#because no one taught him that in fourth grade!

[bodhimcbodeface]

Teachers like "yeah I taught my kids all about perimeter and area! Do they know which one to use when they want to build a fence? Well, they do when I tell them!"

[sayruq]

NAHLA AL-ARIAN HAS been living a nightmare for the past seven months, watching from afar as Israel carries out its scorched-earth war against her ancestral homeland in the Gaza Strip. Like many Palestinian Americans, the 63-year-old retired fourth-grade teacher from Tampa Bay, Florida, has endured seven months of a steady trickle of WhatsApp messages about the deaths of her relatives. “You see, my father’s family is originally from Gaza, so they are a big family. And they are not only in Gaza City, but also in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis, other parts,” Al-Arian told me. Recently, the trickle of horrors became a flood: “It started with like 27, and then we lost count until I received this message from my relative who said at least 200 had died.” The catastrophe was the backdrop for Al-Arian’s visit last week to Columbia University in New York City. Al-Arian has five children, four of whom are journalists or filmmakers. On April 25, two of her daughters, Laila and Lama, both award-winning TV journalists, visited the encampment established by Columbia students to oppose the war in Gaza. Laila, an executive producer at Al Jazeera English with Emmys and a George Polk Award to her name, is a graduate of Columbia’s journalism school. Lama was the recipient of the prestigious 2021 Alfred I. duPont–Columbia Award for her reporting for Vice News on the 2020 explosion at the port of Beirut. The two sisters traveled to Columbia as journalists to see the campus, and Nahla joined them. “Of course, I tagged along. You know, why would I sit at the hotel by myself? And I wanted to really see those kids. I felt so down,” she said. “I was crying every day for Gaza, for the children being killed, for the women, the destruction of my father’s city, so I wanted to feel better, you know, to see those kids. I heard a lot about them, how smart they are, how organized, you know? So I said, let’s go along with you. So I went.” Nahla Al-Arian was on the campus for less than an hour. She sat and listened to part of a teach-in, and shared some hummus with her daughters and some students. Then she left, feeling a glimmer of hope that people — at least these students — actually cared about the suffering and deaths being inflicted on her family in Gaza. “I didn’t teach them anything. They are the ones who taught me. They are the ones who gave me hope,” she recalled. “I felt much better when I went there because I felt those kids are really very well informed, very well educated. They are the conscience of America. They care about the Palestinian people who they never saw or got to meet.” Her husband posted a picture of Nahla, sitting on the lawn at the tent city erected by the student protesters, on his Twitter feed. “My wife Nahla in solidarity with the brave and very determined Columbia University students,” he wrote. Nahla left New York, inspired by her visit to Columbia, and returned to Virginia to spend time with her grandchildren. A few days later, that one tweet by her husband would thrust Nahla Al-Arian into the center of a spurious narrative promoted by the mayor of New York City and major media outlets. She became the exemplar of the dangerous “outside agitator” who was training the students at Columbia. It was Nahla’s presence, according to Mayor Eric Adams, that was the “tipping point” in his decision to authorize the military-style raids on the campus.

On February 20, 2003, Nahla’s husband, Sami Al-Arian, a professor at the University of South Florida, was arrested and indicted on 53 counts of supporting the armed resistance group Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The PIJ had been designated by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization, and the charges against Al-Arian could have put him in prison for multiple life sentences, plus 225 years. It was a centerpiece case of the George W. Bush administration’s domestic “war on terror.” When John Ashcroft, Bush’s notorious attorney general, announced the indictment, he described the Florida-based scholar as “the North American leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Sami Al-Arian.” Among the charges against him was conspiracy to kill or maim persons abroad, specifically in Israel, yet the prosecutors openly admitted Al-Arian had no connection to any violence. He was a well-known and deeply respected figure in the Tampa community, where he and Nahla raised their family. He was also, like many fellow Palestinians, a tenacious critic of U.S. support for Israel and of the burgeoning “global war on terror.” His arrest came just days before the U.S. invaded Iraq, a war Al-Arian was publicly opposed to. The Al-Arian case was, at its core, a political attack waged by Bush’s Justice Department as part of a wider assault on the rights of Muslims in the U.S. The government launched a campaign, echoed in media outlets, to portray Al-Arian as a terror leader at a time when the Bush administration was ratcheting up its so-called global war on terror abroad, and when Muslims in the U.S. were being subjected to harassment, surveillance, and abuse. The legal case against Al-Arian was flimsy, and prosecutors largely sought to portray his protected First Amendment speech and charitable activities as terrorism. The trial against Al-Arian, a legal permanent resident in the U.S., did not go well for federal prosecutors. In December 2005, following a six-month trial, a jury acquitted him on eight of the most serious counts and deadlocked 10-2 in favor of acquittal on the other nine. The judge made clear he was not pleased with this outcome, and the prosecutors were intent on relitigating the case. Al-Arian had spent two years in jail already without any conviction and was staring down the prospect of years more. In the face of this reality and the toll the trial against him had taken on his family, Al-Arian agreed to take a plea deal. In 2006, he pleaded guilty to one count of providing nonviolent support to people the government alleged were affiliated with the PIJ. As part of the deal, Al-Arian would serve a short sentence and, with his residency revoked, get an expedited deportation. At no point during the government’s trial against Al-Arian did the prosecution provide evidence he was connected to any acts of violence. For the next eight years following his release from prison in 2008, Al-Arian was kept under house arrest and effectively subjected to prosecutorial harassment as the government sought to place him in what his lawyers characterized as a judicial trap by compelling him to testify in a separate case. His defense lawyers alleged the federal prosecutor in the case, who had a penchant for pursuing high-profile, political cases, held an anti-Palestinian bias. Amnesty International raised concerns that Al-Arian had been abused in prison and he faced the prospect of yet another lengthy, costly court battle. The saga would stretch on for several more years before prosecutors ended the case and Al-Arian was deported from the United States.

“This case remains one of the most troubling chapters in this nation’s crackdown after 9-11,” Al-Arian’s lawyer, Jonathan Turley, wrote in 2014 when the case was officially dropped. “Despite the jury verdict and the agreement reached to allow Dr. Al-Arian to leave the country, the Justice Department continued to fight for his incarceration and for a trial in this case. It will remain one of the most disturbing cases of my career in terms of the actions taken by our government.” That federal prosecutors approved Al-Arian’s plea deal gave a clear indication that the U.S. government knew Al-Arian was not an actual terrorist, terrorist facilitator, or any kind of threat; the Bush administration, after all, was not in the habit of letting suspected terrorists walk. Al-Arian and his family have always maintained his innocence and say that he was being targeted for his political beliefs and activism on behalf of Palestinians. He resisted the deal, Nahla Al-Arian said. “He didn’t even want to accept it. He wanted to move on with another trial,” Nahla said. “But because of our pressure on him, let’s just get done with it [because] in the end, we’re going leave anyway. So that’s why.” Sami and Nahla Al-Arian now live in Turkey. Sami is not allowed to visit his children and grandchildren stateside, but Nahla visits often.

[leclercsredhelmet]

So Highschool ✰ Joe Burrow

A/N: Hi hi! Haven’t posted in a while because I’ve been busy writing and editing, fellow Joe Burrow fans I come bearing gifts for everyone! So Highschool is one of my favorite Taylor songs and I had been waiting to write a Joe blurb based on this song so here you go! Hope you all enjoy it <3

“Tell me ‘bout the first time that you saw me”

The balcony doors were wide open and the summer breeze was felt inside the room. Joe had his head in your lap while a book was held in your hands as you read out loud. You had been reading quietly when he entered the room after he had finished watching some game tape. His glasses were on and you smiled, a twin smile spread across his face when he saw you wearing glasses as well. 

Wordlessly he lay on the bed and placed his head in your lap, your fingers weaved their way through his hair as you combed through it softly. “You’re reading The Alchemist again,” he observed. “Yeah, I am,” you replied softly. “Read it to me please,” he said. You chuckled, “I like hearing your voice when you read, it’s soothing,” he said. Placing a soft kiss on his forehead you began to read. 

Joe traced patterns on your bare legs as he listened to your voice. It was soft and you would take pauses whenever a comma came up. Just by your voice, he could tell if the texts had any commas or punctuation marks. “So, I love you because the entire universe conspired for me to find you,” you read and chuckled. Joe chuckled, “It sure did,” he stated and you hummed in agreement. Setting the book aside you leaned down to look at him, he smiled and kissed the tip of your nose. 

“Do you remember when we first met at school?” he asked. Laughing you nodded, “I do, we were nine and I had just moved to Cincinnati,” you said. “It was English class and the only free seat was next to me, your hair was up in two curly pigtails and your glasses were the same color as the Mystery Machine,” he said with a smile and you laughed. “Then you said, cool glasses, I’m Joe,” you said. Joe chuckled “And we sat together in every class, from fourth grade until senior year,” he recalled. Fondly you smiled and recalled your childhood with Joe. 

Flashback

At nine years old you didn’t think you would move to Ohio of all places but your father’s job had brought all of you here. He had accepted a teaching position in Athens, Ohio. The move was a little unexpected due to circumstances you really can’t remember but you arrived during the third week of classes. 

You didn’t know anyone at the school and that terrified you, following the principal he introduced you to your teacher and classmates. There was only one spot available at the front of the classroom next to a light-haired boy with baby-blue eyes.” Cool glasses, I’m Joe” he whispered. With a small stutter, you replied, “Thank you. I’m Y/N.” 

Later in the day, you found out you were neighbors and that was the start of your friendship with Joe. Your parents joked that you would forever be glued at the hip and wouldn’t be a surprise if you got married one day. Little did you both know that you would get married you were engaged as of this moment. 

Joe taught you about football and you in return introduced him to books, he was smart but always said you were the smartest out of the two. “When I make it into the NFL you’re going to be a college professor,” he said matter-of-factly one evening when you were studying. You chuckled, “What makes you so sure?” you countered. Joe shrugged, “I just have that feeling,” he replied. 

Growing up with Joe you never thought you would like him but one day you almost accidentally kissed in the library while he helped you reach for a book. From that day on you realized that you had a crush on your best friend but you never said anything because you were fearful of ruining things. Joe also had that lingering feeling but your eighth-grade selves were too scared to say anything and it wasn’t until high school when he finally decided to tell you. 

High school

Joe had a girlfriend in high school and it pained you a little to watch how happy he was. You were happy for him but couldn’t help your dislike towards the girl after she had cornered you to tell you she didn’t want you near Joe. Naturally, you didn’t listen and Joe noticed you were hiding some discomfort. Hiding your feelings from people came easy to you, but Joe knew you like the back of his hand. Reading you was just as easy as memorizing a playbook, it was second nature to him. One evening while you studied for a science test in his room he confronted you and you had no chance but to tell him. 

The next day he had talked with his girlfriend and she acted normal when he was around but you were aware she was talking about you in the halls. You didn’t find it in you to care but still, the lingering feeling that she truly did not like Joe loomed. No one knew him like you, and no one knew you like him. 

Senior year had come and you were both focused on what lay ahead, Joe was set on making it to college football and you were sure he was going to be there. You were putting in the work as well, your focus was set on Yale. He had been having some trouble with his girlfriend and you had done your best to help him through it. “I think I’m breaking up with her,” he said and your attention drifted from the math homework you were working on. “Are you sure about that?” you asked. “Yeah, I need to focus on finishing what’s left of the year and I don’t love her,” he said. “Oh,” was all you said and he raised an eyebrow. “No hey Joe think this through,” he said with a chuckle. You chuckled weakly. “Joe I’m sorry I can’t help with that, you know that I lack in that department,” you said. “You also don’t like her!” he said with a grin and poked your side. 

Playfully you rolled your eyes, “My dislike towards her is not the point, it’s your relationship anyways,” you said firmly and he knew that was you shutting the topic down. Joe broke up with her the next day and you expected to see him beat up but he was fine but her, well she had made a scene that day and stormed off the field. You watched her and fought back a snicker. 

It was Joe’s last practice before the Homecoming Game and since you were leaving with him you sat on the bleachers to wait for him. A book was perched on your lap and Joe looked at you while he stretched. “Has anyone asked her out to Prom?” one of his teammates asked. “Some but she’s turned them down,” he replied. “What if I ask her, do you think she’ll say yes?” he asked. Joe felt a sense of jealousy wash over him. “She’ll say no,” he snapped. “Damn Joe, chill. It was just a question,” his teammate said, “And that was just an answer,” he said before walking off. 

His mind was racing, the past few weeks he’d spent his spare time wrestling with asking you to prom until he eventually planned something. It was true that you had turned everyone down, and he knew why. You were still holding on to your end of the deal from seventh grade, and he was too. He had asked no girl out and turned down the flock of girls that asked him out to prom. 

Practice was almost done and he looked at you, breaking into a smile you waved and he waved back. The book had disappeared in your bag and he knew that you had most likely finished it halfway through practice. Being friends through the years meant that you’d developed an unspoken routine, you would read before his practice started and occasionally set the book down to observe him and sometimes go as far as to cheer for him. Seeing you clapping for him always brought a smile to his face and pushed him to score more during games. 

A sweaty Joe ran over to you, he set his helmet down and you looked at him with a grin. “Hey Joey,” you said. “Hey Belle,” he said using the nickname he had for you. In response, you giggled, “Are you done?” you asked. “Mhm, we can go soon,” he said while he dried his face with a towel. Wordlessly you handed him his water bottle and he smiled. “It was a good practice, you looked good out there,” You said. He cocked his eyebrow at you and your cheeks flushed, “Playing, I mean” you added clearing your throat. “Of course, nothing else,” he said standing up. You furrowed your brow, he was being a little fidgety but you ignored it. Slinging his bag over his shoulder he said goodbye to his teammates and you walked off the field and got into his car. 

“Do you want to come in?” you asked, “No I’m good, open your window after dinner,” he said. “Okay, is there a reason?” you asked confused “Just open the window Belle,” he said winking. “Don’t do anything stupid,” you said before kissing his cheek and walking inside. 

Joe’s leg was bouncing under the table, “Joe you nervous for the game?” Jimmy asked concerned, “No, it’s something else,” he said. “Is it Y/N?” his dad asked. “How’d you know?” he asked. His parents smiled, “It’s not that hard for us to see it, honey,” his mom said. “You like her,” Jimmy said nudging him. Joe chuckled, “Y-yeah I like her a lot,” he said. “She likes you too, but don’t tell her I said that,” Robin said with a wink. “Go,” Jimmy urged and he darted up the stairs, before opening his room door, he breathed in and out and fixed his hair. 

When he opened his door, his attention went next door. You were lying in bed with a new book held high above your head. Faintly he heard some music playing and took a breath before grabbing the box from under his bed. Your window was open and he walked towards him, he whistled and your head cocked to the side. Climbing out of bed you made it to your window. “You okay Joey?” you asked. “I’m gonna climb in!” he exclaimed. Your eyes went wide, “You’re crazy!” you called back. “Maybe!” he replied. “Use the front door dumbass you can hurt yourself,” you stated. 

Joe ignored you and grabbed the box as he climbed up, he could hear you muttering and he chuckled. Carefully he walked over to the edge of the roof and jumped. Your hand shot out and he grabbed it, you were hanging out the window. “You’re fucking crazy!” You said and he just laughed as he pulled himself up. With a yelp, you tumbled backward and fell on the floor. Joe’s arms were protectively around you, your noses were touching. Gulping you pulled apart and slapped his shoulder, he laughed and helped you both up. 

“Why in the heavens did you jump out the window? You could’ve hurt yourself, Joey,” you said. “Not the point, here. I got this for you,” he replied while handing you a black cardboard box. Smiling you grabbed his hand and you sat in your bed. The black box was between you and carefully you undid the blue ribbon. Opening the box you saw some pictures you’d both taken over the years. Your eyes watered a little and Joe wiped a stray tear from your face. A copy of your favorite book was in there and you grabbed it, “Was this the one I gave to you?” you inquired. Joe nodded, “Open it, there’s something in there,” he said. Opening the book your eyes scanned across the dedication page and saw a post-it with his handwriting. Will you be my prom date?

Laughing you looked at him, “Yes, I’ll be your prom date!” you said and hugged him. Joe pulled back and kissed you sweetly. The action shocked you but you kissed back, “This might be late because you already got into Yale and I’m going to Ohio State but, I love you, like actually love you,” he said looking at you. “And I know it’s crazy because Yale is nine hours and thirty-two minutes away but I want to date you, so will you be my girlfriend?” he asked. Chuckling you grabbed his hands, “I love you too and yes I’ll be your girlfriend,” you said with a laugh. 

“We’re really doing this huh,” he said while holding your hands. “Finally,” you said with a laugh. Joe laughed, “Would’ve been sooner if I had just asked you in freshman year,” he said. “Maybe it happened now because it was meant to be that way,” you said with a smile. “Since when did you know?” he asked. Reaching up you stroked his cheek, “It started in eighth grade, the day you reached up to get me the book and we almost kissed,” you said with a chuckle. “Me too,” he said with a laugh. 

“I was scared so I never said anything because I didn’t want to lose you,” you spoke. Joe pressed his forehead against yours, “Belle I don’t think nothing could’ve made you lose me,” he said. “You’re so cheesy, Joseph!” you exclaimed and he laughed. You stayed there for a few minutes, “You should go, you need to rest. Friday is a big day,” you said. Joe pecked your lips, “Wear my shirt, please” he said. You nodded, “Always, the back door is unlocked c’mon,” you said. 

Sneaking out of your room you led him outside through the backyard and crossed into his yard. His hand was on the door outside and as you turned to leave he grabbed your waist. Spinning you around he pressed a quick kiss to your lips and you smiled before kissing back and leaving him there to go inside. 

When he made it to his room he waved at you from the window and drew a heart in the air, you giggled and mimicked him. 

“Truth dare spin bottles, you know how to ball, l know Aristotle”

You had finished your degree and had come to Baton Rouge for Joe’s last game with LSU. They had won the NCAA and you smiled when you saw him hoist the trophy over his head. His teammates cheered and you laughed while wiping a tear from your face. Both of your parents were there along with Jimmy and Robin, you waited for him in the field and you grinned once he saw you. Last month he won the Heisman Trophy and you couldn’t have been prouder. Everything he had worked so hard for was falling into place, the next step was the NFL and you were certain he was going to get drafted. 

