#and we are unfortunately aware that the reason we are struggling to finish in a timely manner

[mantisgodsdomain]

You may say to yourself things such as "wow, mantis god, you seem really behind for bugtober this year", and you would be right, but what you can't see behind the scenes is that we are actually being surprisingly productive in the hours of the day that are not dedicated to school, it's just that some months ago we happen to have thought to ourself "well, we enjoy learning things, so maybe we should take a hack at school since the grant is decent, get some actual certification on our resume so we can get a real job" and then forgot that the reason we don't already have official certification is because formal schooling historically has had worse effects on our overall mental health than almost literally anything else in our life, and now that's eating 4-6 hours of our life per day with an extra few hours of recovery after which makes it unfortunately difficult to work on art.

[crazybiscuit]

Uptown Girl

Chapter 1

Pairing: Remus Lupin x Reader Summary: You, an out of touch rich pureblood, recently moved to England for yet another engagement prospect. Unfortunately, things don't go to plan as you somehow find yourself constantly running into a werewolf, who has developed a valid reason to dislike you. Warnings: This is going to be a long fic and the reader will be a bit of a bitch at first. The story will definitely contain violence, excessive use of alcohol, smut and mentions of death. This chapter doesn't have any graphic content though. On side note, this is set in 1983 and sadly, Lily (my wife... 😔) and James are dead. So Sirius is in Azkaban and Peter is "dead". Word Count:  2313 Credits: @saradika-graphics thank you for the divider! A/N: Let's pretend I didn't mean to post this yesterday... London was an actual nightmare to map out in my brain and I'm fully aware the title doesn't make total sense considering uptown and downtown is a mostly American concept but I figured it fit the context of the story. So for our sake, Remus will live in East London, closer to the Thames, and you, my dear Readers will live in West London, more North of the city. On a side note, fuck JKR and her disgusting beliefs. Also, to anyone struggling, whether it be personal life or political climate, I hope you're doing alright. Writing is my current escapism and I hope I can help someone else in the process. On another note, chapter 2 should be posted on the 28th! Chapters: 2

 

“When is that damned exterminator going to get here?” your father’s gruff voice was muffled by his handkerchief he held to his nose as he walked into the parlour.

“We should’ve just called the ministry,” the woman sat next to you snapped, her head sticking out of the window taking advantage of the fresh air, “No one would’ve ever cared about our little problem. But no, you had the brilliant idea to hire some random man you found in some pub.”

You brushed your damp hair, trying your best to ignore the foul stench emitting from beneath the floor, “There’s nothing small about our problem, so I’d much rather keep this discreet myself.”

You should’ve known better than to oppose your poor, dear mother, as she grasped her chest as if she couldn’t breathe, “Discreet! I don’t care how discreet we are dealing with this! This man will fail to help us, screw up and we will have to call the ministry anyways. Hell! He’s probably a fraud and planning to rob us. Do you have any idea how much worse that will be! People will think we are fools who can’t maintain our estate.”

You didn’t bother hiding the way you rolled your eyes as you glanced back out to the cloudy sky, which caused mother to rant about disrespect to the old man, now sitting in his recliner.

The fall wind was a welcome guest as you began to carefully style your hair, turning your attention to your faint reflection in the window. The bundimun infestation might have stalled the redecorating efforts of this old dirty hole of townhouse, but it was certainly not going to stop you from looking your best.

“It’s lucky Josephine is still in France. I'm beginning to doubt any amount of magic can revive this place.”

“Enough complaining,” your father cut in, as he casted another scouring charm in an attempt to lessen the smell, “We all know this isn't ideal, but you should be grateful we even found this estate for you considering your situation.”

You felt slightly annoyed as you finished your hair, frowning at him through the glass reflection. Your hand dropped dejectedly as you glanced back with a sigh. He was right, despite every one of your arrangements falling through due to the war, your parents had still managed to find you a respectable match, “I know, I know. I'm sorry. This is all just… I really miss him and this is all so frustrating.”

Your parents shared a look but remained silent. However, this didn’t last long as your mother suddenly stood up, “I feel like I might faint.” 

Your father let out an exasperated sigh at her theatrics.

“I am sorry, dear, but I cannot do this anymore. You'll have to deal with the exterminator yourself, I'm going out for lunch with Y/N–”

Before your father could protest in annoyance, you interrupted, “Actually, I still need to finish my makeup, so you can go with Papa.”

They put very little effort into arguing and quickly vanished from the house. The silence would've been appreciated if it weren’t for the disturbing smell surrounding you and you found yourself tilting your head back as you leaned against the window sill. Even upside down, the townhouses that lined the street bored you, and you decided to stare at the sea of grey clouds slowly drifting across the sky instead.

You figured, much to your annoyance, that it would likely rain again today. Your attention snapped to the street when you heard the crunching of the colourful leaves beneath someone’s shoes. You flipped over to get a proper look of the man coming up the street and your interest peaked. He stood out against the pristine houses, his dark clothes seemingly worn from years of wear on his tall, though lanky figure, and he seemed handsome enough even from the second floor.

You quickly grabbed your wand and summoned your silk robe, slipping it over your nightgown. He must’ve been the man your father hired, and with that thought, you grabbed your perfume bottle to apply some.

By the time the doorbell rang, you had grabbed your lipstick and you carefully applied it as you looked at yourself in the mirror against the wall. The bell rang a second time and you sighed, quickly wiping off the colour that was out of place. You smoothen out your silk robe before heading to the front door, opening it and finding yourself faced with a man’s hand frozen midair, ready to knock.

“Oh, sorry,” your eyes snapped up to the face that spoke and you met the man’s slightly startled hazel eyes. He was taller than you expected when you saw him outside and his light brown hair was messy but still made him look rather charming. He seemed a few years older, likely in his mid or late 20s. But what truly caught your eyes were the scars scattered across his face, neck, hands. Any bit of skin you could see was littered with scars, “Hi, you hired pest control..?”

His deep voice snapped you out of your daze and you noted the faint Welsh accent as you stepped aside, opening the door wider for him, “Right… come in.”

The man took notice of your outfit and nonchalant demeanor, but remained professional as he followed you in. His expression remained steady despite the familiar pungent smell filling the house. He awkwardly adjusted his bag on his shoulder. Your father hadn’t told him the exact issue, only promising to pay him nicely, and Remus hadn’t exactly allowed himself the privilege of worrying about the oddity of the situation. However, you did notice his stance relaxed as he recognized the infestation he was handling, “Bundimuns?”

“Unfortunately, that is correct,” you sighed, looking back as you opened the door to the area where the test was the most prominent. You noted his slight hesitancy to walk in as he observed the half-decorated house, “Our house warming party is in a few days and we need this issue to be solved quickly so we can finish the renovations.”

“Right…,” Remus tried his best to hide his expression of confusion and disbelief as he stared at the loud rococo decor scattered around the room floor, “This seems like it would’ve been easier to report to the ministry.”

“Probably,” you agreed, making your way to the open balcony, “We’ll take our chances though. I’d rather only have one person know about this than deal with official records of the infestation.”

That dumbfounded the poor man, who had set his old messenger bag down on one of the uncovered powder blue sofas, but he wasn’t about to push for more answers. Rich purebloods were always preoccupied with reputation, he knew that very well.

You leaned against the cold, metal railing as you watched him dig through his bag for his notebook, “How long will it take you?”

His gaze met yours for a split second before going back to flipping through the yellowed pages, “It’ll take two or three hours. This is a pretty serious infestation and this building is a lot bigger than it seemed outside…”

It was clear he had questions but it didn’t seem like he was going to ask. You figured you’d explain the situation to prevent any rumours to spread (though you doubted his words would actually reach any important ears), “This house was built before the ban on extension charms for houses. We have ministry approval to keep it this way.”

Remus smiled a little apologetically, finding the page he was looking for, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound accusatory. It really isn’t any of my business, so I wasn’t going to ask.”

His passiveness was mildly surprising but you brushed it off. It was nice not having to worry about him talking and clearly he needed the money, so you figured he'd stay quiet. You finally moved and sat at the table on the balcony as he began to read the most effective spells to get rid of the secretions and creatures.

It was fairly cold outside but you figured you should keep an eye on him, so to entertain yourself for the next few hours, you figured you’d write to your sister and friends back in France. You flicked your hawthorne wand, summoning your quill, paper and other supplies wordlessly.

The two of you worked on your separate tasks quietly, barely interacting for over an hour. You had lost interest in watching him as he cleaned the house out of the green menaces, using spells you had never heard off, and only headed back inside due to the charming British weather: Rain was always such a nuisance.

You carried your stack of letters with you as you walked back into the house. The smell, though still lingering, had mostly vanished from the house, which was a relief, “I'm going to be upstairs. I trust you won’t steal anything… Though I doubt he’d even be able to identify the actual valuable objects.”

The last part was mumbled in French under your breath but with the context, it was easy for the brunette to infer it was likely an insult. Remus watched you disappear to the third floor, “What?”

“Feel free to ask the house elves for help. They���re in the basement. They’ve been trying their best to deal with the acid,” with that, you shut your bedroom door, completely missing the man’s expression of disbelief and mild offense.

Another hour passed and Remus had done everything in his power to avoid you as he finished up the rest of the house. This would’ve worked wonders if he didn’t have to worry about getting rid of the last few bundimuns in the house, which conveniently were hidden behind the double doors leading to your room.

He sighed. He was never skilled in divination but something in his gut was telling that you were trouble, but he needed the money and he wasn’t about to half-ass his job because of some spoiled brat. So he knocked.

You opened the door and he immediately took note of your outfit change. You were no longer in your silk robe and nightgown, instead dressed in a simple but classy turtleneck and skirt, “I need to charm this room then I’m done…”

You hummed, letting him in as you walked back to your four poster bed, tying the stack of at least 15 letters together so that your owl could carry it. This gave Remus at least a few minutes of peace as he finished up, but it seemed you sensed he was about done as you spoke up, “You know, I know a potion maker in Saint-Brieuc, who is very skilled at Scar-Diminishing Serums.” 

