#nah i had to tell the teacher because i know for sure that we have at least 6 people struggling with depression

[butchlifeguard]

vital part of the Kids Cant Read discourse thats KILLING ME is that the only opinions we see are from english teachers. this is fine when the discussion is ostensibly about literacy but i think we should pass the phone to math teachers and computer science teachers. because im a little suspicious that the focus on stem for the past 20+ years could be a contributing factor

[liberty-spiked]

my teacher told us her worst experience as a teacher - she had a young man kill himself for being gay. a classmate decided its the perfect time to make fun of homosexuals and suicidal people. i yelled at that little brat :)

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for turning someone in for academic dishonesty?

I’m an American IB diploma candidate, and this ask does center around that, so sorry if we all just sound unbearably seventeen-years-old.

If you don’t know what the IB diploma is, think of it as if you had to write a bunch of essays and take a bunch of classes and do a bunch of service hours and then take AP tests on all those classes and add the AP scores together, and if they add up to a certain number, you get a special diploma that looks good to colleges.

Only eight people in the entire grade (we’re seniors and our exams are happening so we’re at the very end) are left in the IB diploma program right now because we made it this far and are all hoping our exam scores and essays. The program isn’t super popular at our school so we tend to have to mostly prepare ourselves for exams and such, so we’re all very proud of ourselves for getting this far and hoping that when our scores come out we get the diploma.

In short, we’ve done TONS of work. TONS OF WORK. And we haven’t received the amount of support that some IB schools are able to give. And suddenly, one of the IB diploma candidates admits in the group chat, “yeah, chatgpt wrote all of my IB essays.” If you know stuff about IB, she explicitly admitted to cheating on her Extended Essay, TOK Essay, TOK exhibition, Chemistry HL IA, History HL IA, Literature HL Essay, and Art HL Comparative Study.

That’s hours and hours and hours and hours of work that the rest of the diplomats candidates did that she’s just flippantly admitting she let an AI do for her.

but…….it also wasn’t really any of my business. So I wasn’t sure whether I should tell or not—especially since I’m the known goody-two-shoes of the group and I didn’t want to be viewed as a tattletale.

I asked two of the diploma candidates I’m friends with what they thought. One of them said “don’t be a snitch,” and the other said she wasn’t sure and kinda felt like I should talk. So… split response.

I was leaning towards “don’t be a snitch,” but eventually I just felt really indignant that this girl and I might receive the same end result for doing wildly different amounts of work. And I had evidence that she cheated—she admitted it herself. So I went to the school’s IB coordinator and I talked. I showed the screenshot. I essentially betrayed one of the candidates in a very tight knit group of students who are all breaking our backs to get this diploma with little to no IB-specific support from our teachers (our classes are all co-seated with non-IB-test-takers, who take up most of the class, which is an entirely different issue), but now it turns out one of us wasn’t even doing the work the whole time…

So I did it and it went to the administration and they’re “deciding how to proceed.”

Reason I’m worried I’m TA: she trusted us with that information and I told on her

Reason I think I might not be TA: it feels unfair that we should have the same shot at getting the IB diploma when the nights I stayed up crafting the perfect extended essay were the same nights she asked chatgpt to write her an essay and then moved on with her life and somehow did it well enough to not get caught.

AITA?

[p0orbaby]

Squirrel? Squirrel!

summary: at this point, people just let you do what you want

warnings: nil

a/n: thanks for the request !

word count: 1.1k

-

You don’t remember the exact moment you decided that today was the day to catch a squirrel, but here you are, sprinting across the training grounds like a maniac. The squirrel, to its credit, looks mildly concerned, as if it didn’t sign up for this level of cardio.

Which it didn’t, but that’s none of your business.

“Why are you chasing a squirrel?” Leah shouts, barely managing to keep the exasperation out of her voice. She’s sometimes captain, which means she’s sometimes responsible for keeping things under control, a job made infinitely harder by your presence.

“I’m trying to help him,” you yell back, leaping over a stray football like you’re in some kind of Olympic hurdling event. “He looks lost!”

“Does he? Does he really?” Leah sounds like a woman on the edge, which is fair, because you’ve spent the last week convincing the new physio that the ice baths were secretly filled with pickled onions.

You’re aware that you’re the class clown of the team. If there were a formal title for it, it’d be embroidered on your jersey right under your number. The physio had been an easy target—too earnest, too eager to believe that a teenager could be trusted with serious information. You had explained with a straight face that, at Arsenal, there was a tradition of bathing in vinegar to promote circulation, and you had never seen someone look so horrified in your life. To your credit, you almost felt bad.

But not really.

Beth jogs up alongside you, her face equal parts amused and concerned, which seems to be the default expression of everyone when you’re around. “You know you’re gonna have to explain this one to Kim, right?”

“Kim loves me,” you reply, ducking as the squirrel makes a sharp turn towards the goalposts. “I’m like the daughter she never wanted”

“That’s definitely one way to put it,” Beth says, laughing as she matches your pace, which is not difficult because the squirrel is now dodging the goalposts with all the grace of a drunk toddler. “But seriously, what’s the plan here?”

The plan, if you could call it that, involves cornering the squirrel, giving it a lecture on the importance of proper nutrition (because that acorn it’s gnawing on looks suspiciously expired), and then setting it free like a wildlife warrior.

You don’t tell Beth this, though. You’ve learned that it’s best to keep your more ambitious plans to yourself until the very last minute, preferably right before they inevitably fail spectacularly.

“Improvisation is key,” you say instead, sounding like every PE teacher who’s ever tried to make dodgeball sound like a legitimate sport.

The squirrel skids to a stop by the water cooler, possibly considering hydration as a valid life choice, and you seize the opportunity to lunge at it. You miss by a good three feet, landing on the grass in a sprawl that would be embarrassing if it weren’t so common in your daily life.

From your new vantage point, you notice Lia sitting on the bench, watching the entire scene with the air of someone who has seen too much to be shocked by anything anymore. She’s eating an apple, slowly, methodically, like this is just another Tuesday.

“Need a hand?” she calls out, voice dripping with the kind of dry humor that you both appreciate and aspire to.

“Nah, I’m good,” you reply, dusting yourself off as you get back to your feet. The squirrel is now halfway up a tree, looking smug, which feels like a personal attack. “I’ve got him right where I want him”

“Yeah, sure looks like it,” Leah says, finally catching up to you. She’s slightly out of breath, and you make a mental note to tease her about her fitness levels later, but right now you’ve got bigger fish to fry, or squirrels to catch.

“Maybe we should let the squirrel go,” she suggests, putting a hand on your shoulder in a gesture that could either be comforting or restraining. You’re not entirely sure. “You know, before Jonas comes out and realises his star winger is trying to wrestle woodland creatures”

You consider this for a moment. The squirrel does seem pretty intent on staying in the tree, and you’re not sure how much longer you can keep up this level of enthusiasm. Plus, your last run-in with Jonas had involved a lengthy discussion about the dangers of free-climbing the goalposts after you’d tried to prove a point about your superior upper body strength.

“Fine,” you say with a sigh that’s more dramatic than necessary. “But only because I don’t want to give Kim another heart attack”

“Very noble of you,” Beth says, patting your back like you’ve just made a grand sacrifice.

You start to walk back towards the training pitch, the squirrel now a distant memory as you begin plotting your next escapade. Maybe something involving the team bus and a few dozen helium balloons.

As you’re contemplating the logistics, Leah pulls out her phone, probably to text Kim that the squirrel incident has been safely contained. “You’re a menace, you know that?”

“I prefer ‘misunderstood genius,’” you reply, grinning as you start jogging backwards, a skill you’ve mastered purely for moments like this.

“Sure, and I’m the Queen of England,” Leah retorts, finally cracking a smile.

“Does that make me the royal jester?” you ask, doing a little bow as you reach the training pitch.

“More like the royal pain in my-”

“Language, Leah!” you interrupt, mockingly covering your ears. “There are children present!”

“Yeah, one of them’s standing right in front of me,” Leah shoots back, but she’s laughing now, and you know you’ve won this round.

As the rest of the team regroups, you spot Kim making her way over, her expression a mixture of bemusement and something that might be resignation. You wonder how many more years you’ve shaved off her life expectancy.

“Y/N, do I even want to know?” She asks, though you suspect he already knows the answer.

“Probably not,” you admit cheerfully, shrugging like the whole thing is no big deal. “But I’m open to discussing it over lunch”

Kim sighs deeply, the kind of sigh that says she’s seriously reconsidering her life choices. “Just…try to focus on the actual training today, alright?”

“Absolutely,” you say with a solemn nod, crossing your fingers behind your back where she can’t see them.

As the team heads back to practice, you catch Beth giving you a knowing look. “What?” you ask, feigning innocence.

“I’m just wondering what you’ll come up with next,” she says, shaking her head in amusement.

“Oh, don’t worry,” you reply, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. “I’ve got plenty more where that came from”

[yelenasdiary]

for the a widows sunshine series what about when y/n’s school is having like one of those parent days where the kids parents come to the school to do fun activities and natasha has to tell her that she can’t make it because of work or something like that and y/n is really sad about that.

so instead wanda surprises her by showing up for her which makes y/n really excited. i didn’t have a specific age in mind but maybe this could be for the 5-10 age range.

Afternoon Tea Party

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Daughter! Reader, Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Summary: When your mom can’t get out of work for a kindergarten event, Wanda takes it upon herself to surprise you. 

Tiny Angst, Comfort

Warnings: None | 0.9K

AC: Thank you for sending this! Reader is 5 in this, perfect for just before they call Wanda ‘mama’ at age 6! I hope you enjoy this! x 

A Widow’s Sunshine Masterlist

“Rough night?” Wanda asked Natasha while the red head poured herself a mug of coffee. “Nah, I just dropped Y/n off at kindergarten and spend 20 minutes in the parking lot to get her to stop crying before I walked her in” Natasha replied, sipping her coffee. 

“Is she okay?” Wanda asked.

“She has this afternoon tea thing, and I can’t get out of training the new recruits so I can’t go. She was really excited about it” Natasha explains, sighing to herself knowing she had let her daughter down. “Why don’t I go? I mean, only if you’re okay with it” Wanda suggested, causing a soft smile to tug at Nat’s lips. 

“You would do that?” She asked. 

“Of course, I’d love too” the brunette smiled. Nat kissed her softly, “you are a life saver, thank you! It starts at 1pm, take my credit card and buy a fruit salad or something to take” she replied. 

“Don’t stress, I’ve got this. You on the other hand, don’t need this” Wanda said, taking the coffee from Nat’s hand, “you only drink more than one cup of coffee when you’re stressed, have some juice or water and leave the rest up to me!” She added. 

----

You, along with your other classmates helped the teacher set up the family event by placing a spread of snacks on the table for guests to help themselves too. You wished your teacher would let you sit in her office to draw while everybody else had fun but your teacher said no and encouraged you to take part in the event. 

As parents started to arrive, you only got sadder knowing that you’d be one of the only students without your parent showing up. It was moments like these that you hated your mother’s job and didn’t understand why she couldn’t come. 

Quietly, you snuck off to the corner of the classroom where the books were and made yourself comfortable on one of the beanbags and looked at the picture book in hopes of ignoring the event taking place around you. 

“What are you reading there?” A familiar voice made you look up from the picture book. 

“Wanda!!” You jumped up, dropping the book and instantly giving her a tight hug, “are you here for afternoon tea?” You asked, looking up at her. 

“I sure am! I even brought some apple and orange slices; can you show me where I can put them?” Wanda asked with a soft smile. You took her free hand and took her to the snack table where she placed the fruit slices down. “Over here we have drinks you can help yourself too! Do you want a drink?” You asked, full of happiness. 

Wanda loved seeing how happy and excited you were for her to be here, “Sure! I could do with a drink” she replied before you rushed over to the drinks table and waited for Wanda to help you pour some juice for the two of you. 

After you and Wanda enjoyed your juice, you took Wanda to the wall where plenty of artwork was hanging, you showed her the painting of the beach you had painted a few days ago before showing her the robot you made from boxes which you named uncle tony. 

“And this is a folder is all about me!” You said, giving her the folder with your name on the front that you had proudly decorated. Just as Wanda started to have a good look through the folder, one of your teachers had announced that it was time to take your family member or family friend to one of the activity tables to take part in. You had your eyes set on the paper puppet making table and quickly grabbed Wanda’s hand before rushing over to the table. 

You grabbed a piece of green A4 paper while Wanda grabbed a pink piece of paper. “I’m going to make a frog!” You beamed as you reached for a piece of red paper. Wanda smiled softly before she had a quick look over the instructions sheet, once she had an idea of how to make a paper puppets, she offered to fold your green paper as shown in the instructions.

“What are you going to make Wanda?” You asked, using the kid friendly scissors to begin cutting out the shape of your frog’s tongue. 

“I think I might make a little bunny” Wanda replied as she finished up folding the green paper for your frog. “I like bunnies! I wish I could have one as a pet, but mommy says we can’t have pets in our new home” you replied.

“An apartment is no place for a bunny, maybe you could ask to keep one at your uncle Clint’s house” the brunette suggested. You face lit up at the idea, “I’m going to ask her when I go home today!!” You smiled before reaching for the glue. 

Wanda helped you glue some extra pieces of paper on the head for the eyes and even helped you cut out some white and black circles to make the eyes, once satisfied with your frog, you wrote your name on the back and placed the crafty frog on your hand. 

“I’m going to name her Miss Hoppies!” You smiled at Wanda. 

“Miss Hoppies looks awesome! Do you think she will like being friends with Cupcake?” Wanda replied, placing the bunny puppet on her hand. You chuckled at the name Wanda had picked for her puppet, “that’s a funny name for a bunny” you said, “but I like it!” You added. 

The two of you then played with the puppets together, having Wanda surprise you made you forget the reason why your mother couldn’t come. Although you were still sad that you couldn’t do this with her, you couldn’t wait to show her the puppets you and Wanda had made.

Taglist: @koinsss | @liloandstitchstan | @marcia-maximoff | @skittlebum | @katethewritersblog | @taliiiaasteria | @nova-kyle | @daddipantherr | @riyaexee | @sgm616 | @elle161989 | @alphalesbianwolffoxdragontribrid | @mathxa | @sxlfishbrokenheart | @noturlondonboy | @lovelyy-moonlight | @ghxst-guts | 

If you want to be on the taglist for this series, please see the masterlist. It's linked at the top of this post.

