#if nothing works out i will have to switch majors unwillingly. but i will still be in this school. which i would be thankful for.

[fulcrvm]

i am so :)))) miffed :)))))

[huenjin]

tiptoes and kisses.

pairing — hwang hyunjin x reader

word count — 2.385

ratings — nc-17

genre — suggestive, fluff

warnings — heavy, heavy make out, mentions of sex, obvious size kink.

note — requested. this is just 2k words of heavy make out with hyunjin and how much you love his height. that's it.

Sometimes, you forget how tall Hwang Hyunjin is.

Even though it's hard to forget that when the man you love towers over you like a huge building, making him seem so statuesque — not that that was a bad thing. In fact, it was never a bad thing, but you're going off the safe for work talks then.

It especially helped when you needed to take the empty boxes up from the storage at the top of the cupboards, or when the utility room in the kitchen shelves ran out, the empty racks at the top were accessible to your boyfriend.

It quickly switches to annoying however, when you stand next to him and he uses your head for an armrest, only to put even a miniscule of his body weight on it as he leans forward to bop your nose with his other hand and mumble, "My cute girlfriend," and you want nothing more than to headbutt him in the face for doing that.

"You stupid tall bean," you would huff and all Hwang Hyunjin would do is drop his arm from your head, only to grip both your shoulders, turn you around to face him and hold your chin between his thumb and forefinger as he slightly tilts your face upwards.

Your eyes would widen and your body would lean backwards instinctively, but he would snake his other arm around you and lean forward. He would make his voice particularly huskier than normal just because he knows how much it affects you and say, "You like me being tall though. I like this height as well. From here, I can see clearly your beautiful face."

And you are blushing, temperature rising to the apples of your cheeks and you plant your face into his chest in embarassment. He doesn't stop though and continues, "Or when I lift you up and pin you against the—"

"Hwang Hyunjin," you would yelp, clutching tightly on to his clothes, your mind infiltrated by thoughts that have you dizzy.

And then there are days when he lets you feel tall. When he comes back weary and tired after practice and slouches down on the sofa, his long legs jutting massively out of it, he closes his eyes, his head resting against the faux leather of it. You would walk slowly, careful to not make a sound as you stand in between his legs and lean forward to hug him. You would rest your chin on the top of his head, albeit a little pushing down on Hyunjin's frame.

He would let you, only to wrap his arms around your smaller frame and pull you closer into him so that your cheek is against his soft hair and his face is buried in your chest and he sighs — a small act that could turn sexual enough with a change in the atmosphere but then, it would have just been a fleeting moment where he lets you he the bigger person and comfort him.

Or there are days when he's everything — sexually frustrated, annoying and the sweetest boyfriend ever. Like today.

You hear Hyunjin coming home when the door makes a sound, footsteps resonating louder and you are smiling to yourself as you put the noodles into the boiling water. Your tall boyfriend wraps his arms around your back, burying his chin into the crook of your neck as he kisses your cheek.

"You're home," you smile to yourself and Hyunjin nods, kissing further down trail, each kiss lingering a little more than the previous ones. "How was your day?"

"Tiring," he mumbles against your skin, nose brushing against the sensitive region by your neck and a tingle runs down your spine. "I missed you. Way too much."

"Of course you did," you break the chopstick apart and use it to mix the noodles before covering it with the copper lid. "I'm quite a huge presence to miss."

"To me, yes," and he kisses your neck again, arms tightening around your waist. Hyunjin has always been the one to display his affection and that has led to one too many accidents in the kitchen where the two of you forget to either switch off the stove or close any electrical apparatus. So you do your best to not get distracted by your boyfriend and rather decide to focus on the noodles that were cooking. Hwang Hyunjin could wait till then but safety couldn't.

He whines against your skin, his mouth still lingering against it as you move to remove the noodles from the stove, turning it off and quickly covering it with the lid. He pulls apart from you and looks down at the steam arising from the covered noodles off the lid. As soon as you were done with that, you whirled around in Hyunjin's arms, arms wrapping around his torso.

"It's going to turn soggy, you know," you state the obvious and Hyunjin does not care. He wraps his arms around you once again, holding you tightly against him.

"It's fine," he laughs. "We'll order take out if it's that bad."

"Really?" You raise an eyebrow, leaning slightly back to look at your boyfriend's face. He grins with no remorse and you roll your eyes. "Dork," and you chuckle. He chuckles along with you and presses his forehead against yours as he bends down. Hyunjin's hands are slowly creeping under your — his oversized t-shirt — and his thumb traces and rubs tantalising small circles into your hip bones, fingers delicate as they hold you.

Hwang Hyunjin has always been a tease. He'll taunt you with everything till you take the first step. It's a small quirk you have noticed in your boyfriend and you are soothingly grateful for that. Therefore, you do exactly that. You step on your toes, putting your entire weight on that. You let go of his waist and wrap your arms around his neck, crashing your mouth against his. Hyunjin moans in content into the kiss as he wraps his arms even tighter around your waist, pulling you up slightly.

Hyunjin holds onto you with his right arm securely and pulls you into a fiery and passionate kiss that you initiated. Your hands grip tightly onto his neck as you delve deeper into the kiss, while his left arm trails its way around your body, feeling each crevasse, each line along your perfect physique. You have always been perfect to him, even in all your imperfections.

Hyunjin's lips that had slammed against yours, nearly knocking all the wind from your lungs, moves against yours as he kisses you. Your eyes are closed and you tiptoe further if it were possible.

You hardly have a moment to react before he presses his tongue to the seam of your lips and, at your grant of access, delves inside your mouth. It is a very sloppy kiss with the strong scent of beer that you think he must have had with his teammates, being exchanged in the intermingling of your billowing breaths. Your arms tighten around his thick, strong neck.

And you guess this is where being shorter than your boyfriend is a major con, a huge drawback.

Because, in all honesty, standing on your tiptoes for a long duration of time, even if it is when you are kissing your incredibly good-looking boyfriend that you are ready to jump at any minute from now, can be ridiculously exhausting. Your legs ached, muscles cramping up with slight pulls at it as a gentle reminder for you to stop stretching. And even the incredibly handsome Hwang Hyunjin's kisses could not stop it from feeling that way.

However, you would not let that stand in your way. Never in a million years. You are going to get your make out, and your stupid legs are definitely not going to be the reason as to why you were going to go to bed sexually frustrated.

You anchor yourself more firmly around Hyunjin's neck as he kisses you, sucking on your lower lip, moulding perfectly into your lips. You try to ignore the general exhaustion of your body and continue to persevere on. Although, cross your heart and hope to die, you prayed that he would just carry you and take you to bed only to hammer his big cock into you and take you to heaven and back.

However, as you open your eyes, you notice how calm Hyunjin is as he kisses you, drawing out every kiss with a passion that would take years to reach the bed. You sigh, deciding that holding on his shirt from behind would help you slightly.

Your feet begin cramping under all the standing on tiptoes and it reaches a point where you know you just have to land back on your feet. You let go of Hyunjin and fall back onto the ground and your boyfriend's eyes soften, worried if he did something wrong.

Hyunjin holds your hand, rubbing small circles into your palm and he is about to ask you what's wrong when you glare at him, “Damn it. Would you stop being so tall?”

Hyunjin's eyes widen, not expecting such a comment from you yet it amuses him. He lets out a surprised laugh, watching you with sheer joy and perhaps — no, most definitely — a small amount of adoration.

“It's not exactly something I can help with, babe." He tells you, teeth on display as he smiles widely. Hyunjin has trouble suppressing his laughter at your quick outburst but he finds his heart warming with love for you and bends forward to rub his nose against yours. "Moreover, you love my height."

Unwillingly, you feel the corners of your lip begin to tug into a huge smile. “Stop laughing. I'm being serious." Gesturing between the two of you, you complain, “Some of us have to do a lot of hard work for this, you know. My legs ache,” and you pout, bending down to rub the back of your hamstrings to soothe it out.

Hyunjin smiles at you, yet this time as you watch it, it seems like it held a lot more meaning. His gaze doesn't divert for even a minute as you complain, still smiling and holding your hand, rubbing his thumb into it.

"Hwang Hyunjin! Stop smiling," you whine. "This is a serio—"

Hyunjin lifts you up with such ease that it takes you aback. His arms wrap around your waist and he holsters you up above him, your legs wrapping instinctively around his waist. Immediately, his hands move to support you by your thighs, fingers slightly grazing the curve of your rear and your eyes widen.

"Hyunjin," your voice is raspier and drier after the small act of his. Your arms are around his neck once again but this time with less strain and force.

"Now, please," he sighs, locking his gaze with you as he holds you up with just one arm, the other brushing the hair that has moved forward, covering your vision. "Let me have my dessert."

He walks towards the walls by the kitchen, slamming your body with lesser impact than you had expected. You draw back into his lips that has crashed down onto yours. You can nearly feel the faint fatty taste of the beer as it rolls off his tongue to yours and seeps down your throat with every push of his tongue against yours.

It is magic, the way his lips connected with yours, tongue rolling against your hot muscle. His mouth is so warm, the caress of his lips softer than anything you could have remembered and you moan against him, arms raising upwards to allow your fingers to tangle them into his hair. You tug at them slightly every time you feel a hot rasp of air against your skin or when his obviously growing boner presses against the side of your thighs.

You stifle a surprised gasp as his soft lips leave yours, trailing down your skin, causing your entire body to flush with heat. This very heat seems to travel through your veins, warming you and subjectively leading you to feel slicker in your nether region as Hyunjin sucks at the skin by your neck, only letting go when he's happy with how bright red it is. Your head drops against his shoulder, moans leaving your lips as you feel his warm breath fan over your skin. Your fingers dig into his scalp and you worry if you'd cream your pantiesies just from Hyunjin laying out strong hickies against the skin by your neck.

He pulls away from your neck, hooded eyes locking with yours. The loud breathing between the two of you is the only thing distinctly audible in the house. In that split second before his touch every nerve in your body and brain is electrified. It is the anticipation of being together in a way that's more than words, in a way that's so completely tangible and you cup your boyfriend's face delicately, thumb grazing at the slight stubble by the jaw.

“Better?” He asks lowly, expression dark with desire as his forehead touches yours and you know exactly what he's talking about. However, your legs still wrapped around his, his erection visibly felt against your covered arousal — you exactly don't know if it was any better. Yes, your legs don't ache anymore, but something else aches and now you crave for him even more.

“Hm," you hum, voice parched and barely making a noise of agreement, before pulling him in again, without any intention of letting him go again in the foreseeable future. The noodles could wait. Fuck, even safety could wait for now. Hwang Hyunjin, delirious in want for you, could not wait.

Hours later, precisely your two orgasms and his one orgasm later, you are both lying satiated, tangled together in bed, your head rests gently on his broad muscled chest and his arms around your shoulder allows his hands to brush your hair softly as you both lay in the glory of it all.

And just maybe it is perhaps the beautiful way Hyunjin's one hand wraps completely and perfectly around your neck, you can't deny — it's perhaps hard to forget how tall Hwang Hyunjin is and you are glad.

[marvelouspeterparker]

just little old me

pairing: harry styles x reader

summary: after releasing his second album, and the music video to his hit “watermelon sugar”, the response from his fans is overwhelmingly positive. and while you’re not surprised, harry on the other hand is very grateful, but just a little confused. but you’re more than happy to help clear some things up for him.

warnings: smut (hints of sub! and dom!harry––we love a switch) + unprotected sex but y’all know not to do that! be safe <3

word count: 3k

notes: this is my first ever harry fic! (also based on the summary u can see how long ago i started this sfjkdhgs) i’m so scared to post this i feel like all the harry writers are so talented––

[i’ve been reading harry fics for so long and these are just some of the blogs that you could say pushed my love for harry and inspired me to write a fic of my own: @majorharry​ @harryforvogue​​ @adashofniallandasprinkleoflunacy​​ @sunflowervolvimp3​​ @haroldloverboy​​​ @songbirdstyles​ if you haven’t read their stuff yet, you should! i reread them all the time!]

You and Harry had been friends for the longest time, since before he was the Harry Styles. You’d watched him grow up in the spotlight while you supported and loved him from the sidelines. He’d bring you everywhere with him when he could, or rather when you allowed him to––you didn’t like the idea of him spending his money on you, but he always waved you off, saying nothing was too much if it was for you.

You were so proud of what he’d achieved and what he’d become but he was still the same Harry you grew up with and you couldn’t be more grateful to have him in your life all this time.

