#grading their handwritten work is an adventure though

[stingrayextraordinaire]

My students’ adventures in trying to spell “tragedy” for their Romeo and Juliet quiz.

[linssikeittomies]

Memoir Of A Moment

AO3

I guess the good thing about being an idiot and DELETING ALL YOUR FILES is that you're forced to go through your handwritten notebooks and rediscovering stuff you never fleshed out on the computer. I love Mononoke, the art style is wonderful and the stories tickle me just right. I would've loved to write a casefic, but I just couldn't come up with a good mononoke, and also I'm terrible at writing action and mystique, so I never finished it - and now I think that even incomplete, it could work as a Missed Opportunity type of story. Just imagine the adventure Kayo could've had if she stayed!

--

Figured it would be raining on the one day she was able to check out Harajuku. She had been planning this trip for almost a year, and took it  well before rainy season for this exact reason! Now there were only a lousy few people on the streets, and barely any of them worth photographing! And with such shitty lighting the photos would’ve turned out terrible anyways. Why had she even bothered leaving home? She’d seen the forecast...

Well, at least the trip wasn’t a complete failure. Despite the bad weather, some scattered groups and inidividuals were still around, and let Kayo take pictures. The gothic lolitas had been largely unbothered by the rain under their black, lacy umbrellas and safe from the puddles with their high platform shoes. The small group of ganguros had tried not to look bothered, not very successfully though... With their shorts and miniskirts you could see the goosebumps from the cold right away. Kayo had even seen a few angura kei girls, smartly dressed in kimonos to shield them from the chill. The cafes also let her take photos inside, as long as she also bought something - she was starting to feel ill from all the tea she'd been forced to consume and the excorbitant prices those places charged for absolutely everything.

Who knew when she’d be able to make a more successful trip? With her financial situation, it had been hard enough to scrounge up the funds and free time even for this one-day trip. In the morning, it would be back to work, back to scrolling through fashion blogs and online stores. Never contributing to those blogs or buying anything from those stores.

-o-

As midnight approached, Kayo finally decided it wasn’t worth the effort to keep looking for more subjects - she only had a few hours before her early morning train back home, and she needed the sleep more than she wanted the photos. Sighing, she put away her camera - her most prized possession, a genuine professional-grade DSLR, bought used from a relative who ran a photography studio - and headed for the capsule hotel. Leaving behind the chic, neon-lit fashion highway felt like such an appropriate metaphor for Kayo’s life - ever the visitor in such splendid places, never allowed to stay for longer than a few hours. The dim side streets were much more her place, getting dingier and smellier the further she walked. Only some hundreds of meters from the hotel, Kayo stopped. Ahead of her stood someone with a large wooden backpack, and a colorful haori. Perhaps she had found another subject, after all!  Must’ve been making their way back home from Harajuku, like her, another sorely disappointed fashion fan. Not old-school, with such unorthodox patterns and garish color combos, but clearly taking inspiration from traditional garments. A paper umbrella and geta, paired with what might have been an exceptionally long heko obi, since the ends were long enough to dangle past the knees. Kayo didn’t know that much about obi knots, not being all that into kimono herself, but she knew the backpack had to digging the knot uncomfortably into the person’s back. The only style she ever wore was karuta musubi because it was so easy and flat.

Digging out her camera again, she took one candid photo - only one, that she would ask permission to keep - because the composition of the figure standing in the middle, faintly haloed by the rain and streetlights, the street stretching out behind him, well...  it was just too photogenic to pass up. The shot even turned out well despite the dismal lighting, and some color correction on photoshop would fix the values. She would send a printed copy to her subject, if they wanted.

“Excuse me!” she called out and started jogging up to her target. They must’ve been wearing earphones, not hearing her, since they didn’t turn around. Well, at least they stayed still - a man, it turned out, and a beautiful one at that. But not wearing earphones, and talking to himself silently - so, a weirdo. But definitely a beautiful weirdo. A cosplayer, surely, from the markings on his face and the pointed ears. Very good quality prosthetics, looked completely real. The blond wig was just as good, a naturally plucked hairline and very fine mesh to hide the edges perfectly. This person had a lot of time and made good money. Also pale, flawless skin, and long, elegant fingers, and mesmerizing blue eyes. They didn’t even look like colored contacts, the look in them wasn’t uncomfortably staring at you with pinprick pupils. It might have even been his natural eye color. Half Japanese? If that was the case, then the hair might have been real, as well. His nose also suggested non-asian heritage, as long and pointy as his ears.

It felt like Kayo had been taking in the stranger’s appearance for minutes, him never acknowledging her until he finished his silent monologue. Only his eyes turned to look at her, a small, knowing smile on his already makeup-smiling lips.

“Good evening.”

His voice was pleasingly low and steady, his speech calm and slow. He kept looking at Kayo from the corner of his eye. The markings under his eye and on his nose intrigued Kayo, what was the story behind the character’s design? And the lavender smile, not something Kayo remembered seeing on any other -

“Ah - good evening!”

How rude, she had just kept staring!  Even if he was dressed to be stared at! So embarrassing, getting caught up in her thoughts! Just because someone looked good and strange was no excuse for bad manners. Thankfully the man did not seem to mind, just kept smiling faintly, and slowly lowered his eyes to the camera Kayo was still holding tightly in her hands.

“You are a photographer now?” he asked, not really making it sound like a question, and the now part bothering Kayo. She didn’t think they had ever met before, she was sure she would remember eyes like his even if his appearance otherwise had changed completely.

“Well, yes, not professionally - I came to take photos, but the weather - could I take your picture? Fashion is a hobby of mine.”

 “That never changes.”

Kayo was almost regretting talking to the guy, he might have been high. He was acting weirdly enough, and his halting speech wasn’t exactly helping dispel the thought, either. It was oddly hypnotic though, with his quiet voice you had to stop and listen, and with the slow rhythm you had to keep listening, and with the weird pauses mixed in he sounded otherworldly.

“A photo in exchange for a favor, perhaps?”

He was still calm, the half-lidded gaze not threatening in the least, but no matter how unassuming a guy looked, Kayo was not stupid enough to agree without knowing the terms. She steeled her face, trying to appear as someone you couldn’t bend.

“Depends on the favor. I’m not desperate so don’t even dream of anything pervy!”

The man chuckled softly, his eyes crinkling in amusement. He finally turned to face Kayo directly.

“Some things do change”, he commented cryptically. Kayo decided not to question it, the guy was clearly either on drugs or having a psychosis. Why did he keep thinking he knew Kayo? Maybe she resembled someone he did know, or used to know?

He lifted a finger, pointing with it’s sharp claw to an alley. “Can you see anyone on that street?”

A quick look revealed the two of them were alone, everyone else having opted for the better-lit main streets, and Kayo was starting to feel more nervous. Not that the guy was looking or acting any more threatening, but being alone with a male junkie on a deserted street in the middle of the night  tends to make a girl jumpy.

“No, seems empty to me”, she said in a confident tone, like she wasn’t even thinking of the possibility of being assaulted. A strong girl like her? No one would attack her!

The stranger made a non-committal noise, and his eyes turned more serious. He looked at the alley thoughtfully. “A most troublesome form, indeed. I wonder, why do some see it while others don’t.”

“Was that the favor? Can I take that photo now?”

The amused smile came back.

“Take as many as you like. But I must keep working, do not disturb the scales.” And with a small gesture of his finger, a drawer in the backpack slid open and something flew out.

Okay, it was official - Kayo had gone nuts. First going on this trip even knowing it would fail, then talking to a total stranger in an empty street at night, then not walking away when it turned out the guy was on drugs. Now her madness had extended to seeing hallucinations.

At least the hallucination was polite - a metal thingamajig that looked like an art deco butterfly bowed to her before continuing on its way further down the abandoned alley. Its friends soon followed, a veritable swarm of metal butterflies - scales, the man had called them. Kayo couldn’t possibly say what they measured, or how. By the time she shook off her stupor, odd paper charms had also appeared on the walls out of nowhere. A staticky hum filled the hair, raising the hairs on Kayo. Some form of electricity, maybe.

“Kayo-san, is it? You came here to take photos, and your time is limited.”

A cold wave washed over Kayo. She knew for a fact they had never met in their lives, and there was no way he could know her name. They had come across each other by pure accident... It just wasn’t possible...

“Do you know me from somewhere?” she asked, stupefied, heart skipping beats here and there. This was so odd, scary, and yet she was not nearly as scared as she felt she should be.

“We know each other from several places, but we have never met before.”

“How does that even make sense! What the hell do you mean by that? Which one us has gone crazy here, I don’t understand anything anymore...”

But even so, she lifted her camera and started taking pictures. Of the man, of the scales, of the empty alley. She didn’t even care about angles, lighting, composition, she just pressed the shutter. She ended up with nearly a hundred photos, majority of them incomprehensible, before the man directed her to keep going on her way. She had obeyed without question - the atmosphere had gotten oppressive, the feeling of a storm encroaching.

-o-

All her life, Kayo often thought back to that night. It felt unreal, but the photos were undeniable evidence of the opposite. Sometimes she thought she really had experienced some sort of short-lived psychosis, but mostly she had no idea what to think of the event - of the one time something strange happened in her life, something intriguing. She only talked about it to someone twice on her life - once to her husband, and once to her daughter. She did eventually develop one of the photos into a print - the one she had taken first. The nameless man, standing alone on an empty street, rain streaking the lens. A beatiful picture, a strange memory, and a lifelong regret.

She should have stayed.

[prompt-master]

It's Snooping Time

Makoto had the nosiest little sister. He had to shoo her out of his room all the time to keep her from getting her grubby little hands all over his things. He couldn't even begin to count the amount of manga Komaru just straight up stole from him. Not to mention that she even went so far as to snoop through his mail and open his Hope's Peak Acceptance letter while he was out.

He'd made sure to rid his room of anything he didn't want her taking before he left for Hope's Peak. It was the only precaution he could make with even a chance of working. It was such a strange feeling moving into his dorm and not having to worry about Komaru checking every nook and cranny when he turned his back. It was relaxing, honestly. He did miss his sister, and he loved her dearly! But he didn't love some of the crap she pulled.

But that's alright, because now Makoto had a chance to catch up and remind himself of all the things he loved and hated about Komaru. After the Ultimate Pharmacist accidentally caused a risky chemical spill that managed to leak to the dorms through the vents, everyone had been given a week off campus!

He'd been having the time of his life attending as an Ultimate. All his new friends were so lively and made him excited to face each day. He treasured every bond he'd made over the course of the year. It was a bit overwhelming at times being surrounded by the most talented eccentric individuals Hope's Peak's scouters could find, and walking into his quaint little home only reminded him of how average he really was compared to everyone else in the school. He somehow managed to be more average than other raffle winners.

"I'm home-"

"Makoto!"

His mother pulled him into a quick unexpected hug.

"Ack- mom-!"

"Aw, Makoto we missed you! I've never been away from you from so long, you're growing up!" Her arms curled around his back, pulling him in tighter and tighter. One hand ruffled his hair from the back, the other lay on his shoulder.

"I missed you too mom" Makoto laughed, embarrassed as his mom planted a kiss on his head, "but can you please let go? You're crushing me."

"Makoto!" Another voice cried out and Makoto held his chest, recovering from the previous hug.

"Hi Komar- oof!"

She gave him a heavy slap on the back before another hearty hug, giving him a mouthful of hair. He could feel her usual energetic excitement, she pulled off of him quickly, hands on his shoulders and starry eyes wide, "How was it?! Are the students as weird as the internet says?! Do you have any hot upperclassmen?! You go to school with your stupid idol crush now don't you?!"

Just about a year ago all this energy would have left Makoto dizzy and tired, now he considered it low energy compared to the intensity of everyday life around the Ultimates.

Makoto laughed, a soft sweet sound. Home sweet home, after all. He did have much he wanted to tell his sister. She was going to freak out when she found out Yamada Hifumi, the author of her favorite doujin, was in his class. "Calm down Komaru, I just got home."

"Geez," she said, tone light and teasing, "you go to an elite school and come back like you went on a life changing journey! Where's my brother who gets annoyed at all my questions, huh?"

"Give your brother a break, Komaru." Their dad joined the scene, clapping a hand onto Makoto's shoulder. "You'll have plenty of time over the week to hear about all his adventures."

"You just want to hear about it too, dad."

"Guilty as charged." their dad put up his hands in admission, chuckling softly.

