#and then if the other prof says no i have a plan already in place

[queenerdloser]

one of my reference letter writers got back to me today to say she was done with my letter but the links on the schools spreadsheet i sent her weren't working (they were just links to the dept websites), so i scrambled to get links emailed to her to upload her letter to interfolio and the like four schools i'm submitting to that don't use interfolio (boo). and that was this afternoon (i responded within an hour to her email) but so far nothing's been uploaded and i'm like... pls upload them pls now i'm super nervous she's going to struggle with the like technical aspect of getting letters uploaded. praying and hoping she uploads this weekend bc then i've got one letter on lockdown.

[weirdsht]

Disillusioned 14 . Insecurity, My Old Friend (2)

a/n: the typhoon is so bad but only one of my profs switched to online class... but during online class I wrote this instead of listening so ig its understandable why they don't want to switch...

anw, after this chapter this thing officially has more words and pages than all of my lotcf oneshots combined

tags: slavery and human trafficking, mentioned wounds, tears

English isn’t my first language so there will be grammatical errors

Pls don't repost my work anywhere without my permission

Constructive criticisms and any kind of interaction are more than welcome

Requests are currently closed but my ask are still open (read pinned)

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It felt like it had been a long time since _____ and Cale saw each other. In reality, it was merely a few days. It probably just felt like an eternity because they were both busy.

Sure, let’s go with that…

The two exchanged short pleasantries before the conversation switched to how one of the Gyerre Duchy’s vassals was committing human trafficking.

At first, the healer silently listened to the assassin and the young master talked. But then a familiar name was mentioned.

The Chryshi

_____ who has naturally and unknowingly switched their positions from in front of Ron to Cale's side perked up at the mention of a merchant guild and the Chryshi household.

A puppy-like young master and a bunny-like healer young master that naturally gravitated towards each other every chance they got…

No one knew how much this fact entertained a certain benign old man. 

The so-called bunny-like healer started tugging Cale's sleeves as an indication they had something to say, too uncomfortable to speak first because there were a lot of people.

"Hmm? What is it _____, do you know something?"

Ignoring how Cale's voice softened a bit when addressing the healer, they all tuned in as to what the healer had to say.

"Back when I was with my adoptive family, I heard them bring up the Chryshi and some merchant guild in the same sentence. Whenever the conversation was about that they would also bring up about how it brings in so much income.”

_____ could see the intrigued reaction forming on Ron’s face.

“Also, there were nights when I would hear them have secret meanings with that Baron household... I wasn't allowed to take part in important conversations when I was back there so I can only tell you about things I overheard."

Cale once again feels like a headache coming.

However, it checks out if the Perduellios are part of this human trafficking scheme. How else would they get information about an ‘orphanage’ that sells blessed and gifted children?

It just makes sense.

And everyone could see that Cale hates that it makes sense.

Because if the Perduellios are part of this scheme then it would mean the orphanage _____ came from is a slave house with an orphanage front.

As if _____ hasn’t had enough in Cale’s opinion.

They already suffered from those bastards called Perduellios. If the place they came from was a slave house… how much more abuse did they experience?

“Ron, Freesia, include the Perduellios in your investigation.”

“As you wish young master-nim”

Everyone finalized the plan before moving on to another topic.

“Are you sure you’ll be fine staying alone at an inn? I can send one of them with you.”

What’s this? A certain redhead young master is acting out of character?

“I’ll be fine. I know the Gyerre territory like the back of my hand. I have done so many projects here since the Perduellios are aligned with them.”

Just as Cale mentioned, the plan is for _____ to stay in an inn. They would dye their hair and eyes as disguises too. This was because the chances of them being discovered here were higher. Not only does everyone know them, but Perduellio’s people also frequent this place.

So they had an idea to make _____ stay at an inn and pretend to be a traveller. It’s a great plan, only if Cale and Raon weren’t so hesitant.

Despite those hesitations, everything proceeded as planned.

The next day _____ went to a teahouse they used to frequent before. It was a few blocks from where Cale was drinking and should have windows so they could look at the houses from across the bridge.

Walking inside the establishment made the healer feel nostalgic. Going inside this teahouse was the only time they could semi-relax before. They were only allowed in there so rumours of the Perduellios not letting _____ have any downtime do not spread. Still, they were grateful for all those times.

_____ went to sit at an empty table with a window view. They would sit where they used to but for some reason, that table was filled with all sorts of flowers and gifts.

“Are you a traveller?”

A childish voice asked the healer. When _____ turned around to see who was talking, they saw the child of the owner of the teahouse.

“Yes I am, how did you know?”

Thankfully _____ had asked Raon to change their voice last minute.

“It’s because I saw you looking at that special table! Everyone here knows why that table is so special! You look like you don't know, so you must not be from here!”

Seems like _____ hasn’t been around here for a long time. 

“That table belongs to Roan’s Medicus! Well, not belong but when uhm, when they were still around they would go here and sit over there and admire the view so my parents decided to decicate that table to them… I’ve always wanted to play with them… they were so pretty that I felt shy… I wish I had asked though…”

Guilt stabbed _____’s heart at the child’s words. They have seen this child look at them back then. However, they just thought the child was curious.

“But I'm not sad! Mom said that they are resting peacefully now! She told me that maybe they had to go because the Sun God missed them already! I'm sad that Sun God didn't ask me first if I won't miss Medicus-nim, but I understand their feelings because I'm a big girl now!”

Despite saying she's not sad, the child's eyes look teary as she talks about the healer.

“Oh, I was talking about the table! After hearing what Mom and Dad did, everyone started bringing gifts and flowers! Everyone said that it's so that if ever Medicus-nim’s spirit visits here they'd know just how much we love them! See that flower over there? I picked it myself to give it to them!”

_____ had no idea that people admired them to the point of doing something like this. It made their heart swell. Maybe they have done more than they thought they did. 

“Really you did? I'm sure Medicus-nim will be happy when they see it…”

A woman came out from the kitchen, making the healer unable to finish their sentence. _____ knew this woman well, it's the shop's owner.

“Oh my! Mirari what did I tell you about bothering our customers!”

“Oh no, don’t worry it’s fine miss. We had a good conversation.”

The woman who seemed to be in her mid-thirties looked at _____ apologetically.

“I’m glad if that’s the case, but I’m still very sorry. She has suddenly started acting like this after hearing the news about the Medicus.”

Oh…

_____ doesn’t quite know how to feel about that.

So instead they just reassured Mirari’s mother that no harm was done. Nonetheless, the owner was insistent that they’d been disturbed and said that they could have something on the house.

“Traveller-nim choose tiramisu! It’s really good! Medicus-nim always ordered it!”

_____ doesn’t know if they can take any more of this.

They don’t know what they’ve done to make someone this fond of them.

“If Mirari-nim insists then I’ll get a tiramisu cake.”

The healer smiled as they waved goodbye to the child that’s being escorted back to the kitchen. As they did they wonder how such a small child could leave such big lingering feelings.

Nothing else happened after that encounter. _____ just sipped their tea and ate sweets as they watched the windows.

Then it finally happened.

Cale had gone outside acting all trashy.

As they did _____ couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle. It’s funny to see the young master acting drunk when he's clearly not. Plus that red flush on his face looks cute.

…wait what?

Uhm anyways…

Soon _____ saw the signal for them to make a move. The signal that they talked about yesterday was Cale’s shield. As soon as the redhead summoned the famous silver shield, the healer went out to be on standby.

Everything became chaotic. _____ could see the citizens not knowing what to do as the famous young master Silver Shield caused havoc.

_____ used that chaos to their advantage and went underneath the houses Cale had been eyeing since this morning. 

Once they got to where the victims were _____ started healing all the severely injured people. As much as it pains the healer to pick and choose who to heal they still do. This was because the Gyerres had to see for themselves just how much these people had suffered.

So as much as they want to heal everyone, _____ only attended to those close to dying.

“Kind _____ the people our human is waiting for are here!”

Raon’s voice echoed in _____’s mind midway through finishing all the houses. That was their sign to get out before Antonio Gyerre or his knights saw the healer.

That night two cute kittens infiltrated _____’s room.

“Cale said you might use all the potions he gave to you on other people nya!”

“We are here to heal the healer nya!”

On and Hong greeted the injured healer on the bed as they welcomed themselves in through the window. _____ could only send a small smile in return, too hurt to form a response.

“Our youngest and Cale wanted to come here themselves but they still have something to do nya.”

Hong stated as he switched to his human form to properly use the healing potion he and On had brought. Meanwhile, his older sister is inspecting the healer’s body. She’s assessing every wound she can find, no doubt to tattle to Cale later.

With the help of the two siblings, _____ started feeling better in no time. They would try to do it midway themself but the healer has learned not to disturb the two kittens when they set their mind to do something.

After they were done they shifted back into their kitten forms to curl up and cuddle with _____.

Safe to say _____ slept soundly that night.

A few days later _____can finally regroup with Cale. They agreed to meet up outside the Gyerre territory, just before they had to meet up with Mary and Tasha.

_____ entered the carriage and greeted Billos. They were about to sit beside him when they felt Cale tug on their clothes. It confused the healer because why is Cale stopping them from sitting beside the merchant when they usually sit across the redhead? So _____ looked at the young master only to see him patting the space beside him.

“I assume you’ve been well?”

“Yes, thanks to you and the kids. I’m glad that you seem to be in good spirits too.”

Cale quickly assessed the healer's body to confirm if they were feeling better. After seeing that they were, the redhead grabbed a pillow from somewhere and placed it on the healer's lap. He then laid down on that pillow and started sleeping as if Billos wasn’t even there.

In turn, Billos just acted as if the young master wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary.

Time passed and they soon arrived at the entrance of Vegas CIty where the merchant got off. As soon as he did Cale got up from _____’s lap to talk to them.

“Ron and Freesia had investigated the Perduellio Family. It turns out that the assumptions were correct. The Perduellios have been working with the Chryshis and have been smuggling people.”

Oh…

Was it too late to put their hood back on now?

Because _____ feels like they’re about to cry…

Oh no

_____ can feel the waterworks start. They tried to suppress it, but the news was just too much to bear. Especially after the conversation they had with that child named Mirari.

Tears fell as _____ absorbed the news Cale told them. 

In the back of their mind, someone was telling them that they seemed to be crying a lot these days but they currently can't care.

"I didn't... I genuinely didn't know anything..."

The sorrow _____ felt at the involvement of their family felt foreign to them. Their heart feels as though it was being crushed by how heavy it was while their head feels light. They also started questioning their role and achievements. Although they didn't take a direct part in that terrible sin, they feel as though they still have a great responsibility as they were part of that family. 

"I know they weren't the greatest... But I never thought they would stoop so low. What they did to me was fine but this…”

They may have not taken part in the act, but they unknowingly helped fund it.

And that made _____ feel so so guilty.

“While I was healing people, feeling like I was righteous, they were doing such a sin behind my back. Using the money I have accumulated from the sick for such a task.."

Cale can't take this anymore. He can't take _____’s tears anymore. But he doesn't know how to handle a crying person.

So he did the first thing that popped into his mind.

Cale offered his shoulder.

Well, he first wiped _____’s tears before semi-hugging them to place them on his shoulder.

The point still stands, Cale is doing something unusual.

Raon, Hong, and On watched this predicament with their jaws practically on the ground. They had seen the redhead act in all kinds of ways to get what he wanted. But never like this.

Plus, he wasn't acting. That makes it more shocking to the children.

And maybe _____ would be the same if they weren’t engrossed in their feelings. 

But they are, so they just accepted the comfort the redhead silently offered and cried to their heart's content.

Later on, when Ron checked the carriage, he could see the bunny healer's head on his puppy master's lap. Both of them slept while the children were quietly chatting amongst themselves.

a/n: just a small fun fact, I wasn't gonna assign a name at first because I was too lazy but then I learned that Perduellio was the capital offense of high treason back in Ancient Rome

[priceyprice]

I loved reading the Christmas fic! it was so cute but all I could think about after was reader giving him back the promise ring when he pushes reader away

I love your writing and hope you had a good start to the new year <3

Oh my, thank you so much, my dear! Happy New Year to you too! I hope you have a good start! I apologize for the late reply. I'm so happy people liked the Christmas ver. I dont know if you have read the version of how things would've "ended" for them. Here's the other version.

The part you're talking about would've been like this (derived from the other version):

Prof!Price

Prof!Price as he's in his apartment, beside his liquor shelf, taking a glass of his favorite whiskey already losing track of how many glasses he had poured to himself.

His apartment was dark. The only thing that brought light to the place was the fireplace in his living room.

His mind was fogged with thoughts about her. How the light from her eyes disappeared the moment he spoke, feeling his lips burned as if the three obnoxious words had had some kind of acid in them.

"Let's end things here."

He will never tell her the reason he broke up with her was because the superiors found out about a student in a relationship with one of her professors, causing her to get expelled and getting her student record damaged.

He actually doesn't care if he gets fired or gets his professor's license revoked. He's already a grown man with many things accomplished in his life.

Unlike her.

She's still pursuing her career. How can he be so self-centered and damage all the sacrifice and work she has done so far?

He couldn't find the guts to do that. He isn't selfish enough to throw all her hard work to the cliff just because he wants to be with her.

So now he's here, rotting in only memories of her because he decided to terminate things.

He doesn't want to get used to the silence of his apartment. He doesn't want to get used to the absence of her presence. He doesn't want to get used to her perfume fading away from his sheets. To the phantom of her skin flushed against his, creating a perfect puzzle as if their bodies were made for each other. To the memory of her smile haunting his dreams every night. Fuck he doesn't want anything of this.

But again, he was the one who made the decision.

So he needs to get used to all of this.

His thoughts drifted away when he heard soft sounds on the floor of his living room.

Price knows those footsteps very well, and he memorized them like it was his own heartbeat.

His eyes went up, finding the one who hadn't left his mind, not even for a second. Who has his reason for living in the palm of her hand, between her pretty fingers.

"What are you doing here?"

It's not surprising to find her inside of the apartment since she knows the password of his door lock. And he doesn't have plans to change it either since the password is her birthday.

She just stared at him without saying anything. Even just two weeks have passed since they had talked, but it felt like a year. Everything was going slow for both of them. Everything was going downhill.

Price sighed, dropping his shoulders in a tired expression when she just stood there in silence. "Look, I don't have energy to talk about the reason I broke up-..."

"I'm not here to talk about that, John." He almost closed his eyes when his name rolled out of her tongue like honey. He missed it so much.

She started to walk closer to him until they were in front of each other. He could now see her face clearly. Her eyes were dull, red and puffy, with slightly bags under it. Product of the sleepless nights crying under her covers.

She was broken.

And it was his fault.

He will never forgive himself for that.

"I came to give you this." She opened her hand in front of him, revealing the beautiful morganite ring he gave her on Christmas day. If his heart couldn't be more broken, this time is shattered into pieces.

A symbol of his love, a part of his heart and soul is in that ring.

A ring he once gave her with the promise of a marriage and a beautiful life together.

But now, it was all gone.

He remembered he told her that if things went south, she could give him back the ring, ending things. He said that with the hopes of never getting it back, but here it is, in front of him shining like it holds the last bit of hope of their now nonexistent relationship.

He took it slowly from her hand. Fingers caressing lightly her skin, feeling that burning sensation reminding both of them those feelings are still fresh, difficult to get rid of them.

He looked at the ring for a few seconds, remembering the joy he felt when she accepted the ring.

"You can keep the ring-..."

"You told me to give it back if something happens and... It happened." Her eyes itched, ready to let tears stream down, but she tried to stay strong. She's tired of crying every night for the same thing.

