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mosylufanfic · 5 years ago

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Five Times They Got Caught Off-Guard (and one time they decided to settle the question)

Hail, @youareiron-andyouarestrong, I am your Secret Santa! Merry Christmas and here's your present! The prompt “WHO KEEPS HANGING MISTLETOE EVERYWHERE WE ARE” just made me giggle, so I wrote a goofy, fluffy, slightly pratfall-y 5 Times fic. I didn't use all your ideas for majors, but I definitely enjoyed hearing them. You said smut was okay, and while this is still T, it’s pushing the upper edge by the end. I hope you enjoy it, and that you have an amazing remainder of the Christmas season!

Five Times They Got Caught Off-Guard (and one time they decided to settle the question)

Cassian was stripping meat from bone with unsettling efficiency when Jyn walked in the kitchen.

"I can't believe you want more of that dusty jerky," she said, hoisting herself up to sit on the counter. "I've still got strings in my teeth." She picked her teeth with her fingernail to demonstrate.

"I'm making soup," he said, tossing a leg bone onto a plate and a few scraps of overcooked, dried-out turkey meat into a bowl. "Might as well get some good out of this bird."

"Ah," she said, reaching down for a carrot stick from the veggie platter that Han Solo, that cheap motherfucker, had contributed to their dinner. "Good idea. Do Americans really eat one of those awful things every year?"

"I think it's usually a little tastier." He shrugged, as unfamiliar with American Thanksgiving as she was.

A big noisy holiday dinner had been Bodhi's idea. Most of them in the elderly, rambling house just off campus were too poor to make it home over the break, and about half of them were international students anyway.

Add in some of the strays that Bodhi seemed to pick up like a magnet picking up leftover paper clips, and there had been enough people, and enough dishes, to make up for the dreadful main event. Jyn rubbed her belly and wondered if there was any of Bodhi's veggie curry left. Or the elote Cassian had made. Or the chocolate silk pie that their landlords Chirrut and Baze had brought. Her mouth watered.

A yell exploded from the living room. They both paused in what they were doing and exchanged eyerolls. They'd been booed down for attempting to veto the American football game on the telly.

"Call that football," Jyn said, and bit the carrot stick in half.

"Que chafa," Cassian said, shaking his head.

She laughed. "Man United is playing, too. Night game. Probably almost done."

"Since when do you root for them?"

"Watch your mouth, asshole, I'm rooting for whoever's playing them."

He smiled to himself, looking over at her. Suddenly his smile faded.

"What?" she said. "What are you staring at?"

"How long has that been there?"

"What?" She grabbed a spoon out of the drawer and tried to use it as a mirror. "I got something in my teeth?" Fucking turkey. She'd taken a slice for politeness, even though it had required a gulp of water after every bite.

"No," he said patiently, "look up."

She craned her neck and squinted at the ceiling, almost directly above her. "That's mistletoe."

"Yes, I thought so too."

She lowered her gaze and met Cassian's, feeling her cheeks heat. "I didn't put it up."

He looked away, back at the bird he was still stripping down. "Neither did I."

Her lips tingled. She bit them, and made herself stop. "Someone getting ahead of themselves with Christmas decorations," she said airily, hopping off the counter and sliding past him.

He lifted his head. "Where are you going?"

"I - " She shrugged. "Dunno, my room or something."

He reached over and pulled a giant knife out of the knife block. "Here. Make yourself useful and chop some veggies for the soup."

"You're actually going to let me help in your kitchen?"

"It can't be insulted any worse than it was today," he said. "Leia Organa will be running the world one day, but she won't be feeding it."

"It was supposed to be her brother," she pointed out, taking the knife. "Just, his flight got cancelled and she insisted on doing it in his place. Why'd you let her?"

"Because I've never cooked a twenty-pound turkey before and I foolishly thought she had. Celery and carrots," he instructed, passing her the veggie platter. "Leave the tomato and broccoli."

"You still would have been salty if Luke had been cooking the bird," she observed, following orders.

"Yes, but we probably would have been able to eat it."

Jyn chopped up the veggies at his direction. When she was done, she leaned against the counter to watch as he performed culinary alchemy, combining seemingly random herbs and spices with the veggies and the remains of the turkey carcass.

"There," he said, covering it with water and setting the timer on his precious slow cooker. "Let it cook overnight and I'll add noodles in the morning."

She almost moaned. Turkey noodle soup while it was cold and rainy out sounded perfect. "Save some for me."

"Cooks' portion," he said and gave her a rare smile. "You make a good assistant."

"Great," she said. "A fallback in case the cybersecurity market goes to shit before I finish my thesis."

They washed the dishes they'd used, leaving them in the drying rack as the dishwasher chugged away at the dishes from dinner. It was comfortable and companionable and if Jyn thought of the mistletoe dangling above their heads about once a minute or so, she felt sure that Cassian didn't notice.

He nudged her as he was wiping his hands dry. "Want to come hang out in my room? Avoid the fake football?"

She felt the blush start somewhere in her stomach. She crossed her arms, smirking at him. "You hit on all your kitchen assistants?"

Behind his beard, his cheeks darkened. "What? I - no - I - "

Oh. Damn. Well. Fuck, this was awkward.

"I meant to watch the Cruz Azul game on my tablet," he said. "It'll be in Spanish."

She swallowed and attempted a joke. "What's the odds somebody's gonna trip over nothing, roll around like his femur is shattered, and get up five seconds later to jog off the pitch?"

"High," he said, sounding like their housemate Kay, who was going for his PhD in statistics. "Very high."

"Well, that's more like it. Yeah, all right."

Cassian rubbed his temples. He had a bitter headache and had just sent out a piteous text to the house group chat, begging for someone, anyone, to bring him a coffee.

He focused on the essay in front of him. "Alicia, I'd like to see you expand more on this point. You gloss over it somewhat. Professor Draven graded you down for that on your last essay, remember?"

The undergrad he was working with shook her mass of blond ringlets back over her shoulders and scooted her chair closer to his. Why, he couldn't imagine, because his office wasn't much bigger than a closet. "What do you suggest?" she asked.

Even though Alicia was in another section of Professor Draven's 202 class and thus had a different TA, she always came to see Cassian for help with her assignments. A lot of international students in the poli-sci department tended to find him, because of the number of languages he spoke. Alicia had been the most regular this semester, dropping by before every test and essay. Her heavy body spray, some kind of vanilla musk, filled his tiny office and intensified his headache.

He made some suggestions and she noted them down. "So what are your plans for Christmas?" she asked.

"Oh, I can't really afford to go back to Mexico for the holiday, so I'm staying here." He scanned along. "Now this conclusion is rather good, but it will only be strengthened if you expand on your earlier point."

"So you won't see your family? That's so sad, Cassi!" She put her hand on his arm. "My roommate and I are having a party after finals, before I leave for Berlin. Would you like to come?"

"Um," he said. "I - maybe we should get back to the essay."

A knock at the door interrupted him, and he looked up. Jyn leaned in. "Got a coffee," she said. "Want it?"

"Yes, please," Cassian said, reaching his hand out to take it. He took a sip. Three sugars, no cream, perfect. He smiled at her. "Do I owe you?"

"Your first-born, as agreed."

"Will you take a rain check?"

"No," she said, poker-faced, "I demand a baby right now. Make sure it's a nice plump one."

He chuckled and took another drink. His headache was already receding.

Alicia was studying them both, narrow-eyed. "Is that your girlfriend, Cassi?" she asked in German.

But it was Jyn who answered, in the same language. "Nope," she said, leaning against the doorjamb and slurping from her own takeout cup. Tea, probably, strong and sweet and milky. She was very English in that way. "Just his housemate and caffeine delivery person."

Alicia studied her for another moment, then shrugged and smiled. "Nice to meet you." She turned her back and said, "Can you tell me more about the parts in the middle that needed work?"

"Actually," Cassian said, handing her essay back, "I think we were about done."

"Oh - but -"

"I have to prepare for class," he said firmly. "Just work on those sections and it'll be an excellent final project."

"I still wanted to ask you - "

Even more firmly, he added, "I hope you have a good trip back to Berlin."

Alicia bit her heavily-glossed lip. "I'd still love to see you at my party. Here's my address." She scribbled on a piece of paper from her notebook and handed it to him. "Lots of fun, I promise!"

Cassian waited until she was gone to drop it in his trash can.

"Frequent flier?" Jyn asked, taking the seat she'd left behind.

Cassian shrugged, leaning over to crack the window. The air that rushed in was bitter-cold, but clean and fresh, chasing vanilla musk out. "She always wants a lot of help, but never really needs it. Her work is very good as is. I think she just wants reassurance." He opened a drawer and found a pack of crackers, offering her one.

Jyn took it and crunched in. "Or she's pursuing you."

He almost choked on his own cracker. "She's - I'm sorry?"

"She wants in your pants real bad."

"I'm sure she doesn't."

"I'm sure she does."

"She's just a very conscientious student, always works hard on her essays, arrives early for . . . office hours . . . " He trailed off. "Oh."

Jyn chortled into her tea. "Wake up and smell the perfume, Cassi."

He made a face. "Don't."

"Why not? Don't you like it?"

"No, but I've given up trying to correct her." He looked at his trash can, the party invitation taking on a whole different cast. "Hell."

"Not into it? She's pretty cute."

"No," he said. "And annoyed you had to tell me. I thought she just really liked international relations."

She patted his arm. "She probably does, but she's thinking of a whole different kind of relations." She looked up and froze. "And she's very determined about it, too."

"What now?" he said rather wearily.

She pointed and he looked up to see a sprig of mistletoe hanging from his ceiling. He squinted. "How did that get there?"

"Was she early today?"

"Yes, but how would she get it up there?"

"Was your desk rearranged?"

Now that he thought of it, his keyboard was a little off-center, as if it had been moved and then moved back, maybe when a certain blonde German undergrad had climbed up on his desk to hang mistletoe from his ceiling.

Jyn laughed out loud. "For a journalist, Cassian, you're not very observant, are you?"

"I blame the headache," he said, reaching up for the mistletoe. It eluded the very tips of his fingers.

"I got it," she said, stepping up onto her chair and then nudging the keyboard aside so she could climb on the desk.

"Jyn - !"

"I'm fine, I've got it," she repeated, stretching up for the mistletoe. She had to go up on her toes to get at where Alicia had taped it to the ceiling, and yank hard. "What did she use?" she grunted, "superglue?" She yanked again, and the sprig came free, knocking her off-balance. She took a step into thin air.

Cassian grabbed her waist. "Steady!"

