by the time 3rd year came around and I got asked a question about drug mechanisms. Also focus on the objectives of your lectures. That’s where questions tend to get pulled from, and don’t be afraid to ask for clarification if you need it.

Sueanoi here,

I passed third year because I have a group of friends that I trust. Group study works really amazingly well trust me on this. We would assign lesson topics to each of our member group, then each of us would prepare to “re-teach” the assigned topics to the group. Needless to say, that topic becomes the friend’s specialty.

Another way to study, if alone, is making a mind mapping chart. The study subject can be humongous and dividing them into smaller chunks can really help. I used to make huge scrolls 📜 (like in ancient times) of charts full of drawings and short descriptions. Mapping the info makes you able to arrange the information into something small enough that you can chew on. I really like scrolls because everything is in one page. Information is less fractured in my head.

My group of friends each make a scroll, then it became popular so we photocopy the entire set for the rest of the class. Now can you imagine my class waiting for the exam room to open, every single one of us are reading scrolls instead of books or notebooks. Then a teacher walked in on us, did a double take, and asked us for a copy of our scroll.

That was great. xD

#nonsensical-chatter #vet school #studying

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sporclerhejman · 3 years ago

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Sporcle Through the Ages

We’ve all heard it - the Great Sporcle Redesign of 2022 is nearly upon us. Because the site’s design has remained relatively stable for several years now, newer users may not realize that it ever looked different and longer-term users may not remember what the previous iterations looked like. As such, a walk down memory lane might get us better prepared for the coming redesign.

1. The beginning - Sports predictions (April 2007 front page screenshot)

When Sporcle first launched as a domain, it was a sports prediction platform. The oldest screenshot that the Wayback Machine has is this one from April of 2007. If you’ve wondered about the origin of the word ‘Sporcle’, take a gander at the upper right-hand portion of the screen here:

2. The Sporcle we know - Quizzes! (July 2007 front page screenshot)

In July of 2007, a site capture appears with the first quiz on the site - The U.S. Presidents quiz that we still know and love. The sports predictions are still there, but the seeds of modern Sporcledom are planted:

3. Quizzes proliferate (August 2007 front page screenshot)

Within a month, the single quiz turns into several quizzes and an invitation to ‘check out our quick trivia quizzes!’:

4. The beginnings of categories (October 2007 quiz page screenshot)

By October of 2007 we start to see the seeds of the current sections, with quizzes divided into ‘General Knowledge’, ‘Geography’, and ‘Sports’:

5. Sporcle starts to look like Sporcle (July 2008 front page screenshot)

The Wayback Machine has a bit of a gap, but by July of 2008, the site starts to look recognizable. There are new quizzes daily, lists of popular quizzes, and the site now has 11 categories (with JFF, Miscellaneous, Gaming and History missing). This is the site’s first stable design:

6. Category pages (July 2008 Movies page screenshot)

This is also the point at which the site starts to have category-specific pages, with few enough quizzes that each quiz has its own icon. This is my earliest memory of what the site looked like. Note that the motto is ‘entertaining diversions’ at this stage:

7. Mentally Stimulating Diversions (December 2008 logo screenshot)

December of 2008 is the first time that we see the tagline ‘Mentally Stimulating Diversions’ appear in the logo, which still has a ‘Beta’ tag on it:

8. A stable main page (January 2009 main page screenshot)

By January 2009, the front page design is stable. The logo is up top, the categories (minus JFF) are in place, there is a search option, and the quiz leaderboards are to the right. Note that there is no top menu bar, and more importantly, no option to create quizzes. Note also the site stats- 886 quizzes played 15,486,385 times:

9. First Redesign! (March 2010 main page screenshot)

The first major site redesign comes in the spring of 2010. The menu bar shifts dramatically from the left to the top, each category has its own tab, JFF has appeared, and - most importantly! - there are two new tabs; ‘create’ and ‘user created’, as the site opens up quiz creation to users:

10. User Created quizzes (March 2010 user created screenshot)

The user created section isn’t called the ‘quiz lab’ yet, but some of the leaderboards should still look familiar, and the general layout isn’t strikingly different more than a decade on. At the time, the leaderboards were: most played today, most played last 7 days, recently released, random games, highest ratings, and most commented on last 7 days:

11. Early quiz creation (March 2010 quiz creation screenshot)

With quiz creation opened up to users, you had to log in to get access. Classic quizzes were all that were available at first:

12. The Sporcle Store (March 2010 screenshot)

The Sporcle Store sold merchandise at this point. In March of 2010 that was just the Sporcle t-shirt. I still have mine:

13. User data (User page screenshots July 2010)

With user accounts came data. The Wayback Machine didn’t save my avatar (it’s never changed) but you can see from my July 2010 account pages that the site provided far less data in 2010 than it does now. These are my main account page and my published quizzes page from that month:

14. Leaderboards! (July 2010 leaderboard screenshot)

The summer of 2010 also saw user leaderboards with plays, challenges, and contributors largely in their current place, but the previous ‘school’ leaderboards for colleges. Recognize any of these names?:

15. Second Redesign! (November 2010 main page screenshot)

This isn’t a major redesign, but it contains two major changes. First, the Daily Dose quizzes have now appeared with the Missing Word, Word Scramble and Minute Morsel filling that space, and secondly, the top menu bar is completely changed, taking on its darker orange appearance. The user created section is also changed, with expanded menu boards. (Nice to see that my ‘Who You Lookin’ At: Animation Edition’ was having a good day):

16. Trending Games and a Narwhal cameo (March 2012 main page screenshot)

By the spring of 2012, the number of daily quizzes is increasing (even though the Wayback Machine didn’t save all the icons), the trending quizzes appear on the right-hand menu, the Daily Dose offerings expand, and right up at the top of the page, this particular screenshot has a great cameo from Stabby the Narwhal, though this is Stabby’s second incarnation when he was plugging the Badly Drawn Faces app (the previous version of Stabby used to appear any time that Sporcle went down, kind of like the Imgur giraffe):

17. User page expansions (January 2013 user page screenshot)

By the start of 2013, badges had arrived, and each user’s page displayed not only the rudimentary stats from previous years, but also now contained all the badges that the user had earned. Curators have now been added and so the User Created boards now include recent Curator Picks and something called ‘Joy Factor’:

18. Menu Bar Tweak (August 2013 menu bar screenshot)

The summer of 2013 sees the addition of Live Trivia to the Sporcle business profile and rechristens the ‘User Created’ section as ‘Discover’. There weren’t as many section, type, and rating leaderboards in the summer of ‘13 as there are now, but the ones that existed looked essentially as they do today:

19. Blurbs! (April 2014 main page screenshot)

The spring of 2014 saw the addition of the witty one-liners that have accompanied quizzes since. The front page text font was slightly modified, and there were still fewer published quizzes each day. Sporcle Hangouts were also now a thing:

20. Third Redesign! (July 2014 main page screenshot)

The icons get bigger, the quizzes get more plentiful, the right side menus switch up a bit and the ‘Discover’ box becomes the ‘Quiz Lab’, bringing the main page to a point very close to where it sits today, nearly eight years later:

21. Quiz Lab modifications (February 2015 quiz lab screenshot)

By February of 2015, the Quiz Lab had taken on its current look, including the editor and curator pick lists and the ‘games to consider’ columns, and the menu bar had adopted the ‘categories’ tab):

22. Fourth (and most recent) Redesign (June 2015 main page screenshot)

The summer of 2015 saw the main page take on the basic appearance that it has today. This includes the bar of quizzes from the archive at the top, the large icons for published quizzes, the trending list, and the basic menu tabs (though some modifications have been made) that we have today. Thus, the main page has been fairly static for close to seven years, necessitating the coming redesign.

23. The Store Returns (September 2015 store screenshot)

The Sporcle store briefly returned and had a much larger offering- apparel, glasses, stickers, little squishy brains...

24. Groups! (December 2015 groups screenshot)

Late 2015 saw the launch of Sporcle Groups with ‘Sporcle University’ leading the way. The basic setup remains the same, though the groups themselves have changed quite a bit:

25. The missing pages - quiz creation

The one thing I can’t show you, is the development of the quiz creation pages. That’s because you have to have an account and be logged into that account in order to access the quiz creation pages, thus the Wayback Machine (not having an account) couldn’t capture them. Suffice it to say, the quiz creation matrix has similarly changed, and the available quiz creation tools have expanded massively over the years.

Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed this little walk down Sporcle’s memory lane, and it will help demonstrate that the site has gone through multiple iterations, and that the basic stability of the design for several years now necessitates a redesign to keep up with modern programming and web design standards.

Happy Sporcling!

Hejman

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walpurga-nacht-academy · 4 years ago

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CHAPTER I

Phone Call: Birthday Girl, Blanche Dion

Walpurga Nacht Computer Lab

Blanche: To think that this day would come too. Nevermind, it will pass soon. Everybody will be too busy with their jobs and responsibilities, and will surely forget-

[Ring, Ring]

Blanche: ...

[Ring, Ring]

Blanche: ...

[Ring, Ring]

Blanche: I suppose... I will have to answer it...

[Ring, Ring]

Blanche: ... Very well. Hello. I apologize for the wait.

Deuce: It's no trouble at all, Dion-senpai! I'm sorry for bothering you like this today of all days!

Ace: Hey, blockhead, the first thing you do when she answers the phone is say 'Happy Birthday!', not apologize. Is this your first time or something?

Deuce: N-No! And I don't see you following your own advice either!

Ace: That's cause I gotta teach you how to behave. Man, you're such a difficult guy~

Deuce: HA?!

Blanche: Deuce... and Ace... To think that it would be the two of you calling of all people...

Deuce: Eh? Is something wrong senpai?

Blanche: ... No. Nothing at all. I was simply surprised by the fact that it was the two of you. That is all. I was not aware that you knew it was my birthday.

Ace: I mean, it's kinda hard to miss when Magicam is set to remind you about it, you know?

Blanche: Magicam... Ah, yes, Marcia had set up an account for me a while ago, but I never bothered much with it. So you are saying that the app will record even such things?

Ace: Yep~ Really nifty, right? Makes keeping up with everybody that much easier and it's less of a hassle overall too.

Blanche: Indeed... So then you have called me today with the purpose of giving me your well-wishes?

Deuce: Ah! That's true! Sorry for taking so long to get to the point, but 'Happy Birthday!'

Ace: Happy Birthday~

Blanche: ... Heh.

Deuce: Dion-senpai?

Blanche: My apologies. Thank you. This was very kind of you both.

Ace: Well, we're dependable kouhai, you know? Showing respect to our senpai is in our nature.

Deuce: ...

Blanche: ... hahahahaha!

Ace: Huh?! What's with that laugh?!

Blanche: To think that you'd be this bold towards me.

Ace: Haaa, so you figured it out?

Blanche: No, no, it's alright. I found it quite endearing. The two of you have always had a talent for this sort of pantomime. And it put me in a good mood as well. Now - Just what is it that you needed help with actually?

CHAPTER II

Blanche: Hm...

Deuce: Is that grave?!

Blanche: Rather than grave... I think it is impossible.

Deuce: I-IMPOSSIBLE?!

Blanche: I am afraid so. To be able to study the entire textbook in under 36 hours is not something that can be achieved, I believe. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but it seems like you will most likely fail the exam regardless of my intervention or not.

Ace: Haaaa, that was what I was afraid of...

Blanche: Unfortunately. Still, it surprised me to see that you would contact me like this when you knew that things could not be salvaged anymore.

Ace: Ah, well, we thought that since you're a wonder child you would have been able to lend a helping hand and all that, so...

Blanche: A wonder... child... ? Ah. So you must be aware of it...

Deuce: Diamond-senpai seemed rather knowledgeable about this so let us know as well. Your family participates in all sorts of radio trivia quizzes, isn't that right?

Blanche: ... That is true. We've made quite a name for ourselves in this particular domain ever since we were young. It's tradition at this point that when we come to a certain age, we'll be asked to participate and demonstrate our own abilities. All my brothers and sisters before me have obliged as well. But...

Deuce: Senpai?

Blanche: No, nevermind. What I meant is that in spite of all this, it is rather ridiculous to think that I would be able to do something like this under any circumstances.

Deuce: I-I see...

Ace: Haaa, I figured as much...

Deuce: Huh?! So you already knew it would turn out this way?!

Ace: More or less. If you think about it it'd be impossible for anybody who's not a genius to do this so easily. It was worth a try, anyway!

Deuce: You say that but if we fail Prefect Rosehearts will surely get mad at us again...

Ace: Haaa, guess it's off with our heads again...

Blanche: ... You two.

Ace: ?

Blanche: I'm quite free today so if you need assistance...

Deuce: Re-Really?! Then thank you very much, senpai!

Ace: Blanche-senpai is really kind after all~

Blanche: It's what you were after, weren't you?

Ace: Huh? You mean me? No way~

CHAPTER III

Deuce: Ah, but...

Blanche: Hm? Is something wrong? Are you having second thoughts?

Deuce: Well, today is your birthday, isn't it? Is it really ok for us to take up your time like this? Won't your family be displeased?

Blanche: There is no need to concern yourself with this.

Deuce: Ah? Is that so...

Blanche: Thank you for the concern but I believe it is best to simply proceed with the tutoring session as suggested. I may not be successful in getting you updated on all the things that you might need to score high on the exam, but I'm sure that you'll at least manage a passing grade.

Ace: Haaa, that's not ideal, but since it's the best we've got...

Blanche: This is the result of your own sloppiness, rather than anything else so the result is to be expected.

Ace: Man, that's super harsh, you really don't let up on the discipline.

Deuce: Dion-senpai's family is pretty high up in the Rose Kingdom, isn't it? I remember my mother saying that Minister Dion was a pretty public figure and would often organize fundraisers for charities and such. His work ethic inside the department itself was unparalleled so it's not surprising that those same values were instilled in her as well.

Blanche: ...

Ace: Hm? Senpai are you still there?

Blanche: Yes. My apologies. I had something else on my mind...In any case, yes, I suppose that our upbringing was rather... disciplinarian, so there is not much that I can do about my own teaching style. We were taught even as children that failure was not an option for those who prepared beforehand. So we always made sure to do our best to perform up to expectations and such.

Ace: Isn't that kinda overkill?

Blanche: ... Perhaps. But, you must understand, that as the children of such a high standing public figure we must always ensure to never bring any shame upon our family name. Whether it's overkill or not is unimportant. These are the facts of the world and they cannot be changed.

Ace: Ah...

Deuce: ...

Blanche: ! My apologies... I seem to have caused to feel uncomfortable, have I not?

Deuce: Uh, no- it's just-

Ace: Speak for yourself. I was really weirded out by this hyper cynical episode, you know!

Deuce: O-Oi! Don't say it like that- Think about Dion-senpai's feelings too!

Ace: Says the guy who brought up the subject in the first place!

Deuce: T-That-!

Blanche: That's enough, you two.

Ace/Deuce: !!

Blanche: I was in the wrong here to bring up such matters in the first place. It was impolite and for that, I apologize. Now, I would also ask you to cease your fighting. It's not proper behaviour for students of Night Raven such as yourselves.

Deuce: I-I'm sorry...

Ace: ...

Deuce: You apologize too!

Ace: Huh? What for? Senpai herself admitted that it was her fault, so I don't see the point at all.

Deuce: O-Oi!

Blanche: ... haha.

Deuce: Eh?