While he rarely spent his time on social media, you spent a majority of your time checking your phone and refreshing your feeds––you just liked to be informed and up to date. Harry didn’t interact that frequently with his fans online, instead preferring the connection when you meet face to face. However, although he wouldn’t respond to people, he would often let you show him what people were saying––after all, he was human too and sometimes he would get a little curious.

You and Harry had been sitting on his couch for an hour now, him messaging Jeff to deal with work related things while you scrolled through twitter, looking at the fans reactions to Harry’s latest music video. It made you smile seeing how happy he made people, you’d seen several people had said that this was “exactly what we needed during this time” and honestly, you couldn’t agree more.

You scrolled down some more and genuinely laughed out loud at the next tweet you read. “I’d sell both my legs and arms just to be the watermelon slice between Harry’s teeth.”

You caught Harry’s attention and he looked over at you, raising a brow, a small smile on his lips. “What’s up?”

You settled down from your laughing fit and showed him the tweet and both his eyebrows raised.

He laughed sheepishly, “You know I really don’t get the ‘hype’”, he put the last word in air quotes. He was always trying to keep up with the latest “slang” as he would put it. He shrugged, a small smirk on his face “I’m just little old me.”

Though his face showed humor, after all the these years, you could tell from the look in his eyes that there was some truth behind his words.

You looked at him incredulously before rolling your eyes and putting your phone aside, unable to stop yourself from going off. “It’s because you’re so genuinely kindhearted, talented and incredibly attractive.” You said as a matter off factly, looking him right in the eye, before looking down at your hands and leaning further back into the couch. “And you have this aura about you––Literally anyone would get down on their knees for you if you asked––actually, no, you wouldn’t even have to ask. You could just look at them and they’d do it, no questions asked. They’d know what to do.”

You had no idea where the courage for you to say all that came from, but you have to admit something about seeing him biting into those watermelons and looking right in the camera three minutes straight while he sang about eating someone out put you on edge. You had been there for him through all his relationships and you loved having him as a friend...but being that close to Harry and not falling in love with him was practically impossible and you weren’t blind. I mean come on.

After a few moments had passed and he still hadn’t said anything, you looked up at him. He was sitting there, a serious look on his face as he stared you down, completely silent. He put his phone down on the table and leaned back, spreading his legs.

You quickly glanced down at his lap then back up to meet his eyes. “What––What are you doing?”

He looked you up and down. “Well according to you,” he tilted his head cheekily, “all I need to do is look at you, and you’ll know what to do.”

Your breath hitched, your brain malfunctioning.“I–���You?” You shook your head, knowing that Harry wouldn’t be doing or saying anything if he didn’t mean it. You decided you’d ask questions later. After all, it’d been a while since you got with anybody and you were more than a little horny. You snapped out of your daze and made your way over to him, sliding down onto your knees right in front of him.

You pushed down the thought of how there were literally millions of other people who would kill to be in your position right now and focused on the task at hand. You looked up at him, silently asking for some direction but he shook his head slightly, “This is all you, love. You call the shots.”

You nodded to yourself, taking a deep breath as you calmed yourself down. “Can you take these off for me?” You asked, pulling on his shirt and his sweats.

He quickly got up and stripped himself of his shirt and his bottoms, but you stopped his hands before he could reach for his briefs. You cleared your throat, looking up at him, “I––I can do it.”

He smiled at you before dropping his hands at his sides, letting you do your thing.

You slowly brought the material down, letting his member spring free, trying not to stare too much because wow. You left a trail of soft kisses down his thighs as you pushed the underwear down his legs and you could feel him taking sharp breaths as you did so. He quickly stepped out of them and waited for you to tell him his next move. 

You looked up at him, your eyes wide and innocently sinful and he swore he felt himself swell up a little more. Your voice was small yet firm when you spoke up. “Can you sit down for me, please?”

He eagerly took a seat and placed his hands on his thighs, his ringed fingers spread out, anxiously tapping against his legs. You grabbed his member and he let out a shaky breath, eyes flitting between your hands on him and your face––both views entrancing him. 

“Is this okay, H?” You asked softly and he almost choked on his breath.

He nodded, “Y––Yeah, f’course it is lovie, shit.” 

You hummed, smiling as you leaned forward and swirled your tongue around his tip. You left open mouthed kisses along his shaft and licked along his cock, from the base to the top before spitting on it, spreading it with you hand and getting it nice and wet. His fingers were digging into his thighs and you couldn’t help but notice. 

You took your hand off of him and ignored the whine that escaped him as you did so. You took his hands in yours and placed them on your head, “You can.” You smiled gently and he nodded, his fingers grasping your strands firmly but not harsh enough to hurt you. 

You put your mouth back on him, stroking him as you took him into your mouth, bobbing your head, relishing in the small whimpers and moans of your name he let out. You were completely focused on him, tuning into what made him react the loudest and doing it over and over again just to hear those pretty sounds again. 

His fingers gripped your hair harder, his hips unwillingly bucking into you softly as he got closer. “M’gonna cum, love. Don’t––” He was mumbling, biting his lips as he looked down at you. When you sucked on his tip, looking him in the eyes, he cursed softly and let his head rest on the cushion, deciding it was too much to feel you and look at you if he wanted to last. “Don’t wanna cum just yet.” 

You hummed and pulled off of him, your hand still stroking him. “No?” You pouted playfully. He could hear it in your voice and it only made him twitch in your hand. 

“N––No.” He swallowed thickly and looked down at you, his eyes blown with lust. He reached down and pulled you up to stand between his legs. “Wanna make you feel good too.” You couldn’t help the smile that stretched across your face. “Not fair for me to be the only one getting what I want, is it?” He tilted his head, licking his lips as he looked up at you, his hands rubbing up and down the backs of your thighs teasingly. 

When you didn’t respond, his hands squeezed you. “Asked you a question, lovie.” 

You gasped lightly. “N––No it’s––not fair...” 

He smirked, reaching for your shorts. “Let’s take these off, yeah?” You nodded and let out a small yeah, and only then did his fingers slip into the waistband and pull the material down your legs. You placed your hands on his shoulders while he helped you step out of your bottoms. He looked up at you, a glint in his eyes as he reached for your panties, again, only pulling them down after you gave your verbal consent. He kept his eyes trained on yours the whole time he slipped them down, and if anything that made you feel more vulnerable––more open. 

When you stepped out of them, he trailed his hands up your thighs and along your hips before raising your shirt a bit. “Can you take this off for me?” You nodded and pulled the shirt over your head, letting it fall to the floor with the rest of your clothes as his hands splayed across your abdomen, his cold rings contrasting with the warm pressure of his fingertips. 

His hands slid up, and he smiled when you let out a breathless please when he asked for permission to touch your newly exposed skin. His eyes finally trailed down past your eyes, widening with arousal when they settled on your soft skin, your pebbled nipples, straining for attention. He rubbed his thumbs over the numbs ever so lightly, looking back up at you when you sighed and arched your back, leaning further into his touch, almost as if he wanted to commit it to memory. 

“Look at you, pet.” You whined softly at the nickname and the feeling of his hands on your skin. “So beautiful.” He grasped your breasts and now it was your turn to let out a shaky breath. 

He let his hands slide back down to your waist and you pouted, making him furrow his brows playfully. “Hey, none of that now.” He brought a hand up to hold your jaw. “Just realized we haven’t even had a proper kiss yet and you had me down your throat.” You felt your cheeks heat up in embarrassment but his thumb caressed your cheek soothingly, sliding over to run over your lips gently. “C’mere.”

You stepped into his embrace and pressed your lips against his, your hands coming to hold the side of his face and play with his hair, making him moan into you. His hand stayed at your jaw, the other sliding down your body to grab your ass firmly. Your lips slotted together perfectly as you pulled away and reconnected them softly every few seconds, thoroughly enjoying each other. He licked into your mouth and quickly took control of the kiss, not that you had any complaints, sucking on your tongue and pulling you in closer. He bit your lip and pulled away, smiling when you subconsciously tried to get more of his lips. 

His eyes trailed down to between your legs and they stayed there for a moment, distracted. “Gonna let me have a taste?” He licked his lips teasingly, looking back up at you. “I just wanna taste it.” He referenced his song, a small smile on his lips. 

You rolled your eyes, a smile on your face as well. “Harry.”

“What?” He shrugged innocently. “M’just being honest.” 

“You actually want to? You don’t have––”

“Been dying to, pet. You don’t know how long I’ve been aching to get my mouth on you.” He got down on his knees and the sight of him looking up at you from that position made your whole body shiver. 

He placed his hands on your thighs. “What do you say? Gonna let me have my dessert?” 

You nodded, letting out a small okay. When you tried to sit down where he had just been seated, he shook his head and stopped you, taking one hand and lifting your leg to place it on his shoulder. Your eyes widened, your mouth dropping open as he placed your hands in his hair to steady you. 

He had the audacity to ask, “You good?” 

You nodded, dazed. “Uh, yeah.”

“Good.” He smiled and with that he leaned forward and licked through your folds, immediately kissing your clit, holding you as your head tipped back in surprise.

“Shit, Harry––” Your fingers gripped his curls, pulling him into you as he moaned. Of course he was enjoying himself as he pleased you. His tongue was moving with purpose as he lapped up your wetness, spreading it around your clit. He really knew how to use his mouth.

You moaned loudly when he sucked on your clit, and even louder when he used the tip of his tongue to trace on it, realizing what he was spelling out–– H A R R Y. He grinned when he realized you caught on and his fingers were digging into you as he held you up, letting you desperately grind onto his face. 

You looked down to make sure he was still okay with all of this, shocked to see him looking up at you, watching your reactions, clearly pleased. You cursed softly. “Feels really good, Harry. Fuck––” 

He hummed blissfully, properly burying himself in you, his eyes stuck on your body as he brought you to the edge rather quickly. “Gonna cum in my mouth, baby?” 

You whined, nodding your head as you held onto him for dear life. “M’so close.”

“Cum for me, pet. I want it.” He wrapped his lips around your clit and sucked hard, holding you upright as your body shivered and convulsed in his hands and on his tongue. He didn’t let up, fully making love to your clit with his tongue as he kissed your lower lips passionately, getting his light stubble wet. He was making a proper mess but neither of you cared. 

When your legs stopped trembling, he pressed a kiss to your clit, then to the thigh over his shoulder before placing your leg back on the ground. He looked up at you, a smug grin on his face as you looked at him, breathless. He stood up, his hands finding their place on your hips and he licked the rest of your juices that were still on his lips, his chin still slick with your arousal. 

“Care to clean me up, love?” He leaned closer. “Is your mess after all.” 

You smirked before leaning in and licking up your wetness from his chin and up his lips before bringing him in for a messy, passionate kiss. Without disconnecting your lips your turned him around and pushed him onto the couch, taking your seat on his lap, his arms wrapping around you instinctively. 

You wrapped your hand around his base, smiling down at him when he pulled away to whine. You lifted yourself up a bit and swiped him through the mess he made between your thighs. “Can I ride you, H?” You asked him, teasingly sweet. 

He threw his head back, “Christ, y’can do whatever you want to me, love.”

You kissed his neck and slid him into you, and his fingers dug into you as he let out a long moan. 

“God, you feel even better than I’d imagined.”

You tilted your head, starting to bounce and grind on him, “You’ve thought about this?” 

“Of course I have. Have you seen yourself?” You were about to push further when he slid a hand down to rub at your clit, making you gasp and grind down on him harder.

“Oh fuck, H.”

He grinned, thrusting into you. “That feel good?”

You nodded. “So good.” 

His hand was holding your hip as he bucked his hips into you. How he found your spot so quickly, you have no idea. You tilted your head back and he grabbed your neck gently, making your eyes widen as you looked down at him, noticing the dark look in his eyes as he watched you come undone on his cock.

When he noticed you getting close, he pulled you in to rest on him and your wrapped your arms around his shoulders, whimpering into his neck as he started to fuck you harder, his hips finding a smooth rhythm easily. 

You kissed his skin, marking it up as you sat there and took everything he was giving you. He was still sensitive from before, but he didn’t want to finish before you did, again. “Come on, pet. Give it to me. Just one more so I can fill you up.”

You groaned, your lips grazing his skin as your legs started to tremble, your walls clenching around him, coaxing him to tip over the edge with you. Your body shook as you whimpered, your body tensing.

“That’s it, just like that.” He grunted, thrusting a few more times before he released inside of you, the both of you moaning together.  

He wrapped his arms around you tight, holding you close as he thrusted slowly, making sure to empty himself out inside of you. You both sighed softly and you sat up. He looked up at you, pure adoration and awe in his eyes, his arms still holding you. You placed your hands on his shoulders. 

“Hi.” You smiled sheepishly.

He smiled back, kissing you softly before pulling back to look at you again, his head resting against the couch. “Hi.” 