"Just accept it, John. Please."

His eyes went up to her and saw the pleading look she was giving to him. Price can understand she wants to pass the page and move on for her own good, but a part of him doesn't want her to give up on him. To give up on the devotion he has for her. She will always be his one and only love for the rest of his days. His every breath, every heartbeat will be for her and only her.

So because he loves her so much, he will respect her decisions and let her move on.

He gave her a little smile, making her skip a beat. "I understand. Thank you for bringing it to me."

She nodded without reciprocating the smile. Taking a few steps back, she looked at that familiar spot on the floor in front of his fireplace. The same spot he gave her the ring before saying their I love you's to each other in between moans and kisses. Her gaze went back to him, memorizing those beautiful blue eyes she would always have in her mind, heart, and soul.

"Goodbye, Professor Price."

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

I apologize for any misspelling or mistakes. Any suggestions or requests are appreciated. 🫶

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

One Step Too Far

Series Masterlist

Warnings: none, Professor Steve (that’s a warning in itself)

Monday comes too quickly for your liking. You head across campus, wringing the strap of your knapsack as your mind wanders ahead of you. As much sleep as you lost last night trying to redo your first lesson, you know you'll lose much more after this meeting.

You head up the old staircases, built before elevators could save your calf muscles, and weave through the hallways. You stop outside Steve’s office and read the placard on the door. Dr Steve Rogers, Ph.D, Professor.

Your phone vibrates and you slip it from your pocket, swiping it open with one hand as you knock with the other. You smile at the screen as you read Jensen’s message. You’re meeting up tonight. You told him you need to study but you already know you won’t be doing much of that.

The door opens and you look up, your lips falling straight. You drop your hand and clutch the phone tight as Professor Rogers greets you flatly, “good morning.”

“Hi, Dr. Rogers,” you squeak and sway back and forth.

He considers you, blue eyes bold as the lines in his forehead deepen. His button up is rolled to the elbows and his hair is slightly askew. You feel as if you’ve interrupted him though he was expecting you.

“I’m sorry, I–”

“Come in,” he cuts you off, “I’ve been waiting.”

You wince as he spins on his heel, leaving the door open. You hesitate to break the threshold as you hike up your bag nervously. He seems distant. Almost angry, but why would he be. Maybe he’s just as frustrated as you with these last minute changes.

You step inside but before you get far, his gives another curt demand, “shut the door. My neighbours aren’t exactly fond of listening to my appointments.”

“Oh, sure,” you say as you obey, clicking the door gently into frame, “I, uh, was able to make a few changes already. I sent you the files this morning.”

“Yes, I saw,” he sits in the straight back leather chair and wheels it closer to the desk. He pulls his glasses down onto the bridge of his nose and focuses on his monitor, “it’s not enough.”

“I know… but I thought I could get started,” you cross the carpet and unhook the bag from your shoulder. You sit and keep it snug between your legs.

“You’re a clever girl,” he muses as his eyes list over to you, “you think you know everything, don’t you?”

“Sir, I–”

“You really are smart,” he affirms, “so you really shouldn’t waste that potential. Don’t let the noise of college get in the way of your degree.”

“Of course not, prof– professor,” you utter in confusion, “I’m not.”

“Good. I’ve seen a lot of students lose sight of what’s important. I just don’t want you going down the wrong path.”

“Uh, okay, yeah,” your leg jiggles anxiously. He notices and you still your leg. “Sorry.”

You don’t know why you’re suddenly nervous. Something is different. There’s a tension you can’t place. You feel as if you’ve done something wrong but you know you haven’t.

“It’s fine. Let’s get started. I think we should rewind here,” he turns his attention back to the screen and tries to angle it around. “Dammit,” he shakes his head, “why don’t you come around and see? I have some notes.”

You nod and stand. You step around your bag and round the desk, going to stand by his shoulder as he brings up your edited lesson plan. You spot the  tiny blue font in the margins. You bend forward to read it. It pretty much nixes every idea you have.

“You see what I see?” He says.

“Um…”

“We need to start over. From scratch. We can’t do any of this.”

“Really?” Your lips part in disappointment as you eye all your hard work. “Are you sure?”

He doesn’t answer. You frown and slowly look at him only to find him already watching you. He’s so close. You feel his breath. You carefully back away.

“Mhmm, I’m certain,” he says before he clears his throat, “come on. Pull your chair around and we’ll get started.”

“Oh, well, I could just take your notes–”

“We’re already falling behind, may as well just do it together,” he dismisses you breezily, “unless you have plans?”

“No, no, you’re right,” you go back around the desk to grab the chair, lifting it slightly to keep from bunching up the carpet as you pull it with you. “I’m sure it won’t take long.”

📚

You head back down the hall, feeling lighter now. You’re almost done your lesson and your bladder is empty. Your brief bathroom break has refreshed you but can only do so much to relieve you. You’re going to have to cram much more than you expect tonight.

You yawn as you sweep through the office door and hear a sudden clatter. You’re not paying attention as you enter but you see Steve spinning away from the desk as he shoves his hands in his pockets. He paces and stretches his shoulders and neck.

“Ugh, sitting so long makes me stiff,” he says, “ready to get this done?”

He goes to his chair and grips the back. You glance around but see nothing out of the ordinary. You must’ve just surprised him. You weren’t really paying attention.

“Sure, I need this done. I have so much studying to catch up on.”

You skirt around the desk and resume your seat next to him as he swirls around the mouse and the screen lights up. You sit back as he logs in and you reach for your phone. You should text Jake and let him know you might be a bit later than you expect.

There’s a message waiting for him already, your phone already unlocked. You must’ve forgot to hit the button before you went to the bathroom.

“So, I think from here–” Steve begins, “what are you doing?”

“Just checking the time,” you lie as you furrow your brow in confusion. You don’t understand what Jensen is saying. You scroll up to see your last message. Sent only a minute ago?

‘Hey, got some work to do. Not gonna make it tonight. Who knew being a TA was so hard?’

You didn’t send that message.

Jake’s reply is a frowny face followed by another in quick succession, ‘damn, maybe 2morrow?’

You lift your head and look at Steve as he scrolls through the document. His hand rests on his leg, fingers squeezing tightly. He wouldn’t. Who else could have?

You rise, the chair scraping behind you in your haste, “did you send this?”

“Hmm?”

“Don’t lie,” you back up, “I left my phone here and you— you sent– you told Jake–”

He turns to you and tweaks a brow, “I’m just looking out for you, is all. I figured this is gonna take us a while. I was just helping–”

“By going into my phone? Why would you ever do that?”

“I– I know it’s… honey, please,” he stands and you take another step back, “I was looking out for you. It kept buzzing and I just didn’t want you to worry about some boy.”

“Some boy– He— He isn’t any of your business,” you storm around the desk and scoop up your bag, “and neither is my phone. I can’t believe you would do that.”

“Wait, honey–”

“Honey?!” You stop by the door and face him, “Doctor, that’s not my name.”

His face goes rigid and a glint flashes in his eyes. A shadow darkens his face as his jaw squares and the sudden tinge of fury frightens you. You’ve never seen him like that. You’ve never seen anyone look like that. He looks… monstrous.

“It was a mistake,” he says tersely, “after all I’ve done to help–”

“I don’t want your help,” you swing open the door and stomp through, “goodbye, professor.”

[that1fangirrl]

Teacher's Pet, but Not Really

A/N: this whole thing might be a little jumbled, so I apologize for that. But it's really cute. I hope you like it. K, bye<3

You softly knock on his office door, waiting for an answer. He always stayed a little late after hours. A muffled “come on”, beckons you inside. You look around the room before walking towards him and taking a seat next to his desk. You pulled a paper out of your bag, raising it in the air slightly. “Guess who got an ‘A’ on their paper?” He looks over to you with a smile, “My guess is Stacy. She’s always been a good student.” You let out a scoff, pushing his arm. “Har Har. No. I did! And it was all thanks to you and your big brain.” You stand up, wrapping your arms around him from behind his chair. He puts his hands over yours. “Was it because of me or was it because you just needed a little push? Because I seem to remember you telling me how nervous you were about this assignment.” “Yeah, well who cares. I got an ‘A’ on it. And Dr. Barnes says I might be one of the top students in his class! Isn’t that crazy?” You squeal, squeezing onto him harder. “I know you don’t want to hear it, but you also have a really big brain honey.You deserve the praise. I know you don’t think so, but it is the truth.” “Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say Professor. On a different note, what are your plans for tonight?” You unwrap yourself, opting to take a seat in his lap. Matt looks up, pretending to think. “Well I was gonna go to this new restaurant near my place, but you have to have a party of two or more to make a reservation. Too bad I already made the reservation, but have no date. If only I could build the courage to ask the pretty forensic science major with the big brain if she wanted to go.” He pauses for a minute, listening to how you try to keep your giggles in. “Hey! You’re a forensic science major. Maybe you could ask her for me.” Taking a deep breath, you grab his face in both hands. “Hmmm. I just asked her and she thinks you're a little strange, but you’re cute. She is free tonight though. Hmmm, oh? What’s that? She’s saying… ‘yes’? Sounds like she’d love to go with you.” He tilts his head up, listening around for anyone in the building. Pretty quiet for a Tuesday. He leans in, smushing your lips together. Small moans escape your mouths. Your hands gripping each other tighter. He pulls back, your lips following along. “How does 7 sound?” “It sounds great.” 

When you first met the new Criminal Law Professor, you were absolutely stunned. He was so handsome and had a special charm that swooned all the girls in your class. Even when he introduced himself, you could hear some of the girls behind you talking about switching majors. “This is Prof. Murdock. He is one of our new Criminal Law teachers. We will be working closely with him on our next few assignments. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind you guys prodding him on a few questions. Mr. Murdock, anything you want to say?” He continued to tell the class a bit more about himself and how excited he was to be working with the students in your class. You had heard a few things about his work in the media; he was an amazing lawyer. You just couldn’t bring yourself to talk to him. 

Two weeks into his arrival, he had noticed your obvious shyness. Dr.Barnes found it quite funny, considering you were one of his favorite outspoken students. You always spoke up in class and had broad ideas and questions. Where was that girl when Prof. Murdock was around? He blamed it on you being nervous about having an actual lawyer in your presence, but who knows. So he did what any professor would do with his shy student. Push them. Dr. Barnes made sure to give you just as much of an equal opportunity as the other students…and then some. 

It was nice getting to know him and becoming more comfortable with him. Matt was a real sweetheart. On some days, he would bring you your favorite drink or snack from the vending machines on campus. It was always under the guise of “not wanting you to pass out in class” or “to have some extra energy for your day”. He wanted you to be comfortable around him. “Just think of me as another one of your classmates.” He told you. Even going as far to tell you to call him by his first name. So you did. Usually in private, between the two of you. It was like your brain and heart flipped a switch. All the constant meetings in his office started to trickle outside. You found yourselves grabbing coffee at nearby cafes, he helped you pick out some flowers for your apartment, walked you to your bus stop on late nights, etc etc.  The more you hung out, the more it became blatantly obvious that your small shy crush was turning into more. 

Matt knew it was wrong at first. I mean he was a professor on the campus you attended. But you were so nice to be around. You always asked him for help with your work even though he knew you already had the answers. Your passion for analytics was adorable. You were just so cute and caring and the desire to have more of you was growing everyday. So he just went for it. One evening, he had asked to see you in his office after hours. Your heart was racing so fast, it sounded like you were having a heart attack. “Y/n. I called you in my office because I wanted to ask you something in private.” He paused, clearing his throat. “I know that we have been strictly professional on campus and kinda friends outside, but I was wondering… maybe we could be a bit more.” You were stunned at his forwardness. Was he really asking you out? Your hands folded together in your lap. “I- I would really like that Matt. But are you sure about this? Like, I mean- I really really do like you… a lot. It’s just what if someone finds out? I don’t want you losing your job over a stupid relationship with me. I would never let you forgive me.” He reaches his hand out and places it on yours. “I’m willing to take that risk.” 

Of course, It took awhile for you to adapt to this new relationship. It felt like something out of a ‘forbidden love’ tale. Acting like two colleagues working together on campus and sneaking around to fulfill your desires in private. He continued to be the sweet gentleman from before, maybe even a bit more enhanced now. The two of you were happy together. He made you feel important and understood. You were his main priority now. He would do anything to make you feel better everyday. You need help studying? He’s there. You’re freaking out about lab work? A little birdie told him you did better than most of the class. He’s always there. And you’d never know this, but even on his nightly patrols, he made sure to check on you. 

Speaking of his “nightly duty”, Matt wasn’t sure how to tell you. There was chaos every time anyone close to him found out. Would you be mad at him? Would you tell the university? Many thoughts ran through his mind, but he knew you’d never tell. One day, he thought you had figured it out. You guys were lounging on his couch, when you decided to talk about the many ‘heroes’ in New York. “It’s weird. It’s like all of our heroes have been in New York, one way or another. We’ve got Spiderman, The Avengers, Luke Cage… I don’t know. It’s just so weird to me. But that Daredevil guy intrigues me the most.” Matt’s ear perked, “why is that, honey?” You sigh, lifting up a little. “I don’t know how to explain, but he kinda reminds me of you. If you actually think about some of the things he’s done for the city, he’s actually rather a great guy. It doesn’t seem like he wants to just fight people for no reason. He wants justice. And you are all about justice, y’know. Besides being a lawyer and all. I mean, hell, you might even know the guy. Think about it, Fisk and Frank Castle, you guys have a connection there. Isn’t that crazy?” His heart was beating fast. He wasn’t sure what to do. He trusts you, but he doesn’t want to endanger you. “Matty? You okay. You spaced out on me.” “Uh, yeah. I’m fine… listen, I think there’s something I should probably tell you.” Your heart skipped. “I’m not breaking up with you. Don’t worry.” You let out a heavy breath as he pauses. “Okay. Well. It’s me. I'm Daredevil.” You stare at him before your body begins to shake with laughter. “Ha Ha. Okay, Matt. And I’m training to be an X-Men.” He gets up, walking toward his wardrobe. “Aw, baby, come on. Don’t get upset. I was joking.” You get up to follow behind him. He’s still silent as he feels around for something. “Matt? I’m sorry, okay. It was just fun-” He pulls out his red suit, standing in front of you. “Like I said. I’m the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen.” You passed your hands over the material. Then it clicked. He was always out late, sometimes bent over in pain(usually blaming it on being blind and running into something),and he was pretty damn buff and flexible. It all made sense, but how. “That chemical spill from when I was a kid. It enhanced my senses. I can hear, taste, smell, whatever, better than a regular human. I’m sorry I kept this from you. I was scared it would endanger you or you’d leave me. I understand if you want to.” You take in everything he’s said. Your arms wrap around him in a tight embrace, tears welling in your eyes. “I would never leave you over something like this. You’ve changed so many lives. I’m a little scared, of course, but that’s because I want to know you’re safe. I couldn’t be happier, knowing you're out there albeit risking your life, but for the greater good of our city. It’s beautiful, Matt.” That night ended with the two of you having a deeper discussion about his alter ego. 