"You should get settled in," when his mother smiled, she had little crinkles around her eyes. It was such a small detail but he missed seeing such a genuine joy on someone's face, "we won't have as much to tell you as you will us though."

"That's ok mom!"

Makoto found himself relaxing. Even though he'd been away from home for so long he fit right back in like he always belonged here. After an awkward wave he left down the hall to get into his room. On his way there, an unfamiliar glint of light from the living room wall caught his eye, causing him to look up. There was a new frame up on the wall. More of Komaru's art, maybe? 

He came closer to the simple black frame, seated in a spot that was rather obvious. Like his parents wanted all visitors to see this particular frame. From a distance it looked mostly white and blank. He got close enough to make out the little black text that simply and quickly announced Makoto's acceptance into the school of a lifetime. 

Makoto smiled. They framed his acceptance letter. He was really happy to be home. He felt loved before he left, but now he felt adored. 

As he pushed open the door to his room and dropped his bags to the floor he briefly wondered how different things would be after starting out a new path in his life. But once he sat down on his bed he felt like he'd never really left. He was excited to have dinner with his family again, but he also has text messages from his new friends to look forward to! 

The problem was Makoto got too relaxed. He was used to sleeping in a cozy locked dorm where everyone only bothered to knock in order to ask him to hang out elsewhere. So when Makoto went to dinner he left his backpack free for the picking on the floor of his bedroom. 

And of course, Komaru wasted no time poking her head into said room. How could she not?! Her brother is getting a once in a lifetime opportunity! No, not even that, most lives don't get to experience even a taste of what Makoto gets to indulge in. How could she not want to know more?! A quick inspection of the bags he brought over showed pretty much only clothes and a teddy bear wearing the Hope's Peak emblem on its shirt. 

And then she turned her attention towards his backpack. Maybe she'd find some embarrassing doodles in his notebooks, Makoto did have a tendency to scribble when lectures bored him. She zipped open the bag, bouncing up and down in anticipation as to what she might discover. 

Ugh, boring. Why did Makoto only have a bunch of school supplies in his backp- oh. Well actually, that did make sense. Even though Makoto was accepted into the school unconditionally it seemed he still wanted to prove himself. 

Well, average grades. It's certainly not exceptional but...he is trying. 

Feeling a bit dejected at the lack of juicy information, she opened the front pocket of his backpack with much less vigor than prior. Then she paused.

Oh my, oh my, oh my. What do we have here? 

Within the pocket were several small envelopes each sealed with a well placed red heart sticker.

Confession Letters. 

Naegi Makoto had confession letters. 

There was NO WAY anything in this world could keep Komaru from digging further. She quickly took one of the letters into her hand and inspected it. 

"Maizono Sayaka" 

She gasped, it was the idol crush! That was definitely Makoto's handwriting, it was always a bit distinctly messy. No doubt in her mind that her brother wrote these. 

She looked back into the bag, where so many envelopes lay in waiting for the day someone would open them. She felt herself building up an uncontained excitement. Was Makoto so enamored with Miss Maizono Sayaka that he had to write several drafts of his confession? She could totally imagine Makoto about to hand over his letter before going red in the face and sprinting away in panic. 

She wondered if she could open up some of these without getting caught, she desperately wanted to read the embarrassing contents. She picked another letter from the back of the pouch and turned it over. 

"Kirigiri Kyoko" 

Her amusement grew three sizes. She was trying hard not to laugh, her brother was crushing on two girls who were most certainly out of his league? What did he think he was, an anime protagonist? 

She picked up another, buzzing with excitement. 

"Togami Byakuya"

Her eyes almost popped out of her head at that one. Togami Byakuya? Wait… Togami? Like THAT Togami? Togami Corporation? Wait- a BOY? 

No way. No fucking way. She totally called it. But to think that Makoto wasn't just crushing on a TOGAMI but was writing letters hoping to confess. The image of her average joe brother handing, not just a random someone but a TOGAMI, a handwritten letter made her giggle.

She continued to pick through the letters. He certainly had a thing for Kyoko and Byakuya as there were SEVERAL versions of those letters. There were a few more for Sayaka, and a few singles for others such as someone named Asahina Aoi, and someone named Ikusaba Mukuro.

Was Makoto just falling in love with anyone who so much as looked at him? 

She needed so desperately to know more. She was trying hard not to sputter with laughter at the assortment of letters now in her lap. Makoto didn't just think he was an anime protagonist he seemed like he thought he was a harem protagonist. 

The door opened up, leaving Komaru without even a single moment to put everything back. 

"Komaru, you know I don't like you in my-..." Makoto's slightly annoyed tone cut off as he processed the sight in front of him. 

Komaru. His sister. With all his very personal letters in her grasp. 

Makoto quickly sprung into action. "Ack! No! No stop that! Why are you going through my bag!?" He dropped to his knees, sliding on the wooden floor and scrambling to rip all the letters away from her. 

She held on tight to one of them, it was one of Byakuya's letters. Her face was smug, knowing all too well she was about to bring the motherfucking gavel down on him. 

"Komaru let go!" Makoto whined trying to snag Komaru’s prize for snooping.

"I- ppftt - I can't believe you wanted to date like half your class!" Komaru disregarded her brother's pitiful plee and kept the letter just out of his reach. Her brother's face was beet red as he glared at her.

"H-hey it's not HALF!" Komaru continued to laugh at him, unable to even get a sentence out between her wheezes. Makoto picked up a pillow from his bed and threw it at her face. 

She rolled back with the impact, hopping up onto her feet and balancing on her heels. She held the letter high above her head. 

"I never thought you'd be the type to write CONFESSION LETTERS!" 

Makoto felt panic rushing through his very veins, "its not…!" He couldn't even do much but stay on the ground desperately trying to think of a way out of this situation "They aren't confession letters!! I dont have crushes on all of them now give it back!" 

His face, all the way to his ears, had gone so bright red you could make a paint swatch out of it.  

Komaru's amusement somehow grew worse at his words. She stood tall over him, her smile reminiscent of a cruel villain from an shounen anime. "All of them?" She said. 

Her face hurt from being unable to stop smiling, "All of them?! You have crushes on all of them at the same time?!" 

"No…!" 

"Oh my GOD I thought you just kept switching crushes because you're sensitive! Not piled them up!" 

"I didn’t-!" 

"What was the plan here Makoto?!" 

"I don't know! There is none!" 

"Oh my God I have to read one." 

"No!" 

That got Makoto back into action, jumping up to once again try to tear the letter by force out of his sister's hands. She retaliated by licking his hand when it came near her face. 

"Gross! Komaru!" 

"Makoto please you need to tell me. You're seriously going after a TOGAMI?" 

She was pretty sure if Makoto blushed anymore he'd pass out from a head rush. 

"Tell me what you like about him" she said "or I'll tear this bad boy open!" 

"Honestly, I'm not too sure either���" Makoto had far more memories of Byakuya insulting him for being an 'optimistic commoner idiot' than he did memories of him being nice. 

Komaru flopped back, throwing herself down onto Makoto's bed hard enough that she got a bit of airtime. "You go to an elite school and now you think all these Ultimates are in your league!" She propped herself up on one arm "I mean, I expected this for Maizono, but I always thought you were more modest than this Makoto. You should know the harem comes to YOU, not the other way around!" 

Makoto's voice reached a pitch that she thought should be impossible, "I don't want a harem!" 

Completely sitting up on his bed now, waving the letter in her hand mockingly, she said "No? Trying to pick one lucky fella then?" 

"How am I supposed to choose?!" 

"No way you actually are. Pffftt…! You're in some deep shit Makoto!"

"It's not my fault..! I mean...they're all so amazing! Maizono-san and I became good friends right away...and when she told me she remembered me from middle school I was a goner…! 

And then Kirigiri-san trusts me - ME Komaru! - to help her on investigations. And- and sometimes she gets this adorable pout when I spend time with other friends for too long. And when she smiles at me...it's so rare but she has the prettiest smile...anyone would be lucky to have her! 

And oh no, Togami-kun. He seems almost like he hates hanging out with me, but then he gets upset when I seem disinterested. He tells me all these personal details about his life as if he wants me to be closer to him. How can I not look into that! 

All these people are messing with my head!" 

"Woah woah lover boy calm down!" 

Makoto panted, having to catch his breath after blurting out such a very personal speech about his feelings. Realizing just how embarrassing that entire thing was, he zippered his hood up all the way so that Komaru had no chance of seeing his embarrassment. He dropped himself back down so that he was sitting on the floor, reflecting on all the actions and words he picked to get him in this situation. Maybe if he just sat quietly he would actually disappear.

"Aren't you the older one here?" 

"Shut up…" 

"You always did have a soft heart, you fell for Maizono-san just from talking to her once! And now you've got all these guys to worry about" 

"I don't know what to do…" Makoto mumbled, "I'm lucky enough to be friends with them." 

"You really like all of them, huh?"

Makoto nodded, unzipping his hoodie just a smidge, enough so that his eye peeked out, "every chance I get to spend time with them feels really special"

Komaru, still sitting down on Makoto's bed, leaned her head back against the back wall. A much softer smile graced her face, it was a small little thing but Makoto understood the meaning. Komaru thumbled the envelope in her hands, then placed it by her side. 

"You're just...you're kinda amazing, Makoto." 

"Huh?" Makoto didn't understand that at all, he wasn't anything special at all! He only got lucky, otherwise he was the most average guy in Japan. He unzipped his hoodie all the way, embarrassment forgotten in his confusion.

"I mean look at you!" She lifted her head back up, gesturing wildly to all of Makoto, "you're out there, making friends with the most amazing people in the world just by being yourself! I mean...what is up with that?!"

Makoto smiled, "They are the most amazing people, huh?" 

"You've always been pretty good at making friends-" 

"So are you though!" 

"-but I never thought you'd be this good! You're going places! You're making connections!" Her excitement and gestures began to slowly lose steam as she spoke. Her movements more sluggish and heavy, her smile going away. 

"And I'm still gonna be here. Just a normal girl." 

Well...that made sense. Makoto felt exactly the same. He and his sister may be rather different, but they were also incredibly similar. They were both optimistic, friendly, they both saw the good in a lot of people, but they also both felt like they were painfully average. Makoto lifted himself off the ground and joined Komaru on the bed, sitting next to her. He knew that just telling her she was special wouldn't help much, he'd experienced people telling him that over and over and he still felt like he cheated his way into being "special".  

After a pause, Makoto said, "you know...I know a few Ultimates I think you'd make good friends with…" 

Komaru looked up at that, "Wait, really?" 

"Yeah! You'd get along great with Maizono-san, Enoshima-san-" 

Komaru gasped, "Enoshima? Like Enoshima Junko?" 

"Uh, yeah!" 

"She's a total BABE Makoto where's her letter!" 

Makoto laughed, she sure cheered up fast, "Maybe you can write it after you talk to her for a bit." 

"You really think she'd talk to me? I'm not an Ultimate." 

"Sure! If she can talk to me, she'll get along just fine with you! Ah but...careful...she can be kind of intense on pranks…"

"She sounds great!"

"And that's not all! There's also people you already know! You've read Yamada-san's fan books and one of Fukawa-san's novels!" 

"You know them?!" 

"You don't need to be in Hope's Peak and you don't need to be special to go places, I think you're fine as you are!"

Komaru's shoulders lifted and she curled in on herself, a genuine grateful look on her face, "thanks Makoto...you're a good brother" 

"Any time, Komaru." He smiled sweetly, "now give me my letter back." 

[valkerymillenia]

Hi, I asked about jason’s memory in my last ask in cbds. Thanks for answering. It made me wonder would jason gets flashes about his time with dick and the twins?I really admire your patience in writing your story. This is why i’ll fail as a writer, because i have absolutely no patience. I mean I would probably rush my story and that would make it turn bad.

Ok, so, no. At first Jason has no memory between his death and the Pit. Eventually though some things start to trigger pieces of memories that he doesn't really understand, his full memory takes quite a while to return and by then he's dug himself into too deep a hole.

Also, you sound EXACTLY like me when I started writing.

So I'mma ramble now. Feel free to ignore the boring story time beneath the cut but I promise it has a point, it's just bound to be long because I don't know what brevity is and when I'm sleep deprived I talk to much.

Before I started writing I always wanted to put stories down into words but I never ever considered writing books, I used to make elaborate fantasy worlds, characters and lives in my head that dragged on for weeks on end, slowly becoming more and more complex, it was pure escapism, but I never thought about writing those stories down precisely because I though "I'll never have the patience to develop this, I'll just rush it or quit halfway".

