#preparing for selective school test

[schooltutoring]

Selective School Test Preparation

One-on-one selective school test preparation with a 100% success record since 2005! +16 years of experience and hundreds of success stories. NSW wide.

[heyguru]

Prepare for Selective School Success: Practice Tests and Resources for Australian Students

Selective sample tests, also known as selective school practice tests, are a series of tests used in Australia to assess the academic abilities of students who are applying for admission to selective schools. These schools are highly sought after, as they offer a more challenging curriculum and are known for producing high-achieving students.

The selective sample tests consist of a variety of subjects, including English, mathematics, general ability, and writing. The tests are designed to measure a student's academic ability and potential to succeed in a challenging academic environment. The tests are generally offered to students in Year 6 who are applying for Year 7 entry into selective schools.

One of the key benefits of taking selective sample tests is that they provide students with the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the format and content of the actual tests. This is important as the tests are highly competitive and it is essential for students to be well-prepared in order to have the best chance of success.

Furthermore, selective sample tests are an excellent way for students to identify their strengths and weaknesses, allowing them to focus on areas that need improvement. It also provides an opportunity for parents and teachers to gauge the student's readiness for selective schools.

To prepare for selective sample tests, students are encouraged to practice with sample test materials, attend coaching classes and study regularly. It's also important to manage stress and stay calm during the actual test as selective sample tests are known to be challenging and can be stressful for students.

In conclusion, selective sample tests are essential in applying to selective schools in Australia. They provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their academic abilities, familiarize themselves with the format and content of the actual tests, and identify areas that need improvement. With proper preparation and practice, students can increase their chances of success and secure a place in one of these highly sought-after schools.

[cloakedsparrow]

Alfred is Tim's Biological Grandfather AU

Bruce and Alfred had found it slightly odd that Jack and Janet Drake didn't ask any questions about Tim spending so much time at Wayne Manor. True, the Drakes could have questioned Tim and he simply could have not told them. However, the boy knew better than to keep it to himself if he'd made any excuses Bruce might need to know or if his parents were likely to make any complaints. Neither of the Drakes ever contacted Bruce or the Manor. They never requested to see or speak with any member of the family.

While they were making the arrangements for Janet's funeral (because Jack was in a coma and Tim was just a child), Bruce received a summons from her lawyer, stating that she'd remembered her dear friend in her will. Bruce was immediately suspicious because he and Janet Drake hadn't been friends.

Bruce receives a letter, along with a small, locked box, about the size of a document mailer. The letter apologizes for the deception and requests that Bruce give the box to Alfred Pennyworth, stating that the combination was Tim's birthday. Out of respect for Alfred more than anything, Bruce follows the instructions.

After going through the box privately, Alfred appears more solemn than Bruce has seen him in decades. He tells Bruce that -years before- he'd slept with a upper-class woman when visiting his father, who had already been working for the Waynes. After coming to work for the Wayne's himself, Alfred had learned that the woman had gotten married not long after and had a child. A child that was just the right age to potentially be his. At his request, Thomas and Martha invited the woman and her husband to a party at the Manor. Alfred very professionally informed her that she had an important phone call and to please follow him to an appropriate guest phone. Once they were in a private room, Alfred calmly informed her that he was going to require proof that the child was not his. He would be happy to take a paternity test himself, or she could take one for her husband that proved he was father. Whether she told her husband or did it behind his back, Alfred didn't care. He had no intention of causing a scene but he fully intended to be there for his child if he had one. The woman had agreed and discreetly had a paternity test done that had proven her daughter was her husband's child.

Alfred had thought that was the end of it. However, Janet Drake had left him a letter informing him that she had been that child. More importantly, she had informed him that the paternity test had been forged to keep him out of the picture since her mother had found a better prospect in her husband. After her parents died (she'd been an adult), Janet had found the results and a letter from her deceased maternal grandmother (who helped with the forgery) explaining the matter. She hadn't been sure how to feel or what to do about it. She'd ended up just ignoring it.

She had been concerned when Tim suddenly started spending time at Wayne Manor, but when she asked Tim about it, after talking about how nice Mr Wayne was and how cool Dick was and learning to play tennis and getting help with his gymnastics et all, he'd started talking about Alfred. He kept talking about how amazing he was. How kind he was. How funny he was. How clever he was.

Even though Tim hadn't known about the blood they shared, he'd clearly loved Alfred. Janet couldn't take his grandfather from him. That was why she let him spend so much time at Wayne Manor. That was why she never demanded to speak to Bruce. As far as she was concerned, it wasn't really about him. It was about family.

She also let Alfred know that she'd always been the primary caregiver for Tim. She'd always made the decisions in regards to him. She selected his nannies, babysitters, and boarding school. She saw to his medical appointments and made sure anyone preparing meals for Tim knew about his allergy (I always headcanon hazelnuts for some reason). She signed him up for gymnastics and martial arts. She made sure he got to and from Summer camp.

She knew Jack wouldn't know how to be a parent and requested that Alfred help out as much as he was comfortable with.

She also apologized for not telling Alfred the truth until it was too late for her to get to know him herself. She told him that the more Tim talked about him, the more she considered telling them both the truth. That she'd truly wanted to know him but just kept putting it off. If he was reading the letter, then she’d obviously waited too long.

Bruce and Alfred double check Alfred's blood against Tim's in the Cave before Alfred tells the boy he's his grandson. With Tim's permission, he discreetly has a proper blood test ran and uses the results to quietly assume custody of his grandson while Jack is in a coma.

When Jack wakes up and Alfred learns that he's both made arrangements for Tim to get an early junior's license to drive him around and also to work at Drake Industries for him, he doesn't just complain. He sees Jack privately and informs him that HE has had custody of Tim, not Bruce, as the city has assumed. He informs him of their relation. He informs him that he made a good deal of money both in the service of Her Royal Majesty and the Waynes and he invested that money wisely. In fact, he currently has more money than Jack. He informs Jack that unless he wants them to take it to a judge, Tim will not be acting as a caregiver, chauffeur, or executive assistant to Jack. If the man cannot afford to hire appropriate help, then Alfred will happy to pay for it, discreetly, of course.

Jack takes the latter option. He and Tim still move into the Manor next door, so that Tim can easily & quickly go to Alfred if he needs anything. While he's reluctant to say it aloud and almost petulant about it at times, Jack actually appreciates Alfred's help with Tim. He doesn't pay as much attention to the boy, but Tim ends up better taken care of anyway.

Alfred attends the Young Justice parent-Red Tornado conference alongside Dick (he asked Dick to still come as he’d understand the needs of a group of young heroes better than anyone else present). Unlike the others, he always stays on top of what the kids are getting up to. He refuses to participate in the sixteenth birthday trauma, which Tim figures out quicker since Bruce is working on his own (and he has someone to turn to afterwards -Alfred and Bruce have WORDS). He also holds people who hurt him accountable (it's harder with Bruce, who he sees as a son, but he does not mince words with Jack, Stephanie, or anyone else). He adored Dana and they had tea together once every fortnight just to ensure they were on the same page with Tim. He steps in and treats Tim much more fairly after Damian enters the picture. He goes full John Wick on Ra's after the man goes after his grandson.

He's still a grandfather to the others, but having custody of Tim (and a letter from his daughter asking him to care for the boy) gives him a sense of authority that he lacks with them. With the rest of the Waynes, he tries to stay somewhat professional, despite his feelings for them. He doesn't feel the need to do so with Tim because he's not the valet who also helped raise him. He's his grandfather, first and foremost.

[mysteryshoptls]

Fellow Honest Shared Lines

Level Up 1: This is all a fountain of knowledge!

Level Up 2: I'm improving bit by bit. So, this is what it means to learn!

Level Up 3: Well, ain't this a surprise. Who'd've thunk I'd still have room to grow?

Level Max: Bet you never thought some washed-up loser like me would ever get this far, huh? Watch me surpass those cocky little scholars one day! Fwahahahaha!

Vignette Level Up: You must have it rough, always surrounded by those magically gifted little brats every day. When you get tired of it, you should come to the school I plan to open. We'd welcome you with open arms. Fwahahahahahahaha!

Spell Level Up: How'd ya like them apples? See, even someone like me can get it done, if I take some classes! Don'tcha think I'm looking more and more like a proper scholar?

Friendship Level Up: Can't believe you're trying to be friends with me, after going through that harrowing experience. You're a little too soft-hearted, ain'tcha? Not gonna be my fault if you get taken for a ride again, fwahahahahaha!

Friendship Level Max: Whew, you sure got me at a loss! How is it you're such a little charmer? Hmm? Sure, I'm pretty good at that sort of stuff too, but you're definitely not bad at your attempts to bond.

Uncapped: Me 'n Gidel'll keep growing stronger. When that happens, none of you will be a match for us. Prepare yourself for that moment.

Groovification: Regardless of their status, everyone should have the equal chance to gain an education. Schools are a necessity.

Lesson Select 1: Okay then, let's see what's so great about Night Raven College.

Lesson Select 2: Listen to that, Gidel. The happy voices of children on their way to class is a pleasant sound, indeed.

Lesson Select 3: Homework and tests...? No wait, calm down and think it through. If I decide I don't like it, I can just not have them at my school when I set it up...

Lesson Start: Onwards, to class!

Lesson Finish: This is the type of course they have at an arcane academy, hm...

Battle Start: You’ll see just what Fellow Honest is capable of.

Battle Won: Being an actor is hard work, you know.

Requested by Anonymous.

[ericshoney]

Use your words ~ Brothers!Sturniolo Triplets

Summary: You had a rough day at school, but luckily your brothers are home to help, even if you can't talk about what happened.

Warnings: usual swearing, autistic!reader, selective mute!reader, anxiety, overwhelmed, crying

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today had been rough to say the least. It was a good start to the morning, with Nick, Matt and Chris being home and helping you get your bag ready, Matt even drove you to school. But from there on, it was terrible.

It started with your maths teacher being off sick. Most people wouldn't care, but with you being autistic and seeing the same teachers regularly, it broke your routine. You were also a selective mute, so when the substitute teacher tried to get you to answer the questions, that didn't settle well. Luckily one of your classmates explained the situation, but it didn't make you feel any better.

You then went to your English class and your teacher thought it would be cool to spring a pop test on you, which always threw you since you never had time to prepare.

Then at lunch, you were going to get something to eat, only to see everything you hated. You had a very plain taste pallet and didn't like anything that the hall was offering.

When it came to afternoon classes you were happy as you only had one, it being PE, which you quite liked. That was until you saw the sport. Cricket. You didn't like cricket.

So by the time you got home, you were overwhelmed and tired. Nick, Matt and Chris were home too whilst your parents were out. The trio noticed you and instantly knew something was wrong.

"Hey sweetheart, how was school?" Nick gently asked as the three found you curled up on your bed.

You just frowned at him and shook your head. The guys walked in and sat around you.

"Was it not a good day?" Matt asked.

You shook your head in response, whining slightly as tears welled up in your eyes.

"It's okay bub, we're here." Chris said softly, rubbing your leg to help you relax.

Suddenly, all your emotions hit at once. You were sad, angry, overwhelmed and tired all at once. Which resulted in you hitting out. This didn't happen often, only when you got really upset.

"Hey, hey don't hit us. We're trying to help." Chris said, holding your fists tightly in his hands.

"Come on petal, use your words." Matt cooed, rubbing your shoulder to ease the stress.

"We don't care how long it takes." Nick said.

"Bad day." You mumbled.

"Okay, what happened, where did it start?" Nick questioned.

You sighed and eventually explained everything that happened. The guys listened closely, gently praising you for relaxing and explaining with your words what happened.

"We fully understand how hard today was, kid. We really do. But you've made us so proud with how you've explained everything." Chris said.

"Sorry I hit you." You apologised.

"It's okay, sweetheart. But if you get into that position again please try and express it in another way." Nick replied.