“I beg your pardon?” his Welsh accent seemed deeper now that you’d upset him. The unprompted comment caught the man off guard and he scoffed, unable to believe anyone could be this insensitive.

“I’ve used them a few times and they work wonders. Great way to boost confidence and better your appearance,” you paused, sensing he was upset, much to your confusion, “Don’t get me wrong, you’re fairly handsome, but I think it would definitely hel–”

He suddenly got up after casting one last spell, “I’m done.”

His voice, though composed, made it obvious he was pissed. You hesitated slightly, trying to figure out what you did as you followed him down to the first floor, “No need to be so upset, I was just trying to give you advice. Whatever beasts gave you those scars did nasty work–”

He interrupts, surprisingly calm for someone getting insulted every other line, “Well, I kindly reject it, thank you.”

He stopped in front of the front door, almost considering leaving without payment, not wanting anything from you. Before you could protest, he opened the door and your mother let out a yelp, not expecting to see the stranger.

“Oh! Remy, was it?” your father smiled, glad to see the exterminator.

“Remus.”

It finally occurred to you that you had never even introduced yourself or asked for his name.

“Right, right! You must’ve finished! Y/N, did you pay him yet? I left the galleons on the table in the office,” he kept rambling, walking past Remus and you to get the money. Your mother smiled nervously, looking at the man, who she had already predetermined as creepy and untrustworthy, and tried her best to maintain a polite demeanor.

Unfortunately for her, she did a terrible job and her expression visibly relaxed when your father came back to save her from the conversation, “Here’s the 10 Galleons we originally agreed upon, and I figured you could get an extra 5 for–”

“Actually the 10 will suffice,” Remus forced a smile. He wasn’t stupid. It was clear you and your family were hoping to buy his favor to avoid any bad mouthing, and he wasn’t going to do that. Hell, he didn’t even want to talk about you to anyone (not that he really had anyone left), but it was a matter of principle.

You parents were stumped. They had rarely, if ever, met someone so quick to deny their money, “Sir, we insist–”

Remus had stepped out, taking the 10 Galleons, cutting off your mother with a thigh smile, “Honestly, I’m good.”

Your father, in a desperate attempt to get some sort of upperhand spoke words that made your  jaw drop, “Well then, please consider joining us for our Autumn Equinox party on the 22nd.”

Your mother’s expression mirrored yours and you knew they would argue about this later. Remus’s eyes met yours and something awoke in him, a slight sense of amusement he hadn’t felt since Hogwarts. He looked back at your father, adjusting his old bag on his shoulder, and smiled slightly, “I’ll think about it.”

[likea-silhouette]

pairing: harry styles x oc (Emery)

cw: none.....for now :)

word count: 2.2k

summary: Emery and Harry are both roommates who are post-grad creatives struggling to find a sense of financial stability that fits their creative endeavors, in addition to their second jobs that pay the bills...well, only some of them. When Emery and Harry end up short on cash with the rent past due and zero extra income in sight, it will take some creative thinking to figure out what both of you can do to make a little cash on the side. This will be a multi-chapter series that I have big biiigggg plans for. If you’d like to be added to the taglist, just let me know xx

Taglist: @drewrry @familyshow-orisit

The weather was dreary today - just the way I liked it. In February, Chicago was known to be gray and full of mushy snow; today, it was no different than the stereotypical winter weather that kissed this side of the Midwest each year.

I watched the light snow as it fell from the slim, rectangle-shaped window in the kitchen, taking in the natural quiet of the city this early in the morning. That is, until my eyes caught sight of the browning pathos plant that my roommate must’ve forgotten to water yet again. “Hey, Harry! I think this one's gonna be a goner soon unless you give it some water.”

My fingers lightly brushed along one of the plant's leaves, but at the point of contact, the leaf drifted down to the windowsill, separating its deceased limb from the plant. It was a crunchy and exhausted-looking piece of greenery. I’m sure it was grateful it was no longer left to suffer in silence - at least, that’s what I told myself in order to not feel as bad. “What's up?” Harry mumbled and poked his head into the kitchen. His toothbrush was dangling from the side of his mouth, accompanied by dribbles of toothpaste that smeared along his lips. Suddenly, my vision became very aware of his upper body, which stood naked to the eye. I blinked rapidly as a way to disengage my wandering gaze and bring myself back to the reason I had alerted Harry in the first place. “The plant”, I gestured in its direction with a wince, “It’s looking a little near death.” Harry muttered a panicked “fuck”, as he finished up his morning dental hygiene routine and rid his mouth of the mixture of spit and toothpaste into the empty kitchen sink. “Why am I so shit at remembering to feed this thing!” Urgently, Harry brought a glass of water to the parched plant, drizzling the clear liquid over it until the soil threatened to flood over the rim of the pot. “When’s the last time you watered the thing?” “Hell if I know”, Harry spoke with a shrug as he examined the plant further, as if he were some sort of specialist who could cure the greenery.

I couldn’t help but smile in amusement at his concentrated, creased brow. Once he felt the plant had been sufficiently cared for, Harry gulped down the rest of the water left in the glass, then, with the back of his hand, promptly wiped a hint of leftover toothpaste from the corner of his mouth. “What’s on your agenda for the day? Work?”, Harry asked casually as his hip leaned against the kitchen counter. His chest was still noticeably bare to my line of sight. “When am I not working is a better question.”

He nodded in full understanding of the situation, which I was well aware he could unfortunately relate to. Both of us had met at a liberal arts college, me a creative writing major, and Harry a photojournalism major. However, we were both brought together by a mutual friend; eventually, that friend grew into a group of friends, and pretty soon, each person was crossing paths with the other once one of their creative hobbies required the expertise of another in the artistic group of friends. Some people in the group grew closer to others, thus creating little mini partnerships. It’s funny, actually. Harry and I barely knew each other until I learned he needed a roommate. Of course, I knew who he was, and I must’ve spoken to him at least a handful of times throughout my college years. It wasn’t that we didn't like each other or anything in that realm, more so our paths just never crossed as often as some of the others in our group. Time didn’t allow us to form anything besides a friendly acquaintanceship. But that all changed when, at a coffee shop with one of our mutual friends, I was expressing my grief about the difficulties in finding a roommate post-college, and - what do you know - Harry also happened to be having that same exact issue. After our conversation, I dove into the contacts on my phone and tapped on the screen once I saw Harry’s name. My eyes glanced through our most recent messages, the last time being a year ago when I sent a picture I took on my phone of one of his photographs hanging up in a local bookstore. I expressed congrats and pride to him, to which he sent a simple ‘thanks’ and smiley face emoji - and that was our last means of communication. Quickly, I typed out a message to Harry, which turned into us meeting up at coffee shops and parks, exchanging apartment listings, and touring the ones that fit with what we could afford. A weight had been lifted once we stumbled upon a brick three-flat on a quiet street in a neighborhood I knew I could never afford to live in on my own. We signed the lease, and the rest was history. Now in the present, me and Harry were doing what we conspired nearly every morning. Me, preparing mine and his morning coffee on an espresso machine I spent way too much money on. Harry, rushing around, getting ready for his shift at the record store, and hitting me with casual conversation. This morning, his still half-dressed form looked as if he had hit snooze on his alarm one too many times more than usual. The worst part about acquiring a creative degree was finding a job that could provide you with food, clothing, shelter, and other basic necessities. I spent my days working primarily as a barista in a hip part of the city. Thankfully, I was still able to pick up some freelance writing gigs here and there to occupy my time and not make my degree feel like an entirely useless slab of paper I had framed on my wall. Harry also suffered a similar fate. His photojournalism degree proved difficult to make worth it when the age of AI had smothered nearly every creative outlet known to man; couple that with a shitty economy and you have a recipe for disaster. The record store came at the perfect time for Harry. Sure, photography-film photography to be exact-was his primary love, but records and music in general were a near second. The photo gigs he would get weekly, paired with a stable set of working hours and wages at the record store, is what allowed him to pay his bill. The only part that felt agonizing was the morning shift. Harry was naturally a night owl, yet capitalism had forced him to be only slightly accustomed to waking up early.

Notice, I said slightly. “How many times did you hit the snooze button today - three…four times?” Harry’s eyes narrowed in my direction as he took the coffee mug that was outstretched in my hand and lifted the freshly curated latte to his lips. “If this latte was anything less than perfection, I’d be throwing a passive-aggressive comment at you right now.” I smirked with rolling eyes, feeling a sense of pride anytime someone found something that I created-whether a cup of coffee or a piece of writing-good enough to comment on. “Watch it or those coffee privileges can be revoked very easily.” “Which is exactly why I withheld my comments, Emery,” Harry called over his shoulder as his sock-clad feet strolled over to the bench set by the front door. His feet slipped into his signature pair of boots that were only half suitable for winter, yet complemented his overall style perfectly. “When are you off today?”, I questioned as I watched him finish the buttons on the flannel that was now finally wrapped around his upper half. “Five - You?” Thankfully, my day would be spent split between the writing desk in my bedroom and the coffee shop, Side Practice, a couple of blocks away. “I’m working on a piece today, so I’ll be around whenever I manage to get that finished. Figured I’d work at Side Practice and then come back here to finish up for the day.” “Working on a tough piece?”, Harry asked as he draped a coat over his shoulders and his backpack across the front of his chest. Followed by his bike helmet, which he always had clipped around a carabiner attached to his bag until it was time to travel. “Sorta. Doesn’t help that my writer's block has been insane lately.” Harry winced as his hands latched onto either strap of his backpack. “Well, good luck. Don’t work too hard.” “I make no promises, but I’ll try my best.” Harry sent me a friendly, dimpled goodbye before he shut the front door behind him and left for the day. I watched out the window, with coffee cup in hand, until Harry appeared outdoors a minute or so later with one hand on the handlebars of his beloved preferred mode of transportation (aka his bike), and the other resting on the bike seat. It took him only a few seconds to lift his leg up and over until both of his feet rested on the pedals and set off on his journey of the day. I stood there for a few more minutes and absorbed each of the passersby as they walked their dogs, jogged with heaving breath, or headed off to work at a fast walking pace. It was interesting how there was such a massive amount of people in this world, and even those we only pass for a second once in our lives, those people have whole families and jobs and loved ones and hobbies. Lives that were full of experiences that I would never personally go through, yet could live vicariously through those people. I loved picking the brains of anyone who would allow me to. It was enjoyable, in my opinion, to spend a few minutes wrapped up in another person's world, learning about things they have delved headfirst into and things they just simply couldn’t stand. I never got enough of learning new things from people with various walking paths in life. I found it all very fascinating, which fit nicely into my writing aspirations. Today, I was ironically writing an article on young adults and side gigs. I wanted to focus on how normalized it was for people to have supplemental jobs alongside their regular ones, just to afford the necessities like food, clothing, and shelter, which unfortunately, is something I and many of my friends could relate to; Harry included. Me and Harry had lived with each other for a few months now, and both of us on a couple of occasions had hesitantly whispered to the other how we would be either late or low on our half of the rent. Thankfully, it had never come to the point where eviction was on the table, but in the back of my mind, I always lingered on the what if.