Then when I was in 10th grade there was a writing contest in my school and two of my cousins were teachers there and writers themselves and encouraged me to enter (there were 3 categories actually- teachers, 7th to 9th grade and 10th to 12th grade). I figured, why not?

The story had to be handwritten under a pseudonym with a 5 page limit (no word limit because it was handwritten, you just had to use standard test paper for 5 pages, and yes, this was normal because not everyone had access to a computer to type their work), it was fiction under the theme "stories of our people" and the judges were a panel of teachers and one famous writer (he had a very popular YA adventure series and some great mythology based novels, unfortunately he passed away a few years later).

Now, bear in mind 2 things. This was a school surrounded by forest in the hills of a small rural city but it was the biggest rural city around and all the other towns and villages sent their kids to high school there, the second thing to remember is that high school is mandatory education in my country so dropping out isn't really an option. Therefore we had hundreds of kids in the high school grades (somewhere between 600 and 800 kids, I think, there's less nowadays because the next town over grew immensely and has its own high school now).

You'd think kids wouldn't be interested in a writing competition but the author that was coming to judge was very popular at the time and, well, it was a high school in the middle of the woods in a small countryside town. Things were boring, ok? We didn't have a mall or a movie theater or anything, so when something popped up to break the boredom (or someone even remotely famous showed up) everyone jumped at it.

So a lot of people participated and me? I was just dragging my feet because "I didn't have the patience", I waited until the last two days before the deadline and poured out a story last minute with a shitty penname based on my mythology obsession (Valkery Thot, you can laugh about it nowadays but Thot was the Egyptian good of scribes and I was NERD).

The story was about two kids that never liked each other growing up even though they lived close to each other, they end up crossing paths on the same adventure to a local inaccessible waterfall we have here in the mountain, they were looking for treasure based on stories and maps from each of their grandfathers and find a cave together where they discover etchings left by said grandfathers and, long story short, the treasure was friendship.

(Sappy as hell, I know, but I was thinking the whole YA adventure mindframe, ok? Plus, it wasn't my preferred writing language, which is English, and I was 15 and literally improvised the whole thing last minute, didn't even draft anything, I just wrote it directly and barely proofread for typos.)

So I entered the contest last minute with no real hopes, it was just an experiment but it proceed to be way more entertaining than I though, without the pressure of actually wanting to win it was easier than I thought.

Award day came and we all gathered in this fancy huge auditorium we had, it was the fanciest part of the whole school but it still couldn't fit everyone in there, then again most students that came just wanted an excuse not to go to class that morning. Anyway...

One of my cousins won in the teacher category and I was all proud. I watched the 3 winners of the 7th to 9th grade category being awarded and started getting distracted (because unless I was drawing or stimming I had the attention span of a goldfish). Then the 10th to 12th grade category came and I was so distracted that they had to call me twice before I realized I'd won second place!

First place went to 12th grade boy that wrote a story called "The Message", very purple prose and perfect grammar, lovely story, but I digress.

Anyway, the famous author was the one to give me my prize and told me my story was very vivid, there were some typos but he was impressed by the creativity and the amount of action I packed into 5 pages while still giving it a satisfying ending. I barely grasped what the heck he was saying at the time because I still had this certainty that I bullshitted the whole thing last minute and couldn't even remember half of what I wrote but I asked him if he thought I "could be real writer someday" and he just said I already was a "real writer" because all it took to be a real writer was putting it it words, that and actually enjoying the world I made up.

It stuck with me. I didn't realize right away that that was my dream, that I wanted to be a novelist, I still wanted to be an artist and was stuck under all those expectations to choose a proper college path and career (I thought I could do law, AH! what was I thinking?!) but it really stuck with me and shortly after I started getting really deep into a side of fandom that I hadn't experienced before (because I never had much access to internet before that) and started to want to put my stories into words even if I never finished them, I still didn't think I had the patience or the originally.

A few years later I realized that when it comes to something I'm passionate about I do indeed have the patience, by age 12 I had already been writing long comprehensive character bios, story details, transcribed quotes, meta theories, summaries and collecting tons of info of all my favorite fandoms and not to share, just for fun (and probably OCD) this went on for years before I even found out that the internet had whole websites and encyclopedias for such things (not like today though but yeah), and it had never occurred to me the patience that that in itself required.

My first fics were atrocious! Mostly because I made A LOT of typos due to not being used to writing in English full time but my thoughts came more naturally in English and I didn't enjoy writing fiction in Portuguese anyway (poetry though? Absolutely), I also used extremely exaggerated plot points, be it drama, angst or romance. But people liked the stories for the content and not the accurate spelling so I kept at it. I never used to finish my fics back then, not due to lack of patience but mostly because I put too much pressure on myself to make a story perfect and would stop having fun.

When I started writing purely for fun and passion (and realized that not every story needed to be a novel length epic) that's when I started churning out my best (and ironically longest) stories and getting better and better.

I won't lie, having readers encouraging me was key, it's half of the fuel I need to keep going, outside interest is an incredible motivator, but mostly I just realized that the key to good writing is:

Less pressure + more passion = all the patience you need

This doesn't just apply to original work though, it's also about fanfic.

Holy crap, that was a lot of words just to sum everything up on that one bold sentence... See, I could never have written this much when I was in high school, that's also a matter of practicing until letting your thoughts out into writing becomes second nature but that's a whole other story.

Anyway... Thanks for the lovely message. It's the story of thing that means the world to me ❤️

(and PS- no, I haven't won any other contests since that one but I have published articles on magazines, no published novels yet though because I don't think my original ideas are ever good enough to follow through).

[junionigiri]

Work In Progress [BNHA] [Preview of Chapter 1!]

Rating: T for strong language (since Bakugou is in it )

Summary: For the year’s Interscholastic Fantasy Festival, Class 2A is working on a musical! The reluctant Bakugou is assigned to work on the script with Uraraka, who proves to be a more eccentric writer than he thought.

Relationship: Kacchako <3

Notes/Warnings: This is a preview of a part of chapter 1. Since there’s the main story and the story within the story, the chapters are pretty darn long. I’ll start publishing the chapters in full once I’m five chapters in ^^’ Apart from Bakugou’s language and liberal 4th wall breaks I don’t think there’s anything to worry about in this fic~

Bakugou seriously did not want to work on Uraraka’s dumbass script. It’s not that he was bad at writing--in fact, beyond his good grades, he knew he was pretty good at it. Principal Nezu had personally informed him that the essay he submitted on “Why I Want To Be A Hero” was one of the most well-composed ones he’s ever read.

It’s just that Bakugou hated fantasy. And hated fiction-writing (because fiction was not real, therefore it was a waste of his fuckin’ time).

Most of all though, he hated having to work with other people to achieve any kind of common goal. Look at his damn stats for cooperativeness in the character book and anyone with half a brain would get it. And to cooperate for a stupid ass waste of time like the Fantasy Festival? Who the hell thought up of the stupid Fantasy Festival anyway?! Weren’t there more important things in society to worry about?

And the fact that he was working with Uraraka fuckin’ Ochako was in itself pretty aggravating. It’s not that he hated her--in fact, she was one of the few to earn Bakugou’s (grudging) respect, since their infamous Sports Festival encounter when they were first years.

However, since their encounter at the festival, Uraraka learned not to be the tiniest bit afraid of him anymore. He knew that this girl wouldn’t be the type to just shut up and do what he tells her to, and he really didn’t feel like making such an effort just to write a stupid play.

But now that he knew that fuckin’ All Might was counting on him to write the script, well… he couldn’t get out of it now, could he? Bakugou was many things, but a disappointment to All Might, he’d rather not be.

So that was how he found himself stomping his way away from the common areas to his room, with Uraraka bouncing right behind him. They were going to sit down there to look over her draft, but it was overrun by the costumes, set-design, and props people with all their shit.

“Why your room?” Uraraka said, huffing as she struggled to keep up with Bakugou’s pace. “I don’t think girls are allowed there…”

“Let ‘em try to kick you out, Round-Face,” he growled as he tapped on the elevator button impatiently.

“If you say so, Explodey-face,” she teased, earning her a growl which was received with a giggle. This was what Bakugou was talking about. This damn girl knew no fear.

They eventually made it to his room, with Bakugou stomping the entire way and Uraraka skipping like an oblivious little red riding hood romping through the forest with a picnic basket, the purest picture of ignorance and innocence, unwitting of the ravenous wolf who lurked in the foreboding shadows of the dark, nightmarish wood.

Ugh. Really, Bakugou? Already gearing yourself up to write this fuckin’ fantasy shit? You guys haven’t even sat down yet. Don’t be too fuckin’ eager. 

“Uwaa, your room’s amazing, Bakugou! I didn’t think it would be so neat and sparkly~”

Much to his annoyance, Little Pink Riding Cheeks was already making herself right at home next to his desk. He felt a vein or two pop over his forehead, like in animes if they were in an anime. “Why the fuck wouldn’t it be neat and sparkly?! You expect a guy like me to just live in a dump?!”

“I’m just sayin’, I wish my room was as neat. I knew you were great at lots of things, but even cleaning?” she said wistfully. “Hey, I have an idea! Next time, let’s go to my room, and--”

“I ain’t helping you clean your damn room, Round-Face.”

She pouted and innocently twiddled her thumbs. “I -wasn’t- going to say that, but, you know, now that you mentioned it…”

He grit his teeth so loudly Uraraka gasped and asked him if his teeth were okay. “Let’s just…!!! Get this fuckin’ script over and done with already!”

“Eh, fine, fine. Sorry for teasin’ ya! Watch yer blood pressure, a’ight?” She reached over to open her bag and pulled out a messy folder that was crumpled, filled to its limit with papers with tags pointing in all directions. A post-it with a messy scrawl on it flew out as she pulled out the mess. “So, this is what we’re gonna be workin’ on!”

“What the fuck is that mess? Did you fuckin’ sit on it and flush it down the toilet and set it on fire?”

“How rude!” Uraraka puffed her cheeks. “I only sat on it once! On accident! And I don’t bring homework to the toilet! That’s just unladylike.” She opened up the folder and revealed a disorganized array of handwritten scripts scrawled on legal pad, post-its, sketches, more post-its, reference photos of their classmates with post-its on them, receipts, a grocery list, and a few folded-up paper bags from Tokyu Hands.

Bakugou’s fingers itched. He spent so much energy restraining himself from fixing the mess that was now taking over his desk that he barely heard Uraraka’s spiel.

“So, in the meeting which you missed, we drew lots. Everyone’s working on the production and stuff but all of us will be acting in the play too. Some of us bit parts and stuff, but yeah. I asked everyone what they wanted their roles to be. Based on those ideas, I sketched out my ideas on what their characters would be.”

She pulled out the sketches, and Bakugou had to admit, they weren’t badly done. He would go so far as to say that she might have a talent in drawing. They were scratchy and messy, but Uraraka seemed to place great care in drawing out the likeness of each classmate, and the details of each character and costume and even background information were at least 70% fleshed out for each of them.

“So based on the lottery, Deku-kun’s the lead character. You, me, Tsuyu-chan, and Todoroki-kun are gettin’ large roles, plus we gotta pay attention to All-Might-sensei’s important cameo. We’re gonna write the story based on all of this! And, if we want to allot time for practice and stuff, we have to finish most of the script in a week!”

“The f-- I’m gettin’ a large role too?! Nobody said that!”

“It ain’t my fault you weren’t at the meeting, Bakugou-kun.”

The blonde boy scowled as he went through the sketches. The fucking nerd Deku’s role was that of a ‘Squire’ (but his costume made him look like a fucking hobbit). Uraraka had a hood (fuckin’ coincidence from his red riding hood fantasy earlier) and a staff, and she was a ‘Mage’. Frog was a froggy lookin’ barmaid. IcyHot was a Prince (probably of the Land of Half and Halfs where people were always shitty and constipated). All Might was a Legendary Knight in exile (also fitting, in a morbid sort of way).

And Bakugou was… a Bard. His sketch had him wear fuckin’ poofy pants and a stupid fuckin’ hat with a feather on it and a stupid shitty tiny harp that the chubby babies in those old fuckin’ European paintings had. He all but made the paper disappear from a blast from his fist. “Oi, Roundface. Who’s the fucker I gotta kill besides you for giving me this pansy-ass role?!”

