#plus the whole change of environment and teachers and shit

[heatsu]

tfw you left your family to pursue your music career in the big city™ only to get roasted by professors on your entrance exam and not get into university because you don't have enough experience and knowledge for your age

now you have nowhere to go and life is shit

[ilovefandoms102]

Forbidden

Pairing: Professor!Andy Barber x Plus Size Reader

Summary: It’s your first year of law school and your Criminal Law Professor isn’t anything like you expected…

Note: Huge thank you to @lerrieslovechild for helping me with this!

Warnings🛑: professor!andy, age gap(reader is in her 20s), smut(slight dubcon, dom/sub aspects, unprotected vaginal sex, overstim, spanking)

Part 2

For as long as you could remember, you’d always wanted to be a lawyer. Specifically one that deals with family matters. See, you didn’t grow up in the best environment. Both your parents were drug addicts and were deep into deals with local gangs, mafias, the whole hog. Since you lived in a shitty area, no one looked twice at how your parents treated you.

One thing they could give you was making sure you went and stayed in school. The time your mother showed any kind of parental concern was when it came to your grades. You’re not sure where you got the brains from and had no one to ask since both sets of grandparents were dead.

From a young age, you knew the only way of getting away from this life was busting your ass in school. Your teachers always doted on you, was the top of all your classes, and got a full ride to the best law school. Once you turned 18, you packed your shit and cashed out every single penny of your savings so your parents couldn’t get their dirty hands on it.

You passed your undergrad with flying colors, moving you on to the first year of law school. No surprise, it was hard, but your favorite class had to be Criminal Law. You went in everyday excited to learn, and it wasn’t just because of your super hot Professor.

Professor Barber was probably the hottest man you’d ever seen, not even exaggerating. From his beard, to his huge beefy arms, luscious thighs and even more amazing ass, you were mesmerized. You didn’t let that get in the way of your studies however as I’m sure others did. You actually cared about what you were studying, maybe partly because of the life you had, but you also knew this would be important for your future career.

Your boyfriend, Chad, hated that you had his class. He was in his second year of law school and also had Professor Barber during his first year. Chad also hated how the Professor seemed to make you his star pupil which was a load of shit. You never even spoke to your Professor unless it was answering questions in class or when he handed back your essays and complimented yours. Professor Barber also knew how badly you wanted to be a family lawyer and set you up with some of his connections, another thing Chad hated.

Chad and you had been together almost a year now, but things started changing once he found out your class schedule. He’d become extremely critical of everything you did and became hateful if you couldn’t hang out. Before then, he was really sweet and outgoing. He treated you right, the sex wasn’t the best but he tried, sometimes he’d send you your favorite flowers.

Midterms were coming up and Professor Barber assigned a big reading along with a 40 plus page paper. It wasn’t anything like he’d assigned before, so all your focus was in to this assignment along with the 10 other things from other classes. That’s when it happened…

Andy stared at your paper, confusion flooding his brain as this wasn’t anywhere near acceptable. Your papers were always his favorite to read, you truly had a gift for the world of law. He’d never seen anything like it in his 5 years of teaching. But this…something was wrong and he was determined to find out.

He couldn’t help but take an interest in you. Aside from the phenomenal work you turned in, you were the smartest one in his class. The way you answered questions and actually paid attention to the material made him feel something he’d never felt. He couldn’t lie about how your beauty struck him every time you walked in his class. He tried not to, but Andy couldn’t help sometimes to stare at your curves or think how it would feel to have you under him while he held on to said curves.

It was so wrong he knew, but he couldn’t help it. The passion that you expressed drew him in like a drug. So when he saw you come in the next day, tear stained cheeks, he saw red. It took all his control to not walk up to you and pull you in his arms. Instead he went through the motions of teaching but noticed you weren’t as engaged as normal.

After class, he stopped you and your heart sunk to your stomach.

“Yes Professor?” you asked timidly, looking up at the man towering over you.

“Do you have a class right now?” Andy questioned.

“No sir, I have a gap.” you murmured, trying to look anywhere but his blue eyes.

“Come to my office, I’d like to discuss your paper.” he said with a tip of his head towards the hallway.

He grabbed his bag, gesturing for you to follow him. You nodded and walked behind him, your mind only on what happened with you and Chad.

“Are you taking his cock y/n?!” Chad roared, his finger in your face.

“No! Why would you even say that?!” you screamed back, tears flowing down your cheeks.

“That’s all you fucking do is talk about Professor fucking Barber! Every time I call you you’re doing work for his fucking class! All your free time is spent with him and not me your fucking boyfriend!” he seethed, the anger in his voice terrifying you.

You cowered back until you hit a wall, Chad charging into your space.

“Stop it Chad!” you sobbed.

“Stop crying like a little bitch and admit what you did!” Chad growled.

“Get out!” you screamed, shoving his chest back.

After some more screaming, Chad finally stormed out of your apartment. You laid in bed that night crying yourself to sleep.

“Y/n? Honey?” Andy shook your shoulder lightly, snapping you out of your thoughts.

“Sorry Professor,” you mumbled, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear.

“Take a seat.” Andy offered, pointing to the seat across from his desk.

You sat of course, laying your bag on the empty one next to you. Nerves bundled in your stomach as you looked at the handsome man. He stood in front of you, leaning back against his desk. He looked so damn sexy, yet casual if drove you nuts.

“Is everything ok? This paper…well y/n this is nothing like you usually write so I’m concerned.” Andy started gently.

“I-” you started, your voice croaking as tears resurfaced.

“Sweetheart, you can tell me. You’re safe here, it’s just us.” Andy whispered, daringly moving a stray hair from your cheek.

“I’m sorry Professor Barber, I just…I know it’s not my best. I’ve had a really bad past few nights it just-I-I know it’s not an excuse.” you blubbered, crying right in front of your Professor.

“Hey, hey, don’t cry, it’s alright honey. It’s alright. Tell you what, I’ll help you. Come to my place after your classes, then you can turn it in again, but that’ll be your final grade.” Andy said, your eyes widening.

His place?

Your Professor-your very, very HOT Professor wanted you to come over?

“I-I’m not sure.” you sniffled, glancing up into his eyes.

“I’ll give you my number, text you my address.” he whipped his phone out, handing it to you.

Stupidly, you typed your number in. Were you really about to do this? Logically, you could use his help, and you’d be lying if you said you didn’t want to go to his place. What you weren’t prepared for is the moment everything would change…

You knocked on his door, biting your lip as you thought about running back to your car and going home. At the same time, you wondered what this night with your teacher would bring. He opened the door, his sexiness upping by a gazillion since he’d changed out of his usual suit into jeans and a long sleeved tshirt, a chain hanging from his neck that you wanted to grab on to. A chain you could see dangling above you as he fucked you silly.

“Hey sweetheart, come on in.” Professor Barber smiled, stepping aside to give you room to walk in.

“Thanks again for helping me Professor-” you started.

“Andy, call me Andy outside of school baby.” he said softly.

Andy…

Baby…

“Ok, um Andy. Thank you for giving me another chance and offering to help.” you smiled a bit, getting out your laptop from your backpack.

After hours of writing, Andy looking over it, editing and talking all things Crim Law, you were finally able to resubmit your paper. Andy deemed it perfect and that you two should celebrate with a drink. He pulled out his finest whiskey, pouring you both a shot.

“To the amazing y/n.” he grinned, clanking his glass to yours.

“Not sure about that.” you giggled, throwing the shot back.

Andy set about making you an actual drink, throwing that smirk at you that made your clit throb. God you wanted him so bad, and the alcohol didn’t help. Especially when he handed it to you and you clumsily spilt it all over yourself.

“Oh shit, you ok?” Andy asked, grabbing some towels to try and save your drenched clothes.

“Yeah, I’m so sorry.” you whispered, embarrassment flooding through.

“Baby, nothing to be sorry for. You can borrow something of mine and I’ll throw your stuff in the wash.” he offered, taking your hand and guiding you to his room.

Andy handed you one of his shirts, showing you to the bathroom while you changed. He hoped like fuck he wasn’t messing this up, the itch to touch you was driving him insane. Watching you work made his cock achingly hard, he almost had to excuse himself so he could jack off to the dirty thoughts he had in his mind.

He stopped breathing when you walked out, swallowed up in his shirt. All his control went out the window as he prowled to you, picked you up, and tossed you on his bed. A startled shriek escaped as you landed roughly, gulping when Andy pulled his shirt off. His jeans went next before he finally put a knee in the bed, crawling up to you.

“Andy-” you breathed, putting your hand to his chest.

“Tell me you don’t want this.” he growled, heat soaring through your body as you stared up at the beautiful man.

When you didn’t answer, Andy took that and slammed his lips to yours. You couldn’t control the whimper that flew out as you tangled your tongue with his, your hands taking that time to explore the muscle and ridges of his back.

“Fuck, really wanna eat you baby but we’ll have to save that for later.” Andy grunted, yanking his shirt off you.

“Later?” you squeaked, shivering when he nodded his head.

You didn’t have time to even think about being exposed to him, you were so hot and bothered and extremely tuned the fuck on. Sitting up, you threw your bra off while Andy took care of your panties.

Andy yanked you down to the end of the bed, spread your legs, and viscously thrusted inside you. The pain of his cock shot through you yet it felt so fucking good, your back arched from the bed as a pathetic moan rang out into his room.

“Christ baby, so fuckin’ perfect. Look at you, so wet and fucked out already.” he smirked while savagely slamming into you.

“Andy!” you squealed, pleasure spiking way to fast, faster than you’d ever felt.

You could feel it coming, you recognized the feeling yet you’d only ever been able to do it to yourself. This would be your first orgasm during sex, and your Professor was about to give it to you in a way you’d never forget.

“You gonna cum already sweetheart? We just got started.” Andy grinned, holding your hips tighter as he pounded in faster.

“An-Andy I-I’m gonna-” you gasped as your whole body tightened, your orgasm sweeping over you.

Andy smiled menacingly as he watched you, the most beautiful woman lose it taking his cock. He didn’t plan on stopping anytime soon either as he flipped you over, smacking your ass harshly as he pulled you up to your knees.

“All mine now baby, my little slut to do whatever I want with.” he growled, laying another smack to your ass.

You whined against the sheets, shakily pushing up on your hands as you looked over your shoulder. Andy stared into your eyes as he stuffed his cock back into you, watching your eyes roll back as your head fell forward. He reached around, finding your clit and rubbing just as harshly as he hammered into your sore pussy.

“Andy, it’s too much!” you sobbed, another orgasm crashing over.

“Mmmm I know my baby can take it.” he hummed, continuing his movements while you could only sit there and take it.

Orgasm after orgasm, your last one with you on your back with your legs over Andy’s shoulders when he finally let go and planted himself to the root. You were so gone with pleasure you didn’t get to watch, and you secretly hoped there would be a time you could.

Andy was careful with his baby, cleaning her up and tucking her into his side. The two of you shared lots of gentle kisses until you passed out with your head on his chest. Andy finally felt like he’d found the person he’d been looking for, and he was going to do whatever it took to keep you.

[lexpressobean]

Parent/Teacher Night

In which Shikamaru steps in as Mirai's guardian to help her complete her unofficial assignment of the night and subsequently suffers from nostalgia induced shock from unforeseen circumstances.

**Modern AU, Mild Swearing, late 20-something adults who simply care about the same 10-year-old kid lol

Edit: Now available on AO3 too!

•••

Shikamaru had gladly accepted Kurenai's request for him to attend Parent-Teacher night with Mirai in her absence. It had been his day off after all, and he hadn't planned anything anyway. Plus, it'd only take, what, half an hour at most back and forth? Maybe he could even treat Mirai to dinner, just 'cause it had been a while. Normally, Kurenai would have skipped it all together due to her schedule, just this one time, but apparently Mirai's teacher was offering extra credit to the students as an incentive for them to have their parents come. And Mirai was very adamant that she shouldn't waste such an opportunity. Not for this teacher.

Shikamaru wondered what seemed to make this teacher so special to Mirai anyway. When he asked, Mirai seemed confused.

"You don't know, Shikamaru?"

"... Well, it's not like I've met the teacher either Mirai. But this teacher must be really good at their job if you like them that much already."

Mirai gave him a gleeful grin, "Watch, you'll see!"

And see he did.

Shikamaru wasn't expecting to run into such a classicaly "tall, dark, and handsome" form in the classroom. He certainly wasn't expecting that man to BE the teacher.

"Shino-sensei!" Mirai called, running over to greet him.

And at that, something froze Shikamaru in place. Something almost urgent... Wait... Shino? Shino... Why did that name sound familiar...?

The teacher turned just in time to take her glomp's impact with a deep, "OOF!" into his abdomen, and Shikamaru got distracted by the sound of his voice. Wow, deep... but then Shikamaru noticed his glasses misaligned in the process, and Shikamaru then realized they were... sunglasses? Indoors? Ha, this guy... Shikamaru wasn't necessarily gonna dock him points for that. But the only other person Shikamaru remembers doing that unironically was-

...

... Oh wait...

Oh... Wait.

OH. OH, HOLY SHIT!?

WAIT, THAT'S SHINO!? AS IN "SHINO ABURAME" SHINO!?!?!?

...

W H A T ! ?

"Ah... Mirai, hello. I thought you and your mother weren't coming. I told you it's okay, sometimes people can't come."

"Shikamaru came with me! I didn't want to miss the extra credit!"

"Shikamaru?"

"He's technically my godfather, so it counts, right?"

Shino stayed quiet for a moment and looked over towards the doorway where Shikamaru was still standing. As he recognized Shikamaru, Shino straightened up, gave a brief wave and... a smile?

Shikamaru was dumbfounded. Just a minute ago, he would've simply held up an open hand in response as he subtley and respectfully checked him out. Seriously, how could he not? But, now the movement of Shino's wave snapped him out of his thoughts and Shikamaru probably waved more than really needed to acknowledge the teacher. And he cursed at himself inwardly as soon as Shino looked back to Mirai. Was he blushing? It was feeling kinda hot in the classroom all of a sudden...!

"Alright Mirai, thank-you for coming, but for now please wait your turn, okay?"

"Alright!" Mirai walked back to Shikamaru, smiling widely proud of herself.

From far away, he could hear Shino's voice, "Sorry for the interruption. You see-"

"Surprise, Shikamaru!"

Mirai knew. This whole time. And the more he thought about it, Shikamaru at one point knew too. He just... simply forgot... Wow, what a thing to forget. Damn it, why didn't Shikamaru ask more questions earlier? Why didn't she just tell Shikamaru? Hell, why didn't KURENAI tell Shikamaru!?

"Yeah, I guess you're right..."

As Mirai led Shikamaru around the classroom, he started to try and recall more about Shino. It was all coming to him, slowly but surely. And if what he recalled was correct, this neat and organized classroom definitely would scream Shino. It was decorated with the typical posters meant to be both fun and helpful, and colorful and eye catching. Shikamaru even recognized many of the books in the shelves, though most he never actually read any of them. But there were traces of decorations here and there that were definitely conscious choices. Namely pictures of worms in apples, ladybugs, ants and bees symbolizing teamwork, things like that. Shino was a fan of bugs afterall.

Then Shikamaru found some board games and noted shogi was among them. He was tempted for a split second to pull it out and challenge Mirai to a game, but thought better of it. But what Mirai was most eager to show Shikamaru was her seat. Or rather, what was nearly right next to her seat.

In a terrarium, no doubt from Shino's collection if Kiba told him the truth, held a black and white worm. Except the worm had these orange like eye markings all along either side if it, and black dots in each eye shape... Shikamaru thought it looked kinda goth for a bug.