Blanche: You really are as impetuous as always, aren't you? Hahahaha.

Ace: You say that but you're cracking up!

Blanche: Hahahahaha!

Ace: Seriously, senpai, I think that for today at least you should take it up a little easier. So since it's your birthday, how about relaxing with your cute kouhai and giving them a little help!

Blanche: Hm, since you're so insistent, I suppose there's no harm in it.

Ace: That's the spirit! Then- let's get to work! Ah, though before that, I almost forgot-

Ace/Deuce: Happy Birthday, senpai!

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland fanschool #walpurga nacht academy #twist #twist oc #twisute #twisute oc #ace trappola #deuce spade #blanche dion #grimmaire #birthday phone call #heartslaybyul

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clara-licht · 5 years ago

Text

Just Out of Touch | Part Two

PART 2 OF 2

Summary: Midtown’s Academic Decathlon team managed to score a field trip to the one and only Stark Industries Headquarter located in Stark Tower, leaving behind a Peter Parker who was not allowed to join for “faking” documents regarding SI internship. In a strike of fortune (or unluckiness) for the team, they had Tony Stark’s own daughter to guide their tour. And she was not happy.

Join their trip through the industry with glimpses of a certain arachnid and a young Stark’s relationship!

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Word Count: 10.4k

Warning: cursing

Note: thank you so much for your enthusiasm in this story! I really didn’t expect this to take off like it did! I hope you can enjoy this one, although I think this chapter might be a little confusing and rushed, especially the ending. As promised, I posted the badges’ designs used in this story yesterday, so check it out by clicking the link below if you’re interested.

Title Inspo: BTS & Zara Larsson - A Brand New Day

Part One | Badge Designs | Best of Me Masterlist | Marvel Masterlist

——————————

Ned looked at MJ, confused. "What was that?"

"I'm not sure." MJ frowned. She glanced at Hecate's exhibition next to Spider-Man's.

Despite being acquainted to Spider-Man, the public knew little to nothing about the vigilante called Hecate. They just showed up out of nowhere one day, focusing mainly on kidnapping cases. Unlike Spider-Man, medias never really said anything incriminating against them, seeing as all they did was found kidnappers, beat them, and returned the children to police stations.

Police officers were wary due to their violent nature against the kidnappers. They always made sure the criminals were beaten half to death. Public supported them, saying kidnappers deserve it, so law enforcers couldn't really do anything.

Yet it seems that (y/n) had something against the hero.

Once everyone was gathered and Mr. Harrington finished his headcount, (y/n) led them back to the elevator, asking FRIDAY to take them to 25th floor.

(Y/n) blinked as something dawned on her, "Merda, I forgot to explain about the tower before the Museum." She clicked her tongue, irritated. "This is why we have interns to do tour!" She grumbled.

The students glanced at each other, confused and unsure about what to do. They didn't want to upset their guide (more than she already was anyway) by saying something they probably shouldn't.

The elevator dinged and they exited. Instead of a reception table like the Hall of Heroes, they were met with cubicles upon cubicles.

"An office?" Flash scoffed, "What are we going to see here? How to sell a phone?"

(Y/n) turned to look at him with a heated glare that made him flinched, "That's exactly what you're going to see. What, do you think an industry can survive only with R&D? Do you even know how real life works?" She snapped venomously, eyes glowing dangerously.

"I'm sorry for his attitude, Miss Stark." Mr. Harrington hurriedly intervened, pushing Flash behind him. "He's just a bit too excited to see the labs, you know, coming from a science school and all…"

Thankfully, a middle-aged woman came and interrupted before (y/n) could possibly curse Flash out. "Welcome to Stark Industries' Marketing Department!" She greeted them with a cheerful grin. "My name is Sarah Keynes and I'm Public Relations Officer! Midtown High School, right?"

"Yes, they're from Midtown. I assume the presentation is ready, Mrs. Keynes?"

"She was basically burning Flash not even a minute ago and now she's so professional-looking, that's awesome." Yasmin whispered to Jason.

Jason nodded and whispered back, "It's like earlier didn't happen at all."

(Y/n)'s back was straight, hands clasped in front of her, chin lifted just a bit, and her expression was mild. She made eye contact with Sarah and her eyes were calm. No one could tell she was livid just a moment ago.

Sarah smiled, "Indeed it is, Miss Stark! We know you will be punctual as you always are. If you would just follow me."

They followed Sarah to a meeting room of sorts on the floor where a small group of people, mostly wearing intern badges, were standing in front of the room. In the middle of the room was a big table surrounded by chairs, which they were asked to sit on. (Y/n) sat on the back of the room, leaning against the wall.

"Once again, welcome to Stark Industries' Marketing Department!" Sarah exclaimed.

"We have some of our team members who will join us in learning about our department here," she gestured at the group of people beside her who waved at the students, "and I promise we're all friendly here, so if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! Let's begin now, shall we?"

One of them, a man in his early thirties with an employee badge, thanked Sarah before opening their presentation.

"Hey guys, my name is Roberto Salvatore, Advertising Manager. Let's start with…"

(Y/n) tuned out once Roberto started the PowerPoint slides. She already knew everything about their Marketing Department, Pepper made sure of it.

——————————

"This is so boring." (Y/n) lamented as she slouched on the table, a tall stack of paper sitting in front of her innocently.

Peter, who was doing his homework, looked at the dejected figure beside him. "Can't help it, you're going to take over the company one day, after all."

"But why do I have to read all of this now?" She pouted. "Why would I need to know every single detail about marketing! I bet dad didn't even know any of this when he was CEO."

"To be fair, he did admit he was a shitty CEO."

(Y/n) grumbled, "Not helping."

Peter let out a laugh and gently ruffled (y/n)'s hair, (y/n) halfheartedly swatting his hand away.

"Hey, Pete."

"Hm?"

She turned her head, now her cheek was pressing against the table and she could look at him directly. "If I don't want to take over SI, will you?"

He tilted his head slightly and looked back into her eyes. "It's called Stark Industries, (y/n). It belongs to Starks."

"I'm dad's only child, as far as we know. Maybe in the future I'll have a younger sibling, but if I don't or we don't want to, who will take over then?" She wondered. "And I know I won't be able to manage the whole company alone. I'm not like Pepper. She always said I'm so much like dad, and you know how he is."

Peter dropped his pen in favor of holding (y/n)'s hand and squeezing it.

"You know Mr. Stark won't force you if you don't want to."

(Y/n) gave a non-committal hum.

"And you know I'll always have your back."

(Y/n) gave another hum.

"So if you ever need help, I'm always available."

(Y/n) suddenly sat up and stared at him with wide eyes. "Wait, you said that Stark Industries belong to Starks only, didn't you?"

"…Yeah?"

She grinned mischievously. "If you marry me, you can take my last name and be a Stark so you can take the company too!"

"WHAT IS THIS ABOUT MARRIAGE?" Tony's loud voice boomed, saving the now red and speechless Peter from having to form any sort of reply.

"PORCO CANE! YOU'RE STILL CHILDREN AND WHO SAID I'M EVER ALLOWING YOU TO MARRY-"

——————————

(Y/n) spent the time working on her newest project schematics through her phone, sometimes looking up when a discussion topic seems interesting. Despite Flash's remark earlier, the group was actually interested in and was invested through the presentation, throwing questions related to the topic here and there. The marketing team had prepared some quizzes related to the presentation and answering students now had a gift bag with them.

"That's a wrap, guys! Let's give an applause for our marketing team!" Sarah clapped her hands, prompting the others to follow.

Realizing the presentation was over, (y/n) glanced at the clock on her phone before putting it away and moved to the front of the room.

"We still have some time before lunch, so I might as well tell you things about the tower I forgot to earlier. Is it okay if we use the room for a bit, Mrs. Keynes?"

"Of course!"

"Thank you."

As the marketing team left the room, (y/n) turned on the projection and put in her credentials. Anyone could access their account from anywhere in the building as long as a capable device was available. This was for the sake of convenience.

(Y/n) found the file she was looking for and accessed it. A hologram of the tower sprung out in the middle of the table, making the group awed.

"You are currently in Stark Industries Headquarter here in Stark Tower. This tower was previously named Avengers Tower, but after the team's fall out, dad sold it. There were complications-" She stopped, frowning.

"Didn't the Vulture's daughter go to your school?"

Some of them squirmed uncomfortably on their chairs.

"Liz was our senior before she moved to Oregon." Betty answered softly. Memories of Liz still hurt her sometimes. She was good friends with her, after all.

Of course, (y/n) actually already knew this.

——————————

"Pete, hey, look at me. Come on."

Grunting, he slowly opened his eyes despite his pounding head that screamed at him to just pass the hell out. He squinted; the soft light emitting from the park's lighting was somehow blinding to him. He didn't notice that it was drizzling until a few drops slid down from his eyebrows.

"(Y/n)…?"

(Y/n) smiled at him. "Hey. Let's get you out of here, okay?" She spoke softly, careful of his senses.

Her words made him realize where he was. "How did you find me?" He asked, voice raspy.

"That's for later. Come on, can you climb down?"

Without replying, Peter gently held (y/n) close to him and jumped down. (Y/n) didn't let out any sound, as if she already guessed Peter was going to do that.

She led him to a car she stole from her dad and strapped him in before reaching for a towel and a soft blanket on the backseat. She gave him the blanket and used the towel to rubbed his hair slowly.

Peter was quiet as he let her dry him. He wasn't drenched; the sky was kind enough not to give a storm and gently pour some droplets instead. Still, he was thankful for the blanket warming him.

Once satisfied with her work, (y/n) threw the towel back to the backseat, went into the driver's seat, and drove away.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?"

Peter looked out the window, sighing heavily. His whole body ached. The pounding in his head hadn't gone away. He was almost 100% sure that he had a concussion.

"Aren't you supposed to be in homecoming right now?" (Y/n) asked again, stealing glances at him while trying to still focus on the road.

For a moment, Peter didn't reply. (Y/n) didn't pester him and kept driving in silence.

"He's her dad."

"Hm?"

"The Vulture. He's Liz's dad."

(Y/n) glanced at him. He looked dead tired. And hurt.

"Liz? The girl you have a crush on?"

Peter nodded slightly. "He hijacked Mr. Stark's moving plane. I had to stop him."

"And you did."

"Yeah, I did…" He trailed off. "But why don't I feel good about it?"

Nobody said anything.

——————————

"Yeah, anyways, he tried to steal our moving cargo and Spider-Man stopped him. Dad then realized it was more of a hassle to leave this tower since it's powered by the arc reactor."

The hologram zoomed at the bottom of the tower, showing the huge arc reactor beneath.

"People would actually kill for its blueprints, you know?" She shook her head. "So he bought this tower back and made it the headquarter for SI. This tower has 100 floors, because dad likes the even number, and top 5 floors are private residential area and private labs."

The group started murmuring amongst themselves. Private residential area?

"When I said residential, I mean it. We live here when we're not out of the city, it's convenient. Of course, dad still has several other houses, but personally, I like this tower the best."

Because it's closer to Peter, she thought.

Besides the arc reactor, one of the reasons Tony had bought the tower back was for Peter. He realized that he couldn't stop the kid from being Spider-Man, with or without the suit. Helping keeping him safe was the least he could do, and if having Stark Tower means easier for Peter to reach when he needed something, then Stark Tower shall remain.

It had nothing to do with (y/n) blowing up at him for taking Peter's protection (the suit, not something else, you dirty minded) and asking (forcing) him to be more active in their mentorship.

Nothing at all.

(Besides, Tony had also developed a soft spot for Peter. He looked at the boy and saw a much better version of himself.)

"The floors are divided into the departments; Marketing, Human Resource Management, Accounting and Finance, Legal, and Research and Development. Other departments like Production and Purchasing are on other branches of SI. Most branches have R&D labs because dad, as I quote, will go crazy if he doesn't have any lab to mess around after a shareholders meeting." She rolled her eyes.

(Y/n) swiped away at the hologram, effectively shutting it down. "Okay, that's it. Now let's go get lunch."

——————————

The cafeteria was bustling. (Y/n) told them they had $40 inside their badge and they could buy any food they wanted from the cafeteria simply by swiping their badge to pay.

"Gather in front of the elevator at 1.30 PM on the dot. Now go eat."

As the group dispersed, she headed back to the elevator and asked FRIDAY to take her to the top floor.

A voice called out her name when she stepped out from the elevator.

"(Y/n)!"

For the first time that day, (y/n) let her lips curved up to a genuinely pleased smile.

Peter was sitting on the sofa in front of the TV, a messy sandwich in his hands and soot on his cheek. His clothes were clean, although his hair was dirty with dust and she could smell something burnt. He must had changed his clothes. It wasn't hard to figure out what he had been up to as he did tell her he was messing up with DUST earlier.

Something must had blown up.

"What did you explode today, Mr. Scientist?" She asked playfully.

"Nothing!"

(Y/n) raised an eyebrow, still smiling.

"…I connected wrong wires when trying to fix DUST's heat sensor."

Chuckling, she shook her head amusedly and made her way to the sofa. Peter handed him a wrapped sandwich after she sat down which she accepted gladly.

"How's your presentation going?" Peter asked between bites.

(Y/n) peeled the sandwich wrapping away, showing the gorgeous rib sandwich practically dripping with warm barbecue sauce. The smell was heavenly.

She took a big bite, moaning quietly as the flavor burst on her tongue.

"I love ribs." She mumbled, still chewing.

After she swallowed, she heaved a sigh. "Presentation was boring. I still have some to do after this, but really, it just feels like a waste of time."

Peter hummed thoughtfully. "What is it about anyway?"

(Y/n), already prepared to answered any questions that he might shoot her, answered easily with a lie, "That upcoming high school internship program dad came up with."

Peter stopped chewing. "That's real?" He asked, frowning.

"Of course it's real!"

"I thought it was just a joke or something to cover my alibi…"

(Y/n) stopped chewing as well and put down her sandwich. "You know, I'm not supposed to tell you this yet," she started slowly, "but dad is planning on making you the head of internship program."

If (y/n) hadn't anticipated it and held a hand in front of Peter, his sandwich would've flown away with how hard he practically jumped out of his seat.

"WHAT?!"

"You're his first of his only two personal interns, who also happen to be the only two interns of SI still in high school. He said it's an obvious choice, to make sure the upcoming high school interns will be more comfortable." She explained, putting Peter's sandwich on the table in front of them. "Pepper agrees with him, so there's that."

Peter's eyes were wide.

"No, no, that's an awful decision!" He stammered. "I'm not leader material! I barely even know what I'm doing! I-I'll mess it up!"

"Pete-"

"You saw me! I blew DUST up because I connected wrong wires! That's such a newbie mistake! And what about Spider-Man? I barely have enough time now, I'll neglect my responsibilities!"

"Hey-"

"And my school! Nobody believe I'm an intern in the first place, but head of program?! Principal Morita will have my head for lying extensively! They already disregard my internship papers anyway-"

(Y/n) pulled Peter down to sit back on the sofa and gently grasp his chin.

"Hey, look at me."

He did.

"Remember what you told me when I said I can't take care of SI alone?"

Peter didn't answer, but his eyes that looked back at (y/n)'s had calmed down slightly.

"I'll always have your back. So if you ever need help, I'm always available." (Y/n) smiled at him. "You don't have to worry about messing up, Pete. You're not doing it alone. Harley will take the position with you and I'll always help if you need me."