She teetered, folded over, grabbed his shoulders, and they both froze. She shifted carefully, getting both feet firmly back onto the desk.

"M'alright," she said.

"Sure?"

"Yeah."

He became aware that his arms were wrapped around her hips and his face was practically buried in her - ah.

And he'd knocked both their chairs aside when he'd grabbed for her. They were just far enough away that he couldn't hook one with his foot and drag it over, not with their combined balances so tricky.

"I'm going to bring you down," he said. "All right?"

"Uh-huh."

He shifted his grip, stepped back, and for a moment her whole soft, curving weight slid down his front. Her boots hit the industrial carpet with a thump, and they both let go very fast.

"Thanks," she mumbled, her face pink. She snatched up her tea, which had miraculously survived the shenanigans, and backed through the door. "I'm just - I - see you at home, yeah?"

"No problem," he said, watching her go.

Jyn walked in, went directly to the couch, and faceplanted.

Some time later, she heard the door open and Cassian's footsteps on the creaky old wood floors. "Jyn?"

"Ungh."

"Are you alive?"

"No."

He sounded amused. "What killed you?"

"An all-nighter," she groaned into the cushions. "A bitch of a project. Bugs. Bugs everywhere. It's raining and I forgot my umbrella so I'm cold and wet, and I didn't eat lunch, and I may have to do my project over again because like I said, it was a bitch."

"Anything else?"

She considered. "My foot hurts."

"Well," he said. "I guess I'll just leave your deceased corpse there to rot. It'll be very smelly." He walked out again, creak-creak-creak.

"Nice," she mumbled into the cushions. "Spending too much time around Kay, that's what he's doing."

She considered getting up. Changing out of her wet clothes. Heating up some soup. She groaned again, and downgraded her expectations to getting her wet socks off.

She'd just chucked them to the floor - splat - and was attempting to burrow her chilled feet into the divide between cushions when the floors creaked again. Something thick and warm settled over her. She grunted and turned her head, rubbing her fingers against the fuzziness of the blanket. "What - "

"Just in case you might be revived," Cassian said, crouching by her head.

She smiled at hm, pulling her feet in under the blanket. They began to sting and prickle with warmth. "It is the season of miracles and all that."

His hair fell damp and soft over his forehead, and his shoulders were rain-spattered, so he must have come in just after her. He could have changed clothes or gotten his own food, but he'd elected to get her a blanket instead.

She wanted to reach out and brush her fingers over his beard. Would it be scratchy or soft? She wanted to run her hand down his throat and feel the motion of his Adam's apple as he swallowed hard.

His eyes flicked up and he frowned.

She pulled her hand to her chest, afraid she might have already been reaching out to touch him. “What?”

He pointed, and she twisted her head on the cushion to see a sprig of mistletoe hanging from the reading lamp parked almost directly above their two heads.

“What - “ she said, looking back at him.

They both realized at the same time how close their faces were, and he lurched back, almost butt-planting before staggering to his feet. “Anyway,” he said. “I’ll leave you to warm up.”

“Thanks for the blanket,” she said. “You want it back?”

He shrugged, backing away. “I have more.”

When he was gone, she pulled it over her head with a groan.

Cassian was grading papers from his section when Jyn found him in the library. "Just who I was looking for," she said, plopping down.

"Have a seat," he said absently, opening up the next essay that had been electronically turned in at the last possible second.

"Have you thought about Christmas presents yet?"

Who could think of presents when he had forty-two essays to wade through and an analysis of the effects of European colonialism on Egyptian foreign policy due in three days? But he set his stylus down and said, "No, why?"

"Because I found the perfect thing for Bodes." She called up a website on her tablet and passed it over. "Look at it. No really. Look. Couldn't you imagine Bodhi's face when he unwraps that?"

Cassian studied the bomber jacket on Jyn's screen. Buttery chocolate-colored leather with a shearling collar, warm and thick and stylish. "He would love it. But the price - "

"I know, I know. That's why I'm showing you."

"Even half the cost is a lot," he said gently. "My budget is candy canes this year and even then it'll be the cheap ones."

"I can math," she said. "And you don't have to give me anything. Look, the more of us get on board, the smaller the individual cost will be. If I blackmail Leia and sweet-talk Han and you appeal to Kay's sense of logic - oh, hey, have you got anything on Han? Because I'm not so sure about my sweet-talking skills."

"You have this all planned out, don't you?"

"Bodes has had a shit year," she said. "We can't send him back to London to see his mum and sisters, but we can give him something."

He bumped his stylus against his lower lip. “Chewie will be in no problem, so ask him first and he'll make Han do it. And go by the Philosophy department to talk to Chirrut and Baze. They're both teaching this afternoon."

She grinned at him. "Right, I'll just have to catch Chirrut after his capstone seminar but before Baze gets out of his 101."

"Good thinking." Baze was always grumpy after a section of his Intro course, mumbling under his breath about pampered babies who wouldn't know Aristotelian ethics if it bit them on the ass. "Just don't let them pay for the whole thing. I want in. And I'll see who else I can round up."

"You're the best," she said.

Two boys walked up, holding hands. "Hi, uh - "

Jyn leaned back in her chair. "Can we help you?"

"Are you guys using this table?"

"Uh, pretty obviously yeah."

"It's just that we kind of wanted to sit here."

"There's like a thousand other tables on this floor alone."

Although, Cassian reflected, none of the others were tucked away in a sunny corner behind bookshelves, private and quiet.

"I know, but - " The shorter guy blushed. "This one has the mistletoe on the window."

They both looked up. Cassian swore under his breath.

Jyn got up so fast she almost knocked her chair over. "All yours, lads," she said.

When Jyn told her about the mistletoe issue, Leia was supremely unsympathetic. "So? You happen to see some Christmas decorations sometimes, and sometimes you happen to be with Cassian when you do. It's December and we live in a society that pushes a yearly orgy of consumerism with the promise that - "

"Blah blah late stage capitalism, yes, I know, but," Jyn said. "It's getting out of hand."

Leia looked skeptical.

“I swear to you," Jyn said darkly, "that if Cassian comes along, a piece of mistletoe will materialize over our heads within twenty seconds."

"Confirmation bias," Leia said.

"Is not!"

"Is," Leia said. "Mistletoe as a decoration is ridiculously common. Look, there’s some above the door right there.” Leia gestured at the door of the Echo Base Coffee Roastery. “And no Cassian.”

“Give it time,” Jyn said.

Leia rolled her eyes. “It's not that the two of you are making it manifest, It's just that you're hyper-aware of it when you're with him." She smirked at her. "And why is that?"

"Because it's haunting us," Jyn growled.

"Because you want to kiss him so bad you're drooling," Leia said and bit into her scone.

“So what if I am,” Jyn said, and slouched in her chair.

Leia stopped mid-chew. “Wow,” she said. “You really want to if you’re not denying it. So why haven't you just laid one on him?”

“He’s so calm,” she said. “I don’t know what he wants. He’s impossible to read. What if I slap lips on him and he screams and runs?”

Leia arched a brow. “Unlikely.”

Jyn pinched the bridge of her nose. “Look, I know what to do.”

“Slap lips on him, as you so romantically put it?”

“Nope. Avoid him until Boxing Day. You Americans rip everything down at 11:30 pm Christmas Day, and it’s like the holiday never existed. No mistletoe, no problem.”

“Yes,” Leia grinned, “but then it’s all Valentine's Day, all the time.”

Jyn’s face worked and then she huffed. “I’ll see you later.”

“You know I’m riiiiight,” Leia sang into her coffee cup, and Jyn made an obscene gesture. She stomped toward the door. Before she could grab the handle, it opened to reveal Cassian, Kay on his heels.

He stopped.

She stopped.

As if they’d practiced it, they both looked up at the mistletoe at the same time.

“Right,” Jyn said, pink-faced. “See you later then. Bye.” She nodded at their other housemate. “Kay.”

“Jyn,” Kay said, and stepped around her and Cassian both, announcing, “I advise you to get out of the way and permit the door to close. The wind is very cutting today."

“Right,” Cassian said. For a moment, he and Jyn performed a sort of awkward, shuffling dance as they both tried to pass through in opposite directions. Finally, Jyn was out, Cassian was in, and the door was closed.

Through the window to the left of the door, Jyn caught Leia’s eye. She pointed upward and mouthed I told you! Didn’t I tell you?! She was gesticulating so wildly she almost ran into a pole, and Leia made a dismayed sound.

Cassian looked at her. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” she said, watching Jyn scramble out of sight. “Just got some coffee down the wrong pipe.”

He looked doubtful, but turned back to Kay. “This is exactly what I was talking about. Now do you believe me?”

“Confirmation bias,” Kay said, surveying the offerings in the pastry case.

Leia smirked into her coffee again.

Jyn turned in her last final on the Thursday before Christmas, and slept like the dead for fourteen hours.

She wasn't the only one. The house was full of post-finals zombies. When she shuffled out of her attic room and down the stairs in sock feet and ragged sweatpants, she found Chewie, eyes hidden behind his mop of hair, wandering around the second-floor hallway with a toothbrush in his mouth. "Done with the bathroom?" she asked.

He grunted, went back and spit out his toothbrush, came out, and grunted again. Interpreting that to mean all yours, she crawled into the shower and cranked it as hot as it would go. She counted herself lucky that she'd remembered to peel off her sweatpants first.

She felt more human by the time she snapped the water off and climbed out. The sweatpants went back on, but she promised herself that she'd trade them for clean clothes up in her room. Rambling out of the bathroom, rubbing a towel over her hair, she almost crashed directly into Cassian. "Uh," she said. "Hi."

"Hi."

"Hi." Shit, she'd said that already. She slouched against the doorjamb, hoping she looked incredibly casual and not like she was feeling self-conscious about being caught by him in her rattiest clothing. "How's the grading?"

"Turned in," he said. "You? How did your final project turn out?"

"All in. It's probably shit, but it's in."

"I'm sure it's not," he said.

She shrugged. "How's everyone else holding up? Does Bodhi still gibber when you say the words high pressure system to him?" Their friend's aeronautical meteorology class had kicked his ass.

"He's downgraded to whimpers."

Somewhere off in the distance, the doorbell rang, with the four-note sequence of the Addams Family theme. (Chirrut thought it was funny.)

Jyn ignored it. Someone downstairs would get it and she didn't feel like moving. "Well, that's progress. We should go out tonight or something."

"Us?"

She choked. "Uh, yeah, all of us here in the house. Big, uh, big housemate post-finals party. Alcohol and cake and - " Debauchery, she almost said, and changed it to - "Frivolity."

