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ragingbookdragon · 4 years ago

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I'm Only A Crack In This Castle Of Glass (Hardly Anything Else I Need To Be) PT. 2

Batfamily x Batsis Story!

Word Count: 2.7K Warnings: Explicit Language and Angst!

Author's Note: It's amazing how much one can write when they've got a story to tell, eh? Enjoy! -Thorne

Set Three Years After PT. 1:

Life for her revolved around work in the A.M. and community college in the P.M. If she wasn’t brewing cappuccinos and baking apple turnovers, she was writing research papers and taking physics exams. It was hectic and it was hard, much harder than anything she’d done, but it was her life, and she was going to make the best of it. The money she’d taken from her savings account had only lasted her long enough to get a decent one bedroom one bathroom apartment in a small complex and the rest went towards tuition. The coffee shop two blocks from her building had fortunately been looking for a new hire when she arrived, and she took the chance where it was, not going to look the gift horse in its mouth.

The life she lived now was a complete 180 from her old one. Back then, she didn’t have to work (though she did at a high-end department store in the mall—her father got her the job but at least she had one) and there wasn’t anything she couldn’t get with a swipe of a credit card. Now she was on a budget that consisted of five and ten tips and the last time she actually bought a new pair of shoes over a hundred dollars had been last year when she needed them for an interview, and even then, it cost her a limb.

Everything was so different, but she didn’t want to go back, preferring to be on her own and away from Gotham. From the newspapers and media, her family had convinced the world that she’d taken a few years to go overseas and spend time in Europe. A mental reprieve, they’d called it. Partially true if she was honest, but she wasn’t going to open her mouth about it lest they learned where she was. She didn’t go through all that trouble to be found within three years.

“Melisandre.”

Maybe I should move again?

“Melisandre?”

Moving would take a long time but it would be effective.

“Melisandre!”

Someone grabbed her arm over the counter, and she jerked with a start, eyes widening as she finally realized someone was standing in front of her.

“Barry?” she asked, and he smiled.

“Finally,” he snorted. “I’ve been calling your name for like ten minutes now.”

She felt a flush creep along her cheeks, and she smiled apologetically. “Sorry, I was thinking about something. Usual?” she murmured, marking a disposable coffee cup with a marker.

Barry nodded with understanding and handed her a credit card. “I hear you. How’s studying going for that physics exam?” His blue eyes darted to the science book she had sprawled over the counter.

“It’s going,” she muttered and turned, starting to mix together his latte. “I still can’t get the thermodynamic laws down. They’re a bit confusing.”

“Yeah, it’ll take a while. You know if you need my help, all you gotta do is ask, right?”

Shrugging, she glanced at him as she poured. “You’re a busy man, Barry. I can’t have you trying to help me while trying to solve cases too.”

Barry chuckled and accepted the freshly poured latte. “I’m an excellent multitasker, Melisandre. Besides, you don’t have to worry about it messing with my work.” She opened her mouth to retort but he cut her off. “Seriously, shoot me an email about whatever questions you’ve got, and I’ll take a look at ‘em, okay?”

Her eyes narrowed warily, and she inquired, “You’re sure it won’t interfere? I’d hate for you to get in trouble for working on non-work-related things.”

“I promise, Melisandre,” he smiled and accepted a bag of apple turnovers too. He couldn’t help but pull one out and bite into it, letting out a delighted noise. “God, what do you put in these things? They’re phenomenal.”

She giggled and winked as he handed her a twenty. “A baker never reveals her secret, but if you really want to know, I use a little vanilla extract.”

Barry shook his head with a chuckle and started making his way to the door. “See you later, Melisandre!”

Waving at him, she called, “Bye Barry! Take care!”

Just as he opened the door, he stopped and spun around, suddenly asking, “Hey, what are you doing tomorrow?”

Blinking, she glanced at the physics book then back to him. “Well, I was going to be studying for the exam…why?”

“My nephew is in town and I wanted to introduce him to you. I’ve already mentioned you a bunch of times and he wants to meet you.”

Her face pinched. “Barry Allen, what did you tell that poor boy?”

He stuck his tongue out at her. “That there’s a lonely college student who has no friends but has the greatest baking abilities in the world.”

“I cannot believe you told him I had no friends! Why!”

“You don’t.”

“Well, yeah! But still! You don’t just tell someone that! It makes me seem like there’s something wrong with me!”

Barry waved a hand. “Relax. Wally’s the least jerky person you’ll meet.” He smiled. “You’ll like him.”

She frowned. “I still don’t think this is a good idea, Barry.”

“Why not?”

“Well, he’s here to see you and your wife, not come meet the person who feeds your apple turnover addiction.”

The blonde’s cheeks turned a dark shade of crimson and he spluttered, “It is not an addiction!” he spun around and marched through the door. “I’ll send him over tomorrow! Bye!”

And he left before she could even say a word.

***

It had to be hieroglyphics. It was either that or some ancient cuneiform he’d recently taken up interest in, because there was no way whatever he’d written on the paper was English.

She cocked her head to the side, muttering, “Jesus Christ, Barry, did you write this on a caffeine bender? Your writing is like chicken scratch.” She tipped her head to the other side trying to decipher it when someone leaned over her shoulder.

“Which problem do you need help on?” they asked, and she pointed to the sheet.

“I have no idea what that says.” She turned and saw a red-haired stranger. “If you think you can, be my guest.”

He took it and read over it a moment, green eyes scanning over the page then he said, “Let’s see, he wrote first, ‘The third law of thermodynamics states that the entropy of a system at absolute zero is a well-defined constant. This is because a system at zero temperature exists in its ground state, so that its entropy is determined only by the degeneracy of the ground state.’”

Pausing, he scanned it again and added, “Then he marked a note beside it and wrote, ‘In simplistic terms, if an object reaches the absolute zero temp. of (0 K = -273.15C = -459.67°F), its atoms will stop moving. In other words, at absolute zero, the entropy of a perfectly crystalline substance is zero.’”

Glancing at her, he smiled. “Make sense now?”

She huffed and nodded, taking the sheet back. “Yeah, thanks. I don’t even know how you managed to get all that from his writing.”

He nodded. “Yeah, Barry’s handwriting is deplorable.”

Her eyes went wide, and she immediately questioned, “How did you?”

Sticking a hand out, he greeted, “Wally West. I’m Barry’s nephew.”

Shaking his hand, she couldn’t help but laugh. “I can’t believe he actually told you to come up here and meet me.” A smile came across her lips. “I’m Melisandre Hale.”

“That’s a pretty name, Melisandre.”

“Thank you,” she grinned and waved him to one of the bar-stools on the adjacent side of the counter. “Have a seat and I’ll get you something to eat and drink.” As she slid behind the counter, she inquired, “Anything specific?”

Wally stared at the bored, offhandedly mentioning, “Barry said something about apple turnovers that could make you cry with joy, so I’ve gotta have one of those.” His evergreen eyes met hers. “Maybe two if I’m being honest.”

She grunted, but a grin crossed her lips, nevertheless. “Barry exaggerates a lot, Wally. They’re good, but they’re not mind-blowingly good.”

“Then I guess that leaves me to be the judge,” he countered with a smirk. “What should I drink?”

She thought for a moment then offered, “Have any judgments about drinking before five o’clock?”

He let out a startled laugh and shook his head. “It’s five o’clock somewhere.”

With a grin, she turned and started working her magic and a moment later, she was sliding a plate with two iced apple turnovers over along with a clear steaming mug of dark coffee with cream on top. She leaned her hip on the counter and watched him pick up one of the apple turnovers and take a bite.

Immediately his eyes went wide, and he exclaimed, “Holy shit.” He gaped at her. “This is delicious, Melisandre!”

Despite herself, her cheeks warmed, and she gave him an easy smile. “Thanks, Wally.” She nodded to the crystal mug. “Try the Irish coffee.”

He did so and tossed his head back, letting out an exaggerated groan that had her laughing until her stomach hurt. Wally was on his second turnover and he looked at her.

“You’ve gotta open up a bakery or something, Melisandre. Your pastries are awesome.”

She huffed and took the plate from him as he finished the last bite. “Let me get through college first and then I’ll wonder how to rack up enough to open a shop.”

“What are you studying?”

Pausing, she tossed a quick glance at him. “There’s no specification right now. I’m just doing general studies to get all the basics out of the way.” She put the dish in the sink and started rinsing it. “I’m at the four-C right now.” His brows pulled together, and she added, “Central City Community College.”

He snapped his fingers. “Right! It’s been a while since I went to the four-C.”

Her eyes found his and she curiously asked, “Did you go there?”

“Yeah, a few years back.”

“You don’t look that much older than I am. How old are you, Wally?”

He sipped his coffee and set it down as he replied, “I turned twenty-eight a month ago.”

“Happy belated birthday,” she smiled, and he gave her one in return.

“Thanks. How about you?”

“I turned twenty-one a few months ago.”

“Hmm, happy belated birthday to you as well.” He grinned, quipping, “How’s it feel to finally be able to legally do all the things you were doing before you turned twenty-one?”

She shot him a look. “Shame on you, Wally West, for assuming I was doing illegal things.” He chuckled and she shrugged. “But to answer your question, it feels great, so thanks.”

Wally snorted at that. “My best friend and I got absolutely hammered on our twenty-firsts and swore to never drink hard liquor again after we woke up in the bathroom in our underwear after passing out on the floor.”

A shudder passed over her at her own memory of waking up beside the toilet after her birthday celebration with a bottle of white rum. She cocked a hand up with her water bottle in it. “Here, here,” she toasted and took a sip as Wally raised his coffee and drank too.

She glanced at him. “Are you in school, or are you done?”

“I finished a while ago. I work out of a tower with a group of friends in Manhattan.”

For a moment, her eyes drifted to the simple pair of jeans and graphic shirt he was wearing. She lived in the upper area of Gotham and she knew what uptown Manhattan was like, and it wasn’t jeans and t-shirts.

Evidently, he did too because he scowled, “I have suits and ties, thank you very much.”

She snorted and took the empty mug from him. “I didn’t say anything, Wally.”

“You made a face.”

