#it’s due at the end of march and i’m starting work in about two weeks so i really need to get it done soon

[fingertipsmp3]

Another sentence that just came out of my mouth: “yeah, it would be a lot easier to not do it! But I could also just do it”

[functionofjules]

At Last

Pairing: Five Hargreeves X (She/her) Synopsis: (Taking place at the start of Season 2) Y/n finds herself alone in the sixties. Just as she begins to give up hope of ever getting home to her husband, Five, she’s pleasantly surprised. A/N: Reader has healing powers which lead to enhanced abilities like endurance and strength. Aged up Five in my interpretation. Feeling nostalgic after the series finale.

I slam to the ground with a force that could rival an elephant cracking my spine. Luckily enough, I have a tendency to avoid the repercussions from a fall of such heights. I can practically feel my cells regenerating already.

My tattered Umbrella Academy uniform that I borrowed from Allison’s closet upon Five and I’s arrival is reeking of the events of the last week. I’m not particularly fond of it and due to my lack of personal hygiene lately, I think I may be due for an outfit change.

I observe my surroundings. It seems I’m far away from home. By that I mean directly next to a dumpster.

I cautiously make my way into the street and take note of the vintage style of clothing. This indicates I’ve been dropped somewhere between the 50s-60s. This is confirmed when I steal a glance at a newspaper dated March 5th, 1960. At this point I feel myself begin to hyperventilate. Not necessarily because of the date but because I can’t seem to find a single Hargreeves sibling, most importantly my husband, Number Five.

I stagger backward until my back hits a wall that I slide down. Just as the tears begin to pour, a figure casts a shadow over my hunched position. I look up in hopes of a familiar face but am only met with a stranger. She has soft blonde hair framing her face which honestly reminds me of that actress, Florence Pugh, from the only film Five and I had time to see.

In pitying tone accompanied by her southern drawl she asks “You okay, Pumpkin? What’s the matter? You look like you ain’t doing too hot.”

I let a shaky breath escape and contemplate how much information I should give this woman. There’s no way in hell I’m explaining how my husband and I just attempted to stop the end of the world only the end up being separated from him and the rest of his family. So I settle for the next best thing.

“I’m a little lost,” I admit “My family and I got separated and I have nowhere to go.”

“Aw you poor thing!” She exclaims, bending down to my level and taking my hand “You want to come with me? I can getcha something to eat and figure things out from there.”

I nod, standing to my feet.

“That sounds nice. Thank you…” I falter realizing we hadn’t properly introduced ourselves.

She takes both my hands in hers and says “Charlotte, but you can call me Lottie.”

“I’m Y/n,” I say, offering my first smile since getting thrown out of that portal “Y/n Hargeeves.”

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

It’s been three years since I was dropped in Dallas and a lot has changed.

Lottie and I live together I her two bedroom loft apartment and work together everyday at the local diner. It was quite different from my work at the Commission but not to brag, I’ve developed a very impressive coffee pouring time.

I haven’t heard anything from Five. At first I figured he’d come along right after me but he never did. A part of me holds out hope he got dropped somewhere further ahead in the timeline then me or got caught up with someone putting out a hit on him but I’m losing that hope. But I’m okay here with Lottie. I’ve built myself a nice life in Dallas.

I had just expected it to be another normal day at the diner. I tied my apron in a tight knot around my waist, told Lottie to hurry up, and we began to rush down the street together.

I had told Lottie a little about Five. How we were in love and we always protected each other. She knows better than anyone how much I miss him.

We rush into the diner with the ring of the bell behind us and ran to the back to put away our bags. Just as we’re about to head through the door my manager calls, “Y/n! I need you to give one of the chefs a hand with the pantry inventory.”

I shrug “Okay boss!”

A shoot Lottie a wave and run back to help our chef, Dave, count various condiments.

I was still in there after about fifteen minutes when Lottie ran back with a strange look in her eye. She slammed the door with such force I almost slipped off the stool I was balanced on.

“Sorry!” She apologizes, but I can tell she can’t contain herself for long “There’s a guy asking for you.”

I raise a brow “Asking for me? Is it that Harry guy again? Because he gives me the creeps, I’m really not in the mood to-“

She shushes me

“No it’s not Charlie! I really think you ought to get out there. I’ll finish up back here for ya!” She cuts me off, practically shoving me out the door.

“Okay, okay!” I say, chuckling at her intensity “I’ll go! Don’t get your panties in a twist.”

I think nothing of what could be on the other side of that door cause I know it’ll be the same thing everyday. I snatch my notepad out of my apron and the pen from behind my ear.

“Welcome in! What can I do for you today?” I say. I was about to list off the specials until I look up and see Luther Hargreeves sat next to…”Five?”

He blinks behind the counter saying “Hello Darling-“

I don’t let him get to far before a tackle him with kisses. Every inch of his face is smeared in my burgundy lipstick and it takes everything in me to stop there. I let him stand to his feet as tears spring to my eyes.

“I can’t believe you’re here! I can’t believe-“ And then the anger sets in “I can’t believe you!”

His brown furrows as I begin to land strikes to his chest.

“You left me! You abandoned me for three years! I was terrified I was never going to see you again! How could you do something so reckless!” I tell. There’s a large part of me that knows it isn’t actually his fault but I choose to neglect that right now. My hits become harder and it’s only then he gently grasps my wrists and lays his forehead against mine.

Throughout my whole fit, he is shushing me and whispering “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry my love. I didn’t want to. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.”

I finally cease my attacks and begin to breathe easily again. Once I’m calm I turn back towards my brother in law.

“Hi Luther.”

“Oh,” he says with an awkward attempt at a smile “Hello!”

Just then, Lottie reveals herself from behind the kitchen doors and walks over. She scans the scene and smirks at me, saying “Hey pumpkin! Care to introduce your friends?”

I chuckle introducing everyone “Lottie, this is my husband, Five Hargreeves. And this is my brother in law, Luther.”

“Alright!” She replies with a smile “Who wants coffee?”

[jeankluv]

Birdie | Satoru Gojo - Chapter 01

Words: 4.8k

Summary: You didn’t like him, at all. But due to your bad luck you would have to be forced to work with him and different circumstances end up leading you to the fact that perhaps the word dislike is not the one you use to describe him.

Note: divider art credit _3aem (twt)

Tags: modern au, college au, fem!reader, academic rivals, he fell first, fluff, old money Gojo Satoru, abusive parents, slight slow burn, Satoru is a softy, secondary couple (Geto Suguru x oc), a bit of angst, no use of y/n, eventual smut, Gojo plays basketball

Slow updates

Materialist | next chapter

Wattpad | ao3

While everyone adored him, you stood apart in your feelings. It wouldn't be accurate to say you hated him, as "hate" carried significant weight; rather, you harbored a profound dislike towards him. The problem was he knew that and his irritating presence seemed to persistently cling to you whenever he crossed your paths.

Now, you found yourself paired with him for your semester project, and the thought made you wish to hurl yourself out of the third-floor window. Three months of working alongside him loomed ahead. Adding to the discomfort, you were currently under the scrutiny of hundreds of eyes, each gaze feeling like a murder attempt. It seemed everyone coveted the opportunity to collaborate with Gojo Satoru, except for you.

“We will divide the project in two.” You said looking at the information the teacher gave you. “So we can work on it separately and once we are done we will put it together.” You didn’t like the idea but you disliked even more the idea of spending time outside the class with him.

“That wouldn’t work out, it’s better if we schedule a time to meet and we start working on it.” Gojo talked.

“No.” You said. “I’m way too busy to think about meeting outside of classes.” And it was true, you were working in two different jobs to pay the bills of college and the tiny apartment you were staying on.

“Oh c’mon!” He pouted. “It’s impossible that you are busy every day of the week at every hour.”

“Well I am.” You were starting to get angry, couldn’t he understand you didn’t want to meet with him.

The ring rang and you thanked it, it was time to leave for another class, one you wouldn’t have to see the perfect face of Satoru Gojo.

“Wait! How do we stay in contact?” Gojo spoke when you were about to leave the classroom. You could feel the gaze of a group of girl right on your neck.

“With the email.”

“C’mon.” He said your name. “Give me your number.”

“No and now leave me. I need to get to my class.”

You walked past the group of girls that were chatting obviously about the scene that just happened.

“How can she be so rude with Satoru?”

“Yeah who does she think she is? Does she even know who Satoru is?”

“She is such a loser.”

You couldn't help but roll your eyes. Of course, you were well aware of who he was - everyone knew him. A pampered child from a wealthy family, born into privilege and affluence, often referred to as an “old money baby”. He had everything handed to him on a silver platter - impeccable looks, tall, athletic, and intelligence. For many, he embodied the epitome of perfection. However, for you, he was nothing more than an insufferable jerk whom you couldn't stand.

On the flip side, you were the complete opposite of him. Life hadn't dealt you a fair hand - you struggled to make ends meet. When your mother passed away when you were just six, and your father vanished after hearing news of her pregnancy. Left with no one but your grandmother, you found solace in her loving care. However, as time marched on, you were once again confronted with loneliness when she passed away when you were just 16. With only a meager inheritance from your grandmother and the income from your job at a local store, you barely scraped by until the age of 18. Thankfully, your relentless dedication to your studies paid off when you earned a scholarship to attend the University of Tokyo.

Even though you got into a good college on the degree you wanted, your life in Tokyo hasn’t been quite easy. You were living in a tiny apartment, going to college and working two jobs because it would be impossible to make it to the end of the month with just one job. Luckily, the scholarship covered all my college expenses, but living in Tokyo wasn't exactly easy on the wallet. I found myself navigating life in the bustling city all on my own.

But your aversion towards Gojo Satoru began two years ago, on the first day of college. Rushing late after exhausting yourself at work, you collided with him, causing you to stumble to the ground. Prepared to offer an apology, you were met with his irate ranting, delivered without even a glance in your direction. Had you not been humiliated on the ground, you might have slapped some sense into him right then and there. Why was he so infuriated when he was clearly the one at fault? And the fact that he couldn't even look at you added insult to injury. Frustrated and embarrassed, you left before he could utter another word; you had no desire to hear anything further from him.

The true agony hit when you discovered he would be sharing classes with you. From then on, you made every effort to steer clear of him and his foolishness. However, it seemed everyone in your class, and even in other majors, adored him. The teachers showered him with praise because everything he touched turned to gold. Despite being at the university for two years, you had never managed to outperform his grades, and it infuriated you beyond measure.

For the past two years, you had been lucky enough to avoid partnering with him. However, it appeared that luck had finally abandoned you, and now you were destined to endure his company for the next three months.

You sat on the seat you would normally choose and took out the notebook to take notes of the next class.

“I heard you got assigned with Satoru Gojo in one of your classes.” You heard a voice next to you which made you jump.

“Kyoko… don’t scare me like that.” You cried while putting your hand on your chest trying to calm down. “How did you find out?”

“Well, everyone was talking about how a girl who got paired with the great Satoru Gojo was so rude to him and how she should be more grateful for this glorious opportunity.” You rolled your eyes.

“I might throw myself out of the window…” You leaned your head against the table and closed your eyes. “Three months Kyoko, three months.”

“I know…you know that you can talk to me if he does anything to bother you.”

“Thank you, you’re the best Kyoko.”

She smiled warmly at you, and together you turned your attention to the class. You had met Kyoko on the same day as your initial encounter with Gojo Satoru. Sitting together in one of the classes, an instant connection formed between you two, and from that moment onward, you were inseparable. Kyoko brought a brightness into your life like a ray of sunshine piercing through clouds. On the first Christmas when she discovered you would be spending it alone in your apartment, she whisked you away to her home, where you celebrated with her and her parents. Since then, Kyoko's parents had filled the void of the parents you had dearly missed, and Kyoko herself had become the sister you had always longed for.

The class was over before you knew it. Your hands hurt after taking notes non-stop and your head felt like it was about to explode after barely sleeping last night.

“Do you have time to eat with me? Or you have to go to the grocery store already?” Kyoko stood besides you while walking in the corridor.

“Today I can eat with you. My shift doesn’t start until 3 p.m. so it’s alright.”

Kyoko looked at you with concerned eyes. “Are you sure you are properly resting? You look tired and the grocery store job is okay, but I’m worried about you working on that bar at nights.”

You sighed, she was right the bar was an unpleasant place, most of those who went were men in their 40s or 50s who left their offices and spent the night drinking until they fell at the bar counter, while making obscene comments. But they paid well and the money was something I desperately needed.

You smiled at her. “I will be alright. Don’t worry.”