You looked down, deciding to focus on his tattoos, suddenly nervous. “I’ve uh––sort of wanted to do that for a while.”

He unwound his arms to caress your back with his hands. “Mm me too.” He smiled when you looked up at him. 

“I really like you, H.” 

“Well I guess it’s a good thing that I like you too, then.” He squeezed you playfully. “Would you like to go out on a date this week?”

You smiled, leaning forward to kiss him again. “I’d love to.” 

[hops-hunny]

Distance Makes the Heart Grow

CHAPTER 1

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Mafia Boss!Neville Longbottom x Reader

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 1.8k

Summary: (Y/n) lives a normal life. But that’s the issue, it’s normal, it’s plain, and it’s growing boring. Everyday she wishes for something, anything to spice up her life. But, when her old school friend (and crush) shows up at her bakery with a new look (and what looks like a new life), what will it bring for her? Will their puppy love grow? Will his big secret lead to the end of them or will it spark a new beginning?

Warnings: None for this chapter!

A/N: Nothing major happens in this chapter, this is sorta just like the beginning stages.

(Y/n) let out a load groan, hand searching aimlessly for the alarm clock on her side table. “Where is it?!” she continued to slap her hand around on her table, many objects falling to the floor before her hand finally landed on the right one, the rooster noises ceasing as her hand collided with the big snooze button. She rolled over, sighing as she stared at her speckled ceiling. “Perhaps I really should take the time to learn how to use the alarm on my phone.” it wasn’t that she was bad with technology persay. It’s just if it was produced after the year of 2008 you could forget it. Could you really blame her though? During all her years at Hogwarts, she had never made the switch her fellow classmates made with modern technology. Sure she had a smart phone but the only thing she could manage to do with it is call, text, and make notes in the notes app (something she had just recently learned as well).

Unwillingly, she crawled out of bed, stretching as she let out a large yawn, bones snapping and cracking like a New Year’s firework. She made her way to the bathroom, looking into the same mirror she always did, watching the light in the center flicker the same way as always. Life for (Y/n) was seemingly unchanging. Day after day, month after month, was spent exactly the same. She’d wake up, get ready for work, and then travel a few blocks down the street to open the bakery. Her bakery.

It wasn’t that (Y/n) didn’t enjoy what she did. She happened to enjoy her job very much. All her friends at Hogwart’s had encouraged her, giving her the push she need to travel the journey of opening her own business. It was something she had always wanted to do but her parents begged her not to. In their words they didn’t want ‘an over zealous and unrealistic’ daughter on ther hands. However, their rude words simply were fuel to the fire. During her 5th year, she began to busk tables at various shops in Hogsmeade. It was hard work, balancing long shifts at 3 different shops and still maintaining decent scores in each class. But, she knew if she couldn’t handle that then there was no way she’d be able to handle running a bakery. So day in and day out she’d work, and work, and work and by the end of her 7th year she had a decent amount of money saved up! 

The first issue had been finding a place in a good area that would gain traction and attention while the second one was finding someone willing to sell to someone fresh out of school with no prior business experience. She’d spoken to many people in various different places, some good, and some bad before she finally had been blessed with the chance of meeting Mary and her wife Denise. It was a miracle really. (Y/n) was short on the money, exponentially so however, Mary had sold to her anyways. She said she saw a passion in the girl that she hadn’t seen for a very long time and that it was something she wanted to help foster considering she had had her time to live her dreams and explore passions of her own. So with that, a handshape was exchanged for a beat up envolope filled with the entirety of the girl’s life savings. She had invested every nickel and dime she had ever earned into the place and she prayed it wouldn’t blow up in her face.

Which brought her to where she was today: a proud owner of a highly successful business. And of course, with great business comes a nice chunk of money which caught her parents’ attention. They had began to call her everyday but when that they didn’t work, they showed up at her shop unannounced. At first, she had felt warm inside. Her usual cold and distant parents had come to visit her! However, when they started crunching out numbers and percentages, that short lived happiness was replaced by irritation in which she quickly kicked them out, placing a charm on the building that when they’d attempt to enter (if they really, truly, had the balls to come back), their bodies would be flung right back onto the sidewalk into the heaping piles of trash on the city side walks. Now, (Y/n) was by no means wealthy, but she made a nice amount of money to be engaging in something she enjoyed so heavily, which is why she was confused where they had gotten the idea she had money to share with the main two people who were the cause of her insecurities. Plus, every extra dollar she had she put right back into the shop. Paying her workers, building maintenance, ingredients. She wasn’t a fan of having too much money, her family had shown her what that could cause (and how easily you could lose it all). 

Yet still sometimes she found herself wishing she could live the lavish lifestyle her parents once did. She mainly dreamed more so of the more engaging parts instead of the status and power that came with it. As she frosted various different cakes with thick buttercream, her mind would wonder to vivid imagery of beautiful hotel rooms, with breath taking views. Michelin five star meals, coated in delicious cream sauces. Endless adventure waiting to be discovered.

And yet here she was, sitting at a table as she stuffed her face with a raspberry marzipan cupcake. It was a Wednesday, first one of the month and as per usual, her and Twyla were set together, sampling cakes, chocolates, and other treats for the upcoming days. Wednesday had been the official day  they had chosen due to the slowed flow of people that would come in. (Y/n) liked to have a different theme each day of the week. The customers lived for it and she had massed a group of frequenters who came each day, wondering what the theme would be that day.

“You know boss, I’ve gotta say it. Working here and sampling all these cakes with you is giving me quite the ass!” Twyla said, turning around as she wiggled her ass in the girl’s face for emphasis. (Y/n) giggled, rolling her eyes as she swatted at the girl, missing as she jumped away from her last minute. “Hey! You gotta take me out to dinner first for that.”

“Just because we’re sampling cakes doesn’t mean that the store is closed! Anyone could walk in at any moment and would you really want that to be their first experience here?” she asked, eyes scanning the silver platter in front of them. She decided on the new dessert flavored chocolates she had been working on. Popping it into her mouth, she let out a moan of approval.

“I mean, I dont’ see why not! We’d definitely make a lot more money with a cake like mine!” the blue haired girl said, sitting down as she grabbed a chocolate as well. “Besides, I don’t think those little noises you’re making would help the scene.” she stated, snickering as the girl across from her tensed up.

“It-it’s not like that! The chocolate- it just- I just- ugh!” she stuttered out, huffing as she crossed her arms over her chest, pouting at the girl. “If you’re gonna keep being mean we can end this process. Just tell me what you think of the blueberry pie chocolate so I can know if we’re adding it to tomorrow’s spread.”

“Oh come on (Y/n) it’s good! Every first Wednesday we sit here, you overly critique yourself, then me and Tiana end up picking out our favorites for the next day!” Twyla was right, even their patterns for trying new things remained the same. (Y/n) wiped her messy hand on her aprons, sighing as she stood up to go back to her position behind the counter. Her employee followed, grabbing the platter to put back into the kitchen before joining her boss behind the counter.

“You’re right. I swear everyday is beginning to feel the same.” She opened her notepad, beginning to take inventory of the sweets they had in the display counter. “I’m grateful for everything I have, I really am. But sometimes I just wish I could have something, anything….”

“New?” the green eyed girl added, catching the (h/c) haired girl’s attention. She nodded, looking at the girl who had snuck a cookie out of the glass case. “I feel ya, girl. Everyday feels the same. Sometimes even when new people come in, I can already tell how they’re going to be. How they’ll act, what they’ll order, what method of payment they’ll use.” (Y/n) eyed the girl up, raising a brow.

“Are you sure you’re not just using legilimens?” she questioned, watching as the girl shifted on her feet, scratching the back of her neck.

“Okay so maybe I do sometimes. But a lot of the times I don’t! Like the other day this weird guy came in and- woah. (Y/n) I don’t wanna freak you out but I have a feeling those hotties in suits across the street are going to be walking in here soon.” Twyla said, in an uncharacteristically quiet tone. The shorter girl followed her friend’s gaze, looking out the glass doors across the street. Three unfamiliar men were crossing over, all in suits that she could only assume cost as much as four months of rent. However, the one in the middle really caught her eye.

Before she knew it, the bell chimed and the three of them made their way in. They looked very out of place in the brightly decorated shop. The one in the middle looked the most important, towering over the other two men. He had dark slicked back hair, an eyebrow piercing, and tattoos that were visible on his neck and hands (which had a few beautiful looking rings on them (none of which were a wedding band…)), yet his hazel eyes held a soft look to them. To his left was a redhead boy, freckles danced all along his face. His eyes were bloodshot from god knows what. He had tattoos as well (not as many as the middle man) and a few unique ear piercings. The guy to the hot tall guy’s right was attractive too but not nearly as serious looking as the other two. In fact, he was humming a song under his breath, a smile causing the tattoo on the right side of his face to crease. 

As she went to open her mouth to greet them, the man in the middle eye’s grew wide, his mouth gaping as he stared at her. He walked closer, examining her face closely which caused her to grow confused.

“I’m...I’m sorry. Do I know you?” she asked.

“(Y/n)?” she gasped at the sound of the familiar voice, her notepad and pen dropping from her hands. She made her way around the counter, staring up at the tall man.

“Neville?!”

NEXT||

TAGSLIST: @vayeya11 @pink-hufflepuff @clancyscookies @beewitchedlou @nevillelongbottomsgirlfriend @redpanda-poetry @vibingaesthetically

[otomegema]

Title: Convergence Theory, ch. 3 summary: Transitional chapter GET. Aka, the one where reader meets Gojo's students a little more and I show off some of her powers and set up some future uh-- issues. That might effect the would-be couple. I'm just rolling with it. pairing: Gojo Satoru x Reader rating: mature Ao3 Link (We are uh-- up to ch. 11 on Ao3 just fyi)

Weird did not even begin to describe the feeling that went through your chest and flipped in your stomach as you closed the door on your hotel room, bags in hand, and went downstairs to meet your new roommate in the lobby.

No.

New fiancé.

A fact Gojo was delighting in explaining to the hotel staff, animatedly conjuring from the depths of his mind some new bullshit on how you met. How he proposed. Some of the girls at the station were near puddles of envy. Others, happily told you how “lucky” you were as you handed off your keycard and checked out.

You had managed not to scowl the entire time, but just barely.

“You’re gonna have to send me a spreadsheet of all these lies just so I can keep up.” You muttered, swinging your bag into the open trunk of the car that had arrived to pick you both up. Oddly, the driver was not the same as the one from the other night. The man in question looked nervously in his rear view mirror, but also with an intense amount of curiosity.

“I already forgot um. Besides, not like we need one for the Gojo clan. They already know how we met.”

Gojo didn’t bother to get the door for you this time, sliding into the back seat without waiting for you to finish loading the car. You took your own spot, mirroring him in taking out your phone to check your latest messages. The driver would occasionally exchange looks with you in the mirror. You gave him a polite smile.

“Principal will wanna meet with you,” Gojo said abruptly, “I had my guys put in your rec already. Just let him know you want me as your mentor and when he brings me the request I’ll sign off.” Gojo didn’t even look up from his phone, “Old man will probably faint. I haven’t agreed to babysit anyone in—“

He paused, but only for a second.

“—Awhile!”

“Too busy?” You asked.

“Too much of a pain in the ass. And after, you can unpack your stuff at my place. I have a room on campus too, probably will spend the majority of my time there when I’m not on mission.”

“When we are not on mission.” You added with a smirk. Gojo sighed.

“Yeah, yeah. You enjoy this while it lasts, I’m already planning our next ‘date’ and you can bet before I’m done with planning the third one the family will demand a visit.” Gojo grinned, “When was the last time you’ve been?”

You groaned, the sound drawing a chuckle from Gojo. He knew damn well when the last time you were invited was.

“Do I get to plan any dates?”

He scoffed, “Why would you wanna?”

It was a fair point. You shrugged and turned to look out the window, admiring the view of trees and the greenery that surrounded Jujutsu Tech. Your days as a student were long over, but there was still so much protocol, so many hoops and tests and missions to jump through. If they had warned you being a sorcerer was like being a forever-student… maybe some of the others had it right. Ditching the school and the rules and wandering as independents. There was an allure to just throwing in the towel— but how would anything ever change if you just left?

You wondered if Gojo felt the same way, his personality not exactly meshing with the idea of a dutiful and obedient Jujutsu sorcerer. He was smiling lazily to himself as he typed on his phone and you found yourself content to just enjoy the silence.