"Maybe pizza to soak up the booze and sugar," he said.

"Right, yeah, that sounds good." She grinned. "The Mill?"

"That's a good choice. Han's so lazy he refuses to decorate for Christmas, so - "

"No mistletoe," she said brightly, and just like that it was all awkward between them.

She thought of Leia's skepticism that she'd be able to bury all this after Christmas. Especially with Valentine's Day coming up.

He rubbed his hand over the back of his neck and averted his eyes. "Jyn, I - " He choked on the rest of his sentence, staring at a spot just over her head.

With a certain feeling of inevitability, she followed his gaze to see a sprig of mistletoe, hanging from the light fixture.

She dropped her eyes again and met his.

He said, "I still don't know who's putting those up."

"Me neither."

"At least in here," he added.

"Right. Yeah. The Roastery and the library were probably . . . some poor worker who's getting paid minimum wage to climb on a ladder and - " She felt herself rambling and hiked up her chin. "Look, it's five days until Christmas. We don't know why these are suddenly turning up around us but it's just making it weirder and weirder, so I say we settle the question."

"The . . . question," he said carefully.

"Yeah. Let's just kiss and get it over with."

". . . That question."

The doorbell rang again, more insistently. Neither of them moved.

She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows. "Well?"

He swallowed. She followed the motion of his Adam's apple down his throat and felt herself break out in a sweat, heat thrumming at all her pulse points. She wasn't sure when she'd decided she wanted to lick his neck, but she did, she did. Maybe some heretofore unsuspected infection of vampirism.

"Maybe we should," he said in a low rumble.

She unfolded her arms and rested her hands high up on his chest. Damn, he was tall. She tilted her head back to meet Cassian's eyes, sticking her chin out in a dare. Go on, then.

Downstairs, a babble of voices broke out. They could have been in the next zip code for all Jyn cared.

He put his hands to her waist, warm through her worn-thin Gerrera's Gym t-shirt, and leaned down. She shut her eyes just before his mouth brushed hers.

Dry, warm. Fleeting. Tendrils of agreeable heat began to curl through her belly.

Then he was gone.

She swallowed and opened her eyes again, feeling the tendrils of heat curl themselves into nothing.

Her body hummed with tension and dissatisfaction. Was that it? Was that little taste all she was getting?

Even though the light fixture and its stupid, stupid mistletoe was right above their heads, she couldn't read his expression.

She dropped her hands. "Okay. That's done, th-"

The last word was cut off by his mouth covering hers again. Her back hit the wall so hard the light fixture rattled. She ignored it, too busy winding her arms around his neck and pressing herself against him, kissing back hungrily.

This, now. This.

If the first kiss had been a taste, this was a five-course banquet. They devoured each other, tongues and teeth and lips and hands. His hands slid south of her waist, clamping on her ass and hauling her into the arc of his body. She whimpered and hooked one leg over his hip. He pressed her harder into the wall and licked into her mouth.

She gasped aloud when he left her mouth and started kissing her neck. Somehow, both her legs were locked around his hips, and his hands - Jesus, he had good hands. She felt like a volcano, all liquid heat inside and liable to go off at the slightest provocation.

"That's more like it," she said, and nipped at his ear.

"I've been wanting to do that since September," he said against her neck.

"So why didn't - ohhh," she groaned as his teeth scraped her skin.

"I'm usually very good at reading people. But I find you impossible to predict."

She grabbed his head in her hands and stared into his eyes. "Take me back to your room and fuck my brains out," she said. "How's that for a read?"

He rocked against her and demonstrated he had no problem with her proposed course of action. "Your room would be better."

"Yours is closer."

He kissed her hard. "I'm next to Kay."

"So," she mumbled into his mouth.

"He's asleep."

"So?"

"I don't intend to be quiet."

Oh. Oh damn. There went her last brain cell. "Right," she gasped. "My room it is."

Over at the Mill some hours later, Leia watched them snuggle in a booth with a little smirk.

She'd been keeping an eye on that, texting her brother with regular updates. Luke always liked hearing the gossip from her house, especially any news of a certain British-Pakistani aeronautics major. She'd always thought Cassian and Jyn had a certain similarity, under their wildly differing outer presentation. And of course they'd been thirsting for each other practically since they'd met. They made a cute couple.

The smirk turned into a blush when they started kissing and groping each other again. Okay, whenever they got over that in public, they would be a cute couple.

She turned toward the bar and the giant bowl of eggnog that Han Solo had rustled up. Call him what you like - and she did - he could pull a party together.

Bodhi was already there, pouring himself some. "Want one?"

"Absolutely," she said, leaning up next to him. "So - the mistletoe."

He ducked his head and made a sort of grunt.

"You were the one putting it all up in the house, right?" She'd noticed Bodhi decorating for the holiday as early as Thanksgiving morning.

"Yep," he said on a sigh, passing her a full glass.

She chortled and took a sip that threatened to curl her eyebrows. It was very strong. She blinked and shook her head. When her tongue had regained feeling, she pursued her line of questioning. "What, did you just get tired of watching them orbit around each other for the past few months?"

"Actually . . ." He looked down into his own glass. "It wasn't for them."

She sputtered out her next sip of eggnog. "Say again?"

He sighed. "I had a whole plan. Remember how Luke was supposed to come for Thanksgiving?"

"And his flight got cancelled, yeah."

"And then he was supposed to crash on our couch over break?"

"And then his advisor asked him to stay to work on some 'special project'?" She made a face. She wouldn't be forgiving Professor Yoda anytime soon for attempting to deprive her of her twin. "But - "

"Well, I figured if there was all this mistletoe up, it would be sort . . . of . . . romantic," he mumbled.

Her hand stopped. "Bodhi," she said, slowly and clearly. "How long have you been crushing on my brother?"

"Look, I wasn't trying to be creepy - "

"Of course you weren't," she said. "Just - how long?"

He shook his head. "It's dumb, it doesn't matter."

A voice from behind him said, "I'm interested."

Bodhi whipped around to see Luke standing behind him, face bright and hopeful. "What - you - when?"

"A few hours ago," Luke said. "I drove overnight. I was taking a nap in her room until just now." He toasted Leia with his beer. "She left me a text to come on over."

Bodhi was still goggling at him, the tips of his ears going brick-red. "But I thought - "

"I excused myself from the project. Professor Yoda's not too happy, but I don't care. So, uh, what was my sister saying? About you and mistletoe, and me?"

They wandered off, eyes only for each other, hands bumping. No need for mistletoe.

Leia laughed to herself and drank more eggnog.

"Hey, princess, look what I found!" Han leaned over the bar and dangled a sprig of mistletoe over their heads. "Pucker up."

She tossed her eggnog in his face and marched off, refusing to reflect on the not-small part of her that had been intrigued. It would take more than mistletoe to get her to lock lips with Han Solo.

FINIS

#Cassian Andor #Jyn Erso #rebelcaptain #rebelcaptainsecretsanta #fanfiction #mosylufanfic lives up to her damn name #boy it's been awhile since I used that tag #university AU #modern AU #everyone is an overworked and slightly crazed student #fluff #star wars

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housebeleren · 5 years ago

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Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths Limited: Bomb Rares

Last but definitely not least, it’s time for the Rares and Mythics from Ikoria. Keep your eyes out for these when you’re drafting.

White

The stats on this are great, even just to cast on curve. If and when you decide to Mutate it, you’ll get some tokens for your effort. It’s not exactly a bomb, but it’s a powerful threat that will help you stabilized from even the most aggressive early onslaughts from your opponent. 3.5/5

A 3/3 for 3 is a card you’ll want to include in most decks anyway, since it’s just a great on-curve play. But this can block half of all possible threats without any issue, and dodges half of all removal. This is a fantastic target to Mutate onto, and a good creature on its own. 3.5/5

This is a straight up bomb. If your opponent doesn’t remove it immediately, the value you’ll get just insane. Definitely always play this if you can. 4.5/5

Blue

4 Mana to get a copy of the best card on any side of the battlefield is pretty reasonable, and sometimes it’ll be a straight 2-for-1 if you have the mana requirements. It’s great when you’re ahead, and stabilizing when you’re behind, and I’d run it even if I couldn’t make the alternate mana. That said, it’s not a bomb, since it is contingent on something else worth copying being present. 3.5/5

This is really, really good. If you don’t have something to Mutate it onto, you can wait until your opponent leaves themselves open, throw this down at the end of their turn, then net yourself a card off it. If you have multiple creatures, you can take a wide swing, see what goes unblocked, then Mutate it onto that one. Look for creatures with evasion and this can become a threat that will overtake the game quickly. 3.5/5

This is just great value. Normally, leaving mana up for a counter is bad news, but when it’s attached to a large creature, it’s way better. This can also ambush attackers nicely. You’ll often get a 2-for-1 out of this, and worse case you can just drop it at end of turn if there isn’t a chance to use it. 3.5/5

Black

This is really great. The Mutate cost is high, but just throwing this down as a 3/3 Flier on your opponent’s turn is great value. Then, Mutate it with something cheaper on the next turn and you’re gold. It’s going to be hard getting ahead if your opponent has this sitting on the battlefield. 4.0/5

Also great. 3 mana instant speed removal is always playable, and if you’re in the right colors, this can hit anything you need to hit. Even in mono-Black, this is great. 3.5/5

The dream of putting this in an all (or mostly) Even or Odds deck is a pipe dream. It’s not going to happen. However, you have the advantage of knowing this is coming, and can play around it to make sure you wipe out more of your opponent’s stuff than yours. It shouldn’t be hard to make this great. 3.5/5

Red

Baseline, this is a 4/4 with Flying for 4 mana, and that’s always playable. If you manage to Mutate it, it gets even better, and will be a recursive threat that’s difficult to deal with. I’d always run this. 4.0/5

I’d be remiss not to mention Lukka. Sadly, he doesn’t inherently provide any immediate board impact, which you usually want with a 5 drop ‘walker. But, he can draw you multiple cards a turn, and can transform tokens or early drops into bigger threats. I’d usually run this unless I was in a heavy spells deck. He’s not a bomb, but will usually be solid. 3/5

This is great, and you really don’t need to be in 3 colors. You can easily take out 2 or 3 smallish threats with this, or just use it to take out one bigger thing. It’s great, flexible removal, and that’s always welcome. 3.5/5

7 Mana is a lot, but it’s worth it for an 8/8 with Trample and Haste. Not only that, but you can cycle it away if you draw it early. You’re rarely going to get it into play using its ability, but it’s worth playing either way. 3.5/5