“Hey, it’s your fault. You weren’t there yesterday.” Uraraka repeated, not even the least bit apologetic. “And that thing you destroyed was a brilliant joint effort between me, Kirishima-kun and Kaminari-kun. Nice goin’, Explodey-face.”

“Fuck y’all! I’ll kill those idiots!” He shredded the paper further. “Gimme that pencil!” Within seconds, he sketched out something different, muttering expletives the entire time. After he was done, he dumped the pencil on the desk, almost breaking it into tiny little pieces.

Uraraka gasped. “Wow, Bakugou! That’s really impressive! A Dragon Tamer, huh?” She traced his sketch with one finger, which showed him with a fur cape, tattoos, a necklace made of the fuckin’ skulls and teeth of his enemies, pants and boots, and lots of fire blazing in the background for extra badassery. She grinned at him teasingly. “So you have been thinkin’ about this so-called fantasy shit too!”

“Fuck you,” he said, shoving her in the face unceremoniously. “Now I know that I gotta change that fuckin’ script of yours. Let’s just get this fuckin’ shit over with.”

“Okay…” Uraraka pulled out the legal pads, but shielded them from Bakugou. “Um. Just so you know, Bakugou, these are really, really, rough drafts, okay?”

His jaw jutted out in annoyance. “The fuck you mean by rough drafts. I thought I was just gonna edit your shit.”

She gave him a ridiculous look. “Well, you are. But also, I started workin’ on this just a week ago sooooo you gotta help me finish like a teeny bit of it.”

“How fuckin’ teeny do you mean.”

“Um. Like. 50% of it, mmmaybe…?”

Bakugou could almost see the smoke coming out of his own fuckin’ nostrils.

“Anyway, that’s exactly why we can’t waste anymore time, right?” said Uraraka, a positive beam glowing out of both ears. “And don’t you worry! The story’s practically finished in my head!”

There’s probably nothing in there but a single light bulb struggling to survive, thought Bakugou in annoyance. He put his palm to his face and tried his hardest not to yell at her. “Fine, Uraraka. Let’s just fuckin’ start already. No matter what, I’m kickin’ you out of my room by 10 PM.”

“Okay! Glad ya see it my way, Bakugou-kun!” She smiled and pulled out the first page of the script, which read:

*

 - Deku and the Final Fantastic Lord of the School of Wizardry!: The Legend of the Airbender’s Song of Ice and Fire -

(A Work in Progress)

Act One, Scene One: In Which Deku-kun Leaves His House and Adventure Begins

Written by: Uraraka Ochako

 *

“The fuck? Are you trying to outdo Class B’s lameass play from the last year’s cultural festival, Round-face?”

 “It’s a work in progress! We can edit it out later.” Uraraka said as she scribbled Explodey McSplodeface next to her name on the by-line.

[charmossy]

hey guys. vic here again w my second chara. i’m watching the amerks play rn so honestly, perfect opportunity to write char’s intro yeeeet.

CHARLOTTE MOSS is 26, BISEXUAL, FEMALE. SHE is THE GIRLFRIEND to JACOB ASPEN, they have been together for FIVE YEARS. Their resemblance to SHAY MITCHELL is uncanny. CHARLOTTE currently is A JOURNALIST. The media portrays them to be MISCHIEVOUS but they are really CONFIDENT. We hope they have what it takes to be with a professional athlete. [ VIC, 20, EST, SHE/THEY]

➤ BASIC INFORMATION

NAME: Charlotte Moss NICKNAMES: Char OCCUPATION: journalist AGE: 26 DATE OF BIRTH: February 28th ORIENTATION: bisexual GENDER & PRONOUNS: female; she/her

➤ PHYSICAL INFORMATION

HEIGHT: 5′7″ WEIGHT: 125 lbs DOMINANT HAND: right TATTOO(S): none SCAR(S): none PIERCING(S): both lobes, three cartilage on her left ear FACE CLAIM: Shay Mitchell

➤ PERSONALITY INFORMATION

TRAITS (+): confident, determined, self-assured, magnetic, grounded, ambitious, hardworking TRAITS (-): mischievous, stubborn, over-independent,  impulsive

char is the kind of person who knows exactly where she stands and stands with unwavering confidence in that. she takes no shit and has learned to hold her own very well, determined to be far more than just a pretty face. there’s a reason she’s good at almost everything she’s put her mind to, and it lies in her drive, her passion, and stubborn streak that never seems to die.

but there’s a fun-loving woman beneath all that ambition and drive --- you know the saying, work-hard, play-hard. she’s an impulsive person, whether it’s chasing a tip for a story she’s working on without thinking ti through or going on for an adventure on a whim. char doesn’t like the DULL life, and god forbid anyone takes that away from her.

get on her bad side, and you’ll be subjected to the longest silent treatment you’ve ever received –and yes, char will manage to keep it. that being said, char is extremely loyal to those closest to them, and very amiable towards those they meet

➤ BACKGROUND INFORMATION

HOMETOWN: Portland, OR CURRENT RESIDENCE: apartment in DC. LANGUAGE(S): English BASIC EDUCATION: high school COLLEGE EDUCATION: Columbia, Boston University( journalism )

➤ FAMILY

PARENTS: robert moss ( father ), alexia moss ( mother ) SIBLINGS: one older brother (ryan), dale moss -2 yrs

➤ THE STORY ( CW: DEATH, ACCIDENT )

--- many of char’s friends joke that she was born with a pen in her hand and the question ‘ why? ’ on her lips, and they probably wouldn’t be all that far off. she was writing for as long as she could remember, dumb little handwritten stories in notebooks and longer neatly typed snapshots as she got older. there was a curiosity that drove her and a confidence about herself to act on that curiosity.  

--- charlotte moss had no doubts what she wanted to do, the only one in her first grade class that gave a very specific answer when asked: ‘ what do you want to be when you grow up? ’, ‘ i want to be a reporter for the new york times.’ and god damn, that’s what she was going to be. she was on every school newspaper from elementary school, junior high, and high school. she wrote for the student section in the local paper, interned the summers after her junior and senior years.

--- she graduated valedictorian of her class. she was accepted into her top choice school with a hefty scholarship. she had everything. but the thing about having everything is you can lose so much.

--- it’s the spring semester of her freshman year and things are going so damn well. she got a 4.0 in the fall and she’s hell bent on keeping that trend. she was already a hit with the school newspaper, preparing to run for editor her sophomore year. spring break is coming up, and instead of going home, the family is going to meet in sunny arizona for a short family vacation. char and her eldest brother made it, their parents and youngest brother did not.

--- for the first time in char’s pretty life, things came crashing down and they crashed down hard. she fell apart, only just barely holding it together with the support of her elder brother ryan. she returned for one week with intent to finish the semester as she felt that’s what her parents would have wanted. but when she returned all she could feel was the pity and whispers that followed her. after all, the plane crash had been all over the news, and char in all her charm and fun had been popular enough for people to care --- and for once, that was a vice.

--- always the exuberant, mischievous, curious girl, grief made char a complete shell of herself. she dropped out a week later, slept on ryan’s couch and tried to pick up her life. she began to write again, more memoir and fictional than news stories. the keys of her laptop against the backdrop of ocean waves.

--- she picked up a job as a waitress, hard work that kept her busy and her mind off what she an ryan had lost and she began to look forward again. 

--- in need a fresh start, she applied to boston university and began anew. it was still incredibly difficult, but she picked up journalism once more, found comfort in writing for the school newspaper.

--- and then, enter jacob aspen. char hadn’t known he’d been on the hockey team when she met him. all he’d been then was someone who’d managed to make her laugh at a party she’d been dragged to and truly forget about death for a little while. char had always been so incredibly independent, always so sure, so hell-bent on not falling in love until she’d achieved her dreams, but a lot had happened in the last year, and she felt herself falling for jake anyway.

--- they were just friends first. for the first time since the accident, char was returning to her mischievous and impulsive self, climbing on rooftops in boston, riding the subway for hours while typing out an article on her phone. jake even if he didn’t know it, had helped to heal her --- proved that the world was still beautiful and good.

--- they started dating char’s senior year against her better judgement. they graduated. char was chasing her dreams at the new york times, and jake began chasing his in the nhl. they both supported and loved each other, and maybe that’s why they put their relationship on hold for a little while.

--- but good things always find a way back to each other and jake and char found jake on her doorstep one night ; and they’ve been strong ever since no matter the distance between them

➤ MISC 

--- char has achieved her dream of working for the new york times. she works on some lower level investigative journalism pieces that take her all over the country. she loves the pace and thrill of it all. she hates being bored and she is never bored with the nyt ( well, most of the time ),

--- she doesn’t know how long her relationship with jake will last, even though they’ve been dating more or less for five years now. their lives are both so busy and take them criss-crossing over the entire country. but the does know that she loves him a lot ; and it scares her sometimes she doesn’t like being dependent on others. 

➤ SOCIAL MEDIA

INSTAGRAM: charmossy ; 3k followers TWITTER: charmassNYT; 5k followers SNAPCHAT: charchar64 ( private )

➤ CONNECTIONS

--- JAKE ASPEN (boyfriend) -- goes without saying haha. i would love to have jake here.

--- old friends from college -- they could be from her brief columbia days, fell out of touch; could be from her BU days.

--- ppl jealous of her relationship with jake lol??

➤ PINTEREST BOARD ( coming soon )

[thezodiaczone]

June Forecast for Gemini

Happy birthday season to you! With the Sun shining in Gemini until June 21, your personal goals and dreams get front-burner status. As you kick off another trip around the Sun, get clear about the people, commitments and projects you want to bring into your next year of life. What NEW experiences would you like to have? During this bold and assertive cycle, advocate for your desires. The squeaky wheel gets the premium-grade oil.

When the year’s only Gemini moon arrives on June 13, you’re ready for a full-on reset. This lunar lift is considered your personal new year—a moment to recalibrate and make sure everything you’re doing is aligned with the true you. So even though we’re halfway through 2018, you get a second chance to turn the page. If you’ve been putting off a big change or are uncertain about your next steps, the Gemini new moon can help point the way.

Father’s Day is on June 17, and if you’re celebrating, keep things flexible and fun. The moon is in Leo and your social third house, a great day for a lighthearted outing with your favorite father figure. With la luna in your communication sector, a handwritten card or an engaged conversation over lunch could be all you need to bond.

The next day, the tone shifts into a more reflective mood for the rest of the month. On June 18, imaginative Neptune turns retrograde, followed by energizer Mars on June 26. This will bring the total retrograde-planet count to five, as Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto have already been in their slowed-down cycles since the spring. Plans may proceed at a snail’s pace—if they don’t completely stall. While this feels like a setback, it’s actually an opportunity in disguise. Press pause on anything that’s moving too fast and use the summer to get clear on what you actually want!

While hazy Neptune reverses through Pisces and your tenth house of career from June 18 to November 24, your professional trajectory might take a more meandering path. Instead of freaking out, explore creative ideas and other options. Adopt a “summer sabbatical” mindset instead of spinning your wheels. These tips for embracing uncertainty can quiet any anxiety that surges up. Teetering on the verge of burnout? Ask for support or work with a coach. Leaning on compassionate and supportive authority figures can mitigate any rough patches—but be respectful of boundaries (which are NOT a Neptune strong suit) and make sure you’re not draining anyone or coming across as needy.

Since retrogrades rule the past, an old mentor or boss could resurface, someone nurturing and who always took a special interest in you or honored your talents. Reach out and reconnect. Maybe they’ll have a lead or some golden advice to offer during a confusing period. The tenth house rules men and fathers, and this could be a healing cycle with an important guy in your life.

On June 21, the Sun starts its monthlong journey through Cancer and your stabilizing second house. It will be easier to get grounded and prioritize, so don’t squander this productive cycle! Start taking action to make those birthday wishes into a tangible reality.

On June 26, go-getter Mars joins the retrograde brigade, back-spinning until August 27. Mars is in Aquarius and your expansive ninth house until August 12, then it will rear into Capricorn and your sector of long-term finance for the rest of the retrograde. Since May 16, the impatient planet has been pushing you to take risks, perhaps a little recklessly. The prospects have been too intriguing to turn down; yet, saying “yes” to everything could deplete your energy, and you’ll start to feel it at the end of June. Curb your enthusiasm and pick a couple key ventures to focus on.

