#i wrote this last night but scheduled it to post later out of respect

[thegeminisage]

tng night the second: naked now and code of honor. verdict: oh man.

really excited initially about a sequel to naked time, easily among the best ever tos episodes. but this is too early! even in tos we'd gotten a short time to know them as they are normally before they did All Of That

also this episode was. uh. not great. for starters, the inhibitions being lowered in meant different things to everyone...except the women. ALL THREE major female characters instantly turned into boy crazy sex fiends, which is particularly tragic for tasha bc she has major lesbian swag.

wesley continued to be annoying in this episode. i want to like him because he seems like a nice and eager kid (even if it is still fucking bonkers to me that kids are allowed on a starship), but the problem is he'll do some stupid bullshit that kids are wont to do and instead of like mothering him at all crusher IMMEDIATELY begins making excuses for him and getting defensive if anybody says anything to him. so also i realized i do kind of like crusher, especially when she gives picard shit, except every time she starts to grow on me she just lets wesley do whatever he wants and the i'm like :| again

also, what is UP with tasha yar. RAPE GANGS??? she just drops that into casual conversation while trying to fuck an android?? hello?????

lmao that data fucks also. i'm so glad actually. love and light it's so hard when people make androids asexual. i'm never opposed to any ace headcanon ever they're all fundamentally correct every fictional character IS ace so true but cmon. a robot??? it's better this way. good for him.

also, why did crusher get infected AFTER riker but succumb before him?? like are women just that weak lmao

perhaps the most interesting character in naked now was geordi, who got absolutely no resolution to the interesting setup they gave him, which is pretending he's satisfied with the way things are re: his vision and the prosthetic he uses, and then revealing that perhaps he's actually secretly not. that was neat. every time he's onscreen i'm like "i'd like to know more about that guy" and every time they're like "no <3"

code of honor was somehow even WORSE. apart from like. the obvious sexism and racism. we also had tasha yar once again being like "oooh i would love this big savage black man to ravish me that did make me feel so sexy" which. what the FUCK

AND ALSO a scene with crusher that annoyed me, because she went from "oh why can't i as a doctor show professionalism" (she's a woman) and then also in the middle of the crisis "can i bother you to let my son on the bridge even though he's a child i speak As A Mother (woman)" like girl...ik you love your son but he doesn't need free roam of a fucking starship. he is a baby. he needs to be in class. this was crusher's only scene in the entire episode btw she quite literally had 8 lines and they were all about how much of a woman she was.

i just feel like if we are going to do this to women we should go back to not having them. like shadowhunters. if you can't treat those ladies properly you have to put them back on the shelf until you're a grown-up.

we looked up a few skip/watch lists but none of them agree with each other. i'm too paranoid about missing vital info/context and i wanna see them all anyway even the bad ones but like...this is ROUGH. i know i know i KNOW it is going to get so, so much better. but good god.

[redundant2]

I got Valentine Low's book Courtiers!

It's here, it's finally here!

Part 1

There is a lot about Meghan and Harry in the book. Here's an excerpt detailing specific instances in which they bullied the staff at KP:

"Relations between Meghan and the staff at Kensington Palace were beginning to fray even before they got married. In late 2017, after the announcement of their engagement, a senior aide discreetly raised with the couple the difficulties raised by their treatment of staff. People needed to be treated well and with some understanding, even when they were not performing to Harry and Meghan's standards, they suugested. Meghan was said to have replied, 'It's not my job to coddle people.'"

"Meghan wasn't dealing with the more junior staff, people that William and Kate -- and Harry, before Meghan came along -- had been quite happy to engage with. It seemed she wanted respect, and having to talk to someone a bit further down the pecking order -- in a small office, where there wasn't much of a pecking order -- wasn't treating her with respect. 'She would take it as an insult,' believes one source."

"Organising any wedding is stressful, of course. And perhaps a royal wedding is more stressful than most. But Harry and Meghan's proved to be partucularly challenging. There were rows about scheduling, rows about wedding announcements, rows about the gospel choir. Most famously of all, there was the row about the wedding tiara, discussed in Chapter 7 (I'll excerpt in a separate post),when Harry shouted at the Queen's dresser, Angela Kelly. At around the same time, Meghan spoke partucularly harshly at a meeting to a young female member of the team in front of her colleagues. After Meghan had pulled to shreds a plan she had pulled up, the woman told Meghan how hard it would be to implement a new one. 'Don't worry,' Meghan told her, 'if there were literally anyone else I could ask to do this, I would be asking them instead of you.' Later, Prince William, who had heard of some of the treatment that she had been subjected to, came to find the woman. 'I hope you're OK,' he told her. 'You're doing a really good job.' She promptly burst into tears."

"Other members of staff came under fire, sometimes from both Harry and Meghan. The journalist Robert Jobson recounted how Harry became 'petulant and short-tempered' with members of staff during the preparations for the wedding. He wrote, 'Raising his voice on occasion, Harry would insist: "What Meghan wants, she gets."'Once, when Meghan felt she had been let down over an issue that was worrying her, she rang repeatedly when a staffer was out for dinner on a Friday night. 'Every ten minutes, I had to go outside to be screamed at by her and Harry. It was, "I can't believe you've done this, you've let me down, what were you thinking?" It went on for a couple of hours.' The calls started again the next morning, and continued 'for days,' the staffer said. 'You could not physically escape them -- there were no lines or boundaries--it was last thing at night, first thing in the morning.' Not to mention the 5 a.m. emails from Meghan. Relations between the couple and some of their senior staff became so fractious that Miguel Head, William's private secretary, had to step in to try to keep the peace."

"Perhaps nothing they could do was ever going to be good enough. 'She (Meghan) was looking for examples of us failing her from the beginning,' believes one former staffer. 'We were having to prove that the institution would bend over backwards to make her happy. That wasn't what she wanted. She wanted to be rejected."

--from Courtiers by Valentine Low, pp 267-269.

And this is just the bullying that took place BEFORE the wedding. Oh em gee.

In later parts, I'll share what Low says really happened with Tiaragate, Harry's treatment of staff before he met Meghab, and the scandal over Meghan wanting to keep all the gifts and freebies.

[onceuponaloonatic]

a little jihyo centric misahyo post i've had floating around since i watched jihyo in i live alone! sorry if it seems a little disjointed, the angst wrote itself into this without my consent 🙄🙄 lots to come from this au soon!

Park Jihyo was not the type to ignore her alarm clock.

It just wasn’t in her nature. She kept a strict schedule, and to accomplish her goals, she couldn’t start her day late. Even on the weekends or when she wasn't feeling great or went to bed late, Jihyo tried to wake up at the same time everyday. There was always something she had to do, and that thought alone kept her more than motivated.

The biggest disruption to Jihyo’s routine comes in the form of one Minatozaki Sana.

Sana loved lazy mornings. Even if Jihyo would move to get out of bed, Sana would immediately pull her back down into a hug and complain that it was too early, no matter what time it was. As adorable as it was, there were times it was annoying to have to negotiate her freedom.

Mina, on the other hand, left her alone most mornings. Mina hated waking up in the mornings, and dealing with Mina’s later schedule had been an adjustment at the beginning of their relationship. Thankfully, after many negotiations, Jihyo had been able to talk Mina into getting out of bed at ten at the very latest. Sana usually wasn’t picky what time they got out of bed, just that they had filled her “daily morning hug quota” as she called it.

But two wives who hated getting out of bed in the morning were nothing compared to a child who refused to wake up on time.

Nico’s birth threw an entire new layer of complications into Jihyo’s mornings. Nico had taken after Mina, and hated waking up in the morning about as much as she hated bedtime. However, every parenting book Jihyo read stressed the importance of routine with children, and Mina’s inconsistent sleep schedule was not the ideal role model for Nico. Mina herself even admitted it, and would even go as far as to drag herself out of bed early just to show Nico that waking up early was good. It took some time, but Jihyo was eventually able to establish daily and weekly routines for all of them, Nico included. Jihyo had to adjust to the fact Nico insisted on having ten minutes of cuddle time with at least one of them every morning, but it just meant her day had to start ten minutes earlier.

Mina’s depressive episodes usually would throw everything to shit. Mina would refuse to get out of bed, and Jihyo would respect her space, but Sana would get all concerned and try to stay with Mina. Nico would see that only Jihyo was waking her up, and she would get pouty. She wasn’t getting her morning kisses from Sana and wouldn’t get to do her morning routines with each of her moms. Jihyo would sigh, offer to give Nico kisses, and just pray they weren’t going to be late for Nico’s preschool. Eventually, she would get Nico dressed and fed, and then Nico would insist on saying goodbye to Mina and Sana, which would then upset Mina because she hated when Nico saw her like that, and then things would spiral again until someone cried.

Jihyo knew it was a sticky situation all around. She loved and respected Mina, and she did feel bad Nico was so adamant about seeing her every morning, but she also knew that Nico was just trying to get her daily time with all three of her parents in. Nico was a shy kid, and didn’t have many friends at preschool. Her moms were her favorite people, and she just wanted to see them and spend time with them. Plus, given her age, she couldn’t understand why Mina didn’t want to see her.

As Mina’s depressive episodes get longer, Nico stops insisting to see Mina. She even stops asking for Sana’s kisses, just getting ready quietly with Jihyo. Jihyo finds it very unsettling.

“Sorry.” Was the first thing Jihyo found herself muttering that particular morning. She had meant to turn the volume on her alarm down, it had been a late night last night, and while they had an amazing productive talk about their feelings, Jihyo had intended to let Snaa and Mina sleep in. They deserved it after crying their hearts out the night before.

“Jihyo-ya turn it off.” Sana whined, curling into a little ball by Jihyo’s side.

“I am.” Jihyo reached for her phone, quickly swiping the alarm away and checking the time. Jihyo gently moved Sana’s arm off of her, Sana whining as she moved to get up.

“Where are you going?” Sana whined.

“Nico will be up soon, I need to make breakfast.” Jihyo smiled as Sana rolled into her previous space. “I’ll leave you and Mina something.”

“Where are you going? It’s Sunday.”

“I’m going to do some errands. I’ll take Nico with me.” Jihyo muttered, already planning out everything that needed to be done. They were running low on groceries, and the light bulb in the hallway needed replacing, so she would need to stop by the grocery store. Plus, with the cooler weather coming in, Nico would need some new jackets. Given her age, she was growing too rapidly to fit into her clothes from the winter before. So that meant they would need to swing by the department store. Finally, there were a couple loads of laundry that needed to get done, so she aimed to be home before lunch to start on all of it. “Is there anything you want from the grocery store?”

“Mmm… Maybe some yogurt?”

“Of course. Text me if you think of anything else, or if Mina needs anything.” Jihyo kissed Sana’s forehead before moving to the bathroom. Once she brushed her teeth and went through her skin care, she moved to make breakfast. Nico loved eggs, and they had some extra toast lying around from when Tzuyu had come over and made garlic bread, so she decided on a more western style breakfast.

“Mama?” Jihyo was surprised when she turned to see Nico, still in her pajamas. Her hair was messy as she held her favorite stuffed polar bear by its paw.

“Oh Nico.” Jihyo smiled at her daughter. “Good morning. I didn’t expect to see you awake so early.”

“I wanted to see mama.” Nico pouted. She looked adorable, standing in the kitchen half awake. Jihyo didn't allow herself to get distracted though, keeping her attention on the task at hand while her daughter yawned.

“Well hello, why don't you go get your toothbrush and toothpaste and mama can help you while she cooks breakfast?” Nico nodded, running off while Jihyo cracked a couple eggs in the pan. She quickly went through everything they would need from the grocery store again in her head, deciding to get Nico a treat if she was in a cooperative mood today. When Nico returned Jihyo helped her up to the kitchen cabinet and supervised Nico’s teeth brushing, getting her a glass of water to rinse her mouth out with when she was done. Once Nico was settled, she served their breakfast, the two of them eating in realities silence.

“Mama?”

“Hm?”

“Can we go to the park today?” Nico looked so hopeful, her little eyes shining as she looked at Jihyo.

“Let me check the weather,” Jihyo knew she had a lot to get done, but she could move some things around for a quick park trip. “Sorry kiddo, rain all day.” Nico’s face fell at Jihyo’s report, her hand instinctively fidgeting with her polar bear.

“Oh.” Nico stared at the half finished toast in front of her. “Okay.” Jihyo could feel the tension in her daughter. Nico really wasn't having the easiest time, and Jihyo felt guilt tug at her heart as her daughter played with her food.

Ideas ran through Jihyo’s head, playing out any scenario that could possibly improve Nico’s mood. Mina and Sana were out of the question, and obviously anything outside would be out with the weather. Momo and Nayeon were busy, and she was pretty sure Dahyun mentioned them having to do something today. Chaeyoung and Tzuyu were probably out too, considering the fact Tzuyu worked on Sundays and Chaeyoung likely scheduled some clients to fill her free time. Jihyo smiled when an idea came to her, quickly sending a text. She waited until she had a response to turn her attention back to the glum looking toddler in front of her.

“Hey kiddo, why don't you go grab your rain jacket?” Jihyo checked the weather one more time, an idea forming in her mind. “I have a surprise for you.”

“Really?!” Nico immediately looked up from her food, a smile on her face.

“Yeah, let me get a few things and then we can go.”

xx

Jihyo usually wasn't very impulsive.

She really shouldn't be doing what she had planned, there were so many chores that needed to get done at home. Sundays were really the only days she could get chores done, and while Mina and Sana had been doing their best, they had all fallen behind on a few things. However, she would do anything to make Nico smile. And if she had to stay up a bit later that night to finish her to do list, that was okay as long as Nico was happy.

“Mama!” Nico had the biggest grin on her face when Jihyo finally parked. The whole car ride, Nico had been pestering her, asking where they were going and why it was taking so long. When they finally got there however, Nico immediately realized where they were.

“One sec kiddo.” Jihyo laughed, watching how Nico was eagerly unbuckling herself from her car seat. Jihyo moved to help her out, happy to feel the sun on her skin. The rain really had been relentless, but now that they were out of Seoul, the sun was shining brightly.

“Grandpa!” Nico immediately ran to her grandfather when Jihyo opened her door, and Jihyo barely had time to turn around before her daughter was practically mauling her father.

“Nico-ya!”

“Dad, be careful!” Jihyo panicked as her father spun Nico in a circle. “Your back…”

“Jihyo, I’m fine, you worry too much.” The older man laughed. “I've missed you Nico! You’ve gotten so much bigger.”

“Mama said I grew three centimeters!”

“I believe it. You're growing so well.” Jihyo’s father set Nico down. “Why don't you go say hi to Bbuyo? Last I saw, he was near the garden.” Nico nodded, eagerly setting off toward the garden.

“Hi dad, thanks for letting us come out here so last minute” Jihyo smiled when her dad gave her a hug.

“Of course, you are always welcome here.” Her dad looked at her with loving eyes and Jihyo felt like a child under her dad’s gaze. “You look tired.”

“I’m okay.” Jihyo nodded, watching as her daughter looked around for the cat.

“Are Sana and Mina doing okay?” Jihyo took a deep breath, that was a more loaded question than her father probably realized.

“They are doing better.” Jihyo forced herself to smile. She could tell from the look on her father’s face he didn't believe her.

“Well that's good. Tell them I miss them.” Her father smiled. “I was just about to start making some lunch, why don't you help me?”

“Yeah.” Jihyo watched as her daughter finally found her father’s cat, a huge smile on her face as she addressed the animal. “I would love that.”

xx

Jihyo had originally intended the trip to be for her daughter. Nico needed to get out of the house, and she deserved to do something fun. But the longer Jihyo stayed, the more she realized the trip was just as much of a selfish gesture as it was a selfless one.

Her father wasn't super talkative as they made Kimbap together. Just small comments about the task at hand and how adorable Nico looked playing with the cat, who barely seemed interested in her.

“He’s good with her.” Her father smiled as Nico attempted to play fetch with the cat, who was looking at her with his signature annoyed expression.

“He looks annoyed.” Jihyo laughed. “But he isn't trying to scratch her, so that's something.”

“You know he doesn't scratch.”

“He scratched Sana,” Jihyo laughed at the memory. To be fair to the cat, Sana had tried to hug him.

“He would never scratch Nico.” Jihyo’s father nodded. They fell into silence after that. Jihyo made a couple extra rolls of kimbap, wrapping them up to take home with her. Her father always had the best vegetables, and Sana and Mina would be jealous if she didn't share. “Hey Hyo?”

“Hm?”

“Your mom would be really proud of you.” Jihyo feels her entire being freeze at the mention of her mother.

“Dad…” Tears rushed to Jihyo’s eyes at the thought. She didn't normally cry very easily, at least compared to Sana and Mina (who cried at everything), but this topic had that effect on her.

“I'm proud of you too.” Her father grabbed her hand, giving her a gentle squeeze. “You have a good head on your shoulders, and I can tell you love that girl with your whole heart, just like you love Sana and Mina. Just, don't take on too much, okay?” Tears poured down Jihyo’s cheeks as her father looked at her.

“Okay.” Jihyo took a deep breath, trying to stop her tears.

“It's okay to cry Jihyo.” Her father squeezed her hand one more time. “It doesn't make you any less strong. You never want to ask for help, or let people take care of you. But, you can't do everything alone. Let your dad take care of you for a bit, okay?” Jihyo nodded, squeezing her father’s hand back as more tears gathered in her eyes.

“I-I” Jihyo felt choked up as all of the pent up stress and emotions from the past few months rushed to the surface.

“You don't need to tell me, unless you want to.” Jihyo took a deep breath, trying to gather her thoughts as best she could. She couldn't remember the last time she let herself fall apart.

It felt nice to let someone take care of her.

xx

“Are you sure you can't stay the night?” Jihyo smiled as her father looked at the two of them. Nico had fallen asleep hours ago, it was well past her bedtime and Jihyo knew they were already going to get back super late. But she had a class to teach tomorrow, and Nico had day care.

“We’ll come stay for longer next time.” Jihyo had meant to leave after lunch, but she had been swept up into a nap with her daughter when Nico insisted Jihyo lay with her.

“Bring Satang and Mitang with you next time.” Jihyo smiled as she buckled Nico into her car seat.

“I will.” Jihyo nodded. “Speaking of them, Sana says hi.” Sana had texted her when she didn't come home before dinner, concerned something had happened to them. A quick call reassured Sana they were fine, and they would be home later.

“Tell her she needs to come visit soon.” Jihyo’s father answered. “Oh! I almost forgot, take this with you!” Jihyo’s father handed her a large grocery bag. One glance inside showed a bagful of fresh produce and packaged food.

“Dad, you don't have to-”

“You know I have too much. I made some food for you two as well. Take care of yourself okay?” Jihyo’s father opened his arms for a hug, Jihyo easily falling into the hug.

“You too dad.”

“I will.” Jihyo felt like she could cry again in her father’s arms.

“Say hi to mom for me.”

“I will. Be safe driving home okay? Text me when you get there.”

“Okay.” Jihyo sniffled, taking one last look at her father before finally waving, climbing into the car.

Her heart felt so much lighter than when she had woken up that morning.

xx

“Mama.” Jihyo was momentarily surprised when she heard her daughter’s sleepy voice. She didn't allow it to distract her though, keeping her attention on the road in front of her.

“Morning Nico.” Jihyo giggled. “We still have another hour until we are home, you should go back to sleep.”

“I had fun today.” Nico muttered. “Grandpa is always really fun.”

“While I’m glad you think so.” Jihyo giggled. “It would make him really happy to hear that.”

“Was grandma fun too?” Nico had never asked about her grandmother before. They had taken her to visit her grave, but Nico had never really asked about her.

“Yes.” Jihyo muttered. “She would have spoiled you rotten.”

“Do you miss her?”

“Yeah…” Jihyo felt herself grip the steering wheel tighter at her daughter’s question. “I miss her a lot.”

“I miss ka-san.” It was so tiny, Jihyo didn't almost hear it. But Jihyo felt like her heart was breaking at Nico’s admission. “Will she be better soon?”

“Nico…” Jihyo couldn't think of anything to say. Her brain was turning over any possible explanations or reassurances, but anything she tried to say died on her tongue.

Nico falls quiet after that, and when Jihyo glances back at Nico in the rear view mirror, she sees her daughter is fast asleep.

[charmspoint]

Full Foreword

(Context: I wrote a long foreword for dance with the devil but AO3 nerfed me so I'm posting it here :3)

On 30th of June 2021 I published Rabid Dreams, Neon Lights and Your Teeth on My Tongue. It was supposed to be a one shot for an exchange, one that I at first struggled to write, before suddenly managing to find my stride. And what I wrote ended up capturing my imagination so intensely and viciously that on the night I posted it, I started planning the first prequel.

It’s now 14th of June 2024.

Three years later and we are finally here.

