#see what classes/specs I need to put more research into or something

[fancyfade]

Hi so I’m a Damian fan, who is still trying to get into comics and DC in general and stuff. I do know some tidbits from fandom and different blogs that I follow that do analysis.

However after a discussion with my brother (who’s been in special-ed), came this question? I don’t really know how to ask this but I’ll try to phrase it the best I can??

When it comes to schooling realistically would he be put into Special ED (Special-Education?)

While Damian doesn’t have a disability, I think because of his upbringing. Okay let me explain a little. Since Damian has college levels of education, being put into regular classes wouldn’t be considered challenging enough and if he were to be tested, the teacher probably would have to meet with his parents on whether or not to have him move up several grades?

And if the whole reason for Damian to being put into school is to help socially, then maybe special-Ed would help him? Because, the teachers are more hands on and (according to my brother) more focused on social development. And Special ED usually more works on basic life skills which probably is more of Damian needs.

But anyways, I know probably comic writers are not going to do that. But I thought it was an interesting thing to bring up for discussion?

I don't have personal experience with special education, so I can't comment on that. Teaching experience wise I can say there are two different ways people adapt content for students with disabilities:

Accommodations are ways you help students learn the same content as their peers. This can be making sure the content is conveyed via multiple means (ex: always having something visual to help explain while you are talking), breaking stuff into smaller chunks for students with ADHD, and like... a gazillion other things.

Modifications actually change what is demanded of the student, so you are asked to learn different content than your peers. I am under the impression that some special ED programs might allow for a modified curriculum, as im doing some research.

WRT hands on teacher stuff, I know that some students genuinely have a hard time managing their behavior in a regular classroom and can benefit from more individualized attention. We do know Damian isn't one of those students, though.

Continuing to connect this to DC comics characters, with my general lack of experience in special education in specific? If his parents were putting him in a non-mainstream-school thing I'm not sure why they would choose special ed instead of a gifted program, when both would presumably involve smaller classes with a more hands on teacher, but the special ED teacher would probably have a wide range of abilities to teach to. I think Damian also has had lots of experience working with teachers in small classroom environments (getting tutored 1-on-1 for most of his childhood :P) so I assume if he wants to learn more about peer social interaction he'd benefit more from something he's not used to, like a bigger classroom size? IDK. He's had small class sizes a lot of his life.

I do want to point out that Social Emotional Development is a current buzzword in teaching (and some people think it's getting too much attention and teachers are being asked to do things that reasonably should be parents responsibility but... :P not gonna get into teaching discourse since I do not have a lot of strong opinions on it) and lots of people want to try to work on kids development socially even in mainstream classes. However obviously that's hard with big class sizes.

Anyway TL;DR: I'm not really seeing how it would come up realistically, but take that with a grain of salt due to my lack of experience.

EDIT: Ok after reviewing my notes and a teensy bit more research, I don't think it's realistic I can't believe I fucking forgot the least restrictive environment thing XD and while obviously the least restrictive environment for any given student is not always a mainstream classroom, in many cases kids who receive special education services do spend time in mainstream classrooms, and at least in the US (which he is going to school in US so I think I can use this generalization :P) the goal admin would have is that the kids in Special ED do spend time in mainstream classrooms as they can, you don't spend like the whole day in a separate room. A lot of the general thought atm is that kids are not separate from their peers without justification.

[xellandria]

I switched to demon hunter when BfA came out because my guild needed to bring the 5% magic damage debuff and I was struggling to find a class/spec I actually enjoyed playing after they removed ranged survival and didn’t give any sort of second-best substitute.  It’s now been sixteen months and I’m beginning to get incredibly frustrated with my DH—I like her as an alt, but I feel incredibly constrained by her aesthetically because the pool of warglaive or warglaive-like appearances is so tiny (and isn’t likely to grow very much any time soon).  It’s dumb that that’s the kind of thing that can tilt me as hard as it’s been tilting me, but I’ve basically exhausted the appearance pool at this point.

Anyway I told my raid leader that I’d give him a concrete decision on what I was doing for 8.3 by the end of the year, which means I have to figure out what, if anything, I’m going to main switch to.  The big problem is that getting raid-ready at this point takes significantly more time and effort than it ought to at this point in the expansion, because there are no catch-up mechanics for the 8.2 Azerite Essences, and 8.3 isn’t actually going to help with that as far as I can tell (it’s lowering the rep requirement for two of the essences, but isn’t lowering the time or specialized currency requirements for most of the others).  Artifact knowledge helps with unlocking the slots and the 3% stamina bonuses and that’s in a good position, but unfortunately that means nothing when you’ve got nothing to put into those slots in the first place.

So I need to go through and figure out what I’m doing, and since I’m going in circles in my head about it I figured I ought to actually go long form on this MFer.  This is... going to be long, probably.  I don’t know if it’ll even help.  Let’s find out, I guess.

Shaman (elemental focus): + Hybrid (melee, ranged, healer) + One-spec hybrid (no expectation of having to know, gear up, and play both DPS specs the way a mage would) + Mentioned specifically as a thing we could use (ele) + Decent transmog pool (+KT heritage if race changed) - Still has a lot of baggage from when she was my main TBC-MoP - Resto not a fun or intuitive offspec - Condensed Life Force and Blood of the Enemy essentially required (multi-week raid + battlegrounds PvP) for ele - Turret caster (not my preferred playstyle)

Druid (all four specs viable to varying degrees): + Hybrid (melee, ranged, tank, healer) + Best possible offspecs (resto druid has a long history of being good to me in 5-man content, guardian makes sense and meshes well) + Long history and great library of fantastic transmog options with matchable weapons (both 1h and 2h) + Could also be a KT if I really wanted to give up shadowmeld (which is a v tall ask, but y’know) + Currently actually has my name on Skywall (no more having to stop and think before calling something out bc my character name isn’t the name I go by nonsense) - Balance is incredibly unintuitive to play and makes me feel real dumb real fast - Feral is also really not super great (and is melee, and severely limits mog options due to the way the legion artifact cat skins works) - We already have four in raid (one feral, two balance, one resto); would be very obvious very quickly that I’m the weakest link + Vision of Perfection isn’t as good as CLF for balance but only just barely and would at least be an acceptable stopgap while the incredibly long CLF acquisition period happened