Once Mars downshifts, be more discerning than impulsive. Leaping without looking can leave you with some messy cleanups that could be avoided. Be careful not to overpromise (because you’ll likely under-deliver). With brash Mars in this outspoken zone, pick your battles—even when you know someone is blatantly wrong. Honesty isn’t necessarily the best policy, at least not when you serve it up in a megadose of truth serum. Bite your tongue, or you could burn a valuable bridge.

But it will be hard to stem the tide of intense emotions that surge up the next day (June 28), when the Capricorn full moon illuminates your eighth house of intimacy and merging. Words you’ve been holding in could explode in a forceful outpouring of feelings. This might surprise you AND the other person. Pro tip: Call a trusted friend or therapist if you’re feeling on the verge, rather than melting down on someone you love.

The eighth house is the zone of extremes: You’re either all the way in or all the way out. And since full moons bring transitions, this make-it-or-break-it energy could provoke a big decision as the month ends. A joint venture might become official, or you may decide to part ways with a close romantic or business collaborator. Rites of passage are in the spotlight: From pregnancies to engagements to breakups to cohabitation, you could have some major news to break.

Long-range investments also fall under the eighth-house domain. At this full moon, a stock speculation or real estate bid could pay off. Joint ventures can also take flight. Merge your superpowers for mutual gain or look for ways you can create a win-win scenario with someone whose skills complement yours to a tee. Warning: This intense lunation could drive up jealousy, suspicion and competitiveness. Try not to let the emerald-eyed monster cloud your vision. There’s more than enough to go around, so ward off scarcity thinking and team up with an influential person. Together, you’ll be a force to be reckoned with!

Love & Romance

With amiable Venus in Cancer and your stability zone until June 13, you’ll be seeking things (and people!) that make you feel grounded and bring more sensuality to your life. Early in the month, the love planet forms a few galvanizing angles with heavyweight planets: On June 1, she trines expansive Jupiter, and the next day, mashes up with dreamy Neptune. Single Geminis will feel ready to stretch a bit out of your comfort zone, perhaps with an older or younger partner or someone who lives in another city.

Meanwhile, Venus’ other half, lusty Mars, is traveling through Aquarius and your liberated ninth house all month, creating a bit of dynamic tension because Venus seeks security and predictability while Mars makes you crave adventure. While this SOUNDS irreconcilable, it actually isn’t—but it may require you to change some of your definitions and expectations. It’s possible to feel free and have fun while still being monogamous with a loving partner. But you’ll need to discuss ground rules, namely what is and isn’t permissible. Single? Make that part of your opening gambit: Screen people thoroughly to weed out clingy, needy or untrusting types.

Note that Mars will be retrograde from June 26 to August 27, so that great expedition might not happen during that time. But if you’re getting itchy feet, there’s plenty you can do close to home to expand your horizons. How about an online or in-person course on something that’s always fascinated you, like gourmet baking or woodworking? Or check out events at Meetups or cultural centers where like-minded and eligible people might also be.

On June 13, Venus swings into dramatic Leo and your playful third house until July 9, spicing up the action on the local scene and, at the same time, making you crave variety. Become a regular on the music circuit or find a place to read your work in a public setting—scanning the audience for intriguing faces, of course. Ask friends to introduce you to their pals, or just keep a wide-open mind about newer faces in the outer rings of your inner circle.

One “caveat” is that Venus will butt heads with a few brash and independent planets in the second half of June, which could disrupt something that’s getting off to a sweet start. On June 14, she squares off unpredictable Uranus, which could explain why someone rudely and unexpectedly ghosts you. Then, on June 21 she opposes competitive Mars and, four days later, clashes with hedonistic Jupiter. You might experience all this as other person’s behavior, but have a look in the mirror, too. The temptation to stray or seek unhealthy excitement may be coming from you and you alone.

The Capricorn full moon in your eighth house of intimacy and merging on June 28 could bring a make-or-break moment. Search your soul before then, so if push does come to shove, you know what your heart truly desires—and you don’t just fall into lockstep with someone else. If you aren’t ready to either go all in OR cut bait, try to deepen the connection and then see how that feels.

Key Dates

June 2: Venus-Neptune Trine The hits keep coming! Today’s loving embrace of Venus and enchantress Neptune dials up your compassion and capacity for empathy. One of the nicest things you can do for someone you care about is to just listen and not try to “solve” or “fix” anything.

Money & Career

You’ve got the gift of gab most days, Gemini, but in the first half of June, you’ll experience a few of your finest hours. Not only is the Sun visiting your sign until June 21 (#GeminiSeason), but your ruling planet, clever Mercury, is also here until June 12, followed by a galvanizing Gemini new moon on June 13. With all this action in your assertive first house, you’ll feel confident speaking up for your needs and sharing your trailblazing ideas. If you haven’t already achieved influencer status, prepare to be anointed!

This is even more likely since ambitious Mars is blazing through Aquarius and your visionary ninth house from May 16 to August 12, inspiring you to branch out of your comfort zone. Travel, study and entrepreneurship are hot zones for you, and you’ll leap at any chance to broaden your horizons. Just note that Mars will turn retrograde from June 26 to August 27, so any major moves, such as pursuing a university degree or opening a new business, are best postponed until fall. Take baby steps and do behind-the-scenes work in the meantime. Retrogrades are ideal for research and planning, not implementation.

On top of that, hazy Neptune will be retrograde in your tenth house of career from June 18 to November 24, an annual reversal that can make you question your purpose and rethink aspects of your professional path. Things may not come together as smoothly as you hoped; circuitous Neptune could turn a normally sensible boss into a neurotic crazymaker. Contracts and clear answers may also elude you. Take a deep breath and go with the flow. Karmic Neptune may have a greater plan—it’s just not one you can see yet.

Have you been giving too much at the office? Neptune is the planet of sacrifice, yet when it’s retrograde, that influence weakens. This can be a GOOD thing—a reminder to snap out of the martyr mindset at work. If you have unused vacation days racked up, take them now. Statistics show that only 23 percent of Americans use all their vacation time—and most take less than half!

A sobering moment arrives on June 27, when the Sun opposes structured Saturn, a once-a-year face-off that can drive up pessimism and self-doubt. The Sun and Saturn are in your financial houses, which could put a temporary crimp in your budget or force you to scale back your spending. A work project might be tough and demanding—perhaps you feel that you’re being taken for granted or dumped on. Saturn rules boundaries, and you may need to set some clear ones, even if it feels uncomfortable (and it probably will).

The June 28 Capricorn full moon could bring your consolation prize. Falling in your eighth house of lump sums and joint ventures, la luna might firm up a lucrative collaboration or put you in the presence of power players. If you’ve been waiting for word on a legal, financial or real estate matter, this full moon can deliver. You may also send out a significant payment, perhaps for taxes or debt. Make sure you’re maximizing your money instead of, say, just paying down interest and not actually chipping away at the principal on a loan. Talk to a financial planner to help you plan for long-term saving, solvency and investing. Whether you’re awash in prosperity or just squeaking by, it’s never too soon (or too late) to start making your money work harder for you.

Key Dates

June 27: Sun-Saturn Opposition It’s financial reality-check time! Serious, structured Saturn sends a tough-love beam to the optimistic Sun, shedding undeniable light on where you’ve miscalculated monetarily. It’s discouraging, yet also important to know that, with some new fiscal responsibility, you can pay down debt and start saving for those desired big purchases.

Love Days: 21, 26 Money Days: 6, 15 Luck Days: 13, 4 Off Days: 11, 23, 29

[starlightlance]

tysm for tagging me @angst-in-space !!

1) How many works do you currently have in progress?

I have one fic in progress right now (a Klance soulmate AU) which hasn’t been uploaded yet. I also have about four solid original ideas that I probably won’t be getting to any time soon, and huge load of unfinished works that I’ll probably never return to. 

2) Do you/would you write fanfiction?

Tbh I write more fics than original works. I’ve never really understood the strong feelings people have against it because it’s such a great way to express yourself and your ideas through already existing characters you love, to make connections with others, and to improve your writing skills. Yeah, sure, there’s some shit out there but we’ve all written badly at one point or another. i still do lmao

l3) Do you prefer paper books or ebooks?

I don’t care, as long as I have the book I want to read. I do love having physical copies of my favorites and the Book Smell™, but using my kindle is also really convenient, especially when I’m traveling. 

4) When did you start writing?

I’ve been writing as long as I can remember. I remember being about five years old and making small paper books with little stories and pictures. I used this online program where you could pay for them to publish a short picture book, I think two times? I’d try writing longer stories as I got older and eventually starting crafting my own ideas. 

5) Do you have someone you trust that you share your work with?

Yeah, I’m in a great voltron writers discord server (psst check out @voltronwriters ) and I’d also share my writing with various other internet and irl friends. 

6) Where is your favorite place to write?

Usually at home in my room or during school when I don’t have work to do. (The lack of websites that aren’t blocked leaves minimal room for procrastination.)

7) Favorite childhood book

I’m gonna have to go with the cliché answer and say Harry Potter. I loved those books with all my heart and still do. The adventures and characters were so entrancing, and it was pretty much the first fandom I was in, though I had no idea there was a word for it at the time. I’ve been meaning to re-read the books, since I read them around 3rd-4th grade and I know a lot of stuff probably went over my head. 

8) Writing for fun or writing for publication?

I’m currently writing for fun. As I said, mostly fanfic at this point. It can be very stressful to crave publication and could affect your writing. I’m also still a teenager and I don’t know what path in life I want to take. (but, I don’t ever want to stop writing). 

9) Pen and paper or computer?

100% computer (or my phone if I can’t access one), I don’t have the energy for hand cramps or typing up handwritten stuff later. 

10) Have you ever taken any writing classes?

Just English class in school so far, but I plan on taking a creative writing class next year. 

11) What inspires you to write?

A lot of my writings are usually stories I’d want to read. If I get an idea I really like, I’ll usually not exactly want to go through the hassle of writing it and have it just there for me, perfectly planned to my vision. Though, the only way to do that is writing it, so I do. Not to say writing is always a hassle, I love it. I’m also inspired by my own experiences and feelings as a human and my favorite medias and characters. Encouraging friends also play a big part in my inspiration. 

Tagging @primrose-path-of-dalliance @futchallura @bluethepaladin @broqanes @bakerthatstreet @klancept @fllorona @savingklance and any writers who want to do it, really

[alexsfictionaddiction]

20 Years Of Harry Potter: A Generation Raised By Magic

19th December 1999, my ninth birthday. It’s early evening and bitterly cold outside but I’m in the warm cosy living room of my house, Christmas tree twinkling behind me, wrapping paper strewn everywhere and close family surrounding me. My aunt hands me a box and I excitedly tear into it, just as I have with all of my other presents. It’s a cardboard box with three hardback books inside. They’re all by a writer called J.K Rowling and they all seem to be about a boy called Harry Potter. The covers are bright and the illustrations on the front looked incredibly intriguing. As a child who enjoyed reading but who was at an age where books’ level of coolness was in doubt, I thanked my aunt politely and set the books to one side. Yes, they looked interesting but what if I started reading them and couldn’t stop? What if I found that I wanted to take them to school? Would I be laughed at for reading during playtime which was widely known as time to gossip about which boys we fancied and which magazine came with the best free lipgloss? Afraid of sacrificing any kind of street cred that I definitely didn’t have, I shelved the books. For months, just before I went to sleep, the spines winked at me from the top of the small bookcase in my bedroom. Until one day the following summer...

July 2000. My nan’s house. She is telling us how she’d been in town when she’d seen that there was a book signing at the big bookshop in the local shopping centre. Word had it that this author’s books are on the brink of exploding out into the world and she was signing the new one in store. Nan went in and immediately got six signed copies -one for each of her grandchildren- and now she is handing them out to each of us. We had to keep them in pristine condition forever as the handwritten signature on the title page meant that they’d be worth a lot of money one day. Nan gives me my copy of the huge book -much bigger than anything I’ve ever read before- and I look at the cover. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire? J.K Rowling? This is a sign. A sign that I simply have to read those books that have been staring at me every night for six months. 

Back at home, I slip Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone out of the box and turn the front cover. At age nine years and seven months, I didn’t know that my life was about to change. I didn’t know that I would read this book again. I didn’t know that this book and its sequels would have such a monumental impact in how I grew up. I didn’t know that I would grow up still reading it and I didn’t know that I would get something different every time, shaped by the events of my life. 