“You know you can always come to life with me, I know my parents wouldn’t bother taking you in. And if you feel like it would be too much, you could always pay something but then you could quit that crappy job and just work at the grocery store.”

“Kyoko… we already talked about it. I appreciate you and your parents' good heart and intentions but I can handle everything.” She nodded. “And I know I can always count on you.”

“Always.” And she held you from the arm. “Now let’s go and eat something. My treat.” You were about to protest when Kyoko cut you off. “No excuses, you deserve me to invite you especially because my poor best friend is going to have to put up with her least favorite person in the world for three months.”

“Ugh!” You rolled your eyes. “Please don’t remind me of that.”

Both of you laughed and made your way straight to the cafeteria, your stomachs growling with hunger. You had only managed to gulp down a coffee that morning to wake up, and now you were convinced you could devour the entire menu. Taking your usual seats at the table, Kyoko headed to order your food. The cafeteria buzzed with activity, students weaving in and out while conversations filled the air. You glanced at your phone, hoping for some notifications, but all you found were promotional emails from the supermarket.

Kyoko returned with the food, setting it down in front of you, and you delved into a conversation about Kyoko's recent date. It seemed the boy had shown a keen interest in her, but your friend hadn't felt the same way about him. Being the kind-hearted person she was, Kyoko struggled with how to gently let him know she wasn't interested in continuing to see him.

“Oh shit…” Kyoko whispered.

“What?”

“Don’t turn around but I think a certain someone is coming here.” Your eyebrow arched and you clenched your fists.

“Tell me that the certain someone doesn’t have white hair…” Kyoko grimaced and by the time you wanted to say something, the person responsible for your headache at that very moment had sat down next to you.

“Hello ladies!!” He talked with the happiest tone. He called your name but you ignored him, you didn’t want to interact with him, not even a bit. “I don’t think we know each other. I’m Satoru Gojo.” He talked to Kyoko.

“Kyoko. And we actually share a class together.”

“Oh! We do? Sorry I can’t remember it. But it is nice to meet you, Kyoko.”

“Satoru…” Another male voice spoke behind you. Your head was really going to explode.

“Oh Suguru! Come here!” He moved his hand, pointing at the seat next to Kyoko.

“Satoru… why don’t you leave the girls eating alone.” The boy of dark hair looked at his friend and then at both of you. “I'm sorry for bothering you.”

“It’s okay, don't worry.” Kyoko smiled back at him.

“Come on Suguru! Let’s eat with them… I need to spend more time with my classmate, right birdie?” You looked at him.

“Who are you calling birdie?” You were angry, why was he giving you nicknames like you have known each other for years or like you were close.

“Oh so now you pay attention to me…” He smirked and tilted his head as he rested it on his hand and looked at you.

You snorted and pushed the plate away. “Kyoko, I have to go or I'll be late.” You said goodbye to Gojo's friend, who you assumed was called Suguru, and ignored Gojo.

“Take care.” You heard Kyoko. “And sent me a message once you arrived home from the bar!” You gave her a thumbs up and left the cafeteria.

You felt uneasy. What was Gojo Satoru playing at, giving you a nickname? And that look he just gave you—what was that about? You couldn't stand it. Sinking into your seat on the bus, you put on your headphones, seeking a brief respite before reaching your workplace. You were scheduled to work for five hours, followed by a rush to the bar, where you'd likely be working until 2 a.m., if luck was on your side.

As your eyelids grew heavy, you recognized the familiar streets passing by. With just a few stops left until your destination, you stretched out in your seat and rubbed your eyes, trying to shake off the fatigue.

You got out of the bus and walked a few steps until you reached the small grocery store where you work. You still had 5 minutes left to work but between changing and preparing everything the time would arrive. You greeted Yu who was behind the counter serving a customer and went to the employee room at the back.

“You are early.” Haibara entered the room.

“I’m 5 minutes earlier… is not THAT early.” You smiled at him.

“You know you can always take the day off and rest. I can cover you if you need it, you look so tired.”

“I’m okay but thank you Haibara.”

“Okay! Then if you are taking my place I will get going. A friend of mine is waiting for me.” You nodded. “Call me if you need anything.”

You waved goodbye to him and observed as he rendezvoused with a tall blonde guy outside the store, someone you vaguely recognized from campus. Throughout the afternoon, several children trickled in to purchase trinkets, occasionally accompanied by adults picking up a few items. The day had been relatively quiet, affording you the opportunity to jot down some notes and review your studies.

As closing time approached, the sliding door chimed open once more, signaling the arrival of another customer. However, you were preoccupied assisting a lady who was meticulously counting the coins needed to pay for her purchase.

“Thank you so much darling.” She said once you were done with her. “Have a nice night.”

“Thanks to you! And please come here again.”

“Hello birdie!” Your mouth opened slightly when you saw who was waiting to be served and the last customer of the day.

“What the fuck are you doing here?!” You screamed angrily.

He looked down and moved the bottle he was holding. “Buying something to drink.” He smiled, showing his perfect smile.

“Here?” He nodded. “In this grocery store?” He nodded again. “Of this unknown neighborhood?” He nodded once again. “Gojo…” You touched your head, closing your eyes. “I don’t know what you want or your intentions but don’t you dare bother me anymore.”

“I already told you birdie I’m here, to buy this.” He put the bottle in front of you.

“There you have it. Now, bye.” You turned around and started cleaning some things that were around. It was time to close and you needed to hurry up to got to the bar.

You picked up and changed into the clothes you had come in. For a moment you had to lean against the wall, for an hour or so you had been dizzy and nauseous, but you couldn't allow yourself to be absent. You turned off the lights and closed the grocery store.

“What are you still doing here?” You turned around to look at Gojo who was right in front of the shop.

He walked smiling towards you. “Waiting for you.”

You rolled your eyes, couldn’t he understand you or something. “Well, I don’t want you to be waiting for me. So now… BYE!” And you started moving towards the bar.

“Oh c’mon.” He said your name this time. “Let me accompany you to your house or at least near it. It’s not good for a girl to…”

“Are you a stalker?” Gojo opened his mouth. “And I’m not going home, I need to get to work and because of you I might be late.”

“Work? But you just get out of it.” He walked next to you. “Why would you have two works…”

“Listen Gojo! Not everyone is born on a silver spoon. Some of us have to work our asses out to get the things we want.” You were tired. “You are lucky your parents probably get you everything they want for you but not everyone is that lucky.”

“You’re pale. Are you okay?” You certainly weren’t, but you couldn't afford to be, you had to go to work. “Oh shit! You might have a fever.” His hand was on your forehead, wait when did he get that close?

“Leave me…” Everything was spinning around.

“Hey!” You felt how Gojo held you, preventing you from falling to the ground, and then everything went black.

You weren't certain how long you had been unconscious, but it was certainly for a considerable amount of time. As you blinked your eyes open, you found yourself surrounded by darkness, with only a faint glow of outside light seeping into the room. Despite the dimness, you were able to swiftly recognize your surroundings. You were in Kyoko's room, but how had you ended up there? The last memory you could recall was being with Gojo before blacking out.

“Kyoko?” You whispered. You were confused and still feeling sick.

You saw how a silhouette moved to grab something from the table and then a light from the cell phone illuminated the room.

Kyoko whispered your name. “How are you feeling?”

“Still dizzy…” You touched your head. “How did I get here?”

“Satoru called me.” You looked at her confused, since when she called him Satoru and since when did she have his number. “Don’t look at me like that, when you left I stayed with him and with his friend, Suguru and they are pretty nice guys.” You rolled your eyes. “And his friend is pretty cute.”

“Kyoko…”

“What? It’s true, he was so polite and nice and did you know he studies…”

“Do you like him?”

“I mean… it’s early to say that but I would love to go out with him sometime.” Your friend smiled.

“You remember that there is a guy still waiting for an answer from you right?”

Kyoko pouted. “I know… I will let him know I’m not interested, because it’s true I’m not.”

“Good…”

“But now to what is important.” Oh here it came. “What would you have done if Satoru wasn’t there when you fainted?”

“I… it was just a coincidence. I was totally find this morning.”

Kyoko said your name heavily. “How much have you slept this week? And be honest with me.”

You thought for a moment. “5 hours…”

“That’s not bad, I thought you were going to say something like 2 hours.”

“In the last 3 days…”

Kyoko opened her mouth, letting a gasp out. “Are you insane? You want to die or something?”

“Sorry! But college and the jobs… the jobs, my shift on the bar…”

“Relax. I called them and told them you were sick after Satoru called me.” You breathed in relief. “But don’t try to change the topic. 5 hours in 3 days?! That’s inhuman and you can’t keep going like this.”

“And what do I do Kyoko?” You pulled the sheets up to your face.

“Stay here… we have a spare room, you can stay there.” You growled, Kyoko knew that was too much. Even if you were her best friend, you were still someone from outside the family. “You can pay a minimum if that will make you feel better, but if you stay here you wouldn’t have to pay the rent you are paying right now and you wouldn’t have to work at that shitty bar.”

“I… I will think about it okay…” Kyoko nodded.

“Now go back to sleep.”

“Okay…” You closed your eyes.

“And by the way.” Kyoko spoke again. “Start thinking what you are going to say to Satoru, you throw up on him.”

“I… WHAT?” Your eyes opened like plates.

“Good night~”

“No Kyoko, tell me! What do you mean I threw up on Gojo?” You cried.

“Go to sleep.”

You groaned, feeling utterly mortified at the thought of having thrown up on Gojo. This was beyond embarrassing—how were you supposed to face him and apologize for such a humiliating incident? The desire to vanish into thin air consumed you. Your head spun with the aftermath of the situation, and before you knew it, you had drifted off to sleep.

Upon waking up again, you sensed that several hours had passed; sunlight now flooded through the window, illuminating the room entirely. Kyoko was nowhere to be seen, and you sat up in bed, stretching your stiff body. You felt utterly filthy after experiencing fever and vomiting; a shower was desperately needed.

Searching for your phone to check the time, you discovered several messages awaiting your attention—some from Kyoko and others from an unknown number.

Kyoko ☀️

Rest as much as you want. My mom left you food prepared in the kitchen but you will be alone for most of the day.

You can take my clothes if you want.

And don’t worry about the classes I will take the notes for you.

And by the way, I’m sorry and I love you 😘

Sorry? For what? You tapped on the unknown number and then you understood why she was sorry.

xxxx

Hellooooo birdie !!

Kyoko gave me your number, don’t get angry at her.

I hope you feel better soon

You clenched your fists and sighed, now you would have to endure it because of your cell phone too.

You to Kyoko ☀️

You should be grateful I love you so much and I won’t kill you.

And thanks, I will be taking a shower and do you mind if I take one of your pajamas?

Kyoko ☀️

Everything that’s mine is yours 😘

You rolled your eyes at your friend. And opened once again the chat of Gojo. How should you respond to him? Should you apologize for throwing up at him? Should you just be as cold as always? The guy was messaging you after you fainted and threw up on him, he didn’t deserve to be treated coldly although you wanted to.

You to Pain in the ass

Hi. I’m good

Thanks for yesterday and sorry for what happened…

Also stop calling me birdie, people would think we are close or something

Leaving your phone on the table, you grabbed one of Kyoko's pajamas and made your way to the bathroom. Compared to a few hours ago, you felt significantly better; the fever seemed to have subsided or at least diminished in intensity. After a refreshing shower, you changed into the pajamas and headed to the kitchen.

True to Kyoko's word, her mother had left a plate of food prepared for you. Grateful for the gesture, you sat down to enjoy the meal. Retrieving your phone once more, you noticed two notifications, which came as a surprise—they were not the usual supermarket offers.

Pain in the ass

Don’t worry about it, I’m glad to hear you are okay

*This message was deleted*

What did he send and delete after?

Pain in the ass

Since you are sick we decided to accompany Kyoko for lunch!

And there was a picture of Kyoko with Gojo and two other people, the guy from yesterday, Suguru and another girl you didn’t know about. Kyoko was smiling and doing the peace sign next to Suguru, while Gojo was the one taking the selfie and showing off his perfect teeth.

You to Pain in the ass

You better treat Kyoko right, or you will hear from me once I’m back at class.

It was hard to believe you were talking so casually with him. You shook your head, talking like that on the phone was just a way of being polite with him, nothing else.

Pain in the ass

If that way I get you to talk to me

You stayed looking at the message for a couple of minutes. Something on your stomach was moving. Stupid Satoru Gojo.

You to Pain in the ass

By the way, do I need to pay you something… for you know…

Pain in the ass

For what?

You to Pain in the ass

Don’t make me say it, it’s way too embarrassing.