What if Harry couldn’t cover for me this time? What if I couldn’t pick up an extra shift at the coffee shop to cover his end of the rent? What if Harry wasn’t able to squeeze some money out of his parents' pockets to save us from the unimaginable? Several others just like me dealt with this every month, but why? Why had the world gotten to a place where the minimum wage was so deeply out of touch with the actual cost of living? Why was college so unattainable for so many, yet that was the only way to make a semi-livable wage, and even then, that wasn’t always the case? This is what I was writing about today. Suddenly, the blue line train a couple of blocks away came screeching through the neighborhood as the train moved along the wet, snow-covered tracks. The noise brought me out of my rabbit hole and, to be honest, I was thankful for the interruption. 

This piece wasn’t going to write itself, and god knows I needed that money as soon as I could get it. My bare feet moved along the creaking wood floors until I reached my decently sized bedroom door that cozily fit my full bed frame, a desk and chair, and a dresser full of clothes that were atrociously folded - if they were even folded at all. I noted how incredible the morning sun shone through my windows, which were adorned with burnt orange curtains that seemed to create a warmth that cascaded across the four walls.

Setting my half-empty mug on my desk, my hands began to shovel through a pile of clean clothes that were sitting on my desk chair, begging to be put away or hung up properly ever since I grabbed them out of the wash a few days ago. A bad habit of mine. I was, however, able to pull together a couple of items that created an outfit that was comfortable, yet didn’t sacrifice fashionability at the same time. I stuffed my laptop into a nearby tote bag, alongside my beloved pair of headphones that I never left my apartment without.

Once my boots were laced and tied on my feet and my coat was enveloped around my body, I set off for the winter cold that I had somehow grown fond of.

[roses-ink-dipped-pen]

iif this is okay ? a villain (kid) who got out of an abusive household and is currently hiding in superhero's house ;; then superhero has a talk w him but villain was too out of it to comprehend what's going on around him like how does he just realized that he wasn't exactly safe in his own house :(

superhero noticed and comforted him ;; SORRY IF THIS IS SPECIFIC anything else is ok u dont have to do tis :3

Okay granted, I may have gone a little off script xP

This doesn't exactly take place in Superhero's house, but I guess the Agency Headquarters is technically their home...? I mean, it is convenient.

I still hope this is a decent little story to read. Enjoy :3

TW: Mentions of emotional/mental child abuse, murder, fire

The superior took solemn strides down the corridors of their headquarters, swallowing their anger after returning from a rather abrupt meeting with the city’s most prized and honored heroes. 

Superhero, as the leader of the band of saviors, stood by good morals and kindred acts of empathy. They refused to ever deny a crook who was willing to amend their offenses a chance at redemption.

Those who shamefully defined the word ‘good’ with scorn written on their faces were to be put to justice. The process was swift, yet ruthless.

“There is no room for evil.” The wisest and greatest victors of the side of good would repeat to their pupils a thousand times over, and the cycle would go on.

But Villain was just a child.

It was a shame, not many heroes understood the point of mercy.

After the leader had finished chastising one too many of their followers, they stormed off into the interrogation room where the unfortunate victim sat. The atmosphere inside was damp, growing tense as Superhero and Villain made eye contact.

Superhero walked in, not bothering to follow any precautions when it came to confronting evil-doers. This was not an interrogation to the commander, they did not think about the orientation, deflection, or threats. They knew that whatever Villain did, was a response to fear.

The young boy cringed in his seat as his father’s rival sat in front of him, the table that separated the two of them was littered with plushies. The only reason why Superhero had a pen and paper was to record anything Villain said that stood out to them. However many cruel works the supervillain has forced him to commit, and how many works were aimed towards him, they would make a check on their tally. 

Superhero was well aware of Villain’s innocence. Even though he worked alongside Supervillain prior to the ‘interrogation’, resulting in the assassination of the city official, Villain was not to be held accountable. Many beg to differ, and that irked Superhero.

“You don’t have to be nervous, I’m not like the others.” 

Superhero grimaced as they referred to their fellow members. Villain nodded, reaching out with a small hand to grasp one of the plushies. A teddy bear Superhero picked out just for them. 

“I’m sorry.” Was all Villain responded with. He’s said that nearly fifty times that day. Superhero heaved a long sigh.

“I told you, whatever you did was a decision made for you, entirely by your father. You had no role to play in the incident, and I want you to go to sleep tonight knowing for a fact that we do not think that you are to blame.” They assured with a gentle grin, anxiously picking up their pen to question the boy about what he had been subjected to under the authority of Supervillain. They didn’t need to ask.

Villain huffed, swallowing the salty taste in his mouth as he struggled to hold back his cries.

“Dad told me he would hurt me if I didn’t help.” The young boy blurted out after a few moments of silence, clutching their shoulders.

“It was my job to burn down the community center, but I was too scared to-” Villain was interrupted by a fit of coughing as he choked on his tears.

Superhero was amazed. Villain was crying in front of them, to them. They must be doing something right. Superhero didn’t wallow in their newfound pride any longer; they had a job to do. 

They got up from their seat to kneel down beside the weeping boy, extending a hand for Villain to hold. Gingerly, they hushed the boy, whose face was already buried in Superhero’s shoulder.

Superhero held on tight to the boy, picking him up in a comforting embrace. 

“Dad left me behind as punishment. He said you would get rid of me for good...” Villain whispered, he was too exhausted to speak up.

Superhero was more than disgusted at this revelation. Like hell they would ever think about putting a child to death. It just goes to show that Supervillain truly possessed a sick and twisted imagination.

Only now did Villain realize that he was never in the right hands to begin with.

“Nothing on this planet would ever convince me of doing such a thing. You are worth more than what you were made to believe, and I won’t stop at nothing to make you feel loved. Do you understand?” Superhero’s devastated tone convinced Villain that he was in the right place.

The two stayed locked in a hug for what felt like an eternity, before Superhero offered them some cookies and a movie of his choice.

Superhero put the ‘interrogation’ on halt and allowed Villain to take a break from the accident. Later that week, it was revealed that Supervillain had committed a total of 21 sins and misdoings, all of them directed towards Villain. The superhero marveled as they thought of 21 ways to get back at him. Putting all morals aside, they went to pay Supervillain a visit.

[aprillikesthings]

can I finish this before I gotta get ready and leave for the Maundy Thursday service let's find out lol

(Edit: Nope.)

THREE MORE EPISODES LEFT

*cries*

s5 ep11 Failsafe

someone hold me

I have to actively suppress the urge to read the synopses of the episodes at this point

oh also lol this is just funny to me, I saw a post Elsewhere Online where someone watched all of spop the first time and they HATED the dumb names everyone has, and I think they mentioned Castaspella specifically.

And like FIFTY PEOPLE responded with "dude they had to use the original names from the 1980's series" and I was the only one there old enough to have watched the original series and I had to point out: the original series was made to sell toys. The vast majority of cartoons in 1985 were only made to sell toys. They gave everyone those dumbass names because it was easy for kids to remember and beg for the toys."

That's also why all the female characters in the original series have the exact same body type. Yeah the body shape itself was due to 1980's-era sexism, but also? It was so much cheaper to animate the show AND make the toys that way!

But also, it's hella ironic to me that the 2018 show has so little official merch!

And now, back to crying over cartoon lesbians:

good question

ugh I hate her

Shadow Weaver: "While you were traipsing around in space,"

OH MY GOD they were saving a few people's LIVES and it was kind of IMPORTANT but WHATEVER

"--some of us have been working to stop the Heart of Etheria from falling into Prime's hands. And we discovered the same thing you did. Rumors of a Failsafe that will break the restraints the First Ones built and set the stolen magic free." Glimmer: "Are you kidding? After everything that happened last time, you're still going after the Heart of Etheria? And you're helping her?" Castaspella: "We're trying to free the magic for all of Etheria so we can be strong enough to fight Prime. I'm doing this for your father and for you. Shadow Weaver is the lesser of two evils."

I love that she says this right in front of Shadow Weaver. Like "girl I hate her too"

nice

okay ngl I have mixed feelings about this one because unfortunately she's not entirely wrong here but also, shut the fuck up

(something something people are responsible for their own actions but also she wouldn't have done all that godawful shit if Shadow Weaver hadn't been such a shitty parent)

but yeah Catra gets up like she's about to fucking throw some hands and Adora's like It's okay bb

;_;

but also they do need the information Shadow Weaver and Castaspella have

so it turns out Mystacor was built on top of a First Ones' citadel? huh

Castaspella: "Beneath Mystacor, there are many secret tunnels and rooms, forgotten and sealed off. No one has been able to access them in centuries, but there are whispers of what they contain." Shadow Weaver: "An artifact known as the Crystal of Arxia, hidden there by a group of traitorous First Ones." Castaspella: "You said I could do it!"

lol they bicker like old marrieds

Adora: "If you figured it out on your own, why come back here? Why do you need us at all?" Shadow Weaver: "Because Mystacor is controlled by Micah, who, you may recall, is controlled by Horde Prime."

they've been TRYING

"If he seizes the Heart, it will all be over."