Peter sagged on the sofa, crossing his arms. "Still…"

"Also," (y/n) scowled, "this time I'll make sure they believe you, so now worries for that one."

"What do you mean?"

(Y/n) only smirked at him, offering no explanation. "Finish your sandwich, Spidey. I have to go downstairs soon."

Slightly grumbling, Peter reached for his sandwich. "Oh, where's Harley, by the way? I haven't seen him today." He asked before biting into his sandwich again.

"I think he said he wanted to mess around in R&D today."

"Maybe I should visit him later."

——————————

When (y/n) went back downstairs after leaving a pouty Peter with a peck on his cheek, she was greeted with the sight of Ned massaging his shoulder with a grimace amongst his friends. She was actually familiar with Ned and MJ's faces, having seen their pictures whenever Peter told her about his school day. Keeping her dad's words about formality in mind, she didn't show her familiarity at all.

Although now Ned was acting weird. She knew that gesture meant he hurt his shoulder, but what happened during the short time she wasn't there to supervise?

"Mr. Harrington," she called the startled teacher, "is everyone accounted for?"

"Y-Yes, Miss Stark. We're all here and ready to continue."

"Anyone needs bathroom breaks before we leave?"

Several of them lifted their hands.

(Y/n) looked around before catching an intern's eyes.

"Hey! Uh, Miss Macready!"

The intern looked surprised like a deer caught in headlights. Maybe she didn't expect to be called out by her name by the company owner's daughter that day.

She approached (y/n) hesitantly. "Yes, Miss Stark?"

(Y/n) was pleased when she saw her intern badge and found out that she knew the intern's name. She remembered seeing her around when she was in Finance Department.

"Can you show these students to the closest bathroom? I need to address something right now."

"Right away, Miss Stark."

The Finance Department intern, Mindy Macready, beckoned the students to follow her, leaving (y/n) and a handful of the leftover students in front of the elevator. Mr. Harrington had gone with the rest.

Seeing the students were occupied with talking between themselves, (y/n) moved closer to Ned who was still massaging his shoulder and talking with MJ in hushed voices.

"Mr. Leeds."

Ned turned around quickly, expression not unlike Mindy when (y/n) called her earlier.

"(Y/n) Stark knows my name…" He muttered in disbelief.

Ignoring his mumbling, (y/n) asked, "What happened to your shoulder?"

He hadn't even gotten over his surprise of (y/n) knowing his name, but now she noticed his pain?

Ned could only gape, leaving MJ to respond, "A kid in our class is a jerk."

(Y/n) narrowed her eyes in displeasure. "And does this kid called himself Flash?" She sneered.

At this point, MJ wasn't surprised that (y/n) had known about Flash. She deduced that Peter must have told her a lot more than just Flash anyway, so she only nodded curtly.

"You don't have to tell me what happened, I'll find out later. Thank you, Miss Jones."

(Y/n) took them to visit Legal Department where the Director, a surprisingly young man on his late 20s or early 30s named Isaac Latimer-Reed, talked to them briefly about what his department deal with. SI's Legal Department didn't only handle cases related to their products and company name; SI had included legal aid in each of their employee's contract. Tony had put some of his best lawyers to work in the company instead of just for himself. Shall an employee ever find themselves in a situation where they needed legal aid but couldn't afford it, SI had their backs.

"So if someone is in a fight with her husband or something, you can help them, I don't know, divorce him?" Flash asked with a frown. Why something so trivial? He had thought. "Isn't that against privacy?"

"It's not something that simple." Isaac said. "What if that fight results in violence? What if one of them had lifted a hand against the others? Our employees are free to talk to us and give us enough reason to make a case. We had freed quite a number of our employees from their abusive family simply after they just told us what happened."

Isaac smirked, "They didn't stand a chance against us. No matter how hard you try to hide a rotten core, the smell will always escape."

His dark expression made the students gulped and stepped back a bit.

(Y/n), on the other hand, smirked alongside Isaac.

She had always liked the man. He was quite a shrewd man who wouldn't stop pursuing "justice". That was how he got to such a high position despite his young age. Tony knew he needed someone sharp who could be ruthless in his Legal Department, and Isaac was the perfect candidate.

"We are against violence here in SI." (Y/n) said out loud, gaining their attention, "Any kind of abuse or bullying is not tolerated. Whether it's verbal or physical, direct or implied, we do not accept such behavior." She glanced at Flash who definitely had a sweat rolling down the side of his neck.

After some Q&A session, (y/n) thanked Isaac for his time and led the group away.

"Miss Stark?" Zoha called out. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but can we get some water before proceeding, please?" She asked, Yasmin nodding beside her.

"Follow me."

They stopped by the closest kitchenette. As she promised, it was fully stocked. For a small kitchen in an office, it was quite bizarre to see baskets of chocolates, cookies, and snacks beside plates of fruits and nuts. A coffee and tea station on the side of a big fridge and a juicer and blender beside it didn't seem quite… right either.

"You can eat and drink whatever you want but finish it here. We're heading to the labs after this."

She let them snacked around in the kitchenette for less than 10 minutes before whisking them away.

"We have a lot of R&D labs." (Y/n) explained, "In this tower alone, R&D span from 61st Floor to 80th. Each department usually have 10 floors max, but since dad is biased, R&D got more attention."

"Excuse me, Miss Stark?" Charles called. (Y/n) looked at him, waiting. "What does R&D interns do? Are they classified to do experiments by themselves?"

"Not really." She answered. "Level 1 interns mostly make reports and do research with or for their supervisor. Sometimes they'll get to help with the fun part, but that's for level 2 interns, usually."

"And level 2 interns?"

"Product testing, chemical experiments, engineering trials, they're allowed to do them all under supervision or with their supervisor's permission. Level 3 interns don't need supervision, but they still have to report."

The elevator dinged.

"Come on."

The floor they were at was spacious. Unlike the offices with their rooms and sections, the lab was mostly just open space with tables and cabinets. On the far end of the room was glass doors leading to testing rooms, while on the other end was a white door leading to the floor's supervisors.

"Welcome to Medic Lab!" A man in his 40s greeted them with a smile. He was tall and lanky with dark hair and equally dark eyes with laugh lines around them.

"This is Dr. Henry Clark, this lab's Assistant Director. He'll be Director soon though." (Y/n) introduced. "Dr. Clark, Midtown Science and Tech."

Henry blinked in surprise. "Midtown? Isn't that-"

"Yeah, it is." (Y/n) cut him off.

"Is he here?"

(Y/n) shook her head, "No, he's upstairs. He's going to T04E later, I think."

"Bring him here sometimes, will you? We're extremely grateful that you're here a lot, but we need both your brains sometimes too, you know!" He laughed. (Y/n) only smiled at the man.

Being very interested in the health department, (y/n) spent a long time in this particular lab. Unlike Peter who was more into engineering, although he did help out in various labs sometimes.

"Who are they talking about?" Abe whispered.

Henry turned to the confused students, "As Miss Stark said, my name is Henry Clark and this is Medic Lab 01. We focus on the medic field in this lab, especially on the chem side. Medicines, to put it simply."

He brought them further inside, passing through several scientists having heated discussion over a white board filled with numbers and equations.

"While focusing on pure chemistry, we also work closely with the lab above us which focus on chemical engineering. Sometimes with H03BE too, but they're more likely to work with people from Tech Labs instead of us." He stopped in front of a table filled with equipment and solutions where 2 interns were waiting for them.

"What is H03BE?" Ned asked.

"Oh, sorry, that's the code for labs!" Henry apologized. "That one is also medic lab, but for biomedical engineering."

"How about this lab?"

"What does the code stand for?"

"This lab is H01C, because this is the first lab in 'health' department and we play with chemicals. Only scientists and interns in R&D use them though, since it's more just to make reports easier to categorize."

"Officially, this is just Medic-1." (Y/n) added.

They gathered around the table. "Currently, we're trying to find a breakthrough in our Alzheimer's disease cure and how to deal with autoimmune issues. We almost got it, really." Henry continued.

"I'm still most excited for the cancer research though." An intern with fire red hair said with a grin.

"We're going to a little fun test with you guys to see your potential! Maybe you're good enough to be an intern here and might get scouted!" Another intern with cropped black hair exclaimed.

"What do you mean by scouted?" Cindy asked.

(Y/n) spoke before Henry or the interns answered, "I will explain that later, it's part of this trip program."

When (y/n) had told Peter she had presentation for the internship program, it wasn't exactly a full-on lie. SI planned on scouting students from field trips and it just so happened that the owner's daughter was guiding one. She was supposed to explain it on the last session.

The group looked at each other with grins. A chance to be an intern in SI? Hell yes!

"You're the boss, Stark." Henry grinned. "Let's begin, shall we?"

It was a simple enough test. They were given written reactions such as (2C12H22CaO14 + O2 → 22H2O + 21C + 2CaO + 3CO2) and they had to figure out which chemical solution it applied to and conduct it. Being from STEM school, most of them could figure their reaction out, although some who clearly didn't pay attention in chem class struggled. Finding out which solution was easy, but how to make it react?

Ned grinned as grey snake-like foam rose from his heated calcium gluconate. So far, he was the fastest guy to successfully figure out his reaction, only being beaten by Zoha.

"You're fast!" Henry said as he looked at Ned's petri dish. "Can you explain what you did?"

"Yeah, it's simple." Ned answered. "C12H22CaO14 is formula for calcium gluconate, and it reacts with O2; oxygen. But calcium gluconate doesn't just automatically react with oxygen. It was completely fine touching air before we started, so I heated it up and it reacted."

"Very good." Henry complimented with a smile. "Now do you know why it becomes like this?"

"The molecular structure expands due to the heat. This grey foam formed because any water contained inside vaporized and hydroxyl groups within the compound were dehydrated."

"And in conclusion?"

"Calcium gluconate rapidly decomposes after being heated."

"Great job!" Henry complimented again. Ned thanked him happily before Henry moved on to MJ who created a bright blue flash and loud sound that sounded like woofing, shocking Jason beside her.

MJ grumbled under her breath, "Out of all things, they just have to give me nitrogen monoxide and carbon disulfide to burn."

As Ned took pictures of his grey foam (after Henry said he could, of course), (y/n) stood beside him and peered at the petri dish.

"That was quick. I thought you're more into coding."

Thankfully, this time Ned could hold his surprise and just grinned at the girl. "Chemistry is fun when it's actually conducted and not just lectured on. How do you know I like coding?"

"Peter told me about you and Miss Jones." (Y/n) answered simply.

"You can just call me Ned and her Michelle, you know." Ned said. "A friend of Peter's is a friend of ours too. He talked about you a lot."

(Y/n) flushed a bit, "He did?"

"Yeah! It's as though we know you already!" He chuckled.

She silently glanced at the grinning boy.

Maybe I should try to make more friends…

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Flash frowning at his paper while grabbing cesium and-

Is that water? Wait-

Before Flash could drop the alkali metal into a flask of water, (y/n) quickly reached her hand out.

CLINK!

A loud clink sound echoed as water dripped down from the table to the floor, stopping Flash from dropping the cesium.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" (Y/n) yelled.

Everyone in the room halted.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU PUT THAT IN WATER?!" She yelled again, eyes glowing with anger.

"Uh, I…" Flash mumbled out. His eyes moved quickly from (y/n)'s furious face to the small petri dish with cesium in his hand.

"DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT'S IN YOUR HAND RIGHT NOW?! HUH?!"

"It's, uh, it's iron salt…?"

(Y/n)'s face grew even redder as she tried to held back her anger.

Henry approached them and gently took the petri dish away from Flash who was shaking with fear. "This is cesium, young boy. It reacts violently with water. If you had combined the two, that glass flask would explode and hurt you." He explained.

(Y/n) snatched the paper containing the reaction assigned to Flash and scoffed, "You were supposed to form valence oxide and took cesium? Cazzo! Do you pay attention in class?! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO MIX FERROUS AND FERRIC IN BASIC SOLUTION! DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW IRON SALT IS SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE?!"

Trying to calm the girl down, Henry patted her shoulder, "Calm down, Stark. This is also my fault for including cesium on the table. Everyone is okay, that's the important thing."

"But what if I didn't notice what he held, Dr. Clark? What then? His parents may have signed the papers allowing him here and swearing not to blame us for accidents, but you and I know those papers mean little to parents whose children are hurt!"

(Y/n) snapped her eyes back to Flash, "You're from STEM school, for fuck's sake! And you're in this decathlon team! You're supposed to be smart," she emphasized, "yet you can't do this simple experiment?!"

Flash, clearly offended, snapped back, "It's not my fault that you put unsafe things here! What kind of work environment is this?! You just put danger on my life and I can sue you for this!"

"Flash!" Mr. Harrington tried to scold, but (y/n) had grown even angrier.

"VAFFANCULO!" She shouted angrily as she took a step closer to him, the anger in her eyes looked so close to snapping.

And maybe she would have done something to Flash if the lab's sliding door didn't suddenly open and Harley hurriedly rushed in and held (y/n)'s arm back.

"Whoa there, calm down, Princess Stark." Harley soothed, "FRIDAY told me there was almost an incident and I heard you screaming your favorite Italian word, so what happened?"

"Why don't you ask this figlio di puttana?!" (Y/n) gritted out, although the glow in her eyes had started to settle.

Mr. Harrington quickly grabbed Flash who was just opening his mouth to retort back and put him behind his back with a quick glare, warning him not to say anything stupid.

"I apologize, Miss Stark, I truly do, please forgive him! I'll make sure he won't do anything stupid anymore!" He bowed his head.

Knowing (y/n) was still too pissed off to say something intellectual, Harley answered, "I'm sure it can be forgotten. It's okay. Can someone tell me what happened, though? I might have to report this upstairs later…"

Henry sighed, "The young man almost put cesium in water, but (y/n) stopped him."

Harley nodded, "Okay, and?"

"What do you mean, 'and'?"

The sandy-haired teen snorted, "There's no way (y/n) would just tell this guy to go fuck himself if she stopped him in time."

"Flash mouthed back, saying he would sue SI or something." MJ interrupted.

Realization dawned on Harley and he nodded again. "Yeah, that sure can pissed Princess Stark off."

When he turned his glance on (y/n), her face had lost almost all of its redness and her eyes were no longer glowing, but he could still see repressed anger in them.

"Do you want me to take over?" He asked gently. "Peter is in T04E, do you want to go there instead?" He asked again, murmuring softly.

(Y/n) heaved a heavy sigh and rest her forehead on Harley's shoulder. "It's fine, I can continue." She mumbled. "We're scheduled to go to T04E after this anyway."

"Alright, alright." Harley patted her head. "Want me to come with you?"

Feeling her nodded against his shoulder, Harley cleared his throat. "Alright then, let's forget about what happened here and move on, shall we? Dr. Clark?"

"Ah, yes," the good man stepped closer to them and clasped his hand, "that's all for today, everyone. Good job on your work! I hope I'll see you again, maybe as an intern or even an employee here someday."

The group hesitantly chorused a thank you before Mr. Harrington hurriedly ushered them out from the lab to follow Harley and (y/n) and before long, they were back in the elevator again.

"Okay guys, we're heading to Tech Lab now!" Harley said cheerfully. "It's one of my favorites, if I'm being honest! This particular one, especially."

"Why? What's in the lab?"

"He's just allowed to make things explode. Can't do that in medic-researching labs." (Y/n) said shortly.

Harley just grinned at her.

The elevator opened.