Pain in the ass

If you don’t tell me what I won’t know 🤷

You to Pain in the ass

Throwing up on you!

Do I need to pay for something? Like dry cleaning or something?

Pain in the ass

Hehe

You wanted to punch him, he obviously knew.

Pain in the ass

Nop, you don’t need to pay anything. Don’t worry 😉

You to Pain in the ass

Okay, now I will leave to sleep

Don’t bother me Gojo!

Pain in the ass

Alright birdie!!

Rest well. I don’t want you throwing up and fainting in the arms of other people

You to Pain in the ass

Say something like that again and I’m blocking you

Pain in the ass

🥺

You rolled your eyes and left the phone once again. He really was a pain in the ass. You went to Kyoko’s room and lay down on her bed, although you were feeling better, you were still feeling tired, so you decided to sleep for a bit more, at least until Kyoko returned home.

You heard a door close and someone walk down the hall in silence. You knew it was Kyoko when she entered the room. She walked up to you and you smiled at her when your eyes met.

“You look better.”

“I feel better.” You say stretching on yourself. “I feel like I have slept everything I haven’t slept in a month.” You looked at Kyoko and she was doing a grimace of disgust. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Have you thought about it? About moving here?”

You did. You thought about it a lot, but you couldn't deny that you were at a point where if you continued at that pace you would end up killing yourself.

“I will.” Kyoko screamed with happiness. “But only if your parents are okay with it.”

“And they are! Don’t worry.” She started clapping and jumped out of bed with happiness. “By the way, I’m surprised you met Satoru yesterday at the grocery store.”

You looked at her strangely. “Didn't you tell her where she worked?” Kyoko shook her head.

And then it hit you, you haven't told Haibara that you would not be going to work today, he would probably be covering for you and you would have to tell him.

“Shit… Where is my phone?” You looked around.

“Who is Pain in the ass?” Kyoko hang you the phone.

“It’s Gojo…” She nodded while you searched for the number of Haibara on your phone. “Haibara!” You said when you heard him picking up. “Yeah it’s me… I’m so sorry, I’m sick and I couldn’t go today… I hope you-” Kyoko looked at you when felt silent. “What do you mean you already knew? Who told you?” Kyoko watched you with interest trying something of what was said on the other end of the phone. “Oh… okay. I will thank him then… Yeah. Bye.” And you throw the phone to the side.

“What’s with that face?”

“Gojo Satoru told my coworker I was sick.”

“That’s pretty considerate.”

“They are friends…”

“Who?”

“My coworker and Gojo, that’s why he appeared there.” You realized. “Probably Haibara told him and he came to bother.”

Kyoko called your name and you looked at her. “I don’t think he went to bother you…”

“Well… but it’s strange he went all the way to that place! Why would he go if it wasn’t to bother me?”

Your best friend sighed and closed her eyes, whispering something you could not hear and then looked back at you. “Thanks he was there. Or who knows what would have happened to you.”

You rolled your eyes. “You are right. And I already thanked him.”

“Oh you did?”

“Don’t act surprised when you were the one that gave him my number.”

She put her hands in the air and smiled. “Sorry. But he was really, REALLY insistent…”

“I can imagine.”

“He sent you a message right? What did he say?”

You took the phone and unlocked it to see the message that Gojo sent you.

Pain in the ass

I'll save you place next to me in class for tomorrow 🙆

What’s up with him?

“Oh…” Kyoko smiled next to you.

“What?”

“Nothing… figure it out yourself baby.” She smiled.

“Kyoko… Kyoko, what did that oh ment, come back here.” You followed her through the corridor while she laughed.

“No.” She continued laughing. “Oh!” She stopped walking and turned to look at you. “I already sent a message to the guy.”

“Finally.”

“Yeah…”

“You? Are you really going to try and go out with Gojo’s friend?”

She shrugged and smiled. The fact that Kyoko started dating Gojo's friend didn't particularly bother you, but it did mean potentially spending even more time with Gojo than you had anticipated. The mere thought made your head ache again. However, before dealing with that, you needed to figure out how to face Satoru Gojo tomorrow. It would mark the first encounter since... that incident.

Note: a comment and a like would be appreciated. Also comment to be tagged in the chapters

Tag list: @crybabytoru, @sanriosatoru, @norvacaine, @sadmonke

[ourfatherwhoartinhell]

Ghostober - Day 12 [River]

"My toaster was definitely talking to me this morning" - 1k

CW: River gets injured - burns (no blood or graphic description)

⊹ Ghostober Masterlist ⊹

River had been a chronic patient in the infirmary under Omega’s care. Always doing something that ended him back laying in a bed in the medical wing. Between him and his brother Lake, River was somehow always the one ending up on the wrong side of a prank, or pulling the short end of the stick.

This week had been no different.

It had started out harmless enough. Hiding all of Terzo’s left socks, switching out Alpha’s shampoo with lube, turning a whole row of books to have the spines facing inward in the library - top to bottom I might add, it took two and a half hours for the Sisters to turn everything back the right way.

Yet that was all elementary. The terror twins were simply not satisfied.

They had upped the stakes as the week went on. Putting laxatives in the Tuesday chilli, they hid a smoke generator in Secondo’s office, activating it when he was alone and causing everyone to think there's a fire. The whole Abbey had to evacuate while the two ghouls snickered wickedly in the corner. They had simultaneously replaced Sister’s masterkey with a similar-looking, non-functional one, causing her to be locked out of everywhere she needed to go - including the security office to shut off the fire alarm.

River had put itching powder in Dewdrop's laundry detergent, causing the little fire ghoul to be miserable all day until he finally snapped. He had marched all the way to River’s room, leaving a trail of black smoke in his wake as his little legs quickly ate up the distance.

Dew had found River sitting casually on the couch in the den. His carefree expression and body language made the former water ghoul’s skin boil.

“Can’t you prank somebody else, River? I’ve got enough shit going on.” Dew snarled, closing the distance between the two of them.

River couldn’t help but look at the little ghoul with his face scrunched in confusion before remembering what he had done a few days prior. All Dew got in reply was a little snicker.

“It’s not funny! I feel like my skin is crawling!” He had ripped his shirt off and River could see that he might have put a little too much. Dew was covered in red scratches all over, clearly trying to use his claws as carefully as he could to relieve some of the itch.

River felt a little bad, but Dew had done pranks of this calibre to him before he was a fire ghoul.

“Okay, maybe I put a little too much? But it’s kind of funny.” River chuckled, which only angered Dew more as he moved to stand right in front of the larger water ghoul.

“No. More.” Dew hissed through gritted teeth, his fingers working tirelessly to relieve the discomfort all over his arms and chest.

River stood, towering over Dew as he took in the sight of his red, raw skin.

“I’m sorry, no more…. Maybe just the harmless ones?” River smirked.

That was the final straw. Between the insatiable itching, the lack of sleep that night due to the itching, and now River’s incessant taunting. He was about to explode.

And he did.

Dewdrop’s fire element was unstable on a good day, but today it was well fed on his sleep deprived brain and untapped rage as the little ghoul had burst into flames, sending River flying back over the couch.

And that’s how he ended up in the infirmary this week.

He had bandages covering his many burns and blisters as he laid back in the bed Omega had almost permanently labelled with his name.

“You’re lucky water ghouls have a protective mucus in your skin to protect you from this kind of stuff. Otherwise this would’ve been a lot worse.” Omega had said, along with something about consequences of actions? He couldn’t remember. Or more accurately, he didn’t want to hear it.

Lake had come in to see his brother every day. Letting him in on all the gossip and things. Those two were absolutely insufferable around the Abbey, and Secondo had threatened to send them back to the Pit on numerous occasions. Yet somehow they were still here.

“Hey Riv? Can I tell you something scary?” Lake’s voice was low with a sinister tone.

“Oh I’m all ears– ah. All ear.” River joked, patting his one ear that was bandaged against his head.

“Okay, you know how we’ve been debating whether the den is haunted?” River nodded, leaning in to listen more intently. “Well, I was laying in my nest last night and I heard voices.”

River’s eyes went wide. “Really? What did they say?”

“I don’t know but the TV turned off without me touching it. There were knocks coming from your room. You haven’t heard anything like that have you?” Lake asked as he tried not to burst out laughing as he saw River shake in fear. He really shouldn’t be taking advantage of his brother while he was high as a kite on pain meds, but it was just too easy.

River pulled the covers up to his face and hid behind them. “You don’t think they’re following me, are you?”

Lake tilted his head, genuinely confused. “What do you mean?”

“If you were hearing voices…. Then my toaster was definitely talking to me this morning.”

Lake couldn’t help it, he burst out with laughter before being grabbed by the scruff of his neck and forcibly removed from the infirmary by a rather large, rather annoyed Omega.

“Can’t even let your brother recover without causing a ruckus?” The quint stood with his arms crossed, the scariest look on his face. It was much like the look you’d get from a very disappointed mother as he effectively took up the space within the doorway, blocking Lake’s every attempt to get back inside.

“O-Omeg…ahaha! Please!” Lake wheezed, clutching his side as he got a stitch from laughing so hard. “Come on! His face was priceless!”

With two large hands on the water ghoul’s shoulders, Omega effortlessly turned him around and gave Lake a loving boot in the ass out of his infirmary.

“Scram, you leech!”

A/N: Not proofread, sorry it's so short.

[sovietpostcards]

Farewell 2022

I've been thinking about the year 2022. What a year it was. Easily the worst in my life ever. I spent half of it in a state of limbo comprised of depression and anxiety, when I couldn't do anything besides scrolling through the news and couldn't see the point of doing anything else. I couldn't talk to anyone whose political stance I didn't know for fear of breaking down and/or losing it. I lost my Etsy shop in March-April and didn't have any income whatsoever for months. I didn't buy anything except the bare necessities. I started to pay attention to how much food actually cost and only bought the cheapest options. I spent so little that the last monthly pay from Etsy that I got in April lasted me 3 months!

In August, when I was learning to breathe again and was thinking a lot about the future, I applied to an online educational program for Front End Development. I was able to get in for free because I was officially unemployed by then. It's an 8 month program that I'm supposed to finish by April 2023 (I hope I can do it).

In October I started giving private English lessons. It's not huge money but it's steady, and combined with Tumblr sales it keeps me afloat. By now I have 5 students who come in 2-3 times a week, two more are due to start after the holidays. In December I started a free for all English speaking club. We’ve met twice now (8-9 people each time) and it was great fun.

It was a bad year, no question about it. Even compared to the pandemic 2020, it was bad. But it helped me realize a few things. One, I have wonderful friends. Not one of them supported the war, and talking to them really, really helped in the early months. Not all of them are in Russia anymore, but they're in my heart and on my speed dial. Two, I have skills and I'm not too old to get new skills. Three, I have something to give to the community and it feels good to give.

I will leave you with this: don't take anything for granted. Work on your skills. Work on your circle of friends. Work on having more than one source of income. If your government gives you an apportunity, take it. Vote, demand to be heard and to have rights. And one more thing. Always listen to yourself. When TV tells you one thing, but you know in your heart another, don't fall for it. Don't believe lies because everybody believes them. Don't be angry because everybody is angry. Don't be violent because everybody is violent. Be the fucking island.

[zyonsay]

Bartenders getting busy

Fem aligned people may read but not f3tishize my work!!

Summary: Scaramouche has something to confess

Warnings: Suggestive at the end, kinda cringe (its old, dont sue me)

Reader: Genderneutral

Now playing: "Too many nights" by metro boomin

AN: (Im taking my works off of Ao3, due to them being Zionists.)

ALSO this was based off of a dream i had.

“Well, hello there dear” , Childe grins your way. You just arrived at the Bar for your shift and already had enough of all those drunkards lingering around. “Hi there, how are you doing?”, you said as you put your bag down and rolled back the sleeves of your dress shirt. “Good, Good… I’ve missed you! How was your holiday?”. You went to Italy with your friend Xiao for two weeks, you really needed a break from work. “It was really nice! We had lots of yummy food.”, you exclaimed with a smile. “I’m glad to hear that!”

Suddenly your conversation was interrupted by a short man with purple hair “Stop the Smalltalk, Idiots.”, he said as he shoved Childe out of his way. He looks at you and simply says “I hope you had a nice vacation”, then continues walking to the storage room. Scaramouches’ facade was cold and unfriendly, but you know his last words were sincere. You really missed him, since he’s your best friend and you couldn’t take him along. He was sick for a week before you left and then didn’t want to miss work for another two weeks.

