#but also somehow make kt through classes and work

[living-history-lesson]

Vent in tags idfk

[joysmercer]

alternate universe: the anubis kids never go to boarding school, how would you picture them meeting? how would the couples get together (esp peddie and fabina/nina&amber [whichever you want] since they're like oceans away) ? would they even meet as teens or when they're older?

ok i’m just going to do this as a no-magic/mystery au because the logistics of s3 make my head hurt otherwise lol

I think it’s safe to assume patricia&joy live near-ish to each other, as do (from 3x01) mara&jerome. given alfie’s parent’s familiarities with jerome + the fact they offered him an (presumably in-person) internship, we can also assume alfie&jerome also live near each other. at the very least, we know mara jerome and alfie are all within a days travel to the school because their parents have come/they’ve visited their parents while in school.

anyways maybe the twins and alfie (and maybe the others) get put in the same baby music class and their moms become friends while palfie gets in trouble for something or the other and that’s where that friendship starts as well. so that’s how these 5 end up meeting and becoming friends although probably not as close as a group as they were in the house just cuz they’re not all at the same school or same area. basically they’re all family friends at first but grow closer over time.

mick and amber probably get sent to some fancy school by their dads at around age 11/12 and fabian and mara are there on scholarship and somehow the four of them become friends due to seating arrangements/tutoring time/screw stereotypes. mara introduces them to the others at some point, the guys immediately invite mick and fabian into their group and while the girls take a little while to warm up to each other, they’re all good friends by the time they go off to uni.

mick actually goes to UCLA for that sports program thing the summer after s2 in canon (cuz he’s not switching trainers randomly this time and actually gets in) but books his flight so he first goes to newark before LAX. meanwhile eddie and his mom are on the same flight for a vacation and they sit next to each other. (ms miller originally had the middle seat but eddie actually gives up his window halfway through the flight so he and mick can chat while she sleeps.) mick ends up tagging along to the rest of their vacation after his program is over. however mick probably doesn’t introduce eddie to the others (although he talks about him constantly) because, you know, the ocean. they may all friend each other on chumchatter though

meanwhile, the premise of this is the same (minus the mystery). nina and kt meet at the hospital or something and become friends. i can’t think of a situation where kt and/or nina meet eddie before someone else in the group (amber?) introduces them but maybe that happens idk.

nina and amber are easy—amber will still end up in fashion school in new york (less forcefully this time); nina’ll probably be near/in nyc for uni because she’ll still want to pursue something creative (i say screenplay writer, another popular hc is author) and it’s fairly close-ish to her gran (same time zone at least). so they’ll bump into each other there, although honestly without school to force them near each other all the time, they may not even become close until they both become super famous in their respective worlds and start seeing each other at events and such, and i’m not sure if they’ll ever develop past just being besties. which is absolutely fine because their friendship is my favorite thing in the world anyway 🥰

if namber doesn’t happen, fabina may have a chance—amber introduces them, they discover a mutual interest in ancient history, and since they’re adults with proper communication skills, everything works out.

peddie is a little weird. i assume eddie will still get sent to the uk to visit his dad before what was s2 in-canon and they may bump into each other there, esp if sweet decides to take eddie sightseeing or something (idk how far away patricia lives from the school and stuff). or maybe he comes a little later, visits mick, and him and patricia meet then, although it’s probably too short of a time for patricia to actually catch feelings. i think it’ll be more likely that patricia goes to the US either for grad school or maybe to see her world-renowned sister perform at carnegie or something like that. either way, she ends dragged to a club one night and stays in her own corner ppl-watching and eddie’s there and (of his own volition, no bets involved) he’s like “you’re the only one not dancing” and that’s where it starts.

[dashuisofanubis]

Another ghost AU

Okay the premise for this one is sort of a what if they figured out Nina was the chosen one and performed the ritual, but its also an AU.

KT, Eddie and Willow move into a boarding house for the prestigious Ankh school. They notice there are a lot of awards and items in the school dedicated to a group of students.

It turns out that on the 7th of July, around 50 years ago, these 7 students were discovered dead. The cause was believed to be poisoning as the students were all from the same house and the two surviving students admitted to having skipped meals at the house that day. The house mother was arrested and sentenced for murder, despite rumours that she was innocent.

The truth of the tale is different:

An ancient Egyptian artefact was believed to have power beyond scientific knowledge, and, once assembled, was said to grant immortality. However, nature must maintain a balance, and for every life extended, another has to be cut short.

Despite all their research, the Secret Society were not aware of these consequences, or most likely were at some level but chose to ignore it. So, when the ritual took place and life was transferred, they had what they wanted, but at a cost.

The Immortals:

Victor Rodenmaar. Location unknown. Has been off the grid for 25 years after vanishing one night in the middle of the school year

Daphne Andrews. Still a teacher at Ankh. Taught many student's parents and has said she will retire next year for the past 20 years

Eric Sweet. Eddie's father, and a man he's always admired and looked up to. He's not what he seems, and is a lot older than Eddie believed.

Mercer, father to one of the lost students. Has realised immortality is not all it's cracked up to be. Having lost his wife 10 years ago, he lives a lonely life and regrets ever joining the society and offering up his daughter.

Jason Winkler. Joined due to degenerative illness, hoping this would be a cure. It was, and he lives a mostly happy life, when he can forget what part he played in the tragedy.

Doctor Delia. Now the CEO of the local hospital, she's experimented with her immortality, to see if there is a way to transfer part of her life to a patient. It took a lot of work, but 11 years ago, she finally had some success. 14 year old Sophia was fatally injured in a car crash, and Dr Delia used her blood in a transfusion, saving the girl.

Rufus Zeno is the final immortal. It was supposed to be Roebuck, but Rufus broke in and threatened the Chosen One, unless he got what he wanted. Wanting to save the girl, and being the only one who hadn't drunk from the cup, Roebuck sacrificed his chance.

(Had he known the girl would die anyway, it might have been different)

Rufus is out there, somewhere, and he's dangerous.

Back to the story:

(Idk what the plot really is but here goes)

The trio (Eddie, KT and Willow) discover the students used to live in Anubis House.

One night, they're playing truth or dare with their housemates: Stella, Marco, Anna, Raf and Peter. KT is dared to go down into the cellar, where she finds a secret panel. Behind it, she finds 7 balancing scales, an intricately decorated cup, and an empty bottle.

