#i never see people at the university libraries read actual physical books that i can try to read the titles of

[alexanderwales]

It's been a while since I've seen something in a movie or show that feels so egregiously stupid that it actually bothers me, but then I watched Dark Matter on Apple TV, and ... oh boy. Spoilers follow. I have not read the book it's based on, and haven't finished the show.

The basic premise is that there's a way to travel between worlds by injecting a drug and closing yourself in a specially made metal box, which puts you in a state of superposition and then allows you a long tunnel of doorways into other worlds. The doorways respond to thoughts and emotions, but if you're good enough, and know this secret, you can recognize a precise world. Quantum physics does not work like this, but whatever, I will accept this as part of the Rules of the Show.

So our protagonist gets kidnapped by our antagonist, who is an alternate universe version of him. He eventually realizes he's in another universe and escapes into the box, leaving him trying to get back to his original world, Sliders style. This, too, is something that I'm willing to accept. The show alternates between our antagonist in the home universe and the protagonist trying to find his way home and seeing some of the roads not taken (actually mostly dystopias).

The first time I thought "wow, this show is actually stupid" was when the possibility of stealing from other universes was brought up. The antagonist says "you can't rob banks, bills have serial numbers, people would notice". And then we just move on. But what about gold? What about movies, or novels, or patents, or a hundred other things you could take from other worlds? This is just never brought up again.

And okay, I can give this a pass. The book was a thriller and the show is trying to be a character study, and you don't want to spend time on thinking about how to exploit infinitely many other Earths. But why bring it up then? Why this lazy deflection?

The second moment, when I had to accept that the show was simply stupid, was when the protagonist is trying to go home and is checking each world to see whether it's the right one. He goes to his home, sees that it is his home, grabs a knife from the counter, goes upstairs to his wife, and she screams at him because in that world he's in prison and they're divorced (for reasons that really should have been explained, but are not, I'm really not asking for much here, the show is a "path not taken" character study and you're just not going to tell us what the path actually was, come on).

I understand wanting a scene like this in the show. It's dramatic, it's thrilling, we're not sure it's the right universe, it's a twist ... but it's dumb. Why is our protagonist not using the internet to check these things? He's a college professor, can't he at least double-check that he's on the faculty page or whatever? Doesn't a search for his name or his wife's name instantly give him 99% of the information he needs? He doesn't have a phone, okay, whatever, he can still go to a public library or internet cafe or just pay some rando to use their phone for five minutes. This is leaving aside the fact that the show has no sense of travel times, and floats merrily from location to location, when in reality the trip from the box to his house should be at least thirty minutes, if not more. It's faster to just check the internet for these things. Find some wifi, my dude.

I try to be understanding about these things. You're writing a show, you have a metaphorical budget of time and a literal budget of money. But come on.

[diorgirl444]

hiiii, i just stumbled upon your blog and i would LOVE a matchup (i tried doing them once on my page and i realised i suck at it lmao, so i admire that u can write them so nicely )

as for who - id love to be paired with someone from hp universe, any era<3

anywayyyy, im really bad at talking about myself but ill try my best

im an intj, my sun sign is aquarius, 5’6”, im a girl and i go by she/her, im bisexual but id rather be paired with a guy (if you choose a girl its fine as well)

i have blue eyes, short wavy/curly hair, currently dyed red, im pale as fuck (im literally allergic to the sun), curvy and i have lots of tattoos. my style is very inconsistent, i dress comfy but at the same time kinda goth-ish, alternative? i wear black 99% of the time, lots of silver jewellery, i have my nose pierced too:p i also wear glasses

i am very creative, i paint and draw most of the time. occasionally i write fanfics but then i have long breaks because i get burned out really easily. im lazy, which is not so good, but at the same time i mostly get things done. i am a huge animal lover, i have 2 cats and 3 dogs. im an introvert but when im with my closest friends my extravert side comes out. im a huge people pleaser, sometimes its not good for me but i cant help it. my love language is physical touch and acts of service.

i love art, art galleries, old cemeteries, greek mythology, the sky and sunflowers. i also adore the forest and just nature in general. im obsessed with pretty little shiny rocks.

i hate people who have a problem with minorities and are just nasty beings towards others and animals. i also hate spiders and insects of any kind, thats why i will never set my foot in australia.

oh and i also dont like kids. i dont have this “gift” or whatever. i dont know how to talk to them, how to act around them and how to play with them.

as for my aesthetic? i have no idea, but id go for dark academia/gothic vibes.

if you need to know anything else just dm me! xx and thank you in advance, have a lovely night/day! <33

your perfect matchup is 𝐣𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 💌

𝐢 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐣𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 <3

𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐢 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝟐 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 <3

the first time james sees you he’s completely speechless. you’re chatting with marlene about something in class, absentmindedly playing with your hair and he’s just gulping like a fish. because where have you been all his life? truly the universe has been so cruel in keeping you from him!

but he’s suddenly shy. james has had plenty of luck with girls. he’s a flirt by nature. he knows all the right things to say, the ways to sweep them off their feet. that is before he saw you… he’s now well and truly tongue tied. he’s literally like lying in bed at night planning what he wants to say to you next time he sees you. spoiler alert he just gets scared and watches you from across the great hall like this 🧍

but finally he pulls himself together and approaches you the next time he sees you. you’re sat in the back of the library on a window seat reading through a book you found which explains how the greek gods were actually early forms of wizards and witches, very interesting stuff you know? you don’t even notice him lingering over you till he sort of awkwardly coughs and asks “would you recommend it? the - the book i mean would you recommend it?” he asks and he can feel heat creeping up his neck as you nod and smile up at him. “tell me about it!” he practically spits out in the next second. he’s so embarrassing i love him

you agree because he’s cute and everyone’s always talking about what a nice boy james potter is to you. of course you don’t know that they only do that you because they see the way james looks at you but hey what you don’t know can’t hurt you? so you move along on your seat and james shuffles in beside you. the first thing you notice is how he smells like cinnamon, oranges and something slightly earthy that is just so james. the next thing you notice is the way his knee and his shoulder press against yours on the small window seat. it’s warm and intimate and you feel flustered as you start to explain the greek myths to him. he watches you as you speak, watches the way your lashes brush your cheek, watches the way your lips move as you talk.

it’s nice to just be listened to for a change so this becomes your pattern. you see a side to james in these afternoon reading sessions that very few people are privy too. the normally loud and cocky potter is gentle and polite. happy to just sit and watch you devotedly. he makes it so natural too so you forget that you’re introverted, you tell him what your favourite things, things that make you angry, your hopes, your dreams everything. and in that time you start to fall for him. you can’t help it he’s so easy to love. you try to hide this new discovery but its hard to go from telling james everything to keeping such a huge secret from him and so he notices the absence. he doesn’t know what it is but he knows you’re keeping something and so he’s hurt if he’s honest.

so you avoid him. you can’t face the sad puppy look on his face it cuts you up and so you pretend you don’t see him waiting for you in the library, pretend you don’t hear the tapping on your door, or the notes stuffed in your pocket. because hopefully he’ll get bored move on and you’ll get over him. but james potter is determined and so enamoured by you that he’ll try one last time. and so he hides a book in your room. the book is his diary with the pages from all his time with you bookmarked. in it are lists of your favourite things, tiny sketches of you, details on how he feels about you and he ends it with “vicky darling i don’t know what i did but please know i’m eternally sorry. you’ve made a mess of me, i’d do anything to just see you again. don’t you know i love you? if you feel the same meet me at our window seat. if i don’t see you there i will accept that you truly don’t feel the same and i will leave you be. yours forever, james” you find yourself wiping tears as you read it realising how silly you’ve been.

and so with haste you race to the window seat in the library and when you see him there all anxious and shy your heart aches. “ you’ve made a mess of me too james” you say softly as you sit beside him and his face lights up. “can i make it better?” he asks huskily and you nod. his hands cup your face as he leans in and kisses you. he tastes like maple syrup, he smells like spices and he feels like home. it’s perfect and as he walks you back to your dorm with a promise of a date in hogsmede and a soft kiss to your forehead you feel giddy as you lay down under the covers that night because james potter loves you and you love him.

𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 <3

golden retriever bf! + black cat gf! golden retriever bf! + black cat gf! golden retriever bf! + black cat gf! okay but seriously you two are the epitome of this trope. not because you’re mean but because james is so extroverted and you’re not so much i think it matches the two do you perfectly.

he makes you go watch his quidditch games. 😭 im sorry they’re probably so boring so like you sit with marlene and dorcas to try and make it more palatable but it is probably still so dull. if it makes it any better he does loads of fancy tricks on his broom so that you think he’s cool though it does come off a bit pathetic. don’t worry though because at the end he’ll ride his broom over to you and kiss you while standing on it.

your reading thing doesn’t stop it’s just that now when you read to him he’ll have his arm around your waist and his free hand will trace hearts on the small sliver of skin that peaks out there between your uniform skirt and shirt. he doesn’t actually disturb you though because he finds it so relaxing to hear your voice. if you want to stop him and kiss him though he’s not gonna complain.

he loves visiting cemeteries with you. you offhandedly mentioned once how you were gonna visit one, you didn’t invite him though because you were worried he’d think it was weird. but then he sort of shyly asks “can i come too?” and you laugh and nod. the two of you pack a picnic and spend the whole day exploring the graveyard with each other in quite intimacy. your hands constantly intertwined as you walk, pausing to pay your respect and the long-forgotten names of the people who laid there and occasionally saying hello to the few ghosts that lingered there. you came across one pair which were an old couple who said you reminded them of theirselves when they were your age which makes the tips of james’s ear turn red.

he brings you any nice rocks he finds. sirius gives him the weirdest look when the marauders are sneaking around at night and james bends down to pick a stone up that he thinks you’d like but james just grins and shrugs his shoulders saying “my girl likes them. what can you do?” the marauders smile at that. they’ve never seen james look so lovesick - it’s very sweet.

you two have matching necklaces. i don’t know why but i just feel this in my core. you found them at an antique shop and yours is a silver moon james is gold sun. because of it when the two of you are together everyone calls the pair of you “solar eclipse” 😭 even did it once when she was telling your friend group off. she was like “where’s solar eclipse?” sirius absolutely pissed himself laughing about that.

james gets rid of spiders for you but not before teasing you a bit. that’s just the kinda of guy he is i’m sorry. he’ll get them gone though for you don’t you worry but only if you promise to kiss him as a thank you after.

he writes you love letters weekly. you smile on mondays when his owl flies and drops a cream coloured envelope down on your desk written in james’s scrawling hand. in the letter he incloses what his favourite memories of you he has of the past week be that an outfit he thought was really pretty, a song he heard that made him think of you, or a leaf that he pressed from a forest walk that the two of you went on. he adores you so much it’s unbelievable.

𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 <3

hope you like it! xoxo, flo <3

[tamelee]

fuck booktok fr it literally recommends the same ten books over and over again, mischaracterises or twinkifies half the characters and then act like theyve done no wrong when other book communities hate on them. LIKE BABES YOU LITERALLY TURNED LITERATURE INTO FAST FASHION. capatalism is at an all time high in booktok, with ppl having 200 physical tbr's and five editions of the same book. but if you say anything about it, you hated on for hating???? we really need to go back to libraries, its like ppl have forgotten those exist. anyway that was my small little rant hehe (sorry feel free to ignore)

Oooooh, book-community discourse is a thing? *-* Interesting. I do know they get a lot of backlash from the art-communities because every damn novel has one of three cover-designs and they all look the same nowadays. You can hardly tell the authors apart. Most are made by AI as well -.- (I mean, shouldn’t writers/authors and artists be on the same page about the matter? No? Imagine complaining about your writing being stolen and then using AI for your cover-art… come on now.) 

Feel free to rant always xD I’m actually happy to know I’m not the only one feeling weird about these 10’ish recommendations that you see over and over again. I picked one out that was Goodreads #1 bestseller once (2022, I believe) and seeing people rave about it and giving the monstrosity 5-⭐️ catapulted me to an alternative Universe to rethink my entire life. I don’t think I’ve ever been more confused. (Beautiful prose though, I’ll give it that.) 

((I put book-tok and -tube together because to me it didn’t seem like it’s much different? I don’t really use tiktok, but they all repost their vids and recs through yt-shorts. Not sure if putting the two together pissed someone off then, but please do correct me if I’m wrong.))

Yeeaaahh, you’re right actually. I never really sat down to think about it, but that analogy you made is pretty brilliant. I mean, it’s sad, but a lot do treat books like fast fashion from what I’ve seen. I may not like majority of these ‘trending’ books, but treating a piece of work that way (cheap and trendy) hurts my book-loving heart a little. If ever possible in the future, I’d love to have a library in my home with my favorite books. (Dark academia style of course.) I usually only buy a physical copy if I really liked it after reading the digital version. Unfortunately around here, most libraries have closed :( So I’m afraid you’re right about that as well— people really have forgotten. 

[blackbutler-readerinsertsandjunk]

It's ok if you can make a reaction about "What is the worst promise your muse has ever broken?" With Maurice, doll (they/them) Joanne and Alois. Please and thank you (✿^‿^)(✿^‿^)

aaaaaa manners, thank u~ <3 <3 <3

Card Suits

Spades

Four - What is the worst promise your muse has ever broken?

The worst one…? He’s broken a lot of promises on the way to where he is now. To be fair, not all the promises he’s made have been made seriously; there were some said in jest, tongue-in-cheek, or ones that he said which he never intended to keep in the first place. But the worst one… the worst promise he’s ever broken, the one that will remain the worst, was the promise that he and Luka would live happily ever after with each other. It really wasn’t long after that Luka died, so… Alois feels that his last promise to his brother was broken in the most terrible way. Sometimes he wonders if a person like him could have kept that promise in the first place. He thinks about it, and when he thinks about it for too long, he breaks down in tears. “I broke my promise!” he sobs as he clings to his S/O, the only person he trusts with these delicate feelings. “I let him die…!” And really, it’s not necessarily his fault. He didn’t so much break his promise as someone else smashed it to pieces. Yet, the guilt remains.

The reason they refrain from making promises is because those things are so easily broken. What are they bound by? Someone’s word, a sense of honor? What happens if the promise is broken just because it physically can’t be kept? Freckles… doesn’t like making promises. They’ve learned quickly that it’s a recipe for disappointment, whether their own or someone else’s. However, the worst promise they’ve ever broken is one they made to themself, not to anyone else. A very, very long time ago — when they were still a child themself — they made a silent promise: When I’m all grown up, I’ll make sure to take good care of children I see on the streets, as best I can! Having to follow the Baron’s orders means that they have broken that promise a hundred times over. Anyone who knows them and knows about that promise would say that it’s quite possibly the reason they don’t like to make promises. It eats them up inside that they’re leading children, children like the one they were once, to harm. They hate themself for it, and their heart is in as many pieces as that shattered promise.

Oh, well, that’s… it’s kind of silly for him to think about! Unlike some people, he doesn’t really have any serious promises that he’s managed to break. As it stands, he’s a very genteel young man who pretty much keeps all the promises he makes, or he doesn’t actually promise it. Did he promise to take someone on a date? He does, even if perhaps he doesn’t particularly enjoy it. Did he promise to be there at a specific time for an event? He’s probably there early, because that’s the becoming thing to do. Did he promise to do something for a friend? He does it, because he was raised that one keeps their word, especially to someone they care about. So, really, the worst promise he’s ever broken is… the promise he made to read all the books in the university library before he graduated. Even being the voracious reader that he is, it was never going to happen; there were too many books, and coupled with his coursework, it was an impossible feat! He’s still jokingly disappointed in himself whenever anyone brings it up.