The campus was not foreign to you and so you rebuffed Gojo’s offer to walk you in. Besides, if they came in together it might be too much of a tip off. There was no rule about the relation between a potential first-grade and their mentor, but given his tendency to rub the higher ups the wrong way, you didn’t want to risk any bumps. It was bad enough whoever that driver was had clearly heard you both talking. He seemed to be a staff member.

Passing through the halls though, you had the distinct feeling you were being watched— and definitely not by Gojo. If he was keeping tabs on you, you’d never know.

The cursed energy signatures were familiar, young and new, yet strong. You slid around a corner, barely flexing your Limitless to teleport around behind your spies, hiding out of sight.

“Wha— did we lose her?” The young boy with the pink hair gaped, rushing around the corner and then back, “I don’t see her!”

“Dummy, she probably heard you mouth breathing a mile away.” The girl muttered, slapping her fist into her hand with a disappointed grunt.

The other tall young man said nothing, his eyes drawn down into almost apathetic sleepiness.

“Why were we following her anyway?”

“Didnt you hear, Megumi? She is Gojo-sensei’s wife!”

“Fiancé, Yuji. Not wife.” The girl corrected.

“Fiancé, wife, girlfriend— whatever! Point is, how did we not know about her?! Who marries a guy like that anyway, she has to be crazy strong!!”

“She didn’t do so well on that last mission.” Megumi added, his voice flat. You winced slightly at his assessment. That was your cue. Shifting your energy, you appeared behind Megumi, forcing a tense, but still sufficiently bright smile unto your lips.

“That’s because my rat future-husband was busy showing off for his students!”

Megumi, to his credit, only stiffened. The other two openly shrieked at your arrival, the boy Yuji swiftly switching to an expression of awe.

“She moves like Gojo-sensei! I didn’t know she could do that!”

“Lots of people can do this… can’t believe he gets away with acting all high and mighty…” you grumbled.

You swore you heard a muffled sneeze from somewhere behind you, but your attention was suddenly wholly on Gojo’s two more animated students as they crowded into your space. Nobara Kugisaki— that was the girls name. And Itadori Yuji. The other boy you knew even before the mission was Megumi Fushiguro. Gojo’s longest running student and “ward” of a sort. Plus, he had affiliation with the Zenin. The Gojo clan liked to pretend it was as important, but even with the Six Eyes, there was no contest over which clan held the most power.

“Aren’t you a Gojo too? You have the Limitless right?” Yuji continued, smiling. This was Sukuna’s vessel? He seemed far too simple and far too sweet.

“Distantly. And yes.”

“That is so cool. You must be super strong.”

“I’m— I do okay.” You said, finding the praise a bit hard to accept. Sure in comparison to other third, fourth and even some of your fellow second-grade sorcerers you were notably talented— but how could anyone even judge such a thing when your true comparison was Gojo Satoru?

“When that curse hit ya? I thought— yikes. She is done for. But you barely had a mark on you!”

“Yeah, how did you dodge it? Oh! Can you do the thing?!” Nobara extended her hand, pressing her palm outward in what took you a minute to understand was a mimic of Gojo’s barrier technique.

You smiled faintly and lifted up your own hand. Nobara grinned as she tried to reach out and touch her fingertips to your own and she was stopped just short, hovering and wavering slightly in infinitely slowed movement.

“Neat.”

“I wanna try!” Yuji exclaimed and you happily demonstrated for the young man as well. Shockingly, you had to increase your output a little to repel him.

“I can’t have it up all the time, but it does help in a pinch.” You said and were surprised when Megumi finally spoke up.

“You make it sound like that somehow makes it less powerful.”

Had you? Your tone when talking about your abilities was always reserved. Cautious. You had no reason to gloat— no right to it. You masked your inner reflection behind a terse smile and offered your hand to Megumi.

“You wanna turn?”

The boy flushed.

“I’m… I’m good.”

“Are you going to be around campus today? Are you coming to our lesson?” Yuji asked, Nobara perking at the idea too.

“Maybe. I have to meet with the principal, but I’m sure I’ll see you all later.”

Satisfied with that, they wished you luck and departed, Nobara and Yuji falling again into animated conversation as Megumi steadily followed behind. It would be nice maybe to take part in a lesson or two… you hadn’t given the idea of teaching much thought, but just working with Gojo’s students you were starting to think you were getting the appeal of it.

Especially if you were one who loved to be adored, you thought with a scoff, wondering where Gojo had run off to if his students had been following you.

Dealing with principal Masamichi was a short affair. You accepted the recommendation news with humble gratitude and made your intention of being mentored by Gojo known. You were prepared to ignore the tension that seemed to permeate the atmosphere the moment you did so.

Masamichi simply stated he would let Yoshinobu know of the transfer. There would be no objections from Tokyo.

You could only imagine that your former principal would have something to say about all this— but he and the higher ups had done little to assist you in achieving first-grade status. Perhaps now they would realize they did not hold the keys to every door forward in their world.

Feeling strangely smug and self-satisfied, you left the office and set out to find the three students. It wasn’t difficult. Barely expanding your awareness of energy brought the familiar bright ray of Gojo into your mind. He was easy enough for you to find, you’d been doing it unwillingly all your life.

Near the outskirts of the woods that surrounded Jujutsu Tech you found Gojo shockingly studentless, sitting on the ground and playing what you could only imagine was an extremely high level of Candy Crush.

“Aren’t you suppose to be teaching?”

“I am! Kids are chasing a couple of third grade curses around the woods!”

“… and what are they learning?”

“Optimistically? How to dodge. Those things shoot out some kind of energy thing that definitely looks like it would sting.”

Gojo rapidly tapped across the screen, ending the level in record time before stashing his phone and leaning back on his palms. He tilted his head back at you with his usual smirk.

“You get your semi-grade one status?”

You nodded.

“Perfect!” He stood, brushing off his pants, “Now we can start your lesson! But first, I wanna see your baseline.”

He cracked his knuckles and then lazily stuffed his hands into his pockets.

“Hit me with your strongest technique.”

“…what, like right now? Now, now?” You shouldn’t have been surprised honestly, Gojo was a loose cannon in every sense of the word.

“Now, now, babe.”

You scowled, the furrowing of your brow only seeming to make him smile brighter.

“C’mon. You won’t get me and you know it. Just hit me with your best Limitless technique.”

“My best Limitless technique is non-combative.” You said wryly, wishing you had chosen to wear slacks that day instead of a skirt. Your own uniform was a modified version of the Jujutsu Tech one from your time spent as a sort of “adjunct” instructor. This was definitely not your practice outfit.

“Is it?” Gojo asked, humming thoughtfully. Was he being purposefully obtuse? Most likely, yes.

“Show me your best combative technique.”

You knew what he was getting at. Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue. It was, without utilizing reversals, the strongest technique a Limitless user could achieve— or at least Gojo had made it so. You could do it, sure, but you were not sure on how long you’d be standing upright after you did. All your previous attempts to master the technique usually ended in you taking a sudden and unplanned nap. At best, the output was a little weaker, but sometimes you could hold unto consciousness and only be tapped for the rest of the day.

“I’ll faint.” You said quietly and Gojo lifted his hand to cup his ear, grinning.

“What was that?”

You huffed, “I’ll faint.”

“I don’t think you will.”

“I’m sorry, is this your technique or mine?”

Gojo gave a small shrug, “Obviously mine. You're just a knock-off.”

“Ya know, I activated my Limitless abilities before you.”

“I mighta heard something like that once— Now hit me.” Gojo took a few steps back, crooking his finger at you, “Come on, come one. Don’t be so boring. I have to know what your capable of it you are going to come on missions with me.”

“This is a terrible idea.” You grumbled, but swung out your shoulders, breathing out slowly to mentally prepare yourself if anything.

“Maybe! But like I said, I gotta know just how weak you are.” Gojo said, mirth in his voice— and mocking.

“I’m not weak.” You snapped out before you could real in your tongue, feeling your neck flush.

“You just said you can’t even do the base technique of our ability without fainting.” Gojo gestured his hand out as he gave another little shrug, “Kinda seems super weak to me.”

“I’m not you.”

“Not with that attitude you aren’t."

Okay. Fine. He wanted you to hit him? You’d hit him. Your cursed energy had already flared up, irritation giving way to anger as you opened that channel within your memory and your emotions— focusing it until all that bitterness, all that rage was nothing more than a battery for you to use to fuel your own jujutsu.

You knew Gojo would be fine, but for a moment, you nearly faltered. Having someone ask you to basically collapse them apart with the cursed equivalent of a black hole? Not exactly a normal every day occurrence.

“C’mon! Stop thinking about hitting me and hit me! Unless you wanna renegotiate our deal… hell, maybe it would be easier for both of us if I just paid your rent instead. I don’t know how I’m gonna manage to get someone so pathetic to first-grade.”

You were going to kill him.

You were going to rip the eyes from his skull and spit them out at the dinner table of the main family, teeth and gums bloody.

“Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue.”

The cursed energy ripped not out from your body, but in. Focusing around Gojo as it manipulated space, dividing it down to the negative and seeking out to rend him apart. The area of effect was like a circle, but you pinpointed at his eyes regardless. Targeting what excess energy was left to his face.

The blast of blue sent clouds of dirt and grass into the air— or what was once dirt and grass. Having been nearly crushed into nothing, the debris shot around in fine powdered ash. When the air cleared, Gojo was standing where he had been before, entirely untouched.

Except for his blindfold.

One end had twisted, the fabric swirling up so tightly it was risen up against his forehead and revealing one bright, blue eye. It had gotten caught in part in the curling shrinking energy of the technique, but not enough to destroy it.

You let out a breath, stunned to find you were still standing.

“See?” Gojo said cheerfully, “Just a little motivation and you—“

The last thing you saw before everything went black was the ground suddenly rushing up to your face.

The low painful rumble of your stomach woke you, awareness of your body coming back in small waves. There was something soft tucked under your head… and your legs were elevated, knees curled around something.

You opened your eyes to the bright, unforgiving sky above and groaned loudly.

“Rise and shine, honeybun.”

His very voice made you wanna faint again just to get away from him.

“Really. Honey bun. Here, eat.”

A packaged sweet was tossed unto your stomach and you sat up enough to recognize the thing your legs were swung over was Gojo’s own lap. His phone was in one hand, the familiar blips and tones of a game audible. His other was rested on your knee, pressing down to help support your efforts to sit up.

He had taken off his jacket and put it behind your head, the white sleeves of his shirt beneath rolled up around his elbows. Judging by the absence of his blindfold and the return of his sunglasses, he hadn’t been able to save the item from your rending.

You flushed, attempting to pull your legs away and recognizing with a sharp sound that he could easily have seen up your skirt at that angle. Gojo’s hand tightened on your knee, keeping you in place.

“You should let your blood settle back before you try squirmin’ so much.”

If he had looked he did not make mention of it, focus fully on his game. Your stomach grumbled again and you tore open the honey bun packet and into the soft, sweet bread in short time.

“You really did faint.” Gojo said lowly, “Not the greatest. We’ll need to start with getting your cursed energy output higher. You can call on it in a pinch, sure, but it’d be better to have an ongoing source rather than relying on me teasing you into snapping off something halfway decent.”

“Ya know, anyone else and that move would have turned them into soup.” You said, not in the habit of defending yourself, but something about Gojo making the assessment set off your nerves. Why would he compare you to a level only he could achieve? It wasn’t fair.

“I know! I mean— it was good! Don’t get me wrong. Just not good. Blowing shit up is great and all but not if it blows you up with it. Leaves you vulnerable to reprisal if the curse isn’t alone.”

You shrugged, “I guess I just always figure if I take something out with that, if there is anything left the other sorcerers will get it.”

“… so it’s a sacrificial play, for you?”

You nodded. Gojo switched off his phone and shoved your legs off his lap, standing up. He didn’t offer you any help as you wobbled unto your own two feet.

“You got some serious hang ups.” Gojo said and you couldn’t very well argue.

He tugged his blindfold from his pocket, holding up the tattered piece of fabric for your inspection— as evidence. Your eyes widened. You didn’t realize until now the full extent of the damage, the way the cloth was shredded in the center as if a wild animal had tried to claw his eyes out. You had been so focused, so preoccupied… no wonder the damage wasn’t fully resembling of the true Lapse: Blue technique.

“Here. A souvenir.”

“… sorry.” You mumbled, reaching out to take it. Gojo quickly moved, pulling the blindfold from your reach at the last moment with a chuckle. You rolled your eyes and went to take it again only for him to repeat the same trick, earning a wary smile from you as you snatched at his hand and he allowed you to take it the third time.

“I never—“ Gojo began and stopped, humming to himself as he seemed to reconsider his words.

“What?”

“Well, I was just thinking I picked the best possible choice for this charade!” Gojo began, “It may really take you the whole year to fall for me.”