"Welcome to Tech-04, guys!"

Unlike Medic-01, Tech-04 was more… chaotic.

Medic-01 was relatively quiet, maybe some discussion here and there with liquid upon liquid sloshing around. Sometimes small pops when wrong solutions were mixed. Tech-04, on the other hand, was filled with a lot of noise.

Someone was groaning and then grumbling at a circuit board in front of them, a solder whirring (should it even whir?) on their hand.

Two people were arguing loudly over hologram displaying blueprints.

Another person was hitting a small bot with what looked like a small hammer, making loud clanging sound every hit.

Some tools were accidentally dropped, the metal hitting floor sound followed by a loud 'sorry!'.

Heavy machines made weird noises that sound so unfamiliar to a high schooler's ears.

Harley and (y/n) walked in, unbothered by all the noises around them. The group flinched at sudden noises, but they followed the two silently.

"Usually we take tour groups to Tech-01, but they're doing something classified right now." Harley explained. "Since you guys are from STEM school, we thought Tech-04 is the best place to visit since every cool stuff happens here." He grinned.

"Holy shit are those arrows?!" Tyler screeched out.

"Those were supposed to be Hawkeye's prototype multifunction arrows, but after the Accord debacle, Tony dumped them."

"What's that?" Cindy pointed at black bracelets on a display. "It looks like normal bracelets…"

"Black Widow's widow bites." (Y/n) answered.

Cindy tilted her head, "Bites?"

"Electroshock weapon."

"W-Weapon?"

"You just saw Hawkeye's weapon, what makes Black Widow's surprise you?" (Y/n) scoffed, still feeling irritated from before.

"W-Well…"

"Tech-04 is the best lab because a lot of Avengers weapons were designed here!" Harley exclaimed. "Almost all of them had something that came out from this lab sans Tony because he doesn't like people touching his stuff. A bit stuck up, isn't he?" He chortled.

(Y/n) rolled her eyes at him. "Can't help it. The last time he trusted his stuff with someone, Stane dealt him a bad hand."

"Not true, the last time was when he left JARVIS with me!" Harley argued.

"That was because he had no choice, dumbass."

"Still counts!"

"Sure."

Sniffling, Harley turned away from the girl.

"Anyway, we have another test for you all! You got tested in Medic-01 to see your chemistry knowledge, here in Tech-04 we'll see your engineering skill!"

They gathered around a big white table, scraps and tools scattered on top.

"Nothing hard, just make a simple bot in 20 minutes. You can use everything on this table. Don't forget to name them, we'll take a look and judge them. Who knows, maybe someone will like your work and want to scout you."

"Time starts now!"

Harley left the group who immediately began working and stood a little to the side with (y/n).

"How are you feeling?" He murmured.

(Y/n) tilted her head up, softly hitting her head against the wall behind her. "Still a bit annoyed, to be honest. That little piece of shit." She grumbled.

"I feel like I've seen him before."

"That's Flash, Harls."

"Flash?" Harley turned to her, startled. "That Flash? The one Peter talked about?"

She nodded.

"Well… Fuck."

"Fuck, indeed."

For a moment, they stood there in silence, watching their assigned group tinkering with various tools while chattering within each other. (Y/n)'s eyes followed Flash's every movement like a hawk.

"I think he did something to Leeds earlier." She mumbled.

"What is it?"

"I don't know, but Jones confirmed it."

Harley hummed and looked around. His eyes caught a tablet sitting on top of a cabinet near them. He pushed himself away from the wall.

"Wait here."

He approached the cabinet and grabbed the tablet before going back to (y/n).

The tablet, a standard StarkPad issued for every department in SI, was locked with password. They easily unlocked it with the lab's code.

Harley quickly accessed FRIDAY with his credentials.

"FRI?"

"How can I help you, Harley?" Her voice came out from the tablet.

"Can you show us security footage from- when was it again?"

(Y/n) snorted.

"Don't laugh! You didn't tell me!" Harley complained indignantly.

"Footage on the trip group after lunch please, FRI."

"Right away, (y/n)."

——————————

"Hey, fatso!"

Ned and MJ didn't respond, continuing eating their lunch in peace.

And that peace was interrupted when Flash clasped Ned's shoulder and pulled him back hard, making him fell from the backless chair. "When I call you, I expect an answer!" He sniggered.

Unluckily for the two, Mr. Harrington was in line waiting for his meal, completely missing the exchange.

MJ quickly stood up and pushed him away to help Ned. "What the hell, Flash?!" MJ exclaimed angrily.

"Not my fault he's so heavy he can't stand gravity pulling him down." Flash snickered.

"Why you-"

"It's fine, MJ." Ned assured, putting a hand on her arm. "What do you want, Flash?" He asked tiredly.

Flash ignored MJ's heated glare (an amazing feat, really) and smirked at Ned. "Why haven't we heard anything about Parker, huh? If he's really an intern someone would've said something, right? Especially since we're from the same school."

Ned rolled his eyes.

"We only visited the Museum, Flash. Do you think he works there? He's probably in the labs a lot."

"Pfft, there's no way he's in the labs! That fucker can't even do anything right! The only thing he can work as is probably a janitor or something."

He reached out and gripped Ned's shoulder, nails sinking into the muscles tightly, ignoring Ned's wince. "So how about you stop lying and tell us the truth, hm? You're just embarrassing yourselves."

Already fed up, MJ grabbed Flash's wrist and forcefully removed his clutch on Ned's shoulder. "How about you stop bothering us, huh? Why are you so obsessed with Peter anyway? You in love with him or something?" She hissed out.

"I'm just saying that people deserve the truth after hearing stupid lies over and over again!" He snatched his hand back, huffing indignantly. "Fucking Penis Parker…

"You're the one spreading the news, Flash. Peter never really said anything." Ned mumbled, one hand massaging his sore shoulder. He could actually feel nails indent through his shirt. Flash's grip was just too tight.

"Oh shut up." Flash scoffed and finally left them.

——————————

"I'm going to kill him."

"(Y/n)…"

"Don't stop me, Harley."

The angry glow on her eyes returned, this time even brighter. Her (e/c) eyes almost looked like neon blue. Her face was completely blank, only the wide glowing eyes showing just how much anger she was feeling.

Harley held unto her shoulders and crouched down slightly to match her eye level. "Calm down, (y/n). Your eyes are glowing."

"As they should."

"No, they shouldn't!" He whispered-shouted. "Come on. Take a deep breath."

(Y/n) gritted her teeth.

CLINK!

"My bad." Zach said, reaching down to take a screwdriver that fell from the table.

CLINK!

Mr. Harrington frowned. "Did I knock it over?" He mumbled to himself, grabbing the fallen wrench.

CLINK!

"Shit, my pliers!"

CLINK!

"What-"

"An earthquake?!"

The table was shaking violently, throwing tools down to the floor. Above them, lights were flickering on and off.

Alarms started blaring.

"EVERYONE UNDER THE TABLE!"

"WATCH OUT FOR SHARP TOOLS!"

"COME ON GUYS MOVE IT!"

"(Y/N) STOP IT!" Harley tried to shout between the panic screaming.

(Y/n)'s (e/c) eyes were now fully neon blue, glowing brightly in the dark room. She took a shuddered breath and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Harley…" She whispered. "I can't."

——————————

"How do you get used to your power?"

"Hmm?" Peter looked up from his on-going web fluid. "Practice, I guess…"

"What did you do?"

Peter put the flask on the table. "That depends on which power I try to control. Like my super strength, for example. I practiced juggling eggs and tomatoes without crushing them. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be."

(Y/n) hummed and looked up to the ceiling, contemplating.

"How about you?" Peter asked.

"Me?"

"Yeah. Hecate is always mindful of the children they saved. Their control is amazing."

"…That's Hecate. Not me."

Peter dropped his arms. He removed his gloves and walked towards the girl and plopped down beside her on the sofa.

"We've talked about this, (y/n). Hecate is you and you are Hecate."

"Sure doesn't feel like it." (Y/n) mumbled.

"Is it because of the pronoun?"

"Hm…"

He propped an arm on the backrest. "Didn't you come to the conclusion that you're bigender?"

"Yeah…" She sighed. "But that just makes Hecate feel more like a separate being than me."

"Why are they not you?"

(Y/n) removed her stare from the ceiling to Peter's face. "When I go out as Hecate, I don't… I don't feel like (y/n) Stark." She said softly. "When I don Hecate suit, I just… changed, I guess. Hecate feels like a different person. Hecate doesn't think like (y/n) Stark and they sure as hell doesn't act like (y/n) Stark."

Her voice dropped. "Their control over their curse is also better than (y/n) Stark's."

Peter shuffled closer to her and pulled her into an embrace. He buried his fingers into her hair, gently playing with them slightly. "Spider-Man feels like a different person too. But for me, I know that it's because of the mask." He murmured against the side of her hair. "Why do you think they feel different?"

"I'm not sure…"

"Also, it's not a curse, (y/n). It's a gift."

"A gift? Given by HYDRA?"

"Where it comes from doesn't matter. How you use them does."

"Yet I can't even use it without hurting someone as (y/n)."

Peter pulled back, looking straight into (y/n)'s (e/c) eyes. "How about this; if you ever feel like you're not in control of your power, you tell me. I'll try to help you."

"Can you?"

"We can try."

——————————

(Y/n) kept her eyes firmly shut. She could hear everyone screaming in fear as everything in the room shook. Small tools even started to flew around, narrowly missing some people.

Harley tried to shout words of encouragement to calm her down, but to no avail.

It was only when his hands holding her shoulders were replaced by another pair and a familiar voice murmuring out her name did she finally open her eyes.

"Peter?"

"Hey, Hecate." He smiled.

She shook her head. "Not Hecate. This is (y/n). Hecate wouldn't lose control like this." She whispered.

"Listen," Peter said softly, "Hecate is in you, whether you feel like they are or not. Hecate is you, (y/n). You can be both Hecate and (y/n) at the same time."

(Y/n) shook her head again.

"Close your eyes, (y/n)."

She did.

"Now think of the times you went out as Hecate. Recall those feelings. How did you know to stop when a child, bruised and hurt, was near you? How did you know not to harm them?"

And that was the thing with Hecate. They may have a violent nature when it came to despicable people who decided that taking a kid from their parents was a great money source, but when faced with said kid, they would cease all action. They may thirst for the blood of those people, but they would never harm a hair on a kid.

Because they knew what it was like to be that kid once.

——————————

"And that's how I became Spider-Man." Peter concluded.

"I wonder if that kind of spider still exist."

"Well I know that I killed the one that bit me."

(Y/n) snickered. "So your power comes from an experimented spider, huh?"

"Yep! And you?"

"Same as you."

"Experimented spider bit you?" Peter frowned.

"Nah, they experimented on me instead of a spider."

"Wait what-"

She stretched her stiff shoulder. Sitting for too long did that to your muscles. "Where do you think I was before I live with dad?" She said nonchalantly. "HYDRA took me when I was about 6. Thought I was a great asset, really. Made me do lots of jobs too. Dad found me during a mission."

Peter almost choked on his own saliva. "W-Why did you never tell me?"

(Y/n) blinked. "You never asked." She deadpanned.

After Peter regained his bearing, he braved himself to ask another question. "Where's your mom now?"

"Died."

He almost choked for the second time.

"Dad didn't know I'm his daughter, so he tried to track my mom. Turns out she died a few months after I was kidnapped, so, yeah."

"(Y/n)…"

"I guess that's why kidnapping cases irked me so much." (Y/n) hummed thoughtfully. "Children don't deserve that kind of horror. I remember being so scared those first few weeks."

——————————

As he guided her through breathing exercises, the shaking around her finally started to cease as her heartbeat slowed down.

(Y/n) opened her eyes to find Peter's own warm brown eyes looking straight to hers. "How are you?" He asked softly.

She bit her lower lip and hung her head in shame.

"Hey, come on, eyes up here, Princess Stark." Peter lifted her chin up.

"…I haven't lost control like that since years ago." She murmured. She didn't dare to even steal a glance at Peter's face. She kept her eyes down to the floor, letting the shame fill her.

"(Y/n)-"

"What the fuck is Penis Parker doing here?!"

Peter turned his head, finally seeing his decathlon team for the first time. "What the-"

"And what the fuck was that?! It doesn't feel like earthquake! What kind of freak shit is this?!"

Peter was about to speak when he felt (y/n)'s shoulder shaking under his hand. Eyes widened, he looked down at her only to find her already glaring at Flash, eyes alarmingly glowing again.

So he did what he knew would definitely distract (y/n) from possibly killing his classmate.

Peter grabbed (y/n)'s cheeks and quickly pressed a quick kiss to her lips.

And distracted she was.

"You're,"

Peck,

"Okay,"

Peck,

"Just,"

Peck,

"Ignore,"

Peck,

"Him",

Peck,

"Alright?"

Finally pulling his face away, he could see (y/n) blinking owlishly at him. The glow in her eyes had gone, replaced by the beautiful (e/c) he loved.

He didn't bother to see how Flash or the rest of his teammates reacted to seeing him, the nerd of the group, openly kissing the infamous daughter of Tony Stark.

He did, however, registered Ned's delighted giggle and MJ's sigh.

Unfortunately, (y/n) seemed to still be aware of her surrounding and caught Flash's squawk.

(Y/n) closed her eyes and sighed. She side-eyed Flash with a slight glare.

And before Peter realized it, Flash was flung back to, thankfully, a chair behind him. It was still a hard shove and his back would be aching as hell, but at least it wasn't to (or even through!) the wall, Peter rationalized.

(Y/n) quickly removed Peter's hand on her cheeks and approached the now mildly terrified Flash. She grabbed the front of his collar.

Peter didn't stop her. Her eyes may seem brighter than normal, but the absence of neon blue glow was a good sign that she was in control. That was purely (y/n) Stark needing to vent her anger by threatening a bitch out and not Hecate. Peter knew better than to get between a woman's wrath and the object of her animosity, after all.

Yeah, a little threat wouldn't hurt, would it?, Peter thought amusedly. He had it coming after all.

"Listen to me, figlio di puttana," she hissed out, face only inches away from Flash's, "if I ever see or even heard about you being a bag of shit like you are ever again, you won't know what's coming for you."

"I-"

"Don't ever say or even think about Peter and anyone close to him anymore, you fucking hear me? You touch a hair on them, and the end of the world will seem mild compare to what I would do."

Silence fell upon the room.

The trip group was still shaken over the 'quake', and add that to seeing their teammate got thrown back by an invisible force, they were just… stunned. They didn't even really register that Peter was in the same room as them. Aside from Flash, Ned, and MJ, at least.

"Well, this is a disaster."

Tony's voice rang in the lab, catching the attention of everyone in the room. He stood in front of the glass sliding doors, dressed in impeccable suit and wearing a pair of sunglasses despite the lack of sun in the lab.

His eyes swept upon the room. His employees seemed fine, just a bit surprised. They were already used to unforeseen incidents, he supposed. His interns slash pseudo-sons also seemed fine, if not a bit miffed. The group was still shocked, which was no shocker (pun intended).

But then he saw his daughter in the middle of threatening someone, eyes wide and shining, teeth gritted.

He sighed.

At least he knew his scientists would be no problem. They had signed confidential agreement to keep everything happening while in work to themselves in their work contract, especially if it included any of the Starks. The group, on the other hand…

"People, remember your NDAs. You all, follow me." He gestured at the group before turning away.