The scales have discs with names written on them. The names match those of the 7 students who died. However, the discs are only on one side of the scales, suggesting there were 7 more previously. KT takes the bottle to prove she went into the basement, and something compels her to take the discs as well, which she shows to Willow once they're back in their room.

They let Eddie know about it the next morning and the 3 begin to wonder if the students' deaths were really as they seemed.

Eddie is walking up the stairs when he trips on a loose floorboard. Annoyed, he goes to try and put it back into place when something catches his eye. It's a metal disc, tarnished with age. He cleans it up and sees the word Zeno printed on it.

He tells KT and Willow, and KT realises it must be from the scales she found. Something doesn't feel right, so they decide to investigate.

Eddie jokingly suggests they hold a seance, and despite Willows warnings, they do.

It doesn't seem to work.

The next day, Willow discovers an intruder in the house, someone who looks very similar to photos in the school...

Willow is unnerved but curious, so she says hey to them. They turn around, apparently spooked that someone can see them, and vanish.

Willow tells the others, who initially disbelieve her, but soon they come to meet the former residents of their boarding house.

The ghosts were obviously affected by their own deaths, and the fact that they're ghosts, but it's been 50 years now, so they're getting over it. They generally try to stay out of the students' ways, as they learnt that people generally freak out at the sight of ghosts.

They appeared as ghosts the same moment their lives transferred to the immortals, but were extremely weak and found it hard to keep themselves together. They were unable to dissipate completely though, something was keeping them there. They had to watch as Trudy was arrested; as their house was put out of action till an increase in students forced them to open it again 15 years later; as Victor still wandered the halls; as all the students came and grew and left while they were trapped in the house.

Unable to die, but unable to live.

Slowly, they began to gain more power, and for the past 10 years they've been able to hold a corporeal form for lengthening times, meaning they can actually do things and go places. They're capable of leaving the house for short distances and periods of time, though if they're out for too long they fade away and reappear back in the house with a killer headache.

They think (hope) this means the immortals are weakening, but it could just be they're getting used to the whole being dead thing.

Their lives were tied to the balancing scales and the person on the opposite side, so they each have some connection to an immortal

This means they get fleeting impressions/feelings from their immortal, which strengthens with their proximity.

Connected Immortal and Ghost:

Rodenmaar - Nina

Sweet - Fabian

Andrews - Amber

Delia - Alfie

Roebuck/Zeno - Jerome

Mercer - Joy

Winkler - Patricia

Amber gets the most impressions because Ms Andrews still teaches at the school

Nina and Jerome receive hardly any because both Zeno and Rodenmaar are unknowns

However, recently they've started getting fleeting emotions and visuals that aren't their own. The two missing immortals are becoming active and they're heading for the house.

The ghosts can't do much on their own so Eddie, KT and Willow have to be prepared to discover what these two immortals want and put a stop to it.

Eddie finds out that his dad was once Eric Sweet (he chose a different name after leaving the school, to distance himself), the former headmaster of the school and is horrified by the part he played in all this. A confrontation goes down.

There's a bit where they track down Mick and Mara, now in their 60s, and bring them back to Anubis House to reunite with their former housemates. It would be a really emotional scene because while most of them weren't close, you can't live in close quarters with people for a long time, without forming a bond. And when it ended so abruptly with no goodbyes...well.

They also track down the other immortals and bring them to the house to face their ghosts (literally). Ms Andrews regrets it immensely; Delia has no (some) regrets, but argues she's able to save many more lives this way, Jason is in denial.

Don't imagine immortal!Mercer finally seeing his daughter again, only she's a ghost and he caused her death. He's full of apologies, but they're all based around how he missed her, not how he cut her life short.

There would be a lot of regret and grief all round, and anger on the ghosts' part.

While Trudy probably wouldn't be alive after all this time, the trio and the ghosts want the immortals to clear her name.

Zeno and Rodenmaar arrive at the house. They're both searching for an ancient artefact hidden in the house.

(Is it the mask? Is it the Book of Isis? Robert Frobisher Smythe? Who knows? Not me.)

They also want to try and end the other because, why not. Grudges can last forever.

The trio also meet Sophia at some point, who is undergoing weird transitions as a result of the blood transfusion. Her body is fighting it while also trying to embrace it, and it causes her to randomly absorb life/energy from plants or other people. She can also transfer energy to other beings, but this causes her to collapse. She also still looks 14 when she should be in her 20s by now. The trio befriend her and try to figure out a cure.

While their existences are tainted with regret and bitterness, the ghosts still make their own fun. Sometimes they'll pull pranks on unsuspecting students, or just sit in the back of the class room to listen to the lessons like they're students again. They know for a fact Ms Andrews hasn't changed her curriculum in 50 years and can now recite her lessons by heart. They also like to play games in the house like tag or hide and seek, and they will admit its more fun when you can phase through walls.

When they reveal themselves to the trio, they enjoy tormenting them, but also help them with their games nights, charading the answers behind the other 5s backs. Everyone's had near misses with the 5, but somehow they remain oblivious to the SEVEN GHOSTS living in their house. But then again everyone else is oblivous to the fact the 5 are on some Arthurian quest.

I don't know how this story would end, but the best outcome is that they fight Zeno and Rodenmaar, and some truth comes out that Rodenmaar has discovered a way to reverse what was done and needs an artefact from the tunnels to conduct the ritual. Zeno, meanwhile has discovered another ritual that would give him the power from the other immortals to essentially make himself a god.

Naturally, both are trying to stop the other from achieving their goals.

Initially, KT, Eddie, Willow and the ghosts (and Sophia) attempt to stop both parties, but when they discover Victor's plan they work to take down Zeno. Once he's subdued (taken down by Sophia draining his energy), they summon the other 5 immortals.

Some of them take some convincing, but others are all too ready to give up this immortal life. They get time to tie off loose ends. Ms. Andrews hands in her resignation, Delia entrusts someone (Sophia?) with her work, Mercer has a long talk with his daughter, Eric has an even longer talk with his son. Victor spends his time in Anubis House, telling the kids his story and apologising for taking so long to fix his mistake.

Eventually, the ritual takes place, and the next day sees 7 new students enrolled who look uncannily like the students in the pictures.