“Is a face a ground to be hostile?” she grinned. “I was just wondering what type of business in Manhattan ran on flash t-shirts and skinny jeans.” She eyed him. “Tech?”

He shrugged. “It’s…a bit of everything if I’m being honest.” It sounded like he didn’t exactly want to say, and she let it be, rinsing out his cup before setting it to dry.

A buzz sounded and she felt for her phone when he said, “That’s mine.” Wally pulled his phone out, read the message, and stood up. “I’ve gotta go, Melisandre.”

She nodded and took the twenty-dollar bill he handed her, waving her off when she tried to hand back the change. As he started towards the door, she called, “Wally?”

He turned on his heel and waited and she felt foolish for saying it, but she admitted with warmth in her cheeks, “It’s been a while since I had any semblance of a friend…so thanks for this afternoon.”

Wally gave her a pearly white grin. “Barry said you’d say something like that,” he chuckled as she scowled and he added sincerely, “Can never have too many friends, Melisandre…and I hope you’ll become a great one of mine. So far, you already are.”

She smiled, “Same here, Wally.” The bell signaled his exit and she let out a heavy sigh as her heart warmed in her chest at the feeling of a newfound friendship.

***

She was dead on her feet when she finally got through her front door and into her living room, practically collapsing onto the couch. Though it wasn’t far from the truth as she flopped down and toed off her shoes, heaving a long and winded sigh as she stared at the dark ceiling. She wanted to turn on the lamp on the table beside her, but she didn’t want to move. Hell, she barely wanted to get up and take a shower, so she didn’t go to bed sweaty.

Just a moment. She thought. Just a moment to close my eyes and I’ll get up and go shower.

Of course, the second the shut them, she was opening them to her phone telling her it was two A.M. She groaned and picked herself off the couch to shuffle into her bedroom, and when she got there, she peeled off the clothes from her body and let them fall, not caring about the hamper just a foot away. She’d do it tomorrow after class.

The shower was quick, and she crawled into bed a few minutes later, glancing out the window at the stars that were still in the night sky. Even if she tried to avoid thinking about it, she couldn’t, and her mind drifted to when she was a young girl and would stare out the window in her bedroom back in Gotham, watching the spotlight come alive and paint the silhouette of the bat symbol against the night sky.

She missed them. She missed them a lot. Missed eating meals at a full table and the laughter in the manor. Hell, she even missed being ignored, because at least then she could see familiar faces every day. Now, it was wake up, go to work, go to class, then come home. And the process repeated every morning. She was alone in a city where she didn’t know anyone except for one forensic scientist and his wife, going to a college that didn’t even have her real identity. She’d not even said the name “(Y/N) Wayne” out loud for fear that someone with super hearing would hear her and tell her father, instead going by “Melisandre Hale”, a twenty-one-year-old born and raised Central City citizen going to community college. It pained her to admit, that with her decision to grant herself the freedom she desired, it came with a heavy price, and that was the loneliness. And it was worse compared to what it was like back then.

Sighing, she rolled over and pulled the covers up over her head, hoping that when she shut her eyes, she’d stop thinking about what she left behind. Unfortunately, the universe and her mind were never kind, and as she drifted to sleep, she saw the pained faces of her family.

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gnomebby-sideblog · 2 years ago

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saw a tiktok the other day about adding your own niche interests to fanfic and that spiraled into an idea for a ofmd modern day birdwatching au. i doubt i’ll ever get around to writing it but here is my general premise and character ideas!!

stede bonnet recently fell in love with birds and is trying to get into birdwatching as a hobby, so he signs up for a bird walk with ornithologist edward teach. here, he becomes even more infatuated with birds, and maybe becomes interested in someone else too, so it’s all too easy to sign up for another walk.

and of course, our beloved crew are also regulars of ed’s bird walks. birdwatching-related shenanigans ensue!

characters:

stede: middle-aged recent divorcee and father of two, looking for something new in his life, saw a cool bird once and fell down the birding rabbit hole after researching it, bought a bunch of nice equipment but doesn’t know how to use it, thinks birds are cool and pretty, knows pretty much nothing else, but he wants to learn!! favorite bird: northern cardinal

ed: ornithologist and big name in the birding world, chair of his local audubon society in his free time, can tell you everything about every native bird in the area, expert at calls and identifying, but is losing the magic that got him to love birds, getting bored, starts up bird walks for the community to try to bring the love back. favorite bird: american crow

izzy: co-leads walks with ed but no one likes him nearly as much, has worked with ed for years, currently doing research with ed, they get along well and work fine together but in the same way a bickering old couple does, really trying to push ed to keep with research even as ed is falling out of passion, feels threatened by stede and everyone knows it but him, does a lot of the organizational parts of the walks and does not get credit for it, gets visibly annoyed whenever stede talks and is very happy to correct stede when he identifies a species incorrectly. favorite bird: great horned owl

lucius: local college student studying environmental science, knows a lot and is chill about it but is silently judging you because you mixed up a song sparrow and house sparrow, dutifully records every species he sees and how many on ebird because Science, stede is friendly with him and lucius is only mildly happy about it but lets him stick around him anyway, always makes sure to point out to stede what he sees, when he isn’t using his binoculars or recording a sighting he is holding hands with pete. favorite bird: yellow-rumped warbler

black pete: goes to walks for ed because he’s a big fan, has read all of ed’s books and mentions it a lot, claims to have studied under ed when he was an undergrad and ed was a professor but can’t really prove it, always stays near the front of the group, gets excited about the birds very easily and is very passionate about birding and lucius is the only one who can calm him down, always shows up in full outdoors gear whether necessary or not, lowkey gets annoyed when people misidentify things but is working on it. favorite bird: belted kingfisher

jim: always shows up with oluwande, quiet, stays in the back and makes quick remarks making fun of people under their breath, only really talks to oluwande, will not tell you what they see until after the fact when it has already flown away, crazy good photographer and can always get a clear shot of the birds, carries around a fancy expensive camera with a huge lens that is their pride and joy, has 50k followers on their bird photography instagram, still wears the big wide-brimmed hat it’s just one of those outdoorsy ones with the string that goes around the chin. favorite bird: green heron

oluwande: always shows up with jim, reluctant mom of the group, scolds you for not wearing bug spray but pulls some out of his bag for you to use anyway, always has a field guide in hand for reference, makes sure everyone is with the group and no one is lost, great bird walk conversationalist, softie at heart but knows how to push jim’s buttons (even though they don’t mind), big on bird twitter for his jokes and for always being the first to report on rare bird sightings in the area, also posts jim’s photography #supportiveboyfriend, always wearing signature orange baseball cap, crocs are his birding shoe of choice no matter the location. favorite bird: mourning dove

frenchie: believes the ivory-billed woodpecker is still out there and will tell you about the time he saw one, has been in local birding circles for years, knows his shit but is nonchalant about it, jots everything he sees down in a notebook and refuses to use ebird or anything similar because it “ruins the sanctity of birding” and he doesn’t trust Big Tech, scared of bugs, big on environmentalism. favorite bird: pileated woodpecker

roach: big into hunting, started going to walks to get better at finding birds to shoot but ends up liking birding more, always has a big hunting knife on his waistband and whips it out anytime he hears a twig snap, makes baked goods for the group and brings them for an after-bird-walk snack, knows a lot about hawks and other birds of prey. favorite bird: turkey vulture

wee john: will hold back low hanging tree branches for you so you don’t get whacked in the head, primary bird interest is ducks, not as interested in songbirds and other smaller species but comes along anyway because he loves a nice walk, generally quiet but is quick with witty remarks, calls all birds he sees no matter what species “tiny baby” or “little lad” or some other term of endearment. favorite bird: wood duck

buttons: almost weirdly knowledgeable and overly passionate about shorebirds, can always find a gull even if they’re somewhere where there should not be a gull, when the walk is near the ocean one particular gull he calls “karl” will find him and sit on his head and no one knows how he does it, never carries binoculars but can always still see and identify the birds perfectly, shows up to walks with nothing but himself but is perfectly fine anyway and is probably one of the best birders in the group. favorite bird: red-billed gull

the swede: beginner but very enthusiastic, not good at birding but absolutely loves birding, can’t remember species names for shit but is great at finding birds and pointing them out, no one likes him but everybody loves him, great at mimicking calls and really wants to show you. favorite bird: common grackle

fang: part of ed and izzy’s research team, besties with ivan, loves birds and birdwatching so much and can’t get enough, loves animals in general, points out other wildlife seen on walks like squirrels and such, always brings bird seed and can get birds to eat out of his hand somehow, you want to walk with him he’s great company, will start crying if he sees something cute. favorite bird: black-capped chickadee

ivan: part of ed and izzy’s research team, besties with fang, lowkey hates izzy but is along for the ride, definitely too experienced to be there but is enjoying himself anyway, has the best birding tips, definitely not afraid to go off path to follow a bird he hears. favorite bird: red-winged blackbird

in conclusion i love birds and i love the silly gay pirates and i had way too much fun thinking this up.