You smacked him with the torn piece of fabric, earning a startled “ow” from him and the satisfaction you must have caught him off guard to get through his barrier. You seemed to be able to do that a lot. Showed what he knew letting his powers wane around you.

“In the meanwhile, there is no time like the present! Let’s go!” Gojo reached out, grabbing your arm by the elbow before you could recoil away.

“Go—”

The forest disappeared, the world refocusing in the middle of Tokyo. The sounds of birds and wind replaced with the sound of tire treads on wet pavement and the faint, constant roar of the city scape.

“—where?”

Ah— yes.

To an abandoned apartment building.

That radiated cursed energy.

Of course.

[lordofthebigtimesupernatural]

Hi! I really really love your single dad au despite im not good at english (im korean btw)😂😂 if you ok, can you write about kid keith eats only what he want so shiro is very worried about that? And thank you for your amazing writings!

Hello there nonny! You are so good and your English is fantastic! I’m so happy that you are enjoying this AU, even when English isn’t your first language! Thank you for sending a prompt and reading this AU! I do apologize for the wait and I hope you still enjoy this!

x.V.x

              “No!”

              “Come on Keith, please?”

              “No!”

              “Just a couple of bites.”

              “No!”

              “Please sweetheart, you can’t go hungry.”

              “No!”

              “Young man, don’t make me use my disappointed face.”

              “No! No!”

              “How about this? I’ll give you extra cuddles if you eat more.”

              “…No!”

              Shiro threw his arms in the air, frustrated beyond belief by this point. Who knew that a four-year-old could already cause so much frustration. He thought he was past the terrible two phase and into the formidable fours. Shiro wasn’t prepared for rebelling at his age, he was only winding down from his own rebellious nature. How was he supposed to handle Keith already rebelling against his father? He was too young.

              Keith, meanwhile, was glaring at his dinner plate (which was nothing more than chicken and rice at this point) with all of his little might. His arms were crossed over his chest and his cheeks were puffed out with his eyebrows scrunched. If Shiro hadn’t been arguing with Keith for the past two hours, he would have found Keith to look rather adorable.

              Yet, here they were, two hours since dinner started and Keith hadn’t eaten a bite. Shiro’s dinner was long done and he had hoped that Keith would eventually start eating. However, when the toddler didn’t even take a bite, Shiro began to try coaxing Keith into eating.

              Sometimes Keith could be a picky eater. The texture was gross, the flavor was too much, but by now Shiro had Keith’s palette down to a T. There hadn’t been any incidences with meals for a couple of years now. At least, not until last week. It started gradually, with Keith eating less and less at meals, or simply wanting something else to eat. Shiro had chalked it up to Keith getting picky again.

              However, when Keith started refusing meals he became worried. Keith wouldn’t even eat any alternatives that Shiro would try to give him. He flatly refused any kind of food, at several meals.

              It was worrying Shiro because now Keith’s health was concerned. Thankfully, Keith was still drinking as much as he normally did. But Shiro knew that Keith would get sick if he didn’t eat enough. It was only a matter of times before things got worse. Though, nothing Shiro tried worked on Keith.

              Timeouts only got Keith even more upset. He still didn’t eat.

              Switching out food had no reaction. Keith still wouldn’t eat.

              Snacks were barely working anymore. He still didn’t eat.

              Trying to eat Keith’s dinner with him didn’t do a thing. He still refused to eat.

              Tiredly, Shiro scrubbed his hand up and down his face before swallowing thickly. “Keith, baby, you have to eat. Please? If you don’t eat, you’ll get sick.”

              “No!” Keith scrunched up his face again and swung his legs.

              “Baby,” Shiro gently set his hands on Keith’s legs to keep him from swinging wildly. Thankfully, Keith stopped kicking, but his glare was now aimed at Shiro. Have mercy on my soul. “You need to eat for Daddy, or else Daddy is going to be so sad.”

              This seemed to get Keith’s attention momentarily.

              “If you don’t eat and get sick, then daddy worries and that makes him sad,” Shiro continued quickly in hopes that this would work. He felt a bit bad by having to guilt his son into eating, and he knew that this wouldn’t be the healthiest of ways to get Keith to eat. However, he would do whatever it took to get Keith to eat tonight. “Daddy doesn’t want to see you sick, so you have to eat. Please? Can you just eat for daddy?”

              Keith stared at his father with big (deceitful) blue eyes. His glare was slowly morphing into a look of concern. Shiro ignored the twinge in his gut when Keith looked down at his food. Slowly, without saying a word, Keith grabbed his fork and stabbed into a piece of chicken. Then, slowly and with a face of annoyance, Keith chewed on the meat and began to eat.

              Shiro almost cried when Keith finally finished his small portion.

              “Thank you, sweetheart, you did so well. Daddy is so proud of you.” Shiro cooed shakily. He pulled Keith out of his chair and into his arms. Immediately, Keith was satisfied and curled into his father for extra cuddles. Shiro decided not to bring up the matter to Keith again this night, despite the slight tremor in his hand. Instead, he cleaned off the dinner table and sat on the couch for a few hours, cuddling Keith until the toddler had passed out.

              Shiro knew he couldn’t let this go on.

              Keith needed help.

x.V.x

              “He’s so young. Is this normal behavior?” Shiro worriedly chewed his lip. The doctor in front of him nodded to acknowledge his words, as she peered down Keith’s throat with her light. Keith squirmed uncomfortably and Shiro gently squeezed his hand.

              “Everything looks fine to me. No internal redness or tearing in the throat,” Dr. Kegan said softly. She turned her small light off and peered at Keith’s eyes. “No yellow or red in his eyes or discolored skin. Everything looks perfectly healthy on this fella, aside from being slightly underweight.”

              Shiro felt his stomach drop.

              Keith tugged on Shiro’s arm, causing Shiro to remember the coloring book in his bag. He quickly pulled it out for his son, to keep Keith preoccupied while they talk.

              “Underweight?” Shiro licked his lips.

              “Yes. However, Keith has always been slightly below average in his height and weight,” Dr. Kegan explained, examining her records to verify. Shiro nodded. Keith was small for his age, but he and the doctors were hopeful that Keith would grow as he got older.

              “Right now he’s below the fiftieth percentile by a few pounds.” Dr. Kegan explained. “That’s a bit more than usual, however, he’s nowhere near as underweight as his records state back when he was six months old. I would be more concerned about his weight back then than his weight right now. He’s still within a relatively safe zone.”

              Shiro breathed a sigh of relief. His eyes darted over to Keith but found that Keith wasn’t listening to either of them and instead, coloring a pride of lions. When Shiro had first adopted Keith, despite having chubby cheeks and being the most beautiful thing that Shiro had ever seen, Keith had been very underweight. Shiro could remember the first time he held Keith, he had been terrified of crushing him. Babies were small, but Keith was tiny. He remembers how he could count every one of Keith’s ribs or how his teeny tummy was sunken in from hunger. Shiro never wants Keith to ever grow hungry like that ever again.

              As his father, Shiro had made a promise to Keith that day to never let his baby go hungry.

              “But he could get to that state if this keeps up,” Shiro stated.

              Dr. Kegan sighed and eventually nodded. “I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be concerned if Keith isn’t eating. It’s a major concern and he could continue to remain underweight which could affect his future growth. However, many kids are picky eaters. You’re not the first parent with a child refusing to eat.”

              Shiro frowned.

              “There’s nothing indicating that Keith has unwillingly stopped eating,” Dr. Kegan explained. Keith continued to color a lion green with his tongue poking out in concentration. “He’s had no allergic reactions either. My best guess is this is, unfortunately, a phase that Keith is going through. He doesn’t quite understand the importance of eating as you and I do, and it could simply be that Keith thinks eating is boring.”

              “Boring?!” Shiro almost slapped his forehead. “But he can’t stop eating.”

              “No, he can’t. The best that you can do, is continue to encourage him to eat. Even if it means eating a bit unhealthy right now. I would rather Keith willingly have fries and a burger for dinner, instead of nothing.” Dr. Kegan said slowly. Shiro nodded, eyes trailing over to Keith before glancing back at her. “You have to remain patient and calm. Getting angry might only make Keith more upset. There are alternatives to making sure Keith gets all of the nutrients that he needs.”

              “Really?” Shiro breathed.

              “Yes, you can start with vitamins and gummies. Then try getting Keith to drink special nutrient shakes, such as Pediasure or any other alternative, that is meant for nutritional value to children. It won’t be a permanent replacement for food, but for now, it will make sure to keep Keith healthy and well “fed” so to speak.” Dr. Kegan explained. “Try getting Keith to drink a glass of these during breakfast and at dinner. This way if Keith won’t eat, then he can at least get his nutrition in and his growth won’t be affected. Do not force feed him. That can ruin any progress you made. If in a couple weeks, Keith is still not eating, then we can try alternatives.”

              Shiro swallowed but found himself nodding at Dr. Kegan’s gentle words.

              “How do I try to get him to eat?” He finally asked.

              “Try making it a game? Or making it fun? You and your son have very creative imaginations,” Dr. Kegan’s smile widened when Shiro’s cheeks became aflame with a blush. “I know you’ll figure something out.”

              You bet your bottom dollar that Shiro would.

              He would do anything for his son.

x.V.x

              “Alright, captain Keith. There are approximately ten enemy units of broccoli invading your northern lands of potato. They’re attempting to ransack the pools of gravy, what are your orders?”

              “We need to elimi-date the enemy!”

              “Excellent captain. How many shall we each destroy?”

              “Hmm, you take seven and I’ll take three!”

              “Are you sure captain?”

              “Um, I’ll take four?”

              “Most brilliant captain. Prepare the pronged weapons in, 3, 2, 1…go!”

              With that Shiro and Keith, both stabbed their forks into a head of broccoli. Shiro quickly scooped up six pieces and ate them up. He saw Keith eating three of them, and struggling with the last head of broccoli.

              “Captain, I suggest using potato land to smother the enemy. It’s effective in neutralizing their scent.” Shiro suggested between bites. He saw Keith dubiously eye the pile of mashed potatoes on his plate before slathering the broccoli in potato. Then he managed to wolf down the last head.

              “Brilliant captain! Our potato farmers will live to see another day! As a reward, they off you a spoon of their land for wealth and prosperity.” Shiro cheered when Keith bounced excitedly in his chair.

              “Well, I don’t care ‘bout wealth. But maybe we needs prop-erity?”

              “Yes, I agree.” Shiro smiled, scooping up a spoonful of potatoes for Keith. Keith swallowed the bite eagerly and Shiro scooped up his own spoonful.

              “Now, captain, there are still several healing chicken wings that haven’t been touched,” Shiro whispered, pointing towards the few chicken wings left.

              “Hmm, we gotsta recharge for the next attack, right?” Keith rubbed his chin thoughtfully before looking up at his dad for confirmation. Shiro nodded happily and laughed.

              “Yes, sir! They have a natural healing factor so you should be ready to go!” Shiro commented, watching with slight pride as Keith ate an entire chicken wing. He never thought that seeing his son eat would bring such relief to him.

              “Also, make sure to combine your milk too, to strengthen your armor captain.” Shiro nodded over towards Keith’s glass of Pediasure. Keith nodded absently, still in the mist of eating his chicken.

              A chuckle erupted from across the table.

              “Not that I mind, but when did we break the rules of no playing with our food?” Kuro asked softly. Shiro looked away from his son to smirk over at his brother. Kuro had become a part of their dinner routine once a week since Kuro had returned home two years ago. Keith had grown especially close to his only uncle and demanded that Kuro visit them for dinner once a week. Kuro had been sure to keep that promise.

              “Eh, since my boy got promoted to captain. He’s the best at defending our territory from yucky things like broccoli and instant ramen noodles.” Shiro teased as Kuro huffed.

              “Hey! Not all of us are five-star chefs cadet.” Kuro grumbled, stabbing at his own potatoes. However, he didn’t continue with the matter and instead smiled at Shiro when Shiro busied himself with wiping Keith’s face.

              He was well aware of the worry and fear Shiro had been through for the last few months. He’d called Kuro and their parents multiple times when Keith had first refused to eat. Since then, the Shirogane family had been involved with helping Keith every step of the way. Kuro was well aware of the dangers than Keith had faced by refusing to eat. He’d been told about Keith’s small height and weight and saw the pictures of Keith when Shiro had first adopted him. It had made him sick to see his nephew so tiny and sick, but he knew that Keith’s was in better hands the second that Shiro adopted him.

              There was no one better to love and care for Keith.

              And by turning dinner into game nights, only further proved Shiro’s place as Keith’s dad.