After a few steps, he stopped as if he just remembered something and looked back, "Oh, and Pete? Take her upstairs, will you? Stay with her."

"Of course, Mr. Stark."

"Harls, come with me. I need the whole story."

Harley nodded but said nothing, prompting Tony to turned away again and started leaving.

"Come on, let's go." Harley told the group.

Ned worriedly made an eye contact with Peter, but Peter only shook his head.

Hesitantly, they started leaving, but not without throwing curious looks towards Peter who already pulled (y/n) back from Flash.

"Go now while you can, faccia a culo." (Y/n) jeered. "I can't promise your life if you don't."

Gulping, Flash hurriedly stood up and ran out of the labs.

Before following the group, Harley looked at Peter and (y/n). "Are you two going to be okay?" He asked.

(Y/n) didn't answer, but Peter slung an arm around her shoulder and held her close. "We'll be fine. Sorry for the interruption, Harley." Peter apologized.

"Nothing to be sorry of. Everything will be okay, so don't think too much about it, okay, Princess Stark?" Harley smiled at the girl.

(Y/n) nodded once.

With a final look between Harley and Peter, Harley left the lab to follow the group.

Peter gently held (y/n)'s hand and pulled her towards the private elevator. He took them to the penthouse, straight to her room.

Once inside, he sat her down on her bed.

"How are you feeling right now?"

(Y/n) sighed heavily.

"Mostly angry." She mumbled.

Peter hummed. He sat beside her, an arm behind her to sneak a hand and hold her waist. She rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes tiredly.

"What happened?" He murmured.

Slowly, (y/n) started telling her story, from when she first went downstairs to meet the group until when Harley and her watched the footage.

"I've been on edge the whole day," she confessed, "and I guess that video just pushed the limit."

"It's not your fault, (y/n)."

(Y/n) scoffed, "Maybe not all, but part of it is. I couldn't control my power, Pete! That's just a recipe for disaster!" She yelled in frustration. "It's been years since that happened! I thought I had this under control!"

Peter squeezed her hand. "Alright then. We'll train. We'll practice until you're absolutely sure you can use your power freely even as (y/n) Stark." He said with a smile.

"But how?"

"We'll figure it out."

Although not entirely satisfied with Peter's answer, she only nodded.

"By the way, why did you lead the trip? I thought you said you had a presentation." Peter asked, changing the topic.

Rolling her eyes, (y/n) answered with a slight scoff, "I lost a bet to Harley."

——————————

Tony stood in front of the meeting room. Peter's decathlon team was all sitting in front of him, his teacher and bully included. Harley had told him about what happened earlier. Needless to say, Tony was not happy.

He had thought of Peter and Harley as his sons; his children aside from (y/n). The fact that Peter had something going on with (y/n) didn't matter, it was a bonus in his eyes. So knowing that Peter had to deal with a bully every day was not something he could really tolerate. Not to mention that said bully also angered his daughter enough to lose control.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He had asked Harley earlier.

"It wasn't my story to tell, Tony." Harley had answered.

His eyes swept across the room once more. He saw their teacher, Harrington, if he remembered correctly, was openly scolding Flash.

Good, he thought, at least the teacher isn't just ignoring this problem.

"Alright!" Tony clapped his hand loudly. "Let's just keep this short, shall we? I'm supposed to be in a meeting right now and Pepper is not happy that I left."

His face turned serious. "Your parents signed NDAs for you to be here. You are not allowed to say anything about what you saw in this building to anyone, including your parents, or you will regret it. Even if we can't get to you directly, your parents are on the line here, and losing them would be a great loss for you, wouldn't it?"

Some of them gulped nervously. Flash just looked terrified.

"Just remember that I have better lawyers than you ever will. Capisce?"

Once he saw them hurriedly nodded, he grinned. "Okay then! I'll let you ask me questions now for compensation after that incident. Gotta take care of my daughter's problem, right?"

The group looked at each other, still miffed and hesitant to ask anything. They just got threatened to lose practically everything they had, after all.

However, Ned, who already had no intention to tell anyone about what happened thanks to Peter anyway, raised a hand.

"Yes, you, uhh… Fred!"

"It's Ned." Harley rolled his eyes. Tony pointedly ignored him.

Even wrong, Ned still felt joy in knowing that Tony knew him. "Hi, I was wondering about Harley's badge? Don't interns have half-white badges?"

Tony gestured at Harley to answer. "Well?"

Harley scoffed at Tony before answering, "Yeah, mine and Peter's are special badges since we're this dude's personal interns."

"Personal intern?" Abe chimed in, face curious.

"He's hopeless, trust me. This whole building would've burned if it weren't for us." Harley snickered, blatantly ignoring Tony who was glaring daggers at him.

"I'll let you know that I'm perfectly fine being alone in my lab." Tony huffed. "I've been doing it for years and I'm fine."

"Uh-huh, sure, old man."

Betty, pushed by Ned's nonchalance, raised a hand as well, "Mr. Stark? What is the requirement to be an intern here? Harley and Peter are our age, so does this mean we also qualify?"

Cindy also raised a hand, "Earlier we had tests in the labs. They said we can get scouted, is that true?"

"Ah yes, you were supposed to be given the internship program information at the end of the tour!" Tony said. "Basically, we have a new internship program for high school students. The interns will be handpicked by your 'test' results."

When Tony offered no other explanation, Harley added, "We just put the information on our web. Just go to Stark Industries' official website and click on the Internship Program. Sorry guys, you were supposed to get full session on this, but (y/n) was the one who had to give the presentation and she's not… available."

"Or Peter. He's one of the head of that programs after all. Wait," Tony stopped, looking at Harley incredulously, "you're the other head of the program. Why don't you give the presentation?"

Harley only shrugged with a grin.

"How is Parker already an intern?" Flash asked in disbelief. "And Head of Internship Program?!" It seems that his terrified daze from earlier had dissipated, which was really quick. He was quite a thickhead, after all.

Tony squinted at him, scrutinizing. This kid just never stop, huh?

"I scouted him myself." He announced.

Flash was taken aback by Tony's nonchalant answer, but he pressed on, "But why?"

"Because he impressed me. Genius kid, really. Better than nearly everyone I've ever known. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting to attend." He quickly said, already losing any will to interact with children any longer.

Before he left, he did add, "Also, Mr. Thompson, is it? I'll have a meeting with your parents and the principal soon, so get ready."

Flash's eyes widened.

Once he left, the room erupted in chaos.

"What just happened?!"

"Peter is really an intern!"

"Not just an intern, but already head of a program!"

"HE KISSED (Y/N) STARK OMG!"

"Who cares?! We almost died again!"

"But we might get to intern here too!"

"No, no, back up! We almost died! And by what?! What was that?!!"

"Wasn't it (y/n)?!"

"How did she do that?!"

"I don't know! But you saw what happened to Flash!"

"I guess (y/n) is Hecate then." Ned whispered to MJ. MJ nodded.

"She looked like she hated her power earlier." MJ muttered. "No wonder she snapped at you when you asked about Hecate."

"OKAY EVERYONE CALM DOWN!" Harley shouted, trying to gain control over the group.

One by one, they started to quiet down.

"I suppose this is the end of your trip. Remember the NDAs; not a word!" He said, which the group answered with a chorus of yes. "Great! Now follow me to the lobby!"

——————————

"You okay, il mio tarassaco?"

"I am now. Sorry about earlier, dad."

"Nothing to worry about. I really have to go to meeting now, but we'll talk later, okay? Take it easy after this, maybe just sleep or mess around in your private lab, if you want to. Don't overexert your power."

(Y/n) smiled gratefully. The public may saw her father only as an egocentric hero, but she knew better. He always tried to be the best dad and she was grateful for it. Tony Stark wasn't a perfect dad, but he tried. He knew better than to be like his own father. Even if his daughter was an accident he only discovered a few years back, Tony knew there was little he wouldn't do for her.

"Okay. Love you, see you later."

"Love you too."

As she ended the call, Harley rushed towards her and pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm sorry for putting you through that hell, Princess Stark! It was that stupid bet!"

"HARLEY I CAN'T BREATHE!"

Harley let her go with a sheepish grin. "Are you okay now?"

(Y/n) rolled her eyes. "Everyone asked me that. I'm fine. How's the situation?"

"Tony threatened them with the NDAs." He shrugged. "I don't think they really connect you to Hecate, but Ned definitely did."

She nodded in understanding. "Leeds is fine, I think… Peter trusts him."

"He won't tell anyone. But if he knows, MJ definitely does too." Peter piped in.

"You trust both of them, don't you?"

"Yeah, they're great."

(Y/n) smiled at him, "Maybe I should try befriend them then. Share my own secret like you did too."

Peter smiled back.

——————————

Bonus:

"Dude! You're the story of the year!"

"What?"

"Everyone's talking about you and (y/n) now!"

MJ sipped on her drink. "How is she anyway?"

"She's fine. Excited to meet you guys, actually." Peter answered.

"But we met her already?" Ned frowned.

"As a friend, Ned."

"Ooh…"

For a moment, no one said anything as they chewed on their food. "Hey, so (y/n) is really Hecate, right?"

"Ned! Shh!"

The End

——————————

Dictionary

Merda: shit

Cazzo: fuck

Vaffanculo: go fuck yourself

Figlio di puttana: son of a bitch

Faccia a culo: assface

Il mio tarassaco: my dandelion*

I looked these terms online, so they may not be 100% accurate. I’m sorry if I make any mistake!

*My Dandelion: a few months ago, I got into doll customizing and decided to make my own (y/n) Stark into a doll form. When I plugged in her hair, it had poofed up like a dandelion and stayed like that for weeks while I worked on her face-up. I got used to calling her Dandelion after that. Because of this, I’ve been nicknaming (y/n) as Dandelion.

Afterthoughts

Wow it’s over already... This story was an experience. It started as a fun little thing to celebrate my birthday with and to finally tell Meggie my handle to a 16k-word mess. Thank you so much to everyone who read, liked, reblogged, and commented on Part One! I hope you like this part too :)

——————————

Just Out of Touch Taglist

@spn-assemble-seven @racewife2004 @lukesbabylon @serendipitous-amor @sovereign-parker @ifangirlninja @lyzalovealk @lookuptotheskiesandsee @tommysparker @starlight-starks

Permanent (Marvel) Taglist

@marvelexi @lou-la-lou @spiderbibby @hello--zuko-here @everydaymj

Mutuals

@allegra-soleil @spideygirl2003 @delicatepeterparker @parkerpeter24 @terrifictomholland @quackeroos @angel-spidey @greenorangevioletgrass @the-crazy-fanfictionist

#peter parker imagine #peter parker #peter parker x reader #spiderman x readr #spiderman imagine #stark!reader #tony stark #tom holland #mcu #marvel fanfic #field trip trope #peter x reader #peter x you #peter parker fandom #peter parker angst #just out of touch

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marsbutterfly · 5 years ago

Text

The Scientist’s Gamble - Part 1

Summary: "Attention! Commander Erwin has sent me here today with an announcement! In exactly one month an expedition will take place outside the walls!", Moblit pauses for a second, paying close attention to the reactions in front of him. "The goal of this mission will be..."

Note: I would like to thank my amazing wife for editing this fic for me, I know it wasn't easy and I love her very much. She has been nothing but supportive from the very beginning and her help is extremely appreciated as I try to find own my writing style in a whole different language. She's amazing and I'm very lucky to have her in my life!

Next Chapter

AO3 Version! | Wattpad Version!

"Wait... So we're going outside the walls to capture a titan so that Squad Leader Hanji can experiment on it?" someone asks from the back of the room.

"Well... Yes, but it's for the good of humanity," Moblit says while he holds the bridge of his nose. The expression on his face tells you that he did not agree with this, but he is willing to give it a go so long as life inside the walls could take its next step towards the truth. "The Commander has given his OK, so this operation will be moving forward. Now, how she managed to convince him to agree to this is beyond me..." His voice disappears as he walks out of the room, all the while scribbling on his clipboard.

As soon as his silhouette is out of sight, the room starts to fill with murmurs.

"That's such a waste of resources!"

"We should be out there killing titans, not this!"

From your spot in the corner of the room, you begin to write in your journal everything you might need to prepare for the expedition, such as a new training schedule and what arrangements would need to be done.

"Y/N?" says a disembodied voice, startling you a bit and pulling you away from your to-do list. "Y/N? Are you in there?"

You look up to see Eren waving his hand in front of your face, almost failing to catch your attention.

"Oh, I'm sorry," you say, not looking at him, and not really sorry. "What were you saying?"

He laughs. "You really are hopeless. Would you like to come train with us?" He gestures at the Cadet group as they walk out the door.

"Oh, not today," you say, "I need to head back to my room to collect some of my notes and deliver them to my Squad Leader. I wouldn't want our next expedition to be delayed, you know!" Although you try your best to remain serious, the enthusiasm in your voice is undeniable.

He rolls his eyes and allows his lips to curl into a smirk, "We'll catch up with you later then!" he says while walking towards the door and just like that, you're alone in the classroom. Packing your things, you make your way out. You read the notes in your hands as you walk, making sure you only need to make one quick stop before heading toward the lab.

Once in your room, you look underneath every book, paper, and pile of clothes. You try your best to find your notes on titan deterioration, but quickly realize they are nowhere to be found.

Did you not bring them back after the last expedition? No, you remember seeing them just a couple of days ago. Could they be with old reports? No, you just checked. Did someone take them? At that moment, you realize that just may be what happened. After what happened with Annie Leonhardt, you didn't know who you could trust, and as a result, you've been being extremely careful not to misplace your paperwork.

Yet somehow your most important piece of work is missing. Slowly but surely, panic sets in. "What will I tell Squad Leader Hanji? I don't want to disappoint her," you mutter, taking a deep breath. Panicking won't help right now, so you do your best to pull yourself together, and gather all the other papers you need before making your way towards the lab.

You knock on the lab door rather loudly a couple of times.

"Come in!" Your heart skips a beat at the sound of her voice calling from the inside of the room. You open the door slowly, remembering past instances of her dropping glass beakers when startled. Luckily Hanji is just sitting at her desk, writing reports. Likely about the most recent past expedition, probably where she got the idea of capturing yet another titan to serve as her experiment. At least that would give Eren a little bit of a break. He really needs it.

"Squad Leader Hanji, I brought you all the data I've collected about titans from previous expeditions. The most common sizes, our studies on abnormal..." Your hearts speeds up as you notice her looking at you, but you can't bring yourself to face her as you speak again. "I can't seem to find the papers about their deterioration. All the details we've collected seem to be lost. I'm so sorry, and I'll keep looking for it. If I can't find it until tonight, I'll write you a new report from memory, I swear." You can feel her eyes on you, and it gets a little harder to breathe. Your lungs try their best to keep up with the speed of your rambling.

"Well, Y/N," Hanji says, getting closer as she walks towards you. Tears of frustration well in your eyes, and you expect the worst. You worked so hard to become her assistant, to earn this. The thought of it all going wrong would be enough to break you. You're vaguely aware of her rifling through papers on her desk.

"It's alright, dear! I have them right here. You must have forgotten them here last night. I reminded you to grab them but you seemed to be in quite a hurry." Hanji could sense the uneasiness coming from her assistant, her face softening as she pulls you into a hug, and it's desperately what you need at that moment. You breathe a sigh of relief now that you know you didn't mess this up. At least not this time.