Honestly, when a person throws around promises the way Maurice does… what’s the expression, again? ‘Have to break a few eggs to make an omelette’? There are bound to be a few broken eggs left in his wake. He’s littered broken promises of meetings, dates, devotion, practically everywhere he sets foot. It’s just something he does without a second thought, making a promise, regardless of whether or not he intends or is even able to keep it. That said, the worst promise he’s broken is likely one he doesn’t actually realize he’s broken so badly. When he and Joanne were friends, Joanne (who has always been shy and socially anxious and prone to not having many friends) asked Maurice, “Can I trust you? Can I… really trust you…?” And of course, Maurice promised that Joanne could trust him. In the moment, surely Maurice didn’t consider the weight of the question or of his promise. So he doesn’t understand just how terrible a betrayal it was when he broke it… particularly given that Joanne felt like he had to ask about it in the first place.

[libertyreads]

July TBR--

This is going to be another month that is split between books for the Christmas in July TBR and a regular TBR. I only physically own three books for this month’s TBR while the rest will be coming from my Kindle, NetGalley, or the library. I’m excited for a few more Christmas books, but I’m most excited to see how I feel about a hyped new release AND one of my friend’s favorite books.

1. The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee-- I picked up the first book in the Montague Siblings series on recommendation from a friend. I want to say it was about a year ago when I got is so it’s about time I actually read the thing. I’ve heard that it’s pirate-y as well as historical. We follow Monty as he embarks on a Grand Tour of Europe with his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice. But his family has expectations of him--to take over the family’s estate upon his return. I don’t know a ton about this one and I kind of want to keep it that way until I get the chance to pick it up towards the middle of the month.

2. Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells-- The third novella in the Murderbot Diaries. I’m continuing my reread before the new one comes out later this year. We continue to follow Murderbot as it attempts to help the floundering case against GrayCris and avoid the questions about just where Dr. Mensah’s SecUnit has gone.

3. Starsight by Brandon Sanderson-- Another reread for the month. I’ll be reading the second book in the Skyward series. A lot of people didn’t like the fact that we are yet again following Spensa in a flight school, but I enjoyed the fact that the universe has expanded so much. Yes, we do see her in flight school with all new characters but the difference in species and the different political issues popping up were things I found to be so interesting. I’m looking forward to the reread.

4. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (Library)-- Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders. Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general--also known as her tough-as-talons mother--has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders. But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away. With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise. This one is so hyped right now on the bookish spaces of the internet so I just gotta know what I’ll think of this one.

5. Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane (NetGalley)-- Roisin and her boyfriend Joe join their friends for a weekend away to celebrate a birthday, an engagement, and the launch of Joe’s new TV show. But tension starts to rise when they watch the first episode of Joe’s new drama and she realizes that the private things she told him--which should have stayed between them--are right there on the screen. With her friend group in chaos, and newly single, Roisin returns home to avoid the unwanted attention. While there an old friend becomes the shoulder she can lean on.

6. Snowflakes and Sparks by Sophie-Leigh Robbins (Kindle)-- Suzie is an L.A. girl who gets volunteered to help keep a small town bookstore going after the manger dies. When she makes a return to Old Pine Cove ten years after her embarrassing exit, Suzie comes face to face with the one person she never wanted to see again. But Alex is a cute, charming, baking yoga instructor living right next door. Will old sparks fly again? Or will Suzie be overwhelmed by her past?

7. Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison (Kindle)-- Stella enters a contest to try to save the Christmas tree farm she’s loved since she was a kid. But in order to make the farm seem like a romantic destination for the holidays she lied on her application and said she owned the farm with her boyfriend. Enter best friend Luka. Fake dating around the holidays? I’m so here for it.

8. The Christmas Wager by Holly Cassidy (NetGalley)-- This book is pitched as an enemies-to-lovers holiday rom-com set in a quaint town about a city girl and a small-town boy competing in the town’s annual holiday games. This one sounds so cute and I’m so prepared to find another favorite NetGalley Christmas in July ARC. It’s three years running of loving NetGalley ARCs about Christmas romances. Let’s do it again.

9. The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict (Library)-- Last year I read a murder mystery centered around Christmas for the final book of Christmas in July and I plan on doing that again. This one is centered around a moneyed family who has an unsolved murder in their past which has outcasted the murdered family member’s child. The annual Christmas Game is afoot at Endgame House and Lily Armitage has no interest in attending. Until she receives a letter from her aunt promising that this year’s riddles will give her not only the keys to Endgame but also to the identity of her mother’s murderer. 

[the-terrible-theys]

i do actually have a few more headcanons that’ve been sitting in my head for awhile :)

their love for animals started with books in the library!!! horse books, specifically (think misty of chincoteague, black beauty, et cetera)

they both had a pretty big horse girl phase following their discovery of misty and black beauty

i know for a fact that they’d still watch horse girl movies (which they always cry over but love anyway) (they’ve watched like every single horse movie ever at least twice)

they grew up in a pretty urban environment and neither had pets until they got older so their experience with (and therefore knowledge of) animals was mostly limited to fiction books like that, unlike the kratt brothers, which is why they often seem to not know a lot of fairly basic facts

aviva never had pets of her own growing up, but koki ended up adopting a momma cat and her kittens sometime in teenagehood, and aviva spent so much time with them that they were basically hers, too

they shared/traded/borrowed each other’s things so much in childhood that their old things (like in memory boxes their parents kept for nostalgia) are STILL mixed up

their tradition of sharing has only gotten stronger over time, so more often than not they can be found wearing each other’s clothes (may i direct your opinion to this post because this is actually a thing they do in the show)

they were together so often that people would always be genuinely surprised to see one without the other. they come as a pair!!!!

they definitely had (and still have!) fights but they always make up afterward. their friendship is so strong and they care about one another so much!!!

they did go their separate ways for college (koki majored in something tech related and minored in engineering, aviva majored in engineering and minored in some kind of science probably) but moved in together afterward. it was hard to be separated for that long after being so physically close all their childhood but they stayed good friends through it all. made sure to visit one another often)

immediately after they both graduated (i headcanon that they both got masters degrees) they started up work on the tortuga and got the whole wild kratts team together!!! koki and aviva were the original two okay

(i also headcanon that aviva made the first functional powersuits while in university. just as a side note) (i need to make a post someday about the whole timeline that’s in my head for this stuff because i have A Lot Of Thoughts)

they can pretty much read each other’s minds because of how close they are and how many experiences they’ve shared. freaks people out sometimes

growing up they both kept toothbrush/shower stuff/pajamas/etc at one another’s houses so for sleepovers they didn’t even need to pack anything

koki isn’t generally super physically affectionate (still most definitely enjoys physical affection between people she’s close with like the crew, but won’t tend to seek it out as her go-to form of affection), but when it’s with aviva she basically does a 180. aviva has always been VERY physically affectionate. needs to fulfill her daily hug quota. and so koki’s physically affectionate right back :) (it’s kind of just become habitual for her at this point)

this is another semi-canon thing but they’re both very attuned to one another’s needs!! for example in into the subnivean zone (? correct me if i’m wrong), aviva has to go out in the cold to search for the kratt bros and koki brings her her winter jacket without prompting. also (again correct me if i’m wrong) in the christmas special the reverse happens! when koki deactivates her powersuit and is still wearing just a tshirt out in the snow, aviva instantly pops up with koki’s jacket

i realize that a lot of this is more me rambling about them and their relationship in general rather than my little childhood friends headcanon but. oh well. childhood friends or not, they care for each other so so much and i adore their bond!!!!

i keep thinking about how in the wild ponies episode it says that koki and aviva have loved horses since they were little girls. and yes i know that that doesn’t necessarily mean they were childhood friends but having them be childhood friends is so good

[p0orbaby]

hi i had a Natasha x Adoptive!Daughter request idea :)

r would be like around peters age and going to school w him. they’d have a day where they get awards for like idk, best reading or best at physics idk and r would come home and tell nat that she got one too! natasha would get excited but then everyone would laugh after hearing she got a warning paper (which she calls an award) for missing a certain class most lmao! after nat asks her why she’s missing that class she says “well the teacher said ‘if u aren’t going to listen then get out and stay out of my class’ so i did and never attended again :)” lmaooo it’d be so funny bc nat would kind of be annoyed but also amused like the rest of the Team.

First teenage!daughter fic. This was so fun to write!

Authors note - this is probably my fav one to write so far. So thank you for requesting this!

Warnings - Language

-

I Can Explain

You hated days like this. You honestly didn’t see the point. Everyone in your year at school huddled into a room and given pieces of paper praising them for opening a book or two. It was ridiculous.

Thankfully it only lasted an hour. Being surrounded by a bunch of brown noses was not your idea of a good time. In all honesty, being in school in general was something less than ideal in your opinion.

The only thing that made being in this hell hole worth it was Peter. Yeah he was a pain in the ass and actually did the work he was asked to do but he was pretty cool to say the least. He was part of the Avengers after all, so you were a little biased to put it mildly.

“I see you got an award. Again” you hollered at Peter as you met up in the crowd of people leaving the main hall. “What was it this time?”

“Highest consecutive amount of A grades for physics papers” he read out loud with pride.

“Of course it was” you rolled your eyes at him in response.

“Yeah well if you actually did the work Y/N, then maybe you’ll get one next time”

“And now why would I do that when you can do the heavy lifting and I can take the credit?”

“Why am I even friends with you?”

“Because no one else will give you the time of day Peter!” you shouted over the hordes of people as you made your way to your next class.

-

If your day wasn’t already bad enough, you realised it was about to get worse. Your last lesson of the day was maths. Something you thought was totally pointless. Why did you need to learn how to do these long equations when a calculator could do them in a fraction of the time? The teacher didn’t like it when you told her that though.

“But Miss, is all of this really necessary?” You asked in one of your first maths lessons of the year. “Do we really need to know about Pythagoras theory? In what universe does one need to work out the lengths of the sides of triangles, by using squares of all things?”

You hadn’t stepped foot in her classroom since.

-

You spent most of your self proclaimed free periods in the library. The only place where you could get some piece and quiet in this god forsaken school. At least you could learn things that would actually be useful.

The topic of todays agenda was Martial Arts. Something you had suggested to your gym teacher but was shot down immediately. You learnt that the earliest depiction of what we now know is a fighting scene, dates back 3400 BC. Yet the western interest of East Asian martial arts only dates back to the 19th century. See, way better than maths.

Just as you were about to get to the juicy stuff with techniques and combinations of moves, you heard the crackle of the tannoy sound through the library.

“Miss Y/N Romanoff please make your way to the heads office. I repeat, Miss Romanoff to the heads office. Thank you.”

If you were being completely honest, you saw this coming. You didn’t think it would take them nearly a whole term to summon you but you saw it coming nonetheless.

-

The end of the day finally came and you couldn’t be happier. Waiting for Peter in your normal spot so you could walk back to the tower together, you started to fold the piece of paper you’d received from your meeting with the head.

“Hey y/n, you ready-“ you heard Peter say as he approached you. “Oh cool you finally got one”.

“Finally got wha-“ he was a looking at the paper in your hand with a smile on his face. “Oh uh yeah, yeah I did. They forgot to give it in the assembly so the head gave it to me after”. Technically you were never the one to say it was an award, so you weren’t actually lying.

“Ah that’s why they called you to the office last period. Well done Y/N, I’m proud of you”.

“Right enough of this fluffy friend stuff, last one back has to do the other ones homework for a month” you said as you raced off down the street.

“Y/N wait that’s not fair, I already do yours!” Peter tried to shout back, but it was no use, you were already gone.

-

“Good day at school?” The sound of your mums voice sounded across the kitchen as the pair of you walked in.

“Same old I guess, what’s for dinner?” You asked taking in the smell of whatever was on the stove.

“Not sure, Bruce decided he wanted to try something new. Hey Peter”

“Hey Miss Romanoff, how’re things?” Peter asked, always the gentleman.

“Better now my baby is home” your mum said as she came over to you and kissed you on the forehead. Earning her an embarrassed frown from you.

Thankfully there was no time for her to embarrass you further as a few of the team stormed into the room.

“Well if it isn’t the next generation back from a hard days work at school” Bruce mocked as he went to the stove and stirred his concoction.

“School’s for losers, just stay here and I’ll teach you all the fun stuff” Tony then piped up.

“See, someone who speaks my language” you high-fived Tony on your way to the fridge.

“Don’t give her any ideas Stark, she’s a pain to get to school on the best of days” Natasha piped up.

“Hey Kid what’s that peice of paper you’ve got there” Clint asked Peter from his position on the sofa.

Peter obviously happy someone had noticed it was more than willing to share. “It was awards day at school so this is the certificate I got” he said as he handed it over to Tony.

“Not bad, not bad, could have been A pluses though”. Tony loved to get Peter riled up. Their relationship was more akin that of a father and son than co-workers.

“Y/n got one this year too!“. You froze at the mention of your name. Damn you Peter, why couldn’t you just keep your bloody mouth shut? Turning around to face the others, smiling as if you weren’t about to get a grilling.

“Honey, why didn’t you say!” Natasha exclaimed from next to Bruce by the stove. “Come on hand it over I want to see”

“Ugh no do we have to do this here?” You desperately tried to shut the conversation down. It was bad enough getting told off by your mum, let alone in front of everyone else. But before you knew it Tony was rummaging in your bag looking for said award.

“Got it!” He pulled his hand out of the bag clutching the folded piece of paper. “Let’s see here. Miss Y/N Romanoff has been awarded-, Oh”

“What? what is it?” Natasha interjected.

“This is gold, absolute gold. I am so glad I’m here for this” the billionaire was giddy with joy.

“Looks as though she got the award for skipping the most classes last term” bruce read aloud as he peered over Tony’s shoulder, the food forgotten.

All you could do was close your eyes and brace yourself for a scolding.

“Give me that”, you didn’t even need to open your eyes to know your mum had snatched the slip out of Tony’s hand.

“For the love of god Y/N?! Why are you not going to your lessons?”

“I am going to my lessons, just not that particular one” you opened one eye slightly to gage the situation. The look on your mothers face was certainly not one of delight.

“You know full well what I mean”. Oh shit, she was angry.

“On that note, I think it’s time we had a look at that thing in the lab Tony” Bruce insisted.

“What-, oh yeah that really important thing. Clint, Peter, I think you two would also both benefit from joining us in the lab” he nodded towards the door with wide eyes.

They all scurried out in a hurry, leaving you alone with your mother to deal with the consequences.

-

Natasha had made an appointment to go to the school the next day. She was adamant that you, her and the head needed to talk about your absence from class.

It was mortifying. Watching everyone stare at Natasha as she walked down the corridor beside you on the way to the office. Yeah the Black Widow was your mum, why couldn’t people just get over it?

The head was waiting for you both as you rounded the corner of the staff corridor. He didn’t look happy either.

“Natasha, nice to finally meet you” he said, hand outstretched offering a handshake.

“Likewise” your mother said, accepting his hand.

“Right this way, please”

-

“How aware were you that Y/N has missing maths Miss Romanoff?” The head said after you had all settled into the office chairs.

“Not aware at all, from what I gathered she was doing well in that class”

“Strangely enough, she is. We don’t know how but she’s still getting the grades to pass. So Y/N, if you’re doing well why do you not bother attending the lessons”

“I was told not to go”

“Come on Y/N stop messing about, this isn’t a game” your mum was sounding frustrated with you.

“I’m not! The teacher said if I’m not going to listen then I should just leave. So I did. I’m not the one in the wrong here, I was just doing as I was told”

Natasha just stared at you. But you knew she was hiding back a smirk.

“Your teacher said this?”You nodded in response to his question. “Right, well that’s not something I was told. I’m not saying you’re not in trouble but I’ll need to hear her side of the story as well” he stood up then. “Sorry to waste your time Miss Romanoff, I’ll be in touch shortly” and with that the two of you left the office.

-

The walk back to the car was silent. Neither one of you not knowing what to say to the other.

Both of you got into the car and sat for a while until you hear your mum laughing from beside you in the drivers seat.