              “Cadet Uncle Kuro! You have an army of peas trying to steal your healing chicken!” Keith suddenly cried. Kuro jumped out of his thoughts, frowning at Keith. There weren’t any peas left on his plate.

              Just as he was thinking that Shiro (the bastard) had dumped two whole spoonsful of peas onto Kuro’s plate. Kuro stared at his brother with a look of horror while Shiro barely shrugged. As if to say, whoops, are you really gonna get mad at me in front of my baby boy?

              Hands clenched around his fork, Kuro gritted his teeth to keep from frowning. Instead, he took a breath a smiled.

              “Captain Keith, I will do my best to defeat the enemy and keeps the Shirogane wood table free of infested vermin that are peas.”

              Despite the terrible taste of peas, Keith’s bright laughter was more than enough to keep Kuro quiet and enjoy his meal. Keith sure was special.

[adventk-blog]

                                             — ARE YOU WHO YOU WANT TO BE,

       introducing JUNG YOONOH, a MUTANT, under the moniker of JAEHYUN— and currently a believer of NEUTRALITY. age ( twenty ) and gifted with the ability of TIME MANIPULATION, they are currently working as STUDENT and BLOGGER.

WE ARE SO MUCH MORE THAN STORIES,

1장,

jung yoonoh was born into a breaking family. it’s the same tragic tale of a couple’s marriage falling apart, deciding that they were better apart rather than together. it was the classic accusation of infidelity amongst both parties, and their arguments had gotten so bad that their wrongful accusations ended up becoming the truth they tried to hide. eventually the toxicity that was slowly but surely contaminating their once loving marriage had become too much, and they came to a mutual agreement to just end things where they were now before it was to progress further. he was an only child, their only product that survived the divorce as they fought for sole custody of him. looking back on it now, he would’ve preferred that the both of them just let him go — it would’ve been easier on the three of them as he grew up. although it took some time, the entire fiasco resulted in them sharing custody over him as it should’ve been in the beginning whether they were to split or not.

though they shared custody, he was required to stay with his mother a lot more due to the fact that she would be able to provide more for him when it came to parenting. his father visited often, almost every day just to spend as many hours as he could with him before his mother would kick him out. the emotional pain still lingered every time they were near each other, so the action of walking on eggshells around each other was expected. the only reason they hadn’t broke out into an all-out brawl every time they were around each other ( because while the divorce was a mutual decision, the wounds created were still very much open, ) was because of their son, who was less than three years old and needed the both of them to remain civil or, as if he could detect their ill feelings, he’d begin wailing.

his childhood is one of the most unpleasant memories he unwillingly carries in his mind. he was always switching between his parents’ different homes and neighborhoods weekly, and while he knew his parents loved him to bits, their love was never felt. he never understood why his parents couldn’t be together, especially if they loved him so much. always travelling between the both of them had created an empty feeling inside him, as home was split in two with two parties who despised each other’s existence. the only sense of home he really remembers was when they were civil during his parent-teacher conferences or when they watched his soccer games, putting their differences aside even if it was just for the sake of his happiness. unfortunately, it was only temporary and those moments never lasted very long.

the only memory worth treasuring from his childhood was unlocking his unexpected otherworldly ability.

2장,

it activates without a warning sign. he’s at his father’s home, and they were preparing for a fancy dinner for some sort of surprise that he was supposed to be looking forward to. they were to meet someone, but he thought it was just a promising business partner or something he’s used to. you could only imagine the disappointment he was feeling when his father was introducing him to another woman, claiming her to be his lover. he was eleven years old, and any hope of his parents finding their way to each other was just tossed out of the window. he blanks out, trying to process it but instead he finds himself wondering what had happened between his parents for this to be his reality. he wants to go back to one of those times where his parents were happy being together, even if it was all pretend.

nothing significant happens until they’re actually in the process of waiting for their food. every other blink sends him to a different time in his life, happy with his parents as he watches memories play before his very eyes as he watches from a distance. it’s surreal and unstable, something he didn’t understand as the two adults just watched the young boy blink every few seconds with absence clear in his eyes with their gaze on him. instead of explaining he stays silent, unsure of how to explain the phenomenon to them since he couldn’t explain it himself. it happens a few more times before they cease, right when their father announces that they’re heading home. truthfully, he remembers the night as unsuccessful when it came to bonding with another woman.

on the bright side, he has a newfound curiosity about the universe.

he only mentions it when he gets to his mother’s home, unsure of how to bring it up to his father. it’s not like he could just casually walk up to him and say “i was seeing you and mom happy together while with your new lover.” surprisingly, his mom took the news rather well — or at least it felt like she did. she seemed to have been expecting this, as she calmly tried explaining what was going on as clearly as she could. apparently it’s an ability that’s inherited every other generation, so the only other known expert was his grandmother. he was always reassured that it was a gift rather than a monstrosity, and since he wasn’t causing any harm he had no reason to not believe so.

he follows her guidance thoroughly as he continues to grow up. he distances himself from his parents and decides to live with her instead at fifteen, as she was the only one who could help him harness his abilities to the fullest extent. it’s weird — he doesn’t really like it. nothing about it makes sense and truthfully … he doesn’t find it very useful. all he ends up doing is revisiting the past, back to the moments where his family felt whole. he watches with a somber smile, following the trio he once knew until they’re separated once again. had things stayed the way they were during those moments instead of finding himself leaving with one parent and leaving the other behind, perhaps they would all be happier.

3장,

he’s sixteen when he’s asked by his father to attend the wedding. after all these years he still doesn’t know the woman, and he chooses to not let her get to know him when given the opportunity. he’s shut down any chance of forming a relationship with his step-mother-to-be, but she still manages to include him in her vows. something about loving him like he was her own unconditionally; he doesn’t deserve it so he chooses to not react. deep down he’s glad that his father has found happiness, but he’s bitter that it wasn’t found with his mother. perhaps his ideals were too unattainable, he chose to ignore the truth that his parents would never find their way back to each other.

after all, if he had a child, he would want his child to be able to rely on both parents as opposed to only one.

his father still doesn’t know, and he doesn’t let him know. rumors of mutants start circulating, and his father seems to be against the supposed danger they bring. he has no reason to let his father know that he was one of them, and the distance between the two just continued to grow. it happens quietly, and it seems like his father has accepted it. however, he’s not particularly close to his mother either — they naturally grew apart but they’re not uncomfortable either, so he guesses he could say he’s closer to his mother if asked. his mother’s side of the family are the only ones who know about his ability, not that there was many on her side to begin with. he continues to keep it a secret, mostly because it’s not useful to anyone else that he could manipulate time as he wishes; it could be used as a service to unlock a secret of the past, but over the years he’s learned that the past holds nothing but empty promises and desires of what could’ve been — both useless in real time.

4장,

he’s eighteen when he graduates high school and leaves his grandmother’s home. he moves to incheon, away from his family to start somewhere else. although he documents his name as yoonoh, he prefers the name jaehyun, as if it were a separate identity for him where’s he doesn’t have an empty feeling inside of him. to him, yoonoh struggles with identity and self-worth, while jaehyun lives carefree and ready to take on the world. they are both him but he suppresses the one that brings the most unnecessary pain. in this new city, he takes a year off before he’s accepted into incheon national university as a journalism major, perhaps too fitting for someone who can travel through time for the right information he needs.

over the span of a months, rumors about other mutants, both the bad and the good in this very city, begin circulating more than ever before causing a small-yet-growing uproar. curiosity gets the best of him and soon enough he finds himself running an anonymous forum based around mutants just like him, collecting information people post and watching as the fearful and confused discuss and debate on anything related to the rumors. he decides to follow some of the rumors posted, though he never gets farther than seeing the building itself in real time. however, that doesn’t stop him from trying to get closer through viewing the past. if this is the place where villains are born, how could he not want to see what’s really going on? maybe it’s fear that stops him from getting closer, or perhaps it’s the unpredictable act of being caught — either way, he doesn’t get very far with his “investigations” despite his desire to. instead, he finds himself writing about what little he sees and what little he’s heard, even if it’s nothing special. the whole thing is peculiar within itself and surely anyone interested in the rumors would read it anyway.

what he posts is never enough, and he finds himself travelling forward despite the uncertainty that it holds. maybe he was a little too desperate to find out what would become of the foundation or the city if they kept up with the uproars. he didn’t expect that the situation would turn out so violent, and was unsure of how to live with it up until it actually happened. he made note of it on his blog; he said he predicted that the foundation would fall in spring and nothing more, unsure of how to note the brutality that would manifest; he didn’t want to instill more fear into anyone who was already scared, and there was no telling of whether him saying anything of it would have prevented what was to come. so he continued looking into different rumors and information; at least it would keep him busy for the time being.

5장,

after the daybreak foundation’s fall, he can’t ignore what must’ve happened to those within it. although he believes that mutants and humans could coexist, he prefers to stay by the sidelines, watching it all without voicing his support ( but he does anonymously! )— humans and mutants have lived in harmony before, despite the fact that it was ignorant bliss, and he doesn’t see why it can happen again. instead, his interests lie elsewhere, more so in the abandoned building once known as the base of daybreak foundation. he travels there often, looking back at what the past was like in the building, even if it’s only for a few minutes ( besides, it’s dangerous to stay too long there anyway ), and documents what he sees.

he notes the pain that scientists put mutants in with every blog post he makes, hoping humans without such abilities would understand that mutants aren’t born as monsters.

as of summer 2017, he lives a quiet, seemingly mundane life. he’s just trying this best to seem normal and unnoticeable, hoping no harm would be brought to him if he stayed on the sidelines. he doesn’t feel like he has nothing to contribute to the war in terms of abilities, so he finds it better to just stay silent rather than become an unnecessary pawn. he has no reason to make his abilities known either, so if anything, he’s just a regular citizen impartial yet interested in the war at hand.

he just hopes it stays that way.

THERE IS FLESH AND BLOOD BEHIND THESE TALES,

you could say that there are two sides to him. there’s jaehyun: your classic amiable guy-next-door, and yoonoh: that one mysterious kid in your class that no one really knows anything about.

on the outside is a boy who means well. he’s a bit of a pushover and sometimes his kindness seems a little forced, but he’s the kind of guy who has his heart in the right place. he has no reason to show any ill feelings towards anything, so he’s just generally known as your classic trope of the nice guy until he’s pissed off. he’s not the type to talk about himself very much, and usually prefers hearing other people’s stories with great interest. he’s a bit too curious for his own good, wanting to know a little more than he should just to stay in the loop. he wanted to block out the self that he’s shameful of, uncertain of how to suppress it without completely adopting a new one entirely. he feels more alive with this outer shell of his as it guards his weaker self, no one really knowing the boy that lives within.

then there’s your classic secretive side, where his personality makes a complete 180 degree turn.

quiet, nihilistic and scared of everything he doesn’t understand. it’s the part of him that was damaged during his childhood; the part of him who doesn’t understand his role in life anymore or what’s really the point of his existence. he was born out of a false sense of hope, which only ended up breeding hate unseen by the little boy who pretended nothing was wrong to begin with. his world is monochrome, unable to decipher the beautiful colors as he lives in self-loathing, always wishing he had done something differently with his life or to have even been born as someone else. like with his parents’ love, his love for himself is forced; an illusion to tell himself that nothing is wrong with him. however, as long as no one sees this side of him, he truly has nothing to worry about.

AND EVEN MONSTERS CAN LEARN TO WEEP.

ABILITY : time manipulation.

jaehyun can manipulate the time in general area or a specific target in various manners, the basics revolving around accelerating, slowing, stopping and even rewinding or looping. while his ability is subtle in how it operates, because time is such an untouchable element, he has the ability to simultaneously preserve and destroy life as he pleases. ( not that he would even think of playing that game, but he’s able to do it. ) he has the world in his hands, others are just little details in a bigger picture that he has access to.

APPLICATIONS :

—— age manipulation: he’s able to control every living organism’s aging process to how he sees fit. it’s not something he’s very familiar with using, so he has only ever used it on himself and his dog so he lessens the unknown risks that may come with it. he is able to rewind someone’s age all the way back to when they were a child, or he could even increase their age all the way until the other is left to dust.

—— chrono vision: jaehyun can see any point in time, from only a few seconds or minutes into the future and/or past, up to events all throughout time, whether that be along their own timelines or along the timelines of others. he’s able to use this ability in present time, and since the time limit is so short he prefers to use this ability over everything else.

