#and then i have to schedule a meeting w another prof who offered to be my advisor… i couldnt meet her last semester bc she was on sabbatical

[elpublico]

the end of break worrying myself sick abt returning to school….. most consistent thing in my life this has been happening since 1st grade

[naminethewriter]

Between Two Lives Chapter Three: Wrath

Masterpost | First | Previous | Next | Ao3

Story Summary: Written for Intrulogical Week 2022 @intrulogicalweek

Logan is stuck in Limbo until the Afterlife Registration Bureau processes his case so he can properly move onto a afterlife, whether that is heaven, hell, reincarnation or something else. While wandering around aimlessly, he’s approached by a demon that introduces himself as Remus and offers him a quicker way to the next life.

Content Warnings: Conspiracy Theories, Yelling, Rage Room

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Welcome to Sector W, Prof!” Remus cheerfully announces as they appear in another rather nondescript street in Limbo.

 “This… is not as obvious as the last one. Who is this sector for?” Logan asked, looking around. There were a lot of apartment buildings like in his own sector but also a lot of wide buildings he could only guess were either community centers or gyms.

 “You’ll see,” Remus grinned mischievously. “Come along, we’re going to attend a lecture.” That certainly peaked Logan’s interest.

 “A lecture? What about?”

 “Have some patience, doc. We won’t have to go far,” Remus answered with a quiet laugh, leading the way. Logan frowned – frowned, not pouted – and followed without another word. There were a lot of people around here, often talking in groups and waving their arms around like they were trying desperately to get a point across. Something about the sight made Logan uncomfortable. But before he could dwell on it for longer, Remus stopped.

 “Here we are!” he said joyfully. Logan followed his gaze to the entrance of a wide, one-story building. And his blood ran cold when he read the sign posted in front of it.

“Please tell me not here to attend that meeting,” he groaned. But Remus smile crushed his hopes before the demon even opened his mouth.

 “I could but that would mean lying to you! And you don’t want me to lie, do you?”

 Logan sighed audibly as his eyes returned to the sign that read: ‘Flat Earth Society, Meetings Every Day, Starting at 1pm’.

 “How would they even know if it’s 1pm?” he asked, already developing a headache. “Time works differently here.”

 “Oh, you’ll see soon enough!” Remus sing-songed, grabbing Logan’s arm and dragging him along. “Your challenge is to sit quietly and listen to them for two hours. No arguments, no rebuttals, no nothing.”

 “Isn’t one hour enough? Please, Remus, their believes go against everything I worked for my entire life!”

 “Nope, sticking with two! And that’s me being generous. I promise I’ll take you somewhere fun after if you can hold it in.” He shimmied his shoulders and Logan had a suspicion that he’s missing something but he rather not ask. Instead, he takes a few deep breaths before letting Remus drag him inside.

 At the entrance their given pins by a way too happy woman asking if it was their first time attending which Remus gleefully confirmed. Delightful to see new faces, she explained to them the schedule for the day and that they were free to grab drinks and food from the tables at the side. Logan did grab a water bottle, if only to keep himself from screaming.

 They took their seats and thankfully were left alone by any other conspiracy theorists because Logan might have punched whoever tried to discuss with him the flaws in his life’s work. They would listen to two speeches that would both last around an earth hour and then they could leave. Thankfully, Remus had timed their arrival well and soon the first speaker stepped up to the podium.

 Thirty minutes in, Logan was contemplating smashing his head against the backrest of the chair in front of him. And the first ten minutes was just introductions to today’s speakers, thank yous to the organizers and volunteers, as well as a memorial to a guy called ‘Mad Mike’ Hughes who died trying to go to space in a self-built rocket and crashed. Logan had had tears in his eyes and not because he was sad.

 “They can try all they want to keep us from the truth,” the current speaker boasted, “they can confide us here in this facility all they like, but we will not be shaken!” Loud applause followed his proclamation, but Logan tuned them out. He turned to Remus.

 “What does he mean ‘facility’?”

 “Oh,” Remus giggled, seemingly having waited for Logan to ask him just that question. “A lot of the people here believe they aren’t actually dead but that they came too close to figuring out the truth so the government locked them in here so they can’t gather any more followers.”

 Logan stared at him like he had grown a second head.

 “Wha- How? What government? How would anyone be able to afford that?!” Remus just shrugged and put his finger against his lips, motioning for Logan to continue listening. Taking a big gulp from his water bottle, Logan swallowed down all the curses and questions he had. Arguing with people like this won’t work, he knew that, but that made listening to them any easier.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 As soon as the second speaker ended his speech and applause broke out in the audience, Logan was on his feet, walking towards the exit. Remus followed him, the biggest grin on his face. The woman that had greeted them earlier wished them a good day and said that she hoped they would come again but Logan didn’t even look at her. He just wanted to leave and get away from all of these people as soon as possible.

 He didn’t stop outside though but kept walking stubbornly down the road. Remus followed him silently, wondering what was about to happen. They continued like that until they reached the end of the sector. Logan stopped at the border, standing ridged and still.

 “So,” Remus began after a few moments of silence, but was cut off as Logan started loudly screaming into the void.

 “FALSEHOOD! YOU ARE ALL IDIOTS! FUCKING IDIOTS! EVEN ARISTOTLE KNEW THE EARTH IS ROUND! IMBECILES!”

 Silence fell over them again as Logan took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

 “Damn, Wristwatch,” Remus said eventually. “That was fucking hot.” Logan ignored his comment.

 “I pass your challenge, I presume?”

 “Yeah, you did. I’m impressed, I thought you would blow up in the first hour.”

 “It was a certainly a close call. Now, I believe you said you would take me somewhere fun?”

 “Sure thing! Gimme your hand and we’ll be on our way.” Logan did so without another word, just wanting to get away from that cursed place. The two reappeared in a plaza of some kind, with imposing buildings surrounding it. It reminded Logan a lot of old city centers in Europe.

 “Welcome to the neutral zone! Or Sector Zero if you want. This place is not really for undecided souls like yourself, but nobody should question you as long as you stick with me. Now, no need to pop your eyes out of their sockets, we’ll be back here soon.” Remus again dragged Logan with him, this time towards a café.

 The inside reminded Logan vaguely of Starbucks and the place had a few customers but wasn’t unbearingly full. Remus didn’t hesitate to approach the counter where a man in a leather jacket and with sunglasses stood, staring at his phone. He didn’t have any characteristics that would identify him as a demon or angel but somehow Logan doubted he was just any random soul.

 “Remy!” Remus greeted cheerfully. “We need the bashing room.” The man looked up and raised an eyebrow.