Presently, the two of you hold each other close as you walk to the new restaurant he wanted to take you to. Your whole body screamed with excitement. Date nights outside of the apartment were always a sweet treat. The risk of being seen in public affectionately gave you both a little thrill. While you were rambling about your long day, Matt kept this loving gaze on you from across the table. He was completely in tune with everything you were saying and how your body was reacting. You paused looking at him in confusion. “What? Am I talking too much? I’m sorry. I guess I just got a little excited.” He shook his head. “No, please continue. I love hearing you speak. It’s so cute how passionate you get. I love it.” The two of you stare at each other in silence. A thought rushing through both of your minds. He clears his throat and you look back down at your plate. The silence continues to loom. The two of you waiting for the other to say something. You look back at each other before saying, “I love you.” Your smiles grow big on your faces. Eyes widening. Your hand flies up to your mouth. Did you both really say that? Matt reaches for your other hand. “I know you heard that. I. Love. You. You hear me? I’ll shout it loud if you want me to.” He takes a deep breath before you stop him with your giggles. “I love you, too. I love you so much it hurts. I’d scream it louder.” He kisses your knuckles. A beat passes before you both say it again.

[namujoon9401]

Yes, Sir

prof namjoon x OC

Haseul was failing English. 

Well, not really. In fact, she was pretty decent at it. But her performance was too good.

 And her professor was too hot. 

Therefore, she had to pretend to fail so that she could sit in on his tutoring lessons. Maybe even get a one on one. 

“This is a terrible idea.”  Her friend, Jaehee, says through a mouthful of fried rice. 

“Think about it, unnie. If I'm doing well in class, there’s no reason for me to go to his office hours. Whereas if I'm doing badly ....”

Haseul gestures for Jaehee to finish the sentence, eyebrows waggling. The other girl just rolls her eyes. 

“You’re just horny for your hot professor.”

“And so what if I am?” 

Because her English professor happened to be one of the hottest guys she had ever seen. 

Professor Kim Namjoon was tall and solidly built, with honey golden skin, a nice jaw, and prominent dimples that showed whenever he smiled or laughed. 

To put it simply, he was gorgeous. 

Add to that his incredible intellect and you’ve got a certified hunk on your hands. 

Haseul was determined to get a piece of that. 

And so her plan was set in motion. 

📚📚📚📚📚

The class is getting grades back after a particularly important exam. 

“Lee Haseul.”

A thrill runs through her body as she sits up, ramrod straight. She already knows what he’s about to say, the anticipation swirling in her chest. 

“Yes?” 

The silvery blonde man’s eyes, shaded behind glasses, pin her in place with a stern, disappointed look. Those eyes…

Haseul shivers. 

“See me after class.”

…

Haseul is practically vibrating in her seat by the time the end of class rolls around. 

She makes her way to the front of the room where Professor Kim is sitting at his desk. 

She takes a moment to admire his profile as he talks to another student for a moment. His lips are moving (God those lips… plush and pillowy and such a nice muted pink) but she’s not hearing a word he says. 

He finishes up and turns to her. 

“Haseul-ssi.” 

He rifles through the papers on his messy desk before pulling out her exam. A big fat red forty five sits on the front page. 

“You did rather poorly on your exam. Forty five percent? What happened?”

She shrugs, trying to come up with a reason. “This chapter was hard. I couldn’t remember the grammar rules.”

He frowns at her, and she valiantly tries to school her expression into one of remorse.

God, he’s hot when he’s disappointed. 

“Well, you need to start applying yourself. Maybe you should attend my office hours. Mondays and Wednesdays from 1-4pm.” 

She nods dumbly, mind buzzing with the words office hours and teeming with the possibilities of all the slutty outfits she could wear. 

“Yes, sir.” 

📚📚📚📚

By the time Monday rolls around, Haseul has formulated her master plan. 

She picks out her shortest pleated skirt, a sweater vest, and knee high socks. 

The brunette looks in the mirror, fluffing her hair.

She looks okay, she decides. A cute and sexy okay.

And sure, maybe the skirt leaves a little bit of ass to hang out, but it’s all in good fun. Right? 

📚📚📚📚📚📚

Today, the professor is wearing a white button down that's just a bit too small for him. 

As a result, the buttons are straining, and the sleeves (which are rolled up to the elbow!) are tight on his biceps. Paired with the well-fitting black slacks and the glasses perched on his nose, he looked positively delectable.

He clears his throat. “Haseul.”

“Yes?”

“Are you even listening to a single thing I'm saying?”

She found herself with her hands under her chin, staring at the professor’s soft-looking lips, rather than following along.

“Of course.”

“Well then,” Professor Kim sits up and slides a sheet of paper to her. “Can you complete this worksheet? I’d like to see if you are still having a hard time with this lesson before I move on to the next one.”

Haseul smiles. “Sure.”

Easy, she thinks. She’s only been faking not knowing anything so she could get here, in front of her hot professor.

Maybe he’ll finally notice how cute and sexy she is.

As she works, she sneaks a few glances at her professor. He’s quietly grading papers at his desk, blissfully unaware of Haseul’s gaze upon him.

He runs his hand through his dark hair. Haseul’s breath hitches. 

When she finishes, she walks up to him and hands him the worksheet. He checks the work for a moment, scanning each answer carefully, and marks it with a ninety.

“Good job, Haseul-ssi. I knew you’d be able to apply yourself with a little extra help.”

She nods, expecting him to say something more.

“You’re free to go.”

Wait, what?

“Oh-“ She shifts in her seat. “We’re done for today?”

“Yes,” he says, completely oblivious to Haseul’s disappointment. “I mean, unless you would like to start the next lesson today.”

“That’s okay,” she forces a smile. “Thank you for your help.”

He nods, smiling, dimples on full display. “Of course. I’ll see you next class.”

📚📚📚📚

“He didn’t even notice!” Haseul groans, flopping facedown onto her bed.

Aki, her roommate, laughs. 

“Maybe he’s gay.”

She quickly gets up, stopping inches from Aki's face.

“Don't you say that.” She hisses, eyes narrowed. 

“He's an English professor, for fuck’s sake. He’s probably at least bi.”

She groans, flopping back onto the bed. Aki pulls out her phone, takes a picture. 

“Delete that.” Haseul says, muffled. 

Aki ignores her. “Caption: Haseul when her efforts of hoeing herself out have failed.” she types on her phone. 

The brunette sits up. “You better not post that.”

She laughs. “Relax, I’m not.”

Haseul sighs. ”Thank god.”

“It’s just going on my Close Friends.” Aki hops up off the bed and runs out of the room.

“Shit, wait!”

Aki’s laughs heartily as she shuts the door and runs away.

After that, things go about as you would expect. 

She gets a bad grade on an assignment. She attends his office hours. She flirts as boldly as she can. Professor Kim doesn’t notice. She gets frustrated. Rinse and repeat. 

(“He wore sweat shorts today.” She sighs, dreamy.

Jaehee just groans.)

She decides to up the ante. She touches his arm at any chance she gets, laughs at all his jokes, even sits on his desk in those short skirts from time to time. 

And over and over again, he remains school appropriate. Office appropriate, even. 

Even though she could swear that she's caught his eyes lingering on the too-high hem of her skirt a few times, that she’s caught him blushing a few times.

 But it’s probably all in her head. Wishful thinking. 

Right?

📚📚📚📚

(His office hours are over, no one else is there except for the two of them.)

Namjoon crowds her against the desk, close enough to where he’s almost pressing up against her. His steely gray eyes are intense, pinning her in place. 

“You think I don't know what you’re doing?” His voice is low, deep and rich as he looks down at her. 

“Wh-what are you talking about?” she squeaks. 

Her heart is pounding, knees weak. She can feel the body heat radiating from his chest, the warmth of him leaning over her. 

“You think I'm so oblivious, don’t you?” 

Calloused fingers lift her chin so she’s forced to meet his eyes, lingering there. 

“Parading around in your tiny little skirts, flirting so blatantly. I didn’t know you were so depraved, really.” he chuckles, dark. 

Oh god. 

”I’ll bet you don’t even need tutoring. You probably just came here to ogle me, huh?”

Shock pours down her spine like ice. At the way her eyes widen, he scoffs.

“I’m right, aren't I? Ridiculous.” 

His eyes scan her face, scanning for any semblance of shame. All he finds is shock. 

“It would be even more ridiculous if it wasn’t working,” he murmurs. 

What? 

“P-Professor Kim…” she stumbles over the name, mouth suddenly dry.

“I’m attracted to you. That’s what you wanted to hear, isn’t it?”

Holy shit.

She can hardly believe her ears.

“And I have a feeling you’re not exactly… opposed.” The man smirks, the corners of his lips turning up. 

Wait. 

“You mean you- you want- I mean, you-“ she stammers, thoughts a jumbled mess.

He releases the grip on her chin. 

“What can I say, Haseul-ssi?” Namjoon laughs softly. “I like you. You’re smart, and funny. And… not too bad looking either.” His eyes rake over her body as he says that last part, making her blush all over again. 

My God. 

Hearing him say her name like that…

“You…” She struggles to recover. “You like me?” she parrots, mouth agape like a dead fish as the information floods her brain.

He likes her? Like likes her?  

She was so focused on getting him to like her…

She hadn’t quite figured out what she would do once she got there. 

And hearing him actually say it? Surreal. Haseul is still not sure if she’s dreaming. 

She’d fantasized about this moment many times, but this? Haseul was floored.

And, more importantly, hopelessly turned on. 

A hand slides up her thigh, thumb dangerously close to the hem of her skirt. 

He leans in even more, lips brushing her ear.

“You’ll have to keep it a secret, baby.” He croons, deliciously low and raspy.

God.

A full body shiver runs through her, lashes fluttering. 

She can feel herself flushing, her body temperature rising as he presses ever closer.

Namjoon’s hand stays firmly parked on her thigh, fingers pressing divots into the soft flesh. His other hand comes up to tuck her hair behind her ear, a soft gesture that makes her open her eyes. 

When had she closed them?

Namjoon presses a thumb to her bottom lip, slowly pressing in just the slightest bit. 

Her breath hitches. His eyes are lidded, glittering with desire. She could drown in those eyes…

He’s so close, now, that she can feel the body heat radiating off of him, his large frame looming over her. 

She grabs the hand that's on her face. 

There’s barely inches of space between them, and Haseul wants nothing more than for him to-

“Kiss me,” she breathes.

He leans in, closing the distance, and Haseul closes her eyes again, this time for a kiss.

One that never comes. 

She opens her eyes, brows knitted in confusion, just in time to see him pull away, clearly trying not to laugh.

“You-” she starts, but he cuts her off. 

“What? You didn’t think I'd give it to you that easily, did you?”

He leans in again, voice dropping to a low murmur.

“You’ll have to work for it, baby.” 

Oh. 

Haseul blinks. If she wasn’t flushed before, she certainly is now. The hot swirl of sensation in the pit of her stomach surges, her core temperature rising. 

Professor Kim steps back, turning away as he starts to pack up for the day. 

He turns to her, almost as an afterthought.

“Come back to mine?”

📚📚📚📚

Namjoon’s apartment is modest, a nice two bedroom with lots of artsy touches. 

She’d ask for a tour if she wasn’t so preoccupied with the older man and the way he keeps touching her. 

It started innocently enough, just curling an arm around her waist or trailing a finger down her neck.

But those eyes… they promised much more. 

By the time Namjoon’s fumbling with his shoes once they’re inside, it feels like she’s been turned on for hours, that hot tingling sensation swirling through her every time they make eye contact. 

“What you said, earlier. About me having to work for it,” she starts.

He hums. 

“How do I do that?”

“Well, it depends.” 

He puts his shoes away, suddenly turning to her, laser focused.  

“Are you willing to be good for me?” He says. His eyes have that look again, hooded and dark and glittering with the hidden promise of something more. 

Oh fuck. 

So it's like that? 

Haseul can't say she's too familiar with this kind of dynamic, apart from having read Fifty Shades when she was sixteen (and her mom found out and tore her a new one).

She nods, throat suddenly dry. 

Sensing her apprehension, Namjoon motions her over to the couch. She sits nervously. He grabs her hand, lacing their fingers together as he smiles softly. 

She musters up her courage, channeling every ounce of bravery she was born with. She takes a shaky breath. 

“Give me one for free?” she bats her eyelashes at him, feigning innocence. 

She catches a flash of something on his face, something heavy and domineering, and before she can move Namjoon is on her. 

The kiss is tender at first, soft and sweet. Haseul’s mind goes blank, nothing but a pleasant buzz filling her head. 

Their lips meet again and again, deep and hungry and open-mouthed. She can’t get enough of him, the way he presses in insistently, sliding warm hands down her sides, her hips, the backs of her thighs.

Haseul dips back in, chasing the taste of him, red wine and dark chocolate on the back of her tongue.

She can’t help it, she makes this helpless breathless noise, not loud enough to be a moan but definitely halfway there. 

His eyes flicker open and- God, they’re dark, gaze heavy and glittering with desire. 

“So pretty, baby,” he says, low and smooth and God, if that doesn't make her want to do something, anything, as long as it ends with her under him. 

They kiss until he’s pressing her back into the sofa, hovering over her. 

He breaks the kiss just to look down at her, nothing but want in that heated gaze. 

“God you're- so hot,” she gasps between kisses. He just chuckles softly. 

His hand is back on her thigh, now, the other one supporting his weight.

His fingers trail down her thigh, feather light, just a whisper of a touch, the tease making her squirm.

She’s unreasonably turned on, she feels, way too keyed up considering all they've done is kiss a little bit.

Every touch feels like it's being amplified by a hundred, every brush of Namjoon’s lips sends shockwaves through her system.

Their lips meet again, deeper, him licking insistently into her mouth, drinking her down. 

He breaks the kiss to tilt her jaw to the side, trails his lips down the column of her throat, pausing to suck a mark into the side of her neck.

Her breath hitches, shivering at the sensation. Her belly clenches, blood running hot through her system.  Haseul clings to him, arms wrapping around his neck as her breath comes shorter, mouth slack. 

And god, if it doesn’t absolutely fucking undo her to see him like this, eyes lidded, chest heaving, hair mussed, lips red and swollen and spit-slick. Looking at her like- like he's a predator, pinning her under that gaze. 

Haseul has never wanted anything more in her life. 

He leans back and she whines, suddenly feeling like she’ll die if she doesn’t get his hands on her at that exact moment. 

“Shhhh, baby.” He whispers. “M’ not going anywhere.” 

She huffs, about to drag him back down when his hands go to his chest, slowly starting to unbutton the first few buttons of his dress shirt. 

Oh. 

Oh shit. 

Because Lee Haseul is in no way prepared for the sight of Kim Namjoon’s naked chest. 

Judging by the smirk on the older man’s face, he knows exactly what he’s doing as he ever so slowly undoes the buttons, veined hands working deftly to reveal flashes of golden honey skin. 

It almost feels wrong, somehow, feels too obscene to see this with her own eyes. 

Kim Namjoon is a vision, she thinks, dazed. 

His body is toned, well muscled but not a crazy amount.

He shrugs off the shirt, tossing it to drape over the back of the couch. 

It's only then that Haseul realizes she’s still wearing the damn sweater vest. She quickly takes it off, leaving on her own dress shirt underneath.  

Under his watchful gaze, her hands go to the collar of her own shirt, unbuttoning button after button, until she’s left in nothing but her bra and the offending skirt. 

His eyes rake over her body in a way that makes her cheeks heat. 

“Bed.” he rasps.

[existential-angstt]

Pay Attention Please (P. 7) // (professor) Shane “Dio” Morrissey x Reader

A/N: hhhhhhhhh i found a tik tok that reminded me of prof!dio, here have it:https://www.tiktok.com/@christianrlocke/video/7219505883754057003?_r=1&_t=8cvfMBYA92Uand uh- on this chapter- no, no, dont thank me. hold the applause. just enjoy :)

Taglist: @lokanda​ @sneetsnootyoit

“Excitement” was an understatement for what you felt when you woke up the next day, the day of Professor Morrissey’s next class. All you’d been able to think about for the last two days was your two bodies tangled together, how pretty he was when he slept, dark eyelashes fanned over his pretty cheeks. You took a little extra care to get ready, actually putting on makeup for once and styling your hair. Your roommate was watching you the entire time with such a look on her face but completely silent. 