With a grin plastered on his face and backward cap, he ran over to you and picked you up. Spinning you around you giggled and held on to him, gently he set you down and dipped his head to kiss you. You smiled into the kiss and pulled apart, “I’m proud of you Joey,” you said holding onto his face. “Right back at ya Belle,” he said and you smiled. His parents hugged him and so did yours, his arm was around you and you looked up at him with a dopey grin and love-filled eyes.

You were with him at his parent's house when he got drafted first overall for the Cincinnati Bengals. When you got hired at the University of Cincinnati the next day he was by your side. Both of you had shared victories and defeats together, after all these years it was amazing to see that your support for each other never wavered. You had seen each other grow over the years, you’d supported each other through the ups and downs and when either of you needed an extra nudge you were there. 

End of Flashback

“Belle, you’re even better the Heisman and the Lombardi,” Joe said and you chuckled. “I love you too,” you replied. Joe kissed your forehead, “Hey you were right all those years ago,” you said. Joe chuckled knowing what you meant, “You’re a Literature professor in college and I’m in the NFL,” he said. Laughing you kissed him, “You know how to ball and I know Aristotle.” He looked at you and grinned, with every glance, laugh, kiss and touch you felt like it was high school all over again. 

(all photo credits go to the respective owners)

[maddie7writes]

HARRY BEING A GIRL DAD

content : mostly fluff, angst towards the end

summary : harry’s relationship will all four of his daughters and how each one impacts his life in extremely different ways but he wouldn’t change it for the world.

when harry and y/n had started to have kids, they weren’t expecting four girls. they wouldn’t trade them for the world, but this left harry in a very interesting situation. playing catch on a beach in italy turned into harry learning how to play volleyball to compete against there oldest, astria . being blessed with harry’s height, she was quickly scouted out in the sixth grade to join the team and she fell in love with it.

y/n busy with her fourth pregnancy and two younger ones, harry took on the extracurricular with pride, even showing off his skills on tour.

“is this a beach ball?” he laughed as a fan handed him a ball with each of his eras on the sides. the fan nodded through her tears of excitement, harry crouched down with a smile to take it. “thank you!” he thanked, before turning around to sara and hitting it her way so she could put it with the pride flag he had for the emergency rip situation. the crowd cheered, harry turned around with a proud smile on his face.

“my daughter taught me that.” he smiled, the crowd exploded with excitement at the small insight of his life.

but that’s all it was, a small insight. because his other three girls required just as much attention in various fields. sage had taken a huge interest in music just like her father, she was constantly around for recording sessions so she could get a real feel for what it was like, she saw the hardships and the challenges of staying in the studio till one just because lyrics were flowing like water. she felt the strain on her relationships, especially between her mom because she spent so much time with her dad, and when dad was gone so was sage. it took so much more then your voice, and harry and sage bonded over that every day.

but where harry had a very strong relationship with sage over music, he felt the disconnect and trust with daphne. y/n was an actress and model, though after her pregnancy’s she only wanted to continue the acting portion of her job, but it only took one sneaking session through old magazines in moms office for daphne to see herself exactly where her mom was. on the cover of vouge.

daphne wanted to get to the cover of vogue, without her dad playing a single hand in her success. she wanted to get there off her talent and her ability, not because her dad was harry styles.

it hurt, seeing daphne thrive and have amazing experiences while keeping harry at arms length due to her determination. part of him couldn’t be more proud for daphne wanting to be more then her parents names, but the other part of him wanted to be there with her during shoots and being in the room as she watches her social media hit a new mile stone.

“she loves us honey, but her dream means it’s hers. and we’re not involved.” y/n massaged harry after a long day in the studio, daphne had just been on the cover of cosmopolitan for her beauty line she hid from them for a whole year till the launch came out. “yeah but family is so important and she doesn’t understand that- without my family i wouldn’t be where i am today. family is everything.” harry began to tense. y/ relaxed him with a kiss to his head. “and she loved her family more then any follower count or magazine. but she’s got your drive lovie. all we can do is support from the side. like i did for the first two years of our relationship.” like daphne, y/n didn’t want harry’s success to impact her own. so y/n built an even stronger brand on her own before they did a PR stunt on a yacht in italy, frames away from x-rated pictures.

just like that daphne came prancing down the stairs and into the kitchen, shooting her parents the million dollar smile there child possessed. “congrats on the cover honey.” harry chirped, daphne lit up as she grabbed a bottle of fiji water from the fridge and walked over to the table with them, only to talk there ear off about how amazing the whole experience was, mentioning here and there how much she missed us but knew that this is what she had to do to achieve exactly what she wanted to achieve. and nothing could replace that feeling of pride.

bridget styles was the youngest of her sisters and by quiet a bit. astria was a senior when bridget was in sixth grade, and due to astria being busy with getting a scholarship from a school for volleyball (determined to not take any of her parents money after she turned 18), sage writing her own album, daphne building fame without needing the last name of their parents, bridget felt invisible. all her sisters had everything figured out, her dad was a international pop star, her mom was a world renowned model and actress. how was she meant to live up to that?

bridget was naturally quiet while astria and daphne did most of the talking, sage was so close was dad it felt impossible to get that kind of relationship, and mom was trying to keep everything in order, she seemed impossible to approach. so she tried to raise there attentions.

she was top of her class throughout middle school, but it didn’t amount to astiras D1 scholarship to go play in america. she joined choir while she could and used her voice for the first time and was quickly the best singer, and while dad and mom were always there, it almost made it worse. her dad had the best make voice in the country, why was hers still cracking, why was she getting teary eyed when she sung to a bunch of parents. her dad sung to millions almost every night, and her mother took photos nude, only her limbs to cover herself for millions of people to look at and judge.

bridget devolved anxiety and mild depression her freshman year as daphne got teen vouge and sages album got released.

bridget decided she wasn’t hungry when astria came over for easter brunch, when in reality she was starving and she knew dad made her favorite blueberry pancakes, but she couldn’t stand it, daphne was on the cover of teen vouge, astria was the number one player in america and the uk, sages first album sold out, and bridget had done nothing.

she was smart, sure, but that isn’t enough when your family are celebrities in their own rights, without needing one another for fame.

bridget slid against her door and let tears flood her eyes as her chest rose and fell. never enough. she repeated in her head over and over. and she believed it. she would never be enough for this family.

harry climbed the stairs with a plate of blueberry pancakes, bacon, and lukewarm tea just how bridget preferred as he knocked on her door. he heard scrambling and whimpers, his eyebrows furrowed. was she hurt? “bridge?” he said carefully, she then quickly pulled the door open, her green eyes pooled with tears, her tanned nose pink, her lashes wet and her lip quivering.

“oh bridge-.” he set the plate on the floor and engulfed bridget in a hug. he had always offered to take her to therapy, he loved his therapist and realied on it heavily through this marriage and throughout parenthood, even his career he needed therapy for. but bridget wasn’t the kind of kid who liked to talk about her feelings. instead, she wanted the comforting touch of someone who loved her.

harry’s arms wrapped around her protectively and she hugged back just as hard. “i love you bridge. i’m so proud of you.” he repeated over and over, she shook her head. “i’m not as good.” she muffled into his pink pleasing crewneck. “w-what?” harry couldn’t believe his ears. “i’m not as good.” bridget sniffled.

“astria is a D1 athlete, sage is just like you, and daphne is just like mom. and i’m- im not talented enough to be in this family, i don’t deserve it.” she looked at the floor, harry felt his heart shatter.

“bridget- i want you to listen to me okay?” harry said gently as he took bridget’s hands, she sniffled and looked at the akin green eyes to her. “you. are more then enough, you deserve to be there, you deserve to be a part of this family because your me and your moms kid, and every kid we have is extraordinary. i mean, your grades, are practically perfect!” he laughed slightly with a soft tone. “you’re way smarter than i ever was. and your style? your mom sees you on pinterest all the time! but you want to know what i’m most proud of?” harry asked gently, bridget nodded, harry got on his knees and looked up at her so she could look down and still see him.

“your kind, resilient, loving, and strong heart. you are the kindest, most giving, nurturing, generous person i know and you heart is the most pure and amazing thing about you.” bridget was sobbing, harry was sobbing, and the tea had gone completely cold as it flooded over with love. “i love you bridget gemma styles. your mother loves you, your sisters loves you, and you are more then enough okay?” harry asked, bridget nodded and hugged him again. harry held his daughter as they both cried in each others arms the rest of easter morning, only to return to the family to do an egg hunt.

[jazziejax]

𝐀𝐛𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲

𝐌𝐬.𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥

Pairings- Black!OC x Abbott Elementary Cast, later Black!OC x Manny (Can be read as x Reader though!)

Summary- Pilot Episode Experience with Naoya Lovel

Warnings- Swearing, kids, mixed race reader( those aren’t warnings really, just what to expect)

Jazzie’sNotes!- let me know what you guys think!! I’ve been really obsessed with Abbott Elementary recently and I’m contemplating if I want to write S1&S2 just to get to the Manny season. I want to get there fast but I know what won’t be possible with two seasons worth of writing. Let me know what you guys think I should do.

Word Count- 6,358

“Okay, so you wouldn't put the number on the bottom because that's what?” The older woman asked, drawing out her words as she stood in front of her fourth-grade class, pointing at the whiteboard behind her with her yardstick.

“The denominator.” The class answered.

“Correct, and what do we call the one on top?”

“The numerator.”

“Yes! You guys are killing this lesson.” She smiled as she placed her hands on her hips. She caught the camera crew in the corner of her eyes and then turned to them. “Or should I say I’m killing this lesson?” She smirked, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she posed. It was silent for a moment as they all watched her just smile.

“Wouldn’t you agree?” She’s asked, looking at one of the guys behind the camera. He nodded, moving the camera along with him, causing her to smile and adjust her glasses. “Why, thank you.”

“Hello! My name is Naoya Lovel. Pronounced Now-Ya, it’s Japanese because I’m half Japanese. Don’t ask why I’m half Japanese in Philly, it’s a long story.” She sighed as she shook her head.

“Well, actually, let me tell you the story because it’s actually kind of crazy.” She chuckled, starting to explain, but it then cut to another clip of her in the class.

“Ms.Lovel, we ran out of paper towels.” A student said, standing in front of her desk with paint on the palms of his hands. Noaya looked up, at him, a slight frown on her face. “Ohh, okay, well I have some in my desk.” She started, pulling open her desk drawer. The camera angled down to catch the empty towel box staring back at her. She smirked up at them awkwardly and shrugged her shoulders. “What, I have a constant runny nose.”

“As a teacher, you teach kids how to solve problems while solving your own. In your personal life and at school. And in this school, there are a lot.”

“Ms.Lovel, I need paper towels too.” Another student said, showing her blue and pink palms to her teacher. Noaya then stood from her seat, looking around her room. “Okay, okay class. Give me one sec.” She said, nervously looking around her room to solve her paper towel problem. She the. Saw a stray beach towel near the window on her small bookshelf. “Oh! Here we are, guys.” She said, rushing over to the towel and snatching it up.

“This could be a lesson too.” She smiled excitedly and grabbed a pair of large scissors from her desk. “I probably shouldn’t have these just sitting out.” She mumbled to herself, giving the camera a sideways glance. “So class, this is going to be a hands-on moment. If there are almost thirty of you, how many pieces would I need to cut this into for you guys to share?” She asked, looking at all of them. There was a moment before anyone said anything, the kids thinking over their answer. Then, some of their hands shot up. Naoya flashed the cameras behind her a quick smile before turning back to the kids.

“Noaya, Jacob, and I came in last year with 20 other teachers. We’re three of the four left so…trauma bonding, I guess?” Janine said, in regards to the other girl.

“Yeah, I taught for two years before I got here, I transferred from Addington to here because those people are a bunch of stuck-up freaks who are just in it for a little extra on their check.” She said with a smirk. “And that’s not what I’m here for, I’m here to change lives.” She boated, folding her arms.



“Hey, Melissa, can you please tell “Ta-Nehisi Quotes” here that “white boy” is a term of endearment from the corner store people?” Janie said as she walked into the break room on the second floor.

“Ooh, cheese steaks?” Naoya questioned as she looked up from her papers, knowing the full situation after only hearing the words ‘white boy’ and ‘corner store’.”

“For Zach Ertz, yeah.” Melissa started, turning around with a fresh cup of coffee in her hands. “For him. It’s an insult.” She smirked, then paused at the sight of the cameras in her face.

“Well, you guys, I need a new rug. Mine is officially done.” Janie said.” Coming take a seat right next to the working woman.

“Mhmm! Me too.” Jacob started, taking a seat on the other side of her. “I shook mine out and all the asthma kids had to go to the nurse's office.” This conversation caused her to raise her head, placing her work aside and adjusting her glasses as she listened.

“Yeah, mine’s busted.” Melissa started. “And you can’t class up a rug like you can a couch with a nice coat of plastic.”

“You guys have rugs? All we have is a little mat.” Naoya started, looking between all of them. They all cringed at her words, but couldn’t say more before someone’s loud voice cut through the air.

“Hey-yo! What it does, baby-boo?” Ava yelled as she walked into the break room and over to where they were sitting. “What yall think about this little film crew I bought in here.”

“Distracting makes our jobs harder,” Melissa said disinterestedly, shooting the crew a glare.

“I wish I would have known this was going to be a video thing, I would have made myself look better,” Naoya mumbled, causing the camera to turn her way. She smiled, making her face appear happier than usual.

“But exciting. We about to be on TV.” Ava said, looking between them all.

“Because they are covering underfunded, loosely managed, public schools in America.” Barbra interrupted in a matter-of-fact tone.

“No press is bad press, Barb.” Ava practically disregarded the woman’s claim, continuing to smile at the camera. “Look at Mel Gibson. Still thriving.” She laughed. “ “Daddy’s Home 2”? Hilarious!” She looked around the room, either expecting people to laugh with or or just so confined in her large ego that she didn’t care if they laughed or not.

“Ava’s the worst person I know,” Noaya stated. “I’ve never seen her show an ounce of care about anything other than money. Which is a terrible mindset to have as a principal because you’re literally in the brokeest position of power.”

“There you are.” Ms.Schwartz sighed as she rushed into the room, spotting Ava. “Ava, can I talk to you?” The woman was out of breath as she stood before the principal, and her attire was disheveled. “I-I need an aid. I’m outnumbered there. The kids are crazy.” She ranted this wild look in her eyes. “One of the kids told me to ‘mind my six’ this morning, I don’t know what that means! I need help!” She ranted. Ava placed and hand on her shoulder.

“Calm down.” The darker woman said, cutting Ms. Schwartz off. “They’re just kids. And, besides, aids cost money, and we don’t have that.” She said before flashing a quick smile at the cameras. “Right, but I just—” Ms. Schwartz started again.

“Do you want to split your salary with somebody else?” Ava asked, leaning closer and angling both of them away from the cameras.

“No.” The other woman said dejected.

“No!” Ava cut her off before she could continue to rant. “No, I didn’t think so.”

“Well, if we can’t get aides, maybe we can get new rugs?” Janine chimed up, standing from her seat.

“All I’m hearing is “new, new, new, need, need, need,” Ava answered. “And yet, Barb, one of our best and most senior teachers here.” She continued, walking over to the older woman who sat at the table with Melissa and drank her coffee. “She never complains. What is your secret, Barb?”

“Knowing there’s not much you can do, Ava.” The woman said with a sarcastic smile. But Ava didn’t care to hear her condescending tone.

“So understanding.” The principal smiled, looking around the room. “Be like Ms.Howard, people.” That was all she said before she left the room.

Noaya shook her head as she started to collect her things, knowing the bell would be ringing anytime soon.

“But, I’m not Ms.Howard.” Ms.Schwartz cried from where she stood.

“Ohh, Tina, look.” Janine started, walking over to the stressed woman. “Try some counting exercises, between one and forty the kids start to quiet down.” The other woman gave a slight nod before she exited the room, still in obvious distress. “You, know, a little support might help make things happen, ladies,” Janie said, turning around to face the older two women in the room.

“My support was gonna do about as much as that five-year-old bra you’ve got on right there,” Barbra said as she pushed in her chair. The camera then cuts to Naoya staring at the camera, her jaw clenched. Janine looked down at her chest for a slip second, before covering it up with her sweater and deciding to ignore the woman’s bra statement. “Hey, it’s not impossible to get things. Melissa asked for those new toy cash registers for her classroom and got them.”

“Yeah, those aren’t toys.” The Italian woman stared as she put on her coat. “I know a guy who wired a Walmart demolition. I got a guy for everything. I know a guy right now working on the stadium build. Need rebar?” She asked, looking around the room.

Noya just shook her head.

“No,” Janine answered.

“Melissa is resourceful, capable.” Ms. Howard started, looking between all the younger teachers. Naoya’shead jerked back at what she was insinuating but before she could say anything, Janine placed a hand on her shoulder and started talking.

“Well, I think the younger teachers are capable.”

“Really? Then why is it that Ms.Schwartz’s hair is falling out? Why does Jacob here need a smoking break every five minutes?” The woman sassed, gesturing over to the male beside her.

“I switched to an herbal vape.” He tried to defend himself.

“And why can’t any of you stick it out longer than two years? More turnovers than a bakery.” She hissed before her and Melissa walked out of the door. Once it shut behind them, Naoya turned to her friends beside her.

“I almost lose my job every day dealing with the people here.” She shook her head, resting her butt on the table behind her, the other two following suit.

“You know what? Hell, I think we should still try for rugs.” Jacob’s said.

“Yeah.” Janine agreed.

“You know, before I taught here, I was in Zimbabwe.” Jacob started, causing Noaya to stand up completely and begin to walk to the door. “I was going Teachers Without Boarders, and what I learned—.”

“Jacob.” Noaya cut in, turning to face the two of them. “What did we say you about, like, not talking about your time in Africa?” She said, gesturing between her and Janine. The boy stuttered, trying to come up with an appropriate answer.

“We told you to stop. Yeah, it’s weird.” Janine finished, looking over at the male.