In many ways, this fic is my child. I truly think it’s some of the best writing I’ve ever done and certainly the best, most in depth character study I’ve ever done. This fic technically has two iterations, because when I first started writing it, it was supposed to be a 10k oneshot...then a 20k oneshot...then a 70k oneshot. Faced with such a big number, I couldn’t in my right mind post it all together and expect people to read 70k incessant words of a deep au (without a ship dynamic!) so I set to separating it into chapters. To separate it into chapters each previous section of the oneshot had to be rounded into a story that could stand as a chapter, and then of course there were some things I ended up not liking about certain arcs so I changed them, expanded them, shifted the character roles around, gave certain characters more screen time and more impact and well...you can expect to read about 101k words once this fic is fully finished. Just of this. Just of the prequel from Satoru’s POV. It’s hands down the biggest thing I’ve ever written and the big word count is one of the reasons this took so long. The other reason is that I wanted to have a weekly posting schedule. Currently, all chapters save from last two have been fully written, beta read and edited. I’m confident I can give you a regular posting schedule every Friday around this time.

Now for some dedications.

Firstly, this fic is dedicated to Sesshom0ru, who originated the initial prompt that fired off the oneshot and then this fic right after it. Thank you for patiently waiting for the prequel that was promised to you three years ago lmao!

Secondly, this fic is dedicated to Frappe. I met Frappe when she did art for CotA and we became very good friends, so much so that she was quickly wrapped up into the production of this fic. Frappe was going to draw the cover for this fic as well as spot art for each chapter. We were both very excited about it and talked about it constantly and some of that art, especially the cover which is completely stunning, does exist. But unfortunately, Frappe fell out of contact almost two years ago. I don’t know what happened to her but I hope it’s nothing bad. I hope life was just life and she got carried away with it, I still hope I see her discord avatar pop up in my dms again. Out of respect for Frappe I won’t be posting any of the art she had made for the fic, but this fic is still dedicated to her and I hope that one day she still gets to read it. This is for you Frappe, thank you for loving my boys as much as I did <3.

Thirdly, and most importantly, this fic is dedicated to Ker, my beta reader. If there are readers here who had read multiple of my fics, they are probably familiar with Ker’s name. Ker beta reads most of my big projects and most of the little ones that I think are really good. The reason you might have been seeing less of their name pop up in current projects is because I had them sat and beta reading 18 chapters for this crazy fic. And they did such a wonderful job with it too. I honestly couldn’t ask for a better beta reader if I tried, couldn’t find one if I searched the whole internet for them. Ker brings such incredible love and attention to detail to beta reading and editing my fics. I’ve had a fair number of people edit my fics, but only Ker does it with such care and attentiveness. I often say, me and Ker, we are coparents of this fic. It’s theirs as much as it’s mine. They not only beta read it, but also listened to my endless rants about it, encouraged me when I had doubts and cheered me on when I did something well. They don’t just point out grammar mistakes, they carefully go through the chapter and point out where things don’t flow well, when scenes should be expanded, when things should be better explained. They also react with a lot of baby emojis to Satoru’s antics. I have taken to referring to Satoru as Ker’s son whenever he’s doing something stupid. I cannot overstate how much Ker does and has done for this fic. They truly, honestly make me a better writer, not content with just correcting my grammar and then patting my back, but constantly challenging me to do better, to develop more, to surprise them again. I cannot overstate how important Ker is to my writing process and to me personally. This is why this might sound like someone endlessly gushing about their spouse, lmao. But they do deserve it. They stuck with my crazy, violent little story from beginning to the end and are already at the next starting line, eager for more. Ker is the best beta reader I could ask for, my loudest cheerleader and my most beloved. Thank you darling, for being you, you’re irreplaceable to me <3

It might seem silly to have such a long starting note on a silly little gang au fic of a manga that has almost run its course. But this fic took three years to make. A lot of love was put into it, a lot of energy and effort. I hope you all enjoy it and love it as much I do.

[beardedmrbean]

Wiz Khalifa was reportedly arrested in Romania over the weekend after consuming marijuana during a music festival performance.

Khalifa (real name: Cameron Thomaz) performed at the Beach Please! Festival in Romania on Saturday. Footage of the rapper's performance shared on social media shows him smoking onstage.

A press release from law enforcement later confirmed that an individual was charged with "illegal possession of high-risk drugs" after attending a music festival with cannabis.

"It was noted that he, during a recital held at a music festival taking place in Costinești resort, Constanta county, possessed over 18 grams of cannabis (a high-risk drug) and consumed (onstage) another amount of cannabis in the form of an artisanal cigarette," the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism said in the translated statement.

Footage of Khalifa's performance at the festival also included a clip of the "Black and Yellow" emcee appearing to be escorted by police afterward.

USA TODAY has reached out to law enforcement and representatives for Khalifa for comment.

Wiz Khalifa seemingly responds to Romania arrest, issues apology

In an X post on Sunday, Khalifa appeared to allude to his arrest at the Beach Please! Festival.

"Last night's show was amazing. I didn't mean any disrespect to the country of Romania by lighting up onstage," Khalifa wrote. "They were very respectful and let me go. I’ll be back soon. But without a big (expletive) joint next time."

The Grammy-nominated rapper is next scheduled to perform at Drai's Beachclub & Nightclub in Las Vegas on Aug. 30, according to Khalifa's official website.

[hxt1b]

Why Can’t We? - Extended

Masterlist 

Jaehyun x Reader 

WC: 4.2k 

Genre: Angst (YouTuber Reader x Idol Jaehyun)

Warning: Smut and Swearing 

Original Post: Why Can’t We?

A/N: Hey thank you so much for the love on the original little blurb I wrote. I decided to write an extended version of it for you guys. I hope you like it! If you haven’t read the original I’ve linked it. This is sort of a part two but you could read this without reading the blurb as well hence why I don’t think it fits to call it a part two. Again the grammar may be iffy, I tried my best but things probably still slipped through, regardless I hope you guys like this. Let me know your thoughts. And if anyone wants to send me any requests you can go do that here. I appreciate them and will get to them as soon as I can!

You were slumped over your desk, staring at the work you had in front of you. Your business partner/ best friend was expecting this to be done by the end of the night. The video needed to be out by eight pm. It was already seven, you couldn’t focus though and you knew that if you called her and just explained to her that you fucked up. That you did the one thing you shouldn’t have. That you slept with Jaehyun. She’d help you. But you couldn’t process the fact yourself, you couldn’t process the emotions that were still running through you. You couldn’t believe that you ran. Yet you knew there was no other option. You knew how you felt about him, and Jaehyun never made any move to hide his feelings. Not from you. 

But it wouldn’t work and you knew that, you were so wrapped up in your YouTube channel and all the other opportunities that were coming your way, and he was… well he was Jung Jaehyun. You couldn’t see yourself by his side. Not with how much you’d have to hide it, not with all his fans. They’d find out, your whole life was on the internet, his was too. It wouldn’t work, it would only lead to more heartbreak. Heartbreak at a greater scale one that you could not take. 

You held yourself back as much as you could but last night you couldn’t. Not with the way he looked at you, his eyes showing every emotion he had inside him, not with the way  his mouth felt against yours, the way his hands moved against your skin. You could still feel his breath on your skin. 

A shiver ran down your spine and you were brought back to the computer in front of you. A video of you and your best friend staring back at you. You’d only edited the first four minutes, there was two hours' worth of footage waiting for you. 

Sighing you grabbed your phone, biting your lip you kept yourself from looking at the missed calls you had from him and messages he had sent you. You ignored the burning in you to open them, to reply, to call him back. Instead, you called your friend. 

Her happy voice coming through after the first ring. 

“Hey, dude what’s up?”  

“So listen, I uh I’m gonna need another hour to edit that video it’ll be a little late is that okay?” You said, your voice slightly shaking. 

“Yeah yeah, that's fine.” Her voice fell to a concerned tone, “Is everything okay?” 

“Sorry, yeah I just haven’t been having the best day ya know.” You ran your finger along the side of your desk as you spoke to her. Your mind wandering back to Jaehyun. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?” She asked. 

“No there’s nothing to talk about just one of those slow and tiring days.” You lied. She hummed on the other side of the line dropping the topic. 

“Take your time with the video’s its fine if it goes up late we can put it up tomorrow too. Just send out a tweet.” You nodded even though she couldn’t see you. 

“Okay, I’ll do that. Thank you.” 

Hanging up you opened your Twitter app. Quickly typing out the tweet. You scrolled through your feed as your tweet blew up, you weren’t huge on YouTube but you had a decent amount of subscribers that your posting schedule mattered. 

Minutes ticked by as you liked and replied to some tweets that came your way. But scrolling came to be a mistake. A thread about Jaehyun appeared on your feed and you couldn’t help but open it, your heart aching as the thread appreciated Jaehyun dimples. You loved his dimples as much as anyone else. The difference was that you had a front seat to him. You’d poked your finger into those dimples so many times over the span of time that you and Jaehyun had known each other. 

Quickly closing the app you came face to face again with all the notifications regarding him. Blinking as your eyes stung you bit your lip again. There was only one option in your head again, you couldn’t handle the ache that your heart felt right now imagine if it was on a grander scale. You had to stop this now. 

Opening his contact information on your phone you blocked his number, and on Instagram and every other platform he could contact you. Your vision blurred and your headached as you put your phone back down on your desk. 

You couldn’t edit the video today anyway. Getting up from your desk chair you made your way to your bed and buried yourself under your blankets as a few tears slipped down your cheek. 

Two weeks passed and Jaehyun was a mess, his head was somewhere else constantly, he couldn’t focus on his work. He couldn’t think straight. He just moved from day to day as he became more and more numb. He’d called you, texted you but you hadn’t returned anything. Short of going to your apartment, he’d done everything he could, and that was something he wasn’t going to do. Not after you blocked him. 

He dropped his head into the palms of his hands, the bitter pain of the action hitting him again. You’d actually blocked him. The tears gathered in the corners of his eyes again but he blinked them away. But it all hurt, everything hurt. His head hurt from the anger he felt towards you, yet his heart ached for you. The fight in him tired him out daily. The other boys were noticing, Johnny had tried to talk to him about it but Jaehyun didn’t know what to say. 

She fucked me and left, oh and while she left she ripped my heart out and stomped on it because there is no way she doesn’t know that I love her. 

Jaehyun knew you were cautious, he could sense your fear. But when you slept together that day he’d hoped you’d forget it, that you’d understand that it could work. That with you he’d make it work. He’d hoped that you’d see it. But clearly, you hadn’t. 

You hadn’t even given it a chance. 

You saw him everywhere all of sudden. You blocked him but you still saw him everywhere. It had been a month since you’d last seen him and noting was easier. You’d lied to yourself then and you would lie to yourself now. Because this was for the best.  

You sighed again as another clip of Jaehyun popped up in your Instagram feed. They’d just had another comeback and it was shaping into your biggest nightmare very fast. Scrolling again you came across a clip from a recent interview. He was smiling and laughing with Jungwoo. His dimples showing up as he threw his head back and laughed at something Jungwoo had said to him. Another sigh slipped out your lips as you scrolled again. 

“Oh, my fuck. I swear Y/N if you fucking sigh again I’ll knock you out into next week.” Your best friend was staring at you from where she stood setting up the camera for today's shoot. 

“What is even wrong with you. For the past month, you’ve been sad and angry and you constantly don’t want to talk about it and I respected that but today I’ve had enough.” Her hands had moved to her hips as she glared down at you. 

Looking away from her you ran your tongue over your drying lips. 

“Talk to me Y/N.” She demanded and before you knew it everything spilled out. From the day you met Jaehyun nine months ago, to all the flirting. You told her about all the dates you’d gone on, you even told her how you insisted on calling them friend dates. Watched movies in his room, kicking Jungwoo out so that it would be just the two of you. Making cakes in his kitchen and doing the most cliche things while making them. You told her all of it, how you slept with him and blocked him because you were scared. Obviously, she knew of Jaehyun she’d even met him on many occasions but she didn’t know the details, because for some reason your brain had told you that if your best friend knew them. That if you spoke of the events that the feelings would become real, that it would all become real. 

“You're scared?” She questioned her face contorting into an expression bordering on disgust. “Scared. You?” She was sitting beside you a scowl embedded into her face. 

“Dude, we don’t scare. We meet shit head-on. Our channel is thriving because we didn’t give in to the fear that we would fail. We got where we are with that practice. We don’t fear shit. Especially not the complicated shit because we always make it work we always try.”  

She didn’t even blink as she spoke, you knew she was right, but it was easier said than done wasn’t it? But she was right you didn’t fear failure with your work and it paid off and you loved it. 

“But it’s so much more complicated now. I don’t think I can fix this.” 

“You have to try. Because I can’t stand this behaviour anymore. Fix it, babe, at least try and if it doesn’t work I’ll be here and we’ll move past it.” You nodded as she spoke. Glad that she was your best friend. 

“So I should go talk to him? Apologize? Tell him what was going on in my head?” 

“Yeah, dude just talk to him.” She looked at you expectantly as she got up and went back to fixing the camera angle. 

“Okay can you set up the mic’s now, you can talk to him after we film. Now help me.” 

Three hours later you were dragging your feet towards his dorm. You’d planned out what to say and how to say it, after you filmed, in your mirror. Your best friend giving you the thumbs up when you left. 

Looking up as you neared the dorm, the air left your lungs. There he was walking towards you, smiling down at a beautiful girl. He looked happy. You watched them as they walked slowly talking about god knows what, your hands fisted at your side as she laughed at something he said. Your insides turned and you felt like you were gonna puke. But you had no right. You were the one who left, you uncurled your hand as your eyes began to sting. 

What did you think was going to happen? That you’d leave him and he’d sit around waiting for you. That when you walked into his dorm today he’d take you back with open arms like you hadn’t left his bed and then blocked him on everything. You shook your head blinking back the tears.  

You bit your lip and looked away from them. There was no way back into his life and it was clear and it was your fault., but you had to look at him again. Just one last time. Just to see that smile, those dimples one last time in person even if you weren’t the one he was smiling at. 

Turning your head back to him your entire body froze. He was already looking at you. Stopped a few feet back from the entrance of the dorm. The girl digging around her bag for something. Your heart thumped in your chest, your blood flowing fast, the rush of it the only sound in your ears. 

Your eyes stung again, you couldn’t cry. Not here. Turning away from him you walked away quickly. You needed to get away fast, he shouldn’t have seen you. You felt selfish that you’d stood there that long, that you’d tried to steal that last glance. You should have walked away sooner. The tears slipped down your cheeks, leaving cold wet trails in their wake. 

A hand grabbed your wrist, whipping you around. You didn’t look at him, you couldn’t. His hand tightened around your wrist. 

“So you’re gonna run away again?” You didn’t say anything back. What would you even say because the truth was yes. Yes, you were. He scoffed and dropped your hand, taking a step away from you. 

“You're with a girl, you’re happy I don’t want to intrude.” You still weren’t looking at him, keeping your eyes trained on the ground to your left. 

“Look at me.” He said his voice even. You refused. 

“Look at me!” His tone was harsher, slowly you turned your head to him your eyes taking in his face, from far he had looked like the perfect Jaehyun you always saw, but up close you could see the slight darkness under his eyes, the paleness of his skin, the sadness in his eyes as yours finally locked onto them. “Do I look happy to you? That girl is my cousin.” You stayed silent not knowing what to say. 

He let out a humourless laugh, “You don’t have anything to say. Why am I shocked?” He ran his hand through his hair and took a step towards you. 

“Fine then let me talk. Let me tell you about how you fucked me up, how for the past month I’ve been trying to figure out what I did wrong to have you block me, to have you kick me out of your life so easily. What did I do that was so wrong.” His voice broke on the last word as tears began to trail down his face. You were frozen in your spot, your hands shaking at your side. 

Everything that you’d wanted to say, everything you’d thought to say out your head. You watched as he broke down in front of you, your heartbreaking with each tear that ran down his cheek. Slowly you raised your hand taking a step closer to him, you hesitated only for a second before pulling him to you. 

“Nothing. You did nothing wrong. I'm the one that fucked up. I'm the one that ran away, and I’m the one that is so sorry. I'm so sorry for everything Jaehyun.” His arms wrapped around your body pulling you into him, his hands fisting at the back fabric of your coat. 

“I was scared, scared about everything. Scared that it would all only hurt us more in the end. I was trying to make it easier.” This time your voice cracked as you began to cry. His arms tightened around you. 

“I'm so sorry, I’m so stupid. I ran away and I’m so sorry.” It was hard for you to talk through your tears. You tried to calm down by taking in breaths of air. You needed to stop crying. “Please forgive me.” 

You looked up at him, his eyes were red from his tears that had stopped. His eyes softened as they took in your face. He didn’t say anything to you just moved his face to yours, softly pressing his lips against yours. 

“Let me make it up to you.” You said pulling away from his lips. 

You pulled him into your apartment, taking your coat off and throwing it onto your couch. Prompting him to do the same. You grabbed his hand once his coat was off and pulled him into your bedroom. Your mouth returning to his as soon as you closed the door. The kiss was slow and soft, both of you taking each other in. Pulling away from him you looked at his face, his brown eyes dark you were sure you reflected the same desire back to him that you saw. Pressing your lips back to his you let your hands trail down his chest as his stayed planted on your waist. Weaving your hand under his shirt you raked your cold fingers ups his abs earning a shiver from him. You smiled pulling away from him and pulled his shirt up over his head and tossed it aside. 

Your breath hitched as you took in the sight of his bare torso, pressing yourself back to him you pressed an open-mouthed kiss to his jaw, softly sinking your teeth into the same spot before sucking the skin into your mouth. Jaehyun moaned, his hands moving up the back of your t-shirt pulling you against him. You could feel his member hard and pressed against you in-between the both of you. 

Licking the spot to soothe the sting you pressed a kiss to the slowly darkening mark, before moving further down. You kissed down his chest, softly pressing your lips against his hot skin. You marvelled in the way his breathing became shallow as you moved onto your knees. Hooking your fingers into the buttons of his jeans you undid them pulled them down along with his boxers. You pushed him back towards your bed letting him step out the articles of clothing and sit down as you slowly wrapped your hand around his throbbing cock. He was already so hard. You looked up at him as you slowly moved your hand down before licking the tip, wiping away the moisture that had gathered there. 

He groaned at your action, his eyes locked with yours as you made your way down his dick kissing down the underside towards his balls before sticking your tongue out and licking back up to his tip. His cock twitched in your hand as you wrapped your lips around his head. One of his hands twisted into the back of your hair softly grabbing your locks. 

Jaehyun’s head fell back as you moved him further into your mouth, you went slow letting yourself feel each vein with your tongue as you fit him into your mouth. Soft moans spilled from him, flowing towards you as you begin to move him in and out of your mouth, using your hand to massage the rest of him that you couldn’t fit into your mouth. 

A soft growl fell from his lips as he pulled you off him. 

“You can finish that some other time.” He said, yanking you up into his lap you straddled him, as he kissed you roughly his tongue entering your mouth and quickly meeting yours. You moaned into him as his hands moved under your shirt one hand unclasping your bra. 

“Fuck.” he cursed pulling away from you before pulling your shirt off and throwing it across the room. He tangled his hand in the hair at the back of your head again pulling you towards him to press his mouth to yours as you let your bra fall off and tossed it onto the ground. The thumb of his other hand drawing circles at your hip. 

He stood up taking you with him, not breaking the kiss as he did. You groaned as his dick pressed against your clothed core, causing heat to rush through you. He tossed you onto the bed before quickly following you. 

“I’m so fucked.” He said before pressing his lips into your neck, sucking the skin as you had done before on him. You moaned letting your hand fly to the back of his head as he moved down towards your chest, leaving open-mouthed kissed until he got your breast.

He lifted his head from you and stared at you, his eyes almost black with lust. Your breathing was laboured as he smirked at you before returning his mouth to your nipple. He harshly sucked it into his mouth pulling it up between his teeth. You let out a breathy moan, his name flowing out of your mouth, as your chest arched off the bed following his mouth. He laughed before letting your nipple pop out of his mouth and pushed up you back into the mattress before kissing over to your other breast copying his action before moving his kisses down your stomach. 

You writhed under him as his mouth got closer to where you wanted him. Hooking his fingers into your legging he pulled them down leaving you in only your panties. He looked up at you before looking back down at your covered core. Your cheeks reddened as he smiled. 

“Your so wet baby, you soaked through your panties.” His voice was thick with lust, his face showing on full display his desire for you. 

“For you,” you panted back, as he pressed a finger to you over your panties. 

“For me.” He whispered to himself before pulling your underwear down. He hovered his face over your clit, you could feel his breath teasing you. Bucking your hips towards him wanting him to do something already. You snaked your hand down to his hair. 

“Please.” You whined pushing yourself up towards him again. He chuckled, taking your hand from his hair. He held it at your stomach pushing you down back to the bed before he ran his tongue up your slit. Your eyes closed shut as your loud moans filled the room. He repeated the action before taking your clit into his mouth sucking on the swollen nub.  

“Jaehyun.” You whined moving your other hand to his hair only for him to grab it and hold it down next to your other one. You whined trying to move your hips but being unable to as he held you down. You couldn’t take it anymore. You needed him now. 