Green

You’re rarely going to Mutate this, but even if you don’t, it’s a 4/4 with Reach and Trample for 4 mana, and that’s a good deal. If they do have problematic permanents around, you have the flexibility to take care of it, but it’s nice that it’s good without that. 3.0/5

The mana cost on this is a little intense, but it’s going to be a massive swing when it comes down, as it can enter and take down nearly anything your opponent may have. If you have any humans in the deck, it’s near impossible to deal with as well. 4.0/5

And finally, Vivien, probably the biggest bomb in the set, at least as far as mono-color cards are concerned. She churns out a 3/3 every turn, and can produce insane card advantage if she sticks around. She’s likely to dominate any board state. The only thing that would make her better is if she had removal. 4.5/5

Multicolor & Colorless

The nice thing about Brokkos is that he works sort of like a potent enchantment that you can cast over and over from your graveyard, but he’s also a solid creature on his own. He’s a strong card I’d consider in any base Green deck that’s able to splash. 3.5/5

Illuna has phenomenal stats on its own, but is also fantastic if you’re able to Mutate it, since the free card it brings into play will help mitigate any potential loss if it gets removed later. If you can keep mutating onto it, it keeps getting better and better. 3.5/5

A lot of this cycle is pretty mediocre, but I like this guy. He guarantees a trade if he ever becomes blocked, and threatens lots of damage if they don’t. You’ll really want to grab other creatures with Menace is you pick him early, because he makes them way stronger. 3.5/5

Nethroi is the outlier in the Mythic cycle of Mutate creatures, in that you’ll probably cast it for its standard cost and Mutate it later rather than the other way around. That said, it’s possibly the ultimate late game card, and a true bomb if you can get it to go off. I’d definitely stretch my mana to make this happen. 4.0/5

The nice thing about this one is that Flying is abundant. Unlike the other cards in this cycle, whose abilities are more sparse. Not only that, but it’s a good early drop to Mutate onto and a fantastic mana sink late in the game. 3.5/5

The stats on Snapdax are potent even if it never Mutates. But if it does, it’s going to be a beating for your opponent. I can’t imagine not running this if I thought I could make the colors work. 4.0/5

Vadrox is a little more niche, as you do want some noncreature spells to really be worthwhile. That said, it’s a solid creature on its own if you can manage the mana cost. If you are able to reuse some removal spells by Mutating this, you’re in value town. 3.5/5

You’re not going to draft a deck to actually use this as a companion, but it’s a fantastic 3 drop in any deck that can cast it. It’s got solid stats, and you’ll likely have some cheap creatures in your deck you can recur with this. It’s some good value. 3.5/5

In this case, it’s completely possible to draft a deck that has all different cards, and use this as intended as a companion. Then, copy a nice removal spell and you’re gold. Even if you don’t, it’s a well-costed creature on its own that can ambush in attacks, and the ability will be great bonus. 3.5/5

Yorion isn’t just great in Standard. In limited, it’s a well-costed Flying threat that can be easily cast in either of its colors. On top of that, on the turn it comes in, it will untap any number of tapped creatures you control, knock off bothersome auras, and re-trigger any ETBs you may have. In short, all upside. I can’t imagine this not being great. Don’t worry about the companion text, just run it in the maindeck and it will be excellent. 4.0/5

Crystalline Giant is excellent. It can be cast on-curve in any deck, and just gets progressively better every turn it’s out. It’s a fantastic target to Mutate later, especially if it gets Hexproof early on. Always play this. 4.0/5

The Rest of the Rares

Drannith Magistrate - Aside from very rarely nullifying Companions, this is a 1/3 for 2. It is a relevant creature type, but that’s not enough to make him interesting. 1.5

Mythos of Snapdax - Cataclysm is a decent card in limited, and most decks will be able to arrange a situation so this is more beneficial than not. It goes up a full point if you’re reliably in Mardu colors, so consider it premium removal in that case. 3.0

Shark Typhoon - This is one of those weird cards where I suspect you’l actually cycle it more than cast it. A 2/2 Flier that draws you a card is worth 4 mana, and same goes up the chain, making this a surprisingly good curve-filler. But I doubt you’ll have enough noncreature spells in your deck to make this worth casting for full cost. 3.0

Hunted Nightmare - This is extremely well-costed, and if you can land it before your opponent has a creature, you’ve really done well. Great in aggressive decks, and fine in more controlling decks, you’ll basically always play it. 3.0

Unpredictable Cyclone - This seems way too sketchy of a proposition in limited. Sure, it’s massive value once it comes online, but that’s assuming you have enough Cycling cards in your deck to get use out of it. I’d run it very cautiously, only if you have a high volume of Cycling cards and this is your top end. 1.5

Colossification - You’ll definitely have the biggest creature on the battlefield once you land this. Sure, you can’t swing after and you’re leaving yourself open for removal, but it is huge. Still, 7 mana is a lot for a card that only works without disruption of any kind. 1.5

Mythos of Brokkos - You’ll generally just recover two things that are already in your Graveyard, which makes this basically a Soul Salvage at 4 mana. Even if you get the bonus, it’s not likely to make much of a difference. 1.5

Cheville, Bane of Monsters - This is well-costed, and will sometimes reward you with a nice payout when something dies. It’s even a decent topdeck to stabilize. 3.0

Death’s Oasis - The mana cost will be tricky to get on turn 3, and it doesn’t affect the board immediately, but it’s going to generate a lot of value if it lands and sticks around. If you’re solidly in Abzan colors, it’s probably worth including. 2.5

Eerie Ultimatrum - I love this in theory, but the mana cost of the Ultimatums is so restrictive I wouldn’t generally run any of them. And this one is no exception. 0.5

Emergent Ultimatum - This one has literally no possibility of working. So just don’t. 0.0

Frondland Felidar - Tappers are great, and this is, at its core, a tapper. Not only that, but it has the possibility of turning other creatures into tappers, and that’s a nice perk. 3.5

General Kudro of Drannith - The stats are right, and you’re likely to have a few other Humans that will get bigger off this. It’s probably going to be good any time you can run it. 3.5

Genesis Ultimatum - This one at least will impact the board when you cast it, but is still far to costly to run in most decks. If you have the colors and lots of ramp, maybe. 1.0

Inspired Ultimatum - Similar story with this, but you’re not in Green, so it’s less likely you’ll have good ramp & fixing to make this happen. 0.5

Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy - This is cute, but mostly just a bear in limited. It does have a cute mana sink for the late game. 1.5

Narset of the Ancient Way - I wish she affected the board a little more, but she’s rarely going to be bad, unless you’re really far behind. If you can untap with her out, she will accelerate your game very quickly. 3.5

Offspring’s Revenge - It’s cute, but 5 mana is a lot to get a series of 1/1s. Most of them won’t have useful abilities either, since you won’t get Mutate triggers off this. But still, there’s a bit of potential. 1.5

Quartzwood Crasher - The stats on this are good, and there’s some runaway potential if they don’t have good blockers. If you have other Trample creatures, this can be even better. 3.5

Rielle, the Everwise - In a heavy noncreature deck, she could do some work. But my guess is most of the time, it won’t do much. 2.0

Ruinous Ultimatum - This is massively powerful and will basically end the game for your opponent, so it has more possibility than the others in this cycle. But the cost is still intense, and you likely won’t be able to get to it often. Run with caution. 1.5

Slitherwisp - On its own, this is a well-costed threat that can ambush small attackers with ease. If you do manage to grab any other creatures with Flash, this gets way better, so definitely take that in consideration. 3.0

Song of Creation - This seems more suited for constructed, but could work in limited. It’ll definitely speed up your game, but could backfire. 1.5

Titans’ Nest - Nope. Hard pass. 0.0

Whirlwind of Thought - You’d need to draw at least 3 cards off this for it to be worth playing, and that’s not usually going to happen. I’d skip it. 0.5

Winota, Joiner of Forces - The stats are great on its own, and sometimes you’ll get some free value out of it too, but you really don’t need to build your deck into craziness to make it good. 3.5

Fiend Artisan - The cost is easy to make happen, and even if you never activate the ability, this gets bigger as your other things die, so it scales nicely throughout the game. 3.5

Gyruda, Doom of Depths - 6 mana for a 6/6, and sometimes it will come with a free buddy from the grave. That’s worth including, but it’s not worth contorting your deck build around. 2.5

Gyruda, the Wellspring - This is a 5/5 for 5 mana, and it’s easy to cast. That’s a good deal, though how this ability is allowed to be a hybrid Red card is beyond me. 3.0

Kaheera, the Orphanguard - You won’t get this as a Companion basically ever, but it’s got decent stats and will randomly buff some of your other creatures. 2.5

Keruga, the Macrosage - This one actually is somewhat viable as a Companion, and the stats are decent on their own. Usually you’ll draw one or two cards when this enters, and that’s enough to make this solidly playable. 3.0

Obosh, the Preypiercer - This hits like a 6/5, which is generally playable for 5 mana, and it will make all your other odd-CMC cards hit like tanks as well. Definitely a decent inclusion in all decks. 3.0

Umori, the Collector - Sadly, I doubt this will do much good with its abilities, but the stats are really strong on their own, so it’s probably worth running just as a vanilla creature. 3.0

Zirda, the Dawnwaker - Decent stats make this playable on its own, and occasionally, the abilities will be worth something too. 2.5

The Ozolith - Unless you’re in a very heavy counters deck, I don’t think this will warrant a spot. Seems more like a constructed plant. 1.0

Bonders’ Enclave - If you have multiple 4+ power creatures, and aren’t running intensive 3 color cards, the opportunity cost of running this is very low. I’d usually err on the side of including it, outside those restrictions. 3.0

Triome Lands - Mana fixing and Cycling for the late game? I’m in, and these seem very good. 3.0

And that’s it. Have fun!

#MtG #ikoria

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miraculouscontent · 6 years ago

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I just saw one of the recent episodes and just—I’ve been really quiet about how the show uses Chloe in Season 2, but after seeing that episode, I feel very strongly about addressing it.

OKAY

Season 1 Chloe isn’t that much different from Season 2 Chloe. Season 1 Chloe had some semblance of development in Antibug, but it was clear that she had a LOT of room to grow in order to become a character that everyone could unanimously agree was likable.

Now, I’m going to disregard the whole retcon of Adrien and Chloe’s relationship (as in, the fact that their dynamic changed from Season 1′s “Chloe wants Adrien to love her but also holds no shame in letting him take the fall for the gum incident while Adrien is indifferent at best and recoils when she makes advances on him at worst, also not afraid to stand up to her” to Season 2′s “best friends that maybe had rough patches but that Adrien and Chloe are very much invested in”), because it’s not important to the issues with Chloe’s redemption arc in Season 2. It would be easy to just pick apart each problem, but I want to instead use the show’s own logic against it.