“I have an immense amount of respect for my elders, including the ones I work with.” Naoya smiled at the cameras. “But Mrs.Howard has a smart mouth on her. A mouth that has never been directed at me.” She continued to smile, although strained, and raised her hands in mock defense. “But the day it is the day I got to prison.” And although she was finished, she was cut off by the sound of quick hurried footsteps making their way around the corner. She turned around just in time to catch Janine with a student.

“Noaya, come quick, there’s a fight.” The older woman got out as best as she could, although out of breath. Naoya ran around the corner, practically leaving the child and shirt woman in the dust.

“Damn, she’s fast,” Janine said, briefing glancing at the kids next to her before rushing to follow the running woman.

“What the hell is going on here?” Naoya yelled as she entered the hectic scene with a bat in her hands. She saw the crazed look the teachers were giving her and she shrugged. “I heard there was a fight, I brought it just in case.”

“Where did you get that? I was right behind you.” Janie asked, out of breath with her hands on her knees.

“I didn’t know she had it in her like that.” Melissa nodded a proud smirk on her lips. “I like her.”

“That’s beside the point, what happened?” Naoya asked, looking at the older white woman standing in front of a child. “He hit me first!” Ms.Schwartz said, pointing at the boy across from her.

“Liar!” The boy yelled back at her, being held back by Ms.Howard.

“I’m a liar? I'M A LIAR?” Ms.Schwartz asked a crazed look in her eyes, her gaze solely trained on the little boy.

“I can’t believe she hit a kid,” Noaya said, shock written all over her face as she folded her arms. “I mean, I threaten that I will but I never actually do it.” She shrugged.

“Okay!” Ava yelled, interrupting the conversation between the small group of teachers. “So, not good. Ms.Schwartz was out of line and clearly didn’t know how to handle her class.” The woman sighed.

“You hired her.” Melissa spat back.

“And fired her,” Ava responded. “They give me a lot of power around here. It’s crazy.” The woman smirked.

Melissa and Noaya both gave the camera a look of disbelief.

“In the meantime, Mr.Johnson will be watching her class.” Ava finished.

“Mr.Johnson the janitor?” Naoya spoke up. “Our conspiracy theorist janitor? Teaching social studies? Do we not see the problem with this?” She asked, looking around at the group.

“I think maybe we should alert the school district to this,” Jacob spoke up, getting spins of approval from the rest. “I mean, a child was harmed.” He tried to finish before Ava cut in.

“Hey! Harmed?” She questioned. “I handled this. No need to let them know that a child was harmed on my wa—” She stopped, remembering that she was being recorded, and looked towards the camera. “On the school's watch, to be clear.” She clarified.

“Ava, this is not handled,” Janine spoke up. “There is a 70-year-old custodian who voted for Kanye teaching social studies right now.” The woman stressed, pointing down the hall. “We need help. Look, I know we don’t have any money—“

“Okay!” Ava cut her off. “Alright. I’ll make a small emergency budget request to the district, and then you guys can get pencils and hire aides or whatever else you need.”

“So, even rugs?” Janine asked her entire demeanor from earlier changing at the woman’s words.

“Sure! Just email a request.” Ava replied.

“Okay! I can- I can write an email.” Janine smiled excitedly.”

“Another day in principal life.” Ava smiled at the cameras before walking away, horribly singing some old song. “I believe the children are our future.”

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“Um…Hello?” An unfamiliar voice called out as she came into the school building, making their way to stand in front of the desk. “I’m looking for Ms.Coleman.” The man said. Melissa looked up at him. “Oh, yeah she’s—“ She was cut off by Ava rushing up next to her.

“Hello.” Again said flirtatiously, looking the man up and down.

“Hi, I’m Gregory Eddie. I’m the sun for the teacher who, uh…” He trailed off, looking down at the papers he pulled from his briefcase. “Pinter a student.” The man said worriedly, looking back up at her.

“Oh! You’re the sub.” Ava said. “Forgive me, I thought one of my colleagues here hired a stripper for me.” Ava laughed off, dismissing the looks Melissa and Barbra gave her. “Okay.” That was all Gregory could say to that, giving the woman obvious judgmental looks.

“Nice to meet you, young man.” Barbra offered him a kind smile.

“Yeah, nice to meet you, Ryan,” Melissa said, staring at the together papers.

“It’s Gregory.”

“Eh, let’s see how long you’ll be here.” She said, only flexing up after she was done stapling. “Then I’ll remember your name. Okay, Tim?”

Gregory didn’t even have time to fully digest the interactions he just had with the women before him before Jacob came around the corner. “Yes!” He smiled, stalking up to the man. “My dude.” He said, arms open for some sort of hug but was cut short by Gregory putting his hand out. “Oh, yeah,” Jacob said, placing his hand on the one offered out to him. “Keeping it profesh. I like that.” He smiled, leaning against the counter. “I’m Jacob. It’s nice to see another male teacher in here. It’s not a lot of us. Hey, now I got somebody to talk sports with. You like women’s tennis?” The paler man asked, before shooting the camera a sideways glance. “Or, as I call it, you know, regular tennis.”

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Naoya was walking the halls, whistling a tune with her bad over her shoulders when she came across a tall, good-looking man in a gray sweater. Hearing her, the man turned around to see a tall, light-skinned woman with a large, light brown puff ponytail at the back of her head. She had on specs that covered most of her face, enlarging her eyes. She was dressed in a slightly baggy pair of dark wash denim jeans with brown shoes that matched the brown in her green sweater, paired with a white shirt underneath. Seeing the mysterious man, she furrowed her brows at him from down the hall.

“Uh, hello.” The man waved awkwardly from down the hall.

Naoya waved back as she made her way closer to the man. “Uh, hi. Are you lost?” She asked, slowing down when she got in front of him. “In a school building?…And smelling like pee and/or vomit. I’m calling security.” She started to back up and pull out her phone, or even yell before she stopped and frowned. “Oh wait, I am security.” She said, moving her bat to her good hand getting ready to swing.

“Wait!” The man yelled, sticking out his hands in defense. “I’m a sub! I’m here to fill in for the woman who kicked the kid.” He defended.

Naoya visibly relaxed as she looked the man up and down, taking in his formal attire. “Okay.” She said, dropping her defensive pose. “That still doesn’t explain the smell.” She said, giving the man a disgusted once over. Gregory stuttered to get an answer, embarrassed by the cameras and such an awkward situation in front of another beautiful woman.

“It’s a long story. A broken toilet, a student wet his pants, another one threw up.” The man shrugged, a look of disgust crossing his face as he thought it all over. At his words, Noaya nodded with a look of understanding.

“No, yeah. I get it. Well, um, congratulations on being here considering…” She trailed off, gesturing around the school and then to him. “If you need anything at all, I’m at the very end of the hall. I'm Naoya Lovel, and I teach fourth grade. I’ll be here to help any way I can, I am known for having everything anyone might ever need, so.” She shrugged and began walking away, pat him, and to her class. The man nodded, a sliver of a smile on his face as his eyes stayed trained on the spot she just left. Catching the camera out of the corner of his eye, she quickly straightened up and then turned the opposite way to face her. “May I ask why you’re carrying a bat?” He asked.

Naoya stopped walking, the bad still in her hand as she angled her body slightly to look back at him. “No, you may not.” She said with a smile before continuing to walk away and into her classroom. Gregory just nodded and walked into his room as well.

“Today was utterly disgusting, but she and Janine seem nice.” He smiled slightly.

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“I got a good feeling about this,” Jacob smirked at Naoya and Janine as they and the rest of the teachers gathered outside at the entrance of the school. It had something to do with Ava needing them to see the improvements she made to the school. “Right? Me too!” Janine said excitedly. Naoya rolled her eyes, stuffing her hands in her pockets due to the cold weather.

“I wish I could live in the blissful ignorance you guys call optimism.” She said, looking between her two friends. They only rolled their eyes at the girl, who was usually a pessimistic person, so they didn’t take her words too seriously.

“Good morning!” Ava said to all the teachers before her, who were obviously in no good mood. “Good Morning!” Janine was the only one to respond.

“Gregory.” Ava finished, giving the man a look. Noaya furrowed her brows slightly, throwing the man a sideways glance.

“The district was so moved by my plea that they approved the emergency budget and sent us the money right away,” Ava said to the group. The crowd started clapping, Jacob and Janine were genuinely happy while most were in shock that the district pulled through.

“Okay, we could have hired aides, we could have got rugs.” Ava continued as the clapping died down. “But then I thought, “No. We need something more immediate.” She said, her words causing Naoya to nod her head as she began slowly making her way away from the group. She knew this wasn’t going to end well, and this was her stopping herself from throwing her loafers at Ava’s head.

“Oh, no, no. The rugs are immediate.” Janie spoke up. “They’re like instant Xanax for kids. I explained it all in my email.” She told the group as she made her way to extract her phone from her purse.

“Girl, who told you to send an email?” Ava asked, looking down the steps at the shorter woman. Jannie stopped what she was doing and glared at Ava. “You did.” She hissed, looking at her confused.

“Anyways, I always feel better when I get my hair done.” Ava continued, not caring for what Janine had to say, as she showed off her new blonde number. “Thus, I do better work, like I’m doing now.” She smiled at them. “You know, fix the outside, the inside takes care of itself.” She then gestured up to the giant tarp over the building, the man pulling it down to show a sign.

It was a giant Willard R. Abbott Elementary sign with Ava on it, leaning onto the letters. The teachers just stood there and looked up at the sign, no words were said between any of them. But they all had the same thought.

What the fuck?

“Yall seeing this?” Ava asked, copying her pose that was on the sign.

“A plastic sign?” Janine asked, looking between the woman and the sign.

“Thank God for the school district, because they gave us $3,000 and I had to spend all of it.” Ava said as if she didn’t care about the severity of the words she just said.

“You spent all of the money on this?!” Janie asked in disbelief.

“Rush job, can you believe this quality?” The terrible principal continued.

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“This is fucking ridiculous, she has gone too far,” Naoya said as she, Jacob, Janine, and Gregory rushed back into the school.

“Somebody needs to do something before I get my bat back out. Actually, Forget the bat, I’m gonna go get a gu—.”

“Okay! Yes.” Jacob cut her off, trying to ignore the scared look Noaya received from Janine and Gregory, while she just continued to sit in her anger, not even seeing them. “Somebody, anybody but you, should do something.” The man said to the angry woman.

“You know what. I’m gonna do something.” Janine said, as stored up and Naoya. Well, maybe not as much but still fired up.

“Okay, alright. Whatever you do, I will co-sign it.” Jacob encouraged. “Yes!” Janine said. “That is how change works. Someone does something and somebody co-signs it.” He finished.

“I want Jannie to succeed in what her plan is because Ava needs to be out in her place, “professionally”, or whatever Jacob said,” Naoya stated, rolling her eyes. “But I also want her to prove something to Barb. For her sake. Because Janine really needs a mother figure in her life and the constant groveling for Barb’s praise is starting to make me want to choke.” She finished with a shrug. “That’s my girl though, I love her.”

“Hey, you two, wait up! I’m going out to lunch too.” Janie called out to Melissa and Bard as they walked down the hall. The camera caught Naoya, who rolled her eyes at the situation she was just talking about making an appearance as she walked after Janine.

“Oh yeah, where are you going for lunch pip-squeak? Bird feeder?” Melissa joked, putting her purse over her shoulder.

“Thought you’d be working on your next miracle from Saint Ava.” Barbra pushed.

“Ha ha, No.” The shorter woman defended herself. “I don’t think I’ll need anything from Ava ever again.” Janine smiled, her words causing the other three women to look confused.

“What does that mean?” Naoya chimed in from behind them, ready to go out for lunch as well.

“Well, I emailed the superintendent and told him everything Ava has done today. No way she doesn’t get fired.” Janie bragged.

“Oh, for the lives of God.” Melissa groaned.

“Janine,” Noaya said in disappointment. “This is why I told you to tell me.”

“What?” She asked, looking between the three women.

“The superintendent never sees our emails,” Barbra told her. “He has them bounced back to the person in charge of where they came from.”

“Wait, I’m sorry.” Janie stared. “Person in charge? That means the emails go back to…” She trailed off, the dots connecting. Just in time for said person to come in the intercom with an announcement.

“Teachers, it’s come to my attention that some of you—one of you—.” Ava clarified, looking through the glass of her office at the group of women standing at the door, her eyes trained on one in particular. “Think it’s okay to go over my head. So, during lunch break—this lunch break—we’ll be having a trait workshop so that we can learn how to become a woke family.” The woman was clearly pissed off, glaring at Janine from where she sat. “It’s gonna be fun!”

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“We are at a crossroads, this is a crisis,” Ava stressed as she stood before the hired group of teachers.

“No, a crisis is eating the cafeteria pizza for lunch.” Naoya chimed in from where she sat in the back.

“Uh, why are we here, exactly?” Gregory asked his seat right in front of hers.

“Well, chocolate drop.” Ava started, causing Naoya to snicker at the name. “I learned that someone here doesn’t respect me. But it’s not about me. Because if you don’t respect me, how can you respect this school?” She continued, causing them all to look at her confused as such a stupid correlation. But, it looks like Ava took that as a look of confusion due to her question.

“You can’t. It’s mathematically impossible.” She finished.

“W-Whoa. Who doesn’t respect you, Ava—I mean, the school?” Jacob asked.

“Me,” Naoya said but seemed to be completely ignored.

“It’s not important. We’re gonna make this a group matter so as too not to single any one person out.” The woman answered him. “Let’s try an excuse where we say whatever we want out loud to each other, no matter how critical. It’ll be fun, let’s start with Janine.” She said, looking over at the short woman who was practically shrinking in on herself.

“Janine?” She asked, smirking evilly.

“Yes?” Janine asked dejectedly, knowing that this whole situation was her fault and knowing that Ava did the exact thing she said she didn’t want to. Single her out.

“You’re pushy, squeaky and annoying,” Ava stated.

Collective disagreement was heated around the room.

“Excuse me?” Melissa piped up.

“Thaya just…” Gregory said.

“When is it my turn?” Naoya asked, starting to take her earring out of her ear.

“No, it’s not bad. No.” Ava defended. “We’re shaking to make us all better. Constructive. Hershey kiss, why don’t you try, start with Janine.” She pushed.

“I don’t want to.” The man sighed.

“You’re right, it should be someone who knows her better. Noaya, Jacob, Barbra?” She asked, looking between the two.

“When is it your turn? I wanna go when it’s your turn.” Naoya stated, folding her arms to keep herself at bay. Gregory glanced back, seeing the look of pure hatred on her face.

“Well, her hair is—“ Jacob started before getting cut off.

“Not!” Noaya and Barba said at the same time, the younger more so talking to her friend next to Janine, who gave the man next to her a look of disbelief.

“Ava, no one’s doing this to anyone.” Melissa started, looking at the woman before her.

“Hold on, I came prepared for this. Sheena, come on in.” Ava said, looking behind her to a student who was sitting behind the library desk.

“Ava, that is my student, she should be at lunch right now,” Janine complained, as everyone in the room looked at the little girl, trying to see what Ava's plan was.

“I am kinda hungry.” The little girl sighed, begrudgingly walking closer to the woman.

“Sheena, remember what we talked about? What was the thing that you wished was different about Ms.Teagues?” Ava asked the little girl. She just stood there, not knowing what to say as the whole room waited on her.

“She got some big feet.” Mr.Johnson chimed in from the very back of the children’s library where he was sweeping.

“Okay.” Janine sighed before standing from her seat. “Everyone, that’s enough. I am the person who disrespected Ava. I emailed the superintendent to tell him that she spent the school's money on a sign.”

“And got her hair done,” Naoya said, Janine, gesturing over to her in agreement.

“I’m sorry, Ava.” She continued. “And I’m sorry everyone missed lunch, especially you, Sheena. But I didn’t it because I care about the kids in this school, and that shouldn’t be a bad thing.” She ranted. “I—Okay. You know what.” She sighed, done talking. She felt as if no one was listening anyway and just wanted to leave. She was on her way out before turning back around. “Sheena, you should have this. I’m sorry.” She said, handing the school pizza over to the girl.

“Uh, no thank you.” The girl said, shaking her head. Janine just sighed again and turned to leave.

Ava chuckled as she watched the girl walk off, shaking her head. “Not a compelling speaker.” She smirked as she shook her head. “Charisma vacuum, am I right?”

Noaya cracked her neck as she stood up. The teachers in front of her filmed a little at the sound and her sudden movements. But she ignored that. “You know what, Ava? I was going to whoop your ass in the parking lot, and as much satisfaction as that would bring me, I don’t want to lose my job. Because I care about these kids. Just like Janine. And she may be a lot of things, like naive, a bit clingy and too cheerful—.”

“Ooh, this is good stuff, let me call her back in here,” Ava smirked as if she didn’t hear the first part of the girls’ speech.

“But she is also right.” Barba cut in, standing up with Naoya. “You know, actually wanting to help the children at this school shouldn’t be a bag thing.” The older woman finished for her. Afterwards, both her and Naoya walked out, letting Ava sit with their words.

They walked out to find the girl in front of her classroom, looking through the window. “Janine, ignore Ava. Big feet are a sign of fertility.” Barbra stated.

“I’m telling you to just give me the signal, I can have her framed for mur—something.” The light skinned girl said, catching herself in front of the cameras.

“Every lunch period, guys.” Was all Janine said before stepping out of their way to show the inside of her class. They both looked in seeing a little boy napping on his jacket, as the library door sounded again. “Every single one, Amir comes and naps in the rug.” She said, informing the whole group as Melissa, Jacob and Gregory joined.

“Mm-hmm. He was in my class.” Barbra said with a fond smile on her face. Mom’s got a lot of kids. Dad’s not around and when she is, the parents fight.”

“Right, so he doesn’t get much sleep. I told him to sleep at his desk, but she says that rug is softer—.” The shirt woman paused, trying to get emotional over the whole situation. “Softer than his bed at home.” There was a moment of silence as all the adults sat with her words. It’s hard hearing about the life of the kids you see everyday, knowing they live lives no one should. And knowing it’s on you to create a better life for them at school.

“You know what? I don’t care I you think I’m good at this or not anymore. I care about whether or not I can make a change.” Janine told Barbra as sternly as she could, which wasn’t a lot.