 “Remus, babe! Long time no see. And you brought someone new along.”

 “Yeah! This is Lo Lo. He’s an astronomy professor and I just made him listen to flat earthers for two hours, so he needs to hit some things,” Remus explained, jumping up and down.

 “I would, too, if I had to sit through that. Kinda harsh, gurl. Follow me.” Remy led them through a door off to the side and through a few corridors before he stops in front of a door with a sign on it that read ‘free’. He flips it over so that it instead said ‘occupied’.

 “You know how it works, Rem. Don’t break each other and no making out. It’s not that kind of letting off steam and you know it.” He points an accusing finger at Remus who flips him off. With a roll of his eyes, Remy leaves.

 “What are we doing?” Logan asked as Remus opened the door and ushered him inside.

 “Rage room! The unlimited kind! You can bash whatever you want with whatever you want as long as it isn’t alive. Get out all that frustration you just built up.” Logan looked skeptical.

 “Isn’t that dangerous?”

 “I just told you yesterday. You don’t have a flesh prison anymore; nothing can actually hurt you. Except some very specific stuff that you won’t find here. But if you’re too much of a scaredy cat, you can have some protective stuff. Now what do you want to hit and what do you want to hit with?”

 Logan hesitated for a moment more before shrugging. Might as well.

 “Give me a bat.”

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 “You should’ve seen him, Janny. I could’ve traced the veins on his head. If he still had an actual body, I might’ve feared they would pop.” Remus rambled about his day while Janus stroked his hair.

 “So he was predictably furious. I hope you didn’t torture him for too long.”

 “I didn’t! It was just two earth hours, that is basically nothing!”

 “I am so proud of you for showing such restraint,” Janus commented dryly, causing his boyfriend to giggle.

 “Thank you, it was really hard.”

 “Yes, I’m sure it was.” He fondly rolled his eyes. They fell into silence for a moment. “You’re really starting to like him, aren’t you?” Janus asked quietly.

 “I mean, kinda. He’s fun to be around.” Remus played with the seams on his shirt, not looking his boyfriend in the eyes. Janus sighed.

 “Just be careful not to push him too far, Muse. He’s just a human, after all.”

 “Yeah, I know.”

[musicbizgradstud]

week ONE - kinda (you’ll see what i mean)

Wowzers. We are really out here. I would content that this is the end of the first week. I got to meet my classmates, take one class, do an assload of reading and meet my first classmate IRL. And I’ve done some thinking about what the hell this program is about. Some of which has been really nice and wholesome, and some of which leaves me with a lot of question marks. 

=]

Okay just took a hit from my blunt lets goooo. 

It’s 2020 and I’m a college student. My school luckily has been fairly communicative about the “expectations.” So pretty early on in the summer we knew that we were going to be online. That this was going to be a virtual exchanges. Now I’ll admit that I had a fair share of blind optimism of it all going to be “fine” and it all going to “work out great.” Without giving too much thought to what any of that would really feel like or mean. So as people were asking me what it’s like or how I was feeling about it, I found that question complicated because I Was figuring what i wanted my answer to be, but i didn’t know if I was going to like it. (I guess i wanted to like my answer which wasn’t the question. ah well.)

I met with a second year student to buy some books from them (side not buy the 2nd edition of winogradskys book, trust me). They were a little older, did a career pivot and entered the program. The previous career was not related to music at all. They had an internship turned job, a research gig, and managing “a few” artists. ONE YEAR. HALF OF IT IN A PANDEMIC. now i don’t know the steps, pace or how it went down. I just feel compelled to say that a lot happened and as I see this person next I’ll comment that I just am flabbergasted that they accomplished so much. Was the info they got from classes that helpful? Did they have a rich friend? Did the profs turn it out? I have some thoughts. 

**so classes did a lot to simulate thought, provide examples, and share information. So for this particular student, they emphasized the extra-circular aspect as what was important. The classes provided them tons of the nuts and bolts. Contracts, parts of the business, publishing, rights mgmt. There were lots of shows. (This is what i see as the kicker) Going to shows is where you could see people participating in their projects. Meet/see their friends who are in their orbit. Get an idea of how the world turns in a few different scenes. Through that, since you’re more or less an adult, you can make those kind of contacts faster. People just generally seem more interested in what you do, and trying to find tethers or connections b/t them and you. Sometimes it turns into a coffee. Or a biz meeting. But at the shows, people are chill. people are down to chat with randos. As a music business student, you can totally market your skills as a manger. You basically see the world of music and the ways it makes money. Great managers want to make money. So as a graduate educating/ed strapping young manager, you have a leg above other young strapping managers. And for the internship, depending on the program, I can actually see lots of companies wanting to keep people around for more than a semester if the work they do is good. It might not be full-time or dream paychecks, but it gets your resume started and due to inertia, you may be able to stick around. it is also, as a side note, helpful in terms of creating a center of gravity. 

CENTER OF GRAVITY: When I worked in coffee, after about a year and a half, I had built my center. I worked for a certain company full-time so i spend lots of hours there. People who worked for other companies in the same industry would come through. The ones I was friendly with I would take more care to say hi and hear about how they’re doing. On my days off, I would visit them at their jobs, and even at the later stages, I would be interacting with them On a professional2professional basis. As my company grew and our “scene” grew, as I would be building my week to week schedule all things felt in sync. Going out was an easy thing to arrange, getting people together was simple to arrange because everyone’s life rhymed. All ended work at a certain point. All started basically around the same time. All encountered similar day to day #1 world probz. There were also natural breaks where when i needed to get away to visit a friend or different group, i could break the rhyme and rejoin it almost effortlessly. So in regards to music. Once that rhyme gets established, your work breeds interaction with local people/places/activities/cultural moments/movements etc. Then you take those common understandings to others who work, and your play becomes an extension of your work, but in a meaningful way (you choose who you’re cool with to chill). You figure out what is the “go-to” hangout, you are socialized enough to be comfortable making choices that suit your needs. Not feeling overly worried about what a decision might mean or if it’ll negatively effect you. Life becomes similar. Then as my world felt more established, it even felt easier to meet other people. They saw my life and its patterns and I could glimpse and see theirs.

What is fascinating right now is that I am getting used to a completely different style. I don’t understand it. I don’t know where I fit. I don’t even know if there is a fit right now. 