Stop toUCHING HER

oh god Adora turns around to ask Catra to help out--and she's gone

YOU'RE THE REASON SHE'S FUCKING "SULKING" and you fucking know it, why are abusers always so god damned surprised to find out their kids don't want to be anywhere near them

(I mean I know why, they think they should be able to control you forever)

aaahahaha Adora's just like Nah I'mma go look for her tho

anyway roll intro!

omg look at Netossa and Spinny on the bottom left awwwww

she looks so sad

well okay sad and angry

their conversation here is so good, because Catra's fully aware of why Adora's doing this, but is really struggling to push past how much she (justifiably!) hates Shadow Weaver and hates being around her

I actually do kinda wish I'd kept a list of all the times Adora does the self-sacrificial thing, separated into "someone asked her to do it" vs "nobody asked her to do it" lol

BUT ADORA EXPRESSES A NEED oh nice that's progress

Adora: "Hey, she can't do anything to us anymore. Please, come. We--I-could really use your help."

two things I really love about this: One, she doesn't say that she doesn't like Adora, just that it's not the reason she's going. Two, I feel like Adora knows damn well Catra's not being 100% honest here.

Like, to some extent Catra's saying this as a way of attempting to protect herself a little. She's taking baby steps towards vulnerability, and it's terrifying! And I think Adora can see that and is fine with it--not JUST because she's like "any crumbs are better than nothing" but ALSO because she doesn't want to push Catra.

Because yeah, if there was any actual doubt that Catra does like Adora--

WELL.

Entrapta was able to get Spinerella's chip out but says it had started fusing with her nervous system and they're running out of time to safely un-chip everyone.

But she's been digging around the network that connects all the chips to Prime, hoping to figure out how to disconnect everyone at once, and Bow gives her a little encouragement, it's really sweet.

OKAY so everyone who can, teleports to Mystacor with Melog making them invisible. (Apparently Catra doesn't get motion sick from it anymore which is nice lol)

I love the way they animated them being invisible

oh GOD okay

Catra turns around and says "looks like there's no sorcerers here" while, unfortunately, a sorcerer walks into the room. Shadow Weaver grabs Catra and puts her hand over her mouth to keep her quiet, and Catra (understandably!! but unfortunately!!) jerks away in fury and yells

And her fury causes Melog to drop the invisibility

And now the chipped sorcerer knows they're all there

they manage to duck the attack but Adora goes to transform into She-Ra--and can't do it

she had this issue last episode aaaugh it's not from being near Shadow Weaver she wasn't there

okay but also Adora runs behind a pillar to hide from an attack with Catra and it's cute

girl help why is this giving me so many emotions

y'know it's funny how often I've bumped into posts of people who are confused as to why Adora starts trusting Catra again so quickly, and I frequently wonder if they forget all the childhood flashback scenes of these two. To varying extents they both spent their entire childhoods seeing the other as their only consistent source of comfort and (something resembling) safety, and with some notable exceptions Adora's spent the last four seasons (which was like three or four years) visibly holding out hope that one day she could trust Catra again. This despite the fact that she now has other sources of safety and comfort and love!!! Being with Glimmer and Bow and everyone else was healing, sure; but it never erased her grief over losing Catra. She always, always held out the tiniest flame of hope that Catra would change sides.

And Catra basically tried lighting her own grief on fire (metaphorically and kinda literally) over and over and it just didn't go away, and I feel like when she saved Glimmer and apologized to Adora she had sort of come to terms with the fact that her grief over losing Adora couldn't be burned away, but of course by then she figured she'd fucked up so bad Adora would never forgive her or trust her again. And rather than take it out on other people or suffer any longer she was willing to just die, instead. She really did think that sending Glimmer to Adora was going to be her last act, and she wanted Adora to know she was sorry before she fucking DIED. And I don't think her saving Glimmer was consciously meant to be proof that she meant her apology, but it was. And that's part of why Adora trusts her again.

The fact is, even after everything that happened, both of them had a hole in their hearts shaped like the other. ;_;

And that's why Adora runs and hides behind the same pillar as Catra. (I mean yes, it was also closer, but that's not tHE POINT)

Anyway, this is all why, as I previously noted, Adora's not being pushy. That failed on her, spectacularly; the couple of times she tried it. Asking Catra to come along on this mission is the closest she's come. And even then, it wasn't "you're a good person deep down and you should change sides because I think I know you better than you know yourself," It was "please do this for me, because I need your help." And Catra is fully aware of how hard that is for Adora.

And these two still have a lot to work out post-canon (like, Catra has still got to deal with her need to not just be seen as Adora's sidekick/shadow, and lbh right now some of the rebellion is like "we're only putting up with you for Adora's sake" as if Catra was Yoko Ono) but that's part of why I'm writing a fic lolol

I have so many feelingssss on a related note I spent like fifteen solid minutes last night in bed having taken an edible and listening to my playlist and staring at this gifset lolol

ANYWAY Castaspella knocks out the chipped dude and they run for it

AAAND lol I gotta get ready to go to church. There's still 17:30 left on this episode. Pfft.

BACK FROM CHURCH I washed someone's feet, they washed mine, they stripped the altar, I go back at one or two in the morning for the overnight vigil

In the meantime: gonna finish this episode

(what is my life sometimes)

Entrapta plans to find a bunch of clones so she can figure out how their signals to Horde Prime work. Swift Wind is like Ugh, fine, I'll go with you, someone's gotta save your ass

Entrapta: "Thanks, bird horse!"

lol how many times have they had that convo

A family can be a sorcerer and her evil ex, a girl and a boy, two traumatized lesbians, and a cat

But also it looks like something out of an episode of Scooby Doo

Shadow Weaver opens a magic door

ngl that's PRETTY. like it's obviously about the Heart of Etheria but wow!

(and there's a dinosaur???)

Adora notices how stressed out Catra is and says "It'll be okay...Trust me." ;_;

Shadow Weaver: "There's no time to waste!"

"...disturbance."

The disturbance was your fault, dumbass. I am reminded of all the times my dad got angry at us for being afraid of him. And would hit us. For being. Afraid of him. Because y'know. That's how you stop a kid from being afraid of you. By hitting them.

In any case Shadow Weaver is still trying to get between them and separate them and I just really need this bitch to stop.

(Yes yes I remember she dies later)

Castaspella: "We're on the right path. The Crystal of Arxia was rumored to be the key to reaching deep magic within Etheria."

"But those who hungered for more power have long sought other ways to obtain the deep magic...with disastrous results."

HIT THE IMAGE LIMIT lemme reblog

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Dancing 'Til the Break of Dawn - Pt 13

<Pt12

(TWST Zombie apocalypse AU where Yuu beast tames just a little too close to the sun)

His heart pounded in his throat. He struggled to swallow around it.

Slowly, Trey lifted his hands in surrender, giving a nervous smile.

Yuu took a long, deep breath. He realized, abruptly, that he had actually stopped breathing for a second there. Thought that that was probably a bad thing. He took another breath, just to get more oxygen in his system, so the black dots dancing in his vision would stop annoying him.

And then he smiled back, dragging the knife away. “Whoops! Sorry! Didn’t mean to do that!”

“You – you didn’t mean to threaten him?” Riddle asked, incredulously.

Yuu lifted his hands in a shrug. “Everyone has moments where they strongly consider murdering someone. It’s just easier when you have a knife on hand. You know how it is.”

“I don’t, actually,” said Riddle.

“That’s the problem,” Yuu said, cheerfully.

“The prob –?! You’re unstable,” Riddle said.

“I mean, I disagree, but who isn’t these days anyway?” Yuu shrugged.

Riddle’s face flushed. “I’m not.”

“You’re living in a simulation of what the world once was. It’s an illusion. And illusions can be shattered. What happens then? That’s literally a textbook example of instability. You like textbooks, right? You should know this!”

Riddle’s grip tightened on his knife.

“Yuu…” Cater said, slowly, a quiet warning.

It was nice that he was trying to help, Yuu supposed. It was unfortunate that the person Cater was trying to advise was him, though.

“You’re not better than us,” Yuu continued to say, smiling. “In fact, you're currently worse than us in pretty much every way. We can all survive on our own, for months, but you? You’d die immediately. How does it feel, knowing all those years of learning what’s ‘polite’ and alllll that pain was worthless, in the end?”

Riddle lunged for him, knife pointed outwards.

So died Riddle’s mental stability, according to his own standards.

Yuu had plenty of time to appreciate the irony, because he had been entirely prepared for this outcome, and dodged the incoming attack with ease.

“You're too easy to provoke,” Yuu commented. “Not a great trait to have during the apocalypse. Things that can be settled peacefully should be. It’s best to play it safe wherever possible.”

The butterfly knife slashed through the air.

“As for your actual fighting prowess. You telegraph your moves too much,” Yuu said, watching the blade flash by his face with a muted kind of boredom. He looped around Riddle, kicking him in the back, watching him stumble. “Don’t even get me started on your form.”

Riddle’s lips pulled back in a snarl.

He whirled around.

Only to find Ace standing over him, a knife pointed directly between his eyes. The momentary surprise was more than enough for Deuce to kick the weapon out of his hand.

The knife skipped across the floor, hitting the wall with a dull thud.

Yuu crouched down, briefly, to pick up the weapon, flipping it closed. He stuffed it into his pocket for safekeeping.

(Free knife! Ace was going to love him.)

“And, of course, your situational awareness could use work,” he finished, crossing his arms over his chest. “Basically, you’re not suited for this world. If I’m able to beat you in a fight, then anyone can. Trey is the only reason you’re still here today. I’d say you should thank him, but it’s partially his fault you’re like this, soooooo...”

Riddle scowled. "So, let's say I'm bad at fighting."

"I just did," Yuu said.

"My talents lie elsewhere. Is that really such a big problem?"

“You would have done great in the corporate world,” Ace said. Then, he shrugged, grinning. “This isn’t that.”

This will probably never be that again.