Starting with Despair Bear...

This idea for the episode is actually really good. The fact that Adrien confronts Chloe for her behavior is great and was cathartic for a lot of people.

However, the execution comes to a screeching halt with the ending. Instead of proving that Chloe has made progress, the show instead goes for the cheap joke that Chloe actually hasn’t changed at all. Adrien even proceeds to joke about how Chloe will never change, DESPITE the fact that the entire episode centered around Chloe trying to be nice to get Adrien back.

I'm not asking the show to do a 180 on Chloe; that would be terrible. BUT, if it's trying to make us feel more towards her, the show needs to make a stronger effort to show that Chloe wants to change and/or CAN change.

Here's what could've happened: Adrien agrees to befriend Chloe again, but only on the grounds that she keeps making attempts to improve. Chloe doesn't aggressively insult everyone's baked goods, instead making lesser insults like, "it's not the worst thing ever," and "that's the least worst looking treat I've seen today." When she gets to Marinette, she stiffens, finding it hard to compliment Marinette in any way UNTIL Adrien tries one of Marinette's treats for her. He compliments it, and Chloe echoes it like, "Oh, yeah, that's totally what I was going to say."

That's PROGRESS. That's EFFORT. Having Adrien brush Chloe's bad behavior off as nothing makes him an enabler. He was just shown before that Chloe could be nice when there was something at stake, but it's ignored so the episode can end on a comedic note.

Next up, Zombiezou...

Cutting straight to the episode's message about showering Chloe with kindness she didn't earn and leading by example, I can combat that VERY easily and by using the episode's own logic.

Miss Bustier tries to promote this message, but consider what REALLY caused Chloe to apologize.

Chloe (albeit more indirectly than usual) caused yet another akuma. The class didn't treat her nicely; they sacrificed themselves to save her, but they were very adamant in how they felt towards her. Chloe apologized because she saw all the damage being caused and recognized that it was all her fault.

I had also just talked about this same scenario with Despair Bear. Adrien didn't coddle Chloe to try and be a good influence. Instead, he broke apart their friendship when he saw how Chloe was treating others.

And what happened when Chloe showed improvement and Adrien stopped scolding her? She immediately went back to insulting everyone. Adrien had her right where she should've been, but the second he gave her any leeway, she went back to square one.

Zombiezou's message contradicts both itself AND Despair Bear. Chloe doesn't respond to people being nice. She only responds when either someone puts their foot down or her actions have consequences.

Miss Bustier hugging Chloe after Chloe apologizes was a good next step (that’s positive reinforcement), but responding to Chloe's insults with nothing but kindness won't get her anywhere. It will only enable her.

In fact, Miss Bustier seems to completely miss the fact that Chloe never apologized for what mattered. Apologizing to Miss Bustier is technically progress, but it's the least hard thing for Chloe to do, since she likes Miss Bustier.

Chloe needs to apologize to MARINETTE, which is something that could've been achieved by having Miss Bustier nudge Chloe into doing it. Chloe ruined Marinette's present, and Miss Bustier almost pretending like she appreciates it and saying that she'll think of both of them when she uses it as if Marinette now has to share the praise with Chloe is an insult to Marinette as a character.

The argument of Chloe liking Miss Bustier because Miss Bustier coddles her—which "implies" that everyone should just do that for Chloe to improve—also doesn't work because Miss Bustier is not a good person for Chloe to target. There's no benefit to bullying Miss Bustier and the rest of the class are easier targets anyway.

Sabrina treats Chloe nicely as well, but she becomes a doormat for it. To be nice to Chloe is to be complacent in Chloe's treatment of everyone. Assertiveness is what Chloe responds to.

The same goes for Queen Wasp. It's easy to imagine that it's Ladybug and Chat's kindness that gets Chloe to give up the Miraculous, but this is an instance where Chloe already felt sorry for what she did.

Chloe does something bad, ignores what people have to say, realizes her mistake, and then is apologetic. Only at that last stage can she be shown kindness, but even in this episode, Ladybug (and Chat specifically, which makes sense given that he’s Adrien but that doesn’t make it better) take it too far by brushing off the things she did. Chloe may've been apologetic, but not encouraging her to improve and minimizing the damage by relating it back to her mother is ultimately what makes it not at all surprising when Chloe goes right back to her usual ways in the next episode.

Feeling sorry is not good enough. Guilt and regret is only the first step. Chloe goes back to normal constantly because those around her neglect to insist that she follow through.

Marinette was on the right track by trying to get Chloe to ask Audrey directly why Audrey doesn’t love Chloe, but Marinette essentially gives up because the show wanted things to end on a comedic note just like in Despair Bear. It's not in character for Marinette, considering her goals and the events in Zombiezou, but that's where the episode wanted to go.

Point being, Chloe needed to be told to make an effort to improve so she doesn't repeat her mistakes.

...Which brings us to Malediktator.

This episode is... flawed, to say the least, and it's honestly harder to focus on one or two points because the flaws are much more spread out through the episode.

Let's start with Adrien. He's back to his end-of-Despair-Bear status where he's willing to defend Chloe just because she's his friend, being upset when everyone is cheering because she's not going to be around anymore.

Firstly, Adrien has no context of what happened when Chloe left. She seemed really happy and excited when she was throwing fliers from her helicopter and everyone started having the party once she was already gone. It's not as if Chloe was everyone's friend and they're going behind her back, or they forced Chloe to stay so they can shove their celebration in her face. For Adrien to say it's wrong for everyone to be happy that a bully—who tormented nearly everyone for YEARS—isn't going to be around anymore is disrespectful. He's invalidating the feelings of nearly a hundred people (some of which are his friends) just because of Chloe, who did bad things to him as well.

I’m not asking Adrien to celebrate with them; I’m asking Adrien to respect that they’ve been hurt by Chloe and would like to relax now that she’s not going to be around anymore.

Secondly, and I hate to be brutal, but Adrien is a terrible friend here. Sure, he has Chloe's side, but does he have Marinette's? Marinette is his friend too, and yet he doesn't consider all the pain Marinette had gone through from being bullied by Chloe.

Marinette made a few remarks to Chloe in the entirety of the show, while Chloe was relentless in her insults.

Then, Adrien complains that it's not right that Chloe had to leave unhappy, but... did you notice? He fails to account for his own mistakes.

What did Adrien say when Chloe was upset during class? Nothing. What did he do when Chloe left? Nothing. The class was having lunch at the time Chloe arrived and Adrien made no attempt to call her.

Put bluntly, Adrien has NO right to disapprove of everyone celebrating when he himself didn't do a single thing to make Chloe feel better. It's no wonder why Chloe acts like/says she has no friends when she's venting to Ladybug; Adrien wasn't there for her.

The show just has this weird tendency to put Adrien on a moral high ground when he doesn't deserve it. To put it in a simpler way, consider that even TIKKI was acting positively over Chloe leaving.

Tikki. This is the kwami who's all-wise, all-good, and always gets a word in when she feels that Marinette is doing something wrong.

Yet, Tikki didn't pipe up to say that Marinette shouldn't be celebrating, so the show is trying to act as if Adrien is on an even higher ground than Tikki when it comes to what's "right."

And the reason it feels like that is that, much like in other episodes, Marinette is right for feeling a certain way, but the episode forces her to act like the bigger person without addressing it.

The relationship between the show and Marinette is complicated. Because the show is mostly from Marinette's perspective, what the narrative is trying to teach leans towards whatever Marinette ends up feeling in the end, even if it's wrong or not what is intended.

By having Marinette blame herself for the akuma and Ladybug say that "Marinette" didn't mean what she said, she's not only minimizing the damage Chloe's caused (again), but it implies that Marinette was in the wrong for being happy that the bully who treated her terribly is gone. This acts as if we, as an audience, are expected to feel sorry for Chloe and upset that everyone's celebrating. Chloe doesn't apologize to everyone for her behavior and Adrien doesn't apologize to Marinette for telling her that he thought her celebrating was terrible, so this is the only conclusion to draw.

Ladybug encouraging Chloe to fix her mistakes was great, but it shouldn't have taken this long. This should've been something they told her from the very start, and something she was trying to work through this whole time.

Chloe herself even acts rather odd in this episode. Yes, it's obviously bad that her father got akumatized, but he's not after her; he wants to make her happy. Chloe not jumping at the opportunity (even if she's disgusted by Audrey kissing Malediktator so much) seems less like a character choice and more like a narrative choice because it'd be too hard for Ladybug to give Chloe the Bee Miraculous if Malediktator was watching Chloe the whole time.

By not doing any of that, it also diminishes Adrien's role in the story. For an episode centered around Chloe, Adrien plays an EXTREMELY small part. He only exists to make Marinette feel bad about celebrating Chloe's departure. He doesn't share a single conversation with Chloe in this episode and Chloe doesn't seem to be at all concerned about Adrien when it comes to her decision to leave.

Adrien could've had a bigger role in the episode too. Instead of swiftly being mind-controlled into a cat, Chat could've left to find Chloe and talked to her about her problems. Or, if he HAD to get mind-controlled, he could've gone near Chloe—having de-transformed beforehand since Adrien might have a better chance of convincing Chloe to hide or flee to safety—but then Malediktator mind-controls Adrien to be Chloe's boyfriend. This would've put Chloe in a HUGE mental dilemma and really tested her.

But, instead, Chloe is apologetic only to Ladybug and shows unimpressive bits of improvement by the end of the episode.

Marinette's handwave over the matter and mention of "baby steps" are meaningless. Those "baby steps" should've started back in Despair Bear. Chloe should be much farther along than she is, but the things required to kick Chloe into gear stalled until now.

And sure, Adrien essentially holding his friendship over her head might be an aggressive tactic, but that was the correct decision and could've been used as a tool to make Chloe realize that being nice had its perks. In Despair Bear, it got everyone to come to her party without hesitation and no one insulted her until she inevitably let loose again.

Here's how it could've gone while stretching it out just as much and still keeping within Chloe's character.