(It takes them a while to adjust to the fact they can't walk through walls anymore)

[not-rksophie]

You receive a call in the middle of the afternoon and the voice on the other end should be one you already know by now. “Good afternoon, Kim Hyungseo.” It’s the same woman who scouted you back in Zombie Night and followed you through your audition. “I speak in the name of KT, and, after long consideration, we decided to not offer you a contract.” She makes a short pause to make sure you’re still paying attention before proceeding. “You simply did not fit the requirements we were looking for. Still, we thank you for your time and wish you well.” 

the music sounds loudly through sophie’s headphones as she plays on her keyboard. she’s working on her latest composition, due in about a month for her harmonization class, and when she gets into the writing mode the rest of the world seems to disappear. the music can be heard in the whole room, softly spilling out of the headphones, a driving bass and a string melody over it. it’s only because her phone is right next to her and it lights up that she realizes it’s ringing, the sound muted. 

“hello?” she replies in english, automatically, and it takes her a second to switch to korean once the voice on the other side speaks. it feels weird hearing her korean name, and she can’t help the small frown it creates in her forehead, but she doesn’t correct the woman. “ah, okay,” she says when the other continues speaking, the formal tones somehow slightly foreign. it’s not like she was expecting to get signed, not really, not when her style and image is so different from the company’s, but still, she feels slightly disappointed. “thank you,” she says before she ends the call, her tone neutral, not cheery as usual.

she sets the phone down and frowns at it, trying to process the call. her lips form a pout as she thinks. getting scouted for an idol company, specially one like kt. had never really been her dream, her idea of success. she hadn’t even been that excited to get to audition for them, not really, and even if she had been offered a contract, she’s not sure she would have signed it. then why does she still feel sad? she guesses it’s the feeling of rejection, the idea that they didn’t like her. it’s not a feeling sophie is completely unfamiliar with, but she doesn’t usually dwell on those type of feelings. oh well, she finally thinks, taking a deep breath and shaking herself to rid her head of the heavy thoughts. it’s their loss, she tells herself, putting a smile on, allowing her pride to carry her through, just like it’s done several times before. 

she wonders if any of the other 6tunes members that had also had auditions lately have made it in, knowing they were a lot more eager to get signed, and with newfound hope for them, she picks up her phone again, messaging their group chat to find out. 

[rkjulia]

MGA: SEASON FIVE, ‘19! episode zero ⇢ the callback part one: dancing + singing, chi chi’s “into the new world”           the fromis_9 edition ( 0:00 - 1:55 )

kokoro stares at the email sitting in her inbox with utter disbelief. and for a good while, too. she is hesitant to click on it, still so absorbed by the text in the title and what it is she’s reading. but she somehow manages to convince herself to actually delve a little deeper and read the actual email, rather than the title ten times over. and so she does, once and then twice before going back over it a third time. is this what she thinks it is? is this really a ... callback notice? it couldn’t be that, no ... why would they contact kokoro for a callback? she furrows her brows, reading the email again. she’s tempted to forward the email to yuri to ask if she’s reading it correctly. maybe yuri would then tell her that this is more so a thanks for trying notice. that would settle her nerves, kokoro knows she’s looking way too far into this. and after forwarding it to yuri, turns out this wasn’t a scam or a prank of sorts. kokoro had read this entirely correctly. it really was a callback.

and kokoro was invited.

it really felt like only yesterday that kokoro had began to contemplate auditioning for the show. 

it only felt like yesterday that kokoro had began contemplating on auditioning for the show; night after night of going back and forth on a dream she thought she had left behind when she moved to seoul. the first audition had come and gone in an absolute blur, and somehow no one had really gotten suspicious about kokoro’s whereabouts on that very day. and now here she was, at an actual television set, with two of her best friends. bright lights hanging overhead and large, expensive cameras directed towards her and the rest of the contestants. kokoro sits upright in her chair, bright eyed, doing her best to survey her surroundings. she follows the prompts given to her by staff members and producers carefully, knowing there is no room for mistakes. this is going to be going to air, on actual live television. kokoro totally lets the fact that her mother or her step-sister might see this, and if she does think it, she pushes it to the back of her mind. for now. she’s sitting with yuri and yuqi, feeling less nervous about performing in front of a large crowd, but she can’t help but wonder who the panel of judges will be made up of.

kokoro ends up finding a lot of familiar faces amidst the crowd of contestants around herself, yuri and yuqi. she finds yoona, her dance dance revolution companion and jeongin, the k.arma fan from the showcase she went to a month or two back. she even happens across the boy from the royal cafe who ended up wearing her hot chocolate, a memory she would much rather forget. she hopes and prays that he doesn’t look back and catch sight of her. kokoro would of never of taken him for someone like her, a hopeful of sorts, someone looking to break into the industry. he seemed too ... cool for that. but everyone was here for their own reason, as basic or complex as it may be. and who was kokoro to judge? she was here for her own reason, albeit generic. there are hushed whispers and questions about who is going to be sitting on the panel for this round, and some people offer up guesses while others keep their lips sealed in anticipation. the 100 chairs have been filled by contestants, eagerly waiting for their chance to shine.

and then their questions have been answered. appearing from out of nowhere, or so it seems, is the ceos of the five, top companies in south korea, trc entertainment, kt entertainment, sphere entertainment, royal entertainment and nova entertainment. the reaction is positive, kokoro is guessing that a lot of people are losing their minds right now, although some people are probably dreading the fact that the ceos are getting involved so early in the competition. and no one’s fate has been set in stone. kokoro’s reaction is a mixture of surprise and excitement. she realises that she’s never seen the ceos up close before, or actually ever. everyone looks so big and famous, kokoro isn’t too sure that they’re all worthy to be sitting in the same room as these people. 

the callback process begins as one would expect. one by one, each contestant is called forward to show off their skills. they have two minutes to impress the judges and ignite fear in their fellow contestants before returning to their seat and so on. that was the jist of things, or that’s at least what kokoro understood after the first two people had gone forward. she pulls at the hem of her skirt. she knows that from here on out, her charms and cuteness alone aren’t going to get her very far and kokoro starts to understand that maybe she’s not cut out for this sort of stuff. the other contestants are really good dancers, really good singers and really good rappers, almost brimming on trainee or idol level good. kokoro though, hasn’t ever really had any formal training. she’s taken some dance classes and she was in school choir. her parents were never really big on her joining an academy to perfect her skills, well, her father was persistent that kokoro do what make her happy. her mother on the other hand, she was adamant about kokoro doing well in school and with her studies. having had her father absent during her teenage years, it’s easy to see the path kokoro had followed. the path free of any hopes and dreams she had.