You sighed. “What?” 

 Your roommate bit her lip a little, holding back a cat that ate the canary grin. “So you gonna fuck him again?” she said flatly, still trying so hard to hold back her grin. You made a little mocking pouty face that broke into a blushy look. “Maybe,” you managed. 

 “Gosh, Y/N, a professor. I never woulda pegged you for the type. Needless to say, I’m happy…. And- are you- going over there tonight?” she eyed your makeup and hair. You did that same little mocking pouty angry face again, even though it was exaggerated and ended in a smile. “Maybe,” you repeated, even though that was certainly at least your hope if not your plan.

 “Good,” she quipped and started typing on her phone. You were pretty sure she was texting some fuckbuddy that it was a go tonight, which made you want to go over to- your mind relished this- Dio’s place even more. 

 You paused when choosing an outfit. You were no prude but you usually dressed a little more modestly- comfortably was a better word. Sweatpants, sweaters… jeans…. You weren’t a sorority girl by any stretch of the imagination. But that didn’t mean you didn’t have things in your arsenal. You decided on a dark green turtleneck sweater and paired it with a short black pleated skirt– something leftover from your dark academia phase and a little too short for you to usually consider it. A lot too short. But today? Oh, today it was perfect. 

 You added some thin see-through tights and some big black boots– you thought it would suit his style, draw him right in like a fly in a trap. After all, you had a convenient back door into some of the things he liked. You were a little self-conscious leaving your dorm but every time that creeping anxiety sent circus mice flipping in your stomach you thought of the noises he made when he fucked you, how he called you princess. It replaced those little circus mice with a burning white heat that made you walk with your shoulders squared and your head high.

 You beat him– and everyone else– to the classroom like usual, sank into your regular seat and waited. He was a little later getting to class than normal and other students had already begun to filter in, making you that much more enthused to see his response to your little outfit. He hurried in and set his things down, hardly noticing you, in a hurry because he was late (at least for him, he was). He got a few things up on the board and once he had all his things set out on his desk ready to begin, his eyes drifted over to you. And stopped. 

 He paused there, frozen– and the other students walking in might've mistaken it for him being lost in thought. But you could see his eyes were locked on your legs, stretched out beneath your desk and perfectly parted– not indecently of course, but enough to garner this reaction. His eyes flicked up to yours and you could see some of that heat there from the other day. Hook, line, and sinker.

 He turned back around and stared at the board for a moment as though consulting its wisdom. You knew– or at least hoped– he was trying to hide the half-boner he suddenly had. You could see his back rise and fall as he took a very deep breath. Definitely the second one then. You watched with sick triumph and a little grin you couldn’t help as he sat back down at his desk and made busy while the rest of the class filtered in. 

 After everyone was in, he got back up and started the lesson. He was doing so well– he didn’t give away any of what you could tell he was feeling. The tension, the… need. He kept his gaze pointedly away from you but every once in a while, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself and his eyes would drift in your direction, specifically your legs. And then he’d catch himself and quickly look anywhere else. You bit your lip to keep from laughing at him. 

 Towards the end of the lesson, he gave the class a worksheet and sat down to grade papers, a little more restrained with his casual glances. You pouted a little that a desk was now in your way, that he was practically hiding from you but worked on your worksheet diligently, sure there would be something in it for you afterward. The classroom phone rang suddenly and sharply through the quiet room and the professor jumped a little. 

 He picked it up, his voice a little jagged from jumping as badly as he did. “Hello, room 113?” He listened to the other end and after a long moment, his face went a little stoney. Unhappy. “I see,” he finally said. A few other students also picked up on his tone and watched him on the phone call, waiting to see what the news was. That giddy horny feeling in your stomach turned to dread as you watched his expressions change. He finally hung up the phone and the class waited with bated breath but he just went back to whatever he was doing, his mouth set in a grim line. 

 What in the hell was that phone call? 

 Class ended sooner than you expected– Professor Morrissey called it early and dismissed everyone. Told them to get an early jump on their homework. As the class emptied out, his eyes fell on you and stayed there– not on your eyes, but lower. The heat in your belly reignited and your heartbeat thrummed in your ears. He got up and gathered his things, his eyes flicking back to yours in a silent invitation. You jumped up and gathered your things and hurried up to the front of the room to meet him but he was already walking out, meaning you were practically jogging to keep up with his long-legged strides.    

He wasn’t giving you hardly any time to keep up, only slowing down once you fell more than five feet behind. You completed your routine, down the stairs, onto the bus- but when you moved to get off at your stop he grabbed your wrist. You froze and looked up at him wide-eyed but he didn’t even look at you, just gave your trapped wrist a squeeze. You stayed put, watching him a moment longer and then dropped your gaze, enjoying that his hand didn’t drop its hold on you.

 At the next stop he gave your wrist a little tug and then let go, moving for the door. You followed and noted that this stop was much closer to his apartment, just up the street from it. He continued with his faster pace, even though for him it seemed a normal pace– you’d never noticed how much he slowed himself down when you two were together simply so you didn’t have to chase after him like a small dog. He was already halfway inside his building when you reached the door. 

 You followed him up and into his apartment and he dropped his stuff just inside the door like last time, letting you come in and do the same. But once you had, he rounded on you and boxed you in, pinning you against the closed front door. All of the breath came rushing out of your chest as all of his weight was pressed against you and you looked up at him with wide startled eyes. 

 He regarded you with those deep brown irises, nearly black in this light, just looking you over, inches away from your face. “Did you think you could wear something like that to tease me?” he said lowly, eyes searching your face. All you could do was look up at him with wide eyes, heat flushing your face and other places. “I need an answer,” he said lowly, shifting against you, not so much grinding or anything but just shifting his hold and how he was resting his weight against you.

 “I- I- don’t- I don’t know what you mean,” you stammered out. You knew perfectly well what he meant. He let out a low rumbly noise, not a growl but a sound deep in his chest. You felt his hands grip your wrists and bring them up to pin them against the door on either side of your head, leaning in closer. You could feel his hot breath on your face. Everything was so hot and your skin was prickling and you couldn’t move, just trapped in this tiny space beneath him, his eyes roving over you, mostly your face– your eyes, your mouth, your throat-

 “Don’t pretend– don’t be a brat,” he murmured, leaning so close you thought he was going to kiss you– but he didn’t. And that was part of this act, this teasing. Holding you so close and not really doing anything at all but holding you there under his heavy stare. 

 "I- I don't know what you mean, D-Dio," you stuttered again. He purred low, squeezing your wrists, his nails biting into your flesh. "Let's stick with "sir" for now why don't we?" 

 He shifted against you again, pressing his hips into yours and holding you there firmly. "Say "yes, sir"," he chided lowly, looking up and down your body, eyes lingering on your skirt. 

 "Y- yes-" You moaned, getting lost in the pressure of his hips against yours, his hard cock pressed against you, making your breath catch. "Yes, what, princess? Yes, what?" He pushed your hands a bit higher against the door, above your head a little.

 You whimpered slightly, pushing your hips up towards him to get some sweet friction but he pulled away, his only contact his hands on yours. 

 "Say it," he murmured, eyeing you again, those dark brown eyes burning into you. "Yes- yes, sir, yes- sir," you gasped out, every inch of you on fire. 

 "Good girl," he mumbled as he came crashing in to kiss you deeply, pressing his whole frame against yours, crushing you against the door. You let out a stifled moan and kissed him back desperately, tugging at your hands which were still pinned but his hold on them didn't loosen. 

 The smell of him was in your mouth, in your nose- dark musk and a hint of spice, like pumpkin and cinnamon. He kissed you so sweetly and deeply, the complete opposite of his demeanor up to this point, his tongue pushing its way into your mouth to lick and taste you. He moaned softly against you and you replied with a moan, so responsive under his hands. 

 A second more and he was pulling you away from the door, refusing to break the connection he had with your mouth but walking you step by step back to the bedroom. 

 You followed willingly, letting him guide you, and laughed a little when he grunted, as he'd backed into the doorframe of his bedroom a little. He took the opportunity to pull you inside and push you lightly into the bed. You flopped down against it on your tummy, bent over the end of it. He steadied you with hands on your hips, holding you in that bent-over position. You bit your lip and minutely angled your ass so it was presented to him. 

 He let put a little purr and, left hand still resting on your hip, he moved his right hand up to rub at your ass. You moaned and pushed back against his hand, panting softly against his sheets. His hand started pushing your skirt up and he murmured, "Here's how this is going to go."

 "I'm going to spank you… for being such a teasing little slut all of class– after all, we should remain professional in public," he said, still rubbing at your ass. Your heart was thrumming in your ears now and there was a fiery tingle at the bottom of your stomach. 

 "I'm going to spank you and you're going to count. If you mess up, you start again. If you mess up twice… well. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it but… you won't like it," he said in a deep low voice that made you shudder. He gave your ass a squeeze and said, "Say, "Yes, sir"," 

 "Y- yes, sir," you moaned. This was going to be hard. He leaned in closer, pressing his cock into your ass and hissed in your ear, "And no stammering or you begin again." You moaned again, panting softly, heart still racing. 

 He paused a moment and then gave your ass a swift spank. "I didn't hear a "yes, sir" princess," he hummed, clearly enjoying himself. You cried out at the strike, arching your back more to push your ass toward him. "Y- yes, sir-" You steeled yourself not to stammer again, "Yes, sir."

 "That's my good girl," he praised, rubbing at where he'd just smacked you before delivering another, slightly softer spank. He paused, waiting. 

 "One," you said firmly, fighting an unevenness in your voice. You could hear the smirk on his face when he said, "Very good." He spanked again, a little harder this time, his hand remaining on your ass to soothe it. You moaned at the thought of what kind of marks would be left on your ass from his pretty hands and his pretty rings-

 "Start again," he huffed, smacking you harder. You cried out again, the cry becoming a moan as you repeated, "One."

 He smacked again, making such a pretty fucking sound that made your cunt tingle. "Two," you panted out. 

 Another stroke, another moan from you. "Three," you choked out. He spanked again sharply. "Four," you gasped out, hips bucking. 

 "Fuck look at you," he murmured, rubbing a soothing hand over your ass again. He gave you another spank. "F-ive," you choked, hoping he wouldn't count it as a stammer. But he rubbed at your ass with a little groan, grinding into you, dragging his cock against your ass slowly. You listened to his breathing quicken and change, your ass stinging from the strikes.

"Look at you, good girl," he groaned, pulling back so he could roll you over onto your back. Once you were resituated he was upon you again, devouring you, kissing you hard and deep, his hands exploring. You wrapped your legs around him, pulling him closer and holding him against you as you rolled your hips against him for friction, moaning into his mouth. He let you, taking the opportunity to lick into your mouth again, tongues tangling. 

 Still kissing and licking at him, you reached for his hips, for his pants so you could start tugging at his belt eagerly. He let out a deep rumble and one of his hands grabbed yours, pausing against you, his hot breath hitting your face. 

 "Beg for it," he murmured against you, his eyes darker than before. You looked up at him wide-eyed, lips slightly parted and he leaned in to lick at your bottom lip. You shuddered softly and looked up at him again. "Beg," he repeated lowly.

 "Please," you found yourself whimpering up to him, your hand struggling against his hold, reaching for his belt again. "Please," you whined.

 He moaned softly and released your hand, letting you yank at his belt which elicited a grunt. He kissed your neck, nipping lightly as you undid buttons and zippers, tearing off his pants as much as you could. He reached down to help you, stepping out of the pants as he sucked a mark on your neck. 

 A moment later and he was inside you again, the size of his cock just as impressive as the first time. You gasped loudly and moaned and he moaned back, his eyes squeezed shut. "Fuck, princess," he said softly. 

 You whined softly at the name, squeezing him lightly even though you were already tight around him. He hissed a little, gripping your shoulder, and then slowly he started to rock his hips against you, fucking you gently. You let out soft moans with each thrust until you adjusted to him, taking him more easily and pulling him closer with your hands. He kissed sloppily at your neck, still bucking into you. “You take me so well, princess, fuck- such a good girl for me-” 

 You moaned harshly as he nipped at the spot where your neck met your shoulder and moved a bit faster, fucking you harder. You dug your nails into his back, sure you were leaving marks which turned you on all the more. “P-please, Dio- I’m- I’m gonna-” 

 And then all at once he stopped, freezing mid-thrust and you blinked your eyes open at him, looking up. He was smirking down at you, panting softly, and just stopped. You whined, squirming, trying to get him to move, but he reached down and pinned your arms again. “What did we say about what you can call me?” he said lowly, leaning in really close and pressing the softest faintest kisses across your mouth and face. You moaned softly, clit still throbbing at how close you were, the coil in your gut still tight and sensitive. He gave a sharp rut and you let out a choked whimper, heart racing. 

 “P- please, sir, please- please- le- let me cum, please-” you begged. He slowly started moving again, taking his time to pick up speed, eyes on you the whole time. When you turned your head and let your eyes close again just to feel him, he said, “Look at me.” You did as he said and he kept his eyes on yours, fucking you harder. You could feel yourself drawing close again and you gasped softly, determined not to say anything so he couldn’t deny you again. But he caught it– and, as he watched your expressions closely, he was able to once again bring you right to the edge and then just halt, your pussy throbbing and aching without the sweet relief of orgasm. 

 You whimpered, a few tears drawing to your eyes at the neediness. “D- s-sir, please- please,” you whined, a few tears falling. He looked satisfied but softened a little, starting to move again. “Call me dio,” he mumbled to you, kissing at the fallen tears on your cheeks, licking them up as he thrust into you. “D- Dio, Dio, Dio, D- Dio-” 

 “Cum for me princess,” he commanded, moving his hips faster and reaching down to touch your clit. You could barely hold it back for that permission but once it was spoken you were over with. You came with a shout, your back arching, gripping onto him tightly in every sense, nails digging into his back. He gasped a little and fucked you through it, meeting his own shortly after. He laid on you for a moment before slowly pulling out with a hiss and shakily getting to his feet. You mewled at the loss but he disappeared out the bedroom door and all you could do was lay there trembling with overstimulation. 

 He came back quickly with a glass of water and a soft towel, which he used to clean you up before very gently feeding you the water, whispering soft “good girl” ‘s to you all the while. After he downed some water himself, he climbed into bed beside you and pulled you tightly into his chest, cradling you there like a teddy bear. You nestled in so softly and fell asleep, feeling safer than you ever had in your life.