- Adrien puts their friendship on hold and Chloe tries to be nice to win him back (like in Despair Bear) - Adrien becomes best friends with her again on the condition that she continues to make an effort to improve herself; Chloe reluctantly agrees - Chloe starts insulting people less and begins to find that she likes being nice, though it's for selfish reasons at first (people treat her better, she gets away with more when she does stuff in secret/behind Adrien's back, etc.); however, she still sneers at people and struggles MAJORLY with compliments - In Zombiezou, Chloe still trashes Marinette's present for Miss Bustier (it's been made clear that, while Chloe has been doing better, she's still targeting Marinette since Marinette is her "worst enemy"), but instead of instructing Marinette to be nicer to Chloe, Miss Bustier suggests that Marinette figures out where the tense ground is in their relationship so it can be fixed - Chloe apologizes to Marinette for ruining the gift at the end of Zombiezou, though at Miss Bustier's request and through gritted teeth - Marinette DOES NOT enable Chloe's behavior at the end of Queen Wasp, instead supporting Chloe by insinuating that it's Audrey's loss if Audrey doesn't love Chloe because, unlike Audrey herself, Chloe is at least making an effort to improve her mean streak (regardless of the results of this scene, the aftereffect is that Chloe calls Marinette by her name without any scorn for the first time ever) - The Malediktator episode becomes a study of why Chloe hates Marinette the most, and Chloe’s reasoning is because Marinette is popular and talented, which is why Chloe fakes the video of Queen Bee and Ladybug; to become more liked - Chloe is still caught by her ego in Malediktator (since being nice doesn't necessarily mean that she stops being egotistical) and she essentially relapses, insulting everyone like her old bully self before storming out - Everyone still celebrates Chloe's absence, most believing that the relapse indicates that Chloe is beyond help. Adrien is also more hesitant to defend Chloe (which is why he didn't speak up in the classroom), but still feels bad that she left upset. This makes things FAR more morally ambiguous and doesn't pin all the blame on either side. - When Chloe sees Malediktator, she’s eager rather than afraid when Malediktator offers to give her everything she wants - Chloe enjoys getting anything and everything, but the excitement doesn't last as she starts to run out of things to ask for; in short, she's realizing that this luxurious lifestyle isn't all it's cracked up to be, especially when she has no one to share it with - Chat goes in as Adrien to get Chloe away from Malediktator, but Malediktator manages to mind control Adrien into spending time with Chloe; this is Chloe's wake-up call as she realizes that she wants people to like her genuinely and not because she tricks them, whether through false kindness or lies - Chloe seeks Ladybug's help, finally breaking down like she does in Malediktator, and Ladybug offers the Bee Miraculous so Chloe can prove her worth - Chloe gives the expensive phone case in Malediktator to Marinette as a gift; while she remembers Marinette's comment, she knows deep down that she deserves it, though does try to play off that she's only giving Marinette the gift in exchange for the party (but nicely)

Redemption arc over. Chloe goes through a steady progression of not liking being nice, to being nice for Adrien, to being nice selfishly, to finally being nice for others. Chloe would go from a bully to someone who still has an ego but likes being kind and doesn't go out of her way to bully anyone again unless it's to defend someone she cares about. She's not friends with Marinette explicitly, but she's learned to respect Marinette. Chloe could have small (keyword: small) relapses when Marinette starts advancing her relationship with Adrien, but overall, she will NEVER become the bully she was again.

As for Sabrina (who I only made passing mention to because that's the equivalent of how the season treats her and I didn't want this post to get too loaded), I'd actually want her to develop separate to Chloe. I basically think Sabrina needs to leave Chloe for a while to help diminish the influence Chloe had on her. Thus, Chloe ends her friendship with Sabrina (even if temporarily; Sabrina already left Chloe once in Evillustrator and I didn’t want to repeat that ) for Sabrina's benefit, almost echoing what Adrien did in Despair Bear.

I like Chloe as a concept. I enjoy the idea of a ruthless bully who's friends with one of the main characters, and that same main character helps drive them towards being a better person.

But that's not what we got. If you think about it, Adrien had very little to do with Chloe's change in most of the episodes I listed. It was mostly Marinette/Ladybug doing the work.

I was still really happy when Queen Bee and Ladybug were working together. It made me happy seeing Chloe have regrets and cry when she realized that it was all falling apart.

But that's still not good enough. This is the end of the Bourgeois akumatization "psuedo three-parter" (it's technically a two-parter with another episode that just fits the theme), and yet Chloe still has a long way to go. Her ego is fine and she can keep it (she honestly wouldn't be the same without it), but she needed to make bigger strides with less relapses to show that she can be a nice person who doesn't get set off by everything.

And Adrien...

I like Adrien—I really do—but this "holier than thou" attitude is on both the show and himself to fix. Adrien was ready to call Chloe out and snark at her in episodes like Kung Food from Season 1, but in Season 2, the most we get out of him (excluding Despair Bear, which doesn’t mean much anyway since he went back on it) is in Frightningale where he briefly goes back to his Season 1 personality when he was uncomfortable with her but did little to affect their relationship.

Chloe never would've gotten so bad during some/most of these episodes if Adrien had put his foot down. He relates to Chloe in that they both have a parent who can be openly rude to them, but he doesn't try to bond with her over it (something that could've prevented Queen Wasp) and just generally takes too long to react to situations.

Adrien hates the way his father treats him but, in an odd way, Adrien takes after him. They both feel entitled to their own emotions and don't want to make efforts to change...

#MC's Adjustments #category: critique #category: long post #word count: over 3000 #character: Chloé Bourgeois #character: Adrien Agreste #episode: Despair Bear #episode: Zombizou #episode: Queen Wasp #episode: Malediktator #adjustment: plotlines #adjustment: characters

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harriskm · 5 years ago

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Some College Advice (from a college student)

Some Things I Learned to Help Be a Music Student in College (Before you go)

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Kaila, and I graduated with the CR Class of 2019. I got my AA through Running Start and have loved band since 5th grade. At the time this is written, I am going to Pacific Lutheran University to get a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education, with an endorsement in math.

Most Important Advice: Practice all your music and more, all the time. More on this below.

Even if you don’t think you are going to continue music in college or as a career, practice and play as if you will. Commitment alone can look much better to jobs/colleges and shows dedication.

Being better at music will also over time pay off in other things, like knowing how to keep a steady work/practice schedule and holding yourself accountable. It also is really fun even just recreationally.

For all you know, especially as a high school freshman, your life or career plans may change by the time you are applying to colleges. From middle school to junior year, I wanted to be a lawyer, then had a change of heart at the end of my junior year and wanted to be a music teacher. I didn’t focus enough on music before then because, well, I didn’t have to and I had other things to worry about. My biggest high school regret is not putting my full effort into music even when it wasn’t my future career. The moral here is to keep improving at music no matter what you want to do, because you never know where your life will take you. If nothing else, many colleges give music scholarships to non-music majors, which can make a HUGE difference for your tuition costs.

In no particular order of importance…

· Running Start students/those wanting to go to LCC after high school: You can take private lessons through LCC for elective credits for only $500 each ten-week quarter. You may also be able to get lessons from LCC instructors just as a high school student, but it may cost more, and may depend on the instructor. It never hurts to ask.

· Any high school student that takes any private lessons for their instrument can audition to play in the LCC symphonic band (and I would assume for their choir). This can be with private lessons from an LCC instructor or a third party private teacher. For more information, contact the LCC music department and/or visit the LCC music page https://lowercolumbia.edu/music/index.php

· College music is much more difficult than music that tends to be played at Castle Rock’s level. This is nothing against the music program, other than instrument limitations, but because of a tendency of students’ lack of effort. Even if you find a piece to be incredibly easy for you, practice it! You can work on your tone more and musicality once you have mastered fingerings and rhythms! In addition to concert music, invest in some technique books, or etude books, or look online for cheap/free sheet music! Keep challenging yourself, as there will always be more you can do. Work towards college-level pieces while you are in high school so that you are not behind other students your age. More work now will mean less work later.

· If the college you want to go to is like PLU and has music scholarship auditions with no specific repertoire (suggested music to play) listed, look at their ensemble placement audition repertoire, as they might be more specific. Look for this months before the audition dates so that you can adequately prepare.

· PLU and perhaps other universities may allow you to get a free private lesson on your instrument, at little to no extra cost, if you are considering them as a school. This is a great way to not only improve your skill, but meet some of your potential music faculty even before an entrance audition. You may be more likely to get a scholarship or into a higher level ensemble if the professors know you and your skill level better personally.

· If you are doing running start before going to a 4 year (or going to community college after high school) try to get a music-specific degree if you may want to have a career in music. PLU and likely other colleges allow you to test out of the basic classes, like Music Theory, Keyboarding, and Ear Training, which means a lot less time paying tuition at the 4 year. Keep in mind though that if you skip many fundamental classes, you may be with mostly college upperclassmen in the next few class sequences.

General Pre-College Tips:

· IF THERE ARE ANY SPECIFIC COLLEGES YOU ARE INTERESTED IN NOW, LOOK AT THEIR PROGRAMS AND COMPARE THEM TO EACH OTHER. Look at the standard financial aid/scholarship packages given from each school. Look at all the scholarships you are eligible for and compare how much you might get.

· YOU CAN GET SAT, ACT, AND MANY COLLEGE APPLICATION FEES WAIVED. IF YOU QUALIFY FOR FREE/REDUCED LUNCHES, ARE IN A TRIO PROGRAM, OR FIT INTO SEVERAL OTHER CRITERIA, talk to Mrs. Wilson or another counselor to see if you are eligible. LCC students, it is very easy to join Trio, and they help you with other things like college essays too. Their office is in the Admissions building on LCC campus.

· If you need to study for the SAT, Khan Academy has a very helpful service where they personalize study material to give you. I raised my SAT score by 100 points using their website alone. Their service is completely free of charge.

· Use the Common Application when you can. This is a college application service where you can fill in personal information only ONCE when applying for different colleges rather than every single time you apply to a new one. This service is completely free and can reduce a lot of application time.

· Do not be afraid to ask any teachers for help with your application. Many will likely be happy to help, especially with personal statements and scholarship essays. They can provide many different helpful perspectives to give you a better chance.

· Many colleges have different scholarships for freshman vs. transfer students. Look at all of these when comparing financial aid to figure out if it is more cost effective to go to a community college and transfer first. Also, if you go to a community college first, look at the university’s general ed requirements so that you can make good use of your community college credits.

· LCC students: if you are eligible with a high enough GPA, join Phi Theta Kappa (PTK). There is a fee to join but it may be possible to waive it, and many colleges might give you an extra scholarship just for being a member. PLU gives an extra $1000 a year to PTK members.

· Look at and apply to many colleges early on. Even if it seems a ways away, it is closer than you think, so it’s never too early to start looking. The earlier you apply, the more likely you will get more scholarship offers from the schools, because they will have more money to give out. If you do apply for many, and get accepted to many, DECLINE the financial aid and admission to the schools you aren’t going to BEFORE Decision Day on May 1. This will allow the other colleges to re-disperse any scholarships you got so other students can have more money. After May 1, the unaccepted scholarships will be unavailable to anybody forever.