You were giving out a beer to a customer when suddenly Childe appeared behind you and put his head on your shoulder. “Im boooooreddddddd y/nnnnnn!”, he whined. You rolled your eyes at the ginger behind you. “Stop whining you little shit.” You were obviously joking, knowing that Childe won’t stop crying until his shift ends. From the other end of the Bar a certain someone is glaring daggers at Childe, jealous of the body contact he’s having with you.

Childe glances at Scaramouche and starts smirking while he pressed up against you a bit more. The purple haired man was fuming now, willing to rip Childe to shreds, at least if that’s what it took to get rid of him. Scaramouche marched toward you with angry steps, “Can we talk y/n?”, he said while eyeing Childe with a disgusted look. “Of course, Scara!”, you said with a gentle smile.

Scaramouche pulled you to the employees’ changing rooms by your wrist. He then suddenly stopped and faced you with a critical look. “Do you even have any idea why I wanted to talk to you?”. You thought about it for a second, but then looked at your friend with a questioning look. “You’re totally oblivious, aren’t you?”, he sighed, “Look, Childe is obviously flirting with you… And I have a problem with that.”, he paused shortly, “I know what kind of guy he is! He is not good for you, and I don’t want you to get your heart broken by a douche like him.” You were totally taken aback by his words and almost didn’t want to believe him. But you did. He was your best friend for a long time and even if he seemed mean, his intentions were always good.

“To be honest, I don’t really plan on ever getting together with Childe. To me he is just a good friend,” you said with a certain sincerity in your voice. You really didn’t mean to get romantically involved with Childe. Something was lingering at the back of Scaramouches’ mind, he tried his best to get rid of that thought, but it was pestering him like a parasite. You were already turning around to leave when he got a hold of your wrist again and whispered something along the lines of ‘wait’. He whirled you around and pulled you in. He embraced you in a soft kiss, closing his fierce eyes. Your vision went blurry and your mind blank, you kissed him back though. As you two parted, you stood in silence, still stunned by your friends’ bold action. Scaramouche softly smiled at you, “You know, I really like you. And... When Childe acts that way with you, I can’t help but get jealous.”, he paused longer than usual. You looked into his eyes, smiling too now. “I want… to be with you. I want to support you, i want to help you, i want to understand you. But not as a friend, I want to be more than that. I understand if you’re not ready for that, but I just-“ You interrupted his ramble and hugged him tightly. “I also want to be more than friends” You quietly mumbled into his neck. He hugged you back with great force, almost squeezing you to death. You broke the embrace but gave him a small peck on the lips. He grins at you with genuine joy.

You went back to your work, as to not piss off your boss by standing around in the back. You still had a very apparent smile on your face as you were tending to the customers. Childe poked your back in an annoying manner. “So now you have to tell me what you two talked about”, he peeped. You flash a smile towards one of the tables where Scaramouche was desperately trying to wipe a stain off. “You’ll eventually find out” The ginger behind you groaned dramatically and walked away.

Your shift ended at 2 am and you were exhausted from scrubbing, serving and mixing. Childe is still finishing up the last few bits behind the bar while you and Scaramouche were picking up your stuff from the changing rooms. He finished tying his shoes and closing his locker, as you were smiling at him. He looked up with a very present grin on his face. He got up and held you by your waist. “I was scared as fuck to confess to you, but I think it was worth it”, he murmured with a lovesick look on his face. He kissed you shortly, then grabbed your hand and pulled you towards the rear exit. You two left the bar and stepped into the dark night. A few barking dogs could be heard, and some club hoppers were chatting away on the side of the road. “Would you possibly wanna come to my place?” Scaramouche shot a mischievous grin your way. Your mind immediately went in the gutter and the only thing you could do was nod while desperately trying to hide your flushed face. You two got into Scaramouches car and fastened your seatbelt. As your companion was navigating through the city streets, he slowly moved his hand on your thigh. You put your hand over his and smirked at him, your cheeks looking rosy. “Desperate, are we?” He turned as red as a tomato at your words. “Absolutely.”

You two arrived at Scaras apartment, desperate to get in and do what you’ve been longing for all evening. He was fumbling with his keys as you two were passionately kissing, it felt as if flames were engulfing you both. When he finally unlocked the door and shut it behind, you were already laying on the couch nearby and started unbuttoning your dress shirt.

After throwing his bag on the floor, he immediately rushed over to you, wanting to help you get unclothed. He basically ripped your shirt off and then got to work on his own. You started unbuckling your belt and soon after began opening his too. You wanted to savor this experience because you were sure it was going to be amazing.

“Ready?”

[le-agent-egg]

Ok now that school for me is over I finally feel comfortable for talking about how this year went for me, because holy fuck it was horrible.

Now I in absolutely no way wish to overstep boundaries for anyone who sees this, so here we go: trigger warning for s**cide, s**cidal thoughts and tendencies, s*xual assault, mentions of r*pe, smaller mentions of homophobia/racism/transphobia, potential fetishization of trans people, and just general power abuse from schools. Please, for the love of god, if you do not feel comfortable with any of these topics, do not read this post.

I would like to preface by saying that I come from a very European bloodline, like everyone leading up to me is European, however I myself am Canadian, and I have a lot of North American influence in me. With that being said, one thing that is pretty common from what I know is for people, especially in the country my mom is from, to be people pleasers. I am a very heavy people pleaser, I don’t like talking about my feelings, all that fun stuff.

In the city I live in, there was a school that I wanted to go to for two reasons: most of my friends were there, and there was a specific program I wanted to be in, though it was mainly the former and not the latter. The only problem is that due to the amount of people going there, it is a closed school, meaning people from out of zone are unable to attend UNLESS you are in the program. You can see where this is going.

Even though I was ok with going to my designated school for a while, around of March 2023 I decided I did want to go to the school with my friends. I submitted my first application form, and around June, I got an email saying I would in fact be a candidate for the program.

Tenth grade starts, I start going to the school, and everything is fine for the first little while. Some details will be kept private, but some work related things happened to my family around early October. Now for the really fun part:

The thing about this program, and honestly school in general, is that it’s very focused on academics, and almost wearing people down. We were doing a novel study on the book The Chrysalids, a book that I personally relate to very much, when shit really went down.

To start things off, we had a pop quiz on the book, that I ended up only getting 40% on. I was completely freaking out, only thinking of how angry everyone was going to be. Then while we were reading the book, a lot of the religious references started getting to me, the ones regarding the “true image of man” if you’ve read the book. (For context, I am a trans man, and that stuff kinda made me feel. Not very good.)

So I end up going to a school counselor, talking about that, which eventually leads to me finally spiraling into talking about my own suicidal thoughts. For a bit more context I’ve been struggling with mental health since around the sixth grade after needing to go to the hospital for something with my eye, as well as my grandfather passing away. I started talking about just how bad I was feeling, and since it’s part of the safety rules, the counselor did have to call my parents. Let me tell you there is nothing more awkward than your parents finding out about the fact that you’re dealing with suicidal thoughts, especially over phone.

So. Long story short, we ended up going to my city’s children’s hospital for a risk assessment. We talked about some stuff, got some resources, all that fun stuff. Really awkward to explain to people why I wasn’t in class.

Fast forward a couple of weeks, I’m called down to the office again. Since this was around the time the people at my school were doing assessments for people for if they would get into the program or not, I got the news that based on the past week where I finally snapped, that they didn’t deem me fit for the stress of the program, despite the fact that for the previous month and a half, I had been doing fine. Additionally they said that I could stay with only one class instead of the required two, however this was the one I didn’t want as much. They kinda gave me a pity acceptance because they thought I would be too much to deal with haha. My dad kinda went off on them.

When I got home that day, I decided that after having my own mental health issues used against me, I wanted nothing to do with the school. Also, again, if you’ve read The Chrysalids, you’ll probably understand why I relate to much to the main character David (being in a society where you’re different from others, but in turn seen as a hassle)

Officially speaking, I denied the pity acceptance around December, meaning that in grade 11, I would be going back to my designated school. We were also getting help from a few counselors, so that really helped. I also ended up doing my oral final for English on being a part of a society that treats you bad because your different with David from The Chrysalids and Juliet from you can probably guess where. I cried during it lmao (because I said that I would end up like David in the sense of finally being somewhere that accepts me, rather than Juliet with… you can see the implication.)

You’re probably thinking “oh yay we’re at the happy ending!!” Nope nooooo haha we just finished semester one. Now moving onto semester two:

We need to go back in time to set the stage a little: Remember how I mentioned that one of the main reasons I originally wanted to apply was because most of my friends were going to that school? One of them, who I’ll call D, was included in that. D and I had met in eighth grade, since we were in the same French class and debate team. He introduced me to a larger group of friends, where I actually met a lot of cool people. He was someone who I considered my closest friend, and honestly, the main reason I wanted to go to the school.

Around the start of ninth grade is when my egg cracked so to speak, and I realized I was a trans guy. He ended up helping me choose the name Zach, which is what I’ve gone by for the past year or two. After everything else I say you’ll understand why I’m thinking of changing it, mostly because I feel like I didn’t really choose it. Anyway.

Ninth grade is when I probably should have realized that stuff was getting a biiiit weird. Obviously ninth graders are not known for being very mature. So one thing D would always do is hug me before I got to my next class. Seems innocent enough right? Well I’ve always been averse to physical touch - ask my parents, they can confirm that even when I was a toddler I hated being hugged. But I really liked D, platonically I should say, so I let him hug me, because I liked seeing him happy.

This evolved into him kissing me goodbye. For most of ninth grade he wore a mask, but around halfway he stopped, and often times our lips would make contact. People would always joke “haha you’re dating get a room” but I hated getting kissed, like genuinely hated it. Probably because, again, I am very averse to touch, and was never ready for a romantic relationship. I would just kinda dissociate whenever he would do that.

These jokes didn’t stop once we were in tenth grade, and neither did he. The kissing stopped, sure, but it evolved into constantly touching me and wrapping his arms around me. Again, I am very averse to physical touch, but even with feeling wildly uncomfortable I let him do it because I’m a people pleaser. I think what sucks for me is that so many people probably noticed how uncomfortable I was with all of this, and yet said nothing, like “hey are you ok with being touched”, or something. I understand I should advocate for myself, but I genuinely felt so trapped.

Whenever I would try to hide in the school, he would always somehow find me, and start the cycle over again. Sometimes he would hug me to tight that it physically hurt. But the worst thing is that, on multiple occasions, he would “accidentally” touch my ass, inner thigh, or upper chest. This is, as my friends describe both it and the kissing, borderline sexual assault, and under no circumstances will i EVER let myself be treated like that again. I felt like two years of a mutual trust build between us had been tossed in the trash, because even with a crush on me, he couldn’t keep his hands off me.

Not to go all conspiracy theorist mode, but I honestly feel like it might have something to do with the fact that I’m trans- none of this happened before I came out to our larger group, but after I did, all of this happened. Let me tell you that larger group has a lot of not very good people in it, like I’m talking thinking that racism/homophobia/transphobia/rape is the funniest thing ever. WHICH IT IS NOT. IT’S NOT VERY GOOD TO MAKE JOKES ABOUT RAPE WHEN SOMEONE IN THE GROUP IS BORDERLINE SAING SOMEONE ELSE.

So. Not very epic. But wait, there’s more!!

Another person who went to the school was someone who I knew in ninth grade as well- lets call her A. A is known to have a very big princess complex- she’s never been told no in her life, she always thinks she’s the center of attention, and she loves making herself seem like a victim. Literally, in a team-based activity we had, when we said we work bad as a team, she took it as a personal insult.

Another thing A is really bad with is that she does not know how to keep her hands to herself. She would constantly poke at my waist, even when I told her to not touch me. When we were learning some basic CPR stuff, and I said “don’t touch me”, she was like “Oh ok I guess if you’re choking I’ll leave you to die since you don’t wanna be touched” ?????

She was one of the worst with the “get a room” jokes, even when I told her to stop. We had a martial arts unit, and at one point she was hitting me so hard and frequently that I was unable to recover. Where did having respect for your opponent go? We’re sparring, not trying to kill each other lmao (also she actually did end up hitting my wrist pretty weird, and it was so painful I ended up sitting out for the rest of class. yippee.) To top it off, on the last day of school when I was telling a close friend about why I wouldn’t be in the school next year, A decided to barge in saying that it was my fault for getting kicked out of the program because of my mental health issues. Not a very nice thing to say to someone.

ANYWAY. TL:DR, I ended up getting my mental health used against me to get denied from a program, was borderline assaulted by someone who I thought was a close friend, and had a generally bad experience with another student who ended up telling me that it was my fault for getting kicked out of the program, all in the span of less than ten months.