“Janine.” The woman started. “Teachers at a school like Abbott— we have to be able to do it all. We are admin, we are social workers, we are therapists, we are second parents. Hell, sometimes we’re even first.”

“Mm-hmm.” Melissa agreed.

“Why?” Barbra continued. “It sure ain’t the money.”

“Yup. I can make more working the street, easy.” Melissa chimed in. Causing Jacob and Naoya to look at each other in concern.

“Prostitution?” She mouthed over to the man, who shrugged.

“Look, we do this ‘cause we’re supposed to.” Melissa said to Janine. “It’s a calling. You answered.”

They all looked at eachother fondly, before Jacob started.

“I believe it was Brother Cornel West—“

“No.”

“Don’t.”

“Not right now, white boy.”

They all told him, causing the man to retreat back to his corner.

“You want to know my secret?” Barbra asked, ringing the subject back to where it was. “Do everything you can for your kids.” She smiled. “We’ll help. Hey, I suggest we put our money together and buy Janine the rug.” The older woman encouraged. “What yall think?”

“Absolutely.” Melissa said, pulling out her wallet.

“Guys, you can’t.” Janine started, looking between them. “You don’t have it. I know because I have the same salary as you and I overdrafted on a doughnut hole this morning.”

“Don’t tell me how much money I have.” Noaya stated, holding her hand out as a halt to the girl's words. “I do not claim that broke energy.”

“Well, why are you gonna do?” Barbra asked. “Steal a rug?”

“Not me, but I know a guy who knows a guy?” Janie trailed off, looking between Noaya and Melissa. The light skinned girl raised her hands. “I don’t know a cute guy that can steal that many carpets that fast.” She shrugged, a hopeless look on her face as she glanced at Melissa.

“Way ahead of you.” The woman said as she started typing into her phone. “I’m gonna have to bake a ziti.” She said, holding the phone up to her ear. “Hey, Tony, ya big strung, listen, you still working that stabiuk build?” She said into the device as she walked away from the group.

Sometime later, a guys pulled up in a truck around back with a bunch of rugs for them. They all celebrated, going one by one to grab a rug. “Yay! I finally have one! My room was so depressing.” Naoya said as she waked down the hall with her rug.

“You’re on a mission.” Gregory stated, looking at the shorter girl in between him and Noaya. “It’s cool to see.”

“Thank you. Just a day in the life of being a teacher here. You get used to it.” Janine smiled.

“And that smell in the walls?” He asked, pointing.

“Oh no, you’re never gonna get used to that. Sometimes I wish I had a bad nose like Naoya.” She joked, elbowing the girl next to her. The taller woman lightly groaned. “Janine, you know that’s a big insecurity of mine. I have a fear of smelling bad.” The half Japanese girl tried to clarify to the male. “You’re subbing to go full time right?” She asked, wanting to change the subject.

“Um, we’ll see.” He said as they all briefly stopped in the hallway. “This job definitely surprises me.”

“Well, I hope you stay.” Janine said. “For the kids.” She clarified. Naoya shot a quick glacé to the camera, a small smirk on her face. She then decided to walk away. The camera caught Gregory’s eyes jumping from both women walking away, a small smile on his face. He then looked in the camera and dropped his expression.

“I’ll stick around for a while.” He said. “You know, for the kids.”

“Look guys!” Naoya said as she rolled out her shakes rug for her students. They all celebrated, clapping excitedly at the fact that they had a rug now.

“Ms.Lovel, I hate the egales.” One student said, standing next to the woman.

“Yeah, me too, kid. But don’t tell anyone I said that.” She said, patting the top of their head as Ava walked past her door. She paused at the sight of the rugs. Naoya placed her hands on her hips and cocked her neck, making Ava glare at the woman for a quick second before walking away.

“And that kids, is how you get rid of the enemy without fighting.” She said, pointing around the room to make sure they were watching. “Now that we have a rug, let’s watch that nature documentary!” She said excitedly, causing all the students to yell with excitement well.

[gallifreyanhotfive]

Random Doctor Who Facts You Might Not Know, Part 42

The Mara jumped from Tegan into the Fifth Doctor, then also affected Nyssa and Turlough. The Mara will stay with them all forever in the back of their minds. (Audio: The Cradle of the Snake)

The Brigadier has forced the Fourth Doctor to write apology and thank you letters before but always thoroughly edits them to make them more polite or completely rewrites it himself if they're too rude. (Novel: The Time Lord Letters)

Turlough had a childhood sweetheart named Deela. Since they had been teenagers, they decided to make the key to the vault of his winter palace their literal kiss. (Audio: Kiss of Death)

The Third Doctor taught Jo Venusian aikido. (Audio: The Sacrifice of Jo Grant)

While at the Academy, the Doctor wrote a paper dissecting romantic love. He concluded that love was nothing but chemicals and metabolites. His professor gave him an absolutely dreadful grade on it because the Doctor missed the point of the assignment entirely. (Audio: The Wormery)

The TARDIS recalls that the Ninth Doctor was beaten after losing a war "against Death." She misses this incarnation. (Short story: What the TARDIS thought of "Time Lord Victorious")

The TARDIS had a lot of issues trying to translate Peri's accent. (Audio: The Lost Planet)

Putting the sonic screwdriver through the laundry can result in all the dirt molecules being agitated until it forms a mud creature. (Comic: Laundro-Room of Doom)

The Eighth Doctor once became depressed with his model train set because he wanted something less perfect. After he returned from an adventure, he found that a disaster had occurred among his model trains. When he went to clean up, he saw that the miniature people in his train set had started putting things right, so he decided to let them fix it themselves and hopefully learn things from the experience. (Short story: Model Train Set)

At one point, the Doctor switched out the TARDIS stereo system for a micromodulator switch, which is capable of shrinking things, and forgot about it. The Tenth Doctor and Rose were accidentally shrunk using it, and while shrunk, he got stuck in a spider web. (Comic: Which Switch?)

Type 1 TARDISes were notoriously temperamental and sometimes attacked and consumed the scientists working on them. When the Eleventh Doctor managed to calm one down after winding up in early Gallifrey, Rassilon noticed this and had him work on developing Type 1s, taking advantage of his advanced knowledge. (Comic: The Lost Dimension)

When these scientists had asked who the Doctor was, he eventually decided to let everyone call him Theta-Sigma. (Comic: The Lost Dimension)

Vortex drillers were used by early Gallifreyans to tunnel through the time vortex. They were discontinued because of the damage this did to time. They kind of looked like castles, but instead of turrets, there were drills. There would be altars for Gallifreyan cults inside, and they had mineralic circuitry. (Audio: The Auton Infinity)

The War Master once manipulated Jo into thinking that he was her uncle. (Audio: A Quiet Night In)

"Theta Sigma" was simply a unique identifier used by the Doctor in his youth. It should not be spoken out loud outside of the Academy (not that this ever stopped many people who knew him at the time). (Novel: Falls the Shadow)

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[stevesbipanic]

Steve had never given sexuality much thought until he met Robin.

He didn't have many crushes growing up, in fact he could count the on one hand.

First there was Sara Flint, Steve was twelve and they were lab partners all year, three times a week he and Sara would joke around in class. On the last day he realised this was those butterflies his friends always talked about, but by then it was too late, all he got was a kiss on the cheek and that summer the Flints left town.

It was another four years before his next one, Nancy Wheeler. Four years never finding those butterflies again, Tommy cycled through girlfriends like a rolodex until he finally landed on Carol. Sure they had been girls who kissed him at parties but they felt hollow and boring. There was even that kiss he and Tommy shared last year to "check if they were gay just in case" but he felt nothing there either.

But Nancy, Nancy turned caterpillars into butterflies inside him. She was smart and beautiful and kind. They had met when he'd been told he was going to fail chemistry if he didn't pick up his grade. He'd gotten Nancy's number as a possible tutor for extra credit. Two weekdays and every weekend they'd either be at Steve's dining table or down at the library studying. Steve passed his test and butterflies grew inside him when Nancy hugged him in congratulations. This time Steve wasn't too late, but that Halloween made him wish he was.

Steve hoped it would be another four years before the butterflies returned but the following summer brought, Robin Buckley. Robin had been different, they hadn't gotten on at first, but after Steve told off a jock for touching her she allowed him to be closer. They weren't friends but they had jokes and banter. Then the Russians pulled Robin into Steve's orbit in a place he never wanted her to be, the butterflies grew but he would've taken the blows despite them. Sitting in that bathroom with Robin he allowed the butterflies to stay but recognised them more as moths drawn to the light that was a best friend.

Steve had never given sexuality much thought until he met Robin. He assumed he was straight, I mean he had to be right? Sure he didn't feel the same way about everything his old friends talked about but he had liked girls before and he'd never liked boys.

Robin taught him a lot of her limited knowledge of the subject, they were still small town teens after all. So yeah, of course he was straight.

Steve was straight until he wasn't, until he met Eddie. Eddie who pulled the attention of his kids and brought smiles to their faces. Eddie who was loud and bright even when faced with the horrors of another world. Eddie who kept smiling through pain and smiled at Steve in the hospital room. Eddie who took him on drives when nightmares couldn't be chased away. Eddie who remembered things about Steve and asked him questions about his day. Eddie who hugged Robin in understanding bring Steve's best friend an ally in a world he couldn't get. Eddie who would do anything for the ones he loved.

Steve who was straight and didn't understand why people seemed to go on dates with people they just met. Steve who was straight and had only ever liked girls. Steve who was straight and loved Robin more than anything.

Steve who was straight until he felt butterflies grow inside him for a fourth time.

Steve who was straight until he met Eddie.

Steve who was straight until he realised he would've loved Eddie whether he was a guy or not.

Steve who wasn't really straight and loved Eddie because he was Eddie, who knew that loving Eddie was as simple as breathing.

Steve who wasn't really straight because loving Eddie was inevitable, written in the stars, a love that had been waiting all along.

Steve who wasn't really straight but didn't need a label to know that he loved Eddie, and for him that was enough.

[sommerflue-22]

Childhood Crush | Muichiro Tokito

Yuichiro version

Featuring: Muichiro Tokito, Yuichiro Tokito, aged up!Muichiro

Content Warning: gn!reader, modern setting, fluff, annoying grade schooler behavior ew, but happy ending (sort of), not beta read

Word Count: 1.3k

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A/n: I just finished my thesis but I'm still waiting for feedbacks from my professor. This is a warm up piece before I get back to my other writings. Still, I hope you enjoy~

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On your fourth grade, the teacher assigned you to sit next to Yuichiro. Being Yuichiro's seatmate was alright, but sometimes he could get a little snappy. Especially when something happened to him during recess (probably couldn't make another kid the "it" while playing tag). So you let him be most of the time.

You didn't know Yuichiro had a twin brother until one day he didn't come to school because of the flu. You didn't pay him any mind but you were shocked when you saw "him" going to the restroom. You weren't exactly his close friend, so you just waited outside until "he" finished.

Afraid and in shock, you paced back and forth in front of the restroom. What if something bad happened to Yuichiro and his spirit had come to haunt you? You were so ready to run to your homeroom class if "Yuichiro" didn't come out in five minutes.

Bless your poor innocent soul because "Yuichiro" did come out. Nothing prepared him for being trapped in a kabedon position by you.

"Teacher said you're sick! Why are you here?!"

"What do you mean I'm sick--"

"I didn't see you the whole day!"

"Huh?"

"You're not a ghost, right?"

He tilted his head, "Oh, I think you're mistaken. I'm Mui. Yui's at home. He is sick."

And that was how you met Muichiro.

You learned that Muichiro was Yuichiro's younger twin brother. He's from another class, but after knowing you he often visited your class to chat with you and Yuichiro.

Unlike Yuichiro, Muichiro was friendlier. He let you braid his hair, lent you his blueberry-scented eraser, and even taught you how to draw Pikachu. Muichiro also let you call him Mui. He told you only his family and closest friends called him that, so it made you feel special.

Mui was a soft boy. You sat with him during recess and talked about random things. Cartoon, what you wanted to be when you grow up, doctor appointment, tooth fairy...

You didn't really know when did it happen the first time, but one day you looked at him and thought "Wow, Mui's really pretty."

You started braiding his long, black hair more often, told him more jokes to make him laugh, drew him a lot (and by a lot, I mean a lot) of his favorite cartoon characters. They were bad, you couldn't really tell which character you drew, but Muichiro always thanked you.

You'd like to think that maybe Muichiro did like you too. He would hold your hand when you both were running down the hallway, playing tag with the other kid. He would also give you random things he found like flowers, marbles, stickers from kids magazines.

You didn't remember every little things that happened between the two of you, but you did remember that Muichiro brightened your days and made your school years more memorable.

By the time you started the 6th grade, though, everything went downhill. A few kids noticed your little crush for Muichiro. However, as we all know, grade schoolers can be a little mean. They started to tease you. You were afraid that Muichiro would find out and stopped being your friends.

The thing was, those little rascals couldn't tell the difference between Muichiro and Yuichiro. Since the fifth grade, the twins had been put in the same homeroom class. Differentiating them became more difficult for kids who weren't their friends.

You were visiting their class one morning, looking for Muichiro. You met Yuichiro instead. You could tell it was him, because he didn't immediately talk about the latest episode of that one cartoon you liked.

"Hi, Yuichiro. Where's Mui?"

"He forgot his lunchbox so he's waiting for our mom--"

"Ew, Tokito! Stop flirting with them! It's not even the first period yet!"

You froze in your place as Yuichiro turned to the kid who jeered at you both. "What did you say?"

"Eh? Aren't you two dating?"

"(Y/N) likes you, Tokito!"

You couldn't meet Yuichiro's eyes as he stared down at you, "You like me?"

"N-no... I... It's not..."

"(Y/N)?" A hand was placed on your shoulder, "Are you okay? Yui, why are you staring at (Y/N) like that?"

You lifted your gaze and sure, Mui was back with a lunchbox on his hand. "M-Mui, I..."

"Oh, shit!" "Oi, language!" "Oh my, I think we got the wrong Tokito twin!" "Does it matter? They look the same!" "Which one do you actually like, (Y/N)?" "Yeah, which one is more handsome?" "You can tell them apart? Cool!" "Pick one, (Y/N)" "Yeah, pick one!" "Pick one! Pick one! Pick one!"

As the kids chanted, you frantically look around trying to find an escape. You were panicking, afraid, annoyed, so you couldn't think straight. You looked at Yuichiro and he looked back at you in (what you thought was) disgust. You turned to Muichiro who was just staring at you, wide eyes, lips parted like he was about to say something.

You couldn't hold it any longer so you just cried, which made a few of the kids laugh.

"(Y/N)..." Muichiro placed his hand back to your shoulder, trying to calm you down.

"Stay away, Mui!"

"But (Y/N)..."

"I said stay away!" You shoved past him and pushed the other kids out of your way as you ran out of the classroom.

Ever since that day, you stopped seeing both Muichiro and Yuichiro. Other kids still teased you but they gradually stopped because they found another target to bug. You didn't even say anything to them during the graduation ceremony, even though you could feel Muichiro's eyes on your back.

Things got better when you started middle school because you moved to another town. A start fresh, exactly what you needed. You thought you would find someone new there, but to no avail, your mind kept wandering back to a familiar pair of mint green eyes and gleeful laugh.

You gave up trying to find a lover, and sailed through high school and first two years of uni without sparing a thought for teenage romance.

That was until you found him, tracing his fingers on the spines of the library books. His hair was still as long as you could remember, the only thing different was the mint green ombre. The library was off-limit for outsiders, so he must be a student. How could you not see him before around the campus?

You realized you've stared at him for too long because the next thing you knew, he was staring back at you.

"(Y/N)?" His eyes widened.

"Uhh... hi...?" You let out a nervous laugh. "Long time no see... uh..."

His eyes softened and his lips quirked up. "It's Mui."

"Yeah... should've known it's you. Yuichiro hates me, so he wouldn't greet me like that."

"What makes you think so?"

"You know... when that happened..."

"Ah, yeah. The fuckening."

Muichiro cursing was something you did not expect, which made you snort. "The fuckening, indeed."

"Don't worry, he doesn't hate you. We were wondering, though..."

"Eh?"

"...which one of us did you fancy?"

You wanted the floor to swallow you whole right then and there. Even though it had been eight years, you couldn't help but blush. Muichiro waited patiently, holding back a giggle as he watched you struggle.

"W-well, wasn't it o-obvious..."

Muichiro tilted his head. He walked towards you and ruffled your hair. God, you didn't even notice how tall he had grown.

"If you're still up for it now... and if you're free... we can grab a coffee. My treat. I'm sure drawing each other deformed Pikachu and Princess Peach doesn't count as a date now."

You sighed, trying to control your heartbeat. Mui chuckled again and waited for your answer.

"Y-yeah, I'd love to."

"Okay." He put his arm around your shoulder and led your hyperventilating ass out of the library.

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Read the sequel to this post here

A/n: Thank you for reading until the end! This is actually longer than what I was planning, so yay :D I've been thinking about aged up!Muichiro, so cool and pretty and tall and aaaaaaa >.< Anyway lemme know if you want me to write more aged up!Mui because I love him sm T^T

[boggie-things]

Really the first time it happens Nancy’s ten years old holding both her and Mike’s ice cream cones at the lake on the Fourth of July and he’s taking too long in the bathroom and so she starts to walk over there to yell at him to hurry up because his nasty plain vanilla is dripping down her fingers.

But then she trips and almost falls, but she gets her footing back and manages to keep both cones upright. (about half of Mike’s actually falls in the grass but that doesn’t matter) What matters is that Jessica Burgess, who she knows because she's a lifegaurd at the local pool, jogs over and asks if she needs help with her laces.

Nancy knows how to tie her laces in a bunny knot (her mom taught her when she was six) but since her hands are full she nods and Jessica drops to her knees to do it and oh. That was really sweet and Nancy knows she appreciates it because when she looks up at her and flashes a thumbs up and a smile her heart does a little dance and she says thanks before going to give Mike his half melted ice cream.

The next time it happens she’s fourteen on the track field (Hawkin’s doesn’t have a football team), waiting to be flipped into the air by the cheerleaders to see if she’s good enough to be one.

And she really wants to be one. Because she sees the way they’re praised and how the boys seem to like a girl so much more when she’s wearing one of the uniforms.