Warlock: - Pure DPS (queues and group finder for catch-up, leveling, or maintenance going to be long with no option to play something less fun for less time investment) + Survivable in solo content (ty voidwalker) + Versatile(ish) playstyle with three specs to choose from - ... but that sort of implies that you have to know and play at least 2/3 (if not all 3) - Affliction is the ultimate multi-dot tracking spec and I’ve never found a good way to do that for me + Affliction is as mobile as casters get these days (and as close as you can get to ranged survival in the current game, fuck you blizzard) +/- Unexciting transmog options (but at least since I’ve never mained a clothie it’s all essentially new; on the flip side it also means I don’t own a lot of it already so I’d have to go out farming) - Wands are still A Thing™ - Destruction and Demonology are turret casters - CLF and Blood of the Enemy both incredibly strong (VoP is almost equal to CLF for destro)

Rogue: - Pure DPS - Not solo survivable at low gear levels (never played at high gear levels to know if that changes significantly) - Poisons (only a problem for assassination right now but they’re coming back in shadowlands bc blizzard is stupid so (: love that) - Transmog options limited by weapon type for 2/3 specs - Melee - Honestly why am I even putting them on the list I like Sylenna but I hate everything rogues stand for and would never want to main one lmao

Demon Hunter (havoc focus): + Hybrid (melee/tank) - Melee

- Incredibly limited transmog options (exclusively due to personal brain stuff since they can actually use swords and axes and fist weapons, I just don’t want to.  Also because some of the DH looks look real bad with the dark skin tone my DH uses and I refuse to spend 300g to whitewash her) - RC Loot Council still thinks they can use daggers and it hurts my soul every time - New weapon mog requires multiple bonus rolls over several weeks due to literally nobody else in the raid being eligible for the drops (and praying that extensions don’t happen or you’ll get fucked like in Dazar’alor) + Vengeance is pretty okay in casual dungeon environments (even if it never feels like I have a button to press for emergencies) + Essences are not an issue (b/c she’s already put the time in)

Mage: - Pure DPS - Incredibly not-survivable in solo content at low item levels.  I have never once felt safe in open world content on my mages once they hit max level. - Sharing a class with Cider strikes me as incredibly dangerous to my sanity (since he’s so tryhard about his damage) +/- Unexciting transmog options + I do have the mage MoP CM armor tho! - Wands + Best class mount by leaps and bounds + Ranged + Fire/Frost at least have some mobility options + Being in control of AI and hero so we don’t have to call for them fifty times a pull sounds real nice (except when I want to be the one not paying attention)

Priest (shadow focus): + Hybrid (ranged/healer/healer) + Disc is the only non-druid healing spec I feel at least slightly comfortable in in casual dungeons (though not anything actually challenging) - Shadow is a multidot spec and multitarget multidot is hard to keep track of - Also we have two already (including the guild leader) +/- Unexciting transmog options (exacerbated by shadowform) - Wands + Ranged

Death Knight: + Hybrid (melee/melee/tank) - Melee +/- Unexciting transmog options + Blood doesn’t seem bad as far as tanking specs go - I haven’t touched Unholy since Wrath and supposedly its top dog atm - Let’s just skip over DK for now, honestly—it doesn’t bring anything to the Xella Table that warrior doesn’t also do (except blood > prot)

Warrior: + Hybrid (melee/melee/tank) + Brings a semi-unique buff (Battle Shout for when Irken isn’t around) - Melee +/- Unexciting transmog options + Capable of stealing almost everyone else’s weapon mog, tho—v exciting! - Naha will probably crack jokes about how bad a tank I am and/or how bad my DPS is if I main a warrior again, and regardless of whether it was true or is true, it will quietly tilt me off the face of the planet. - Would need a facelift; current look works fine for an alt but isn’t versatile enough for a main (would also benefit from a name change at the same time, honestly)

Hunter: - Pure DPS + Incredibly survivable in solo content at low item levels - Only has two specs (fuck you blizzard) + Great mog options, both for default look and enough variants to keep me satisfied + Also has quiver options in at least one spec - Not as mobile as it should be + Still more mobile than pretty much any other ranged + Sporey + Ranged + BOWS

- (: - I’d probably tilt myself off the face of the planet within six months anyway, just bc I’d be constantly reminded that ranged survival doesn’t exist anymore which is why I’m playing the inferior spec(s). - Honestly I keep coming up with excuses not to go back to the hunter but I really don’t think it’d be good for me - But I really want to play her or my druid hrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh

Paladin: + Hybrid (melee/tank/healer) + Good offspec (protadin used to be better but is still entertaining, holy is a mystery tho) - Melee + We don’t have one + Utility (blessings and whatnot) - Unintuitive “rotation” - Very expensive to main (don’t have a paladin on Skywall, only 120 paladin at all atm is Horde)

Monk: + Hybrid (melee/tank/healer) - Offspecs are both dodgy (ha, brewmaster pun) - Melee - WW isn’t especially fun to play +/- Brings a unique (de)buff, but we already have two monks in our roster so it’s less an issue of never sitting/never getting to sit than the DH is. - Very expensive to main (the other class I don’t have on Skywall atm)

[aster-aspera]

Don't cover yourself with thistle and weeds

CW's for this chapter: minor character death, semi-graphic descriptions of injuries, parental death, unsympathetic Remus

Relationship: romantic logince

This prompt was suggested to me by the lovely MizzMarvel on ao3

Chapter title is from thistle and weeds by Mumford and sons

This is Logan’s backstory in my superhero AU. You can find the whole thing on ao3 here  or on the masterlist here

As Logan walked home that morning, he felt invincible, untouchable. All the grey days at school fell away, all the teasing and bullying and all the fear was suddenly gone.