[kairiscorner]

happy birthday — miles 42 x reader (birthday special)

↳ summary: miles has been really busy a lot lately, training hard under his uncle to better his tactics at fighting and balancing school and chores on top of everything, he just kind of forgets today was even special. but luckily, you don't forget your boyfriend's birthday that easily. ↳ word count: 1,916

↳ a/n: i did not realize it was my son's birthday on the third, i'm so sorry it's late SJEBCBFIVBRFVBRBVVRBO BUT I HOPE THIS IS GOOD ENOUGH TO MAKE UP FOR IT, HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY MY BOYYYY AND I HOPE YOU GUYS LOVE THIS <333

"got any idea what's up today, miles?" you asked miles with a big grin on your face as you caught miles in the halls before class began. he raised an eyebrow up at you as he glanced up at you after collecting all his books and everything else he needed for his first class of today before heading off. "um... no. is it movie night tonight? because sorry, i... i can't make it tonight, cielo." he muttered as he looked at you with eyes filled with hints of sadness and shame at not being able to hang out with you, despite really wanting to. his responsibilities as being the prowler, a student, and a son have got him really occupied lately. he can't really quit either of these full-time jobs he's got going on right now, and you couldn't blame him. you wished he went easier on himself, though, and took more breaks, took it a little easier on himself, maybe would blow off some steam from time to time and tell you at least how he feels so it doesn't bottle up inside him over time.

you held his hand and shook your head. "nah, silly, it's something more important!" you exclaimed with a grin. miles tilted his head to the side and raised his eyebrow as he looked at you with a look of confusion. "um... hmm, is it a study night? i know it's not our anniversary yet, it's not your birthday, uh..." he mumbled as he closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his head, frustrated with himself because nothing came up in his mind. he didn't think there was anything worth such importance today, though if he was being honest, he wasn't sure what date it was today; he just got by the month by remembering what tests were when, if tonight had prowler activities, or if tonight was going to be laundry night with his mom. he was honestly drawing a blank here, he needed you to give him more obvious clues to help him find out what exactly was so important about today.

you sighed as you let go of his hand and folded your arms in front of your chest. miles' eyes widened as he felt you let go of his hand, he reached out for your hand again as he stepped forward towards you. "cielo, wait! please, i... i'm sorry." he apologized first as he stepped back and took in a breath. "can you just, um, tell me what's up today? i'm sorry, i've just been so swamped recently, and i know that's not the best excuse, but i'm not--" he went on and on, but was interrupted by the first bell. "ay, gotta go, cielo, we can talk about this later!" miles said as he scrambled for his stuff and ran off.

you waited for miles outside of his classroom once your class ended, though he had to stay behind and ask the teachers a couple of questions and clarifications over his homework since he was having a lot of backlog due to his duties as the prowler. miles caught a glimpse of you outside, though before he could call out to you or walk over to you, the next bell rang, and you had to attend to your next class. miles couldn't focus properly, he was overthinking about whether or not he upset you, or if you were already disappointed with him forgetting what day it was today. he wasn't able to check his phone or ask for the date today since he was busy catching up with schoolwork. eventually, miles caught you at lunch, but... you were with ganke. you were huddled over with him at his table, the two of you smiling and chuckling at each other as you showed him stuff on your phone.

miles trusted ganke, and ganke expressed how he didn't have any interest in butting in between you two, but the mere sight of you with ganke–all smiles with him and laughing together, after he hadn't been able to spend much time with you recently due to his responsibilities and all–it hurt him deeply, thinking he failed you and were seeking comfort with ganke. miles walked away, hurt and sad, but angry towards himself for the most part. he ate lunch alone, just like he did before befriending ganke and meeting you, but he felt like he deserved it for pushing you aside, even if he didn't mean to and wanted nothing more than to be by your side.

as miles headed home after school, not seeing you in the halls or at the school yard as he scanned his surroundings for you, he felt super dejected and disappointed in himself. he wanted to stop thinking about his responsibilities for once and just put all his time, effort, and focus on you and only you–but he knew that would be a mere twinkle in his eye, a dream that will only remain as that, a dream. but as he entered the front door of his home, he was greeted to the voices of all the important people he had in his life, with yours ringing distinctly in his ears.

"happy birthday, miles!"

miles stiffened as he heard those two words with his name following the greeting not long after. he blinked for a few times and looked around–his mom and uncle aaron were there, so were ganke and... you. wait, could this be the super important thing you hinted about today? oh, man, did he feel like an idiot–he never thought of his own birthday as something of importance, but you... you kept thinking about him, all day. miles was speechless as you approached him, all smiles, and pecked his cheek. "happiest birthday to you, miles." you said as you pulled away and presented to him the gift you had for him. miles looked at you with a puzzled look. "cielo... for-for me?" he asked you as you chuckled and nodded. "for who else, dummy?" you asked him as miles slowly took the gift and stammered. "i... but, cielo, i don't deserve this. i've missed out on countless dates and meet-ups with you, i keep pushing you aside even though i don't wanna, i--" miles rambled on and on, beating himself up for feeling inadequate at making you happy due to his repeated absences.

before he could continue, you hugged him tightly. "and it's okay, babe. you're good. you try, and even if it doesn't work out, it's the thought that counts. i'm already happy you think of me all the time and want to spend time with me, even if you can't. i love you, miles." you tell him in a gentle voice as miles hugs you back, bringing you closer to him as he kisses your cheek. "i really love you, too, mi cielo..." he mutters as you pull away from him and lead him to the couch for him to open his gift from you.

you handed him a thick box, it was wrapped in purple wrapping paper with green accents, with a green and black ribbon to tie it up. you encouraged miles to open it as ganke filmed it, with his uncle aaron and his mom watching intently. miles was gentle in unwrapping the gift, he didn't rip it open, he wanted to feel the suspense of opening the gift you got him. soon, when he saw what was inside, he gasped loudly as his eyes went wide. he kept repeating 'wait, no...' in a breathless, excited way as he realized you bought him the sneakers he had been wanting for the longest time. he could never ask his mom to buy it for him, and he was saving up to buy them himself, but to get them from you... oh, he felt like he had ascended.

"mi cielo, no freaking way...!" he exclaimed in an overjoyed manner with slight chuckles in his voice as his smile widened as the fact you gifted him the very sneakers he had wanted for a long time sunk in and made him momentarily forget the sadness he was feeling just earlier. his uncle teased you as he wished you didn't gift him those sneakers, he'd have a new obsession for a little while and keep his eyes out for him. "that boy's gonna be wary about me, asking me if i touched them. he's gonna be real overprotective of those, especially since they came from you." his uncle aaron quipped as miles told him that wasn't true. just a little true.

miles kept thanking you and kissed you on the cheek, and as ganke was filming, he encouraged you two to share a kiss. "c'mon, you dorks! for the camera! kiss! kiss! kiss!" he chanted, with uncle aaron chanting along with him. his mother chided the two, saying you two weren't going to be doing anything of the sort in front of them, but you decided you didn't care anymore and pulled miles in for a gentle kiss. miles' eyes widened even more as you kissed him, and though his mother cried out in surprise, with his uncle clapping and chuckling as ganke cheered for you two, he found himself not wanting to pull away and kissed you back.

miles pulled away and gazed at you, a smirk growing on his face as he kissed your cheek. "oh, how did i get so lucky? how could i have you, mi cielo? you know, i'll stop being too serious, you're the only lucky break i have from all the chaos in my life. i promise you, though, i'll make up for all the time that should've been just ours together. i swear, i'll make this place safer for you, i promise." he said as he interlocked his hand with yours, clutching the shoe box in his other hand. he kissed your lips and pulled away, causing you to giggle and get flustered. "i'll hold you to that, miles. but please... don't hesitate to come to me, talk to me, or do anything with me. i love you, babe, i don't mind if you miss a few dates or meet-ups, just be safe out there..." you whispered to him with a smile.

his mother retreated to grab a glass of wine as his uncle called out to her to save him a glass, with ganke chuckling as he saved the footage and teased you two lovebirds. "this... has got to be the best birthday ever." miles gushed as he ran a hand through your hair. you chuckled as you fidgeted with the end of his left braid in your hand. "even with your uncle and mom watching us kiss, with ganke filming all of it, probably never gonna let us live it down...?" you asked as you leaned closer to kiss him again and pulling away. miles smiled sweetly at you as he answered, "really." he kissed you again, with you reciprocating his kiss. that truly was going to be a birthday he'll remember, and he's gonna make sure he keeps his promises to you and work hard to earn your love and pay you back for the gift you gave him. though if you were to ask him, the only gift he really wanted was just to... hold you close, hear your voice, and just be with you on his birthday and for all the birthdays there were to come in the future with you, his sweetheart.

tags !! @k4tsu3 @fiannee @luvstarrstruck @toneystank-3000 @ii01vq @maxoloqy @pixqlsin @solecitoszn @q2ie @zalayni @anikaluv

[janeyseymour]

Dancing On My Own (Tiesto Remix)

Summary: You're a Cowboys fan in Eagles territory. Melissa finds out.

WC: ~2.05k

You have a secret- a deep, dark secret that you never ever want your fiery, die hard Eagles fan girlfriend to find out. You’re terrified of what will happen if she does. You’re a Dallas Cowboys fan. Okay, so maybe you were a second-hand Cowboys fan, but your dad bought you one of the jerseys because he absolutely adores them. And when you go home to Texas (how you ended up in the one state, one city that hates Dallas more than anything, you’ll never know), your dad always drags you to a game.

Upon moving to Philly, you took down every indication that you would ever associate yourself with the team that the Eagles love to hate. You couldn’t risk becoming an outcast before you even start your new life here.

And it did you good. You somehow land in the heart of the city, and you work for a school that absolutely bleeds Philadelphia. The principal adores the Eagles, Mr. Johnson is constantly yelling ‘Go Birds!’, Janine has a few trinkets in her room for each of the Philly Sports teams… even Gregory has come around to love Gritty. And then there’s Melissa Schemmenti. She’s had to go to court for throwing a corn cob at Ben Simmons when he pissed her off, she has ins with those who worked the demolition at the Linc,  she’s a season ticket holder for the Phillies and the Eagles… and she absolutely detests the Cowboys- more than most Eagles fans too. She’s gotten into more trouble for heckling the Dallas team than she’s willing to admit- knocking over portapotties when Cowboys fans are in them, throwing Philly cheesesteaks, hurling eggs and Molotov cocktails at the bus. 

And yet, she’s your girlfriend. How? You’re nearly perfect. You’re smart, you’re funny, you can sing and play instruments to make her swoon, you’re a wonderful teacher and great with the kids, and you’re more than easy on the eyes. And that was what she knew of you before she fell madly in love with you. 

With the season coming up, your girlfriend is more than excited. She’s been waiting for the season tickets to go on sale, but even then… if she doesn’t get them the legal way, she knows a guy.

She does end up getting them. Of course she does. And as soon as she does, she’s coming into the teachers lounge doing her happy dance and making her way over to you. She kisses you soundly before proclaiming that she is 100% taking you to an Eagles game.

“And,” she notes. “I’m gonna make sure it’s a good one… Eagles versus the fuckin’ Cowgirls! Go birds!”

She’s met with a chorus of ‘Go birds!’ right back, but you stay quiet.

She turns to you with a curious look, amused grin now gone. “Babe, aren’t you excited?!”

You shrug. “I just… haven’t ever really been into football?” you offer weakly.

“Well, I’m gonna make sure that you have a great time there. I’m gonna get you an Eagles jersey, a Jalen Hurts one, and you’re gonna have the damn time of your life!”

Again, you shrug your shoulders, looking unsure.

“Aye, if she ain’t gonna use the ticket for good, I’m right here!” Mr. Johnson points to himself. “You know we’ll have a good time.”

“Nah, Mr. J,” your girlfriend rolls her eyes. “I’m taking Y/N, and she’s gonna leave the Linc a die hard Eagles fan, right?” She looks at you in a way that tells you there’s no convincing her otherwise unless you want to out yourself right now as a fan of the Cowboys.

You just nod, knowing you can’t have this conversation in public- you do not want to be shunned by the rest of your coworkers. You could potentially lose this job; Ava has fired people for less despite the fact that she really couldn’t afford to fire them and that’s why both you and Melissa are teaching two different grades at a time.

That’s the end of that conversation.

Until she comes over to your apartment that night, ready to cook dinner for you and stay over. 

“You gonna tell me why you got so weird about going to a football game with me? Is it because we might see our students at the game?” she asks. “Because if it is, I promise you… you know Philly is pretty cool about LGBT stuff.”

“I know, I know,” you say softly. “I’ve just… could we go to a baseball game instead?” You never pledged your allegiance to any baseball team, so you would be willing to wear a Harper or Nola jersey.

“I mean, I could get us tickets to a game,” she tells you as she puts the meat into the pan to start cooking. “But I really love football and the Eagles, and that’s something I want to share with you.”

“Does it have to be a game with the Cowboys?” you ask.

She turns to you at that. “Those are the best games.”

“I-” you sigh. Deciding to just rip off the bandaid, you take off the Abbott sweatshirt that you’re wearing to reveal the Day Prescott jersey your dad had given you the last time you visited your hometown. 

Her jaw drops, and her eyes fill with a fire. “When the fuck were you gonna tell me that you were the enemy?” she seethes.

“Mel,” you say softly, trying to calm her down.

“Don’t ‘Mel’ me right now,” the redhead hisses. “What the fuck?! What the actual fuck?!”

“Melissa, honey,” you continue. “Please-”

“I- no,” she stops you from getting any closer to her when you attempt. “Don’t. Don’t you even fucking dare.”

She’s out of your house before you can say anything else, and the only thing that you can hear is the flank steak sizzling quietly in the pan on the stove.

When you get to school the next day, you head straight for her room to try to talk to her again.

“Melissa,” you knock on the door, a cup of her favorite coffee in your hands as a peace offering.

“No.”

You set the warm drink on her desk, which she promptly smacks into the garbage can under her desk. She stands hastily and storms out of the room in the direction of the staff room.

“Melissa, please!” you beg as you chase after her. “Please!”

“I have nothing to say to you,” she hisses as she rips her arm away from you when you catch her gently. She storms into the break room and heads right for the coffee mugs.

“Please!” your voice cracks, and everyone that is already gathered there turns at the commotion.

“Ooh,” Ava says. “Trouble in paradise. Spill.”

“This one-” your girlfriend, if she even still is after your reveal last night, points to you and looks at you with disgust. “-is a Cowgirls fan, and decided not to let me know until last night!”

“Boo!” Mr. Johnson heckles you. You give him a nearly murderous look.

“Just let me explain!” you plead.

“You have nothin’ to explain! You’re a traitor!” the redhead barks at you before turning back to the mugs. She slams the door as she closes it, slams her coffee mug down on the counter, and storms her way to her seat next to Barbara. She makes it so that there is absolutely no way you could sit next to her.

All eyes are on you, and you hate it. So you do what you know how to do: run.

You avoid the second grade teacher at all possible costs for the next few days, giving her the chance to cool down. Finally, at the end of the week, you attempt to talk to her.