But then it's her turn and Chrissy Cunningham is in front of her, bending down as she explains how she’s going to hold her and not let her fall. But Nancy can’t hear what she’s saying because all she’s focused on is the way Chrissy is looking at her under her eyelashes as she quickly picks a piece of grass off her skirt and smiles at her, saying she's got this.

And Nancy's heart does that little dance again as she shakes her head and says she can't before running off to the bleachers and sitting by the other freshman who had hurt her leg earlier as she decides she doesn't need one of those uniforms anymore.

But then she’s seventeen, almost eighteen, standing in Eddie Munson’s trailer (it’s actually a copy of his in a hellscape she’s gotten too familiar with over the past few years) looking up through a portal. And Robin Buckley who runs weird and talks too much is beside her making a dumb joke about Steve as he tumbles through.

But now it’s Nancy’s turn as she grabs the rope made of knotted sheets, tugging lightly to make sure it’s secure before lifting a leg to start climbing. Except she doesn’t make it the first time and she needs to swing her leg up again to loop it around the sheets.

And she’s going to do that but then Robin’s dropping to her knees and clasping her hands together, setting her shoulders as she looks up at Nancy with those big eyes. And suddenly she’s back on the field in ninth grade and then back at the lake with her heart losing it behind her ribs.

But now she knows the feeling because she’s gotten it before with boys with nice hair and kind eyes who she’s kissed and loved.

But just with boys. And Robin’s not a boy. She’s a girl offering up her hands for Nancy to step in, looking up at her with nervous eyes under that stupid maroon beret.

And Nancy does it. She plants a boot in her palm and finally swings her leg around the rope, pulling herself up as her heart settles in her throat.

And later when she grabs Robin’s hand and repeats what Chrissy had said years earlier, she feels her heart start up again, this time with a new understanding.

[edelfan]

Heavily inspired by @eclairfair98's The Unbearable Lightness Of Being - go read it if you haven't yet!

Warning: contains mpreg

Ice had thought that somewhere above someone had been listening to his prayers and had brought that last miracle to life - Mav and Bradley returning safe and sound to the carrier in a more than battered F-14. 

Until Maverick had collapsed in his arms right there on the flight deck…

As COMPACFLT he was supposed to sit in the debrief with Cyclone and the Daggers, but there was only one thing he could concentrate on right now - the man he loved more than his own life, who was being treated behind closed doors at the moment, leaving Ice to walk the halls of the medical bay restlessly.

It had seemed like hours until finally the doctor appeared.

“Admiral.”

“Commander, how is he?”

“We managed to stabilize Captain Mitchell. He suffered a grade 3 concussion, several broken ribs and a badly sprained ankle…”

Ice could feel a huge weight fall off his shoulders, however, he also noticed the doctor's hesitation.

“What? What is it?”