“What’s so funny?” You asked, slightly confused.

“You. You are. Your confidence blows me away Y/N. You’re too smart for your own good, you know that right?”

“Yeah well, I learnt from the best”. You couldn’t help but laugh.

“This isn’t funny, stop laughing”

“It is a bit”

You both burst out into belly aching giggles, forgiveness present in the air.

-

Taglist

@jromanoff @xxxtwilightaxelxxx

[doctorofmagic]

My thoughts on What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?

The very title of the episode sends a shiver down my spine. And this is where we’re going to start.

~ long post under the cut ~

A year ago, I wrote this post as an attemp to dive into one of the most important traits in Doctor Strange’s personality: love. Stephen is a being made of love, made to love, no matter which interpretation you have when you watch Infinity War. If you don’t read comic books, you’ll understand the moment you meet Donna. You’ll begin to understand how her death reshaped his entire subjectivity out of fear of failing, being powerless and unable to control everything around him (especially death), thus the arrogant and yet a disaster of a man we all know.

Where do I even start? Stephen loved her sister deeply and felt responsible for her death. And then, slowly, he also lost his parents and his brother. He fell in love with Clea but he also pushed her away. He loved Zelma platonically and lied to her, which was enough for them to break their bond. He felt attracted to Kanna but screwed things up, even though they remain friends. He was forced to kill the Ancient One, the only father figure he had ever since his father died. And lastly, the only person who would never leave his side... also left. Yes, even Wong. Stephen has SO much love to give but he’s also afraid because he’s cursed. He truly believes his love in poison. And would you look at that? What If really delivered a story where this is actually true.

What If Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?

The level of understanding when it comes to the character is... inconceivable. What could possibly reshape Stephen into following a dark path but love? The very premise of the whole episode. This is so much more than a love letter. This is literally too much, in all senses.

Fine, let’s begin.

What if the best of intentions has very strange consequences?

No. You used the word “strange” for the pun but this is not the word. Nah-ah. I’d go with ATROCIOUS, for starters. Things are gonna escalate so quickly, my friends.

Seriously, tho? Christine is SO SO SO SO beautiful, they’re so cute together. I have this feeling that MCU!Stephen was quite toxic because of his arrogance and this is why they didn’t work out. But WhatIf!Stephen???????? He’s always praising her, teasing her in a healthy way, respecting her and listening to her. HE TRULY LOVES HER, I’M GONNA CRY ALL OVER AGAIN, PLEASE, NOT THE CRÈME BRÛLÉE, PLEASE

I’m going to leave this shot here because we need to go back to it later. Hold that thought.

And bonus points to “Yeah, well, I would call that quite remarkable.” / “Well, I would say the same about you.”

GODS. THE PAIN. STOP THE PAIN.

So in this reality, Stephen didn’t caused the car accident because he was checking his phone while driving. Also it was not the reckless attempt to pass the truck. Well, maybe it was the consequence of this act? The fact is, the car behind them loses control, which makes them crash. Does it matter? We’ll learn later that no, it doesn’t.

And yep... Christine dies. Have you noticed the shattered heart? Ah, the pain only gets better and better.

Again, Stephen blames himself. More than anything, this is so important because Stephen is all about guilt. We still need to meet Donna so we can add yet another layer of guilt. But the feeling exists. This is what corrupts Stephen’s heart and soul in all his iterations. This is what makes him the character I love so much. I love this SO. MUCH. In addition, his stubbornness to accept his condition. Man won’t take a no. This, this is Doctor Strange in character. Stop complaining about NWH Stephen, it’s pathetic.

Okay, “grief-stricken”, Stephen found the Mystic Arts and became a sorcerer. That’s when he learned about the Time Stone, the Eye of Agamotto and Dormammu. Nothing changes, he saves the universe. But time does not heal his deepest wound.

I love Wong so much. Every time Wong does something, the world is healed. Really. We’re going back to him as well but for now I’ll just leave this shot.

BUT STEPHEN, DOING SOMETHING RECKLESS? HE’D NEVAH

Aaaaaaaannnnnnd then he did.

He goes back in time. It’s been two years since he lost Christine. I think he reacted pretty nicely, despite the circumstances. Now let’s go back to that shot I said I was saving for later.

Stephen is so light-hearted here. Also, during the first time he lost Christine, he had no idea what “The Price is Right” was. He knows now, which means he probably tried to learn more about the show because of her, because of grief. HAHAHA MORE PAIN

AND THEN HE

AND THEN SHE DIES AGAIN

AND THEN HE KEEPS GOING BACK IN TIME

AND SHE KEEPS DYING

AND THE MUSIC

AND HIS VOICE

AND HE TRIES TO CHANGE FATE BUT IT CAN’T BE AVERTED

HE EVEN TRIES TO STAY AWAY FROM HER LIFE BUT SHE DIES ALL THE SAME, WHY

AND EVERY TIME THEY CRASH, HE FEELS THE PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL PAIN AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN, WHY

I’M-- *ugly sobbing noises*

Apparently, not.

And this scene when he simply... closes his eyes before she dies again...?

This is where this episode had me in endless tears. It got me the four times I watched it. I’m dead serious.

Okay, so, next the Ancient One appears to Stephen, explaining that Christine’s death is an Absolute Point in time. It cannot be changed. Stephen needs the accident to become the Sorcerer Supreme and defeat Dormammu.

And this is where Stephen starts his journey into darkness. “Nothing is impossible, you taught me that. I only require more power.” Disobeying the Ancient One, Stephen then travels in time, seeking the Library of Cagliostro. Now, if you’re not aware of that, Cagliostro was a sorcerer who studied time in comics, and later became Sise-Neg (there’s a recent post on this because of the new Defenders run). It’s funny to think that Sise-Neg also destroyed the world when he became a god, however he grew past his pettiness and remade reality. Stephen did not possess such power, as we’re about to see.

PS: “Stop torturing yourself, Stephen.” Naur but he should use this line like a mantra. Especially comics!Stephen.

Not gonna lie, tho. This place reminds me of the Temple of the Vishanti from T&T (of course I was going to insert T&T somewhere, it’s me).

And of course they’d go for a pun with his name haha. I don’t know how to feel about this, tho. I feel like the episode is too heavy and dark for comedy. But it is what it is.

Okay but why some books are in cages??????????? And wow, it seems Cagliostro also gathered knowledge about several fields of magic.

And then Stephen learns that, in order to break an Absolute Point, he needs to absorb more power. This is when I went “oh-oh, here we go”.

And for real, is this Shuma-Gorath? Why are they keeping his name a secret? Is this the same creature from the first episode with Captain Carter, right? RIGHT? It has to be Shuma-Gorath.

Of course he tries to be polite and ends up all hurt haha. O’Bengh warns him about love but he will not listen. “Love can break more than your heart. It can shatter your mind.”/ “Is she worth the pain?”. Please, this is Stephen. He eats pain for breakfast.

Also, also, let’s take a break. We’re finally going to get monsterf0cker tentacle-lover Stephen Strange. It will cost us everything but here we goooooooooooo (yes, I went frame by frame for your more obscure fanservice needs)

Gods, I love this sequence so much it hurts. Okay, here we go.

Shmebulock???????????

AND HE STOLE THE CAPE??????????? AND DREW THE LINE ON BUGS??????

The grasp this man is holding on me right now...

Some of you will understand. I’m with you.

And here are the grostesque ones. These are hard to take SS but I had to.

Animation, sound effects, OST? CHEF’S KISS TO ALL

And lastly... the tentacles. Yeah, if you’re new... this is a thing.

Fanservice. Fanservice everywhere. (low-key the reason I also waited to write this review, I wanted to enjoy this part so badly but I was too sad for that lmao)

Okay so. O’Bengh is suddenly OLD and DYING, until we realize that Stephen spent CENTURIES absorbing mystic beings. CENTURIES. WTF STEPHEN. He had nothing in mind but the goal to save Christine. And people wonder why he went insane???? I’m sorry, O’Bengh, but I can’t take you serious when you still call Stephen Sorcerer Armani. Oh, and also because you watched him absorb beings for centuries in silence lmao. But I guess I have to because you said that Stephen is split in two since the Ancient One cast a spell on him, splitting the timelines and making them exist in the same reality before he could travel back in time. I know, it’s complex. Anything for the plot.

And now good!Stephen has an evil!twin who wants to absorb him back in order to become whole and break the Absolute Point. Cool.

I said I wanted to talk more about Wong because I think people are not talking about him enough. Wong is so important in this episode. He’s the one who’s trying to heal Stephen after Christine. He’s Stephen’s anchor.

Also, THEY FINALLY USED A SPELL WITH THE NAME OF THE VISHANTI. HOORAAAAY

So, for the sake of our understanding, I’m addressing the characters as evil and good!Stephen. Let’s go. Evil!Stephen summons good!Stephen and gods, he still holds such a strong grasp on me... unbelievable. THE DEEPER VOICE BENEDICT USES???? PLEASE, DIDN’T WE HAVE ENOUGH?

Imagine his strength to hold so many beings inside him, fighting to control him. BRO, THIS IS TOO TOO MUCH

Fine, I’ll not post SS about the fight because I’d be here all night long but I WILL say this: NOT CLOAKIE!!!!! NAAAAAAAAAAUR

Also if you ask me if I recognize any of the spells? Maaaaybe the Flames of Faltine, the not-so-crimson Bands of Cyttorak and a little trick Magik does with her portals. That’s how far I go.

I’ll not comment on the “seducing yourself to stay in the trap”. I will not. I’ll just say that the first person Stephen thought of when “Christine” was talking about the crème brûlée was Wong. That’s it.

And finally evil!Stephen absorbs good!Stephen and releases... UNLIMITED POWER (I love when the stone goes red as if it was bleeding aaaaaaa)

I can fix him...

This scene here? Poetic cinema. (I love his wings so much)

And when Stephen says her name and the other monsters’ voices echo “Christine”, AAAAAACKKKK

AND OF COURSE CHRISTINE WOULD FREAK OUT, BRO. LOOK AT WHAT YOU’VE BECOME BECAUSE OF YOUR TWISTED LOVE. I’M NOT DOING FINE.

Oh, but it’s too late anyways because Stephen broke reality haha. This scene is interesting because Stephen is the only one who sensed and/or talked to the Watcher until now. I read an interview that the Watcher kinda showed up but it’s also about Stephen’s keen senses. Bit of both, let’s say. Still, man, 616-Watcher is not that cold. 616-Watcher would watch this and say “how about I intervene anyway?”. WhatIf!Watcher is brutal.

The way Christine looks at Stephen one last time also KILLS ME, DESTROYS ME, BREAK ME INTO A MILLION PIECES.

And this is where my soul left my body.

This is how they end the episode. This is how you leave me speechless and with teary eyes. This is how you give me a whole existential crisis.

This... this was brutal to watch. Really.

What can I say after this? I’m used to reading painful things when it comes to Stephen. Aaron’s and Cates’ runs are heartbreaking on so many levels. Hickman’s New Avengers is not easier. Coincidentally, What If? Magik Became Sorcerer Supreme and The End. And now Death of Doctor Strange. And yet, after everything I’ve been through, I’d never expect to watch something so brilliant, so tragic, so heartbreaking and unexpected in the MCU. Never. This is top tier content and this is my favorite character with SO MANY LAYERS and SO MUCH UNDERSTANDING. I can’t put into words how meaningful this whole episode is to me, or how deep it touched my heart and soul.

I’ve been struggling to find the proper words since then, I still can’t. All I can add is, I cried for the 4th time now. This is too, too much, even for Stephen stans. Even for the ones who are used to pain, regardless of which media you’re into: comic books, live actions or animated movies. This is literally more than I can take and yet I’m so, so grateful. The voice acting, gods, how did Benedict manage to create a better Stephen than the one he’s literally playing in real life???????????? HOW

This episode really took the max potential Stephen had to offer as a character, added tons and tons of layers based on his grief, depression, arrogance and need to control everything and created a tragic masterpiece. In 7 years of being a Doctor Strange fan, I've never read or watch something that could go this deep into the character. The closest I can think of is Mr. Misery and the metaphor of Stephen's depression. This is a whole new level of respect and understanding. This is more than a love letter. This is peak maestry. It’s perfect, it’s heartbreaking, it’s... gods, I can’t.

Sorry for dragging you until this far. Before I wrap up this review, I just wanted to remind you all that Stephen will appear again, he will smile again, he will be surrounded by people again. So this is not the end. It was painful but be brave. We still have a few more steps to take.

[thegingeralien]

Thought I might share my “doing homework with adhd” tips in case the might help even just one person (because that would make me feel happy).

Who am I to be giving you advice? Good point! I am still terrible at studying and I’m 26 and at University for the millionth time. But I have studied A LOT in my 22 years of schooling with varying degrees of success.

I see a lot of people, especially teenagers or first year university/college students, with ADHD asking for tips on how to study. But if you do a google search most of the websites and advice that comes up can be extremely ableist. So I hope I can help someone!

TIPS TO HELP YOU STUDY WHEN YOU HAVE AN ADHD GREMLIN BRAIN!:

1. Chewing gum!

- This might come across as a weird one, but it has actually really helped me. I use it as a form of stimming to help keep me focused and concentrating. Other forms of stimming can potentially end up being more of a distraction when you actually need to be reading or writing - but they can help if you just need to be listening. Try not to get a bubble gum or fun flavoured one though - as they can end up making your mouth feel dry, lose flavour quickly, and just give your brain way too many sensory things to become distracted with.

2. Buying colour coded stationary!

- New stationary can make me really excited to start studying, but that excitement never lasts long and the act of buying stationary can sometimes become it’s own hobby. That’s not what we are going for here. I really recommend, especially if you are a visual learner like me, to buy colour coded stationary. This means removable page markers, different coloured post it notes, highlighters, sometimes even pens. This way if your mind jumps from one topic to the other, it doesn’t matter. Go with the flow. Forcing your ADHD gremlin brain to focus can be extremely counter intuitive. So pick a colour for each topic, and stick to that system to find organisation among your own chaos!

3. Buy a really cheap, boring year diary with hardly any writing inside.

- Not sure if your school/university has their own diary but they can be perfect for what I am on about. Generally you can find them for really cheap, soft cover, no writing or designs within the dates. Just dates, days, weeks and lines where you can write your homework. This helped me a lot in High School. I wish I had kept doing it in University, but I am good with giving advice, and not so much with taking it. I used to decorate the outside of it however I wanted. Some years I would redecorate the same diary every semester. In the public holidays or holiday days I would colour those lines in with different highlighters to make it look like a rainbow. But every assignment due date, homework, draft, rewrite, form I had to bring back, library book due date, school activity days, ANYTHING to do with school I would write in there with reminds and check lists. Important due dates would be highlighted, general homework and daily to do lists t(o help me not leave my assignments to the last minute) would have a tick box beside them (because ticking tick boxes is free dopamine). Try to not put birthdays or fun things in it. This is a small way to stay on track so it helps you actually stay on track with the big things when you’re home.

4. Big whiteboards stuck on the wall where you can’t avoid it.

- This is not something I had in school, but I so wish I did. I have been using this recently to keep on top of house work (as maintaining your own house is tiring) and my small business or other things I really can’t avoid. If I physically write it down (not just in my phone) it psychologically does help you commit it to memory. Again, physically putting a line through a task you just completed is a hecking great rush of dopamine. But the biggest reason I love my white board, I can’t ignore it. It is stuck to the wall and is never out of sight, out of mind. I can’t put my phone or diary down and then refuse to look at it until I’m past the due date. Again, I’m not a perfect person, there are days where I don’t do anything I have written on the white board. But the great thing is, I don’t have to continuously feel like I failure, as I can wipe it all off the next morning or week and start fresh. I also put important things I have to remember that I’m doing during the week so I don’t forget them.