(Not that Yuu and Ace would say that aloud. Not in front of Deuce, at least.)

Deuce sighed. “What my friends are trying to get at, I think, is that rules are nice -.”

Ace snickered. "I have never in my life tried to convey that rules are 'nice'."

“... and it’s good to have a moral code. But adaptability is important.”

“But – but I –!”

“No one wants to be in the apocalypse,” Deuce said. “But we’re here, now. All you can do is try your best to come out the other side in one piece.”

It was silent as Trey and Riddle took in the new perspective. Considering Yuu had risked a stabbing to explain his point of view, he really hoped that he'd gotten it through their skulls. If that hadn't done it then, frankly, Riddle and Trey could die as victims of their own stupidity. Yuu had done enough to fill his 'good person quota' for the month. He was officially done.

Yuu clapped his hands together. “Anyways!” He said, brightly, as if the argument had never happened. “Do you guys know where the nearest subway entrance is?”

“You’re – you’re just going to say all of that and then leave?” Riddle said, incredulously.

“Yep!” said Ace, popping the ‘P’.

“Aren’t you scared I won’t listen to your advice?” Trey asked.

“Not our problem,” Ace shrugged.

“Besides, Cater’s staying, so even if you do relapse, at least Rosehearts-senpai will have company.”

Cater blinked. “How do you know that?”

“Cater. You had a whole broadcasting station. It's pretty obvious you were dying for some friends,” Deuce said, rolling his eyes.

“And our friend group is already full, so don’t even think about coming with us,” Ace added.

Cater raised an eyebrow. “In the nicest way possible, you three are the most stressful people I’ve ever met. Pass. At least Trey here can bake.”

“At least one of those stressful events was your fault. You shot Yuu,” Ace reminded him.

“Get over it. That was, like, last week.”

“Yeah, honestly, Ace, it’s not like you haven’t tried to kill me, too,” said Yuu. Mostly just for the sake of annoying Ace – it was unlikely that he would ever see Cater again after this, so there were no downsides to pretending he was above holding a grudge.

Trey frowned. “Am I the only person that hasn’t tried to kill you here?”

“Ehhhhhh, Cater wasn’t really aiming at me, so I don't know if he really counts. But, either way, no, Deuce hasn’t tried to murder me. He did try and keep me captive for a while, like you did, but…” Yuu snapped his fingers, turning to look at Riddle. “Oh! Before I forget! Rosehearts-senpai! Cooking oil makes a great accelerant for fire.”

“What’s wrong with you?” Trey asked.

“I be in situations.”

~

“Grim!” Yuu cheered the moment his eyes landed on the zombie, which had been pacing just outside of the apartment complex. He hugged his child to his chest, beaming. “Look at you,” he cooed, scratching him behind the ears. “You’re just as cute as the day I last saw you!”

“It’s been, like, a few hours,” Deuce said.

Yuu sniffed. “Ignore him, baby, he’s just jealous he doesn’t have a super cool zombie cat of his own.”

Ace pulled on his jacket, the tension in his shoulders melting away as he hugged himself. Or maybe he was hugging the knives taped to the inside of the jacket. It didn’t make that much of a difference either way.

“You’re both sick,” Deuce complained.

“You’re our friend! Sick by proxy!” Yuu said, pointing and laughing at the idiot who had allowed himself to be contaminated.

Deuce rolled his eyes, hefting his bat over his shoulder. “I’ve recently learned that you forgive murder attempts. Care to test it out?”

Yuu squeaked. “What, you want to kill me? Then you’d be giving the title of 'least dangerous' to Trey of all people, and I don’t think you want that.”

Grim growled.

Yuu smoothed his bristling fur. “Shhhhh, don’t, you’ll get your teeth dirty if you kill him.”

“Prick,” Deuce complained.

Something occurred to Yuu. He looked at Grim. “Hey, Trey gave us directions and a few recipes, so you can’t kill them.”

Grim sulked in his arms.

Yuu shook his head, something fond tugging at the corners of his lips. He pressed another kiss to the top of the zombie’s head. “It’s just three people. If you’re that desperate for food, you should downsize your army.”

“Yuu, are you a communist?” Ace teased.

“No, I just believe that if you can’t afford to give everyone a livable wage you shouldn’t be in business.”

“... that feels like communism,” said Ace.

Yuu considered this. “Maybe? What is communism?”

It was then that the three teens realized: they had no clue.

“Uhhhhh… bad?” said Deuce.

“It’s that thing Americans hate,” offered Ace.

“I love communism,” Yuu decided.

And, since his plan was to retrace his steps in hopes of finding the convenience store again, and he would therefore be going past his old high school, he might just get the chance to look up his newfound political ideology.

“Everyone ready?” Deuce asked.

Yuu hummed, glancing back towards the apartment complex. No one was in the window.

No one would see, then.

Yuu retrieved Cater’s gun from the bush.

He exchanged smirks with Deuce and Ace.