[r-ene]

day 12/366

spent... 3-4 hours at uni for my subject registration, and in order for me to be able to take all the classes i want and need for this semester so i could end all of my undergraduate classes by november and be able to get my diploma, i still have to wait for awhile for the office of the registrar's feedback on the process my department wants to do to help me with that. it's alright, i've learned to wait patiently during the first semester anyways. what's important is i'm nearing to my end-goal (graduate) !!

while waiting tho, i was able to talk to my clinical instructor and prof for both semesters for 4th yr classes (department head) and i'm really glad and grateful to have such good mentors

my CI gave me tips and cautions for when i start my internship (e.g., if you don't know something, just ask, because it's better to be demerited for being cautious (bc different institutions/hospitals = different standards & protocols) instead of compromising your patient's health and care)

^^ she was also quick to inform me of the first institute i'll be doing my rotation on (bc our rotations consists of adult care, neonatal/pediatrics, mothership and community)

my professor for lectures and research also was quick to say he's very flexible with whatever, because my clinical research 1 would be considered as a "special class" for the sem since what's offered for 2nd semester is clinical research 2

dean, as usual, very helpful. he was the one to settle the discussion on my subjects for the sem and is very willing to talk to office of the registrar's to be able to make things work out for me ♡

overall, it was a productive day despite waiting most of the day:

walked (picked up some fallen flowers while she smelled everything) + fed luna and cleaned her place before i got myself brunch and ready to leave

left together with one of my best friends bc she has her job interview near my first stop

levelled up on my solitaire app while waiting

was able to make it home in time for prayer and worship day 4/7 (traffic was insane, left uni at 430pm and arrived home 710pm)

got stuff printed to aid my review

planned out ideal rough schedule for when i start internship bc i also have solo research and the lectures + luna to take care of, among others

already looked up how to travel from home to my first hospital rotation (there are 2 ways !!)

and so, since i was not able to get coffee within the day, by 9pm i was asleep. woke up at 1130 to eat dinner tho bc havent eaten anything aside from brunch, 2 chocolate bars and a loooooottttt of water (too stubborn to take allergy meds)

also thinking about trying to vlog my process before internship and during and after ?? i kind of want to go through this part of my life where i muscled through but at the same time i feel it would be really hectic

[itsjaywalkers]

Hello Laurie! How are you? How are your holidays going?

I'm the same person who messaged you 2/3 months ago about the fic that I was writing and being scared to post it because it's not my native language. I was wondering how your writing goes, like how do you edit? What do you struggle with the most? I know you said it's not your native language either, and I just wanted to know what slows you down the most? Because for me personally it's grammar, structure of the sentences and its punctionation. I always wonder if my commas are in the right place and if I used right marks, obviously the placement of it differs in every language. And do you have any tips for me? ANYWAYS i'm so sorry this is such a long question bahahhaha, also I've read your new Bartylily fic and I love it. I'm on my knees for them, can't wait to see what you got in store for them. Hihi have a good day! <3

hi darling!! i'm okay, doing some writing!! and my holiday is going great <3 i've been at the beach all week, swimming and reading and eating delicious food. i missed my parents and my sisters like crazy, so it's been very fun to get to spend so much time with them <333

oh, yes!! i remember you!! i hope that fic is going well, and that you'll decide to post it someday. i feel like i already told u this, but i'm sure it's lovely, and if deep down u wanna share it, u should be able to do so, fear be damned (im aware it's not that easy but . u get what i mean)

and my editing process is . very boring and very long . i usually just write the whole chapter out, exactly how i have it planned in my mind, without stopping to check for mistakes, or letting myself get distracted by . a paragraph or a line i don't like, all that can be fixed during the actual editing. once it's done, i try to give it a day?? to let it breathe a lil. and then i reread it all!! i go scene by scene, and sometimes it means just fixing the grammar of some sentences and deleting a random line here and there, and other times it means deleting a whole conversation, or rewriting an entire scene bc it's not working how it's supposed to. editing can take me from a couple of hours to actual days, so it's not a process i really enjoy </3 writing can be a pain, but it's when i get to be messier and have fun and not worry about the end result. editing means polishing and rereading until you grow sick of the story. it's necessary but it's not my fav part of the process, that's for sure

i don't think i'm that bothered by grammar, but it's mostly bc this is just fanfiction and i kinda just . have fun with the language?? sometimes i'm aware i'm not structuring a sentence the Proper way but it looks more beautiful my way, and it sounds nicer, so why would i change it?? not a single one of my uni profs is gonna be reading it anyway. but as someone who isn't an english native speaker either, i totally get u, bc i used to be very insecure about this, and i still am a bit sometimes. i had this fear that ppl were gonna be able to tell english isnt my first language at a first glance. but so what if they do?? theres nothing wrong with that, and bc im bilingual, i speak and write in english in a manner native speakers cant replicate, bc i see and understand their language differently. and i think thats lovely!!!

the thing i struggle the most with is descriptions?? i feel like im not detailed or accurate enough, and like i lack a lot of vocabulary. i do my best to fix it during editing but it never quite works i fear.. i also write ridiculously long sentences, bc i use way too many commas when i should be using periods. and i think that my dialogues are pretty good, but at the same time im always . concerned about characters sounding real enough yk?? since, again, english isn't my first language

and i don't know about tips darling. i keep saying this, but i feel like i'm not the best person to ask about this At All, bc i'm not that knowledgeable, or talented, or skillful. i can tell you to remember that at the end of the day this is fanfiction, and we're supposed to be having fun and being self-indulgent. try not to worry so much about grammar and proper sentence structure or putting commas in the right place. bend the language until it sounds pretty enough for you and a sentence rolls off the tongue the right way. who cares if it's not Correct or Proper. it's not meant to!!! also, don't edit right away, let the story or the chapter breathe for a bit, otherwise you're gonna hate the whole thing and believe it's a Mess. it's usually not!! you just need a break and to put some healthy distance so u can edit more honestly, less unbiased

don't apologise!! my answer was even longer SIGH i hope some of this was at least a little helpful <3 and thank u so much!! more ppl than i thought are reading and enjoying the bartylily fic, and it fills me with joy <3 next ch is coming VERY soon and i can't wait

wishing u the best and sending u all my love MWAH <333

[inkwolvesandcoffee]

Recently I’ve been having ideas about Eames.

TH Masterlist

Now, before any of you are going to wonder what kind of psycho I am, let me explain why this came up in the dark corners of my mind.

So, in Inception, we basically get little info about Eames. All we know is his surname and that he’s a damn splendid trickster. What is his story? What did he do before Dom approached him and the events of the movie took place?

Who is Eames?

I know I’m heavily diverging from canon here, but that very question spawned a concept I can’t stop thinking about.

Prof!Eames who stalks the cam girl he’s obsessed with and so happens to be one of his students.

*sips her coffee* Yeah, I know. But hear me out.

His online username is GentlemanSir.

He went to great lengths to grab your attention. Making multiple donations during streams, sending gifts and letters to your P.O. box, instructing the barista at the café you frequent to give you handwritten notes with your coffee but remain silent about him being the secret messenger.

Truth be told, he actually gets off on the idea he holds financial dominance over you.

Eames remembers fondly the absolutely flabbergasted expression on your face, the haze of pleasure temporarily lifted, when he donated once again a sum of money running into the hundreds.

It wasn’t so much the number that caught your eye. No, it was the message.

‘For groceries and to buy something nice for yourself.’

That certainly had him score brownie points with you. Sure, the money was nice, but it was the thoughtfulness of his words which drew you to him.

Very well aware of this, having overheard a couple conversations between you and your friends, Eames continued to accompany his donations with sweet messages.

Sir’s proud of you, taking such a big dildo. But don’t forget to drink water, darling!

Take a shower before you go to sleep, poppet. If I was there, I’d wash you and tuck you in.

I really like the new pink lingerie. Here’s some pocket change so you can buy some more cute outfits.

In class, he’s noticed you’ve become more at ease. Before, you used to have this distracted air, which he deduced stemmed from financial worries.

He’s kept an eye on you, trailing you from a distance after your shifts at your two part-time jobs to make sure you got home safe.

Not gonna lie, he was kind of ecstatic when you mentioned quitting your second job. He’s always admired your drive to balance academics with private and work life, but the exhaustion it caused you only made him amp up his game to get you to notice him.

He’d take care of you.

First behind the scenes.

And later, after graduating, he’d step from the shadows to take you on a trip and make you his.

Eames knows you won’t be able to reject his offer, already having planned what cards to play when your conscience will start to gnaw at you.

Moreover, he certainly had noticed the doe eyes you tend to make at him during lectures and seminars and the way you blush when you say his name, a privilege extended only to you.

He can tell it makes you happy when you call him Ian, especially outside of class.

He’s been working out more because he’s noticed the underlying dreamy satisfaction in your eyes it causes. The height difference helps too, as proven by a happy accidental discovery when he paid for your coffee in the cafeteria.

“It isn’t proper for a gentleman to let a woman pay for her own drink,” he merrily told you when you glanced over your shoulder, cheeks flushed and your whole body slightly trembling.

Had he let his self-control waver, he’d have swept you off of your feet and taken you right there and then. You simply looked too cute.

Too meek.

Incapable of stopping him.

He knows you tend to frequent bookshops in your spare time, so it happens more than once you ‘bump into him’ while browsing them.

He stays close to you under the pretense of protecting you from the other predatory men who fancy they have a chance with you.

In reality, though, the hand resting on your hip stems from the pure need, the instinct, to touch you.

Moreover, he enjoys the way he towers over you. He’s basically the wall between you and the outside world (and everyone in it).

A role which he intends to play until you tell your audience you’re taken by a man who does it like no other and you shut the camera off once and for all.

Until you introduce him to your parents and friends as your husband, the man who provides you with a stable and comfortable life.

Until he is your world.

And in the meantime, he’ll just have to get rid of every obstacle.

One silent bullet and perfect lie at a time.

All behind your back.

So you don’t have to see Sir’s monstrous side.

I’ll admit I went off the rails here, but this is what I’m living for right now. I don’t know how I’d translate this into a wee story or series, if ever I will. All the same, I thought it’d be a nice concept to share.

Tag list: @buttercupsandboys @hecatemoon87 @potter-solomons @alikaheroes @ilovemanypeople @dreamlandcreations @zablife @vir-tual @liliac-dreamer @woofgocows @elijahssuit

[a-spell-a-rebel-yell]

December

hello everyone, i know it's already day 23 of January 2024, literal almost a month after the month ends and is already on another year, but at least i'm here yaaay (i really need to start writing the monthly post a week before said month ends 😭)

December was actually, just as thrilling cliff-hanging as November! thing is my countdown to my other coldplay show was finally down to under 50 days and it was also the end of the very first semester.

just in the true fashion of my life, my adventure this time is: going back and forth between Jakarta and Tasik in under 24 hours (22 hours to be exact!) on a back-to-back journey just for school and seeing my hometown again 😂

so, as you can tell, i have so many assignments and one of them is a practical skill's lab project where i have a typodont (a phantom model of human teeth embedded in wax) and i pretend to apply orthodontic treatment on it to correct the malocclusion. it was not easy at all. it's quite literally a simulation of what will happen and what should i do when i treat an actual patient. the project lasted for almost five months and even the class didn't stop once the semester break came around, that is why i had to go back and forth between Jakarta and Tasik: i don't want to lose my holidays while still having to attend the weekly class 😂

some will say i'm insane because it's so tiring to do so and indeed it was super exhausting. but if you know me, i'm the type to do just about anything for my loved ones (my parents were staying at Tasik to take care of things and it's been a while i visited my grandparents' last resting place) so it was no big deal at all to endure 7 hours of bus trip each and then 1 hour commute to the station/home. a total 16 hours in 48 hours timeframe spent on the road. and it's worth it, every second of it, because i got to relax and work in the middle of lush green and rice fields... it was the very definition of healing time. i was still under the pressure of stress and deadline to finish that last project, but at least i did it while being surrounded by serene nature and with my mum and dad 😂😂😂 it's such a nice drastic change to do wire bending with all my pliers and stainless steel wires and orthodontic brackets with herd of ducks quacking loudly near me and farmers ploughing soil to plant rice seeds... best part? zero pollution! no light/sound/air pollution whatsoever and i get to see amazing sceneries right out of my windows every day! rain every evening to help me and my mum water the plants (which are thriving!) Mt Galunggung in its majestic full view... woah. it's my best treasure tbh nothing else compares

the most unexpected thing was that our class for that subject/project is usually scheduled on Thursday (so for the first back-and-forth journey i made sure to go back to Jakarta on Wednesday and get back to Tasik on Thursday right after the class ended) and for the second week, my prof suddenly requested us to come to the campus on Tuesday, and guess when did he sent the message to inform us? 6 AM on said Tuesday!!!!! oh you couldn't imagine my panic, how am i supposed to be in Jakarta in less than 4 hours!? thankfully my prof is a lenient one and he let me and kak Mandy (who was in Bandung at the time) to join the class from zoom. another good news is that class is to be our closing session for the project, and that i can just send my typodont instead of coming in person to submit the assignment. yet again Allah's plan is always better than my most carefully thought of one 🥺

the rest of the break i get to spend every day at my hometown just recharging my energy and soaking every positive molecule there is, and my mum have this brilliant idea to buy a table tennis equipment!

at first, not fully knowing the impact of my mum's seemingly random decision, i opposed the buying of said table tennis because it's quite expensive. but after it arrived and i got to play against my mum and dad (who happen to be great players!) i finally understand that my mum knew fully well i don't like outdoor sports (solely because i hate the sun getting my face so red lol) so table tennis is the best option! it's so fun to play and i still get to exert my whole body to get that exercising regime my nutritionist has told me years to do so 😂

for new year's eve, the end of 2023 is the quietest one yet. with just my parents, deep in the greens, miles from the city, and just watching Pengabdi Setan 2/Satan's Slaves 2 (exactly my style hahaha getting my dad to watch it!) i moved over to 2024. just saying and sending out my prayers to welcome the new year and hope i can go through whatever i must face in the future. and again, just how i like it, not many fireworks were blasted so it wasn't that rowdy. it almost didn't feel like NYE celebration, all is calm and cool.

i love slow living, far away from the crowded areas, i could quite literally stay in my hometown at my house and just. be there 😂 it's so easy for me because as long as i have my loved ones with me and a roof above my head, enough to live and get by... that is all. to reach that tranquility and peace of mind is one of the highest priority/goal for me. hope one day after i've accomplished my dreams i get to reside and rest where my heart has always been dwelling.

here's to another journey in 2024, i hope we can together make it through. see you in the January post, that as i said in my Nov one, i'm counting down 3 days to my trip to Singapore and 4 days until i see coldplay again, historic moment as i'll be back to the stadium where i first saw the band 7 years ago!!! see you all soon 💙

[dewsdoit]

we're not really strangers

wonu x y/n | soft romance with a bit of angst ❗️no professional proofreading. may contain grammatical errors.

this is purely fictional so please take it with a grain of salt! this fic is mostly soft and maybe a bit cheesy... I will be updating this post from time to time regarding the chapters as well. hope you'll enjoy it! treat people with kindness, everyone!

———————————————

We started this about three months ago but we make sure we get to walk on this familiar street and keep going in circles until we sit on the swings at the playground. 

“Last card?” you ask as if you weren’t sure if this is the 150th card inside the box. Nonetheless, I nodded in agreement but not once did I look up to even glance at you. 

We talk about how we both see the world ending and we get too factual about it. I wanted to come up with silly stories and let you build up the plot so we could keep this going, but we ended up backing each other up with scientific facts about global warming and possible alien invasions that may wipe out our existence. “Can you lighten up?” I couldn’t help but make that request, it’s too deafening to deal with the silence after every hum of agreement. 

“You lighten up,” you respond as you playfully kick my ankle, making it hit the other one. I look at you with tired and annoyed eyes, in hopes that you’ll send me home rather than deal with whatever this is. We sit in silence for a while, I think and talk to myself if you’re real at this point. 

“Can I still see you?” you ask. “Hmm?” I couldn’t quite understand, I was somewhere else. “I don’t want this to end,” you press on that sentence with your sober eyes as you look at me. “Come see me again. Let me see you again.” 

First: Perception

I thoughtlessly chose this class because I ran out of electives. You’re not hard to miss because you’re the only one with thick glasses and fluffy hair, making you stereotypically attractive for losers who need someone who will partially change their life forever. But if everyone was going for the last slice of decadent cake, I think I’d rather reserve myself for a flavor no one even bothered to touch. I always thought it was easy to divert myself from the girls who whisper and giggle in your presence. 