 We finally when they hosted orientation for all 30 of us last Monday. The moment where I would meet the next “cohort” of professionals entering the music industry. It was an hour long zoom call with 30+ participants. 30 of us students and four or so faculty/staff members. It was hectic and gnarly to say the least. So many new faces, marred with expectations of what I thought they were going to be like meeting the reality. Lots of working people. I think what is pretty evident is that with the exception of three or so students, of those working in music right now, everyone is loaded with the side hustles. Being a “project manager/marketer/label mgmt/etc. Etc.” To some of those people I’m just amazed that they feel they have enough time to dedicate to full-time school. We did a little ice breaker where we did names, where were calling from, undergrad degree, “fun fact” (I h8 fun facts. Like what the fuck). I didn’t take notes, but I saw the whirl of information, people and backgrounds from all over the place. There were no two similar people. It was actually pretty beautiful. The power that this cohort can have on sheer experience alone is pretty fab.

///

First class was hilarious because we all reintroduced ourselves (kind of for the prof), but in a big way for all of us. We got to see faces, hear names and context. So no hate here. The prof had sent out  three questions to keep in mind. These questions lead me to do additional research outside of the assigned readings. So i had a jumbled pil;e of thoughts assembled and the prof started a question as a line of thinking. Difficult to track where the conversation was going, I saw classmates pipe in, sharing experiences, thoughts, real-world examples. I was just fit to be tied. I had so many thoughts. I didn’t voice a single one because i dind’t know how to use the technology to my advantage. (Next time i’ll use the chat to pipe in an additional thought, but if i have an urgent or concept changing idea i’ll raise my hand. 

The debate was 1st amendment protections vs. copyright. Copyright is a limited length monopoly over a creative work. 1st amendment rights guarantees an individual the right to express themselves w/o worry of damnation. But what if what you want to express is a copyrighted material? Well. There are a few things that the law sets up to give temporary lapse to that limited monopoly. Sadly, systematically those lapses in the law, have generally benefited white creators/performers and left behind style-defining black and colored creators. The law not benefitted them as a Jim Crow feeling law. But as a problem with how the law was interpreted and acted on by companies in the scene. How they used the law to make a profit. To give an example. Little Richard is often considered the father of rock and roll. The ways in which he influenced later generations is unparalleled. Set up an industry that is making millions of millions of dollars. Talk about cultural relevance right? You would think someone (or their estate) that has their style and influence in so many places would be sitting pretty. Well. The law only guarantees you to so much. If you were a songwriter, you are compensated for a number of rights. Public performance/mechanicals etc. These rates are set by the government. You can calculate pretty easily where your payout is. But it is ONLY for a few streams.Right now the rates are pretty low, they’ve been set low for a long time.So lets say you are lucky and you are Also the recording artist.well cool! You get another pot of royalty money from the exploitation of your recording which contains your vocal flair, aesthetic energy. It’s great. Those rates are also set, but in a private negotiations. So your rate could be pretty high. Oh you also get lump sums of money against advance so there is cash flow™️. The other advantage is that if you aren’t the songwriter, you can benefit almost seemingly MORE than the writer because you have streams that are attached to you because you offered a “performacne” of it and that is what sticks with audiences. So sadly songs written, stylished and performed by little Richard originally can be re-purposed, re-recorded basically copying and the songwriter is obliged to allow you to do this. In fact publishing companies really can’t give an F. They get additional mechanical royalties but it just *FEELS* wrong. You can copy a Black artists style, voice and dance moves for the profit of your creative pursuit and only compensate them in a monetary way that for the record is *incredibly* low for the sheer amount of value that is being copied? 

That’s the delimemma that i want to paint this week. there are a number of these things that just feel wrong, but due to the protections that the law provides, it is perfectly legal and oftentime encouraged by capitalism to do. So the behavior becomes justified and left alone. 

So value. Where does it come from? How is it recognized in this moment? Who is it taking from? How are they apart of this chain? Do they know or communicate with who they’re coping? The “recorded-music-part” of the music industries future will have to answer these questions. Is it fair? How could it change? Makes me want to work in rights management to really understand how these decisions are getting maid. So maybe a publisher, that new org that is going to disperse mechanicals really really interests me. So maybe I’ll work for them :) 

Alright That’s all for now. Looking to meet more peopleIRL. People have their head in the game. Everyone who I’ve met does have their head in the game, but I can’t wait to meet more. Talk soon. 

[maknaesdancersrappers]

on the first day of kinkmas, my lover did to me:

[ a n g r y s e x ]

>TAEYONG

>warning/s: face fucking, unprotected sex

a/n: when i was at the sleepover, my friend told me about how he and the girl he’s seeing gets off at hating on a person and we were laughing so hard because it’s technically hate/angry sex right?? Just not towards each other lol anD ALSO THIS TEACHER WAS BASED OFF A REAL PROF I HAD BACK IN COLLEGE THAT COST ME A “Failure due to absences” MARK ON MY RECORDS i was that chicken towards him and i feel like most of this was just me shitting on him huhuhu if soMEONE FROM MY SCHOOL RECOGNIZES WHO THIS IS IM GONNA-- pls dont spread it around if u kno who this prof is huhuhuhuhu im probably //already// on his hitlist

-

Everyone hated at least one teacher they had come across in school; you met yours during Junior year in college. Mr. Chon was your Writing for Film elective professor and you’ve heard all the stories about how strict and uptight he was. You had blockmates who had him as a prof last semester and they always talked about how every meeting with him was living hell. You weren’t happy at the news, especially since he wasn’t even the prof you signed up for in the beginning.

There was only one class for the elective and you were able to get into the list before the final enrollment date, but because more people signed up for it and the registrar is absolute shit; you, along with other people, have been transferred to a new class--with the strictest, terror prof known in school.

You tried to appeal to the registrar for you to move back, but they put the blame on the Department of Comm for the class list and in the end, you weren’t allowed to move.

The first meeting with Mr. Chon was terrifying. Everyone in the room felt like they couldn’t breathe; so quiet that you could hear a pin drop and the air conditioning system sounded deafening. This elective was comprised mostly of Comm students and there were only a few of you that weren’t; one of which was your seatmate, Lee Taeyong, a dance major.

Before Mr. Chon entered the room, the two of you promised to help each other since your free time matched one another’s and neither of you wanted to do this alone. His friends ditched him last minute when he enrolled, opting for another elective he didn’t have the prerequisite of.

The first couple of classes with Mr. Chon was bearable. He made you guys watch highly rated films from his favorite directors during class and series like ‘Lost’ and ‘Designated Survivor’ for weekend homework. When it came to the first assignment, which was to pitch film ideas, it was all easy going aside from the one slip up majority of the class, with you included, of not printing it out in the specific format he made clear on the first day.

Strike one.

But when the time came to start working on the final project, as it is a full script for a film, the stress of it all came piling up. Mr. Chon gave out assignments to create character sheets, a lesson he never gave on, and expected you to submit a properly written one from research alone.