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd au #ofmd modern au #ofmd birdwatching au #birdwatching au #this is ridiculous but i love it #i love birds #loosely based off of people i've met during bird walks #or just fun ideas based on the birding community #technically this would take place in the northeast us because that's where i'm from and what birds i know #and i don't feel like researching setting-accurate birds sorry #except for the red billed gull which is actually the species for karl and is native to nz #i had to make karl accurate of course #this is probably only entertaining to a very niche audience but idc #long live the birds

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smokedstorybara · 4 years ago

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#7 - modern or historical au

Fjdhshx I forgot to specify whether it’d be modern/historical fantasy au or no magic au so I’m gonna go with the latter since it’s more of a mental exercise to figure out who Svartr would be in a world without magic

Obviously he runs a school where you can learn, like, archery or swordsmanship or staff fighting or whatever (so like a mixed martial arts school? I guess? OR a general Life Skills school with cooking classes and similar stuff as well that just also has martial arts classes)

And he’s this famous retired mma fighter, and maybe also part of the royal family of some small European nation, and used to travel a Lot and live in all kinds of different places and just has lived a very full adventurous life

But now he’s getting kinda old so he started this school to pass on all the mass amounts of life experience and knowledge he’s built up

He’s also married to a chemistry professor at the local university, his name is Robert and he’s a dork and a worrier

Alexir is Robert’s favorite student, and attends classes at both schools, because she’s both a science lesbian and a sword lesbian - like, she very much wants to be a chemist or a doctor but also very much wants to be able to kick ass with a blade

Her parents are also professors, but maybe at a different university? And her baby sister is studying library sciences - she wants to be a research librarian

Snærr is one of her classmates in sword class, paying for school by doing street magic, and is also Alexir’s best friend and roommate. They kind-of adopted each other - and Alexir’s Big Gay Crush to a lesser degree - their first day

Snærr helps Alexir when she misses social cues and stuff like that and she makes sure he eats and talks

Then Regnbogi would be the very friendly engineering major who kinda crashed his way into their lives and hearts. He’s constantly dying his hair different colors and trying out any and every class that catches his interest, and might have a little bit of badly managed adhd but it’s fine

Snærr doesn’t really talk about family, ever, but still somehow manages to say more on the subject than Regnbogi does. Just enough that the other two know he grew up in foster care. (All Alexir and Snærr know about Regnbogi’s family they learned through the school rumor mills - his father owns some big shady export/import company so there are rumors galore)

Svartr’s daughter shows up at some point, wanting to know something about family inheritance, Alexir befriends her and convinces Svartr to work on his relationship with her

cjdjsjxhs this kinda turned a bit into a college au, oops

#writeblr #shadow warriors #ask game #writeblr ask game

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the-knights-who-say-book · 7 years ago

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The Philosopher’s Flight

*I received an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Blurb: Though men are considered useless at empirical philosophy, a female-dominated branch of magic, Robert Weekes dreams of being the first man in the elite Sigilry Corps. So he jumps at the chance to study at Radcliffe College, where he hones his skills and strives to win the respect of his female classmates. Robert falls hard for Danielle Hardin, a disillusioned war hero turned political radical. However, Danielle’s activism attracts the attention of anti-philosophical fanatics. With their lives in danger, they must fight for Robert’s place among the next generation of philosophers — and for philosophy’s very survival against the men who would destroy it.

The Philosopher's Flight is weirdly good, but also... not that good? Stick with me here.

The magic system is super there (it's just... very there. It's there, guys.) and the complexity of the characters was unexpected and cool. Unexpectedly cool, you might say. All the moving parts of the novel were developed nicely, from Robert’s dream of graduating and joining the corps to the fight against the Trenchers who want to outlaw philosophy (that's the Magic, except here we call it by the name of something entirely different, because reasons, I'm sure Tom Miller has them). Plus Robert falling for Danielle, which was actually kinda great, all while Robert just wants to be taken seriously as a male Philosopher.

But within the plot were the things that gave me mixed feelings about the book. Its slowness at many parts (it has pockets of action, but overall it's not fast-paced), and the fact that honestly... I wasn't there for the politics. Now, that's not the book's fault. The blurb didn't lie and say there wouldn't be politics. It's just that the thing that drew me to the book in the first place was the "female-dominated branch of science".

I wanted the reverse narrative.

You know that story, the one where a girl wants to enter in a male-dominated field and must go up against massive amounts of sexism and roadblocks to succeed? I wanted it flipped. I was tired of "everyone is sexist and everything is terrible but watch this girl fight tooth and nail to prove that one (1) girl can succeed anyway!". I thought it would be fun to watch a boy have to do it instead. But I got cheated, because The Philosopher's Flight is fairly historical. Meaning that while this fictional field of magic is majority-women, the world is extremely misogynist.

Women cannot vote during this time, rape threats and slut-shaming abound, etc. Not condoned by the narrative — I'm not saying this is a sexist book: it's just set during a sexist time period. Robert's position trying to succeed as a male Sigilrist didn't actually flip the script (though there were many times that his struggles paralleled those such as, for example, Kel's in First Test). If you're thinking of reading this book, read it because you want a story of sciency-magic grounded in history, not because you think this'll be a cool reversal of the story you already know. In many ways, it's still that story.

There were more male characters in the book than you'd expect from the blurb, so it wasn't quite as women-heavy I wanted/expected either.

Some heads ups about other content: there are quite a few instances of era-accurate (I assume?) racism, homophobia, and transphobia. There were mentions of gay women at the college, which was nice, but it would be nicer to have major gay and trans characters. Racism was probably addressed the most directly, with Danielle being mixed race, the racism she faces and the worldbuilding somewhat addressing what a country who has both magic and a history of slavery would look like.

So here's where we stand: sometimes the pace and historical setting of this book made me want to give up on it, but it has some real strengths in its worldbuilding, emotional resonance of Robert’s struggles, and treatment of moral/political grayness (not to mention I actually really liked the romance, and the descriptions of food made with magic. Sorry, made with Philosophy). It's not for everyone, and maybe not for me specifically, but it wasn’t bad.

#the philosopher's flight #tom miller #book review #historical fiction #booklr #Abi reads The Philosopher's Flight #Abi's Book Reviews

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nyodrite · 7 years ago

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hp college au

Because I would like to know if someone is trying to poke me about this and I am not the op of the series of reblogging.

Is Dumbledore the Headmaster/Dean here or just a really old guy who make a hobby out getting a new degree every few years?

McGonagall is a professor, always.

Ooh, maybe Newt is around somewhere teaching a class or two in between writing a book and going off on expeditions (Charlie and Tonks go with him as students and maybe Hagrid is an assistant??) to study creatures.

Are we talking full on college dorms? Like each House has their own dorm building?

And someone mentioned everyone lives, so is Harry going to college with his parents also? Because that’d be hilarious if his parents are around trying to be cool and just embarrassing him.

But the biggest question of all:

Is there magic or not? Is this a full on No Powers AU or a world where Magic Is Know and has integrated in the muggle world to the point there’s mixed colleges for magical and muggle classes?

because I vote for the later bc so many more shenanigans can happen with magic!

I mean just imagine, Padfoot racing across campus because he’s overslept {and there are anti-apparition wards on campus for security reasons} and other students have long since grown used to this either laugh about sleeping in or cheer him on to make it because Professor Grindelwald is notoriously strict about tardiness.

Or there being rules against flying brooms on campus outside of certain areas/times {such as Quidditch practice} but Harry is like one of the people who just has to ride their skateboard instead of walking, he hasn’t been caught…yet.

(Basically a college HP au is loads of fun but keeping magic just makes it 💯 times better)

Charlie (and Tonks, who’s in it to be a supportive friend but mostly for the LOLs) waging war against various departments for various reasons - like Biology and dissection - about their treatments of animals.

Newt is constantly harassed about their antics - because everyone knows who it is but there’s no proof - and is just “I have no idea what you’re talking about, my students are perfectly well behaved.” while his house is full of various rescued creatures the two smuggled there.

Hermione and Lily meet one time when Lily came over during the weekend to stock up Harry’s fridge while Hermione was over tutoring him.

They get along fantastically.

Harry and James are low-key freaking out about this.

Ron and Harry meeting due to dorm room assignments, where basically the entire Weasley family is fussing over him when Harry stumbles in all alone - because he’s an Adult Now and he can go to college alone.

(This lasts like barely two weeks before Harry runs out of clean clothes and he calls Lily to ask how to wash clothes; not until later, too late, that he finds out that Ron knows how

{The reason being thus; Molly has multiple kids in college, by this time she has it down to a science just what kinds of things they need to know before leaving home})

Harry taking a class Voldemort teaches and. Just. Their hatred for each other is known across campus, Voldemort constantly trying to get Harry expelled while Harry is just “there’s something fish about that guy”and “he’s evil mum! why do I have to be nice?”

Hermione and Lily do some kind of rally or organize a student protest that becomes a legit social movement because these woman cannot be tamed.

(McGonagall is so proud of her students)

Lockhart teaches drama, Harry winds up there while lost and accidentally gets a lead in a play - afterwards Harry just low-key swears vengeance against Lockhart.

Umbridge is a guidance counselor that Harry gets arrested the same year he meets her.

(whether the same thing happens to Voldemort eventually or Tom is there to eternally be Harry’s sworn enemy until graduation idk yet)

Remus teaches a class there but Harry only is able to take it for one year and is sad, though they do talk.

Sirius is the only Marauder actually going to college instead of hanging around for various reasons - he lives off campus though and rides his motorcycle there.

Peter, Harry swears to his his parents and the other two Maruaders multiple times, is on campus as Voldemort’s minion in Evil. They don’t believe him because they never see him and he’s out of the country for work.

(Sometimes Peter just sits there, grading papers in a corner during class, and just stares at Harry.

Harry then runs to Remus or Sirius - depending on who is closer - and tells them about it and how he certain this means Peter and Voldemort are Plotting, then screams when they are all “Harry, Peter isn’t in the country how cane he be on campus Plotting with your math teacher?”)

@sailorcrazypinklady said:

Are there cameras? With timestamps? Because Harry can get proof Peter is in his class when he is supposed to be out of the country.

There are but, since I have decided - right now because I am apparently fond of Peter being a low-key villain for the express purpose of trolling Harry - that this au still has magic, Peter makes use of Time-Turners, Polyjuice Potions and Magical Travel to basically be in two places at once.

So, the one time Harry got photographic proof of Peter being in class, Peter had it dismissed via alibi of him being out of the country at work when the pictures were taken.

So. No one, except the students living in the same dorm - House? Basically this au’s equivalent to Gryffindor also I should probably talk about the houses a bit too - as Harry, i.e. his friends, believe that his father’s friend who works out of country is sitting in his math class grading papers.

@ssilverstreak reblogged:

Okay, so, I need a huge fic about this, because this is comedy gold. Also Snape keeps getting stuck teaching General Chemistry 1 and 2 and Intro to Potions every semester instead of the higher level courses and he’s Salty™ about it. Though he doesn’t pick on Harry here because Lily would straight up kill his ass and he knows it, Harry still sics his mom on Snape for picking on other students.

Snape complains about his classes and then swears to get rid of the other potions professors so he can take over the higher level classes to Professor McGonagall who’s sipping her coffee - she has a lot of early morning classes to teach, alright, and tea is just not enough - like it’s fine wine during this.