You let your mind wander to last night. You had spent hours copying the indiscernible scribble-scratch of Hanji's field notes. You think of how you called her over to translate a particularly messy section, and you think of the way she gently touched your arm before her hand slid along your skin as she reached for the pen. The hairs on your body instantly rose, and combined with the chills going down your spine, you couldn't help the embarrassment that flooded through you. Before she could've said anything, you got up and ran, wishing her a hasty goodnight on your way out.

Your cheeks burn. No wonder you misplaced your papers.

But realization hit you; Hanji has her arms around you in a warm and comforting embrace. She's holding you, cradling you. The heat in your cheeks spread across your entire face, a dark shade of red replacing your usual skin tone. One of the reasons you wanted to be her assistant in the first place was to spend time with her. Your crush on Hanji isn't something new and has never been a secret. Everyone seems to know about it... except Hanji herself.

"Are you all right? Your heart is beating so fast," Hanji says, breaking the silence between you two. She pokes two fingers against your neck to feel the pulse, but you swat her hand away. You quickly pull away while looking in the other direction, hoping she doesn't notice your embarrassment.

"I'm fine, Squad Leader! Do you need my help with anything today?" you say, gathering enough strength to sound like you aren't melting before her eyes.

"Not for now. Over the course of the next few weeks, I'll be mostly filling out paperwork and preparing the lab to receive our new visitor," she beams, and the stars in her paired eyes with the excitement in her voice is more than enough to bring a smile to your face.

Hanji grabs your shoulders. "All I need is for you to study our past discoveries, but mostly prepare yourself for all the new ones we're about to make!" She begins to gently shake you, rocking you back and forth in her excitement. "Make sure to practice your 3D maneuvers as well, I wouldn't want to lose my favorite assistant!"

You feel your blush deepen, and wonder how she doesn't notice.

"Of course, Squad Leader," you say.

During the next four weeks, you spend your days mostly with your friends in the hopes some of their strongest skills rub off on you.

Mikasa teaches you how she handles her blade. You try your best to learn from her, but handling swords isn't your strong suit. But still, there is a noticeable improvement in your form. Thanks to her, your blades can firmly and precisely cut through a titan's nape without any problem.

Eren and Jean argue over who would help you with 3DM air movements until they finally agree that it would be best for both of them to assist you. This plan lasts less than a week until finally after you break up two fistfights and countless arguments, the two of them come to the conclusion that being around each other is worse than a death sentence. You start to practice on your own, but they manage to teach you a few new tricks, like being able to do a backflip before slicing the titan's neck, that way you would be able to move quickly and proceed to another titan in a matter of seconds.

Armin sits with you every day during lunch and dinner, keeping your knowledge on Titans sharp. He shuffles through bundles of cards as well as notebooks full of information. He quizzes you every day and corrects you when you're wrong. He's the most helpful of them all.

Reiner and Bertholdt do their best to train you in hand-to-hand combat. You won't need it, and Annie was better than they are, but they must have sparred with her enough for some of her moves to rub off, and you figure there's no harm in being overly prepared.

Krista teaches you what she knows about how to care for wounds with ingredients you can find in the forest. She shows you how to wrap an injury and how to do it quickly. Nothing new, but she is very good at helping others. Ymir shows up halfway through Krista's splinting demonstration, and you're pretty sure she only stays there so she can play the part of swooning, Injured Scout. Every so often she would let out a long sigh and moan about her fake injuries. "I'm so hurt Krista, please take care of me," she says. "If I survive this injury, please marry me Krista." You don't ask Ymir for help with anything, you know all she really puts effort into is charming Krista.

Sasha and Connie... well, they're certainly a good distraction when you need a break. Sasha tells you her hunting stories, and when she notices you're interested, her stories become much more dramatically performed. She recruits Connie to help her put on a play, and he plays every character in her stories: Sasha herself, the injured animal, even the sound of the wind as it rushes past the trees. They are exceptionally good at making you laugh.

The night before the expedition departs, while you're in your room packing your bags and triple-checking your list making sure everything you might need is in it. Everything seems to be in order. Flare guns, medical supplies, a toothbrush and comb. A sudden knock on your door pulls you away from your thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Y/N, can I come in?" says a familiar voice, and your heart skips. You nearly give yourself whiplash as you turn your head.

"Yes!" you call out, and the door creaks open. Your eyes meet Hanji's, and a familiar feeling overtakes you.

"I haven't seen you in so long. I miss you," she has a gentle smile on her face, and you feel your cheeks reddening as usual. Why must your body do this to you every time she's around? You signal for her to come inside, and Hanji closes the door behind her.

Hanji sits on your bed while reaching for your hand. She takes it and pulls you closer, excitement in her eyes. As soon as you readjust next to her, you impulsively wrap your arms around her shoulders. It takes Hanji by surprise, but she is quick to return the embrace. If only you had the courage to tell her how you feel before you leave tomorrow... but you can't risk clouding her mind with such thoughts. She needs to have a clear head tomorrow, and you need to be there for her no matter what. She may not know how you feel, but you need to remember her like this, just in case. You touch the rough fabric of her jacket, inhale the scent of her hair, feel the cold and hardness of her glasses press against your cheek. You just hold her, needing to feel her like it's the last thing you'd ever do on this Earth.

You wish you could stay forever in her arms, but you manage to pull yourself away after a few seconds. Hanji gives you a soft look. "What was that about?" she asks.

Your face feels so hot you're surprised you don't burst into flames. That familiar feeling takes over your body while your brain processes everything that just happened.

"I missed you too," is all you can say. "So, did you want to tell me something, Hanji?"

Her slight smile disappears. She takes a deep breath, as if the air in her lungs is about to be stolen, "I'm just a little nervous about tomorrow. I thought you might be able to help me calm down, but it seems like I didn't even need to ask," she says, smiling. "Do you feel ready?"

"Yes, I've been practicing to make sure I will not be killed tomorrow!", you say, forming fists with your hands and positioning them on your hips. You're proud of everything you've accomplished with your friends' help during these past few weeks. Hanji starts laughing, and you beam with pride. You hope this is what she needed.

When her laughter subsides, Hanji lets out a contented sigh. "I honestly don't know what I would do without you around," she says.

Your eyes widen, and you get embarrassed again. You can't help but look away. Her soft hand touches your shoulder, "I should get going now. I need to look over some details before we leave in the morning." She squeezes your shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

You nod. "Of course, Squad Leader."

"Our mission, the expedition to capture a Titan, will now commence! Give up your hearts for humanity!" Commander Erwin's voice echoes clearly throughout the scouts as the gate opens fully. While screaming, he signals with his arms and the horses sprint outside the wall in formation. The gate closes behind them with a heavy thunk.

The sky is a beautiful shade of blue, with very few clouds. The cold breeze against your skin brings chills everywhere it touches. There are goosebumps all over your body, but the excitement rushing through your veins is enough to keep you warm for now. You've been preparing yourself for this for the past month and you feel like for once, luck is on your side.

Right next to you rides Hanji. Her laugh rings out louder than dozens of thundering hooves and yelling Scouts. The Commander had asked you to stay by her side at all times, mostly to keep her from getting herself killed, and judging by the twinkle in his eye, you could tell that your affections were noticed even at the highest level of the Scouting Regiment.

As the formation rides out, Hanji takes a moment to meet your eyes, and you smile at her. Today is going to be a win for humanity, you think to yourself.

You could not be more wrong.

#my sunshine #hange x reader #hange zoe x reader #hanji x reader #hanji zoe x reader #fanfiction #my story #snk #shingeki no kyojin #attack on titan #aot #attack on titan fanfiction #hanji zoe/reader #snk x reader #aot x reader #snk fanfic #aot fanfic #snk fanfiction

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addierose444 · 4 years ago

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UMass Course Experience: Spring 2021

This semester, I took my two courses at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (just UMass from here on out). The specific courses were computer systems principles (COMPSCI 230) and introduction to the C programming language (COMPSCI 198C). You can check out my other spring 2021 courses here and read more about Five College course registration here. These courses together replace microprocessors and assembly language (CSC 231) which is the systems core course required for the computer science major. In some ways, this was the perfect semester to take a Five College course as I didn’t need to factor in travel time. However, I also didn’t get the full experience as the courses were remote and asynchronous. My initial motivation for taking a Five College course was to deal with some scheduling conflicts. These conflicts became a nonissue when I decided not to take French this semester. You can read more about my decision to not study abroad here. I took these specific courses because Smith’s equivalent course is only offered in the fall and given my interest in systems taking the core systems courses sooner rather than later made more sense than a random computer science elective.

My use of the past tense in reference to my UMass classes is actually appropriate as I have completed all of the coursework. In fact, I finished COMPSCI 198C before the Smith semester even started. I know that sounds sort of crazy, and it is, but it’s also not as crazy as may you think. Specifically, the UMass semester started two weeks before Smith’s and COMPSCI 198C was a one-credit self-paced course that opened up even earlier. That said, finishing the course in about a week and a half was no walk in the park and amounted to over a full-time job. (This was also on top of my French class and other work I was doing during interterm which you can read about here). While I had the entire semester to complete COMPSCI 198C, I wanted to finish it early so that I wouldn’t have to worry about it during the semester and so that I could feel fully prepared for the COMPSCI 230 for which it was a pre/corequisite. To be totally honest, for a one-credit course, COMPSCI 198C was a difficult and time-intensive course. I’m glad that I managed to finish the course before the Smith semester because it would have been too easy to put off the work given the lack of hard deadlines. On the other hand, if I hadn’t worked through the class so intensively I don’t think it would have been nearly as time-consuming. Namely, I would have taken more breaks and been able to return to my code rested and with a fresh perspective. Furthermore, I would have been more likely to get help.

COMPSCI 198C was broken down into 12 modules and was pass/fail. (It did take the course seriously though because I actually wanted to learn the material). Each module had a specific topic and contained readings, pre-recorded lectures, a quiz, and a programming challenge. As for course content, we learned about data representation in C, pointers, dynamic memory allocation, structs, and more. Going into the course, I did have some background in C from Harvard’s CS50x. (You can read my full review of that course, here). The most fun component of the class was definitely the programming challenges. (It was also the most challenging and at times frustrating component, but that’s how you learn). The challenges were graded by computer (via an upload to Gradescope) which allowed for immediate feedback. The challenges included detailed documentation and some starter code.

COMPSCI 230 was also asynchronous but released material on a weekly basis (9:00 on Monday mornings). The one synchronous component was the weekly lab which for most students took place over Zoom. The weekly coursework consisted of readings, lecture videos, and short lesson quizzes. Fortunately, all of the readings for this course were provided free of charge as pdfs or websites. Because COMPSCI 230 is an introductory course, we didn’t go crazy in-depth into each topic. At the same time, we covered a lot of material and there were a ton of details to pay attention to. Part of the reason we were able to cover so much material is that it was mostly conceptual and thus we didn’t spend half of the class going through example problems like you would in a math or engineering class. As for course content, we learned about processes, threads, and basic computer architecture. We also learned about signals, pipes, and network communication.

We also had a one-hour weekly quiz that we could take any time between noon on Friday and the end of the day on Tuesday. While I did the other coursework during the week and usually took the quiz on Friday afternoon, you could technically do almost everything over the weekend. To read more about a typical week of my spring 2021 semester, click here. In addition to lecture material, we had a total of six projects (and associated project quizzes). These projects involved systems-level programming and were a lot of fun to work on. Like the COMPSCI 198C programming challenges, most of the projects had starter code and were graded by an autograder on Gradescope. The first project introduced us to debugging with gdb. Our last project had us write a client program that communicated with a server to solve math problems. Other projects included a bank simulator and a cache simulator.

While five credits worth of classes is far from representative of an entire university’s courses, it’s only fitting to try and compare them to what’s offered at Smith. This is also highly unscientific as my UMass courses were asynchronous and during a pandemic. (It is worth noting that the vast majority of UMass’s other spring courses were synchronous). The first main difference is shear course size. Specifically, COMPSCI 230 had 316 students and an entire course team. At Smith, our equivalent course (CSC 231) is capped at 30 students. (The largest class I have personally taken at Smith was game theory (ECO 125) which had 73 students). The COMPSCI 230 lectures were by the actual professor, but the lab sections and most asynchronous help were from teaching assistants. With this large class size and the asynchronous format, there was little chance to get to know my classmates and professor. (I did join a Discord with a few classmates, but that was fairly focused on course material rather than general socialization). There was also an official discussion board on Piazza to ask questions (to be answered by other students and/or the instructors). Communication with the instructors (the professor and the TAs) also took place on Piazza with private posts. In fact, the only time I ever emailed my professor was before the course to get the syllabus to submit to the registrar’s office. Despite not knowing us as individuals, my professor clearly cared about us as individuals and about our wellbeing. At Smith, it’s the norm for professors to genuinely care about their students and about teaching. From reading posts on Piazza, I got the clear impression that my peers didn’t feel the same level of support from their other professors. The course size also meant that most everything was graded by computer. The autograder for the projects allowed for partial credit, but the quizzes didn’t allow you to explain your answer. There were a few quizzes that had somewhat ambiguous questions that were dropped from the quiz. This got a bit annoying if you had gotten that question right, but had gotten some others wrong. In a smaller class, the question would probably be kept in and if a student raised an issue they may be able to argue points back just for themselves.

All in all, I had a positive experience taking COMPSCI 198C and COMPSCI 230 at UMass. With that said, I definitely wouldn’t want to have an entire schedule worth of 300 person asynchronous classes. Even though I didn’t have to take these courses this semester, it’s really nice going into my junior year having completed all of my computer science core classes. Furthermore, I should be well prepared for future systems classes including digital circuits (EGR 390dc) next fall which has either EGR 220 or CSC 231 as a prerequisite (and I will have both by the end of this semester).

#college #Smith College #UMass Amherst #five college consortium #spring 2021 #asynchronous #computer science

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fanficparker · 5 years ago

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Forelsket | Tom x Haz one-shot

Pairing: Harrison Osterfield x Tom Holland

Word count: 4.25k words

Warnings: Swearing, angst, anxiety, mentions of sexual abuse

Summary: Tom is a troubled teen. He can’t write his papers, he’s on the verge of failing his exam until a stranger slid his paper for him to copy.

_____________________

(Written in Tom's POV)

I looked into the microscope. The patch on the display was blotchy and green with some pink dots. I don't remember seeing anything like this in previous lab sessions ever. Or maybe I missed the class when we prepared this particular slide. But my page was still empty except for my name, roll number and date. I couldn't recognize the previous four slides too. Just three more are left. There was no doubt I ruined my theory exam and now I will ruin the practical too. There was no hope for me to pass this exam.

If I fail... Maybe... Maybe they'll send me back to Chris. And it's the last thing I ever want on Earth to happen.

I gulped slowly. It was painful. My throat felt dry. I wanted to drink water but I only have limited time to finish this paper and the page in front of me is completely blank. My stomach crumbled painfully. Now I could even taste the bile in my mouth. The next I could feel were my eyes getting wet.

God, I can't cry right in front of my whole fucking class. I let my eyes wander around the students. My gaze fell on the paper next to me.

Beautiful diagrams and a detailed description of the slides.

If he's not seeing then maybe I can copy. I held my breath and scribbled on my paper as fast as I can. Half of his paper was covered by his hand while he was looking into his microscope. I tried my best to copy the visible portion. His head bent at the paper to write the answer for the next question. His blue eyes met mine. My heart dropped.