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” she huffs. She doesn’t even bother looking up from her nails. She doesn’t even give you the chance to explain yourself. “I ain’t dating no Cowgirl.”

You cry the entire way home. You lost your girlfriend, and all because of some stupid football team.

You call your father that night, a sobbing mess.

“You were dating an Eagles fan?!”

“Dad,” you cry. “Please. I don’t- I just need you to tell me that it’s all going to be okay.”

“It is,” he promises you. “But, seriously?”

You hang up on him.

He calls back a few minutes later, apologizing for his words. You forgive him of course. You love your father more than anything. 

“If you really love her, you’ll get her back… even if it means you betray our team,” he tells you.

“R-really?” you whisper.

“You’re in Philly now,” your dad sighs softly. “If you can’t beat ‘em, and the lord knows you can’t because no one can beat Philly fans, join ‘em.”

That’s all you need to hear to know what you’re going to do. “Thank you, Dad.”

“Of course, kiddo. Just know that when you come home to visit, you are back on my team.”

“I know,” you chuckle through your tears. “But if I bring Mel back home, there is to be absolutely no football talk.”

“Deal,” he laughs. “I’m not trying to get our house lit on fire.”

You thank him again, tell him you love him and hang up. 

That weekend, you go out and buy a bunch of Philadelphia sports apparel; your credit card statement this month is going to be a doozy. But if it means you’ll get Melissa back, it’ll be worth it.

On Monday, you show up in your baseball gear, rooting for the Phillies as they play against the Cincinnati Twins. It gets the redhead’s attention, just slightly. But she turns her head when you look in her direction.

You wear your Flyers gear the next day. That gets Gregory’s attention.

The Sixers are the next. Janine grins.

You had even bought a Philadelphia Union jersey that you wear on Thursday. Jacob tells you how massively underrated they are and that he thinks they deserve to have a bigger following.

When you come in on Friday, not clad in Eagles gear like Melissa thought you would be, that is the final straw for her. She has you backed into a corner telling you that you can pretend to bleed Philly all you want, but at the end of the day you’re just a traitor.

You let her get up in your face, red with anger. You know that you didn’t wear it because you’re saving it for Monday- when they play.

You actually managed to get a ticket to the game, one next to hers- not that she knows it. You thank Barbara profusely when she’s able to get you the name of Melissa’s guy and where her tickets for this game are. Your plan is to show up in your new Jalen Hurts jersey that you spent a fortune on and win her back. You don’t want to lose her. Never. 

You race home after school to change out of your green shirt that you wore to school and into your Hurts jersey and a pair of leggings. You grab the baseball cap that you bought and pop it on your head before heading out to your car.

You park your car for the ridiculous amount of money they’re charging before going to find your seat. 

As you approach though, you see someone new with Melissa- someone you’ve never seen before. She has an arm around the woman’s waist like the way she used to hold you. You convince yourself it’s just a friend and continue on your way to your seat. But then she plants a kiss to the new woman’s lips, and your world shatters.

You might be at a football game, but you should be at a Phillies game with their unofficial anthem playing.

I'm in the corner, watching you kiss her, oh no

And I'm right over here, why can't you see me? Oh no

And I'm giving it my all

But I'm not the guy you're taking home, ooh

I keep dancing on my own

So far away, but still so near

The lights come on, the music dies

But you don't see me standing here

[heyits481]

“Why do you do that?”

The tone is slightly annoyed, but nothing too concerning. Oscar takes a breath and turns, tries to settle his face in an expression that doesn’t come off as too defensive. “Do what?”

Lando doesn’t look as closed off as Oscar was imagining he’d be, if anything the slight blush to his cheeks makes him look bashful, like Oscar had just snapped at him and not the other way around.

“You know fill in stuff for me. Or, like, give me the pronouncing.” Lando rubs at one of his eyes.

“Pronunciation.” Oscar corrects automatically before he can stop himself, regretting it immediately when Lando’s blush deepens and his gaze drops to the floor. “Yeah. That.” It’s mumbled out so quietly Oscar can hardly hear. When Lando gets like this it’s hard for Oscar to not pull Lando into his arms and kiss him until he’s grinning again, but George exiting through the press conference room doors and brushing past them in the hallway reminds Oscar that it isn’t really the time or place.

He taps Lando’s race boot with his own. “I just want to help you I guess. I don’t really notice I do it sometimes.” He rubs at his neck. “Do you want me to stop?”

Silence for a moment and then the tap of Lando’s foot against his own. “Nah. I guess I just don’t want you to think I’m dumb or something.” And that’s, Oscar racks his brain for how he can tell Lando that’s not it at all.

“That’s not it at all.” There’s a slight lift of the shoulder from Lando but his eyes remain glued to the floor. “Lando. I think you’re incredibly smart. Come on, you have to know that.” Lando’s eyes meet his then, big and beautiful and sad. “I’m not though.” He sniffs, then huffs out a breath like he’s annoyed with himself. “Don’t lie. You know you’re smarter than me, I didn’t even finish school. I don’t know anything.”

Oscar takes a risk, glancing around before he brushes his fingers over the back of Lando’s hand. “That’s not-” He stops himself then, because he doesn’t want to lie and he genuinely does think he’s smarter than Lando when it comes to school knowledge. “There’s different ways to be smart.” He finishes instead.

A short laugh from Lando, almost more of intake of breath than anything. Oscar thinks maybe Lando really is mad at him now, but his nerves calm slightly when Lando pushes the back of his hand into Oscar’s palm, smushing Oscar’s pinky between his index and middle fingers. “That’s what smart people say when they think you’re dumb but don’t want you to feel bad.” His tone is more dejected than anything.

Oscar groans. “Piss off Lando. You know what I mean. You’re knowledgeable about the car, how to make it better, you’re loads better at hands on stuff and your businesses than I am at things like that- we’ll be standing here for hours if I list off everything you’re smart about.” Lando rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling and Oscar knows he’s pleased. “I mean it, I’ll stop helping if you want me to.”

Lando shakes his head quickly. “No, I like when you do, when you’re paying attention or like- I just didn’t want you to think that I’m-” “I don’t.” Oscar interrupts. Doesn’t know if he can handle hearing Lando say the words “I’m dumb” one more time.

The sound of voices coming from the conference room grows, signaling that the hallway will soon be overrun with reporters. Oscar drops his hand away from Lando’s. “But hey.” Oscar leans in to whisper, “If you're in the mood for a lesson, why don’t we head back to my drivers room and I can teach you a thing or two.”

Lando’s eyes widen at his words before crinkling when he breaks out the cheeky smile Oscar loves so much. “Nah Osc, if that’s the topic I’m pretty sure you’re the one who’ll be learning.”

And yeah, Oscar likes helping Lando with his words, but if Lando wants to be the teacher now and then he’s certainly not going to complain.

[leilanising]

Okay, I just finished watching Transformers One, and this is my take on it. so buckle in, cause this is gonna get deep

Warning for spoilers. Seriously, if you have not watched. Do not read

First things first. The movie is GREAT! I'm loving the animation style and lore, take that bayverse! This is definitely gonna give new fans a fantastic idea of transformers at its finest. I'm so excited for the new generation of transformers fans that are gonna be raised on this

Me and @fusciaguardian had actually been talking about how a new transformers movie should turnout, before the trailers had even come out. It's the funniest thing, cause we had both agreed that it should go back before the war, and take lots of notes from Transformers Prime. And look at this! A dude from the prime team literally designed the thing, and it was staged before the war!!

Gotta say, I rlly love the lore and history for cybertron. it makes sense, and it goes in a understandable line. It includes all the important aspects of the Transformers universe, like the quintissons, the evil system that lead to Megatron's motivation, and sentinel prime being a jerk XD

But like seriously, stop making main female characters pink. Idk, MAKE THEM RED, MAKE THEM MULTICOLORED. Like seriously, both Arcee and Elita-1 are main female leads and are still pink. Why has nobody fixed this? TFP was onto something, Arcee looked great blue! And Beast wars the movie made Arcee red! Those are great color choices!

I guess this is prolly where we go into everything that went wrong with the movie.

Like serious, everything was great until Orion Pax decided to suddenly be the 'better person' and stop D-16 from taking out the jerk that literally abused and hurt an entire planet of people! Like, if megayron didn't do it, then I'm sure the 100 million other cybertronians who just realized their entire life was a lie would like to step. LIKE SERIOUSLY ORION. YOU REALLY MESSED UP

and the whole 'leadership' thing at the beginning. Like seriously pax, just cause D-16 wasn't following your orders and going along with your plan (like why even would he? He has literally been the brunt of everything that you messed up. Like that time you stepped out of line, he took the punch for you) and because 'oh no' dark music was playing, didn't mean D-16 was doing anything wrong. He had literally just had his life turned upside down. He was gonna step up, and do something about it. What did you think Pax? That you were gonna be the leader? Well sorry, but the world doesn't always revolve around the white boys.

I just really hated that part. They didn't have to make it like that. Like oh noes, foreshadowing NAH. NAH BRO. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG HAPPENING HERE.

Orion just really messed up. Everything after that point just went to disaster and rubbish. Like, at the end, nobody saw what D-16 did. Nobody knew how he stepped up for his people. How he lead, what he did. And Pax is never gonna tell him. Pax knows what D-16 went through. He knew his best friend was hurting, and he turned on him. And you know what he did afterward? He basically became the next Sentinel Prime. He kept the system that was hurting people in place, and kept information from the public. He didn't tell then what really happened. He painted a pretty picture: Prime good. Megatron and Decepticons back. He didnt give them more options. Limited options, same system, facade of secrets and lies. He is the next Sentinel Prime.

like, not to mention, what are you gonna do about the Quintissons? They're gonna come back, and they're gonna expect their shipload of energon.

Like seriously, what were the Primes even thinking?! Of course they would go for Pax, the teachers pet, lucky little white boy that gets everything without having to work for it like D-16 had to.

But that aside, I've thought of at least two other ways the movie could have gone better.

Pax and D-16 work together. Pax understands D's frustration, and tells him, "you take care of Sentinel Prime, and we'll take care of broadcasting the proof." Two birbs with one stone. Pax listens to D-16's ideas, and realizes that he would make a great leader, he even tells D-16 that he would make a great next Prime. He then takes D-16's as advisor, and they plan out a new and better world together with the people. And what exactly they're gonna do with the Quintissons problem.

Elita-1 and Bee are with D-16 when it happens. Elita was hoping for a punch at Sentinel herself. She is shocked and angered when Prime decides to be a goody-two shoes. And even more horrified when he turns on his own friend. Like seriously, she knew Pax was stupid, but she didn't think he was that stupid. She runs to D-16's side, Bee following (bro rlly doesn't know what's going on, or why his friends are fighting. It makes him sad, he really thought Pax was a nice guy) Elita-1 and Bee retreat with D-16 and the Decepticons. With Prime sitting there like an idiot, being all self-pitying over why his friends are 'betraying' him. Elita and D-16 co-lead, we all know their both good leaders, and Bee is just sort of there. He's almost like the kid of the court, and sweet and innocent, everyone loves him, but he is utterly useless, and does not have a braincell to his name. But they all love him for it. The decepticons male it their goal to reveal Pax's treachery and deceit. And reveal the truth once and for all.

Thats about it, all in all, I loved the movie. Watched it with my family, my mom, my sibling, we'll all with Megatron :3

I stand with the Decepticons. Who do you stand with?

[hannahssimblr]

Full email under the cut

Beginning // Prev // Next

Sorry it took me so long to respond! It’s been busy.

Don’t worry about bringing up school. It’s okay, I want to hear about it, and I know it’s what’s going on for you right now. It’s tough, all that study and homework talk. I remember that too, but mostly I didn’t care and I didn’t do it, and the teachers couldn’t really say much about that. I’m not saying that’s what you should do, but… Oh, wow, that’s dramatic about the counsellor. Just because of some homework stuff? Have you gone? I feel like you could just say that there’s too much work and you don’t have time. It sounds like they’re treating it like some kind of emotional issue. Maybe girls schools are different in that way to mixed ones, but truly, I don’t think that anyone would have been that invested in me at my school… 

Nah, I get what you’re saying about Kelly. Even when you’re not friends with someone anymore they kinda hang around in your head. I had that with a guy at school, I felt like he sort of haunted me for a while, but it’s different now. I’m sure that when you stop seeing her, you’ll stop thinking about her too. At least that’s what happened for me. Life is different after school.

Right! You’ve hit the nail on the head. I’ve been thinking about Kasper too, and the personality that he couldn’t show us because of the language barrier. There’s this other side to it all, too, where some people speak to me in this slow, very kind way like I’m a child, even when they’re speaking English. I can tell they’re not being themselves either, and I’m just the foreign guy. That’s me. That’s my whole personality now. But it’s fine, really. I’m getting on better with Jonas, and it’s not like that with him. 

We do a lot of stuff together. He likes to go bouldering, so that’s what I do now too. We go to the gym together, go out and see live music and we’ve been swimming at this lake a little bit of a drive out of the city with a group of his friends on a semi-regular basis. Our friends, maybe. I don’t know if I can say that yet, but I’m getting to know them all a little better. 

Things are looking up, I think. Starting college in a few days so I might be slow getting back to you! Take care of yourself! 

Jude. x

[angy-grrr]

The good old conflict continues over Twitter. According to dudebros, apparently, we are the problem for Hori not making IzuOcha canon. But at the same time, IzuOcha is already canon in an 'implied' sense in the narrative, and that we are delusional for ''denying their canon romance''.

Some people are even trying to argue that Bakugo and Izuku don't have that much of a special bond or relationship. I mean... really? So we just gonna ignore the literal core part of the story, then?

They constantly like to bring the moments like the recent roof scene and how 'Ochako saved Deku when Deku lost control of the black whip'. Let's just ignore that Izuku lost control because someone insulted Bakugo and that Ochako couldn't stop Izuku, she had to get him be 'brainwashed'.

If the roof scene was The Moment, then they would have gone canon right and there, yet they didn't. Oh.... But, yeah, sorry. It's actually our fault that Hori didn't make the straight ship canon in his shounen manga.

When will they stop acting like the straights are oppressed?

BNHA 430 SPOILERS

it’s quite common for manga shonen series to canonize their het ships by showing something romantic without letting us know how they confessed, at least in the original work; they are often already married in a time skip, or they are shown together in the future while at least one of them (usually the woman) blushing, and this is bc of Japanese typical narration - its not driven by the need of a closed conclusion, usually it’s even better the more often it gets.