He felt like he was soaring, floating somewhere high above his life. He was so much more than himself in that moment.

Maybe, he didn’t want this to end. However terrifying chasing after criminals was, that particular high almost made the danger worth it. He mourned the fact that it would be over soon. That they would put the gang away, file away the info they had collected and go back to school, alone in the knowledge of what they had done.

The ecstatic feeling faded when he entered his garden and noticed the front door was open. His blood ran cold.

Logan dropped his bag to the floor, frustration written in the lines of his posture.

“Hey sweetheart, how was your day?” His mother called from her office.

“It was uneventful as always and I am not in the mood to discuss it further.” He replied shortly.

His mother rounded the corner and took in his drawn face and the force with which he set his books down on the table.

She held out her arms invitingly and Logan let himself be wrapped up in her embrace, savouring the feeling of safety it gave him.

“Are the other kids giving you trouble again?” She asked.

The other kids were the least of his worries, currently. He could handle their childish taunting. His other problems were related to the more dangerous, night time aspect of his life. But he couldn’t exactly burden his mother with that.

She would worry too much and while he wouldn’t exactly blame her for that, he didn’t need her nagging atop all his worries about Roman and Remus.

So he just nodded and left it at that.

His mother didn’t pressure him to say more. She understood that he didn’t always feel like talking.

Once he was finished with his homework, he locked the door to his room and grabbed the locked box he kept hidden away at the back of his dresser. He opened it and carefully arranged the papers inside into orderly stacks.

The box contained a wealth of information, information that could likely get him in serious trouble if it got into the wrong hands. These files were the fruit of months of research and careful surveillance.

Supply routes, lists of buyers, lists of couriers, the entire ledger, even the names of the most elusive members.

This information could dismantle the entire gang and that was their goal. A few more weeks and they had all the evidence they needed.

Public scandals that would knock the leaders off their thrones, accounts of crimes and evidence so solid no judge would be able to refute it.

They would just have to drop it off at the police station and the gang’s fate would be sealed. It made Logan feel a little better whenever he looked at it. Despite the dangers, they were doing something good, something that would make this shithole of a city just a tiny bit more liveable. And hopefully, would help Remus.

Logan had to admit, he didn’t have that much faith in Roman’s plan. In theory, rolling up the drug rink so Remus lost his debts and could leave without fear of repercussions made sense.

But that theory was heavily relying on the fact that Remus even wanted to leave. He seemed way too comfortable in the criminal environment than Logan cared to see.

His phone started ringing and Logan picked it up without looking away from the supply route he was copying onto another paper.

“Hey erlenmeyer trash, you ready for tonight?”

Logan sighed at the nickname.

“Hello Roman, I told you at school I have everything prepared for tonight. I don’t see why you felt the need to call.”

“It’s just...something feels off. I’m scared something’s gonna go wrong.”

“Did something happen to make you feel like this?”

“No, not really. Well, I haven’t seen Remus in a while and he was acting weird the last time I called.”

“Remus dropping off the map or acting strange is not usually a cause for concern. He is prone to doing things like that.”

“Yeah, I know. I just…” Roman sounded uncharacteristically quiet. He must really be nervous.

“Is there anything else that caused this concern?”

“No…”

“Then we will be alright. We know what we do is dangerous, but there are no signs the gang is aware of what we are doing. We have gone undetected for months, it is improbable they would suddenly know now and not give us any sort of indication. But, if you really are worried, we can call tonight off.”

“No! No, the sooner we get this done, the better. And if you say we’ll be alright, I believe you.”

“So you’re listening to me for once. How novel.”

“Yeah, well, don’t get used to it, specs.”

Logan rolled his eyes.

“Just don’t forget the flashlights this time.”

“You’ll bring back up ones anyways. I don’t see why I bother.”

“It’s important to be prepared, definitely if you’re trying to fight crime with someone as scatterbrained as you.”

“You sound like Batman.”

“Good, that’s what I’m going for.”

“Well, caped crusader, I gotta go make dinner. See you tonight.”

“Yes. Don’t forget your scaly panties, robin.”

Roman signed off with a snort and Logan continued looking through the documents. But Roman’s words kept running through his head and his feeling of unease grew. Maybe it would be better to call it off for tonight.

No, Roman was right, they had to get this done as soon as possible. The longer they waited, the more time the gang had to discover what they were doing.

He decided to head downstairs. He had done all his prep work for tonight and sitting in his room feeling anxious wasn’t helping anyone.

Downstairs, music was playing and his mom and dad stood in the kitchen. They held each other close and were sloppily slowing along to the music, horribly off beat.

His dad noticed him standing in the door opening and beckoned him over.

They took him up in their embrace and his dad kept trying to dance, even though Logan was tripping over his own feet and his mother was laughing too much to follow along.

“Logan! Don’t tell me you don’t know how to slow.” His dad exclaimed as Logan bumped awkwardly into his mother again.

“It’s not like I’ve ever done it before. Nobody slows anymore, dad.”

“What a disgrace. My son should at least know how to slow. What if a pretty boy asks you to dance?”

Logan rolled his eyes but his dad was not to be dissuaded and grabbed him.

“Just follow along to the music.” He instructed.

They ran through the steps slowly and after a while, Logan felt himself loosen up a little. His steps became less mechanical and more like an actual dance.

He smiled as he imagined himself dancing like this with Roman, the other boy was sure to enjoy it, always one for outdated romantic gestures.

His mom laughed and then grabbed his father.

“As important as teaching our son outdated school dances is, I still need your help with dinner.”

They finished making dinner together while Logan set the table.

“ Lettuce eat.” His dad called as he set a bowl of salad down on the table and Logan groaned and hid his head in his hands.