"We all decided to name it Daidai! Shino-sensei says this one will turn into a moth. Before Daidai, we had a catepillar we all named Marugao, because it's head was so big! But when he became a butterfly, he was so pretty, he almost shimmered!"

As Mirai gushed about how she got to sit next to Daidai, Shikamaru stole a glance at Shino once more. He was still making rounds, and it looked like no one else had come into the classroom either. Hm, looks like they were gonna be last.

Sunglasses had always hid Shino's eyes, ever since they were kids. Shikamaru couldn't quite recall if they were actually prescription or not, but up to this point, they had always been a constant. Otherwise... his former classmate really was virtually unrecognizable. And now that he thought about it, Shikamaru recalled that Shino had graduated from university with a teaching degree some years back, but this information had only been secondhand from Kiba on social media. Shikamaru wasn't even sure if Shino had social media...

Meanwhile, Shikamaru had barely been back in town for still less than a year. It wasn't his fault if he didn't know Shino's business. Medical school was gruelling, and anesthesia was no joke.

But still... Shikamaru had been expecting something similar from Shino. Maybe not a medical doctor, but a doctorate? Hadn't he been in the Environmental Club in high school? He seemed like he would've been very interested in the natural sciences, and definitely had the means... It was just kind if odd. He was an academic star that was always competing with both Ino and Sakura for top of the class as far as he could remember. And those ladies had gone to school to become a Pediatric Psychiatrist and Pediatric Surgeon respectively too. They were all a smart bunch, no doubt about that.

Yet, Shino had always been... different too. He had looked like a troublemaker with the beanies he wore, and his messy, nearly kinky curls always managed to find a way to stick out in the back. And he always had baggy looking clothing on in layers during any kind of weather. Plus he had a bad case of RBF Syndrome too, which would alarm a few others because he was always so good at blending into the background, yet when noticed, he looked like the kind of guy that would mess you up for just breathing funny. He had always been taller than most too, that probably didn't help.

But he wasn't a bad kid at all. Not like Naruto and Kiba anyway. Acording to Kiba, Shino's loner tendencies were due to simple shyness. And he would know, as Kiba and Shino seemed to grow close after they opted to join the Environmental Club separately in high school, which happened to be run by Kurenai-sensei. And that's all Shikamaru really knew, because when Kiba would come out and about Shino hardly ever came. Kiba could be pushy, which is how Shikamaru suspected the pair became friends in the first place, but apparently not enough to enjoy a party or things like that together outside of school... Maybe once or twice? Not even at Naruto's insistence could make him a regular, as Naruto was... an "unofficial" member of the Environment Club. Meaning he'd just crash the club's outings when they did plant specific activities. Naruto had a green thumb after all.

Actually, it always seemed like Kiba and Naruto were those extroverts that had the habit of adopting introvert friends so to speak. Funnily enough, their respective adoptees had already known each other too. But Sasuke was even LESS friendlier than Shino, and even Shino seemed annoyed with him, one of those rare times he let his thoughts show in his expression...

But today, in the yellowish glow of the classroom lights... something was definitely different. From his smoothed out hair tied up into modern bun on his hatless head and his open, light duty trenchcoat that really... accentuated his very... broad, adult figure... It was most definitely different... but the most dynamic change of all had to be that Shikamaru had never seen Shino so soft in the face before. Behind those shades, he looked... relaxed, and when he spoke, it sounded so... nice? Definitely not a bad thing at all...

And suddenly there was a hand in front of Shikamaru's face.

"-kamru...Shikamaru?"

"HUH!? What?"

... Oh... Hell, he spaced out.

"... Shikamaru, are you okay? Busy day at work at the hospital maybe?"

HUH!? How did Shino know that? "Uh! Yeah, kinda..." he shook his head, "Well no, that's not it, today was actually my day off. I worked yesterday. Still a little out of it looks like," he added with a casual chuckle. At least he hoped he sounded casual.

Shino frowned, eyebrows knit into concern. Ah man, how embarrassing! Had Shikamaru been caught starting with a dopey look on his face?

"... I'm sorry, maybe extra credit was a bad idea this time around. Mirai is so dutiful, I didn't mean for anyone to be dragged here."

"What? No way, I wasn't dragged here. Mirai is my Goddaughter, Shino, so I'm perfectly ready to be informed about her progress. I agreed to come, it's no big deal."

The now teacher looked at Shikamaru with a slight head tilt to the right... And then another small smile. Wow, he really had to stop doing that!

"Well, all in all, Mirai is actually doing very well. She already excels in her studies and is easily one of our most engaged and top students at this time. She's still young, but she shows a lot of scholarly promise."

"Ah, I see. Do... do you see any areas in need of improvement?"

"Well, there's always room for improvement of course. But in Mirai's case..."

Shino looked over at Mirai who was at the snack table. She had walked over to get a couple of cookies and was seemingly cornered by a classmate into a chat.

"... I think, she could benefit from some encouragement to be more social."

"More social?"

Shikamaru followed Shino's gaze and saw Mirai talking to her classmate, her expression showing patience more than anything... It looked like the other little girl was chatting up a storm.

"Don't misunderstand, she's definitely a team player and is very respectful. However, her maturity level is above many of her classmates. As a result, she tends to prefer to study on her own..."

Well, that rang a bell. Shikamaru could've sworn that Shino was the same way back then. But Mirai didn't resemble Shino at all.

"Is she quiet?" Shikamaru asked.

"Oh, no, thankfully she's still quite engaged. If anything, sometimes she may overthink things. I've noted she's a bit of a perfectionist, and so is actually a little slower on average during tests, but she's an avid question asker too. If she just had some more confidence in her self and would... relax a little more, I think it'd be good for her. She's still a kid after all, she should feel allowed to act like one."

That was a strange thing to say... Did Mirai... not feel okay?

"... She's Kurenai-sensei's daughter, so I try not to favor her. It's kind of hard when she used to ride on my shoulders during reunions and things like that though."

Shino gives a small, warm smile in Mirai's direction. And Shikamaru is kind of touched. Despite the shades, his fondness for Mirai is so obvious. It makes Shikamaru glad to know she has Shino to come to during school time. At least that was something....

Then, Shino turned back to Shikamaru, who was TOTALLY not staring just now.

"But it's necessary. She's... too comfortable with me... If earlier didn't make that obvious."

Shikamaru did have it in his mind to scold Mirai about that, but that was a talk for later. More private.

"I had meant to bring this up with Kurenai, but Mirai also... has had a habit of staying in the classroom during lunch and recess. I've had to move to the teacher's lounge during just to get her outside..."

"What? Really?"

Shino nodded, eyebrows knitted and a smile that showed a regretful sympathy.

"... I wonder what that could be about..."

"I suppose some kids find it hard to socialize, but she needs a more... balanced perception of boundries. In no time, she'll have her own mother for a teacher too. Otherwise, she's generally doing pretty well."

Shit. Shino was thinking way ahead, Kurenai was a high school teacher. But... he was right, this couldn't be allowed to go on.

"Shikamaru?"

"Hm? Yes?"

"Did you have any more questions?"

"Uh... No, I... don't think so. But, even though I'm sure you don't have to be asked, please, continue to take care of her."

Shino perked up a little at that before smiling at Shikamaru again! It made it hard to stare him in the face, "Of course."

... Damn... Was Shino's smile... always this cute?

"Shikamaru! I brought you a cookie."

"Oh, thank-you."

"Did you want one too Buggy... I mean... Shino... sensei?"

"... Buggy?" Shikamaru repeated.

"... Ah, Sensei I'm sorry, I did it again...!"

Shino pat Mirai's head, and gave a small chuckle even. Shikamaru was all ears, "It's okay Mirai, I'm know you're trying. No offense taken."

"I really am, I promise!" she assured, "So did you want one?"

"No thank-you Mirai, it's for the guests. You go ahead."

"Okay, sensei."

Shikamaru couldn't help it. He just had to say something.

"Hey Shino."

"Yes?"

"You must be pretty suited to teaching."

"Oh? What makes you sat that?"

"I mean... It's been a while. Actually it's been a long time, but... well, I don't think I've ever seen you quite like this before..."

"Pardon?"

"I dunno, you just seem... Very much in your element here. I'm glad the whole instructor thing really worked out. You've been here for a few years already, haven't you?

"Oh... Thank-you, Shikamaru... And yes, I have. I appreciate that."

This time Shino GRINNED. And Shikamaru suddenly was very aware of his... jawline... uh...

"Y-Yeah, of course! Well, I'm sure there's other parents you need to talk to..."

"Right, that is true." A couple more stragglers had come in.

"But here, hold on a sec," Shikamaru pulled out his phone, "I don't think we've ever traded information before. Wanna trade now? I'll send you a text back."

"Oh," Shino was a bit surprised, "Um. Okay, sure."

After getting his number, Shikamaru sent a text and could hear one of Shino's pockets vibrate.

"There, all set! Thanks for talking with me, Shino."

"Thank-you for coming. And if you're not terribly busy, I trust you will be the one to come when Kurenai-sensei is unavailable?"

"Yes. Yes, that'll be the plan," Shikamaru decided right then and there.

"Alright, thank-you Shikamaru."

"No, thank-you. C'mon Mirai, let's go. Goodbye, Shino.

"Bye Shino-sensei!"

"Goodbye."

-

"Shikamaru! Can we go eat something? I'm starving!"

"What do you want?"

"Yakisoba!!"

"Haha, alright, sure."

Mirai gave Shikamaru a sudden and huge hug.

"Whoa, what's up?"

"I'm just so happy you came, Shikamaru! So thank-you!" she beamed.

It tugged on Shikamaru's heartstrings a bit. She really had missed him, huh? "You don't have to thank me, Mirai, but your welcome anyway. C'mon, let's go."

"It was nice that you and Shino-sensei got to see each other again too, don't you think?"

"Uh, yeah, it was quite the surprise. But a welcomed one."

Hmmm... It looks like Kurenai was gonna have to be unavailable for the next few parent-teacher nights....

••

I kept tweaking it and tweaking it until I decided to simply stop. So sorry for any grammar or syntax errors, but I just needed to get this out of my system haha

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

Top 10 favorite things about TFS?

Bold of you to assume I can narrow it down to just 10 things, but I’ll try my best. 

Here’s a list of things I LOVE about The Final Season of TWDG, starting from #10 and working my way down to #1.

10. Rosie is best girl and doesn’t die 

Listen, okay? If you give me a game with a doggo companion that I bond with only to have said doggo die for dramatic effect... you automatically lose 2 outta 5 stars on your rating. Case in point: Season 2.

However, tfs knew not to kill Rosie off for dramatic effect, knew it’d be cheap. Plus, Rosie is a sweetheart and I love that she helps Clementine come to terms with her past trauma with dogs and genuinely bonds with her. Rosie is best girl. 

9. Over the shoulder camera/controls 

They’re the best of the series, having come a LONG way since S1. Like, look... Don’t get me wrong. S1 isn’t unplayable or anything, far from it, but they’re not the greatest either. They’re pretty wonky at times, the fixed camera can get annoying when you’re moving around, and sometimes button presses don’t register. It’s definitely something I have to get used to whenever I go back and replay the entire series, and like I said, it’s not the worst controls in the world... but oh man, compared to TFS?

Have you ever played S1 and then jumped straight into TFS just to get a direct comparison of the two? Because I have and it’s jarring how much smoother, accurate, and overall better everything is in TFS.

Just... props, guys. Thank you for the over-the-shoulder, movable camera, thank you for the polished button prompts, and thank you for a run button that has Clementine go into a nice jog rather than a comical run or, eh... does nothing [lookin’ at you ANF... Javi slow].

It’s just so effortless to play. The most trouble I ever have is with doors but that’s a given- Doors make no goddamn sense in this series and I’ve given up trying to learn their secrets. Oh, and speaking of more improvements! 

The shooting mechanic in this game is leaps better than in S1. Y’all remember the Motor-Inn shootout? The one that was such a frustrating pain in the ass?? So much death and anger...

I still die sometimes when shooting the walkers with the bow, especially the ones that are on fire, but it’s nothing compared to the shooting mechanic in S1, so the biggest THANK YOU for that one. It’s actually enjoyable to shoot stuff this time around.

8. Collectibles 

You as Clementine get to pick up various collectibles to decorate her and AJ’s dorm with and it’s great. One of my favorite bits about this game is seeing Clementine wake up in this empty, lifeless room, and see it get brighter and brighter with every collectible you place throughout the game until you reach the final scene with AJ where the room is just FULL of life and personality. Like... it’s officially theirs. It’s such a good feeling! 

And the devs totally didn’t have to add the collectible system in, but I’m so thankful they did. I’m one of those people who gets every single collectible every single time I play. 

7. Ericson’s Boarding School for Troubled Youth

Y’know, I honestly can’t think of a better place for Clementine and AJ to end up than Ericson’s Boarding School for Troubled Youth. It’s awesome, I love it, what a great idea. I also love the sense of wonder when we step outside for the first time and see the inside of Ericson, as well as the others, walking around. Like even Clementine is taken back by it.

Because of course it makes sense for Clementine to end up in a school surrounded by people closer to her age rather than with a group of dumbass adults like in the past three games.

Here it feels like they’re all about on the same level. There’s no older person here belittling Clementine because “she’s just a child and doesn’t get it,” they’re just people, y’know? Hell, if anything, Clementine’s now the most experienced one!

The school’s great! I wouldn’t change a thing about TFS taking place here. The environments are beautiful and I love exploring the world. 

6. Marlon as an antagonistic character/final confrontation 

I have an entire Marlon character discussion/study so I won’t put too much time into this one, but I will say that I love Marlon’s part in tfs. I love him as a surprise antagonistic character, I love how chill he is in the beginning, I love the final confrontation at the end of ep1... I just really like Marlon, y’know?

Ray Chase gives a damn near perfect performance as Marlon, so much so that I wish he survived past ep1 just so that I could hear more of his acting. Marlon himself in an interesting look at a leader character hiding his shame and guilt while trying to maintain control over everyone [including himself] around him, only to be broken down when he’s found out. 

5. James 

I know people tend to be pretty split on James, but I personally really like his role in tfs. I love that they included a character who was apart of the Whisperers, and hell, if anything I’d like to know MORE about James’ past with them. 

I just find him and his whole “walkers are sort of people? kinda?” beliefs. Again, I know some people get annoyed with him because of his beliefs but I think he adds an interesting spin on the whole thing, y’know? Though I do love what a bitch he is if you don’t agree with him hahaha

James is a bitch and I love him, okay? I love his dumb walker mask, I love his dumb boyband hair, I love his whispery voice, and I love his backstory with the Whisperers and Charlie. I love this he’s trying so hard to be this pacifist that he ends up doing the literal thing he said he doesn’t want to do-- hurt people. Y’know... like attempting to kidnap AJ and threatening to break Clementine’s leg in the caves if he’s alive. 

Which, by the way, that whole cave scene is a thing. It’s wild and I love it but not for the reasons the devs probably wanted. Like... it’s a little hilarious? I know it’s not supposed to be! But I can’t take James seriously when he’s walkin’ around his hands on his hips all huffy and puffy, okay? It’s just wild. 

Anyway, I love James and wouldn’t get rid of him. Hell, I’m still waiting for my James with the Whisperers mini-series, Skybound. 

4. Ericson Crew

There isn’t a single character from Ericson that I don’t like, or that I’d get rid of, which is rare with these games. Thinking back to the previous games, there’s always at least one person I could do without or that I didn’t like. I adore all of them!