“There's something else we found.”

~~~

Maverick woke to a low steady beeping sound and a warm hand holding his own. His experience immediately told him that he had ended up in med bay once again. Trying to take a deep breath, hissing against the pain in his chest, his eyes shot open. 

The surroundings were familiar as was the person sitting next to him.

“Hey…”

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kick your ass off this ship into the icy waters of the sea.”

“Because you love me…?”

Mav grinned at Ice, but only got a dark look in return. He had fucked up royally somehow.

“Tell me, Pete, when I asked you what medical said after the Darkstar crash, what did you say?”

Looking at Ice with wide eyes, Mav knew it was better to stay quiet in this moment.

“All clear, just some bruising… You fucking liar never went to medical, right?”

“Tom, look-”

“Because they would have never cleared you to fly being pregnant!”

The beeping of the heart monitor was the only sound for a long moment.

“That's so not funny, Ice…”

“Maybe because it's no joke, Pete.”

Shaking his head, Mav looked down at his belly, covered by the scratchy Navy issued blanket, before staring back at Ice.

“That's not possible.”

“That's what I told the doctor. It shouldn't be possible. Not at our age, not after my chemo, but then you haven't been on your suppressants since my remission and if today taught us one thing, it's that miracles do happen…”

It didn't happen very often in his life, but right now Maverick was speechless. A part of him still couldn't grasp what Ice had just told him, but there was this strange feeling inside him that made every doubt disappear.

And when he pulled Tom in for a deep kiss, he knew that he would cherish this day - and their fourth miracle - forever.

[breadcat-xx]

When Harry first started attending Hogwarts, he and Regulus had come to an agreement.

As a professor, Regulus couldn’t afford to give Harry any special treatment just because he happened to be his son. Besides, the last thing Regulus wanted to do was ruin Harry’s years at Hogwarts by being overbearing and having an overt preference for him. That really wouldn’t do his social life any good.

Before he started his first year, Regulus had explained this to him, and Harry – being the bright little boy he was – had been very understanding about it. He knew that his father’s love for him was unconditional, and that nothing could ever change that.

So they’ve had this unspoken rule for years now, where at Hogwarts, Regulus is not dad but professor Black. He isn’t exactly happy to distance himself from his son, but it’s a necessary evil. And sometimes, when he is sure no one’s watching, he’s able to ruffle Harry’s wild curls or gently pull on his ear, which is usually met with a scrunched nose or eye-roll. Now that Harry’s older, the entire thing has become much easier. During his first year, Regulus had been able to tell how conflicting it was for him to be taught by his dad. And honestly, it had been uncomfortable for him too. But now, neither of them cringes anymore when Harry calls him professor. Regulus is in the middle of grading his fourth years’ essays, humming disapprovingly every now and again and scribbling notes on the parchment in red ink, when suddenly there’s a knock on the door to his personal quarters. He frowns. It’s past curfew, and he isn’t expecting anyone. Regulus pushes himself out of his chair and heads over to the door, and when he opens it, he’s startled to find Harry standing outside of it. He's holding onto his Invisibility Cloak, and Regulus can’t help but inwardly curse James. He’d told him not to give it to the boy, well aware of the rebellious streak he’d inherited from him, but James had insisted it was ‘part of the Hogwarts experience’.

“Harry.” Regulus tries hard to sound stern. “It’s past curfew.”

“I know.” Harry says, and Regulus immediately realises something’s off. “Look, don’t be angry with me, okay? Can I just… Can I come in?”

Regulus stares at him. Harry knows his quarters are off limits to students – including him. But as he stares at the teen’s face, he can tell something is bothering him. His eyes are red-rimmed and he’s visibly upset. He knows he shouldn’t allow him to enter, but he can’t stop his parental instincts from kicking in.

“Fine…” He takes a step back and Harry lets out a relieved noise.

As soon as he’s let him inside and the door is closed again, Harry launches himself at Regulus, wrapping his arms around him and hiding his face into his father’s chest. Regulus is taken aback by it, but easily reciprocates the hug.

“What’s wrong, love?” He whispers, running his fingers through Harry’s messy hair.

“Nothing…”

He can hear the tears in his son’s voice, and his heart breaks a little. He hums and hugs him tighter. It’s been a very long time since he was a teenager himself, but he can definitely recall the angst and overwhelming emotions that came with being one. Whatever it is that’s bothering Harry right now, it probably feels like the end of the world to him.

“I see…” Regulus leans back a little, just enough to be able to look at his son’s face. Harry sniffles, and leans into his touch when he wipes his cheeks dry.

“What about I put on the kettle?” Regulus offers. “Then we can talk about it… Or not, whatever you prefer.”

Harry nods sheepishly. Regulus directs him a gentle smile before ushering him to the sofa.

If there’s anything he's learned during his years as a professor and a father, it’s that a good cup of tea is hardly ever not part of the solution.  

[t1oui]

random weasley-wood children headcanons (bc obviously im ignoring percy's canon wife, sorry audrey)

so in canon percy has 2 kids: lucy and molly ii. when i made up the weasley-wood kids i named the eldest lucy without knowing of the canon lucy's existence, so i just thought i'd give that as a fun fact. anyways onto the children

lucille weasley-wood, better known as lucy (percy only calls her lucille when he's worried she's about to hit one of her cousins in the face with a bludger), is a ravenclaw. she's in the same year as lily potter and rose granger-weasley, and the eldest of the three (think of them as the new marauders without peter. basically, they prank people).

if it wasn't obvious from that bludger comment earlier, she's a beater for the ravenclaw team. she's been a beater ever since oliver taught her what the position was (so she was like 1, probably) because "come on dad, i get a bat".

lucy is generally a confident person, and has a bit of a reputation from her cousins (and her parents) for being a blabbermouth. every time there's a secret that needs to be kept, it's rose and lily's job to get lucy as far away from it as possible. she protests, but honestly, she knows it's for the best.

lucy ends up with henry, another ravenclaw in her year and the other ravenclaw beater (and the eldest of my 2 oc kids of dean and seamus). they bond over being extremely protective over their younger siblings (henry is honestly kinda scared of lucy but who isn't at this point).

she ends up playing professional quidditch for the hollyhead harpies and becomes an announcer after that.

skye weasley-wood, the middle child of the three, is a hufflepuff and the only one who doesn't play quidditch (you bet oliver tried. percy told him to stop torturing their children after the fourth time lucy knocked skye off his broom). skye is, as some of you may have guessed, named after the isle of skye in scotland, which is where i hc oliver to be from.

skye is definitely more on the studious side, preferring to read than to do physical activity of any kind. in truth, he's rubbish on a broom. his favorite form of transportation is floo travel, even in adulthood.

skye doesn't have any cousins or family friends in his year, nor is he remotely connected to any hufflepuffs other than teddy (who is long graduated from hogwarts). luckily, in his second year, his younger sister and her friends decide to befriend him (read: force him to join their group because if they want to be better pranksters than lily, rose, and lucy, they need someone in hufflepuff on their side). skye doesn't really mind.

skye's favorite teacher is neville longbottom, and with the help of neville's plant knowledge, he helps out in some truly spectacular pranks. (lucy can't figure out if she's supposed to be angry or proud, so she torments him with an array of zonko's products before settling on both. skye, whose hair is green for the rest of term, is not as pleased with this decision as she is.)

despite his inability to fly and his extreme fear of splinching, skye manages grades rivaling percy's on his newts and decides to be an auror. one day, he takes percy's job as the head of the department of magical law enforcement.

katie weasley-wood, named after katie bell, is the girl everyone says takes after percy the most. she's a slytherin like him, and even though she seems much more outgoing, anyone who knows percy knows that they truly are one in the same. she's a monster on a broom and ends up playing seeker for slytherin after albus graduates. (she's keeper in the year they're both playing, and she's surprisingly good for a 2nd year. at least, she's surprisingly good for the split second before people remember she's oliver wood's daughter.)

katie is not one to be outshone, so when she finds out that her older sister is part of a pranking trio, she gets together a group of first years (and skye), determined to be better. (and mcgonagall thought the weasley twins were bad.) she will destroy you, but she will do it with a smile on her face. be warned.

katie's favorite subject is defense against the dark arts. she loves potions, too, and history of magic can be fun (nobody seems to see how entertaining binns can be when he thinks everybody's asleep), but in dada, she gets to annoy her uncle harry. nothing is better than that. (he pretends he doesn't find her funny, and she pretends she doesn't know he's full of it.)

katie plays quidditch whenever she's home (always keeper, now), but she ends up following her uncle bill into curse breaking. she never does play pro like everyone thought she would. she pretends she doesn't see percy's smiles when she's telling him all about her success.

years later, katie and skye take over weasley's wizard wheezes. you thought it was bad before.

[dividers by firefly graphics]

[melbatron5000]

Mr. Beck

When I was a kid, my favorite class was art class. My second favorite was English, but I didn't like hand-writing "complete" sentences. (i.e. if the question was "Why did the chicken cross the road?" we weren't allowed to write "to get to the other side." We had to write "The chicken crossed the road to get to the other side." In neat writing. By hand. When I tell you I nearly had writing and reading beaten out of me through boredom at school, I want you to believe me.)

At any rate, art. I loved it. It was free-flowing, it was creative and imaginative, we learned new techniques for making stuff look cool. And my very favorite art teacher was Mr. Beck.

Most days, we had an art class taught by the usual teacher. But on Wednesdays, Mr. Beck came to our classroom. Like most schools, ours had started to skimp on the humanities budget, so Mr. Beck traveled around and went to different schools each day, and taught a different classroom each hour. Wednesdays were my favorite day.

Mr. Beck clearly loved what he did, and he enjoyed the kids, and he also especially loved me. I didn't recognize it then, but he loved my questions and enthusiasm, he loved that I loved art. (I still do.) I just knew I loved him.

My questions often involved whether or not I could change the assignment somehow. Mr. Beck always listened to my ideas, nodded, and then said, "Yes, that sounds cool, try it." Well, I thought my ideas sounded cool, too, but I wanted to know if I was allowed to try them.

One day, in second grade, I went to Mr. Beck with an idea to change the assignment. He listened, and then he said, kindly but seriously, "You know, Melody, you don't have to ask permission to change the assignment. If I explain something and you have an idea how to do it differently, you can just do whatever you want. In fact, you don't ever have to ask anyone's permission to do any art however you want. Okay?"

And I nodded quietly and went back to my desk, and did the stuff I wanted without asking permission first, and Mr. Beck smiled approvingly at me gave me As on all my artwork and I loved him.

One day in fourth grade, we had an art assignment. I had been living by Mr. Beck's words since the day he spoke them, and I never asked permission from anyone to change an art assignment. I just did what I wanted. For reasons unknown to me -- still to this day -- my fourth grade teacher hated my guts. I seem to randomly inspire that in a few people for no reason that I can discern -- every once in a while, I meet someone and they just despise me as soon as I say hello. Their problem, not mine, but it's mysterious to me. Been that way since I was little.

At any rate, my fourth grade teacher was one of those random people. So when I went wild with this art assignment she gave us -- as per Mr. Beck's instructions -- not only did she give me an F for not following directions, she refused to hang it on the wall for parent-teacher day. I was devastated. My mom went to bat for me, and to this day will tell people what a cool piece of art I made. I honestly don't recall the details of the assignment or what I made instead.

What Mr. Beck failed to tell me when he gave me those excellent instructions was: Sometimes people will try to make you conform and do as they say instead of what you want, but that doesn't change the fact that you don't have to ask anyone's permission.

I was definitely a little beaten down by my fourth grade teacher's response to my art. But I remembered what Mr. Beck said, and I knew that he was a real artist, and my fourth grade teacher was not an artist. I knew that she didn't understand, and wasn't qualified to judge, even if she had judged and tried to make me feel bad about it. She made me feel bad, but not about following Mr. Beck's instructions, and not about my art.

I wish I could find Mr. Beck today and tell him what a deep impact he had on me and on my life. His instructions -- I wouldn't call it advice, because he didn't give it to me that way; he told me, "here is the rule" -- have stayed with me since that day. Even in the face of adversity, even as a kid still, I knew he had it right. I don't have to ask permission to do whatever I want with my art.

I would like to pass that rule on to anyone and everyone who wants to make art of any kind; written, visual, performance, you name it. You don't need anyone's permission to do it how you want. No one's. Even if they don't like it. Even if they think they have some kind of power to make you conform. Even if they try to make you feel bad.

You don't need anyone's permission to do what you want.

Ever.

[sunsetcougar]

Okay I know it’s been more than a couple days, but my muse got dragged over to the Eve’s Garden AU and I’m only just now managing to drag it back.

So! Onto Hazbin Zoo Rosie and Alastor’s backstories! Long post incoming.

Starting with Rosie. She was born into a large family in a very small town. She was taught young that for a community to function everyone must participate and pull their weight. Rosie discovered a love of and talent for sewing as a teenager, and quickly found her niche making clothes.

Of course as she got older there came a growing push to date and find a husband. She liked the concept of romance, liked gossiping about her friend’s dates and seeing them so happy, but even though she tried dating several of the boys in her town none of them ever gave her that spark her friends and sisters described.

Her first taste of human blood came from one of her sister’s boyfriends after he hit her. She stalked him out into the fields and stabbed him dead. The smell and sight of the blood prompted some sick sort of curiosity and she licked that knife. It only took that little bit to get her hooked. She continued stalking and killing any man she heard to be abusive, tasting a little more every time until on her fourth kill she finally sank her teeth in fully.

She fled the town shortly after with a handful of others, knowing she was close to getting caught but playing up the image of a scared girl.

As for Alastor, he grew up in the South with his mom. He was a complete Mama’s boy and she doted on him. He was well liked among his teachers, got good grades and always made sure to help his mom at home even though it meant he was a bit isolated from others his age, keeping few friends and rejecting any offers of romance with a shudder.

He killed for the first time much younger than Rosie, but for remarkably similar reasons. He came home one day to find his father had come back as he did every few weeks, and he and his mother were arguing. His father hit his mother, Alastor took a knife from the knife block, and stabbed him through the neck.

His mother helped him hide the body, terrified of her baby being locked away for protecting her. They both swore to never speak of it again, and Alastor assured her that he wouldn’t kill another person. It was a lie, of course, something broken clicked in him that day. So he continued to hunt, continued to kill. The moment he tasted blood on his tongue for the first time he knew he could never quit.

He stayed with his mom until she passed from heart failure, then he moved away from that town, unable to handle the reminders of his mother and his lies to her.

It was coincidence that Rosie and Alastor ended up moving to the same town, even more of one that they ended up targeting the same person. Alastor had stalked the man out to the edge of a lake where he knew he liked to fish, only to find a bloody Rosie shoving the body into a trash bag, her favorite knife laying nearby.

They just stared at each other for a few moments before Rosie asked if he wanted to come to her house for dinner, since fresh meat was the best and it was hard to get fresher than still warm. Alastor agreed, confident he could defend himself if she decided to make him the meal.

They quickly became very good friends, joining each other on hunts and sharing recipes. Rosie got a job at the Hazbin Zoo’s gift shop a few months after they met, and Alastor soon followed in the marketing department where he found himself in a mostly one sided rivalry with his coworker Vox.

Their peers often asked if Rosie and Alastor were dating or had crushes on each other, assuming their closeness had to be romantic in some way because obviously they couldn’t just be friends. Eventually they agreed to get married for the tax benefits and to stop the nagging. They’d already been living together for a while anyway, since it was more convenient.

[pantpisser9000]

Combined together, Chapter 3: Scientist & Medic

Shellington’s finals were next week. So, obviously, he was studying. A lot. Downing another coffee, black, (despite the fact that he actually enjoyed having an overabundance of cream and milk in it) because he needed to stay awake for this. He reviewed his notes again, skimming them over, then jotting down the answer to that next question. His handwriting was messy, and barely legible. At least he could read it. He was lucky that his mother had taught him and Pearl how to read and write so young, he knew a lot of sea creatures didn’t do that. 

He had lived in that kelp forest for a while. It’d been a hot minute since he’d been, though, since he was staying at his college dorm. It was honestly unfortunate Pearl couldn’t go to college, unless she wanted those stupid urchins to take over. Shellington sighed–he really wished he could help, given the allergy though? He simply couldn’t. 

Pearl was really his saving grace. She had practically acted as a mother since their real one died, and hell was she suited for it. She had always been overboundingly supportive and had encouraged Shellington to go for his dreams in marine biology in the first place! And he obviously could not let her down, so, here he was. Downing coffee after coffee, staying up to ungodly times, and scraping by to get good grades. Closing the book, he was finished, and he hoped all the effort he’d been putting in this past week would be worth it. 

Actually worth it. He wanted to make discoveries, get out into the world! Sure, he was lucky one of  his professors was really quite wonderful–the guy took them out to the ocean to ‘get a real feel for it’ a few times, but he still wanted to really get out there. Come across a new creature! Re-discover one they had previously thought was extinct! Something besides wandering around (and tripping) tide pools, examining things that while interesting, were nothing new. 

Of course, all sea-creatures fascinated Shellington–while he wasn’t really one for the whole ‘hybrid-research’, as he was more concerned with the actual creatures that were hybridized with humans, all of it was utterly interesting. But, he knew he couldn’t really do that unless he did well in school. So far, most of his grades had been As or Bs, which satisfied him. Occasionally, he wondered if he was good enough. Then he thought of what Pearl would say to that, and he let it go. 

Didn’t mean he didn’t have a panic attack or two, of course. Usually one per month or two. It had been getting slightly worse and a tad more frequent given how he wasn’t around Pearl nearly as much, as she had helped with said attacks whenever they rarely appeared. He was just hoping, once he got an actual job, (that wasn’t just an internship or out-of-class experiment or experience) that he’d be all fine and dandy. Or at the very least he’d be able to deal with his panic attacks by himself. 

He hopped into bed, making sure his phone was set to alarm him 4 times–usually the first two didn’t work, and he just fell back asleep after slapping it off, and the extra one was a precaution at best. He put on his nightcap, closed his eyes, and fell asleep quickly. He was just glad he actually made it to his bed this time. He had a bad habit of falling asleep at his desk, after all. 

The next morning, he awoke to the blaring of his alarm, and he shut it off, falling back asleep, turning over. “5 more minutes, mom…” he mumbled, and another alarm went off a minute or two later. He shut that one off too, groaning. Finally, at the third alarm, he got out of bed, canceling the fourth one before it went off, too. He slipped on his backpack, quickly surveyed to make sure he had everything, and walked out of his tiny dorm. 

He went to class, and surprisingly, there was someone there who he didn’t recognize. He surveyed it was a clearly older man, given the wrinkles and the lack of hair ontop of his head. He reminded Shellington of the monopoly man–with the mustache and monocle. He sat down, placing his bag down. Once class started–the man began speaking. 

“Hello, my name is Professor Inkling.” he stated, gesturing to himself. “I have come to this college because, well, I am starting a sort of… not company, but expedition. It’s a long-term job, though. And I need a marine biologist.” he said, and Shellington blinked, this was a little surprising. Another student raised her hand–Shellington couldn’t really recall her name, something like Rhubarb or Regina, though. Started with R, at least. “What kinda expedition is it? Set in one place or moving around?” she asked, and Inkling smiled. 

“I’m glad you asked….” he motioned for her to give her name, but she didn’t. At least until she realized people were looking at her. “Oh, uh, Ruby.” she replied hastily, and the Professor continued, “I’m glad you asked, Ruby. You see, if you want to join this, it’s a project that focuses on.. Well, the slogan Captain Barnacles came up with was ‘Explore, Rescue, Protect’. It’s about those three things, all while living underwater in a submarine. As a marine biologist, you’ll be able to experiment and study quite a lot, as well as providing information about the creatures the people down there are hybridized with.” 

Shellington was in awe–this idea sounded wonderful! And exactly what he had wanted. Being able to have access to equipment and tell everyone about creatures was exactly what he wanted to do–and he was helping the ocean! It was perfect for him. He’d feel bad about leaving Pearl, but he technically already had, for college. Plus, he was certain he’d be able to visit, given how she lived in the kelp forest, and he could say he was studying it. 

He was excited. “If you’re interested, please approach me after class. I’ll be helping out as an assistant until your graduation, to get to know you all, after graduation I’ll start some interviews.” he said, and Shellington knew exactly this was what he wanted to do–he needed to prepare! But, not right now, as the usual professor had come back into the room and had begun speaking already. He began to jot down note after note, even though his thoughts were mainly consumed by what Inkling had said. 

After class, he immediately approached Inkling. He was a little surprised only one other person did as well, someone who he wasn’t even sure what the first letter of their name was. But then he thought about it–people probably didn’t want to leave their families, their lives to live in a random old professor’s submarine, even if it presented wonderful research opportunities. Shellington was somewhat happy that he wouldn’t have too much competition, though. Hopefully he could impress the Professor enough to let him on the ship. 

The other person in front of him left after a quick chat, so now it was the part-sea-otter’s turn. “Hello,” the Professor greeted, and Shellington, sweaty palms pressed together, greeted him back. “Hello, Professor- my name’s Shellington.” he said, and Inkling held out a hand. “Wonderful to meet you, Shellington.” Shellington smiled, before realizing the professor was expecting him to shake his hand, and he shook it quickly. The Professor seemed a little amused, but didn’t say anything about it. “I- I know you’re not doing interviews yet, but I just wanna say I really want to join your expedition!” he enthusiastically clamored. “I’m certainly glad you’re so excited”, the Professor said, and Shellington wasn’t really completely sure if he meant it sarcastically or not, he took it as a compliment, though. He smiled, nodded, and walked out of the room, and he just hoped he didn’t screw that up. He didn’t think he did–he was showing he was passionate, right? On the other hand, (or paw) Inkling could consider that a bad thing or even just Shellington trying to suck up to him, which was not his intent. 

He decided to not think of it any longer, instead prompting to go to a little cafe nearby–he figured he could hopefully get some work done there. Sitting down, he pulled his computer out of his backpack, turned it on, grabbed his notes, and got to work. He ordered a coffee–complete with all of the whipped cream and sprinkles he could muster, and to the point where it probably couldn’t even be considered coffee–, and jot down some notes. The cafe was practically full, there weren't really any one-person seats left. It made sense, it was popular for students given the obnoxiously cheap prices and its close proximity to the college. 