I recommend checking on kishotenketsu for more on this!

but anyways, the thing with ochako and Izuku is they don’t have any implied romantic moment which lets the intended audience to understand they are in a relationship -the only scene they have together alone in the time skip is with a small panel, which could be valid, but the snow doesn’t imply it’s Christmas (a romantic holiday) as they are wearing their uniforms and probably are still on campus and neither is even blushing or shown being typical teenagers in love, even tho is clear Izuku is still quite like “a boy at heart”, wanting to be called cool by his teacher at 25 (I don’t believe in the perspective many have of him getting all confident about romance and having a flirty attitude towards Ochako or anyone; there’s nothing implying he became that way). Even Ochako doesn’t have her usual blush!

Bc Mr. Compress is under it reading Spinner’s book, along with the melancholy of the winter with the harsher conditions but beautiful landscapes, it creates a bittersweet image in Japanese culture, as far as I know in my research. It’s not “the villains died but hey, the heteros are dating!”, but more about “Tenko and Himiko died, and there’s this memory about them that will always live. Wonder and snow is a time for reflection, with the possibility of a bright future, so Ochako and Izuku, while failing, still have hope to save complete strangers and inspire others to do the same”.

I think is more about them and the villains, everyone becoming heroes on their own by helping others no matter their “oficial status”. the funniest part? It could be more romantic and imply they are together quite easy if only Horikoshi decided to actually make them a duo and be basically destined to be together helping others if he didn’t choose Katsuki to fulfill that role. He could have just highlighted her with the suit thing, extend her hand, smile at him telling him to do his best, etc. But nah, let’s just have Katsuki tell him to come with him as a hero and imply they hold hands or extend their hands to the other even if they aren’t in need of saving.

Yeah, that’s bc he’s scared of shippers. Sure sure, whatever helps them sleep at night yk?

[starcrossedxwriter]

Wicked Fantasies Part 7 (MBJ x OC)

Warnings: harassment, public sex, the usual BDSM warnings apply heavilyyyy lol

A/N: Umm this is a fun one! Mostly fluff with a little drama lol We're getting into the holiday spirit with a couple time jumps so enjoyyy!

***

“I have a surprise for you,” Michael whispered, chuckling as Raven tucked herself deeper into the covers. 

They had been out at a party until late and then Michael proceeded to have his way with her at his condo until the wee hours of the morning. Her body still ached from the suspension ropes he hung her from for over an hour. It was her first introduction into true restraints and bondage and she enjoyed it far more than she thought she would. And now, all she and her limbs wanted to do was burrow in her covers and sleep all day. 

“Is the surprise a hot bath?” she called, her words still muffled by the heavy duvet cover. 

“Nah.” 

“Ok well then I hate surprises,” she mumbled, causing Michael to laugh. 

“Come on, this is a fun one. I promise!” 

She groaned and dramatically flopped the covers from over her face and pouted. “I was a really good girl last night and this is my reward? Being woken up at ungodly hours?” 

Michael raised an eyebrow and glanced down at his Apple Watch. “It’s 10 am, baby.” 

Her heart fluttered at the word baby, her eyes casting downward as she tried to limit the smile that wanted to bloom on her lips. She still was not used to it yet. To the world and everyone around them, nothing had changed. But for them, everything had changed. They were a real couple, bonafide and no longer faking or pretending. There was a new intimacy to it that she had not expected. And freedom. It was so clear to her now how much both of them had been holding back, how muted what they felt for each other truly was before. Because now, they could both experience the full breadth of their love for each other, could express it and receive it. And it made both of them wonder if they had ever experienced true romantic love before each other. Because this was everything and so much more. 

Everything felt lighter and easier. And yet, Raven could not help but feel like there was a dark cloud looming over them, a deep-seeded fear that everything she felt would be taken away. Perhaps she was just worried that, even if they were telling the truth about their romance now, they had started off as a lie. It did not seem like the steadiest of foundations. However, she chose to brush those fears aside. They were just her doubts and insecurities talking. She had never felt for a man like she felt for Michael, never felt so loved by someone. It felt good and she realized she never knew true happiness until now. Sure, there had been times when she was happy. But pure uninhibited bliss? That was only a state Michael could bring out in her. 

“So what’s this big surprise?” She asked as she stretched her body long in the bed before sliding out. 

Her slippers shuffled against the floor as she made her way to his bathroom to get ready for the day. 

“Wouldn’t be a big surprise if I told you now, would it?” 

“I hate you,” she grumbled, though the smile on her face let him know that was a complete and utter lie. 

“You weren’t sayin’ that last night… in fact, I distinctly remember making you scream the exact opposite,” he mused as his fingers played with the delicate thin strap of her night gown as he moved it to the side to press delicate kisses against her warm skin. “Over and over and over again. Maybe I need to give you a refresher.” 

She smirked and decided to play the brat, excited for where the experience could take her. “Seems like the first lesson didn’t stick… not a very  effective teacher it seems, Mr. Jordan.” 

Michael chuckled. “You’re gon’ regret that shit. But lucky for you, we gotta get to the house soon so I ain’t got time to put you in your place. But tonight, that ass is mine.” 

Raven clenched her thighs together and grinned. Of course, he was not too foolish to not realize that was the exact outcome she wanted. 

The pair listened to music as they got dressed in comfortable clothes and drove over to Michael’s family’s house. Everyone was there, hot chocolate and breakfast waiting. The entire entry way was filled with bins and boxes of ornaments, decorations, and trees. 

“What’s all this?” 

Michael smiled. “Well ma don't let December 1 pass without ensuring the house is decorated so figured you could help us out this year. I remember you tellin’ me your grandma would let you decorate her tree and thought you might like it.” 

Raven felt everything inside her melt and her eyes well up with tears. He seemed to remember literally everything she told him. 

“Y-Yea I would like that,” she offered, her throat tight as she tried not to cry. 

“Don’t cry, Rae,” he laughed, pulling her into a hug. “It was supposed to make you happy.” 

“I am happy,” she whispered pitifully as her tears stained his sweater. 

“My cute crybaby,” he kissed her on the top of her head. “Ok, no tears on decorating day or moms’ll never let you live it down. Come on.” 

Raven laughed and wiped them away before following him into the kitchen. Everyone greeted her with hugs and smiles. All of them joked around and talked as they ate the delicious breakfast Michael’s mom prepared. Raven felt as if she had gained 10 pounds since spending more time at Michael’s house.

“Ok baby girl,” Michael gestured toward the many decorations in his foyer. “You get to be creative director. We got four trees.” 

Raven’s eyes bugged out of her head. “Four trees??” 

“One in here, one in the living room, one upstairs and then one in the basement.” 

Raven let out a breathy chuckle as she took in his matter of fact tone, as if to say everyone had enough space for four trees. 

She studied the available decorations before pulling all of them out and sectioning them off. And before she knew it, Christmas music blared on the speakers and the troops went to work, decorating all four trees. Michael and Raven were in charge of the second largest one in his family room, Raven needing a ladder to decorate the full thing. 

The pair had a ball decorating, Michael thoroughly amused at Raven’s strong opinions on how to fluff out a fake tree. She had a professional eye for detail that he had not expected as she worked. But there was a playfulness to all of it, a joy that made him thankful he went this route instead of his usual. She sang loudly with the music playing, knowing every word to every song that came on. And her entire body practically bounced around as they finished their tree and she went to go help with the others. 

By the time they finished dinner and stowed away all the extra decorations and cleaned up, they were exhausted. Everyone else had gone to bed, leaving Michael and Raven on his couch with cups of hot chocolate, spiked to Michael’s preference, and a movie playing in the background. 

Raven could barely look at the movie though as her eyes kept traveling to the two trees that were within eyesight and all the random Christmas decorations they had spread across his house. She felt as if she had stepped into a winter wonderland. 

“You did a great job as creative director,” he whispered as he watched her eyes study the tree Raven was in charge of. “Still mad at this surprise?” 

It was beautiful, decorated in soft colors of white, rose, and gold with small white lights. It was not the pristine and perfectly symmetrical tree he usually had in his living room, towering and professionally decorated to the point that it could have been in a magazine. No, every aspect of the 11 ft tree was done painstakingly, in Michael’s opinion, by hand. But something about it was more beautiful than any other Christmas tree he had ever had as an adult. It was crafted with love and attention and care, it was homey and perfect. 

She smiled. “No, you were right… It was a fun one. But I know you usually hire someone to do it.” 

“Who told you that?” 

“Your dad accidentally let it slip,” she chuckled. “It’s not as good as a real decorator could do. Not as… refined or perfect,” she scoffed, bowing her head, her own insecurities seeping in. That was her too… not refined enough or good enough to be on the arm of someone like him, to be in his life in this way. He could call her his girlfriend but her doubt about whether she deserved the designation still lingered like weeds.

His finger lifted her eyes back to his. “It’s perfect… exactly what the house needed but didn’t realize.” 

She raised an eyebrow. “Don’t think we’re talkin’ about trees anymore.” 

“Don’t think we ever were,” he winked at her. 

Silence fell over them as they cuddled on the couch. Michael stared down at her, wondering if this was finally his chance. There was so much he still wanted to know about her, so much she revealed but still kept from him. He understood it but he wanted to consume every little thing there was to know about her, even the things that were hard to share. He wanted to help her carry her baggage or help her unpack it and set it down where she could. 

And there was one thing, one story, that she kept from him as much as she could. The one major thing about her life he still did not have the answer to but desperately wanted it.

“You ever gon’ tell me?” He asked quietly as Raven shifted so she was leaning her back against his chest. 

“Tell you what?” She threw him a confused glance. He knew everything worth knowing about her. 

“Why you stopped writing? You said you’d tell me one day.” 

Her face fell. She was not sure where she thought the conversation was going to go but it was not there. She supposed she was not going to be able to keep it a secret forever, particularly not when she revealed it to the whole dinner table at Thanksgiving by accident.

“Not that interesting of a story, I’m afraid.” She tried to downplay it as she shifted uncomfortably. And it wasn’t, half the women she knew had a story like hers, varying degrees of awfulness but the story was unfortunately common.

“Then tell me.” At her silence, he amended. “You don’t have to tell me anything, Rae. I just… want to know everything about you and if you’re up for sharing, I wanna hear it.” 

She sat up and turned to face him, her nails tapping against the ceramic mug as she brought her legs beneath her. 

“Just your typical ‘men ain’t shit’ story.” At his confused glance, she elaborated. “The first editor I had at my publisher was a woman and she was amazing. Worked with her on my first book and it was great. By the time it came out, we were starting to edit and refine the second and I had signed my contract for it. And… she had a baby and decided to be a stay at home mom. My new editor, this guy… he was good, great at his job. Nice enough to be unsuspecting and unassuming. But I could tell… well, I could tell he was attracted to me? Or liked me, you know? But I ignored it, figured as long as he didn’t try anything, it wouldn’t be a problem. One night, we were working late on his edits for the book and he… made a pass at me.” 

Michael’s eyes immediately darkened as if he knew exactly where the story was headed. She could immediately feel a shift in his whole demeanor, his outrage wafted off of him. And something about it was incredibly sexy… that he was so angry for her. 

She smiled. “Relax… you can put Killmonger back in his cage,” she teased with a soft smile. “He didn’t do that. I said no a-and he pushed, but I held firm. I’m not above using my body to get what I want… that much is obvious but I like for it to be my choice, not some asshole taking it away from me. Anyway, finally, he accepted that no meant no so we called it a night and I went home. All he had done was make me uncomfortable, he hadn’t hurt me or anything, so I figured he would just apologize and we’d both move on. A week later, my agent called and said that they weren’t gonna move forward with my book. I was no longer a fit for their publishing house.” 

Michael could still hear the pain and frustration that had been caused in her voice, despite her best efforts to keep the tone light. 

“The contract I signed after I submitted the draft gave them distribution rights for three years so I got a year and some change to go. I tried to think of new ideas, you know, write other stuff in the meantime but he blacklisted me from damn near every publishing house worth anything. So my agent dropped me. And then I was… just too tired to write anything after that. Like he had just taken all of life for it out of me?” She paused for a moment before continuing. “I was hoping to use the time to save up to eventually self publish the second one when I can but my family’s made that difficult,” she chuckled. “So yea… doing my 3 year bid and then I’ll be free. It won’t make me the same amount of money, but there’s freedom in self-publishing I guess. Being your own boss.” 

“I’m sorry. No one deserves that.” He figured it was something along those lines but it did not make it any easier to hear. 

She shrugged. “No, they don’t. But what can I say? I’m a magnet for shitty people.” Her tone attempted to lighten the mood but it fell flat. “Or… I dunno… too trusting of people who haven’t earned it,” she mused. “But if I wasn’t so trusting, I wouldn’t be here… with you. And I would’ve hated to miss out on this.” 

“I’d like to believe God would’ve helped us find our way to each other without you having to go through trauma and concussions,” he pushed her hair behind her ear. 

“Yea maybe. But without all that, I wouldn’t be the woman you love.” 

“How do you do that?” Michael asked quietly. 

“What?” 

“Find the silver lining in everything? One bad breakup had me showin’ my entire ass for years and you… you’ve seen the worst people have to offer. How do you even trust people after all this?” 

Raven smiled and shifted so she could straddle his hips and sit in his lap. “It’s not easy… and some days, it feels like it’s not worth it. But… you remember Monique, that dancer I told you about? Well, my first night at the club was a fuckin’ disaster. I was 18, hella green and hella naive. I made like nothing in tips cause I sucked.” Michael loved how she laughed with her whole body as she reminisced on her memories. “And this drunk asshole tried to  follow me out to my car and tried to get me to go home with him. Monique rolled up like a knight in shining armor and punched him square in the face. She gave me half her tips for the night and the next day, offered to teach me some moves and some fighting moves in case that ever happened again. The point is… For every terrible person I’ve come across that wanted to do me harm, I’ve run into someone who reminded that there’s more good out there than I know… as fuckin’ cliche as that sounds. So I just hold onto that. Just don’t… don’t ever want to be jaded? Let someone have the power to steal the inherent qualities that make me… me? No one should have that much power, you know?”

“One of the many things I love about you,” he whispered, tugging on her arm so she was in his lap. 

Hearing the word love on his lips made her heart flutter every single time. Deep down in her soul she felt it in every way. 

She rested her hands on his chest. “One of the ways? I’m that amazing??” She joked, causing him to shake his head. 

“Yea. You are that amazing. How about we take our drinks upstairs and I can tell you all the ways?” He leaned in and nipped at her earlobe with his teeth causing an ache between her legs to grow. 

“I’d rather you show me.” 

“That’s a given, baby.” 

***

Michael spied behind a bookshelf as Raven interacted with the young students filling the plush seating of the library’s gathering space. His heart wanted to burst as she talked to the students. He knew she only fell into this job as a result of a shitty situation but she was making the best of it. And he could not help but think that perhaps this was truly her calling in addition to writing. The kids seemed to love her and she seemed to love them back, all of their faces in bright smiles. 

And for the first time, he found himself wondering what she would be like as a mom. And what their kids would be like. Michael always wanted kids but he figured it would not be in the cards for him any time soon. However, Raven made him want to think about that, and want to think about a future. And now, he saw those additional grandkids his mom wanted so badly as clear as day.