The Ericson crew just feels closer than previous groups. For starters, they’re way more likable than most in our previous groups. Even when there’s tension [and boy is there tension at points] you still get the sense that they don’t hate each other, unlike in our previous groups. They do in fact love each other as a family and will do what they can to protect one another.

Plus, they’re all interesting. They’re troubled youth and I love all of them! 

Aasim keeps a daily journal where he chronicles everything in hopes of learning from past mistakes to prevent future ones, he’s damn good with a bow, and he’s got a neat little soul patch on his chin.  

Ruby is the tiny yet fiery medic of the group who adamantly believes in manners yet used to chase teachers around with pitchforks. 

Brody is caught up in the twin mess with Marlon but she’s also shown to want an escape, a road trip where she and her friends can go see the beach, but she also suffers with anxiety and panic attacks and isn’t afraid to knock Marlon on his ass or swear at Clementine. 

Mitch is a grumpy, tall boy who looks after Willy like a brother, knows how to make bombs out of manure and propane, and used to fight his neighbors because they didn’t like his face. 

Omar is a sassy chef who has to have every ingredient just right otherwise he’s salty for a week and he can take a bullet to the leg like a champ. 

Willy’s a goober who can climb trees like you wouldn’t believe and he made a bomb of his own in Mitch’s honor that completely wrecked the delta’s ship. 

Tenn is a soft, naïve boy who draws and reads but isn’t afraid to stab a walker bitch if he has to. 

Violet was sent to the school after witnessing her grandmother’s dead, she used to date Minerva who is now “dead,” has abandonment issues,  tries to give off the appearance of a grumpy grump but like once she’s comfortable with you she’ll tell you her life story and do romantic shit like dancing and painting you a pin. 

Louis was sent to Ericson because he was a rich brat who broke up his parents marriage because they wouldn’t let him take singing lessons and has felt like garbage ever since, using humor to cope and push people away, and keeps the façade on until someone’s willing to see past it in which he’ll finally bare his soul to you, name a song he wrote after you, and do everything in his power to keep you and everyone else safe over himself. 

I just... Love ‘em all. 

3. Clementine and AJ’s dynamic 

To think that they almost killed AJ off, or kept him a minor character. That would’ve been a shame and an absolute waste because Clementine and AJ’s dynamic is super fucking good in tfs. 

It’s actually a little baffling that AJ’s as good as he is, from his writing to his voice acting, he’s just great. And his relationship with Clementine is definitely one of my favorites to come from this game. It’s not perfect, but I don’t want perfect. 

I love that AJ looks to Clem for guidance and I love the way our choices affect him, even when it’s a case of the bridge scene. Hate the bridge scene knowing that I gotta sacrifice a character I care about for another I love, but I can’t deny that I love how that choice is made. After everything, do you trust AJ or not? 

Plus, their conversations are so well done, their chemistry is through the roof, and I wouldn’t change it. 

Oh, and the barn scene? Gets me every time, even though I already know everything’s fine and gonna work out. Still gets me. 

2. Clementine is Bisexual

I’ve talked about this in the past, but lemme just say that I love the fact that Clementine is canonically bisexual. 

Doesn’t matter if you’re dating Louis, Violet, or no one, Clementine is still bisexual. The game confirms it through it’s text/subtext and Clementine’s actions that we don’t have control over, and the devs confirmed it. She ain’t straight, she ain’t a lesbian, she is bisexual. 

I can’t express how happy that makes me. Just... 💗💜💙

And with her being bisexual comes her two great love interests: Louis and Violet. They’re amazing, and such an improvement over the previous game’s attempt at love interests... ahem, y’know... Kate.

1. Louis as a character/his relationship with Clementine 

I mean... c’mon. Y’all knew what #1 was gonna be. Do I even need to explain? This entire blog is just me gushing about Louis/clouis. 

Look, Louis is my favorite non-playable character across the entire series. Hell, even when you factor in playable characters, he’s STILL my absolute favorite. Like, even outside of his relationship with Clementine, I find him to be such a compelling character by himself. 

Like I mentioned above, he came from a stupid rich family who gave him everything he ever wanted, but when his father wouldn’t let him take singing lessons, he literally worked for over a year to break up his parents marriage because “you get to be happy or you get to be rich, can’t be both.” 

He gets sent to Ericson where the apocalypse happens, he never gets to make up with his parents, and he ends up using jokes and piano as a coping mechanism to deal with everything, falls into a cycle of being unreliable and the butt of the joke, and lives one day at a time without much thought for the future. 

He puts on the happy jokester persona to push people away from knowing the real him and rarely shares much about himself. Hell, when Clementine does hunting and decides to take care of the walker with him, he actually does let down the wall for a minute to share his view on “this moment” before looking away like “Oof, shared too much-- HEY, GO CHECK ON AASIM :D I’LL BE OVER HERE :D FIXING THE TRAP :D and adjusting the wall ahem--” 

It’s so interesting because you’d think that he’d be more open about his past with Marlon or the twins or whatever [like Violet is] but no, he doesn’t tell you shit about his past until EPISODE 3 and you have to work to get that story. 

I just... I just love him. Could talk about and analyze his character for hours. And I love his relationship with Clementine. It’s just so good. The piano scene where they finally admit their feelings for one another?? That shit has my entire heart. Their entire relationship is my favorite. What else is there to say? 

[mrs-nate-humphrey]

aight aight, real shit; let's say you got the chance to rewrite the entirety of gossip girl exactly how you want. make a brief description of what would happen in each season. (you can decide whether there's a fourth season or not)

oh i LOVE this ask, and i am so flattered to be asked this, haha. i have SO many thoughts, i’ve been thinking about this non-stop, but i’ll try to be as brief as possible. also, disclaimer, i don’t remember all the seasons equally clearly. like i barely remember s2. haha, whoops.

season 1: i love this season as is, for the most part. i think the tone of it was actually very serious and involved? like the show was actively trying not to be frivolous with heavy topics, and the way we were getting to see the characters seemed like they were trying to bring out character depth and the complexities of their lives in very deliberate ways. nate’s whole thing with his parents gets so much focus, and it’s not something the show glorifies, it’s something that is meant to make you uncomfortable and worried for him. 

i would have nate be less of a dudebro, jenny & nate’s friendship being a little more solid, dan being a little more involved in jenny’s problems + helping her find her space, vanessa/nate to happen earlier - after nate breaks up w/ blair and realises she looks happier, i would have him not try and get back with her (lol, dude, the fact that she’s happy after breaking up with you means you probably shouldn’t be dating her.) more exploration of eric’s mental health. more dan and blair friendship. i would keep chair the way it is this season. i would not have a derena breakup - i’d have them take a break after the georgina reveal and get back together during the summer after talking about it and deciding to be more honest & open with each other. and, what the hell, i would have lily not blame serena (???) for being taken advantage of in the whole pete fairman situation. serena wasn’t sober, she was 16, that dude was in his 30s, georgina was taping her w/o her consent. how is any of this serena’s fault??? i hate lily’s reaction so much.

season 2: i... don’t remember enough of this season, sadly. it’s been too long since i watched it. i would majorly change jenny’s arc here, though. eleanor stealing her dress was majorly, majorly fucked up, and i think jenny should’ve done something then and there. also the whole thing with ‘lily is a mother to chuck’.... i would’ve loved it if lily had been like that to jenny. the girl needed it, and lily would’ve actually been able to help jenny establish connections in the professional world and whatnot. i think jenny should’ve transferred out of constance - not necessarily homeschooling maybe, but gone somewhere else. unlike dan, she didn’t even want to get into an ivy, she wanted to make it big as a designer. so. that. 

oh nate my love. i’d get this trainwreck of a boy some therapy. while i hate that the catherine thing happened, things like that do happen all the time, and i’d be interested in sort of handling the aftermath of it in a responsible way. i would not have... a lot of serena’s arc and decisions (from what i can remember) were really random in this season. i’d have her break up with dan at some point. and vanessa would need a new subject for her short film, and she’d choose serena.

nate doesn’t really date anyone, this season. but he and jenny open up to each other abt having gay crushes on people who treat you like shit - jenny’s thing with agnes - nate rescues her when they’re taking those pictures in her flat and let’s say she doesn’t go back to agnes. instead of kissing her, nate talks to her instead, and tells her about carter, tells her about chuck. and jenny talks about her feelings for blair, her feelings for agnes. and both of them sort of go... “it sucks, but all we can do is try not to become the kind of people we hate, right?”

dan pines for nate. majorly. massively. obviously. i think the only person who really notices is blair, and this would lead to new hijinks and shenanigans. also!! i do not want chair in s2. maybe it can go there for a bit but definitely not to the extent in canon. i want blair to have the same moment of being unable to deny her cruelty / needing to be accountable that she did in that ‘age of dissonance’ play. and. this sounds fucky but i want the dan/rachel stuff to stay as it is, and later, in s4, for dan & serena to talk about rachel & ben respectively and be like ‘hey, this was a fucked up thing to happen to us, wasn’t it?’ 

i would also like to get to know blair’s “minions” better as people. i mean. they all seemed hella fascinating to me, and the show’s decision to make them superficial and unidimensional was very depressing.

season 3: hot garbage, throw canon away. when chuck goes away to paris or wherever, let him not come back. goodbye, dude! dan, blair & vanessa friendship at nyu is so, so important to me. also im losing my mind always at how vanessa and serena catch dan on that walk of shame and they’re both like ‘college is a time for experimentation!’ and nobody does anything even slightly bisexual (unless you count that threesome later, which, blah.) a serenessa / date dynamic in college would’ve been great. dan transferring to columbia like blair does and rooming with nate and just, the gayness of it all. dan & blair become really, really close, and d&b&v watch movies + go to art exhibits together and are all SO DAMN PRETENTIOUS. serena finds it sexy, nate finds it terrifying. 

the william stuff would be interesting if he were actually held accountable. like that man has no right being a doctor, and medical malpractice needs to be brought up. and jenny’s whole arc this season makes me so sad. i think it would’ve been interesting if she’d been a ‘queen’ and ruled alongside eric, and just, the two of them forcing people to be nice, sort of like they try to do with people who are mean to nelly in s2 i think it is? but also.. jenny out of constance is very good, and i think i mentioned that earlier, haha, whoops.

season 4 : serenessa breakup, for whatever reason, probably to do with the william fuckery, because i think vanessa would react in similar ways to nate (”serena, i know he’s your dad, but we have to do the right thing” / “it still wasn’t your call to make” / “he’s a certified doctor, serena, a man like that has no right -” / “god vanessa, you really don’t get it, do you?” ). uhhh i would actually... if i had to choose i would honestly go blairnessa >>>>> dair. i love how blair & vanessa can keep each other on their toes and hold each other accountable. like? blair’s classist or racist and dan’s just like, *smiles*. vanessa would actively be like ‘hey, stop that.’ (this is one of the few actual criticisms i have about d/b as a relationship, RIP.) 

(edited to add: yeah, i think blairnessa WOULD be a sustainable relationship, more abt that here! )

yes to the milo arc, but dan gets to keep milo (his friends threaten georgina and go all ‘you made him sign the certificate. don’t make us take you to court’ because i love these morally grey assholes but also because g DID trick dan into thinking milo was his and dan was ready to reshape his whole life around that kid which is more than georgina was willing to do. plus endgame: jack/georgina are not parents i want milo to have.) i would also have more of a rufus & dan fallout over the milo thing. i think rufus would be really nasty about it all tbh.

the dair arc for blair and vanessa! let the juliet stuff happen, but let it be less awful + let it be seen as Bad + let serena get help & not forgive her for it. let serena NOT date ben after, what the hell. i want d&s to talk about their shared feelings for high school teachers and to realise, in retrospect, as adults, that what happened was crossing lines. let blair and vanessa suddenly drop dan and do the movies + galleries stuff on their own. and dan’s like ??? but he’s busy being a parent with nate supporting him. dan’s drama is very much parenting things. there would be some nonsense involving nate’s family pushing back, because ‘we stood by while you dated him, nate, we thought it was a phase. but raising a child with another man? this is unacceptable.’ i would like nate to get disowned by the family, and need to find his own feet. and to get a REAL SHOT AT HAPPINESS away from that terrible environment.

season 5: i want this to be a good serena season. let her find her calling doing creative things. let her and carter travel the world. let her just be whoever she wants to be. let her and vanessa patch their friendship up. let her have an open relationship with carter, let her have a lot of sex with a lot of random people and not feel guilty about it. let her really really blossom. i want more eric! maybe he’s in london with jenny, and she’s working on her fashion stuff, and he’s realising that he really wants to be a counsellor. 

some time-skips, maybe. i really want to see dan’s whole thing of being a parent. sending milo to kindergarten and spending the whole time milo’s gone on edge and anxious about everything that could go wrong, while nate comforts him. let nate try to get a job because he no longer has a trust fund, and navigate everything that comes with that. let vanessa be there for him. why the fuck am i phrasing my sentences like this - can you tell that i studied physics once?? oh well.

blair & vanessa handling a lot of things. vanessa meeting harold!! vanessa’s parents being disapproving of blair, but ruby standing up for her. blair & vanessa planning their future properly. blair & vanessa babysitting milo and talking about kids. 

and there can be drama too, there should always be drama. but i would like wholesome stuff at the centre of it too, you know? the ivy/lola nonsense can go on in the background, i don’t actually care that much. as long as ivy doesn’t go around fucking people’s fathers for no understandable or discernable reason, i don’t really care lkdhlfdkhg. (it was just so inexplicable and so random!)

season 6: uh, i don’t know. this was a bad season for everyone in canon, except chuck. i would throw it all away. i would actually love if we had pre-series rufly instead: every time those two bring up their past together i’m like 👀 because it sounds like a dream. or focus entirely on jenny and eric and their life. i am obsessed with jenny and eric being... sort of queerplatonic, sort of like, best friends. there’s no romance and no sex between them (eric’s canonically gay, and jenny’s a lesbian because i said so) but i think the way jenny and eric are is very, very life partners in a way that isn’t romantic OR sexual. so they’d have a little place together and would support each other. and just. what are they up to now? also. kati, iz, penelope, hazel, nelly... what r they doing now? one of the few things i actually liked about s6 as it was was that nelly was that reporter and that she’d found her people in yale. nelly yuki getting a happy and fulfilling ending and being a successful woman was so good and we actually got a little bit of that. i’d like more of that, for the rest of the girls, you know?

[gerberbabey]

maybe I'm honestly falling too soon | John B. Routledge

a/n: this is technically a stand alone, but i kinda wish i did a little mini series for the Peterkin!Reader concept...oh well I’ll do that now. love the support for SUMMER, i wish it was better written but I still appreciate ya’ll.

This is technically a reader insert, but I made the reader mixed with Black and Korean. always hashing out WOC representation.

masterlist

summary: You try not to question people’s intelligence. John B saves the day. 

warnings: like rlly bad writing, underaged drinking, hints of racism and stereotyping, that part is based off of a conversation i overheard but if it’s offensive in any way and if you’d like me to take it out or change it pls let me know

♫ Down to Earth by UMI ♫

You weren’t really known to go out much. Partying with either Kooks or Pogues wasn’t the norm for you considering who your parents were. But even if your mom wasn’t the Sheriff and your dad wasn’t a teacher at Kildare County High, your personality alone wasn’t really the “partying” type. Your friends tended to label you as the “sweet” one, or even the “innocent” one. It didn’t necessarily make you mad per se, it was just a bit annoying that the entirety of your being was labelled based off of the fact that you tended to not do things. 

You didn’t label your friends for the things they did, so you found it odd that they labelled you because of the things you didn’t do. 