(ofc Harry overhears and decides that Snape must be Voldemort’s minion in Evil also.

Also, Voldy actually goes by Tom Riddle but back when Sirius was taking his class - along with his cousin Bellatrix who got a really creepy crush on the guy - and decided to give him the nickname Voldemort. Never will he admit exactly where that name came from, only it involves drunken shenanigans and waking up in a jail cell with a hangover.

Sirius commiserates with Harry over Voldemort’s Evilness, he still doesn’t quite believe Peter is there too though.)

#hp college au #college au #hp #harry potter #hogwarts university of magic and shenanigans and magical shenanigans

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ylc1 · 7 years ago

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Fanfic Master List (Johnlock)

I left this pairing for last since it’s the one I’ve written more fics about so... well. Here we are! Enjoy!

Burned hearts

Johnlock, complete, 7300 words.

Summary: A retell from the scene at the pool in TGG, in which John is never revealed to be Moriarty’s hostage. Believing himself fooled, Sherlock goes through a bit of a meltdown.

Some personal notes on it: this idea came to me when I first watched TGG. I think that I could have expanded it so much more and make it even more angsty but well… I still like it.

Additional notes: angst, lots of self doubt, Sherlock doesn’t cope well, Mycroft and Greg are very concerned.

Apples and Oranges

Johnlock, complete, 600 words.

Summary: Kid Sherlock is attempting to figure out why would people like kissing. John helps.

Some personal notes: this was a fill in for a tumblr prompt. Just some kidlock fluff.

Additional notes: AU, kidlock, fluff.

Long shot

Johnlock, complete, 44200 words.

Summary: Omega werewolf Sherlock is engaged to human Prince John, after having scared off his last suitor. It seems it might be working out for the best though- at least until the Dark and Immortal Wizard Moriarty rises again.

Some personal notes: when I write original fiction, I tend towards fantasy with a mix of romance. Indulging in my love for both genres was a joy. Also, this was my work with most kudos for a long while, so I guess it shows ;)

Additional notes: A/B/O dynamics, Mpreg, arranged marriage, angst, pining, misunderstandings, Jim being Jim (he’s the perfect fairytale villain, honestly)

Wildest dreams

Johnlock (although victorian), complete, 3800 words.

Summary: Watson puts an end to his relationship with Holmes, in order to marry Mary Morstan.

Some personal notes: have I told you how I love Taylor Swift’s songs? I had been trying to avoid writing this particular fic because I worried about my abilities to write something with such a strict historical setting, but I should probably have stopped listening to the song because it soon became too much :P

Additional notes: victorian (but a bit loosely I think), angst, pining, unhealthy coping mechanisms… HAPPY ENDING

Mistaken impressions

Johnlock, complete, 16300 words

Summary: John is convinced his neighbor’s boyfriend is a jerk. He sort of is, but he’s actually Sherlock’s brother.

Some personal notes: I liked this idea, but as I started writing… I lost my way a bit. So now I’m a bit stuck with is, since I have no idea where exactly I want to go with it, although I have what I think might be the last chapter half-written.

Additional notes: references to past abusive relationships, past drug addiction, unhealthy coping mechanisms, angst, drama, pining, MISUNDERSTANDINGS and some attempts of humor.

Hopeless

Johnlock, complete, 45800 words.

Summary: John’s a slave in Lord Magnussen’s household. When a new slave arrives and the Master takes a fancy on her (although it’s really him), John finds himself doing the best he can to protect him.

Some personal notes: this idea came to me in a dream. Which is why it’s far darker than my usual writings and also the reason for Trans Sherlock. I don’t like fighting my inspiration and well… I went with it, even if it added another layer of complications to this particular fic.

Additional notes: trans character, misgendering, implied/referenced noncon (although there’s nothing explicit), underage (it’s never explicitly stated, but Sherlock is 14 when the fic starts), slavery, sexual slavery, very dark, very angsty, mentions of violence, murder and abuse. It has a happy/hopeful ending, though!

Home for Christmas

Johnlock, complete, 8500 words.

Summary: When Mycroft Holmes informs his family he’s bringing along a friend for Christmas, the household is thrown into utter chaos: Mummy Holmes is delighted, of course and Mr. Holmes is just baffled. Sherlock, however, is determined to figure out what is his brother up to. Mycroft doesn’t do friendships, let alone relationships, so who is this mysterious Dr. John H. Watson and what’s his business with his brother?

Some personal notes: this is the actual summary on AO3, but I really don’t know a better way to describe it ;) I think my attempt of humor did work here, even if it endeded up including a bit of angst (but not much)

Additional notes: Alternate First Meeting, humor, Christmas fic, misunderstandings (of a sort), family.

Black magic

Johnlock, complete, 7400 words.

Summary: John ends up with a magic love potion (he was drunk, don’t judge him!) and in a fit of desperate longing, he gives it to Sherlock. He didn’t expect it to work since magic does not exist, so he’s a little baffled when Sherlock starts acting love-struck.

Some personal notes: this was the first fic I meant to write for the fandom. I never got around finishing until now, when I figured I might as well give it another try. I think it could have been longer, but I had no idea what else to write :P

Additional notes: attempt of humor, magic, a surprising amount of discussion of consent issues, not actually unrequited love.

All is fair (in love and war)

Johnlock, complete, 6300 words.

Summary: Eurus’ “game” forces John and Sherlock to confess long hidden feelings. It turns out as well as you’d expect.

Some personal notes: It started as a rewrite of the “I love you” scene in TFP, turned into a sort of fix it fic. I like it, even if I’m not completely sure the logic holds :P

Additional notes: angst, drama, hurt without comfort, but has a happy ending!

Priceless

Johnlock, complete 22485 words.

Summary: Sherlock is a Prince with a Kingdom at war. He makes a deal with the all powerful wizard called “the Dark One”; the wizard will stop the war if Sherlock stays with him forever.

Some personal notes: this fic is result of the FandomTrumpsHate auction, for the lovely @sherlock-and-john-getting-it-on. I was asked for a “Beauty and the Beast” inspired fic with John as the Beast. I asked for the chance to use the Once Upon a Time spin of the tale and this is the result.

Additional notes: magical AU, pining, misunderstandings (they’re both so silly it hurts!), includes my attempt of some proper smut, Jim wrote himself into it and in doing that provided me with an ending :P

Saving all my love for you

Johnlock,

Summary: Unrequited love is no fun.

Some personal notes: I just wanted to write something angsty, heart tugging. There isn’t much plot, really, just a lot of pining and self reflection.

Additional notes: based on the song by the same title,angst, pining, sad, unilock.

The art of letting go

Johnlock, complete, 47400 words.

Summary: Sherlock convinces himself that if he can’t remember what happened on the stag night, then it didn’t happen at all. Until he finds out he’s pregnant and he can’t keep pretending, that is.

Some personal notes: Oh, I loved working on this. I have a thing for unplanned pregnancies (as you can probably tell) and while writing a character as trans always makes me nervous, I thought it worked well. The story is very angsty at points and it doesn’t get hopeful until the very end so… be warned!

Additional notes: Trans character, Mpreg, angst (a lot), jealousy, pining, Mary and John are married but she isn’t pregnant, pos TSoT, follows HLV more or less.

A fortunate encounter

Johnlock, complete, 4528 words.

Summary: While escaping a group of enemy soldiers, Sherlock ends up in a mysterious island.

Some personal notes: after watching the Wonder Woman movie I couldn’t contain myself and ended up writing this short thing ;)

Additional notes: Wonder Woman AU, love at first sight, spoilers for the movie (somewhat, but not really), romance.

Just friends

Johnlock, side mystrade, complete, 4400 words

Summary: Just friends don’t live together, have sex and generally enjoy a life of sweet domesticity.

Except John and Sherlock do, apparently.

Some personal notes: Cliche, I know, but cute. I became a little obsessed with the idea of friends with benefits due a song :P

Additional notes: alternate universe- college, a little angst, friends with benefits (except not), lack of communication.

The answer

Johnlock, very side Mystrade, complete, 16700 words.

Summary: Friendless and penniless, John agrees to participate on a study conducted by the renowned researcher, Sherlock Holmes, to find the answer to what’s probably the most important question in the world: what’s love?

Some personal notes: this is vaguely based on the book “The answers”, going in the direction I thought the author was going to go when I started reading it (I like my idea much better, I must say)

Additional notes: fake/pretend relationship, a little pining, Sherlock is bad at feelings (and so is John), pseudo science (don’t look too deep into it), lack of communication.

Don’t forget me (I won’t forget you)

Johnlock, complete, 2600 words.

Summary: Sherlock wakes up one day to find he’s the only person who can remember John Watson.

Some personal notes: this idea came to me one day and refused to leave until I wrote it down. It’s just the beginning of a tale, but I don’t have much a plot planned so it’s marked as finished.

Additional notes: Eurus has actual telepathic powers, a little angst, memory alteration, open ending.

And that’s it! They weren’t quite as many as a feared :P

I hope you’ll enjoy them! Kudos & comments mean the world to me.

And if you can, maybe Buy Me a Coffee

My other lists are here: rare pairs, johnlock & mystrade, mystrade

Last updated 18.12.2018

#my fanfics #fanfic master list #johnlock

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haberdashing · 7 years ago

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Since some of you expressed interest in hearing about my OCs, here is the promised rambling about them!

Note: I’m leaving out ones that I’ve already published fic for, and there are probably (definitely) more that I can’t remember off the top of my head.

Putting this under a readmore since it's rather long.

First, the fandom OCs that I haven’t written fic for yet:

I’ve made a few posts referencing Ophelia Jane Smith, but I haven’t given any general description of her, so here goes.

She’s my character in a Pokemon RPG campaign, with @lordlyhour as a fellow player and @verldra as the DM. (If you’re intrigued by the idea of a Pokemon RPG, I can throw a copy of the rulebook and associated info your way, just say the word!)