He counted, the club had almost 50 kids in it. They all looked like they ranged in age from middle school aged to seniors in high school.

“I got something for y’all,” she reached behind her and pulled out a couple of boxes of neatly wrapped gift bags. “It isn’t much but… what’s our last book club meeting before the holidays without a gift??” 

The kids cheered as they all leapt out of their seats. Even he was curious as to what the gift could be. She had not even mentioned it to him. 

He could tell they were personalized in some way as she handed them out one by one, checking each gift tag to make sure each kid got the right gift. She instructed the kids to wait to rip into them. Though it was clear that was a chore for most of them. Once the last kid, who Michael recognized as Jamal who he had met once before, had his in hand, stuffing paper started to fly. 

Each kid pulled out a glittering sliver book embosser, a different book, and a handwritten card from Raven. 

“What is it?” One of the girls in the class asked as she pushed her wide framed glasses up higher on her nose. 

“You know those stickers that go on Oprah’s book club books?” All the kids nodded. “It’s like that but with your names and a bit more fun. It’s like a stamp you can put in the first page of your books. Y’all are all starting your own library collections, should have something that makes them a bit more unique. And the books are ones I think each of you would like. And the card is just a note from me ahead of the new year.” 

“It’s kinda old school but cool. Like something vintage,” another girl offered as she tested out the embosser. 

“Yea it’s like a typewriter or some shit. That’s dope, that’s dope,” Jamal remarked as he tested his out on the book in front of him. 

Michael had to stifle his own laughter so as not to give himself away as Raven facepalmed herself and laughed.

“Like a typewriter. Wow. How old do y’all think I am??” 

“You really want us to answer that?” 

She shook her head immediately. “You know what… Point taken. Well I hope y’all like them and they aren’t too too old-school,” she offered with a smile as the group started to mutter excitedly to themselves as they tested out their new gadgets on their books. 

“It isn’t much but just wanted to do something small to say Merry Christmas.” She glanced at the clock. “Oh I didn’t even see the time. Aight, we gotta wrap up, I’m sure some of your parents’ve been waiting outside for a while.” At their groans, she merely shook her head. “We are well past our hour and y’all aren’t gonna get me in trouble with your parents.” 

She ushered the younger kids and some siblings to the door, each of their parents greeting her and chatting for a few moments before they walked their kids out to their cards or toward the street.

At that point, only a small group of older kids remained. “Alright, you know the drill - text me when you get home and stay in your groups, please.” 

“We ain’t babies.” 

“Yea and we all live like 5 minutes from here,” the girl with glasses remarked.

“I know y’all are basically grown. But humor me please. If one of you got hurt or lost, it’d take literal years off my life. You’re really doing it for my sanity over anything else,” she reasoned.  

Raven got along with the kids so well because she was an adult they could relate to and trust but even she had to put on the hat of responsible adult occasionally, much to their collective chagrin. And that meant ensuring every kid made it the few blocks, bus ride, or into the car to get home. 

“Yes, Ms. T.” All of their disgruntled murmurs filled the library as they headed out the door in small groups depending on where they lived. Thankfully, they were all friends so she knew they’d look out for each other.

“You can come outta hiding now,” she called, seemingly to no one in particular. 

“Busted?” Michael asked as he emerged from the shelves to stare at her, an amused expression painted on her face. 

“Yep… caught a glimpse of you scurrying behind that bookshelf. Better be glad the kids didn’t see you. You’re more than one of their celebrity crushes. They would’ve been all over you for a picture or a story or a reel or whatever they do on social these days.” 

Michael let out a barking laugh. “You sound like an old lady.” 

“I am an old lady… proudly,” she laughed. “And they know it too.” 

“Those were sweet gifts you got them.” 

She smiled. “Thanks. Despite well… everything, Christmas is my favorite time of the year. Everyone’s so caught up in the spirit and giving. It wasn’t much but I hoped it would put a smile on one of two of their faces. Did you hear them call me old school?? Super offensive,” she chuckled. 

“Hella offensive.” 

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Language, Mr. Jordan,” she winked at him playfully. 

“You gonna discipline me, Ms. Turner?” He asked, closing the space between them, his breath tickling the skin on her neck as he leaned in to whisper in her ear.

Raven felt her whole body flush with heat. Fuck. For some foolish reason, she had worried the spark between them would fade once they settled into the normalcy and mundaneness of a real relationship. However, it had been the exact opposite. Somehow, everything he did only heightened her emotions and desire for him. She thought it was overwhelming before? Well, now it was all consuming and blinding. 

“Maybe you should take me home and find out?” She whispered. 

“What if I want to find out here?” 

“Then I’d have to remind you that this is a public library… with cameras everywhere.” 

He glanced around. “Come on, I bet you know one spot that ain’t got cameras, baby girl. I vaguely remember you saying you wanted to live out some fantasies. You gonna tell me sex in public ain’t one of them?” 

Her eyes darkened with lust. She knew he knew that he had her. It was most certainly one, one of the more sinful ones she would admit. But it lacked practicality. 

“This isn’t just in public, babe. This is my job,” she reminded him, her resolve growing weaker with every word. And he knew it. 

“That makes it even more fun. Come on, baby. You know you want me to fuck you senseless in one of these shelves, want me to make you beg to come right here.” 

Fucking hate him, she thought to herself. Her panties were soaked.

She grabbed his hand and led him up the stairs to the second floor, to a small far corner that she knew had no cameras in the vicinity. It also was ominously dark as some of the overhead lights had gone out earlier that week. She knew the library was utterly deserted and there was absolutely no chance of them getting caught, but still it made her nervous. But she supposed that was the entire point. 

“Can’t believe we’re doing this…” she mumbled, more to herself than Michael. Not that having sex at work or in public had not been on her list of things to one day do. She did not think it would be this particular job. 

“Relax and enjoy it,” he whispered in her ear before he pushed her forward, forcing her upper body against the cold wooden table in the corner. 

She hissed slightly as the cold material touched her bare arms. She could already tell what this was going to be: quick and dirty… and her favorite: rough. His touch always had a gentleness to it, which she appreciated. However, she loved it when he was rough, when he left a mark to remind her whose exactly she was.

“You gon’ be quiet for me?” 

“Yes.” 

She yelped as a hard smack fell across her ass as he pushed her skirt up to her waist. 

“Yes what?” 

“Yes sir.” 

“Good girl. But if that was any indication, don’t think you’re gonna keep quiet so…” 

Before Raven could even react, Michael ripped her panties clean from her body and stuffed them into her mouth as a makeshift gag. The quickness of it, the bite of the material against her skin, and the mere act of being forced to taste herself made her moan. But it worked, the sound was muffled. 

“That’s much better. And don’t let them fall out or I’ll light that ass up, understand?” 

She nodded fervently. Her body shuddered as he wiped a finger over her clit.

“So wet for me.” He sucked her juices off his finger and moaned lightly. “You taste so good, baby girl.”

She wanted to say thank you or beg but she couldn’t, not with her panties muffling her voice. 

She let out a guttural moan as he filled her in one stroke, the angle of the low table allowing him to get deep. One hand pushed her back deeper into the table as she squirmed. His strokes were deep and guttural, each one ending with jolt to her g spot. 

He was not making love to her, he was not gentle. This was pure fucking, fast and furious and uninhibited and she loved it. Everything in her wanted to scream but she could not. But her muffled low moans filled the small space as he settled into a rhythm. 

“You gon’ cum on this dick, you disgusting slut??” 

She could only force her head up enough to nod slightly before falling back against the table. She did not even feel the pain of her thighs banging into the table with every thrust because she was so focused on him. The power of his thighs slamming against hers, the pressure of one had at the base of her neck while the other bit into the meat of her hip. 

Where they were became irrelevant, the nervousness she felt about that fell away as every sense in her body focused on him and only him and the pleasure he so graciously provided her. 

Her eyes screwed shut as waves of pleasure hit her with the force of a train. Usually she had time to warm up and prepare herself but not today. Today, she was merely a vessel for him to get off and she loved every second of it. 

“Fuck… that’s it baby. Cum on this dick.” Michael was in heaven as her pussy clenched around him. He usually could last far longer than this but his body seemed to understand the point of a quickie. And so it did not take long for him to feel himself reaching the peak. 

He groaned and held onto her tightly as he filled her with his cum, part of him wanting to collapse next to her. He leaned over her for a few moments to catch his breath before staggering back from her as he pulled his briefs and pants back up and righted himself. 

Raven propped herself up on her elbows after letting her panties fall from her mouth. She glanced back at him with an incredulous look on her face as if she was still shocked that they just did that. Which made them both burst out into laughter. 

“Well that was… definitely one for the books,” she remarked as she sat up and turned around. She leaned against the table, her panties bunched up in her hand, she gestured toward them. “That was a nice addition, Mr. Jordan. Seems like you punished me more than I did you though.” 

“Eh you can punish me later, how about that?” He kissed her on the forehead before fishing her panties out of her hand and pushing them into his pocket with a wink. “Think I’ll keep those for the rest of the night. You can’t put ‘em back on.”

“Whose there??” An older man’s voice rang out causing both of them to scurry to fully right their clothing.

Raven cleared her throat as Michael helped her adjust her top and she emerged from the bookshelves. 

“I-It’s just me, Mr. Robinson!”

She waved at the elderly black man who was clearly maintenance staff.

“Ms. Turner! Figured it was you. Whatchu doin’ here so late? Book club ended a while ago?” 

Raven smiled and nodded. She grabbed Michael and pulled him out of the shelves. “My boyfriend came to pick me up and got distracted giving him a tour.  This is Michael,” she gestured at the star, the older man’s eyes growing big. “This is Mr. Robinson.” 

“How you doin’ man? I’m a big fan!” He offered, shaking Michael’s hand. “Cynthia called earlier and said some lights up here were out so I just came to fix ‘em before tomorrow.” 

“Thank you, we really appreciate that. Well, it’s all yours. We were just looking at books and joking around, we’ll get out of your way.” She jerked her head toward the door, gesturing for Michael to follow her. However, when she reached the steps, she turned back. “Oh and Mr. Robinson?” 

The man seemed to have a knowing look on his face. “Didn’t see anyone here when I came through, you were just finishin’ up as I was comin’ in.” He winked at her before waving them on their way. 

They made quick work of grabbing Raven’s bag and materials before scurrying out the door, the pair both busting out into laughter as they climbed into Michael’s SUV. 

“That was a close one,” she remarked. “Ok that was fun but definitely no more job sex.”

“Don’t pretend like you didn’t enjoy it,” he teased.

She gently shoved him back into his seat as she chuckled. “Shut upppppp. Whew I’m exhausted, can’t wait to knock out.” 

Michael patted his thigh, Raven laying down across the seat so she could sleep. It was a bit of a trek to his house from her neighborhood so Raven closed her eyes and enjoyed the soft music that played as Allen drove them home. 

“Do you miss it?” 

“Hm?” Raven asked, needing further clarification of what he was asking. 

“Do you miss writing? Or does this… the kids fill that void?” 

Raven thought about it for a moment, realizing she had never really let herself think too much about it or miss it that much. “Umm… yea, I try not to… try not to think about it. But I miss it a lot. It was my dream and I love these kids… don’t get me wrong. They are amazing and I have so much fun with them. But it doesn’t fill the void? Just makes the void a bit more bearable.” 

His hand ran through her blow out for a few moments before nodding and allowing silence to fall over them. Soon her gentle snores filled the car as Michael thought long and hard about what she said. He reached into his pocket, careful not to jolt the sleeping woman beneath him and opened his text thread with Alex. 

Michael: hey, need two favors

Alex: Don’t you always? 

Michael: ha ha. Need you to find me a contact at Hatchett & Perkins Publishing house? Like in legal or licensing or somethin

Alex: Let me guess… this favor is not so you can write a memoir? 

Michael: of course not. 

Alex: Give me till tomorrow and I’ll send you a name & email. Favor #2?

Michael: You got any friends that rep authors?

Alex: Yep. 

Michael: Find me one that reps fantasy. Preferably black women if you know them

Alex: Done. 

Michael let his phone fall onto his other thigh before he leaned back and smiled to himself. He was about to give her the Christmas of a lifetime. 

***

Christmas Day

Raven stretched lazily, the smell of cinnamon rolls wafting up to Michael’s bedroom through the cracked bedroom door. She lazily rolled over, surprised to find his spot empty. She groped in the bed for her phone, squinting to read the time. 8 am. 

Too early, she huffed as she threw the covers back over her head. They had been up past midnight partaking in the Jordans’ Christmas Eve traditions. They drank, watched a Christmas movie - this year was Michael’s turn to choose and he chose Jim Carey’s the Grinch much to Raven’s excitement - and opened one present each. 

There was a mountain of them under the tree. She had spent days helping Michael wrap them all. He had intended to have them sent out to be professionally wrapped but Raven put a stop to that nearly immediately. Similar to tree decorating, she thought there was something impersonal about having a professional do it. So she spent an entire Saturday wrapping all of his presents for his family, he hid hers from her much to her chagrin, and she had a ball doing it. His dining table looked like a disaster when she was done but each one looked perfect, his girl using different color wrapping paper for each member of the family. 

Raven had truly improved the whole Christmas holiday for the entire household, reminding him that just because money could buy some conveniences did not mean it should. He also just loved her childlike excitement and joy around the season that seemed endless. She was constantly humming a Christmas song under her breath, her singing voice was not half bad though she did not agree.

She never much cared for Christmas herself. She loved the spirit and energy it brought for others but there was nothing special about it for her. No traditions or joyous memories to hold on to. But Michael went out of his way to help her create some with his family and she loved him dearly for it. 

She had dozed off again when a familiar voice woke her up. 

“Come on sleepyhead. It’s present time,” she heard a singsongy voice call out that made her groan. “Five seconds or I’ll tackle you.” 

“You wouldn’t dare!” She called out, her voice muffled under the thick comforter. 

“Five.” 

“Four.” 

“Three…” 

“Two…” 

Raven let out a shriek as she felt Michael’s heavy body land on her. His fingers attempted to tickle her sides, forcing laughter and her face to emerge from the covers. 

“Fine, fine. I yield! I yield! I yield!” She cried out. 

At her words, he gripped her hips and flipped them over so she was straddling his waist. He grabbed a Santa hat he discarded on the bed and plopped into her head. “Merry Christmas.” 

“Merry Christmas,” she leaned down and kissed him on the lips. 

“Get dressed, we’re opening presents at 9.” 

She nodded. “Alrighty. I’ll just start breakfast while y’all do that.” 

“You’re opening presents too.” 

“You gave me mine last night?” And it was gorgeous, a set of diamond earrings that she was honestly afraid to ever wear.