“Baby please, you can finish that some other time.” You said stealing his words from earlier. “I need you.” He pulled back from you, his mouth covered in you. He let go of your hands letting you loop them around his neck as you pulled him back up to you. Immediately pressing your lips against his in a heated kiss, you tasted yourself on his tongue. 

A deep moan fell from your lips as he slipped his cock between your folds slowly moving so that the tip was hitting your clit. His hand wrapped around your head weaving into the hair at the top as the other one knotted into the sheets next to your head. 

He pressed his forehead against yours closing his eyes as he continued to repeat his action savouring the breathy moans that fell from your open mouth. 

“Please.” You whined when you had as much as you could take, “I need you. Please.”  You begged.  

His breathing mirrored your own, harsh shared breaths as he lined himself up at your entrance, slowly pushing himself in. Your eyes fell shut at the stretch, you clenched around him as he took his time sliding into you taking in the feeling of your tight walls around him. 

“Fuck,” He muttered against your mouth followed by a soft moan as he bottomed out. You both breathed heavily as he stayed still, agonizing seconds passed before he pulled back again before spanning his hips back to you. Your head twisted to the side as he picked up his pace. He bit into the soft skin of your jaw as he moved in and out of you. 

The sound of his skin slapping against yours filled the room along with your moans, overwhelming your mind as he fucked you into a daze. You drowned in your head with every snap of his hips, you could feel him hitting your g-spot with each thrust pushing you closer you climax. 

Sweat dotted his forehead as his thrusts sped up, throwing you off the edge into the depths. Your back arched off the bed, your chest pressing against his as he took your lips up with his swiping his tongue against yours mirroring the action of his hips as he thrust into you harsher chasing after his release. You moaned his name but it sounded far off to your ears as you shook underneath him. Your walls clenching around his cock, finally his dick twitched and he came spilling himself into you. A loud moan leaving him followed by heavy breathing as he looked down at you. He let his head fall into the crook of your neck as you both came down from your highs. 

“I’m so fucked,” He whispered to you. “Don’t run away from me again Y/N. I won’t be able to take it again.” He said and pressed a kiss to your shoulder. 

“I’m not going anywhere Jaehyun.” You said stroking his back with your hand. 

“Good because, Y/N, I really like you.” You turned your head to him, his eyes meeting yours as you did. You could see the emotion in his eyes, you could see the truth behind his words, the real words he’d wanted to say. 

“I really like you too, Jaehyun.” You said, also keeping the grander emotion with you. For now. You had plenty of time to say it to him. To hear it from him, because you weren’t going anywhere, but the three words rattled around your brain, your heart your entire being as you looked at him before pressing your lips against his. 

I love you. 

[larkace]

Robber Claws

hi guys! i've read a bunch of your fics and got inspired so i wrote a thing! enjoy ;) also, it's pretty long so...buckle up! love yall <3

The criminals lurk in the mist, invisible, but Sofiya Pavlichenkov knows they’re there.

She’s perched in the Lookout’s nest of her Warship in Fourth Harbour, pretending to read the documents her first mate, Kastor, has just handed to her. But her blue coat is flapping in the wind and her papers keep jostling and she’s being watched, all of which is rather uncomfortable.

Idly, Sofiya wonders what the criminals might want. A smuggling, perhaps? Out and away from stinking, crawling, loathsome Ketterdam?

Sofiya hates this city. His city. She misses Ravka, her homeland- the Little Palace.

I miss my bloody Kefta, Sofiya thinks darkly as another bought of wind spirals harshly through the Harbour. The blue coat she wears is a subtle nod to her Tidemaker status, but it’s a sad, thin piece of cloth compared to the grandeur of the Fabrikator-made Keftas. But Sofiya can’t wear her Kefta, not if she wants to blend in in Kerch- a lesson she learned long ago���

Old enemies, Sofiya. Old enemies, but not withered grudges.

Huffing out a sigh that would make Zoya Nazyalensky proud, Sofiya rises gracefully to her feet.

They’re coming. She can feel it; they’re making their way towards the ship. They don’t have to be rowdy to intimidate, that’s for sure - or to make a crowd of Merchants and Thieves part like the sea almost immediately.

Sofiya reaches up behind her head and loops her hand around a piece of knotted rope; takes a deep, steadying breath.

And she steps off the platform into the open air.

For a moment, she catches on the air as if a Squaller has caught her on a buffering breeze, but sure enough, gravity kicks in.

Sofiya welcomes the feeling of her stomach in her throat as the fall takes hold, zipping her past the sails. It's good preparation, anyway, for the three dark figures moving up the docks towards her.

As they near and Sofiya lands lightly on the deck, she confirms what she already knew: these were criminals. Her criminals.

The trio stops in front of her. They're all wearing black and gold - not a uniform exactly, but it’s a solid way to show your allegiance. None of their hands were visible, but if they were, Sofiya would find the Robber Claws emblem branded cleanly onto the backs of their knuckles. Their hoods are drawn up over their faces, but Sofiya can tell from their posture who she’s dealing with.

"Ah, Iseut," Sofiya says serenely, "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

The girl in the middle pulls down her hood, revealing shining blond hair, dark eyes, full lips. She doesn’t smile.

"Where have you been, Sofiya?" Iseut asks coolly.

"The Wandering Isle," Sofiya answers immediately, "I stopped at Os Kervo on my return to pick up some supplies. I'm only three days late, Is. Cut me some slack."

Iseut sighs, and suddenly looks less the badass, fake-waitress man-killer, and more the tired mother of a delinquent child. Sofiya feels a flicker of guilt.

She had stopped at Os Kervo for more than one reason. The "supplies" were crates upon crates of commandeered Fjerdan weapons and traps, intercepted by the First Army on their way to the Front Line. Sofiya had paid nothing to take them off the hands of the Ravkan soldiers, who honestly had no clue where to send them. What good were jerky Fjerdan guns to a sophisticated, well-oiled Second Army legion?

Sofiya could picture Zoya's face at the sight of the sad little weapons. Disgust and disdain, unshakable beauty - and perhaps just a little bit of pride that her friend had been the one to collect the Fjerdan cargo. Sofiya would work on selling it all later. She'd dump the Grisha traps in the ocean, though. Drown them like they deserved to be drowned.

"I am sorry, Iseut," Sofiya says, and her words aren’t mistruths.

"Don't apologise to me," Iseut says dismissively, "It’s your friends that were barely able to sleep the past few nights. You should talk to -"

"Destry," Sofiya's words mist the air like a fine rain, "I know."

One of the tall figures stood behind Iseut lowers her own hood. Lyra. Ly.

It made sense that the Robber Claws would send their best Bruisers to Fourth Harbour. Sofiya knew by the other Robber's posture that beneath the hood, she would find the face of Winter. But Winter wouldn't lower her hood in front of so many people, so Sofiya was content with what she could get.

"You really had Destry worried, Sof," Ly says, chastising.

"Destry can handle me being gone for weeks on end," Sofiya crosses her arms. She will not be guilt-tripped, "This job was half a week, and I was only a few days off schedule. I did tell Cherry that I'd be late." The words come out as a question.

None of them say anything.

Another flash of worry courses through Sofiya. Cherry Vlasova is a Heartrender, and one of Sofiya's closest friends. The message that Sofiya had forwarded was simple and concise: I'll be a few days late. Stopping at Os Kervo. Don't worry, no Fjerdans. Tell Destry -S.P

Had something happened to Cherry? She was an avid gossiper; her post box was always full of tip-offs (a useful source of information for the Robber Claws) but Sofiya was reliably informed that her letters were always placed on the top of the pile. Marked "URGENT."

"What happened? Is Cherry alright?" Sofiya demands.

Iseut holds up her palms, and they are callused and grease-marked. Sometimes Iseut is so well put together that Sofiya forgets she's a barmaid.

"Cherry is fine. But all our Grisha are shaken. Whilst you were away, there was an attack on the East Stave."

Sofiya's heart stops and restarts and stops again.

An attack. On the Grisha. And she wasn’t there to - to help, to defend-

"Destry," Sofiya breathes, "And Cherry - and Adali, Roza, Linnea, Yan, Anya- oh, Saints, was it the Fjerdans?"

There are many Grisha members of the Robber Claws. It was one of the reasons that Sofiya wanted to join them in the first place. If the Fjerdans had attacked -

"Everybody is fine," Ly says lowly, "We had Freya and May fixing people up as soon as we heard- and Lita, of course, but behind the scenes."

Freya and May- and even Lita, whose powers most of the gang didn't even know of. Grisha Healers. So people had been hurt.

"What. Happened." Sofiya growls, and Ly glares at her challengingly, fists clenching. The water beneath the decking froths and bubbles as Sofiya brings her own fists together, power surging pleasantly up her arms. If Ly wants a fight, she can have one.

"Calm down, both of you," Winter's smooth voice projects from under her hood. Despite the heavy fabric, her voice is clear and commanding. Sofiya takes a breath to compose herself.

"To answer your previous question: no. It wasn't the Fjerdans." Iseut says, "We don’t know what they were."

Sofiya's brow creases at the chime of fear in Iseut's voice. She's never seen the golden-haired barmaid afraid before.

It begins to rain softly, the pattering of droplets quiet against the wooden decking of the docks.

"We should go back to the Queen’s Head, Iseut," Ly suggests, referencing Iseut’s place of work. Iseut nods once, swiftly, and glances over Sofiya's shoulder at her warship.

"Do you need to...?"

"Yes."

"Go on, then."

"KASTOR! IM GOING FOR A ROUND OF DAY-DRINKING!" Sofiya yells over the shoulder of her rain-splattered coat. She hears Ly chuckle as Kastor's scruffy head pokes out from a window.

He nods at Sofiya when he spots her, and she waves, assenting. Kastor would keep everything safe whilst she was gone. It was their unspoken agreement, unchanging and unwavering since the day they'd become crewmates.

Sofiya turns back to Iseut, Ly and Winter.

"Let's be on our way," she says, and lets her fellow criminals lead the way along the Harbour, her warship disappearing into the mist behind her.

~~~~

The mid-day slump of customers meant that the Robber Claws had the Queen’s Head pub all to themselves.

Iseut- who did not own the pub, but had put more work into it than the real owners ever did- had immediately trekked behind the bar and poured herself a whisky.

"Want anything?" She asks, directing the question directly at Sofiya despite the equal presence of Ly- and Winter (who had lowered her hood slightly now that she was back on familiar ground, with familiar faces.) Bruisers didn’t drink on the job. It slowed reflexes.

"The story," says Sofiya firmly, "It a joke about the day-drinking. What happened?"

Iseut pours herself another whiskey and the quartet take a seat at a shady little circular table in a quiet corner. The murmurs of other Robber Claws members is enough to shelter their conversation from the group- despite Sofiya being sure she was the only one unaware of what had transpired the days she’d been gone.

As Iseut begins her story, with Winter and Ly regularly interjecting with additions, Sofiya feels horror and fear clamp down on her heart like a Fjerdan Grisha trap.

Iseut’s alluring voice weaves a tale of Komedie Brute actors in bloody masks, rose-painted rubble from an impossible explosion, and worst of all: Grisha. Dead Grisha, killed by creatures with screeching metal wings.

“Only a few of our Grisha were hurt,” Iseut sips her drink solemnly, “We took your advice of keeping them anonymous and undercover. We have Erin and our other spies out searching for answers at the embassies. I’m sure you’re just as eager to find out about the winged creatures as we are.”

Sofiya nods, “I am. Thank you for filling me in, Is, really. And to you, Ly, Winter. I know you don’t like going to far from the West Stave.”

The last comment was directed purely at Winter. It’s not a lie. Winter runs a dojo for training Kerch’s women to protect themselves from Barrel bosses and scum alike; she didn’t want her clients finding out about her… Robber side. Being a criminal wasn’t the most unintimidating, friendly persona to have when speaking with vulnerable women.

Sofiya respected Winter and her clean profession. It was hard to be so kind in the Barrel. And men were rarely kind to women at all.

Sofiya knew that first hand.

Shoving away the memories- blue eyes, dark hair, gorgeous smile, charming words and sharper wounds- Sofiya stands in one fluid movement.

“I’m going to find Destry,” she says. Iseut stands, Ly and Winter falling back to flank her again, and smiles. She’s beautiful, that is undoubtful, but the attacks- the sleazy men at the Queen’s Head, the strain of the city- it’s all gotten to her. Sofiya can see it.

This city is poison, thinks Sofiya as Iseut takes her hand and shakes it. Poison and rot.

“Destry will be in her rooms,” Ly supplies, and Sofiya nods at her once.

Sofiya grins brightly, hoping it covers her own weariness, and recites, “Fair winds.”

“Bright stars,” chorus her friends. Sofiya waves over her shoulder as she slips out of the bar and down an alley. Above her, a storm brews in the clouds.

Perhaps the stars would be out that night. It didn’t matter. Nobody in Kerch saw the stars anymore.

~~~~

On her way to Destry’s apartments, Sofiya ran into more members of the Robber Claws.

Malcolm and Firefly, who lived together in shared housing in the Anvil, were shopping for new blacksmiths’ equipment. They each provided invaluable services to the Robber Claws, crafting flawless weapons second only to that of Fabrikators. They greeted her with a wink each. Sofiya moved on swiftly after trading them a Wandering Isle-crafted staff for twenty Kruge.

She picked up some baked goods on the way. She would need them. Destry- who had been her closest friend since she arrived in Kerch- was an Inferni. Fire-bringer; with an even fierier temperament. Rumour had it- and Sofiya knew the rumours were true- that Destry had been attending the University of Ketterdam when she’d heard a boy make a lude comment during an exam and lit the paper on fire with her mind. And that paper had been thrown. At the boy’s face. Ouch.

Sofiya had been nursing a whiskey in a tavern when she’d first heard the story recounted. She’d leapt up from her seat, slithered into an alley and held the recounter at knifepoint until he’d told her Destry’s name.

They’d become fast friends upon meeting. Sofiya had been in awe of someone so rebellious, so brave as to set fire to an exam paper, and Destry- well. Destry had laughed for hours when Sofiya had told her how she’d first come across her name.

But now, staring up at the ornate windows of Destry’s apartment, Sofiya feels unsure. She didn’t mean to worry her friend. Iseut had explained that her letter must have gotten lost during the riots. Sofiya cursed the post offices. So there was a deadly storm- your motto is still “We always deliver.”

Despite her trepidation, Sofiya’s feet were swift on the stairs. She had a key to the apartment, and didn’t hesitate to unlock the door and slip inside without a sound, content to watch Destry whilst she worked; even if only for a moment.

Leaning against the wall, Sofiya’s brow creases as she surveys her friend. Destry’s hair is plaited carefully into two loops at the nape of her neck, hazel strands freeing themselves gently against her light brown skin. She’s stood facing away from Sofiya, arms circled in rings of fire. The shirt she wears is Fabrikator-made; the flames don’t take to the papery material.

Sofiya takes a step forward, and pointedly drops her bag of confectionary on the floor. It lands with an audible thump.

Destry whirls, the fire at her wrists whirling into an inferno ready to strike- until Destry sees who is at her door.

“Shouldn’t have hesitated, Des,” Sofiya said weakly, “I could have put a knife in your back.”

The shock on Destry’s face dissolves. Her face splinters down the middle. Licks of fire at her fingertips wilt into ash in a pile at her boot-clad feet.

“You would have put out the flames with your water, I’m sure,” Destry says, and then flies across the room towards Sofiya, wrapping her in a tight, smoke-smelling embrace.

Sofiya would normally pull back. “Don’t be too open with your heart, Des,” she’d say, “People use your loves against you here.” But Sofiya couldn’t bring herself to say those things. The weight of the week comes crashing down on her head like a tsunami.

Fjerdan traps on my boat, attacks on my gang, tensions in Ravka boiling over… where’s safe anymore, except here?

Destry pulls back slightly to scan Sofiya’s face. She has a smear of oil on her cheek. Destry’s eyes are filled with fire, burning like an ember beneath onyx waters.

“Where. Have. You. Been.”

“Destry-”

“Don’t you make excuses with me, Pavlichenkov,” Destry snarls, “You didn’t warn us you were late! I couldn’t sleep- neither could Cherry!”

“I-”

“We thought you’d been caught, Sofi,” Destry cries, “We thought the Fjerdans had got you! I thought you died.”

The word is ugly and big in the room, choking Sofiya’s response. Death. Dying. Dead. And by Fjerdan hands. It wasn’t so rare for travelling Grisha to be caught and sent to the pyres.

“I’m sorry,” Sofiya says, because it’s the only thing there is, “I wrote- I really did, don’t look at me like that- according to Lyra, there was a storm in the True Sea. The letter sunk with the ship.”

“You’re a Tidemaker,” Destry huffs.

“Yes, which means I manipulate water,” Sofiya says, “Not stop it from overturning ships with important letters on them. Destry, I’m sorry. I brought waffles.” She offers the last sentence like a defendant on trial with the Stadwatch; one final piece of evidence to prove her innocence.

Destry brightens immediately, “Well, in that case.”

The pair of them set to work, shoulders just brushing in the cramped kitchenette. Sofiya’s array of pasties are laid out over two plates, which they lay on their laps. Destry’s job for the Robber Claws is, in few words, that of the logician. Papers are scattered all over her apartment, covered in detailed blueprints and scale drawings of buildings all over Ketterdam, Fjerda and even- rarely- Shu Han. There were no drawings of Ravka.

If Iseut had ever commissioned a robbery in Ravka, Sofiya didn’t know about it. It would be…unwise to hit out at the Ravkans, with so many Grisha in the gang.

But Destry’s job was essential, so Sofiya couldn’t complain about the lack of trays to put their plates on. Such things were useless for such an incredible mind as Destry’s.

“So,” says Destry conversationally as she lights the fireplace with a casual flick of her wrist, “How were the Wandering Isles?”

Sofiya says nothing, massaging her temples lightly. Destry manages a laugh.

“Your silence is telling, Sofi,” she warns.

Sighing quietly, suddenly feeling very tired, Sofiya says, “It was crawling with our Fjerdan friends from the North. ‘Peaceful’ Fjerdans.”

Destry spins, and she is outlined with the fire. We’re opposites, Sofiya thinks. Fire and Water.

“You didn’t-” Destry begins, horrified.

Silently, solemnly, Sofiya raised her palms to face the ceiling. Destry reaches out.

Her gentle fingers trace the scars there. Deep and painful and barely healed, the scars run red against Sofiya’s pale flesh.

“Sofiya…” Destry breathes.

“It was the only way to push my power down,” Sofiya whispers. She’s rarely so emotive, but Destry is someone she trusts with everything. It was a weakness, some would say, but they were each powerful Grisha. They were Gods in a world of men. And they would not kneel “If I hadn’t, I would’ve been caught. It was a price to pay.”

Grisha shone like lighthouses around people. In Kerch, in Ketterdam, it was safer for them- especially ones loyal to a gang, as Destry and Sofiya were. But in the Wandering Isles; where Fjerdans passed through on their way to Novyi Zem, where gang affiliations mattered less than the colour of your eyes… Sofiya tells herself she had no choice.

“Sofiya, you’ve opened up old wounds here,” Destry says, tracing the marred skin of her palms again, “You need a healer. Freya, Lita, May-”

“Wouldn’t understand,” Sofiya finished, pulling her hands out of Destry’s and placing them carefully in her lap, obscuring them with her coat, “They’re healers, Des, not warriors- they’d go to Iseut.”

Iseut. Their unofficial leader, the founder, the lighthouse in raging seas. All of the Robber Claws seemed to be caught in her gravity. She was their sun. And Sofiya… well, Sofiya was the moon. Iseut would send her to a healer, one who would stop her travels. One who would commandeer her Warship, and Kastor… health of the mind was important to Iseut.

But Sofiya was not damaged, as they would tell her. She was not broken. Her mind was sound.

I did what I had to do, to survive.

But Destry can see through it all. Through the mask, through her eyes, right to her bones. Through to her lying, treacherous heart. We’re all broken in the end.

But.

Oh, Destry, Destry, please…

“I won’t tell her,” Destry promises, “But I’d like you to know that I think you should. Tell her, that is- Iseut. She might help.”

“She might ship me back to Ravka,” Sofiya grumbles, biting into a toasty croissant.

“Oh, she wouldn’t.”

“You never know.”

“She’ll want you to heal, that’s all.”

“Yes,” Sofiya rolls her eyes, “But these wounds are of the flesh. The scars on my heart will never heal, not in this life Perhaps there will be mercy in the next, even for my rotten soul.”

“You sound like you’re auditioning for the Komedie Brute,” Destry laughs.

“Mother, Father, pay the rent!” Sofiya crows.

“I can’t my dear, the money’s spent,” Destry choruses instinctively.

Sofiya wipes away an invisible tear, “Gorgeous! We’ll make an actress out of you, yet, Destry Clements.”

“Oh, you most certainly will not,” Destry huffs.