And then they took off running, laughing evilly to themselves.

~~~~~

Pt14>

[thegeminisage]

I don't have strong opinions about him so I'm curious what about emmrich has you homicidal? important caveat i have not finished the game yet BUT I don't care if you spoil things

for context: anon is talking about the tiermaker

i'm being emmrich critical under this cut so if you don't want to see that DON'T CLICK IT!!! live and let live. i mean, or don't, i'm not your mom

my struggles w emmrich are threefold. i talked about it before here just a little bit but i'm gonna do it again. walk with me

part 1: hype aversion

this is my fault and not his. back when i was firmly neutral on emmrich, this guy was EVERYWHERE. people liked him as much as or more than lucanis, who in my brain should have been the instant heavy favorite. which is fine, but then, also, every time looked for rook/lucanis it would somehow be rook/emmrich/lucanis. or emmrich/lucanis when emmrich basically just looks at lucanis like a lab specimen after lucanis has been the subject of zara's little science experiments already...can we PLEASE give him, a break. also, i'm mad that emmrich is the only one who can hear spite. like, it's cool that he CAN bond with spite, but oh my god. i am aware that this one is all me.

also? emmrich's romance is a LOT fuller than anyone else's in the game. being a lucanismancer, this is difficult to deal with. lucanis didn't even get his own bedroom. the middle of his romance is all but missing. allow me to be jealous.

part 2: best part of his character is romance-locked

this one is not my fault it's datv's fault. and it isn't exclusive to emmrich by any means, but they had a set-up for a really cool character here and did not follow through with any potential. a necromancer who is terrified of death? and OLD necromancer? ageism aside (dude's only 50) i think that rules. unfortunately, the only time he really expresses a deep fear in an emotional way is when he's trying to break up with rook. i thought that scene was cool but i have to romance him to see it and i am Not doing that. shouldn't that turmoil be available even if you're just friends with him? where was that when he was agonizing what to do over manfred? (he dies in the boss fight against hezenkoss and then emmrich has to decide whether or not to give up his chance at becoming an immortal lich to bring him back).

i think it's really cool that death has defined so much of his life including being orphaned at a young age and then also he's terrified of it and ultimately has to face that fear, except he doesn't really. he doesn't even chicken out when he's fighting hezenkoss. could you imagine if he was too afraid to act and manfred had to do it and thats why he got killed? we dont even see the process that turns him into a lich. you could frame either choice for him as finally facing his fear of death - getting manfred back by giving up immortality or getting immortality by dying and becoming a lich. it would have been really cool if the process that gets manfred back risked emmrich's own life. you had the potential for depth and growth there. alas.

part 3: i don't like his vibes.

a post i like talks about how emmrich was slightly different in the podcast and i definitely liked his vibes better there...in the main game, he's focused on The Academics Of It All to the point of kind of...excluding emotion. this is made all the worse by him being friend with bellara, who is ALSO into the academics of it all but BECAUSE of emotion. "doesn't that (a list of your personal problems) just wanna make you take some artifact apart?" she's got emotional reasons for seeking out the knowledge that she does and they mean something to her and you can see it and hear it every time she talks about it. emmrich is...not cold, exactly, but compared to bellara? oof.

also, we are all very quick to be like AWW MANFRED HIS LITTLE SKELETON SON when manfred is like...very butler coded, which is the most polite and forgiving way i can put it. emmrich SAYS he's poor in the game's banter, but he does not look or act like someone who grew up in poverty because again HE IS KEEPING A SKELETON BUTLER. aesthetically, menfred is his little manservant. while i like emmrich speaking gently and kindly to the slave that the ventori brought with them to bleed dry (it has major podcast emmrich vibes), him saying "there are no slaves in nevarra" is really ironic, considering manfred makes his tea and does his laundry. "he likes the bubbles" ok sure. you bound a spirit to a skeleton and now he does menial labor for you. that is not your son.

also, one time he DID call davrin stinky >:(

[jazzmckay]

20 Questions for Fic Writers!

tagged by @broodwoof :> i think ive done this one before but my memory is bad enough that i dont remember my own answers and they might be different because ive posted a lot lately so. here we go

not sure who all has already done this... if you're a writer seeing this and you havent done it yet, do it and tag me 😂

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

116

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

1,010,049 babeyyy

3) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Truth in Melody (geralt/jaskier) - 1,534 - my contribution to the famous accidental warlord geralt au, with jaskier as a redanian spy in his midst

The World Upside Down (gen) - 1,367 - my first detroit: become human fic, the beginning of a found family saga

Variable Outcome (gen/connor & gavin) - 910 - one of the many, many d:bh Evidence Room Canon Divergence fics out there

left an impression on my heart (scott/stiles) - 869 - one of the teen wolf old guard fics still clinging to relevancy... 😂

Winter Chill and Summer Bloom (connor/gavin) - 732 - one of my dbh magnum opuses, as far as im concerned

4) What fandoms do you write for?

right now, dragon age. in the past? well.

the walking dead should have its own folder but for some reason during that era i wrote exclusively on gdocs idk. the "other" folder contains l4d2, shameless, shadowhunters, sense8, and borderlands.

5) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

yep, comments mean a lot to me so i always take the time to reply. if i don't, it's probably because the person said something that made me uncomfortable which has unfortunately happened a couple times lol.... just "oversharing with a stranger" kind of things

6) What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

i have 2 that are basically the same level of hurt/no comfort

Fair Compensation (rk900/perkins) - failed android revolution, perkins being a scumbag

Scoured (anders/hawke) - inquisitor anders is made tranquil

7) What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

im not really sure how to quantify this. im just gonna say this one thats all very light and happy and sweet all the way through. i give even my darkest whump a happy ending, generally, but this one seems like among the most overall fluffy?

Irresistible Gravity (connor/gavin) - 5+1 fic, they keep running into each other in unexpected places as connor figures himself out post-revolution

8) Do you get hate on fics?

i have gotten unsolicited crit before. just deleted it

9) Do you write smut?

yep and i wish i could write more. unfortunately, i struggle

10) Do you write crossovers?

depends on your definition of crossover. i don't think ive written any "the characters from both verses get smooshed into one" before, but ive written "characters from x verse transported into y verse".

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that im aware of

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

yea! one all the way back on fanfic.net lol.... it was a twilight fic. we dont need to talk about it. but more recently:

Wellspring (cole & vivienne) - based on the banter where cole tells vivienne that if templars come for her, he'll kill them. it was translated into russian!

13) Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

yep, loooong time ago, when i was participating in homestuck shipping events where we got on teams for a ship. shout out to the catchat 🐈

since, ive talked about co-writing a couple times but we never made it anywhere lmao

14) What’s your all-time favorite ship?

this is the worst question in existence how very dare you. i wonder what i said last time. i wonder if it was corvo attano/daud from dishonored. i feel like i probably did say them

15) What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

i still want to finish ALL my wips. if i had infinite time and spoons, id still finish everything unless ive changed too much since then, which basically just means stuff that goes all the way back to the teenage years, or if the source has been soured for me too much (hp, overwatch). im not sure which im least likely to finish tho... probably the longfic dbh au stuff

16) What are your writing strengths?

i don't know lol i often get comments on my characterization so probably that! i'd like to think i'm decent at pacing as well, particularly since i've spent a lot of time working on it

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

i struggle the most with fluff, smut and conclusions. i also don't have the spoons for long, complex plots anymore, if im honest, and that really sucks. i get easily overwhelmed when trying to piece it together. hopefully the energy comes back someday

18) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?

there are times when its appropriate but i think it's something to be careful with. first of all: avoiding racist tropes. a character using other languages should have meaning or be realistic, imo, not be quirky or fetishizing. just need to make sure there's a real, grounded reason for it, that it makes sense. people who speak multiple languages irl have a lot to say about what its like.

and then you need to be careful about the clarity of the text. if there's too much and the readers don't understand, it's going to be confusing. don't lock important context behind a language barrier. don't risk frustrating a person into giving up on the story because they cant keep up. and no, putting translations in the notes is not always enough, if it means the reader has to constantly stop reading to check the notes, losing their place or the flow of the scene

19) First fandom you wrote for?

gonna be real with yall. if you count hand-written things that never made it into fandom spaces and werent even written with the understanding that it was fanfic......... angry beavers. yah, the cartoon about the beaver brothers. yes

if we're talking actual intentional fandom activity that made it to the internet, that would be harry potter.

20) Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

the previously mentioned winter chill and summer bloom is certainly up there. i think ill also say my dbh vampire au series:

Vampire AU (a.k.a. gay vampire/hunter shenanigans)

i'm also very fond of my two fics named after lyrics from blackbird by the beatles

into the light of the dark black night (gen) - dbh post-bomb ending fic

take these broken wings and learn to fly (kara/north) - whumpy soulmate au femslash lets go

[heartofspells]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you for the tags, @brandileigh2003 @tracingpatternswrites & @mycupofrum!

Username: heartofspells

1. How many works do you have on A03?

96, all of them HP except for one lonesome Supernatural fic

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count?

1,685,584

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Harry Potter, though I've dabbled in a few others, only one fic of which is still available for Supernatural

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

At the Healing Edge of Broken

Prick the Craving, Watch it Seep

Multiplying Parents

How to Succeed in Business

The Tying of Canines

5. Do you respond to comments?

I used to. Hardly ever anymore, and unfortunately, I've got solid reasons for that. I will respond to them if someone asks a question that legitimately needs answering or similar. And while I maybe don't respond to them anymore, I do read every single one multiple times. I love comments, and I'm so grateful for everyone who takes time out of their lives to leave them for me <3

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Ah...heh. That's really not an easy question to answer for me. I guess, coming from a personal stance, knowing everything I put into it and the build up that led to then ending, I'd have to say Wasteland. That's the one that's still lingering with me to this day.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

That's also hard to answer, because as much as I love flooding my fics with angst, I have a lot that end very happy or hopeful. Narrowing it down to longer fics with more character arc throughout, I'd probably say This Way We Fall because it leaves them on such a high note after all the struggle.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Unfortunately, yes, but that's part of it, I guess. I've become better at ignoring it.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do, but at the end of the day, it's mostly just typical smut when I look at it, though I do have a few kinkier ones scattered in there (ceiling smut, er...inter-species stuff). There's also the...not entirely nice stuff when it comes to smut as well simply because I like exploring all aspects of most everything.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Haven't so far. Doubt I ever will, but you never know.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of. I hope not.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have! I co-wrote Family on the Mend with @tracingpatternswrites and it was so much fun! I'd love to co-write more fics in the future!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

It's gonna have to be Wolfstar just because that's where my heart has rested for years, but there are others that run as close seconds.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Oh god. YOU. It's not posted anywhere, still only exists in my docs, but I'm convinced that fic will haunt the rest of my life.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I always struggle with questions like this, but that also means I've spent a lot of time thinking about it over the years. I think, mostly based on reactions I've had and what other people have said, that I'm quite good at capturing heavy and deep emotions, hopefully enough to not only grip a reader, but to plunge them into the heart of a scene and make them feel those emotions as well.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Details? There are times I think I'm terrible at this, and not just in fiction writing. It's in everything. Something might exist in my head, and I sometimes manage to forget that not everyone can see my exact thoughts and know what I'm thinking, so I leave important bits and pieces out of things and explanations that only end up confusing people - or worse, makes me seem not so great in general simply because I forgot the inclusion of a very important point when it mattered most.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I'm not against it, though it's not something I generally do because I don't know any other languages and that's a risky game to play. I'll only include it if I've spoken to someone who speaks that language fluently and has agreed to translate for me. But having other languages in a fic is a wonderful thing, especially if you're trying to include other cultures, though speaking as someone who has to rely on things like Google Translate that aren't always accurate, included translations are always appreciated.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