Thankfully I am doing better now that I’m leaving that school and the bad people in it for good, and I also have some really great friends as well. Honestly I’m just glad I survived this year, because as bad as it sounds, without everything happening, I don’t know if I would have made it to 16.

If you’re still reading this, have some sweets because fuck that was heavy. Thanks <3 🍫🍰🧁🍩🍪🍦

[hermionegalathynius]

The 2nd time Steve surprised you.

Fandom: Stranger Things

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Henderson!Reader

Warnings: talk of family issues on Steve’s part.

“What do you think they’re talking about in there?” You asked Robin as you kept her company while she scooped ice cream. 

  After the chaos six months ago through which Dustin’s friend Eleven closed the gaping hole in the material of the universe, you and Steve Harrington actually managed to become friends. Through babysitting Dustin and his gang of troublemakers, you began to see a lot more of the guy. At school, it seemed he had lost his ‘King Steve’ title, as well as most of his friends after his break-up with Nancy. While you had a few friends at school due to band, you mostly kept to yourself during the day, but this changed as Steve (not wanting to remain seated next to Nancy in certain classes) moved next to you. According to the boy in question, he had just asked those teachers to move him and they had coincidentally placed him next to you in every. Single. Class. 

  Not that you were complaining. When he was away from his asshole friends, Steve Harrington was a decent guy and actually pretty funny. It came as a surprise to the both of you, but conversation became really easy, and time flew by when you were together. Eventually you developed a routine where the two of you would go get Benny’s Burgers whenever you’d had to drop the kiddies off somewhere. The tradition started during the Winter Ball when Dustin had insisted Steve tag along to drop him off for emotional support. The older boy had actually come early to help your brother with his hair and show him how to style it. The image of the two of them fussing over Dustin’s untameable curls definitely shouldn’t have made your heart melt the way it did. 

  After Dustin had clambered out Steve’s BMW, you and him had decided to stop by Benny’s to get dinner while you waited for the agreed-upon time at which you needed to pick Dustin up. It was the first time you were actually spending time alone with Steve since the demodogs, and it was… nice. 

  Then, summer had arrived. You and Steve were officially graduated. While you planned to use the summer holidays as a time to rest before you moved up to Indianapolis to work in a theatre orchestra for a year, Steve’s dad made him get a job. The boy had spent a good hour sitting in the car outside Benny’s, ranting to you about how much the man infuriated him. You sympathised, expressing your own disapproval of his father’s actions and attitude towards Steve. As far as you were concerned, the man clearly didn’t know his son very well, because if he could just see the wonderful man he was growing up to be, maybe he wouldn’t be so harsh on him. 

  One of the biggest shocks that came over the summer, was Steve working alongside Robin at Scoops Ahoy. When the boy had called you halfway through his first week on the job and begged you to come save him from his mean coworker, you had been delightfully surprised to find out that his ‘mean coworker’ was in fact your friend Robin Buckley from high school band. 

  To Steve’s dismay, he ended up having to share you with Robin, who he was liking less and less now that she had you on her side. 

  That’s why, when Dustin came home from camp, he jumped at the opportunity to help the kid translate a Russian code in the back room. 

  “From what I can hear,” said Robin, replying to your question, “they are trying to decipher a secret Russian communication your strange brother intercepted on his mega-radio.”

  You had literally left the store for twenty minutes to drive Max and Eleven to Starcourt mall after the two girls had called begging you to take them. Twenty minutes, and the two boys were already looking for trouble. 

   “Russian communication?!” 

  Your friend shrugged, holding up her hand and placing her forefinger and thumb half an inch apart, “Honestly, I’m this close to marching in there and insisting I help them just so Steve will come out and switch with me.”

  Your huffed a laugh, “If you do, I’ll come with you. I don’t need to witness another one of Steve’s failed attempts at flirting with the customers.”

  Robin groaned suddenly as Lucas’s sister and her group of My Little Pony fanatics entered the store. 

  “Not again,” she muttered. 

  You winced and gave her a pat on the shoulder, “Want me to hurl Steve up here so he can deal with it?”

  She shook her head, “Nah, I’ll push through. This is my last customer for the morning though. After, you and I are gonna go help your strange brother translate his Russian code and dumbass can sling ice cream.”

  With a grin, you hopped up onto the small surface behind the counter and leant back on your hands as Robin dealt with Erica’s relentless ‘tasting’. 

  After fifteen, excruciating minutes, the gaggle of girls finally left and you and Robin were free to go into the break room. 

  “Alright, babysitting time is over, you need to get in there,” Robin stated, pushing through the door, you trailing behind her with a smirk aimed at Steve that said ‘you’re in for it now, sucker’. 

  “Hey, my board! That was important data shitbirds!” the blonde yelled, whirling on the two boys. 

  You eyes snapped to the whiteboard hanging on the wall, and sure enough, instead of the usual shipment dates and stock numbers, the Russian alphabet was written out in bright red marker with its English counterparts labelled in black. Your smirk widened and you raised your brows at Steve who was halfway through popping a piece of banana in his mouth. His eyes widened innocently and you rolled yours. 

  “I can guarantee you, what we’re doing is way more important than your data,” Dustin replied. Honestly, you weren’t sure if you should be impressed or afraid for your little brother at his adamant cheek towards your significantly scary friend. 

  “Oh yeah?” Robin challenged, walking to stand opposite the table to Dustin and Steve. Ever the loyal friend, you moved to stand beside her, crossing your arms. 

  “Yeah,” Dustin said, keeping his ground. 

  You sighed, “And how do you know these Russians are up to no good anyway?”

  The boys froze — Steve still had a mouth full of banana when Dustin demanded in a lowered tone, “How do they know about the Russians?”

  “I don’ know!” the older boy protested around the banana.

  “Did you tell them about the Russians?”

  “It wasn’t me!”

  “Hello, we can hear you!” Robin exclaimed, clearly becoming pissed off. In all honesty, you were too. Sure, you’re brother was a little science genius, but you had taught him almost everything he knew — except for all of the stuff Mr Clark had taught him. He got his passion for science from the same gene pool you did. It was about time Dustin started acknowledging your superior level of intellect as the older sibling. 

  “Actually, we can hear everything you’re saying,” you added in, “You’re both extremely loud.”

  “You think you have evil Russians plotting against our country on tape and you’re trying to translate but you haven’t figured out a single word because you didn’t realise the Russians use an entirely different alphabet than we do,” Robin continued. 

  You both watched as they looked at each other in defeat, clearly beat. Steve was refusing to meet your eyes. 

  “Sound about right?” she finished. 

  Thinking on your feet, you lurched forward, making a grab for the tape lying on the table. Steve — realising your aim — was too fast for you and grabbed the tape out from under your fingertips. 

  “Woah, woah! What are you doing?” he yelled, hugging the tape to his chest. You glared at him, blowing a flyaway strand of hair from your eyes. 

  “We want to hear it.”

  “Why?” The boys asked in unison. 

  “Because maybe we can help,” Robin said, shrugging. 

  “She’s fluent in four languages,” you pointed out, pinning your brother and your best friend with a stare. 

  Dustin perked up, “Russian?” he asked.

  “Ouyay aryay umbraday,” Robin recited. You stifled a laugh, knowing she just called Dustin dumb in pig latin. 

  “Oh ho ho ho!” Steve exclaimed. 

  “Holy shit!” said Dustin. 

  “That was pig latin, dingus,” Robin told them. 

  Steve smacked Dustin’s arm, “Idiot.”

  You rolled you eyes again. 

  “But,” Robin continued, sliding into a seat, “I can speak Spanish, and French and Italian.”

  “And we’ve both been in band for twelve years,” you added.

  “Yeah, our ears are little geniuses, trust me,” Robin finished, “What do you say?”

  She directed the last question at Steve. He laughed dryly, beginning to shake his head. 

  “Come on! It’s your turn to sling ice cream, my turn to translate! I don’t even want credit I’m just bored!” she complained, torso resting on the table too dramatically. 

  You looked at Steve and found him watching you, an expression of defeat on his face. You grinned, knowing he was about to give in. 

  “Fine,” he said, “But only if Y/n comes with to keep me company.”

  “What? No! I want to help too!” you exclaimed. 

  “Deal,” Robin said, and Steve handed her the tape. 

  You whirled a betrayed expression on Robin, “Traitor!”

  She smiled apologetically, “Sorry, kid. It’s like I told them. I’m bored.”

  You sighed, and accepted Steve’s hand to drag you back out into the store. 

  “I don’t know why you’re complaining,” he whined, “You’re my best friend.”

  Deciding to just grin and bare it, you bumped your hip against his as he grabbed a scooper, “You’re right, I’m sorry.”

  He pouted, “I’ve barely seen you this summer even though you’ve been right in the store with me.”

  Your heart warmed at his words as you jumped back onto the counter again, “You been missing me, Harrington?”

  His cheeks flushed as he leant against the counter next to you, “I…” he sighed, taking off his sailor hat and running a hand through his hair, “Every night I go home to my jackass father telling me how disappointed he is in me and explaining why I’m a terrible son. It’s been like that for as long as I can remember, and until a few months ago I had nothing to help me cope. Then I met you, and we became friends, and suddenly I could look forward to seeing you everyday.”

  You weren’t sure you were breathing. 

  “I know I don’t say it enough, but I need you. And I miss you even if you’ve only been gone five minutes.”

  “Steve,” you breathed, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realise.”

  He shrugged, finally meeting your gaze with a shaky smile, “It’s not your fault.”

  “You have to know I need you too, right?” You said, leaning against him and resting your head on his shoulder, “I’m generally someone who likes her own company, but with you I never feel like I have to back away for a moment and take a breather. Back in high school I was always a little tense in the mornings because I knew I would have to interact with people I’m not comfortable around, but then I’d get to my locker and see you standing there and suddenly I could relax.”

  Something in your chest was aching as you spoke, and the truth behind your words brought a surge of affection for the boy next to you that definitely exceeded the boundaries of friendship. 

  The two of you sat like that in comfortable silence for a moment. At some point during your confession, Steve had tilted his own head to rest on yours as his hands fiddled mindlessly with his scooper. 

  Then two familiar girls walked into the store, giggling like the children they were and you frowned.

  “Is El even allowed here? I didn’t check before I drove the two of them…” you mused.

  “Either way,” Steve said, pushing off the counter, “That’s my cue to do my job.”

[houseofbrat]

What I’m confused about when it comes to what you keep pointing out about Kate’s health being exaggerated and her not being unwell is that Kate said in the video that she told her kids that she’s ‘going to be ok’ and then said ‘as I said to them, I AM well’, where she emphasized ‘am’. I agree with you that people can get hysterical about cancer. And I say this having had a family member with it. I agree that the public is acting like it’s a death sentence. But there’s a difference between public hysteria and people getting caught up in hype, and Kate being forced to make that statement because everyone kept making up ridiculous conspiracy theories. I also don’t rule out them not being 100% honest about the timeline or details. But I don’t think Kate is proactively trying to get people to worry about her more than they need to. I do think though that she does think it’s necessary to share the seriousness of the situation even if the critical stage is in the past, in order to get everyone to back off.

There are so many problems that the situation is not "Where do you start?" but "Where does it end?"

The "planned abdominal surgery" announcement, which seemed to catch everyone by surprise, even the people who work in W&K's circle and Buckingham Palace. Spanish media reported that her surgery was NOT planned. And yet, Dr. Reiner seemed flummoxed by Kate's description of her "planned abdominal surgery," perhaps it wasn't really "planned" but emergency surgery?

Kensington Palace's public pissing match with the Ministry of Defence over The Colonel's Review in June.

The revelation that William didn't attend Constantine's memorial due to allegedly finding out about Kate's cancer, yet she also started "preventative chemotherapy" in the same time frame? Rumors also allegedly circulated in January amongst the UK media that they knew of Kate's cancer diagnosis then but never published the info.

The Mother's Day photo fiasco, which Kate (sort of) takes responsibility for, yet later articles state they plan to sack staff when this is "all over." (Whenever that is!)

A cancer announcement, which coincidentally whitewashes all previous fuckups, yet could have been adverted with a simple statement weeks earlier. The announcement is allegedly timed to coincide with the kids' term break due to media attention, yet appears to be in response to previous comms/PR failures. However, a simple statement/announcement weeks earlier would have reduced the media attention that had increased, purely based on all the previous fuckups by KP that ratcheted up the atmosphere. Additionally, the kids had already been without their mother for two weeks in January, watched her recover from surgery, and allegedly watched her react to "preventative chemotherapy" treatments that started at the end of February. But the media coverage at the end of March--that they likely don't read--is something more damaging to them than what they've already seen with their own eyes and ears at home? WTF?!