Their laughter fills the air, and Sofiya thinks that maybe there is hope for her rotten soul, after all.

~~~~

The man returns late from the pub wearing only one shoe.

A bottle drained halfway of mauve liquid dangles limply from his pale fingers. The veins in his foot are blue in the half-moon’s light.

He slurs a broken melody. She catches a few words as he passes below her on the street.

“Hmm… perish… light… air… fire… hell… hmmm…”

The man’s name is Danyl Harrop. And he is going to die tonight.

“Hmm… shadow… devil… rot… earth… sun… burn… lose….”

Harrop continues down the road, heedless of the mud on his bare foot. He'd be blackout drunk in the morning if he survived.

He wouldn’t.

Silent as a breeze, steps as soft as downy feathers, she leaps from the streetlight where she was perched.

She strikes.

She is ash and shadow. She is a storm of fire. She is vengeance.

She is death.

Harrop yelps as she pins him against the tree. His face is as white as the moon, with eyes like black craters.

“What’re you doi-” he slurs dazedly, but she silences him with a wave of her hand. He blubbers like a fish on land as he tries to shout for help.

“For King and Country,” says the girl. Stepping away from Harrop, she lets her power hold him against the tree, keeping his muscles upright. She surveys him like an artist would their unfinished masterpiece.

The girl whispers, “Sleep tight, Danyl.”

Flicking her wrist, she snaps his neck. He’s still alive, barely, so she latches on to what little of his mind there is left and strips it like an onion. For a man who is out so late, so drunk, on what the girl remembers as a work-day, he knows too much.

Secrets. They feed this girl, nourish her. There is a skip in her step as she turns away from Harrop; without her supporting his muscles, he collapses against the tree. She leaves his mind just as it goes dark.

There is no need to hide in the treetops upon her return to the city. It gleams just half a mile away, most of which is roiling seawater. As the girl wanders along the road back to Ketterdam, she finds Danyl Harrop’s shoe in a puddle of mud. The girl laughs at the sky. She flips a coin into the shoe, whispers a heartless prayer to her Saints, and moves on.

Back to Ketterdam. Back home.

~~~~

Ok, so that's that! I left it on a bit of a cliffhanger... I may have created a whole plot... so there might be some more coming soon!

all these excellent characters (save Sofiya, Danyl, Kastor and the girl at the end who kills Danyl- who has no name... yet *wink*) belong to the following:

Iseut is @littlegirldorothea's

Destry is @finnick-annie's (I may have made them besties👀👀)

Cherry is @brekkercookie's (they are ALSO besties👀👀 we have a trio omg)

Winter is @cressjacquine's

Lyra is @no-mourners-at-my-funeral's

Malcom is @blackpheonix’s

Firefly is @ask-shadowbon’s

Erin is @lightningboytytonjesper’s

Adali is @apple-bottom-jeansx’s

Roza is @vampire-rights’s

Linnea is @alonlyfangirl's

Yan is @lucentcorrigan’s

Anya is @queenlilith43’s

Freya is @smol-evil-gremlin’s

Lita is @the-whispers-of-moonlight’s

May is @saltyfortunes

and the "Fair winds, bright stars" motto as created by @spicy-tomato-sauce's

oh and the whole Grishaverse is the wonderful @lbardugo's <3

if I missed anyone or you want to tag anyone go ahead!

[sapphirelycoris]

𝐿𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝐿𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠

A/N: After posting “Now That You’re Gone” part 1 and 2, I came up with the idea of letters. This does take place during part 2. It has the same ending I just cut out some of the video parts and made it a lot shorter so you don’t have to re-read the whole thing. 

This is the last “Now that you’re gone” post, I swear!

I suggest listening to “Almost is Never Enough (slowed)” originally by Ariana Grande and Nathan Skyes

Synopsis: Ushijima x fem!reader (she, her)

I made the MC write a few letters to Ushijima, only three though. One for her second and third year of high school and then one as she’s dying. I regret not having these letters in the original version but here are the last few notes to Ushijima.

Warnings: Mention of death and overall sadness. I hated putting him through this much pain and it hurt to write.

Three unopened letters sat on his table. He hadn't been strong enough to even consider opening them but maybe, because of how was currently feeling, they would make him in a better mood. Ushijima carried the envelopes over to his coffee table and returned to his original position, his head lying on the arm rest. 

She had written him a handful of letters all throughout high school and even while lying in a hospital bed, she continued to put her feelings down on paper. She asked her parents to give them to him when she died, at least if she was dead, he couldn't reject her. 

Dear Wakatoshi,

You're probably never going to receive this because I wrote these when I was bored. This is our second year of high school so maybe before we graduate, you or I will confess to one another. I am so going to burn this later. Maybe not. I can be like the girl in that one book who has multiple crushes throughout her life. I can't remember the name. Now I'm just writing down my internal thoughts. Sorry. 

Love, (Name)

Seeing that this was written in high school, he didn't get his hopes up. Her affections probably changed as she grew older. He sighed heavily, laying down the piece of paper.

Dear Wakatoshi,

It's our last year of high school! On to college and responsibilities. Joy... taxes, marriage, all that good stuff. I don’t even know how to do taxes. Anyways, I’ve always loved watching your volleyball games. I can’t wait to go see you when you’re on a professional team, you can’t forget me. I stuck right by your side for a while so you got to mention my name at least once! I’m kind of running out of ideas for this… I promised myself last year that I’d write another one this year. 

Love, (Name)

Ushijima bit the inside of his lip. He hesitated to read the last letter, it was probably filled with powerful words that described their relationship. His body froze, he was trying to process everything that she had written. Not yet. He wasn't ready for it. 

The man stared at the picture he took with her at the beach with some friends. It had been a long time since he even dared to look at it. Her smile only made the pain in his chest grow deeper. He slowly reached out for his phone with a shaky hand. Number by number, he dialed her number and pressed it against his ear as the ringer went off. Ushijima knew that she wasn't picking up, but still had hope that it wouldn't go to voicemail.

"Hey, I'm currently unavailable right now, please leave a message!" Her voice was the only thing that he wanted to hear. That sweet sound that he took for granted. Even though his eyes watered, there wasn't enough for tears. Before the beep, he hung up and switched to his photo library. He desperately scrolled up, trying to find videos with her in them.

When the videos ran out, he gave in and ripped open her last letter. Instead of just one piece of paper, it was two. Ushijima noticed that her letters or written papers were a lot more poetic than the words she spoke. She used all of her vocabulary and wrote down extremely graceful lines. More so in college when she had papers to write. This was caused by all of the high reading level books she read as a child.

Dear Wakatoshi,

Lying here in a hospital bed isn't my ideal way of spending my last days. I'd much rather go to a beautiful place like the mountains, the beach, or the woods. Preferably, you'd accompany me but your volleyball schedule is so busy. Can you imagine? Watching the sun glisten on the waves during a beautiful sunset would've been the perfect way to go. Or perhaps, sitting by a blazing fire place at night and listening to the sound of nature. That'd be so romantic. I always thought romance movies were cheesy but I guess that's because they would never become a reality for me. I hope you never find this, I want you to move on with life. Not forget about me of course but I'd rather not have you be so focused on the past that you can't concentrate on the present. Whomever you should marry, I know that they'll be good to you. She'll go to all your games, support you through hard times, listen to your concerns, do all the things I wish I could have done. 

If I walked down the aisle, would you have cried? If we had children, what would you and I have named them? I love the idea of a name that has something to do with flowers. I remember the first time you ever brought me flowers. Satori gave you the idea, didn't he? They were lovely while they lasted. When the petals started dying, I got sad. I hated having to throw them away but it's the thought that counts. Even though it was just a few of our friends and us on my birthday that year,  it was a lovely dinner. You looked so handsome in a suit! Would you have worn a suit if we got married? I would have opted for a smaller wedding, surrounded by close friends and family. To take your last name would have been a dream come true. 

Speaking of which, in the event that you do marry someone else, remember the promise you made to me? I was going to at least be the godmother of your kids. You better raise them to be good little children. They should be respectful to their parents and not be lazy. If you're up to it, maybe name one of them after me. Though I don't know how appreciative your wife would be. Be good to her, okay? I know you're a quiet person but try to understand her feelings. Don't let her walk all over you either! If she does, I'll come back from the grave to haunt her. Hopefully you have the good sense to marry someone good. Though, you are the same person who thought that the world was flat. I really hope that you don't think that anymore.

Remember that? You and I were in the library and we somehow started talking about that. Even though I used all the logic I could, I'm not sure you were convinced. You're like talking to a brick wall sometimes. I bet your mind revolves around volleyball 24/7, doesn't it? I wish I could've seen you play in the Olympics! I want you to have excellent rapport with your teammates. If you want to win, you gotta be on the same page.   

During our last year in high school, I was planning to ask you out but then I realized, I'd only weigh you down. You're like a mighty eagle too wild to tame. If I kept you in a cage, you'd get restless and fly away sooner or later. I never wanted to risk the chance of losing you. You are far too precious for me to ruin. To tell you how I felt now would be too cruel. You're one in a million and nothing in this life or any other would make me give you up. You are priceless, worth more than any diamond or gem on this Earth. Don't ever forget that either. I guess it's because you don't do this often but when you smile and let kindness show through your eyes, everything seems alright. In that moment, the world is okay. Time stops and I am solely focused on you.

Something I don't have right now is time. But if I could rewind the clock, with the knowledge I know now, I would never have waited. I would have told you how much you meant to me everyday. I would have woken up next to you every morning. Ushijima, I love you. I truly do. No one else has my heart but you. You've always been the person I love, even in death my heart is yours. 

Yours truly, (Name)

Ushijima's mouth formed a bitter smile, happy yet sorrowful. Tears rolled down the side of his face from the corners of his squinted eyes. He cupped his hand over his mouth to muffle the sounds of his sporadic breathing pattern. He violently hit the back of his head on the arm of the couch repeatedly.

His smile faltered with each gasp for air. The constricting feeling in his throat sent a numbing effect throughout his entire body. All of his emotions were confusing him, thoughts contradicted one another, and the room seemed to be spinning. Part of him wanted to calm down and regain his composure, but he also wanted to let everything out.

He just had to cave in and dig up old memories, didn't he?

[mm2305]

The anniversary

Fandom : Lucifer (tv series)

Warnings / words : none this is pure fluff / 2.1 k

Pairings : Lucifer Morningstar x Chloe Decker 

Disclaimer : none of these characters are mine ,rights to the rightful owners

Description :  After Lucifer's return from Hell, Chloe has made preparations for their six month anniversary as a couple.

Author’s note : Hello everyone! I wrote and posted this back in June but I just realised I only posted the link to the ao3 and never the fic itself! Better late than never right? English is not my first language so please be kind. Also a big thank you to my amazing beta @forever5hines  / @tossacointoyourmorningstar .

Enjoy!

--------------------------------

It's funny how life turns out, isn't it? If someone had told Chloe 4 years ago that she would fall in love with that jerk, Lucifer Morningstar, she would have laughed in their faces. But here she is, shopping for their six month anniversary.

There were several obstacles in their way. The more they worked together, the more Chloe liked him. He had adopted the character of a playboy, a diva, but it wasn't exactly who he was. He was all these, but he was also smart, honest, respectful and supportive. He had a softer side which he chose to hide, in order not to get hurt. The only one who broke through his facade, was her. From then on, he did everything in his power to keep her safe. Dealt with Malcolm, his mom, his brother, Cain, went to Hell twice to save her.

When she learned the truth though,she ran and conspired with Kinley, tried to poison him. Betrayed him. Abandoned him. Even though they continued to work together after a while, nothing was the same anymore. She realized that she was in love with him and as  time went by, she accepted him too. All his sides. The good, the bad and the crispy.

He had to leave though. That night at the balcony she finally told him she loved him. Even though she begged him to stay, he left. It was partly her fault, because she brought Kinley to Los Angeles. Kinley then brought the demons up to Earth. She understood why he left. The demons had to be contained. And only Lucifer could do that.

Six months later, he came back, putting an end to both his and her misery. From then on, they began talking about their feelings and visited Linda a few times. In the end though, they decided to get into a relationship.

They were happier than ever before. Worked together, spent lots of time with each other, had dates. Of course, they had their problems too. Lucifer was still struggling to believe that there were people in his life who loved and appreciated him. To him, it seemed like a good dream, that's bound to end very soon. Chloe reassured him many times,but the feeling remained rooted deep in his heart. Chloe, on the other hand, was dealing with her own guilt. She tried to poison and hurt him. She wondered, even now, why the hell she tried to do that. What she also wondered, was if she was good enough for him. Chloe Decker, a human, a nobody , good enough for the Devil? The Lightbringer? They both had to work on their feelings, that's for sure.

At the moment, she is at a mall with Ella. It's their six month anniversary the next day and she had prepared a dinner at LUX for herself and Lucifer. For this reason, she wanted to get a new dress. Maze was babysitting Trixie and Linda had a therapy session scheduled for a patient. Only Ella was available. The problem is that they've been searching for hours and they've got nothing so far.

"Come on girl, tell me how's the relationship with the Devil going?", Ella inquired.

"It's been good. More than good, actually. He makes me very happy.", she replied smiling.

"I can see that. You're glowing Chloe. He is too. I've told you that I ship Deckerstar, haven't I?"

" Yes Ella. Many, many, many times.  Anyway, I'm telling you, if we don't find anything in the next 30 minutes, then I'm going to wear one of my own dresses. It's been 3 hours and we haven't found anything! " she complained pouting just a little.

" Oh shut up Decker. Look I found this. It's beautiful, isn't it? "

" Mmm… I'll try it. In fact that's the last I'm trying. Then I'm going home. " she said taking the dress from Ella.

When she came out Ella gasped in awe.

" Oh my God! You look gorgeous!", she commented  shocked.

"Really? ", asked Chloe turning around to look at herself in the mirror.

Ella has excellent taste , she thought. No one could deny that. This satin dress was simple but elegant. Not too formal, but still perfect for her purpose. It had a color almost identical to her eyes. Icy-blue. The fabric soft and feeling wonderful on her skin. The dress hugged her figure but it wasn't clingy. It reached to just a little more than her knee. It really was perfect for her.

"I'm getting this.", she decided after a few moments.

                                                 ***************

Lucifer loves speed. It makes him feel free and freedom and free will are things he has and will always stand up for. At the moment, he is racing through the highways of Los Angeles, in the comfort of his beloved, black Corvette,at high speed. The air landing on his face as he passes through the roads, the whole feeling of freedom, still seems incredible to him. That's one of the main reasons he bought a convertible. Something else he loves even more than this though, is his beloved Detective. Chloe. He's known her for years, and she wormed her way into his heart, since the first moment he met her. They've been through a lot. His mom, Cain, her leaving and coming back, and the most recent: him going back to Hell.

The night he left, when she told him she loved him, accepted him completely, he thought his heart would burst out of his chest. Seeing his Detective's tears and pleads for him to stay, broke his heart in a thousand little pieces. However he couldn't risk the safety of his friends and the family he had here. When the problems in Hell were resolved, he came back. Doctor Linda helped him a lot after that. Chloe too. For him it was much much more that six months down there. In the end though, they managed.

Tomorrow is their six month anniversary. He got her a ring. Not an engagement ring. A promise for the future. That he'll always be by her side no matter what. Love her, protect her. Anything she needs,anything she desires. The stone was the exact color of her lovely eyes. A favor called in here and there, helped him achieve his goal.

After a few more minutes going around, he set for LUX. He had a few matters to attend to and he was needed there. He'd meet his Detective tomorrow.

                       *******

When Chloe came back from her shopping spree (she ended up getting a pair of short-heeled shoes, in the same color as the dress), she was exhausted. After taking a quick shower and brushing her teeth, she proceeded to hog the bed, like someone once told her.

Chloe woke up with a smile the next day. Checked if things were going well, ate breakfast, spent some time with Trixie. Then she started getting ready. Followed her skin care routine - the results were amazing, soft skin and all -, showered and shaved thoroughly. Then she dried her hair and styled it into waves. Afterwards, she did her makeup. Simple, not heavy, in light colors. Lastly she put on her dress and shoes. I do look pretty good, she thought while looking at herself one last time at the mirror. She took Lucifer's present with her, too.

One of the very few things she had left from her father were his cufflinks. She wanted to give them to him. Not even Dan knew about their existence. She had gone to a jewelry store to get something extra etched on them. She added an 'M' in the outside and a 'C' on the inside. In this way she wanted him to understand, how much he meant to her. With the 'M' they would become his own , while with the 'C' she wanted him to have a part of her with him. Will he like them though?, she wondered anxiously. To her it was something important, but could that measure up to the person who created the stars? Come on Chloe, relax. It's going to be alright. With that she went out of her house, to get to LUX.

                                                    *************

Everything was ready. Lucifer's favorite dishes were ready to be served. The candles around, check. The DJ ready to play a special song for tonight, check. Comfortable, low lighting, check. Lucifer…check.

They both gasped at the sight of the other. Lucifer was wearing a black tuxedo, with a white shirt and a red handkerchief. He looked sharp and  very handsome. Chloe was wearing her new dress, looking absolutely gorgeous.

"Darling, you look exquisite," said Lucifer with adoration.

"I could say the same for you too, Lucifer", replied Chloe with a radiant smile.

"How about we sit down babe?"

"Of course, my dear."

After sitting down and getting their food, they made a toast.

" To us. May this be the first anniversary of many more to come"

" To us, love." he replied with a clink of their wine glasses.

They talked about the future, laughed about Trixie's adventures at school and when they finished their dessert they went on to exchange their gifts.

"Lucifer,I didn't buy you anything… Instead, I wanted to give you something special.These are my dad's cufflinks. I added something though...On the outside you'll see an 'M' for 'Morningstar'. On the inside,however, there is a 'C' for 'Chloe'...I wanted I'd give you a "piece" of me through this to have with you… If you don't like it, it is possible to have it changed… I just wanted to give you something that is very important to me, because you are one of the most important people in my life and… "

"Chloe, darling, I love it. In fact, you have rendered me speechless. Thank you so much, my love. ", he interrupted her giving her a genuine smile.

"Do you really like it or are you saying that just to make me happy? I mean, this isn't some of the extravagant things you're used to and I don't know… Maybe you would like something else… ?",she asked him nervously,looking at her feet.

"Chloe, love, look at me.", Lucifer told her lifting her chin to look at her lovely eyes. "You know I don't lie, don't you? Then trust me when I say that this is the best gift I've ever received. I know just how much your dad's death hurt you and by giving me one of his belongings…You've made me so happy and grateful, my dear. So, you don't need to worry about that alright? "

" Okay ", she sighed.

"Now it's my turn," he announced opening the little, black, velvet box. Chloe gasped.

"It isn't an engagement ring. It's my promise to you. I want to promise you that I will always be by your side. Your friend, your partner, your boyfriend, whatever you desire. Protect you, cherish you, support you in everything you do. Anything. You are the light in my life  and you've touched my heart in ways nobody ever has, in my long life. I want you to know I love you so much," he confessed while putting the ring on Chloe's finger.

" Oh Lucifer… I don't know what to say… Thank you, honey. I love you too, " she added hugging him.

"Dance with me? ", she asked him after a few moments.

"Anything for you, my darling. "

Chloe then signaled the DJ to put a very specific song on.

As they swayed, she whispered the lyrics to his ear.

"Do you feel my heart beating,

 Do you understand

 Do you feel the same

Am I only dreaming

Is this burning an eternal flame "

" Do you understand Lucifer? I love you with all my heart and I will always stand  by your side, too. Always.", she whispered teary-eyed but looking straight into his eyes.

"Even if I am the Devil? Who has tortured countless souls in Hell? A monster, like many others think?"

" Even if you are the Devil,who did his job in Hell. The Devil, who has been through many things, but never gave up. The Devil who is loving, adorable, caring, good-hearted and dangerous only to those who hurt his friends and family. The Devil who is a perfect boyfriend and  whom I love with all my heart. ", she replied tearfully.

" I love you too,my Detective. Let's continue dancing, love, shall we? ", he said kissing her sweetly.

And they did. The rest of the night was spent between the two of them. Lost in each other, their emotions, touches and kisses, they continued to sway on the dance floor. In their own, strange for some people, perfect for them, little world.

-------------------------------------

Thank you for reading!!!

[rin-archives]

Enchanted | Mark Lee

Pairing: idol!au mark lee x y/n Genre: fluff, pure fluff. Words: 3,132k (woops 👀)

Enchanted - Taylor Swift

“Y/Nnie~ you’ve got mail.” your British friend approached you with the envelope in her hand. “Mail? Why would I get mail?” you scoffed at the idea of you receiving any mail when you thought you didn’t really deserve all the praise. “It’s from Korea.” you froze thinking that it could be from your family but when your friend said that it wasn’t you felt like you recovered half of your life. “That’s odd. I don’t think I wrote to anyone else. Especially these past months.” you took the envelope from your friend and tucked it in the pocket of your duffel bag telling your mind to keep a note about the letter.

After training for several hours you arrive in your apartment. Kicking your shoes off, not bothering with wearing your house slippers since you just want to have a hot bath right now. You walked straight into the bathroom, dropped your duffel bag on the floor and prepared the bath. You set your sleeping clothes by your bed then went back to the bathroom to turn the water from the tub off. You got in after tying your hair up in a bun and released a long sigh. It was a sigh of relief. You hadn’t felt this exhausted since the first time you competed.