I haven't copied enough to pass yet. I looked at him hopefully and sorry. He looked at my paper. I felt so ashamed, weak, dumb and guilty— not the best combination of obscure feelings all at the same time.

He slid his paper towards me and smiled.

I blinked in disbelief.

"Return it to me in ten minutes at microscope number seven," he whispered and shifted to the next specimen, carefully observing and writing the conclusion in the extra sheet.

I took in a sharp breath, remembered God and ran my pen on my paper. I changed the text structure and numbering a little bit. Five questions were enough for me to pass in aggregate.

When I got to the sixth specimen I had written enough to pass and slid his paper back to him, mumbling a thank you. He simply nodded like it was nothing. He again smiled at me. The kind of smile that made his clear blue eyes shiny and corners crinkle.

I wished I knew how to smile like that. I returned him a smile, surely not even one percent of the brightness of his. He stapled the pages together and moved to deposit the papers like most of the other students and walked out of the lab.

I had read his name on the paper— Harrison John Osterfield.

***

From that day on, I observed that he was pretty famous in our boarding school, always in the good books of the teachers. He studied in the other section and lived in hostel number five.

I didn't stalk him, he was just one of those people who were way too visible on the school campus. I have seen him setting up posters, sitting in the cafeteria, library, park and almost everywhere on the campus. Sometimes he would be walking around the gardens, headphones tucked in his ears, sometimes he would be sitting on the bench reading a book or sometimes doing his homework in the library.

I don't know if he noticed me. I am surely not that visible.

But one other thing that I noticed was that every time I saw him, he was mostly alone.

There was a difference between us.

He was alone but not lonely. I was alone and lonely.

He seemed to enjoy his company. And I was asking myself why I was even alive.

I studied till four in the morning almost every day but couldn't even remember a bloody terminology. It was like the words hated me. I surely hated them too but had no choice. I was stuck with them and they refused to stay with me.

Most of my nights were also spent silently weeping under my covers while everyone in my room was asleep. I used to wake up and see the tear stains on my white pillow covers. The only thing consistent in my life.

But today I washed the covers too.

***

I got to know that he was also a member of the club- The Inkers. Basically the group of smart students. They represented the school in debates, quizzes and other stuff.

And here I was reading the exact same page of my physics textbook for the third time. My mind keeps dozing off.

If...

What if...

What if I ask him to help me?

I shook off the desire and wiped my eyes. The tears were blurring my vision as they always do.

Electromagnetic induction... I began reading. I can't understand the equation, no matter how much I try.

I pushed the book aside, switched off my table lamp and got inside the covers. My eyes were too dry to continue with my daily night routine. I hope I won't see tear marks on the fresh pillow covers this time.

***

I found myself standing outside the room assigned for 'The Inkers'. The club name was written in bold on the door which was half-opened.

I could see students sitting, walking, talking, interacting. This place was definitely not meant for me. I then saw him. He was talking to a group of students. Seemed like he was instructing them.

His smile was still so bright and he talked with his hands while tucking at the end of his jacket ever so often. Everything he does added to his style and charm.

He looked so approachable. Yet I failed to approach him.

I clenched my books tighter and walked away.

This became more like a routine. As the exams came nearer, I found myself walking across 'The Inkers' more often but never dared to knock at the door.

Weirdly, I had stopped crying myself to sleep, hoping the next day I'll ask him for help in studies and he'll help me.

My interactions with him were all in my sleep, in my dreams. I'd smile remembering my time with him even if it was in my imagination. I imagine him sitting across me, explaining me the weird exceptions in inorganic chemistry or explaining the key features of bryophytes or telling me a trick to learn the concept of electromagnetic induction.

***

I remember his smile. I remember his blue eyes. I remember how clear and shiny they were. I remember how his cheeks pushed up and made those eyes crinkle.

I remember how his lips curved when he was giving the speech on Renaissance literature. I remember how his expressions hardened, how he tried to contain his sadness and anger when talking about things like climate change, animal cruelty and so on.

I attended all the debates and speech competitions in which he participated this month, sitting at the back seat seeing him, hoping he doesn't see me.

He was an amazing orator. The way his voice carried his emotions was extremely heart-touching. He could make everybody feel what he felt.

I got a 'B+' in my E-waste management essay. I still can't believe. I heard his debate on the topic and... Wow. The teacher was impressed by me. I didn't feel vulnerable for the first time. I loved that feeling.

***

He even interacts with the audience and told about himself. He told us that he wasn't good at learning facts, so quizzes weren't his thing. He liked subjective things, movies, novels and wanted to become an actor.

An actor?

Can you believe?

I thought he'll tell me something like a doctor or scientist. But he wants to become an actor.

How amazing is that.

***

Next month, he stared in our school play.

I attended the recitation of the Twelfth Night. He was actually the main lead.

God! When he said, "If music be the food of love, play on," I declared myself to be his number one fan!

The way he said it. God! It was so... so... so... amazing!!!

I don't think he saw me but I was the first one who stood up as the curtains fell and clapped and cheered. For him.

I cheered?

Can you believe?

***

I was again standing outside 'The Inkers.' I peeked my head a little to find him but I couldn't find him today. I sighed and turned at my feet, only to collide with someone. My books fell on the floor. Before I could even utter an apology, the person crouched down to collect my books. My eyes met with those same pair of blue eyes. So clear. So shiny.

His smile reached his eyes seeing me while I suspected my heart-beat was non-existent right now. He quickly picked up my books and stood straight, pushing his curls out of his face.

"Hi! How are you doing?" He asked. His voice was so friendly and cheerful that it was almost like he was booming.

But 'how am I doing?' Isn't it something a person asks an acquaintance. Does he still remember me? Remember me as the dumb kid who copied his paper?

"Alexi said she saw you here often. I was actually going to ask you. Glad I met you here," He smiled even more.

"I... uh... yea-yeah." I stuttered the response.

Our confidence level was on the opposite ends of an irregularly weighted beam balance.

"Do you want to join the club?" He asked looking at the signboard and then back at me. The smile was still sticking to his lips.

Me? The club?

If it was the thirteen century then the club belonged to the nobility and I was a poor commoner.

"No." I chuckled trying to hide my embarrassment.

He looked confused. I tightened my fists and swallowed slowly before speaking— "I-I wanted some help in class. Thought if anyone could---"

He didn't let me finish and spoke instead.

"You should have told me early! Just three weeks to finals." He said as his expressions changed from cheerful to panicky in seconds.

How does he know I needed that sort of big help? Can't I ask just him a single question, why will three weeks' time be less?

But he let me copy his paper. The paper my peers claimed was too easy. Maybe he remembers how dumb I was.

His bottom lip quivered for a second then he spoke again, "Don't worry we'll manage. What subject you want help in?"

I gulped again and bit my lower lip.

He looked at me, curiously waiting for the answer.

"All," I said. I could hear my own voice sounding screechy. My gaze fell on my shoes.

I was so embarrassed. Maybe even ashamed. He didn't speak for a minute and then he sighed.

"No problem, we will get it done!" He stated confidently and patted my shoulder. My head shot up to look at his determined yet soft emotions. My heart felt like it was over-filling with warmth. I couldn't stop my lips to curl into a small smile.

"Thank you so much," I thanked him genuinely, he shrugged it off. I stretched my right hand for a handshake, "I am--"

"Tom. I know," He answered cutting me mid-sentence, "And I'm---"

"Harrison. I know," I said almost imitating his style.

He laughed shaking my hand. I laughed seeing him laughing. Maybe it was the heartiest laugh I have ever produced in years. I couldn't even stop smiling when the laughter subsided.

"When should we start?" He asked.

"As per your convenience."

"Let's first go for lunch. It's already lunchtime."

He wanted me to accompany him to the eating area. I nodded following him.

We sat on the bench and started eating our meals. He was eating as if he was hungry for a long time. And I was just somehow managing to push my food down my oesophagus with water.

"So, I'll collect all my notes today and we can meet tomorrow morning here for breakfast and then we'll plan your studies." He said, biting the carrot.

"Ah... Okay," I replied looking down at my plate. I still can't believe that he's talking to me and even going to help me with exams.

If it was a dream, I don't want it to end ever.

***

"Where's your breakfast tray?" He asked when we settled on the bench.

"I-I don't eat breakfast."

"What do you mean you don't eat breakfast? Why will you not eat breakfast?" He was surprised.

"I don't feel hungry in the morning," I said the truth.

"What?! We ate dinner at eight last night. It's already nine in the morning. You have to eat it. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!" He preached.

"I can't develop a habit of eating breakfast just like that," I defended, pressing my lips together.

"You should start with fruits. I have an apple in my backpack." He said taking out the said apple and handling me to eat.

I did eat it (half). And by the lunchtime I was hungry.

How weird is this human body? I never felt hungry when I used to skip breakfast and when I finally ate, I am already hungry.

After breakfast, attending our classes and having lunch, he took me to 'The Inkers.' He introduced me to the other club members as his 'friend'.

We sat on the corner and he took out his notes.

"So, for what purpose, are you going to study?" He asked. I was confused at first but then answered—

"To pass the exams," I said and surprisingly I didn't feel ashamed this time.

He divided the chapters in our books. He collected important terms and asked me to focus on only them rather than the complete syllabus. He made me flow charts and venn diagram. He explained me everything like a story. He never judged me when I couldn't answer or understand.

We continued to eat and study together daily. After the first week, we even started to hang out together. He made me hear his favourite songs. I loved his music choice. He taught me to maintain a balance on the skateboard. He told me about him, his family, his dog, his ambitions. He asked me to do the same, I shrugged it off saying, "Not much" or "Nothing exciting."

***

Harrison praised my answers. He said my writing style was very organic. I don't even know what it meant but he surely loved reading whatever I wrote. I showed him my middle-school poetry book and he made me read everything on it multiple times. I hope his interest was genuine.

He even asked me to call him 'Haz' instead of 'Harrison'.

He kept telling me things. I loved listening to him. I loved when he snaked his arm around my shoulder. I loved the way he said my name. I loved his face, his eyes, his voice, his confidence, his generosity, his patience, his intelligence, everything about him.

I may even be in love with him.

***

On Sundays, I used to go to the forgotten pet centre near our school. It was the only thing I liked about my life (except for Harrison, but it's just the latest addition). I love playing with those cute puppies. I never told anyone about it but I literally asked him if he wants to accompany me there.

You should have looked at his face! He was so excited, he hugged me so tight and couldn't stop giggling.

"You should have told me earlier, Holland! You have no idea how much I love dogs. I even have a super sweet dog back at home." He told me.

We played with the dogs and ate ice-cream. We laughed and talked so much. I don't even know why he's sticking with me, but he said he liked the way I talk and I should talk more often. He didn't stop there, he took me to a nearby fare. We enjoyed some rides and even got in for a fun photoshoot.

I cried that night. But those were tears of joy. I had a friend and he was fricking amazing.

***

Exams were over.

And I am sure I have done better than just passing. But I am sad. It's the end of the year, the Christmas break. He'll be gone to his home and I'll be all alone, again. Or worse— I will have to go to Chris's place for the holidays.

I sighed looking up at the blank night sky.

"Hey yo, mate. How were your exams?" Harrison asked, plopping down beside me, looking up at the sky.

"Your courtesy. Can't thank you enough." I said, looking at his face. He nodded still looking at the sky, giving me an opportunity to stare at his wonderful features. He did have some bad teen breakouts on his face. I do too. Yes, they weren't pretty. Acne isn't pretty but I don't think everything about a person needs to be pretty. People can be beautiful regardless of not being perfectly pretty.

And Harrison is beautiful.

My eyes landed on his slightly parted lips. I wondered how it would feel to kiss them. I licked my suddenly drying lips.

"You up for Christmas holidays?" He asked, turning his face to look at me. I averted my gaze to the ground beneath.

"I... I dunno," I replied, pulling my legs near to my chest.

There was a pause. It felt like he would say something but he didn't. I spoke instead.

"I don't want to go to uncle's," I told him the secret I never tell anyone. He looked at me confused.

"He... He is not a good man," I said as my throat felt choking and tears started to well up and suddenly I started feeling so dirty.

Harrison's expressions turned serious, he shifted a bit closer to me. He snaked his arm around my shoulders and dragged me closer to his body. He let me rest my head on his shoulder. That's when I realised that I was crying.

"Talk to me, Tom," Harrison insisted softly as his fingers combed through my hairs.

I started weeping harder, he pushed me closer and engulfed me into a real tight hug.

"You are safe here, Tom. You shouldn't be afraid. Tell me." He kept repeating while his hands caressed my back. I had grabbed his sweater in my fist and was badly sobbing into the material. I will surely ruin the delicate fabric.

He let me sob silently for a while. And when he realised that I had stopped crying, he pulled himself away, then he rested his fingers below my chin and lifted it to meet his gaze.

His eyes seemed glossier.

"Do you trust me?"

I nodded. He waited for me to tell the whole thing.

"He used to t-touch me in wrong ways when I was younger," I confessed, embarrassed. I wanted to look down, away from his gaze but my chin was still fixed on the spot by his fingers.

I first thought that he's also going to cry. But then I saw his pained, empathetic expressions changing into hard angry ones. And suddenly his face radiated so much anger that I had to move back. His hand fell on the grass as he clenched them into a fist. He stood up.

"You'll come with me. Start packing your bags. I'll tell my parents. You will never ever have to see that asshole's face again. That bloody bastard. Eww. Fucking disgusting! He'll regret what I'll do to him. How dare he?!!!!" Harrison growled angrily. "Pack your bags. Mum will take us to our home on Saturday." He ordered almost rushing away but I stood up and grabbed his arm.

"You can't tell your parents," I said, terrified.

"I fucking will! That bastard will be in jail!" He almost yelled.

"No. No. You can't." I begged him, tugging him towards me.

"Are you an idiot Tom? He raped you. Multiple times! You're not even an adult, yet!" He jerked his hand away from my grip.

"He hasn't done that for years---"

"That doesn't forgive or change anything!"

"It's-it's my life. You don't have to make decisions for me!" I yelled this time. He froze and blinked at me.

"What?" He said coming closer, his expressions suddenly softening.

I didn't reply.

"He is the reason why you are broken, Tom. I can see the damage. I don't understand why you don't see---"

"I know that I am damaged. But it won't fix anything," I said, tears spilling down my face.

He came closer and cupped my face in his hands. He softly wiped off my tears with his thumbs. He bent down a little to see directly into my eyes.

"Would you have let him go if I was at your place?" He asked, his voice soft yet demanding. My breath was stuck in my throat but he didn't let the question slip away.

"You are my best friend in the world Haz," I answered honestly.

"And you are more than that to me."

My heart crumbled like a piece of paper. None of us spoke for minutes, just stood there on the same spot, motionless. I swallowed slowly, taking in a breath.

"It's... It's just... High school crush."

I couldn't believe my own words but he rolled his head back and laughed.

I waited for him to stop laughing. He did, and his expressions again turned serious.

"Time will tell that. But the main thing is... No one deserves what you suffered. And he needs to be punished. That's justice. And to be honest, if you were even a complete stranger to me, I would have said the same thing."

Well... He has too many reasons to be my high school crush.

I nodded in understanding. I should stop saving that evil Chris. Harrison is right.

"So you are coming with us? You can forget that more than friends thing, we'll talk about it later or maybe never, as per your wish. And definitely sexual orientation." He said rubbing his neck.