“That pun was souper bad.” His mom groaned.

“Stop.” Logan whined.

“What, don’t you loaf my jokes?” His dad asked.

“They’re terrible.”

“I think they’re sub lime. ” His mom laughed.

Logan lay in his bed, the light from his phone lighting up his face as he waited for his parents to go to bed.

Finally Logan deemed it safe enough to leave and he slunk out of the house.

He walked through the silent neighbourhood till he reached the busier, less ideal parts of town.

There, he found Roman leaning against a wall, in a red leather jacket and heavy black boots, blending in with the crowd of people out on a friday night. Logan felt his heart stutter at the careless way Roman was slumped against the wall, his face cast in stark shadows by the neon lights from a nearby club.

He reminded Logan of the devil, of the incarnation of pride, everything about him inviting yet dangerous.

Logan stopped staring and walked over to join him, trying to lean against the wall with the same graceful abandon but only managing to look like an awkward stick.

“Hello, my dark night.” Roman said.

“You forgot the panties.”

“Oh no, what a tragedy. Guess I can’t be your Robin tonight. Maybe I can be your batwoman?”

“Batwoman’s gay, you dolt.”

“I mean, same.”

“And they’re cousins.”

“Yeah, nevermind.”

“Come on, we have a job to do.” Logan reminded him.

They stayed out all night. Skulking in the shadows and trailing couriers all over the city. Logan felt a strange thrill every time he looked over at Roman. His eyes glinted with excitement and adrenaline.

During the day, they were just teenagers, being pushed and shoved and keeping their heads down as they walked to class.

But now, they were so much more. They became a part of the city, let her bustling energy envelop them. They slipped out of their skin under the streetlights and let themselves disappear into the hubbub and danger that prowled the city streets.

They were angels bringing her justice, they were devils tearing her apart.

They hid behind dumpsters in cold alleyways and walked along the busy promenades, holding each other and pretending to get lost in the others touch, all the while keeping their eyes trained on their mission.

Finally, when the sky was turning a murky gray and Logan’s eyes felt gritty with sleep, they ended up on a bench two streets from Logan’s home. In the suburban neighbourhood, nothing was stirring and, even in the city, it was too early for even the earliest risers.

Roman curled up on the bench and stared at him. Logan stared right back, too tired to care about being seen as weird.

“Do you think it’ll work?” Roman asked, his voice breaking the quiet of the park.

“The evidence we have collected is irrefutable, as long as we take care to deliver it to the right people, there is no reason it shouldn’t.”

“Yeah, I know that. I meant Remus. You said he might not come back, even if he is relieved of his debts. What if he’s really just in it because, I don't know, he likes it? Or he just feels like he fits in there?”

“I don’t know your brother as well as you do. If you have faith in him, then I believe it will work.”

“That’s the thing, I don’t know if I have faith in him. He’s just… So different nowadays. It’s like I don’t even know him anymore.”

“Roman, it will be alright. Your brother may have made some mistakes, but it doesn’t mean he is changed forever. Sometimes people just have trouble figuring themselves out. And either way, whether he makes the right choice or not, at least we did our best.”

Roman smiled at him, his mascara smudged and the glow of the street light lighting up his frizzy hair in a halo of golden light.

“You’re a great friend, you know that right?”

“I try my best.” Logan said with a soft smile.

Roman sat up and leant forward. He reached out and gently traced his thumb over Logan’s jaw. Logan looked up into his eyes, his breath stopping somewhere along the path from his lungs to his mouth. Roman’s thumb came to a stop on his lips.

“Is this alright?” He whispered.

Logan just nodded, his usual eloquence rendered mute.

Roman moved in closer and gently, ever so gently, slotted his lips onto Logan’s.

It was soft, and sweet and when he drew back, he pressed his forehead to Logan’s with a bubbly laugh. He threaded his fingers through Logan’s hair.

Finally, after a long moment of his brain incoherently looping the last moment over and over again, he managed to regain some mobility and placed his hand over the one Roman had cupped around his cheek. He turned his head and placed a kiss on Roman’s palm.

“We’re going to change the world.” Roman breathed, ecstatic with sleep deprivation and adrenaline.

“Together.” Logan whispered back.

As Logan walked home that morning, he felt invincible, untouchable. All the grey days at school fell away, all the teasing and bullying and all the fear was suddenly gone.

He felt like he was soaring, floating somewhere high above his life. He was so much more than himself in that moment.

Maybe, he didn’t want this to end. However terrifying chasing after criminals was, that particular high almost made the danger worth it. He mourned the fact that it would be over soon. That they would put the gang away, file away the info they had collected and go back to school, alone in the knowledge of what they had done.

The ecstatic feeling faded when he entered his garden and noticed the front door was open. His blood ran cold.

Had his parents noticed his absence? He had no idea how he would explain this to them.

He entered the house quietly, trepidation burning in his stomach. Should he call out? Maybe he had just left the door open?

But Logan distinctly remembered checking it was locked before leaving.

Downstairs, all was quiet. Everything looked as it should have been except that muddy footprints tracked in from the door to the stairs.

That was disconcerting, there was a very strict ‘no shoes upstairs’ policy in the house.

Logan’s unease grew. He crept upstairs.

“Mom? Dad?” He called out hesitantly.

The house stayed dead quiet.

With a deep breath, he kept moving. He looked in his room first, as it was right next to the stairs.

The door was pulled open. Strange, Logan could swear he had closed it.

His breath hitched when he saw his room. All his drawers were pulled open. His papers were strewn out over the floor.

The box!

Logan found it upturned and shoved in a corner of the room. All the papers were gone. All the evidence they had collected missing.

Ice cold terror clenched around his heart.

They knew.

Without a second thought, he tore out of his room and ran to his parent’s room.

“Mom! Dad!” He choked off when he entered the room.

No! No, no, no, no!