You were about to close your eyes and lull yourself to sleep but you remembered about the mail you got. Turning your head to your bag you reached for the mail lying inside the front pocket. You looked at the return address then you saw that it really wasn’t from home. The address was unfamiliar as well. “Hm..a fan letter? But I never posted anything about where I am.” You thought aloud. Flipping the envelope around to carefully open the sealed flap. You take out the paper inside and unfolded them to see what the content was.

Hi Ms. y/n!

I’m sorry if this is so sudden and random. I realize now — as I’m writing this that maybe you didn’t want to receive any fan letters. I sincerely apologize for that! I swear this is probably the last time you’ll be hearing from me.

My name is Mark Lee and I’m from Seoul, Korea. I’m not sure if you’ve heard about NCT before but I’m part of that group. Anyway, I didn’t write this letter to promote myself or anything like that...I wrote this to let you know I admire you so much.

The first time I saw your match, I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. You were oozing with confidence and you were sure you’d get that gold medal. When they announced the scores, I couldn’t help but feel the way you felt. You felt vulnerable - I could tell, but you were able to keep your head high. I really admire you for that.

I know it seems weird that I somehow was able to write you this letter. I wanted to message you privately instead on social media but I heard you weren’t a fan of that. So I went old school. I really hope this reached you. You don’t need to let me know but here’s my kakaotalk ID. I know you’re probably busy but if ever there’s a chance for you to let me know that you got it, I’ll be waiting for your reply. I promise you I’m not a creep or whatever. If you’re still skeptical, here’s a photo of me. Uh...it’s the only one I could find so I’m sorry if it looks awful.

Have a good day, Ms. Y/N! :]

Sincerely,

Mark Lee

You picked up the photo that was wallet sized and you felt your lips curve into a small smile. You admitted he was cute and that his letter was adorable. This guy was a fan, but not only that he’s actually an idol who admires you as an athlete. “I guess it’s okay...” you mumbled to yourself while gazing into the photo at your hand.

After drying yourself, you laid down on your bed scrolling through the messages you received. They were mostly updates on your schedule in the group chat with your team. Then you had a thought. You suddenly remembered Mark’s kakaotalk ID and thought of sending him a message. It was the least you could do after reading that adorable letter. You searched for the time in Seoul right now and learned that it was 6PM. He’s not busy right now I suppose...

itsy/n: Hi :) Is this Mark Lee? From NCT?

Six and a half months, you and Mark became good friends online. You’d tell each other how your days were when they’re over since you don’t live in the same area. Sometimes, he’d give you a call — with your permission of course and if you didn’t have training the following day or if he didn’t have rehearsals or anything scheduled. Both of you made sure that you wouldn’t get in the way of each other’s lives too much since both of you require focus, most especially you.

Few months after, the competition drawing near and it just so happened to be in Seoul. You packed your things two days prior to the flight but you told Mark weeks before. He was excited that you were coming home and he made sure that he’d watch the competition live. He couldn’t hide his excitement to the members that they ended up being excited for him as well. They’ve seen your matches on tv before or whenever Mark would watch reruns and they weren’t oblivious to the friendship you and Mark made. They would also tease him on how much you both talk to each other or how much he mentions you to them. He brushes off that feeling quickly because he didn’t want things to be awkward— well he hope he wouldn’t make it awkward. The members weren’t just teasing him for fun, they had a feeling he had taken interest in you romantically and obviously he’d never admit that. At least not yet.

The day of your arrival came and lots of press came to greet you. The flash from their cameras were blinding you that it was starting to get on your nerves. Thankfully, you were able to get on the car quickly. You arrived in the hotel that the event organizer booked for all the athletes that came. Since dinner was much later, you took this chance to freshen up and rest for a bit in your room. Just then, the sound of your kakaotalk went off notifying you’ve received a message.

Canada: Hey :) You landed yet?

You: Yup, just got in my room too. Your timing is perfect haha

Canada: Cool! Hope your flight was smooth. Have you had dinner?

You: Not yet. Dinner’s going to be a little later. All the athletes are having dinner together at the same time so, I’m gonna freshen up a bit and rest.

Canada: Make sure you eat a lot! :) 

You: Ha, I think I should be telling you that? The last photo you sent me of yourself, you’re not looking so good? Are you sure you’re eating? :P

Canada: I am! I’m gaining muscles too! 

You: Uh-huh, yeah, sure you are

As you were about to put your phone down a sudden call came from Mark. It wasn’t just an ordinary call, it was a video call. You froze for a bit, not knowing what to do but you couldn’t leave him hanging either. After two rings, you answer the call and made sure the camera wasn’t too close to your face.

“Do you see that?” He asks, pointing the camera on his mirror as he flexes his biceps showing you his muscles. 

“Hm, I don’t really see it Mark.” You lied. Of course you did.

“Why are you doing this to me, girl?” He clicked the icon that rotates the camera to his face and pouted. All you could do was scoff and shake your head as you walk around with the phone in your hand. Now that you’ve guys started the video call, neither of you wanted to end the call. 

“My bad, were you about to prepare?” He sets his phone down on his stand as he sat down in front of it. “Sort of? I was just going to wash my face and change to something more comfortable.” You said while going to the bathroom, setting your phone down on the counter. “I guess I could show you how I wash my face.” You chuckled as you removed your team jacket to hang it behind the bathroom door. “Alright, let’s get it.” You laughed when he said that. Hearing your laugh was the highlight of his night after coming back from a really sweaty practice.

Your first video call went well. He made sure washing your face was entertaining that you couldn’t actually do it properly. After that you had to close the camera so you can comfortably change. Once you were done, you opened the camera again and set the phone down to the dresser to put on light make up that was close to looking natural. Mark kept talking to you as he watched the way you put on the foundation and fixed your eyebrows by coloring it lightly. The whole call wasn’t awkward at all and when it was time for your dinner you told him he call you back if he wanted to. 

You couldn’t stop thinking about the call you just had with Mark. Although you weren’t paying attention to him since you were busy with preparing, you’d take glances at your phone and notice how his eyes were big. His face was somewhere in between a little boy and a boy in his teens when he’s already in his early 20s. 

The whole month you arrived in Seoul, you spent the days training and constantly talking to Mark. The day of the competition was about to arrive and you found out that Mark and his group were invited to perform. You were nervous to see how he was on stage because you got to know him as someone who was a goof ball, really loves to laugh and generally he seemed like a happy person to you. You wondered what he was like when he was performing, but you didn’t wonder long since you also had to keep your head in the game.

You were aiming for gold this time and you couldn’t let your team down. You couldn’t let yourself down either. You wanted to win it this time. 

The time has come for the event to open and all the athletes were in their respective areas. The announcers on the side were doing their opening spiels then when they were done they announced that NCT 127 is about to take the stage. You didn’t want to seem too excited to see Mark performing for the first time so you kept your composure. But when you see him walking towards the stage as their music began, you felt your heart rate rise up as if you were the one performing. Their song began, a song you’ve listened to a couple of times but it was very different when seeing it live. 

You saw a very different Mark up there and that really caught your attention. You couldn’t stop staring at him. The way he looks at the cameras passing by towards them was very intense but left a charm for their fans for sure. After the performance, they introduced themselves and all their charisma while performing vanished. Some of them were shy, some were actively smiling towards the fans and the cameras and then where was Mark. It was like he reverted back to the guy you were talking to but a more professional one. When one of their members were talking, you accidentally locked eyes with one another and you panicked inside. You didn’t know whether to give a wave or smile but before you could decide he sent a smile and a light nod towards you. You returned it hoping that none of your team mates saw that.

Finally, the match began. NCT had the privilege to stay and watch but not all of them were able to due to other schedules. Mark stayed behind with another member, they stayed where the audience were seated but they were in front. Just when they sat down it was your turn. You were competing in the archery category since that was forte and that was you’ve been training for ever since you discovered archery. You took your position with your professional bow and waited for the referee to signal you to begin. You take a deep breath slowly, calming your heart and your mind. The referee nodded his head towards you and you inserted the arrow to where it’s supposed to be. When you were ready, you held your equipment high, keeping your eye in the middle marking the bullseye. You pulled the bow string backwards while holding on to the tail of the arrow, you took another deep breath and released.

A year has passed since then and you kept in touch with Mark as he goes in and out of Seoul. You made up with your family before heading back to London to continue your training and at the same time continue your education. You prioritized training over studying before but now since you won the gold medal you’ve been working hard for, you now had to face another challenge. Graduating.

There would be times that you and Mark would meet up in London in secret if his group was there but most of the time you had video calls and regular calls. His group members already had an idea that both of you were more than friends at this point and were just denying it. There were pros and cons of dating each other that you both knew even if neither said anything about dating or confessing your feelings. He constantly travels, you permanently live in London and his bombarded by fans all the time. There was actually no time to see each other to date if ever and it was entirely impossible. 

However, one night, you and Mark were on a video call. He just got back from a schedule while you were working on homework. “What are you working on?” He asked while munching on a bowl of cereal. “Science homework. I want to get this done so on the weekend, I can just train or something.” You replied typing on your keyboard. “Do you seriously just train the whole weekend? Don’t you have friends to hang out with?” 

“I’d rather just train. Training is tiring enough for me, socializing will just flat out make me lowbat.” you chuckled softly. “Ah, then I must be lucky.” 

“Why’s that?”

“’Cause you have enough energy to socialize with me like this.” you can see him grinning even though you weren’t looking at the screen. “Shouldn’t it be the other way around? I mean, I’m practically talking to an idol.” you chuckled. “You didn’t even know me until I mailed that letter. Girl, please.” he rolled his eyes playfully. You both were laughing. “I had my doubts you know.”

“About what? The letter?” you saw him blink his wide doe eyes. “Mhm.” you nodded slightly. “Why?”

“I don’t get mail. Let alone a fan letter.” you chuckled softly at the thought of calling it a fan letter. “No one knows my address here. My family didn’t even know until I came home and made up with them. So, how did you find out?” by now you were looking into the camera. “I- uh..” he kept averting his gaze elsewhere, unable to look at you. “Come on Canada, you can tell me. You’ve got no choice anyway.” 

“I...really wanted to find a way to reach out to you.” he began. “There was something that drew me to you. I just felt like, I needed to reach out somehow. So, I had help from the staff on finding out how to at least send the letter.” you weren’t typing anymore. You just watched how he told you about his efforts on finding a way to reach out. You saw how he was looking for the right words to say, every pause he took before speaking out and the way his hands rubs against his own. He looked nervous and you wanted to hold them. “Thanks to one of our staff, they got a hold of your manager and explained how much I really needed to send the mail. Your manager wouldn’t budge at first, but she eventually did. I guess, she got tired of me or us for constantly trying to get your address.” he rubbed the back of his neck feeling embarrassed.

“Nah, she was actually surprised that I’d get a fan letter. I was the one who didn’t want to receive anything coming from Seoul. Because at that time, I wasn’t in good terms with my parents. I didn’t want to receive anything from them either so I told my manager, my team and my coach even that if anyone sends me anything from Seoul to not accept it.” you explained. “They were just doing what I told them.” you assured. He let out a sigh of relief which you found cute. 

“Thanks for that by the way.” you started to speak. “If it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t have had...motivation.” you saw that he was doing the same thing you were doing when he was the one talking. “I actually wanted to give up everything before I got that letter. I wasn’t doing well during training that I kept missing the bullseye.” Now you were the one trying to focus your eyes elsewhere. “I had doubts because it was too good to be true that it was from an idol and...also I thought my team mate was lying when she gave it to me. I thought it was from my parents but when I saw the return address that’s when I opened the letter and read what you wrote.” you paused.

“I didn’t think I’d be texting you on kakao, actually. But I’m glad that I did.” you showed a shy smile which Mark returned. Both of you were silent for a while. You let the comfortable silence seep in before reaching out to your keyboard again to type. Both of you knew what that comfortable silence meant. Both of you wanted to say something but thought it wouldn’t be the right time. 

Both of you were enchanted to meet each other and hoped that both of you wouldn’t fall for anyone else until the day one of you confesses.

a/n: that was longer than i expected 👀i hope you enjoyed it as much as i did writing this. there’s a part here that happened in real life but of course not with mark lee lol can you guess what it is? 🤔

copyright 2020 rin-archives, all rights reserved.

[academiaipromise]

Hello!

This is a series that was inspired by some stressed-filled Zoom calls that I’ve been having with some underclassmen for both my extracurricular organizations and peer mentoring programs. If you’re still reading this, chances are, you’re either going back to college soon or starting college for the first time in the year that is 2020. While we all are probably focusing on the safety of ourselves and our loved ones (as we arguably should), many incoming freshmen I’ve been talking to are also stressed about college things: emailing professors, study tips, how to balance virtual classes. So, in case you feel like reading a series of tips written by a 4th year undergrad who at least pretends to know what she’s doing, click below to read the second entry. Click here for the first. 

Tip #2: Zoomin’, or Keeping a Life/Work Balance During Online or Hybrid Courses

When trying to figure out the order in which to post these tips, I was struck with the realization that I start school in a little over a week. So, if anyone is in this same boat, I figured it would be important to talk about class registration tips when there’s still time for you do something about it. This post is a long one, but here’s hoping you can find some advice in it. 

So something to clarify right off the bat: when everything started moving to a virtual format, everybody and their mother on the Internet starting coming forward with tips on how to work from home. And while that’s kind of what’s happening here, I take issue with two things: working from home is not the same as working from home during a global crisis, and working from home is not the same as virtual college. So I’ll try to get as specific as I can, but also try to throw in some tips that might work better for you than they do for me.  

Part One: Registering for Classes

Okay so this part you might have already done, but it’s good to keep in mind. While the recommended hours at every university is different, in my experience the average recommendation is 15 credits hours per semester. It’s important to note though that this is only an average: if you plan on taking courses in the summer, graduating early/later than 4 years, or taking on multiple majors, all of these things affect the credit hours you should be taking.

The unpleasant reality of registering for courses is there’s really no way to know how a specific class will be. There’s always RateMyProfessor.com or other tools, but who’s to say that professors will be like they normally are if they’re trying to figure out how to teach online/hybrid classes? Also, it’s a good thought to keep in mind that typically only two kinds of people leave public reviews of a professor/course: those who really loved the class, and those who really hated the class. So read and figure out what exactly they’re saying, not just how they feel about the course. And just know yourself - if someone from a humanities background says a statistics class is too hard, but you're great with numbers, that’s not always the best advice to heed. Listen to your gut instinct, both when registering and during drop/add week. 

My advice for registering for classes right now? Whatever your instinct is, go a little less if you’re able. The reason I say this is because studying in 2020 can be...a lot, in the same way doing anything in 2020 is. I was only registered for 12 credit hours last semester, and even that became difficult to manage toward the end (moving back home suddenly, people you know getting sick, trying to protect high risk loved ones/yourself, all of which can and probably will happen again this semester). I would just say to go in overestimating how much time you need for yourself vs classes - there will be other semesters, and it’s better to take less classes now and not burn out or struggle mentally (or even just academically) in your first semester of college. Please just be kind to yourself. 

Part Two: Zoom, or the True Necessary Evil 

Maybe you used Zoom all throughout your last months of high school; maybe your university is using Microsoft Teams or something to that effect. Either way, here is what I’ve found to be helpful during my unforeseen five month foray into Zoom, seemingly with no end in sight.

1. Zoom is a tool. Yes, I kind of hate Zoom, and you may also come to hate Zoom if you don’t already, but there are benefits. You can send in written questions or raise your hand through Zoom if your professor allows that feature, both of which are very helpful in trying to show engagement while also trying to respect any kind of Zoom decorum. This post is going to be long enough, and my next post will have more to do with extracurriculars and virtual opportunities, but if you ever need to host a Zoom and want to just use all of its features, I’m more than happy to answer DMs. I’ve had to sit through so many Zoom tutorials for Student Involvement, and if I can spare anyone from that, I would love to. 

2. Balance what you keep digitally versus what’s on paper. Okay, so this is definitely, definitely up to personal preference, but speaking from experience, I just don’t view online or hybrid classes as the opportunity to go fully digital if you’ve never been fully digital before. For me, I always take handwritten notes, mainly because when it comes to remembering things, I either have more of an auditory memory, or I can remember the way that I wrote something when I was taking notes. Considering online classes usually decrease the auditory memory aspect a lot, when things moved virtual I made a point to keep taking handwritten notes. However, something that I’ve found particularly appealing is using Google Calendar (or iCal, Outlook, whatever it is you prefer) to an excess. When scheduling Zoom calls, I always save the Zoom link in the description of the event on my Google Calendar. Trust me, this is a lot better than trying to go through your email to find the link that professor sent. So I would advice to think about your learning preferences and figure out a way to still play to your strengths, even if it might technically be a little less convenient. 

3. Schedule screen breaks. This is so important for so many reasons. While I’ve invested in some blue light glasses because I am slowly losing my vision after years of reading books by flashlight or AO3 fics on my phone until late at night, I still get fatigued being on a screen for so long. Because it’s not just school that’s on the screen; it’s your clubs, your social interactions, maybe your job. I would recommend scheduling screen breaks that coincide with some sort of physical activity (I don’t necessarily mean an intensive physical activity, although if you want to feel free; I more am referring to getting up out of your chair and walking around your room or apartment. Or going outside. Ride your bike. Do some yoga. Eat some food. Etc.), but if you’re feeling particularly busy or overwhelmed, taking notes from a physical book works just as well. Even if you feel okay at the moment, scheduling breaks and following that schedule can save you from screen fatigue hitting all at once - it will take a lot longer to get over a headache between your eyes/your eye twitching or your neck and/or shoulder locking up than just allowing simple short breaks throughout your day. 

4. Schedule time between Zooms. This may sound like the same thing as taking screen breaks, but what I’ve found is that Zoom is a lot more draining that in person classes. I used to schedule Zoom calls back to back like I would classes (again, personal preference, but I was always the person who would take all of their classes from 9:30-3:30 on Tuesday/Thursday, and no classes on Monday/Wednesday/Friday), but found out pretty quickly that I was wrecked after two or more Zoom calls in a row. Honestly, now I won’t schedule any two Zoom calls within a half an hour of each other - between calls, I like to walk around, grab a snack, stretch, close my eyes and try and suppress the social anxiety that seems to accompany every Zoom class or meeting I’ve ever had. (Tangent: I’m thoroughly convinced southerners were not meant to operate Zoom calls. No one knows how to hang up the dang call without being rude because we were taught to have 30 minute conversations in a doorway on our way out.) Maybe there are people who can go on Zoom calls for three hours or so (and I’ve done that with friends, whether just working on group projects or hanging out), but my personal recommendation would be just to space it out more than normal if you’re able. 

5. Create an ideal weekly schedule. This is not “your most productive week ever,” or “this is the rigid schedule you will follow for eternity with no deviations.” One of my most difficult adjustments in college was the changing schedules; maybe you were planning on finishing an important paper on Thursday night, only for your group project to decide to meet that night instead. And that will happen, even with virtual meetings (maybe especially with virtual meetings, as people definitely tend to overestimate your availability when it’s digital). What I’ve found that helps is to create an ideal weekly schedule, both in general and a more specific one at the start of the week, because that means that when things get shuffled around, you actually reschedule that thing that you wanted to do, whether it’s homework, yoga, or just...being alone for a bit. It allows you to still feel like you’re prioritizing your time and activities, even when your schedule changes with little to no warning. 

Part Three: Some Final Thoughts

If you can invest in a second monitor, now might really be the time to do it. If you’d prefer, I used a laptop riser for most of college before this all happened (yay nerve damage in my neck!) and an external keyboard and mouse. I would just compare models and figure out what works best financially if that’s something you want to do. 

Ultimately, if this doesn’t come across in every tip I post, please just be patient with yourself this semester. This is a weird time, and I know that starting your first semester you might be 100% committed to starting off strong or making a great first impression. And that’s awesome, but sometimes that just might not be realistic. Look at last week’s post on contacting your professor, and reach out early just to introduce yourself. Establishing a relationship early on is always good, but especially considering that this semester really might have moments where you need some extra time or grace from them. Can’t focus? Can’t find motivation? That’s understandable; we’re in a global crisis right now. Just listen to yourself and always put your health and the health of your loved ones before school. I hope that these tips can at least help you navigate your first year with a little less trepidation. 

------------------------------------

So that’s it for this entry! As always, if you have specific questions, please don’t  hesitate to ask. Again, I am a student at an SEC university in the United States, so I’m not claiming to be an expert in all things, but I have TA'ed multiple freshman seminars, and will be making this series for the freshmen that I know starting at my school this year anyways, so putting them on this blog is no big deal. Next post (which will hopefully be up sooner than this one was) will specifically be on extracurriculars and virtual opportunities, so if you have specific questions on that as well, I’m all ears. 

[purplesurveys]

1195

survey by n0b0dysp3rf3ct

—:: Who ::—

... was the last person you saw face to face? I passed by my brother last night when I had to go to the kitchen to fill up my tumbler.