—— precognition: the ability to foresee possible futures and observe what may happen. as knowledge of the future invariably causes that future to change, visions of the future are subject to frequent shifting. while not being able to select futures, these visions may assist in possible courses of action. it’s rather spontaneous and mostly relies on probability, so he finds it rather unreliable when in use. however, he does use it often, mostly because curiosity eats away at him. ( even though he shouldn’t let it! )

—— retrocognition: he can discern the past and past events using various means, usually entering a trance while seeing and hearing a noted past event, whether it be concerning themselves or of an unfamiliar lineage in a past occurrence. when using this ability, he needs to be in a certain place or with a certain person in order to look through the past.

—— temporal immobilization: jaehyun doesn’t mess with time very often, but when he just has too much to do, with a snap of his fingers time stops with everything along with it. he’s able to freely move within the frozen atmosphere as he pleases, and it goes back to normal after two hours are up. he’s usually very careful with this, as things need to be exactly how they were before time stopped or else suspicions will rise. he hasn’t done it yet, but if he wishes to allow time to stop for someone else, he simply has to touch them and they too will experience time frozen in place.

—— temporal protection: he is immune to alterations in the time stream, allowing him to retain memories of prior timelines before the alterations when others may not. he will notice if someone time travels to the past or someone rewinds time to the point the event will occur.

—— temporal rewind: he is able to reverse time to a few seconds, minutes, hours, days and/or years into the past and alter it to benefit himself. he is able to prevent some events from happening, ranging from repairing something broken to even resurrecting someone by preventing their death. it’s another ability he doesn’t use very often unless it’s for a few minutes because of the risks that come along.

—— time travel: it’s exactly what it says it is. within seconds, jaehyun is able to travel through time to either the past or the future, then back to the present. he’s able to be present for all of life’s historic moments, as well as view one of the many possibilities that the future holds before they happen.

LIMITATIONS :

—— can’t change: unless he travels through time, ( which is already difficult and dangerous as is, ) he’s unable to prevent a lot of events from happening whether they occur in the past or the future. he may be able to see it, but he can’t outright change it also because the impact may prove to to be too large. he has no control of what he sees, so seeing something that he doesn’t want to see more than a time period that he does is more probable than he would like.

—— cautious: travelling to and from different time periods doesn’t mean that he’s invisible when he does it. he will end up being seen by others whether he wants to or not, so he always has to be careful to not make any unnecessary interactions. being able to alter a time period that could affect his own could result to be massive despite a small interaction, so whenever he travels through time he’s always at risk of changing something big.

—— concentration: no matter what, lots of concentration must be used if he wants to use his abilities. he needs to be in a safe, quiet place with little to no distractions to lessen the chance of creating mistakes where he shouldn’t be making them. if he lacks a serene environment or acts without prior thought, there’s really no telling what could happen.

—— headaches: because a lot of the visions he has ( especially those concerning the future ) come unexpectedly, it causes a lot of strain in his mind when he’s trying to have his concentration elsewhere or even if he tries to decipher what exactly is going on in the vision. they’re all random, but it happens to frequently that he can’t help but feel tired of them and he doesn’t know how to rid himself of it.

—— lack of defense: jaehyun wasn’t taught how to use his powers for combat, so avoiding a fight with anyone else with supernatural abilities is a lot more preferred. his only self defense maneuver is to run away from a fight altogether since he knows he’ll lose. it’s one of the reasons that he prefers to just not make his own powers known since there’s no use for it to anyone else.

—— lack of self-confidence: he feels like a rookie when he uses the abilities he is less familiar with, and it shows whenever he uses them because he ends up being prone to little mistakes. he’s a little too careful and a little too scared altogether, which breeds an insecurity that puts it all at risk if he doesn’t pull himself together in time to it properly. he tries to keep a level head at all times, but insecurity slips through the cracks more often than not.

—— location awareness: just because he travels through time doesn’t mean that time stops for him. time continues on even if he’s not present which means he needs to be more cautious when returning to his timeline. he needs to be mindful of where in the present he returns to in order to not raise any unwanted concern, so he always tries to be home whenever he uses his own abilities ( there are some exceptions but those have more risk in it ).

—— many outcomes: anything that revolves around the future is unpredictable territory. the world is always changing and instead of one single timeline he goes through, there’s millions of different future outcomes that he’s able to see. however, just because he is able to see different outcomes, he is more often than not prone to see the worst of the outcomes with little chances of the better.

—— overwhelming: when it comes to time, there’s always new information that will be collected no matter what time period he’s in. there’s always things he doesn’t know of and things he doesn’t expect, but trying to understand too much information at a time ( especially when travelling to the future ) will result in a mental shutdown, which renders him powerless until he fully composes himself which could take a few hours.

—— prone to distractions: when viewing the past or the future in the present, he enters a trance that he shouldn’t he broken out of. disruption will break concentration, and since a lot of it is needed to use his abilities, he could end up losing that vision entirely or manipulate how he views one, which makes them even more unreliable than they already are.

—— range: although time is universal and affects just about everyone in the entire world, the range of his abilities can only cover one entire city. he doesn’t understand the logic, so he tries to not question it very often. when he stops or rewinds time, it’s almost said to cause some kind of glitch everywhere else since their time will also rewind back to the time he stopped it at.

—— running low on energy: he isn’t a master at his ability yet ( though he does think he has it pretty under control for the most part ), and the power that comes with using time manipulation tends to take up a large amount of energy. while travelling through time seems like an easy thing to do, depending on how large the time frame is from the present, there’s no telling how long until he comes back to it. there have been times when he was stuck in a certain time period for days to recharge.

—— scared of the impact: the little amount of people who know about jaehyun’s abilities know that he doesn’t use them very often. he has a powerful ability, and it’s obvious that his affect a large amount of people. he has a fear that he will always make a dangerous change which will result in the destruction of the world, and although it’s exaggerated, he doesn’t want to be the one to bring the destruction so he uses his abilities to the fullest extent in minimal doses.

—— time limit: just because he’s able to stop time doesn’t mean it lasts for as long as he pleases. simply keeping the gig up for more than two hours sends him into a black out for awhile just to recharge. he just doesn’t have enough power to keep it up for any longer, especially if he’s moving around a lot trying to get different things done during this time.

—— unwanted visions: although he has his abilities under control, the only thing he cannot predict is the little few-second visions of the future that hit him spontaneously. they’re mostly insignificant, so he doesn’t hold onto them too much, but he also cannot rely on what he sees too much because all of it is based of off the probability something actually happening.

—— usefulness: it’s simply not useful. he has little to no reason to ever travel through time or to even see events from the past or distant future. all it does is give him migraine after migraine. sure, it’s useful when he makes mistakes and needs to go back a minute or two, but other than that there’s no purpose. he can’t defend himself or anyone else, and the only person who’s affected by the majority of his abilities is himself. he always wishes there was more he could do but time is all he has reign over.

THREAT LEVEL TWO.                           02+ BRWN, 02+ RSLNC, 07+ INTLCT, 07+ WLLPWR, 03+ FGHTNG, 03+ SPD

[themanuelruello]

Will My Kids Fall Behind? (And Other Homeschooling Questions)

I’ve never been this excited to get back to homeschooling…

I’m in year five of this homeschool gig, so it’s not exactly a novelty anymore. However, I’ve found myself literally counting down the days until we’re back to the books next week.

What a weirdo.

Is it because I redid our school room and I can’t wait to sit on the new rug and drink my coffee in there?

Maybe.

Is it because we’re doing a deep dive into American history this year and I’m kind of a history nerd?

Kinda.

Is it because there’s something about fresh curriculum that makes me strangely giddy?

Very possible.

Helping to build the chicken tractor

Truthfully, I think the root of my excitement has come from the many talks I’ve had with brand new and prospective homeschoolers this year.

All these conversations have given me a chance to revisit why we chose this lifestyle in the first place (because make no mistake– homeschooling is a lifestyle), and my fire has been rekindled.

I realize that many of you have been thrust into this world unwillingly. It’s not what you ever saw yourself doing, but here you are.

I want you to know that it’s all gonna be alright. 

We’ve been homeschooling since our firstborn was in kindergarten and I was homeschooled K-12 myself (yup– in the legendary homeschool culture of the 1990s– it’s changed a lot since then. Thank goodness.)

I’m not an expert, but I do have a unique perspective– both as a homeschool graduate and a current homeschooling mother of three.

Here are a few of the most common questions I’m seeing right now, along with a few of my thoughts:

Art with Goats

#1 What Curriculum Should I Use for Homeschooling?

This question is, by far, the toughest one I get. It’s not that using curriculum is hard, but there are eleventy-billion different choices, and sorting through them all is somewhat mind-numbing.

There’s not a one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Period.

Most newbie homeschoolers are drawn to an all-in-one style of curriculum where you make one purchase and get ALL the things.

There’s nothing wrong with that, per say, but I don’t know many veteran homeschool moms who use those sort of curriculum options, since they rarely fit the uniqueness of the child.

Most of my homeschooling friends piece together their own curriculum (i.e. they use one set of books for math, a different set from a different publisher for reading, etc).

My best advice in this realm is two-fold:

Keep it simple. Focus on the core subjects and don’t worry about the extras your first year

Do not attempt to replicate a public school classroom. Public schooling was created for a specific purpose and is designed to move a large group of diverse children through the exact same curriculum in a way that is mostly successful for the majority. You don’t have to do that. You get to tailor this whole thing to fit your family and your children. Education does NOT have to be cookie-cutter, nor should it be. Also, I will preach this until the cows come home– the 8am-3pm schedule that most public schools follow came as a result of the Industrial Era and was created to fit the work schedules of parents. It rarely takes that amount of time to teach a child the crucial subjects, plus free time and free play are some of the best educational pieces you can ever offer your child.

My 4-year old helping me mulch the garden

Our Homeschool Routine and Curriculum

We’re not fancy.

I don’t lesson plan much, if at all, and we generally school for 2.5-3 hours each morning. That’s it.

Math and language arts are our main focus, with science and history coming in at a close second.

(Another post coming soon with my current curriculum choices.)

We don’t do a lot of extra stuff on top of these four subjects unless I think the kids need something.

Actually, allow me to rephrase that: 

We do a LOT on top of those four subjects, but not in the “formal” sense.

Making pretzels

My kids build, create, and problem solve ALL DAY LONG.

We let them use scrap lumber, tape measures, hammers, saws, and nails to build all sorts of contraptions.

They basically live in an animal science lab and help with breeding, birthing, nutrition, husbandry, and more.

They’re helping us remodel our fixer upper house project, and are learning how a house is put together, how to use tools, and loads of problem-solving.

They can identify dozens of different plants, grow and nurture vegetables, and they actively participate in preserving food.

They can make their own breakfast, safely use our gas stove, make scrambled eggs, bake desserts, and are currently learning how to make yeast breads.

Honestly, when the fleeting thought of sending my kids to public school has crossed my mind in the past, my instant reaction is “They’d miss out on too much if I sent them to school!”

Helping to pour concrete

Whatever, Jill. We don’t live on a homestead so it’s not the same for us.

Oh, but it is.

Even if you live in the heart of the city, the learning opportunities abound.

Take me, for example. Homeschooling (and the free time that came with it) is the #1 thing that fostered creativity, leadership, ingenuity, and resilience in me as a child and young adult.

And I was raised in a small housing development-– no homestead, no land.

It’s not about where you live, it’s about how you maximize the opportunities in front of you– and there are MANY.

My favorite book to help foster this mindset shift is Weapons of Mass Instruction by John Taylor Gatto. Read it. It’ll change you forever.

#2 What If I’m “Not Good Enough” To Teach My Kids?

I hear this one expressed in a variety of ways:

“I’m not qualified to teach my kids”

“I don’t know enough”

“I wasn’t a very good student myself”

“I didn’t go to college”

There is a commonly held belief that if you don’t have a bachelors degree in childhood education, then you can’t adequately homeschool your own offspring.

Listening intently at a horsemanship clinic

I don’t buy it.

There’s nothing wrong with a teaching degree, but I wholeheartedly reject the notion that one needs four years of higher education to teach their own children.

As long as you are willing to learn alongside your kids and follow a book or lesson plan with your kids, you will do fine.

That’s why we have curriculum.

So if you don’t need a teaching degree, what do you need?

Consistency and the ability to read instructions and troubleshoot situations that might come up.

And as your kids get older, they will learn to follow the instructions and troubleshoot issues, which is just as important as the lessons themselves.

Teaching our kids to learn how to learn (aka how to teach themselves), is one of the MOST valuable things we can impart to them. An adult with a healthy dose of curiosity and love for learning (that hasn’t been snuffed out) is pretty much unstoppable.