5. Icky Medication.

- I know not everyone wants to be on medication, and I understand. I am not forcing you to. No matter what your opinions are, you lovely gremlin who is still reading this post, regarding medication, you are valid and I respect you. My personal experience with medication has not been the best. I have been misdiagnosed for a severe chunk of my academic life which has seen me trying to focus and maintain school work under some even worse states then I am unmedicated! However, since receiving my diagnosis and finding the right ADHD medication for me, I have the ability to get so much work done without having to unnecessarily struggle. It’s unfortunately not magic, it will not turn me into a robot that makes me do work and turn out incredible, noble peace prize winning assignments (as much as I wish that were possible). I still have the ability to be a lump, doom scrolling through tumblr, forgetting to eat, and ignoring responsibilities. But it really helps me when I sit down and start that thing that isn’t fun. Yesterday it helped me hyperfocus on cleaning my office which was a terrifying room to be in. So it’s pretty close to magic in my opinion!

6. Accessing Disability Support at your place of learning.

- Not all of you taking the time to read this will have either a) an offical diagnosis or b) a good disability support available to you wherever you are completing your studies. And that is okay. This dot point just won’t be for you right now. But keep it in mind for a time when it might apply to you, as it’s something I never thought I would need, but will never take for granted ever again.

- If you have an offical diagnosis and Disability Support, make an appointment with the disability support adviser. DO IT NOW! Get your psychiatrist to write a diagnosis letter outlining that you have <enter superpower that makes you hilarious here> and that you are receiving <enter x,y,z treatment here> and that you would benefit from receiving <enter what you have always wished you had on the days you can’t make your ADHD gremlin brain do the thing here>. Now these benefits can be, but not limit to: automatic extensions on ALL assignments, extra time on exams, extra breaks to walk around while taking exams, special consideration when marking assignments, my university allows me to take exams in a separate room with only the other students in my subject who also have disability support (occasionally I have taken an exam alone with only a tutor present) so I don’t get distracted, permission to take fidget items into class or exam (I have the option to wear headphones, as long as I can display that they are not connected to anything). Maybe you can come up with some great ones for you with your disability advisor or your psychiatrist.

- The disability advisor will often go through your course outline with you at the start of each semester or year. This is annoying and a great time for disassociating, but can be useful in hindsight because you are made aware of everything that will come up during your class so you are not surprised. Because lets be honest, it is unlikely you are going to look at the course calendar too often.

- Side Note: I make an appointment every semester with my disability support officer for my area of study to make sure I have my special considerations for the year. Now I may go through the whole year without ever using my considerations. However, the fact that I know they are there takes an insane amount of pressure off of myself. If I’m having an insanely screwy loony tune mental health moment, I can email my coordinator my disability plan and say I need an extension due to personal reasons, and WHOOP, there it izzzzz.

7. Dedicated one thing or a few things that have nothing to do with food/alcohol/other substances to reward yourself with for doing the thing!

- This may not work for everyone. It doesn’t always work for me. I used to reward myself with food, but that only reinforced my stimming with overeating and my already bad relationship with food. And I feel as though that would be the same with any other substance that can be linked with addiction. (Addiction is a tough word, cause what aren’t I addicted to, I have ADHD, but hopefully you get what I mean!).

-Now, boring try and not choose this aside, lets think of somethings that work really well as rewards!

- My partner likes to come give me a kiss and a hug when ever they have written and reread a paragraph, you might buy a book when you get a really good mark, you might want to go make a cup of tea and watch an episode of your hyperfixation after studying for <enter a good period of time here>, you might allow yourself to partake in an activity you usually do while procrastinating (but at least this time you know you aren’t putting something off), talk to someone who you know will tell you they are proud of you as they understand the mental struggle you go through to concentrate (if you can’t think of anyone, it is 110% okay if that person are the amazing people on tumblr or the adhd tumblr chats. We will freaking pop a bottle of champagne for you cause we get it!).

- Try and make what ever you choose be something in a different room or away from your working space. Getting out can really calm you down.

8. Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance.

- This is true for anything, but I don’t mean just asking your teacher to give you extra help understanding the task and marking rubric. Many people online, tutors, librarians at your school, past or present students offer assistance rereading and making small edits (they won’t make it magical unfortunately) to your assignments. If you are like me and once you have written or completed the dreaded thing, you can not imagine or force your gremlin brain reread or edit the thing. So it can help to just delegate this to someone else, who hasn’t read it before, so they won’t disassociate or skim read it. They will often notice things you never would have even if you were neurotypical as that is just what happens when you have been working on something for so long.

9. Repetitive music.

- It generally helps if this has no lyrics. Lo-fi is amazing. Classical is alright too if it works for you, but both my partner and I agree that it can really assist you to keep up pace and focus when the beat is a high and repetitive (almost meditative) tempo.

10. Limit your screen space.

- This is a tip completely from my partner @dr-adhd who also has ADHD, is an avid PC gamer and is consistently in a battle with their gremlin brain to focus on completing their PhD. They have discovered that it really helps them to limit their screen space - simply put, work on one screen only. They have done more work more easily when they have their one screen on their laptop to focus on. Whereas their office has multiple screens so they could be playing runescape, watching YouTube, listening to lo-fi and doing work - which never worked (shocking right hahaha).

11. At the risk of sounding like a Mum... Put your phone and other electronics other than the assignment necessary one, away.

- I am a Mum, but to a fluffy puppy dog, so I hate to sound like my Mum when I was in high school, but she was right. Mobiles are the single easiest and biggest distraction in ADHD history. I often, even at coffee shops, have to turn my phone over so that I am not consistently looking at it every time the screen lights up to say the pizza place has sent me a coupon, or a carpet place that has been having a sale since I was born is... still having a sale, or a friend from school wants you to watch this TikTok. Even though you might not want to ignore your friends, because people pleasing, difficulting making/keeping friends and RSD are hecking real things, but they can all wait. Trust me, none of them are urgent. That TikTok will still be funny in an hour or two. And I’m probably completely right when I say that whomever just messaged you, never replies as quickly as you want them too. So I doubt they are going to think twice if you are MIA to finish your thing.

My partner or I might add to this later, but at the moment I already know that I probably wouldn’t read this wall of words if I was the one reading it, so if you are still with me, THANK YOU and I really hope I might have helped you. Sorry for the mound of words, but maybe you can reblog, screen shot, or save this and read a dot point at a time or refer to it when you need. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, I promise what ever it is, I’ve asked the same thing once in my life or something MUCH stupider.

[princess-of-riviaa]

Claiming

Pairing: Walter Marshall x Erin Quincy (1st person POV)

Summary: You experience your first heat as a brand new shifter. Walter, being the good alpha he is, helps out his struggling omega.

Warning(s): depictions of animal attack, age gap (Erin is 25, Walter is 38), alcohol use, a bit of angsty Walter, dirty talk, possessiveness

Author’s note: This is my first piece of work I made for the ABO Universe. I hope you guys like it!

Word count: 3,931

Two weeks ago, I’d been on a camping trip with my two step-brothers, Scott and Chris, when my life had forever changed. One second, the hiking trail had been clear and safe; the next, some kind of animal was jumping out of the brush and fighting my breakfast sausage out of my hands. I later learned that the animal had been a wolf, but that realization only came when I had my first Shift three days later.

Though the night had escaped my memories, when I woke up in an unfamiliar mansion to an unfamiliar group of faces the next day, they filled me in on the details. The man in front—tall, with deep brown curls that were almost as distracting as his thick, muscular shape—had told me that I had Shifted the night before and ended up on their doorstep. And yes, Shifters—not werewolves, as most fantasy books called them—were real, Walter informed me during my surprised silence.

Walter Marshall—that was the stunning stranger’s name. He was an Alpha of one of the two packs that lived in this mansion, and I was more than welcome to join them. I couldn’t quite wrap my mind around what had become of myself—and I knew better than to hope that my family would understand—so I accepted the generous offer.

I had been with the pack for three weeks now. Winnie Marshall, Walter’s twin sister, was the Alpha for the mansion’s other pack. Walter had found me first—he had actually been the one to stop me from giving into my animalistic instincts on the night he found me, and had been the one to bring me in from the pouring rain—and technically had claim to me. But, because I hadn’t officially been claimed by him, Winnie argued that she had as much right to me as her brother did. So she took me under her wing. She’d explained everything to me, been there in my moments of panic and embarrassment to assure me that everyone goes through this, and it’s not going to last forever.

The only other two people in the house that were my age were two betas. One of them, a young man named Mike (though everyone called him Mikey), was the center of attention at the mansion, though he surprisingly had his eyes set on the quiet girl who loved books. Her name—I met her last, simply because she’d locked herself in the library for a week-long reading challenge—was Amber Connelly. As the only other beta under the age of thirty, she had an… interesting relationship with Mikey. And by that I mean they were both head over heels for each other, though they only ever bickered, and neither of them seemed aware of the others’ feelings. But they never acted on their feelings, and no one ever expected them to, simply because Mikey was Walter’s Beta, and Amber was Winnie’s, and packs didn’t mix, especially if their was a chance of a Claiming.

Claiming—that was the part of all of this that had intrigued me the most. It started with a bite. One person had to bite their partner directly over the heart, hard enough to leave a scar that would be there forever. In another sense, one wolf had to mark their partner as their territory. It was possessive in every sense of the word, and I couldn’t deny that deep down inside of me, I wanted to share that intimate, lifelong promise with Walter.

It was insane for a number of reasons. Not only had I met the Alpha just a few weeks ago, but I wasn’t even officially in his pack, and a Claiming with an Alpha would make me second-in-command. There were a few steps I would be skipping if that happened. Not to mention that Walter Marshall was the only unclaimed Alpha over the age of thirty-five in the entire city, and there was a reason for that. I didn’t know the details, but I knew it had something to do with his past. Our age was another factor. He was almost 40, while I had just turned 25.

And yet, here I was, wanting his mark anyways. He was quiet and reserved enough to make him mysterious, and that only pulled me in more. In the first week I was there, I found any way I could to talk to him, mainly to thank him for giving me a safe place for this new season of life. But he had disappeared with Andy and Charles Barber—two Beta brothers—for an entire week. Winnie had only said that they were taking care of business on the other side of the city, but when the three men came back, there was a darkness to all of them that told me whatever they had been doing… It hadn’t been fun.

Walter was harder to reach in the days that followed. When I would knock on his office door and ask him if he was able to train me today—something both he and Winnie insisted on their packs doing in their daily routine—he would snap and order me to leave, the sound of his growl following me out the door. He apologized for his behavior three days later, and bought takeout from my favorite restaurant to make it up to me, but I still couldn’t forget that side of him. The side of him that turned his soft blue eyes completely black. The part of him that was all animal, only selfishness and cold edges.

And yet, even after all of that, I still wanted him. I’d lost count of the number of times I’d woken up panting in the middle of the night, rising out of a dream of those blue eyes looking down at me as he fucked my throat, making me gag and cry around his cock. The sound of my own moans had forced me awake before dawn this morning. The memory of Walter’s intense gaze holding my reflection’s as he fucked me in the bathroom had followed me all day.

I was still wound up as I made my way to the game room. The smell of alcohol was strong throughout the house. The packs were celebrating Walter and Winnie’s thirty-eighth birthday tonight, and everyone, it seemed, was intent on getting blackout drunk. There were three kegs in the living room. It took Shifters a lot longer to get drunk, so I wasn’t surprised to find that the kegs were already halfway empty by the time I filled a cup for myself.

But I was surprised to find Walter perched on the roof when I made my way up to my regular hiding spot. He didn’t look over at me when I climbed onto the roof, but he didn’t seem startled when I took a seat beside him, and I knew his Shifter senses had probably heard me before I’d even climbed up the stairs that led up here.

“I see you stole my hiding spot,” I remarked as I took a sip of my beer.

“This way my hiding spot first, actually.” There’s amusement in his eyes as he looks at me out of the corner of his eye, but the amusement is only a cover. I note the darker emotion hiding beneath, and I recognize it instantly. It’s the same thing I’ve been feeling since my first Shift.

Loneliness.

“So technically you stole it from me,” Walter continued, giving me a ghost of a smile.

Though the air was light between us for once, I couldn’t stop myself from asking, “Why are you hiding on your birthday?”

He sighed and looked out at the valley below us. The city lights reflected in his eyes, making the blue in them sparkle. He chugged back the rest of his beer before answering, “I’m thirty-eight tonight.”

“So I’ve heard.” The light tone was clearly forced, but I continued anyways. “Congratulations.”

His long fingers parted thick curls before he clutched the roots of his hair and squeezed, looking frustrated and… defeated. “I’m thirty-eight—and I still don’t have a goddamn mate.”

Oh.

I didn’t know what to do. Part of me was more than ready to say, Take me. Claim me. I’ll be your mate. But I knew that was overstepping. I didn’t know how to comfort him.

“Walter—” I began.

He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t burden you with this. I think I’ve had a few too many drinks.”

We both knew that was a lie. He was too collected to be drunk. Everything—save for his brutal honesty—screamed completely sober.

“I just…” He went on, then stopped himself.

I put a hand on his arm and had to physically force myself not to lean into the warmth of his body heat. When his blue eyes met mine, I nearly lost control. God, I wanted him. I wanted to ran my hands through his hair; wanted to know the way his moans sounded as he filled me up; wanted to feel his mouth on me—

I shook my head in an attempt to clear my mind. “It’s okay,” I told him. “You can tell me.”

He hesitated.

“You’ve been there for me since I got here,” I pointed out. “It’s only fair that I do the same for you.”

His eyes scanned my face, and I got the feeling that he could see into my soul. It unnerved me as much as it made me want to bear myself to him. He finally said, “You don’t owe me anything, Erin. I was being a good Alpha.”

“You let a stranger into your home,” I argued. “That qualifies as more than simply being a good Alpha. There’s other packs in the city, yet you were the only one who opened your door to me. And you’ve let me stay here when you could have just as easily sent me away. You’re not just a good Alpha, Walter, you’re…” I almost said, you’re everything, but I caught myself.

But the way he looked at me… I had a feeling that he heard what I didn’t say.

“And maybe you think I don’t owe you,” I went on, “but I want to be there for you. I want to give you whatever you need.”

His eyes left my face to stare at the hand I placed on his arm. He reached for it, and at first I thought he was going to push me away, but he simply held my hand between his own. He opened my fingers and stared at my palm as if he was going to tell me my future. A thick, calloused finger traced across the lines on my palm. The touch was simple and gentle, but it made me shiver nonetheless.

“I’m the only Alpha in the city without a mate,” he finally admitted. “That fact has never bothered me before. I always liked being on my old. I thought I was better that way. It was enough always having to keep an eye on Winnie; I never had a want for someone else to look out for.”

“But now…?” I guessed there was a “but” in that sentence.

His focus was locked on his fingers as he traced the outline of my hand. Something about the way his rough skin felt against mine… It made heat stir in the pit of my stomach. I didn’t realize I had started to lean into him until there was just a few inches of space left between us.

“But now,” he finally said, and sighed. “Now I find myself wanting something I don’t know if I can have.”

“A mate?” Why couldn’t he have that?

“You.” He finally met my gaze, just as the words clicked in my mind.

Heat made my cheeks burn bright red as I repeated his words. “M-me? What do you mean?”

“I mean I want you.” His gaze was unapologetic, yet the twist of his mouth… I could tell he was fighting some internal battle. “When I first saw you in that back alley, hiding under that shed from the rain…”

I was silent as he spoke, simply because I’d never heard all the details of what had happened that night, and Walter was the only one with that memory.

“I had Shifted too,” he admitted. “The pack Shifts together on full moons. The Omegas and some of the Betas are less overwhelmed by it if we’re all together. But something had drawn me away from the pack, like some string had pulled me out onto the streets…”

Only once he said something did I realize that I did remember a part of that night. It wasn’t a memory of what had happened, but rather… a feeling I had gotten. Like someone had been calling my name and I had gone in search of them.