... was the last person you texted or messaged online? Angela; I was just asking her for the difference among A4/A5/A6 since I’m now planning to buy a binder and sleeves for my rapidly increasing collection of photocards and postcards. It really frustrates me that A4 is the biggest one and A6 the smallest :((((

... was the last person who asked you for a favour? Kata, my manager. She filed a half-day leave last Friday to get herself and her family vaccinated in her town, so she had sent me over a very long to-do list of deliverables that she asked me to fulfill while she was out. Eventually she ended up filing a whole-day leave since she felt feverish after being under the sun all day, and also possibly from side effects of the vaccine, so I ended up carrying the entire workload for the day. I like Kata and she’s a very easy person and superior to work with, so I honestly couldn’t complain about it.

... was the last person you lent something to? Ooh, I don’t remember. I don’t really lend people things.

... was the last person who told you a secret/confided in you? Andi was just sharing to me their worries about taking the LAE (scheduled for today) and how they’ll be okay if they don’t pass.

... is the tallest person you know? Jo is like 5′7″ and we all look like beans when standing next to her. One of my uncles is also very tall; around 5′10″ or 5′11″ if I’m not mistaken.

... the shortest person you know? I think Aya? That’s just a smart guess, though; I haven’t seen most of my friends in more than a year.

... your oldest (in years) friend? Mik is turning 28 this year. Sometimes I forget just how much older he is than me since we vibe really well together during the rare times we did get to hang out. I’m still bummed we never got that smoke break we wanted to have.

... is the oldest (in length of time) friend? Angela.

... is your youngest friend? Hannah was born in 2000. Peter was born in 2001 but we aren’t that close yet.

... is your newest friend? I haven’t made any new friends recently. Stan Twitter is lonelier than I thought it would be; everyone is already friends with everyone so it’s hard to break that space. Not to mention everyone is also grossly younger than I am – I keep seeing profiles with ‘2004′ on their bio :/ I should start making an effort to look for older ARMYs lol, I definitely feel like I’d have more fun that way.

... is your closest relative? My eldest cousin on my mom’s side, my Kuya.

... was your favourite teacher? My music teacher from high school. I neeeeeever liked music as a subject and it was never a priority of mine, but she always kept our classes something for me to look forward with her advice and the way she was always able to make lessons interesting.

... was your least favourite teacher? Those who made it clear they didn’t like me, even though I didn’t do anything to deserve such hostility.

... did you spend the most time with when growing up? My siblings and cousins since we all lived together at one point.

... knows you the best? My two best friends.

... always beats you in games or sports? Andi would probably be able to beat me in any game. They just let me win because they know I can be a sore loser.

... who is the most creative of the people you know? My family is pretty artistic and I have a lot of talented relatives - my sister and my cousin Maggie paint and draw; my mom can make any kind of craft she wants, with her hnds; and one of my grand-aunts regularly does paintings. I think all of them are amazingly creative in their own way.

... is the funniest person you know? Probably Andi. Hans makes me crack up too.

... is the most organised that you know? My mom.

... that you know has travelled the most? My dad. Both our fridge doors are filled from top to bottom with magnets from places he’s travelled in due to his line of work. He’s toned down quite a bit in the last few years and has taken to staying within Asia, but back then his traveling history was super expansive – Germany, Jamaica, Italy, Belize, Aruba, Italy, France, Monaco, Denmark, Norway, the UK, US, Estonia, Portugal, etc.

... has always been there for you? Angela never left my side.

... has given you the most personal gift? I can’t possibly pick, my friends are pretty good at giving me gifts...like Andi getting me a Petals For Armor CD and a Punk shirt that hasn’t been produced in a while, and Angela giving me a personalized Friends mug because she knows I like my coffee and she knows I like Friends.

... has an annoying laugh? I don’t think anyone I know has an annoying laugh.

... never forgets a birthday? That would be me.

... do you live with? My parents, my two siblings, and our two dogs.

...,do you have the most in common with? I’m not so sure about this one, actually. I share bits of my personality with a lot of people - like me and Jo liking BTS, me and Andi liking wrestling, Blanch and I having similar personalities, me and Laurice being super meticulous when it comes to our work, etc. - but I haven’t met anyone who’s virtually a duplicate of mine when it comes to my traits and interests.

...is the sportiest person you know? I’m also not sure. Most people I know are into watching a bunch of sports, but none of them actually play.

...was your last missed call? It was an unknown number that I kept ignoring because THEY WOULDN’T TEXT WHO THEY WERE. If you have enough load credits to call me multiple times, then surely you can text me and introduce yourself first, and maybe then I can pick up the phone.

...did you last open your door for? My sister knocked last Friday because someone wanted to talk to me via landline. It was weird since no one calls via the phone anymore, but I have a gut feeling it was that ^ same person who had been trying to call me through my phone but never texted me. Eventually I learned it was one of the bloggers I’m talking to for work who just wanted to ask a few questions about our ongoing engagement.

... has your heart? Kim Taehyung. Expect the same answer for this type of question moving forward.

... has your respect? I gotta hand it to Tina for consistently doing well in her studies and excelling in every subject while doing photo and video editing for two orgs, working on her thesis, and being a board member in our mutual org, all while living alone. She does so well I wish I can tell her to give herself the occasional break to avoid burnout.

...do you share a special song with? I don’t think I have that with anyone.

...do you miss right now? Literally allllllll my friends.

...last made you angry? It’s been a while since I’ve directed my anger towards another person. When I get pissed off these days it’s usually over a situation that goes awry or out of my control.

...did you last buy a gift for? So this was not technically meant to be a gift, but what happened was I accidentally secured two orders of the same poster set, which was a part of this new BTS photobook coming out later this month, from two different shops. One of the shops merely posted an ‘interest check’ for the poster set so I signed up for it thinking it was harmless, but when they got back to me they already attached an invoice :/ I ended up having to pay for it just so things won’t get complicated between myself and the shop anymore; and I told Angela she can just keep the extra set I bought and that she can consider it a gift.

...did you celebrate your last birthday with? My family and technically my workmates since I didn’t file a leave that day. I also had food delivered to their house so I guess that can count as my ‘celebration’ with them.

...have you gone to a concert with? I went with Angela for my first Paramore show.

...can make you laugh? Anyone can tbh. It’s not very hard to make me laugh.

...has taught you how to do something? Nina taught me how to embroider and do basic needle/thread skills back when I was still getting into the hobby.

...has lost something of yours? I am almost certain my ex never kept the handwritten letters I used to write her. She never seemed to remember or bring up the things I wrote.

...has broke your heart? Gabie but I’m over it.

...has stood you up? Hasn’t happened to me before.

:: What ::

Is your favourite colour? Pastel pink.

Can you do that most your friends can’t? Type fast, apparently.

Is your birthday? April 21.

Colour eyes do you have? Dark brown/black.

Form of transport do you take to work/school? I work from home. But under normal circumstances I would drive my car.

Music do you like to listen to in the car? I connect my Spotify to the car’s Bluetooth and listen to whatever artist or playlist I’m into at the moment. The music I put on could also depend on my current mood for the day.

Languages can you speak? Filipino and English. I’ve also been able to pick up looooots of Korean phrases and expressions because of the amount of content I watch. I’m nowhere near fluent, of course, but I’m increasingly able to pick up what people say based off a few Korean words I’ll hear in a sentence.

Was the last thing you drank? Continued from idk. I finished off my glass of water from dinner.

Was the last thing you ate? My mom made pasta.

Time did you wake up this morning? Depends on how late I slept the night before and how tired I was, but it usually ranges between 5:45–7:30 AM.

Colour are your bedroom walls? They’re white.

Drink do you usually order when eating out? I never order drinks unless I’m at La Creperie, in which case I always get their San Gines hot chocolate; for everywhere else that isn’t a bar, I just get water.

Food can you cook well? ...I can’t cook.

Animals have you had for a pet? Dogs, rabbit, lovebirds, goldfish, and technically a cat but she was mostly Nina’s.

Are your initials? RC.

Kind of activities do you like to do on the weekends? I’m still kind of stuck at home during the weekends :/ so I can’t do much, but I’m not complaining since I actually prefer staying in these days. Anyway, most recently I’ve taken to catching up on BTS content I’ve missed over the last 8 years, so I like watching shows they’ve done like Bon Voyage, Run BTS, etc.

Movie do you know line by line? Two for the Road, TITANIC, and probably most of White Chicks.

Band(s) have you seen in concert? Paramore, One Direction, a bunch of local bands.

Do you buy/get to treat yourself? It’s usually food - I like giving myself a feast every Friday night - but I’m putting that in the backseat for now as I’ve realigned my money to be spent on BTS merch. My big purchases are saved for the albums for now, but every now and then I’ll see a postcard or photocard I like and buy them. Once I complete the albums I’ll be moving on to the concert DVDs, then the special packages, then probably BT21 plushies. Needless to say I have a longggggg way to go haha.

Colours your phone cover? I have a clear case.

Part of the world would you love to visit? Another continent would be nice.

Question do you dislike being asked? Even though I know people mean well, I don’t like being asked “How are you?” but tbh it’s more of a me thing because I just never really know what to say.

Subject were you good at in school? History.

Careers do your parents have? They both work in the hospitality industry.

Brand of clothing do you buy most often? For clothes clothes I’m not really loyal to a particular brand; I buy from different brands and shops all the time. But for shoes, I like sticking to Nikes.

Chocolate bar is your favourite? Not a big fan of chocolate bars. I love Reese’s Cups, though.

TV show have you watched every series of? Friends, Perfect Strangers, Breaking Bad.

Radio station do you listen to the most? It’s a little hard to tell at this point considering I haven’t driven regularly in over a year. But back when I used to do it, I usually flipped among 93.1, 99.5, and 87.5.

Podcasts are you subscribed to? I’m not the biggest fan of podcasts. Find them a tad bit boring.

Is your favourite dessert? Macarons or cheesecake.

Can’t you do that most around you seem to? Ride a bike.

Are 5 qualities you value in a friend? Loyalty, thoughtfulness, honest, sensitive to my needs and those of others, and intelligent.

Are 5 qualities you value in a partner? ^ Pretty much the same thing.

Size pizza do you usually order? Family size usually.

Cuisine do you like to order or cook? I’ve been getting Japanese so many times recently. I rarely go outside sushi.

Colour(s) dominate your wardrobe? Black and white, and colors that were in at one point like mustard yellow and pastel pink.

Toothpaste brand do you use? Colgate.

Sounds can you hear right now? My insanely loud aircon.

Is the weather like today? Like hell. I believe we’re reaching a heat index of over 50ºC every day now, so...that’s fun. It gets absolutely difficult to work in the afternoon when the temperature is at its most brutal, and its times like this I wish I got to work in the office so that there’s aircon and I could at least work comfortably :/

Are your plans for tomorrow? Just work and have tons of meetings, the usual.

:: Where ::

Do you keep your phone when not using it? I keep my phone near me even when I’m not using it since I could always get an important notification.

Were you born? Manila.

Do you go to unwind? Most days it would be the rooftop, but under normal circumstances I like staying at a coffee shop somewhere to escape life and my responsibilities for a short while.

Is your best friend right now? I believe they’re both at home since they have no reason to be out anyway.

Can you go nearby to have a good time? Personally, I would just go to the Starbucks near our village lol. If I’m feeling a bit more adventurous I’d head to Katip, which is prrrretty close by but not quite.

Is the nearest restaurant? We have a McDonald’s literally right beside the village. Then besides that is a Shakey’s, and right across that is a Burger King, then the aforementioned neaby Starbucks. Just makes me realize how urbanized my town has gotten in the last few years.

Is the nearest beach? If I had to guess, the nearest beaches would be in Batangas which is 2-3 hours away, but it really depends on how fast you can drive lol. I’m not too good with long car rides so in both times I’ve driven there I had always taken 4 hours.

Did you meet your closest friend? I met Angela in grade school, and I met Andi at a local rally in my university.

Did you go for your last vacation? Tagaytay, though it was a staycation more than anything else.

Is the nearest mall or superstore? It’s like a 3-minute drive away from the village.

Did you last get an injury? I have loadsssssss of new scratches and gashes all around my wrists from playing with Cooper.

Is the most extravagant place you’ve stayed at? It’s a toss-up between Aids’ or Gian’s house. Gian would probably win since I never actually got to go inside Aids’ place, and his was the first house I’ve been to that was able to literally take my breath away. OH and Shaun’s house was pretty fucking swanky as well.

Do most the local kids play? I would have no idea since I’m neither a kid nor a parent.

Have you been with your family? This is a very vague question lol...what do you mean where have we been? We’ve been to different towns around the country and several countries together, if that’s what you’ve been asking.

Did you spend Christmas last year? We visited a couple of relatives, and we also spent it at home.

Did your parents grow up? My mom grew up within Metro Manila; my dad in a city a little outside of it.

Did you buy the shoes you’re wearing? I’m barefoot at the moment and always am at home.

Would you like to go right now if you could? If life had still been normal I would probably be having after-work drinks at a bar near the office.

Do you miss the most from your childhood? I’m not sure how to answer this with where.

Is the best restaurant you know? I’m still searching for it.

Will you never go again as it was so bad? It’s not that it was bad, but I’d probably never dine at 8Cuts again because their burgers are not worth the hype and are very overpriced for their size.

:: When ::

...was your last vacation? My family’s last legit vacation was in August 2019; but we did have a quick escape to Tagaytay in January of this year.

...did you graduate? I officially ‘graduated’ from college in August, if you could even call it that.

...did you decide what career you wanted? Somewhere between my 2nd and 3rd year of college. That was when I decided I hated journalism and preferred PR, but since PR is under journalism’s umbrella there was no need for me to shift courses.

...did you have your first kiss? Continued. Like WHEN when or how old was I when? In any case, it was in January 2015 and I ws 16.

...did you learn how to swim? Idk, pretty early on. My parents liked taking us to water parks when we were younger, so we had a lot of exposure. I’m not sure if there was ever a time where something just clicked and I learned how to swim; I believe it had just come naturally.

...did you have your first relationship? By the end of 2014.

...did you meet your best friend? I met both of them in school, but at different points.

...do you feel the most at peace? Probably when I’m able to stay at the rooftop all alone.

...do you usually fall asleep? I’ve readjusted my body clock now (I used to want to be in bed by 9 or 10 PM, lmao) and I stay up until anywhere between 12-2 AM on weekdays.

...do you usually wake up? Ranges between 6-7:30 AM.

...did you last watch a movie? September.

...did you last go to a party? Around Februaryish, 2020.

...did you last cry? I can’t really recall. The last moment I can remember was crying over Life Goes On sometime last month, when I heard it for the first time. I’m just not sure if that’s accurate or when exactly in April that happened.

...did you laugh really hard? I always have a good laugh at least once a day.

...did you buy something pricey last? Idk what you would count as pricey but I bought the new BTS photobook set when it dropped back in April. Cost me around ₱3750. I wasn’t able to buy from the first press (it sold out in like 7 minutes lol) which included an exclusive poster set, so I had to look for a local shop that was already offering the poster set separately, and ended up shelling out another ₱2200 for it...which means all in all I spent around ₱5950 for it or roughly $125.

...did you have an argument last? Earlier this evening but I don’t want to get into it as it made me cry from sadness and frustration for the first time in months.

...did you last have a sick day? May last year.

...did you last recieve a hug? I have no idea. February, I think? when I hung out with my friends.

...when is your best friend’s birthday? July 22 or September 15, depends on which best friend.

...did you learn how to drive? I started getting lessons when I was 17, but I didn’t start feeling comfortable with it until I turned 18.

...did you last receive a surprise? Around a couple of weeks ago when my dad came home with Jollibee for us.

:: How ::

Many pets do you have? Two.

Many houses have you lived in? Three that I can remember, but I know my parents moved around a bit when I was a newborn.

Often do you shower? Every morning before my shift. I hate feeling sweaty and icky when I report for work.

Well can you cook? I can’t at all.

Many close friends do you have? I have two people I count as my absolute best friends, but I have a handful of close friends as well.

Many Brothers or sisters do you have? One of each.

Often do you go swimming? I don’t swim much at all, really...I haven’t done it since 2019, so that should say enough. As relaxing as it is, I feel like the clean-up afterwards can be such a challenge lol. Like if you swim in a pool you have to rigorously wash the chlorine off of you; and if you swim in the sea you have to also be thorough about making sure you’ve removed all the sand from your body.

Many times have you texted today? I don’t think I texted today but I did spend my whole day on chat platforms.

Do you like your toast (colour, topping)? I don’t have super particular preferences; I just like mine on the burnt side.

Do you like your tea and/or coffee? My coffee has to be sweet for me to enjoy it. I can take black coffee/Americano; I’ll just wince a lot with every sip. No tea for me thanks.

Do you like to celebrate your birthdays? With a lot of food.

Are you feeling today? A little frustrated because of an argument incident this evening. But I’m shaking it off and just focusing on the release of Butter tomorrow. My first BTS comeback!!!

Serious are you about your career goals? Very.

Many rooms are in your house? In total, 9.

Many bedrooms in your house? 4.

Did you do in your school exams? I was never consistent. I slacked off a looooooot in grade school; couldn’t give less of a shit about my classes then. I got a bit more hardworking in high school, but I still was a bit lax and I allowed myself to not put a lot of effort in subjects I didn’t care a lot for and that I know I would never have to use in real life, like chemistry or accounting, so there were exams I really excelled in and others that I would fail. It was only in college I started taking my studies incredibly seriously and I believe that showed in the grades I eventually got.

Close do you live to your parents? They’re like, five steps away.

Close do you live to your siblings? My sister’s literally in the room next to mine.

Sensitive to criticism are you? I know it’s something that can never be avoided, so I’m always open to hearing them, especially if it’s meant to help me. It doesn’t mean I enjoy it as it is being given.

Motivated to make changes are you? Depends on my mood and mindset. 

Creative are you (1-10): -0.5.

Hard working are you (1-10): Probably a 22 if I really put my head into a task.

Sporty are you (1-10): I dunno, maybe a 6? I do like playing table tennis, but I’m pretty meh at any other sport.

Musical are you (1-10): 0.

Do you prefer your eggs? Runny yolk; scrambled; or a really packed omelette.

Often do you go out to eat? Before the pandemic, I liked eating out 2-3 times a week.

Would your best friend describe you? Not sure, I never tried asking them this. I hope it’s all nice things, though.

Can someone cheer you up if you’re sad? Send me photos of V. Hahahaha

Often do you meet up with your friends? ...What do you think? D:

Important is religion to you? It is not a part of my life whatsoever.

Old were you when you first stayed overnight from home? 15 or 16, I can’t really remember.

Old were you when you got your first pet? I was maybe 6.

Tech savvy are you? I know enough to survive my own, but I obviously can’t hack into other computers or things like that.

Do you show you appreciate those you care for? Buying them food.

Often do you cut your hair? I only take a trip to the salon once a year.

Often do you paint your nails? Never.

Many countries have you visited? Six.

Boyfriends/girlfriends have you had? Just one.

:: Why ::

... did you choose your username? Because it was straightforward.

... did you take this survey? I like surveys made in categories, and this seemed interesting and varied enough.

... did you choose the career you did? I found that I enjoyed it MILES more than journalism.

...did you last leave the house? I had to go to a local LBC for a work errand.

...did you last give up on something? She wasn’t worth the effort anymore. She hadn’t been for a while, but it took me forever to realize.

...did you search the last thing you searched? I wanted to sing along to the song but it was in Japanese, so I had to look up its lyrics.

...would you give up on someone completely? Oof, I guess you can refer to one of the previous questions. ^

:: If...::

You could live in any country which would you choose? Canada.

You could choose any animal as a pet which one? I’m perfectly content with dogs.

You could be famous for something what would you like? Being known for a funny tweet would probably be enough lol. I have no desire to be famous.

You are sad, how do you combat it? I don’t really get sad anymore these days, so I can’t super remember the go-to tactics I depend on...I guess I like listening to sad songs and allowing myself to wallow in the sadness, because I know I have to accept and process my feelings first before I can be able to calm down.  

You can drive when did you learn? I learned shortly before I started college, when I was 18, because no one was going to be able to take me to university when the school year started.

You could have any job what would it be? Idk, I like the one I have now.

You could go anywhere for a vacation where would you go? Somewhere with a completely different feel and atmosphere, like Norway, Sweden, Finland...that part of Europe, basically.

You could eat anything right now what would it be? Samgak gimbap :/

You wrote a book what genre/topic would it be? It would be a book of essays or maybe a memoir.

You had a theme song what would it be? Idk I don’t really think about this.

You could meet any band/singer in person which one? Billie Eilish seems awesome and easy and fun to talk to.

You could act in any movie which would it be? No thanks.

You get married what venue would you like? Hotel.

If you have kids do you have names picked out? I have one name picked out for a girl but that’s it.

Could describe your dream home what would it be like? Brutalist and minimalist, with large windows, cove lights, and a lot of white space.

You could go back in time what would you change? Break up with Gab earlier.

Could use 3 words to describe your childhood which ones? Could’ve been better.