But before you can even create character sheets, he had to choose and approve a logline from the ones you’ve submitted beforehand. You tried to be nice and formal in your emails to him, always ending the message with a “Thank you and God bless.”

His replies sounded harsh despite the lack of words that would support that description. He had reprimanded you for submitting an edited version of the logline you presented in class, saying that no matter how good it was, if it was not submitted properly the day he had expected to receive it on a printed paper, he had expected you to revise all off them.

Strike two.

So you apologized for your mistake and made new loglines; and luckily he had chosen one that suited his taste. When it came to creating a character sheet, you were reprimanded for the format and given an example on how to make a proper one. However, you didn’t quite understand the file he had sent and took your chance into making minor changes to your previous submission, taking into account the little information you’ve understood from the text.

Strike three.

He reprimanded you (AGAIN), through email, for the ‘pathetic’ edit you’ve made. Ordering you to personally consult him after class or through scheduled one-on-one meetings in the Comm office where two other assistants can be witnesses to the whole ordeal.

This was indeed disadvantageous to you because while your classmates had the freedom to consult him 24/7 through email, you had to wait for class--one you had once a week--before you can even officially start anything, and that’s IF he approves anything.

At this point, you gave up; on him, the class, and your grade. It might be too late to officially drop out of class, but you can use up all your allowed absences until he’s failed you for it.

You were upset at your decision but it was the best sounding option you had, even Taeyong agreed to it because he couldn’t even get his loglines approved. You agreed to accompany him when he had his one-on-one consultation for his third revision of loglines and nearly half an hour later, he practically stormed out of the office while violently whispering to you that he was joining your little ‘boycott’ of the subject after Mr. Chon told him to revise everything again in the most passive aggressive manner.

Both of you had three allowed absences before your final grades would be considered FA (Failure due to Absences) and the two of you spent the supposed class hours together instead to ease each other of the anxiety of it all.

“I hate him.” You snarled, throwing your head back to gulp the can of beer Taeyong had offered you. “It wasn’t even fair to begin with!”

It was the last allowed absence you had for class. The thought of it made you cry, thinking how it would tarnish your records and disappoint your parents if they find out.

Taeyong wipes your tear with his thumb. You had oddly gotten close with Taeyong because of the elective; working together to do your assignments, consulting one another for suggestions, and especially sharing mutual hate for the class. It was maybe a month and a half already, but it’s as if you and Taeyong had been friends since freshman year.

“We both enrolled and paid on time for the original class and prof, why were we the ones moved?” You sniffed, silently thanking Taeyong for inviting you to his dorm so you could vent out your feelings to someone who understands the situation.

“I know. But the system sucks, what can a couple of students do against them?” He sighs, rubbing his eyes in frustration; probably wanting to cry as well with how his voice shook. He was his organization’s vice president and he had plans to run as president the next year, but with an FA grade, he doubts he can even make the minimum CQPA to run as treasurer. “Ah, hyung would be so disappointed if I don’t take his spot as org president.”

You glance at the wall clock as you take another gulp of beer, “T-there’s like 30 minutes before class actually starts… should we just go?”

Taeyong snaps his attention towards you, “Are you crazy? And what will we say for ditching class for two meetings? We don’t have anything to present to him. He might as well give us an ‘F’ as fat as him if we show up empty handed.”

You hated how he was right; Mr. Chon would probably eat you alive in front of class for doing so. “Yeah, w-we shouldn’t. We need to commit to this stupid idea of ours.”

A phone begins to ring and Taeyong stands up to answer the call outside.

You let your gaze wander around the room, noting how clean and organized it was. You vaguely remember him telling you how he always cleaned up after his roommate, but he took no offence to it, rather enjoying the act of tidying up as a stress reliever or time killer.

As you finish off your beer, you receive a notification for a new email from no other than Mr. Chon, reminding you of the consequences if you don’t show up to class and the way he had worded it so condescendingly made your blood boil, and on top of that had it CC’d to both assistants AND the chairperson of the department, you just felt utter rage from embarrassment.

You put your phone down before you could even reply with the most improper and vulgar message you can think of. At the same time, you hear the front door slam and Taeyong is stalking into the room; face red and nostrils flared.

Before you could even ask, he’s screaming in frustration: “Our president found out that I’m purposefully failing a class and is demanding me to attend it! He even went as far as threatening to take me off my position as vice president!”

“Then make him go through the class and let’s see how he deals with Mr. Chon, who, by the way, just emailed us. He’s reminding us of the consequences and you know what’s worse? He had copies of the email sent to both assistants and the chairperson of the department! Like, was that even necessary?”

“What the hell?” He checks his phone immediately, scowling when he finds the email. “What is his problem?! Does he get off of our misery or something? I’ve never dealt with this kind of prof before! He doesn’t even fucking teach!”

You don’t really know Taeyong long enough to think formulate this opinion, but you’ve never seen him so angry and honestly, he looked hot.

Maybe he caught how you looked at him, but one second he’s ready to spit out more hate, instead he slams his lips over yours, grabbing the sides of your face with his hands after dropping his phone to the floor.

It caught you off guard; making you stumble back a few steps at how he met your lips, your hands flying to grasp the cloth of his shirt around his waist. He steadies you against him, slipping his fingers over your nape as his tongue licks your bottom lip.

When you part your lips to make way for him, he wastes no time slipping the wet muscle into your mouth and exploring the warm cavern. You both moan at the contact of your tongues, tasting each other of the beers and mints you previously had.

“Fuck,” He gasps in between kisses, “I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. You look so hot when you’re angry.” You guide his hand over your chest.

“Yeah?” Taeyong squeezes your breast, moving his lips onto your jaw. He slides his thigh between your legs and rubs it over your crotch, hurriedly.

Stifling a moan, you stretch your neck out to give him more access and thread your fingers through his hair as you grind yourself on him.

He brings his mouth over yours again after slipping his hands under your shirt to get a better feel of your boobs, pressing his thumbs over your nipples until they were pert to his touch. He helps you out of your blouse, using the moment your lips are separated to unhook your bra. While he shrugs out of his own shirt, you fall to your knees and begin to to unzip his pants.

Once you were able to push his pants down and free his cock out of his briefs, you engulf most of his length as best as you can, tightening a grip on the few centimeters with one hand.

Taeyong cusses above you, moaning low as he combs your head back.

A ringtone erupts from below you and you fish out his phone out of his pants, handing it to him before resuming your previous act. “Answer it.”

He swallows hard as he obeys your request, not even giving the caller ID a glance before picking it up. “Hello?”