We have a new phrase added to the lexicon, "preventative chemotherapy." I'm sure there are plenty of doctors SO EXCITED to have their patients come into their annual exams asking for some "preventative chemotherapy" just like Kate because they're worried about getting cancer. It'll be the new "Kate Effect!" Can't wait for those articles to drop in the future.

NONE of this is going to age well. Not in three months. Not in six months. Not a year later.

Can't wait to read the future book that has all the behind-the-scenes details.

[polizwrites]

PoliZ's WIP Update - 6 March 2024

Still busy IRL and was out of town this weekend, which cut een more into my writing time/energy.   I touched  3 fics (2 new works & 1 WIPs) for a total of  1136  words.  

On Ao3, I posted: 

Chapter Two of  A Vision of Things To Come - WinterIron time travel shenanigans with wartime!Bucky. 

On Tumblr I posted: 

The Battle of New York -  Steve POV ficlet of the title event. 

I’m juggling  18 �� active/semi-active WIPs with my current  deadline being the  Bucky Barnes Birthday Bash  (March 10) and the Post July Break Bingo, which ends in April. 

See  below cut for what I’m working on/planning to work on - arranged more or less by bingos/challenges/etc.  As always, feel free to send me   prompts or plot bunnies as well as asks regarding  any of these projects  or any other WIPs I’ve got out there.   Interaction really helps feed the Muse and keep me motivated!

Stony AUniverse Bingo  [SAUB_R1] (ends 15 Feb)

Final count - twenty-one fills for five bingos - hoping this event comes back so I can carry over a couple of squares!   Masterpost forthcoming….   

Captain (America) Bottom Bingo - Round 2 [CABB] (ends 28 Feb 2024)

I signed up for a 3x3 card for this bingo and managed a blackout plus an adopted square - Masterpost forthcoming!  

Bucky Barnes Birthday Bash - [BBE_B4] (fic due Mar 10) 

Another fun quickie event from the folks over at @buckybarnesevents! Participants build a fanwork  ‘cake’  by choosing the following ingredients - a base Universe, a Trope or Quote as the filling, another characters as the frosting and a color, kink and/or date idea as the topping.   

I started up a  Wartime Bucky/Steve fic - working to incorporate Forced Proximity/Only One Bed and Competency/ Strength/ Size Difference Kink     This could also fill my SRB E5 - Oversensitivity/Enhanced Senses and JBB “It’s you. It’s always been you.” squares.  It’s sitting at 184 words so far & am targeting Sat or Sunday to post.   

Post July Break Bingo  [JBB_23p] (Ends Apr 2024)

One fill on my  2x3 non-fandom-specific card - still working on  potential crossovers.

* A1 - “It’s you. It’s always been you.” - See BBE_B4 above 

* B2 - Character’s personality is split into two different beings – I’ve never played with Bucky & the Soldier being two different people, but this seems like the perfect opportunity! Will see what might be a good crossover on one of my open cards.

*  C1 - Touch Starved – another good fit for a Bucky-centric fic. (Steve or Tony or Clint).

Steve Rogers Bingo - Round 3 [SRB_R3] (ends  15 Jun 2024)

Eleven fills and one WIP at the moment  - need to ponder other possible crossovers with my non-fandom cards & BaBB.  

* A1 - Steve can actually dance just fine - Matched this up with the Flash Fiction Friday prompt  [#FFF238 Take My Hand]  for   Finding a Partner -  where Steve & Natasha go dancing (potential pre-slash). It came in at  239 words and will post to Ao3 before the event is over.    

* C5 - Exes to Lovers  -  Maybe pair up with BaBB  Argument?   

* E5 - Oversensitivity/Enhanced Senses - see BBE_B4 above. 

Bucky Barnes Connect Four - Alt Jun-iverse [BBC4_R2]  {Ends May 31 2024}

The good folks over at @buckybarnesevents  have opened this event up early!  You sign up for a single row card of four squares and the challenge is to see if you can combine any/all into a single Bucky-centric AU fanwork - although you can also create 2-4 separate fanworks if you want.  

The combo of prompts on my first card [Reality Show,  Omegaverse, Talent/Manager, Royalty] sparked an idea that I’m about 230 words + misc notes into already -  Alpha!Bucky as a technical prince   who gets talked into joining a reality show that is supposed to match him up with an omega… but there’s a twist!  Planning to pick this back up in the next week or so.  

Hawkeyes Bingo [HB_R2] {Ends TBD} 

Just signed up for this fun Tumblr event - got a 3x3 card and and am looking forward to creating more  Clint-centric content and trying my hand at a bit of  Kate Bishop fic as well!    

*A1 - Werewolf AU -  wrote Shooting for the Moon -  Werewolf!Bucky’s POV on the  second half of A Hairy Situation. It came in at 811 words and will get posted to Ao3 sometime in the next couple weeks. 

* A3 - Awkward Flirting – this might be a good entry into my first femslash fic with Kate/Yelena?    

Build-A-Bucky Bingo [BaBB_R1] {Ends Oct 2024}

Another fun year-long  event from the folks at  @buckybarnesevents!  Each month there’s a list of prompts and you choose (at least) one  each month for your card!

* November:  Crackfic - DONE  

* December: Wingman  - DONE

* January: Wingfic  - DONE *January: Polyamory - DONE

* February -  Fingering -  DONE * February - Morning Sex - DONE

* March  -  The Marriage of Convenience  prompt could slot nicely into the next chapter of   Lady Natasha’s Consort and Lord Steve’s Companion, which is currently sitting at 301 words.

WinterIron Bingo Round 2  [WIB_R2]

Signups are open for Round Two of this super-fun bingo event!

Hoping I get something on my card I can squish into the latest chapter of  My Love is Vengeance - as I’ve picked that back up and am 1109 words into Chapter Seven.

Warm and Fluffy   Bingo  [WFB]   (no end date)

Four  fills on my card, courtesy of   @warmandfluffybingocards  - need to try for another crossover or two!

————

On  other creative fronts:  I am working on Drusilla and Secchan ZenKaiger figures for  commissions.  I’ve finished all my  Marvel Trumps Hate  figures, but still need to create posts (and mail one set). 

If  you’re looking for one of a kind gifts for birthdays or other celebrations, check  out Stuffed With Character    over on Facebook for a full list of my designs (now over 150!).   These soft stuffed figures are  mostly Marvel and monsters, but I have some Star Wars, Star Trek, DC   and Disney figures as well. Plus I love to take custom design   requests  for any fandom!

[ecargmura]

It Took Me Four Months To Finish Unicorn Overlord (Review)

Long JRPGs usually take about 3 months for me to complete. However, Unicorn Overlord is a rare case where it took me more than three months to complete. Though, to be fair, there were some weeks where I didn’t play the game due to the lack of motivation or just because I was too busy with other things. However, my experience playing this game wasn’t a bad one at all. It was a rather lovely one!

I first stumbled upon Unicorn Overlord after watching a trailer and fell in love with the visual and gameplay. It released near my birthday, so I asked my brother if I could get it as a birthday present. I started the game March 10, 2024 and finished it July 27, 2024. This is the first Vanillaware game I’ve played, by the way.

The story is a bit simplistic as it’s just about reclaiming the throne from a fallen kingdom, but there’s nothing wrong with a simple story, especially for a dense game like this one. I liked the journey from the start to the end because it does feel like it was worth it with the happy ending and what not. I do like that the game wants you to travel to all five nations and collect all of the playable characters. I personally liked Elheim the best.

The gameplay was really good. Perhaps because I’ve played a few tactical RPGs before, so my prior knowledge to them did help me get used to a RTS-style RPG. It’s super smooth. There is a time limit, so it was nice trying to use units and fight against the time. Thank god for the pause system. I guess my only gripe is that sometimes, my strategies don’t work and I have to restart the stage just to rearrange my units. This was very apparent in the boss battle against Alcina where I had to restart the stage three times because of that unexpected twist of her being able to teleport. The final battle against Galerius had me relying on the Internet for good unit combinations—they’re that important for this game.

Speaking of units, there are loads and loads of characters—over 60 to be precise. You can’t use all of them unfortunately as there are only 10 units that can only fit 5 people. The whole reason that there are so many characters is because some units might need certain classes to enhance them. Don’t worry, you can recruit extra units via forts/enlistment. There are both good and bad aspects about this. First, it’s nice to experiments who fits with who but there are so many characters that you sort of lose track and bench some of them. Though, props to each character for having their own unique story.

The other characters can interact with each other, which shows up in Rapports. However, not all characters have rapports with each other, but only with a specific few and some have two or one scenes opposed to those with three scenes. Rapports can be increased during battles or in taverns where making some characters eat together improves their friendship. Once Alain’s relationship with a character reaches three hearts, he can give them the Ring of the Maiden. The game allows you to give it to not only the ladies, but also the men! Yes, Alain can propose to women, men, elves, furries and angels! He’s that versatile. I chose Travis because he’s my favorite character. I do wish that the Ring had a bit more significance outside of the final battle, but it makes sense given the it can take place at any time before the final mission.

I really liked the equipment system because you can customize your characters to adhere to any command you give them too. There are two slots so that a character can control when or how to attack the enemies. 

The voice acting is really great. I didn’t even know the US had that many voice actors now. Back in my day, I usually heard the same people in older JPRGs. I’m glad it’s a growing field because everyone should be able to have a voice they like. I certainly liked a lot of voice actors for this game. The cast has a mix of rising stars, new faces, popular and veteran voice actors in the cast, even for Japanese too. There were some people harking about the medieval way of speaking, but I didn’t mind it. In fact, a game that has a western fantasy style setting shouldn’t be having modern everyday slang because that would be anachronism.

The game is beautiful visually and very dense so you never have anything to run out of when playing. However, it’s not the perfect game. Oh yes, it’s now time for me to tear down the issues that I personally had with the game. Sit back, relax and read on ahead.

First, some features are not opened up right away and you have to go to certain nations to unlock them. The coliseum is only accessible once you meet Amalia and also beat the Drakenhold story arc (correct me if I’m wrong—my memory of the Amalia part is super hazy). Once you reach the top and beat Amalia, she goes super saiyan and becomes even more challenging than freaking Galerius. I didn’t like how the blacksmith wasn’t accessible until you get to Albion. There are some overworld quests that can only be achieved when finding faded journals, but do I know where to find them? No. These sort of things have to be solved with the Internet. I also didn’t like that you have to be careful with what choices you make for some quests as choosing the wrong answer will make you lose your chance to recruit some characters. I couldn’t recruit all of them as I missed Govil.

If you played the game, who did you pick to give the Ring of the Maiden to? What are your thoughts about some aspects of the game? Let me know!

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

You know, if I hear something in a comedy thing and I like it, I’ll often express that by saying I’m going to start saying that all the time. And I mean that I think it’s good enough so I want to start saying it all the time, but obviously this doesn’t often happen. There just aren’t that many opportunities to do that with most things, and then you end up forgetting about it.

I was thinking of it today, and I think it’s possible that of every moment on Taskmaster, all the bits that I love so much and might reference on this blog or when talking to friends on here, the one that has most affected my speech patters in real life is this tiny thing from season 1. It was in the “make a short film” task, of Tree Wizard fame, but this one was about Tim Key’s film. He entitled it “M.I.L.F.”, and when they questioned that choice in the studio, Tim explained that it’s because “MILF” is “FILM” backwards. There was a brief pause as everyone considered the fact that that’s almost true, sounds like it could be true, might be true, and then Alex just said: “...It isn’t.” Tim looked blankly back at him, and there was a perfectly timed awkward pause of the sort you can only get between two comedians who’ve been working on their back-and-forth blank stare-based comedy together for fifteen years.

I say that all the time now, have been doing it so much that I almost forget where it came from. Replying to things I disagree with with a blunt and intentionally awkwardly phrased: “I mean... it isn’t.”

It makes me think of what other tiny things I’ve taken from comedians while barely noticing. I definitely developed a lot of my basic speech patters from The Thick of It and In the Loop, I sometimes re-watch those things and will hear Jamie MacDonald say something, and have a brief moment of thinking “That’s weird, I say that all the time” before I remember that I started saying it because I watched the Spinners and Losers episode of The Thick of It in 2009 and decided it was 59 straight minutes of impeccably perfect dialogue.