You nodded and leaned into Matt. He held you gently, your head resting against his chest as you heard his heartbeat. It had been a bad day, but luckily you had your brothers to help.

[yerimbrit]

WWIB > 5. lunch with pretty (wc: 1.2k)

danielle grins happily as she listens to y/n explain each classroom and their respective teachers. mrs. kim and mr. park, the math teachers, mr. baek the literature teacher—the list goes on. y/n has more annoyed complaints to say about mr. song, which makes danielle giggle with her hand covering her mouth.

she notices her mentor has a hard time making eye contact with her. everyone that she's talked to is okay, but it seems it's different when it comes to danielle. it reassures her in thinking that her seatmate may already have some feelings for her too.

"mrs. kim is nice, but she keeps giving us pop quizzes," y/n gulps down the last of her pocari sweat and throws it away at the nearest recycling bin. "i don't know about mr. park but from what i've heard for eunchae—the girl who kept poking me in class today—he likes pop quizzes too."

danielle takes a sip of her strawberry milk. y/n was adamant about treating her, even if it was just the school vending machines. they finally replaced the selection with better drinks, and everyone's been swarming the machines during break according to the girl. "that's bad," she pouts, "i can't do well on tests without studying super hard; i'll have to study everyday."

y/n widens her eyes and shakes her head, finally glancing at danielle. the transfer student's eyes glimmer with genuine fear. "ah, it's not that bad! they're usually right after we review some introductory material or something like that, don't worry."

they walk through the hallways. some students stare in awe at danielle as they walk past the pair, even more so when she greets each of them with a bright smile. y/n looks like she's seconds away from either passing out or growling at the other students.

they're about to enter the cafeteria when danielle stops briefly. "you didn't have plans with your friends, did you? i know i asked if you wanted to eat lunch together but it's not too late to back out..."

y/n ponders for a moment, glancing around. "i'll... i want to eat lunch with you, it's okay. do you know anyone else here?" she slowly asks. 'she really has a permanent smile on her face,' y/n notes in her head.

"i have a friend who's a senior, but she's... busy today. i can always catch up with her later!" danielle answers easily, hoisting her backpack up to adjust it.

y/n nods and they walk into the already-bustling lunchroom. they don't bother getting in line since danielle brought her own food for today and y/n had a particularly big breakfast with haerin.

"you're not gonna eat?" danielle decides to question this decision, pulling her comically large lunchbox out of her bag, which separates into three different containers. she almost looks disappointed at the lack of food in front of her mentor. 'she's really expressive,' y/n adds to her mental note.

the girl in front of her stares in bewilderment, looking between danielle and her abundance of food that she prepared for lunch. "is that all for you?" she asks in astonishment, before quickly realizing that danielle might take it the wrong way. "i mean, not that i'm calling you-"

y/n gets cut off by the girl laughing. the sound makes her feel like she's floating, ready to ascend to whatever's up there. 'this must be heaven.'

"it's okay! i'm a big eater, i'm pretty active. i used to do track back in australia, but i had to quit because my family was moving back to korea."

the girl across from her nods in understanding, drumming her fingertips on top of the table. "you're from australia?"

"yeah! i was born there but we moved back and forth between seoul and newcastle. my mom's korean."

danielle takes the lids off of her lunchbox containers, revealing a copious amount of gimbap, some cutlery, and a whole box dedicated to a mix of cherry tomatoes and baby carrots. she gestures to the container filled with the fruits and vegetables. "want some?"

"oh," y/n's mouth forms an 'o' shape, and she picks a cherry tomato from the pile. "thank you."

the australian watches as y/n pops the fruit into her mouth with expectant eyes. "is it sweet?"

"mm, very."

"that's good! i love fruits and vegetables, i can't go a day without having them. oh, especially carrots. i love carrots," danielle rambles as she picks up a piece of her gimbap with her chopsticks and shoves it in her mouth. she repeats this until all of her lunch is gone, before y/n can even blink.

"hey loser," eunchae sets her tray down on the table, taking a seat next to y/n. "hi danielle!"

danielle flashes a huge grin and waves, recognizing the girl as the person that y/n was talking about earlier. "hello! eunchae...?"

"big baby..." y/n mutters under her breath. unfortunately for her, eunchae hears it and pinches her on the side. they side-eye each other.

then, as if nothing happened, she turns back to danielle with a friendly expression. "that's right! yunjin-unnie told me lots about you."

this turns out to be something that danielle didn't expect, because she lets out a loud gasp. "you know yunjin-unnie!?"

y/n curses at eunchae in her head.

the two get wrapped up in an exciting conversation about yunjin and how they know her, and also getting to know each other in the process. danielle, yunjin, and another girl named yuna grew up together, and they still keep in touch even now. they keep each other updated on almost every detail of their lives while danielle is away, and also exchanging small pieces of gossip.

eunchae's older sister, chaewon, is close friends with the musician, and she describes them as a "budding situationship" before she laughs it off and changes to a different subject. internally, y/n takes back the curses she directed to the younger girl as she also got to know the pretty girl better through their interaction.

two figures approach their table and eunchae and danielle's conversation is put on pause in order to see who arrived.

"ah, finally!" y/n stands up, moving her bag so the student council power couple could sit. "you took forever."

"danielle," eunchae starts, pointing to the girls that had just settled down in their seats with a lunchbox that the secretary packed. "this is hanni-unnie and minji-unnie, our very own student council secretary and president. guys, this is danielle, the new transfer."

"wow! it's so nice to meet you! i didn't know y/n-ssi was so connected."

"it's very nice to meet you, danielle," hanni states, making a face at y/n, who flips her off while the bright girl isn't looking.

the rest of the girls finish their lunch, with some taking their share of danielle's offered tomatoes and carrots (minji made a face, though no one except hanni and y/n noticed), and soon lunch was over. y/n's face pales at the bell.

she still has class with the new girl in two periods.

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taglist: @idkwhatim-doinghere101 @nnewjeansstuff @airice @yeetaberry127 @multiliker @saysirhc @shozeu @nwjnsloona @hannienthusiast @hotluvlet @gayforalll @technicallyimportantsweets @jeindall777 @popasi @gtfoiydlyj

[ywpd-translations]

Ride 766: The ones chasing the colored bib!!

Pag 1

1: Those who pride themselves on their speed on flats are jumping ahead one by one!!

Waa

So fast!

2: Their goal is

3: the first result that's 10km ahead of here...

Pag 2

1: The sprint line!!

Pag 3

1: We're done here

On!!

Hurry up, you haven't forgotten anything?

No

2: Damn, road racing is so much more hectic than tennis

3: I-I'll grab that for you!

Thanks

4: We have to take a different route than the race to get to the supply point ahead of time

5: They were saying that a a lot of people jumped ahead earlier right after the start

For that “something line”? Is that thing so important?

On

Pag 4

1: The sprint line is the first title

2: During the Inter High there are three colored bibs you can obtain in one day: the sprint's “green bib”, the mountains' “red bib”, and the one for that day's victory, the “yellow bib”

This for all three days... nine of them in total

3: And among them, the “first day's fast sprint line” is the very first one

4: A flash situation right after the start when no one is injured or had retired yet.... out of the nine bibs that everyone can desire

5: under the same conditions, this, most of all, is the one

Pag 5

1: when everyone has the same chances!!

Gallop!!

2: The green bib

3: has to be mine!!

Ugh!! That guy's fast!!

4: There's a lot of show-offs from Nagoya

They mistake flashiness for strength

Real strength is

Pag 6

2: is “thickness”!!

Th... “thickness”!?

3: I'm Oosumi from Kagoshima's Satsuma Nishi high school!!

In Kyushu “thick” means “big”!! And I won't lose against anyone when it comes to waist circumference and neck thickness!!

Ugh!! He really is huge!

4: Oosumi-kun!!

Kagoshima's Oosumi-kun!!

5: The thickest volcano in Japan is Sakurajima!!

The thickest radish in Japan is the Sakurajima radish!!

Uh... but that has nothing to do with running!!

Pag 7

1: I want to try and see if there's a connection!!

3: If everyone has a chance, then it's not out of reach for anyone

4: That's right... the chances are equal... so

5: of course... in order to take all the bibs and regain the title

Pag 8

1: Kanagawa's Hakone Academy is aiming for the first sprint line too!!

Pag 9

1: “Shoot them down”?

You really wanna go, Bashi-kun?

2: Well...

3: In that case, Jou-kun will rest..

Wha!! wait, Manami, the plan....

4: We can't hold him back.... Bashi-san, please don't break your zipper

5: Even if I break it, as long as I win there's nothing to complain about!!

6: Can you do it?

Who do you think you're speaking to!!

7: I'll take it, 100%!!

My jersey, that was handed over to me by Izumida-san... and that Izumida-san got from Shinkai-san...

Pag 10

1: Is the one with the “bib number 4”, the ace sprinter number of Hakone Academy's tradition!!

2: Ugh!! Hakogaku is moving....

Ugh...

The first sprint.... for Hakogaku, Doubashi is suddenly going for it?!

Pag 11

3: Just now

4: I heard someone say that Hakogaku is moving!!

5: And earlier I got confirmation that Kaburagi moved

Pag 12

1: The third year Doubashi is going?

That Doubashi!!

2: What should our selected team do!!

3: We have no chance of winning

So do we keep going like this and preserve our strengths?

No

Should we send someone!?

4: Good grief.... is there no time to calmly savor the “feeling of running”at the Inter High!! The feeling of running!!

5: Pfui...

Pag 13

1: Of course I'm prepared for it but still!!

2: Kobayashi!! Uchikawa!!

3: You have the chance to test your legs that you've trained on the track field!!

4: Go for the green bib challenge!!

Pag 14

1: Huh.... but

But the first attack is basically already done

If only the two of us jump ahead now from here....

2: One last train is soon coming up from behind us

He has a terrific acceleration, but if you can jump on it you can make it to the front!!

3: Ohh

Waaa

4: He's coming!!

5: Seriously!? If we can then I wanna go!!

What should we do, Sugimoto-san!!

Pag 15

1: He's here!!

5: He's huge!!

Hakogaku!!

Huh!! Sugimoto-san!?

7: Kuaaaaaa!!

Pag 16

1: Doubashii!!

2: Sugimoto-san jumped ahead....

3: and caught up to the Hakogaku guy!?

4: Huh!?

What do you want, you....

Pag 17

1: You're Sohoku's handyman....!?

2: Can you take two people of the selcted team with you!?

I want to give them the chance to experience the sprint

3: Why are you running in the Inter High!!

4: The selected team!? So you're the one they said they called at last minute!!

Please take them with you

5: Ah!? You call that a negotiation!?

Get out of here with that selfish talk!!

6: There's no benefit for me..!! It's ridiculous!! I refuse!!

I'll make up for it!!

Pag 18

1: When Hakogaku is in a pinch somewhere, we'll help you!! I'll take the initiative!!

3: Buah!! Oi, wait-

You!? Helping!? Hakogaku!?

Th-that's right!!

4: Buuah, that's not balanced!!

Please

5: Please!!

Pag 19

1: …. tch, I don't hate earnest people

2: Get on!! Selected team's guys!! But I won't care if you get shaken off!!

5: Handyman!!

I felt your spirit!!

Pag 20

1: I'll take these guys for now

I don't expect anything though!!

Thank you Doubashi!!

Waaa-

He's so fast!!

Pag 21

1: Ah I'm so glad....

Sugimoto-san....

Sugimoto-san is amazing.... he negotiated....

2: Now, we'll run in a formation while preserving our strength

Otherwise, if we're all scattered when they come back, they won't have a place to rest

3: Yessir!!

4: Do your best, guys

5: So fast....

It's hard, Kobayashi...

6: But we'll hold out

This is the road that Sugimoto-san negotiated for us!!

Yes!!