· Visit the campuses before you enroll to any school. Sometimes you might go onto a campus and just have a gut feeling about where or not the school is for you. A campus may be bigger or smaller than you think, and on tours you will likely learn more about the college than you can by emails and fliers. This also provides an easy opportunity to talk to students going to your potential schools and see how it really is.

· Once you get in to a school, check your schedule and see if there’s anything to change. You will hate yourself in the mornings if you have an 8 AM class, so try not to have one that early if you don’t have to. Talk to an advisor early on about finding another time to take that class. Also, look up professors on something like ratemyprofessor.com. You can find out before the semester begins what methods they use and if they are a right fit for you as a student. Look early and you may be able to switch classes if you need to.

· If you email any college faculty, it is most professional to address them as Dr. or Professor, and then their last name. Do not refer to them as Mr. or Mrs., or by their first name unless they ask you to call them differently.

· Compare prices of things you buy for your dorm before purchasing them. Go to different stores if you can and see what has the best sale or deal. Your parents or wallet will thank you later.

When You Start Your Freshman Year at a 4-Year:

· Your dorm room is much smaller than you hoped. Move in day will be very long and stressful. Arrive as early as possible to get all your stuff packed in, pack your things as tightly as you can before arriving, and don’t bring anything you don’t need.

· If you have a roommate, become friends with them as soon as you can. You will be living with them for at least the semester, sharing the space. It will be very helpful if you can get along.

· Music Majors/Minors: You will likely have to practice everything a heck of a lot more than you ever did in high school, unless you practiced every day. Generally music students are supposed to practice AT LEAST an hour a day and that is for basic improvement on your instrument.

· College tests and assignments will be different than their high school counterparts. College tasks will be centered more around applied knowledge, whereas high school work tends to focus more on memorization. You will want to study all aspects of how different learning points interact with each other in order to do the best on homework and tests, and study everything multiple times.

· Boxes and easy storage will be your best friend within your dorm. The space will be very small. Particularly for girls more than boys, you will likely have more things you brought than there is space for all of it. Boxes and bins are a great way to keep everything organized. Similarly, the Dollar Tree and other places have drawer organizers that will make your life a lot easier to grab things quickly. Invest in these if you can. The Dollar Tree actually has

· Make sure to have plenty of cold and flu medicine before you leave home. Going to a pharmacy to get meds when you are sick is not a trek you want to have to make.

· Your college will likely have many resources available to help you succeed. This may include but is not limited to: Faculty office hours, a health center, a counseling center, a library that has way more than just books. USE THEM. You are paying for all of those with your tuition. They are there for your success. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

· Unless you regularly wear all of them now, you will not need your whole wardrobe of shoes. Me personally, I barely wear anything more than volleyball shoes for games, tennis shoes for walking, and converse for comfort. Shoes are clunky and take up valuable space. Evaluate how many you really need, or find an out of the way space in your dorm to keep the ones you don’t wear often.

· Power naps will save you when you are feeling too overwhelmed in your head. It’s like restarting your system, giving you time to physically debrief and take a mental break. About 20 minutes is the best amount of time for a power nap, but make sure not to oversleep.

· Some professors don’t always take attendance, but it is still crucial to go to class anyways. Missing class makes it so much easier to miss information, important dates, announcements, and if nothing else, a lecture.

· Socialize within your first few weeks. Make friends in your dorm or within your area of study. Try to do this sooner, before everybody else has already found a pack to hang with.

· It is okay to say no to commitments. It is okay to say no to your friends, that you don’t have time to go hang with them. It is okay to say no to your peers or professors, that you can’t handle more on your plate right now. Do not overwhelm yourself. Do not give yourself so much work that you cannot sleep or take proper care of yourself.

· College students do not drink and party as much as the movies makes it seem. It is completely normal to turn down a drink, and most if not all other students will understand and not push you to participate. If they do push you to drink, you need to get different friends. College is for education, and you don’t want to watch your grades slip just because of any mistakes. If you do drink in college, do so responsibly. Drinking until around your junior year (when you are 21) is illegal anyways, as is in the dorms, so there will be many bad repercussions if you get caught.

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mediocremagicman · 7 years ago

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Wednesday night draft!

7 Person Ixalan (3xXLN)

I haven't had a chance to play a good B/W vampires deck since my first pre-release. This deck is hard to get into because there are no clear signs that push you into it. Each of the other archetypes have card in them that above average on their own. You take those and then take other average or below cards in the archetype to make those cards work. This evens out over the deck and you end up with a deck on par with everyone else in the format. Vampires on the other had has cards that are usually less than average on their own, but gain strength when the vampire synergy is working to become slightly better than average. Once you have enough of the synergy in your deck that it's online all the time, then suddenly all of your cards are above average and you have a solid above average deck. That was what happened here tonight giving me a deck that didn't drop a single game for a 3-0 victory.

The Draft (Each pick in order from top to bottom, then left to right)

Settle the Wreckage is a fine start but in this case it was actually the “wrong” pick. The pack also contained Walk the Plank which in my opinion is a stronger pick. Settle the Wreckage has a higher potential upside but it's very hard to get it to be a total board wipe whereas Walk the Plank kills what you need to when you need it. It's a $5 card though and the difference is marginal so I decided it was worth it to pick the Wreckage. Either way I'm not tied to an archetype so I'm satisfied so far. Adanto Vanguard is a great aggressive card that works in multiple archetypes. The cost on the indestructibility seems high at first, but the trick here is that you almost never need to activate the ability to get value out of it. Most creatures in the format die when they block it and players aren't willing to trade four damage to my face for their creature so they just don't block. Removal in the form of Contract Killing third pick seems like a sign black might be open. Snapping Sailback is good enough to take over the other cards but not strong enough to push me into green. Skyblade of the Legion pulls me back toward white. Skyblade works really well in this format because it's stats match up very well to the other flyers. Most flyers in this set have two power which means this can block safely. Queen's Bay Soldier is a just bear and bears are almost always playable. This speed of this format upgrades them from playable to very playable. Desperate Castaways has higher stats than a bear for the same CMC, but a weird downside. I average that out and give it the same ratings I give bears. None of the rest of the cards in this pack were very good. Duress is usually good, but most of the threats in this format are creatures which really pushes it down.

Between packs I looked at my cards and realized I didn't have as many white cards as I had thought and realized I could considered abandoning it. I was definitely committed to black but the other color was still up in the air. This was fresh in my mind when I saw the Ranging Raptors. I knew I had the Sailback and there is a weird explore archetype in B/G so the combo isn't totallly unsupported and I went for it. Since I was flip-flopping between green and white there is a risk I could end up wanting to have on color as the main and splash the good cards of the one I didn't play. Have a dual land in both those colors lets me bank either way and still make the splash work. Glorifier of Dusk pulls me back toward white. It's not a bomb, but the abilities help it do what you need when you need it just enough that it's above the curve. A second Adanto Vanguard is a clear sign white is open this pack, which make sense given the quality if white cards I'd passed that direction pack one. Slash of Talons is very strong; I feel as though people continue to undervalue it. It kills most early game creatures outright and can allow you to trade up with bigger things later if you need to. Queen's Queen's Commission is just a great pick now; lifelink helps me recover from the life paid on the Vanguard and Glorifier. Pious Interdiction was a windmill slam. It removes stuff and gives me life? Yes please and thank you. I'm firmly B/W now and every one of my creatures so far is a vampire which makes Vampire's Zeal amazing. The worst case scenario of three power with first strike eats a bunch of stuff and I can only think of one creature four power doesn't kill. Duskborne Skymarcher is very good once you're in vampires. It makes swinging with a bunch of your small vamps easier because the threat of activation makes blocking more difficult. Demystify is a nice to have in the sideboard but the rest of the pack was unexciting.

Pack three Imperial Aerosaur pick one feels good. Helps me keep up white in what I expect will be a pack devoid of it and it just crushes. A 3/3 flyer is the third strongest set of stats on a flier in the set for less mana than either of the top two. A second Pious Interdiction has be drooling over my mat. Anointed Deacon is the corner piece of this vampire puzzle I'm putting together. It allows most of my cheap creatures to get in and trade up, or get a boatload of value off of my lifelinkers. Sheltering Light is a decent combat trick, I don't rate it too highly, but the rest of the pack wasn't outstanding. Call to the Feast is a solid strong payoff for being in B/W. Three power worth of lifelink is a lot at for four mana. You'd have to pay six mana to maybe get that with Queen's Agent and having it split up is more versatile. I've said in the past that you have to evaluate the cycle of keepers ignoring the activated ability, and a 1/1 flyer makes Blight Keeper just barely good enough to be playable. At this point the pack started to dry up of my colors. Glorifier of Dusk was a an unexpected bonus but the rest of the cards are decent at best. Fathom Fleet Cutthroat is the only card worthing talking about because in a deck that has a lot of very small creatures or tokens it's value goes up but it's never amazing.

The Final Decklist

Enchantment/Artifacts: 1x Cobbled Wings 2x Pious Interdiction Instant/Sorceries: 1x Slash of Talons 1x Sheltering Light 1x Vampire's Zeal 1x Costly Plunder 1x Queen's Commission 1x Call to the Feast 1x Settle the Wreckage 1x Contract Killing Creatures: 1x Blight Keeper 1x Duskborne Skymarcher 2x Adanto Vanguard 1x Queen's Bay Soldier 1x Skyblade of the Legion 1x Imperial Aerosaur 1x Fathom Fleet Cutthroat 2x Glorifier of Dusk 1x Anointed Deacon 1x Shining Aerosaur Lands: 9x Plains 8x Swamp

Round 1 (2-0) was against the player who drafted to my right and ended up with a white deck with three red cards. Game one was a started off with a decent back and forth but as the game progressed I found more and more flyers and the removal to stop theirs. Game two they came out extremely fast but I created some tokens and was able to give them flying with Cobbled Wings and then pump them with Anointed Deacons. This steady life draining quickly pulled the game back in my favor and I took it quickly

Round 2 (2-0) was against a R/W aggro deck. Game one I put out two Adanto Vanguard by turn three and had mana left to Slash of Talons their Raptor Companion. Then I found the Cobbled Wings and the Vanguard was even less blockable. Game two was just more of the same. I even got to a combine Adanto Vanguard, Anointed Deacon and Cobbled Wings for devastating results.