16th November 2001. I am almost 11 years old. I have devoured all four of the Harry Potter books that exist (yes, even that precious signed copy) and I am obsessed. My parents are taking my brother and I to the cinema because some genius person has decided to make Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone into a film. It's opening night and the cinema is packed but I may as well be alone. I am completely mesmerised. Seeing my favourite characters (who are my age!) looking almost exactly like they do in my imagination splashed across the huge screen like that fills me with a huge rush of wonder. I'm only a month away from being old enough to go to Hogwarts myself -I can’t wait. My letter will surely come in September.

Sadly it’s now June 2017, I am 26 and a half and I’m still waiting on my Hogwarts letter. However, I’ve revisited Hogwarts time and time again over the years. It has comforted me, supported me and entertained me endlessly. I’ve seen these characters through their difficult teenage years and in turn, they’ve seen me through mine. For the last few years, they’ve been helping me through my battle with anxiety and depression as the steadfast friends they’ve always been. As I grew up and as the phenomenon that is Harry Potter grew, I’ve found friends who love the magical world just as much as I do, both in real life and all over the world. Together, we are a real life version of Dumbledore’s Army fighting real monsters while rolling around in our beautiful weirdness. I no longer worry about being thought of as uncool for reading (thanks Hermione). In fact, I shout my love of books and Harry Potter in particular all over the internet. So I asked the Potterheads of my online community -What does Harry Potter mean to you? Here are the responses I received:

“I first read the books when I was nine or ten. The third book had just come out and it was just starting to gain popularity in the States. I remember becoming so enthralled in the story that I talked about it non-stop until my aunt bought me the second book just to keep me distracted so she could talk to my sister (it worked!). From there, I grew up with Harry. It felt like, as his adventures grew darker and more challenging, so did the real world. He and his friends were relatable at times and role-models at others. Their bravery kept me inspired and motivated to face challenges that I'd otherwise be afraid of. And it wasn't just me - every time I started a new school, or went to a new summer camp, or moved to a new neighborhood, there were people who had also grown up with Harry Potter and it was suddenly like we'd known each other for years, having been to Hogwarts together, with the same friends and adventures to talk about. Now as an adult, it's given me hope and courage when I needed it most. It taught me that no matter how bad things get, there's still love, happiness, and hope if you choose to seek it out. It's comforted me at times of great loss and encouraged me in times of fear. With the Harry Potter books close by, I never feel alone.” - Little Word Weaver

“I am 47 and HP means more to me today than it ever has. A lot of people in the US are let down and scared and anxious because of the recent presidential election. For 3-4 months after the election, I read and listened to the books and watched the movies over and over and over every single night. Now every day I do one of those things. I read, listen or watch, even if just for a few minutes. The world of Harry Potter makes me feel happy, at ease and at home. When I am sad, anxious or depressed, I reach for HP. I thank JK Rowling for giving us Hogwarts and I will live there in my heart forever.“ - Kara Middleton

“Harry Potter let me know it was cool to be a reader that there were other people out there who enjoyed reading just as much as I did. To this day I still love the sense of camaraderie that comes from meeting other fans of the books. The books themselves also made me laugh, cry and feel more than I thought any book could at that point and gave me the drive to want to write something myself one day that can make people feel too.“ - Em Brady

“To me it means everything. It was my childhood to begin with. It was what made me dream and believe that magic is real and it's everywhere and that even the darkest darkness can be beat with a little bit of light. I lived as a child trying to find the same feeling of family and home in every fantasy book. This was growing up. This was living, learning how to be a friend, how to be brave and how to love and deal with loss and happiness. Harry Potter was everything to me.“ - catarinathebookworm

“I read Harry Potter 1-4 when I was in fifth grade, almost 16 years ago. I am with you on at first it was such a fun, great reading experience and spurred my love of reading so much more. When the fifth book came out I was in P.A visiting my grandparents and uncle and he went out and stood in line to get it for us, brought it back, and read chapters out loud to me and my 4 siblings while we laid on the ground around him. Harry Potter has such a special meaning for everyone but for me it is family, love, adventure, bravery, standing up for what's right and what you believe in, being kind (even when you have a first year following you around with a camera), being able to defy peer expectations, family expectations, and always having a choice to be your own person despite how you were raised.” - Christeena (Game of Tomes)

“ For me it is essentially my transition into full adulthood. I didn't discover Harry Potter properly until Goblet of Fire at which point I was 17 years old and studying for my A Levels. I was kind of working out who I was and who I wanted to be. It was also when I realised university wasn't going to be an option for me as my mum had just been diagnosed with cancer. I instead got an evening job so I could look after her in the day and work in the evenings when my dad was home. Life went on between the Harry Potter releases. My mum had radiotherapy then an operation, then was diagnosed again and had a lung removed and then they discovered it again in her hip and they are currently still watching it as it's in an awkward location. It was a trying time for our family and Harry Potter definitely helped me through it. It enabled me to disappear into a magical world. Deathly Hallows holds a particularly special place because I had been made redundant from my job and decided with some of my redundancy money to go to Australia with my best friend at the time. While there the last Harry Potter book was released and I still remember reading it by the pool of our hostel all day (It was released at midday in Oz). So while it was with me through difficult times it also brings happy memories and I do feel that I grew into myself a little just like Harry and the others did in the series.” - carefulofbooks

“It means hope and everything that hopes brings. Like the phrase Dumbledore said in the Prisoner of Azkaban sums it up pretty well for me ‘Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.’ That's what Harry Potter means to me.“ - Rei RedReads

“For me I take a few things from a few characters. For example Hermione even though she was a bookworm, she could still kick butt when she had to. Ron and Neville show that even if you're not great at one thing that doesn't mean that you should quit or give up. As for Harry even though there are dark times, there is always hope and light. In all, Harry Potter means you shouldn't give up and always believe in those close to you.“ - Tay

“Harry Potter is, first and foremost, the reason why I learned English. This is pretty big because English plays a huge part in my life these days. For example, I have a YouTube channel in English, I studied English Literature at university and I use English every day at work - none of which would have been possible without Harry Potter. Also, Harry Potter helped me a lot when kids in high school made fun of me. I had a place to escape to in my darkest moments, and whenever I turned to the Harry Potter books for comfort, they never failed to deliver.” - Silvia Kay

“Harry Potter for me, isn’t just about the magic or the action. I read Harry Potter and get sucked into the life, into the relationships and laughter that surrounds the series. Reading about the relationships between Molly and her children, Harry and Sirius, and Hermione and the elves makes my heart all warm and fuzzy and there is always a good time to read about mischievous Peeves. Its appeal is endless. I’ve read HP throughout my teenage years and beyond and each time I read the series I find out something new, or remember something that I had forgotten about. I’m a Hufflepuff, my Patronus is a cat and I will forever relate to Luna Lovegood and Trevor.” - @NoonyLovegood

“I was around 7 when the first film came out and stubbornly refusing to read. I could read I just didn't. My older siblings had read the books and were excited about the film. I wanted to go too -typical tag-along sister- and my parents saw an opportunity. I couldn't go and see the film unless I read the book. I sat down grumpily to read this book, fully expecting to sludge through it just to get to the popcorn based prize at the end. Instead I got sucked into the story and read the whole book in one weekend. I was transported by JK's detailed world. The magic was so real and believable that I begged my dad to take me to London to find the Leaky Cauldron with its secret entrance to Diagon Alley. (Then I read Chamber of Secrets, which scared the pants off me and gave me nightmares.) Harry Potter taught me to love reading and gave me an escape over the years. I reread the books at least once a year and never tire of them. The films were just as magical. No matter how much had to be changed or cut for the screen, they're still ranked up there with some of the best film adaptations of all time. The characters are so real that despite the differences -being able to use magic, or being half giant, a Death Eater, or werewolf- you relate to them in so many different ways. Even though they're fiction they've taught me so much.” - @dozyrozy

“I was introduced to the Harry Potter world through my daughter at the time when one of the movies was out. I took her to see it and I was hooked. Years later a friend of my husband gave me most of the HP ebooks to read. I just wish I was of the younger generation to grow with what was happening at the time. I think the series is well written, great plots, great adventure and just wished something like that was around when I was young.” - @walkingfortheloveofbooks

“I started reading them when I was 7, just after the first movie was released. My mum hates hyped things so I didn’t see the film and avoided most of the hype about it. But when we were in the supermarket one night I picked up Prisoner of Azkaban and she caught me holding it and asked if I wanted to buy it. I can’t remember if I was so surprised I put it in the trolley knowing it was the 3rd book or if I just didn’t even know. But I still remember laughing at specific sections and falling in love with the world and the stories. After that, I really got into reading and I decided at 7 that I wanted to be a writer so I could create wonderful stories to make other people happy. And since each of the books in the series were bought as presents or at midnight launches, it feels a lot more special, like my childhood. Also, whenever I was upset or having a difficult time, I could pick up the books and feel less alone with my problems.” - @coffee_stars_books

In June 1990, Joanne Rowling was looking to move into a flat in Manchester with her boyfriend. Speaking about the origins of the series, Rowling says "One weekend after flat hunting, I took the train back to London on my own and the idea for Harry Potter fell into my head... A scrawny, little, black-haired, bespectacled boy became more and more of a wizard to me... I began to write Philosopher's Stone that very evening.” By 1995, the book was finished but it was rejected by 12 publishing companies, most of which claimed it was ‘too long for a children’s book’ at around 90,000 words. Eventually, the chairman of a relatively new publishing house Bloomsbury acquired the manuscript and took it home without reading it. It was there that his eight-year-old daughter read it and told her father that it was ‘so much better than anything else’. After months of her asking him what came next, Bloomsbury agreed to publish it on an initial print run of just 500 copies. 

26th June 2017 marks the 20th anniversary of the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. That’s an entire generation who have grown up with the boy wizard and his adventures. To many of us who are a part of this magical generation and some of those who aren’t, the world that Rowling started to create in June 1990 stretches far beyond the pages and the screen. It has touched our lives in countless ways and made huge impacts on our lives. It has guided us through dark times, laughed with us through good times and encouraged us to dream and believe in the impossible. The magic taught at Hogwarts may not exist but that hardly matters. The fact that a rejected manuscript of 20 years ago is still inspiring children to read whilst simultaneously giving immense hope and happiness to its original, now adult, readers is a magic that is undoubtedly very very real. After all this time, Hogwarts will Always be there to welcome you home. 

[ktorok]

Last Day

Today, my dad will experience many “lasts.”

He’ll wake up to his last necessary alarm.

He’ll gather his deadlines, thoughts, and tasks for the day in his head for the last time.

He’ll close the door of the house and open the door of his office building for the last time.

He’ll give the Dunkin’ team on Route 57 in Liverpool his morning coffee order for the last time….on his way to work (but likely not the last time ever).

Today, after over four decades, my dad is retiring. And I could not be more ecstatic.

When we were kids – and for nearly 25 years - dad worked for USAir, most of his tenure spent as manager of reservation sales. And he worked hard. He left bright and early every morning, and made it home for dinner every night. As a wound up child, I never noticed dad’s fatigue or stress after a long day of work (even though as I grew older, I could sense what a stressful job he had). Instead, we welcomed home a happy-to-see-us dad who we all raced to share our day’s stories with once he dropped his briefcase by the door. Often times, my sisters and I spent the days (or after-school hours) practicing our own renditions of music videos for Paula Abdul and Bangles classics counting down the minutes until dad got home so we could strong arm him into videotaping us with his enormous camcorder, the kind that weighed at least 15 pounds on your shoulder and had a huge microphone sticking out of the front (it was the 80s).

Airline employees and their immediate family members could fly free (maybe they still do), but had to fly standby (worth it for a family of six). The year the Holocaust Museum opened in Washington, DC, I had just learned about the Holocaust in school and really wanted to go see it. My dad flew me to DC for a day trip to check it out – a moving and emotional experience for a kid that has stuck with me very vividly as an adult. Though a somber experience, it was one of the coolest days of my life that I will forever cherish.

After finally convincing my parents that I could/should fly alone in tenth grade to visit a friend in New York City, and then sustaining an injury within hours of landing (a story for another blog), dad was the one who hopped on a plane to come pick me up.

We thought dad would retire from USAir. But then, 9/11 happened. After confirming that he was not in the air that morning (he often flew to Pittsburgh for meetings), I breathed the deepest sigh of relief of my lifetime. I remember talking to him that morning – he was very short on the phone, simply saying, “I’m okay. We’re busy trying to find out what happened. I’ll see you tonight.” Then, he hung up. His voice was calm but he was on edge, I could sense it. While we were so fortunate that he was not in the air that morning, we knew the ending to the story of his career was about to be rewritten.