The rest of the school year passed by too quickly as I easily came and went to every class, but the day I got partnered up with you slowed everything down. I had to deal with telling people to not sit in my seat that was next to yours, which wasn’t a bother if they decided to leave. I just wanted to discuss our film and get things done but the inconveniences your friends and admirers bring slightly get on my nerves. 

I’ve never met a man who speaks concisely as much as you do. Maybe it’s because we’re at a coffee shop near our school and we don’t want to disturb anyone but you spoke low and soft. I’m just glad we’re getting somewhere and we see eye to eye, mostly because I’m easy to please. 

“By the way, we can make this our meeting place. I’ll give you my schedule so we can align our free time. I also wrote my number so you can contact me to meet up.” 

“Oh, thanks. Looks like you got everything planned out.” You took me by surprise. I mean, I was planning but you were a step ahead of me already. 

“I like to plan things out so we don’t miss our deadline. Besides, I think we have similar breaks. Which is why I insisted we partner up in the first place.” 

“Huh?” I ask. I’m so sure that this coffee shop wasn’t loud enough for me to mishear what you just said but I have to make sure. 

“I got the highest grade from our last exam. The prof gave me the advantage of choosing a partner I want to work with and obviously, I went for the person who has a similar schedule with mine so we don’t have to sweat about this project so much.” You say as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense,” I respond, cutting the conversation short. It was freezing in the shop and I just wanted to start walking to get home. “Anyway, I think we discussed the plot well so maybe I can work on the script tonight. I’ll share the document with you and let you know. I’ll get go—“

“Do you want some coffee?” you ask. 

I was packing my things when you asked, “Oh, no thanks. I already had one today so…” 

“You sure? It’s my treat.” you insist. I kinda wanna bite your offer but I just want to get home and rest. I had math before meeting you, so having coffee wouldn’t be the best solution. 

“Seriously, I’m good. Thanks though. I’m just gonna head home. I’ll message you whenever.” 

I was rushing on my way to our class. I woke up late, haven’t brushed my hair, and I need caffeine to beat my throbbing headache. The door was still locked, so it seemed like I was one of the first few students to arrive even though I was 30 mins late. 

I sit down next to the door to catch my breath. Running four flights of stairs is definitely not a joke. I see someone coming up the stairs and you seem relaxed for someone who’s about 5 mins later than me. 

“Is it just you and me?” you ask. “I guess so? I thought I was gonna get reprimanded already,” I respond.  “Well, maybe we can take this time to work on our revisions,” you suggest, and I couldn’t even respond because my head started throbbing more so I had to close my eyes and wait for the pain to settle down. 

“Are you okay?” you ask as I embarrassingly try to open one eye to reassure you that I am. “I’ll be fine, just let me catch my breath.”  You hand me your water flask filled with cold water. I didn’t even hesitate to take it because I needed it. I still had to process the cold water trying to help fight the headache, but I could still feel you looking at me. You patiently waited for me to open my eyes before asking again if I was okay, and I nodded in response to assure you. “Shut up and don’t do this to me,”  I thought to myself.  I think I’m already pathetic enough to think that this whole group work was a test between me and my easily-impressed heart. My intentions are set: We film what we need to film, meet the deadline and pass this class, graduate, and I’ll only remember you whenever I feel like opening our future yearbook. I moved back a little to physically assert the distance I wanted, which was perfect timing since one of our blockmates came to our room to tell us that the prof wasn’t coming. I thought I could use this free cut to get more sleep, but who am I to reject your offer to go to our meeting place? Our…lol 

“You should sit down, I’ll order for the both of us. Just tell me what you want.” “Alright, I’ll just have a latte. How much is it?” “It’s on me, just take a seat,” you say firmly. I know damn well I’m not letting you pay but I did find us a seat and I try to settle down. This cafe is kind of growing on me, it’s so cozy even though it’s freezing in here. It wasn’t too long ‘till you settled down while we wait for our orders to come. It’d be nice if you stopped staring at me from time to time just because there’s nothing to talk about (except maybe, start discussing our film). “Let’s play a game,’ you say out of the blue. “Hmm?” “I bought this online, apparently it’s really popular these days.” You pulled out a box full of cards. We’re Not Really Strangers. Huh, that’s interesting. “This seems...fun. Okay, I’m down,” I say as I fidget the box. Who knows, we might get something out of this game. “You should go first,” you say. I pick out a card from the first level. I suddenly feel tense, why am I so tense?? “What about me is most strange or unfamiliar?” I read the card out loud. “Probably the way you keep shifting your eyes when you’re talking to someone,” you say without hesitation. That took me aback, to be honest. You could’ve let that thought marinate for a while. And it sounds like someone’s been really observant when talking to people. “I beg to differ, I don’t think I do that.” “You do that with me. You’re not even looking at me right now.” And why on earth would I want to do that? “Why do you sound like you’d kill someone for eye contact?” I hope that wasn’t too cold of a response. “I’m just not used to someone who doesn’t make eye contact with me when I’m having a conversation with them. That can come off as rude to other people, you know,” you say with such a soft voice. I kind of stare at your face for a while. You have soft and sharp features. Everything about you is so soft and sharp. Your deep and low voice, but you speak so gently as if we’re sharing secrets all the time. Your bread-shaped cheeks with your sharp nose that might send me into an eternal rest if I touch it. I hope I wasn’t staring for too long because now I find myself unable to find the right words to say something…or anything. Before I could even respond, the server came and gave us our drinks. You ordered pastries too. “You should eat something. I don’t think your body will take the caffeine lightly if you don’t eat something.” You gave me my share of the pastry and I could feel my cheeks starting to warm up. I need to get a hold of myself. 

“Can I see the bill? I’ll pay you right now.” I start rummaging through my bag, looking for my wallet. “You don’t have to pay for anything right now, it’s better that I treat you now than treat your hospital bill if you pass out on me.” I laughed at your remark and you smiled back at me. This is better than I thought, maybe everything will just be nice and lax between us. And this project, of course, is the only reason why we get to see each other this often.

“No but seriously though, I don’t remember taking any class other than this one with you in it,” I express my confusion because you kept pressing that I should remember your face well. 3 level one cards down and we already spent hours talking about our first impressions of each other. I can’t believe this game actually works. “We went to the same elementary school and we were classmates in 1st grade. I was the kid who always cried when my mom dropped me off.” I really couldn’t remember your face. I’m sure I would’ve remembered you because believe it or not, I liked talking to everyone when I was kid. “Did you have glasses back then?” I ask. “No, I didn’t,” you seemed nervous when you responded to me, I guess you do know me well… I reached for your glasses and asked, “Sorry, can I? I just need to see something.” You nodded with a hint of hesitation, but I proceeded to take your glasses off. Who would’ve thought that an accessory would make you unrecognizable? Maybe Clark Kent had a point after all. I remember how innocent you looked when you were a kid but seeing you now, with your grown face without these glasses? My god. I immediately put it back on your face. “You look better with your glasses on,” I teasingly say. You chuckled a bit, but you glared a little bit at my teasing. We stayed until the cafe closed and discussed what we needed to do thoroughly. You gently placed your hand on my head before you said goodbye and take care. It was swift and gentle, I tried to fight every single heartstring from beating so fast but that’s exactly how I knew I was fucked. There’s no use in fighting it. I really need a moment with God or the universe because I feel like the misfortunes in my life are getting out of hand. I heard from our mutual friend that they’ve seen you go to school and home with Jen from your block. I wasn’t even surprised to hear that. I mean of course you’d go on dates with someone else, I guess I’m more disappointed in myself for falling for kind gestures. Nevertheless, my feelings found comfort in staying stagnant. As long as I don’t revisit it, I don’t think it’ll budge. Not even an inch. 

“…Anyway, this shot looks fine to me. How about you? Is this okay?” I was spacing out when you asked me for my input. “Yeah, that looks fine.” “Okay, we can do more test shots tonight if you’re free.” “Yeah, sure. I’ll be there.” “Good. If we get home late, I can give you a ride home.” “Hmm? There’s no need to do that. I’ll just book a cab to go home.” If I wanted to die inside, I would’ve just eaten a poisoned apple or something. “Are you sure? It might be hard to book later since it’s Friday. I can just drop you off at the nearest station if you can’t stand my presence.” I close my eyes so you don’t see me roll them in annoyance. “Okay, I’ll think about it.” The rest of the day went by pretty fast. I met up with you at the lobby of the mall near the cafe and we drove to a city close by. There are tall buildings and views where you can see the skyline. I’d love to go back here alone, it looks peaceful. We shot more clips for b-rolls, some test shots here and there while we were each other’s test subjects. We’d laugh about how stupid we both look when we’re the ones being filmed. Most of our shots will be indoors, the outdoor shots are for the last few scenes of the film. “You have a good eye for filming. These shots look really good!” It feels nice to have that compliment come from you. Well, you ARE the film major between the two of us. “Thanks, I just do photography on the side but I’ve never tried film. So that compliment means a lot.” “You should do this more often,” you say. “Really? I don’t know, I mean it’s still a growing hobby for me. I can be good now but I might disappoint myself later and lose interest.” “Just do it without thinking about what happens afterward. Take the opportunity and just...do it. Besides, I can help you whenever you want to film something. I’m just one message away,” you say with a soft smile on your face. I gave myself a second to think about it. “You're right, I should just give it a try." I didn't notice that I was smiling a lot today. I'd be lying if I told myself that I was happy to be here and I'm just enjoying the views, taking photos, and filming.

Somehow your bright energy seeps through me and I allow it. Now I raise the question, how can someone be so familiar yet so distant all this time? I'm sure I'll know the answer when a few months pass by. But for now, I'll have to brave through these moments I have with you and see where the wind takes me.

Hopefully, it's not too far from you, again. part 2

[missamyrisa2]

Hello Miss Amy! I've been following your work on and off for a while! I was wondering what'd you'd deal with a shy nerdy college boy with ticklish sides, thighs, and feet?

Sooo~

Back in my RP'ing days, I did a session about a shy nerdy college boy all timid at his first day in a big lecture hall. Since that session is lost to time I don't mind recreating it here for you.

From the moment I enter the room you can feel the assessment from my eyes like a scanning beam percolating up your body from head to toe. I'm dressed rather casually for class in my blue jeans, purple tank top under a long black duster sweater, and chunky wedge shoes. My lips purse thoughtfully, I make like I'm trying to find my place but I've already decided ~ with a slinky stride I'm right next to you, flashing a little smirk as I greet with a "good morning. I'm Amy~" The metal bracelets on my wrist jingle softly as we shake hands, my other hand goes atop yours for a little clasp ~ granting me one extra moment to peer into your eyes with a calculating gaze.

Murmurs are heard about the professor. She's no where to be seen. Someone had heard she's quite eccentric. Others say she's the toughest class to pass. I glance around thoughtfully, and prod you for your take on the mystery teacher with a playful poke on the side. "Oooh, are you ticklish?" I snicker and flirt and goad you into overconfidence. My fingers idly trace and place with my flower-shaped belt buckle while I muse for you~ "This prof is such a flake. I bet you could teach this class ~ wouldn't that be hilarious? Like just tell her she's been replaced and then you can dismiss us all. You'd be like, so my hero~"

I hold back a smile when I see my plan taking hold. My cheeks blush gently for you when I see you stand up and summon the courage to speak to the class your plan. As you gain momentum and even support from your peers, I quietly pad my way down to the front of the hall. Slowly the cheers and chatter quiet down and one by one the class is looking forward. You realize all too late the deception, turning to face me with my hands on my hips in an authoritative pose, the display behind me showing my credentials as professor of this course in The Psychology of Reflexology.

"Well now. Class, it looks like we have our volunteer for our first lab. You'll learn I waste no time here, we are diving right in and I expect you all to keep up. Now, Mr. Charmer, if you'll just make your way to the front~" I turn and summon you with my wagging finger. When I see you stammer and blush and fiddle in your spot, my face flashes a knowing grin as nails drift to tap the petals of my belt. With the sound of mechanical squeaking, robotic hands emerge from my duster on long tentacle-like appendages. What appear to be copies of my fingers close on your wrists and snatch you up.

"There we are ~ now, we have quite a cutie on our hands here. We can see his tummy is already exhibiting a lot of twitching~" I have a mechanical hand lift your shirt to expose your belly, and I draw a nail up your sensitive skin. "There's concentrations of sensitivity here, and here ~ and riiiight along here in this circle. The giggles are a definite symptom of sensitivity and possibly ticklishness." I continue down and point a nail at your hip poking out the top of your bottoms. "We don't get into all of them today, but there are 'buttons' on the body which can trigger immediate responses. These hips, yes sometimes called hippies~" I poke and probe and prod at your waistline, making you buck for the amusement of the class. "Can trigger these bucking motions. Quite useful."

I have you lowered and attach a camera to my floral headband, putting your face on multiple displays throughout the lecture hall and into the stream for remote classmates. "MMhmm. And we see here, these cheeks." I grasp one of your cheeks lovingly with my fingers. "Quite pinkened. It's a blushing effect, very normal when stimulating a body's sensitive zones. With luck we'll see these blooms spreading downward. It can vary by subject, but I've seen almost entire bodies covered in this pink coloration. Quite cute, no?"

With that, I dial in a new sequence for my assistants and have you tossed onto a padded table rising from the floor. Hands flutter about and teasingly relieve you first of your shoes, then socks, and then free you of your shirt and pants ~ your clothing floats away on taunting fingers as I playfully nudge you back to lay flat and engage the padded shiny restraints across your wrists, ankles, and waist. From above I flash my smile and make sure I have a good angle on your blushing face.

"As we can see the anticipation has inspired more of that lovely color on his frame. This occurs before any actual stimulation of his reflexes. Quite fascinating." I lean in and broadcast your blushes and wiggles to everyone, and playfully blow a puff of air in your ear before addressing the class further. " Now, I've done a visual assessment of our subject today and observed that he is keen to cover certain areas of his body. My theory is that someone will do this even if they aren't fully aware of their ~ tickle spots~ and now, we will test that theory~"

I dial in commands through my buckle, giggling gently and blushing myself a bit at your predicament. When I see you struggling under the teasing wiggle of the tickly hands I grin wide. "Now, now. Don't fidget. Just let the machines do their work~" Robotic hands perfectly emulating my manicured purple nails land first on your sides, massaging up and down with ease. Another set snaps into action, working as a team with one grasping your big toe as the other begins gliding nailtips downward from under your toes and across the sole. The third set springs forth and begins lovingly rubbing at your thighs, alternating between circular thumb rubs and gentle caresses of the wiggly fingers.

"As we can see from these rather dramatic reactions, our subject is indeed ticklish on these primary zones. Just look at him go! What a ticklish boy, mmm?" I lean in for the last part, taunting in your ear as my minions work their fingers over your tickle zones. My hand drifts to playfully pinch and tweak one of your nipples as I observe the reaction in your undergarments.

"Further~ we see a stimulus rising in his, shall we say, royal package. This is expected as the tickle zones may also share erogenous neighbors. But, the machine is only able to summon these reflexes to a certain degree. For a full test we will require the human touch as well~"

I glance at my tablet over the student profiles and start calling names forth. A variety of peers appear around the table. You can't help but assess their hands ~ some have long nails, others short, some with jewelry and others without. Hand sizes vary, as do the apparent levels of evil in their smirks and grins and smiles. I tap my flower and retract the machine. "Go on now, pick a tickle spot ~ get a good one~!" I direct them, pacing around and ensuring my head camera captures your reactions.