Pag 22

2: Hakone Academy's Doubashi moved, on!!

This.... Issa-kun and Doubashi-san... could it be that it'll be like...

3: last year's matchup, on!!

4: No but, Kanzaki-chan, what you were saying earlier about the colored bibs

5: You said that counting the sprint and the climb, there's three of them for each day

Pag 23

1: And there's no one who wants to take all three of them?

2: Yeah, since climbing and sprinting are fundamentally different running styles, there's no one

5: That is, if you exclude....

Pag 24

1: those out-of the-ordinary people who will appear sometimes!!

Yon

[octuscle]

Help!

I'm tired of being a skinny loser with no muscle. I wanna be a confident bro. I'll trade anything!

Really everything? Everything you own? Ever heard of DeepTraining? Actually, you must belong to the mega-rich of this planet to undergo a transformation there…. But IronData is sponsoring transformations for high school graduates, freshmen and sophomores. You just have to get through the selection process first. And you then commit to IronData for ten years after graduation though. And you really have to give away EVERYTHING you own to IronData. In return you can undergo the normal DeepTraining process. And IronData provides you with a starter package. Interesting? Then I send you the link for the application.

The selection process will take place in Lansing, Michigan. At the Red Roof Inn, a rather shabby motel. Not your world. Your R8 Spyder V10 quattro looks a bit lost in front of it. It was a last gift from your parents before they crashed their private jet. A beast. You love it. The motel doesn't have a real lobby. But there are a few fellows standing around. Every now and then, the cell phone of one of them signals and the owner walks wordlessly in the direction of the hotel rooms.

Your iPhone 15 Pro vibrates. "Please make your way to room 322." Okay, here we go. You knock. The door opens. No one there, a notebook on the desk. On the screen a form with the general terms and conditions. Seems to be what you have already received by e-mail. You click "I agree". And then you write on the screen. After that, there are a lot of tests. Intelligence tests. Personality tests. For a full three hours. Without a break. Then a window pops up. "Congratulations, you meet the requirements for our program. If you wish to participate in our program, click on 'Accept'. After that, go to room 118, and the transformation will start in half an hour." Fuck! Now? Right now? No one knows you're here. You didn't sign out anywhere. But this is your chance. You know that. You click on "Accept". And you go to room 118. A voice sounds "Please strip completely naked and proceed through the door." Okay, now there's no way back. The next room looks like a simple hotel gym. "Please put on the prepared clothes." Sure enough, there are jockstraps, sweatpants, a tank top, socks and sneakers. And a cap. And a pendant on a leather strap. You put it all on. There's a mirror. It looks ridiculous on your skinny body. "Please proceed to the cross trainer. The first workout will last 30 minutes. An aerosol comes out of nozzles on the ceiling. The light is dimmed. Loud hip-hop music blares from the speakers. Every now and then there is a command to change the machine. You work out to total exhaustion. Then the light goes on and the music goes off. The door to the first room opens again. You go in. And first you have to sit down. And you look in the mirror… Fuuuuuck!

There is a duffel bag and a sports bag on the floor. At the coat check hangs a bomber jacket. "Please take your personal belongings and proceed to your dorm." Inside your jacket is your wallet. With your driver's license, your ID, with your gym membership card. You remember the terms and conditions. You start your business degree at Michigan State today. You're a freshman on a football scholarship. You have nothing else. Outside the hotel, two more beefcakes are waiting for the bus to the dorm. You fistbump your bruhs. They still have their sweaty clothes on, too. The bus is coming. It's rush hour and you have to squeeze in. You have the sweaty armpit of one of your bruhs in your face. And the other one presses his hard-on against your thigh. Fuck, you can't wait to get to the dorm!

Like most of the hot pictures of bruhs with cap I also found this one @simonsx 

[plethoraworldatlas]

Take the Test Theory and Analysis

A lot of people seem to be taking the video as very literal, but I think I got an interesting way to view it;

Think of the video as not what actually is happening, but as how a mentally broken Miss Delight chooses the remember the traumatic things she saw. Miss Delight, despite wanting to teach in a different way, teaches to the test. A very standardized test made by the scientists of Playtime Co. meant to measure very specific things. Kids not only get bored of it really quick, but many also eventually start attaching their sense of self worth and value as a student on their inability to get a perfect score. Because kids who get perfect scores are "selected" to go to "advanced classes", the "fun classes", and they get taken there by CatNap.

Now look at how Miss Delight tried to prepare kids for the tests; Generally unhelpful reviews of materials that isn't really on the test, even outright lying by the final test. Constantly trying to get kids to not put so much value on perfect scores, desperately trying to get the ones who do score perfect to stay and keep learning her way. Because she knows what happens when CatNap, under orders from the scientists, takes a kid away for advanced classes; They are experimented on, or as she interprets it now, they "grow up too early".

Some people are thinking that the smiling critters in the video are the literal cartoon critters being turned into the bigger bodies versions, but I think that's a wrong way to look at it. Miss Delight isn't just mentally broken by what she did to survive, but what she saw happen to her students before the Hour of Joy; She saw her best students slowly get taken away never to be seen again, and eventually more living toys appeared that sounded or acted like them. And she helped the scientists select the best of them.

She's coping with the terrible things she saw and was forced to take part in by repressing the truth, making things more metaphorical and cartoonish to keep from confronting the truth; Her massive head injury from her broken face add a physical component to her mental state as well. I don't think she's watching the toon critters being turned into living toys; That's just how she chooses to remember it, because while it's also terrible, it's still nor that bad, just critters "growing up too fast" and having bad lives.

In reality, she was teaching human children in Playcare, and when they got selected for their perfect scores, they got taken away and turned into the living toys, through the horrible experiments that removed every shred of their humanity; And the kids, not knowing what would happen to them, wanting to join their friends in the fun classes, wanting to move on past the boring repetitive and little kid classes, wanting to prove their self worth that the scientists have made them attach to getting perfect scores, rush towards that dark fate no matter what Miss Delight tried.

In the end of the video, she sees she failed; Her former students "grew up too fast" and hurt for it. The human children she couldn't protect were turned into pained living toys, who went through the Hour of Joy and beyond. She even feels sorrow and pain for CatNap, knowing he had no choice in his role in taking children for the scientists, just like her. She doesn't even remember what she did to her "sisters", or that CatNap trapped her in the school and forced her into cannibalism; She just repressed that and chooses to remember CatNap knocking her out and her waking up in a ruined school with a broken face.

Even worse, she chooses to remember creating Barb not as a way to defend herself from living toys, former students and sisters trying to kill and eat her, but as a mercy; The scientists can't take her students away if she kills them first. She feels sorry for what she's done, what she couldn't stop, but she's too far gone and too hateful and just too hungry to stop attacking whatever and whoever gets close to her. So she chooses to see things differently from what they really are

[cakesunflower]

lovelorn (and nobody knows) [rafe cameron au fic] chapter 4

Summary: Isla Carrera had planned for the summer before college to be focused on three things: helping out at her family’s restaurant (the helpful daughter), preparing for college (the good student), and having fun with the Pogues (the loyal friend). But one fateful night, where her car breaks down and her rescuer is none other than Rafe Cameron, seems to send her summer down a path she didn’t see coming–one teeming with a secret, illicit romance with the last person she expected. And if her friends and sister found out, Isla isn’t sure they’ll be so understanding, no matter what her feelings are.

Previous Chapters: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3

Isla is pushing a grocery cart down the snack aisle of the grocery store when she spots someone she is in no mood to interact with.

Her ex-boyfriend, Carlo, stands at the end of the aisle, peering at the shelf before him as he makes his snack selection. Thankfully, he’s oblivious to Isla’s presence as she slowly backs down to exit the aisle at the other end, hoping to disappear around the corner before he can spot her, her grip on the handlebar of the shopping cart tight as the wheels rattle with every spin.

Luckily, Isla is able to reach the end without bumping into anyone or anything, and pulls and pushes the cart down the side aisles instead, putting distance between herself and Carlo. She can just get the snacks at the end—anything to avoid risking running into him again.

The two of them had broken up a year ago, but Isla had to spend the entire school year seeing him, since they shared a few classes together. The breakup had been messy, to say the least; they’d dated all throughout sophomore year, the summer after, and a few months into their junior year. Except, Carlo had gone to New Jersey for that summer, visiting family, and it wasn’t until the school year had started that Isla found out he had been cheating on her with some girl he met during his vacation. The only way she found out was because the girl had discovered that he had been in a relationship with Isla, and reached out to her through Instagram to tell her of what Carlo did.

It had been devastating for Isla because, truly, she did love him—or, well, as much as a sixteen year old was capable of love. But the second his infidelity came to light, she had ended things—and he had the audacity to tell her that she was the one making a mistake by breaking up with him. As if the mistake hadn’t been made by him when he decided to spend his summer hooking up with a girl down at the Jersey Shore. And then for a long while after, he kept trying to win her back, as if she was some prize that slipped away from his fingers, despite Isla never giving him the time of day.

And although the idea of violence doesn’t exactly thrill Isla, she was relieved that when John B took it upon himself to threaten Carlo with physical harm if he didn’t leave Isla alone, her ex finally backed off. For the most part. Escaping his line of sight at the grocery store is her not wanting to really test those waters again.

She occupies herself by going to the other side of the store, getting her toiletry essentials that she’s running low on and hoping that by the time she goes back to the snack aisle, Carlo is gone. The party Sarah is throwing at her place is tonight, and Isla is in charge of buying snacks for the guests. Sarah’s going to end up ordering pizza at some point for everyone, but enough snacks should hold the rowdy, drunk teenagers for a good bit. 

As if on cue, Isla’s music playing through her headphones gets interrupted by an incoming call, and she pulls her phone out of her pocket to see Sarah’s name and a selfie of them two lighting up the screen. “Hey, are you on your way yet?” Sarah asks by way of greeting.

Isla huffs out a breath, placing her preferred coconut scented body wash into the cart. “In a bit. Hit a snag at the store and I gotta drop off my stuff at home before heading over.”

“A snag?” Sarah repeats. “What does that mean?”

Pursing her lips briefly, she confesses with a sardonic chuckle, “I saw Carlo in the snack aisle and bolted to the other side of the store.”

“Oh, crap,” her friend mutters. “Yeah, okay, take your time. Hope you don’t have to deal with him.”

“Me and you both, sister,” Isla mutters, pushing her way out of the aisle. “Are the others there yet?”

“Yeah, Kie and Cleo have been helping me move my parents’ valuables into the locked rooms,” Sarah snickers. It’s not their first time throwing a party in the Cameron household, so they’ve become experts in taking anything expensive that Ward and Rose Cameron hold dear and putting them away into a locked room so they don’t get destroyed during a party. “The guys just got here with the drinks.”

“Let me guess—JJ got his hands on a keg.”

“Two of them,” Sarah laughs. 

Isla whistles, smile burgeoning as she makes her way through the store, her gaze half sharp to look out for her ex. “Sounds like we’re in for a rager.” 

They hang up soon after that, and Isla braces herself to go back to the snack aisle and breathes out a sigh of relief when she doesn’t spot Carlo anywhere. She makes quick work of grabbing several party sized bags of chips before heading back to the front of the store. She feels a little paranoid, stupidly so, that she’s going to see Carlo, so she works quickly. Having any kind of conversation with him is not on her agenda for today—or ever—because why should she give the guy who cheated on the time of day? 

As much of a stretch as it may be, Isla is kind of hoping she never has to see him again now that school is over. It might not be realistic, since she’s going to college over on the mainland and the Cut isn’t that big, so running into him is totally a possibility. But a girl can dream, right?