You watch him through your lashes, continuing to lick the underside of his cock.

“Wha-Calm down! I’ve made up mind! I’m not going to class and it’s way too late now.” He shouts into his phone, catching you by surprise.

You meant to pull away but his hand pushes you back down his cock, forcing the tip all the way to the back of your throat. You thank your ability to control your gag reflex and let yourself get used to the feeling; hollowing out your cheeks as he thrusts into your mouth.

“Shit, li-listen, I’m n-not going to beg Mr. Chon to let me back in class! I--what? So what if I’m with a girl-- I didn’t-- Prez, you’re being ridiculous!” He growls, pushing you away and kicking his pants completely off in anger. “You can’t just kick me off the team! I’m--”

You rise up from the floor, wiping the spit that dribbled down your chin. Warily, you watched Taeyong huff at his phone, ready to throw it to the ground but glances at you.

In a beat, he’s turning you around and pinning you against the back of an armchair; making quick work of your jeans and pushing them down your ankles with his foot once he got it past your knees.

“Did he threaten to kick you off the team?” You quietly ask, breathing rapidly as Taeyong cards his fingers through your pussy.

“He already has. He’s so abusive with his power! He was only elected president because he has connections to sponsors.” He grumbles behind you, “He also keeps reusing past choreo for new pieces! No one has the guts to call him out for it. I even made the fucking mistake of trying to befriend him because now I just get pushed around by him!”

You reach behind you to guide his cock into your pussy, “Let it out, Taeyong. If you’re really off the team, you’re not his lacke--”

You’re cut-off with a gasp as Taeyong surges forward, penetrating into you.

“I’m not his lackey!” He hisses, clawing your hips for support as he thrusts his hips repeatedly. “I’m the fucking vice president of the dance team!”

“What kind of president pushes around the VP like that then? Are you sure you were elected as vice president and not his lackey?”

“Stop calling me that!” He yells, snapping his hips harder into yours and eliciting a high shriek from you.

You bend over the armchair, grabbing at the pillows to anchor yourself against the force Taeyong was going at. You can feel your walls already accommodating his girth as they pushed in and out of you. Your lower abdomen tightens as your legs start to quiver in excitement; your orgasm is coming faster than you anticipated.

“T-Tae, I’m going to-- I’m really, really close--”

He grunts, moving you to the couch while still pounding into you. He only pulls you off of his dick to spin you around so you would be facing him and sits down, wasting no time as he hooks his fingers around your thighs to have you sit on his lap.

“You know,” He starts, guiding his cock back into your awaiting entrance, “That goddamn class is the reason why our president is so harsh on me. I was either going to practices late or leaving early to work on our stupid assignments.”

“Ugh, the root of all our problems is because of that goddamn class! It’s still unfair how we were transferred to Mr. Chon’s class.” You adjusted your legs so you could carry your weight as you begin to ride him.

“Don’t even mention that asshole! He keeps bragging about how he wrote scripts for indie films and how he was mentored by great, award-winning scriptwriters, but he never bothered actually teaching us shit.” He punctuates his complaint with a hard thrust upwards.

You moan out loud, dragging the sound until your head is situated on the crook of his neck. “Do that again.”

He obeys--multiple times; each with an insult towards your professor.

“Aah, I’m comi--!” Taeyong pulls you in for a kiss, drowning out your cries of pleasure as he holds your hips down for him to drive his cock into with a more calculated force.

You come with your toes curled and head thrown back in a silent cry while Taeyong thumbs furious circles over your clit and chases after his own high.

“In me, in me.” You chant, still shaking from your release.

Taeyong moans, “Shit, really?”

After confirming with a nod, he shoots his load into you; sensing immense warmth overcome your belly as you help him ride it out. When you take his cock out and proceed to sit back down on his lap, you can already feel it drip out of you.

“I can’t believe I got off for being so pissed.” Taeyong breathes, covering his eyes with his palm. “I hope I didn’t hurt you.”

“Not at all.” You clamber off of him, dropping your weight to the space beside him. “I liked it and I guess… sort of needed it, too.”

He turns his head towards you and snorts, “We deserved it after that hell of an elective. We’ll be weakshits to those who stayed, but whatever, yeah?”

“I value my sanity, thank you.” You laugh and he joins you. “The only thing good that came out of this was you.”

Taeyong’s lips twitched into a smile, “Yeah. We wouldn’t have met if not for that damned class. If we didn’t help each other out with Chon’s assignments…”

“We would have died way earlier.”

He chuckles, “Yeah, but, uhm, no, not just that… what I mean is that I wouldn’t have gotten to know you and,”

You blink at him, “And?”

“I can’t do this with my dick out, [Y/N]. Hold on.”

“Your dick is fine--it’s amazing, in fact.” You grab his shoulders when he tried to get up, “Taeyong, I like you.”

Taeyong bursts out laughing, “We’re really confessing in the nude?”

“Think of it this way: if you feel the same way, it’s so much easier to get down to business.” You cock a brow at him and he shrugs with puckered lips.

“Then, I like you, too.” He says, twisting his torso to face you and dragging his thumb across your lower lip, “So, round two?”

Snorting, you cup his face and pull him in for a kiss, “How about we exclude shitty profs and abusive friends?”

Taeyong hoists you up in his arms, carrying you so that either of your legs were secured over his hips. He starts to walk away from the couch, grinning at you as you squealed in surprise at his action, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

-

a/n: this feels so rushed because of my internet situation ;A;

[thisdaynews]

BREAKING:IPPIS October deadline: No pay, no work, union tells FG

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/breakingippis-october-deadline-no-pay-no-work-union-tells-fg/

BREAKING:IPPIS October deadline: No pay, no work, union tells FG

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

The Academic Staff Union of Universities will on Monday (today) meet with the leadership of the National Assembly as part of its battle against the controversial Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

A source in the nation’s parliament confided in one of our correspondents that the meeting would be held behind closed doors today (Monday).

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

 He said, “It has been confirmed that the ASUU leadership will meet the leadership of the National Assembly on Monday. The meeting will centre on the ongoing face-off between ASUU and the Federal Government over the IPPIS saga.”

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

President Muhammadu Buhari, had during the 2020 budget presentation at the National Assembly on October 8, ordered that all public sector workers must register for the IPPIS to save cost and fight corruption by blocking leakages in the Federal Government’s salary payment structure.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

But ASUU had last week opposed the  President’s directive, saying the IPPIS negated the law on university autonomy.

The Accountant-General of the Federation, Alhaji Ahmed Idris, who faulted  ASUU, said the union’s position was an open endorsement of corruption.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

Also, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, had on Thursday said no government agency must resist the payment system.