A peppy girl with a french manicure dives in first. "Mah boyfriend gets me hereee aawwwl the tiime" She squeaks in her drawl, squeezing at your sides playfully. A dainty finger is quick to follow that lead, poking into your tummy from a rather gruff student who wouldn't be expected to tickle so easily. "Look at this bellybutton my god!" You catch eyes with stern hazel globes looking with a sense of contempt at your feet. The goth girl with long crimson claws is all too eager to practice her craft. She sneers and spreads her talons over your wiggling toes and helpless soles, skittering wildly in random directions. That leaves a fourth member, short haired and looking like a massage therapist on their day job ~ who happily hums and begins practicing techniques on your thigh muscles.

"I've selected our participants today based on a variety of style and sensation. We can see our subject is exhibiting in turn, a variety of reactions. But you'll need to observe closely. We can see he's bucking, likely from the tickles at his sides. Those cackles are a result of the long-nailed tickles simulating his soles and toes. The squeaks? Why, those are certainly care of this finger going in and out of the navel. And yes, the gigglemoans, quite exquisite and the product of his thighs being massaged - quite excellent work dear."

I move to your legs and giggle. The students gasp at the reaction showing on display in your underwear. "And there we have it, visible arousal on our subject. Quite amazing that tickles can elicit this reaction. I pegged our subject on the impression that this stimulus could be taken all the way to arousal without direct touch, and my theory is correct. Well done, if I do say so myself~"

"The unrefined among us might simply stimulate the royal area now. But I believe we will be able to coax out a climax. For this, we need a higher grade of stimulus." I tap a new sequence and my machine presents lip gloss applicators. "We need...smoochies~" I grin and let the machine apply a fresh glossy coat of purple. The other students line up and receive their stains, with pink, red, crimson, and a natural peach doled out.

"Now my dear friends, the kiss tickle requires finesse. You can just mmmmrhh, you know, maul or make out. What you want is the gentle brushing of your lips so that the gloss just ~ grazes their skin and raises the stimulation." I demonstrate, moving my lips to the side of your bellybutton. "Once the kindling is set, we mmmmuah ever so lightly to make good on that promise. Make sure your entire lip base is touching, and then retract annnnd, a perfect print right on the skin full of residual tingles." I pull back and tickle lightly around the imprint I've left on your skin as they observe and oooh and ahh.

Within moments, your body is being devoured by kissing lips. They excitedly brush and kiss and muah at your sides, up your ribs, over your belly, layering the different shades of gloss all around. Your thighs become a field of kiss marks. Your toes are individually kissed carefully, your soles lined with a pattern of muah. All the while I float around your face, occasionally giving you a peck on the cheek or directing you to the screen now showing a wide angle from above of all these kissy teasy ticklers over your body. The layers of kisses tingle endlessly even when they take a break to admire their work.

Once I have you nice and fuzzy and overloaded from their kisses, you turn and hear the tingling sound, seeing me tapping the flower buckle once more. "And now, the final test." The machine hands return, snapping to action and working around the students. Nails and lips work in tandem to overload your tickle spots, relentlessly following your struggles and laughs. With a smirk, I stand nearby, hand on my hip ~ documenting all while we bring you to a ticklegasm for the class to observe.

"We will most certainly be using this subject again for more studies, class~"

[kimyoonmiauthor]

Worldbuilding—Cities and buildings

So continuing the series on worldbuilding, because I have a lot of these already. But you should make sure by this point you have a map, so you know the climate. I'd also work on everything else before the city. If you do the city and don't know everything else first, you might lock yourself into things you didn't carefully think about or rely on tropes you could have avoided by thinking through the other things first.

To me, a city/village/architecture, etc is a sort of practical art. It helps organize space and your setting, but also can tell about the psychology of your characters—no matter if you are deliberately worldbuilding or not You get viseral reactions when you tell people you're living in Harlem v. Hell's Kitchen v. Long Island or maybe it's Silicon Valley or Beverly Hills. Eastend v. Central London. So it's not a bad thing to think hard about it. (I could use Seoul too... but you get the idea)

I've been turning this one over in my head for a little while because I wasn't 100% sure how to approach it. I suppose this is in the "extras" category unless you're making up a city from scratch or something of that sort because you are doing an Urban Fantasy. But I think including small things from this list can give your places "flavor" It's on my list of villages/cities, but this loosely goes over how to think of items. And maybe inject a little psychology in the mix—design of spaces 100% can affect how people act and think in a space which was pointed out to me by my Cultural Geography Prof.

Why think about this at all you might wonder. Because design of buildings, design of streets can influence things like the spread of disease, poverty, access to jobs, internal economics, and in some cases it 100% can influence your access to health, education, and ability towards upward mobility which recent studies are showing. When it affects long term health outcomes, then it's worth thinking about, not just in basic OMG, Asbestos, but things like how traffic is thought of and controlled, noise pollution, and where the road and how busy the roads are. When the quality and type of materials can affect things like plague prevention, then yeah, maybe it is worth thinking a tiny bit about if your characters spend an inordinate amount of time there.

Officially, never took a class on this, but I did link to professors in this section. Also, kinda piggybacking on my relatives. My grandparents studied architecture and often talked about it historically. And then my cousin and some family friends are architects, so kinda asked questions over the years. It's come up in passing in other classes, so using that info and compiling a "where to look" type of thing.

Urban Development Keyterms

City Planning

Development

Grids

Cul-de-sacs

Food Deserts

Food Swamp

Parks

Public Works

Economics

Walkability

Street Planning

Bike paths/transportation paths

Green areas

Water

Resources

Districting v. Zoning

redlining

transportation—public v. private and parking lots

urban renewal

community development/community outreach

slums

vacancy

commute times

city heat maps

Youtube Channels to check out:

City Beautiful- Covers a variety of cities from different regions and break it down with lingo and tells why it became that way and why it might be right/wrong.

A good video to understand how roads/cars destroyed things in the US comes from him:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNHlbk4IX6A&ab_channel=CityBeautiful

He goes over urban development from the 1900's-ish to the present and how that shaped US cities. This video goes over easy-to-access additional sources.

He's a professor and a professional designer, so reliable source.

Some say Not Just Bikes, but I'm 50/50 since most of the time he compares one city to the rest of the world and usually sticks to Europe/US/CAN.

Also look at this one:

Clear contrast, right? But notice it gives you the psychology and reasons why with the environment they are building on with the city ordinaces, which is why I think this topic is worth thinking about a bit when it comes to writing.

City Planning

The panning of a city, village or town on where to place things. This may include ordinances about style of homes, public goods, businesses, etc. Basically what this section is about.

This can influence things like the spread of disease, access to food, poverty, transportation, public works (Water electricity, gas, etc), parks, libraries, etc. You can make it better or worse depending on how you plan your city landscape. An Example of how city planning influences disease is here:

City Ordinances such as quarantine, the ability to enforce it, how housing is built or not built, etc definitely has an influence as shown in the doc. Requiring

Lime plaster walls prevented disease and that all buildings be White washed is definitely something a city ordinance can do.

Salt peter (potassium Nitrate), amber, brimstone (sulfur), juniper, as a way to fight it is also a part of something the city can pass.

Not everything is in the control of the larger government, so creating the government landscape for this can add flavor to your world. How much control does your city have or not have compared to the rest of the country?

Development

Refers to how the city plans to do works and expand or slow growth. Often "Urban Development" and City Planning are said to be synonymous, but it's not quite the same thing. Urban development refers to the actual building one may or may not do and one may or may not have permission of the community.

That's why often people do community outreach these days by surveying the local population, asking what they think, and try to improve the area.

For example, time the walk man to allow pedestrians to go first would be city planning, but not necessarily Urban development.

Finding out there are a high number of deaths along a strip of road and finding ways to slow down the traffic may be both Urban development and City Planning.

Telling people to not build more Cul-De-Sacs and restricting them might be City Planning and Urban Development.

Objecting to a 2000 floor sky scraper because it blocks your lawn from getting any sun would be anti-Urban development, but it might lower your property values to have a dead lawn.

Complaining because a building's reflective surface raises your air conditioning bill... Someone didn't think carefully about Urban Development, but it might not fall directly under city planning since it's between individuals, not about zoning, etc. (This did happen with the Disney Music Hall in Downtown Los Angeles).

Grids

Power Grid, Water grid, but also Streets. Often cities and villages are built this way to make it easier to navigate.

Famously, NYC, (Parts of Los Angeles) Washington DC. Kinda Seoul, but this is iffy because the building pattern is different... there are more back alleys in Seoul, Tokyo... maybe? (It's designed more like HK/Seoul from what I remember, and some streets are not driveable.

Boston is a mess. Hong Kong, I kinda remember them doing this.

I remember London as being kinda a mess. But thinking about how easy your town, village, city is to navigate might be something to play with. To grid or not to grid.

Cul-de-sacs

I hate them, they usually are associated particularly in the US and Canada, etc with HOAs, manufactured terrible looking houses, and low walkability.

Here is an article with the problem with them: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-09-19/the-problem-with-cul-de-sac-design

Because of their design they are not easy to get in and out of and are notorious for car accidents and fatalities

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2012/04/09/the-curse-of-the-cul-de-sac/

However, they often are the setting for posh people who want to have closed communities away from the dirty low-income people.

This covers the problem with Suburb and how they are planned within the US. It gives you a dynamic understanding of street planning, city design and districting and zoning.

BTW, HOAs are evil. Especially corporate ones. Especially ones that force you to grow grass which creates undue pollution.

Food and Access to Food

Basically make sure a neighborhood has no access to food (Food desert) or if they do have food, it's Fast food only.

You can make it better by allowing people to plant the community strip with food, or making public access places into food havens. Like Public parks, community lots, or building public spaces, in general. The original vision for a mall was supposed to be a community center/hub, not corporate magnet, but it rather failed.

Vertical gardens, as the article points out, and make them community run.

Often these resources are private or in higher income areas. My own city, BTW, put all the fruit trees into rich neighborhoods, while keeping the low income areas mostly with poisonous plants in public spaces.

Fruit trees BTW, are messy and take more public works to maintain as they need to be pruned every year plus they litter and collect bugs more often. But I think this could be fixed with community outreach, education, etc which usually the government isn't willing to fund for poorer areas which are also not good tourist spots, s you can see the vicious cycle unfold here.

It's worth thinking on, though since there are edible plants that don't attract a world of pain to upkeep. (That's for you to research, not for me to list otherwise we'd be here all day with locations, etc).

What would a city with all public plants must be edible look like?

Public Works

Despite what many Far right people think, having some socialism is good.

It gives you water, power, sidewalks to walk on, streets, tree maintenance, parks, libraries, community centers, and so on.

These are government maintained by taxes. Oooo... Socialism.

Parks in particular, how far they are spaced and how they are maintained, and what kinds of activities they do or do not have can alter the mobility of a neighborhood's psychology drastically.

Is the park filled with food resources? Is the park green? Is the park gated? Not gated? Are certain people allowed or not allowed? Is there water there or not? Is it visible from the road easily? Is it accessible only during certain hours? Is there a community center in the park?

Green spaces designated for such can improve small things like mental health and well being for the residents in the area. Activities can also help people not fall into crime. Rec centers and community centers are often credited for lowering crime. If they don't step up and schools don't step up, often it's left to religious community members in poorer areas to motivate away from those activities. But the lack of them, often means more traffic, and absolutely more stress.

Small things like Libraries, when well-stocked can help with upward mobility. If the elite restrict university books at the public library that can heavily influence if the average person can get ahead.

Who owns the public works, like police, Fire fighters, Education, health care, can heavily influence the well being of a population. IF prisons are more profit-motivated, what does that mean for the community it serves? How will it treat its prisoners?

These are things that citizens should be theoretically aware of and also, it's useful for when you're creating a town/a village/city. The dump, might not have Fire fighters and maybe increased police stations instead. No medical hospitals nearby. There are no parks. There is no public transportation without walking for a mile, and people are cramped on each other. How do you think that will influence the well-being of your character?

He also covers architecture topics. But this one covers how to control (or not control) water. Thus is might be useful to city planning and water works.

Economics

Yeah, so the design of your city can influence upward mobility. If more public spaces are green and beautiful and accessible to the public, (BTW, with less cars. More Cars==parking lots, parking garages, more freeways, more traffic, more pollution, more noise pollution, more stress.), and more resources given in terms of nutrition, education etc, then there is more upward mobility.

100% one could manage to destroy a neighborhood to make it eventually low income—destroy a church or two, split it with a busy road, refuse to build a park, don't fund the schools properly (AKA school vouchers), institute a strict government curriculum that strips out art/gym programs (Say No Child Left Behind),

Walkability

This includes how close or far amendities are and how easy it is to navigte your neighborhood without accident, injury, or other problems. Can you bike it with little trouble? Are there cool spots when it's oppressively hot? How are the streets arranged? How are traffic lights regulated? Are there pedestrian only walkways and streets?

The varies by climate which is why I told you a million times already, have a map so you know where your town/city/village strangely named location is. If it's a city in the sky, you still need to know climate because this will influence this Walkability.

There's a place nearby where there were a lot of deaths and accidents, so the city did a survey of the local residents and asked questions. They needed to slow the traffic and slow the amount of deaths. So what they did was install different traffic lights so the pedestrians go first. (White man shows up before the light changes). And then they added bike lanes which slowed traffic for that stretch. This upped the walkabilty for the neighborhood, less dying.

Sometimes it's that subtle—bike lane, bus lane, driving lane. Or sometimes it's better public transportation which reduces the number of cars on the road. Or sometimes it's as subtle as creating nice shade spots by planting a bunch of trees so there is shade in the winter. Basically, walkability makes the place more pleasant to live in and walk in.

I gave some cities to look at for this below to shake things up for you.

Seoul for tunnels, Japanese for private streets and back alleys where cars don't fit. Los Angeles has one of the worst scores in the world. I'd also examine Europe--particularly Paris and the Netherlands.

Street Planning

Bike paths/transportation paths

Green areas

Water

Resources

Districting v. Zoning

redlining

transportation—public v. private and parking lots

urban renewal

community development/community outreach

slums

vacancy

commute times

city heat maps

Food Deserts

Food Swamp

Parks

Public Works

Economics

Walkability

Street Planning

Bike paths/transportation paths

Green areas

Water

Resources

Districting v. Zoning

redlining

transportation—public v. private and parking lots

urban renewal

community development/community outreach

slums

vacancy

commute times

city heat maps

Resources to help draw your own:

Google Earth

CityCAD (Windows only and not free)

City Skylines (Not free and a Game)—beware of time suck rabbit holes

SIM City 2000 5.99 (From EA)/Free, https://playclassic.games/games/city-building-dos-games-online/play-simcity-2000-online/- Time Suck of a few hours.

CityEngine- over 2,000 USD. O.o; Why are you writing books then? Borrow from a city planner friend and then you don't need this tutorial.

Modelur- 150 Euros per month, works with Sketch up. First month is free. If you do go free, don't forget to cancel.

3D Cityplanner ~10 Euros a month Educational. ~60 Euros professional. Limit of 10 projects.

Cities to check out for best and worst?

Los Angeles, ranked one of the worst for traffic. No one likes to hear that their cars contribute to homelessness, but it's true. It's really terrible for walkability.

San Fran is one of the worst for housing, but is also known to spend MILLIONS (not kidding) on anti-homelessness measures like spikes. Which still gets to me and is like WTF. You rather that, than actually build homes for homeless people?

Seoul-the underground tunnel system is really cool and the subways are often ranked one of the best. Also, I'd check out the foot cart system. Marginally, for me, beat out HK and Tokyo. Though the open air markets of HK are more impressive in terms of sheer amount of goods being sold.