This wasn't real. This was just a nightmare. He would wake up any second. This just couldn't be real.

Blood painted the walls and bedsheets. It looked like a scene from a horror movie, almost comical in its goriness. If he had seen this in a movie he would have scoffed at the overuse of fake blood.

He hesitantly stepped closer and kneeled next to his mother, who was sprawled out on the floor, her entire back a mess of torn flesh and blood and glistening things Logan didn’t want to examine too closely.

“Mom?” His voice came out waveringly.

He reached out. A pulse, he should look for a pulse. He tried to take her arm but recoiled from the blood that covered it.

It was warm and sticky and already seeping through his pants.

“Mom, wake up.” He whispered.

“Mom, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I wasn’t here, I’m sorry I stayed out all night, just please, wake up.” He begged, like apologizing would fix anything.

She still wasn't moving and neither was his dad. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Logan was aware that begging wasn’t doing him any good. He needed to call for help.

But all that came out of his mouth were more pleas.

“Mom! Stop ignoring me! Just wake up!” He yelled and then he started crying, great gasping sobs that tore all the air from his lungs.

He needed them to wake up, he needed to feel their arms around him, needed their comfort. They couldn’t be gone. Not like this, not now, not when just an hour ago, Roman had kissed him, not when outside he could hear the trucks thundering by. This wasn’t real. It just couldn’t be.

He screamed, desperate and heartbroken.

Wake up .

His eyes got caught on a flash of green on the walls and he looked up.

On the wall, painted in a bright neon green, was the symbol he had been studying for months, the gang's symbol, a sword pointed downwards, and underneath it, like an artist’s tag, a sloppy R.

Remus.

Logan felt anger curl in his gut. After everything they had done to help him, this was his answer.

He would pay.

This wasn’t the end. If they thought they could stop him with this, they were wrong. He would get his revenge, he would burn that gang to the ground and he would destroy Remus.

This was personal now.

[cozywritings]

Stitches ch5: Be Alright

It was finally Friday. The one day of the week that you didn’t have classes, so you slept in, your alarm clock read 10:36 when you looked over. Reaching for your phone you noticed a screen full of notifications, mostly from Emily talking about some cute guy in her anatomy class. Until you caught sight of a text you weren’t too surprised to see.

McDreamy: Good morning honey 😊 I’ve got my 4 hour lecture today and then I’m headed off to stay at Brian’s for the night. Meet me before I leave for enough kisses to last the evening?

To McDreamy: I’ll be waiting.

After pressing send, you got up and took a shower, washing off the week and just taking some time to relax before you started studying for the next week of lessons.

You’ve decided that the best thing about your dorm, besides your boyfriend being across the hall, was the fact that you had your own bathroom in your room. You could shower as long as you wanted, play music as you showered, and you didn’t have to worry about if you forgot a towel or your clothes.

As soon as you stepped into the hot water, you let out a sigh. The hot water feeling absolutely amazing, and you knew it would relax your muscles from the first week stress. Although it was gonna be pretty boring this weekend without Shawn there, you needed to catch up on the notes you missed on Monday during proff com. So you knew it was probably best that he wasn’t here.

The longer you were in the shower, the better you felt. Until you realised it was now noon and you had yet to eat. So you shut off the water, wrapped yourself in a towel and walked out to get dressed. All the while thinking about what you wanted from the buffet in the cafeteria next door.

After your lunch of mac and cheese and a sandwich, you found yourself packing up your backpack to move across the hall. Sure you had your own desk, but Shawn’s was so much nicer and his blackout curtains made you less stressed when you were in a deep study.

Walking into Shawn’s room, you looked around at the clothes on the floor and the unmade bed and sighed. So, you dropped your bag on the desk and took a few minutes to tidy up the room for him. When you were satisfied with your work, you kicked off your sneakers and got to work on your notes, taking Shawn’s notebook from the drawer and copying everything you missed from that first day.

It was a lot of important due dates and when the chapters should be read. Honestly, you weren’t missing much, but you still found it important to have them in your notebook to help you remember them.

Around 2:30, you heard the doorknob jiggle, and your smile widened. Half an hour ago you decided to move to the bed to read your chapters and take notes. When Shawn walked in, he was shocked to find you nestled into his bed with your Sociology textbook in your lap. He was quick to drop his backpack and collapse on top of you, pressing a few kisses to your jaw.

“This is a nice surprise.” He smiled against your neck.

“Your room seemed like the better study option.” You shrugged, running your fingers through his curls and scratching at his scalp. When he let out an involuntary moan you giggled, “feels good Bub?” He nodded, wrapping his arms around your waist and rubbing his thumbs along your lower back.

You closed your eyes at the feeling. The two of you laid there in silence for a few minutes before Shawn said, “Maybe I’ll skip Brian’s and stay here to do this instead.”

You let out a soft laugh, “No you’ve gotta go have guy time. You’ve been with me almost every day this week, you need to see your friends.” He shook his head.

“No.” He leaned back to show you the cutest pout you’d ever seen.

“Shawn. Go out and have fun. I’m probably going to just catch up on project runway and maybe go see the movie in the planetarium with Em later tonight.” He gave you a huge smile, glad you were making good of your Friday night, considering every other night this week you were stressing over classes.

“What movie are they showing?” He mumbled, pressing his face into your neck again. Damn, he was making this really hard to tell him to go to Brian’s.

Threading your fingers into his hair and massaging his head you told him about your plans. “It’s called Abduction. It’s a Taylor Lautner movie. I’ve seen it before, but Emily hasn’t seen it yet so I told her I’d see it with her. After that I’ll probably just come back here and do some more reading.”

You felt him nod, curls tickling your neck. “Back to your dorm or mine?

You lightly smacked his shoulder. “Like I’m gonna come sleep in your empty bed. You’re crazy.” He just shrugged.