“I’d never experienced anything like that before,” Walter continued. “And when I found you, shaking from fear and the cold… I knew I had to do something. The urge to protect you was overbearing. So I brought you home. I told myself it just from the intensity of the Shift that I felt like that, but when you Shifted back the next morning… I knew I couldn’t just let you walk away. So I told you to stay, and I knew that if you had said no, I would have done anything to change your mind.”

“Walter…” My voice was a quiet whisper as my thoughts began to race. “Do you think… That feeling… I felt it too. Is that what…”

“What having a mate feels like?” he guessed.

All I could do was nod. Somehow I already knew the answer, but I needed to hear him say it.

“Maybe.” When his gaze met mine, I realized he looked as lost as I felt. “I couldn’t say one way or another; I’ve never had a mate. But if it is…” He finally dropped my hand, only to cup my face and pull me towards him. “Listen to me, Erin. Even if…” He paused, as if he was struggling to say it out loud, too. “Even if we’re mates, that doesn’t mean you have to choose me. You can walk away. Hell, you can even…” He practically flinched at these words, as if saying them was a physical blow—“You can even choose someone else. Another man. I’m not going to force you into anything.”

I didn’t know what to say. “I think I want another drink.”

Disappointment flashed in his eyes, but it was gone in a blink. He rose to his feet, insisting that he get it for me. I watched him walk away. He took four steps—and froze. His entire back went rigid, too stiff for a human. His Shifter instincts had picked up on something.

I froze, wondering what was happening, what he had picked up on.

But he merely turned to face me again. Slowly. “Erin.”

I tried to sense his source of distress, but I couldn’t pick up on anything. The only thing I picked up on was how that look in his eyes sent heat straight to my core. “What is it, Walter?” I was on my feet and closing the distance between us in a matter of seconds.

“Don’t move!” he practically yelled.

I paused, almost jumping at his volume.

His eyes were wild, frantic, looking like an animal caught in a trap.

“What’s wrong?” I asked again, resisting the urge to reach out to him.

“Do you know what’s happening to you?” Every muscle in his body was taut as he asked the question.

I frowned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He simply said, “You’re going through heat.”

Oh.

Winnie had explained that to me on one of my first days here. She’d said it happens to every female Shifter. Her hormones—particularly the horny ones—exploded, and every male Shifter around her could sense it. Apparently, it drove the males as crazy as the females, though it was dangerous to be an Omega—specifically an unclaimedOmega—around any Alphas while in heat.

That’s why Walter wasn’t moving, wasn’t even breathing: he was trying not to pounce on me and take what he wanted. What we both needed.

All those dreams about him… They finally made sense. I was preparing for my first heat.

Only once he brought it to my attention did I realize just how hot I was. My heart was hammering in my chest, flames boiling beneath my skin, and—god, when had I gotten so wet?

“Walter…” My voice was a high-pitched whine.

“You’ll be okay.” He didn’t sound convincing in the slightest. The look in his eyes matched the relentless ferocity rising in my core.

God, I needed him. “Please…”

He squeezed his eyes shut. “I can’t, Erin. We’re both unclaimed. I won’t be able to control myself—”

I took a step towards him—and practically cried out. The burning in my core—between my legs—it was unbearable. I needed to ease the ache inside of me. My hand moved of its own accord towards my legs, and before I knew it I was touching myself over my jeans.

Walter’s eyes were locked on my hand. “Erin… you’re killing me.”

“Please, Walter,” I begged, my body no longer under my control. “I need you. I can’t breathe—”

That was when he kissed me. He wasn’t the first person I had kissed, but he felt like the first person who mattered. Our mouths molded together and I moved against him in a way that said, I’m choosing this. I’m choosing you.

“God, I can smell you,” he breathed into my neck, his low voice nothing more than a moan. “You’re already wet for me, baby.”

All I could do was moan as he pressed me against his erection. His mouth trailed down my neck, over my clavicle, and stopped over my heart.

“I want you,” I cried out as I ran my hands through his hair. “Mark me, Walter. Please.”

He brought his mouth to my chest, but he didn’t bite me like I expected him to. Instead, he brushed a soft kiss against my skin. I whined as he pulled away and moved me from his lap.

“Did I do something wrong?” I panicked, feeling like an idiot—

“No,” he assured me. “You’re… god, you’re perfect. But I’m not about to fuck you on the roof. I doubt you’ll want the entire neighborhood to hear you moaning for me.”

My face flushed instantly, but I didn’t say anything as he rose to his feet and pulled me inside, not stopping until we were in his room. An Alpha’s room was a place very few people ever saw. It was more intimate than a regular bedroom; it was stepping into his territory, walking onto his turf, and I knew that something had permanently changed between us as I crossed the threshold into the room.

The room was rather simple. A king-sized bed was pressed against the left wall. The crimson sheets were the only color in the room. The right side of the wall had a desk covered in files and papers. Newspaper clippings hung above it, stamped into the wall with thumb tacks. I didn’t have a moment to read what all the papers were about before Walter distracted me.

He arms wrapped around me as he lifted me up in the air. My legs instinctively wrapped around his waist. I clung to his shoulders, but he held me easily, as if I weighed no more than a few pounds. The show of pure strength did nothing to help the wet mess between my legs.

Walter walked us to the bed and lied me down on my back. He hovered over me but didn’t move to touch me. The longing and lust in his eyes was so vibrant, so undeniable, that I writher beneath him.

But his tone was calm as he said, “I need to ask you again. Is this what you want, Erin?”

“So much,” I breathed before pulling him against me.

His thigh moved between my legs, and he deepened the kiss as his leg pressed tightly against my core, applying pressure where I needed it most. Though our hands ran along each other’s bodies in a hungry frenzy, he kissed me differently than he had on the roof. It wasn’t rushed or desperate this time, but rather deep and slow and just as sensual. My toes curled.

I cried out as his mouth moved to my ear. He nipped at my earlobe—an action that sent shivers through my body—before whispering, “What is it, baby girl? What do you want? My fingers?”

I writhed against him.

“My mouth?”

Oh, fuck.

“Both?”

A wanton moan escaped me before I could stop it.

“Or are you already too desperate? That’s what it smells like to me. My little omega’s falling apart and I haven’t even touched you yet. You’re already desperate for me to fill your aching cunt, aren’t you, baby girl?”

His tone was different than I’d ever heard it. He spoke in a low, husky voice, and his tone was teasing but demanding at the same time. It made me dizzy.

“Already forgotten your words, omega? Has the heat gotten to your brain?” He buried his face in the crook of my neck and rubbed his nose along the skin below my ear. He was scenting me. “Or is it your Alpha who’s gotten to you?”

Instead of answering, I clawed at his clothes desperately, trying to undress him in my lustful haze. He allowed me to take his shirt off, though he undid his pants himself. His body… how was he even more impressive naked? I took one look at those sculpted muscles, at the dark swirls of hair that covered his chest and stomach, and knew that that was the kind of body that put the gods to shame. His cock bounced against his stomach as he stepped out of his underwear. It was thick and long, and as I watched the red, aching tip release pre-cum, I wondered how I could possibly fit his girth inside of me.

“My turn,” he breathed before moving to hover over me again.

One minute I was clad in my shorts and t-shirt, and the neck my clothes were in shreds on the floor. Walter’s hungry gaze made note of every inch of skin I beared for him, and I was too fucked out to feel self-conscious.

“Fuck me, Alpha,” I begged. “I need you inside of me!”

He growled before spreading my legs and pressing his length against my core. Our lips met just as he pushed inside me, and my nails dug into his shoulder at the burst of pleasure that ripped from me. His mouth was on my chest a second later, and as he kneaded my breasts in his hands, his teeth cut into the skin over my heart.

Claiming me.

...

tag squad:

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[lollybliz]

I posted 10,204 times in 2022

80 posts created (1%)

10,124 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@maddymayhearts

@calicotomcat

@extreme-technicality

@astralwashboard

@arctic-hands

I tagged 3,047 of my posts in 2022

#laugh rule - 123 posts

#tears of the kingdom - 108 posts

#lemony scented - 72 posts

#bliz spams - 50 posts

#bliz rambles - 50 posts

#lu spoilers - 18 posts

#asks - 18 posts

#linked universe - 16 posts

#genshin 2.7 stream spoilers - 14 posts

#xiaother - 14 posts

Longest Tag: 132 characters

#and this pig just ✨️✨️✨️coincidentally✨️✨️✨️wanders around in the middle of the afternoon on schooldays in the teen and juv sections

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Screaming and ripping and tearing and crying and howling and shredding and scratching and barking and

I get it. I do. And the loss of any safe piracy hosts is always to be grieved because that's access being denied to countless people who never would have had access otherwise. But book piracy specifically is The Only Piracy That Actually Hurts Someone. Please just uSE YOUR LOCAL FUCKING LIBRARY JESUS CHRIST. we're RIGHT HERE. we're FREE. and we don't MAKE THE PUBLISHERS SO MAD THEY CANCEL CONTRACTS WITH THE AUTHORS LEAVING THEM WITH ZERO INCOME. when you pirate books, various publishing companies have ways of keeping an eye on the ratio between purchased and pirated copies of a specific book in question. A lot of the time, if that number goes too high, instead of I don't know ~cracking down on piracy sites~ or ~putting the books on sale~ they blame the author and cut the contract. Meaning the author stops getting paid entirely. And that's the BETTER outcome. That ✨️clever tiktok trick✨️ for renting reading and returning books on amazon? Oho my friend someone still pays for that book! Guess who! THATS RIGHT THE AUTHOR.

I g e t the need for free books. Everything is expensive right now and $20 for a book that will take you a day to read feels obscene. Go to your local library. Don't gimme that 'but they don't have the book I want' shit--have you Asked? Because beloved guess what? When we genuinely don't have a book you want to read we reach out to sister branches in the area until we find a copy for you! It's called an interlibrary loan and it's completely normal! Sometimes there's a shipping fee if it had to come across state borders. Did you know you can also suggest books we add to our catalogue? And I remind you getting a library card is free. And we have half dozen online resources that are also made free by your having a library card. You Do need a piece of mail with 'your' address on it but besties. Y'all. Do you think we have the kind of time to check if you're giving us Your address or your Grandparent's address? No. Just give us the address of some family member in the area, it doesn't really matter much, you can change or update it whenever. Don't tell anyone I suggested that though lol.

On a very selfish level, our counties don't like giving us our yearly budget. The old cis white capitalist men, shockingly, don't seem to like the beacon of socialism that is public libraries. A lot of the time the excuse they use to literally just not pay us is 'the youth of today don't use libraries anymore, they're more interested in *insert 'them video games' schpiel*'

If you came to the library they wouldn't have that excuse anymore. We're not the cardigan wearing shushers in the movies I swear. We've got Mario kart wii in our teen room.

I'm sorry you lost your book piracy website, genuinely I am. You should have been using the library all along though. Pirating books Does hurt the author. And libraries nowadays have massive digital catalogues so even if you aren't physically close to one there is enormous f r e e benefit to getting a library card. Please god go to your local library

29 notes - Posted November 5, 2022

#4

Liking a mutual's vaguely concerning personal post is like I see you I hear you i am bringing you a cup of tea and a weighted blanket I am holding you i am holding you i am holding you

39 notes - Posted October 11, 2022

#3

If I had to see this so do you

102 notes - Posted November 10, 2022

#2

No you don't understand your honor I love him

137 notes - Posted May 17, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Sorry not sorry for the person im going to be for the next year

I have SO MANY QUESTIONS

See the full post

313 notes - Posted September 13, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[linguacoreana]

We learn all kinds of languages. Many people learn languages like Chinese, which has over one billion speakers. Others learn something like Swedish with over 10 million speakers. Both are valid. There is no optimal number of speakers to learn a language, and there is nothing shameful about learning a very niche and rare language. Usually, if you learn Swedish, Nahuatl, or Amharic, you need to learn how to deal with a language with few resources.

Tip: Use native level content

You might have a difficult time finding content created for learners. You won’t find the slowed down, simplified language that is created for those learning. It will be difficult to find a YouTuber with a good budget that explains some deep grammatical differences. However, this is a blessing in disguise. Instead of being held down by the expectations of a learner’s mind, you can be thrown into the lion’s den.

By using native level content, you can actually accelerate your language learning process. You can see the language exactly how natives use it. There is no need to focus on the trite expressions that some phrase books are obsessed with. Also, you can focus on the words that natives use instead of the words that books say that natives use, which already focus on providing words that are helpful for specific basic grammar points. The native level content is much better at providing the words natives would actually use. In English, we would describe a cake as soft, dense, moist, or dry. That language might not use the equivalents of those particular words. You can see that yourself by observing how natives talk about certain things.

Tip: Talk to a native

Interactions with natives are one of the most important things you can do in any language. However, if this is a language that has few resources, this might be the most useful tool if used correctly. They’re going to help you fill in the gaps in your knowledge. If the gaps in your knowledge are so much, you’ll need to talk to natives a lot.

Language exchange is extremely important to any language learner, and it will be helpful if you have a native who speaks your language to a decent level. They have the experience you want, but it’s in reverse. They already have a mind for language. Ask them why they used this word. Don’t hesitate to ask them if the sentences you wrote sounded natural. People are kind to those who want to learn their language. Use that kindness to your advantage to reach your goal of improving your language skills.

Tip: Go undercover as a native on social media

Sometimes you don’t have native speakers around you. You could live far away from the country, or the immigrant community in your city may be very small and overly assimilated. You still need to see how natives speak. What’s the solution? It’s the answer to all life’s problems these days: go online.

Look at how people are speaking online and copy them. Make an account where you pretend to be a native. Why can’t you just openly admit you are a learner? Well, for research! Natives always lower their complexity when around learners, and this is especially true for natives of languages with very few learners. They have extremely low expectations for learners. You need to get around this by pretending you are a native.

As a native of English, I always assume mistakes in comments are the result of typos, not the result of a deficiency of the person’s English. (This is also why you should never apologize for your English, especially proactively. It primes the listener to look for mistakes.) Natives of all languages think the same. They will think your mistakes are the result of typos or carelessness. As such, they will give you a true view into the real language, which is what you desperately need when you are stuck with a language with few resources.

Tip: Wring out every source for all the content it has

When you deal with something with few resources, whether it’s Hausa or Basque, you cannot squander the few resources you are lucky enough to have. If you have a textbook, you better be memorizing every vocab word in that thing! There should not be a second thought of hesitation in your mind if there is a show from 40 years ago meant to teach English teachers the language. Beggars can’t be choosers. It does not matter how dated it is or how much second-hand embarrassment you get. You need to use every inch of the resources you have.

Tip: Look for resources at universities

If you are a university student, check your library’s collections for resources on this topic. I remember mine had every single language I could imagine. Every native American language and every African language I knew about existed in the library as a physical book or a digital copy on the library website. My university might have had a lot of resources, but I know our school was definitely not famous for its nonexistent linguistics department.

If you are too old for university, ask someone who is in university if they could check their university library for you. More often than not, university libraries can help. Universities order so many books that they don’t know what to do with them. I have really good memories of grabbing random language books on my library’s fourth floor and just reading. Usually, those books had never been checked out, or it had been at least 30 years since the last time. University students do not care why you need help; they will just help you.

Read more on my blog.

[1994sunflower]

I need some jealous/possessive Mikey lol

in which michael gets jealous

It was a pattern. Maybe that’s why Michael hated the beginning of semesters. To see all the new transfers who didn’t know him, and worse didn’t know you were claimed by him. He couldn't exactly blame them. If you were in his classes, he was sure he would’ve been quickly taken in by you as well. 

Your kind smiles, your intelligence, your tendency to make everyone feel important and the approachable aura around you. Not to mention the way you managed to look at once cute, in need of defense, and beautiful. But that was all for him. 