     “and next up, we have ... kato kokoro.”

amidst her thoughts, kokoro’s name is called. she’s rather startled, looking across to the panel of judges, spotting katie lee, holding a microphone. it was a woman’s voice in introduced her, so it must of been katie lee. kokoro smiles, getting to her feet before making her way down to the front of the stage, being careful to not step any toes or trip on anything. because that would be very kokoro of her and typical, especially since this was going to be aired on television. she pulls her skirt straight before falling into a polite bow, holding it for a moment before standing upright once again. brushing both of her twin tails back over her shoulder, she looks towards each of the ceos with a bright smile. “hello everyone!” she says enthusiastically, waving both of her hands either side of her face. “my name is kato kokoro, please take care of me.” she doesn’t let on to what it is she’s performing today, and she hasn’t any intentions. the opening notes of the song will do all the talking for her. into the new world, by the nation’s girl group, chi chi. kokoro had heard that it was a song of importance to young people in south korea, a song of hope. 

it was a song she had heard prior to coming to south korea, it was just one of those songs that transcended languages and touched her heart. and that’s what she wants to do today, give a performance that is full of heart. an idol to kokoro is someone who brings others joy through song and dance. they may not necessarily be the best, but when they dance, they give their all. their passion shows. although kokoro is fearful that she may not be as skilled as some of the other contestants in terms of technique or skill, she knows that she has the ability to out do them in one aspect; in heart. she knows, standing there, center stage that this routine will be full of it.

and the song begins to play. it’s familiar to everyone in the room. it’s a song that everyone knows the words to, even kokoro. admittedly, she hesitated upon choosing a korean song to sing at her callback, but she needs to prove that she’s competent with the language. maybe not so much with interviews and general speaking, but with singing. she wants to prove something to herself. she stands there, hands gently folded behind her back as she looks out towards the panel of judges. as the beat drops, kokoro’s smile widens and she nods her head, moving forward into the choreography seamlessly. for a song that is over ten years old, it’s aged very well.

i want to tell you, even though the sad times have already past. close your eyes and feel my moved heart, my gaze at you.

don’t wait for a special miracle, there’s a tough road in front of us, with unknowable an unknowable future and obstacles, i won’t change. i can’t give up. 

kokoro’s voice is soft, her accent present. however, thankfully the tone of the song works with her, rather than against her. the beginning of the song is much more forgiving and kokoro knows she doesn’t have the vocal chords to challenge the end of the song with the high notes and the adlibs. she isn’t out here to butcher a korean classic. a part of kokoro can’t help but wonder if she really is good enough, strong enough to withhold the idol industry of korea. perhaps they aren’t interested in heart; performances that are wholesome and meaningful. perhaps they really do only believe in the best of the best. she knows too well that she isn’t the best dancer, nor the best vocalist but kokoro makes sure that she hits every single dance move, sharp and precise, as though this is dance dance revolution and she’s out to hit her highest score yet. even despite the foreign words flowing from kokoro’s mouth, something about this feels so normal to her.

protect me with an unchanged love, also my wounded heart. looking in your eyes, no words are needed, time has stopped. 

the song builds ever so slowly, inching towards the chorus. and as the song builds up, so does kokoro’s energy. the chorus hits and kokoro quite literally jumps into it, her smile becomes bigger and brighter. this is the feeling she chases, the feeling she so desperately wants others to feel. when people hear the music they love, they should want to get up onto their feet to dance and sing along. she wonders if the other contestants, or even the ceos themselves are surprised by her song choice ... or perhaps it was a given that she, the foreigner, would perform a classic like into the new world? into the new world was a right of passage for so many girl groups in korea, so why couldn’t it be a right of passage for a hopeful like herself?

i love you, just like this. the longed end of wandering, i leave behind this world’s unending sadness. 

in the many unknowable paths, i follow a dim light. it’s something we’ll do together to the end, into my new world.

she is no longer fearful of the outcome of this callback. whether she goes beyond her wildest dreams or falters right here, right now; she has come to realise that she is grateful for one thing; the opportunity to feel again, to feel this happy, this confident and this comfortable whilst dancing and singing to a song like such. the song cuts short before the dance break, which kokoro would of happily performed, only doing so would of pushed her over the two minute mark. pushing her hand outwards to her side she sings the final words of the chorus; it’s something we’ll do together to the end, into my new world. before finishing as she started, hands laced together behind her back. her chest rises and falls ever so slightly, she’s ashamed to admit she’s out of breath. but perhaps not so much from the singing and dancing itself, but from the excitement and the emotion she’s feeling right now. and not even then does her smile falter. it’s kokoro’s one constant. she gracefully falls into a bow, her twin tails becoming curtains, blacking out her vision for a moment before she straightens herself up, brushing them back behind her shoulders. she looks around at the other contestants and the ceos one last time, wanting desperately to savour this moment. it could be the last time she sees a stage like this ...

     or it could be the beginning of something new.

[junerk]

mgas episode three; 2011 classics team a performance, tonight by bigstar

wait... he made it again?

hearing the names called one after the other, so many eliminations, junmyeon was almost certain his name would be called. when it wasn’t, he was shocked. he wasn’t thinking about all the screen time he was getting, or how he’s only showed his charms and his vocals so far, no dancing really, which was his weakness. maybe he was better at this than he thought? come to think of it, he had made katie lee smile earlier before performing his song. if he could make the ceo of kt entertainment smile, then he must be doing something right. 

the mission for the next episode is announced, and now he knows his studies are going to suffer if he wants to do well on this show. maybe he should drop a class... ah, he shouldn’t be so presumptuous. he could manage it. it was only a week, and then they’d be performing. in front of an audience. together. as complete strangers. holy crap. that was an incredibly scary thought. he could do it though, he had made it this far, performed in front of other auditioners and a panel of judges, had asked dahye out and she had said yes, had performed in front of the five ceos and made katie lee smile. if he could do all of that, then he could do this too. 

he rose from his seat once they were allowed to and went to find his teammates. team a, how fitting for the guy getting the biggest chunk of screen time. all the bad jokes were playing through his head as he found his teammates. once assembled, he looked around, and noticed they were the only mono-gendered team out of everyone. this was an advantage, right? it’d be easier to find a song to do this way. 