“I don’t see why not. The D.A’s never check on the upper classmen and it’s not like you’re sleeping with me. You’re just in my bed.” The idea was really nice. The bed smelled like him, and you were pretty sure that his TV was bigger than yours.

Biting your lip, you gave the idea a pretty good thought. “I’ll think about it.” He looked up at you and smiled, leaving a kiss to your chin.

---

“What do you mean you’re probably gonna sleep in his bed alone!” Emily yelled over a mouth full of pizza as the two of you sat in her dorm.

You just smiled at her. “He’s staying at Brian’s tonight and offered me to stay in his room. I thought it was cute.” A blush rising on your cheeks. The longer you thought about it, the more you wanted to.

Emily let out an exaggerated groan. “You two are disgustingly cute. But anyways. Do you want the details on Eric?” Eric was the guy from her class that she felt compelled to text you about during her lecture. “Well he’s super tall, and has these gorgeous blue eyes. He’s obviously a frequent gym goer. Oh! And he’s 21.” It was so cute to watch her fawn over him, because you’re positive that’s what you look like talking about Shawn. “But also, there’s this girl, Ashley, god she’s so fucking cute. But I don’t know if she’s into girls. So I’ll probably never pursue that one.”

You looked at her a bit shocked. “Em, I didn’t know you were bi.” She looked down quickly, her cheeks pink and eyes wide. “No, no babe it’s okay. I don’t care, I just didn’t know. You didn’t mention it to me before.”

She shrugged, giving you a lazy smile. “I just don’t feel like people believe it’s a thing. And it’s not something I just blurt out. ‘Oh yeah, I love both’” you just smiled at her.

“Well I know a girl in my accounting class that’s flawless and she’s gay, if you wanna know about her.” You swore you’d never seen anyone so happy in your life.

The two of you spent almost 3 hours just gossiping until the conversation got serious. “So, um, I was wondering how you were doing after the whole ex thing? Are you feeling any better since then?” She asked softly.

“It’s okay. He’s actually in my speech class, but so is Shawn so I’m pretty safe. He sits right next to me and holds my hand and stuff. Actually, I have a meeting with an on campus mental health counsellor next week. So I’m going to get back on track soon.” Without any warning, Emily leaned over and gave you the biggest hug.

“I’m so fucking proud of you.” She sighed, rubbing you back and playing with the ends of your hair.

---

Now settled back into your own room, you felt like something was missing. Your room was too quiet, even with Netflix playing some show in the background, and your bed seemed a lot colder than the one across the hallway. And it wasn’t because that one had a heated blanket nestled in the sheets.

Looking over at the clock, you smiled, 11:48. So you gathered your things: your charger, notebooks, and a pair of fuzzy socks, and made your way to Shawn’s room

The room was warm and dark, the lamp having been left on from earlier, was the only source of light. Your head was throbbing due to the laughing you’d done with Emily and the lack of actual sleep you’d been getting throughout the week, but knowing Shawn, he had a stash of medications somewhere. So you set down your things on the bed and searched the desk for a medicine drawer. Instead, what you found was a notebook with all the campus mental health counsellors written down. Next to eat name was a note.

-Dr. Moore: nice but not the right expertise

-Dr. Woodell: extremely kind, specializes in PTSD and rape victims

-Dr. Garcia: too harsh- probably not right for her

-Dr. Casey: way too mean, seems very unforgiving of personal issues- wrong specialisation

-Dr. Hendrix: very nice, another rape victim spec., also does depression and anxiety. (Top choice)

-Dr. Evans: see above note, but add that he’s the only male option (maybe not a good choice)

By the time you’d gotten to the bottom of the page, you were crying profusely. He had gone in and done research on the possible therapists you’d be seeing. He took the time to look into each option and make notes. But you couldn’t let him know you’d found it, so you put it back, opening the drawer labeled “meds”. How you didn’t see it before, you have no idea. So you took two Advil and moved back to the bed, turning on the heating blanket and flipping through the movies on Shawn’s amazon prime account.

It was almost 10am when Shawn opened the door to his room, he’d gotten maybe 4 hours of sleep at Brian’s. They spent all night playing video games, having a few drinks, and just talking about life. However, you were on his mind the whole time. He was hoping you were having a good time and wondering if you’d gone back to your own room.

Somewhere in the night, you had curled completely into the sheets, your body being covered by pillows and the huge blue comforter on the bed. So it was no surprise that Shawn didn’t see you when he walked in. Or when he plopped down on the bed. It wasn’t until he went to pull the blanket back that he noticed your small frame enveloped in the flannel blanket that was still radiating head. Instead of waking you, he just kicked off his sneakers and curled around you, a sleepy smile on his face.

The feeling of something other than the blanket around you startled you, and your eyes flew open in panic. That is, until you noticed that sparrow tattoo you loved resting on the bed. “Shawn?” You asked, not sure if he was awake.

“Shhh I’m sleeping.” He mumbled into the back of your neck, causing you to laugh.

“Can you at least let me roll over so I can see my boyfriend?” you smiled, trying you roll onto your other side.

With a groan and a kiss to the top of your head, he backed away slightly, allowing you to roll over and wrap your arms around his neck. “Wasn’t expecting you to take my offer. I’m glad you did though, I like seeing you comfortable in my room. Please stay?? My head hurts and I wanna love on you.” You responded by scratching at his scalp like you did the day before.

Once again, he let out a sigh, eyes closing as he nosed along the column of your throat. When your hand slid a little lower and rubbed the base of his neck he let out a soft moan. “You okay there Bub?” You giggled, your free hand being cradled in Shawn’s.

“Mhm. I’m fantastic.” He smiled, relaxing against your chest. “Just wanna stay like this all day. Didn’t sleep a lot last night.” You nodded, your lips pressing into his curls.

“We don’t have to do anything today. You can stay exactly where you are” he smiled, kissing along your shoulder as he wrapped himself around you.