After he and nearly 500 of his employees were laid off, dad took some time to figure things out. We were actually both in a job search at the same time. Soon, he found his next home with Main Street America Group, where he has been since 2002. He transitioned seamlessly from one long career into another one, and didn’t show any of us how hard it must have been.

He is that kind of dad. The poor man raised four daughters, which alone qualifies him for canonization. And he stopped at nothing to make sure we were all good kids who experienced a variety of things with a variety of people. All four years of college, I received a weekly letter from him – handwritten (email was still in its infancy) – and the return address simply read, “The Dad.” I still have them all.

He is an honest man. A great leader. Someone people look up to.

He is a fantastic public speaker, very thoughtful with his sentiments and timely with his jokes. He is often called upon to speak at retirement dinners, or roasts, of colleagues – a sign of his way with words.

He taught us many lessons, but the one that really shines to me has always been his work ethic.

Throughout his entire work life, I never once heard him complain about going to work (mom may beg to differ with me on that one). I think he could count on both hands alone how many times he called in sick over the past 40 plus years. He always went the extra mile (airline pun intended), both with his workload and with his hours in the office. He was the kind of boss who rolled up his sleeves, and never asked his employees to do a job that he himself wouldn’t do. While at USAir, one of his perks was a parking spot close to the front of his building. He used to park in the very last spot at the far corner of the lot, in turn making himself accessible and real to those who reported to him.

None of these things are going to be surprising to those who know him, but they are things that make me proud to publicize about him.

I don’t know anyone more deserving of down time. I hope he puts his feet up with a good book, a few more cups of Dunkin’ a day, and never looks at the clock. I hope deadline to him will now mean “when does the boat need to be out of storage” and “when is the final sign-up for my next open mic night.” Reports? Let them be notebooks full of his song lyrics and poems. And performance appraisals can now become how he rates the plumbers and electricians that he may need to call out to camp on Cross Lake.

To you dad, thank you for working so hard for so long to give us our amazing childhood home, our valued education, and our life experiences. If I can be a leader like you one day, I will know I’ve made it.

Enjoy your last day on the job, make sure you take a lunch hour, and smile into your next adventure. You’ve earned it.

[consulting-celiac-in-the-tardis]

15 Self Care Activities You Can Do in 15 Minutes or Less

New blog post! I get it: when life gets busy, setting aside time for self care can seem impossible. However, self care activities are perhaps the most important when your to-do list seems like a mile long.

As I start my third month of grad school, I can definitely relate. In fact, this past weekend felt like nothing but food prep, grading papers, lesson planning, squeezing in a few hours of socializing, blogging work and sleep. Hence, this list of 15 self care ideas that take 15 minutes or less!

Whether you're a college student, a first-year teacher, a badass full-time worker or the parent of three hyper kids, here are 15 fun ways to add 15 minutes of self care to your life this week! 

1. Write - and send - a letter.

There's something endearing about handwritten letters. It takes more thought and effort than shooting off a text or Facebook message (though I'll never turn down a funny meme or random "thinking of you" text from my besties). If the person you're writing to values letters like I do, your reminder to smile might even end up pinned to a bulletin board in their room. 

Plus, the act of writing a letter can be rewarding in itself. Research has linked expressive writing - including writing letters - to improved mood, reduced stress levels and an overall boost in wellbeing. 

So why not pick up a pen, a piece of paper and give a loved one an old-fashioned surprise? 

2. Unleash your inner yogi and stretch it out. 

First of all: it doesn't matter if you've never done yoga or have no idea what kind of stretches you "should" be doing. The goal of "self care" activities like this is to, well, care for yourself. So let what feels good guide your stretching!

If you have fibromyalgia (or another muscle-related chronic illness) like me, taking mini stretch breaks is vital. Sometimes, I get so "into" my work that I don't realize several hours have past and my shoulders are hiked up to my ears. Being more aware of how my body is feeling can prevent a migraine or extreme body aches from sidelining me hours later.

If you want to follow a "proper" yoga routine for your 15 minutes of stretching, I highly recommend Fightmaster Yoga on YouTube. Otherwise, you do you!

3. Watch a cute cat (or goat...or any adorable animal) video.

Admit it: there's something insanely relaxing about watching baby goats in onesies practice jumping or seeing a kitten play peekaboo. You're also not the only one whose stress level drops after watching a cute animal video. Scientists have actually discovered that cute videos trigger a release of dopamine - AKA, one of our "happy hormones" - in viewers' brains. 

Apparently, people's love of cute things has ties to evolution; basically, our brains are trying to ensure we properly care for our adorable infants. All that really matters, though, is that you now have a science-backed reason to crank up the cat videos during your Monday lunch hour!

Like this post? Then tweet me some love by clicking here: "Too busy for #selfcare? Then check out these 15 self care activities you can do in 15 mins or less! #health #selflove http://bit.ly/2y6j2vm"

4. Throw a (solo or friend-filled) dance party.

Do I really need to explain this one? Dancing is fun. Dancing to your favorite pick-me-up songs is even more fun. And dancing without worrying what anyone thinks of your super groovy dance moves is a blast!

The hit of adrenaline from your mini-burst of exercise doesn't hurt either!

5. Go for a walk in nature.

Can’t stop thinking about the mistake you made during your big presentation or the annoying co-worker who works at the desk across from yours? Then taking a walk outside is exactly the self-care tip you need. 

Everyone has moments of brooding, or nonstop thinking on negative parts of your day or life. Research has found, though, that spending time walking outside in nature can decrease brooding and improve mental health. And even if you aren’t brooding, spending some quality time with your local park can’t hurt. So find a nature trail and get walkin’! 

6. Prep a delicious dinner.

If you're a foodie like me, a delicious meal is a great way to show people that you care. Sometimes, though, we forget to show ourselves the same edible self love! 

Even if you're short on time, you can lay the groundwork for a delicious meal later on. Cut up some veggies that you can roast while you work; put your choice of protein in a marinade to soak up flavor while you're away; throw a bunch of ingredients in the slow cooker (following recipes like these!); or even Google and bookmark a recipe that looks yummy and easy to make. 

Remind yourself that you need fuel to kick life's booty...and that you're worthy of making fuel that actually tastes finger-lickin' good! 

7. Look at your calendar and schedule at least one "just for fun" activity that week.

Once you get in the mindset of "work, work, work," it can be hard to remember to give yourself the social breaks you need. Prevent yourself from putting on "productivity blinders" by spending a few minutes adding at least one fun event into your weekly schedule. 

Of course, we all have different definitions of "fun" - and as long as you're enjoying yourself and taking a break from work, anything is fair game! Have a spa; go for a walk with a friend; curl up with a good book in your favorite coffee shop; binge watch Netflix for a few hours in your PJ's. The choice of how to have fun is up to you!

And if an even more amazing social opportunity comes your way - like a girls' night out - you already have some time set aside in your schedule to join in.

Like this post? Then tweet me some love by clicking here: "Too busy for #selfcare? Then check out these 15 self care activities you can do in 15 mins or less! #health #selflove http://bit.ly/2y6j2vm"

9. Start and finish one (tiny) chore.

Raise your hand if you've ever felt like you have so much to do, you don't know where to start. Between blogging, teaching, taking classes and doing everything needed to stay alive, I can 100% relate. One self care tip I've started following regularly, though, is doing little chores any spare chance I get...and patting my back for a job well done.

For instance, let's say you need to finish a 10-page paper, write and publish a blog post and reply to five important emails. Which should you start with first? While it may feel the most rewarding to finish your paper or blog post, it'll probably take less time to shoot off a couple emails - and then you'll already have succeeded crossing one "to do" off your list! 

8. Work it out (literally)!

You may already know that exercise is an easy way to boost overall health, with studies finding that exercise increases endorphins (aka, the “happy hormones”) and norepinephrine, a chemical that can improve your brain’s reaction to stress. Not to mention all the physical benefits exercise offers. 

However, you may not realize that even 15 minutes of exercise can make a difference. Research shows that short (as little as ten minute!) bursts of intense exercise are just as effective as 45-minute workouts in improving heart health and other indicators of fitness. And trust me. If you do a 15 minute HIIT workout or even just a moderate weight lifting session, you still get that endorphin rush! 

Some of my favorite short workouts are quick targeted workouts (like abs or cardio) on the free Nike+ Training App; a random combination of jumping jacks, jogging, push-ups or whatever other exercises pop in my head; or even a short 15-minute sprint on the treadmill or elliptical. Find what works for you and for your body, and stick with it.

10. Get lost in a book.

When you’re feeling stressed out, what’s a better escape than visiting another “world” through a good book? It turns out that there are way more benefits of reading than you might expect. Studies have found that reading for as little as 30 minutes a day is associated with a longer lifespan and a more extensive vocabulary. Reading even a chapter of a fiction novel has also been linked to increased empathy. Talk about self care that doubles as self development!

If you love reading but never have the time (trust me - as a grad student earning an MFA in writing, I can relate!), start scheduling 15 minute reading breaks into your week. You’ll be amazed at how much you look forward to putting down your laptop and picking up a book instead. 

11. Eat something delicious.

“Comfort eating” has a slightly negative connotation nowadays, with it often associated with unhealthy binges on junk food or mindless snacking. While it’s unlikely that either of those two habits are healthy, I do think there are times when you just need a big, juicy burger or creamy bowl of ice cream. 

Food is fuel - but it is also memories and quality time with friends and family and, yes, sometimes exactly the kind of comfort you need. So if your brutal week calls for a visit to a local bakery for a cookie the size of your head, eat and enjoy the dang cookie - and then keep kicking life’s booty! 

Like this post? Then tweet me some love by clicking here: "Too busy for #selfcare? Then check out these 15 self care activities you can do in 15 mins or less! #health #selflove http://bit.ly/2y6j2vm"

12. Explore somewhere new.

You don't need hours - or even days - away from home to go on adventure somewhere new. Oftentimes, there are plenty of hidden gems to explore near your own front yard. Instead of swinging by Starbucks like usual, check out the cute local coffee shop a few blocks away. Take a different path around your favorite park. If you're a foodie like me, you might even want to spend your 15 minutes walking around a new-to-you grocery store. (Does anyone else love finding new grocery stores, or am I just weird?)

Who knows - you may find your new favorite local hangout!

13. Give yourself permission to do absolutely nothing.

I'll admit it: I’m slightly addicted to productivity. Even when I’m taking a break from work, I’m usually working out or working on a side project like baking or blogging. If you can relate, why not give yourself the gift of 15 minutes spent doing absolutely nothing? 

Lie in bed, waste time scrolling through Instagram, watch the sunset, do some people watching. Those fifteen minutes of “nothing-ness” are yours to do with what you wish. Just don’t do anything productive! 

14. Call home or a good friend - and be honest about how you're feeling.

When you're jumping from one obligation to the next, it's easy to forget to check in with the people you love most. So why not make calling home an official part of your weekly schedule? Researchers have reported that hearing a loved one's voice can actually trigger jumps in particular hormones and nerves. In fact, one study found that hearing a mother's (or father's) voice caused a jump in pleasure areas of children's brains.

Don't just talk about the weather either; really talk. Advice from an old friend about a problem you're struggling with or some reassuring words from mom may be exactly what you need.

15. Look back on your week and make a list of everything you’ve done, no matter how small. 

It never hurts to remind yourself what a true badass you really are! Sometimes we can get so focused on the things we still need to get done or the mistakes we’ve made that we forget about everything we majorly #slayed that week. So take 15 minutes to review everything you’ve kicked booty at during the week - and don't forget to mention the small stuff, too. Research has found that, when people acknowledge their small successes, they not only boost their self confidence, but also have more motivation to work. This isn't bragging - it's setting yourself up for another killer week!

Like this post? Then tweet me some love by clicking here: "Too busy for #selfcare? Then check out these 15 self care activities you can do in 15 mins or less! #health #selflove http://bit.ly/2y6j2vm"

Regardless of which of these self care ideas you want to add to your weekly routine, one thing is certain: no matter how limited your free time, there's always time for a little self love.