“Pleeeaaase (Y/N), John B and his crew throw the best keggers and you’ve only gone to like one!” 

“Nicky, I just...really don’t want to, ok?” you’d been trying to decline Nicky all day. This was the 5th time she’d brought it up today, not to mention the amount of times she’d brought it up this past week. Maybe if it had happened yesterday or even tomorrow you would’ve felt more up to it. Today didn’t feel like a good day to party. At least not to you. 

“(Y/NNNNNN)!” Nicky whined and you only sat patiently as she shook you, “Please just this once? Ok I heard that Kelce’s gonna be there and he usually avoids the Cut! This is the perfect oppurtuntiy for me to get closer to him!” 

You hated that she was using her crush on Kelce against you. You truly wouldn’t say that Nicky was either a Kook or a Pogue (you didn’t even think you were either a Kook or Pogue) but she’d developed a crush on him due to her sudden frequent attendance at the country club with her cousins. She barely spoke to him and barely had the chance to but she insisted that he was a “great guy who just get’s pressured by his asshole friends”. You supported anything Nicky did (lest it get her hurt) and Kelce had only ever been kind to you. 

“Ok...fine,” you sighed and Nicky squeed in excitement. 

“Oh my god yes! Finally!” Nicky cheered and you only rolled your eyes playfully as she tackled you into a hug. 

_____

John B casually strolled through the aisles of the grocery store. He’d been taxed with getting a few snacks to stash in the Twinkie so that they had some food of their own at the party. 

“Relax ok, I just really wants some chips.”

John B perked up at a familiar sounding voice and straightened up as you and your best friend walked around the corner of the aisle. He licked his lips as he gave you a quick look over. You were dressed in your usual aesthetic, a long high waisted skirt, a tank top that was tied to cinch at your waist, large wire framed glasses on the bridge of your nose, and your bouncy curls pushed back with a bandana in your hair.

“Oh, hey John B.” 

John B shook himself out of his stupor and flashed you a wide grin, nodding to Nicky, who only gave him a look of suspicion. 

“Hey (Y/N), what are you doing here?” That question wasn’t too out of place, you lived closer to the bigger grocery store chains than the family owned one’s in the Cut. 

“I just wanted to get some chips, Heyward’s is the only store that has the one’s I like,” you gave him a sweet smile and John B tried not to melt. 

“That’s-That’s really cool,” he stuttered and he licked his lips awkwardly as his eyebrows raised. You blinked at him, the smile on your face twisting a bit in confusion as you glanced at Nicky for a moment before looking to John B again, “I mean sorry-um...Kegger!” John B put up a hand in realization, “We’re gonna have a Kegger tonight at the Boneyard. Will I see you there?” 

“Yeah for sure,” you smiled at him and he gave you that grin that’d always made you think of the sun. You’d always thought John B was cute. Probably more than cute really. He was tall (6 foot maybe?), and his body was built ridiculously...nice for a 16 year old. Plus he was like one of the sweetest guys you’d ever met. 

“Are you gonna be manning the Keg the whole time?” you teased as you grabbed two bags of your favorite chips. Nicky took them from you, looking between you and John b from off to the side. John B scoffed at your comment.

“Nah, I’ll drag JJ to do shifts if he even tries to run away from it,” the last time they threw a Kegger, John B and Pope had been ditched to man the keg. JJ had run off with some touron and Kie was hard to say no to when she insisted it wasn’t her turn. 

“So that means you’ll save me a dance?” you bit at your bottom lip as John B looked at you in surprise. He’d always thought of the two of you as friends, you and your mom were oddly involved in his life but he didn’t mind. He wasn’t going to complain about having people give a shit about him. 

“Yeah...yeah definitely,” John B confirmed and you giggled before waving to him goodbye and leading Nicky away to go pay for your chips. John B stared at where you were standing just a second ago before he turned to watch you over his shoulder. He barely caught Nicky shaking you by the arm before the two of you disappeared around the corner of the aisle. 

________

“Is that...(Y/N)?” Pope asked, passing some random Touron a filled red solo cup. John B looked up from where he was filling up a Kook’s cup and turned to where Pope was pointing. It was indeed you. You were standing in group with a few Kooks. Nicky was standing close to Kelce, the two of them seemingly in their own world and you were stuck interacting with Topper, Rafe, and some other Kook guys he didn’t recognize. 

“Yeah,” John B confirmed and Pope glanced at him for a moment before turning his attention back to you. 

“She looks like she’s having a great time,” Pope pointed out sarcastically and John B straightened up. Pope was right, and even from this far away he could tell. You had a perplexed look you on your face as you listened to one of the ook boys talk and your body language was closed off. You had your arms wrapped around yourself and you were switching the weight of your feet back and forth. 

“Maybe you should go save her?” Pope suggested and John B turned to him. 

“Nah, nah she’s probably fine,” John B shook his head, reaching for the eg hose once again. Pope snatched it out of his hands. 

“C’mon John B, you really wanna risk that?”  Pope stated matter of factly and he cringed as he looked back to you. You looked more and more uncomfortable by the second. 

“Alright...” John B dusted his hands off on his swim trunks and began to weave through the crowd to get to you, leaving behind a grinning Pope. 

Across the way, you were trying your best not to let much show on your face but you couldn’t help but cringe at everything this guy was saying. You were pretty sure he had done a line of something (probably supplied by Rafe) but you were beginning to think you should definitely put yourself in a safer environment. You hadn’t been the most bothered by Topper or Rafe, they were usually polite to you, but when three more Kooks stepped up to you, you were left to deal with five Kooks who were all under some type of influence while Nicky talked with Kelce. 

“Y’know, you have like really nice eyes,” one of the kooks pointed to you and you smiled. 

“Oh thank you-”

“They’re like real narrow. Do you put like make up on?” That threw you off guard and your mouth drpped open in shock at the question. Topper hit the boy in the chest and the Kook shot him a look of confusion, “What man?”

“Dude you can’t say that shit,” Rafe laughed and you were uncomfortable with the idea that he found it funny for a different reason other then idiocy. 

“What she’s got like real narrow eyes. So what how do you do that?” 

“Well um-” you stammered, “I’m just...Asian?” 

“Wait you’re Asian?” one of the other boys cried out, “I thought you were black?” 

Rafe snorted at that and you could feel the discomfort in your chest increase. 

“I-I am black. My mom’s black and my dad’s Korean...” you explained. Your cheeks burned and your palms were clammy due to your nerves. 

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry...” the first boy laughed, “Wait, I swear I’m not racist or anything. You’re gorgeous.” 

You wondered how your beauty had anything to do with his questions about your race. 

“Like, my sister’s just always talking about like fox eyes or whatever and she’d probably love to have eyes like yours.”

You sucked in a breath at that. Could this guy be anymore cluelessly offensive? At this point you were beginning to question his intelligence altogether. But you weren’t a confrontational person and the thought of calling him out on his bullshit terrified you. You also definitely weren’t in a position to act brave. 

“Uh hey! (Y/N)?” you turned in shock and almost cried out in relief at the sight of John B calling you. 

“What do you want Pogue?” Rafe hissed out and you looked up at him before rushing over to John B. 

“Oh hey John B, I was actually looking for you, sorry guys,” you barely turned to look back at the circle of Kooks before you were leading John B away by the hand, completely ignoring Rafe’s calls. 

When you were a good ways away, and a little closer to where the keg was, you stopped and put a hand on your chest. you let out a laugh of disbelief as you looked up at John B. He looked down at you in confusion, your fingers still intertwined with his.

“Jeez you seriously saved me,” you breathed and John B’s eyebrows raised. 

“Were they doing something-” he looked back over to the boys but you only waved it off. 

“No no, one of them was just...making me lose brain cells,” you laughed, though John B could tell see the discomfort on your face. 

“Doesn’t seem like nothing,” John B pointed out and you only scoffed. 

“I’m used to it at this point,” John B wondered what “it” was. 

“Hey (Y/N)! What’s up?” the two of you turned to Kie as the girl walked up to you, a wide grin brightening her expression. 

“Nothing much just, being a damsel in distress,” you looked up at John B with a teasing smile and he rolled his eyes. 

“I literally only called your name,” he recalled and you laughed. 

“And that saved me, the damsel, from my distress!” you reassured. 

Kie chuckled despite her confusion. She gave a pointed smile at your guys’s hands but the two of you were too distracted by one another. Kie wondered when John B was finally gonna tell you he liked you. 

“You guys are real cute,” Kie laughed and the two of you looked at her with wide eyes. Kie regretted opening her mouth as John B realized the two of you were still holding hands. He quickly pulled his hands out of yours, wiping his sweaty palms onto his shorts. You looked a little disheartened as your hands came forward to fidget on the knot of your shirt. 

“Nevermind,” Kie mumbled. She shook her ehad before walking away from the two of you to go help Pope with the Keg. You watched her walk away, the tips of your ears feeling hot. 

Your fingers fidgeted with one another as you looked up at John B from the corner of your eye.

“So um...” John B turned to you, “I think you owe me a dance?” you smiled and a smile began to stretch across his face. You couldn’t help but notice how his eyes were smiling too and the stretch of his cheeks caused his freckles to shift. 

“Would you like to dance?” John B questioned you and you pretended to think. 

“Hmm I don’t know, the guy who’s asking me to dance is being kinda...dry about it,” you pretended to cringe and John B rolled his eyes. 

He stepped back away from you and turned you so that two of you were facing one another rather than standing side by side. He held out a hand and you glanced between it and his expression. You tilted your head giving him raised brows and he laughed before getting down onto one knee. He put one arm behind his back and offered a hand out to you as you laughed at his antics. 

“Lady (Y/N) may I please have this dance?” he asked loudly and a few people chuckled as they watched him. You looked away, your cheeks burning as you tried to stop yourself from geeking out. You looked back at him again, biting at your cheek as you placed a hand into his. 

“Why of course,” you confirmed and John B hopped up to his feet before leading you into the middle of the dancing bodies. You weren’t to sure what song was playing but the bass was loud and the energy was high in that medium sized pocket of dancing people. 

You made a graceful turn, John B’s hand still in yours, and pressed your back up against John B’s front. The two of you swayed to the beat of the song as John B let go of your hand to put his hands on your skirt clad hips. He pressed himself close to you and you threw your curls over to your right side so he could lean his face down close to yours. 

The two of you grinned at each other as the song moved your body for you. 

“Those two are...definitely in love,” Pope pointed out, taking a sip from his drink. 

“Absolutely,” Kie nodded as she copied Pope’s actions. 

The two of them ignored JJ’s whines about the keg as they watched you and John B dance. 

will this be a series? who knows.....

[jessejostark]

The Neo-Punk Songwriter Bringing Softness To The Hard Edge

Find out how the new-wave rocker is informed by retro sensibilities.

Jesse Jo Stark may have been born and raised in California, but the new-wave rock chick currently lives between extremes. As a purely contemporary mix, she's an amalgamation of a Western folk singer with a deep-rooted punk spirit and style to boot. Think David Bowie meets Elvira. Plus, Stark's list of references is as legendary as the cultural tapestry she grew up surrounded by. Apparent in her twinkling melodies, folron imagery, and rockabilly flair, her tastes reflect multiple eras of music synthesized from a life in rock 'n' roll that started long before she ever took the stage. This is largely a result of growing up with the cult-followed brand Chrome Hearts, which her parents (Richard and Laurie Lynn Stark) founded in the '80s, giving the singer a unique introduction to showbusiness—emphasis on the business. The brand lauded by the likes of Virgil Abloh for dressing rock stars from Mötley Crüe to Travis Scott also gave Stark the blueprint for doing things on her terms. With a musical breakout that's seen the artist headlining a Los Angeles residency and opening stints for Lizzo, Jane's Addiction, Sunflower Bean, and The Vaccines, the "Tangerine" singer is gearing up for a new release and a life post-pandemic that befits her rock-star roots. Find out how this femme noir vixen found herself—and her song—in the midst of it all.

She got started at an early age

"I grew up around my family starting their business, and we traveled a lot, so I was always around so many adults. My parents were making leather pants for musicians, and I was on tour with my godmother (Cher) and I always took dance class every day. I begged my godmother for my first voice lesson—I begged her to let me use her vocal teacher, so she let me take lessons with Evelyn, and I went to the studio when I was like, seven or eight. I was so scared, and she said, 'You should just write what happened at school today,' and I'll never forget I was so excited but so nervous, and I wrote a song called 'My Heart's On Fire,' and it was about a boy and really short. I was in a band called It's Complicated with my friend, and we only covered Freaky Friday songs. She did vocals, and I remember having this feeling like I never don't want to be in the studio writing about how I feel. I just think I was really fortunate to have parents that supported me in every way, like if I wanted to play guitar or dance or play volleyball, they were always into that, and I saw hungry artists really supporting each other and starting out and collaborating, and it inspired me to be around a bunch of weirdos and it made me who I am."

Creativity was a touchstone

"I really wanted to do well in school and go to college, and I went to business school for a little bit, so I was always interested in different aspects of the company besides design. I just felt like I always wanted to perform—I always wanted to create and go to work with my dad and touch things. I made my first little bag with my friend by stapling together scraps from the leather shop, and I remember writing something out on a label maker and I think my mom still has it framed. I always thought I wasn't a good writer, and I realized I could write my own music. I always wanted to be sporty and get on teams, but then I ended up on the D team, which itself is so fucked. I just wanted to be creative." 

She learned from Chrome Hearts

"Everything my parents taught me was to be yourself, do it on your own terms, and go against the grain. They really fashioned their whole thing around doing everything organically and collaborating with people that they knew, not chasing anything, taking risks, and allowing this environment for all types of people. My mom would hate this, but it feels rebellious to me, and that's how I approach my music—I don't chase after anything because that's what I think is cool or what's gonna make me money or make me big. It's like everything is so homegrown and natural and from our heart. When we design something, it's never done fast, and one of the biggest annoying things about Chrome Hearts is it takes so long to make one thing. I've grown to appreciate that, so I've introduced it to my art, my visuals, my writing. I think that's where longevity comes in, because we do everything at our speed and I know that's a luxury, but it's something my parents taught me and it's something that works for them. We did it our own way, and I love that. My parents are my biggest inspiration and I don't even think I realized how much they affected me until the last couple of years."

It took adjusting to the pandemic

"I was in the studio finishing the album when we got cut short because of the pandemic. I was so bummed and everyone was, but from the musicians' standpoint, I remember feeling just so upset and confused. I started writing again with my guitar in quarantine, and then I got really frustrated because there were all these songs I already wrote and I wanted those to come out, but I had just started touring a lot, and every day it was like, what's the point? What does this mean? I felt really stunted creatively, and then my whole outlook changed. Even though there's so much sadness in the world, I know a lot of people felt this too, but I really got to know myself in the past year and how to take different risks internally with my music and connected more with artists that I didn't think I would want to collab with or work with and sounds I didn't know I wanted. I really got to know myself this year, and I remember clawing at the floor at times because I didn't know what to say, but I've written some of my favorite songs this past year, so I'm grateful. But I feel bad saying that because I'm not OK with anything that's happened because there's so much suffering, but to get to know yourself as an artist being stuck inside, I would have never experienced that. At first it was horrible, and still now it's like, when are we touring? I'm so ready to share everything, I get so ahead of myself, but I remember what my parents taught me and it's like, we just have to go with the fucking flow."