Could get the answer to any question which question would you choose? When I would die and how, just so I can have peace of mind.

You could have an endless supply of something what would it be? Money, because of course.

Meet anyone who no longer lives who’d you choose? My great-grandfather, mom’s side.

:: Can ::

... you ride a bike? No, never learned.

... you ski? I’ve never even seen snow, so no.

... you bake a cake? I can try but it will probably be very clumsily made as I don’t bake.

... you sing well? I wouldn’t say that. I like singing when I’m alone, but it doesn’t mean I’m any good.

... you do your own taxes? I’ve never tried haha so I guess not.

... you remain calm in a crisis? Depends on how serious it is.

... you do first aid? Let’s just say I wouldn’t volunteer if it comes down to it because I feel like I’d commit one fatal mistake that would make the situation graver. 

... remember your best friend’s family members’ names? Both of their families, yes.

... you fire a gun? I’ve never tried so I doubt it.

... your parents drive? Yep.

...your best friend dance well? They’re not ‘dancers’ per se but sure, they can bust out a move or two.

...you make people laugh easily? Not everyone, but sure.

...stand up for yourself? That’s what I’m trying to learn these days.

...you do a martial art? No.

:: Would ::

You like to learn a new language? That’s always a welcome opportunity.

Save the life of a stray animal? Absolutely.

Know what to do if there was a hurricane? We have several ones come in the country every year so yeah, I can definitely say we’ve long been well-prepared for them.

Try a new cuisine? I do this as often as I can.

Risk your life for anyone? Yes.

You like to get back in touch with someone? No, I’m good now.

You drive in the middle of the night to get a stuck friend? Ina heartbeat.

You Know how to perform CPR? In relation to the first aid question, I wouldn’t volunteer myself in case I make a wrong move.

You likely win in a game of chess? I don’t even know how it works, so no.

You stop talking for a day for $100? Easily.

[sincerelyreidburke]

Hi! Not theatre related but can you elaborate on the first time they (Nando and Quinn) tell each other they love them? I absolutely love them, so cute! And maybe a bit of a convo about Nandos body issues? I think you eluded to them but if not, ignore that part!

My dear anon, first, I have to ask for your forgiveness in my delay on answering your ask. I also want to give a preliminary apology for the fact that this answer won’t contain the first Nando and Quinn “I love you”, but for good reason— I want to write that out in a fic that I anticipate to be kind of long. Or at least long for a fic that’s attempting to convey one thing. It’s going to be a 5+1 construction, and I’ve already been planning it, and I will most certainly post about it when it goes up on ao3.

So, the short answer: that part isn’t quite ready yet! But I do have something for you.

For now, I want to answer your second question; I wrote something that’s likely too long to be a ficlet but sort of short to be its own work, too. I’m going to cross-post it to ao3, but for now, have it here! Under the cut, you will find approximately 3k of Quindo body-image talk, featuring a heavy dose of schmoopy.

TW: body image problems and allusions to past body-shaming.

(Ask me anything about the crickets!)

//

freshman year   | february

Technically, they’re supposed to be watching a movie right now.

And, like. Nando is not complaining, not in the slightest and not for a second. It’s just that the fact remains; he and Quinn shut themselves into Quinn’s dorm tonight with the intention of watching a movie. 50 First Dates , to be more specific. It was his turn to pick, and he felt like something cheesy and funny. Quinn complied, because they have a good system in place. It’s the same every time: they hole up in his dorm, shut all the lights except the string ones over the pride flag, and conduct a series of intricate blanket rituals in order to wrap themselves up just the right way. Quinn usually shuts his hearing aids off, unless it’s a movie with music; tonight, they’re off, and the subtitles, as always, are on.

Given the time of year it is, they’re both finding free nights relatively scarce— Quinn is bound to hours-long rehearsals almost every night, and Nando’s weekends are full of the game schedule; they’re each in the heat of the busy season for their respective extracurricular activity.

So tonight, as a concept, should not be happening. But by a stroke of luck, tonight has.

Because early this morning, a Saturday, with a roadie to Maine on the schedule, Nando woke up to the news that their game had been snowed out, and would have to be postponed. As if to prove it, he looked out the dorm window to see inches of white coating the ground, and more coming down fast.

Tonight, over twelve hours later, the storm rages on. It’s the biggest blizzard he’s seen yet, and it’s beautiful — but it also means your schedule gets all messed up. When that means you can have an in night with your boyfriend, though, there’s really no downside to said mess-up of your schedule.

Because, like. They sleep in the same bed regularly by now, but in the simplest sense, Nando has missed Quinn while they’ve both been so busy. He knows it won’t really let up until Quinn’s show is over, and that’s okay; he’s more than glad to make the busy work in the five weeks that remain until that happens. They can get meals together, and he can pick him up and walk him back to the dorm from late rehearsal, or slip into his room for a cuddle when he gets back from a roadie. It’s just that copious amounts of free alone time together are relatively scarce. When they aren’t supposed to be sleeping, that is.

Anyway. The point is, they said they’d watch a movie tonight.

They are, notably, no longer watching the movie.

It starts small. Quinn is in his lap, where he always is when they’re watching something together. He rests between his legs, backed up against his chest and swimming in his good KMH hoodie that’s now permanently hostage. He rubs Nando’s knee absentmindedly for the first couple of minutes, and Nando is so warm and comfortable all snuggled up with him like this that he’s almost drowsy. Or maybe not drowsy , exactly— he doesn’t want to go to sleep ; he just… he can’t remember when he was last quite this relaxed.

A little after that, Quinn reaches for his hand, and he laces their fingers together; Quinn’s small palm fits perfectly in his own. He brings both their hands up to his face, and kisses Nando’s knuckles before he presses the back of his palm against his own face. Quinn’s cheek, on that side of his hand, is warm. Nando moves to cup his face entirely, stroking at his chin just a little with his thumb.

Quinn hums, something like agreement. Adam Sandler is making an ass of himself on the computer screen, and Nando would be paying attention if the boy in his lap weren’t infinitely more interesting.

He huddles his face down into Quinn’s neck, squeezing him tight around the waist with his free arm, and presses a few gentle kisses to the base of his chin. Quinn laughs, this quiet little noise, and it’s music to his ears. Nando strokes one more time at his chin before he looks up entirely.

Quinn is already looking over at him, and when he lifts his head, it puts them only a few inches away. He gets lost, for a second, in the way the little string lights catch in Quinn’s blue eyes, and the way a dusting of freckles clusters by his nose. He’s so cute that it’s sometimes too much for Nando’s brain to handle.

Then he watches Quinn lick his lips a little. Nando seizes the opportunity, and gives him a gentle kiss.

Or at least it starts gentle; the first one is gentle. Immediately, the movie is nothing but background noise. Nando holds his face in the hand that’s still cupping his cheek, and the second kiss is a bit longer. Quinn cups his hand under his knee, and it’s by the third kiss that Nando realizes that this might not be an isolated occurrence.

He pulls away enough to meet his eyes. They’ve gotten really good at communicating with a look.

And he likes the look in Quinn’s eyes right now. Nando reaches for the space bar on his laptop, hovering his hand over it, and darts his gaze there to ask him a wordless question. Without saying anything at all, Quinn gives him a little nod, and it’s all he needs.

He pauses the movie, then twists to face him a little better, and kisses him again. There’s more heat in it now, but they still move relatively slowly together; it’s a very nice sensation. Quinn’s lips are soft, and they taste like that lip balm egg he’s been applying religiously ( it’s the driest time of year, Sebastián; my lips just get so chapped ). It’s kind of minty but kind of sweet, too, and he’s started to entirely associate that kind of flavor with kissing him. Which. Just. He loves kissing this boy.

Quinn pulls away for a second, flashes the world’s certified cutest little half-smile, and then reaches, very artfully, for the laptop to close it entirely.

God, Nando is so glad they’re on the same page tonight.

Quinn turns in his lap, so they’re facing each other, and it’s a much easier position to make out in. It’s the ideal one, actually, if Nando is being honest. Quinn tucks right up against his chest, sitting neatly in his lap with his legs around his waist, and Nando can hold him up any way he pleases. Tonight, Quinn is in actual pajama pants, as opposed to the criminally, very distractingly short shorts that he’ll wear to bed sometimes, so Nando restricts himself— at least for the moment— from touching his ass, as tempting as it may be. (Sue him. Quinn is in good shape.)

Now this is an effective position, and requires no twisting on either of their part. The laptop is quickly forgotten entirely. Quinn is just— he’s so good, he’s so perfect, from his swoopy hair to his hand-knit socks, and they haven’t had a good little makeout session in awhile, and Nando just. He loves this. He has him right where he wants him, and everything is just so fucking good , and Nando is lost in the way it feels, like a high he never wants to come down from— until Quinn reaches under his shirt.

He doesn’t pull away, and he doesn’t want to stop, but it does pull him off that carefree high. Quinn’s hands rest on either side of his waist, small palms and nimble fingers against his squishy skin, and he tries so hard not to recoil or show anything that would seem like discomfort.

Because he isn’t uncomfortable. He’s never been uncomfortable, even now, as Quinn’s hands play at his love handles, with no shirt separating his touch from everything unimpressive Nando has to offer under there. There’s just this feeling that rushes to him every time Quinn reaches under his shirt— this is the third time or maybe the fourth— and it’s not so much don’t touch me there as opposed to why would you want to touch me there .

Quinn has never said a single negative thing about the way he looks; if anything, he’s been encouraging the whole time they’ve been dating, and Nando knows he shouldn’t be ashamed, for that reason. But he just has too much instilled in him, too much leftover, to be able to forget about it, especially when his boyfriend’s hands are on his skin like this.

He kisses him anyway. He’s gotten better, ever since Quinn did it the first time— asking, of course, if it was okay, and Nando told him yes, because even though it was strange, it felt good , and how could he tell him no? He wants this, this intimacy, he just— he has to figure out how not to be ashamed.

The first time was the hardest, and it’s getting easier. He thinks, this time, that he’ll be able to handle it without incident, without a pause, without anything— but as Quinn’s left hand lingers, pushing his shirt up gently at his stomach, his right disappears, suddenly. Nando opens his eyes, and Quinn is turning his ears back on.

He waits. If Quinn turns his ears on on these quiet nights, it’s because he wants to have a conversation, or at least to exchange a few words. He thinks this is a weird time to want to talk, but all Quinn says at first is, “Is this okay?”

“Huh?” he says, like an idiot who can’t understand a basic question.

“This.” Quinn rubs his belly. He returns his other hand to where it was and, with gentle fingers, inches his shirt up a few more inches. “That I’m… that my hands are here.”

Nando nods, rapid-fire, because, confused as he is as to why Quinn wants to touch him there, this feels too intimate to interrupt. “Of course, baby,” he tells him, and Quinn smiles. He kisses him again, pushing his shirt up a little further. This goes on for a few more kisses, Quinn’s hands stationed now around the top of his chest, and Nando feels— exposed, a little, but mostly just heart-poundingly eager. Quinn nips at his lower lip, and he can’t restrain the groan he lets off in response.

He should see it coming, but he��s still caught off-guard when Quinn tugs at his shirt again and whispers, “Sebastián, can I take this off?”

And now , finally, like his body and his mind have been out of sync this whole time, he freezes. It’s almost mortifying, because he still doesn’t feel uncomfortable, but he just— why , why would Quinn want to take his shirt off? Why would he want to see that?

But he wants to let him. God , he wants to let him, because Quinn has, several times now, touched him in much more inappropriate places, and he’s done the same on the giving end, and he’s pretty sure that actual sex is pretty far off but they’ve grown more comfortable with sexual acts . So how can you be afraid to take your shirt off, if you’ve done that ?

He has to stop being so stupid. He nods, to Quinn, at first just once and then a few more times to solidify it— maybe to Quinn or maybe to himself. “Yes,” he says, before he can change his mind.

He has to stop being stupid.

Quinn smiles again. “Okay,” he hums, in a voice so sweet Nando thinks he could melt.

He lets him pull it up over his head. If Quinn wants to touch him, he guesses he understands, but he figures he should keep kissing him a bunch so he won’t have to look too hard. As Quinn tosses his shirt aside, the kiss they share is long and lingering— but then Quinn pulls away. Nando’s heart speeds up a little again, as he smiles at him.

“You okay?” he asks, and prays his voice doesn’t sound as self-conscious as he feels.

Quinn nods. He looks at ease, and he presses both his hands to his stomach, out in the open now, all his chub for him to see. “Hold on,” he hums. “Before we get back to it.”

“Okay,” Nando says, and stays still, but his mind is racing. Why is he stopping?

“Just… let me look at you.” Quinn is smiling. He takes a long, deep breath, and his eyes are glued to all the parts of Nando that he hates about himself, and Nando cannot for one second figure out why Quinn would ever want to look at that with a smile like that on his face.

He isn’t uncomfortable, not with Quinn. But he is so confused, and feels so exposed. “Why would you want to look at me?”

Quinn knits his brows, looking up to meet his eyes. He’s quiet for a second, and then he whispers, still smiling, “Because you’re you?”

Nando stills. Quinn moves his hands up to his shoulders, where he rubs his palms against the bare skin there, then down under his arms and around his bare back. His touch is so tender, and Nando likes it so much he almost wants to cry, for some reason. “Sebastián…” Quinn says, slowly. “Are you ashamed?”

God, he feels so stupid . He told himself he was going to stop being stupid. “Ashamed of what?”

“The way you look,” Quinn says, and he waits, but Nando’s nonresponse must be a response in itself, because Quinn’s eyes flood with gentle sympathy, and he whispers, “Oh, honey .”

“I’m sorry,” he says, immediately and instinctively.

“ No — goodness, no, Sebastián, please don’t apologize.” Quinn scoots up in his lap a little, then moves his palms to rest carefully and comfortably at the front of his belly. Nando takes a deep breath. This is okay. He’s okay. “Do you want to put it back on?”

“No.” This much, he knows. He wants to get over this awful self-consciousness; he wants to see himself the way Quinn sees him.

“Okay,” Quinn says, with a nod, and he takes a gentle pause before he adds, “Sweetheart.”

Nando winces at himself. He hates that he’s being like this. “Yeah?”

“Look at me.” He does. “I know you feel a little self-conscious. But I need you to know that for me, it… it doesn’t matter, honey, okay? I’d like you at any size. I’d still want you— in all the ways— no matter how you looked.”

And, like. They’ve been over this. He knows they’ve been over this. Every time Quinn has touched him somewhere new, they’ve been careful to stay on the same page, to lay out any insecurities or things they want the other to know. And he shouldn’t be acting like this right now, for that reason. Quinn knows. He understands.

“Thank you,” he manages to get out. He feels so pathetic. And what the hell, Quinn should know that. “I feel so… stupid .”

“Sebastián. No .” Quinn cups his face in one little hand. “Please. Don’t feel stupid.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, either.” Quinn rubs his belly with the other hand. Nando closes his eyes, to take another deep breath. “Can I tell you something?”

He nods, swallows, and opens his eyes again. “Of course.”

Quinn’s words are simple, and yet so unthinkable. “I love the way you look.”

Nando blinks at him. He looks down at himself— big arms, chunky belly, lumbering figure. Always too big, in the past. Always a source of shame. “You…” He looks back up at Quinn, the cutest, most petite thing he’s ever seen. “You do?”

“Of course I do,” Quinn whispers. He pushes at his curls, brushes the spot where they flop at his forehead. “You thought I didn’t?”

“No— no, I just—” He shakes his head. He’s not even sure what he wants to say. “I just. Like. It’s… well, it’s not that I don’t believe you, ‘cause I do, it’s just—” He swallows again, wills himself to chill, and spits it out. “No one has ever loved that about me before.”

Quinn is quiet, and contemplative, for just a second. He tips his head to the side, and the swoopy part of his hair falls with the gesture. Then he straightens again, nods, and presses forward. “That’s their loss,” Quinn whispers. “Because you’re beautiful , honey. You know that, right? And you know I love that you’re big? Not even— like, not even because I’m so short, but just because you’re you , and you’re big and strong and so damn handsome , sweetheart. All the parts of you. You’re beautiful.”

Nando registers a faint tremor in the back of his throat, and realizes abruptly that he might tear up if Quinn keeps talking. He pulls him close to kiss him instead, and when he pulls away, he has to stop himself from saying three words they haven’t ventured toward yet.

But he does say, “I’m so happy that I have you.”

“I’m happy, too,” Quinn whispers. He’s smiling and pressed to his forehead now. Nando really might cry. “I’m the luckiest boy in the whole world.”

Nando is so damn happy, he laughs. He kisses Quinn again, and he’s done not believing. He’s done doubting. He has to believe it, because he wants to love himself. And with Quinn, it feels like that’s something he might one day be able to do.

So he holds him close, and he kisses him, and he lets Quinn touch. He couldn’t think of anyone else seeing him like this, but Quinn is all he needs.

“Here,” Quinn says, between kisses. He pulls off so he can meet his eyes again, then nods down to his chest. “Let me show you?”

“Show me what?” he asks.

“How I feel about it,” Quinn says, then he kisses, just gently, down his neck and toward his chest. “Is this—” He stops to look up. “Okay?”

“It’s so okay,” Nando whispers, and he has never felt more lucky in his entire life.

Quinn kisses him all over, and he doesn’t have a single second thought.

[steadytigerobject]

Elgin Baylor wasn't going to be the beginning of anything. He certainly didn't set out to be the beginning of everything: the superstar who saved the Lakers and brought them to the NBA, L. A.; the transcendent athlete who "reinvented everything but the rim game" and changed the geometry of the sport; the avant-garde innovator who was, in the words of legendary Hoops writer Bob Ryan, “the most influential offensive lineman of the last 60 years.” He was fair ... Let's go. Trying to use the tools at his disposal to put the ball in the hole, in any way he can.

“The way I played the game was just natural, " Baylor told Bleacher Report's Dave Schilling in 2018 . "I never sat down and thought about what I was going to do. I was just reacting to the situation, to the way the guys were guarding me. I've done things that people have probably never done before. I just instinctively did it.”

These instincts, combined with a considerable amount of skill, strength, and athleticism, have produced one of the greatest and most important players in the history of basketball. They sketched out a plan that generations of super-sports wing scorers would follow-and, in fact, still do.

They propelled Baylor, who died Monday of natural causes at age 86, through a remarkable Hall of Fame career that helped lay the groundwork for the NBA’s transformation into a nightly highlight factory but that, for several reasons, has never quite seemed to get its proper respect.

These days, Baylor is most often discussed in the language of ancestry and lineage. In the NBA’s creation myth, he’s a Promethean figure—an early skywalker who, in the years before frequent nationally televised games and widely distributed video footage, helped pave a path toward the sort of eye-popping feats we now see every night.

“He just might be the best player I ever saw,” legendary Lakers play-by-play man Chick Hearn once said. “He was doing things that Dr. Julius Erving made famous 20 years later, the hang time and so forth. But Elgin didn’t have the TV exposure. Nobody did in those days.”

Those who did see him, though, never forgot it—and learned from the experience.

“In basketball, you watch and emulate the things other players do,” Michael Goldberg, former head of the National Basketball Coaches Association, said in Basketball: A Love Story. “Once one player can do a ‘wow’ move, then every kid in every school yard tries to do that themselves. Those that can refine it take it to the next level, and so on down the line. I would say that Elgin Baylor begat Connie Hawkins, and Hawkins begat Earl Monroe, and Monroe begat Dr. J, and Dr. J begat David Thompson, and Thompson begat Michael Jordan, and Jordan begat Kobe Bryant, and there’s more begats going on.”

Off the court, he was a fearless trailblazer who fought against the racist, segregationist policies of the Jim Crow era. On it, he was a groundbreaking slasher who, as Ryan wrote in the foreword to Bijan C. Bayne’s 2015 biography of Baylor, took “a game that was essentially horizontal and occasionally vertical and [made] it diagonal.” He was a tradition-flouting talent, an improvisational creator constantly unlocking new possibilities.

“His ballhandling ability at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds made him a one-man revolution,” Bayne wrote. “He had all the fakes and a sure handle, and some of his spectacular plays culminated in twisting, hanging, or gliding near or past the basket. Yet, it was the combination of those elements—the yo-yo dribbling, the subtle feints, the knifing reverse layups between taller defenders—that set Baylor apart from his predecessors and peers. Where such players as Hawkins, Erving, and, of course, Jordan became known for their trademark dunks, Baylor scored on one-hand push shots, banks, floaters, and fallaways.”

Baylor had the deepest off-the-dribble bag of his era, and he used every trick in it to score a ton. He totaled 23,149 points over 14 seasons—all after entering the NBA at age 24, all compiled without a 3-point line—which made him the third-leading scorer in NBA history behind Wilt and Oscar when he retired in 1972. (He now ranks 36th on the all-time NBA/ABA leaderboard.) He averaged 38.3 points per game during the 1961-62 season, the fourth-highest single-season average in NBA history, while spending a large chunk of it as an active-duty Army reservist who could play only on weekends and when given special clearance.