She’s a twin- or was, anyway, the tense changes depending on who you ask. (Her name wasn’t actually chosen for the Shakespeare reference, but because I was poking around on baby name sites looking for twin names, and found the suggestion of Ophelia and Ezra, which both mean “help” but from different languages of origin.) See, when she was... seven or eight or so (haven’t quite pinned down the timing), she went for a walk in the woods and lost track of her brother. And nobody ever saw him again... at least, not in human form. But while searching, Ophelia did find a Phantump that felt strangely familiar, and- knowing, perhaps, about the lore that Phantumps are the ghosts of children lost in the woods- she decided that the Phantump was her brother transformed, and brought him home and treated him as such from then on.

(...this backstory was approved specifically with the caveat that the Phantump in question is NOT actually her brother. Sorry, Ophelia, everything you think you know is a lie. Whoops.)

Also, like most Pokemon protagonists, by the time she heads off on her journey she has a mother but no father in the picture. In Ophelia’s case, a few months after... whatever happened to Ezra, her father left for what she had assumed was a business trip (her father is/was a freelance occult specialist, and it wasn’t uncommon for him to leave abruptly to go on a trip to where his expertise was needed), but he never came back. Ophelia’s mother knows more about what happened to him than Ophelia does, but she gets upset whenever the topic is broached, so Ophelia still doesn’t know what exactly became of him.

On the topic of her parents: Ophelia’s mom is the town medic for the little town in Orre where she resides, and as mentioned above, her father was an occult specialist; Ophelia’s inherited some of the personality of them both. Like her father, she loves to learn new things, even if the knowledge isn’t something terribly practical, and is fascinated with the occult (much to her mother’s chagrin); like her mother, she cares deeply about helping people and Pokemon and wants to make the world a better place, at least in some small way.

The campaign’s still in its early days, but right now her team consists of “Ezra” the Phantump and a Houndour from the woods near her hometown that willingly joined her team and was given the nickname Queen.

(I’d promise that these aren’t all going to be this long, but... well...)

The other fandom OC I haven’t touched via fic yet is Franklin Clark, who’s from the world of the Avarice AU. He’s Ford’s first reincarnation, and is as much of a nerd as you would imagine based on that information. He’s also black, has a very noticeable case of vitiligo (mostly on his face and neck, with some spots on his chest and upper arm as well), has a single mother (his dad died shortly after he was born) who struggles to keep their family in the lower-middle-class range rather than plunging into poverty... And he lives in the small town of Mud Bluffs, Arkansas.

...yeah, his school years would be tough enough even without getting into the whole “friends with a demon” thing. As it is, well... at least he gets good grades?

He’s an only child, but is somewhat close with his relative Ellie, who is technically his niece even though she was born a couple months before him. (Weird family trees are weird.) As time goes by, he eventually gets to know the Pines family as well, and learns more about who exactly this “Ford” person was and why it’s such a big deal to Stan/Mercuriat that they have the same soul.

As an aside, his name is Franklin. If you call him Frank, he’ll ignore you, or at least try to do so. And the only two people who get to call him Frankie are his mom and Stan, and even then he rolls his eyes and plays annoyed half the time.

On to the original OCs! Otherwise known as characters in search of a story... or, really, characters for whom I have a small snippet of story in mind but have no idea how to turn that into a whole Thing.

I’ll start this section with Scott Carlin, who I came up with way back in high school and hadn’t touched for some time before I started thinking about him again for some reason a couple weeks ago.

I can’t decide whether I’m going to use real place names and such in the story I have in mind or fictionalize them all, but for the sake of comprehension I’ll use the real names in this description.

Scott Carlin’s a teenage genius with particular aptitude for math and science who skipped a grade or two to get into college. He really wanted to get into a top-tier school- Caltech, MIT, Harvard- but all of those schools didn’t accept him, so he ends up going to NYU, or a school like it- not a BAD school per se, but not what he was really hoping for. It doesn’t help that it’s annoyingly close to his home in NYC when all he wants to do is revel in being away from his less-than-supportive father and their small, cramped apartment.

Another thing that annoys Scott is that of all the roommates he could’ve been placed with, he got stuck with Ryan (last name tbd because the one my high school self picked is super unsubtle). Ryan seems in many ways to be the opposite of Scott- he’s super-wealthy, takes luxuries for granted, and spends more time partying than studying. What Scott doesn’t quite realize until some ways into the story is that there’s more to Ryan than meets the eye- yes, he’s a rich kid, but he’s also something of a genius himself. (I imagine Ryan as being a bit like a young Tony Stark- yes, he’s brilliant, but he hides that part of himself often, being content to be seen as a rich playboy alone.)

If I stick with the story idea I came up with in high school, the plot starts with Scott, who’s bored with his classes and needs to occupy himself with some project or another, cobbles together a machine that theoretically could act as a time machine. He turns it on, not really expecting it to work... but it does.

...It also explodes in the process, stranding him several decades into the future.

Scott struggles to find a way to get back to his own time while learning what he can from the future, including the surprising (or at least, surprising to Scott) news that his old roommate Ryan turned out to be quite the successful entrepreneur.

All I’ve decided thus far while thinking about this story lately is that Scott’s trans and mixed-race, and that the love interest I had initially thrown into the narrative is entirely unnecessary.

Next up is Niklass (last name tbd, though it’s possible that he doesn’t go by a traditional last name, or any at all), who I first came up with in high school as well.

Niklass can’t lie. Or, more specifically, he cannot say something that he knows or believes to be untrue.

If you were to ask Niklass about this, he’d tell you that he was something of a spoiled brat as a kid, causing all sorts of problems at school and then lying when asked by his father what he had done, leaving his father more disenchanted with the school than with his son. Eventually, one of his teachers- the one who specialized in the study of magic- got sick of having to put up with Niklass’ chronic lying and cast a spell on him; Niklass woke up one day and found that when he tried to tell a lie, the words just wouldn’t come out. His father was (understandably) not happy about this, and tried to get the teacher to reverse the spell, but to no avail.

All of this is, of course, true.

But what he leaves out is that his father wasn’t just some random guy who spoiled his kid- he was an evil dictator that controlled the region. And the teacher who put the spell on Niklass didn’t just get a stern talking-to, but was tortured for days, maybe weeks, in the hopes of getting him to reverse the spell and finally was killed once it became clear that the teacher wasn’t going to give in.

Niklass got into the study of magic himself, initially with the hopes of reversing the spell himself, but later on he learned to admire magic on its own merits. He never did find a way of reversing the spell, but he’s made his peace with it. What he hasn’t made peace with is his father; Niklass has spent years running as far as he can from his father, even possibly into other dimensions (that was the original story line I had in mind for him, but now I’m not so sure).

Also, if you’ve noticed some loopholes in the “cannot say what he knows/believes to be untrue” phrasing of the spell... well... let’s just say Niklass has noticed them, too. Just because he’s stopped trying to get out of the spell entirely doesn’t mean he isn’t willing to test the boundaries and use what loopholes he can find to his advantage.

Last but not least, a relatively new one among the original OCs (from college or shortly afterwards, I forget exactly), Isaac Kaufman.

Isaac was raised in a Conservative Jewish family. He’s trans, and when he came out to his family in his teenage years, they continued to misgender/deadname him repeatedly and also made it crystal-clear that once he turned 18, he was on his own, and they weren’t going to give him a cent for college.

Between student loans, scholarships, and work, Isaac was able to scrounge together enough money to go to college on his own. While there, he got involved in the party scene, using his newfound freedom to indulge in some things that his parents definitely wouldn’t have approved on.

While walking to a nearby bar to join some friends in festivities there, a mugger pulled Isaac into an alley, got out a gun, and said to give him everything he had or else he’d shoot.

Isaac had gone through some rough times before, but this was the first time that he’d really feared for his life in an immediate sense. His brain went into fight-or-flight mode, and he chose flight.

Adrenaline rushing, Isaac sprinted away from the alley, not really concerned with where he was going so long as it was away from the mugger...

...and got run over by a car.

...several blocks away from the scene of the mugging.

While in the hospital, Isaac noticed that it felt like the rest of the world was slowed down, like people were drawing out every syllable they spoke. At first he wasn’t sure what to make of it- was it a side effect of some medication they’d put him on, or his brain not quite working right because of the accident? But after a while, Isaac figured out what was really going on.

It wasn’t that the rest of the world had gotten slow; instead, he was the one who had gotten fast. Super-speed fast.

For a bit, after getting out of the hospital and struggling to coordinate his return to school, Isaac didn’t really do much with his powers, save for things like snatching an expensive bottle of wine from a store too fast for anyone to spot him. But that all changed when he happened upon an old lady who was getting held up at gunpoint by a mugger; Isaac remembered when he had been in the same situation and decided to intervene.

The old lady’s improbable escape from the mugging made local news, and one clip in particular went viral- the old lady’s statement that she couldn’t see her savior’s face or make out anything about them save for “a black blur” (he happened to be wearing black clothes that day). Isaac weighs his options and decides to embrace the name Black Blur and become the superhero that some of the media had already proclaimed him to be, fighting crime in the city whenever he can.

He also ends up becoming a philosophy professor, one who deals specifically with the subject of superheroes and others who act to carry out vigilante justice- and his view of the subject as published in papers isn’t all positive. (It’s not that he’s faking the perspective, either- Isaac does grapple with the morality of his own actions on a regular basis.) He also has a loving wife and, eventually, a daughter, and he cares for them both very, very deeply.

Balancing work, family, and superheroics might be hard for some people... but hey, Isaac’s got the time for it.

Also, word to the wise: don’t mess with his family. Just don’t. He’s got literally hundreds of plans drawn up for various things that could go wrong re: his superhero identity interfering with his personal life, and none of them end well for the one who forces his hand.

(I do actually have a few half-formed ideas for other superheroes in Isaac’s world- a college student who doesn’t realize for a while that he’s turned invisible to others’ eyes, a mother-and-daughter pair who both don’t realize that the other is also a superhero- and I’ve considered combining them all into some sort of superhero autobiography anthology, but if that ever happens, it won’t be any time soon.)

#personal #feel free to reblog

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nancygduarteus · 6 years ago

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Bedrest Is Bunk

One quiet Sunday afternoon, shortly before the birth of my second child, I decided it was time to make my great escape. I was in the middle of my third— and longest—hospital stay. For weeks, I’d seen only the inside of my room, a beige cell with a view of the parking lot through a small window. I’d become desperate to escape, even if it was only to the hospital’s sterile corridors.