P.S. My mom never went to college. Yet, I was in the upper 95% percentile in my standardized tests each year, had above-average ACT and SAT scores, and even attended an English class at the University of Idaho when I was still in highschool. After I graduated, I double-majored in Equine Science at a community college, graduated with Honors and a 4.0, and tutored other students, all while holding down a job and riding on the college horse show team. I’m not saying this to brag, rather I’m telling you this because I was MORE than prepared for college, even though my “teacher” never attended herself.

Helping to remove the plaster on the chimney at our fixer-upper renovation

#3 What About Socialization?

Ah, the good ol’ “S” word…

As a homeschooler in the Nineties, this was the thing people rubbed in our faces more than anything else.

Not gonna lie, it gets old.

I honestly don’t hear this one come up as much as it used to– I suspect it’s because homeschooling has been around a little longer and there are AMPLE examples of well-adjusted homeschooled adults.

But that doesn’t mean it has disappeared entirely.

Truthfully, I’ve found that TOO MUCH socialization is generally the issue when it comes to homeschooling, rather than not enough.

There are SO many activities and opportunities available to homeschooled kids, the tricky part for us is finding a balance and still making sure we have enough time to do actual school work.

If this is an area that makes you feel a little uncertain, all it takes is a quick Google or Facebook search to find options in your community– whether that’s 4-H, music lessons, dance, sports, volunteering, shadowing someone in a trade or skill that interests your child, etc. There are SO many opportunities, you just have to be willing to think outside of the box.

Butchering chickens together

Does Socialization Really Happen in a Homogenous Herd?

It’s a question I’ve pondered for years…

I’ve come to be of the personal opinion that true socialization does not happen by putting a child in a large herd of other kids that are their same age.

Historically, not only did children learn in one-room schoolhouses with wide age ranges, but they spent a LOT more time operating in the adult world.

This idea that socialization equates to a child spending the majority of their time in a group of 40 other kids their exact age feels out-of-touch to me.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having friends of similar age, but I also want my kids to be able to interact with smaller children, with adults, and with the elderly.

#4 What if My Child Falls Behind in School?

I LOVE this question.

Because I don’t think it’s as big of a deal as people think it is.

*gasp*

I hear SO many parents expressing SO much worry this spring when school districts had to switch to distant learning for a short time.

“My kid didn’t learn ANY new math!”

“They are going to be SO far behind!”

“This is going to mess them up for the rest of their school career!”

Eh, maybe.

Or maybe not.

The term ‘falling behind’ is tricky because it assumes that all children learn and progress at the exact same pace at the exact same time.

We know that’s not true.

I understand why institutionalized schooling is the way it is. I understand the need for benchmarks and “levels”.

However, established benchmarks and levels obviously don’t fit everyone.

They often inadvertently slow down the kids who want to work more quickly, and discourage or alienate the kids who are a bit slower-paced in certain areas.

The beauty of homeschooling is that you can tailor it to the pace of your child. Let them run fast in a certain subject if it’s their jam. Or if they’re struggling in a certain area, go back. Keep at it until you reach that mastery, then move on. There’s no stigma and no stress.

Yes, we still finish our textbooks. Yes, we are consistent in doing school each day. Yes, it’s important that my kids do their school work well and have a firm grasp on all of the important topics before they become adults and leave home.

However, the ability to be resilient, to solve problems, to think for themselves, to not get stuck in the cycle of conformity, to cultivate the ability to create… THOSE are the pieces that are ultimately the game-changers.

Friend, You Got This.

At the end of the day, what you do with your kids’ education is your call.

If you know public school is right for your child, do it.

If you know your child would thrive in the homeschool environment, do it.

The only real mistake you can make??

To make your choice based on the opinions of those around you, or what friends/family are telling you should do.

Block out those voices and go with your gut.

Because here’s the deal: 

Regardless of what you choose, somebody is going to think that what you’re doing is wrong.

It’s annoying and freeing, all at the same time, dontcha think?

You are capable, my friend. And this decision, as scary as it may feel at first, might just be the best choice you ever made.

I’m rooting for you.

More Tips on Raising Old-Fashioned Kids:

Homeschool on the Homestead

Raising Old-Fashioned Kids in a Modern World

Life Lessons My Kids Have Learned from the Homestead

Why I’m Teaching My Kids to Fail

  The post Will My Kids Fall Behind? (And Other Homeschooling Questions) appeared first on The Prairie Homestead.

from Gardening https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2020/08/common-homeschool-questions.html via http://www.rssmix.com/

[bakechochin]

The Book Ramblings of September

In place of book reviews, I will be writing these ‘book ramblings’. A lot of the texts I’ve been reading (or plan to read) in recent times are well-known classics, meaning I can’t really write book reviews as I’m used to. I’m reading books that either have already been read by everyone else (and so any attempt to give novel or insightful criticisms would be a tad pointless), or are so convoluted and odd that they defy being analysed as I would do a simpler text. These ramblings are pretty unorganised and hardly anything revolutionary, but I felt the need to write something review-related this year. I’ll upload a rambling compiling all my read books on a monthly basis.

If On A Winter’s Night A Traveller - Italo Calvino Fuck me this is a difficult book to break down. It’s certainly among the first postmodern books that I’ve fully embraced and generally been a fan of. I can’t speak much of the literary movement save for reductionist generalisations that I’ve unwillingly picked up on, and what’s more I’m adamant not to learn any more than I need to, so you’ll have to excuse my wilful ignorance of the subject in this ramble. This story is comprised of numerous discovered snippets of texts, connected with the overarching narrative of the reader (i.e. you) trying to make sense of it all, by first trying to find the endings of the numerous story beginnings that have been presented and eventually just trying to find answers to this whole clusterfuck. In a way the constant changing from one story to the next without nicely ending it reminded me of The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr, but this book kept it interesting with the element of mystique as to what the next story would entail, whereas Tomcat Murr only switched between one of two narratives. Of course, the fact that there are a number of stories means that there will inevitably be some that are better than others, and I find it rather presumptuous of Calvino to insist that I, as the protagonist (a subject that I will return to in a bit), would find each and every one of them so incredibly interesting and compelling that I must find out how they end. The text is a long and continuous journey from one new discovery to another, and whilst I expected the reasoning behind each dead-end to be founded on magic nonsense, the explanations that the book offers are rather more realistic than I was expecting. Of course, that’s not to say that the completely absurd sequence of events that transpire in the plot are at all reflective of reality, because shit really goes off the rails, but again, I’ll get back to it. The other major gimmick of this book is the idea of the reader being the story’s hero; much of the book is written in the second person, and I love how some of the story beginnings that one comes across are written as though being read by the reader, detailing the idiosyncrasies of the reader’s own internal thoughts and reading techniques. Such stuff is abandoned as the book goes on, sometimes because it is not the reader himself who is reading the stories (i.e. if another character in the story is reading it to you), and sometimes it’s because Calvino got bored of it or something. All of this amounts to a good book, but i do have a number of rather petty gripes about the book generally stemming from my own lack of understanding as to what I should be getting out of this book, that all came together to leave me feeling rather sour about the whole experience. As the story does get more and more absurd, with false explanations and apocrypha running rampant, it does seem like Calvino is deliberately trying to write what is, in his own words, ‘a complex of cogs, tricks, traps’, which is of course a fascinating basis for a book but hardly an enjoyable one, as the whole experience can often seem a tad futile as you read pages upon pages of what amounts to nothing but unimportant nonsense. The story beginnings that we get don’t really inspire intrigue or further thought as to what could happen next, because they’re deliberately written to seem like self-enclosed stories or lazy cliffhangers, and as much as I want to be annoyed about this, Calvino justifies it in-text via a character who acts as a mouthpiece for some of his rambling thoughts on the matter of this book. To go back to how the story goes off the rails, the idea of falsification and deception is all well and good but Calvino takes the theme too far by making whole areas of reality, areas seemingly unrelated to the conspiracy of the plot, completely defined by falsification, changing the tone of the story to a farcical comedy in which the philosophical wittering of before seemed incredibly incongruous in. It’s also at this point that Calvino bores of contriving reasons as to why the story’s protagonist cannot get a hold of a complete copy of the book they search for, because Calvino is too busy wallowing in how clever he is. Yes, all of this is justified at the end, with the idea of a constant pursuit of knowledge destined to go on ad nauseam being proved as folly, and yes the ending did ameliorate my mood (as well as annoying me that Calvino had knocked it out of the fucking park when all I wanted was to be annoyed with him), but that doesn’t mean that I can just ignore everything up to that point that grated on me. Honestly I don’t get this book beyond being able to appreciate it for its novel ideas and great execution; if it’s supposed to be charming, or life-changing, or bring warmth to my heart or any other ineffable soulful feeling, I’m not feeling it, but that might just be because I’m not sure what it is that I’m supposed to be fucking feeling. Whatever.

Today I Wrote Nothing - Daniil Kharms Chances are this will be a relatively short ramble, because I feel that to intellectualise these stories too much would be to do them a disservice, whilst trying to spend time breaking down each short story with subjective criticisms would be bloody daft. Kharms shines when he is writing what is described in the blurb as ‘micro-fiction’, tiny tiny stories of no more than a page or two; because such stories are so short it’s difficult to isolate any one story that shines out of all of them, especially when considering that the stories are often very similar in content and (high) quality. In simple terms, pretty much every story in Kharms' 'Events’ is chaotic nonsense with a strangely aggressive tone, and keeping with the description of Kharms' main tools in the introductory chapter as ‘digression and interruption’, the stories are just as likely to end with the characters anticlimactically leaving the chaos to do something else as they are to clobber each other to death with cucumbers. It’s incredible. The torrent of unleashed insanity amidst a relatively banal normal setting reminded me of ‘Marvellous Pursuits’, my favourite Cortazar story, but other than that I honestly cannot think of much to compare Kharms’ writing to, at least not in the world of respectable literature. Perhaps it shouldn’t be considered surprising that Kharms was linked to the Surrealist movement - all sorts of wacky shit went on with those blokes. Perhaps you could have surmised from my glib and reductionist summary of the Surrealist movement that I know sweet fuck all about what the movement specifically entails, but, as I said above, I’m disinclined to read into these stories as anything other than madness for madness’ sake. However, everything that I’ve said mainly describes Kharms’ ‘Events’, and there’s more to this book than just the ‘Events’, which unfortunately don’t really live up to the amazing standards that the ‘Events’ establish. Fair warning, my thoughts on this are really rather subjective, and I totally acknowledge that it would be rather churlish of me to criticise the content in this book that deviates from the micro-fiction style simply because it isn’t more of the same, but I’m still going to do just that anyway. The short story ‘The Old Woman’, whilst apparently being chock-full of allusions to other literary texts that I didn’t pick up on, cannot capture the essence of the micro-fictions because its significantly longer length leaves the Kharms brand of oddness diluted and insubstantial; what nonsense there is in the text has to be spread thinly over too many pages. And then on the other end of the scale, you’ve got all of Kharms’ miscellaneous notes and writings and incomplete jottings of half-formed ideas; the fact that this book is described as ‘the selected writings of Daniil Kharms’ seems rather daft to me, because it seems like literally every single solitary scrap of Kharms’ writing is published here, as opposed to his exemplary writings being explicitly picked and chosen. Kharms’ miscellaneous writings, both in 'The Blue Notebook’ and just from anywhere else, aren’t as substantial or fleshed out as his ‘Events’, and considering how short and nonsensical the ‘Events’ were, this seems an impressive feat. Even if the texts are complete, sometimes they lack that all-important chaotic nonsense that we’re all here for. There’s some good stuff dispersed throughout such segments of this book, but such gems are relatively sparse when compared to the wider body of boring works from Kharms. Now I obviously can’t be too hard on this bloke; a lot of his writing stems from his own lack of faith in his writing abilities or skills at pumping out consistently good content (hence the title of the whole collection), and so I’m a tad hesitant to bring down harsh judgements on a bloke who wasn’t constantly cracking out gems even when he wasn’t locked up in state custody. I will, however, say that Kharms’ best works are certainly his ‘Events’, and I reckon that unless you’re willing to trawl through all of his notes and nonsense to scrounge for more of the good stuff, just focus your attentions on the 'Events’ when reading Kharms.

Stuff I read this month that I couldn’t be arsed to ramble about: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (which I love, but am holding off on finishing my ramble on until I’ve read Through the Looking Glass), An A-Z of Hellraisers by Robert Sellers (which was repetitive and a tad awkwardly written but nonetheless a very educational and entertaining read), The Time Traveller’s Guide to Restoration Britain by Ian Mortimer (which may even be funnier than the other Time Traveller’s Guides if only because of that randy shitlark Samuel Pepys) and ‘The Body-Snatcher’ by Robert Louis Stevenson (it was pretty good).