It's about the persistence of self

"I'm really excited about this album. I wanted it to be a little bit more modern—it's new for me, but it's still me, and creatively, I feel like I'm just really going back to what I love, which is chill punk. I have so many ideas, it's just about finding the right people and introducing them energetically to me, and like this new video, we're going out in a simple way, and I think it's about just connecting with my audience and it doesn't have to be all about the glitz and the glamour. I'm never creatively blocked. It happens for 24 hours or so, but I'm full of ideas—I'm totally ready to tour. I want to make a video for each song, I'm ready. It's still just me and it's still the same shit."

She loves the process just as much

"It's hard to write a song, be vulnerable and sit down and know what you want to say. It sounds simple, but if I try to have the same experience as the day before, it never works out. It's like trying to have the same two days at Disneyland, so I don't set expectations on myself, and I might even write here in the parking lot. For me, when the pressure is off, that's when I'm most creative, so it's never the same. Also, when I'm in the studio every day with no breaks, that's when I end up writing another album. In the studio and recording one thing, but you end up writing a whole 'nother album, so that's kind of what happens with me."

New music is coming

"I've been wanting to release new music for a while, and finally, it's time. It's coming out soon, and it's kind of like my birthday present to me. It's funkier than some of my other songs, and I'm really excited for people to hear it. I wanted to introduce little things that inspire me and make me feel like I'm in a good place."

[1phoenixfeather]

31 day December challenge #29

It was quiet in the classroom, the only thing that sounded was hero’s teacher who today gave them a lecture about sound. Hero yawned in their corner of the room, this was interesting even though they barely managed the education and saving the city from villains. This at least took away all of the anxiety for the moment, at home the same weariness and boredness would take over. They would maybe call someone they knew and talk about today’s lecture. 

Isn’t life better than this?

A loud sound from the loudspeaker woke hero from their deep thoughts and for a short moment, their teacher looked as tired as Hero. Hero was sure they didn’t run around at night and fought bad guys. “We hear the sound and listen to the sound, is their a difference?” 

The whole classroom was quiet. “Hero?”

Hero cleared their throat, “you actively listen to something or someone and you hear sound like a fan.”

“Correct…” Their teacher said and was disrupted by a very loud sound. It went on for quite some time and hero’s classmates started to be scared. Hero just tensed as they waited to see what was happening. “Keep calm everybody and don’t panic.” Their teacher said almost as calm as hero, no wonder hero liked this teacher so much. Calm, logical, and not afraid of pointing someone out from a crowd.

The door slammed open and villain stepped in. With a big gun in their arms that could kill all of them pretty fast, “shit…” Hero whispered and was kind of happy to sit at the end corner of the classroom.

While villain scared the hell of hero’s class, hero remained calm.

“Give me hero, I know they’re here somewhere.” Villain demanded and hero stayed calm and didn’t move. “I will kill all of you if hero doesn’t show themselves.” 

Hero’s classmates screamed and looked with panic around. Then someone saw hero’s stonecold and tired look, and in the end, everybody watched hero. “Speaking of sound you don’t want to hear” hero greeted and rose up. Once again yawned, “didn’t I scare you away during the night. Wait it was someone else, sorry all of your faces become a blurry mess in the end.”

Villain laughed, “come with me and nobody else gets hurt.” 

Hero felt the worried looks, they sighed and but gave in. The school wasn’t the right environment to fight villain, “I was having a good day. I kept note of this…”

“You do?” Teacher said and regretted it when villain watched them.

Hero smirked and started to pack their bag, “mentally at least. Trust me, I remember when I want to.” When they were done and reaching it to a classmate, taking one calm deadly step down to Villain. Ignoring every scared gaze which would turn into confusion and then rumors would spread. “Why don’t get out of here fairly pain-free?”

“As long as you behave” they rested the gun to their shoulder, gesturing them to walk out. 

The corridor and getting closer to the exit, seeing everybody hide and watch them being escorted out from their school. “Are you really a student?” 

Hero threw a gaze at them, “I actually got accepted to this school. How many know?”

Villain shrugged and seemed tense. “I leave it to your classmates to spread it” Hero sighed realizing the work they had to do. “I feel like this should be the other way around.”

“Nah, this is pretty much what I have experienced.” Hero could already see the outcome of all this, it made them tired and bored. “One thing I love here is the wind and I really looking forward to seeing snow.”

Now when they exited the school and Hero was lead through a dark, empty alleyway. “Why are you acting so strange?”

“I am strange?” Hero made a ‘humph’ noice, never really feared their true form or anyone’s reactions. “What is strange is that no one seems to notice my lack of sleep and that I barely eat anything.”

Villain had a tighter grip on their weapon, “I know how you escape all the time. But that is not all isn’t it?” Hero nodded as agreeing that it’s true, and it threw Villain off a bit. “Why so happy all a sudden?”

Hero smirked and would enjoy changing to their true form again. “Because I am exhausted and bored… You know, fuck it.” They relaxed and let their true form free from their iron will, bones cracked and their horn showed themselves. Gasping and groaning Hero rose up, seeing Villain shake on the spot. 

“What are you…?”

Hero accidentally let their wings out, “I am a demon and an angel. But I got my mother’s features.” Villain jerked away as Hero got closer, Hero laughed. “Most people go insane by seeing me like this, you take this a lot better then Supervillain did.”

Villain took a few deep breaths, calming down. But Hero found it easy to get their gun from them, “demon and angel?”

“Yeah, mother demon and father angel, hell bored me though. But time down there is so much faster” Hero pushed Villain to their knees, holding them down. Looking down at them with their bright eyes. “Now when you know my secret, I’ll have to get rid of you.”

Villain tried in vain to get away, “not jail?”

Hero’s strength almost crushed their shoulder, hearing them gasp and try to stay quiet. “Don’t worry, I’ll bring you down to hell. I doubt my father knows I left hell, but I like to visit some of my friends.”  

“NO!” 

Hero grabbed their throat, strangling them. “Yes, all because you ruined my day. Plus, maybe even someone believes you.” 

Villain gazed upon them in deep distress, discomfort, and fear. 

All Hero did was smirk excited, “you would understand if you saw the state I left the others in. But I’ll personally make sure that my father, Lucifer himself welcomes you.”

Shortly after that Villain blacked out, but Hero did stop until they were dead on the ground.

If you like my work, please click this link -> https://ko-fi.com/phoenix_feather711

[sainadazai]

When your crush is angry all the time

Ch.4

I wanna be an intern too, you ragedy ann looking ass hoe 😠



Y/n pov

°•○●○•°•○●○•°

All goes well when you are ignorant is what my dear best friend would say to me now, as I sit in the very back of the class unfocused on how our teacher is introducing an activity I have no chance of participating in. All I knew was that when Mr. Aizawa walked up to the board and wrote names of people getting offers, I wasn't one of them. Not that I expected to be, considering I wasn't in the sports festival, let alone the school at all back then. 

However, I did notice a small inconsistency in the order of the most offers. I was pretty sure that boom boom had gotten first place in the festival, him being there is what convinced me to transfer, but his name was actually second on the board. 

Todoroki had taken the place of first as far as offers were concerned. Todoroki the nice boy who I used to meet when I snuck away from my fucking prison cell. Call me privileged for complaining about living in a mansion All my life, but I much prefer being here. With common folk. They ground me. 

I peeked up from my phone at the red and white head of hair in front of me, he didn't seem all that fazed. Although maybe it was just the lack of seeing his face that made me believe he couldn't care less about all but one of those offers. Still, his business is his, and my business is the new Ao3 update on my favorite chrollo lucilfer fanfiction. What a babe. 

I decided that the class as of right now would be of no importance to me, considering I will have no offers, and bakugou-the reason I came here- hates me like I'm a piece of gum stuck under his shoe.  Through that conclusion I allowed myself to dissolve into the world of hxh and forget about how boring this world is. 

Could my power beat Killua or go in a fight? I mean, it doesn't enhance my strength like they did trying to get into Killua's house so physically they must be stronger. 

"Y/n! Is there something you would like to share with the class?"

Mr.Aizawas voice seemed almost shot at me as my gaze rose from my phone in my lap to meet him at the front of the room. He looked displeased to say the least. Well good for him, im displeased too, I might not be able to beat a fucking twelve year old in combat. 

"Huh?"

"You were grumbling, what's so important you had to tell us, hm?"

I thought it through for a second- just kidding, I never think anything through. 

"Oh, well I wasn't sure if I could beat Gon in a fight, but I'm not coming to the realization that if Chrollo is my boyfriend, I shouldn't have to fight anyone at all. I can just be a pretty face in the backgrounds and then after he wins for me i'll suck his-"

"Enough, y/n." Mr.Aizawa no longer held a tired looking face, his eyes were wide and an uncomfortable cringed was set on his face. As I peered at the rest of the class many also had shocked eyes, but unlike our teacher, held faint blushes. 

Minus midoriya, his face was completely red and his eyes void of life. I must've killed him, huh. 

"Wait!"

In an attempt to regain some dignity, I tried to correct myself.

"I would....not suck his-?"

"Don't even say it, shitty princess !"

"Woah bakugou, you spoke to me on purpose!?"

"Shut up!"

"Hey, how come you call me princess, you like me or something?"

He growled at that, neither of us paying mind to the fact that everyone in the class was either dead from nosebleeds or extremely uncomfortable and staring at us.  

"Its cuz you act fucking entitled like a princess"

"I'll be your pillow princes-"

"Enough!" A robotic-like hand sliced the air in front of me. The voice sounded firm, almost more teacher-like than our teacher's voice. I followed my gaze up the hand, not failing to notice how as I drew up the guy's arm his muscles only seemed to get bigger and bigger and- iida? 

"Oh class rep-"

"Y/n this vulgar language and border-line harassment needs to cease immediately. I will not tolerante overtly sexual language and acts in this class-"

As he was speaking I noticed something ironic about the situation. If everyone here didn't like sexual jokes or banter, how were they so flustered at comments that objectively should be unknown to them. 

"How did you know what I meant, iida?" I rasped in a low sultry voice, allowing my fingers to dance up his arm starting at the wrist in front of my face. 

I heard a few chuckles from, who I would say are the only two people enjoying this situation: kaminari and...stinky mineta. Iida's face grew more red than previously and the arms in front of me began shaking. 

"Mr.Aizawa it seems I've disarmed the robot. Is there a restart button or something?" I question with a serious face using the search as an excuse to wonder my eyes all over his body. Perverted? Yes. Rightfully attracted to this giant hunk of a nerd. Yes ×10. 

"No, there is not." Todoroki, who was in front of me, finally turned around to address me. I guess he was unfazed by my words. Looks like someone here can be cool. Whether he is okay because he is more comfortable with sexual jokes, or because he has yet to pick up on them, its nice that somebody in here can still function. Otherwise, I'd feel like a nuisance. 

"Y/n I'm not really sure how to- let's just say to have detention with your m- midnight. Detention. Yeah." Aizawa publicly convinced himself of my punishment? 

"Okay"

"Now, back to this, even if you didn't get any offers ALL of you will have an internship" 

And so went on the class, kids chose their hero names, not me though. I wasn't even sure I wanted to be a hero at all, this was just a little less boring and sad than the way I lived before. This school had people who laughed in joy, not just to mask the pain. That was the real benefit, not being a hero, or being strong. Likely no one here realized that there were many places where none of this joy was possible. 

Some of the kids in class gave me suggestions for a hero name, but I didn't like them anyway. They lacked personality, and while I have many adjectives to describe my personality, my life, none of them are all that heroic. 

"Dark element"

"Girl who will die if her quirk doesnt like its environment" 

See, I'm not the best at this. Even bakugan names had some sense to it...well no. I'd say we're about the same, but still. Ugh. 

~timeskip~ 

Bakugou pov 😠

She came up with no hero names. Fucking entitled brat. Everyone at this lunch table seems to have no problem with the fact that she is here, just happy to have another pair of tits to stare at like perverts. Their gross. I bet she doesn't even want to be a hero, she sure as hell doesn't act like it. We don't even know what her whole quirk is. Ive seen her do that plant shit a couple times, fucking with flowers or whatever. Still, there's more to it. Something we don't know, at least. Cuz in the middle of class she gets up and whispers to Aizawa and he just lets her go. Where the fuck does she go? 

Interrupts class, got into the school because her moms a teacher, won't use her quirk. What a nuisance, I can't believe she is not expelled yet. Plus those bullshit sex jokes are so shitty. She is obviously faking something when she does them. Not like midnight, who always at least seems like she means that gross shit. 

"Hey, who did you guys choose for your internship? I haven't chosen yet."

"The number three hero guy," I spoke, knowing I'm the only person here who already chose. 

"Really? Best jeanist! That's so cool, but are you sure that for you bakugou?" Shitty hair raised a shitty brow at me. 

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!?"

"Just that he seems pretty...uptight..for you?" Dunceface added, but he spoke like it was a question. Of course he is the hero for me, he is the highest ranting hero on my list. If I wanna be number one, I gotta train with the best. 

If I go to his agency I'm sure there will be a lot more action, since he is so high ranking. Then i'll get some real experience kicking villain ass, well, other than the USJ. 

"Of course he is the right option!"

"Woahhh~"

Shit. It's her voice. I honestly should applaud her for using it less often around me but, how can one small girl be so goddamn annoying. I don't even know what she has to say and I already wish she would just put a sock in it. How can someone so entitled like her, probably never had to lift a finger, walk  over here and talk like she has something to say. 

"You're working with the best jeanist! So cool, one time he saved me from a group of rapist guys, it was awesome with all these strings everywhere and I could only see half of his face. Oh and he had goofy hair too!"

Oh. I didn't really know how to respond to the girl who looked so excited about almost being violated. Another thing wrong with her? I looked back at the other people at the table to see if they knew how to respond to something like that. 

Dunceface was frozen, tape arms were frozen, shitty hair was frozen, and alíen eyes were looking like a lost puppy and trying not to cry. 

It didnt seem like the shutty princess was exactly understanding how what she just yelled was making things weird. She just stood there expectantly. She kinda looked like she thought being raped was something that must happen to everyone. Did she think that? Wouldn't put it past her weird ass. 

"Uhm...anyways, i'm sure you'll do awesome, he likes to put boys in tight jeans. Wish I could intern too, I'd love to see that boom boom~" she winked. 

A perverted joke...and then she had the audacity to wink at me. 

"You wish you could see me in tight jeans, shitty extra!"

"I know...thats what a I just said." She dead panned, blinking a couple times at me. 

"Tch, screw you!"

"I would-" 

"Can it, i don't wanna hear your shitty voice anymore"

The girl stopped herself after my words, pushing all her hair behind her head, except for the two blond stands in the front. 

(You don't have to acknowledge these if you don't want, but I made it so that they change color depending on what element your using and I thought it was hot*if you have short hair, then you just got a lil nishinoya type thing 🥰)

Lifted her obnoxious hands that moved around while she talked and made a zipper-like motion over her lips. Then she just stood there looking at me. I really wanted to just let her stand there and go back to eating. Ignore her completely and let her hope fizzle out and die or something like that. 

Yet here I am, still looking at her. Silently. Wishing she made a stupid joke so that I could stop flickering between those images I'd seen of her dancing. How even though ballet is a princess fucking dance, the pictures felt nice. Like if I was watching it live I would probably be unable to criticize it. That pissed me off, because I want to hate everything about her, but I can't hate those photos. Where she looks like she is flying, without any need for a quirk.

I see her in that weird gown, and now, in the UA uniform. I see her looking respectable, formal, and serious. Then I see her stupid little smirk as she takes pride in being able to shut up for more than a minute. 

"Why are you still standing there?"

Instead of answering, she took her hand up again, made a pinch with her fingers and unzipped her mouth. 