“hi! i’m junmyeon, call me sparkles dude~” all of his friends were starting to call him that thanks to the editing from the first episode where they focused on his visuals. it was his charm, he supposed. once introductions were made and schedules configured, they parted ways, and soon enough they were all reassembled at the sphere building. 

wow... so this was where sehun practiced all the time, huh? it was really cool, and kind of surreal, being inside an actual entertainment company building. this could be his future one day. walking these halls, practicing in these rooms... how crazy would that be? he could barely process an idea like that. one step at a time junmyeon, get through this show you somehow became popular on... 

“hey guys! team a, assemble!” he clapped above his head, trying to make an avengers joke, but he was pretty sure it flopped, and he ended up sheepishly laughing at himself before joining the others. after some discussion it was revealed that the only person entered as a singer in there group was junmyeon himself. did that mean he was... the main vocal? WHAT? how did this happen!?! three rappers and two vocalists (thank god juyeon sang too), and somehow junmyeon was one of the two vocalists, which meant lines upon lines. ho boy... that was a lot of pressure. focus junmyeon, you can do this, just work hard at it.

“we should do a song that has a lot of rapping then, right? and maybe something with simpler choreography...” junmyeon didn’t want to outright admit it, but his dancing was lacking, and would be quite the obstacle to overcome. turns out he wasn’t the only one in the group with dancing skills that lacked, and it lead to jonghyun not only becoming their leader (yay jonghyun!) but also teaching a dance class for them to get a grasp on the basics. it was really helpful, and junmyeon couldn’t have been more grateful for the help, doing his best to be encouraging for jonghyun who did seem a little on the quieter side. he was exhibiting good leadership, so he should be encouraged and supported! 

their song was selected, tonight by bigstar. junmyeon felt a bit better about having a lot of singing parts now, since the vocal parts in this song weren’t extremely difficult, and his softer toned voice suited the song. it gave him a bit of a confidence boost, so when it came to practicing the choreography, he was able to really focus on it and hammer it down until it was to an acceptable level. but of course... that took a very long time. he was surprised that they were all staying so late to practice this as much as possible. they really were a team, weren’t they? helping each other as much as possible so they could put on a good performance. heck, junmyeon even helped juyeon with the vocals a little bit, which was kind of crazy to him. he had never helped someone with singing before, heck he felt like he needed the help with singing. it was nice though, working on a team with other people who wanted this as much as he did, to perform well and to help each other do that. maybe there really was something to this whole idol thing, and this show was more than just a means to an end of becoming an actor. maybe a part of him really did want to be an idol. 

the week was a little grueling, with all of this practice, but every time he glanced in the mirror there was one of his teammates there, and he couldn’t help but smile in spite of them. when performance day rolled around, junmyeon was feeling a different brand of nervousness. now people were depending on him with this performance, so if he messed up, it reflected on four other people, not just him. he had people counting on him now, which was a whole other kind of pressure to be facing with. 

so... he did what he knew best, and went around on the day of the performance checking everyone’s appearances and making sure all four of his teammates looked perfect. “team little star, we’re a team of beautiful men, we’re going to shine prettily~” he cupped taehyung’s cheeks before looking to a camera, posing with a soft smile. “look at how pretty our taehyung is, he just needs to stand on that stage and people will love him.” a bashful laugh escaped him at his own commentary, he was just trying to be supportive and encouraging. this continued as he spoke to the camera about each of his team members while in the waiting area for their performance just off stage. “our leader, jonghyun, has done a good job taking care of us. he’s the north star in our group of little stars, leading us on the path we have taken together. guanlin has worked hard, he shows a lot of promise as a performer, and juyeon is our skilled dancer, please look forward to his performance.” he gives the camera a thumbs up before heading out on stage. 

the group introduces themselves, “twinkle twinkle little star! hello, we are little star!” it was a cute introduction, which was a little unexpected what with their song choice and all. after the intro was when the nerves really sunk in. it was time to perform, and for the first time junmyeon was going to be part of a group performing a song onstage, as if they were actually idols. this whole this was just so crazy to him, he felt like he was in a dream. 

[ song , line distribution ]

the beginning was okay, since the choreography was simple enough and there weren’t any vocal parts for a while. for that first chunk, he was able to just focus on the choreography and do his best to support the other members as he performed. when the chorus finally hit, it was fight or flight, time seemingly slowing down as juyeon sang his part. then came the tonights that were sung together, and finally, junmyeon’s first solo part. he... actually sounded pretty good. his voice suited the part. he sort of nailed it. it was a new confidence boost, which would carry him through the rest of the performance.

the second verse began, with juyeon’s part, and soon it was junmyeon’s part, which was a more difficult vocal line. he tackled it with more confidence, focusing on his expressions now as well, singing right out to the audience. from there, the most nerve-wrecking thing were the riffing lines over the last chorus he had to sing. he tried to remember what wendy had been teaching him; use your diaphragm, take breaths, support the high notes. as long as he remembered wendy’s teachings (since she was drilling him like a soldier) he should be fine, and the notes came out nicely. his voice wasn’t as powerful as sunghak’s voice was, but he managed to sing the parts well enough that it wasn’t a mess up or anything bad.

and finally, the part he had been waiting for, the ending, where a round of voting and attempting the last pose had been done among the groups members prior to the performance, during practice. the ending consisted of the action of blowing a kiss, which was right up junmyeon’s alley. as jonghyun rapped the last little bit, junmyeon looked out to the camera, bringing his two fingers to his lips and blowing the kiss, maintaining an intense gaze as the camera panned over them. 

he did it... he actually did it...

[garden-of-succulents]

Tonight in “shipping in a washtub with Lis”: OC femslash!

Andy/Maida (in a Kent/Andy universe, having a lot to do with metamours of Kent and Kent-as-metamour)

I wrote 2,000 words of this tonight what the fuck

In the extended Campsites universe (but not Ain’t Licked Yet, which is a different timeline where Andy went off and did something else) Kent broke up with Maida and Luis to be with Andy when she moved back to Las Vegas because having Andy living with him full-time and involved in his hockey life was rewarding enough to make up for the suck of breaking up with Maida and Luis (who were sad, but kind of also, “If we have to lose you, at least it’s to someone who’s making you happy”)

One of Andy’s original provisos when she moved back and started dating Kent was “you can’t date or sleep with any other women” because the thought of Kent being romantic with another woman sends Andy right into an awful “any man would leave you the instant he got a chance with a better woman” thought spiral thanks to growing up a toxic patriarchy where specifically, male hockey players treated women like disposable luxury items.  