Isla makes her escape quickly enough and is pulling up to Sarah’s house thirty minutes later. As she gets out of her car—finally back from the shop—Isla can’t help the way her gaze scans the Cameron’s gravel driveway in search of a certain guy’s motorcycle, heart thudding when she doesn’t spot it amongst Sarah’s own parked car and John B’s van. As she opens the trunk of her car, she’s not quite sure if she feels relief or disappointment when she doesn’t spot Rafe’s motorcycle, that in of itself is complicated as all hell. 

If only her friends heard that thought—they might think she’s gone insane. Maybe she has.

“I’m here!” Isla calls out, a tote bag filled with her outfit and makeup for tonight hanging off her shoulders while her hands grip the grocery bags. “A little help?!”

She hears footsteps as she makes her way to the kitchen in the bag, smiling in relief as Pope turns the corner and comes into view. “Here, I got you,” he says, helpfully taking some of the bags from her. “Jeez, how much did you get?”

“Hopefully enough to feed a houseful of people,” Isla answers with a snort, putting the remaining bags on the marble countertop. She and Pope begin taking out the several bags of chips, along with the packs of red solo cups Isla had also picked up upon Sarah’s request. “Where are JJ and John B?”

“Setting up the Christmas lights in the backyard,” Pope replies and off her arched eyebrow, he chuckles and explains, “Sarah wanted it to look pretty and colorful.” He puts air quotes around the words with a fond roll of his eyes. “Last I checked, they were still trying to untangle the whole thing.”

Isla hums in acknowledgement before asking, “When are people supposed to start coming?”

Pope glances at the digital watch on his wrist. “Like, two hours. Less than, I think.”

Isla grabs her tote. “I need to get ready.”

Her friend shakes his head, scoffing. “It should not take you two hours to get ready for a party.”

She flips her hair over her shoulder, already walking out of the kitchen as she tells him, “Perfection takes time, Pope.”

She takes the steps two at a time as she heads upstairs, hearing the girls’ chatter the closer she gets to Sarah’s room. Upon entering, Isla spots her sister in front of the mirror in the ensuite, leaning close to her reflection and lips parted as she applies mascara; Sarah’s in front of her vanity, blotting blush onto her cheeks, while Cleo sits cross legged in front of the floor length mirror as she slicks her dark hair back into a high ponytail.

“Damn, are there any mirrors left for me?” Isla teases, catching her friends’ attention.

She’s met with laughter while Kie calls from the bathroom, “I’m almost done!”

From her place on the floor on the other side of the room, Cleo asks her, “Whatcha wearin’ tonight?”

“I was thinking these,” Isla answers, gesturing to the distressed denim cut-offs she’s already got on while digging through her tote bag. “With this.”

She holds up the crocheted purple and black bralette top, a cute find she had discovered when she and Kie had gone to the mainland for some thrifting. “Very cute,” Sarah nods approvingly, cheeks a pretty pink glow. “Are you gonna swim?”

Isla shrugs, undecided. “Not sure.”

“Unless the guys throw you in the pool,” Kie says as she walks out of the bathroom, dressed in her own black denim shorts and a red tank top, the strings of her yellow bikini top tied around her neck.

“Only if they have a death wish,” Isla scoffs, grabbing her small makeup bag and heading to the bathroom. She doesn’t mind taking a swim, truthfully, but she’d hope the guys would give her enough time to empty her pockets; one of the last times they so lovingly tossed her in the pool, Isla’s phone was still in her pocket and she ended up needing to buy a new one. A bowl of rice definitely did not help.

Isla takes her time in getting ready, accompanied by conversations with her friends as she does her makeup under the bright lights of Sarah’s bathroom mirror. Truthfully, Isla is only half listening to Cleo’s story of how she chased out a would-be robber from Heywards’—an unsurprising pastime for Cleo—because her thoughts keep drifting to a certain guy with blue eyes and dark blonde hair whose face keeps flashing through her head.

Isla’s jaw clenches, movements slowing in buffing out her foundation as she gazes at her reflection, throat working. It unnerves her how frequently Rafe has been creeping through her thoughts since that night he helped her out when her car broke down. And then again when he let her borrow his shirt, before giving her a ride home to escape from the cops. She has interacted with him more just this last week than she has in an entire month in the past. Whatever their interactions, they shouldn’t have a lasting effect on Isla like they do. She keeps trying to remind herself that none of it is a big deal, and yet…

Shaking her head at herself, Isla continues on with her makeup and then brushes out her hair, her ears already decked out in jewelry. Her neck also adorns matching gold jewelry, necklaces layered together against her smooth brown skin. When she walks out of the bathroom to put her makeup bag back in the tote, Kie lets out a whistle and teasingly says, “You’re gonna drive your favorite touron crazy.”

The others giggle at Kiara’s statement, Isla forcing out a laugh of her own, skin warming at the fact that her stupidly foolish brain has only been focused on one guy—most likely the wrong guy.

When the girls are ready, it’s almost the time for when people will start coming, so they head downstairs and to the back, music already blaring through the speakers that have been set up. Isla is impressed by the set up, the Christmas lights wrapped around the trees and across the gable roof of the porch, also wrapping around the porch pillars. 

Letting out a whistle, Cleo says to Sarah, “Jeez, how many Christmas lights do you have?”

Sarah snickers. “Pretty sure we have some for every room in the house, plus for outside of the house.”

With the sun setting, the Camerons’ backyard is alight with different colors thanks to the lights the boys put up, along with the blue glow of the pool and some of the sconces lit up along the wall that separates the yard from the street they live on. The guys are already helping themselves to drinks, unsurprisingly, while playing beer pong on the opposite side of the yard across the pool. 

As they walk over to the guys, Sarah gasps and grabs Isla’s arm. “Oh, shit, wait, I forgot to ask! Did you manage to leave the store without Carlo seeing you?”

“Whoa, wait, what?” Kiara asks, stopping as she widens her eyes at her sister. “You saw Carlo?”

“Yeah. I guess he’s spending his summer in OBX,” Isla says, face scrunching up in distaste. He seemed to enjoy his summer out of North Carolina, so Isla has no qualms about him leaving again if it meant she could go a summer without running into him.

“Gross,” Kie mutters before throwing an arm around Isla’s shoulders, pulling her close. “Well, he’s irrelevant, so fuck him.”

Cleo snaps her fingers. “Amen.”

Fortunately, it isn’t long until people start arriving, the volume of the music turning up as more and more people come. It’s not long until Isla has a drink in her hand, taking a few shots with her friends before enjoying a High Noon since she’s not quite in the mood for beer tonight. Those shots, though, get the job going right away, and it’s not long until she’s in the backyard, dancing to the music pounding through the speakers with her friends.

She lets loose easily, giggling in between sips as they dance to songs by Sabrina Carpenter to Pitbull. There were loads of people splashing around in the pool, using the diving board to jump in, while others either danced or played games spread around the yard or inside the house. At one point, Isla takes part in an intense game of flip cup, laughing as JJ, standing next to her, yells in her ear to hurry up and flip the cup upright. She ends up laughing so hard, she needs to ditch and go to the bathroom, only to find both bathrooms downstairs occupied, so she ventures up the stairs.

Dodging and weaving past other partygoers, Isla finds the bathroom in the upstairs hallway and breathes a sigh of relief when she finds it empty. Locking the door behind her, she uses the toilet, the party muffled beyond the door as she takes a look at herself in the mirror, washing her hands. Her brown hair falls in messy waves around her shoulders, makeup still intact and a subtle glazed, glassiness to her eyes. She’s not drunk, at that point of tipsiness where she’s still aware of her faculties and surroundings, but it all does make the smile come onto her face easily.

When she exits the bathroom, someone else is waiting to go, practically shoving her out of the way to go inside. Isla stumbles, eyebrows furrowing as she glares at the door and shouts, “Rude!” before turning to head back down the hall.

And maybe she’s drunker than she thought, because surely she can’t have spotted Carlo at the end of the hall, chatting with some people. Isla freezes, blinking a couple of times as the distant sound of a Taylor Swift song plays outside, and praying that she’s only imagining things, because seeing Carlo at the store earlier had been enough.

But, nope, he’s right there, and he’s looking like he’s about to walk away from the people he’s talking to and head in her direction—even though he hasn’t spotted her yet. And Isla panics, knowing that if he sees her, he’s going to want to chat, and so her gaze darts around as she reaches the first door she finds, other than the now occupied bathroom, and shoves it open.

Slamming the door shut, Isla presses her back against it, blowing out a breath as she wills for the slight dizziness, as a result of moving so quickly, to stop. She squints, the room bathed in darkness, and feels along the wall until her fingers come across the lightswitch, flicking it on and pressing her lips together in realization when she sees not only that she’s in a bedroom—but it’s Rafe’s bedroom.

What are the Goddamn odds?

Rolling her lips into her mouth, Isla pushes away from the door and wanders further into the room. She’s never been in here before, never had a reason to, and her eyebrows raise in curiosity as she looks around. There’s a four poster bed to her right, and a set of glass doors that lead to a small balcony that looks over the backyard. A shelf is filled to the brim with all sorts of books, the mantle under the TV opposite of the bed holding some frames with pictures of Rafe with his family. There’s also a desk where his laptop sits, along with notebooks and folders and books, a cup filled with pens and pencils. The dark oak dresser by the closet has plenty of colognes, some watches, deodorant, lotion, and other belongings of Rafe placed neatly on top of it.

Everything is tidy and in its place, and Isla isn’t surprised that Rafe is kind of a neat freak—but she is surprised that she finds that attractive. Isla knows that she should leave instead of venturing further into Rafe’s room, that she shouldn’t be invading his privacy like this. She tries to tell herself she isn’t snooping per se—definitely just observing, maybe, as she takes in a breath and feels her mouth curve up when she inhales his familiar earthy, woody scent.

Isla wanders over towards the dresser, eyebrow ticking up curiously when she spots the bracelets sitting among his watches. She tilts her head, fingers brushing along the beaded bracelets, all in dark colors, that sit with his Rolex, Cartier, and Omega watches. It’s a stark difference, because the bracelets definitely look hand-made, and there’s quite a few of them. Matter of fact, Isla is pretty certain she has seen Rafe wearing them, along with the colorful ones Sarah occasionally wears.

Isla hums in curiosity, practically twirling on her heel to gaze out the window and mumbling a quiet, “oh,” when she gets a little too dizzy. “No spinning,” she mutters to herself, feeling more of the effects of alcohol sink into her blood. With a newfound urge to sit, she squeezes her eyes shut to keep the dizziness at bay while blindly grabbing the back of the desk chair, wheeling it towards her before sitting down. 

She tells herself she’s only going to sit for a few minutes, just enough to be steady on her feet again. She’s not sure, however, when she ends up drifting off to sleep.

*****

“Isla? Hey. Wake up, Isla.”

She’s being shaken gently, slowly being pulled out of her impromptu slumber. Her eyebrows furrow together, inhaling sharply as her body comes to the realization of the mildly uncomfortable position she’s in. Her arms are folded under her head, her cheek resting against them before slowly lifting her head as she blinks her eyes open. “What..?”

There’s a hand gently gripping her shoulder, warm, as Isla straightens in the chair and winces slightly at the subtle heaviness in her muscles. How long had she been asleep for? She remembers not to rub at her eyes, since she’s got on makeup, and resolves to cover her mouth with a hand as she yawns before asking, “What time is it?”

“Nine-forty-two,” comes the reply, a voice way too familiar and it’s possible Isla has sobered up now as she freezes where she’s sitting.

Slowly, Isla lifts her gaze, pulse quickening when her eyes meet a pair of blue ones. Bright and beautiful and tinged with both surprise and concern as Rafe stares down at her, most likely wondering what the hell she’s doing in his bedroom. 

Heat crawls up Isla’s neck and floods her cheeks, wishing she was drunk so she could be numb to any sort of embarrassment, but that, unfortunately, isn’t the case as she becomes keenly aware of his hand still on her shoulder, his skin touching hers thanks to the straps of her top. Looking up at him, Rafe arches an eyebrow and maybe she should consider herself lucky that he doesn’t look pissed that she’s found herself in his room, but it’s embarrassing all the same. The ten minute nap wasn’t worth it, even if it did sober her up a little.