And as I prepare for another crazy week of grad school, you can bet that several of these self care activities are landing on my to-do list! What's your favorite self care activity? Which of these would you want to try first? Tell me in the comments!

via Blogger http://ift.tt/2kJ7j2B

[the-truth-just-sounds-bette-blog]

September 19, 2017 I have decided to create an original + uncensored space with the intention to a) gather and sort through some of my own thoughts b) share what I feel to be worthy information with others and c) openly explore a wide variety of relevant topics that I've been vigorously studying for quite some time. Over the years curiosity, concern, and genuine personal interest have led me to research a broad array of information which I strongly feel is not only generally ignored by the masses, but often times ridiculed or exhausted before even given a fair moment of attention or consideration. Truth is not always kind and it is rarely comfortable or safe. Raw truth can often times feel very scary to take in despite ones best attempt at keeping an open mind and strong heart. That said, if you sincerely claim to be any sort of thoughtful human of substance and honor.. then you must know and breathe the following fact: IGNORANCE IS NOT BLISS. In some ways, it has almost become uncool or faux paux for a person to speak ones mind or effectively express their personal, honest and unfiltered thoughts in the present day. In other ways; people of all creeds, sex, ethnicity and age merely mechanically parrot others without attempting or being bothered to do their own research and evaluation - they skip right over the very critical part of personal analyzation which is absolutely key to (in turn) responsibly forming any original opinion at all. Many may mimic or mirror the opinions of their parents or other family members, maybe they restate narratives their friends tend to support or perhaps they simply regurgitate a few key words that a news anchor read off from yesterdays cue cards on channel whatever. Don't get me wrong, I have an immeasurable + absolute sincere respect for many individuals in the truth movement and for all those wanting to learn what is real. I don't believe there is anything more commendable than an individual who is willing to openly advocate for ALL human (and animal) rights by directly speaking out against the evil doers on this earth who repeatedly commit injustices like it's nothing. Accountability depends on knowledge. Acknowledging unpleasant issues and evils out loud (not only to ourselves, but also to others) is a crucial part of exposing the harsh realities left in their wake. There is no doubt in my mind that people all over the world are absolutely waking, but so many more are still fast asleep. Snapchat this, Facebook that, tunnel vision and daily routine take precedent and so on. Let me take a moment now to say this.. I myself value entertainment very much and I believe with all my soul that the importance of enjoying this life here on Earth in all ways humanly possible is *imperative* to keeping your spirit happy and afloat. I do not live to work, rather work to live. I collect new experiences with great fondness and I have had just as much fun at a $20 dinner as a $200 dinner. I am a concert addict and the music that deeply moves my soul truly has the unique ability to bring me alive in childlike ways. I listen to 90's trance for hours and hours at home. Bones Thugs will never ever not make me dance immediately. I never get sick of it. I regularly spend quality time with souls dear to me. I love to swim. I love all seasons and all food. The ocean makes me smile from miles away. A hint of salty air and a single ray of sunshine makes me indescribably giddy. I love to watch films of all kinds and I'm a total YouTube junkie, just like the lot of us. I often binge read books and articles during my free time to the point that sometimes, I actually have to set a manual two hour alarm to avoid blowing the whole day away and getting sucked into the author of the weeks world. I have to physically and mentally set limits over my own Self on particular days so I don't get too carried away.. so that I am still able to adequately focus on my present as well. I work full time and pay my own bills. I eat 10-12 snacks a day. I stop to pet every dog I see on the street no matter where I'm heading or what time it is. I consistently make time for traveling because creating new experiences, immersing myself in other cultures and living a wild life of adventure is half of my whole heart. In this life, I am a free spirit by design.. that said I value my family, my relationship with God and the love in my life immensely. As an adult I have acquired countless hobbies, interests and responsibilities as most of us do over time. I also regularly make time to study, research and learn more about the world I live in because I consciously choose to do so. I am so naturally drawn to caring. I couldn't even help it if I tried because this deep desire for trueness is in my very blood for better or worst and it runs all though my innermost core. I unquestionably yearn to not only grow as a free thinking person, but also to willfully expand my mind more and more with each passing day until my very last little breath. I thirst to question that which deserves debate. Occasionally, I seek answers to questions that are difficult or cannot truly be answered clearly, this can be equally rewarding and frustrating depending on the matter at hand. Here's a touch of background about me so that you can have a simple idea of where I came from as we move forward. I am originally born in Bulgaria (South East Europe) and fled from communism and the hell it left behind once lifed when I was a child. I always kept up my first language and to this day I am proudly fluent in Bulgarian. If I do have children of my own, they too will undoubtedly be raised bilingual. My family (parents and I) were temporary relocated to Germany after applying to countries outside of home via legal channels with proper papers/passports.. in crucial moments there were even in depth handwritten letters brought forth stating why 'they' should accept us into their land. That was what it is when it was. Nothing was guaranteed and everything was a gamble. When we did eventually find out that we were leaving, my parents were not allowed to tell anyone of our plans or whereabouts, not even family. We were permitted to take a total of two suitcases for three whole people. One was filled with clothes, the other packed with books. Maybe that's a part of why there is a deeply instinctual thirst for knowledge in my very blood. And maybe it isn't. I later attended kindergarten in W. Europe, I spoke + sang fluent German and after a couple of years of living in a Bavarian hotel we received more word from afar which prompted us to proceed along our path. Ultimately, we were given the option to move to St. Louis, Missouri or Thunder Bay, Ontario. My sweet parents were so brave and hopeful for better days ahead. This awesome courage is something that I can never ever repay them for, even if I tried. Despite all that they had been through back home - and despite all that they had battled and conquered always fighting tooth and nail, real masters of the poker face - the Land of the Free would surely hold a more promising future for us all. So off we went. We were each sworn in legally before a judge, took on US citizenship and then immediately dropped off with our two suitcases in tow straight into a small one bedroom apt in the middle of a grim city containing just a single mattress on the floor and a perfectly empty fridge. We didn't have an air conditioner and no one warned us we would need one. My father immediately hit the ground running and got a full time job to support us, an air conditioner was bought and a few years later my brother was born. The rest is history. As far as formal schooling goes, I went to an elementary school in North City and then later a second in South City - after that I attended a public county school until my senior year and I did not receive any formal education after I graduated high school. I have touched almost every state and spent a great deal of time in Europe, Asia and Africa. And I have a thousand more places I want to go. What I quickly learned in the years to come was that even though my high school was widely considered to be an extremely solid and reputable one, I wasn't ever really taught much about the rest of the world during my time there. We studied slavery, the Bill of Rights, the American Civil War and the Holocaust every single year. The same criteria in just slightly different forms from 6th grade thru 12th. I took math classes and I also learned how to cut open a frog and a worm during science. I learned how to play kickball and volleyball and struggled to knock out a few pull ups in gym. As a 'subject,' World History was extremely general and brief, and that particular 'subject' was only optional to graduate. You could easily have chosen the 'US Government' option if you so preferred it. Required reading was restricted to a minimal and predetermined list which was given to the teachers as a manual at the start of each semester. We took mandatory geography tests covering all the states, but were never taught too much about the rest of the worlds corners. All my friends assumed Bulgaria was somewhere in South America because it kind of sounded like Bolivia. 18 year old kid adults from 'good families' and 'nice homes' actually thought that Paris, London and Amsterdam were names of countries. They didn't know where or how to quickly find non cities like France, England or Holland on a globe unless given more than a little time to squint and wonder, spinning the neon colored globe globe round and round. No one ever taught us about Mao. No teacher mentioned Stalin. Not a singular note was taken regarding atrocious genocides all over the huge continent of Africa. My GPA on paper was very high but I felt somehow limited in my learnings later on as I began to jet around and experience new lands, cultures and countries on my own. So as I grew older and literally began to see more and more of the world as 'we' know it, I also began to question my own smarts. I began to touch different continents physically and trotted on to experience some places I had never even heard of before. I discovered cities and towns I couldn't pronounce and most times, I found myself consistent feeling invigorated by the massive breath(s) of fresh air. But occasionally, I felt unignorable deeply stunted inside.. almost child like, like something had been omitted along the way. Something big. I decided to teach myself everything that I possibly could including what was omitted earlier in my primary education. I feverishly studied world history, religion and cultures of all kinds, maps and atlases galore, languages and dialects. I studied people near and far. I studied myself. I also passionately studied the unpredictable realms of the rapidly changing world all around me in the form of journals. I wrote down so much. I filled stacks of notebooks with my learnings and flipped tons of pages along the way.. and then more pages and more pages. I read til my eyes burned. I dove into foreign press, I wrote to my senators, I watched the local news. I got lost on the Internet. I let it all sink in as much as I could take it. I did all of this because I wanted to. We are now living in a time where the brave ones who do speak out against the norm are often immediately labeled as subversive, crazy or overly "intense." These outspoken individuals are often times written off by society + regularly ridiculed for their thoughts and expressions.. as a result their messages are quickly discarded into a never ending trash bin manned by the mindless and secured by the masters.. ironically enough their voices simply just get thrown away probably ending up somewhere right alongside free will and basic rights. That said - I have always, *ALWAYS* whole heartedly believed in being a voice and not an echo, so here we are. Everything you see and read here is meant to be digested just the way it is presented, my writing and imagery of choice is always forward and direct - no more, no less. I'm not ever going to hold your hand or explain myself as if I am addressing a fragile sheltered little babe. I'm just going to share with you what I can, while I can. A few months ago I created an Instagram account (separate from my personal) where I approached topics which I felt were extremely important to our world today. I just wanted to share my findings with normal people, or most simply with anyone at all who felt like having a look. That account ranged from revisiting history to accessing current day events.. neither modern day politics as we know it nor honesty were ever excluded or sugar coated in the slightest. Soon enough people were engaging in back and forth intelligent conversation, giving regular feedback/input, asking questions and sending me kind messages of gratitude. This was so much more than I could have ever expected from just another social media outlet.. yet one day when I hopped onto IG to log in, very much to my surprise - I found that my username was no longer valid and my account had been wiped clean. This happened overnight. No warning, no reason.. here today + gone tomorrow, literally. No Instagram rules were remotely violated along the way, but down it went. Point in case: censorship is real. If you haven't realized that humanity is being systematically dumbed down by now, then it is highly likely that you too, have been systematically dumbed down somewhere along the way. I used to have a 'popular' blog online years ago where I shared personal writing photos of my life, travels, interests, etc.. that site seemed to mash together almost all my passions under the sun (music, film, art, fashion, recipes, etc etc) but I never really got 'political' there by choice - I wanted to keep that separate. I knew that I had to be very careful with my viewpoints if I ever wanted to be a writer or accepted by publisher(s) later on. Well that blog had a few million visits and a ton of followers when I decided to delete it (by choice) one day. People from all over the world wrote to me and I met dozens of them in countries all over which was super rad. Despite all that hype, for some reason it had just ran its course for me and I can say with certainly that I was definitely more bummed when this recent Instagram with just a couple hundred 'followers' was abruptly taken away bc I didn't make that choice myself. While I'm very well aware that your followers are not always your fans.. it has just become increasingly more important to me to focus on what matters to me most, everyday and in every way. Of course I still love movies and exploring exhibits at museums near and far. I still study fashion magazines from cover to cover and attend shows just like I always have. But I have a deeper desire to share with others, that which is purposefully being withheld because I wholeheartedly believe it affects us all in the end. Moving forward, I will be posting pieces I have written on topics including but not limited to; HAARP: what is it and why should you know more about it, why traditionalism and nationalism are not equal to racism/hate and the reason I will probably never vote for president in the USA again, even though I literally moved to America for freedom of democracy. The irony is so real. I am going to look inside the unignorable and ever growing parallels between the Roman Empire and the United States because they simply fascinate me. I'll review their differences too, but you will soon see for yourself that the similarities greatly outweigh the latter. I'm going to discuss impeding race wars, media manipulation, distraction tactics, corrupt politians, illegal wars, unjust occupations, false prophets, and the many toxic poisons that are destroying us not only as individuals but also as a whole. Along the way, I will share my own fears and doubts with an audience of 1 or 100 because the simple truth is: I clearly don't have all the answers, not even close. You'll read about systematic indoctrination and it's direct ties to the endless bloody wars based on lies that our very tax dollars pay for year after tired year. You'll read about why the system was born broken. I'm going to tell you all about how I discovered that most things we have been taught to believe are just part of a big story. I'm going to describe the game as I know it, call out the big players and acknowledge the pawns. I may have to remind you that the narrative is not in your favor. It never was and by the looks of things, it may never be. It doesn't mean doom and gloom. It means that self educating and awareness has never ever been more important. Until then, please remember this much.. A nation of sheep is bound to be governed by wolves. You should never confuse education with intelligence. And last but definitely never least, thinking for yourself out loud is the absolute best thing you can do in this life. ❤✌🏼