Like, a lot of their early relationship when actually dating was Andy going back to therapy and working through a loooot of issues, because just standing next to Kent when everyone’s attention turned to him was enough to swamp her in feelings of, “I am worthless and irrelevant and should just stop spoiling everyone’s time with my presence.”  The kind of stuff she thought she’d licked YEARS ago.  For her, every team night he went out on, every road trip, every interaction with a female fan, was a cause to try to breathe through feelings of crushing inadequacy and try to remember that she wasn’t sixteen anymore and her boyfriend actually did love her. Their first six months were the roughest. She didn’t get jealous in the sense of trying to control Kent’s behaviour--things that would prompt that in another woman would just make Andy go, “Ah, I see, sanity has returned to the universe, he doesn’t love me anymore, I’ll go crawl into a hole now.”  And Kent would come back and go, hey, you’re quiet?? what’s up?? and she’s like, “I’m being totally stupid and irrational and I’m fairly certain you don’t want me to disappear forever but could you hug me and tell me you like me being around?”

It’s one of those localized areas of damage where him sleeping with other hockey players was fine--kind of fit her mental framework of, “Other hockey players will always have special emotional claims a significant other who doesn’t play in that league just has to accept”--but Luis, as part of a pretty packaged deal with Maida, and not a hockey player, made her kind of uncomfortable. So while he kept seeing Luis and Maida as friends, especially at first Andy felt really anxious and uncomfortable when he was off at a concert with them or hanging out at their place.

It got easier when she started to get to know Luis and Maida on her own.  She tried going to a local church to try to meet people from outside the hockey world in Vegas, and Luis was playing guitar in the band and came up to her after the service when she was holding a cup of coffee and smiling awkwardly at a crowd of strangers. She was glad enough to see him that it made up for the awkwardness of being exes or metamours or something. He says hi every time she goes, and sometimes introduces her to people. He’s friendly and familiar.

Maida joined Andy’s roller derby team. She’s surprisingly fast and has good stamina for someone who always hated gym class with the passion of a thousand burning suns.  She was pretty weirded out by the things Andy took for granted--team cheers and chants, groaning over conditioning but doing it anyway, caring very deeply about who won--but she had an unusual aptitude for violence and rough play that made her a real asset to the team. (Someone who can stay calm and keep tending to the predator that just ripped a gash in her arm is good at playing through pain!)

At first Andy helped Maida a lot as a junior teammate not used to sports--she helped Maida put bandages on hard-to-reach places, recommended better athletic socks to prevent blisters under her skates, shouted encouragement when Maida looked like she wanted to give up on a drill.  

It was awkward, the first few times Kent came to roller derby things after Maida joined the team, because both women looked at each other with wary, “I don’t want to make you upset or jealous” looks, and treated Kent gingerly, as though they were afraid of being too friendly or affectionate with him in front of each other.  It got a little better when he came in during one of their informal practices one day on crutches, with a bag from a donut shop clenched in his teeth, and Maida said, “Oh god, what did he--?” and Andy, watching Kent maneuver through the gym doors determinedly solo, grimacing thanks at the person who tried to take the bag away from him, said, “God, don’t--he isn’t--” meaning he’s being Kent, he hates those crutches so fucking much, people’s reactions have been making him miserable, and Maida called out, “Hey deadweight! They kick you off the team yet?”

Kent spat the bag out into the crook of his arm just to stick his tongue out at her, and handed out Krispy Kreme while merrily arguing with her about whether or not she got one, unselfconsciously kissing Andy as she thanked him for looking after her team. And it was easier, after that; Maida’s uninvited intimacy with part of Andy’s life was an asset, not a source of hostility.  As the team stretched and Andy groused about her boyfriend’s fucking playoffs, a jammer asked, “Wasn’t it playoffs last month?”  “Oh yeah,” Maida said, leaning over her knee, “and knowing the Aces? It’ll be playoffs next month too. It’s fucking miserable.”

Maida saw a little of it, one time the derby team had a Christmas party at the Las Vegas Ice Complex, an hour on a rented rink and swapping their roller skates for blades on ice, seeing women like Eleanor and Andy take to it with fondness and nostalgia. There were husbands and and girlfriends and kids, and there was an Aces event at the T-Mobile in mild conflict with it so they didn’t get to see Kent on the ice, but he waved through the glass at them as he stood with the men’s auxiliary on the concourse.  The hour ended and the skaters trooped off the ice, changed back into their shoes; someone else offered to take Maida’s skates back to the rental shop for her, while Andy put guards on hers and slung them over her shoulder.

When they came out, Kent was fifty feet down the concourse, mobbed by young women.  There were only five or them, maybe, but they were spread out around him, intent and avid, and he was signing autographs and smiling and looking somehow desperate in the back of his eyes.  Maida looked at Andy, confused.  “What’s going on?”

Andy blinked for a second, and said, “...Puck bunnies,” loath to admit the obvious but driven by the force of Maida’s questioning gaze.  “That’s... what happens when he goes out in public.”

"I’ve never seen it happen before,” Maida said, but even as she did it clicked into place for her: Kent smiling broadly when they walked to their car at the end of a concert and saying, “No hockey fans,” with a contented sigh. His incognito mode, walking through crowds with his head down and shoulders slumped, masking his height and deflecting attention. The amazing way he had of eeling sideways through places, finding inconspicuous doors and unused elevators. He came to her and Luis when he wanted to escape; this was what he wanted to escape from.

"We’re never allowed to be rude to them,” Andy said, in tones of false pleasantness and gritted teeth, and set off down the concourse.  Maida watched her.  She got Kent’s attention first, sliding around the group to the wall he had his back against, and insinuated herself into the group with smiling pleasure, receiving Kent’s introductions to the women and precis of their conversation, nodding and slowly working her way closer until she linked her arm with his. The impressive part was that it didn’t look like a rescue; they stayed there for another minute or two, talking, eliciting stories from the women and laughing at what they said, and Andy took one woman’s phone to get a picture of her standing next to Kent; then they said cheerful goodbyes and strolled away, and Kent’s relaxed smile only showed strain around the edges when he met Maida’s eyes and made a small “that was awkward” expression.

Maida got it then, just what was so valuable to him about Andrea Scarlatti; why having a partnered public face was worth giving up relationships that were secret paradises to him. And her understanding of Andy got a lot less intellectual; she suddenly knew with absolute certainty that she couldn’t do what Andy did.  She would let him love anyone in the world if he wanted to, but it made her sick to imagine constantly, repetitively, endlessly performing her role as His Girlfriend to leverage social situations and keep him safe.