“You thought I only got you one present??” 

She laughed, not understanding. “Well, I only got you one present!”

“That’s fine. Hell, you could just put a bow on yourself and I would be happy. I got everything I could ever need or want. But you have presents under the tree from everyone and everyone has a present from you and us. Get dressed.” 

At her shocked expression, Michael figured that she was not used to getting many, if any gifts. However, he decided to keep the mood light and playful. 

“You surprised? You been naughty this year or somethin’? Expectin’ a lump of coal?” 

She offered him a sly grin. “Oh I’ve been real naughty. But somethin’ tells me that being naughty got me more presents from Santa than being nice would’ve.” 

“You damn right, girl.” 

She let out a cackle and rolled her eyes before sliding out of bed to get dressed. Before she knew it, the entire family was surrounded by an explosion of wrapping paper and stacks of gifts. 

Raven loved all of her gifts from Michael’s family. They gave her a lot of books and gadgets for writers and readers but she loved all of them. She imagined that was all they really knew about her but she appreciated that they put effort and thought into it. 

“Ok, baby girl. Last one from me,” Michael handed her a box with a neat bow around it. The rest of the family had dispersed to get dressed for the day and for brunch, leaving the couple in the living room surrounded by everyone’s presents. 

“Baby…” she let out a playful whine. Most of her gifts had come for Michael and while they were all sweet and thoughtful, she knew they had cost him an arm and a leg. Another first edition book, a gorgeous Chloe tote bag for her to take to work, and more jewelry than she knew what to do with. It made her gift feel measly in comparison but she had done her best. “You already got me so much. Don’t need anything else.” 

He shook his head. “Well, this is the gift that matters.” 

She paused. “Well I have yours upstairs… I just wanted to give it to you when we were alone. Wanna go up there and exchange?” 

He nodded, both of them heading up to his room with bright grins on their faces. She sat her gift down on the bed while she went into her stuff and pulled out a small book. 

She held it close to her chest, taking a deep breath. “It’s not much… I d-didn’t know what to get a man who has well… everything a person could want. But I thought, well, maybe you’d like this. O-or at least you’d give me an A for effort,” she chuckled. “But if you hate it, I totally understand. You don’t gotta pretend if you don’t like it.” 

Michael raised an eyebrow and laughed, closing the space between them. “Why don’t you let me see it before you decide that I don’t like it? Whatever it is, I’m sure I’ll love it.” 

She nodded and held out the small book to him. It looked like a professionally printed book, with a beautiful but simple black and gold cover. 

The title read: The Fall by Raven Turner 

Michael opened the first page, which read: 

It’s not much but you were the first person in a long time to make me want to pick up my figurative pen again. And this was the result: a story dedicated to every moment of the greatest fall of my life. I love you. 

Raven

“You wrote me a book?” He asked quietly as he examined it in his hands. 

She nodded. “Y-You like it?” 

He rushed forward and pulled her into his arms, kissing her deeply.  “I more than like it. This is the best gift anyone’s ever gotten me!” 

He peppered her face with kisses that made her giggle. “You sure? My other option was like a watch or something…”

He laughed. “Total waste of money. This is more valuable to me than 100 Rolexes. Thank you. I’ll read it tonight.” 

Nothing would have taken the smile off her face. 

“Now it’s your turn,” he urged as he sat his gift on his bedside table. 

Raven sat on his bed as she gently ripped the bow off and opened the box to find an envelope inside. It was odd, Raven could not possibly understand what the gift could be. 

She ripped open the envelope to reveal a plane ticket and hotel reservation to a resort in Thailand. 

“Y-You’re serious?? Thailand??” 

“Wanted to ring in our first New Years together somewhere special.” 

“Babe… this is…” 

“Exactly what you deserve. I have a feeling next year is gonna be your best year yet and I think we should usher it in with some style.” He had more than just a feeling, as long as his real surprise was wrapped up by their trip, it would surely be her best year yet. 

She laughed, wiping her tears away. “This is most certainly style. Thank you. I love it.” 

“I’m glad you do cause we leave tomorrow night.” 

Her mouth dropped open. “W-what?? Babe I gotta get my hair done… a wax, my nails! These aren’t vacation nails…” she glanced down at her beautiful but very Christmas themed nail set.

“You think I’d book you a trip to Thailand and not take care of everything?” His face scrunched up in a faux annoyance that made her chuckle. “You’re in for a day of pampering tomorrow while Jason picks out pieces and has his team pack for you. I plan on having you naked for most of the next two weeks so you ain’t gonna need much clothes.” 

“And work?” 

“You’d be surprised what a handsome face and nice smile will get you,” he remarked with a shrug. 

She stood and wrapped her arms around him, kissing him. “What did I do to deserve you?” 

“You’re you. That’s all it takes.” 

She smiled and kissed him again. She glanced at the bed, lust curling in her belly. 

“How long before your family comes looking for us?” 

She shrieked and laughed as he gently pushed her down on his bed. 

“Long enough for me to make you cum at least twice.” 

***

Raven was thankful their bungalow at this resort was fairly distant from the others as Michael seemed committed to making her scream over and over and over again for the last five days. She had seen very little of the resort aside from when they emerged for dinner. They had a private pool and private access to the beach. 

Michael had not been lying when he said he planned to have her naked for most of the trip. All she could do was laugh when she realized the only panties packed for her had been part of very sexy and elaborate lingerie sets that would not count as clothes for anyone with eyes. When she was not in a bathing suit or an outfit for dinner, she was in lingerie that did not stay on her body for long. 

Michael quite literally ravished her from sun up to sun down on every surface in their suite, in and by the pool, underneath the waterfall shower in their giant bathroom, and in the sand on their private beach. Though, neither of them did that one again due to the uncontrollable and annoying nature of sand. 

But every moment of it was pure bliss. She loved how he switched, often at a moment’s notice, from treating her like a grand prize he won to a convenient hole for him to fuck. It was not uncommon for him, while they were mid conversation about something utterly random by the pool or over lunch, to bend her over the nearest surface and fuck her senseless simply because he felt like it. Their games did not diminish but seemed to amplify the more their relationship blossomed. 

Today, their game was orgasm denial. It was New Year’s Eve and Michael practically ignored her most of the day. After several days of being woken up with his head between her legs bringing her to orgasm, she was almost saddened to be woken up with a mere call for breakfast. 

The only time he touched her was during breakfast, as he - without a single word - slid his favorite vibrating toy into her pussy. She expected him to turn it on and bring her to orgasm right there, but he did no such thing. Instead, he told her of the tour of the nearby islands they were going to go on after breakfast. 

From that moment forward, all of his touches were chaste at best and decidedly frustrating to his girlfriend, much to his satisfaction. He could feel her eyes boring into the side of his face as if willing him to turn on the remote in his pocket as their tour guide jetted them around on a boat ride along the gorgeous blue water. 

It was difficult to ignore her for him too but he loved how eager she was, how the more he pretended he had not put the vibrator in her, the more aware she was of its presence. He watched her intently, how she tried to pay attention to the tour guide as she droned on and on about history, how her body squirmed in her seat with every platonic touch he offered, how her shoulders fell in disappointment every time those platonic touches did not turn into more. 

The boat ride was three hours of pure torture and he knew if he touched her, she would be dripping wet underneath her very revealing bathing suit and cover up. 

As they returned to their resort and stood up to get off the boat, Michael turned the vibrator on its full setting, Raven letting out a groan and her knees buckling beneath her. 

She almost fell completely to the floor of the boat but Michael skillfully caught her and feigned concern for her. 

“You ok, baby?” He glanced back at the tour guide before discreetly cutting the vibrator off. “Think the heat just got to her. Let me get you inside, love.” 

Raven was so consumed with the short-lived but amazing pleasure that all she could do was nod. She wanted to curse at him, scream at him. 

He held onto her tightly, keeping her flush to his side, as if he was helping a sick person until they made it back to their secluded bungalow. And by that time, Raven was fuming. 

“What the fuck, Bakari! In front of that lady as I was getting off the boat?? After you ignored me all morning??” She was not actually angry at him, she was just so fucking horny that she was angry. 

Michael grabbed her by the arm and put his hand around the base of her neck as he held her in a rough grip that made her thighs clench together. 

“If you want to cum at all again before 2023, I’d shut the fuck up. Understand?” he warned, his voice so strong and dominant that her mouth immediately shut.

Fuck. Admittedly, 2023 was only 12 more hours away, at least in Thailand. But she did not think she could wait 12 more hours. She was most certainly not God’s strongest soldier. 

“Y-Yes sir.” 

He grabbed her hand and led her outside to their private pool. “Sit,” he gestured toward one lounge chair that faced the pool. 

She sat down immediately, surprised when he disappeared back into their room, returning with several ropes. 

Fuck, she thought to herself again. Whatever he was about to do, she knew it would be extremely fun for him and a sort of delicious torturous fun for her. 

“Lay back.” 

She laid down against the warm fabric of the chair. He adjusted it so she was leaning back. He grabbed both of her hands and raised them above her head, tying them to the top of the lounge chair. Instinctively, she tried to move them but his knots were tight.

Then she watched as he did the same with each ankle, tying them to either side of the lounge chair so her legs were spread open. 

And then much to her surprise, he shed his clothes and slid in the pool. Her eyes filled with pure lust as she took in the droplets of water cascading down his perfect chiseled chest. She’d never get used to him. 

“Seems like you keep forgettin’ whose runnin’ this shit. So maybe this’ll teach you.” 

She did not fully understand what he meant until she felt the vibrator turn on, this time at its lowest setting. Her hips rolled as much as she could with her body restrained. She bit her lip to stop the moans from escaping, part of her not wanting to give him the satisfaction as she knew he was going to drag this out as long as possible. 

“You can try to keep quiet if you want to, baby. Honestly that’ll just make the show more entertaining for me.” 

And a show it was. Raven could only imagine how she looked to him as he leaned against the opposite edge of the pool and controlled her pleasure from afar. He talked, telling her about his upcoming projects for 2023, how he was so excited for his directorial debut of Creed 3. At first, with the toy on its lowest setting, she found it easier to ignore and engage in a conversation with him. 

However, as he steadily increased the intensity, her questions and responses were more broken by moans and groans that she could not hide. 

“How many books are in that series of yours?”

“Supposed to b- SHIT!” She cried out as he increased it to the highest setting. “Fuckkkkk,” she moaned as her hips started humping the air to increase the pleasure as she came close to her first orgasm of the day. However, as soon as she got to the edge, he cut it off, robbing her of it. 

“Michael!” She called out in frustration. 

“10.” 

“10 what??”

“Spankings. 5 for not answering my question and 5 for not addressing me properly.” 

She desperately wanted to roll her eyes. This nigga. 

“Three… the series is three books.” 

“Good girl.” 

The cycle and their conversation continued. Michael asked her more random questions about writing and her writing process and expected full answers as he brought her to the edge of an orgasm but took them away five more times. He gave her ample time to calm down in between each one but each time made the climb more intense and made the lack of an orgasm more painful.

And all the while, he sat unmoving like a statue across from her, watching as she moaned, begged, pleaded, and writhed around against her restraints. 

“You wanna cum, don’t you, baby?” He asked, moving for the first time to wade over to her. 

She was in tears as she nodded. “P-Please, d-daddy. I n-need to cum. I c-can’t take… much more. Please.” 

He lifted himself out of the water, Raven’s eyes studying how his biceps flexed at the swift motion. 

He grabbed her chin to force her to look at him. “You’ll take as much as I tell you. Besides, do you deserve pleasure before you’ve been punished?” 

She groaned. She hated him so much but she loved him so much that she would indeed take as much as he told her to. 

“N-no, no I don’t.” 

“That’s right. Only good girls get to orgasm. Are you gonna take your punishment like a good girl?” 

She nodded desperately. “Y-yes, I promise.” 

With that, he untied her and helped her up. He made her crawl behind him to their bedroom. He helped her onto the bed. 

“You know what to do.” 

Indeed, she did. Raven quickly discarded her bathing suit and climbed onto the bed and assumed his favorite position for both pleasure and punishment. Her face pressed against their comforter as she placed the deepest arch she could in her back. 

“Good girl, you want my hand or the belt?” 

That was an easy choice in her mind but she appreciated him letting her choose. “Your hand, please,” she asked innocently.

She knew it was both of their preference. Something about feeling the extent of his strength with every lash, seeing the red marks on her ass in the shape of his palm, made every punishment well worth it. She also knew Michael preferred it too. 

“Count ‘em out or I start over.” 

She groaned. This was the hardest part, focusing on each one enough to remember the number. 

She shrieked as he hit her the first time. She was not gonna be able to sit comfortably for the rest of their vacation. 

“One.” 

By the time she hit 15, she was in tears but she would have begged him not to stop. 

“Ten more, baby. And you’re doing so good…” he grabbed the remote he had discarded next to them and turn it on to its highest setting. “You can cum whenever you want.” 

Raven felt like her whole body was in flames as he rained down the last ten blows while the vibrator did the work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost against her g-spot. She tried to grab a pillow to bury her face in as her screams reached a fever pitch that she imagined could be heard across their resort but Michael grabbed a fist of her braids and forced her head up. 

“Nah I wanna hear you.” 

She could not even register the last two spankings as she blissfully felt every part of her body, down to the cellular level, become overwhelmed with mind-numbing, life altering pleasure. Her entire body collapsed forward onto the bed, her legs unable to hold her lower body up. 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she mumbled as she felt the vibrator turn off and started to come down. 

Michael smiled as he took in her form, he had utterly depleted her as she laid there, her entire body covered in a thin layer of sweat. 

He climbed onto the bed and pulled her into his arms, rubbing her back soothingly as she laid there, her brain not fully functioning or cognizant of his presence. 

Raven used the little bit of energy she had to settle into his arms, burying her head into his neck. She appreciated his commitment to aftercare, particularly when their sessions were super intense. Oftentimes, they were just so intense, they rubbed Raven raw emotionally and left her feeling vulnerable. And when they were merely fake dating, she had to often ignore those needs because she was afraid to ask him for more. He always checked in and ran her a bath or gave her a massage, often brought her food to ensure she was ok before he went to his guest room to sleep.  

But now, she could snuggle up against him and feel close to him, feel his love and receive his praise while she recovered. And she had not realized just how much she was missing. 

“You ok?” He asked. “That was intense.” 

“I’m excellent. And still horny but I don’t think my legs work to move,” she moaned. 

“Well, rest. I’ll wake up when it’s time to get ready for dinner.” 

He watched her for a while before he set an alarm and dozed off himself. 

***

“Figured we could go watch the fireworks on the beach. They told me the good ones start around 11:30… so in a bit.” 