There was a bitter irony in that: Baylor performing at an all-time-superstar level while on leave from serving a country that continued to treat him and people who looked like him as second-class citizens.

Two years earlier, on January 16, 1959, the Lakers were scheduled to play the Cincinnati Royals in Charleston, West Virginia. When they arrived at the Kanawha Hotel, the desk clerk took one look at them—specifically Baylor, Boo Ellis, and Ed Fleming—and told team captain Vern Mikkelsen, “The three colored boys will have to go somewhere else. This is a nice, respectable hotel. We can’t take the colored boys.”

Rather than submit to the discriminatory policy, the entire Lakers team left, staying instead in a motel that welcomed Black guests. Later, Baylor went out with his teammates to get something to eat, only to be denied service at a restaurant, too. An incensed Baylor decided not to play in the game, boycotting to call attention to the inequality and mistreatment he and other Black people faced in the town.

“I'm human, " he told his friend and teammate Hot Rod Hundley, who was white. "All I want is to be treated like a human being. I am not an animal that is put in a cage and released on the show. They won't treat me like an animal.”

The NBA and the Lakers stood by Baylor. From then on, the Lakers will require that there be no segregation clauses in their contracts when organizing games. Soon after, then-NBA Commissioner Maurice Podoloff " promised to make sure that such treatment of black players in hotels is a thing of the past when they represent the League.”

” Of course, I don't regret doing it, " Baylor said in a March 1963 sports magazine op - ed. "I'm not a trailblazer or anything, but I'm interested in my people and progress. My name is Elgin Baylor, and I don't want anything more than I have a right to.”

That perseverance is evident again at the 1964 NBA All-Star Game in Boston, when Baylor, Robertson, Jerry West, and other star players “barricaded themselves in the locker room and announced that they would not play unless they were guaranteed benefits originally directed by the commissioner last summer”—namely , improved playing conditions, athletic coaches on all teams, and a retirement plan.

“[Lakers owner Bob Short] said to an Irish cop that guarded the door, ‘Tell Elgin Baylor if he doesn’t get out there, he’s through,’” Celtics All-Star Tommy Heinsohn told Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times in 2011. Baylor didn’t budge. The stoppage worked.

“For Elgin, in particular, the Black athletes, they had to be crusaders in this league and in many cases were vilified for it,” West told Sam Smith in his 2017 book Hard Labor: The Battle That Birthed the Billion-Dollar NBA. “That day has always resonated with me as one of the seminal points of this league. … That day in Boston probably was the beginning of something that few could comprehend.”

Baylor represented an inflection point on the court, too. In the early years of the NBA, the run of play was dominated by towering post players like George Mikan and Dolph Schayes, or sweet-shooting perimeter playmakers like “Jumpin’” Joe Fulks, Paul Arizin, and Bob Cousy. Baylor split the difference, combining the bulldozing strength and rebounding of the league’s best bigs with the speed, quickness, passing, and shotmaking of its top guards, all in a bruising 6-foot-5, 225-pound package. You know how James Harden is sometimes described as being built like a tank? Baylor was the same size and, in his day, just as tough to stop; Knicks forward Richie Guerin, a Hall of Famer in his own right, once said defending Baylor was “like guarding a flood.”

The way Baylor moved could move people. Stylistic successor Julius Erving described it as “just ballet in basketball.” To Hall of Fame guard Charlie Scott, watching Baylor was “like watching poetry.” They weren’t alone in their hosannas; Baylor’s play inspired some delightfully creative and high-minded descriptions from the ink-stained wretches tasked with capturing his brilliance. One favorite: “When Baylor gets the ball, the opposition scatters like quail at the sight of the hunter.”

You can only earn prose that purple with pure production. Baylor is one of only four players to average more than 25 points and 10 rebounds per game in his career, joined by Chamberlain, Karl Malone, and Bob Pettit. Of that group, only Wilt delivered as many assists per game as Baylor, a heady passer who still ranks 20th on the all-time triple-double list:

Baylor is one of only 10 players ever to have at least 10 appearances on an NBA first team; only LeBron James, Bryant and Malone have more. Nearly 50 years after his retirement, his career scoring average of 27.4 points per game still ranks third, behind only Wilt and Jordan. He still ranks 11th in rebounds per game, and in the top 30 in player efficiency, field goals, free throws, and total rebounds.

[lexilucacia]

“Say Cheese!”

Title: Say Cheese!

Words: 1615

Relationships: LAMP, Analogical, Logince & Logicality

TW: Angst, self-deprecation, sad Logan, fluff, self-doubt, kisses

Based on: this post

@illogicallyinclined

I hope you like it!!

It was a normal morning in the mindscape. (Well maybe Virgil was in a better mood than usual.) Roman, Patton and surprisingly even Virgil were looking through Patton’s fam-ILY scrapbook. “We must have a record of all the good times.” he had insisted.

The 3 of them were sitting and came across a photo of Thomas at the open mic night.

“Oh, I remember this! This was when we convinced Thomas to go to that open mic at the comedy club.” Patton recalls fondly.

“Oh, oh! There I am! I absolutely SLAYED it up on the stage. Check it out -- everyone’s in stitches.” Roman’s almost yelling at this point. (He was like an excitable puppy).

Virgil raises an eyebrow. “You sure about that, Princey? Logan looks like he’s having a pretty bad time.”

“Excuse you,” Princey replies indignantly “I was a riot. Logan just ALWAYS looks like he’s having a bad time.”

Virgil is smiling into his hoodie, happy to have riled Roman up. Meanwhile Patton flicks through the scrapbook worried.

“Now that you mention it… is it just me, or does he look unhappy in all these photos?”

Just as this conversation was going on, Logan walks past dozing into his coffee.

“If you’re really that concerned, now’s your chance to ask.” Virgil says although it is muffly by his purple hoodie.

“Hey Logan…” Patton starts unsurely.

“Huh --” He looks up from his coffee in a daze. “Oh. How can I be of assistance, Patton?”

“I just have a question. Is there any particular reason that you don’t ever smile in photographs?” Patton questions nervously.

“We only have room for ONE stormy rain cloud in this group, and I think Virgil’s got it covered.” Roman quips obviously not picking up on the atmosphere of the room.

“Watch it.” Virgil mutters murderously.

“A while back, it was brought to my attention that, given my general countenance, a smile makes me appear…” He looked unsure how to phrase it. Unusual and a sure sign he had gotten no sleep. “less than aesthetically pleasing. Since then, I have made a conscious effort to maintain a neutral expression. Does that adequately address your concerns?”

By this point even Virgil and Roman look worried.

Patton breaks the silence after a while. “I… I guess…”

“Excellent. Now, if you’ll pardon my brevity, I really must finish Thomas’s schedule for the week.” With that Logan walks off, not seeing the expressions of the other sides.

“Roman!” Virgil turns and punches him in the shoulder.

Roman looks quite distraught at the realisation that he caused Logan to feel that way.

“Now, now. Apologise kiddo, I’m sure Roman feels terrible.” Patton says, busy formulating a way to get Logan to see he was perfect.

“He better.” Virgil mutters under his breath, because as much as he hated to admit it. He had a soft spot for the nerd in his heart.

…

The sides spend all day putting together a slideshow about why ‘Logan Sanders Has a Cute Face’ and why (If You Disagree, You Are Wrong!)

The sides all play their part; Virgil compiles photos he took of Logan laughing and smiling (ok, so maybe he was a little obsessed.) Patton wrote all the reasons (ok so maybe he was slightly obsessed as well and Roman as creativity made the presentation look professional (and although Roman hates anything professional maybe he was also obsessed.)

So a few hours, big box of photos and a lot of typing later they all nervously knocked on Logan’s door.

Princey wears a sheepish smile, Patton a frown, Virgil a smirk and Logan a confused face.

“Do you have thirty minutes for us to tell you how wrong you are?” Patton asks in the most businesslike, salesman way he can muster.

Logan tilts his head to the side, obviously confused.

Virgil coos “Oh, you look so cute when you’re confused.” Causing Logan to go a shade of Crofters.

…

The other sides keep cheering and making flirty comments while Logan blushes throughout. Though about a third of the way through the presentation at ‘Exhibit 28 stating the he was ‘An angel???’’ Logan can’t bear it.

Especially after Patton wolf whistling and Roman shouting “woo, baby!” So he stuffs his head into Virgil’s side, snuggling impossibly closer to him as Virgil pokes his tongue out at Roman and Patton.

Meanwhile Roman and Patton keep making comments and even Virgil joins in.

“If I weren’t already gay, then THAT would have done it!” Roman suddenly shouts near the end of the presentation.

“I agree.” Patton chimes in “That is one HANDSOME man.”

“They’re not wrong” Virgil whispers while Logan whimpers and turns even redder than he thought scientifically possible.

When the presentation ends after a few hours the other sides notice Logan is off.

Roman pulls him into his lap and caresses his hair. “What’s wrong babes? Did you not like the presentation?”

Logan looks up seeing the hurt on his face. “No, no. I loved it…” He trails off.

“What is it Logie-bear? You can tell us anything.” Virgil puts his head on Logan’s lap.

“It’s just. Well, why?”

Patton looks confused. “Why, what?”

“Why do all this for the man with no emotions? The guy who ruins all your great ideas with logic?” He motions to Princey.

“Overrule your decisions with reason.” He looks at Patton.

“And just is generally trying to put you out of a job by reasoning Thomas out of situations with you? Or at least trying to.” He looks at Virgil’s hoodie.

“Why, why do all this for a quote. Guy with no feelings. Why do you care so much?”

Virgil stares at him. “Do you want us to go through the presentation again?” He sassed and Roman just stares in wonder.

“Do you seriously not know?” Roman asks in disbelief.

“That’s what we like -- no love, about you! We have loved you before we knew your name. When we knew you as Logic, then Logan, then a friend, and now, hopefully as a boyfriend?” He questions nervously.

Patton looks at him with puppy dog eyes.

Logan looks thoughtfully for a moment. “Well I’ve weighed out the pros and cons of this relationship”

“Oh shut it nerd.” Princey says fondly before Logan is suddenly muffled by Roman peppering his face in kisses and Patton doing the same. All the while Virgil is murmuring about how beautiful he is.

Suddenly Virgil lifts his head off Logan’s lap and before he can ask why, he’s being carried to his bed. He recognises the white fabric as Roman’s coat and snuggles into his chest. He’s so tired he doesn’t realise as the door opens and in step Virgil and Patton in their dragon and cat onesies respectively as Princey snaps his fingers and Logan’s in his unicorn onesie and Roman’s in his Lilo onesie.

“Where’d you go Virge? Pat?” He scrunches his nose looking like a confused kitten and bunny all mashed in one (which they all coo at). “Ro-ro? Where’d they go.”

Virgil quickly runs over to the bed to reassure him. “We just to get into our pyjamas baby.”

“And we brought cookies with Crofters jam centres.”

“Which we are not going to eat in bed.” Roman glares at Patton.

“Or at this time of night.” Virgil scolds.

Logan giggles making them all coo at him before he yawns.

“Is someone tired?” Roman tickles his tummy.

As soon as Roman says that Logan closes his eyes and starts snoring gently.

Virgil turns to the other sides. “How did we never notice how clingy and cute he got when he was tired?”

“Aww, is our little emo going soft?” Roman asks.

Virgil huffs and curls around Logan who is cuddled into Roman. Patton hums happily and curls around Virgil.

…

Roman silences the alarm in Logan’s room the next morning seeing how tired Logan was the day before. Patton climbs quietly out of bed that morning and makes breakfast for Logan while their emo nightmare keeps Roman company.

Logan wakes up unsure of why her can feel other sides in his bed. He blushes beet red when he remembers and can hear whispers. He opens his eyes and stretches.

“Ah the princess has awaken.” Roman says with a fond smile as Patton bustles into the room with a tray.

He lays the tray on the bed consisting of a hot cup of coffee, cronut, bowl of fruit, 2 pieces of toast with Crofters jam and a little milk jug and sugar bowl.

“Your breakfast is served, Your Majesty.” Patton presents with a little bow and flourish. Logan giggles making the others coo and thank god that he was theirs.

The Patton squeals excitedly and races to where he placed the Crofter cookies he baked last night and not for the first time that moment Logan thanks whatever gods are above that these were his boyfriends.

Patton plops onto the bed and they spend all morning talking with Logan only complaining once about his schedule. Patton only leaving sometimes to get more food and coffee.

Logan informs Thomas that he has nothing on today and when the others leave the room for a moment Thomas quickly figures out what’s up with Logan and teases him and assures him that he will plan nothing for today. Logan smiles gratefully.

The rest of the day is filled with flirting, cuddles, reaffirmations and praise of Logan (which all make him giggle, blush and press his face into his nearest boyfriend’s chest), dad jokes, snacks and movies.

He feels safe. He feels loved. And when Patton sets up a camera to take a photo of them he smiles.

“Say cheese!”

[brutal-kittenxx]

I decided to post my English Essay from a while back here, cause why not

It was a typical ordinary day in The Cult Of The Neighborhood with the ordinary sacrifices and rituals, but this day was different and only came once or twice a month depending on how many sacrifices were made, it was time to decide who will be choosing the next sacrifices. This is a special event for some because you can get rid of those you hate, and the first sacrifice you make will be the most exciting for there are no limits to who your first sacrifice is. This time the privilege was to fall onto Mister Rogers. Mister Rogers was surprised as he never got the honor to choose the sacrifice, and it was perfect timing too as his good friend no more was to be the sacrifice that of which he chose.The man in question to be sacrificed is David Tarantino, a known rebellion to the cult. What he had done was perform a ritual not allowed by the cult, he succeeded in performing it and even escaped, however his two partners were caught and the room was not cleaned and left a mess. The two partners' names were Billy Mays, who had to clean the room, and Phil Swift, whose job was to dismember the bodies. They admitted that the mastermind behind the ritual was David Tarantino, and Phil Swift added in that he was the one who wrote on the walls with blood “That’s a lotta damage, now we’re gonna fix it with flex seal!”. After hearing this they decided to wait for punishment until Tarantino had been captured, so that all may be killed at once. Rogers didn’t want to wait because he was rebellious but too useful to abandon, so he decided to figure out what the ritual was himself and who he sacrificed. He eventually unsolved it, but was too horrified by who it was that he didn’t tell anyone what he had figured out. Rogers knew where and how to find Tarantino but couldn’t bring himself to do it to avenge the ones he had taken away that night, but when he was chosen to be able to choose the sacrifice, he had suddenly gotten the courage to find Tarantino and sacrifice him. Upon hearing that Rogers decided to choose Tarantino as a sacrifice, the leaders were reluctant at first but eventually decided that they might as well get it over with and the sacrifice will be their punishment. There was one problem though, no matter how much other cult members wanted to help, there was a rule for sacrifices that none were to help unless they personally knew him and even if they did, they aren’t allowed to help too much as most of the ritual must be performed by the mastermind of the operation. Mister Rogers knew this and had only one friend remaining since Tarantino, this was a man who he was good friends with even before either of them joined the cult. This friend was Dr. Emmet Brown, he was crazy but knew how to get all the supplies they need and clear out an area for the ritual. Rogers decided to tell Emmet Brown his plan and the only thing that Brown could respond with was “GREAT SCOTT, That’s a Great Idea, and I know just how and where to get the materials for it!”. The Doc then left after that to get the supplies and clear out the location so that no one other than the cult knows what happened. All that was left now was to get Tarantino to agree to meetup together. Mister Rogers left to go find Tarantino, and he knew a couple possible locations. First possible location was a bar, he wasn’t there. Second possible location was a pizza shop owned by mobsters whose slogan was “We Outpizza’d The Hut”. Now, the third and final possible location was a private gun store with a shooting range called Ammu-Nation. Luckily for Mister Rogers, he had access to Ammu-Nation but he had a problem, he hadn’t been there in years. To be inconspicuous, Rogers walked in and started browsing the small firearms that he can buy without making too much contact or interaction with the others in there. While blending in he managed to notice an order for more ammo for someone named “Kobe Bryant”. Rogers knew that meant Tarantino, it was their nickname they gave each other, Rogers’ was “David Blaine”. The time that it was scheduled for was 5 hours before the deadline of the sacrifice, Rogers was going to have to be the smoothest of talkers to get him to the location before it ends. He ordered a weapon and was to pick it up 10 minutes before the order of ammo for Tarantino. Later, he arrived to pick up his weapon and decided to test it in the shooting range while waiting for Tarantino to arrive. Soon after, Tarantino arrived in an armored truck ready to have the ammo loaded in the back, and with a couple of hired guns for protection. Rogers waited for Tarantino to have little people around them, then he approached him.

“David, is that you?” “Rogers, what are you doing back here?” “I decided to check on how the place has changed and also to get a new weapon, here look at this” “How did you get something this fancy?” “The looks aren’t all, check the chamber” “Why? This is a FMJ bullet, and it is also a .375 caliber. This isn’t your style. You go for weak and common rounds found in any store with an extended mag. Preferably the glock.” “Well, I thought I'd get something stronger for special occasions.” “What type of occasions?” “Don’t know yet, but when the time comes you will be the first to know that I used it and who I use it on.” This went on for a while of them discussing the guns they use, and what they have been doing since they last talked. “Oh, Rogers, you know I have been telling you that I was planning on creating my own gang to rule this city. Those hired guns over there protecting the truck are actually some gang members. Our gang may be small and not well known but it will be better than others soon, that’s why we’re stocking up on ammo.” Rogers’ suspicion was right, the ritual performed years ago was a ritual required in the city to become a gang leader. You must sacrifice someone really close to your best friend. Either family, their girlfriend/boyfriend, or pet. The more sacrificed makes you have more respect and strength when creating your gang. Tarantino sacrificed some of the most people while in the cult, so he is well respected, but no one really joins his gang because they know just how many people he sacrificed and how crazy he was. “David, how about we hang out a little. It’s been a long time since we hung out, and I think it would be better to hang out than just have a quick conversation.” “Right you are Rogers, it is better, but I need to deliver these supplies back to the gang.” “Don’t worry about that, here just put your gangs sign on the side and make it noticeable so no one will dare mess with you.” “Alright, I’ll take your word for it. JOSEPH, you know where to take the supplies, so take them there! Now, where do you want to go hang out.” “I cleared out an arcade all for ourselves, you know the one with the games, bowling, and laser tag, or if you want it has a mini restaurant. It’s The Peak.” “Bro, I haven’t been there in a while. I’ll totally go. I’ll just get the delorean and we’ll go there.” After that he went around the corner and drove back in his delorean, no not the one from back to the future, the one from 1982. They left and arrived at The Peak with the new cult members that Tarantino doesn’t know about in the staff uniform, and no other customers there. It was going according to plan. Rogers took him around to play the games and go bowling, trying to avoid the laser tag, saying it was “the spectacular end to this day.”. They played for a couple hours and then went to the gift shop and bought a bunch of big pixy stix. Rogers got a message from “Anonymous 174” saying that the laser tag is ready, he knew that this was Emmet Brown because he is the one who he gets messages from most and messages most. He waited for Tarantino to come out of the giftshop before saying “It is time for the end, let’s go shoot some lasers”. When they went in the room to suit up, there was a box there with a note saying “the other vests and guns were either low on battery or broken, use these until we get more available.”. “David, you should be the red team. I mean, it IS your favorite color.” “Are you sure? What about you? Don’t you like it more than me?” “Yes, but this is a special occasion, you should wear it.” “Oh, alright, but you better not complain you can’t fight because you aren’t used to wearing blue.”. They then picked up their weapons and Rogers found a hidden, almost impossible note to notice in the Doc’s handwriting that said “You will need to hold down the trigger for the blast to really work, otherwise it is a normal laser gun”. This worked perfect for Rogers getting Tarantino to believe this is all real, he can shoot a couple shots first then charge one and get a hit on him. Only one problem, Tarantino likes to hide behind barricade and never come out and move until he thinks it’s been compromised. The game went on for about 30 minutes until Rogers finally snuck up on Tarantino and charged a blast on him when a lot of electricity shot out, and Tarantino’s suit was destroyed while he was knocked unconscious to the point you’d think it was a coma. When Tarantino woke up an hour later, he was tied to his buddies Phil Swift and Billy Mays with a giant pentagram beneath them. “What is the meaning of this Rogers!” “You killed my family many years ago, and I still can’t sleep because of it.” “You know I had to do it to become a gang leader!” “I trusted you, but becoming a leader of your own gang was more important to you” “Couldn’t you have killed my family” “You wouldn’t care about your family, never have, but being betrayed by me will be similar since you betrayed my whole family. Now get ready, you will feel their pain from that night.” Rogers then took off a blanket and revealed knives, swords, and tasers. He then proceeded to chop them up starting with Billy Mays, then Phil Swift, and ending with Tarantino. Before Rogers chopped up Tarantino and begun the ritual, he asked “Did you feel anything during the murder” “No, I was blinded by the possibility of becoming a gang leader” “Good, cause I definitely won’t feel anything” Then he chopped him up and begun the ritual when out of the literal darkness of the room, cult members appeared and begun the chant. IT IS DONE.