"I was enjoying the look in your eyes."she smiled. 

The look in my eyes? Could she tell I was seeing two different people? What the hell does that even mean? Even said it without that shitty flirt voice. Like she meant it. 

"You tryna make fun of me?"I stood up from the table to get in her face.

"Not right now, maybe later, I gotta do something." She smiled sincerely at me, for a second as she walked away, I forgot about how this conversation started. What a wierd fucking girl. I'll never respect her as a hero. Tch. (Yes, its canon he tchs even in his thoughts) 

3rd person POV 

Y/n briskly walked out of the cafeteria with a new goal in mind. She would come to remember how maybe being oblivious was a benefit in some ways, but for now, she had a clear plan .

"Mr.Aizawa, let me do an internship."

"You weren't in the festival, I can't just hand you to a hero who has no idea what you can do, y/n."

"Well, you know what I can do, right?"

"No. I'm not doing internships. Stop asking."

"That's not what I meant! You can just tell them, or I could, it's not that hard to explain. Just say i'm all- powerful or some play on words like 'she's got all the right elements' hehe, see how i mimicked your voice there?" Y/n grinned like a child. She was proud of herself. 

"No. Still not happening."

"I wanna be an intern too, you raggedy ann looking ass hoe" 

"Y/n, it doesn't make sense, insulting me to get what you want?"

"Maybe it doesn't, but I bet you feel real insecure about your hair right now."

"You already have detention, what more do you want!"

"An internship, I wanna do one with kamui Woods, I have a good reason, too. As far as my quirk control, i'm the weakest with earth, the aspect that allows me to grow and manipulate plants and stuff. That's why I've only been using that part of it all month. Im trying to get her up to speed so I can start using all four at once. He is like a tres guy, right? He manipulates earth all day long. He could teach me a lot, and that aspect of my quirk would suit his well. Please!?!?!?"

If the girl had just asked again in a normal way, his answer would have been the same. However Aizawa was taken aback to hear how much thought she put into this. From the stories of the teachers lounge, he came to understand her big life goal, was to rely fully on a rich man or woman, and do nothing at all forever. Just to try and forget about the terrible life she was destined to have because of that quirk.

This side of her was something he could not even her mother had seen, and it prompted him to speak those words she wanted to hear so badly.

"Fine." 

[starkatana]

The Best Idea I Ever Had

Inspired by this post by @aenilvogs

Castiel x Lynn

Cas POV

Fluffy, cute, married, family. Takes place after University Life.

Summary:

Castiel goes through the memories of the house he and Lynn bought together before having to leave for tour.

Just one night.

That’s what he proposed, and she agreed to.

Castiel was awake. He looked over at Lynn, still sleeping softly. He puts one arm behind his head and gently with his other he goes to reach for her face when he sees her face stir, he takes his hand back and pretends to be asleep.

He feels the bed getting light as you get up. The door gently opened and softly clicked shut. She was here and then she was gone.

“Fuck.”

Castiel woke up in a cold sweat immediately reaching for where Lynn would be on the opposite side of the bed. She’s not there.

He feels his heart get heavy, “Shit.”

He sits up in bed and lets his eyes adjust to the dark surroundings. It wasn’t his room. He gets up and walks out into the house. It was her home. His home.

Their home.

The first home the two bought together. He looks up, sees the light illuminating from the third floor.

He walks up the stairs and there she was. Lynn was holding their newborn daughter in her arms while she was breastfeeding. She’s humming as she feeds her.

Castiel doesn’t say anything. He takes in the moment. The shape of Lynn as she holds their daughter, the dimly lit environment, and how much has changed.

A few months ago, this was his music room where he and Crowstorm would have jam sessions. It was where he did his thinking, writing, and toy with different sounds. When Crowstorm wasn’t here, he and Lynn spent a lot of time together in here. Lynn would paint and work on different misc things, and he would banter back and forth with her coming up with new tunes and lyrics.

Now, it was the nursery for their newborn daughter, Amelia. Slowly one by one, the instruments were brought out into the garage, desk, and awards to be replaced with a crib, dresser, changing table, and a whole lot of diapers.

He listened to the soft sounds that filled the room at 5am, Amelia cooing, dog snoring, Lynn’s humming, and the hum of the diffuser. He leans against the railing, it creaks. Lynn turns around and smiles at him. This is the life he always wanted.

“Cas.” Her smile melts his cold exterior “I hope we didn’t wake you.”

He shakes his head. “No. I just wanted to see you.” He walks over to her, he rubs his daughter’s head, leaving her a soft kiss and he pushes back Lynn’s hair, cupping her neck and giving her a sweet kiss on her forehead.

“Go back to bed. I’ll be in soon.” Lynn told him. He looked down and just saw the light in her eyes; he was so in love with her.

“You want a cup of tea?”

“I could go for one.”

“One cup of tea. Coming up.”

He makes his way down to the second floor. Fully awake now, he takes in more scenery.  On the second floor, there is a display full of music awards, tour photos, and gifts from fans.  This display was a timeline of his music career, starting since high school. Something that is apart of his life, as much as Lynn has. He smiled and went down to the first floor.

He remembers the first day you two moved in.

“AHHH!”

Castiel parks the car in the driveway and Lynn shakes his arm.

“It’s real!”

“It is.” He smiled at her.

“Let’s get out and take a picture!”

Lynn got out of the car, followed by Castiel and she took a selfie with him outside of the house with the house keys.

“This looks so good!”

“Would you care to do the honors?”

She nods and runs up to the front door and opens it. Castiel follows her, and the house is empty, full of potential for the new chapter in their lives.

“Ah!” Lynn hugs Castiel, “it’s finally ours.”

He nods and gives her a twirl that leads into a dip kiss.

This home was the perfect combination of the two of you. It has red and black furnishings, but it wasn’t dark, it had a very light touch. She kept the house well decorated for him and her. There is a perfect balance of art, personal pictures, and achievements. There was nothing that could make him happier. He couldn’t ask for anything better. He knew this house was the one because Lynn’s face lit up every time she talked about it. This place was worth every penny if it meant her happiness. Especially if he was going to be gone for Crowstorm, he wanted to make sure he could get her the house of her dreams.

The dog barks, taking Cas out of his thoughts as he filled the kettle with water and put it on the hot plate.

“Hey, boy.” Castiel gets down and pets the dog. Then he gets the mug prepared, putting a few scoops of loose leaf tea into an infuser.

The dog lays at his feet. “How’re you?” the dog nudges his head against Castiel’s leg. Since they’ve had the baby, their dog has been very protective of Amelia. “Want a treat?”

The dog sits up, ears perked and lifts his paw. “Alright, but don’t tell mom.” And he gives the dog a bone treat.

A few months after they moved in and had settled down.

“CAS!” Lynn yelled, leaning against the railing of the third floor, breathing heavy.

“Welcome home?” Cas greeted confused as to why she’d be running. He gets up and kisses her.

“Looks like you could use a break. C’mon! I have a surprise for you!”

“What?”

“C’mon.” she gestures him to follow her downstairs, “you’re gonna love it.”

Castiel followed her downstairs, and before going down the last set of stairs, he could hear the sound of claws running and sliding on the wood floor.

“Lynn, you didn’t.”

She smiles, “you’ll just have to see.” And she leads him downstairs where a little Beauceron puppy is playing, running around, and sniffing the new environment.

Cas’ face lit up watching the dog run around. When it ran up to Castiel, and it tried to attack Cas, but playfully jumped back.

“Do you love it?”

“Of course. But I thought you wanted a small dog?”

“Yeah,” she shrugs, “but with you going away for tour, a big dog would be so much safer. Plus, I miss Demon’s snores.”

As Cas poured the hot water over the tea leaves, Lynn came downstairs and took a seat on the couch.

“How is she?” Cas asked, bringing over the cup of tea with a bottle of honey.

“Back asleep.”

He takes a seat next to her on the couch, putting his arm over her.

“Thanks for the tea.”

“It’s the least I can do for you. After you brought in another human into this world and making me the happiest man in the world.”

Lynn chuckles and shakes her head as she curled into him. “I love you.”

He takes her hand and kisses it. “I love you.”

There’s a comfortable silence between the two of them at 5:30 am.

“We should have another,” he says.

“Give it a few years. You’re going on tour pretty soon.”

“You should still come with.”

“And have a baby keep you guys up? Hard pass. Just give it a few years, and we’ll talk about traveling together again.”

He kisses the top of her head. “Will you be okay?”

“Will you be okay?” she retorted.

He shook his head no. “I’m scared of being so absent from my kid’s life. The older I get, the more I turn into my parents, and I don’t resent them, I just…I want to be with you two.”

You kiss him on the cheek. “We’ll Facetime every night. We’ll make sure she never forgets you. Don’t worry. When she gets a little older, we can talk about going on tour together.”

He leans on her shoulder. “You make me so happy.” He kisses her shoulder, “What did I do to deserve you?”

“Take me to the rooftop with a key you stole from the teacher’s lounge.”

“What can I say? I’m a romantic.”

[madamslayyy]

Hey! I seen that you were applying for classes this incoming semester. & I was wondering if you had any tips on when stress/anxiety starts to effect your school work? I’m going into my third year but I’m a little behind because I didn’t do so well last spring semester because I didn’t feel motivated to do anything and I just felt burnt out. So I have to retake some classes 😭 just lmk! & thank you! 💕

It’s perfectly fine love, we’ve all been there and everybody’s journey is different so I guess the number one thing is to forgive yourself for mistakes. They happen and moving on is the fastest way to getting back on track. Also here are a few other things that help me throughout the semester

(Gradewise)- never just let anything go. If you missed a question, even if you’d think you’ll never see it again, ask your professor about it. Trust me they have way more respect for students who missed a question and asked where they went wrong than those who remained quiet (especially if it’s after a quiz/test and it seems like you’re not just there for points). Also it shows a dedication to learn (even if your could care less, they don’t know that lol.) Teachers remember that when it’s time to curve grades.

Know what can break you out of a depression spell and make that into a routine. Feel that depression coming on? Going through a bad depressive state? Do that routine. Doesn’t work the first time? Do it again or have a few back up resort options if that doesn’t work. Mine is I take a long shower, put on make up (even if I’m not going anywhere), clean my apartment, then go to the gym. If that doesn’t work I go grocery shopping and get a ton of fresh fruits.

NEVER MISS DAYS UNNECESSARILY! Ever. I know the internet likes to glorify mental health days but that just doesn’t work for some people. I know personally the guilt of missing one class often makes me feel worse than just going, or it leads me to missing another and another and eventually I just have to drop or fail the class completely. If you know you’re a similar type of person DONT LET YOURSELF FALL INTO THAT TRAP. So that whenever you do actually HAVE TO miss a day, the guilt won’t eat you alive because you know you actually needed it.

Study Groups. Study Groups. Study Groups. Some people physically can’t study alone (I’m one of them) so try to get a study group together as often as you can.

Change study locations often. If you can’t study in your room try the library or a coffee shop.

If you feel you’re falling behind, TELL YOUR PROFESSOR IMMEDIATELY! I find professors aren’t very responsive to students grievances near the end of the course so as soon as you feel you aren’t doing too well in any area, make sure they know.

Make sure your professor knows your face and your name. It helps. Plus it makes you more inclined to go to class because you know they’ll notice if you’re gone.

Watch/ Consume media that makes you wanna be studious/ go to class. This one is tricky because it’s different for everyone but I personally watch college oriented shows like “Dear White People” or College Vlogs on YT to get me motivated. (It’s weird but it works.)

Wake up early and get pretty. If makeup makes you feel pretty, wear makeup. If certain outfits make you feel pretty, wear those fits! If you feel like a boss bitch it’ll motivate you to go to class!

Set a study schedule. Don’t wait til the last minute, study the day you get the material because you’ll be ready for more the next day and more inclined to go to class because you don’t wanna break the flow/ cycle.

Get a buddy in the class. Idk how your school is but I go to a HBCU and black people live to crack jokes, especially towards their professors. Juvenile, I know, but classes that are funny/ fun to go to usually don’t create anxiety because they’re seen as a safe environment.

Buy that expensive stationery you’ve been eyeing. Always wanted that kind of expensive set of pens, highlighters, etc.? BUY THEM. Then you’ll go to class/ take pretty notes just so you feel like you got your money’s worth.

Start. Literally just start. If you’re burnt out, doing a little bit here and their. Even if you’re taking it one question or one sentence at a time goes a long way as compared to not doing anything at all.

Go. Literally just go. I used to be crazy self conscious about my looks and wouldn’t go at all if I didn’t feel cute. Fuck that. Any reason you have to not go (that’s not a REAL reason like being sick or something) just ignore it and go anyway. I’ve gone to some classes and played on my phone the whole time. I still absorbed more doing that than staying home.

Remember that the only person holding you back is YOU. This one is a tough one because sometimes our minds can play games with us and let us think that things are worse/ more detrimental than they actually are. Actively try to shit out all negative thoughts that you can and realize that there’s absolutely nothing between you and that A bit yourself (and maybe a couple hours of studying).

(Bonus) Try your hardest. Sometimes, our minds tell us not to try at all because it hurts less to not try than to try and fail. That’s a lie. It all hurts the same. Try your hardest and put in the time and work so that even if you get a D C B etc, you know it was at least a better grade than if you had not tried at all. And that ACTUALLY DOES make the bad grade hurt less.

I really hoped this helped sis! This is just what helps me and I know when you’re in a dark place some of these might not seem so applicable but I really hope you remember a few and they work for you! And GOOD LUCK ON THIS SEMESTER!!! YOU GOT IT IN THE BACK GIRL!!!!

[artificialqueens]

Neva Lavd Yah Ch 1/? (Blair St. Clair/Dusty Ray Bottoms/Miz Cracker) - Ravena

AN: Hi! This is a little something I whipped up because I’m a sucker for a soulmate AU and wanted more. This kinda fits in with the rare-pair idea but it’s not one of the situations so oh well. This is my first fan fiction here and not one of my main ships so be kind, okay? I just thought that Dusty’s entrance could make for really good first words and I love Blair and Miz Cracker so much. It starts out like the show but then goes it’s own way because, duh, things would definitely be different if all these queens were given more screen time. We’ll have to see if I choose to change the eliminations ;) Just to clear things up: I used he/him pronouns when using male names but she/her pronouns when they’re in drag/in the Werkroom because that’s what they use on the show. Enjoy!

‘Neva lavd yah’. He was born with the words wrapped around his wrist in scrawny black lettering. He grew up with stares and pitying murmurs from adults. When he was six years old, he broke down and asked his teacher what was wrong, why his parents always changed the subject when he brought up his words. He’ll never forget what she said to him that day.

“Andrew, there is a lot of hate in this world. People make fun of others who can’t speak like us, or walk like us. It looks like your soulmate has some issues speaking. Look at the ‘yah’—it should say you. Plus, your soulmate is literally telling you that she’s never loved you. Those are far from the best first words.”

As he grew up, he kept his teacher’s words close to his heart, even when he realized he’d prefer the words to come out of a mouth with a goatee surrounding it than one covered in strawberry lip gloss, like the one all the girls his friends dated wore. He didn’t care that his soulmate might have a speech impediment, but he hated the looks it made him get.

But it was even stranger than any of them thought. Wrapped around his waist on the left side, in thin and long lettering, another set of words that read ‘Holy shit. Finally.’ Of course. Curse words made him even more of an anomaly, and hated in his church, since his words were on full display when he was baptized.

When he was 15, he began to cover up his words. He wanted to fit in and his soulmates, who he never even met, were dragging him down. The other kids never forgot the one set of words they saw, but most of them stopped mentioning it. The bullying never completely ended, but it died down to just a few boys on the hockey team.