I’ve been muttering “Mash, Fawlty Towers” under my breath after people say “Cheers”, for so long that until recently I forgot I stole this from an episode of Community:

I once read a rumour that John Oliver improved that line. I know most rumours about actor ad libs are untrue, so I haven’t looked that one up, because I don’t want to find out it’s untrue. I like believing it.

Also, whether he added that line or not, John Oliver has definitely influenced my speech patters. That’s another thing I noticed in 2021, when I caught up a year’s worth of Last Week Tonight (2020-2021 is the only time since that show started that I didn’t follow it as it came out, because in March 2020 I was so anxious about the world ending due to COVID that I listened to the actual CBC news every day but couldn’t handle hearing about it any more than that, I dropped LWT from my regular viewing and a year or so later I went back and caught up on it), and it was honestly a bit weird to realize how much John Oliver talked like me. I’d never noticed it before, during years of watching one episode at a time, and while hearing from him so much that I was used to it. But after going a whole year without hearing his voice, so his speech patters stopped being so familiar and expected, listening to a lot of him at once made it distractingly clear how much he talked like me. It also took me a few minutes of thinking this to rearrange it in my head and remind myself: “Wait, he doesn’t talk like me. I talk like him. Apparently if you listen to the same guy several times a week on The Daily Show for years as a teenager, and then do Last Week Tonight for many more years as an adult, it gets into your brain.” And this was all before I’d even heard The Bugle.

Alex Horne has gotten into my head in other ways too - I’ve occasionally picked up some of the No More Jockeys patterns. A few months ago I told my “I don’t mind that”, and when he thought I was expressing a lukewarm-to-negative view, I had to clarify that I meant I liked it. 

Of course, these are just general speech pattern things, not, you know, actual plagiarism. What got me thinking about it, though, was that a couple of weeks ago I straight-up stole a joke from Daniel Kitson. The whole thing, almost word for word, completely consciously. Because I was at the Canadian national championships for a sport that does not have much crossover with big fans of willfully niche British comedians. I was chatting with a friend from another team about a guy I used to train with who’s been dropping by their team lately, and I could not think of a better way to explain my affection for him than with something I’ve heard Kitson say about Alun Cochrane: “He’s a wonderful man, he’s one of my closest friends. One of those is true. Let’s see if you can solve the riddle if I give you an extra clue: I am friends with a lot of cunts.”

So, thanks, Kitson. Sorry for stealing your material, maybe if you were less willfully niche and made some DVDs, there’d be a greater chance of people I interact with being already familiar with it, so I wouldn’t be able to get away with that.

[pizzacatdelight]

My Birthday

Yay, today’s my birthday! I turned 28 years old! And avoided the dreaded “27 Club” where some of the biggest musicians from the 60s’ and 70s’ died when they were 27 years old! (They mainly died due to massive drinking, doing drugs, etc.…)

My 27th year on this planet was not a good one. Early this year, I quit my toxic part-time job at a well-known pizza restaurant that I won’t name. I got scammed into paying for my own equipment for a new job I thought it was a job, but wasn’t. So, I lost over $2,000 because of it and I have to freeze my credit scores to keep the scammers from opening any new credit cards under my name! Then there’s the fact I can’t even find a job that would even hire me due to both my disability and my limited skill list! I even got rejected from getting Disability (or SSI); two months later because of the fact I even had a job!

At home, my youngest niece graduated from high school in June and instead of going to University, she’s working a full-time job at Sally’s Beauty in order to save up money to buy her own car since the car her mom gave her last year and it‘s too expensive to go University right now. My only nephew started 11th grade last month, which means once he graduates in 2025, mom’s planning to sell the family house. She told me and my older sister this back in March/April where after she sold the house; she’s planning to (probably) move to Oregon to get away from the politics of conservative Texas and to retire. Of course, we’re going to move with her as she’s planning to buy land and build a condo house where my sister and I can live on one side of the condo.

For my hobbies, on the other hand, they’re doing great! I beat over 15 games this year, which include “Pokémon: Emerald”, “Hypnospace Outlaw”, “Fire Emblem: Three Houses - Cindered Shadows DLC” and “The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog”. “BAD END THEATER” became the first Steam game where I 100% all the achievement. I preordered “Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” a few days before it came out in May and played it on release day. I remembered staying up all night going around Hyrule, completing the Shrines and not being dicks to the Koroks who only wanted to be reunited with their friends. I’m looking forward to the release of the remaster of “Super Mario RPG”, which comes out in less than two months! I saw four LPs of the game in the past and played it myself for the WiiU. I can’t wait for it to come!

My webcomic is going along. I just finished Chapter 9 and I’m currently taking a small break from it to focus on making this site. I changed how I publish my comics, where I used to release 6-7 pages at a time. But now, I have changed it to 2 pages per week, which means I’ll get more views compared to what I did before. I’m planning to post the links to my webcomic here; I’ll have to find the motivation to do so.

I also made a Tumblr account in June after Reddit decided that they're going to start pricing the 3rd party apps that use its’ code (Apollo, you will be missed). While things are great on Tumblr, I have to get used that most of everyone there is very left-leaning compared to Reddit, where everyone is either in the center or right-leaning, depending on the subject. Yes, I know there are left-leaning people and subreddits there, but it’s the right-leaning groups that are the ones who make the headlines. At least the fandom on Tumblr is way nicer compared to Reddit, where you get attacked for saying or doing something that the fandom subreddit doesn’t like. It’s the reason why I was too scared to either post or comment on Reddit.

Then early this month, I made a NeoCities website and learned how to code again after 11 years. It’s not easy and sometimes it’s even frustrating when you want to do something cool to your page and the code won’t work! At least coding is a skill I can use when I try to look up jobs since it’s one of the most important skills that businesses need. And I also started to blog to write about my thoughts as well. I’ve been doing it on Tumblr for a while, so now I have two sites to pour it all out.

As for what I will be doing for my birthday, it’s not going to be much as I tend not to ask for a lot. I know mom normally gives me a $50 Amazon gift card so I can buy something nice for myself. And I already have plans to make brownies for desserts since we have so much flour and a huge box of brownie mix is in the cabinet.

So yeah, my 27th birthday wasn’t that great, but it could’ve been worse. I hope my 28th year will be a little better and things will improve.

[umichenginabroad]

Stockholm Week 10: Grind Before Barcelona

Hi! I can’t believe that it’s already the end of March. Isn’t that crazy? It still feels like late February to me. 

I’m bringing this up because my trip to Barcelona is coming up real fast. I am leaving on the 27th when the Explorative Travel Week begins! We get a week off as a travel break; certain elective courses travel as a class during that week, but I am not in any of those electives so I get a week off from school. Hurray! 

The number 1 country I wanted to travel to was Spain, and I am finally going there next week. That also means that this week has been rough, catching up with all the homework and finishing up projects before the break. 

3/18 Mon: (the best news) Class Canceled! 

On Monday, the only class I had switched to online at the last minute due to traffic issues. 

I took the opportunity to call my boyfriend and my mom while I worked on my assignments the entire day. I slept earlier than usual, around 11 pm, to treat myself :) 

3/19 Tue: Spicy Uno

We have been watching this Netflix series called The Chestnut Man in the Scandinavian Crime Fiction class, and I have been on my nerves since the start of the show. The plot and the music interact too well to the point that I have to cover my ears and close my eyes every now and then. I hate horror movies but I would say this is an extremely well-played thriller/detective show. I recommend it to anyone who likes mystery/crime genre! 

When I’m at home, I always have to try very hard to refrain from watching the rest of the episodes on my own. It has been a difficult battle but I made it to the 5th episode (out of 7) without binge-watching it alone. 

I didn’t know (and wouldn’t have known) that crime fiction was so popular in the Scandinavian region before I took this class. I can see why it’s so famous; all the books and films are quite good! I always look forward to starting a new book or series in class. This course has been my absolute favorite class in Stockholm :) 

During lunchtime, I surprisingly met a new friend who’s going to Barcelona on the same day!!! She and her friend booked their flight yesterday, so I never heard about them when I was asking everyone if they’d like to join our Barcelona trip. The most surprising part was that her friend turned out to be my friend who always sat next to me in two classes! We exchanged numbers to talk more about the trip. 

Afterward, I went to Arkivet, a second-hand store on the higher end. There are high-quality clothes that are in good condition—all the way from H&M and Zara to COS, BOSS, and Coach. Although it is a bit more expensive than other stores like Myrona or Stockholm Stadsmission, the pool is much better in my opinion. I bought a Tommy Hilfiger trench coat for $70! 

There are so many buttons on this coat

Happy with my purchase, I came back home and made Alfredo pasta for dinner. I have been CRAVING creamy pasta and it momentarily satisfied my yearning. I need to go to an Italian restaurant and get a good alfredo spaghetti soon. 

I threw some chicken and sausage in there too :) 

That night, my friends and I all gathered around my room to play Spicy Uno. My friend taught us the extra rules and it was a lot more fun than I expected. Towards the end, we even incorporated Never Have I Ever into the game (ง˙∇˙)ว

After they all left, I couldn’t sleep right away because of the sugar rush from all the goodies we ate (ice cream, jellies, chips, chocolate bars, and wafers). 

I blame this sugar rush for the catastrophe that happened a few minutes later. 

I was peacefully putting on a new set of fake nails until the nail glue fell down on my joggers. I can definitely say that it was an exothermic reaction because where the glue spilled was hot. Thankfully, I was able to separate my pants from my thighs by lifting it up a little bit, but my pants did not survive the accident. 

Picture that captures the moment of the tragic incident 

If anyone knows how to remove nail glue on clothes please let me know ( •́ ̯•｡̀ )

3/20 Wed: Skansen Open-Air Museum! 

Today’s field trip for our Swedish class was Skansen, the world’s first open-air museum! 

The escalator was endless and the area of the museum was unparalleled to any other museums I visited. We had a full experience with the tour guide—we even got to go into houses from the 1700s and see reindeer! 

Us inside the houses

More cool photos: 

Some cool facts: 

Going to church was obligatory: people were officially tested on their bible knowledge and the answers were recorded! 

Each house was numbered (well over two thousand pieces for each house), deconstructed, relocated, and reconstructed in the museum! 

After free fika with the entire class, my friend and I hung out around T-Centralen. We went to cafes, second-hand stores (again), and the system. We headed back to the hog together. 

For the rest of the night, I worked on the insurmountable group project for my online ChemE class until 4 am… ;) 

3/21 Thu: Reeeaaaading

I woke up early to do the pre-lecture homework for the classes. Despite dozing off for a few minutes here and there, I finished the assignment! 

For Friday’s class, I started and finished reading half of The Wolf and the Watchman by Niklas Natt och Dag. I’m starting to spot the similarities in the settings of the crime fiction novels! 

3/22-3/23 Fri-Sat: Zoom Meetings

I devoted two whole days to working on the group project. I had a series of Zoom sessions with the Professor and then with teammates. 

Cooking and doing laundry was my time off from work! 

When I was done with the project around 11 pm Saturday, I started scavenging for English-guided tours for Barcelona. The tickets were rapidly selling out! 

I managed to get an English tour of Sagrada Familia and Park Guell. They were expensive, but when would I ever have the chance to visit Spain? With that mindset, I joyfully paid for the events. 

3/24 Sun: Planning Barcelona..

My body weighed 200 tons today and wouldn’t have gotten out of bed until 2 pm if it wasn’t for the Barcelona planning meeting I scheduled with my friends. 

We met at Downtown Camper Cafe in T-Centralen and stayed there for three hours, making reservations and finalizing schedules. We are ready to fly to Barcelona! 

The bathroom was fancy

Again, when I got home, I cooked and did more homework.

Tada!

With the energy I gained from dinner, I was able to work on the group project until I got burnt out at 9 pm. I called my mom for a little (meaning 1.5 hours) and did some more work before going to sleep. 

I am SO excited to share my experience in Barcelona next week! 

Stay tuned for new, rejuvenating adventures coming soon!!! 