And so you did. The day was spent right there in Shawn’s bed, cuddling, exchanging words of adoration, and plenty of kisses being shared. You were pretty sure that this was the best was the best thing to happen to you. That Shawn was the best thing to ever happen to you.

When it finally got dark, Shawn decided you two, more specifically you, needed to eat. So he called in Pizza Hut to be delivered to the dorm and, after learning it would be about an hour until the delivery driver got here, he settled on taking a shower, fearful he reeked of beer and whatever smell radiated from Brian’s apartment. “Shawn?” Your voice soft as you spoke. “Yeah babe?” He asked, closing the drawer full of shirts after he chose what he was gping to pt on after he was clean.

“Do you um, maybe want some company in there?” Your cheeks were a violent crimson when Shawn stuttered.

“A-are you sure?? That totally isn’t the reason I asked you to stay. You don’t have to do something you aren’t completely comfortable with. I mean- I’d love for you to, but you don’t have to if you’re not ready for something that intimate.”  With a soft nod, you started to unbutton your shirt. “Okay baby, okay. If this is what you want to do we can definitely do that. But let’s get into the bathroom and let me do this right. Okay?” You smiled, following him into the bathroom. He really was trying to make you as comfortable as possible.

With the shower water running, and the room filling up with steam, shawn kicked off his sweats, leaving him in his black boxers. Then he turned his attention to you, his fingers slowly unbuttoning your top for you. But his eyes stayed on your face, watching for any sign of panic. “Shawn, it’s okay. Really. I trust you, and I know you’ll be careful. I wouldn’t have asked to join you if I thought I was going to be uncomfortable” With that, he tugged the shirt off your shoulders, eyes following the fabric as it fell to the floor.

You took it upon yourself to shimmy out of your shorts and panties the same time Shawn rid himself of his boxers. So there you stood. Fully naked in front of the only other person who’s had the privilege of seeing you this way. “You look, so beautiful. I didn’t know you had a tattoo.” He smiled, staring at the flower on your hip.

“It was a congratulatory gift from a close friend. She took me to get it after my acceptance letter came it. I have a second one.” You stated, twisting your hips for him to see the black cat sitting on a crescent moon on the other side. “That one I got in an impulse, a Friday the 13th special.”

“I like them.” He mumbled, watching as you grabbed his hand and ran his fingers over the now healed skin. This was the first time he’s touched your naked body, and to be perfectly honest, he wanted to take you right then and there. But he knew his limits, and this right here was a huge deal for you. So he stepped forward and wrapped his arm around you. “I promise I’ll take such good care of you.”

The water felt amazing on your skin, it was the perfect temperature. Shawn stepped in behind you, blocking the water stream as he washed his curls. You had to admit, you’d seen Shawn shirtless before, but seeing him with soap running down his body was something different. You let your eyes travel a little lower, looking down at him. All of him. He looked bigger than Josh, and that worried you a little. But now wasn’t the time.

“Can I wash your hair?” He asked with his arm outstretched, a puddle of shampoo in his palm. “I’d really like that. Yeah.” You smiled, turning around and pressing your back against his chest, sighing at the feeling of his fingers massaging your scalp, occasionally rubbing out the knots in your neck, causing you to lean your head forward as the release of tension.

You let out a sigh at the feeling. “Babe, why are you so tense?” He asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence as the water rinsed out your hair.

You shrugged, “I’m not sure really. Maybe just all the stuff that happened this week. And I have the worlds worst posture when I sit, so I’m sure that doesn’t help.” You laughed, taking your fingers through your conditioner soaked hair.

“Do you mind?” He asked, placing his soap covered hands on your shoulders. You shook your head, curious as to what he was asking to do. You had to clamp down on your lower lip to stop yourself from straight up mewling at the feeling when he dug his fingers into your neck, his thumbs sliding along your upper back easily due to the soap.

“What the actual fuck did you just do?” You asked after you were able to speak again.

His thumbs still running along your shoulder blades, he simply responded, “Pressure points to relive tension. You should probably do that at least once a week if you want to stay out of any back pain in the future.” You noddd, keeping that in the back of your brain as he pressed a kiss to your neck. “Or you can come to me and I can do it for you. Ya know, to make sure it’s done right.”

You laughed, turning around to leave a kiss on his chest. Shawn was quick to wrap his arms around you and lift you up, looking at you for a sign to not do what he was about to do. Instead, you leaned in, wrapping your legs around his waist and stealing the first kiss.

Now dried off and in your “cute” pj’s, you sat on the bed stuffing your face with pizza while The Breakfast Club played softly on the tv. Shawn sat across from you, doing some reading on “nerves and the brain” or whatever the book was about. “Shawn?” He looked up, a grin plastered on his face. “Last night I was looking for some Advil for my headache and I accidentally came across a notebook.” Suddenly very nervous, you looked down at your nails. “And I saw that you did some research on the therapists on campus.”

His face paled. “Fuck. You um- you weren’t supposed to see that.” When he looked over at you, your smile calmed him down.

“I’m not mad Shawn. Actually it’s really sweet.” He reached over, closing the book to pull you into his lap.

“I just know that you wanted to see someone for a while and I wanted to make sure you were getting the best one. So I told them I was doing a paper on how they treated their patients and then I was gonna decide which one they should get you.”

You didn’t say anything. Just pressed a few lingering kisses on his jaw. “Thank you. It really means a lot to me. And thank you for everything you’ve done so far. I’ve never felt so loved and safe in my life.”

“Darling. You are loved and safe.”