His words ruined his first relationship too. Blaze was unable to handle the constant black wristband and the curse words staring at him whenever Andrew removed his shirt.

Even as a drag queen, he always wears thick bracelets and fabrics over his waist to make sure no one sees the horrible first words he was given. Good thing that fit in with his aesthetic.

————

“I’m Blair St. Clair, just got here this morning.” She did it! She was on RuPaul’s Drag Race season 10 and nothing was going to stop her from taking home that crown. She stood in place for a few seconds, letting the camera take her all in. She was wearing her favorite red wig and a white trench coat covering a blue dress, something simple since she wanted to be comfortable standing around for hours. She then turned to face the other queens, flushing slightly when she noticed all of them staring at her. Eureka, Asia, and Yuhua Hamasaki all seemed super friendly, but Miz Cracker refused to speak.

I know for a fact we’ve never met. What could I have done already to piss her off? Is it this wig? This dress? My singing, no not my singing my voice is wonderful.

She brought her hand up to touch her wig self-consciously before shaking her head and turning away from Miz Cracked. She turned her head as another queen came in, carrying a… was that a broom? In her confusion she missed what she said, coming out of her stupor at the sound of Yuhua’s shrieks.

Queens already know each other? Guess I’m going to be the odd one out. Again. Nothing ever works out for me.

Blair watched the other queens enter, not really paying attention to them as her mind wandered. She hadn’t thought about what might happen if the other queens got all clique-y. Just look at season 5 and all stars 2—they kept around Rolaskatox until the end for added drama. She was not going to be counted out just because she wasn’t a New York queen.

Finally tuning back in, she saw another queen enter the Werkroom. Her pink tulle skirt and hole-filled white top contrasted with her dark makeup and clunky black boots. Not really sure what this queen was going for, she was ready to write her off as a filler queen until she heard the dreaded words.

“Neva lavd yah.”

Okay. Yup. She was fucked. She froze as the other queens flipped out, because of course her soulmate was another girl from New York. Just her luck—she gets to meet her soul mate in an environment viewed by the whole wide world and her soulmate already has a ready-made group of friends so she probably won’t even talk to her.

When she finally stopped staring at the camera, she ran over to Cracker, Monet, and Yuhua, squealing and rambling about how great it was to have people from home, hugging Miz Cracker especially tight.

Well at least I can actually understand her. She just saddled you with messed up words for no good reason. Of course. Just my luck.

With all the commotion the New York queens were causing at least she was able to get a good look at her.

Okay, so one of my soulmates is attractive, at least.

“Hi, I’m Dusty. And you are?”

Crap. She’s talking to her and she’s still just staring at her dumb-founded.

“It feels weird to introduce myself to you with my drag name.”

Dusty’s mouth dropped open.

“Oh my gods. Babe…” she called over her shoulder.

No no no no. She can’t already be in a relationship. This can’t be happening, I won’t be pitted against her lover to make good TV. There’s no way the producers won’t make this my narrative. Everything I’ve worked for is about to go down the drain.

“Holy shit. Finally. Babe I was so scared you wouldn’t have her words too. Hi, Blair. I’m Miz Cracker.”

Oh my gods. They were both here. They already knew each other there wasn’t going to be room for her. They won’t love me they are already in a committed relationship they don’t need a third.

Looking around, Blair saw both queens staring at her expectantly and everyone else looking confused. So, she did the only thing she knew how to do. She passed out.

[riskeith]

hi babe!

my progress is going okay i don’t know if i’m a slow player or not? i’m at adventure rank 14 and i’m at the second part of the prologue (i want to marry diluc). i did find liyue yesterday and unlocked it before i went to sleep so i haven’t wandered around a lot, the story isn’t telling me to go there yet either so maybe i’ll wait for a bit. truthfully i’m feeling a bit overwhelmed haha. when i watch yt videos about it there’s so much they want you to think about so it gets a bit too much. but i’m playing it on my speed so yeah!! what about you? fuck dragonspine i have hatred for that place!!! LMAO same every time i try to go there i rage quit hard.

there’s something so super pure about dude-bro’s being soft and caring that i love. i mean it’s sad that usually those types of boys are associated with being douchey so i’m always happy when writers portray them as these gentle and caring people.

oh yeah!! remember the first few panels of bitty’s video streams. he was so little and it wasn’t even colored and to watch the progression of her art just.. wow! 🥺 always fun to see how someone grows in their craft. 🥺

skating is so scary.... you’re literally a newborn giraffe trying to wobble around. i remember being younger and being scared mostly because our teachers always said that if you fall someone could slice your fingers off. YIKES. having that pressure on you just takes away the fun of learning haha.

SWIM AND DANCE???? hello?????? that’s spectacular!!!! 😳 *puts this down as another reason why you’re the coolest person ever* did you dance ballet? 🥺 tell me all about it! and personally i haven’t been on a official team but i played a lot of football when i was younger so idk if that counts hehe.

oo? are you a night owl or an early riser usually? 😳 anyway, hopefully you get some proper rest today. take care, love m.a. <3

henlo!!

i don’t remember what the second part of the prologue is fhdskfjsd but i want to marry diluc too!! let’s become a throuple 😩 ahaha that’s fair! i didn’t really realise liyue was a whole new area so i went around unlocking all the teleporting waypoints before realising there was no story for me to complete there yet.. fjshdfkjs but going at your own pace is totally fine!! it’s such an immerse game anyway, so it’s not like you’re “wasting your time” or anything bc there’s so much to explore and see~ rn i’m AR42! the bosses are getting harder and harder whilst my characters are not improving so. i wanna just slow down and grind for a bit to get all their stats up (which honestly, there’s so much thinking to do for that you’re right. i watch vids too and people are all ‘use this set and then you get this bonus plus this passive’ and i’m just??? i pick this sword because pretty DFKJDSHFKSDHFJSDKH)

it definitely is a nice change! and samwell seems like a fun inclusive place <3 bits was so small in the beginning omg 🥺🥺 remember when there was even a gif once? the flashbacks

FHDSKDSFDSJ why would your teachers tell you that omg!! and you guys were just kids..... holy moly lmao

i did dance ballet! and i reaaaally enjoyed it. it’s just so expressive and graceful you know? and the music is really cool too so it makes you feel like a ~pro~ or something ahahha. and i really miss the costumes!! and being backstage and running around to get to places on time and dancing under the hot stage lights ahhhhh that environment 😌 i miss it sm! 

by football,,, do you mean SOCCER :p but nice!! are you good at it? i have shit coordination lmao especially with my feet compared to my hands, so i haven’t played it much and when i do i suck badly 

usually a night owl!! i try to sleep earlier and wake up earlier bc i feel i’m more productive that way but it’s just so easy to slip unfortunately :( esp if i stay up reading fic fhsdkfjsd. wbu? 

i’ve been staying up again these past few days so i’m kinda in a perpetual state of Tired FHDKS but that’s okay!! hope you’ve been resting better ahaha. love, c.r.

[hablo-leo-escribo]

Hey everyone! I’m a current year 13 student preparing for my first year of university so I thought I’d ask my friends for any tips for new year 12s and put together a post with all our advice for anyone going into sixth form this year. Some of the tips (eg about UCAS etc) might be helpful to year 12s going into year 13 as well 😊 I’ve seen a few of these posts floating around but they were very US-centric, so I thought I’d make one specific to the UK education system in the hope that that can help some people.

NB: I went to sixth form at my previous secondary school, so it’s possible that some of these tips will be slightly different from the experience you get from an independent sixth form college, but it may still be helpful. I took AS and A2 levels in French, Spanish and Music, and a linear two-year A level in English Literature, as well as EPQ. I’m aware that specifications are always changing, but if anyone needs any specific help with those subjects feel free to message me 😊

Choosing your subjects

Yes, it’s probably too late for this if you’ve already got to the end of year 11, but during September of year 12 there’s usually some degree of finding your feet and it shouldn’t be impossible to change your subjects if you suddenly realise you’ve made a horrible mistake.

Pick subjects you like and/or have a reason for studying. A levels are tough, so if you go in with a passion for a particular subject, a will to learn something new, or a specific goal in mind (eg getting onto a particular career path), motivation will come more easily.

Having said that, it doesn’t matter how much you like a subject, around April-May of year 13 you will still find yourself, at least once, crying on the floor of your bedroom, surrounded by empty chocolate wrappers and dense piles of revision notes, wondering why you didn’t just run away to sea to be a pirate when you had the chance. It’s a normal part of sixth form life. Just let it happen, and keep going.

If you’re one of those people who always cracks under the pressure of exams, you might want to consider taking creative subjects. A couple of my friends only took subjects like art, photography and textiles which were almost entirely coursework-based. Equally, if you hate ongoing projects and would prefer an exam-assessed course, those are ones to avoid!

Choose your subjects wisely and don’t chop and change too much. When you pick these subjects you’re going to be stuck with them for the next two years. If you realise you’ve made a mistake your school may allow you to switch, but do that as early as you possibly can so you don’t miss too much curriculum. I would say October of year 12 is the absolute latest you should be trying to switch your subjects.

Similarly, if you aren’t a certified mega-genius, don’t take more than three A levels. I did and Oh Boy did I regret it. It severely restricts your time and puts you under a lot of stress, plus you generally only need three subjects to get into uni. If you’re really keen to have an extra on top of your three, consider taking EPQ if your school offers it.

Lessons

Try to have a good relationship with your teachers, they’re your most valuable resource. Depending on what subjects you’re taking and how big your sixth form is, you might end up with quite small class sizes (my biggest AS class had 15 students, which was the same size as my smallest GCSE class). So you’ll get to know your classmates and teacher better, but equally, lessons will be more painful if you don’t get on with the teacher.

Do wider reading for your classes whenever you can. This particularly applies to subjects like English, but it can help boost your understanding and enjoyment of any subject – especially if you’re thinking of going on to do it at university.

If you have to give presentations in class and you’re not a fan of public speaking (let’s be real, who is?), always prepare a handout. That will save your audience’s wrists from speedy note-taking, but it will also give them something to focus on so they won’t just be staring at you, which will probably make you feel less self-conscious.

Learning to reference books and articles properly is probably one of the most useful skills I’ve picked up in the whole two years, it’s worth spending some time on.

Coursework/EPQ/other large, ongoing projects: start working early and plan out your time. I cannot stress this enough. Break down your task into chunks, eg for EPQ that could take the form of planning, researching, drafting, refining and presenting your findings. Then give yourself a deadline for each of those and stick to it!

Start a groupchat for each of your classes! You can help each other with queries, plan revision sessions, stress together the night before an important deadline and just get to know each other better.

Organise your goddamn folders and try not to lose them? You’d be surprised how common this was in my sixth form. Keep it in your locker if it’s not in your bag or at home, don’t just leave it lying around your common room or study area – especially if you’ve got a common design of folder, like a generic black ringbinder.

Make notes as soon as you learn something. Taking notes in class is the best way – they don’t have to be beautiful (you could write them out again later as a form of revision, with lots of colour to help you remember things), you just have to get the info down on paper.

If you don’t understand something, keep emailing the teacher until they help you.

Exams

Don’t be afraid of taking a new specification. It is scary to be the first or second year group ever to take a certain exam but you’re not alone, students across the country will be in the same situation. Even if your exam board seems useless or impossible, your teachers are qualified to prepare you for it, I promise. I found the lack of past papers and example material to be the hardest part, but in that situation you just have to improvise. See if you can pinch and adapt a similar essay question from a different exam board, for example.

Revision is horrible but it has to be done. If you study as you’re going along throughout the year (eg reviewing all your class notes at the end of the week) it will seem like less of a chore.

Find fun ways to revise, that work for you! Lots of people swear by flashcards as you can put bitesize chunks of information down and just whip them out to go through whenever you have a spare 5 minutes. You could record yourself reading your notes and make your own revision podcasts to listen to just before bed, make giant revision posters… One of my friends even got some glass pens so she could write on the door of the shower!

Switch up your environment and go for walks between revision to help clear your head.

If you can find it online, print off the specification for the course you’re doing and use it as a checklist so that you know exactly what you need to know.

Exam technique is almost as important as the actual information you need to know. Get as familiar as possible with the different types of questions you’ll have to answer, how this will be marked and what weighting of the final grade it carries.

It’s a long way off for you guys, but for any current year 12s reading this: use the summer between 12 and 13 wisely. Make revision notes for the topics you covered in the past year. You don’t have to spend heaps of time on it, the trick is to keep reviewing the information in little bites so when study leave rolls around next year you won’t feel like you’re drowning in stuff you don’t know.

I probably don’t need to say this, but don’t start watching a series during exam time...

Time management

Don’t pull all-nighters, it’s never worth it. If you’re in the sort of position where you feel you need to pull an all-nighter to get your work done, there’s something wrong with your workload or your time management. Speak to someone for help with whichever of these it is.

Don’t do what one of my mates did, which is develop an unhealthy dependence on coffee and Red Bull. If you’re relying on caffeine to get you through the day, you are not getting enough sleep.

Use your free periods wisely for the love of God. When exam time rolls around you will regret every hour spent napping in the common room or dicking about on Snapchat instead of working, trust me. Time out is important, but save it for your lunch break.

Don’t make a habit of skipping school. You know when you need to take time out and when you could probably push on and keep going. 100% attendance is not necessary to pass a course, but remember that you can’t learn shit when you’re not actually there.

Know when your deadlines are. Double and triple check them and write them everywhere. When you get into your UCAS application this will be particularly important because you can’t just beg for an extension – if you miss it, you miss it. Get into the habit of doing things sooner, rather than later.

You could try setting your own deadline 3 days before the real thing so that you’ll work to get it done with time to spare. That way you’re prepared for any unexpectedly time-consuming tasks.

CV-building

You may not feel that you have a whole lot of free time with your workload, but it’s important that you put aside some time (particularly during year 12, before things get really intense the following year) to do some good old Character Building so that when it comes to personal statement time, your only hobbies aren’t watching Netflix and refreshing tumblr. This could take the form of learning a new skill – a language, musical instrument, coding, whatever – outside of school hours.

Volunteering also looks good to employers and universities, particularly to those who (like me) don’t have time for a part-time job. You can show you’ve had a position of responsibility and given back to the community as well.

Extra curriculars are worth it. Completely aside from being good for your CV and your personal statement, they’re also loads of fun and when you’re in sixth form you get loads of opportunities that the lower school just doesn’t get, running clubs and bands as well as just participating. As a sixth former I’ve done conducting, stage managing, and played in the orchestra of my school’s musical, but you could get into sports, art, drama, whatever you like.

Your school will probably grant you a week off at the end of year 12 for work experience – use it well! Try to get involved with something that’s as closely connected with your chosen area of further study or employment as possible, or if you can’t do that, try and turn whatever you end up with to your advantage. I was looking for language-related work experience but ended up in insurance, so the whole week I was there I specifically asked for tasks relating to the company’s international relations.

Any language students interested in work experience abroad, have a look at this website. They organise work experience for you in France, Spain, Germany or Italy - I went during year 12 and it was amazing.

It’s not essential to get a part-time or Saturday job, especially if it’s going to interfere with your studies, but I would advise finding a way of gaining at least some financial independence from your parents. Personally I picked up money by tutoring younger students, babysitting and feeding my neighbours’ cats on a freelance basis. It’s just something you can put on your CV and helps you gain experience of budgeting for yourself, which will all be useful when you leave home.

Applying to uni

When it comes to applying to uni, take it seriously and start early. Do your research and talk to current students wherever you can, try and get an honest opinion.