This changes constantly for me. I'm not sure how it couldn't. I love most of the fics I've written, and it's like choosing a favorite child sometimes. However, I think right now I'd have to say it's a toss up between CRuSH (i'm just so proud of this one) and Multiplying Parents (also very proud, and this one was so much fun and makes me grin every time i think about it).

Open tag! Because I'm very late to this and I've got the feeling most everyone has done this by now.

[coffeewithcutcaffeine]

How the Ink Flows: 2024 scribbles by one Miss Lin ✨

Because my uni schedule has been kicking me in the butt constantly these days, I have decided to write this post to let you all know (as well as to make myself try to stick to my goals) what I am currently working on and what I would love to share with you this year! ❤️️ Also, at the end of the post under the cut, there is an important question regarding my taglist -- please, read the info if you follow my works and/or want to read some of them!

VOIEVOD

Vlad Dracula will most definitely remain my number-one priority for this year. So far, the update on the upcoming works for his story looks like this:

I am currently working on Second Chances, the work that maps one of the epic battles of Vlad's life, namely his spectacular duel with the former Voivode Vladislav II that marks the beginning of his second (and longest) reign. I have had to put my writing on hold for a while as I tackle my new uni schedule but will do my best to get back to the WIP as soon as possible!

Next, there is Novus Rex, Nova Lex which deals with the beginnings of Vlad's rule, and the tensions between him and the boyars. This WIP is also a strong homage to the wonderful Romanian movie Vlad Ţepeş (1979) as I have decided to borrow a fabulous scene from it and use it for Vlad's story. Hopefully, I will do it justice!

I would also love to focus on the beginnings of Vlad and Cătălina's relationship. You have already had the chance to meet the wonder of a woman, but the start of their love story and all the circumstances that lead to it definitely deserve to be told chronologically.

If all goes well, I would try to also dip my toes into Vlad's years with the Ottomans and try to explore the Drăculești family. A certain Mușat will most likely also make an appearance.

OPEN HEART

The world of Dr. Laura Levchenko has currently been put on hold for an indefinite period, mainly because I am heavily struggling with the overall story and some characters in it. I would also love to drift away from her role in the romantic relationship and explore her character as an individual. I think there is a lot of work to do for me to reassess what I want to say through my writing and what I want to do with the plot.

If all goes well and inspiration kicks me in this universe, I would love to delve into a series mapping her life directly after the maitotoxin attack. If you want to see Laura away from Ethan and shine individually in her pain, then this might be for you. ❤️️

CRIMES OF PASSION

I have been planning to finish a few works I have in mind for this story since summer but, unfortunately, the WIPs keep being abandoned by their negligent writer! I want to heavily redo and expand what we have been given in canon and turn it into something more serious and personal -- being from Eastern Europe, this story hits very close to home, and I would love to give it the levity and portrayal it deserves. So far, the WIP that I would love to work on more is called Silence, Silence, Dry and Black and explores heavier cultural and political themes. I am aware it might not be everyone's cup of tea but hope you would give it a shot nonetheless.

THE WAYHAVEN CHRONICLES

I am still exploring the story and toying around with my M!MC but, if all goes well, I have a very particular idea for a fic I would love to write this year! I am still not sure if I will make a single work from it or divide it into two shorter fics, but I hope to make it happen. Expect pure indulgence on my part as this will be my inner romantic pouring her heart out.

TAGLIST

This way, I would also like to share that I am thinking of creating a taglist for those who are still willing to read my word vomit! I would use it to:

tag you on my Voievod works that I post both here and on AO3,

tag you on my TWC fics that I will most likely post both here and on AO3 when the time comes,

tag you on posts regarding my OH and CoP fics that (for reasons) I have decided to post solely on AO3. However, I have chosen to always make posts with an AO3 link attached to them so that you do not miss a heads-up whenever a new fic is published.

Please, do not hesitate to write a comment under this post or send me a DM if you want to be added to my taglist! ❤️️

[luckylolabug]

Tagged by the lovely @starwritingbri <3 <3 1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Currently 17, after I yoinked some down. We won't talk about how many WIPs I have that aren't posted haha.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 150,958

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Uhh, multifandom girlie here so. Lockwood & Co, the DCU, Yuri on Ice, I currently have a folder of Six of Crows stuff getting ready for Whumptober but they're not posted yet, sometimes I one off and write stuff for Star Wars or TAZ: Balance. Ive got a big project going for Heartstopper that isnt posted yet, and I have a secondary account for MHA stuff lol. Also some joint stuff for FMA with Bri eventually!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

In So Many Words- Yuri!!! on Ice

Sorry, This Page Cannot Be Reached- Yuri!!! on Ice

Slow Dancing in the Dark- Lockwood and Co

Barrels and Bootlegging- Lockwood and Co

Shimmer in the Haze of Winter Lawns- Lockwood and Co

5. Do you respond to comments?

For the most part, yes! I can get behind on them a bit, but I do try and keep up with them because the support is important to me.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don't write a TON of angst??? But I want to say Heaven is Not Fit to House a Love Like You and I just for the context. Ask me again once I get my Whumptober stuff up in October and that's going to change, though.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Most of the stuff I write has happy endings! It's hard to pick just one?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Unfortunately. Weirdly, most of the fandoms I've dabbled in that have reps for being "the worst" have been the nicest to me as far as fics go, but I've gotten some very nasty comments on things for certain fandoms that don't have that kind of reputation. Fan culture is weird. I wish I could say it doesnt affect me buuuuut. There's a reason I stepped back from writing so much L&C and tend to drift with other fandoms more now.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I have a few times, and I'm not like. Directly opposed to it? But it's not really my Jam a good 99% of the time and honestly I prefer just keeping most of my stuff Fade to Black or vague and not in depth if it comes up. I like focusing more on other stuff, but I don't think smut is bad either!

10. Do you write crossovers?

Not as far as I'm aware. I have like. Some AU type stuff thats "This world but with these characters" but its not a direct crossover where the characters from multiple universes interact. I guess unless youre counting the DCU as a whole but??? Lol?

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

To my knowledge, no? But it could have been, I guess.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope! But I'd be cool with it! My mom helps me with Spanish in a few things for the Heartstopper project I have going since she's fluent, but those are just a few lines.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not anything POSTED, but eventually that'll change!

14. What is your all-time favorite ship?

Y'all, I am in too many fandoms for this lol. I don't know that I even HAVE an all-time fav that shoots above the rest? I have favs in fandoms, but not as a whole????

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Uhhhhh. Probably Barrels and Bootlegging??? I hate even putting this out there but fandom politics and the amount of BS just was draining the hell out of me when I was working on stuff so I don't even really have any plans to go back to finishing any of my stuff for L&C at this point. I'm happier writing other places, right now!

16. What are your writing strengths?

uHHHHHH???? Bri says its details, so I guess that? Putting details into everything?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

All of them. LOL. No, but honestly, I struggle with the editing process most because I think I end up re-writing things a good 5 or 6 times before I decide its fine and even then I struggle after stuff is posted just because I want to try so hard to keep things cohesive and correct. I spend way too much time Googling shit that shouldnt even really matter, but the small things matter to ME.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

The only thing I've really done it with is throwing in some stuff in Spanish, and I was only okay with that because my mom is fluent and offered to look it over for me to make sure it was correct. Otherwise I'm like.....Google Translate is inaccurate a lot and the idea of putting something in a fic that could be WRONG freaks the hell out of my OCD and I can't do it.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Oh, jeez. Uhh. Honestly it was either ATLA or the Halo games? I don't fucking know, it was pretty mid 2000s. I still have my log in for FF.net and LiveJ but I dont really want to go look because Im sure I'll hate it.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

This feels like a shit answer because it's not POSTED YET. But I really have been eating up everything I've written so far for this "Six of Crows but make it Modern" thing thats sitting at about 40k words right now. So probably that??? If its one that I have POSTED, then I think it's probably one of the 5+1s I did for Yuri on Ice just because those were really fun and light. I'm TERRIBLE at tagging people so uh. @fluffypinkkitties @twiilys and @chibiosaka I guess????

[mamamittens]

WELP, Christmas was nice! Great to see my brother again and I collected all the animal crossing museum shit except the art pieces but that's not something I can force without an excessive amount of effort so like, I'm good lol

Ah, hopefully I can gather the energy to do an event piece tomorrow. Orders slowed down and we get out at our normal time so I guess we'll have to see. There's hope yet I'll finish them all before 2024 lol

Ramble time, you know the drill lmao

So, there's a fun thing I used to experience often when I actually left my house where I was typically mistaken for a guy. A younger, possibly cute guy if that hilarious encounter in highschool is any indication (I'm a bit blind to my own level of attractiveness, not going to lie, which is a pretty big step up from hating it.... Anyway!)

Something about my relaxed posture, baggy hoodie, and short hair. Not entirely sure, but it is impressive given the fact that I've had a considerable bust size since early high school. I assume they never looked closely at my side profile lol

Anyway! It would be fun to adapt that a tad for Nikia, but more cause with that devil fruit able to adjust her size. I imagine she'd have an easier time taking a leadership role while presenting more masculine, even if it's incidental. Especially since she's not typically confrontational.

The change isn't something she needs to hold onto, thankfully, but it is more relaxing to settle into her natural form. So there's no danger of her forgetting what she actually looks like. Usually reserved for when she's locked into her cabin for snowstorms alone. Curling up in her freshly preened wings.

Her usual 'work mode' appearance is smaller bust (less weight jostling about during motion, did you know that you can break your collar bone with sufficiently sized tits when running? Horrifying), taller, and snapping open her natural wingspan when she wants to cut an argument short. It tends to scare the shit out of people when paired with an RBF and her wings going from little cherub size to dwarfing her frame in a fraction of a second (steam slipping from her teeth from the sudden change).

Hella whiplash when she uses her customer service voice. Really freaks people out more and she abuses this to throw people off when they're being difficult.

Unfortunately, with her own cabin and few reasons to socialize with people, her social skills get pretty rusty. Including the habit she usually has of exaggerating her expressions to clarify her intent or communicate. She still does it, but not as often as she should, so she's left faltering a little when people act negatively to her when she's trying to lighten the mood. She means well though, she's just not big on strangers being around her a lot.

This difficulty expressing and communicating emotions also unfortunately means that she has a hard time controlling her temper when it finally runs loose. Often getting overwhelmed and crying before shutting down. Obviously, she prefers to avoid this when possible, so tries to maintain a chill attitude that skews towards permissive. Mostly by accident.

This attentiveness towards her temper is also why she doesn't typically participate in competitive incidents as she's aware that her attitude is less than favorable during these events. Her difficulty with a social filter can often lead to her saying very harsh things without thinking.

All this leads to quite the unexpected series of events leading up to Marineford, as she doesn't fully trust herself to go rouge, doesn't believe she was the right to handle Teach, and struggles to cope with the (perceived) loss.

[nursingscience]

Why Can’t You Focus? Understanding the Dopamine Dilemma

Do you constantly check your phone?

Feel restless, anxious, or easily distracted?

Struggle to control your habits and choices?