Raven smiled as she continued eating. They had slept most of the day away after their session and she was starving. Michael had a private dinner scheduled for them in their suite, which she appreciated. She still got dolled up in a flowery two piece crop top and skirt but it was nice to have dinner in their own space. 

“So my mom asks this every New Years Eve… what do you want out of 2023?”

Raven’s fork paused in mid air as she thought on the question. What did she want out of the new year? She had no idea. 

“Umm… whew, I dunno. I’ve just been counting down the last couple years truth be told. Kinda felt lost and all over the place without my career? Didn’t really think I had much to look forward to? But…” 

“But…” 

“But now I feel like I don’t want everything to just pass me by? Like even if I’m not free to do what I love just yet, I wanna feel… happy? I wanna feel good and enjoy life.” She shrugged. “It’s kinda stupid.” 

He held his hand out for her to take it and squeezed, his thumb rubbing her hand. “That’s far from stupid. I have a surprise for you.” 

He took a deep breath and reached under the table to grab a box. 

She smiled and shook her head. “This trip wasn’t a surprise enough??” 

“Nah. And this is really just a late Christmas gift. Legal shit delayed it a couple days… but it seems fitting. Here’s to a 2023 of happiness and freedom.” 

He held the box out to her, it exactly resembled the one he had given her with their surprise trip to Thailand inside only this one had a large stack of paperwork in it. 

“What’s this??” She pulled the heavy stack, her eyes growing wide as she thumbed through them, skimming them quickly. “I-Is this what I think it is?” 

“If you think it’s the rights to your book, which are now yours to do with whatever you want, then yes. If you were thinkin’ it was somethin’ else…” 

Her mouth dropped open. Her breath came out more as a strangled sob than anything else as she continued reading. 

“This is…” she laughed nervously. “This is a joke right? Y-you didn’t… I know this had to have cost like… someone’s yearly salary money.” She stood and shook her head. “Y-You have to let me pay you back for that. It’ll take me like a fuckin’ decade,” she admitted. “But you can’t…” 

Michael gestured for him to come to her. He kept her flush to his lap as her entire body trembled from the pure shock. He had expected this reaction and was prepared. But he had not done what he did and paid what he did lightly. It was worth every single frustrating conversation and dollar spent.

“Yes I can… and I did. Getting rid of the last piece of dead weight you were dragging around was worth every dime. You deserve to tell your stories and they took that from you. So I took it back and am giving it to you. One signature,” he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen and held it to her. “And they are all yours.” 

A tear fell on the papers before Raven tossed them down to the ground and threw herself into Michael’s arms as she sobbed into his neck. He wrapped his arms around her tightly as he held her.

“I love you… so much.” She whispered through her sobs. “T-this is the greatest thing anyone’s ever done for m-me.” 

His palm wiped away the tears streaming down her face as he kissed her. 

“It’s nothing.” 

She shook her head. “No, it’s literally everything… I don’t deserve you,” she whispered, shaking her head. 

“Yea you do. And all the other good things in this world. I’ll spend every day making sure you know it.”

They finished their dessert with Raven still on his lap, the young woman too shocked to really speak or offer much to the conversation. She could not believe it, could not believe him. She knew it would still be a long road to self-publish and figure all of that out but now? Now she had options, she could figure it out without waiting for the timer to hit zero. 

And he had done that for her. 

“Come on, fireworks are about to start.” 

Raven nodded and smiled. “Give me 5 minutes? Gonna put these somewhere safe,” she grabbed the scattered papers off the floor. “And fix my makeup. Can’t have you kissing me at midnight with eyeliner running down my face. That’d be a tragic start to the year.” 

“I’ll be by the pool. Don’t take too long.”

He watched her walk away and smiled before walking outside to the balcony. The fireworks were already in full swing and he could hear music and laughter from the main beach of the resort. 

It was the perfect end to a perfect night. Well, almost. A buzzing in his pocket redirected his attention. Tasha’s name scrolled across his phone. 

“This girl,” he mumbled. He knew her well enough to know if he did not answer she would simply call back. 

Michael glanced over his shoulder and sighed as he swiped across his phone. 

“Hey,” he offered coldly. The truth was he had forgotten everything about Tasha, had not thought about her once since her name graced his screen on Raven’s birthday. 

He did not hate her or offer her ill will, he just had no interest in seeing or speaking to her again. 

“Hey baby. Happy New Year.” 

“Happy New Year.” Michael’s tone was short and clipped, praying he could get her off the phone before Raven came back from the bathroom to find him. 

“Wanted to see if the New Year was gonna bring my favorite customer back to me?” 

“Look Tash…”

“It’s been a few months, Mike. You promised.”

Michael rolled his eyes. He had let her get far too comfortable, so comfortable that she thought he’d always be there. Which seemed like a base level foolish assumption given her line of work. But either way, he had moved on. Raven was his present and his future. He had no interest in anyone else. But this was the weight he was dragging around behind him, he quickly realized. And every day that he did not tell Tasha that truth and let her believe there was something there for them, was a disservice to her, Raven, and himself. 

“I know what I said but shit changed. I love her, Tash.” 

A wave of anger hit him as he heard the woman scoff, which was filled with disbelief. 

“Her?? You love her??” 

“Yes, her. I love her and even though it started off as somethin’ not real, it’s real to us both now and she’s everything I want.” He sighed. “Look, you are a great girl, I enjoyed our time together but I can’t see you anymore. Ever.” 

“You serious right now??” He could feel her rage through the phone but that did not deter him. Raven was everything for him and nothing Tasha could say would change that. 

“Dead serious. I know this ain’t what you wanted to hear but it’s over between us. I’m sorry.” 

She was seething. “Fuck you, Michael! You can’t just drop me outta fuckin’ no where! What am I supposed to fuckin’ do??” 

He bowed his head. Her reaction was not out of the realm of possibility, he just had not considered it at all, had not considered that he would have to “break up” with her officially. But he did not regret nor was he phased by her anger. That part of his life - whoring and using any and every woman who would let him - was over and in the past. 

“Find another client to replace me. I can’t be the first client to move on.” 

There was a long pause. “Nah you ain’t the first. But you’re the first to fall in love with a fuckin’ hooker and try to pass it off as a real relationship. Imagine the money TMZ would give me for that story.” 

Michael’s mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding right?” 

“I ain’t’ fuckin’ laughin. You can leave me for that country ass fake bumpkin, you can put her in designer clothes and call her your girlfriend but unfortunately for you, I know what she really is. A whore. And while you might think you can wave a wand and make her a housewife, everyone else? They’ll fuckin’ tear her apart. You really want that?” 

Michael couldn’t believe this shit. In all his years of being famous and having money, he had never had someone try to blackmail him. Michael clenched his eyes shut. “How much?” 

“There we go. Glad we could come to an agreement. $10k for now. I expect it as soon as you get back to LA. And then we can figure out an arrangement that works for both of us. Happy New Year, baby.” 

And with that, the phone went dead. Michael clenched it in his hand in frustration as he turned and shook his head. He quickly deleted the call from his call log to ensure Raven did not accidentally see it and sent Alex a text. 

Mike: We have a BIG problem

“Wow, those are gorgeous!” 

Michael slid his phone in his pocket as Raven emerged and stood next to him, her make up pristine and her body now clad in a very sexy ocean blue lingerie set. Michael forced a smile onto his face as he grabbed her ass and squeezed. 

“Not as gorgeous as you.” 

“We got five minutes till midnight and then I figured we could create some fireworks of our own?” 

“I like the sound of that…” Michael mused. 

He knew he needed to tell Raven about Tasha but he did not have the heart to do it right then. She was so happy, so happy that her whole body seemed to radiate with it. He refused to let anything diminish or take that feeling away. And he refused to let another selfish person steal her joy and relaxation while they were on vacation. He had a week to figure out a plan and get Tasha out of his life once and for all. And he had every intention of doing so and telling Raven once it was all said and done. She was finally happy and she deserved to stay that way. This was exclusively his mess, he would get himself out of it. 

“Oh you never told me,” Raven said as they sat down and stuck their feet in the water while the fireworks continued to boom loudly around them, painting the sky in bright colors. 

“What?” 

“What you want out of 2023?” 

Michael glanced down at her and the bright smile on her face. “I think I got everything I want for 2023. I got you, about to finish the biggest run of my career. I guess I just… want to make sure I don’t lose it all?”

She gently shoved him with her shoulder and chuckled. “Well, you aren’t gonna lose me.” 

“That a promise?” 

“Yes it is.” 

Off in the distance, they could hear the faint countdown from the giant crowd at the beach. 

Five… four… three… two…

“Happy New Year, Rae.” 

“Happy New Year, baby.” 

They shared a deep kiss under the fireworks before Michael swooped her up into his arms and carried her to bed, their room becoming a fireworks show for two. 

Tag List: @readinghere2023 @blackerthings @prettyisasprettydoes1306 @physicxal @purplehairgawdess @miyuhpapayuh @rueruesclues @geemamii @certifiedlesbianbaddie @pipsqueak-98 @nyifly22 @destinio1 @twocentaur @gopaperless @musicisme333 @roguekiki @majesticbrownjawn @taurusqueen83 @mysteryuz @miamormilan @itsknor-thedeep @naj-ay444 @mads-grace4 @nayaesworld @kholdkill @msniaimani @nccu-rnc @apenasumlug4r

***

A/N: the babies are in relationship blisssssss. And how perfect is Michael? Getting her book back for her. Also I tried to do some research on how all that works and it is really confusing so any real authors reading - don't hate me if I got it wrong LOL it's fiction! Well, as we all knew it would, Tasha has come back to claim her man again... what do we think? Should he have told Raven? Or should he wait till they get home? Or should he just deal with Tasha on his own? Anndddd this is the last update for this story for like a month - so so sorry to leave it like that LOL love yall though! Hope you enjoyed it!

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for not reminding a coworker to punish one of our students due to my concerns over her home life?

I (20F) am a teacher at a local daycare. I teach the school-aged group, which is kids aged 5 to 10 years old. I have a student, I will be calling her Joann (6F) who gets herself into trouble occasionally. It's never anything malicious, but she's young, and usually needs lots of reminders on rules, keeping her feet on the floor, keeping her voice down, things like that. I used to discipline her exactly like my other students- and sometimes she'd get her card flipped from green to orange or yellow. It meant that her behavioral problems were never severe, but she would get in trouble sometimes. I talked to her mother about it, and one time, she ended up telling a very irresponsible lie that could have jeapordized my job. She told a teacher that I let the kids talk, run around, play with toys etc while they're supposed to be silently watching movies. This would be me openly defying my co-teacher (50F) and our schedule, and encouraging bad behavior. They'd told the lie in order to try and get away with talking and playing toys during movie time. My co teacher asked about it and obviously I told her it wasn't true. I had a serious conversation about this with Joann's mom. Usually she doesn't do things like this and it could've cost me big time, even if I didn't get fired it could be a complaint, cost me my co teacher's trust and friendship, or gotten me moved to a different age group. Her mom hit the roof. Screamed at her until Joann was in tears and threatened to beat her in front of all her "little friends" (which is illegal to do on daycare grounds btw, she was implying this would happen at the daycare) and it honestly even scared me. She forced the child to apologize to me and left with her. I felt so bad because the girl was only 6, and clearly very scared.

I only got more concerned for her from here, she told me multiple times that her mommy gives her "pop-pop" (some sort of spanking or hitting, as she uses this term and "whooping" interchangeably and tells me that it hurts and makes her scared) when she gets her card flipped even once. A single card flip is a minor behavior issue, maybe something to have a chat about at home but never a serious concern. I brought this up with the Director (basically my boss, and the owner of the daycare) and she explained to me that unfortunately, Joann's mother hitting her at home is not something we can call CPS about, as it's only illegal in this state if she leaves visible marks, which I've never seen on the child. She suggested I adjust my disciplinary style for Joann to focus more on time-outs and other punishments and less on card flips. The director also brought this up with my co teacher so she was in the loop.

Yesterday, Joann was misbehaving. It was something small, like leaning in her chair, but it had been happening so often and we'd had to remind her so many times that it got on my co teacher's nerves, and she told the kid that she was going to flip her card because she was just not listening, but mentioned she'd do it once she got up, because she was busy. I wasn't, but I made no moves to get up and silently hoped it'd slip her mind. I didn't want her mom to see that Joann got her card flipped and end up hurting her. In the end, she totally forgot and Joann went home with a green card.

I feel bad because I know Joann needs discipline and does need to have talks at home when she misbehaves, and taking that away can be bad for her development. But I also can't be sure her mom has those talks with her, and I know for a fact she's hitting her. So, AITA? TL;DR: Intentionally let my co-teacher go without disciplining a student at the end of the day, because I knew her mom would hit her when she got home.

What are these acronyms?

[deadlysoupy]

DATV banter if my Rook (Urchin) was a companion >> 1 << / 2 / ?

if you can't tell this is my addiction now. i pretend i'm being productive while not actually writing any long pieces i wanted to write. everyone wins!

Neve: Are you having any more headaches after Solas and Elgar’nan exchanged pleasantries in your head?

Rook: Well, they’re not headaches anymore, that’s for sure.

Neve: Migraines?

Rook: Yep.

Neve: If you need it, I have a good method for getting rid of them. Not permanently, of course, but they dissipate faster. I can cook something up for both of us.

Rook: Oh. Really?

Neve: Sure. Swing by my room and let me know.

Rook: Oh?

Neve: (laughs) Don’t get too excited now.

~~

Neve: So. You killed a noble.

Rook: Not my… proudest moment, but I don’t regret it.

Neve: That had to earn you some enemies.

Rook: Oh, for sure! I’m surprised no one tried to assassinate me yet. Unless they did try, and I was just too good.

Neve: (laughs) You are hard to get a hold of. But doesn’t it bother you?

Rook: Does your job bother you? You crossed a lot of important people in Dock Town.

Neve: Touché.

~~

Rook: You aren’t much of a crow, Lucanis.

Lucanis: Excuse me?

Rook: You’re more like a cat.

Lucanis: Are you… going to explain it, or?..

Rook: Nah, you figure it out.

Lucanis: (sighs) You and your riddles.

~~

Lucanis: You look good in leather, too.

Rook: Really? I don’t know…

Lucanis: You should try it. It could highlight your waist.

Rook: Oh? Been looking at my waist, have we?

Lucanis: I suppose I was. Just don’t wear capes. 

Rook: Ah, yeah, tried capes and other long dingly things. Got caught in a trap and almost ended up impaled. Don’t recommend wearing capes or cloaks in dungeons.

Lucanis: Duly noted.

~~

Rook: Davrin. What starts with an “A”...

Davrin: No. Nope. Denied.

Rook: But I didn’t even finish!

Davrin: And you won’t. Just keep walking.

Rook: (whine)

(a little bit later)

Rook: I’ll be quick. What squawks but doesn’t— 

Davrin: I said “no”! 