Being around Andy got easier, as they moved around each other in the locker room, like a small silent conspiracy to share the space, or when they made eye contact during team discussions that shared complicated, private knowledge. Andy French-braided Maida’s hair before bouts, sometimes, and Maida helped her put KT tape on her shoulder; they sat together at team parties, eating marble cheese slices off paper plates and sharing opinions on the salsa. Andy understood about languages, had taken Hmong in high school and Spanish at college, had enough understanding and curiosity for Maida to pour stories of her own languages into her ears. In return she found Maida a steady resource during the ageing Sydney’s descent into feline diabetes, discussing blood draws and feeding regimens with a knowledgeable listener.

They double-dated with their boyfriends kind of by accident once, Kent and Andy going to a concert they’d vaguely heard Luis and Maida would be at once; it was a loose, “I see you’re also here” encounter, but Kent and Luis got talking about music and something involving Luis’s nephew and football, and Maida and Andy sought out a table and shared a plate of wings, and in a loose, unarranged fashion they ended up spending most of the evening together.

Andy sat there with this smaller woman beside her, her wavy hair and the generous plumpness of her arms gesturing as she talked and the smallness of the tip of her nose and her lip gloss, and her stomach turned upside down, and she thought: Fuck.

She took Kent’s hand a couple days later, when she was definitely sure it wasn’t food poisoning, as he rooted through the fridge all ridiculous and barefoot in only the jeans he’d thrown on after a shower, and as he pulled out a protein drink she said in a tiny voice, “I think I’m in love with Maida?”

He stopped and blinked at her, and she squeezed his hand, man that she loved and would promise to marry. He visibly processed the information that yes, she meant that Maida, Andromeda, and nodded a little and squeezed back.

“Do you think I should do anything about it?” Andy asked, just as small as before.

He hauled her off to sit on a couch, lean against him and tell him everything.  He stayed out of the subsequent conversations.

Andy drove out for the first weekend of her own at the trailer in Henderson in March, watching clouds scudding over the mountains in a ceiling that descended until she passed the twisty tree and felt like she was going somewhere safe, small and contained, and well taken care of.  When Maida met her in the yard the sky was overcast with iron grey, and it looked like it might rain later.

Andy kissed her, because it was new and exciting and Maida was there and she could.  Then they let go, held hands, twined fingers.

“We’ll get your bag in a minute,” Maida said, and Andy shut the car door. “I want to show you my garden.”

[beckettsthoughts]

11 Questions

RULES Always post the rules Answer the questions given by the person who tagged you Write 11 questions of your own Tag 11 people (or however many you want)

I was tagged by @shark-myths, who is an absolute gem for always tagging me in these because I love them so much! Honestly, I never used to get this kind of thing but it makes me smile every time I see one in my notifications. Thank you! 

1.    What is one thing you always want people to ask you?

Anything about any of my special interests, or anything about any of my hyperfixations. So, any Fall Out Boy questions, any creative writing questions, any natural phenomena questions, any Pokemon questions. Anything about autism and ADHD is also welcome. I just really like answering questions and infodumping about my favourite things, which is probably obvious at this point.

2.    What is one thing you hate to be asked?

“But how are you going to survive on your own?”

It’s really condescending and it always comes from within my own family, which hurts.

3.    What three words would you use to describe yourself?

Creative, anxious, and ambitious.

4.    What three words would someone else use to describe you?

I asked my best friend but he couldn’t narrow it down, so then I turned to Tumblr and a lovely mutual gave the answer “cool, stylish and kind” which made me blush a lot, it was sweet as heck. I also got “young, cool and hip” from another mutual of mine, which I love.

5.    What is the thing you’re looking forward to most in the next month?

I have my best friends’ prom coming up soon! I’m really looking forward to it, especially after my own prom. I don’t know many people from his school but the few I am friends with will also be there, it sounds like it’s going to be a fantastic night. There are other things I’m looking forward to, such as going on holiday and taking part in Camp NaNoWriMo, and likely several other events will come up that I’m not even aware of yet.

6.    Have you ever cast a spell? Has it worked?

I am a wicked non-believer, meaning I’ve never tried. I don’t think I’d be very good at it. However, I do have a friend who was raised Wiccan and once cursed a bracelet before giving it to her mean aunt as a birthday present, which is a hell of a good story.

7.    If you could be any type of monster, what you be?

Something that lurks in the forest. An urban legend, a creature that makes it’s home in the bedtime stories used to warn children from straying too far. In reality, a guardian of the fae realm with no malevolent intentions, but when seen through the sea-fog it could be easily mistaken for something far darker.

Aesthetically, something bipedal but somehow animalistic. Perhaps birdlike, perhaps feline. I imagine it to look like something from the world of Spirited Away.

8.    What’s the last song you sang?

It was Champion, okay? It’s been stuck in head since the day it released. I’ve also recently sung a few songs from new Paramore album while I was making my lunch, and hummed some KT Tunstall as I wandering round the supermarket. I sing a lot, and like, every day.

(Actually, between writing this and posting this, it is now Paramore’s Pool, but there were tracks from Soul Punk in between and several indie songs about Los Angeles. I told you I sing a lot.)

9.    What is the best thing that happened to you today?

I got a new fidget spinner and it’s beautiful! I’m really happy because it’s usually so hard to get good quality stim toys and I used to have to get them off Amazon, but a local shop now stocks a whole range and you can try and test them before you get one so you can see which you like and how comfortable it is. They have other stim toys too now and they donate a percentage of the cost to a local autism charity, and in general I just love everything about this development. It really made my day, man, and they even have signs educating people about the purpose and use of stim toys. I got to speak to the owner and he was telling us about the advantages of different shapes of spinners, and honestly it felt so refreshing to have an honest conversation about stimming with a neurotypical and have it be something valuable and cool to discuss rather than being mocked for it. There are pros and cons to this trend, of course, but this is a huge advantage to me that I could not have anticipated in a thousand years.

10.   Where do you wish to be right now?

Paris! Which is nice, because I will be there in a couple of weeks. I can’t wait to walk those streets again; visit the bookshops and the boulangeries, the papeteries and patisseries. Paris is by far the most beautiful city I have ever visited, and one of the most interesting. At our hotel you can take the rickety old lift up to the roof and look out across the whole city at night, see the Eiffel Tower to the south and the Sacre-Coeur to the north, both grandly lit and standing tall amongst the apartments of their respective arrondissements. I left a piece of my heart in Paris, I believe.