Tokyo- One of the most confusing subway systems such that there are otaku who memorize lines and have "favorites" (Not kidding there are train otaku for this and people who live there are confused).

Chinese rail system is also impressive (HK, granted). I liked the motorized walkways in HK. It's worth looking at.

France- I personally liked the cafe culture the best and the indoor-outdoor spaces.

Courtyard and planted courtyard—so many to choose from but general Mediterranean is a good place to start and also most North African and Middle Eastern.

Gardens/Parks- Spoiled for choice here. My favorite are English Gardens, Japanese, Chinese and Korean. The water use on particularly Japanese and Korean are my personal favorites. Japanese makes running water look effortless. But Chinese plantings are also impressive. I honestly thought I'd be more impressed with French Gardens... ^^ But this is my personal preference. I did like the French Fairy Gardens to be fair. Italian were meh for me. lol I'm going to get some hate.

The planted parks of Dubai are also impressive, but I heard that the financing for these proposed projects are often not vetted. However, I kinda like that concept. (Ted talk, IIRC).

Hong Kong is worth studying for the strict districting and layout of the city. The Commercial center is all one way, the residential is broken up another way, and how it's grouped and thought of is worth thinking about, plus the bridge to China's mainland where they designed the bridge to switch between left and right driving is quite a feat.

City Park Design

You could also go for a concrete park, though this kinda defeats the purpose, but it would be a way to emphasize how oppressive it is, especially if you take out communal activities and green settings. It would also be oppressively hot as stone absorbs more heat than green spaces. If you do a concrete Park, consider making it white, not Black due to heat maps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79VUAFq2rbg&ab_channel=AndrewMillison

This video talks about how to design a green area from a desert. His whole channel pretty much covers the basics of how to do this with various world examples. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl2Ma_heuLA&ab_channel=ExploringAlternatives

This video explains the basics of Permaculture. I should note that Asian and Indigenous garden design often does the same thing and predates Permaculture. (Probably other areas of the world as well, but I haven't learned them fully).

The point is, if you plant a park well, then it won't need weeding. If you plant it poorly, you'll constantly need to have people clean it up for you.

Architecture

Who is earning just above minimum wage and can live in an apartment like in Friends? What if they did portray the characters as truly poor and like how it would have been in NYC at the time period? Leaky pipes, problems with landlords, bug issues, rat issues, the apartment is cramped and small... would that change the show? Would that change how you feel about the characters?

Thus planning the space your characters live in will help you keep your rooms from drifting, but also help you think about how they interact with space, which is subtle to the reader, but builds the character that little bit more.

Architecture keyterms

articulation

Building permits

"Scheduled" Monuments/Listed

Zoning (again)

Foundations

Passive Solar

More definitions here:

https://global-exam.com/blog/en/english-vocabulary-architecture-vocabulary-list-top-100-common-words-used/

building ordinances

For example, you can dictate how many windows a building can or can't have, how many kitchens are allowed for a building based on certain restrictions/types, etc.

Resources to help draw your own Houses:

SIMS (1-4) Note that there are limited features and it's an expensive game

Sketchup- Steep learning curve, can get for free or pay a license to get bigger features. Major time suck, but will give you the outline of buildings https://id.trimble.com/ui/sign_in.html?

Blender- Free, but might take some time to learn. https://www.blender.org/

Graph Paper programs online are often free and allow you to layer.

GIMP doesn't really do 3D, but is also free so you can layer and draw a basic layout. https://www.gimp.org/downloads/

Affinity: If you want a Photoshop alternative you pay for one time. Don't buy monthly subscription models. It's guaranteed to make the program worse. Graph paper and pen is low cost.

Passive Solar

Most of Feng Shui, despite what people think is practical advice and passive solar. (If you take out the Kua Number type of thing). A lot of people think it's funny things that Asians do, but if you look over the list and compare it to contemporary science and historical design of buildings, a lot of it ends up matching up. It's only shrouded in extra mysticism.

Some of the basics of Passive solar are:

Green areas help with mental health. Including planted courtyards, planted rooftops, green plants in rooms as long as the plants don't Take over. Green areas tend to also cool temperatures and improve air quality.

BTW, pushing clover and wild flowers again as a great way to help the environment.

Water is a calming and cooling force.

These are worth watching, but you'll understand now why so many Asian courtyards have water features.

Imagine you could set up a water system where the whole of your courtyard is a water fence in the summer. Of course supplying it would be enormously difficult, BUT if you could also make it a water filtering system somehow, wouldn't that be *cough* cool?

There's also an old European thing where they would purposefully wet the floor and the evaporation would cool the room.

Point the entrance or at least your biggest windows towards the Sun On Earth, All Northern Hemisphere houses point South, All Southern Hemisphere houses point north on windows.

More and more airtight insulation is best Many old buildings were built with mud brick (high insulation), stone (high insulation), adobe (AKA clay) also highy insulation. Generally the material should correlate to the surrounding area. The more insulation means the longer the place takes to warm or cool.

Double glazed windows as well.

Under floor heating (stealing form Koreans here... but then later claiming it's not).

Hot air rises. Done. AKA work with nature rather than Against it (a lot of victorian houses were like this).

Central Air conditioning through ducts from the ceiling of the room. Cool air is heavier and thus falls.

Passageways cool air. So corridors are good as long as there is cross ventilation and ways to connect them to rooms. See here:

tunnels

BTW, in the 1980's-ish they used to connect hallways with glass windows above entrances in apartments, but they took it out because the glass would break in fires. But if you're clever, you could think that the futuristic apartment building/highrise you create might have something that connects to a cooler hallway.

Skylights help regulate heat.

Obviously, heat rises. So if the heat is allowed to rise during the night, it can cool the building. Visually, too, it can help people be able to see the sky, which can also give a calming effect, especially in buildings that need to be industrial.

Ceiling fans help regulate room temps.

This one is a bit more complicated to explain physics-wise, but if you're that interested, look it up.

The color of your roof matters.

In cooler climbs, the roof tends to be darker. In warmer climbs, the roof tends t be lighter in color. I witnessed this in Japan and Korea. Darker colors absorb more light and heat than lighter colors.

Green roofs

Purposefully making your roof of moss or of plants can also naturally cool the building as the plants provide shade. However, the cost does go up when you are supporting plants because you need systems of run off, etc , but it is worth considering if you want to build your city this way:

Green areas in General

Green courtyards, green rooms (as in has plants) can help with the mental well being of people, which is why hospitals often have this.

Bad Ideas you might have seen, but don't know are bad

Do not recycle Rebar

If you do this in a story, engineers will laugh at you.

To get up the tensile strength, it would have to be melted down again and reformed again into rebar. Simply straightening it is not enough to get back tensile strength.

Side Notes:

Autistic people (also people with CPTSD) really like curves, but they are exceptionally hard to build well. You'll hear architects and builders groan over curves because of the technical difficulty. But curves also make wheelchair accessibility difficult. So yeah, gotta think about this too. (That said, seeing someone rip out a curved staircase makes me cry.)

Thinking about government growing programs where landed people can volunteer to give up any food they grow in excess to the city would be something positive to think about. Maybe the government would even pay for it. (I know, "evil" socialism.)

Books and further resources

Castle by David Macaulay is really accessible and will give you format of castles. (All his books for kids are really great for breaking down basics of architecture).

Universal Principles of Design, Revised and Updated: 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach through Design Flexibound by William Lidwell (Author), Kritina Holden (Author), Jill Butler (Author)

Architectural Digest (Has a free Youtube Channel)

The Design of Everyday Things: Revised and Expanded Edition Kindle Edition by Donald A. Norman

Conclusion

As I said at the top, the setting helps build the psychology of the character very quickly. A messy character like Nodmae, tells you a lot of the character in a short amount of time. Yet the piano at the center of it, tells you what she really values.

Likewise, if you want to make the reader and character boxed in, what better way than shifting their total surroundings so there is dirt, noise, air pollution, not enough green plants, the plants that do exist are poisonous and the heat from the materials used is not conducive to passive solar. The plants that are around are against the climate, so it's dead, and people are living in a food desert.

But building up little details along the way about these types of things where the nearest restaurant in walkable distance is McDonalds, can make the story feel closed in and claustrophobic.

Setting definitely influences things like health outcomes, suicide rates, violence, etc. So I say exploit it to its fullest and put some thinking into it. How does your character feel about where they live?

But you could also imagine a Utopia city where people share their harvests, food and green areas are all over the place. Where poorer areas are as lush as the rich areas as well. And I think these small little things can really enhance your story or at least give you a checklist of things to think about when you shape it for stories that don't feature made up towns. Maybe even making you more aware of the places you visit and live in and how to truly respect it and maybe do little things to help with poverty around you.

[6okuto]

「8:37 p.m.」

SUNA watches you fidget in your seat across from him for a solid 3 minutes before grabbing your hand. you startle a little, your focus shifting from your hands to his face. “what?” 

“what do you mean ‘what’? i’ve never seen you more nervous for something that i have to do,” he says, placing his chin in his other palm. you squint and frown at your best friend, who, evidently, has always been more of a risk-taker than you. “you don’t have to fake a proposal to try to get a free dessert, rintarou.”

“i do if i want free dessert, don’t i?” there’s a teasing smirk on his face, but even suna knows that you’re right. he could have easily tried to fake a birthday before a marriage proposal. but he reassures himself that he was right—that they’d ask to see ID—and that this was the only course of action. that a fake proposal to his best friend he’s had a crush on for god knows how long was truly the best plan for a friday night. “and i want a free dessert. so let’s do this then, yeah?”

before you can try to stop him, rin is already shuffling out of his seat to get on one knee. “rin—” 

“i’ve known you for a long time,” he starts, just loud enough to gain the attention of any employees nearby. “maybe longer than anyone else i still talk to.”

you go quiet and stare at him, finally processing what he’s decided to do. your mind is reeling, though, about the supposed script he said he planned. “don’t worry about it. i’ll make sure the tables around us are tearing up and clapping by the end,” he said only a few hours prior. but you know suna—you know that words of affirmation have never really been his love language. acts of service, quality time, gift giving, physical touch, but never words. yet here you are, wondering if you’re going to be proven wrong as the boy kneeling in front of you stares with determined eyes.

“we’ve always stuck together through thick and thin, you know? when we had to pull all nighters for exams, or when practice ran late and you stayed to walk home with me. that time when your shitty prof wouldn't give you a study guide and i helped you make one a month before the test, or when you called me at 2am that one night crying because your favourite character died and we went out for food to make you feel better.” your face heats up at that and rin does his best to stop a smile, choosing to continue.

“and i think...a lot of my best memories are with you. when i look back on it all, you’re always there with me," he says. there's a pause before he continues. "i have a folder, you know," he confesses.

you blink in confusion and rin can feel his own face turn red. he averts his gaze and lets out an embarrassed laugh before taking a breath to continue, "a hidden one that just has photos of us—of you. even the ones you'd spam when i was asleep that i said i'd delete. and sometimes i look through it and i just realize over and over that before our relationship and even now, you’re my best friend and—" rin stutters a little, his heart beating a little faster.

"...and i love you," rintarou’s eyes and voice soften as he looks up at you. restaurant audience or embarrassment be damned—the only thing that mattered right now was you. "probably more than you know.”

“so,” he finally pulls out the ring he bought—not cheap or too expensive, but one he knew caught your eye weeks ago. “the one and only love of my life, the only one i’d ever trust with my phone unlocked, even after my confession—” you manage to laugh a little at that and he grins.

his voice is soft, and you'd think no one could hear him if not for the near complete silence around you. “even back when we were high school sweethearts and people told us it wouldn’t work—i’ve always known. known that i’d come back to you, that it would always be you. will you marry me?”

rin wonders if you can hear his heart about to beat out of his chest, or if you notice how he’s a little out of breath, or the shakiness in his voice and hands as he watches for your reaction. and you don’t, really. not when you can barely recognize you’re in public, your gaze fixated only on him.

because you were wrong. you were so, so wrong about knowing suna rintarou through and through. he wasn't the same guy who struggled to comfort you verbally and decided to hug you for 2 hours after an exam gone wrong. at some point he changed (thanks to you, he'd say.)

but you still know two things for sure. one, that you have your own secret folder in your phone of the two of you and two, that you loved him. then and now. so you take a deep breath yourself. there’s really only one thing left to say with dozens of guests waiting alongside rin and your free meal on the line—

“i will.”

note from nia: hiii HIIIII omg sorry. um. wow. i want him. i need him saur bad. speedwrote this in an hour like WOW. brainworms. idc if this flops personally because even though the pacing is ass and i could fix a lot i'm happy w the idea and am already making my way through a part 2!!! both in like, a part 2 to this story and also a multi-character post kind of way. as long as i don't go off the rails again. LOL. HAVE A GOOD NIGHT/DAY EVERYBODY!

interaction & rbs appreciated \o/

🏷️ couldn't tag | @devilgirlcrybabiey @lordbugs @smiithys @xfangirl-trashx @passionateuchiha @scaramouchesfootstool @fifteenshadesofpinkk @chloee0x0 @kenmaslov3r @bakugosgrenade @dai-tsukki-desu @missyasma @thathoneybee3 @momoewn @aintgeluh @dazaisfavgf @simpforerenn @crystal-lilac @vhenis @omiigad @kur0-kawa @semispilledcoffee @ksyhmm

[sunscreenstudies]

Iconic Things My Coding Professors Have Said (Part 4)

"by the way i don't use calculators to calculate things, I use python, which is what all intelligent and slightly masochistic programmers do"

Prof: "you probably don't love numpy yet, but you will do"   Student: "what if it doesn't love me back?"   Prof: "don't worry, it loves you already, you just need some couples therapy"

"so what can we say about this plot? well, we've already seen that it won't win a beauty contest”

"shall we have a go at this exercise together?"   *30 dead exhausted so done faces stare back at him blankly*   "i love your enthusisam for my life's work"

"the more plots you have, the happier the people are... especially the stupid ones"

"pandas is my favourite python library. it sounds very cute... its not, but it sounds very cute"

Student: "using ‘self’ is just a convention, right? you could add whatever you want in there?"   Prof: "... yes, but no"

"what does lambda do?"   *silence*   okay, first of all, what is lambda?"   *muttering from the back*   "a pain in the ass"

"sometimes i think that we're getting places, but then i see your tired weary faces staring back at me, so horribly aged by python and life"

"we still need to add that weird ‘self’ thingy as the first argument"

Powerpoint Slides: "Python gives whitespace semantic meaning but most other programming languages don't treat whitespace in such a way. Instead, they use a separate keyword like ‘endif’ or punctuation like } to end the ‘if’ statement. The proponents of those languages (you can call them haters if you want), say that Python is crazy. Python fans call it beautiful."

"It comes from when we had to teach online during the pandemic, and three hour online sessions was just... devestating for everyone"

"We also have a private folder where we share all the... interesting things"   *awkward silence*   "NOT LIKE THAT!"

"These datasets will be engaging... or at least that's the plan"

Prof: "first of all, how are you guys doing? it's the end of code bootcamp, how are we feeling?”  *everyone starts laughing*  Prof: “... okay, so you guys are laughing instead of crying, that’s a good sign right?"    Student: "we're laughing because if we don't laugh, then we will cry" 

"So I'm not going to read through these slides in class because it's really boring and i can't believe i chose this for a career but here we are"

*Prof’s laptop wallpaper is a cat*   "There's my fur baby"   Student: "What's the name of your cat?"    Prof: "Mia. Officially it's after the song by Abba, but in reality it's short for Meow"

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7  | Part 8

Part 9  | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14