Rook: You’re a fun killer. A fun hunter.

Davrin: Uh-huh. Complain to someone else.

(and a little bit later again)

Rook: …

Davrin: …

Rook: Why can't you hear a phoenix go to the bathroom?

Davrin: …

Rook: Because it's pee is silent.

Davrin: (coughs to interrupt a laugh)

Rook: Ha! I heard that!

Davrin: (coughs) No, you didn’t.

Rook: O-oh, my dearest Davrin. I will never let you live this down. You like pee jokes?

Davrin: We aren’t talking about this.

Rook: Can we pee about it?

Davrin: I’m locking you up in your room when we get back.

Rook: Nice try. I can pick the lock.

Davrin: Not while tied up.

Rook: You wound me. Isabela teaches classes on how to unbind yourself to five-year-olds.

Davrin: Well then I’ll… figure out what to do with you later.

Rook: Challenge accepted, Pee Boy.

Davrin: I hate you.

~~

Rook: I had a pet once.

Davrin: Oh, yeah? 

Rook: A rat. It died.

Davrin: Oh. I’m… sorry?

Rook: (sighs) I’m making a terrible point. What I was trying to say is… We’re not always in control of who we take care of. You’re doing good, Davrin, even if you don’t think so.

Davrin: Uh. Thanks for the vote of confidence? Why did you bring this up in the first place?

Rook: I heard you talking to Assan before we left off. I guess I just had to say something.

Davrin: Hey. What did we talk about snooping?

Rook: “Snooping is bad”.

Davrin: That’s right. But thanks, Rook.

~~

Rook: “Professor Volkarin”, huh? You're a teacher?

Emmrich: Was, Rook. And, to be frank, I deeply miss it.

Rook: I wonder what you teach.

Emmrich: Simple evocations, really. Etiquette dealing with the dead, Nevarran culture.

Rook: Cool. Cool. Do you, um… teach reading, by any chance?

Emmrich: Well, most of our students already have some kind of basic knowledge of grammar…

Rook: Oh…

Emmrich: …But I would love to teach you, if you're willing.

Rook: Oh! Okay! Yeah, I’d love to.

~~

Emmrich: Rook, you’ve been to many an ancient crypt and ruin, correct?

Rook: Not to brag, but yes, I’ve been to a few.

Emmrich: Excellent! I would highly appreciate your help in uncovering a few mysteries I’ve come across. Your expertise would bring a new perspective on things, I’ll be sure to not waste it.

Rook: I… You want my experience in your research?

Emmrich: Why, yes! I’m sure you have a lot of knowledge on ancient architecture, traps, old magic, and many other skills I haven’t a clue about. Is that a problem?

Rook: No, I’m just… No one really wanted my skills in anything before. 

Emmrich: And that’s their loss, my dear. I assure you, your knowledge is as precious to me as any other book.

Rook: Wow. Thanks, Emmrich. That’s… really kind of you.

Emmrich: It’s nothing, I assure you.

Rook: Not to me.

~~

Rook: Harding. Hey. Lace.

Harding: Oh, sorry! What?

Rook: What do you call a sad cheese? A “blue” cheese. 

Harding: (hearty laughing) What was that! That’s terrible! 

Rook: (laughs) I know. You were all caught up in your thoughts, and you looked sad, so.

Harding: (chuckles) I was thinking about the Stone, but your awful joke helped. 

Rook: It’s what I’m here for.

Harding: To be a bard? Sorry, I should have clarified. To be a bard college drop-out?

Rook: No offence taken. Or maybe a little.

~~

Rook: Lace. You’ve been pretty much anywhere, right?

Harding: I’ve been to a lot of places, but I wouldn’t say I’ve been everywhere. My short legs can only carry me so far.

Rook: Still, you’re experienced. What’s the most romantic, or, I guess, scenic place you’ve seen?

Harding: “Romantic”, huh? Got someone to impress?

Rook: So what if I do! You wouldn’t want me to drag them out into the streets of Minrathous, right?

Harding: Oh, no, of course not. But… If I could recommend any place, it would probably be Val Royeaux, the capital of Orlais. Beautiful palaces, good roads, fancy attires…

Rook: Maybe something closer to home? I don’t even know if we have an eluvian that would reach so far.

Harding: You’re missing the point. Orlais has wyverns.

Rook: …oh. Wait, how did you…

Harding: (laughs) I notice things. 

[kinardscake]

hi, sorry. i just wanted a place to rant and uh. this got away from me. feel free to ignore this! sending love to you and all my fellow bucktommies! <3

can i say this: "playing the field" is a bullshit argument. if you (general) had to experience Every Single Thing in life until you are "wise enough" to make choices and have commitments as a grown ass adult, none of these couples could be together. wdym athena didn't sleep with tons of women and trans people before choosing bobby? she cannot possibly know that she loves bobby, a person with a penis, because sHe HaSn'T pLaYeD tHe FiElD enough yet! because what if her "last" is actually not bobby? bobby could die tomorrow. it's not unlikely. athena doesn't know when he might die. bobby doesn't know when athena might die. they don't know if maybe some hurdle will break them someday. and still, we see them treat each other as "their lasts" and investing in their shared future. that is what humans do.

the fact of life is this: you have billions of human beings on this planet and thus plenty of options every day that you have to choose from. that also means that when you made that choice, your are aware that you forfeit the opportunity to get a different outcome. that goes for every single friendship, relationship, hookup, job offer, hobby, place to live, and so forth. realistically, none of us will ever have it all. that is not possible. buck is a firefighter and thus forfeits the opportunity to be a teacher or a zoologist. buck is living in his loft, thus forfeits the opportunity to buy a house. buck buys a couch, thus forfeits the opportunity to have a different one.

that is LIFE, baby.

if the 911 writers think that one must have lots of sex to know when one is in love, well! good news! buck did that already in season 1! buck went through multiple "updates" to learn what he wants. "love" is not suddenly a completely different and unknown concept to buck. he has loved before. he is loving people right now. he has lived through more things than any other person ever will in their lifetime. has experienced eye-opening trauma that clearly says that life is fucking short. and you tell me that after all this he just accepts that others tell him what he supposedly feels? nah fam. this is once again feeling like buck is just "going with the flow" because despite 7 seasons of development, he still seems to let others tell him what he thinks and feels and wants. i'm pretty sure he knows what he wants. buck told tommy that he thinks what he wants could be with tommy. he said it from the beginning. but then the show suddenly pulls a 180 and decided that, actually, buck is unwilling to put in any work.

bobby's first wife and mother of his children died, and nobody questions that his love for athena is real. eddie's wife and love of his life died, and everybody is still hoping he finds another great love after her. you can never know what happens in life, and none of that diminishes the fact that love is real and meaningful and worthy to fight for when you are feeling it! just like chimney went after maddie and pushed to support her despite maddie herself telling buck to not tell chim where she is (which buck respected and got punched for as a thanks). chim explicitly went against maddie's wishes because he knew this was a moment to fight for and support maddie.

just like the old tommy said: "you make it". and that's exactly it! buck has tons of options nd he could find "the one" in multiple people. until buck is dead, he will continue to have options. and it will be a continuous choice to stay in a committed relationship regardless of the other options that will always be there, no matter who he ends up with in the end. that is how life is. he could sleep with thousands of women and men and still be alone because sex with strangers is an investment into something "fun", yes, but not something that is a committed relationship. buck has learned that lesson in season 1. at some point in life, you either choose one person and put effort into that relationship, or you will never make any choice at all and thus never have any of "the ones" that you could have had.

buck can choose to invest his time in meaningless hookups. that is a valid choice to make. however, we know that buck was unhappy with that. why are they trying to reheat a 6-year-old moudly soup?

bucktommy is not even a "the one that got away" story for that reason. we know that both tommy and buck actually want commitment. they are literally on the same page. and instead of fucking committing, of intentionally choosing each other day after day after day, communicating about their insecurities and feelings and needs some more... they suddenly pull back completely? what the actual fuck is that logic? either you want to be in a committed in a relationship or not. make a choice. most people literally talk about that on the first date. making tommy pull back like that after 6 months is horrible, but making buck accept this without any pushback is frankly stupid. THAT would have been the moment to fucking fight for this relationship and point out that "yes, i could easily go fuck other people with different genitalia and guess what, i have been aware of that option existing this whole time but the point is that i INTENTIONALLY CHOOSE to be WITH YOU". but for some reason... nothing. poof. done.

and then i think back to red's story and how it affected buck tremendously... how red put his work first for decades and that he always regretted not investing more into his true love which he met when he was young... red did not choose the person he loved. he chose his job. he did not put in the effort to build a relationship, did not take any risk, and was thus had to live with the consequences of his own actions (living utterly alone after retiring because colleagues are not forever). and that is the thing: there will be what-ifs and consequences in all our lives. you can only be on one (1) path at a time. there will be chances missed. lives you maybe could have had. but this is not how real life works. so you either start making intentional choices and accepting the fact that all of life includes risk and potential heartbreak, or you will regret living as if you are paralyzed.

just. sorry. i didn't plan for my rant to be so long but i'm still so mad at this bullshit take that they gave to tommy of all people. i love tommy, he isn't at fault here. i love buck, he isn't at fault here. the writing in the last episode, however, is really making me fucking mad. it's so condescending and disrespectful to buck as a character but most importantly to bisexual/pansexual people. just because "there are more options" for bisexual people does not mean that the dilemma isn't the same for every human being. if you want love, you have to choose it. you have to work for it. you have to fight for it. you have to communicate what you want and need. you have to be a team with your partner to deal with hurdles together.

this has nothing to do with the size of the dating pool. it's about knowing what you want. all characters in a committed relationship, namely athena, bobby, chimney, maddie, hen, and karen, all have a big potential dating pool. they could all sleep around forever if they wanted. they could test every kink under the sun. however, they do not want to sleep around. it's as simple as that. and there is nothing wrong with you if you intentionally pass by certain opportunities. people know what they want. this is like men telling women that their life will never be "complete" if they don't have children of their own. like how fucking condescending is it to assume that you know what's best for another person when they are mature enough to form their own opinions?!

with how they have written buck for the past 7 seasons, it seemed like he wants commitment. this was established in the pilot episode. but if he just "accepts his fate" and sleep around now, no strings attached? well. okay. so what i am hearing is that either buck still does not know what he wants in life or that the past 7 seasons are a lie and actually his key to happiness is fucking strangers. either way, he has been stagnant for years in this endeavor.

buck and tommy could have easily fought for this to work. this was the perfect opportunity. but they didn't. and now i really think that they have truly lost the plot with buck's overarching storyline. very saddening.

You took the words right out of my mouth, Nonnie.

Sending you so much love as well, and, please, keep speaking your truth. 🫶

[amber-laughs]

Hii!

I was thinking here and had nobody to share, so what do you think Jon's relationship with his siblings, or rather, cousins ahaha, will be like after they reunite? Do you have any headcanons? Arya and Jon? Click right away as before or nah? Bran and Jon? Jon and Sansa? Jon and Rickon (at some point)?

Sorry for the ask, I'm just like bored :)

Please come to me with all your bored questions I love answering them! I wanna start off by saying I don't think Jon will be as devoid of emotion as some people theorize he will be. We have two cases of resurrection but they are very different scenarios than Jon's. First Catelyn to Lady Stoneheart: Cat went mad before she was killed, her mind was already heavily altered in her final moments then her spirit was seemingly sifting about aimlessly until Beric brought her back. Beric has been resurrected six times and he says it take a toll on him every time and theres less of himself each time, meaning his memory was nowhere near as bad the first time it happened. But most importantly neither of these characters are wargs like Jon is. Jon's spirit will be in Ghost who is spiritually and mentally linked to him which I think will be a saving grace. I don't mean to say Jon will have no change but he most certainly will not be a walking zombie, he will still be able to have heartfelt connections with the people around him in my opinion. So:

Arya and Jon: I think that Arya will hear about Jon's death before she gets back to Westeros and it will absolutely devastate her which will make their reunion all the more touching. Jon thought she was dead until ADWD and I assume will think she's dead again if he learns about the Jeyne Pool switch so I think their reunion will be one of relief. I've made a post about this before but Arya thinks she knows who Jon's mother is right now, Edric Dayne told her it was Wylla the Wetnurse and she explicitly says she can't wait to tell Jon. I think this will go one of two ways: Jon will finally be at peace to know the truth and then BOOM! he finds out the The Truth or he'll know about Rhaegar and Lyanna before hand and have to decide if he's going to lie to Arya and the rest of his siblings. I think the R+L=J situation will create a bit of a rift between them because it will feel like a severed bond but I imagine they'll heal that by the end.

Sansa and Jon: I think Littlefinger is going to massively get in the way of this dynamic. Littlefinger wants Sansa to have the North. Jon is Robb's named heir which throws a wrench in those plans. Not only that but George has said Littlefinger gets confused when it comes to Sansa, sometimes she's his daughter with Cat he never had and sometimes she is Catelyn. Grrm called Sansa Petyr's teenage fantasy that's come back and when you have mini Ned Stark walking around the halls that will cause problems on top of the fact that LF will definitely be sniffing around trying to find out who Jon's mother is. He'll try to cause as many problems as possible for them I think. That being said I think Jon and Sansa are a now more alike than ever not only has Sansa experienced being a bastard but Jon has experienced his first love and having that torn away from him. Jon went North essentially wanting to be a great knight and finding out Castle Black is not what he heard in the songs and stories just like Sansa when she went South. I think LF will be their main issue along with some tension over Sansa feeling like Robb sidelined her for Jon and I'm not exactly sure how or where it'll end up but I'm excited (I do not under any circumstances believe that they'll be romantically involved)

Jon and Bran: I know this is gonna sound weird because Bran is only 9 but I see their relationship becoming a little co-worker like. Bran will know all about the Others by the time they meet up and Jon and him will spend a good chunk of time trading information I think. On top of that I think Bran will end up becoming something of a warging teacher to Jon the way Jojen was to him. I don't think I believe that Bran will be the one to reveal R+L=J to him, I think that'll be left to Howland.

Jon and Rickon: Personally I see Rickon dying before he reunites with Jon. If that doesn't happen I'll be curious to know if Rickon remembers him. There's a section in the Cushings Draft of Feast for Crows where Ghost can sense Rickon and Shaggydog in Skagos I know it was deleted so that sort of nullifies it but we know Summer senses the other wolves and like I said with Jon's memories staying safe in Ghost I wonder if the direwolves' connections will have an effect on Rickon being able to remember his siblings despite his age. I personally think that he will remember them if he lives because narratively I don't really see a reason for him to not, I mean I know logically he was 3 when Jon left but he's only 5 now its not much of a stretch.

But to give an overall base answer yes, I think all of them will click right away with love, relief and familiarity but that the problems above will come down the line and can't be swept under the rug