Shellington didn’t notice the girl who was confusedly wandering around, clearly unaware what a hotspot this place was. He did notice when she approached. “Hey, so sorry, but.. Do you mind if I sit here?” she asked, and Shellington blinked–he was surprised she approached him of all people. “N-No, not at all.” he flushed at the stutter. He wasn’t one to do that most of the time, so it caught him a little off guard too. Probably since she was pretty sudden, at least to Shellington himself. He looked a little closer at the girl–braids looped, almost resembling ears, a pink and yellow clip on her curtain-bang esc hair, (but cornrows) tan-to-dark skin–he didn’t even remotely recognize her. “I’ve never seen you on campus before,” he said, and she laughed a little. 

“Oh, probably because I don’t go here. I’m actually a flight attendant–at least for the next two weeks–and I’m just staying here until tomorrow.” Shellington had a feeling there was a tad more explanation, but he didn’t press. “Wait, next two weeks?” he questioned. “Yup. It’s my two weeks notice, as I got a better job. They’ve been having me on flights at least once per day-yesterday I had two.” she laughed a little, though Shellington didn’t really get the joke. 

“Ohh, I see.” he simply said, nodding. “I’m just studying marine biology at the campus here–it’s really quite fascinating, I always had an interest in it.” he told her, and she blinked. “Marine Biology? Oh, that’s why.. Okay, that makes sense. Well, I wish you luck with all of that.” Shellington smiled. “I’m graduating super soon, as well. I’m just hoping to land this one job, there aren’t many other candidates, at least to my knowledge, so I think I have a good chance.” he said, and then asked the girl something again. “Well, I have two questions to you; one, what’s your name?” he asked, and she responded, “Dashi. Yours?” 

“Shellington.” 

“That’s a nice name. What’s your second question?”

Wow, straight to the point. Shellington thought. 

“What’s your new job, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I’m not supposed to talk too much about it, but my role is IT work, and photography.” 

“Woah, you take pictures? If you don’t mind, can I see?” he asked. 

“Sure!” 

Dashi pulled some things out of her little backpack, spreading them out in front of Shellington. “Jumping jellyfish! You’re so talented!” he exclaimed, and Dashi looked at him a little strangely. “Jumping… Jellyfish?” she asked, and Shellington elaborated quickly. “Ah, it’s a- what’s it called, exclamation? Something my sister came up with a while ago. We both say it.” he explained, and Dashi nodded. “Is she a marine biologist, too?” she inquired, and Shellington shook his head. 

“No, no. Not specifically–she just kinda considers herself a ‘scientist’ in general. But, uh, we’re both part sea otter. Lived in, slash near, a kelp forest for a while. So, we saw jellyfish, and eventually… she came up with that, I caught on, and the rest is history.” he finished, and Dashi nodded. “I’m assuming she’s an older sister? I have a younger one.” 

Shellington nodded. “Yup. Not by much, though. Certainly not my twin, though, even if we get mistaken for such a lot.” “Oh, that never happens with me and Koshi–she’s quite a bit younger than me, and we don’t look too alike.” she said. Shellington took a sip out of his drink, “What’d you get?” Dashi asked, and Shellington looked up from his work. This conversation is still going? Oops. “It’s.. pretty much just a milkshake with coffee. I wanted something sweeter because I don’t need to drown myself in black coffee out of drowsiness at the moment.” he explained, and Dashi nodded. 

“I just got hot cocoa. Never really been one for coffee, I suppose.” she said, shrugging.. “Very unrelated,” Shellington started, “and this is incredibly sudden and I expect if you don’t have the time, but.. Would… well, I have a project, and I need pictures. I’m going to the kelp forest, adn while I was planning on getting older pictures, it’d be nice to get newer ones as well. Compare and contrast, I suppose. And, again, I don’t expect you to bu-” 

Dashi interrupted him. “I’ll do it. When are you going over?” she asked, and Shellington blinked. He honestly wasn’t really expecting her to accept, though it was certainly very very welcome. “Well, the plan was around seven, but I could go an hour or two if that works better for you.” he said, and Dashi nodded. “I can make seven work.” she said, nodding to herself. “I’ve got some stuff to do before then, though, gotta go soon to work on some training stuff. So, where should we meet?” she asked, and Shellington thought to himself. “The library on campus. I can’t exactly expect you to know where the kelp forest is, after all.” Dashi nodded. “Sounds good. See you then!” she said, standing up and waving goodbye to him. Shellington was just happy he’d be able to improve the quality of his project–it’d really be wonderful. Deciding that he was going to work on his project a little more before his next class. He just felt like working on it in the cafe, for now, as he didn’t want to move all his stuff when he was already sketching. 

He wanted to get this assignment done, after all. He wanted to draw–he’d always enjoyed sketching (full) sea creatures, even if he couldn’t draw much else. Even if most sea creatures stayed in primarily human/almost mermaid ish forms. Never could draw people, or mechanics all too well. He could make a drawing look like most land animals, it always looked a little off though. Especially since at this moment, practically all land animals were almost entirely human, most of the time, so it was hard to get references. Nevertheless, he finished within an hour or two, and pulled out his little notepad/sketchbook. 

Sketching practically any animal he could think of for another 15 or 40 minutes, (he couldn’t keep track of time all that well, and when he checked it, it had actually been 37 minutes. Huh.) he eventually decided to pack up and leave. He’d been there a while, and his next class was starting in about a hour Until then, he decided that going to the library to pass the time–he’d set a timer on his phone, so that way he wouldn’t be late. Hopefully. 

Shuffling his backpack on his shoulders, tossing the remains of his drink in the trash, and walking to the library, he situated himself with a nonfiction book about the migration patterns of orcas. It was an older book, given how it was full orcas instead of hybridized ones, but that was part of the appeal. It was interesting to see the difference before and after the hybridization. Most orcas nowadays were again, akin to mermaids. Orca tail, more humanoid torso and head, though some opted for having fins for arms and all of them still had sharp, sharp teeth. Could still easily rip and tear, and obviously, that wasn’t really their fault. Circle of life and all that. 

Of course, that was a lot less normalized above the surface, as artificial meat was pretty popular. It wasn’t seen as bad below–well, besides for the predators next meal–as that was how it was. If a sea creature wasn’t content staying in the ocean, they could train themselves to become more human and go on land, instead. People, well more so companies, liked the cheap labor they provided, as well as help with all of the pools and other water-related components. Most sea creatures, after a long while of being used to being practically fully human, were able to handle fresh water for short periods of time. 

Shellington finished the book quickly. It was fascinating, of course, but it was basically a review. He knew all of this. In fact, he probably knew everything from the marine biology section–he’d been practically obsessed with marine biology for a long time. He looked at the alarm–two minutes left. He decided to just close it and walk over earlier, until he realized he had not eaten Breakfast nor lunch. Walking into a fast food place, he ordered some hash browns, sprinted out, hashbrown in his mouth (you know those scenes where it's like an anime girl with toast in her mouth? Imagine that with Shellington and hash browns.) as he silently ate them outside the door to the class, tossed the container in the trash can, and walked into the room. He wasn’t late, at least. 

Taking a seat, he got ready to ‘learn’ more information he already knew. 

— 

After class, he was able to talk a little to Inkling, which made him happy. “My project’s on kelp, urchins, and since I'm part sea otter, us.” he told Inkling, showing Inkling the slides he had prepared. “Do you think I should change anything? I think it’s good, but I'm not quite sure. Of course, it’s not done, though.” he asked, and Inkling looked impressed. “It’s utterly brilliant–you’re very talented, Shellington. You clearly know what you’re talking about, as well. I’m very excited to see this project finished, when you present it.” he told Shellington, and he felt his cheeks get a little pink. He wasn’t used to being complemented by anyone, except Pearl and when she was around, his mother. 

“Ah, thank you, Professor. I’m excited, too.” he said, playing with his hands. Habit, of sorts. “Of course, Shellington. I am being honest, you know.” and after that, the Professor rolled away, and Shellington smiled, getting back to work. He was going to go to the kelp forest later that day, ask Pearl for some pictures or for the file or something, and let Dashi take some new ones. 

Walking to the library, arriving at 6:58. Dashi arrived at the dot at 7:00pm exactly. “Hey, Shellington. I’m ready–I have my wetsuit on under this, and I brought my camera. It’s waterproof, don’t worry.” Shellington nodded, adjusting his leather satchel. It was falling apart, a little, but he didn’t want to bring his backpack for school. This was.. A little more.. Not expendable, it was special to him, (and he actually preferred it over said backpack, it just couldn’t hold all of his school supplies, especially not his computer.) just if it took a dip in the water or just a little scratched up, it’d be okay. 

Eventually they arrived, sand sinking a little under his and Dashi’s feet.

Shellington did wish the satchel was waterproof, though. He decided to just put it under a rock, for safekeeping. He dipped his feet in the water, slowly wading in, until the water was up to his waist. He looked at his hands, now his fingers connected by webbing, and he had no reason to not assume his feet were the same. Feeling the swishing water around him, he felt the fur sprout out of his legs, and a tail swishing around behind him. “Dashi, do you mind staying up here for now?” he asked, and Dashi shook her head. “I wanted to take some pictures of the beach itself, anyways.” Shellington nodded. Diving down, looking for Pearl, his eyes adjusted quickly to the salty water, and he knew his ears were now more on the sides of his head rather than where they usually would be. He sniffed the water, before circling back upwards and popping out on the surface of the water, his head above. 

Looking out over the vast sea of kelp, he didn’t see her. He knew he’d have to search for a while, given how easy it was to hide in the forest. But he also could just wait and see until he saw her head poke out from under the water. It did feel nice to be back in the water, though, so he also wanted to just search around underwater. Waiting for a moment, he dove back in, weaving his way through the kelp, until he saw a brown tail and followed it up, and soon, he was face-to-face with his favorite person. 

His sister. “Pearl!” he exclaimed, and she, back, “Shellington?” she said, confusion enthralling her. “Yes, sudden visit, I know.” he explained, and Pearl motioned over to a rock. “Let’s sit.” she suggested, and Shellington nodded as they swam over. 

Pearl didn’t look too different. She still had the yellow headband–it was her favorite color, after all–-and her hair was still a short bob, and her sea otter ears, tail, and her webbed hands were prominent. It made sense, she was in the forest a lot of the time. Besides, when she went to the surface to study briefly–she did it often, but she never left the forest unattended for too long. Didn’t want to let those pesky urchins take over, after all. 

Shellington felt a wave of guilt wash over him–she was the only one taking care of the forest, and he couldn’t. Pearl seemed to tell, though, and when they clamored onto the rock, she put her hand on his shoulder. “Hey. I know what you’re thinking–don’t.” she demanded, and Shellington blinked in surprise, but he supposed his sister did know him well, and he knew her very well. It shouldn’t be a surprise that she’d be able to tell when guilt came over him, especially since it had happened a lot in their youth. 

He wished he could have kids, but he couldn’t risk spreading that annoying allergy to them. At the same time, he wasn’t sure if he was exactly fit for being a father, plus, he didn’t have a partner. Nor boyfriend or girlfriend, just nothing. He hoped Pearl found someone, she didn’t mind being alone.. She deserved someone, if she wanted someone. Shellington knew not everyone was interested in romance or.. More. He knew he was, he’d seen a cute boy or girl a few times. 

“So, why’d you come?” Pearl asked, and Shellington snapped out of his barrage of thoughts. It was a bad habit, going on tangents inside his mind and forgetting anyone else was there. “Oh! Well, I’m working on a big, final project for college, and we’re… well, it’s supposed to be about something we’ve learned and to show some personal experiences if possible, and I figured.. Food chain stuff, you know? But, uh, I was wondering if you had any pictures of us when we were younger? Oh, and, uh, do you mind my friend that I met just earlier taking some of us? She’s on the beach right now.” Well, at least he had gotten the real question out at the end. 

Pearl nodded. “Follow me, Shell. I’ll show you where the older ones are.” she said, tilting her head to motion to the water, and Shellington nodded. She dove in, and Shellington followed suit soon after. They weaved through the murky kelp, until they arrived at the beach, the pristine sand practically glistening. Shellington knew exactly where they were going– the cave. 

Sea otters weren’t really particularly known to hide stuff away, (that was more of a small, land-tree mammal thing, squirrels did it a lot) Pearl and Shellington did, though. Well, it was more safe-keeping, because even though when they were younger they just stayed in or at least near the kelp forest, they needed somewhere.. Drier to keep their stuff. Like clothes, and in this case, photos. Technically, they had a waterproof camera and photos, but it wasn’t good. Most photos came out grainy and bad–so, they tried to take advantage of a regular camera, with non-water proof photos as much as they could. 

Plus, they needed somewhere to just keep things. Couldn’t exactly keep everything on their person, after all. It’d be quite annoying if they did. They sauntered over to the small cave, and soon they were consumed by dimness. The light was still visible from outside, and Pearl pushed away a rock in front of one of the ‘drawers’, and pulled out some of the pictures. “I think I have some on my phone, too. I’ll send those to you.” she said, and Shellington smiled. “Wonderful!” he exclaimed, and Pearl smiled softly too. 

“And, I also came here because, you know, I wanted to sleep how we used to again. Because, um, while I’m not even a candidate, there’s.. This job.” Pearl’s ears perked up. “A job..? Elaborate, Shell” she requested, and he nodded. “Yes, I will, but for the other thing?” 

Pearl grinned. “Of course ! I wouldn’t say no to my baby brother on an offer like that.” she said, ruffling his hair. Shellington flushed a little. “The job, though?” she asked again, and Shellington nodded. “Oh right yes that.. Basically, a guy, his name is Professor Inkling, came over to my college, because he’s looking for a marine biologist for his expedition! It’s really quite wonderful. We’d be able to travel all across the 5 oceans! And, only me and one other person wanted to do it, so I think.. I might get in. Hopefully.” “So, you’d be leaving Scotland?” she asked, and Shellington blinked. “Oh, um, yes. Is that alright?” he asked, and Pearl laughed. “You’re a grown man. Of course it’s alright, even if I’ll miss you.” she said, and Shellington quickly clarified, “Since you’re in the kelp forest, most of the time, though, and that’s obviously in the ocean, I’m certain I could visit more than an average crew member, on the excuse of.. Checking up on the kelp, I suppose?” he said, and Pearl nodded. “Already thinking ahead.” she commented, and Shellington chuckled. 

“It’ll be getting dark soon. Wanna go take those pictures and then out into the forest, once more?” she requested, and Shellington giddily nodded. “Yes, that’s wonderful. Especially since.. If I do get accepted, which I hope I do… I might not be able to for a long time.” he said.

They walked over to Dashi, who waved. “Hello Shellington… and Shellington’s sister.” she said, unsure of Pearl’s name. “Pearl.” she responded to Dashi’s indirect question, and Dashi smiled. “That’s a pretty name. Now, what were you thinking about for the pictures, Shellington?” she asked, and Shellington thought for a moment. “Well, once of me and Pearl standing in front of the forest, probably…and, um, one of the kelp forest underwater, and maybe one of those two combined? And, if you can, one of us in the sleeping position.” Dashi nodded. 

“Sounds good. The non-water one will be easiest to do first, so can you guys stand next to each other…” she pointed to an area near the water, but not in it. Shellington and Pearl nodded, walking over. Shellington didn’t really know what to do with his hands, so he just clasped them together, placing them in front of his hip area. Pearl had one hand on one hip,and was posing a lot better than Shellington himself. Dashi snapped a picture or two, before giving them a thumbs up. “These are great!” she praised. She took off her sweater and skirt, showing the wetsuit underneath. Pearl had looked a tad scared when she had done it without warning, but was obviously relieved when the wetsuit was shown. “Wait, Dashi. Before we get in the water, lemme give you my email so you can send me the pictures.” 

“Oh, yes, good idea.” Dashi agreed, and she wrote it down on a piece of scrap paper that had been in her skirt. “Now, let’s get in.” she said, and both Shellington and Pearl nodded. Dashi carefully waded into the water, till she was up to her shoulders. “Pose as quick as you can, I can’t hold my breath as long as you guys.” she said, and the siblings gave her thumbs up, before diving down. 

Dashi dipped under the surface, taking a picture of the kelp by itself and then motioning for Shellington and Pearl to come over, which they did, and Dashi was thankful. She wasn’t a sea creature like them, after all. “Looks good, you two!

It was about 15 minutes later when the sun began to set, and Shellington grasped onto a piece of kelp, and onto his sister’s hand, and they floated on their backs together, water beneath them, and it was really nice, wasn’t it? He heard the camera shutter of Dashi taking a picture, (and her swimming away) as Shellington drifted off. 

He woke up to Pearl shaking him. “Hey, Shellington,” she whispered, and Shellington groaned, “Five more minutes..” he grumbled, still firmly attached to the kelp and his sister’s hand. “C’mon. I don’t know when your school starts. You probably have to go soon.” she said, and Shellington responded with a groan. Pearl wrestled the kelp out of his grip, and dunked him in water. He still, somehow, didn’t wake up. (At least not properly. Sleepy guy.) 

Shellington was a heavy sleeper, after all. She dragged him behind her through the water plants, weaving through carefully. Didn’t want him (or herself) to be caught in it, after all. Eventually, she dragged him onto the shore, where he curled up. “Augh..” he groaned, blinking sleepily. “What.. time is it?” he asked, with a yawn following soon after. “Sunrise. Now, get up, sleepyhead,” she said, and he finally propped himself up. “I’ll go get the stuff you need, and you wake up.” she stated. It wasn’t phrased like a question, at least. 

He watched as his sister walked off to the cave, and he stood up, grumbling, and walked over to the rock, retrieving his leather satchel. Pearl came back with the pictures in her hand, and she chuckled. “Someone woke up properly.” Shellington yawned. “Well, maybe not.” 

Handing the photos to Shellington, they said their goodbyes and Shellington was off, putting the photos in his bag. Pearl had said she’d send some pictures to him over text, too, (and Dashi sending the more recent ones over email) so that was nice. He hoped, (and was fairly certain) that it’d be enough for his project, and to impress the Professor. 

He worked tirelessly on the project for the rest of the week, Inkling, supervising him briefly, complimenting him on his work. If Shellington thought more highly of himself, he would’ve thought that he was the Professor’s favorite.  And soon, it was time to present–the other projects had passion driven in them, this wasn’t really a class you took if you didn’t have a knack or passion for marine biology, so it made sense. They were all pretty wonderful–there was actually a hermit-crab student, who was really passionate and told everyone about their large family, which was sweet. 

That one Ruby girl spoke about sharks in full, and described symbiotic relationships between sharks and remoras in detail. Another student talked extensively about orcas and dolphins, but clearly had vast knowledge in many other areas of marine biology. And finally, it was Shellington’s turn. 

He went up to the front of the class, clearing his throat. “Hello. My name is Shellington, and my project is about.. A lot of things” he clicked to the next slide. “So here you can see me and my sister, Pearl.” he continued on with his presentation smoothly–he was happy nothing went wrong. Maybe it was his passion behind the topic or the fact that the rest of the students were respectful, or maybe the wanting to impress the Professor, he wasn’t sure. All he knew is that it went seamlessly. 

A few presentations later, (all of them were wonderful, even if a few clearly had more time behind them then others) and the day was over. And tomorrow was finals. He knew he had a lot of preparation, and as he was heading out of the room, Inkling stopped him. “Shellington that was absolutely brilliant!” he then leaned in closer, whispering, “and don’t tell the others, but I think yours was best by far.” he praised, and Shellington smiled. “T-thank you Professor..” he didn’t usually stutter. 

Inkling waved him goodbye then, and Shellington decided to go back to that cafe. He knew he wouldn’t see Dashi again, but it was a good study spot! Sitting down after ordering his regular milkshake-esc order, he pulled out his computer. It was time to goddamn study. 

—

Finals had been stressful, obviously, though Shellington had gotten through them, and finally, it was his graduation. His only family, being Pearl, was in the audience. He wished his mother had been able to see it. Her son graduated from college, to help out the kelp forest she’d raised them both in until she had..disappeared. Somewhere deep in his heart, Shellington may have been secretly wishing that she’d somehow come, despite the odds.

Though he knew he’d never see her again, so he had shoved that back deep down for him to hopefully never deal with again. His mom was gone, and he knew the fact well. Pearl had congratulated him and brought him a handmade gift out of kelp–a little charm of sorts. He may’ve almost teared up a little at the gift. Inkling congratulated him, and handed him a nicely sealed envelope which he instructed to, “Look at later”, which Shellington had nodded to. 

And that era of his life was over, now. He thought he’d feel different, but he really didn’t. He was still Shellington, after all. Well, now Dr.Shellington. Doctor Shellington Sea-otter. It was a bit of a mouthful, he’d definitely just tell people to call him “just Shellington”, even if his name plainly was still a little much by itself.

When he got to his dorm, (as he had obeyed what the Professor had told him) he opened up the envelope. Inside was a letter. His handwriting is wonderful.. Shellington thought silently, and he began to read it.

Dear Shellington, 

Please meet me at the Campus Library at 3pm Tomorrow (Saturday). I have many things I would like to discuss with you, concerning the job. 

Professor Inkling

It was shorter than Shellington was expecting–he was unsure why Inkling wouldn’t just tell him this, but he didn’t think about it much. He was wiped out from the day though, opting to sleep for as long as he could muster, turning off his alarms. He put one for 2:30 pm, just in case but he doubted he’d need it. 

Flopping onto his bed, tucking his head into his nightcap and curling up underneath the covers, he fell asleep swiftly. That next day, he woke up at noon. He was sure there would be a curfew or something on the submarine, if he got accepted, so he decided to cherish his sleeping-in time for as long as he possibly could. Rolling over in his bed, he decided he needed to look… presentable. Taking off his nightcap, he looked in the mirror–his brown, almost shoulder-length hair. 

It was messy as hell. He grabbed his dollar-store plastic comb, that while he barely used, would come in handy now. Running it through his hair–and oh, a knot. He untangled it, combed through, and oh no, a knot. Repeat. 

Thirty or so minutes later.. His hair was nicer. He pulled on a dark green checkered sweater vest–it was his favorite color, after all. He had those pirate-esc white sleeves underneath, and sweatpants. He thought he looked nice enough, and he then just sat down, pulled out his computer, deciding on reading some good old fashioned studies on various topics. 

And another 2 hours later, he realized it was 2:30–thirty minutes before he was supposed to meet up with Inkling! Walking out, phone in pocket and deciding to stop for some milkshake-ified-coffee, he arrived only a minute late! He saw Inkling rolled up next to a table, and he walked over, pulling up a chair. “Hello, Professor! So sorry if I’m late.” he felt it was necessary to apologize, even if he was only one minute late. 

“No need to apologize, Shellington. Now, it’s time for the interview.” he said, and Shellington nodded. He had to do good. This was his make-or-break moment, he needed to do well. “So, Shellington, I always like to get to know a little about the people I might hire. So, family, friends, anything you’re welcome to talk about.” 

Shellington thought for a moment. “Well, I.. you probably saw this in the presentation, but I have an older sister named Pearl, and we lived in the kelp forest with her for a while. I left to go to college, but I visit Pearl sometimes. I um.. Don’t really know anyone besides Pearl.” Inkling nodded. “I see. Experience?” he asked. 

“Well, college and all of that, and I’ve done an internship or two, went on some very small explorations and I’ve spent some time around tide pools. Oh, and I lived in the ocean for the first 16 or so years of my life, so, there’s that.” 