I peaked out of my lockless door, checked for wandering nurses, and shuffled into the elevator. I could barely remember the last time I’d walked that much. I made it all the way to the cafeteria, where I ran into a pregnant woman I knew. I didn’t recognize her at first; at that point I’d been on bed rest for weeks. We ordered veggie sushi (no raw fish for us!) and discussed how dimly lit the cafeteria was for such a nice hospital. She told me how lucky I was that I didn’t have to work anymore—commuting to and from work was killing her back. She had to wear flats.

I snuck back into my room and buried myself in my hospital bed, pulling the thin blanket and starched sheets over my head. I stayed like that for a long time. I wasn’t moving but my body ached. I was always in bed but never tired. I was receiving long-term disability benefits but wasn’t ill.

"Mama’s in the hospital because the baby is coming,” I told my 3-year-old when she came to visit. “Just like in your books.”

“Sometimes people go to hospitals because they’re very, very sick,” she replied, wrinkling her little brow as she sat in the bed with me, eating orange Jell-O from a plastic cup.

But I wasn’t very, very sick. I was pregnant.

All mothers have a pregnancy and birth story. A natural birth gone wrong, an emergency C-section, a shockingly fast delivery. Mine sounds like a tale from a Victorian novel, something from the days of sanitariums, hysteria, and rest cures.

But for hundreds of thousands of women, bed rest is no fiction: It remains one of the most frequently prescribed treatments for pregnant women at risk of preterm birth. It’s estimated that around 20 percent of women will be prescribed bed rest at some point in their pregnancies. Up to 95 percent of obstetricians report that they’ve prescribed the treatment in some form.

Once I started looking, I saw bed rest everywhere. The TV star Tori Spelling dished about her two months of bed rest to E! News in 2013: “I was flat on my back. I wasn’t allowed to even get up to walk in the halls. My bathroom privileges would be taken away. I wasn’t allowed to shower. Everything was stripped from you.” The Bachelorette star Ali Fedotowsky fretted that her order of modified bed rest was preventing her from preparing for her baby’s arrival. “I’m not doing as well as I would like to be doing,” she told People.

The practice continues despite a growing body of medical evidence showing that bed rest offers little to no benefit to pregnant mothers or their fetuses. The treatment has not proved effective in treating preeclampsia, preterm birth, low infant birthweight, high blood pressure or a shortened cervix. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a nonprofit organization of women’s health-care physicians, now advises that bed rest “does not appear to improve the rate of preterm birth, and should not be routinely recommended.” The risks, however, have been well documented: Women prescribed bed rest may suffer from bone loss, muscle atrophy, and a wide range of postpartum psychological disorders at higher rates compared to pregnant women who do not go on bed rest.

Even as they keep prescribing the treatment, most specialists in high-risk pregnancies don’t believe it does all that much. A 2009 survey of U.S. members of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine found that 71 percent of doctors would prescribe bed rest for women in preterm labor and 87 percent would prescribe it for the premature rupture of membranes (water breaking). But a majority said they believed the treatment was associated with “minimal or no benefit.” (Bed rest can mean everything from strict time in bed to limiting some daily activities. Some doctors use the term couch rest—no lifting, no exercise, no sex, and no housework. The details vary widely, perhaps a reason why so many doctors say they’ve prescribed some form of the treatment.)

So why do doctors persist in sending their pregnant patients to bed? In part, it’s because they often don’t have much else to offer. Some researchers attribute the continued use of bed rest — despite all the evidence to the contrary — to a desire by obstetricians to “do something” in the face of limited research. “Unnecessary interventions such as bed rest may make the patient (and sometimes the health care provider) feel that all attempts are being made to ‘save’ the pregnancy,” wrote the authors of a 2013 review of studies on bed rest.

Despite advances in science, pregnancy and many of its complications remain mysterious. “Pregnant women may be the most underrepresented group in the entire clinical research process,” declared a 2011 report by the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Research on Women’s Health. There have been no randomized controlled trials evaluating exercise prescription in women with a history of preterm birth. It’s long been considered unethical to include expectant mothers in clinical trials, leaving scientists and doctors uncertain about the safety of many common medicines during pregnancy. Studies have found that for around 90 percent of medications, their safety in pregnancy remains unclear. Only eight medications are currently approved by the FDA for prenatal use, according to a recent investigation by ProPublica. That lack of research leaves many questions of medical intervention during pregnancy taking place in a murky mix of medicine, culture, and history.

My restrictions began shortly after my 20-week ultrasound, when my doctor discovered that my placenta was in the wrong place. She compared my condition, known as placenta previa, to having a bag of blood hanging between your legs. Moving could cause the bag to burst—threatening the baby and me. Staying still was my best chance of preventing bleeding, said my medical team, an ever-expanding group of OB-GYNs, perinatologists, neonatologists, nurses, fellows, and residents. Or, at least, that was their best guess, it seemed to me.

At some point, maybe five weeks in, I just wanted to leave. I called my husband and informed him that I no longer wanted to have this baby. Couldn’t we just call the whole thing off?

I began to suspect I was going insane.

I wasn’t alone: An invisible society of bed-bound pregnant women lurk all over the internet, on message boards, members-only discussion groups, and the reader forums of parenting magazines. An active bed-rest-assistance industry is eager to service moms-to-be, offering survival guides, novels featuring bed-rest-bound protagonists (usually featuring hard-charging “career women” who realize what’s truly important in life once they’re forced to slow down), children’s books, and lists of bed-rest essentials. (The Parents magazine list includes a telephone, hairbrush, laptop, and lip balm. “Your favorite hand and body lotion is a great way to treat yourself to an in-bed spa!” they advise.)Websites like keepemcooking.com perkily offer tips for “making the best of bed rest.” It was a type of magical thinking: You can control the uncontrollable if you just stay still.

“Stay focused on your goal—a healthy baby,” recommends Fit Pregnancy magazine. “If your doc approves, try one (or more!) of these favorite restorative bed rest techniques!

Breathe deep…

Visualize your baby…

Squeeze a ball.”

On message boards, women fret over the details of their prescriptions. Is a walk to the kitchen too much? How about a quick shower? Is it okay to lie on your back or do you have to stay on your side?

Frequently, the moms-to-be blame themselves for their bodies. Contractions are due to carelessness, maybe a quick walk around the room or a decision to pick up a toddler for a hug. After their babies are born, they return to post encouraging notes, attributing their success to those weeks or months of rest.

The internet is full of sad stories. Women who are in the hospital for six months. Who lose their jobs. Who sneak in their other children because there is no one to watch them at home. Who went into debt paying for the care—in my case, the bills amounted to more than a hundred thousand dollars, something my health insurance mercifully covered.

Everyone is depressed. Everyone is anxious. Pages of posts are devoted to debating the merits of various anti-anxiety medications and sleep aids. I rarely slept in the hospital, even when I took the Ambien my doctor prescribed. At three in the morning, I sat up reading studies on my phone.

A 2004 study of 1,266 pregnant women found that 7.9 percent of those on bed rest had premature babies, versus 8.5 percent of the non-bed-rest group—a difference the researchers said was not statistically significant. Another study published nine years later found that women prescribed some form of activity restriction were more likely to deliver early, even after the researchers controlled for confounding factors. “It is not biologically implausible that activity restriction could result in an increased risk of preterm birth,” wrote the researchers, citing an association between limits on movement and increased stress and anxiety, which have been found to increase risk for low birth weight and preterm deliveries.

At best, the studies recommended more research. At worst, they called the practice unethical. “There have been no complications of pregnancy for which the literature consistently demonstrates a benefit to antepartum bed rest,” wrote the authors of a 2011 article. A 2013 review of studies on bed rest put it even more bluntly: “Prescribing bed rest is inconsistent with the ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, and justice.” The researchers attributed the continued prescription of bed rest to a long-standing cultural bias that elevates the fetus above the mother. “Evidence frequently is ignored or interpreted selectively in a way that disregards maternal interests,” they wrote. If there’s a risk to the fetus, immediate prohibitions follow—like limiting caffeine or alcohol. But possible risks to the mothers were more likely to be overlooked, they said.

That's certainly the case with bed rest. Various studies found that the physical effects of bed rest like bone loss, muscle atrophy, and cardiovascular deconditioning can persist for months after the baby is born. Women who spend time on bed rest are at higher risk of postpartum depression and anxiety.

One study described a “type of sensory deprivation.” “When women spend long, isolated, fright-filled hours in bed, time is perceived as slowing down.... Women also feel out of control of what is happening with their bodies. Women report feeling imprisoned,” wrote the authors.

In ancient Greece, Hippocrates blamed everything from headaches to sudden deaths in women on a wandering womb that would travel around the body. A cough or sore throat? That pesky womb must have wandered north. Chest pain? The womb had taken a wrong turn again. Greek physician Aretaeus of Cappadocia called the uterus “an animal within an animal.”

English physicians in the late 1600s believed a healthy pregnancy depended on the right use of the classical “non-naturals:” air, food and drink, exercise and rest, sleep and waking, fullness and emptiness, and passions of the minds. Bed rest was rarely recommended. After all, if you went to bed, you might not get up again, particularly in an unsterilized hospital ward. Those ideas began to change with the publication of John Hilton’s Rest and Pain in 1863, an influential book arguing for the benefits of rest on the body. Hilton argued that if rest could help heal broken bones, it could also help heal other organs.

Doctors ran with Hilton’s guidance, prescribing rest for indefinite periods of time. Rest became the treatment for heart attacks, tuberculosis, mental illness, ulcers, and rheumatic fever. The bed could cure all ills, leaving doctors and nurses responsible largely for preventing bedsores and maintaining good hygiene.

Several months of confinement, or lying-in, became the norm for affluent pregnant Victorian women. In the 1908 edition of the textbook Obstetrics for Nurses, Joseph B. DeLee recommended that pregnant women be removed from “gossiping neighbors” to “lead a placid, quiet life, avoiding mental as well as physical fatigue and excitement.” Confinement was to begin when the pregnancy began to show. Several weeks of “lying-in”—remaining strictly in bed—would often follow childbirth.