11.   Answer either 1 or 2.

So the answer to the question I hate being asked is this: I can cook, I can clean, I can manage money and I can talk to people. There are many things I can’t do, off the top of my head, but I can use Google to cross those bridges when I get to them. Just because I have a neurodevelopmental disability doesn’t mean I’m inept or incapable, it just means that some things are a little bit harder for me than for neurotypical people. If push comes to shove I can always ask for help, which is not the sign of weakness everyone makes it out to be. They always ask the question as if they’re expecting me to survive alone on a desert island with no way to communicate to anyone, when in fact “living independently” means nothing of the sort. Living on a desert island, I probably couldn’t do. Living in student accommodation surrounded by helpful resources and a whole community of people in the same situation, however, doesn’t seem completely inconceivable.

And now, my questions. I tag @skyward-sheik, @toadstoolfuel, @murdereratthematinee, @inadragon, @littleduckalex, @heardyouloudandqueer, @astro-ocean, @mcnamak, @baz-pitch-is-alive and @takeasmiletoday! No pressure if you don’t want to, of course :)

1. Do you remember your dreams? If so, what’s the weirdest dream you can remember?

2. Describe your favourite cinema. Is it nearby, or hard to get to? Why is it better than the others?

3. What was your favourite class in school? In terms of atmosphere, classmates, teacher, anything.

4. What’s one hair colour, piercing or tattoo you’d love to get someday but probably never will?

5. Describe one person who you’d love to be friends with, but only know as an acquaintance through work, school or other friends. What about them makes you want to know them better?

6. What is your personal “white whale”? Something you encountered in the the past and have never been able to find since, no matter how hard you try?

7. What was your favourite movie when you were a child? Does it still hold up now that you’re older?

8. Do you have a favourite ‘local’ food? It could be a local delicacy unique to your town, but it could just be a particular snack from a particular shop. A favourite meal from your favourite restaurant, maybe, because nobody else makes it the same way that they do?

9. Have you ever skipped school or work to hang out with your friends or to go to a particular event?

10. What is something you’d love to collect but haven’t yet?

11. Are you the kind of person who saves tickets from travelling? If not, what’s your favourite type of souvenir to collect?

[zunerakhanwrit1133du-blog]

Vignette

I stare at my laptop screen unaware of the nightmare that is soon to follow. I navigate through KT’s Tumblr and struggle to comprehend the challenge associated with each post. At first glance I see simple instructions on how to construct an e-Portfolio, but as time progresses and I read each detail associated with each component I realize this won’t be easy at all. The e-portfolio that I am creating encompasses all of my struggles from this quarter, but it also showcases my successes in research and writing. In my e-portfolio, everything I have learned in Writ 1133 this quarter will be applied. Including rhetorical situations, metacognition, and reflection. When I came into this class I didn’t even know what those words really meant, I just thought writing required a pencil and the alphabet.

I started off this quarter believing that my writ class would be the easiest class I would take, but now after 10 weeks, I realize it was one of my most challenging courses. At the beginning of the quarter, I was told I had to compose a Lit Review, Essay, and a Theory of Writing. I remember at the time I thought it was gonna be easy. It could be bullshited the night before with no sort of revision. But I have never been more wrong about anything in my life. I came into this quarter with a basic understanding of writing, but now I am leaving it realizing that writing is a complex entity that no one truly understands. The way we write is constantly changing and we have to grow as writers to grow as people. If I take away anything from this quarter it’s that revision is a necessary part of the writing process. The first draft typically is the worst one you’ll write. It can get discouraging but you keep going until you can’t anymore. Embracing failure as a writer is something that took me a while to be okay with.

My Lit Review required the most revision out of any piece in my portfolio. The Lit Review was a challenge for me and I still don’t understand it entirely. This composition tested my ability to write for a genre I wasn’t well versed in. My first Lit Review will not be my best, but it won’t be my last either. At one point or another, we learn from our failures. I struggle when it comes to analyzation and synthesis (my whole body tensed up while typing up those horrible words). It’s not my fortay to write for specific genres and fit specific structures, but I learned how to do it this quarter through a painstaking process of trial and error. Despite all of the struggles and failures, I learned. I am so grateful that I am now able to dissect research journals and papers. I can navigate databases that aren't google and can compose my own thoughts based on others findings. Analyzing papers and making my own comments was something I struggled with but I  failed forward and here I am. Analyzing data became a common trend in this class, after the lit review we had to go research and find our own data. At this point in the quarter I wanted to give up but shockingly I didn’t.

After analyzing other research conducted on college students, I started to find gaps in the information. What makes college relationships so different and intriguing from any other relationship? Why is there such a huge media representation of the college hookup culture? After conducting research I had to figure out if my data answered my questions. This portion of my portfolio required a lot of analyzing and tying things together. I had to connect dots between surveys, interviews, and observations. I struggle when it comes to finding common themes and determining the relevance of data. I didn’t even think I would have to do that in a writing class!  Finding connections between three sources is hard enough when the sources are professionally done, but when you conduct the research yourself it’s a different ball game. My problem was looking at my data and being like what am I even looking for? If you haven't caught on yet, I am not good at reading between the lines but after this essay, I feel like I’m improving. I found connections in my data which fit the themes and questions I was asking. Tying together everything into one cohesive paper gave me an amazing feeling. I learned more and more about my own writing process.

Writing is a way of expression. There's not one way to write, there are different genres but ultimately the way someone writes is up to them. I developed a theory of writing through trial and error. I failed a lot this quarter. I failed to comprehend prompts, readings and to answer homework posts. But throughout the whole class, I wrote the way I wanted to. I learned my own style and found my own voice. I learned so much about learning how to write. It’s a weird concept, in my opinion, to learn your writing style and process by reading others writing but hey somehow it works. I think my main issue with this quarter was having my writing revised by others. For me, writing has always been an escape and I never wrote for others, I wrote for myself. Learning how to write for different audiences and analyzing rhetorical situations was a big challenge for me but I overcame it, despite some minor anxiety.

Writing is a key part of the research process. Having a basic understanding of how to write is essential to succeed in the real world no matter what your major is. This quarter I got to write about relationships but the process I learned can be applied to multiple topics. I’m a science major but I have to be able to write lab reports and lit reviews or else my findings will be irrelevant.