Your smiles, the feeling of your skin on his, your kisses, your love. It was all for him, he had gotten you to be his. And somehow the thought that others didn’t know that, that they thought they had a chance to be the ones to receive your affection was frustrating. He didn’t want to share your affections with anyone. Especially ones that were so arrogant to think they could try to entrance you just a few days after seeing you for the first time. As if Michael, crazy as it may seem to everyone including himself, hadn’t earned your love, as if he wasn’t your soulmate who never had any plans of letting you go. 

He was your first everything and he intended to be your only. Sure he understood what made you so alluring to boys but it was the same reasons he was so protective over you. No one else would get a taste of your innocence, partly because apart from the facade you still had in public, there wasn’t much left thanks to him. He had stolen that doe-eyed little girl everyone else saw away and made you into his. His girlfriend to do whatever he pleased with and his girlfriend who loved him so completely and had eyes for no one else. You wouldn’t look at any other man like you looked at him, you were so completely infatuated and knew no one else could make you feel as good and as loved as Michael did.

Sometimes he felt like a dark cloud of shadows behind the sun when he stood beside you, tainting and ruining you. But if it meant you were so happy to bear his marks both invisible and visible; marks that you were taken by Michael, he was fine with it.

But even those marks seemed to be useless at diverting the new students flooding his campus every semester.

Because how could they be effective when they had no idea who Michael was and what he was capable of. Sure the whispers floating around about him were terrifying but rumors always exaggerated the truth. 

At least that’s what Oliver kept repeating to himself and to his roommate whenever the much more experienced student tried to dissuade whatever his intentions were with you. Oliver was a transfer so it was expected for him to be a bit too quick to make his mind up about liking you. I mean you were pretty, kind and seemed to radiate an energy that made everyone feel comfortable and important. It was a shame really that someone so jarringly different from you had taken you. 

But Benjamin, his roommate who had been at the university for years and knew quite well about your relationship with Michael didn’t think it was so expected for him to be so stupid as to blow off any warnings he tried to give him.

“What I’m hearing is that her boyfriend sucks.” Oliver said to Benjamin but his eyes never left your form, bent over a textbook even in the very beginning of the semester right outside of the library. The sun seemed to be shining on you just right to give you a heavenly glow. As if Oliver needed any extra help seeing you as an angel. 

The moment he saw you in his anatomy class he was hooked. He saw the way you acted. The kind smiles and voice, the friendliness with which you regarded the strangers beside you, your colleagues. The pretty way you carried yourself, gentle movements and demure demeanor that made you modest and shy but the look in your eye that showed just how intelligent you were and confident in that. Being in your vicinity was like a breath of fresh air. You felt…well, innocent. Like a doll. The pure happiness and allure innocence brings. Maybe it was that very same aura that attracted so many less than well intentioned men to you; the defenseless look in your eye, the delicate shyness that he was sure every male in the vicinity would love to crack. It would bring primal urges out of anyone.

He’d heard everything about you since. Apparently you were popular, but mostly because of your boyfriend. Whom Oliver couldn’t quite fathom had been able to steal your heart from all of the things he’s heard about him. He wasn’t anyone that Oliver thought would even catch your eye if the rumors were true. How could someone like that be able to call someone so light and upright his. 

He hadn’t ever seen the guy. Not that he wanted to, now that he began to understand that his interest was in you he had no reason to be face to face with the person in his way. Besides, the little issue of you having a boyfriend that everyone said didn’t deserve you shouldn’t be hard to handle. His charm was legendary in his hometown, after all. Pair that with someone that people say looks like the grim reaper at your sunny side, he thought he had a good chance.

Oliver was never shy. Always outgoing, confident. And how could he not be, he was attractive and his friendly demeanor made him popular. That wouldn’t change even in a new school, a new much bigger college.

“What’s the harm in talking to her, right? And I mean…” He smirked cockily, “If I get her to like me and dump him, then that’s just a bonus.” 

Benjamin buried his face in his hands in frustration, “Dude, you’re not listening. I’m telling you Michael…”

And there it was. The name. Michael. It was all Oliver ever heard whispered on campus. As if the guy was an enigma or a legend. The very name brought people to stop whether in fear or in awe. Again, the thought that the sweet girl in his class could be that guy’s girlfriend was almost beyond his comprehension. Defied all the rules he thought were unspoken and in place. 

He heard his name for the first time after his first class with you. The only seat available was the one next to you because he arrived so late, he got lost on the way. And the welcoming smile you gave him made all his first day nerves disappear. The way you asked him about himself with that angelic smile, what it felt to be a new transfer and how he was doing with finding friends and finding his classes, listened to his thoughts about the first day. Even soothing his worries and offering any help you could. It made him feel important and comfortable. 

It was what wouldn’t leave his mind as his thoughts constantly flowed back to you. 

“…and I’m not trying to get into problems with Michael just because my roommate is a dip shit who can’t listen to what people are trying to tell him.”

“It’s fine…” Oliver dismissed his comments, his voice raspy and almost sing songy as he took a step in your direction. “I can handle it.”

Besides he wasn’t around. Even if he was, Oliver thought he could play it off as if he wasn’t flirting. What’s the worst the guy could do?

When you looked up at him as you felt someone stand in front of you, instead of having to squint against the sun, it seemed as if the sunlight shone perfectly to make your eyes sparkle. Oliver might have been holding his breath at the sight of you when you smiled endearingly.

“Hi.” You said softly, the front strands of your hair draped over your shoulder while you pushed the rest of it behind your back. “Oliver, right? From anatomy?”

Oliver was mute as he nodded. To hear you not only say his name but to know that you remembered it made him instantly feel more confident and significant. Maybe this wouldn’t be so hard. He was attractive, funny and you were perfect for him, kind, docile. It was almost meant to be. How it should be, as he has seen all his life in movies and songs. The good guy gets the girl. Always. You’d see that easily enough, even if currently you were rebelling against the rules, because it would become apparent with enough time spent with him. Enough charming he did.

“Can I sit here?” He asked, pointing to the empty spot in the bench beside you and slid into it easily when you nodded silently. “What are you reading?” 

He was aware he was leaning close to you when he pretended to want to read whatever textbook was in your hands and he wondered if it was out of niceness that you didn’t pull away or if it was something else. His looks did make it easy for girls to want to be close to him physically. He couldn’t help but notice when he glanced at you, the light purple marks littering your neck. They were big and would definitely be darker if it weren't for the foundation you used to try to cover them. He could see them from your neck to your collarbone and some even peaking out from the top of your dress, right where the swell of your breasts started. It seemed like Michael liked to stake his claim for everyone to see.

“Just some anatomy, actually, funnily enough.” You shrugged easily, your nose crinkling in a sheepish smile. “I wanted to read ahead before class.”

Oliver hummed, meeting your smile. “Pretty and smart” 

You knew you probably shouldn’t giggle at that. But you did anyway. Compliments were always nice. You realize he was flirting when he said that but it was harmless. He couldn’t have meant anything more out of it. But then again, sometimes you forgot that there were new students on campus now that didn’t know that you were Michael’s girlfriend or even who Michael was, which only ended up bringing trouble.

“That’s sweet. You went to a community college right? There’s a lot more options here so with that kind of talk I’m sure you’ll get the girl you want in no time.” You were trying to be friendly, closing the book and giving him your attention. He seemed like a sweet guy. Outgoing, sociable and just a little nervous, maybe a little flirty. 

It was cute, in a puppy kind of way. You didn’t really have many friends like that, it was refreshing. You hoped he had a good year, found the friends he had confided in you with feeling a little lost at in such a bigger and more individualistic environment than he was used to. He was definitely someone you could imagine being friends with either way, if he needed one. It was easy to talk to him, you found that out pretty quickly when you welcomed him in anatomy, noting the way he looked just a bit shy and lost when he first sat down.

A few years ago you would’ve been the shy, nervous mess in her first year of college. But now, after meeting Michael, you were confident, had found her voice and who she was and you weren’t sure who to thank for that, college or Michael. Maybe both.

“I’m looking at the girl I want right now.” Oliver noted the way you eyes opened in surprised, your mouth opening quickly with a slight frown on your lips. Too much too fast. So he would have to take his time with you. He could do that. Better to let you believe it was just a joke, a token of his flirty personality. It wasn’t completely a lie anyway. 

He chuckled and shook his head, “No, but really. With the way things are going, I don’t think I’ll be getting friends let alone a girl in a while. Why is everyone so…solitary here?”

Your warmth came back when you nodded as if you understood his words, relieved that what you thought was a blossoming friendship hadn’t turned into something awkward. Your body was turned to him and he turned to you, your knees were touching but he was sure you didn’t even realize. 

“Well, it’s a big school.” You started out, looking out into the grassy Quad in front of you where students were sitting by themselves in benches, below trees, in hammocks. “There’s so many people you’re not really likely to be able to get to know someone and keep seeing them often.”

“But I see you out of class!” He pointed at you jokingly and smiled when you laughed. Melodic.

“I guess that’s true. If that’s it, then I can be your friend!”

“Really?” His voice was more excited than he wanted it to be but he didn’t mind it when he made you giggle again at his antics. Really like a puppy. “That’d be great! Hey, if you give me your number we can-”

He stopped speaking so abruptly and it didn’t take a genius to figure out why. Partly because the sunlight that was shining from behind you suddenly went away as a big shadow covered you and Oliver. Sure enough, with a glance behind you and upwards, your eyes met your boyfriend. 

Your very pissed off boyfriend. His jaw was set and his eyes were staring unshakenly at Oliver with a look so angry and cold you were sure it could turn hell into ice. He was wearing a white tank and ripped jeans. The white contrasted with his exposed tattoos, showing the union of his tattoos from his fingers all the way to his neck and down his chest. It showed his muscles without anything to hide them. His hair fell messily over his forehead. If it wasn’t for the situation you would probably be drooling over how good he looked.

“Mikey.” Your smile left Oliver and went to Michael, looking at him lovingly with your doe eyes. One of your hands reached out and took his balled up hand in your grasp. Your warmth was now on the man that Oliver felt cold with fear just looking at. The juxtaposition had Oliver unconsciously moving away from you.

He’d heard about Michael but he never imagined he’d look like that. Or maybe it was more shocking when next to you. His size was daunting enough. Oliver wasn’t a short guy but Michael had a good five inches on him and his shoulder width made him seem even bigger. Certainly with you sitting in front of him looking petite and dainty, he looked like a giant. Shown by the way your hand covering his barely covered most of his hand. When you stood to greet him, your head barely skimmed his chest. If you were to kiss or if Michael were to grab you, it almost seemed to Oliver like you could very easily break.

And his tattoos, each blending together in various scenes, some gory and some symbolic. Up to his neck and everywhere, every piece of skin displayed was covered in ink. Pain was definitely not something he feared, maybe even liked. If Oliver read right, his fingers themselves were telling him what Michael was likely thinking: FUCK YOU. 

His face was stoic, emotionless. It was almost creepy to be in his gaze like that. He seemed like someone capable of anything. And that was not a good thing. 

Flashes of your smiling face, your gentle voice and kind eyes filled Oliver’s mind. Your skin that looked so sensitive and pure. It didn’t fit with what your boyfriend represented. It was wrong. Someone so defenseless looking was with someone who looked like the hunting predator. And worse for you to smile up and look at him with all the trust and love in the world. Made him seem like the most important guy in the world. Like he was someone that deserved to be showered with this love. How could he possibly have ensnared someone like you when you were so clearly from different worlds. Could someone like that even give you love? Not like you deserved, not like someone like Oliver who was more similar to you could.

Even when Michael glanced down at you, he didn’t smile. No aspect of his face showed any warmth or love to an outsider looking in. He was cold even to the girl that radiated warmth and happiness. But despite that you must have seen something he didn’t, known him more than he has heard anyone else did, because you smiled brightly and wrapped your arms around one of his, hugging yourself into him. 

“This is Oliver, he’s in my anatomy class.” You said, mumbling with your cheek squished against his arm. So cute, so innocent. So…wrong when it was next to Michael who tilted his head as he stared at Oliver, especially when Oliver’s gaze was on you. It was an eerie feeling, as if he was thinking of all the ways he could murder him right where he stood. Or the ways he could beat him to a pulp without you freaking out or getting upset.  He didn’t say anything, didn’t move to introduce himself. Silence. 

But you, either oblivious to the tension or purposely ignoring it, continued. “Oliver this is my boyfriend, Michael.”

Oliver smiled nervously. He had told Ben he could handle it. And just because it was a little more than he expected, didn’t mean he couldn’t. He couldn’t flirt with a girl he knew had a boyfriend without a backup plan. 

“Hey man.” He said, thankful that his tone didn’t betray him but he was sure the white pallor of his face definitely did. “I’ve actually heard a lot about you, kind of a legend around here, huh?” 

He chuckled which as not reciprocated by Michael who clenched and unclenched his fist. Restraint, at least when you were around. If you weren’t around, Oliver would already be on the ground bleeding.

It took all his efforts not to do just that when he first saw you with him. You were sitting too close when he saw you. Then the smiles and laughs he brought out of you, that looked so natural. Sometimes, Michael thought about the type of guy others imagined you being with. Someone more kindhearted, matching your personality. But seeing it in person made his blood run hot. The sight of the possibility of you finding someone more suitable for you, someone so different from Michael that could show you just what you were missing, had him angry. 

Because no matter what, no matter how different, you were made for him. He knew that. He loved you and he cherished the love you gave him, the smiles and affection you reserved for him that made him feel so cared for. He didn’t want to share that. And as he heard your cute giggle, that he’d heard so many times, at whatever the younger boy was saying to you, he knew that the stranger thought he actually had a chance. 

Even when you were so obviously his, when Michael had marked you in so many ways to prove that and when you loved him. His arrogance to think otherwise, that he could change your mind, had Michael wanting to show him just how wrong he was. The smiles you were giving him, the laughs, weren’t special not like the ones you gave him. He’d never see you the way Michael had, shyly blushing at his words, cuddled up next to him in your sleep, naked and trembling. You were only ever going to be Michael’s and nothing and no one can change that. Especially not a gullible little second year. 

Oliver cleared his throat. He could see why Benjamin didn’t want any problems with Michael now. But, Oliver’s agreeableness usually led him out of trouble. 

“Yeah your girl and I…” Wrong choice of words. He noted the way Michael’s already angry gaze narrowed violently. “…were just talking about our class together. It’s my first year here so she’s been a really big help so far, my first friend I guess.” He chuckled as he tried to emphasize the word friend.

But then his next move was a habit, really. The fact that his hand was reaching out to touch your arm. He was the type of guy that touched people he felt comfortable with. But he realized his mistake immediately when his wrist got caught by a firm, crushing hold. Oliver cried out.

“Don’t fucking touch her.” The first words Michael spoke to him. Your boyfriend’s voice was gravelly, matching his intimidating appearance. 

And Oliver had expected him to be strong. Especially from all the stories of his aggressive behavior and fights he had heard. But his hold was more painful than he expected. Oliver winced as his hand was flung away from you.

You tittered nervously next to Michael. You weren’t stupid, you knew Oliver was being a bit too friendly with you. But he hadn’t tried anything full on so you didn’t really mind. Thinking that he’d get over any little crush he could have on you quickly. It had to be because you were the first person to be welcoming to him rather than him actually liking you as a person. So you let him have his fun, not wanting to be mean and crush his feelings especially when he’s already been feeling nervous.

“Mikey, it’s okay.” You whispered, pulling away just enough for your hands to go to his chest soothingly. You felt his arm wrap around your body, resting on your ass possessively and you hated yourself for clenching your thighs together at the action. You were against him being so violent, of course you were. But why did his possessiveness have to be so hot. Especially when he was staking a claim on you publicly, showing everyone how much he loved you. “It doesn’t matter. Let’s just go home.” 