One of the most celebrated medical authorities of the era, Dr. S. Weir Mitchell gained fame for championing what he called “the rest cure” as an answer to the malady of the day: hysteria, a common medical diagnosis reserved largely for women. Mitchell, born to a prominent Philadelphia medical family, was the prolific author of around 170 medical monographs along with novels, poetry and children’s book. His cure was prescribed to Edith Wharton, Virginia Woolf, and scores of female artists and writers. “Hysterical” women were ordered to bed, isolated from friends and family, instructed not to move a muscle or engage in intellectual work of any kind. Writing, reading, and sewing were strictly forbidden. Effectively reduced to infants, they were placed on a milk diet with nurses to clean, feed, and even turn them over in bed.

The value of bed rest began to be questioned during World War II, as doctors treating injured soldiers noticed that patients forced to return to battle earlier recovered faster. A few years later, aerospace scientists began to use bed rest as a model to investigate the impacts of weightlessness in space on the body. In multiple studies, the scientists discovered that bed rest produced a wide range of harmful physiological effects, affecting every major organ system. As this research became better known, clinical care for postoperative patients began to change. Increasingly, doctors moved away from having patients convalesce in bed, finding that even short bed confinements were frequently unhelpful.

Many medical experts now see mobility as the next major hospital reform—akin to the move from the Victorian-era open wards to private rooms. Some facilities have begun investing in walking tracks and outdoor “healing gardens,” designed to encourage patients to get up and move.

Such changes haven’t yet made it into many maternity wards. Judith Maloni, a professor at the Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University and a leading researcher on the topic of bed rest in pregnancy, suggests a few factors that could to spur a change in practice: better explanation of the side effects to patients, an end to insurance reimbursement for bed-rest care, or patients bringing lawsuits against practitioners who prescribe bed rest. But, she acknowledges, limiting the use of the bed rest may come down to women forcing the change themselves. “If not, it is likely that women will continue to struggle with the untreated side effects of bed rest during pregnancy and the postpartum [period], and wonder why they do not recover like other childbearing women,” Maloni concluded in a 2011 paper.

I am part of a generation raised to believe that co-parenting was not just aspirational but achievable. But trapped in that hospital room, I began to have a sinking feeling about the whole enterprise. After the baby came, there would be breastfeeding, another task only I could do. Because I took a longer leave than my husband I'd know the doctor and the babysitters, handle the appointments and the scheduling. A version of the sacrifices asked of my time and health during my pregnancy would be expected to continue once the baby was born. Bed rest reflects the culture it takes place in: Assumptions about pregnancies set the tone for the assumptions about the motherhood that follows. Namely, that mothers will put their lives on hold for their children.

I have a journalist friend who spent five months on bed rest. During that time, there was a government coup in the country where she lives. There, this sort of thing happens every couple of years. But still, she missed it. The whole coup. Her daughter is now 13. At a conference last month, she ran into a senator involved in the coup. She couldn’t talk to him, she told me, without feeling an overwhelming sense of rage for those lost months.

As for me, mostly I feel lucky. To have good insurance, a supportive family, to be healthy in the end. I will stay with the doctors who cared for me as long as they’re in practice. As I watch my baby grow — stumbling around my living room as she tries to walk or squawking out her first words — I sometimes feel overwhelmed by my good fortune.

But, like my reporter friend, my time on bed rest stays with me, a nagging memory of those lost months, full of anxiety and depression, Netflix, and hospital food.

My baby is over a year old now. Even if I wasn’t her mother, I think I would recognize that she is the cutest baby in the world. Her pediatrician can’t believe the strength of her dimpled baby legs. My babysitter called her Bolita because she looks like a chubby, smiling ball. She spends much of her time trailing after her big sister. When she sees me enter a room, she laughs.

I laugh too, to see how after all of the fear and frustration, the most difficult fetus can become the happiest baby. Her days are filled with activity now—pulling things off shelves, lunging for the stairs and ordering around her big sister—and I take a strange joy in seeing her tear around the house. Because one of the hardest things we ever had to do was nothing.

from Health News And Updates https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/08/bed-rest-is-bunk/566858/?utm_source=feed

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ionecoffman · 6 years ago

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Bedrest Is Bunk

"Mama’s in the hospital because the baby is coming,” I told my 3-year-old when she came to visit. “Just like in your books.”

“Sometimes people go to hospitals because they’re very, very sick,” she replied, wrinkling her little brow as she sat in the bed with me, eating orange Jell-O from a plastic cup.

But I wasn’t very, very sick. I was pregnant.

At some point, maybe five weeks in, I just wanted to leave. I called my husband and informed him that I no longer wanted to have this baby. Couldn’t we just call the whole thing off?

I began to suspect I was going insane.

“Stay focused on your goal—a healthy baby,” recommends Fit Pregnancy magazine. “If your doc approves, try one (or more!) of these favorite restorative bed rest techniques!

Breathe deep…

Visualize your baby…

Squeeze a ball.”

On message boards, women fret over the details of their prescriptions. Is a walk to the kitchen too much? How about a quick shower? Is it okay to lie on your back or do you have to stay on your side?

But, like my reporter friend, my time on bed rest stays with me, a nagging memory of those lost months, full of anxiety and depression, Netflix, and hospital food.

Article source here:The Atlantic

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rhonda-64-blog · 7 years ago

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(REVIEW) Read Online The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller Download PDF EPUB

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- Hello Fellow Readers, I just want to share my experience for an ebook of The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller. Before I read this book, I had read some reviews which had me wondering if this one would be something I'd like, reviews from people whose opinions I trust. It's True, so the book stayed on my "TBR Someday". So, If you want to read online or download your favorite books, i can give you recommendation. I found the good site about book & review, the site provides the best book ads link to get the popular books, so you can try it to read or download your favorite book after reading the review. TIPS to Read / Download Book: 1. Visit: www.hirobook.club 2. Find your book and read the review. 3. You May Visit book ads link provided. 4. Just create free account, then you'll receive access to entire library. 5. Wish you have good luck and ready to read online or download the book. The book format can easy access on PC, Tablet or Iphone. So, you can read anywhere and anytime. - Sometimes maybe your book is unavailable depend from the advertiser. - If you don’t fully love your experience, don't worry -- you can cancel of being member at anytime. - Hope this help and Happy Reading! (Visit the site written above and search your book in search menu) ======================================================================= Book Overviews: A thrilling debut from ER doctor turned novelist Tom Miller, The Philosopher’s Flight is an epic historical fantasy set in a World-War-I-era America where magic and science have blended into a single extraordinary art. “Like his characters, Tom Miller casts a spell.” (Matthew Pearl, author of The Dante Club and The Last Bookaneer) Eighteen-year-old Robert Weekes is a practitioner of empirical philosophy—an arcane, female-dominated branch of science used to summon the wind, shape clouds of smoke, heal the injured, and even fly. Though he dreams of fighting in the Great War as the first male in the elite US Sigilry Corps Rescue and Evacuation Service—a team of flying medics—Robert is resigned to mixing batches of philosophical chemicals and keeping the books for the family business in rural Montana, where his mother, a former soldier and vigilante, aids the locals. When a deadly accident puts his philosophical abilities to the test, Robert rises to the occasion and wins a scholarship to study at Radcliffe College, an all-women’s school. At Radcliffe, Robert hones his skills and strives to win the respect of his classmates, a host of formidable, unruly women. Robert falls hard for Danielle Hardin, a disillusioned young war hero turned political radical. However, Danielle’s activism and Robert’s recklessness attract the attention of the same fanatical anti-philosophical group that Robert’s mother fought years before. With their lives in mounting danger, Robert and Danielle band together with a team of unlikely heroes to fight for Robert’s place among the next generation of empirical philosophers—and for philosophy’s very survival against the men who would destroy it. In the tradition of Lev Grossman and Deborah Harkness, Tom Miller writes with unrivaled imagination, ambition, and humor. The Philosopher’s Flight is both a fantastical reimagining of American history and a beautifully composed coming-of-age tale for anyone who has ever felt like an outsider.. ======================================================================= B.O.O.K The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller Ebook. Ebook The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller Kindle. BEST! The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller Rar. Best The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller Zip. !BEST The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller Mobi Online. Best! The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller Audiobook Online. D.o.w.n.l.o.a.d The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller Review Online. Best The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller Read Online. B.e.s.t The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller Download Online. The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller pdf download The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller epub The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller read online The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller vk The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller pdf The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller amazon The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller free download pdf The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller pdf free The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller pdf The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller epub download The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller online The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller epub download The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller epub vk The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller mobi Download The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller PDF - KINDLE - EPUB - MOBI The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller download ebook PDF EPUB, book in english language [Download] book The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller in format PDF

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honeydewlanguages · 7 years ago

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Welcome to My Studyblr!

Hello! I'm not really sure how to begin this, so I guess I will just introduce myself and tell you all you need to know about myself:

Personally:

My name is Victoria, but I prefer to be called Luca.

I just turned 16 this past June.

I enjoy all colors, though my favorite is yellow.

I will be a Sophomore in High School this year.

I like raisin bread, cats (or any animal general, but I’ll like them more if they have a tail), superheroes, pudding, peaches, bananas, and chocolate milk.

I was properly (I say properly because that's when I actually realized that wondering if I'd ever make it to age 18 wasn't normal) diagnosed w/ major depression and social anxiety in September of 2016 and am still doing trials as to which medication will help best.

I like to write, but I’m not very good at it.

I love to read and my favorite genre is YA and fantasy or anything to do with magic.

Sometimes I deal with my depression, sometimes I don’t.

Understand that I want to live, and I am barely learning how to do that now. Understand I am trying and only have me.

I listen to all types of music.

Education Wise

I have been taking Spanish since the seventh grade, so that is where I am most practiced in regards to languages.

My favorite subject is History.

I have absolutely no fucking idea what I want to do with my life.

I have no fucking idea where I want to attend college or if I even want to go.

Also in regards to languages (besides Spanish) I only know the basics (numbers, alphabet, family, certain verbs, etc.) of French and Italian.

I don’t actually stick to one thing at a time and I hate myself for it. I can string a sentence together in Russian, Italian, Japanese, French, and paragraph or two in mixed Spanish.