Round 3 (2-0) I battled a B/U pirates deck. Game one I played flyer after flyer and took the game in minutes. Game two they opened with Kitesail Freebooter take away my Pious Interdiction and block my Blight Keeper which put things off to a slow start that got worse when I missed my fourth land drop. As the game went on though I found the land I needed and they found land they didn't need. The game finished when I final top decked the second swamp I needed to cast Contract Killing on the Freebooter leaving me with just enough mana to cast the Pious Interdiction on their other flyer and swing for exactly lethal.

#original #pics #ixalan #magic the gathering #Magic Draft #limited magic #limited mtg #mtg draft #mtg drafting

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kennethherrerablog · 4 years ago

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The Best Online Jobs for Teens

For most teens, the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a wrench in their part-time employment plans. Fortunately, just because you’re still in school doesn’t mean you can’t work remotely, and online jobs for teens are now more common than ever. There are many different online jobs that would work for teenagers, but we looked specifically for ones that would be most flexible for a student’s schedule, and have the lowest barrier to entry.

The Best Online Jobs for Teens:

Tutor Online

Transcribe Audio

Take Surveys Online

Sell Stuff

Become an Influencer

Earn Scholarships

Online Tutoring

With many parents homeschooling their kids for the first time, there is a huge demand for tutors. Pick whatever subject or subjects you’re best at, and offer to tutor over Facetime or Zoom. You can post fliers in your neighborhood, have your parents put the word out to other parents, or post your services on Facebook.

If you don’t want to tutor in a specific school subject, you can also work as an English language tutor. Apps like NiceTalk (16+) pay you to video chat with people trying to learn English through conversation. You can log on whenever you want (as long as you can video chat) and take requests from students.

You may be assigned a random student or students could choose you from a list of available tutors. Your sole responsibility is to have conversations with students.

You get paid for each full minute you spend talking to your students. NiceTalk pays $10 per hour. The company only pays via PayPal. While the pay isn’t great, if you have a few extra hours to help a student learn English, it could be a fun way to earn some pizza cash.

Transcription Services

If you’re a quick typer, you can easily earn some money transcribing audio files to text.

For those of you who speak a foreign language, there are higher-paying transcription jobs for translators as well.

Rev is one legitimate website for freelance transcription jobs. There is no age limit, and they pay a flat rate of one dollar per minute of audio transcribed.

Let’s do some math. The average talking speed is 100-130 words per minute, and the average typing speed is 40 words per minute. So if it takes you about 3 minutes to type one minute of audio, you’ll be making about $20 an hour. Not bad for a teen’s first job!

And the best part? The more you type, the faster you get. Not only will you start earning more money, but a fast typing speed is a great skill to list on your resume.

Bonus: Want to turn your dream of working from home into a reality? Download my Ultimate Guide to Working from Home to learn how to make working from home work for YOU.

Taking Surveys Online

When I was in college, I taught venture capitalists how to use Youtube and Myspace. Companies need to be able to keep up with current trends, so they’ll pay you to tell them what’s in! Most surveys don’t take that long to complete, and you can take them from anywhere with your phone.

iPoll is one app that will pay you to hear your opinion. You have to be 17 or older to sign up.

Similar to Google Option Rewards, all you have to do is answer brief questions about products and services that you’re already using.

You can earn gift cards for PayPal, the Apple App Store, and Amazon for your participation.

If you’re under 17 (but over 14) you can sign up for LifePoints instead. Formerly known as MySurvey, LifePoints is a survey site that lets you earn points by taking surveys, tracking your experiences with a particular product in a “diary entry,” or testing products at home and then giving feedback.

Several online reviews note that it can be difficult to get a handle on how much a “point” is worth, as different surveys assign different values to points. For example, one survey may offer an exchange rate of 2,400 LifePoints for a $24 PayPal payment, while another might give you $5 in PayPal after you earn 5,500 LifePoints.

You’d be surprised how many apps there are that will pay you just to know what you shop for and what videos you like.

Swagbucks offers rewards points for shopping online, browsing the web, answering surveys, and watching entertaining videos. All of this can be facilitated through the mobile app, and anyone over 13 can sign up.

You can redeem Swagbucks points for gift cards or get cash back to your PayPal account.

Swagbucks gives away more than 7,000 gift cards every day. They’ve paid out more than $410 million in rewards since the company was first founded back in 2008.

You can earn 1,000 SB points ($10 in value) if you sign up and make a qualifying purchase at a store featured in the Swagbucks shop.

You can also get paid for walking with the Sweatcoin app.

All you need to do is keep Sweatcoin running on the background of your phone at all times. The app will automatically track your steps. Every 1,000 steps rewards you with 0.95 Sweatcoins.

Sweatcoins can’t be withdrawn as cash. However, you can redeem them for goods and services. Some featured examples include athletic wear, audio books, headphones, and meditation.

More than 300 brands have partnered with Sweatcoin. Most of these goods and services are related to promoting a healthy lifestyle. You have to be 13 or older to sign up.

The third best money making app for teens is Slidejoy. This app adds advertisements to your phone’s lock screen.

Each time you check your phone, you’ll see a new ad or promotion.

Slide left to learn more information about the ad. Swipe up to view another one. Or slide right to access your home screen.

Slidejoy is only available for Android users, and you have to be at least 13 to participate.

You can cash out rewards via PayPal, or donate your earnings to one of Slidejoy’s charity programs.

Ready to ditch debt, save money, and build real wealth? Download my FREE Ultimate Guide to Personal Finance.

Selling Your Stuff

You probably have stuff laying around that you could sell to earn some extra cash.

Here are some ideas:

TV and Movie Memorabilia

Sports Cards

Clothes

Sneakers

Video Games and Consoles

Bicycles and Strollers

Toys and Action Figures

Collectibles

Old or Vintage Electronics

Books or Box Sets

There are a couple different apps you can use, depending on what you’re selling.

The OfferUp app is perfect for selling your used stuff to people in your area. Think of this app as a hybrid between Craigslist and eBay.

You have to be at least 13 to sign up. Then, simply upload some pictures, a description, and set your price. Everything from appliances to clothing and cars is available on OfferUp.

If you want your listing to get more views, you can pay to promote it.

Historically, you had to meet up with buyers in-person to complete the transaction. But OfferUp recently added a shipping feature that facilitates sales nationwide.

You could also use OfferUp to buy items for cheap and then flip them to turn a profit.

Poshmark allows users (over the age of 13) to list their items on the website. Once you sign up for an account, snap a photo of the item you want to sell, include a description, and set a price. The app even lets you host a party so you and your friends can list like-items together. Poshmark supplies the box and postage for free! There’s no charge for listing your items, but once you sell them there is a $2.95 fee for items under $15 and a 20% fee on items over $15.

Become an Influencer

Before you scoff, do you know how much money influencers can make? It’s a legitimate career choice now. If you want to become an influencer, you have a couple of different options.

Start a YouTube Channel

YouTube is one of the heavy weights for making money. Simply start a channel, upload videos, and try to get as many video views as possible.

This strategy will take some time, and you’ll have to build up your personal brand so you can increase your subscriber base. There are 5 ways to make money from YouTube, and each has specific eligibility requirements:

Ads

Channel memberships

Merchandise

Super chat and super stickers

YouTube Premium

If you think this would be a good option for you, check out this post on How to Make Money on Youtube.

Become an Instagram Influencer

If you decide to start a YouTube channel, you may want to use Instagram as part of your strategy. But you can also earn money on Instagram alone.

The key is followers: If you get enough followers, you can become a brand ambassador or affiliate partner with companies. Some programs pay a one-time fee per referral, or others are structured as ongoing revenue for the lifetime of your contract.

But the most common way they’ll pay you? Free stuff. It takes a lot of time and followers to actually start making money. When I first hit 100,000 followers on Instagram, the ‘offers’ I got were ridiculous.

So if you want to earn a legitimate income, you’ll have to get even bigger. Or you can forget about selling other people’s stuff, and focus on creating and marketing your own products through your channel. That’s the strategy I’ve gone with. (If you want to see what I mean, check out my instagram.)

Bonus: Having more than one stream of income can help you through tough economic times. Learn how to start earning money on the side with my FREE Ultimate Guide to Making Money

Start a Twitch Account

Twitch pays you for playing video games. Yes parents, that’s a real job now. More specifically, you get paid if enough people want to watch you play games.

Twitch players stream video of themselves playing games, and those who watch them donate money directly, purchase subscriptions, or watch ads.

A player with one of the biggest followings, Richard “Tyler” Blevins, reportedly made $5.4 million in 2018.

If you want to make that kind of money, you have to build up a big audience, which isn’t easy. Learn more about how to get started from this post: How to Make Money on Twitch.

Earn Scholarships

While this isn’t technically a ‘job’, if you need to earn money for college it’s a great way to spend your time. If you’re a high school student, you have a lot of scholarship resources available to you. They can be broken up into five areas:

High school career centers

Library and bookstore

Scholarship search sites

Ethnic organizations

Friends and family

With these resources, you’ll be able to earn thousands of dollars in scholarship money. Here’s how:

Once you’ve looked at all the scholarships you can through the aforementioned resources, you can turn to different search engines and websites that can help you find scholarships.

Many of them even include features that allow you to search for specific criteria like:

School-specific scholarships

Amount of money earned

GPA requirements

Essay requirements

You can set up email alerts so that you are automatically notified when the sites find scholarships that fit your specific needs.

Here are a few suggestions for great sites to help you look for scholarships:

Fastweb.com

Scholarships.com

Chegg.com

There are also many scholarships that are ethnicity-based, meaning that you’ll have to be a certain race or background in order to qualify for the scholarship.

A few suggestions:

Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund

The United Negro College Fund

The Hispanic Scholarship Fund

Irish ancestry scholarships

German ancestry scholarships

Of course, simply fitting the racial criteria for ethnicity-based scholarships isn’t enough. You’re going to have to knock the application out of the park (more on that later).

If you want to learn how to crush your scholarship applications, check out my post on How to Get Scholarships.

Bonus:Becoming a great student is all about building good habits. If you want to learn how to build good habits and break bad ones, download my Ultimate Guide to Habits.

Start Earning Even More

We’ve gone over many options for jobs you can do online as a teenager. These are a great place to start, and you’ll be able to enjoy the freedom of having your own money.

But if you want to start earning at a higher level, it’s never too early to start a side hustle or small business. If you’re curious about earning more, take my earning potential quiz below. It’ll give you even more ideas on how you can take your skills and turn them into cash.

The Best Online Jobs for Teens is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

The Best Online Jobs for Teens published first on https://justinbetreviews.tumblr.com/

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paulckrueger · 4 years ago