Inkling put the sheet that he had all of his questions on down. “Shellington–I’m supposed to go through all of this, but I really think.. You’re accepted.” he said, and Shellington lit up. “Really? Jumping Jellyfish, this is absolutely wonderful, oh-” he rambled silently to himself, and Inkling chuckled. “The flight’s next week. I’d hope you can sort everything outs during that time.” he said, and Shellington nodded. “Yes, I’m sure– I can do that, yes.” he said, giving him a thumbs up. 

Shellington was just excited to finally get to do exactly what he wanted to, to the t. 

Peso finished bandaging another creature’s arm, wrapping it quickly. He was often assigned to just wrap bandages, given how he was by far the speediest at it, and therefore he was basically put in an assembly line of sorts but with bandaging. Well, when the hospital was busy, that was. Which, while it wouldn’t be considered busy for a bigger hospital, it was a tad small. And that was usually fine, especially since there weren’t many jobs in the arctic besides just ‘hunting and gathering’, ‘trader’, and ‘medic’, so they had a decent amount of employees, sometimes it got too overcrowded. And very overwhelming. Peso would be lying if he said he didn’t have a panic attack or two or three or four or maybe just around 67 times because of the overcrowding. ( it was a lot now that Peso was thinking about it.) 

But he loved helping people, and he thought he was decent enough at it. He was trained professionally, and while he went through more minimal med school then what would usually be required, he was certainly qualified for most anything. Sure, he would certainly at least need help during a surgery, that wasn’t his expertise though. He could. He likely wouldn’t though. 

The staff had taken notice of these things. Peso hoped it wouldn’t jeopardize his job–he really didn’t know what to do if he got fired. It was very very stressful, yes, though it was his only source of income. Yes, life in the arctic was different then most of the rest of the mainland, with it being less ‘advanced’ or ‘capitalist’ as some would say. Most people had family homes or built their own, (there was the space, after all.) and while they got charged minimal taxes, any traders certainly wanted money for their goods. 

Until, eventually, it was the end of his shift and he had finished bandaging up the last patient. He started gathering his things to head home, before he heard a (albeit grainy-sounding) announcement over the old speakers. “ PESO TO THE FRONT DESK! ” it boomed, and Peso jumped. They didn’t use the speakers often, on account of them being low quality, often much too loud, and more hard to understand than over a walkie-talkie. 

He skittered over to the front desk, gulping. “Y-yes?” he asked, and the Penguin at the front desk smiled. Probably because it was his sister, Pinata. “Peso, hi. I think the big boss wants to talk to you, for some reason.” Peso nodded shakily. Please don’t be an announcement of me getting fired he anxiously prayed, walking to the office. The ‘big boss’, (whose real name was Dr… uh, something. Peso couldn’t remember, they usually just called him ‘boss.’) had his own smaller office. He was a doctor, of course, and his great grandmother or something like that had started the place. 

The creaky door slowly opened, and Peso saw the older penguin-hybrid. Black hair (like most penguins) with a few streaks, tannish skin, (again, like most) and was adorning a suit. Peso felt under-professional with his scrubs, despite them being profesional doctor wear. “Peso.” “B-boss.” 

“I think you’d be the best choice.” his boss said, and confusion washed over Peso’s face. “For.. what..?” he questioned. His boss typed something on his computer, before looking back up at Peso. “I think it’d be better if..” please don’t say you’re letting me go.. “You had a different work environment.” HE’S FIRING ME?? Peso panicked internally, but having a breakdown right now wouldn’t help his case. “No, I’m not.. Firing you. Not really, at least. Sit, please.” he requested, and Peso nodded shakily. He hoped it wasn’t too obvious how nervous he was, and he sat down. “You see, we have been sent an email. Pretty much, there’s this expedition a man named Professor Inkling is starting. I’m not completely sure of all the details, but I believe you’d be traveling around the world in a submarine, helping creatures underwater.” 

Peso blinked. “.. I see. Why.. me?” he asked. His boss slacked back in his chair. “Well.. one, like I mentioned, it’d be a better work environment. Sure, you’d be the only actual medic, yes, but it would not be nearly as overcrowded as it is here. You’re also the fastest bandager I know, which only helps since you’re wonderful in many other medical practices. It’d be a bit high pressure, though. And you.. You wouldn’t be living in the arctic, instead on the submarine. And if you don’t end up being chosen, you will have a spot here, no matter what.” 

Peso shrunk into himself. “It really does sound like a g-good cause,” and there his stutter was, “but.. I don’t think I’m the right fit. Wouldn’t someone else here be better?” he inquired, and his boss shook his head. “No, I’ve narrowed it down. Everyone else here is.. They’re not perfect for this. Plus, most of them can handle the intense workflow here without…” he trailed off, and Peso looked away, ashamed. He really wished that wasn’t such a huge problem. “And, I was told that they needed someone who is quick. You’re the fastest we’ve got.” 

That was true. As much as Peso hated bragging, he was, factually, the fastest at bandaging specifically and in a lot of other fields. He couldn’t really deny that. “...I see. I’ll… can I get back to you later?” he asked, and his boss nodded. “You have a week to decide.” he told him, and Peso gave him a shaky “alright”  before waving and leaving. Pinata was still there, it wasn’t quite the end of her shift yet. 

“How’d it go?” she asked, and Peso pursed his lips. “..g-good.” he said. Pinata looked at him, slightly confused and also worried. “Hm. Okay..” she clearly didn’t believe him, though she couldn’t enquire more as Peso left the building, back into the snowscape. 

Trudging home, he walked into his house (more like an igloo almost but whatever), where his mom greeted him. “Peso!” she greeted, waving. Peso waved back, his hand still shaking. “How was work, honey?” she asked, turning her attention back to the stove, where she was frying some non-meat fish. Fake fish, practically. They could be eaten raw, yes, but that wasn’t preferred by most people, and certainly not Peso and his large family. 

Their house was conjoined by another one that held the rest of their family. In Peso’s, it was him, his younger brother Pinto, his older brother Pogo, his sister Pinata, and his mother. In the other, was his Grandma Perdita, Uncle Pepe, Aunt Papita, and Cousin Petina. While the houses were technically connected, they weren’t really treated as the same house. Almost like sharing an apartment, just the people in the apartments were all family. 

Peso answered his mother’s question, then. “.. good, mama. It uh… I’ll talk about it at dinner.” he figured it’d be better to tell everyone all at once. Peso’s mom was a tad confused, and it showed on her face, though she didn’t question it. “Sounds good!” she said, flipping the ‘fish’ over. 

Going to his room, he pulled out his xylophone–it was his only hobby, honestly. Besides bandage-wrapping, though that was less of a hobby and more so just a skill. He practiced until Pinto burst into their shared room. I wonder if I joined I’d get my own room. Peso wondered silently, as Pinto sprinted over to him. Feathers were where ears would be, and feathers were covering his arms and legs. Peso was just surprised he didn’t have a beak or full flippers. “Hi Peso! School was kinda boring, but me and my friends got to slide down the super super big hill!” he exclaimed. Peso blinked. 

“.... the one mom told you not to go on?” he asked, a hint of concern in his voice. Pinto was a tad too young for that. Pinto looked away. “....maybe. Don’t tell mama, please ?” he begged, and Peso sighed. “Okayy, alright.” he begrudgingly agreed, and Pinto pumped his fist in the air, more feathers spurting out, and his hands now flippers and his feet webbed. The webbing and flippers went away when his excitement died down, though. “Mama said dinner’ll be ready soon,” Pinto said, flopping onto his cushy bed. 

“That’s good,” Peso said absentmindedly, now focusing on his playing again. Pinto groaned. “Pesoooooo–play something with me” he begged, and Peso sighed a little. “Didn’t you just say dinner will be ready soon? Read one of your comic books or something, yeah?” he offered, and Pinto rolled his eyes, nevertheless he pulled out one and grouchily read it on the bed. 

Around fifteen minutes later, they were called in. Pinto was the first there, and so his mom awarded him with setting the table, (which he groaned at in response) and then Pogo, then Peso, and finally Pinata. Peso thought maybe something other than this one brand of fake-fish would be good. His mother was a wonderful cook, and she didn’t always cook this, but they ate it a lot. If I went on that expedition then maybe i’d eat something else. He thought briefly, though he scolded himself mentally for the comment. 

He shouldn’t be rude about his mother’s food, after all. “Peso, you said that you wanted to talk how work was with everyone?” his mother questioned, and Peso remembered that he’d said that. Pinata piped in, “Ooh, yes, you were called in by the big boss after all! What happened?” she asked, before popping a piece of fake fish in her mouth. Worry overtook his mother’s face. “ Big boss? Is that just something you call him or..?” Peso nodded, “Yeah, basically.” he told her. “What happened, though?” she asked, and everyone was looking at Peso. He gulped. “Well, um.. He thinks.. I’m the best candidate for this.. Expedition that’s being started by this Professor guy.” 

Pinto lit up. “Expedition? Like an adventure?” he asked, leaning in, and Peso smiled nervously. “..maybe kinda? I’m not quite sure. A-all I know is that I’ll be traveling around the w-world in a submarine, helping creatures who are hurt or sick. That’s all.” he said. Pinata then asked the most logical question, being, “So you’ll be away from home for a while?” she asked, and Peso nodded. “I-I think so. I’m sure I’d be able to visit, of course, but I wouldn’t be home a lot of the time, I think.” he really wasn’t sure about any of this, so part of this was just him speaking from nothing, though it was what he assumed from the nature of the job.

“You gotta do it Peso! A adventure is soo cool!” Pinto chimed in, before his mother said, “If you really want to, hon. I’d.. we’d all miss you, but if it’s what you want to do..” she said, trailing off, and Peso hated seeing her so sad. “I-I’m not quite sure, yet. I want to know more details first.” he said. Pogo finally said, “Of course. That’s logical, like how you always are!” Peso knew he didn’t mean it in a bad way, more so in a good way actually, though even then it still felt like a stab in the chest. His mother and Pinata agreed, while Pinto still clearly wanted Peso to go on it. (He probably wasn’t thinking about how he wouldn’t see Peso in a while if that happened–that info seemed to have went in one ear and out the other.) 

Eventually, the conversation shifted to something else, and then they finished their food and conversation, and then they were off to bed. “Peso,” Pinto mumbled while he brushed his teeth, “You gobba tabe thaf job!” he exclaimed, his words mangled by the toothbrush clogging his mouth. Peso took his out and cleaned it before he responded. “I-I might.” Peso said, and Pinto seemed vaguely satisfied. 

That night, in bed, Pinto surprisingly fell fast asleep. Peso, though, did not. The offer was swarming him, like a bunch of bees that all had conflicting opinions. 

Remember all your damn panic attacks? You slow them down at the hospital, this job will be better!You’ll miss your family. 

You’re growing tired of this place.

You’ll be underwater. What if the submarine’s glass cracks and you drown?

New opportunities. 

New people. New friends, maybe.

You know no one there. 

You’ll be helping hundreds, if not thousands, of people

You’ll be alone.You might make an impact.

You might not.

Imagine all the people who need help. You could help them

You can never save everyone

You’ll miss your friends here. 

What friends?

Do you want to leave your family? Imagine Pinto.

Pinto has friends, he’ll be fine.

What if something happens to him or the rest of your family when you’re not there?

The rest of the hospital is talented, and you’ll likely be able to get there fast. 

What if the submarine’s slow and you aren’t there in your mother’s last moments? Your brothers? Your sister’s?

The submarine will be high-tech. 

You don’t know that.

You’ll ask.

What if you die and your mother isn’t there in your last moments?That’s less important.You’ll be alone. 

You’ll be stopping hundreds of people from receiving that fate. 

What if you die on the first day?

That won’t happen, surely?

Peso tried to stop himself there, but he couldn’t. Surely this submarine was extremely safe. Right? The boss did say that they’d accept him back in an instant, this wasn’t him being fired.. 

What if that’s a lie because he knows you’ll die instantly?

Peso gulped. That.. wasn’t something he could dispute. He knew what he had to do–he couldn’t do this. They’d find someone else who’d–wait, does that mean someone else would be doomed? That’d be a death on his hands, wouldn’t it? Though he doesn’t know if that will happen. It probably wouldn’t, right? Why would the boss want to kill him? 

If he wanted to get rid of him, he could just fire him, but there was always the possibility, right? Why would he want to kill Peso? Again, he could just fire him… Peso would ask him. Not why he wanted to kill him, obviously–the boss would be utterly confused, instead just details about this expedition. Figure out if it’s safe enough, decide everything he could. 

He finally let himself fall asleep, then. 

The next morning, he awoke to Pinto jumping on him, and he yelled, “PINTO-”, who was satisfied that he’d successfully awoken his brother. “You- you could’ve just.. Shook me, or something..” Peso muttered, and Pinto put his hands on his hips triumphantly, “That’s way less fun” he simply said, sliding off of Peso’s bed. It’d be nice to not wake up to your stomach gaining a dent every day. He thought, though he also loved Pinto.. Maybe it’d be nice to not have him around all the time. 

He shook his head–that was terrible, wasn’t it? Though, he’d still see Pinto, and obviously still love him, so… he grit his teeth. Nope, later. Pinto was already out the door into the Kitchen when Peso got up, trudging into the kitchen. He just hoped it wasn’t obvious he hadn’t gotten much sleep. 

His mother didn’t seem to notice him at all with the commotion–Pinto talking rapidly to her, prancing around her practically, (she only really responded with “mhm” and “wow” when appropriate, which Peso did admit he found a little funny) Pogo had already left, and Pinata was looking at her phone, seemingly texting or something. Suddenly, a thought washed over him, They don’t need me here. Wouldn’t it be better if I got out of their hair? He wondered silently, sitting down at the table. 

“Hey Peso.” Pinata said absentmindedly, not bothering to look up. “Hola Pinata.” he responded. They were both silent besides the tapping noises coming from Pinata's phone, and soon food was dished out to them. Pinto was still rambling on about something random, his mother instructing him to, “Not talk while you chew” a few times softly, (which usually worked for a few seconds or a minute until he had to be reminded again) and Peso and Pinata ate silently for the most part. “May I be excused?” Peso requested, and his mother looked up from doting on Pinto, saying, “Go ahead. You.. you don’t have to ask.” she said, which Pinto huffed at, annoyed that Peso didn’t have to ask but he did. Peso got up, heading into the bathroom. Pinto probably wouldn’t be done eating for another few minutes, so he could get ready in peace. He brushed his teeth, put on his scrubs and his overlaying jacket.

Pinto burst in, still annoyed, and began (angrily) brushing his teeth. At least he was being silent, and Peso felt terrible for thinking that. “Bye Pinto, see you later!” Peso said, and Pinto waved weakly, opting to not look at Peso. Was he really that mad? Peso wondered, and his mother handed him lunch as he walked out. Pinata’s shift was later than his, so she wasn’t going to go over quite yet. 

After trudging through the snow and ice, he got to the hospital, walking in. Immediately, the person at the front desk, (she covered the night/early morning, while Pinata covered the rest of the day) asked him something. “Doctor Peso Guin, right?” she asked, and Peso blinked, nodding. “Y-yes.” he wasn’t expecting them to be, well, expecting him. She pointed over to the boss’s door. “Boss wants to see you.” she said, and Peso shakily nodded, walking over and twisting the knob. 

The boss perked up at seeing him. “Peso, wonderful. Now, I’m sure you have many questions, so I managed to get on a video call with the Professor.” he said, and Peso blinked. The OWNER? Immediately panic ran through his head. “W-wonderful.” he stuttered, sitting down. He turned the computer to Peso, and Peso was a little surprised. For some reason, he didn’t expect the founder to resemble the monopoly man. “Hello, Dr Guin, right?” he asked, and Peso nodded. “Just Dr. Peso is fine.” he said, and the Professor nodded. “Sounds good, Dr. Peso. Now, I’m sure you have many questions so.. Fire away!” he said, and Peso cleared his throat. “Right, yes. Um, how is the living situation? I know we’ll be living on the submarine, but what’s that like?” the Professor put a hand to his chin. “Well, the submarine isn’t exactly a..” he put his hands in air quotes, “‘Usual’ submarine. It’s modeled to look like an octopus, just with four arms that have rooms attached. One arm has the activities room attached, another the garden pod, –all of our food will be grown by us–and the other two are separated into two rooms. They’re somewhat large, much more than just a bunk if that’s what you’re worried about.” 

Oh, Peso had been expecting a terrible little bunk bed in all honesty. So hearing he would be getting a full room to himself was promising. “Wow.. that’s–that’s wonderful.” Peso heard himself saying, though he was partially just on ‘autopilot’ as he liked to call it. Sure, he was watching and he was saying things, but it was automatic, almost. “I.. another question I have, is, where will I work?” 

Inkling adjusted his monocle, before saying, “Well, you’ll have an entire medbay. Unfortunately, I do not have pictures, but it’s fairly large. Lots of room. Of course, you’ll go out in the GUPS to do checkups, but–” Peso found himself interrupting. “So sorry, but.. Gups?” he asked. “Oh, apologies. Small submarines, practically.” Peso nodded. “Will I um.. Have to drive?” he asked, and Inkling thought. 

“Well, eventually, likely yes, though not at the beginning. The Captain will be doing most of the steering until you’re properly trained.” Even if the idea of Peso steering made him almost feel a little queasy, the fact he would have training made him feel better, though. He’d.. avoid doing so as long as he could. “I see. Um, not to doubt you or anything but..” he gulped. “How strong is the glass on the submarine?” he questioned, and the Professor thought for a moment before answering. 

“I’m not quite sure exactly the amount of pressure or anything like that, but Tweak–our head engineer–said it could handle being at the bottom of the mariana trench, and then some. As well as it being practically indestructible–it’d be incredulously difficult to even crack.” he said, and that made Peso feel a lot better. He was worried the glass would be like a household’s window–strong enough to keep the cold air out, but could be shattered with a baseball easily. Peso asked one more question, then, “Will I be able to visit my family?” he asked, and Inkling nodded. “Of course! And, the internet is quite good, according to Tweak. She wanted to improve it after our IT worker said they should. So, you can contact them virtually anytime you aren’t busy.” 

That basically sealed the deal for Peso. He could contact them anytime he wanted, besides when he was working? That was wonderful news. “T-that’s wonderful! I’d um.. I do really think I’d like to try for the position.” he said, and Inkling nodded. “Exquisite. Now, we have been sent a lot of clips of you–you’re clearly qualified. If you’d like.. We could likely pick you up once the ship launches in a week or two.” he said, and Peso nodded. “I’d- I’d love that. Yes.”

He was so excited–he was hired! And, most of his worries were drowned away by the Professor’s reassurance. “It’s settled then. See you, then, Dr.Peso.” the Professor said, cutting off the call. Peso looked back at his –now former– boss. “Congratulations, Doctor.” he simply said, closing the laptop. Peso nodded. “You may go to work now.” Peso nodded. He couldn’t exactly abandon his duties because he’d been hired. He’d pack once he got home. 

—

After work, Peso trudged back through the snowy terrain, and walked inside his house. He’d be enjoying all of this before he left. “Ma, I have a huge announcement for dinner.” Peso said, and she looked happy, though was that a hint of sadness in her eyes? Peso didn’t quite know. Physcology wasn’t his field of expertise. Pinto pestered him about it, and Peso just kept on telling him to “wait until dinner” which didn’t stop his insistence. 

Once they had sat down for dinner, they were all expecting Peso. “So, um.. I- you know that job, last night I mentioned?” he asked, and they all nodded. “I’m.. well, I- okay, I accepted it. I’m guaranteed to work there, now.” he said, and Pinto cheered. “Now you’re an adventurer! You better take me on your awesome adventure someday!” his mother looked at Pinto, “Maybe when you’re a little older, sweetie.” she softly said, which Pinto promptly ignored. 

“W-well I’m.. I’m still a medic. Just on a submarine.” Pinto didn’t care, his brother was on a submarine! His tail was wagging like a dog, (Peso honestly didn’t know Penguins did that, but the more you know, right?) and feathers were where ears would usually be.

“Good job,” Pogo commented, clapping a little. Pinata looked impressed too. “I think you’ve outdone yourself, Peso.” she said, agreeing with her twin. His mother looked to be tearing up a little. “I’m.. I’m so happy for you, Peso. Will you be able to call?” she asked, and Peso nodded. “There’s internet on the submarine” he said, which made Pinata’s attention perk up again. “..do you know if they have any open positions?” she asked. Peso guessed by how they were launching soon, they didn’t. “I don’t think so,” he said, laughing a little. 

She sulked a tad at that, and the table burst out in laughter, (she joined in, too) and Peso pushed the thought that said, You’ll miss them so much, is this really the best decision? 

But Peso knew it was, they’d all be fine without him. And he was ecstatic to be helping many many creatures. That night, he went to his room and packed. Pinto helped him, saying that he should bring over one of his comics so he “wouldn’t forget him”, and Peso laughed as he put it in his suitcase, saying, “I don’t think I’ll ever forget you.”

Though, there was one nagging thought he was trying to get rid of. 

What if the crew hates me?

If they did, he’d return. Though, then everyone would be disappointed, right? He’d just.. Not be a yes-man, he had a little more dignity than that, but just.. Stay out of any trouble. There were bound to be fights, of course, though Peso wanted no part in any of them. He wasn’t one to yell, and certainly not anyone to hurt anyone. He didn’t think he could even throw a punch without crying. 

[thesaddestjoysandthesmallestlies]

Coming Out Story

Basically, I’ve bored right now, so this is my coming out story, except coming out to myself and being accepting of my own identity if that makes sense. Also, I’ll only be doing elementary school and then a brief summary as to not reveal my age. Stay safe kids!

Trigger Warnings: homophobia, internalized homophobia

I was a pretty “sheltered” kid, by that I mean no one told me anything about anything important in the world. I remember when I was six someone mentioned two men getting married, and I was flabbergasted. It seemed the like craziest thing on the planet to me. But, I probably moved on and just held that memory without thinking much on it. Now, we skip to kindergarten, and I have what I really hope was my first crush but to be honest I have no clue- Basically, there was this boy, and I guess little me was like, “But the way he smiled at me as he threw sand in my face.” Needless to say, I got over that pretty quickly. Now, in first grade I meet this other guy, and I like him. It’s mutual so we have one of those little ‘first grade relationships’. But, the person I really liked was his sister who must have been in… Second grade at the time? I don’t really remember. But, in my head, I convinced myself that I just thought she was really cool. Then, when I started second grade I moved and started a new school, and it was very different. Here kids would openly shout swears and throw handballs at each other’s faces. It was usually fine if you weren’t hanging out in specific areas. Another big thing that happened here were these two girls that were best friends. And they said they would get married one day and have a family because that’s how close of friends they are. And I remember thinking (maybe I even said this), “Isn’t that a bit weird?” I don’t remember what happened next. Let’s skip to third grade, and I start to become OBSESSED with Harry Potter- Well, he’s cool too, but Ginny Weasley was probably the reason for that obsession. (Yes, I would read an entire book series for a pretty girl, you dare underestimate me?) And she was my favorite character ever, and I was even her for Halloween. Other than that, I don’t really have many other core memories for third grade. After that, fourth grade is a bit of a blur. I think I finally learned what gay is, but was still denying that I am. At this point, I’ve had quite a few crushes on girls, but I had always played it off as, “I just want to be her friend,” or something like that. Okay, now a lot happened in fifth grade, bear with me. At sometime in fifth grade I had bought a pride pin not knowing what it was, that’s kind of insignificant, but also some silly foreshadowing. Oh, also in fifth grade I found out that a few of my classmates were queer. And then, my mom taught me what the word queer meant when relating to gay people. Then on top of all that, I finally realized that I had a crush on someone, a girl. And the classic sapphic logic states that it was clearly my best friend… I ignored my feelings and shunned them. Called myself horrible things, for some reason brought religion into it? But at some point I learned the term bisexual. And I was like, “Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, that seems fitting,” so I stuck with that and didn’t tell anyone until the following school year. But that’s a story time for a different day. Now, skipping to the present, I identify with the terms omnironantic, sapphic, asexual, and queer. Thank you for reading my chaos!