The Special Adviser to the Senate President on Media and Publicity, Ola Awoniyi, on Sunday confirmed ASUU’s meeting with the National Assembly leadership.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

He said the meeting would hold at 11am in his principal’s conference room.

Awoniyi in a WhatsApp message to one of our correspondents, wrote, “The Academic Staff Union of Universities will meet His Excellency, the Senate President, on Monday at Meeting Room 301 by 11am.”

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

When contacted, the ASUU National President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, also confirmed the meeting, but declined to provide details of demands the union would table before the Senate President.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

“The most important thing is that we are meeting tomorrow (Monday). We want to discuss the Nigerian education generally. All issues (including the IPPIS) will be touched. I think that is enough,” the ASUU president noted.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

No pay, no work, union tells FG

But the South-West branch of the union on Sunday reiterated its opposition to the Federal Government’s move to enrol university lecturers in the IPPIS.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

The ASUU leaders from the South-West during a press conference held at the University of Ibadan, described the IPPIS as “a one-size-fits-all approach tainted with corrupt tendencies.”

The ASUU position was made known by the Coordinator of the South-West, Prof. Ade Adejumo, who led the Chairman of the University of Ibadan chapter, Prof Deji Omole, and its Investment Secretary, Prof. Ayo Akinwole, to address journalists at the ASUU Secretariat on the UI campus.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

Adejumo was asked what would be the reaction of the union to the Federal Government’s statement that anyone who failed  to register  for the  IPPIS by  October 31  would not be paid, he said, “ASUU’s  position has always remained no pay, no work.”

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

Adejumo berated the Accountant-General of the Federation for alleging that ASUU was encouraging corruption by its opposition to  the IPPIS.

He said the IPPIS was rather capable of encouraging corruption, more so that its civil service nature negated the legal administration of universities.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

Adejumo said, “Sequel to this fact of the peculiar nature of universities from the civil service, Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government, government had agreed to the autonomy of public universities in Nigeria and had signed into law the Universities Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Act in 2003.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

“The IPPIS clearly violates the law. The Universities Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Act 2003, provides in Section 2AA unequivocally, as follows: ‘the power of the council shall be exercised, as in the laws and statutes of each university and to that extent, establishment circulars that are inconsistent with the laws and statutes of the university shall not apply to the universities.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

“Inter alia, the 1992 Act establishing, for example, the Federal Universities of Agriculture Section 8 (1 and 4) provides; ‘Subject to the provisions of this Act relating to the visitor, the council shall be the governing body of each university and shall be charged with the general control and superintendence of the policy, finance and property of the university. The council shall ensure that proper accounts of the university are kept and that the accounts of the university are audited annually by an independent firm of auditors approved by the council.’

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

“Our union has no reason to believe that the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will flagrantly act against the law, which he vowed to uphold in his oath of office.”

While declaring that ASUU had aversion for corruption,  Adejumo asked the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to name Nigeria’s  corrupt public officials it recovered about N273bn from.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

“Who were the culprits that have been sanctioned for such infractions?” he asked.

On the retirement schedule of academics which is 70 years for professors, the union stated that the IPPIS only recognised 60 years of age.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

He stated, “The IPPIS is too rigid a platform that it discountenances the peculiarities of the university system in the sacred areas of replacement or recruitment of academics, mobility of academic staff for visiting, adjunct, part-time and sabbatical offers.

“Not only these, academics are chopped off the platform at the age of 60 thereby creating bottlenecks in the collection of salaries and emoluments because once the name of a worker is removed, such a victim will continue to frequent Abuja until it is rectified. The victim not only abandons his duty post, but faces the hazards on the Nigerian roads. The platform also does not capture the earned academic allowances and remunerations due to academics who retire before the age of 65.”

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

Adejumo also berated the Federal Government for failing to implement the 2009 agreement, stressing that the government had not released its report on the presidential audit visitation panel to universities.

He said vice-chancellors had been turned to “errand boys” of some assistant directors who summoned them to Abuja at will through text messages.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

He said, “Our members are poised to pursue another patriotic struggle that will assert sanity in the university system and in the country at large. The tools of the struggle are now being primed and oiled, the union will have no blame when they begin to grind.”

IPPIS: Our fears – Gombe State varsity lecturers

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

Also,  the Chairman of ASUU at the Gombe State University, Dr Oladimeji Lawal, in an interview with The PUNCH, said the IPPIS would duplicate the functions of universities’ governing councils.

He said the IPPIS model was developed in such a manner that anyone above 60 years of age would not receive salary.

He also said ASUU had a better alternative.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

Lawal stated, “So, if you are brought into this net, automatically if you are 61, 62 years, you will not get paid because the system was programmed not to recognise any worker who is more than 60 years.

“Universities around the globe are created as ivory towers. This explains the autonomous status of institutions; their freedom, ability to operate in a manner in which universities operate elsewhere. The power to recruit staff, pay as and when necessary, to expand without being subjected to bureaucratic control which is typical of the civil service. Government seems to approach universities as one of its departments and agencies. We have a better model than the IPPIS.”

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

Lawal added that it was not true that the IPPIS would ensure accountability and transparency.

He wondered why federal and state governments had failed to constitute visitation panels in the  public institutions.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

He stated, “The fact that we say universities have autonomy does not mean that fraudulent activities can’t be prosecuted. In as much as the governing council has the right to supervise the running of these universities, the visitor has the authority from time to time to constitute a visitation panel, to overhaul whatever that must have happened in five years with a view to establishing whether things were rightly or wrongly done.”

UNILORIN VC knocks ASUU

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

But the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Sulyman  Abdulkareem, knocked ASUU for rejecting the IPPIS.

The vice-chancellor,  during a press conference in the university, supported the Federal Government on the IPPIS.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

Abdulkareem said, “ASUU’s logic is not clear to me. I wonder why ASUU is taking a different position after attending a meeting with the representatives of all the five unions in the nation’s university system with the representatives of the Federal Government where they were adequately briefed on the new policy.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

“I want to appeal to members of ASUU not to delay the October salary of the staff of federal universities with their action because the new system will not change their salaries. It is only the nomenclature that is changing.”

He explained that with the IPPIS, the Federal Government would maintain the payment of its employees’ salaries without cheating them.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

The vice-chancellor stated,   “What probably is the fear of many of the academic members of staff  is that the system would expose them for not working for the money they earn in their primary place of engagement.”

We are in agreement with FG–OAU management

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

Although the Vice-Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife, Osun State, Prof  Eyitope  Ogunbodede,  was not available for comment, the Public Relations Officer of the university, Mr Abiodun Olanrewaju, said from the available records, only ASUU among other unions in the university was opposed to the IPPIS.