“Um,” she sounds, trying not to cringe as she tries to think of something to say.

“You sure know how to party, huh?” comes Rafe’s response, and when she glances up at him, she sees a smirk dancing on the corners of his lips as he looks down at her, eyebrow arched. There’s no doubt there’s mirth dancing in those eyes, too.

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” she defends, embarrassed, as she runs her hand through her hair. “Just needed to make an escape.”

“An escape?” Rafe repeats, stepping back as she gets to her feet. She tries not to miss the warmth of his hand. “From what?” Before she can answer, he scrunches his face in bewilderment and asks, “Why are you always running from something?”

Isla clamps her lips together, suppressing the sudden urge to laugh because, really, he’s not wrong. He’s been playing her rescuer the last few times they interacted, and it’s ironic that it’s his bedroom she found refuge in to keep out of Carlo’s sight. Her lips tremble until the laugh bursts free, hand clamping over her mouth as her shoulders shake. It’s really not that funny, but maybe Isla is still a little tipsy as she watches Rafe’s expression shift from incredulity and melt into amusement of his own, eyes lightening with mirth as he watches her laugh, his own lips tipping upwards.

“What the hell is so funny?” Rafe asks, though the words escape in between his own chuckles.

Isla shakes her head and shrugs. “I don’t know,” she answers, still giggling, cheeks flushed. Either from the alcohol or him, she doesn’t know. And, God, who would’ve thought that Rafe Cameron would be making her blush? Her laughter slowly subsides and, noting that Rafe is watching her, Isla bites the inside of her cheek before saying, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, like, invade your privacy.”

She gestures lamely to the room, lips pressing together. Rafe, in response, smirks as he lifts his chin and gives a one shouldered shrug. “You’re not invading anything,” he says coolly, surprising her. She definitely thought he’d be upset that she was finding refuge in his room. “It’s fine—so long as you tell me why you were hiding out in here,” he adds, arching his eyebrow.

She huffs out a breath, not surprised he isn’t dropping it. She gazes out the window to her right, taking note of the party going on out in the backyard. From where Isla stands, she can see JJ tossing Kie into the pool, just barely hearing her sister’s screech over the music, and Isla is glad she wasn’t down there to be the next victim.

Feeling Rafe’s expectant gaze on her, Isla answers, “My ex is here—don’t know why, since I know none of us invited him—and any sort of conversation with him is going to piss me off.” Not to mention, hurt with the reminder of what he did. “I saw him out in the hall and just ran into the first room I could find.”

Rafe arches a brow as he moves towards his bed, walking to the bedside table and grabbing the box of Marlboros Isla hadn’t noticed before, along with a lighter. “Ex, huh?” he muses, pulling out a cigarette and placing it between his lips as he walks back over to her, his gait casual. He tips the small pack towards her and Isla pulls a cigarette out for herself; not her preferred blunt, but it’d do, as Rafe opens the balcony door but doesn’t step outside. “What’d he do?” he asks, flicking the lighter on in one try and bringing the flame to the end of his cigarette.

Isla places her own between her lips, pulse quickening when Rafe holds the still flaming lighter towards her. Their eyes meet as she leans forward, cigarette between her middle and index fingers, bringing it closer to the flame until it catches. Straightening, Isla takes a drag, letting the nicotine fill her lungs with that familiar subtle burn as Rafe does the same, the end of his cigarette glowing ember.

She exhales, letting the smoke drift out the window, and answers, “Cheated on me.”

Blunt and to the point, and she tries not to flinch at the truth. It’s one she has accepted, but sometimes the sting still accompanies it whenever she thinks or talks about it. And, frankly, it’s a little humiliating to acknowledge that she wasn’t enough for someone, to the point where her boyfriend found someone else. That she was so lacking as a girlfriend, as someone to be wanted, that a guy that she loved gave his attention to another girl. It brought up insecurities Isla didn’t know she had, ones that she’s been fighting off ever since silently. 

But then Rafe stands in front of, watching her with a look in his eyes she can’t quite decipher, exhaling the smoke through his nose as he states, “You’re better off without a dumbass like that.”

His words bring forth a warmth that she should consider dangerous. Even still, Isla keeps her gaze locked with Rafe’s as she responds, “I know.”

He looses a rough chuckle before asking, “Your friends know you’re up here?”

Isla tilts her head slightly, peering up at him. God, he’s tall. A whole head, probably more, than her. “Do they know I’m up here in general, or that I’m up here with you?” she asks, bringing the cigarette back to her mouth.

Rafe smirks and her stomach tumbles. “If you’re asking, then you already know.”

Her skin is warm, but Isla knows it has nothing to do with the smoke in her lungs and everything to do with the man in front of her. “They don’t know where I am,” she admits, reaching her hand out to the side table where an ashtray sits, hovering her cigarette above it as she taps the ashes away. “But they’ll probably start looking for me.”

Rafe hums with an upwards tilt of his chin, and Isla has to force herself not to openly admire the sharp line of his jaw. “Guess you should probably go find them before they find you,” he drawls, and the look in his blue eyes is challenging, almost.

Isla blows a cloud of smoke out of her mouth, and it isn’t lost on her how at ease she feels in this moment with Rafe. If her friends found her here, they for sure would be confused as all hell. Maybe even mad. Betrayed? Seems dramatic, but not impossible. “Tired of having a Pogue in your room?” Isla finds herself taunting with a subtle tilt of her head, eyebrow raised.

To her surprise, Rafe’s expression shifts, a scoff escaping him as he rolls his eyes. “You and our sisters,” he starts with a shake of his head, tapping his cigarette over the ashtray, head ever so slightly ducked as his bangs frame his temples and forehead. “What’s so bad about where you’re from and what you have that the three of you would rather be from that side of the island?”

Instead of hearing any scorn in his tone, Isla mostly picks up bewilderment and incredulity, like he can’t possibly understand why she, Kie, and Sarah would rather be Pogues than Kooks. That’s always been a source of dissent between Sarah and Rafe, too. While her older brother is comfortable with the life they have, Sarah has always felt restless, which is why she found friendship and solace with Isla and her friends. It’s why they welcomed her with open arms, because Isla and Kiara were the same way, too.

They know they’re privileged, lucky enough to have what they have, which is more than what their friends do. It’s not that they’re ungrateful—far from it. But growing up on Figure Eight, within a wealthy society, comes with a set of expectations and pressure that neither Isla nor Kiara were good with handling. Their parents worked hard to give them a good life, which they’re thankful for, but that doesn’t mean giving up their freedom to put on masks and pretend to be someone they’re not. Isla’s parents raised her and Kiara to be themselves, to be independent, and they found a lot of that independence and freedom with their friends, who just so happen to be on the other side of the tax bracket.

Wealth has nothing to do with it. It’s all about living their lives the way they want to, without any sort of judgment and ridicule. For Isla, there is a lot of self-imposed academic pressure that she struggles, sometimes, under the weight of. When it comes to everything else, she would like as much freedom as she can—the kind of freedom and carefree lifestyle that isn’t possible living under the lens of Kooks.

“I don’t think you get it,” Isla says to Rafe, not being pity or scornful, but just wanting him to understand. When he looks at her expectantly, Isla shrugs, her smile small but soft. “It’s not about materialistic things or hating where we’re from. We know we’re lucky to have what we do. It’s honestly really just about our friends and how, at the end of the day, there’s no real divide between us.” She shrugs, cheeks heating under Rafe’s quiet gaze. “There’s no ego, no one’s trying to one-up the other. It’s just a real friendship between all of us and, personally, I never found that here. But with them, it’s easy. It’s right.”

Truthfully, Isla half expects Rafe to scoff in her face, to tell her she’s being a child and that it’s the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard. It would track, simply by the way he and her friends have interacted in the past, even if it would be a contrast to how he’s been acting around her recently. Her skin is on fire, feeling like an exposed livewire as she distracts herself by finishing off the rest of her cigarette, the walls of Rafe’s room vibrating slightly with the bass of the music playing outside. The party is louder now, thanks to the open balcony doors, though from where Isla stands, she can’t really see down to the backyard from over the balcony. 

“Well, when you put it like that,” Rafe begins, muttering slightly as he shrugs his broad shoulders, reluctantly meeting her gaze. “Doesn’t sound that unreasonable.” 

Isla blinks at him, surprise no doubt evident on her face upon hearing his words. Her lips part, but no words come out for a brief moment before she blurts, “Seriously?”

Rafe looks at her, raising an eyebrow. “It’s so hard to believe that I’d believe you?”

Is she being punked? Maybe this actually was a blunt. Or maybe she’s still drunk. “Um, a little,” she admits, blinking at him in bewilderment. “Because I’m sure Sarah’s probably told you the same thing, so why’re you taking my word for it and not your sister’s?”

He shoots her a flat look, though there may be a hint of amusement dancing in his eyes. “She’s my younger sister. I’ve become an expert in tuning her out most of the time.” When Isla scowls at Sarah’s expense, Rafe chuckles. “Don’t worry. It goes both ways,” he tells her, moving around her and towards the dresser behind her.

Isla turns, following him with her gaze as he unclips the watch he’s wearing and places it on the dresser. Her head tilts in curiosity, gaze dropping to the surface of the table, and finds her gaze drinking in the sight of his tall, lean figure as she asks, “What’re those bracelets?”

Rafe glances at her over his shoulder before looking back down at his collection of bracelets. Her heart does something funny in her chest when Rafe’s fingers brush along the bracelets and a ghost of a smile touches his lips. “Wheezie went through a phase of making a bunch of these things,” he tells her. “These are the ones she made me.”

Isla presses her tongue to the floor of her mouth, his explanation one that makes her heart trip once again—a sensation that is slowly becoming exclusively just Rafe’s, which might be dangerous. But she can’t help it—not when she knows that those beaded bracelets she has seen him wearing in the past, ones she never really given much thought to, are ones his youngest sister made for him. She doesn’t want to admit it, but it begins to paint Rafe in a new light; not just the guy who gets into fights with her friends. Hell, Isla thinks her opinion of him was already slowly changing since that night he helped her when her car broke down, and now is the night she’s willing to admit it.

“That’s. . . Very cute,” Isla says, almost in wonder.

Rafe turns to look at her, mirth dancing in his eyes. “You calling me cute, Isla?”

Her cheeks heat, scoffing so she doesn’t look as flushed as she feels. “No,” she says vehemently, maybe a little too much so as Rafe cocks an eyebrow, that smirk appearing once more. “I meant the bracelets.” His smirk only widens and her pulse is racing to face as she stubs out the cigarette and says hastily, “I’m gonna go,” as she turns and heads towards the bedroom door, face on fire.

Her hand grasps the doorknob when she hears, “Isla.” She freezes at the sound of her name on his tongue again, turning to glance at him over her shoulder. He gives her a tiny smile. “I don’t mind having you in my room.”

Her eyes widen slightly, pulse skipping a beat or two as she makes sense of his words. “Is that—” She resists the urge to clear her throat. “An invite?”

That smile becomes his signature smirk, blue eyes light and so teasing. “Just a statement of fact.”Oh, God. She’s not sure what to say to that, if there is anything to even say. Words certainly don’t come to the tip of her tongue. Especially not when he’s watching her, like he’s expecting some sort of reaction. She doesn’t give it to him. Instead, Isla opens the door and leaves the room, willing her thundering heart to calm down as she goes to find her friends with the weight of Rafe’s gaze still heavy on her back.

[schooltutoring]

Selective School Test Preparation

One-on-one selective school test preparation with a 100% success record since 2005! +16 years of experience and hundreds of success stories. NSW wide.