These are signs of a deeper neurological pattern rooted in one powerful chemical—dopamine. This molecule holds the key to our drive, curiosity, and focus. But in the modern world, it’s also the cause of widespread distraction, anxiety, and dissatisfaction.

🔘Dopamine: The Engine of Human Progress

Dopamine is not just a “pleasure chemical.” It’s a motivation molecule—the reason we strive, explore, and learn. Our ancestors relied on dopamine to survive. Finding food, discovering fire, or inventing tools—all these achievements were rewarded with a dopamine release.

The brain learned: “This action worked—do it again.”

This feedback loop drove human evolution—encouraging risk, discovery, and progress.

🔘Dopamine in the Modern Era

In today’s world, dopamine continues to reward meaningful achievements:

Mastering a skill

Completing a project

Achieving fitness goals

Helping others succeed

These are examples of Slow Dopamine—a deep, fulfilling kind of pleasure that follows effort, patience, and discipline.

🔘The Trap of Instant Gratification

Unfortunately, modern technology has weaponized dopamine against us. Social media, endless scrolling, instant entertainment—all provide quick dopamine hits.

The cycle is simple:

Scroll → Spike → Crash → Repeat

These artificial spikes disrupt our brain’s reward system, reducing our ability to focus, work hard, or find joy in real accomplishments.

🔘The Consequences

Shortened attention spans

Weakened motivation

Dependence on external stimuli

Increased anxiety and dissatisfaction

We’re stuck chasing digital highs, while neglecting real-life progress.

🔘The Dopamine Crisis Explained

1.Pleasure-Pain Balance

The brain seeks balance.

Hard work (e.g., reading, exercising, creating) leads to delayed but lasting pleasure.

Instant gratification (e.g., phone, junk food) gives quick pleasure followed by emptiness.

Choose long-term satisfaction over temporary highs to restore balance.

2.Willpower as a Mental Muscle

The Anterior Mid-Cingulate Cortex controls self-discipline.

Each time you resist a distraction—whether it's a notification or a sugar craving—you strengthen this region.

Willpower grows through repetition.

3.ADHD and the Gift of Hyperfocus

ADHD is linked to lower dopamine levels, causing boredom and impulsivity.

But in areas of passion—music, sports, or creativity—individuals with ADHD experience hyperfocus: a state of intense concentration and productivity.

4.Symptoms of Low Dopamine

Chronic fatigue

Irritability

Low motivation

Poor sleep

Difficulty starting or finishing tasks

Treatment isn’t pharmaceutical alone—you can rebuild dopamine naturally through behavior and lifestyle.

🔘How to Cultivate Slow Dopamine

1.Limit Phone Use:

No screens upon waking or before sleep

Turn off non-essential notifications

2.Exercise Regularly:

Walk, run, cycle, or play sports daily

3.Read and Learn:

Replace scrolling with deep, focused reading

4.Set Daily Goals:

Break big tasks into smaller wins

5.Engage with Nature:

Morning sunlight, bird sounds, or a walk in the park refresh the mind

6.Follow Your Passion:

Create space for hobbies and skills that bring true joy

🔘Final Insight: Reclaim Your Mind

Every choice matters.

Choose discipline over distraction.

Choose books over screens.

Choose real joy over cheap thrills.

Your brain is not broken—it’s hijacked. But with awareness and effort, you can rewire it.

Master your mind, and you master your life.

Start now.

(Author: JAVAD AHMAD HURA, UN Educationist, Chief Editor of Srinagar Samachar)

[goldislops]

Why People Procrastinate, and How to Overcome It

To stop putting off tasks, think about the positive

High angle view tired businesswoman with hands behind head working at desk with a laptop, papers, and open books

Amr Bo Shanab/Getty Images

To stop putting off tasks, think about the positive

By April 12, 2024—three days before the deadline for filing tax returns in the U.S.—more than a quarter of American taxpayers had yet to do so. Procrastination—delaying something despite an awareness of associated negative consequences, leading to discomfort—is a common experience for many. Unfortunately procrastination tends to carry significant costs. For instance, completing a task when rushing to finish can impact the quality of one’s work. Moreover procrastination is by its very definition stressful, and naturally such stress can take its toll. Chronic procrastinators tend to report more symptoms of illness, more visits to the doctor, lower overall well-being and even greater financial struggles.

So if procrastination is so costly, why do so many people regularly do it? Years of research have provided a reasonably comprehensive list of psychological factors that relate to procrastination. But it’s been unclear what mental processes underlie the decision to start or postpone a task. When faced with an upcoming deadline, how do people decide to initiate a chore or project?

To shed light on this question, we conducted a series of studies examining task delay, the behavioral component of procrastination in which people put off completing something despite lacking any objectively strategic reason to do so. We found that people with a negativity bias tend to delay tasks more, especially if they tend to be poor at self-control.

[areumchelle]

👩‍🏫 Run into the World of a Student pursuing an English Major👩‍🏫

Being a teacher is difficult because tons of school papers are being done not only in the classroom but also in their houses, and I'm fully aware of that since our family course is teacher.

Flashback 🕰️

I was in junior high back then when I decided that I would take tourism as my course, but unfortunately, my parents declined due to the fact that it was out of budget and would take time to pursue. I was unhappy until my aunt and her daughter, who was a teacher, told me that there's a huge advantage and benefit teachers have, which led me to decide that I would take education as my course. I then took English as my major because this is one of my weaknesses, and I want to enhance it so that I can work abroad, which is somehow connected to what I really want, which is to work in my dream place, South Korea.

My first year seems unreal. My journey finally starts, and as it begins, I'm a bit struggling with what I should do and how I can improve myself, especially since I'm new to this world. English was my weakness back when I was in high school, and as I'm pursuing English as my major, it makes me nervous since I'm afraid of public speaking. I later began to question my decisions, like, Does this course fit me? Is this what I really want? and many more. Even though I'm lacking and still coping, I didn't give up and still did my best in this course. Late night snack, or what I must call late night dinner, due to the deadlines I must finish, breakdowns that I always feel every time that I question myself, sleepiness nights, and improper bed routine, and these are the things that I experienced during my first year, but as I always do, everything happens for a reason, and I always pray to God that I will overcome these years without fear of failure. I didn't have friends when I was in 1st year since we were conducting our classes online, but I still have contacts and am chatting with some of my classmates to avoid being an outcast when face-to-face classes occur. One thing that I will not forget about when I was in my first year of college is the challenges that I thought I would not overcome, but God is good because all of my hard work and struggles paid off, and that concludes my first-year journey.

The new learning modality came when I was in my 2nd year of college, wherein we do classes in both online settings and face-to-face gatherings. The 2nd year for me is the happiest college year of my life, wherein I met my true friends and was also able to get familiar with as well as socialize with my other classmates that I've never met and talked back to when I was in my 1st year. It was fun, memorable, and full of obstacles. During this year, I first experienced crying over grades that I didn't deserve, but of course I looked at that as a positive thing and believed that grades don't define who I really am. My 2nd year is indeed the happiest year, but also the hardest year at all. I experience a lot, like no dinner at all, because of the deadliest deadlines I must finish within that day; I also experience being awake for 24 hours just to finish a video presentation; and lastly, I was sadly under a lot of pressure from my family and also scared to fail them. I thought back then that I wouldn't be able to come through and pass my second year, but I was wrong because I was recognized as a lister in both semesters. The lesson I've learned in my second year is that every challenge has its equivalent outcome. Yes,  it seems hard at first, but trust the process, and you won't think that you've finally overcome it. 2nd year is something I would treasure in my life because in here I learned a lot that helped and became me nowadays.

Time flies so fast, and now I can't believe that I was in my third year of college. All of my relatives and acquaintances say that the 3rd year is the hardest year of all in college, and I don't believe that until I experience it for myself. It feels suffocating and bombarding now that I'm in my 3rd year, wherein simultaneously deadlines, back-to-back reporting, research, and all of the other things I must accomplish to get a passing grade. I was in the first semester of the 3rd year, but it seems that I was in the 4th year because of the much more pressure from my family and aunt because they already know that I have a boyfriend. I always think positively every time I feel suffocated, and I think positively every time I am at the lowest point of my life. 3rd year is the hardest year, but I can say that this year is also the important year wherein you will learn a lot that will help me when I become a teacher. I was now more than half way to the finish line, and giving up is not my vocabulary anymore; crying is only the one that will help me to be better, and being positive as well as being with God are my partners at all times. Still far from what I should become, with more improvement and more pressure to come with all of my learning, I will be successful one day.

Experience, pressure, and struggles are the one that will mold me, and through these, I know that I will become a good teacher and will help the students one day.

"PADAYON FUTURE EDUCATORS"

[nobodieshero-main]

okay so i've finally finished the part where ahuru convinces keika to help atlas and stuff and i dont really know if it's like. paced right?? i wanted it to be a Struggle but i also didn't want to drag it out

His impromptu vow of silence splintered like thin ice, and he rounded on her, for lack of a better target. The container met the bench with a crack that might have broken the clay, had Keika not already reinforced his crockery with magic. 

“Why?”

Rather than flinching, Ahuru only rolled her eyes. His temper had never meant anything to her. 

“Because people only end up in this town when they’re desperate, but no one is ever desperate enough to come looking.” She reasoned, stepping forward. “I don’t know their reasons for wanting to get to those woods, but it has to be important right? They had to have travelled far to find us, and long enough to go following ghosts to a town that shouldn’t exist.” 

"Why don't you take them? Why does it have to be me?" He tried, suddenly aware of the way he was losing control of the conversation, his stubborn refusal smothered by his sisters steady logic. 

Despite a childhood of adventure and accidental trouble-making, Ahuru would never attempt to convince him of something unless she was sure it was worth it.

Keika just… he hated not knowing. The uncertainty about why Toa had sent them away, and whether she'd welcome either of them back, itched like dirt under his sleeves.

He wasn't sure he could trust his sister about this.

His sister who sniffed primly, and offered “Because I have a shop to run,” as her excuse.

Keika warbled in disbelief, eyebrows pulling down as Ahuru shrugged. 

“Well I have a library to run.” He challenged, aware that he’d lost the battle but not quite willing to stop fighting just yet. 

“The library can take care of itself.” 

She wasn’t wrong, unfortunately. 

“You only have to take them as far as the river.” She promised.

And Keika would keep saying no, would tell her to go to her own house and watch the travellers leave in the morning but… he remembered being 5 and sitting on wooden steps and feeling the not-so-gentle tugs of Ahuru braiding feathers into his hair. Remembered an 11 year old Ahuru stubbornly practising the common tongue so she could become the healer's apprentice because all she wanted to do was help people. 

Whatever these travellers wanted with the Mahina Woods wasn’t Keika’s problem, but Ahuru had made it hers and that… that kind of did make it Keika’s problem in a roundabout way. 

“Why are you pushing this so hard?” He asked again. “We don’t even know them.”

Ahuru tilted her head, looking out the window at the darkening streets. “I don’t know, it’s just a feeling I’ve got.”

Keika scoffed and finally began scooping tea leaves into two mugs, letting the steam from the kettle curl around his jaw and leave it damp and warm as he poured the hot water. 

“I’m not doing it.” He finally decided, ignoring the bristle of feathers in his periphery. 

After a long moment of silence, she sighed, wings drooping. "You're too stubborn for your own good," She said, tired. But she let the topic go, accepting her mug of tea with a quiet thank you before launching into a recount of her day.

Later, long after the sun had set and Ahuru had headed back to her roost, Keika found himself staring at the shadows of his ceiling, playing her words back in his head. 

You’re too stubborn, she had said, and she wasn’t wrong. It was, he could admit to himself, partially a matter of pride: he’d already said no, he couldn’t just take it back because Ahuru made a good argument. 

He just- he was an adult, he didn't have to do it just because his sister said.

He didn’t want to go.

He didn’t want to go all the way back to those trees, to the comfort of that never-ending night, just to be turned away at the shoreline, left to crawl back to his burrow reeking of a poison named nostalgia. How cruel could Ahuru be, to send him home knowing that he may not be welcome?

But Ahuru is the furthest thing from cruel, a voice whispered. Another truth.

Keika sighed from the very depths of his lungs until it trailed off into a groan and then slammed his pillow over his face in an attempt to smother himself. Maybe if he lost enough brain cells from a lack of oxygen he’d forget about the travellers entirely.

He clicked his tongue against his back teeth. Fuck.