Tack,  

Jiwoo Kim 

Chemical Engineering

DIS Study Abroad in Stockholm, Sweden

[frogl3gs]

here’s a breakdown of my breakdown and my former company’s marketing department breakdown. (this is for myself for future reference if i ever question why i left bc I’m scared of new things sometimes and romanticize past things) - me telling my boss i’m overwhelmed every month since july 22.  - my boss and I having an offsite meeting in oct 22 where she asks me if I’m “really in this” and that she will only help me if i’m “really in this.” a bee lands in my cup. i acquiesce and say i’m “really in this.” - my boss, is and has been, really shitty towards all of us (june 22-nov 22) and i’m afraid the whole department is going to quit and so I call her bosses, the ceo and the president (because if i’m “really in this” then i’m going to do it the “right way”) and say “if this doesn’t change everyone is going to quit and you won’t have a department anymore.” - i take a week off for thanksgiving and can’t get out of bed. decide to also take a week off in between christmas and new year’s. - i get called in during PTO on dec 28, 22 for a very important meeting* that is then cancelled 5 mins before it starts. - i am also not very good at getting out of bed this week either. - i get a new job description and a new report on jan 1, 23, except there isn’t really a job description just my boss telling me once exactly what she wants me doing which was this sentence, “own the leads.”  - my one report is on a vacation and the brand team utterly falls apart because they are running a brand awareness campaign with a digital component that is meant to drive interest but they have not thought about funneling that interest literally....anywhere and I must create a whole upper funnel marketing program by myself in the span of two weeks.   - i hire another report to help out with the leads but a person gets hired to the general marketing team (and reports to my boss) and I am responsible for training them so I spend over 40 hours training them and then they quit three weeks later at the end of feb 23.   - mar 23 - my original direct report goes on maternity leave and I start getting pulled into these interrogation type meetings in the board room. everyone with chief in the title on one side of the table and me, marketing manager (1 of 3 marketing managers on the team) on the other side of the table. it was the only logical seat because it was also the only vacant seat. i was actually terrified. these 2-3 hour long meetings happen every. single. day. until i breakdown crying in the middle of the 14th one (that’s business days only, readers). I lie and say that I had a family emergency to attend to. so I got up and walked out.  - the following monday, march 27, 23, I tell my boss I’m putting in my notice, without a plan. she responds, “can’t say I’m surprised” - that next week, the multi-hour meetings continue except they have pulled in the other 2 marketing managers so I am not the only one on my side of the table anymore. before the end of the week is over, they fire marketing manager #2.  - monday, apr 10, 23, i’m told to work from home the rest of the week and that my last day will be that friday.  - monday, apr 17, 23 was my first day of funemployment. I slept 15 hours. I have slept 9-10 hours every night since. - today, apr 25, 23, they fired my second direct report.  I could not eat well due to stress and anxiety during this time. I could not sleep well due to stress and anxiety during this time. I could not go to the gym due to stress and anxiety during this time. I could not take care of myself due to stress and anxiety during this time.  I will NEVER let that happen to me again.   

[lady-bess]

Dear A Rough Sketch...

A love letter to fan fiction. To the story that got me to where I am today, and to the people who I truly owe everything to.

I was catching up with a friend of mine this evening, someone who has loved and supported the story of A Rough Sketch, when it dawned on me that I’d neglected to ever really go into detail about why this story meant so much to me, and what my motivations were for writing it. I realised that for someone who supported me so much, I’d never shared with more than three people the emotional drive behind this story. So, here we are.

It’s early 2023, and after a winter off work due to my job then being seasonal, I went back to set up for the new season. In myself I felt happy, and I was excited to be going back to work full time after time off over Christmas. I’d missed my work friends, and was starting to run out of things to do at home to occupy my time.

The date is the 11th of February, 2023. There’s an event on at work which introduces the new staff members of the season to the existing team, as well as give everyone a low down of the changes that have been made since the end of the last season in November, 2022. It’s a lovely day, but after a week working flat out doing really physically demanding tasks, I’m exhausted. Still, I show my face, and I mingle.

Then, I got sick. Really sick.

What started as just the flu turned into a violent chest infection, and by the time the new season began on February 17th, I was suffering. As an asthmatic, the infection floored me. In a bid to get my part of the business up and ready for opening day, I had overworked myself too hard, and I never gave myself enough time to rest. I couldn’t afford to be off, and as there weren’t enough people on site yet, nobody was worried about them getting ill from me. So, I kept going.

A week after we opened, my chest had still never gotten better. By now I had torn through muscles, tendons, and ligaments in my ribs from the force in which I was coughing. I was very close to a hairline fracture getting worse, too. I’d pushed my body to its absolute limit, and I couldn’t carry on. The day my voice gave out, leaving me completely mute for two days, was my breaking point.  

I got signed off sick from work less than two weeks after we opened for the new season. Ordered to be on bed rest, I fell very quickly into a depressive cycle, hating the fact that having just gone back to work I was now looking at being off, again. The only thing that made me smile was that I’d recently gone back to A03 to read fanfiction, and I thought ‘well, at least now I can catch up on my reading!’.

But after two days of reading, it wasn’t enough. I wanted to write again. I’d written for A03 about four years ago, at the time, but since the end of 2018 I put down my keyboard one day and never really thought about it. But after reading more Kingsman fanfiction than I care to mention, I picked my keyboard back up again, my own ideas brewing by this point.

Within a few days I’d released a 16,000 word fic, and a week later on March 7th there was already a part two. The writing bug bit me, but as I sat down to write part three there were already ideas whirring in my mind for things outside of Kingsman. By the time March was over I already had 3 Kingsman fics under my belt, and one for Narcos.

As I was writing more, I began branching out with what I read. I stumbled across a few Pedro fics, and I really enjoyed a lot of them. Some of them went a bit far, in my opinion, and it didn’t really feel like him. But the majority were sweet, and the authors had clearly done their research ahead of writing their fics, and it made for a delightful reading experience.

So, I set to work, and A Rough Sketch was born. Mid-March 2023, I sat down and wrote the opening lines; “This book was going to be the fucking death of you”. What it became, though, was the very antithesis of what our dear reader went through.

I had always wanted to write a romance book, and the ‘meeting someone cute in a coffee shop’ trope was absolutely something I would have done. Either that, or something else quaint, like a bakery. And I’d always known that I wanted to write something set in Wales, too. It’s a place that means so much to me, and in a way is like a home.

Growing up, I spent a lot of time in Wales, specifically in the north west. Every summer I’d be there with my grandparents, and up until the age of about 15 I had never known a holiday anywhere other than Wales. I didn’t mind though; I enjoyed going with my family, and as I got older and more aunts and uncles began to pass away, those annual trips became more and more special. We had restaurants we’d frequent every summer, friends we’d visit, walks we’d always do – everything. Every year we’d pack our bags and head to the north west, and hole up there during the summer. I loved it.

Both of my grandparents’ health took a turn when I was about 17, and the trips had to stop. My grandfather (a nurseryman by trade, just as in A Rough Sketch) had recently had cancer removed from his body, and my grandmother’s arthritis had just kept getting worse, making the trip from where we live in England too much for them both. But, in their honour, my mother and I would still go that year, just with a twist. We went south that year, staying in a caravan off the south west coast, near Lamphey. From here, we were just a short drive from the town of Tenby, and while we were passing through we hopped on a boat to take us to Caldey Island…

At Caldey Island, I cried when the Monks chanted. I spent an ungodly amount on the little chocolates that were hand made by the same Monks, my mother picking up some coffee flavoured drops which teenage LadyBess had absolutely zero palette for (and, to this day, I still hate coffee as a drink. Sorry, Pedro…).

The final stop on that holiday was Cardiff itself. Being a huge Doctor Who nerd, the city got added to our holiday just for me. We all geeked our little minds out whenever we went past a filming location, we visited a pop-up museum for the show; everything. I absolutely fell in love with the city, and I never wanted to leave. I’d always known that, one day, I wanted to write a book. But that holiday solidified to me where I’d set it.

Life got manic after that trip. I grew up, moved out, and unfortunately I would never go to Wales with my grandparents again.

My grandfather passed away when I was 19. His cancer came back, and after several weeks of fighting, he slipped away. He was in his nineties when he died, and had a good life, although the last few years of his life were a series of him getting knocked on his ass, health wise, and then bouncing back. We always expected him to just keep bouncing back, but our time with him had to run out one day (does this sound familiar?).

My grandmother died 18 months later, to the exact day. Complications from a surgery meant that one day she just never woke up again. We had to make the painful decision to let her go after multiple failed attempts to wake her. I sat by her side as the nurse muted the heart rate monitor, letting us say goodbye to her in peace…

When I sat down to write A Rough Sketch, I had no plans for it aside from it was going to be a fluffy meet-cute with Pedro, some tension and pining, ultimately ending with the two of them together about to travel the world with one another. It was going to be bare boned, at best, and act as nothing more than the blueprint for what I would eventually come to write as my first proper novel. As we all know, that didn’t happen one iota.

As you can probably tell already, I poured so much of me and my life into this. If I could get away with mentioning a place I once visited in Wales, I did (spoiler alert I’ve visited the majority of the big towns in Wales by now so In Loving Memory is not escaping this same fate!). Reader’s parents live in the village I used to visit, reader lives in Cardiff. There’s a visit to Tenby, and Caldey, and that chapter alone is filled with my lived experiences of when I went many moons ago.

But the more I wrote it, and the more the story developed (all with the help of your support, I might add), the more aspects of my life started to weave their way into the story. My grandparents, specifically, became major influences to it. Places I visited with them, conversations we once had, and even down to the grief I felt when they died. The epilogue was so rough to write, but it did me a world of good.

I don’t think I ever got over my grandparent’s passing. I certainly never processed it at the time. They helped my mother raise me after my own father walked out, and we were incredibly close. I don’t say this for sympathy, I had a wonderful upbringing, (and my father can quite frankly suck it) but it did mean that losing them both so close together was the most pain I’ve ever felt.

I went back to the north west of Wales last summer, for the first time since they passed. My partner drove us over the brow of the hill, and it opened out onto the village. A village that, for over a decade, I called a second home. I broke down. Nothing had changed as I walked around, and it was like time itself had stood still while the world continued moving. I loved that, though, and it made me believe for a brief moment that if there is any kind of afterlife, at least my grandparents could come back here together and recognise where they were.

Going back fixed part of me, but I’d argue writing A Rough Sketch fixed me more. All the pain and agony of losing people who meant so much to me, writing about places that are unknown to so many, but are the reason I am who I grew into…it was like therapy, honestly. For the first time since they died I actively dealt with my grief, channelling it into my writing; the happiness, the sadness, and the pain.  

But why am I telling you all this? The story of A Rough Sketch finished in July, and I’ve got In Loving Memory to work on now which adds to this universe. Why am I saying all this here? Why does it even matter?

This story is something which means so much to me that I struggle to actually put it into words. In spite of the fact I churned out over 260,000 words in this story, the right words to truly express how much this whole process meant to me fail me often. I hope I’ve managed to do some of my reasoning justice. But almost three months after closing the book on A Rough Sketch (pun entirely intended), I am still at a loss for words for the support and love this work received, and I don’t think I’ll ever find a way to thank you all so much. So, here we are. Writing a love letter to this fic, from me, but also me writing a thank you note to each and every one of you.

I’ve seen some discourse online recently about “Why do people turn fanfiction into books?”, criticising authors for wanting to do that. I’ve seen before the argument that “You only got views because it’s fanfiction. It won’t do those numbers as a book”. And, yeah, they’re not wrong. If this had been released as the original story I first envisioned it as, and not fanfiction, it absolutely wouldn’t be about to hit 18,000 reads.

But just because this started its life as fanfiction, doesn’t mean it’s bound to stay like this forever.

The story of A Rough Sketch will be very different when it is printed on pages to the one here on A03 – but you know what? I like that. This version is fanfiction, after all, and this version deserves to have its own space on the internet. I poured so much of myself into this work that it should be able to shine. And every single one of you who read, commented, and left kudos will forever be people I am in debt to because you helped me so much without even realising it.  

I started this year feeling just okay, but I can honestly say that writing this story was the best thing I could have ever done. Whatever happens with this story, the way my life has changed since writing it is something I don’t think I’d have ever envisioned if you’d just told me what could happen. I would never have believed that writing fanfiction would bring me such clarity, peace, and a sense of closure. This story allowed me to be so vulnerable and to process things I’d had locked away for nearly five years now.

To say a fanfiction changed my life sounds absolutely insane, but that’s what happened here, and to the people who supported this work as it was going live week after week, this letter is for you as well. I can truly never say thank you enough to you all. Getting to write this has opened so many doors for me, and not just when it comes to writing. I found my happiness again while writing this, and so much of that I owe to my wonderful friends who I made along the way. I love you all so much.

Truly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. It warms me to see so many of you reading my other works, interacting with me on Twitter or Tumblr, or even coming back here. I hope that you can feel a sense of pride knowing how much your support helped me, especially given where I was at mentally while writing this. I now can’t imagine my life without spending at least an hour a day tapping away on my laptop, and while I’m sure some people would look at that and think I’m regressing back into my shell, if anything I have a new lease of life.

Thank you, to every single one of you.

All my love and thanks, forever,

LadyBess xxx