[crookedkryptonitebeliever]

this might be a touchy subject and you don’t have to answer but, as one myself, how would Yves act with a chronically ill/physically disabled person? or even someone who constantly deals with chronic pain that is debilitating for everyday life? btw i love your writing, no matter how cursed. 🤍

Yves feels his heart wrench whenever he sees you break down in tears, frustrated at yourself for not doing as well as other able-bodied people, frustrated that you have to surrender your autonomy at times to Yves. He truly does, he hates to see you in such a state. While he doesn't mind, even prefers you to be dependent on him due to his strong caregiver personality, Yves doesn't want it to be at the cost of your happiness.

He will read up on all the papers published about your illness or disability. Past and modern ones, there must be a pattern or some sort that he could identify. Yves will try his best to find a cure or at least something that will improve your symptoms greatly.

But the first thing he will get done is to talk to you. Discuss what you ultimately want; is it freedom you seek? His undying support? The unyielding truth that Yves will stay by your side no matter how bad it gets? Do you want to keep fighting for yourself, or do you want Yves to do it for you?

You will have the latest, cutting-edge prosthetics if you're struggling with an amputated limb or body part. All the helpful, relevant, accessible gadgets will be installed in the house in hopes of making your life much easier and giving back the level of independence you need to maintain your mental health. Yves will remember all your appointments for you, that fills his planners up. Your dosages, your medication, and the procedures of your treatments.

He will remind you, pre-pack your pills, and help you with your IV drip. Yves is very careful with his tone and words, he knows the stress, humiliation, and pain that come with living as a chronically ill person can easily set you off. Everything can be overwhelming, he does not want to see tears of anger or hopelessness in your eyes. It's not your fault, you never wanted this and it just happened to affect you.

Yves spends nights perusing through all experimental treatments, weighing between the risks and benefits. He will present his carefully curated selection to you, but he makes sure to pace it out appropriately. Because if he were to show you thousands of pages of medical reports, chances are you're going to be upset, overstimulated, and angry at him. You have very limited energy and focus, he needs to get his words as concise and accurate as possible.

Watching him kneel with you on the bathroom floor, as you experience your seventh vomiting tonight, truly shocked you. Understandably, you're in such a terrible state, that you've barely gotten any sleep for the past month. But Yves sleeps even less, he is always awake, always looking after you. Ready for any emergencies and constantly preparing items or foods that will ease you. Yet, he looks glowing, as if he wasn't caretaking a bleeding ball of misery. His hair is always silky and brushed, no bags under his eyes, and his movement is still crisp. And he always knows what to do, much better than you or your practitioners.

He knows your body well enough to administer his own dose of painkillers, going against doctors' orders and obtaining drugs that fully alleviate your pain. Strategically timing your doses so it won't be too hard on your liver. Taking your blood samples himself and ran them through his own trusted pathology lab, potentially proving that your doctor might have misdiagnosed you. Maybe you wouldn't need to suffer, Yves could find a cure.

You were very apprehensive at first when Yves suggested that he does his own testing. He has no credentials, why should you trust him? The doctors have much more experience than him and they went to school for this. You're not trusting a random to cut you open either, he's a mathematician, not a medical doctor or a surgeon-

You were dumbfounded when he produced his own certifications and licenses. Proving that he worked in hospitals, researched institutes, and even published his own medical papers that universities used as teaching material for decades. Everything he presented is legitimate, he even demonstrated the validity of them by your request. You could call his universities and they will all confirm his contributions, You can confirm with the government and the relevant boards, you can search for him anywhere, and early pictures of him will resurface.

He looked so different. Yves looked unremarkable in them with short hair. He looks unhappier and more exhausted, though. Makes you wonder how old he really is.

But that was all. You cannot find further information on Yves other than the ones he allows you to know about.

So you reluctantly let him stick a needle in you, only to realize that he's done. You blinked multiple times and darted your eyes from your arm and his gloved hands holding vials of blood. Unlike the usual nurses or doctors, you can't feel the needle going in or out. Yes, you saw it, but it was unbelievably fast.

Your jaw dropped as he didn't even need to palpate your arm. Yves just calmly inserted the syringe, gathered what he needed, and finished. You didn't experience any bruising later, which was astonishing with the speed he was working with.

He labeled them and packed them in a plastic bag with a biohazard symbol on it and into a padded envelope. Yves disposed of his gloves and washed his hands.

You expected him to enlighten you. Tell you stories while he was in the field, brag about his accomplishments, complain about difficult patients, anything! You needed to know more! Just who the hell is he?

But all he did was smile, give you a kiss on the forehead, and help you back to your room.

[raaorqtpbpdy]

Don't Crack Under Pressure

Written for the Phic Phight Prompt: (Not phantom planet compliant) Danny's finally an astronaut! He's somehow got through college, after barely managing to pull through high school. But after he manages to make it into a NASA rocket and travel to the final frontier, his helmet cracks. So how does he explain how he got through the entire day to the rest of the crew with a cracked helmet? (from @shadowpixel)

Chapter 1: Let's Take a Rocketship to Space (I hear it's a real swinging place)

AO3 Link

[Warnings for deep space and assumed character death]

Despite the nightmare that was high school, and just barely getting his diploma, Danny managed to get into college. By some miracle he got his engineering degree, and now he was achieving his lifelong dream of becoming an astronaut. His first mission was with a crew of mostly veterans to investigate a NASA probe that had been sent to Psyche, an asteroid in the Main Asteroid Belt which traveled between Mars and Jupiter.

The probe had sent signals indicating that it had collected samples and was processing data, but due to unknown circumstances, it had suddenly stopped transmitting information about Psyche's surface, even though it was still responding to the deep space optical communication signals. All efforts to repair or reprogram it remotely had failed. That was why NASA had decided to send the Eros mission.

Captain Simon Lao, copilot Denali North, engineer Danny Fenton, and geo-chemist Dr. Ivy Grace Carson were selected for the approximately 2 year mission. Their ship would use the same advanced communications system as the Psyche probe to communicate with Earth using optical signals transmitted via lasers, which traveled faster than radio waves, so they wouldn't be completely cut off from their friends and family, despite traveling farther than any manned spacecraft had ever gone before. 

Just five years ago, it would have been a six year mission there and back, if not longer, but using improved ionic propulsion with a little ectoplasmic boost, partially designed by Danny, the speed at which they could reach the asteroid increased dramatically. Once the mission was green-lit, it still took months of testing and training and preparing before the Eros spacecraft could finally launch, but this was it. Today was the day.

"Communications test," Simon said into their headset. "Mission control, do you read me?"

"Loud and clear Lao," came the voice of Miranda in the mission control room. "Check ignition and prepare for liftoff."

Danny felt like he might vibrate right out of his skin in his excitement. He'd been to space once before, that time Technus took over a satellite, but this was different. This was an actual, real life, NASA mission, on a real NASA spaceship with a real space suit and everything. He'd finally made it big. He'd gotten to the place he'd wanted to be since he was two years old and watched the Endeavor launch on TV.

The time leading up to the final takeoff passed agonizingly slowly but at last the countdown commenced. The engines roared to life.

"Nervous, Fenton?" Ivy Grace asked with a smirk. Everyone else in the cockpit had gone on missions for NASA before, making Danny the only newbie, but he was the furthest thing from nervous.

"Not on your life, Doc," Danny responded with a grin. "I've been waiting for this moment as long as I can remember."

The thing about space was that it really wasn't all that far away. Hard to get to, yes, because straight up, and up, and up was not an easy direction to go, but it wasn't necessarily far. The ship took off, and less than ten minutes later it had escaped Earth's atmosphere. Danny stared out the window in awe at the planet Earth growing farther and farther away.

"Go ahead and unbuckle your seat-belts, and you are now free to move about the cabin," Simon said once the autopilot confirmed course and they were on their way.

Danny immediately got out of his seat, almost phasing though his seat-belt by accident in his frenzy, instead of unbuckling it. Long since used to zero gravity from his time in the Ghost Zone, Danny easily flew to the rearmost window to watch his home planet shrink into a speck in the distance while his crew-mates shook their heads fondly. And thus began the ten month journey to the asteroid Psyche. 

The beauty of space was something Danny could never get tired of, even if this mission were to last a million years. Even after months in space, his crew-mates often found him floating by the window, just watching the stars outside for hours on end. Of course, Danny had plenty of other things to do, and he did them, but there were also stars. And they were breathtaking. The rest of the crew preferred to pass their time in different ways.

Ivy Grace spent most of her time isolating herself in her bunk to work on her manuscript with headphones blaring the playlists she'd downloaded for the journey. She was the type who never seemed to get lonely. No matter how many times they asked her, she completely refused to tell any of them what her manuscript was about, which led the rest of them to the obvious conclusion that she was writing hardcore erotica, probably involving tentacles.

Their captain Simon, on the other hand, took great joy in dragging the rest of them into social past-times together. Somehow, they knew a ludicrous number of party games and had packed a two terabyte hard-drive full of movies for the crew to watch during the trip. Simon couldn't seem to stand being alone for ten minutes if they were awake. At least they didn't mind quiet though, and sometimes they would sit in silence with Danny, just watching out the windows.

Lastly there was Denali. She'd been an air force pilot before applying at NASA, but only to pay for college. Originally, she had wanted to go to art school, but after discovering a genuine love for flying, she'd decided to go to NASA instead. For the Eros mission, she'd brought along six, cheap, empty sketchbooks, and requested as many pressurized ink capsules for her pen as she could get away with, since regular pens couldn't write without gravity. She was determined to improve her art skills while she was in space for months at a time, and often asked the rest of them to pose for her drawings.

Once a day, they'd receive communication from Earth. Mission control would call to confirm that they were still on course, and there were no problems on the Eros craft, and they'd get messages from their loved ones back home. Denali got to read her mother's updates on what was happening in the tight-knit community she'd grown up in. Ivy-Grace messaged back and forth with her girlfriend. Simon threw a full on party on the Eros when they got the news that their sister was pregnant and they were going to be an auncle.

Danny got to spend an hour and a half once a week decoding his sister's overly long ghost activity reports from Amity Park. Sam and Tucker kept him updated on how life was back on Earth and added vague statements at the end of their messages that told him things were fine in the Ghost Zone too, even though "all quiet under the green sky" looked like utter nonsense to mission control and the rest of the crew. Danny's parents managed to work in how proud they were of him in every single message they sent.

Ten months passed by slowly but surely. The four of them were already used to each other after their time spent in training, and they knew the importance of getting along with people you were stuck with for two years without escape, so no arguments or bad blood ever developed among them.

After a lengthy travel period, the Psyche asteroid finally came within sight, and the crew assumed landing positions.

"Alright, Denali, prep for landing," Simon ordered, slipping seamlessly into their serious captain mode. Denali flipped the appropriate switches to activate the automatic landing system, and prepared to take over manual control if something went wrong.

"Ready to go," she confirmed.

"Then take us down." It was a pretty smooth landing, with only slight jostling and no malfunctions or unexpected obstacles. Once they touched down on Psyche's surface, Simon sent a communication to Earth. "Mission control, this is Eros, we have safely landed on the asteroid's surface and are preparing to track down the Psyche probe for diagnostic, over."

Even at light speed, communication between Earth and the Main Asteroid Belt took several minutes. Eventually, the response came back. "Confirmed, Eros, keep us posted and let us know if anything happens. Good luck, and stay safe, over and out."

"You heard her, finish suiting up and lets go," Danny urged enthusiastically. He was already in his suit, fully ready to step out onto the asteroid, and just waiting on the other three. The plan was to get the Psyche probe and take it back to the ship to repair or reprogram it as needed, and to download the data it had collected on the asteroid so far.

The Psyche probe was a ways away from the ship, but that wasn't too much of a problem. Denali dropped their buggy onto the surface, and she and Danny headed out to pick up the probe while Ivy Grace collected her samples and Simon made sure that anything that might be needed to deal with the probe was ready to go by the time it got back. As the engineer, Danny would be the one doing most of the repairs, although Ivy Grace was on standby with some chemical tests to run, in case something like that was the problem.