I thought for a minute.

"But... I... I am a boy. It's very shameful to admit that I was raped---"

"If anyone should be ashamed, it's your ugly uncle. Being a boy or a girl won't change the crime. You shouldn't be ashamed." He stated and again pulled me into a hug.

"You should never be ashamed. Never." His voice cracked and I knew that he was the one crying now. I placed my hands on his torso and pulled myself off his chest.

I looked at his tear-stained face. I wanted to grab his face and plant kisses all across it. But all I felt were his hands again holding my face. He brought his face down and planted a kiss on my forehead, his lips lingered on the spot for a few seconds, whispering the word 'Never'. When he parted, I didn't even waste a single minute and grabbed his face.

I crashed my lips into his. His lips were sandwiched between mine. I slowly and gently sucked on them as his hands travelled to hold my waist. He let out a small moan and my heart fluttered like a butterfly. When I broke the kiss, his eyes were still closed and mouth half-open. His chest was rising and falling with every breath he inhaled and exhaled. It felt as if the kiss wasn't yet over for him.

I don't know why but I was also breathing heavily. His lips slowly curved into a small smile and his eyelids half-opened.

"You know you are my first kiss, Tom?" He said slowly as if he was satisfied.

"I wish I could say the same for you," I said but with a sad smile. His hand moved from my waist to my face. He slowly pushed away the fallen curls on my forehead.

"It doesn't matter." He leaned towards me, his breath lingering on my lips.

"It's the first time I am going to kiss someone. Please don't mind if it's not that good." He whispered. His words only made my heart go even more crazy.

He softly attached his lips to mine. I felt his throbbing heartbeat in his chest and his firm stature. I pulled his face closer to mine, he moaned again, his mouth slightly parted. I swiped my tongue over his bottom lip. He took in a sharp breath.

I loved how his body reacted to everything I did. I never felt this crazy in my life. So... so... so... crazy. Kissing Harrison Osterfield was crazy and him kissing me back was even crazier. Who knew he could get this nervous and cute?

When he finally broke the kiss, I couldn't stop but kiss his pink, flushed cheeks.

"I feel crazy." He said giggling.

"Same."

"You'll come with us?"

"No doubt on that."

I smiled and looked at the sky. It was still empty but my heart was full of warmth.

Was it how it feels to fall in love?

Crazy... Crazy... Crazy...

I love crazy...

*THE END*

______________________

A/N: Everyone- your likes, comments & reblogs mean a lot to me. Love you guys. I know this pairing isn't getting me much notes but still I wanted to write this and I genuinely enjoyed writing this. Thanks for everyone who supported me. It gave me strength to write what I desire. Thank you so much guys.

Add yourself to the Tom x Haz fic column of my regular taglist (link on my bio/profile description) or send me an ask if you wanna see more content like this.

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soranihimawari · 5 years ago

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Hi Scores & Taiyaki

Welcome back to part 3 of the Kuroo x 1st person fic. This will be the last installment for now unless I decide to use Social Dummy again to continue the character’s relationship. But first things first, thanks for reading this and major shoutouts to @vbcshenaningansnwritings for reblogging my stories & @kaidasen for encouraging me to post these drabbles/drafts/fics. ::hugs to you::

Taglist: still open

The weeklong camp had come to an end before it had begun. I had a lot of fun hanging out with the girls during the end of camp barbecue. There were a few instances where I had to chase after Bokuto to remind him to not steal so much food from the different grills, but he just laughed it off before running away with a plate full of food for Akaashi. Kuroo on the other hand, was busy keeping track of his protoges, Kenma and Tsukishima (another tall middle blocker from Karasuno) by also doing the same thing. There was a moment before the visiting teams started to pack their belongings where Kenma tugged on my sleeve to pull me aside causing my conversation with the female managers to be cut short. (We had already traded contact info during the many nights we stayed up exchanging stories of their teams antics, so we all decided to text each other later).

“Everything ok Kenma?” I asked when we stopped walking. There was a safe distance between the side of the building where we stood and the other members of the teams.

“Kuroo seems to really like you,” he said in a low tone. I nodded as I kicked the invisible pile of dust on the concrete floor. His console was tucked away in his track jacket pocket, but he continued to play a different game on his phone.

“I have a feeling that I already know,” I replied with a smirk.

“Good. Because I couldn’t get him to shut up about you after you helped Lev out the other day.”

A chortle escaped my lips, “I see. Well, if that’s all you wanted to tell me, then I guess we could head back. C’mon, Karasuno is about to leave now too. Let’s say bye to Shoyo & Tsukki.”

It seemed as though everyone had begun saying their farewells by the time we returned.

***

Summer vacation quickly ended for me as soon as it had begun. Classes were starting again the following day, so naturally by the time I had arrived back home, I greeted my parents before calling my close friend, Riza.

“Kenma confirmed to me that Kuroo does like me and we may or may not have spent more time alone after lights out,” I explained collapsing on my mattress.

“Oh ho ho,” Riza chuckled on her end of the line. “So, the tom cat finally came around to liking you? That’s terrific. All of his fans are going to be heart broken when you guys go out on your date next Saturday.”

“I know. I am not looking forward to receiving those glares from his exes though.”

“Meh, you’ll be fine. They were the ones who let him go with the exception of Angela though. Those two always fought, but I am glad you two never really fought. Well, maybe except in trig when you both arrived at different limit answers, haha.”

“Of course you’d remember how well he took being wrong, Riz.”

“Mmhm. I gotta back my friend up whenever he assumes he is the smartest in the room. Anyways, I’m gonna go prepare for bed. See you in class tomorrow.”

“Okidokie. Meet at the convenience store at seven?”

“I’ll be there. Later Kat.”

***

The days seemed to have blurred together, but with both Kuroo and I heavily invested in our separate clubs outside of school hours, we barely had any time to discuss finalizing our plans for our arcade date. On Friday night before our date, I received a call from him. He seemed a bit stressed out, more so than usual, but that was to be expected since the team had a qualifying match scheduled in a few days time.

“Coach is making us have an extra practice on Wednesday and that’s when this chem lab is due. There’s also this make up test I have to do for history and I’m falling behind in trig since I can’t really find the time for homework. Kat, I don’t know what to do.”

I was seated at my desk in front of my computer screen in the middle of typing an essay for English class. It was a three to five page paper discussing the themes of Westernized fairy tales which I stopped writing because clearly, Kuroo needed someone to snap him back into focus.

“Take a deep breath first,” I heard him inhale and upon his exhale, I continued. “Good. Now, listen to me carefully Tetsuro: meet me in the library after class on Monday. Bring all your materials for the classes you fell behind on. I’ll make copy of my notes and bring a pen to correct your mistakes on the trig quizzes since you got an 80% last time.”

“Our second date is a study date, huh?”

I chuckled. “It can be. Let’s survive the first one, yeah? The forecast called for rain tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully we won’t get caught in it on the way back.”

***

I arrived first to the arcade around 17:50. I was dressed in the best casual attire I could think of: navy wide leg pants, a white dress shirt paired underneath with a lemon yellow camisole. My shoes were black rain boots and my hair was left down. Kuroo came a few minutes later dressed in an all black street ensemble attire that made me think I was a bit out of his league (more so than before).

“You did not have to come here looking like an idol star,” I teased when he reached out to hold my hand.

“And you didn’t have to either,” he said with a smile. “Let’s go inside to play Street Fighter II again, yeah?” I nodded.

A few hours passed us by as we kept reloading the game cards playing different arcade games ranging from fighting games, TETRIS, and music games (like JuBEAT FESTO). Kuroo’s cat like smile made me more competitive when he failed the last song of JuBeat.

“Move aside, lemme see if I can beat your score sir,” I mused. I swiped my card and selected my first song and the speed. The tiles began to glow with the first few notes coming from the machine. There were a lot of encouraging words coming through the screen: “Combo!” “Perfect” “100 note streak!”

“By the time my round ended, the title card illuminated with a new hi-score slot waiting for my initials to be put in.

“If I wanted to date Kenma, I would have just taken him here,” Kuroo muttered under his breath. “Well, you win. I bow down to you, Kat-chan. Queen of JuBEAT FESTO.”

“You don’t have to, but maybe we should go? It’s almost 20:30 and I don’t want to stay out too late. Let’s go grab a bite to eat, yeah?”

There were a few food cart vendors located down the street from the arcade. Their carts were lined up against the entrance way of an old park where there once was a sunflower field. Years of urbanization caused the flowers to no longer be planted, but in their stead, a field of peonies were grown. I took a seat on one of the benches facing the flowers. A warm smile graced my lips as I leaned down to pluck one off the field.

“Such a pretty flower for a pretty date,” Kuroo’s voice made me yelp in surprise. He cackled as he extended one of the taiyaki he bought toward me. “Here, I got you a taiyaki.” I took one of the fish shaped pastries an thanked him. We raised our fishes to each other and began to munch on them; we sat there for about half an hour making the time pass by playing a question game with each other.

“Your turn,” I reminded Kuroo with a nudge of my elbow. “Ask me anything you like.”

“Alright,” Kuroo replied. “Hmm...I got it! Kat, how many dates do we have to go on before I ask you to be my girlfriend?”

I leaned forward and folded my arms over my thighs, a hum drawn out into the air. I made direct eye contact with the peonies, the one I plucked remained on the bench. He had a puzzled emotion worn on his face.

“As many as it takes for me to believe you actually like me. Kuroo,” I swallowed thickly. “You’re someone who would break up with a girl over the fact that they bore you or that they didn’t understand your commitment to your team as captain. It’s going to take some time for me to believe your emotions toward me are genuine. Sure, we had fun at training camp, but I need you think this through. Are you sure you want to be with me?”

At this point, Kuroo stood up and immediately crouched down in front of me. The summer breeze made his hair dance in the wind along with the blooms behind him.

“I’m sure,” he replied. A hand of his combed a few pieces of my hair behind my ear; he grabbed the plucked peony blossom and placed it behind my exposed ear. “See? You do look more glamorous with it in your hair. C’mon, I suppose it’s time for me to walk you home.”

He pulled me up off the bench and placed a light kiss atop the crown of my head.

We arrived at the fork in the sidewalk where we would have originally had split up before, but instead Kuroo escorted me to the front courtyard of my apartment complex building. He held my hand the entire walk over, telling me more stories of his childhood with Kenma up until the time Kenma turned twelve and they climbed a tree to rescue a kitten.

“And that’s how Kenma had his first pet,” Kuroo said, a triumphant smile over his face.

“So it seems,” I replied, a shortened giggle fell out of my mouth. He raised my hand to his lips, thanking me for a wonderful outing. His thumb traced over my knuckles lightly. I removed the flower from behind my ear before offering it to him. He pushed it back toward me before he tilted my chin up to meet his gaze.

“Keep it, sweetheart,” his voice told me. He leaned down again and kissed me, slowly to quiet my irrational fears of not being wanted by him. One kiss was all it took for both of us to come to terms with our outlook on each other. My eyes fluttered open, my hand still wrapped around the peony’s stem. He kissed my cheek when I wasn’t looking directly at him.

“Go on upstairs. I’ll leave after you go,” he told me in an hazy tone. He squeezed my hand gently.

“Thank you for today,” I began as I turned around to open the door of the lobby. “See ya at school next week.”

***

About a month and half after our first date, Kuroo and I found ourselves curled up on the couch in his living room with a Ghibli film playing in the background. His arm was resting comfortably against my waist, drawing small circles on my skin. I turned my eyes away from the tv to look up at him before I decided I was done watching the film. I committed the minute details of his face to memory.

He cocked his head to the side with a curious brow lifted toward me right up until the moment I initiated a kiss. Kuroo did not object to this sign of affection pouring from me. His hand moved away from my waist to my back, then I felt his arms loop behind me to pull me over his lap. I found myself wrapping my legs around his waist as my hands made their way on to the fabric of his shirt prior to me holding on to it for balance as he began to work on deepening our kiss. I found myself smiling into every kiss he gave me, stealing every ounce of air he had inside his lungs. He rested his head against the crook of my neck, his breathing uneven.

“Three years of wondering what it would feel like to have you alone like this,” his voice reverberated gently against my skin causing a blush to dance across my face. Slowly, I felt his lips imprint open mouthed kisses up the side of my neck. He was gentle with me at first, much like the first person to kiss me like this. My breath was caught in my throat and it seemed he didn’t care as a whimper escaped my lips in anticipation not knowing where his lips were headed to next. Damn this boy, my inner thoughts cursed at him.

Each kiss gained momentum the closer his lips grazed against my own. In the past couple of dates that we had had, I mentioned off hand to Kuroo that if he were to kiss my neck, even playfully, I’d crumble beneath his touch. Smooth ass mother fucker, I thought.

“Shh...” I hushed him within a few seconds when I felt his one of his hands disappear under the back of my shirt and the other stabilized the back of my neck. I’d like to think he counted how many layers of clothing there was between us, but his coarse hands roamed my body curious to know how soft my skin was.

He pushed me forward, causing me to crash on to his demanding lips again; his hands were wrapped around my waist and mine laced lightly around the back of his neck, giving me more support to push myself into him more. His mouth was compressed against mine, yet this kiss remained as light as we had intended it to be. We sat like this for a few moments before our lips began to move rhythmically over the other, the pace being set by him.

I exhaled through my nose, not wanting to let go of him. There was an overwhelming feeling of mutual relief toward each other finally seeing what we could be. Relief raced out of hearts for a moment only to be replaced with this sense of combined eccentric panic, and lust. More, I thought. I need more of this kind of physical affection.

Kuroo’s hand on the small of my back travelled higher in an attempt to pull my shirt over my head, to which I shook my head in agreement.

“It’s too hot,” I said, lifting the fabric over my head and tossing it to the side. Kuroo’s eyed my exposed top half through running his hands up my sides. My chest rose and fell with every touch his grazed my skin.

“I concur,” he said. I shrugged before I leaned down, hands pressing his shoulders back on to the back of the couch. From there, I began my barrage of open mouthed kisses down his neck, leaving bite marks behind his ear. Hearing him hiss an exasperated sigh when he pulled me toward him causing me to stop.

My hair hung over my shoulders as Kuroo tilted his head up again to press his forehead against mine. He and I exchanged a few words making sure the other was doing ok; most of our replies were done in a hummed tone of the “yes,” variety.

Our heart rates needed to return to a normal pace prior to us continuing where we had left off. Kuroo’s playful shine in his eyes and smirk told me everything I wanted to know. I caressed his cheek when I pulled away, the inside of my palm warm from his flushed face.

“Kat,” he breathed my name so effortlessly it caused me to stop stroking the side of his face.

“Hmm?” my vocal chords vibrates at the sound of my name. “What is it?”

Suddenly, I took note of how Kuroo’s eyes were trying to refocus themselves on my face; pupils dilated meaning he felt the rush of serotonin enter his system. He shifted his weight underneath me and whispered something along the lines of “you’re staying over tonight,” in my ear to which I nodded. I didn’t have time to wait since I felt him stand up with his hands under my thighs.

“W-woah!” I said, stifling a laugh when I moved my arms around his neck for balance. “Where are you taking me?” As if I didn’t already know the answer. I arched my eyebrow up at him with a teasing expression.

“My room,” Kuroo answered, his eyes crinkled with a smile. “To continue where we left off kitten.”

#haikyu!! fiction #kuroo x 1st person pov #part 3 of 3 #another miniseries is done!

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