Olanrewaju, who reacting on behalf of the authorities of the institution, said as far as the management was concerned, it was in agreement with the Federal Government on the issue.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

Olanrewaju said, “We have different unions on the university and the only union that the Federal Government says is not cooperating is ASUU.

“So, I would have expected  reactions from ASUU. It is purely a union matter and has nothing to do with the university. On the matter, we are in agreement with the Federal Government.”

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

ASUU faction takes stand today

However, a breakaway faction of ASUU, the Congress of University Academics, will make its position on the IPPIS known on Monday (today).

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

The National Legal Adviser of the union, Ayodeji Ige, in an interview with one of our correspondents on Sunday, said, “The decision will be taken tomorrow (today). A decision will be taken tomorrow and we will make it known to the media. The appropriate organs will address the press conference.”

[elianas-cozycorner]

Astronomy (Credence Barebone/Reader)

“Hello, lovelies! This little idea came about in a roleplay with a great friend of mine, @maximoffmarveltrash. She’s so detailed with our roleplays there was no way I couldn’t help but write for Credence outside of the roleplay. I took stuff directly from the rp, to be honest. This takes place in Hogwarts, Golden Trio Era, with a Slytherin Credence and a Professor Newt (Who is a huge help to you). I gave you a house in this one, my apologies! At least, you get stuck with my house; Hufflepuff! Please enjoy!

“Hey,” You turned to your friend, a curious look on your face. “Do you reckon Professor Scamander would let me have one of the baby Nifflers he recently acquired? I mean, with the Christmas break coming up and Credence having to go home to... Her for the holidays, I would like to get him one of those little rascals as a present. I mean, to help him cope. I know he loves the Nifflers and I... I dunno... Thought it was a good idea?”

"I dunno. Why are you asking me?" You walked along with your friend, walking down the school grounds to the greenhouse, where your last class of Herbology would be held before the break, and listened to them ramble. "It's not like I could do anything to help."

“I figured half as much, but I was wondering if you thought it’d be possible.” You sighed, shuffling your feet.

“Look, you’re an A student in Care of Magical Creatures, I’m sure the Professor would trust you with a Niffler. You just have to talk to him and see... For yourself, I’m not doing this for you.” Your friend bit into the apple they were currently hold, salvaged from the fruit basket at breakfast. 

“I suppose you’re right...” You let the conversation die off there, instead you continued your rather peaceful walk. That was, until your friend began to talk again.

“Do you think I could drop by on your trip to Hogsmeade this weekend? I know you planned to go with Credence, since he’ll be leaving in a few days, but I’d really like to get to know him better.”

You hesitated, not sure if it would be the best idea for the seventh year Slytherin. His time at Hogwarts had been fine, but he was quite reserved and shy, not to mention anxious and a little paranoid. You had had plenty of time to get to know the boy, meeting him on the train to Hogwarts in your second year. You’d persisted with your attempts to befriend him always being gentle and patient with him until he finally learned to trust you. Of course, you were still gentle and patient with him, knowing that he was truly a boy starved of affection. You’d grown close together, knowing each other quite well, so you pondered your friend’s question with care.

“I mean,” You friend interrupted your thoughts, stumbling over their words. “If you’d rather me not not go, I won’t I was just throwing the idea out there.”

You smiled, patting their shoulder in a reassuring manner. “I’ll talk to Cree about it, okay?”

They smiled back, patting your shoulder. “Okay.”

When Herbology had finished, you checked your schedule and noted the words inked boldly, “Free Period”. You smiled, knowing you had time to run down to the small cabin that Professor Scamander had been given and ask him about the Niffler. It was convenient that the Professor’s home had been built within the Forbidden Forest right behind Hagrid’s hut, so you knew the way well. You bade goodbye to your friend, who had Potions next, and raced down the snowy scape to your destination.

You went with haste, mindful of the ice patches but always managing to almost slip. Careening down the hillside, you ignored the walkway entirely and shot past Hagrid, who was on his way to opening the door to his home. Leaving the half giant utterly confused, you quickly came to a stop at your Professor’s door. You knocked quickly, three raps in a row followed up with one solid knock three seconds after, like he’d instructed all his students to do. He’d said it had something to do with pixies, teachers, and escaping creatures, not that you’d paid much attention.

He answered timely, nodding at you with a smile before ushering you inside. “Must be awfully cold out at this time.”

“Yes, definitely, Professor!” You pulled your Hufflepuff scarf tighter around your neck for emphasis. 

He smiled warmly, gesturing for you to sit down on an armchair that sat beside a desk, his desk. This room was his “office” as he called it, despite being to large and made to be a den. He pulled up a chair from his desk, sitting to face you. “None of that now, call me Newt. Anyways, what do you need? Is it about the essay I-”

You smiled, kindly interrupting him. “Ah, no, Prof- Newt. It’s actually about the Holidays and, well, Credence.”

Newt perked up at the mention of Credence, being his so to speak, fatherly figure. He sat straighter, leaning forward to look at you with curiosity. “What about all that then?”

“Well, I was wondering if you’d be willing to allow me to take one of the new Nifflers off your hands?”

The whole situation was taken care of in no time at all. Newt was extremely happy to give you a Niffler, trusting in your choice to give it to Credence. He’d been delighted to provide you with not only the niffler (you’d chosen the smallest one with a brown fur, perfect for Credence) but a specific guide on taking care of them, three months worth of feed, a suitcase, much like his own but smaller, for the little beastie, and a beginner’s guide to ‘hosting beasts’. You were ecstatic, thanking him profusely and even giving him a hug. He was just happy to help and get another troublesome niffler off his hands; one was enough work, but seven was too much.

You couldn’t wait to present the creature to Credence, tough you knew it’d have to wait until after tomorrow, when your trip to Hogsmeade would be over and the rest of the gifts for the boy would be bought. However, you could now go to the common room and successfully make use of her free time by settling the niffler into its new home.

And, that’s exactly what you did. You had the niffler tucked in your arms, under your robes so no one could spot it, and the case, which contained all the necessary items for its care, trailed behind you with a simple spell.

When the time for you to take Credence to Hogsmeade came, you’d already talked to him about bringing your friend. He’d agreed, stating that he’d like to get to know your friends better. So, now, you find yourself walking between Credence and your friend, F/N. While you would occasionally turn to Credence for his opinions and to talk to him some, he’d stayed quiet for most of the trip. 