Science is not my thing at all, but I do enjoy it.

The Reason Behind the Making

I made this study blog to aid myself in getting into better studying habits and as a way to stay motivated 24/7. This past year has been particularly hard for me as my depression got extremely bad and I fell incredibly behind in school which is something I am very disappointed in myself for. I don’t want that to happen again.

Also, I’ve never really needed to study. Everything just came pretty easy to me. I’ve always had excellent grades, even when I managed to be absent at least 1-2 days every week of my eighth grade year, without ever actually having to put forth any effort and maybe that’s just because I am too scared to actually challenge myself and didn’t particularly care or maybe because my teachers were dick-tots and didn’t care. But I realized that that minimal effort that I have to exert to succeed is going to come to an end here pretty soon and I want to be ready when it does.

How the blog will work

I will do my best to keep it updated as much as possible.

I will tag everything (i.e. tips, studyspo, languages, etc.)

If you actually read any of that thank you and I hope you as well are able to find my blog useful and could suit a few of your needs!

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karasunovolleygays · 8 years ago

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miyuki for the hc meme ///w///

What does their bedroom look like?Pretty spartan. No tv, no posters, and not much by the way of furniture other than a fan, his bed with rumpled sheets, and a stack of old scorebooks in organized chaos on his old battered desk. He doesn’t spend much time in here other than looking over stuff and sleeping, so he doesn’t feel the need to waste time and effort hanging stuff up he won’t ever look at.Do they have any daily rituals?Nah. Just the standard SSS.Do they exercise, and if so, what do they do? How often?On off-days, he’ll go jogging around dawn because everything is so quiet and still. It’s something he doesn’t get to have to himself often. Other than that, he spends at least some time every day on baseball stuff, whether it’s practicing with his battery partner, hitting, weight training, or cardio.What would they do if they needed to make dinner but the kitchen was busy?He’s a proficient cook by trial and error. It doesn’t take him more than twenty minutes to whip up a quality, healthy meal, and it usually tastes good.Cleanliness habits (personal, workspace, etc.)He doesn’t really accumulate stuff, so he has little to do by way of tidying up. He wears the same hoodie like...all the time, only owns two pairs of jeans, and keeps his school uniform neat so it doesn’t have to be laundered or ironed frequently. All that he needs really is a laundry run and to dust once every couple of weeks and keep up with the trash. As for hygiene, he showers after every practice, so he’s usually easy on the nose. If he’s on holiday from the team and has no obligations, he might grunge it up for a few days if he’s not going out, but he draws the line at being able to smell himself.

Eating habits and sample daily menuHe tends to stick to healthy things for meals, but he has a sweet tooth and doesn’t hate stuff from vending machines (chips, cookies, trail mix, etc). He’ll have simple pork rice for breakfast; a pile of veggies, rice, and lean protein for lunch; and mostly the same as lunch plus a dessert for dinner. He’ll snack on rice balls or the occasional sweet morsel between meals to keep up his energy and to satisfy his desire for junk.Favorite way to waste time and feelings surrounding wasting timeWasting time seems like a boon for him, as he usually has his plate full. At school, he doesn’t bother doing it much because he knows on holidays when he has to go home, he’ll have plenty of empty time on his hands. However, when he leaves school, he starts to value those quiet down moments between waves of Obligation.Favorite indulgence and feelings surrounding indulgingHe isn’t terribly indulgent financially, but he does love himself the occasional junk food splurge. He eats right most of the time, so being bad with his nutrition here and there won’t hurt anybody.Makeup?Nah. He’s way too lazy with his deportment to care about stuff like that. You’re lucky if he remembers to comb his hair in the morning.Neuroses? Do they recognize them as such?Not really. He’s pretty chill about most things.Intellectual pursuits?He is deeply interested in sabermetrics (the science of mathematical probability in baseball), which is stunted by his utter lack of mathematical talent.Favorite book genre?Sports IllustratedSexual Orientation? And, regardless of own orientation, thoughts on sexual orientation in general?He’s pretty demisexual. He doesn’t really care much about stuff like that. People are what they are and like who they like. It doesn’t hurt him at all, so he sees no need to nose in on stuff that’s none of his business.Physical abnormalities? (Both visible and not, including injuries/disabilities, long-term illnesses, food-intolerances, etc.)He has astigmatism, which requires special (i.e. more expensive) contact lenses, which is why he wears his glasses more often. They don’t wear out as fast and cost him more money or force him to see the eye doctor sooner rather than later.Biggest and smallest short term goal?Short term goals are Koushien, not failing his classes, and finding a quiet place to study his notes and video.Biggest and smallest long term goal?Long-term goals are getting his own place, taking cooking classes, and being a pro ball player.Preferred mode of dress and rituals surrounding dressHoodie and jeans for life.Favorite beverage?milk green teaWhat do they think about before falling asleep at night?He usually reviews the day’s practice/game until he falls asleep and hopes his brain will keep working even after he nods off. It doesn’t. It never does. Childhood illnesses? Any interesting stories behind them?Just a chronic case of black eye from mouthing off to his senpai.Turn-ons? Turn-offs?Turn-ons are passion and drive. Turn-offs are willful ignorance and lack of effort.Given a blank piece of paper, a pencil, and nothing to do, what would happen?He’d doodle a strike zone and pitch placement/order ideal for getting out preselected batters.How organized are they? How does this organization/disorganization manifest in their everyday life?He’s not martinet about stuff, but he does have a system because it saves him time and effort. His schoolwork may be a little haphazard, but his baseball stat books, magazines, and charts are usually easy to sort through to find a certain thing. Is there one subject of study that they excel at? Or do they even care about intellectual pursuits at all?Does gym class count? Otherwise, I wouldn’t call him an academic.How do they see themselves 5 years from today?Hopefully playing pro ball.Do they have any plans for the future? Any contingency plans if things don’t workout?If baseball doesn’t work out, he’d like to be a scout/coach/manager for a pro team or maybe go to school to be a chef. What is their biggest regret?That he didn’t get to know his mom a little better. And maybe that he doesn’t spend the kind of time with his dad that he probably should.Who do they see as their best friend? Their worst enemy?He just assumes that he has no friends, though if he had to pick one it would probably be Kuramochi. He doesn’t feel like he has enemies, either, but he would classify Mei as a rival and a bit of a frenemy.Reaction to sudden extrapersonal disaster (eg The house is on fire! What do they do?)He’d be pretty collected and do what he could to minimize the damage. After all, it’s just stuff.Reaction to sudden intrapersonal disaster (eg close family member suddenly dies)He doesn’t deal well with personal responsibility (taking care of himself). Expressing grief and other more negative emotions doesn’t come easily to him, and they don’t always come out when they should. When his mom died, he cried a little, but mostly while he ran around the house trying to keep it looking the way it did before his mom couldn’t take care of it anymore. He just wants things to go back to normal and doesn’t always know how to get there, and it stunts his emotional health when he’s stuck like this.Most prized possession?A home run ball he caught at a Swallows game when he was nine. It’s when he knew he wanted to play baseball.Thoughts on material possessions in general?They aren’t really important to him. Clothes are to wear, not to collect, and stuff really doesn’t serve a purpose other than to occupy empty space. Concept of home and family?*cries* Home is where you sleep and family are people you say hello to when you’re home.Thoughts on privacy? (Are they a private person, or are they prone to ‘TMI’?)He’s not a sharer. Most of the people who know him couldn’t name a handful of facts about him not related to baseball. He doesn’t really mean to be that way, but he doesn’t care about stuff like that when it comes to other people, so he assumes no one else wants to know that stuff about him, either.What activities do they enjoy, but consider to be a waste of time?He doesn’t mind watching tv, but he doesn’t because he has other things to do.What makes them feel guilty?That he doesn’t try harder to build a relationship with his dad.Are they more analytical or more emotional in their decision-making?Definitely analyticalWould they consider themselves a Type A or Type B personality?He’s Type A on the field and Type B everywhere else.What recharges them when they’re feeling drained?A solo soak in the hot tub and a snack, maybe coupled with some inane video work.Would you say that they have a superiority-complex? Inferiority-complex? Neither?Neither.How misanthropic are they?Intentionally? Not so much. Unintentionally? A fair bit. He closes himself off a lot, which makes him seem standoffish and kind of rude at times. He doesn’t do it on purpose, but he does assume that it’s just the way he is and it’s not something he can fix.Hobbies?None, really. His life is almost solely dominated by baseball and avoiding loud people who want him to catch the ball.How far did they get in formal education? What are their views on formal education vs self-education?He’ll finish high school, but given the choice between college ball and the pro draft, he’d take the pro draft. School is an impediment to his baseball life, so if he can remove it, he will.Religion?He visits the shrine on New Years like everyone else, but he’s mostly agnostic. He believes there are things in the universe he can’t possibly conceive, but not so much in the way people go about that particular belief.Superstitions or views on the occult?He’s not a ghost/spirit/magic believer, nor is he superstitious. He’s very much a “I’ll believe it when I see it” type.Do they express their thoughts through words or deeds?Definitely deeds. As noted in his first address to the team as captain, he doesn’t do words very well, but leading by example is something he can do.If they were to fall in love, who (or what) is their ideal?Someone who shares interests and tastes in food, but also enjoys quiet downtime together without the need to fill the silence or the moments with inanity. How do they express love?He loves by sharing pieces of himself with someone that he doesn’t normally give. He’ll let them know things about himself, let them into his privacy, and show interest when they do the same.If this person were to get into a fist fight, what is their fighting style like?He doesn’t tend to fight back. All that does in prolong the fight, but if he just rag-dolls, they’ll lose interest and go away.Is this person afraid of dying? Why or why not?Not really? He might be if he were older and it were more of a reality for him, but he’s too detached from the specter of his own demise for it to be on his radar. He understands it can happen to anyone at any time, but rather than dread it, he hopes he can just go quickly/less painfully and with as little left on the table as possible.

He doesn’t fear death because from personal experience, he realizes that it’s a lot harder to keep on living after someone else dies than it is to be the one who is gone.

#daiya no ace #miyuki kazuya #jfc that was Long and A Lot #long post #daiya-no-ace-fanworks

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