“Yeah, man, we were just talking I didn’t mean…” But maybe Michael could see through his innocent appearance because he sneered before Oliver could finish.

“Drop the ‘shy’ act. You were leaning towards her like a loser trying to get laid.” Michael reached out and balled his fists into Oliver’s jacket. “And the only reason you’re not getting the shit beat out of you right now is because she’s here.”

Your hands reached out to Michael’s extended one. “Michael! Let him go, you know how I feel about-”

And Michael did what you said. Unfortunately, though, that just meant Oliver fell backwards onto the ground at the force Michael used to push him away. And Michael leaned down just enough to speak again while you scrambled to get your things to be prepared to stop him if he went out of control. Oliver looked up at him with wide eyes, Michael was taller than him beforehand but now Michael had the complete power. 

“You knew who I am but you decided to flirt with my girl anyway, tried to touch her, asked for her number. Like you don’t give a fuck what happens to you. Let me save you the trouble of trying to get her to like you, she won’t.” He took a hold of Oliver’s hair painfully and pulled his head backwards, “Because she’s mine, the sweet shy girl you see has someone like me as a boyfriend, and you should fucking learn that quickly for your first year here. Everything about her, everything you like, is mine, mine to do whatever I want to. And she wouldn’t waste her time on a boring fuck like you. Not when she has me.” Not when he could fight for you like no one else could.

“Michael,” You were pulling on his shoulder, “He didn’t mean anything by it. He’s new, he didn’t know.”

Michael looked at you once before back at Oliver. He knew the way Oliver had been looking at you well. Because it was how he looked at you. The way only he should look at you. “He knew but didn’t care because he thought he could get you to like him anyway. To like that he was funny and shy. Admit it.”

Michael let him go as Oliver nodded rapidly, “I-I’m sorry, dude. Yeah, yeah I was flirting with her because I thought she’d like me easily but I had no idea….I mean I did but I didn’t think-”

“Think that I’d see through your shitty act.” Michael stood up straight, moving behind you and wrapped his arms around you, one of his hands gripped your inner thighs while the other cupped below your breasts over the fabric of your dress. You couldn’t help the embarrassed and shy blush adorning you as Michael held you out so Oliver could see the entirety of just how he was groping you, how you were letting him. His mocking smile was right next to your ear. “Hear that, little one? He was playing with you. Making you think he wanted to be your friend when in reality all he wanted was to try to fuck you.”

“No!” Oliver shook his head, looking at you with pleading eyes to not believe your boyfriend’s cruel words. Pointedly ignoring the way Michael was very visibly staking his claim in front of him. Humiliation coursed through him. “I…I actually really like you, it wasn’t like that. I’m sorry, I should have respected the fact that you were taken.”

You were still shaking at how Michael had touched you, debating between being humiliated and being so absolutely turned on at the feelings of his hands and the knowledge of him showing anyone that you were his. You were weak whenever he treated you so roughly, in and out of bed. He reinforced it, taught you to love it. This was no exception. 

So when Michael began pulling you away from your shell shocked classmate, you let him. And there was a twisted satisfaction in Michael when you chose to go with him, like you always would. You loved him.

-

You were silent on the entire way to your apartment, which you led. It was an angry silence, as you proved when you crossed your arms as soon as he closed the door behind you two. 

It was more so feeling bad for the guy than anger. You knew he was flirting and it wasn’t fair to Michael to expect him to be okay with it, but you thought of the way Oliver was so energetic and sweet, it felt wrong to treat him so badly. You could have even seen yourself being friends with him. He was only complimenting you anyway. Besides, crush or not, you were sure he would’ve gotten over it eventually. But maybe he was exaggerating his personality to match yours just like Michael claimed. “I feel so bad.”

“I don’t feel bad for that motherfucker trying to flirt with my girl.” Michael muttered darkly. His eyes cut sharply to you. When he approached you, you felt very much like a prey watching her predator stalk towards you until your back hit the wall behind you. “You wanted me to be nice? After he thought he could fucking touch you in front of me. After making you blush and giggle like that.”

“I was not blushing.”

His hand came up to your face and squished your cheeks together, “Please.” He sneered. “I could see the way you were soaking it up, him pining after you like a pathetic puppy. I can’t believe you didn’t let me beat the shit out of him like he deserved, if he wants to act like the idiot he looks like then I’d make him learn that you’re mine. They don’t deserve any part of you, because it’s already for me.” Your smiles, your affection, your innocence, your laughs, your blush. Everything. 

You gifted him all those when you fell in love with him and he wasn’t going to let anyone else get a piece. Or think they can earn it and take it, and you, away from him. As if they ever could. He was the one home with you right then. “They can try as much as they fucking want but I got you and tainted, marked, you as mine a long time ago and there’s nothing they can do about it. Fuck, I hate transfers.”

Michael’s eyes narrowed and you felt your heart clanging at his gaze. Oh how the tables turned from you being the mad one to being putty in his hands at the first sign of him treating you a bit rougher from the jealousy coursing through him. “He thought he had a chance when your with me. When he can’t even fucking look me in the eyes without shrinking back. You wanted to keep giggling like a little schoolgirl at his compliments?”

You shook your head submissively, “N-no. I wasn’t. He was just nice and I wanted to make him feel welcome.”

Michael tsk’d dismissively before leaning down to kiss you. His kiss was hungry and angry and you couldn’t help but melt against him as you allowed his tongue to explore your mouth deeper. His fingers were in your hair. “Is that how you welcome other guys, by letting those wimps flirt and touch you when your boyfriend isn’t around?”

His words were mean but he didn’t give you a chance to retort. “I should have had him bleeding at my feet the moment he leaned in too close to you.” He said threateningly, “Those assholes forget who you belong to the moment they see you alone.”

Your whine at his words turned into a helpless gasp when he lifted you up slightly on the wall you were leaning against, just enough for only the very tip of one of your foot to remain on the floor while he went on his knees in front of you. “Wonder what he’d say to know that the nice little girl you are only ever gets her pussy wet for her mean and aggressive boyfriend who’s too big for her. That’s why you were fucking soaking the moment I stopped the dumbass from touching you.”

Michael slid your panties down your legs, the very ones he was sure that second year fantasized about being able to see and discard just like Michael was currently doing without a second thought. 

His lips were on your soaking cunt as soon as soon as he finished talking. His tongue lapping at your juices and crevices between your slit like a starving man. Your gasps were broken and breathy and you couldn’t do much except throw your head back against the wall. Your other leg was thrown over his shoulder as he worked on your clit, suckling and nibbling. 

A gasp tore through you as he pulled away only to spit on your exposed pussy filthily before his mouth returned to its work. Your hand was in his hair as he licked flatly on your core before his tongue began teasing your entrance. You knew this was coming the second you saw him so mad at the Quad. And you were more than glad to anticipate it. “Yes, I do. Love watching you show them how pathetic they are to even try when I have you. So big and scary. Only love you, only you.”

Your hips were grinding against his lips and he rewarded the words you knew he would love by entering his middle and ring finger into you. The stretch was delicious even if it was nothing compared to his cock. And the feeling of them moving in and out of your cunt as he never stopped eating you out had your face scrunching as a particularly loud moan left your dropped mouth. It was almost too much. 

“Is that why you toy with their health by trying to pissing me off?” Michael moved his fingers faster inside of you and you could practically feel your orgasm coming. He always managed to get you to your release quickly.

You pulled at his hair as he grabbed your hips and pulled you deeper into his mouth, his hands squeezing your hips tightly and almost painfully from how mad he was. “I’m sorry.” You chanted, “So sorry. Didn’t mean it. I won’t do it again.”

You were submitting to him so perfectly, apologizing just like he wanted to hear. He was hard the moment you denied wanting your classmates affection. The dismissive way you didn’t care about him because your love and affection was solely for your boyfriend. Michael. But to hear you apologize, solidifying just how much you’d choose him and his needs and feelings over everyone else. How you would always be obedient to him, how easily he could dominate you to submission even after other men tried to take you away. Apologizing because he was the only man that should ever be receiving your affections like that, the only one that was capable of putting you in this state. 

He needed to be inside you, immediately. Claim you completely. Like you were practically begging to be. He never knew the word sorry could be so hot. At least when moaned out like that, it had to be.

If it weren’t for Michael’s hands on you and the wall behind you, you were sure you would have collapsed already. You didn’t have enough strength to hold yourself up, you could barely feel your legs as Michael swirled his tongue on your clit, his fingers moving rapidly in your entrance so much so that you could practically hear the noises at your wetness. 

Your leg over his shoulder pushed him in further as your entire body shook. The only leg holding you up gave out but you stayed in place as he pushed you against the wall even harder than before. His name left your mouth in a moaning, broken mess of syllables. Even as your body rode out your orgasm, his mouth never stopped its lapping of your juices. In fact, you felt rather than heard his deep moan at the taste of your release. 

His entire mouth and even bottom of his nose were wet from your wetness and cum as he stood up, towering over you once again. You were panting as you looked up at him but his eyes were as angry as ever.

You tried to give him the most innocent naive eyes you could to calm him, and you couldn’t help but whimper apologetically under his gaze, “Daddy…”

“Shut up,” He growled out. “Gotta fucking remind you who you belong to.”

One of his hands pushed down the straps of your dress. When he positioned himself to your entrance and entered you in one rough thrust, not giving you time to adjust to the new girth that was filling you up so nicely, the front of your dress fell away from covering you. 

Your back flush against the wall, you moaned out when his warm mouth suckled and licked at your tits. His mouth alternated between them as he thrusted into you. Your body moved against the concrete and your legs around him to hold yourself up only served to push him deeper into you. 

Maybe it was the position that had you so helpless but each inch he moved inside you, you felt your cunt being stretched apart impossibly so. He filled your little cunt so completely that with only a few inches of him inside, you could look down and see the girth of the rest of his dick look wider and bigger than your entrance should be able to fit. You clenched around him at the sight and he groaned in your ear as you did, sheathing himself in his entirety into you. You were tight but he had trained your body to take him impossibly well. 

His hips thrusted into you at a fast pace and you threw your head back against the wall at the feeling of his cock running along your walls. Moans and gasps left you, as his thick length filled you up, claiming every part of you that only he had ever, and will ever, feel. He was so long, you body spasmed each time you felt him bottom out in you. 

“So good” You whimpered out, your hands tightening their hold around his shoulders. 

You were helpless to do anything but just clench around him as each thrust pushed you further into the wall. It almost hurt but you were too desperate for him and into the pleasure to notice or care. The only thing holding you up was Michael’s arms. But if your pleasured sounds were anything to go by, you didn���t mind the submissive position you were in.

In fact, Michael’s groans each time your walls hugged him tighter, sucking him in further and begging to go harder, showed that you loved it. He watched your face carefully, your mouth lolling open and your eyes glazed with tears of pleasure. His thrusts seemed more punctuated than before, barely giving you enough time to moan out as the sound of skin slapping increased. 

Each thrust racked your body. He bounced you on his cock with each thrust, his strength to do so had you moaning out. Your small frame was almost completely concealed by his large one. The only parts of you that could be seen where your extremities that hung onto him and the pleasure he was providing you. Your tiny body was what made it so easy to use you like he set out to do. To claim you so entirely.

“He looked so fucking happy at getting you to laugh, got his dick hard just by talking to you. All of that, yet I’m the one that’s fucking you right after.” Michael pushed your dress up. It was basically useless by then, limping hanging on to your body just by your waist, the top had been pulled down to expose your tits to him and the bottom moved up to your waist so he could see himself driving into you, stretching you out impossibly at his size. 

“Wonder, fuck, what he’d think to know that no matter how much he tried, the girl he likes is milking my cock like the slut I made you become. Letting the guy that nearly pummeled him fuck her raw, minutes after he tried to get you to just notice him.”

Your hips circled as you ground against him. His words were too much. They were cruel but somehow, you felt yourself get wetter, whining for him to take you harder. You were his to do whatever he wanted. You didn’t care if anyone else liked you, because you knew your boyfriend would let them know proudly that you weren’t available. You were already claimed, by him. You loved feeling so protected and wanted.

“He’s too late. You’re already mine. Already ruined you, took away that innocence he likes so much just for me. Only I will ever get to have you like this, what he can just fantasize about. The guy he got scared shitless of just because of how I looked so different next to you made you into a dumb cock-hungry whore. Can’t even think about anything other than my cock in you.”

You were nodding along without even realizing it wearing a fucked out expression. Especially when Michael’s hand came up to your neck, squeezing it enough that you breathed in a breath of surprise. Your eyes nearly rolled back with high pitched, broken moans when he hammered into you, until his balls hit your skin and your hips met his. It was so fast, so rough, and so good.

“You want a nice guy?” You whimpered at his mocking tone he had taken up with you, “You like that I’m mean, don’t you?” 

“Yes, yesyes. I l-love it when you’re mean, when you show others I’m yours, daddy.” Your words were slurred. So drunk at the feeling of him fucking into you so roughly. At your continued nodding, his finger came up to your chin and forced your mouth open. When he spit at you, most of it landed more on your skin and he nearly growled possessively at the sight of you so dirty covered with his spit.

“Say it. Say you’re mine.”

“I’m yours! I’m only yours. I’m sorry for not telling him t…to fuck off. So sorry. I don’t care about anyone else.” You were basically screaming as his angle changed, bringing you to your limit. He rubbed along that spot inside you that always had you seeing lights. 

Your lips found his inked neck, suckling. “T-They’re all pathetic. Only you can fuck my pussy, daddy. Only you can make me feel so good.”

“Shit, say that again.”

“They’re pathetic to think they can have me.” You didn’t care how mean your words were if they pleased him. You pushed your hips as much as you could to his rhythm but at your words, he stopped you from being able to move at all.

Instead, he was holding you like nothing more than a doll, a flesh light, as he fucked into your tight hole with new vigor. The doll Oliver had seen in you was now being defiled by him. Hissing at the feeling of your wetness practically dripping down his length. The filthy squelching sounds each time he bottomed out into you might have embarrassed you if it weren’t for how lost you were at having him dominate you so completely and how Michael looked so fucked out himself, loving the words and being able to claim you, remind you that no one else could ever have you like this. 

Even a nice boy that seemed like a perfect fit because you already had him, you would never need or have anyone else. But, with how you were feeling, you couldn’t imagine ever thinking about anyone else. You couldn’t speak, let alone keep your eyes open as he used you with you weak to his pace and powerful thrusts, held up just by his arms and held still by his hand on your hips.

“Taking me so good, little one.” He muttered, his voice strained. “They’re not going to fucking know who you belong to until I fuck my cum into you and get you round with my baby. Gonna knock you up so they can see that you’ll never be with them, that you’re mine. Mark you inside and out.”

They were the words that always had your heart swelling and clanging in your chest. To think of something that intimate with him, to imagine yourself carrying something that can’t be ignored or hidden to show that you were his, that he had claimed you in all ways imaginable, in ways people never would have expected between you. That the big, aggressive, mean man that many feared had taken your small, shy, sweet person and you had let him, willing and responsive. It was so hot.

You came around him instantly, biting your lip and moaning, eyelids droopy tiredly from the pleasure as you felt him continue to trust into you, fucking your cum back into you until his own thrusts got slower and sloppier. 

When he came inside you, he held you close, until every last bit of his cum filled your cunt. He didn’t want to waste a drop, fill you to the brim with his seed. But still, when he began pulling out, the mixture of both of your releases dripped down your thighs. Yet still, Michael’s fingers pushed his cum back inside of you with his fingers. The overstimulation to your sore, abused cunt made you whine but you still clenched around his fingers nonetheless. Every bit the slut for him he had made you to be. 

Michael was still holding you up easily, a good foot higher above the ground than you would have been if you stood by yourself. You were breathing heavy still feeling the remnants of the pleasure you had experienced just moments before at his hand. Your legs felt like jelly. If this was what it took for him to fuck you like that then maybe you had to let others flirt with you more often. Maybe you were the cock-hungry slut Michael had said you were. 