As they drove toward the probe, Danny's feet tapped on the floor of the buggy with excited energy.

"Careful there, Fenton," Denali teased. "Looks like you're about to shake right out of your suit."

"Sorry, it's just... I'm happy," Danny told her. "If I were to call up five-year-old Danny and tell him I was driving on an actual asteroid right now, I think he'd be so thrilled his brain would explode and he would drop dead on the spot."

"I dunno, it kinda seems like I'm looking at a five-year-old Danny right now," she ribbed, and he laughed. "I guess it's a good thing you can't make calls to the past then, or else you'd never get here."

Danny laughed harder. "If you think a little thing like death would stop me from getting here, you're dead wrong." It wouldn't, and in fact, it hadn't.

The two of them talked a little more until the probe was in sight, then got out to give it a look. A preliminary once-over didn't reveal any obvious problems, like exposed wiring from a panel that had shaken loose, or significant exterior damage. They hitched it to the buggy, ready to tow it back to the ship.

So far, the mission had gone off without a single snag, and the crew had high hopes that it would stay smooth sailing the rest of the way. However, everyone knows the moment you start to think everything's going your way is the moment everything starts to go horribly wrong. It was at this moment, that things went horribly, horribly wrong.

The latch on the tow cable broke as Denali and Danny were headed back to the buggy. That alone wouldn't be a problem, because there were spare latches, and it was easily replaced. The problem arose when the cable retracted, and the broken latch slammed into Danny's helmet with a horrible crack that resonated through the headset in Danny's helmet and broadcasted directly into Denali's ears.

She gasped in horror and skipped to Danny's side as fast as the asteroid's low gravity allowed. "Oh my God!" she shouted. "Mayday! Simon, Doc, something happened, the tow-latch broke and hit Danny. His visor is cracked. Oh my God, oh my God."

"Denali, breathe," Simon ordered, their voice level but stern. "Assess the damage. If it's not too bad, he could still make it."

"Right!" Denali turned Danny over to get a cleared look at his visor. "Oh no..." she breathed out, eyes stinging with tears. "It's... it's broken, all the way through. There's a hole the size of my fist, oh my God, Simon there's no... there's no way he could've survived. He's... he's gone." Emotion made her words catch on her tongue, and she blinked rapidly to keep from crying. If she was going to drive back to the ship, she had to see clearly.

There was nothing to be heard in their headsets for a long time.

"Well, bring him back and we'll—" Ivy Grace started to say, but Simon cut her off.

"No," they said. "There's nothing we can do for him if his helmet is fully breached. We can't have his corpse decaying on the Eros during the return trip, and we can't bury him on a metal asteroid." No one had anything to say to that. Simon was right, of course, but they didn't have to like it. "Just... leave him where he is and bring back the Psyche probe. We should get to work if we're gonna have to figure out how to fix her without our engineer.

"At least... you know Danny," Ivy Grace said brokenly, "he'd probably be over the moon to die out in space and not on boring, old planet Earth."

"Y-yeah," Denali agreed, and they all politely ignored the way her voice cracked. "I'm pretty... I'm pretty sure I've heard him say something like that before."

"Yeah, me too," Simon said. "I thought it was morbid then, and I still think so. I'll make the report to mission control. They'll probably bring in an engineer to walk us through a diagnostic and repair."

"Right." Denali tried to swallow the lump in her throat as she changed the latch on the tow line and hooked the probe up again. Then she returned to the buggy to drive back all by herself. "I'm on my way back with the Psyche probe... alone."

Next Chapter

[aurumacadicus]

It's that time of month again, friends! And for June, we're doing something special: Queer-themed books, both a fiction and non-fiction selection! We'll be reading both over the course of five weeks. Tumblr will vote, and the book club will then vote among the top three in Discord. If you'd like to join the book club, send me a message and I'll send you a link to the discord! Keep an eye out for the other poll, and check out the books' summaries under the cut!

My Deary Henry – A Jekyll & Hyde Remix by Kalynn Bayron

London, 1885. Gabriel Utterson, a 17-year-old law clerk, has returned to London for the first time since his life—and that of his dearest friend, Henry Jekyll—was derailed by a scandal that led to his and Henry’s expulsion from the London Medical School. Whispers about the true nature of Gabriel and Henry’s relationship have followed the boys for two years, and now Gabriel has a chance to start again.

But Gabriel doesn’t want to move on, not without Henry. His friend has become distant and cold since the disastrous events of the prior spring, and now his letters have stopped altogether. Desperate to discover what’s become of him, Gabriel takes to watching the Jekyll house.

In doing so, Gabriel meets Hyde, a strangely familiar young man with white hair and a magnetic charisma. He claims to be friends with Henry, and Gabriel can’t help but begin to grow jealous at their apparent closeness, especially as Henry continues to act like Gabriel means nothing to him.

But the secret behind Henry’s apathy is only the first part of a deeper mystery that has begun to coalesce. Monsters of all kinds prowl within the London fog—and not all of them are out for blood…

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

The Emperor needs necromancers. The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead nonsense.

Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth, first in The Locked Tomb Trilogy, unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as skillfully animated as arcane revenants. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy.

Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won’t set her free without a service.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without the cavalier. Without Gideon’s sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.

Of course, some things are better left dead.

Compulsory + All Systems Red by Martha Wells

“As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure.”

In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.

But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid – a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.

But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it’s up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.

Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao

Sophie Chi is in her first year of college (though her parents wish she’d attend a “real” university rather than a liberal arts school) and has long accepted her aroace (aromantic and asexual) identity. She knows she’ll never fall in love, but she enjoys running an Instagram account that offers relationship advice to students at her school. No one except her roommate can know that she’s behind the incredibly popular “Dear Wendy” account.

When Joanna “Jo” Ephron (also a first-year aroace college student) created their “Sincerely Wanda” account, it wasn’t at all meant to take off or be taken seriously—not like Wendy’s. But now they might have a rivalry of sorts with Wendy’s account? Oops. As if Jo’s not busy enough having existential crises over gender identity, whether she’ll ever truly be loved, and the possibility of her few friends finding The One then forgetting her!

While tensions are rising online, Sophie and Jo grow closer in real life, especially once they realize their shared aroace identity and start a campus organization for other a-spec students. Will their friendship survive if they learn just who’s behind the Wendy and Wanda accounts?

Exploring a-spec identities, college life, and more, while perfect for fans of Alice Oseman’s Loveless, this is ultimately a love story about two people who are not—and will not—be in love!

A Marvelous Light by Freya Marske

Robin Blyth has more than enough bother in his life. He’s struggling to be a good older brother, a responsible employer, and the harried baronet of a seat gutted by his late parents’ excesses. When an administrative mistake sees him named the civil service liaison to a hidden magical society, he discovers what’s been operating beneath the unextraordinary reality he’s always known.

Now Robin must contend with the beauty and danger of magic, an excruciating deadly curse, and the alarming visions of the future that come with it—not to mention Edwin Courcey, his cold and prickly counterpart in the magical bureaucracy, who clearly wishes Robin were anyone and anywhere else.

Robin’s predecessor has disappeared, and the mystery of what happened to him reveals unsettling truths about the very oldest stories they’ve been told about the land they live on and what binds it. Thrown together and facing unexpected dangers, Robin and Edwin discover a plot that threatens every magician in the British Isles—and a secret that more than one person has already died to keep.

Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places by Claire Kann

Lucky Hart has a special affinity for the supernatural but almost no one takes parapsychology seriously. She's estranged from her family, lost her friends, and has been rejected from graduate school. Twice. But her big break finally arrives when she gets insider info about a troubled production company. Every actor on their new show mysteriously quits after spending three nights inside Hennessee House, an old Victorian with a notorious reputation.

After scheming her way onto the show to investigate, Lucky meets Maverick Phillips and chemistry instantly crackles between them. He tempts her in ways no one ever has, challenging and supporting her, and making her finally feel seen. Their connection is so palpable everyone notices it—including Hennessee House.

Now Lucky and Maverick’s relationship has a challenger: the lonely, sentient house desperate for her undivided attention. As love begins to clash with career, Lucky refuses to choose one over the other because everyone deserves a happily ever after, even houses with haunted hearts. But when all her plans begin backfiring one-by-one, she realizes that if she wants to have it all? She’ll have to risk everything.

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

When a reaper comes to collect Wallace Price from his own funeral, Wallace suspects he really might be dead.

Instead of leading him directly to the afterlife, the reaper takes him to a small village. On the outskirts, off the path through the woods, tucked between mountains, is a particular tea shop, run by a man named Hugo. Hugo is the tea shop's owner to locals and the ferryman to souls who need to cross over.

But Wallace isn’t ready to abandon the life he barely lived. With Hugo’s help he finally starts to learn about all the things he missed in life.

When the Manager, a curious and powerful being, arrives at the tea shop and gives Wallace one week to cross over, Wallace sets about living a lifetime in seven days.

[scriptstructure]

What is the best way to write a non-linear race (that's also getting sabotaged) if I have to switch back and forth between different teams when it takes place through multiple locations across the universe lasting an entire week. When I say non-linear, it means you need to hit certain checkpoints and some checkpoints will give additional checkpoints you need to hit. That means there is also no easy way to keep everyone's placing in order. This whole race IS my story.

I'm afraid I can't tell you the 'best' way, because every story is going to benefit from someting slightly different, and you're the only one who knows enough about your story to figure that out. But I believe you can figure it out!

What I will do, is give you some options, and factors that you can consider when you're developing your non-linear race.

First off, how are we going to set this whole thing up?

This race sounds like it's going to be pretty central to the story, so probably it's pretty important to the characters involved. If it's an organised race, then at least some characters have probably been preparing for it for a long time. Some characters might have been roped in at the last minute.

If the characters know about it before hand: they will probably have some knowledge of the rules, some kind of plan of how they're approaching this situation, and might have done some practice runs for it.

If the characters didn't know about it before hand: they'll try to get as much information about how the race works as they can, and they'll be working hard to figure out strategy on the fly.

NOTE: It's probably important to establish WHY this race is happening, both why the characters are participating ( is there a prize? Prestige? Does the winner become god-emperor of the galaxy? Is it to stop a big disaster? is it because they're forced to participate?) and who is holding it, and why it has been held. This can help the reader understand what is at stake and why everything is happening.

Fairly early in the story, the reader will need to be able to understand what is going on. Establish some basic rules for the race in a simple way, so that the reader can follow along with what's happening, and start to make judgements about various characters' or teams' strategies and approaches. The rules can change later, if that's what you want to do, but this will be most effective if the reader already has a strong grasp of what the original rules are, so that the switch-up feels like a bigger shock.

EXAMPLE: Will of the Many by James Islington

One of the challenges that the protagonist of Will of the Many has to overcome is a complex labyrinth puzzle. The labyrinth puzzle is a maze that has walls that the person running through it can manipulate, moving them to open or close passageways. The runner has a goal to reach, and is allowed a spotter to help from above by calling out directions and warning of danger. An opposing team hunts the runner through the labyrinth. To be successful, a runner must travel through the maze, avoiding hunters, and manipulating the passageways so that they can reach their goal. The introduction of the labyrinth is that the protagonist's adoptive father has had a full-scale replica of the labyrinth built for the protagonist to master running it, before moving on to the real thing. This is illegal--the labyrinth is meant to be a secret test of the elite's skills. It also establishes that there is physical danger involved in running the labyrinth, incorrect inputs to maniupulate the walls will result in injury, and the hunters are allowed to hurt you. With a tutor, the protagonist is drilled on running the labyrinth. The next appearance of the labyrinth is as a part of a highly selective school for elites. The students run the labyrinth with their classmates, divided into teams of runners and hunters. The protagonist has to 'learn' how to run the maze without giving away that he has already had experience doing so. This also gives us a chance to look at other characters and how they react to the labyrinth as the protagonist assesses his peers' aptitude at the challenge. He also has to figure out what the labyrinth is supposed to be preparing them for. Finally: the labyrinth in the school is based on an arcane labyrinth, which is relevant to the larger events occurring beyond the central plot. Having practiced on the two previous labyrinths, the protagonist is able to traverse this one, but the stakes are higher. The hunters here will kill him if they catch him, and at the heart of the labyrinth is something totally unexpected.