Walking around Hogsmeade with the two was actually more excitable and more fun than you could’ve hoped for. The town was bustling, students and townsfolk going into the stores and shops dotting the roadside. Smells filtered through the air. Cinnamon and paprika in one area and vanilla and lilac a step away. Flower shops next to joke shops, Taverns next to clothes shops. The streets were full of people as diverse as the shops were. An Chinese woman walking with and Indian male, hands loosely clasped together. A pale woman leaning her head against a darker womans shoulder, looking at rings in one shop window. And, amongst the bustling busy, beautiful people, three walked alongside each other. One a gorgeous man/lady beside a black haired man, walking between the first and the other in a slightly hunched position. They walked with each other, close but not touching, offering each other comfort without physical affirmations. With Credence warming up to your friend little by little, you found him more willing to put in his opinions and converse just a slight bit more. You found that your friend had been wiling to leave you two alone for a bit when they left to go look at the bookstore, spying a muggle book of interest. You were left with Credence to go about your shopping, mostly staying quiet but engaging in small conversations when the need or want arose. Truth be told, your cheeks weren’t really red from the cold, like his, they were so because of your proximity to the boy. You’d be lying if you said you hadn’t fallen for the charming Slytherin over the years, and frankly your meeting on that train was what you considered the best moment of your life.

You snapped out of your thoughts when Credence’s soft voice cut the silence around you. “Didn’t you have gifts to buy? I-I m-mean, we’ve been walking o-outside for quite some t-time now.”

“Oh! Right! Course I do. Erm... Would you mind going to Honeydukes? I have some sweets to buy...” You wanted to say ‘for you’ but you couldn’t, it was one of his gifts. Besides, he didn’t eat sweets all that much, She never really gave him the chance. You knew he loved sweets, so you’d buy him as many as he was ogling in the shop.

Next, you both went to the book store. You bought a few books, including two that he’d mentioned to you earlier that he’d like to have. Then, you went to a clothes store. You bought a new bow tie for him and a new scarf for you, he was busy looking at a mannequin when you slipped the bow tie in with you scarf. You were happy with your success thus far. After meeting back up with your friend you all went to the Three Broomsticks.

Now it was dusk, and you were on your way to the astronomy tower. You’d agreed to meet Credence there during lunch, in order to successfully exchange gifts before he took his leave in the morning. You had a satchel wrapping across your chest and your new suit case in hand. The tapping of your shoes echoed down the empty hall that led to the tower. You were ten minutes late, but hoped Credence could forgive you. Hustling up the stairs, you tried not to drop something and not shake the case around too much. You stepped into the tower, being hit by cool air and cinnamon. The spice was probably due to something Credence had bought.

You smiled at him breathlessly. "Hello, sorry about the tardiness." You sat next to him putting down the case lightly and setting the satchel atop it. It was a rather big, rather full satchel. He gave a light smile, excusing her tardiness. He, too, had a rather big stack of presents for you.

You clapped her hands excited. "You first!"

He hesitated, choosing a small rectangular parcel from the top, handing it to you. Unwrapping it you found a book, one you’d been waning for so long. Hugging it close and thanking him profusely, you watched as he smiled, giving a small ‘you're welcome’ in return. You took your satchel and opened the top, picking out a small parcel a little bigger than the one he’d gifted you. It contained a journal, filled with little beasts in the outer margins of it's blank sheets.

His eyes widened as he opened it, a smile pulling at his lips as he, very carefully, placed it down beside him. He gazed down a moment more, taking in the small hournal, before taking a small box out of the pile. He opened it up towards you, revealing a small bracelet with dangling charms. The charms were wooden and handmade, including a niffler and a thunderbird.

You gasped at the sight, in awe of his talents. "That's... That's for me? Oh, Credence, this is beautiful..." You let him place it on your wrist smiling down at it fondly. "I'll never take it off." You then handed him a weighty bag, containing all the sweets you’d bought for him. He gave you a small smile, eyes lightening as he picked one out, consuming it as he handed you another small box. The box turned out to be new pencils and pens, all lined up neatly above a thick stack of creamy white paper. You smiled fondly at him, brushing your fingers across each item carefully. "You know me well, Cree..." You handed him another bigger parcel, within it contained the few books he’d taken an interest in and a few other items he'd taken interest in, including his new bow tie. He gasped when he saw it all, he hadn't thought you were paying him much attention. "Thank you." The words were whispered, a sacredness in them. He handed you the last gift he had, a large parcel. Inside was a sweater he'd had help making with a niffler on it. You hugged him, touching your fingers to your favorite creature. You slipped it on over your uniform, giggling. Then, you stood motioning for Credence to do the same. He did, standing and stretching his limbs. He towered over you slightly, looking down into your beautiful E/C eyes. You smiled up at him for a moment before turning your attention to the case. Kneeling, you opened it and motioned for him to climb inside. "Newt had to help me with this one."

His eyes widened in shock at the miniature version of Newt's case. His eyes shone as he leaned back, taking it all in. He broke out of the trance when you tugged him over, his eyes widening at what he saw. A niffler, a small, warm, thieving niffler. You bent down into the Niffler's hollow, taking the small, fluffy, warm creature into your arms before holding him out to Credence. You smiled brightly at his awed expression. He reached out with trembling hands, shuddering as you transferred the tiny beast into his arms. The Niffler nuzzled his nose into Credence's arm, before clambering up and burrowing into his hold. There was an overload of emotions, he felt safe, he felt loved, he felt at home. You bit your lip, shuffling, your hands clasped behind your back. "W-well?"

Credence thought of many words to say, of you and the warmth you produced in him. "I love you." 

His words were rushed, like he needed to get them off his chest and he did. He had fallen for this beautiful, impossibly kind hufflepuff and he'd needed to tell you, he needed to see if you felt it too. Felt the burning warmth when they touched, felt the tingling when he heard your voice, felt the happiness when he heard your name, felt the sorrow when you’d left. He needed to know. And so, the woods fell from his lips, rolling out before him, with a Niffler in his arms and his heart in your hands. You flushed a brilliant red, eyelashes fluttering as you blinked up at him. He watched, afraid. And now, with no answer and the seconds drawing on, he regretted ever saying it. His thoughts were sent reeling, only to stop completely when he noticed you’d increased your proximity to him. You gently reached up to brush his cheeks with your thumbs. He lent into the touch, hope soaring. 

“May I?” You asked, smiling up at him gently.

He nodded, and you stood on your toes to meet his lips. A touch of strawberries from you and sugary sweet from him. The niffler wormed its way back into its nest unnoticed, content with watching the display. You wrapped your arms around Credence gently, his resting now on your hips. He pulled away slowly, eyes blissfully closed. When he opened them he was met with your eyes, which shined like a thousand stars. "I love you too, Credence."