It’s not necessary to go carting off around the country to visit every university you even consider applying to – this gets expensive and time-consuming after a while! Some universities host virtual open days, and most are represented at UCAS fairs and events – there are other ways to get the *feel* of a place.

Send your personal statement to EVERYONE. I’m not kidding. I showed mine to my parents, my aunt, my subject teachers, my next door neighbours, my school’s UCAS adviser, my best friends, my cousins, my head teacher… It all helps you get the best draft together. That said, remember that everyone’s opinions on these things is going to be different and above all, it has to be a *personal* statement – don’t put in anything that you’re not happy with.

Equally, don’t write down stuff that you can’t stand behind! If you say you’ve read a particular book, make sure you’ve actually read it!

Uni interviews are scary, I won’t lie to you, but don’t let that put you off from applying to the big-name universities or competitive courses. If your grades are good enough and you have a passion to want to go there, you should go for it! If you want to know what it’s like to go through the Oxbridge interview process, go ahead and send me an ask 😊

Stress busting

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Whether you’re struggling with something academically or need help with your workload, or if it’s a personal problem like mental health, there will be someone who can empathise and help you. They want to encourage your independence, but that doesn’t mean you have to deal with everything on your own.

No matter how stressful A levels may seem, remember that all you can do is try your best, and that’s all anyone can ask of you. There is no point in working yourself to death for A*s if it’s going to make you miserable.

It’s okay to put your mental health first, take some days out here and there to decompress, and practise self-care. I’m not saying skip school whenever you feel like it, but don’t wait to burn out before you let yourself take a break, or you’ll make yourself ill.

Eat breakfast and get a good night’s sleep. Just look after yourself. Don’t sacrifice your basic wellbeing in favour of good results, no grade is worth it.

Talk to your friends about how you’re feeling and share the stress. My friend group all send pics of our pets to the groupchat whenever someone’s feeling particularly down or stressed, just as a little way of cheering that person up. Be there for each other and work through stuff together.

General stuff

If you have a locker, use it. If not, try to minimise the amount of stuff you have to carry around on a daily basis. You can’t lug four bulging lever arch files around school every day without damaging your back.

Don’t be that one person who’s always borrowing pens, paper or lunch money from other people. Just don’t. Take responsibility for having your own supplies.

If you’re on studyblr already then I’m sure I don’t need to say this, but get a planner. It may just be a coincidence, but I’ve found that my friends who have a physical planner or bullet journal where they can write down their tasks have all turned out more organised than those of my friends who chose to use the apps on their phone instead.

Keep your study area orderly and organised. Tidy room = tidy mind. If you’re someone who really struggles with this (I personally can’t keep my room clear for longer than about 3 days at a time!), consider studying out of the house, at the library or somewhere similar.

Your performance in year 12 can and will affect your uni predictions, even if you don’t do AS levels. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking your first year doesn’t count.

It’s great when you turn 18 and you’re finally able to start going to licensed premises and drinking *legally*, but don’t let all that freedom go to your head. Use your common sense – know your limits, don’t abandon friends on nights out, have a designated driver, don’t get drunk on a school night, the usual.

Identify people who distract you, and avoid them when it comes down to it. You can quickly narrow down the people who will be proactive and do something when they have a problem, and those who would rather just complain about it. The latter group are just going to waste your time.

Last tip! From personal experience, sixth form will be stressful as hell. But it can also be some of the most fun you’ve ever had in school, and your time will go crazy fast! Make the most of it and enjoy 😊

That’s all I can think of so far, I hope it’s helpful! Please feel free to message me with any questions or concerns about anything I’ve said, or equally, if you can think of any tips for new year 12s that I didn’t include on this list go ahead and add some.

Have a relaxing summer everyone and good luck for next year! xx

[half-man-half-lime]

Self-Loathing, etc.

Sorry for the crazy long and personal post, but I’m immeasurably frustrated with myself and need an outlet. So I’mma vent and ramble a bunch, and just sort of hope that somebody who reads this has something helpful to say.

Fuck

So I’ve been wanting to make comics for, like, a long time, and somehow I never seem to be able to just sit down and fucking make them.

Like, I don’t know why I’m surprised the kid who got overwhelmed, shut down and went to bed at the very thought of doing a large project or even some basic homework ALL THROUGHOUT GRADE SCHOOL WITHOUT FAIL grew up to be someone who has trouble with any large and complicated project, let alone a comic that could potentially go on for ten years.

And look, I didn’t even KNOW I was on the Autism spectrum until like 2 or 3 years ago. I’ve gone to therapists and the like, but most of the time I don’t get any seriously helpful advice. (And let’s be real, any moderately helpful advice I get I probably either dismiss because I don’t expect it to help, don’t hear because of my ADD, get overwhelmed by when I try it, or promptly forget upon leaving the office) Mostly it’s the same ‘break tasks down’, etc. etc. stuff I’ve heard a million times anyway.

On top of that, I haven’t been able to take stimulants like Vyvanse, Focalin, Adderall, etc. ever since a couple years ago when I randomly started getting the shakes and other side effects that are uncomfortable and completely get in the way of working.

So I thought, okay, there’s gotta be workarounds, right?

For one thing, I was employed in a full-time job for a little over a year, and I can’t think of a single instance when I slept in on purpose so I didn’t have to go to work. I know how monumentally sad it is to say, but that’s big for me. I still had that problem in the part-time job I had before, that’s how sad it all is.

When I’d saved up enough money at this job, I bought a new computer that I could make comics on, but, surprise surprise, I was too burnt-out by the end of each work day to work on comics, and despite all attempts I couldn’t get myself into the habit of working on my comic either every day, or even just on weekends.

So I thought, hey, maybe the routine, the strict schedule and the designated location are part of what helped.

And that’s why I made it a goal to rent an art studio and start working part-time again, while working on my comic the other half of my time. That didn’t pan out, but in a connected circumstance a friend offered to rent an apartment with me, meaning I could finally move out of my parents’ house.

Still not sure if it was the right decision or not- I admit it’s a little freeing to not have to be religious, but that’s probably not enough of a benefit TBH. Plus it’s not like living on my own magically granted me social skills and I now go out with some big group of friends I somehow made or managed to get a girlfriend or anything. (you know who you are- don’t fucking get on my case about this, seriously I don’t want to hear a word about admitting I like girls or whatever. I don’t want to hear that shit on a good day.)

But the new environment at least meant I could sort of ‘bundle’ other changes in with the big one. I bought an even better computer and set it up in a literal closet of all things so that it could solely be designated as a Work Computer in a Working Space.

On top of that, due to circumstances that deserve an entire rant of their own, I recently lost that full-time job I was talking about. And even though that sucks, (and even though I have to find a new job AND dispute some bullshit false claims my employer made so I can get unemployment and don’t get turned down for every job I apply for,) it does mean I now have a whole mess of free time, and that means I can do COMICS! That’s right, this story idea I’ve been working on for like 3 years or something now can finally be put to paper and everyone can see how great it is and how cool I am or whatever!

Except not, of course.

I set an alarm, I’m getting up at the same time every day, I go to work, and it’s just. Nothing. I look at the work I have to do onscreen and just think ‘I can’t do this, I can’t do this, I can’t do this.’ I need to draw a crowd scene or a complicated contraption or whatever, and I just draw a blank. Like, a combination of just not wanting to do it, and not knowing how.

I’ll admit, I DID make a few improvements since I started working- listening to audiobooks and podcasts less, music more, and keeping my phone in the other room so I don’t end up playing MINDLESSLY ADDICTING MOBILE GAMES I’M STARTING TO HATE

But it’s not going anywhere. For the past few days it’s been like, 10 minutes of actual, literal drawing to, I dunno, 7 hours a day of playing Skyrim because I can’t even fucking bring myself to play a new video game anymore? (Seriously though, everyone’s saying the new Pokemon game is supposed to be amazing, and I’m still like an eighth of the way through, I shouldn’t be this bored by it! I KNOW it’s good!)

It’s hard to find a good way to describe the problem. Heck, it’s hard enough to get my thoughts in order enough to write all this. Do you know I skipped a Drink & Draw at a bar nearby to write this??? Before I decided that, it was just going to be a nap, because sleeping sounds better than going to a place full of people I know I mostly won’t be able to talk to while I stare at a blank sketchbook page or the notebook I’ve been thumbnailing and scripting my comic on and just not knowing what to draw.

*ahem*, Anyway

I’ve read stuff about Autistic Inertia and the like. It’s my favorite go-to name for the problem, but I’m not sure how close it actually is. I’ve googled the term recently, and I saw some relatable stuff, but there was other stuff people said about not being able to talk except fuck, I just realized around like 4th grade, along with my parents being unable to get me up, there were times I just didn’t want to talk, like it would ruin my resting experience to use my vocal cords. Maybe that’s an inertia thing because I had spent so many hours asleep not talking? Anyway, I’m not sure.

Frankly, I don’t know how much I even care about what the label is except to the end that it helps me figure out a solution. I don’t even give a fuck if this is all technically my fault and I’m just lazy, or have learned helplessness, and that’s it. Does anyone know how to magically make yourself not lazy? It’s a paradox, where can you get the motivation to change and make yourself motivated?

Like I’ve said before, this has been a problem for as long as I've had anything resembling a responsibility in life. I have a large task, and it’s just... I see it and my thoughts fizzle out. Like, some kind of mental block.

The best way I’ve figured out how to describe it is like trying to live in a cluttered basement full of useless junk. From the start, it’s this huge enormous mess, and you have to wonder ‘where do I begin?’ But it’s not like there’s an instruction manual for sorting garbage. It’s easier to just sit down and do nothing some of the time. Try and walk around, and you’ll only find yourself tripping and falling over, or being unable to wade through it all because it’s too deep and shit is too cluttered and heavy to move around. It’s like an antlion pit, where trying to climb out just results in everything crumbling and you falling back in.

And say you want to do something more complicated. You’ve got to build something better to work with, right? But imagine how difficult it is to build a couch or a shelf or whatever out of random scraps of garbage, while ALSO trying not to trip and fall over yourself. It’s mentally tiring to figure it out, it’s physically tiring to put it all together. And the worst part of that is the same antlion thing, where if you fuck up then the paths you’ve worn will get flooded with garbage, or the things you’ve built will fall apart.

I don’t know if that metaphor makes sense, I hope it does.

This is all hard to describe. It’s made things difficult, too.

Like, the ENTIRE reason I haven’t gone to college is because of this shit. Whenever I want to feel sorry for myself I’ll think ‘I got into SCAD for God’s sake, how did I end up like this?!’

The fact is, I couldn’t get all my work done in the community college art classes I took JUST TO TEST THE FUCKING WATERS. I avoided any homework I had to do like the plague, and I burned out of a 4-hour drawing class after maybe a single hour.

I still remember when my art teacher told me I was doing something wrong, and asked me to start over, and that was it. I was just done, I couldn’t even imagine devoting the mental energy to doing all that work again, but somehow doing it right, whatever that meant. So I just stood there by the easel for a couple hours until the teacher called me into his office to lecture me/try and figure out what was wrong, and I was too choked up to even speak.

So I don’t know what good can come from posting this rant. Maybe somebody can give me answers? If not then at least I’m venting, I guess.

Excuse me. *ahem*

FUCK

FUCK

FUCK FUCK FUCK

I HATE MY LIFE I HATE MYSELF I HATE EVERYTHING AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

?

[the-nysh]

Continuing Opm webcomic thoughts:

@negroymorado reblogged your post and added:

I do think this ARC will be really heavy for Genos, either in this seek for strength or facing his limitations or even having a quarrel with Sai (Genos is still very young and sometimes frustration and anxiety take the best of us) Geez, I’m going to re-read the whole Webcomic. It has been a while and this is important canon behavior!!

Yes, it seems he is taking it pretty harshly (as I suspected he wouldn’t be satisfied with Saitama’s comment on his superficial qualities), internalizing his angst and hastily jumping to conclusions… Blaming himself (not blaming Saitama tho!) and interpreting Saitama’s squinting behavior quite personally, when I really doubt it was Saitama’s intention to make him feel worse (really, Saitama noticed he felt bad and tried to say something positive, but Saitama’s pretty bad at emotional things, heh) Classic miscommunication and a spice of necessary conflict between them. All of this is quite typical for Genos’ rash teen behavior; letting the desperation/frustration/impatience get to him (it’s only been 2 months! Genos chill, Saitama took years to get where he is!) He’s hastily pressing forwards – just like that dung beetle imagery – a small creature with the instinctual drive to roll and struggle forwards. He can’t bear to stall even when he’s reached an impasse. Though he may rashly make bad decisions…this is where I hope Saitama comes in to guide him (taking his teacher role seriously) in that case.

A Genos arc that finally takes his feelings seriously, perhaps even bringing up his past again, allowing him to face his problems (and his relationship with Saitama) and offer constructive character growth for both of them, is definitely something I’ve been looking forward to. (Also I want to see those oil tears adapted canonically someday, oho!) 

@rayadraws reblogged your post and added:

Oh good analysis, you are making me worry a bit less!

I’m reminding myself that it was only a couple of pages ago that Genos was fighting for his right to be a creepy decoration in the corner of Sai’s new apartment… and pulled out another notebook from who knows where… That still stands, doesn’t it? These dark thoughts of Genos’ were already plaguing him before that (like when he talked to Kuseno), that didn’t happen during the spar so I would hope he didn’t just change his mind?

Plus I feel like… look at Murata’s drawings on Twitter, official promo drawings, the goddamn OVAs… These two are almost always portrayed together, their differences and how they interact with each other and the world around them is a big charm point of the series. Removing that… I feel like that would be to shoot yourself in the foot in terms of what makes a lot of people enjoy the series?

It is not easy right now… but I shall remain hopeful that this gets a good solution for both of them :O!!!

Yeah, it seems Genos has already discussed things with Kuseno behind the scenes, and has decided what to do. I think this spar with Saitama has confirmed some of those dark thoughts that have been plaguing him since the Garou battle – that he can’t improve with parts alone, and that the task to break into the top 10 heroes is an inadequate approach to achieve Saitama’s level of strength. The H.A. is a distrustful, toxic environment that’s probably not beneficial for either of them to continue staying there. I doubt Genos will want to abandon Saitama to that same environment that doesn’t respect or treat him fairly either. So this new hero organization plot point is (as expected) brought up again. Personally, I suspect Genos might ask Saitama’s opinion on joining, and may even invite him to come too. After all, here Saitama is floating around in limbo while the rest of the world is changing. And Genos is that one person – throughout the whole story – who has involved him and instigated Saitama to engage.Together, their interactions drive important plot points forward.

Saitama may not want to leave the H.A. (after all, he gets a free place to live and an A-class salary) but? Who knows. Saitama’s mentioned his uncertainty in staying in the H.A. before, as it does not support the kind of hero he wants to be. Genos may ask him what he thinks is best. This may put Saitama on the spot. On one hand, I kinda wanna see Saitama face the dread of loneliness again (if Genos wants to leave the H.A. environment, and not Saitama himself), and really consider what kind of person Genos is to him (I definitely hope as a friend!) If there is any rift between them, it will be for beneficial narrative reasons – just like Mob and Reigen’s separation arc in the manga, good things await after enduring such emotional turmoil, knowing ONE. ;) Definitely anticipating how Saitama reacts to Genos in the coming updates. One thing’s for sure tho: Genos’ faith in Saitama - in his strength and as a person, is not something that can be easily broken. Even if the rest of the world turns to shit against them, Genos has sworn he will still follow Saitama.