Will of the Many is a complicated book, and the labyrinths are complicated puzzles. By having the protagonist focussed on learning the physical and mental challenges of the labyrinth early in the book, then focussing on the wider implications in the middle of the book, by the time we get to the 'real' labyrinth, the reader can spot how this one is different to the previous two, and also begin to get a sense of what has 'really' been going on.

Do you have to have multiple practice rounds of the race? No, of course not, but it is a strategy that might help with establishing the way that the race works, and the strategies that players might use, while allowing the 'real' race to then ratchet up the tension by introducing higher stakes, or changing the 'end goal'.

What is the win condition of the race?

So we should know how the race 'works' as it is going on. But how is it scored? Who keeps score? is it possible to cheat?

Many stories have unconventional race styles, with various win conditions. These can be central to how the characters think of the race, or on the other hand, the characters might be more interested in merely participating, than winning. It depends what kind of story it is, and what kind of characters they are.

Examples:

The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson

Runners must circumnavigate Mars on foot, from a certain point, to a certain point. The winner is the person who completes the circuit with the combination shortest distance travelled, and fastest time.

The Long Walk, by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman

Walkers must keep moving at a walking pace, and will be shot if they stop or fall too far behind. The winner is the last walker left alive.

The Running Man, by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman

The contestant must evade hunters, and may travel anywhere in the world, so long as they are able to send their check-in notice every 12 hours. Viewers can send the contestant's location to the hunters. For every hour the contestant stays alive, they earn $100, and for every hunter or law enforcement officer the contestant kills, they earn $100. If the contestant survives 30 days, they win a 1 billion dollar jackpot prize.

The Fifth Greatest Warrior, by Matthew Reilly

A selection of warriors are placed into a series of runs filled with traps and monsters, at times they are hunted. The rules change with each different puzzle. The winner is whoever claims the prize at the end of the final run, and the final run may end in a combat round between any surviving warriors who make it to that point.

SO you might want to think about what it is that the characters have to do at each checkpoint--do they gain a point when they're the first to reach a particular checkpoint, and then have to choose which next checkpoint they might be able to be the first to? Or is there some kind of puzzle or problem? Or do they have to fight other racers for an item or prize? Or is the goal to move through checkpoints creating a certain pathway or pattern?

Who are the racers?

You've said that you're going to be focusing on multiple teams in the story, so are they going to have different backgrounds regarding the race?

Is this the sort of race where there are people who train the whole interval between races and this is the one thing they do?

Are there other races that people participate in, using similar strategies, or practicing for this race?

Do the teams train together before the big race, or are they pulled together last minute?

Is there a racing culture around the race? Do people watch, and commentate on it?-> this might be a good way to have a connecting through-line keeping track of who looks like they're winning, or falling behind

And so on, this is also probably a good place to figure out what the race means for your worldbuilding, the kind of setting that hosts a race like this, and how people feel about it, beyond the racers participating.

there is also no easy way to keep everyone's placing in order

That's fine, but there probably needs to be some kind of system that the reader can follow along with. There can be upsets, and there can be big reversals, but it's probably important that both the characters and the reader can have some sense of how things are progressing, otherwise it becomes very difficult to strategise in the middle of the race.

You might want to look at how some real-world races are scored, so that you can think about some of your options.

Examples:

Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race: Boats are assigned a handicap based on the expected speed of the boat, which is calculating using size and some other measurements. The fastest boats compete for 'line honours' that is, to be the first boat to cross the finish line.

The overall winner is calculated by taking the finishing time for each boat, and adjusting it according to the handicap. Because of this, if weather conditions change after the fastest boats have already crossed the line, they may still lose to a slower boat, which beat its own handicap expectation due to favourable winds.

Slalom Skiing: Competitors must ski down a slope at high speeds, while passing through a set number of gates. There are two attempts, and the competitor with the lowest combined score from the two attempts wins.

Bouldering: Competitors must climb a boulder problem. The start, and finish holds are set, and they must touch the 'crux' (usually at the midpoint of the climb) but otherwise can traverse the boulder in whichever way they can.

Scoring is first on speed: if each climber 'flashes' or finishes on their first attempt, then the fastest wins. However, each attempt made on the problem is noted as a modifier. The winner, then, is the person who completed the problem the fastest, with the fewest attempts.

So how can we make a scoring system that makes sense but will be difficult to keep track of in the heat of the moment?

You can combine elements so that the relative scores of different strategies don't become clear until close to the end of the race.

For instance, you might say that overall, the winner is the team which gets from the start point to the finish point the fastest.

But as a modifier to that, being the first to cross a checkpoint gives you X-bonus to your time.

Therefore, while for some very fast teams it might be advantageous to go as directly as possible from start to end, they then might lose to someone who has taken the long way around, but has picked up a whole lot of checkpoints.

Or, perhaps you want to remove speed as a factor in determining the winner?

The first past a checkpoint gets X points, subsequent passes of that checkpoint get Y points. If you are the last one to pass a checkpoint you get Z-penalty. Then, the race becomes a matter of plotting a course so that you are able to first and subsequent pass as many checkpoints as possible, while attempting to minimise being the last past a checkpoint.

Maybe the end point isn't announced until part-way through the race? The teams then might be awarded points by how far they travel, and how many checkpoints they collect, and then to collect the 'end' checkpoint bonus. There would be strategies based on being placed so that you can easily head directly for the end checkpoint as soon as it appears, versus focussing on high traverse and checkpoint collection, to try to outweigh the end checkpoint bonus points.

External forces influencing the race:

Sabotage, interference, cheating, all that great fuel for drama. But how do you make it clear that that is what is occurring, rather than just something random happening as part of the race?

By establishing expectations, we can make it clear when something is not meant to be happening as a part of the race.

Alternatively, there might be a 'base' set of rules, of how the participants will need to complete the race, plus the knowledge that there may be some kind of rule change or new obstacle added, as a part of the race itself.

Examples:

Death Race (2008): A conventional car race around a set track, with the added difficulty of combat among racers: Each car is equipped with weapons, and defensive equipment, to enable them to attempt to destroy their competitors. Later in the film, the race organisers enter a new vehicle, the Dreadnought, which is added as an extra hazard to the regular racers as it has many more weapons and is much heavier than the other cars.

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins: The rules of the Hunger Games are fairly basic: the last person alive in the arena wins, and the intention is that there is both tribute vs tribute combat, as well as environmental dangers which will lead to attrition. In addition to these factors, if the tributes are avoiding one another, and not falling prey to the environment in interesting enough ways, the game makers can introduce additional hazards to push tributes towards certain areas, or to increase drama or danger. As well, viewers of the Hunger Games can pay to send aid to their favourite tributes.

It's worthwhile considering: Given the rules that you've established for your race, what are some ways that people might cheat? Would they be able to spoof their position and falsly claim checkpoints that they haven't actually taken? Could they carry equipment or capabilities that aren't permitted according to race standards, like a non-standard ship engine, or weapons? Could they have unauthorised communication with someone outside the race, feeding them information about the best course to take, and keeping them updated on their competitor's strategies?

What would the consequences be if a team was caught cheating?

Sabotage: What does it look like for someong to sabotage the race? What is the purpose of sabotaging the race? What statement is being made, or what goal is being achieved in sabotage? Does the sabotage endanger the lives of the teams in the race? Or is it merely an interruption? How does the sabotage interfere with the strategies that the teams have been working with?

Internal factors of the race:

A week is a long time to be engaged in a challenging event like a race!

Are there going to be opportunities for the characters to rest and recover mid-race, or is it going to be a crew scraping by on the dregs of their strength to cross the finish line?

In real world races, there are various forms of ultramarathons, which take place over multiple days: some of them are staged, with set times for participants to rest, while others leave rest periods at the discretion of individual runners. Balancing speed with sheer exhaustion becomes the big struggle.

The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race generally takes about two days to complete, with many crews not having much opportunity to get very much or very good sleep.

Some fictional races have the exhaustion as a major factor of the race: in The Long Walk, the intention on the part of the race designers is that many of the walkers will simply keel over from exhaustion after multiple days walking without any chance to stop and rest.

As well as this, a week is a long time to be working in a stressful environment with a small group of people. Consider how the stress and confinement of being on a ship for a week while under pressure will alter character interaction, and prompt conflict. This can have a big effect on the success of a team, even if they have a good strategy, if poor team cohesion leads to sloppy execution, they will struggle to win.

Summing Up:

While it's clear that there are going to be forces at play that interrupt the expected course of the race, it's going to make it a lot easier for you to write, and for the reader to follow, if there are rules established early on for how the race ought to progress.

Using various scoring systems, bonus points, and strategies, you can create a complex gameplay that makes it difficult to keep track of who is 'winning' at any given moment, and which enables the use of multiple strategies that teams with varying strengths and weaknesses might develop and employ throughout the race.

Interruptions and upsets in the race will have a higher dramatic impact on the reader when they are breaking through across an established ruleset, so that the reader is aware of and has expectations for the 'normal' run of the race, and then can see the gap between the expected, and the interruption.

Internal factors, like crew exhaustion, and team morale, or lack thereof, will also influence how successful a team is in the race.

As you can see, there are too many possible factors for me to tell you the 'best' way to write a complicated non-linear race, but if you have an idea of the kind of race you want to design, then you can use these factors to build a ruleset which will enable both your characters and your readers (and yourself!) to understand and get invested in the race as it progresses.

I hope this helps, if there's any clarification that I can give, please feel free to ask!

Mason

[megaderping]

Tuesday morning brought a seemingly endless downpour, just as the forecast predicted. Clad in his raincoat, Akechi looked at his phone as he trailed down the road with Kanji. Moving closer, Kanji said, "What's eatin' ya?" "Oh, nothing. It's just…" Pausing, Akechi selected his voicemail. "Seems I have a new message." He set it to speakerphone for Kanji's benefit. A good thing, too, as Naoto's voice soon greeted them. "Akechi-kun, if you don't see me today, then I suspect I have entered the TV world. Don't panic. I believe I've made enough strides with you all that my Shadow may be slightly less hostile. I'll talk to it as best as I can. Because we don't yet know what my Shadow is capable of, I advise you to prepare yourselves accordingly. I have a hypothesis I'd like to test where the Midnight Channel is concerned, so I ask that you all wait until tomorrow before pursuing me."

"Shit," Kanji growled through clenched teeth. "Lemme try callin' him, just to be safe." Though Kanji whipped out his phone, it rang endlessly until an automated message informed the duo that their call could not be completed. A rather damning sign, squeezing a sigh out of Akechi. "Then we'll regroup at Junes after school and inform the others of the situation." "...Yeah. Guess that's really all we can do." Though the hours dragged on, eventually Akechi and Kanji reconvened with the others at the food court's covered table. The girls and Teddie sat on one side as they had many times before, while Yu, Yosuke, Kanji, and Akechi sat parallel, with a noticeable empty space beside them. Only then did it fully sink in that Naoto was truly missing. Previous Chapter | Full Chapter | Chapter 50 | Chapter 51 | Chapter 52 | Read from the Beginning Oops! I... forgot to post several updates, so here they all are together! This contains the entire remaining chapters of the Naoto dungeon arc, leading us into the next arc, with the arrival of the Niijimas in Inaba and many loose ends to address...