You realized that you seemed pretty naive in the eyes of others. And that maybe that was why some guys liked you. But that had changed in you a long time ago, no matter how you appeared in public. You were filthy for your boyfriend, would let him do anything he wanted to you because you were more than happy to have him ruin your purity if it was for him. To have him own your body in a way no one else had ever done. 

Michael finally moved you away from the wall, setting you down gently on the comfortable couch as he kissed your lips. “Did so well for me.” He mumbled. His hands were squeezing your cheeks together to make you look at him, your heart stuttered at the rough gesture. “Did you finally remember who you belonged to for next time some idiot tries to flirt with you?”

You pouted as much as you could with your face in his hand, reminded that you were actually mad at him after you had walked home. Oh how easy it was for him to completely stop your thoughts and turn you to the submissive, responsive girl that would agree to anything he said. “It’s not like I would have actually liked him like that, you didn’t have to hurt the poor guy, he was so embarrassed.”

Michael narrowed his eyes at you but you beat him to it with a big smile that he wondered how you could come up with even after the fucking he had just given you. “I was just being nice. It doesn’t matter who flirts with me, Mikey. I’m yours.” Your arms wrapped around his torso. His arms took a bit longer but eventually they wrapped around your small frame too.

You were his. There was nothing to remind you of because you knew. No matter how different you two were, he was the one you loved and the only would that would ever have intimate moments with. It was just a reinforcement that whatever moment you had had with him meant nothing because despite not being nice, funny or sociable, Michael was still the only one you’d ever give your affections to.

And if others trying to challenge that just meant that your strong boyfriend would show everyone who you belonged to, protectively, even if you trying to be nice to them and he….wasn’t, that didn’t seem so bad either.

-

“That was her boyfriend?” Oliver was still shaking when he returned back to his frozen roommate. 

Benjamin nearly hissed back at him with a glare, “Don’t act like I didn’t warn you, asshole. You’re lucky you’re not in an ambulance right now.”

“Well yeah but I thought you were exaggerating, how are they even dating? She’s so…” Oliver was still pale with the good scare Michael had given him, saved only by your mercy.

“No one knows.” Ben muttered, finally seeming to shake out of the skittering shell he had gotten in as soon as he saw Michael approaching his roommate. He had been so careful to never cross paths with Michael but somehow, Oliver had done it in his first week there. “But they’re pretty serious, they’ve been dating for years. So if I were you, I’d drop whatever the hell fantasy you have about her. I’m not going to try to go against him for you whenever he’s finally gotten sick of you hovering over her.”

In all honesty, Oliver was used to his charm working. He was sure he would be able to at least find a place in your life, wanted it. That seemed fruitless when confronted with your boyfriend, no amount of niceness on his part would ever get through to him, give him any misguided trust in Oliver with you. It didn’t help him get you to like him and it didn’t help him get out of trouble with your boyfriend.

Certainly didn’t help him when he was forced to walk by you two. It seemed now that he had gotten on Michael’s bad side, Michael was creative with his torture. Specifically in choosing to walk you to your anatomy class. It was a sweet gesture, common in relationships. But his anterior motive was obvious when he leaned against the wall right next to the door. Keeping you with him until only a minute before class, right about the time when Oliver would be walking past to get inside on time.

That was when Michael would set his lips to yours. Taking no care in being modest for the sake of being in public. He deepened the kiss almost as soon as your lips connected, his tongue slipping into your mouth. 

Maybe it would have been bearable, even with it being completely impossible for Oliver to ignore or pretend not to see when it was so blatant in front of him and where he had to go. But any semblance of endurance was crumbled the moment he made eye contact with Michael.

Michael was staring right at him, triumphant and condescending, taunting as his lips moved with yours. The same sweet lips that had always made Oliver feel so welcome. As you were on your tiptoes, eyes closed and melting against him as your tongues explored each others mouths, letting him do whatever he wanted even in public. His eyes were steady on Oliver even as he took your bottom lip between his teeth and tugged it down slowly before kissing you deeply again.

Michael’s eyes were wide open as he stared at the guy who had dared to think of himself as a worthy adversary. He was nothing. And Michael was nearly smirking against your lips. Arrogant and the reason, the prize, was right in his arms to give reason. And Oliver was empty handed and embarrassed all over again.

Oliver wasn’t sure if the fact that he hadn’t gotten beaten to a pulp was something to be grateful for when he had to deal with this sting to his pride and feelings. It wasn’t like he wasn’t watching his back in fear either way.

[nonatanahlada]

아 그리고 달이 참 밝네요 | seventeen wonwoo

loosely based on 180906 wonwoo ending ment during ideal cut in japan, enjoy!

it is thursday, specifically a rainy one at night. you have just finished your work and ready to leave the office until a certain notification from your phone caught your attention.

[Jeon Wonwoo]: Are you still up for the dinner? You know that we can always reschedule it.

oh my, the mere mention of his name already made your senses overwhelmed in a good way.

jeon wonwoo is... a childhood friend? your long-time crush? the only one who succeeded at making you feel home by simply looking at his cat-like eyes? well, you like to call him your kindest companion; more than a treasured childhood friend but less than the love of your life despite the thought of you actually loving him seriously has occurred several times—feelings are scary when they involve someone you’ve known your whole life, you thought.

your senses regained their composure and you quickly responded to wonwoo’s text.

[You]: yes, i’m still up. i’ll be waiting outside the building, just text me when you got here.

[Jeon Wonwoo]: Wait inside the lobby, it’s raining.

with that being said, you're doing as wonwoo asked that is waiting for him inside the lobby.

for more context, wonwoo and you are childhood friends. you both used to attend the same school since kindergarten but got ‘separated’ during university and this made you initially assumed that you both would drift apart, though what happened was the total opposite. you both managed to keep in touch by texting and/or facetiming at ungodly hour, either ranting about troublesome projects or breaking down over stressful finals week. you've seen each other in your most vulnerable states and surely it strengthened the bond between.

after a little over fifteen minutes of waiting, your vision caught a familiar tall figure in a typical urban office worker attire, his slightly wet hair almost reached his cat-like eyes, also the round glasses that you always find endearing on him from time to time—it's no other than wonwoo.

"did you wait long? i have the umbrella with me."

"i'm sure you know the answer to that question," you grinned. "you're not the type to make others wait and if it's you i know i can wait for an eternity."

wonwoo just chuckled at your remarks and you both made your way to his car while sharing the umbrella. after putting the umbrella in the backseat, wonwoo drove the way to the agreed restaurant. the restaurant was nice, you both enjoyed the meals and managed to talk about a lot of stuff. then it was almost midnight when wonwoo suggested that he should drive you home soon as the both of you still have work tomorrow.

"i'll walk you until the elevator," wonwoo said as the sight of your apartment's building started to be visible.

"okay."

you've already stepped inside the elevator yet wonwoo is still there—just a few steps in front of the elevator, but instead of facing you, his eyes are glued to the lobby's window that is displaying the night sky. right before the elevator's door got closed, wonwoo turned his back then said-

"oh and the moon is so bright."

suddenly, your mind is being flooded with a particular high school memory. there were wonwoo and you baring younger facial features, wearing the sunkissed school uniforms, sitting next to each other in the town's library after school. he was reading a copy of natsume soseki's cat and you were doing your physics homework. it was quiet until wonwoo said something that you still hold closely until this day.

"did you know that the saying 'the moon is beautiful' or ‘the moon is so bright’ could be interpreted as 'i love you'?"

"hm? no... i guess?" you responded, a bit surprised.

“it is said that when natsume soseki was still working as a high school english teacher,” wonwoo started to explain with his index finger pointing to the name ‘natsume soseki’ on the book he was reading. “he told his students that men shouldn’t say ‘i love you’ blatantly in english, saying ‘the moon is beautiful or so bright’ is enough—it reeks of fragile masculinity and stuff but all things aside, don’t you think it’s such a romantic line to tell your beloved?"

you took a while to process it, “why the moon though? i think the rainbow could have been a better choice instead.”

"it is widely believed that the particular image soseki or at least the people at that time had was someone walking home their beloved at night and during nighttime the thing that stood out the most was the moon, though i have my own opinion about it.”

“i want to know your opinion about it," wonwoo and his thoughts are always interesting anyways.

wonwoo scored a gentle smile, "the moon could be interpreted as the symbol of eternity, it has been going through its phases even before the humanity discovered how the solar system works and might even continue when the world went mad. the moon also always looked so serene and still as if it’s a faithful soul. those traits are valued in the art of loving someone hence the moon is the proper symbol of love.”

you hummed in agreement—see, wonwoo and his thoughts are always interesting.

later the day, wonwoo walked you home. yet right before you close your household's door, he said something with his eyes glued to the night sky.

"the moon is beautiful, isn't it?"

but somehow the both of you decided to act as if it never happened until this day.

back to the present day.

wonwoo literally just said the same thing with the most similar setting ever—he walked you home at night and said the phrase while his eyes were glued to the night sky. you were in a deep daze over what just happened even after the long warm shower. once you sat yourself on the bed, your phone showed a notification.

[Jeon Wonwoo]: I am sure you understood what I was trying to say earlier though I apologize for being a coward about it,

another notification came in.

[Jeon Wonwoo]: But I meant it, I've always been.

relief, that's all you can feel at the moment.

[You]: the moon is beautiful and so bright too here :)

[squid--inc--writes]

Happy Worldbuilding Wednesday!! How is teaching / passing on knowledge done in your world? Are there schools? Apprenticeships? And what are the popular things to learn? (Sorry, I'm new so if you have multiple WIPs, then choose any one you want :D )

- @bloodlessheirbyjacques ✨

Well I thank you for asking.

I do have multiple wips, but a majority of them either take place semi our world (so schooling would be similar but add magic and other stuff) or take place in the same universe. So I guess I'll explain the universe that has times where thats explored. (Pertains to Dresden Witch, Green team mercenaries, floating castle mercenaries, and several I either haven't named or haven't introduced on here)

So, because magic and technology are prominent points in various series (depending on where in the timeline), and the series centers on a specific planet, It ultimately starts off with various circles worshipping goddesses (the creators of the universe, who canonically, to varying degrees interact with the world physically (see Godshead, a place impossible to die or be injured, which has a number of nifty things built in over time)) the goddesses taught their creations, creations made their own gods, gods came to life, and now actively or passively teach. Many years later, people develop circles to teach those who've never met their gods, these people continue on to become powerful, and communities buold around the circles for teaching and eventually build schools. It's why, in the early days (Dresden Witches touches on this) people didn't really get accepted into a school unless they married someone a part of the community that school was built in, and even then, it was only the children of the family invited.

There were still independent teachers, people who broke off an would teacc or alloe others to apprentice then, but generally it was very much a "if your community isn't centered around magic users, you likely have an ordinary village/town." Which also, later in the timeline necessitates tinkering and creation of technology (Many people who learned to invite felt bitter at the closedness of magic users, and created schools anyone could enter; these schools were usually a "we post the time the class is, you come learn of you want" no one is forced, no testing, but you can ask for help, and buy books or read in libraries) eventually technology cracks magic, and they get integrated, around the same time people start getting snobby about education being a sign of being wealthy (general concept of the better lessons being out of harvest seasons, because teachers had more resources when people who didn't have to work were there, and also the wealthy could pay for better supplies, which is a while other topic itself) leading to a merge of concept between the isolated community magic schools becoming something one can apply for, and the open science colleges becoming a pay to play. Once again, through all of this, people freely offer education, but they often traveled a lot or were themselves isolated.

Popular magic to learn is based on where you come from. Healing magic is always popular (necromancers typically come from failed healers who show potential; side note on that, necromancers can actually have the entirety of their education and housing paid for if they work as public sector necromancers for a few decades; once again a whole other topic) the geography of a location may have changed overtime, whereas the magic schooling did not (example, trifi, as a child, went to a school that taught elemental magick, with a lot of aquatic tropes, despite being surrounded by a desert for a few hundred years, of course up until she drowned it; Venitry went to a school that worked with amplification magick, which improves any given aspect of a person, up to and including magick itself, because it was built on a mountain (which worked well with amplifying health, skin thickness, bone density, jump abilities, even flying) slowly becoming a plateau and developing a forest surrounding it).

[helaintoloki]

can i please request a protective/possessive sparrow ben? 😗 yall can be in an established relationship and like, during a mission or smth someone threatened you, or even just doing everyday things and he sees someone flirting w you or making you uncomfy 👀 but only if it's ok w u hehe 🤍

a/n: yes I’m using a regular ben gif bc otherwise I’d be using the same gif of sparrow!ben over and over again

warnings: slight language, implied harassment

*this piece takes place in the early sunsets universe

The library was about the worst way to spend the weekend in Ben’s opinion. What compelled you to spend a perfectly good Saturday cooped up inside some stuffy place for the sake of reading for fun was beyond him— He read only because his father stressed the importance of knowledge gained through literature, but that didn’t mean he enjoyed it— and the way in which you so meticulously picked through every shelf in search of the perfect book was beginning to irk him.

“How long is this going to take you?”

“You didn’t have to come,” you remind him, eyes never once leaving the books before you, and a faint smile paints itself upon your lips as you repeat the very same words he had once said before. His eyes narrow at you in response, a small scowl forming on his lips as he leans in closer to your face.

“Remember what happened the last time you went somewhere by yourself?” He utters quietly, but the reprimanding tone of his voice and the reminder of the past event has you shrinking under his gaze. You swallow softly with the shake of your head and silently move on to the next shelf.

“I’m almost done. You can wait for me by the tables if it bothers you that much,” you grumble, and with the roll of his eyes he leaves your side to seat himself at the nearest table.

There aren’t many people around in the library at this time of day, probably because they’re out doing something actually fun, but there are a few kids that run by for story time, some older women working behind the counter and restocking the shelves, and a toddler that stops to look up at the Sparrow in awe. He only lasts a second before Ben is scaring him off, and he’s glad you’re not around to scold him and ruin the fun.

“The hell is taking her so long?” Ben mutters, eyes scanning the room for your form only to find you cornered against one of the shelves by some random man who seems to have come out of nowhere. His features harden and his eyes narrow in at the scene before him; you’re anxious, Ben can tell by the way you defensively clutch your book ever so tightly to your chest, but you’re also too passive to tell the guy to get lost. He doesn’t like how comfortable he is with you, and he also doesn’t like the fact that no one is attempting to help you. It’s times like these where Ben questions whether putting his life on the line to save people is ever really worth it.

Ben comes to your aid immediately, stepping in between the two of you and staring down the man hard. His opponent swallows harshly, fear and recognition evident on his face as he looks up at the infamous Sparrow Academy Member.

“Y-You’re the Horror...” he stammers.

“Yeah, so why don’t you piss off before I show you just why they call me the Horror,” Ben threatens through clenched teeth, and the man doesn’t have to be told twice before he’s hightailing it out of the library and away from you. A shaky breath leaves you now that he’s gone and Ben’s features immediately soften as he turns to you. “Did he hurt you?”

“No,” you say quietly, eyes casted towards the ground. Your cheeks heat up with embarrassment, and you really don’t want to cry, not in front of Ben. “Thanks.”

“Yeah...” he drawls quietly, unsure how to act around you. He wants to offer you comfort, but he isn’t sure if physical touch will only upset you more, so instead he settles for carefully prying your book from your trembling hands and holding it for you instead. “You ready to check out?”

Your silent nod is enough for him, and when you hold tightly onto his arm he doesn’t pull away. Instead, he takes to check out your book and then he takes you home.

Ben doesn’t like leaving you by yourself after that and you find that you don’t mind his fierce protectiveness over you. He’ll never say it out loud, but he cares about you, and for now his only mission in life is to keep you safe.

No matter what it takes and no matter how he has to do it.