[wolferals]

🌝AIRPORTS AND SNOWSTORMS🌝

arón piper preference

*

*

-„girl hurry up!“

-you had spent the last week in Amsterdam to do some research for college and to take some pictures for the magazine your class was currently designing for a project

-and now you were at the airport waiting for your plane to Italy to take off

-it was new years eve tomorrow and you had promised to come to your friends‘ huge party she wanted to celebrate in Sicily

-you were wearing a warm coat and a scarf since it was super cold out and its been snowing for the past 2 days

-„What am I supposed to do? Fly the plane myself?“ you joked over the phone

-„whatever. I cant wait!“

-you then hung up and leaned back in your seat, looking around

-there werent many people here, probably since no one is crazy enough to fly somewhere in a snowstorm

-but the airport people had told you there wouldnt be any problems due to the snow

-you noticed two girls sitting together, talking

-they looked excited about something

-and there was an older woman talking on the phone

-she was wearing a super long red fur coat and some black lace gloves

-rich bitch you thought to yourself

-you wish

-a couple of others were sitting nearby just talking to each other or scrolling through their phones

-you then decided to listen to some music because you had about 30 minutes until boarding started

-25 minutes later you headed towards the gate but a woman stopped you and spoke:“we are so sorry, the plane cannot start right now, the storm is pretty drastic and it could cause some problems.“

-you just stared at her and then asked:“And when will the next plane to Italy go?“

-she shrugged her shoulders and replied:“I‘m sorry, we dont know that yet. But of course you will get a full refund or a rescheduled flight.“

-you stumbled back a little

-they had promised the plane would go

-and now you were stuck here

-you had already cancelled your hotel because you were sure you‘d be able to get to Italy tonight

-„is there nothing you can do?“

-she shook her head and said:“I‘m sorry, we had to cancel all flights.“

-you nodded and then slowly made your way back to your seat

-the first thing you did was call your mom

-and you asked her what to do

-she just told you to either stay at the airport or go back to the hotel in hope of getting your room back

-but since you didnt have enough money with you you couldnt

-so you just stayed there

-you hung up and leaned back in your seat

-„fuck.“ you muttered to yourself

-the other passengers had found out already as well and some were leaving the airport and some just sat down and pulled out their headphones

-after sitting there thinking about what you should do, a guy made his way up to you

-looking just as pissed off as you were feeling inside

-he sat down close to you and put in his headphones as well

-over the course of the next hour you guys kept glancing at each other every now and then

-he was cute, you thought

-he was wearing a brown jacket and a black beanie to keep his ears warm

-and he had chocolate brown eyes that you caught looking at you

-at some point he pulled out his headphones and just looked at you

-so you removed your airpods too and looked back at him

-„i like the 1975.“ he simply said

-his voice was deep and raspy

-you had a thing for such voices

-you then realized you were wearing your 1975 sweatshirt under your coat and you looked down for a second

-„thanks. Really? I thought you were more of a drake kind of guy.“

-he chuckled and then replied:“Maybe i am. But id say I‘m more of a Gregory Palencia, Kanye West kind of guy. You know i like some good rap, not that basic shit.“

-you smiled and answered:“Alright makes sense. So whats your favorite song by the 1975?“

-he laughed

-then he unexpectedly grabbed his suitcase and sat down next to you

-„honestly, i dont listen to them. I just said that because i needed a reason to talk to you.“

-you couldnt believe him

-so you scoffed at him before giving him a playful grin

-„alright Mr Kanye, great first impression check. Maybe wanna continue with some bad pick up line?“

-he grinned at you

-seeing him from so close made you realize that he had some golden specs in his brown eyes

-„actually thank you for mentioning it. I got some great ones. Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?“

-„oh god no!“ you exclaimed and looked at him in disgust

-he started laughing and replied:“wait i got an even better one. Do you believe in love at first sight or do you want me to come in again?“

-you started laughing in his face before answering:“thats funny though.“

-he smiled and started again:“Okay my last one, in my opinion the best thing a guy can say to a cute girl like you. Were your parents beavers? Cuz damn.“

-you hid your face behind your hands while laughing at his terrible jokes

-„so do you think im funny now?“ he laughed

-you turned back to him

-„u know what, yes i do.“

-he laughed with you

-„Arón, encantada.“ he held out his hand

-„Oh hola. I‘m Y/n.“ you answered

-„Hola.“ he just joked

-„so tell me, mr latino. Where were you going?“

-arón started laughing again and then said:“I‘m from Spain, not a Latino. And i was heading back to Madrid actually but since this wont happen tonight im here, like you. Where were you going Ms... where are you from?“

-you told him where you‘re from just to get a:“oh ya i figured.“ from him

-„right. You already knew huh?“

-he looked at you, grinning

-you looked back at him and he smiled

-in his eyes you could see something you hadn’t seen in a man‘s for so long

-passion, emotion, maybe even interest on a larger scale

-and he made you feel good even though you had just met him

-his eyes smiled with him

-„tell me something about you.“ he then spoke leaning back

-„what do you wanna know?“ you replied just as cocky

-„well we got time. Everything.“

-and it felt like suddenly it wasnt too bad you were stuck an airport on a cold December night

-because you met him

-you didnt know what would happen once you got a new flight but you sure as hell knew you wanted to see this guy again

[wisqcrafts]

19 Home Quarantine Boredom Busters!

Bored? Bored??? Complain about your neighbors, your family, the government, the sky, anything else. But I never wanna hear or see anyone complain about boredom. Sorry not sorry. There's so many masterposts of things to do and free online resources. Here are just some of my dork ass ideas:

1) Free (yes FREE) online college courses from, you know, Yale, Harvard, MIT, etc:

https://www.coursera.org/

https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/find-by-topic/#cat=engineering&subcat=nuclearengineering&spec=nuclearsystemspolicyandeconomics

https://www.edx.org/school/harvardx

https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/ivy-league-free-online-courses-a0d7ae675869/?fbclid=IwAR1a9qAE6IcqmcQpPaTmXH6q63QBCA95rntnZPY0ah_U80d8u0wa9wAIYhc

What, like it's hard?

2) "Tattoo" practice - This is a personal idea of mine. Basically, you just take some non-toxic markers to draw on yourself or whoever youre in home quarantine with that wants a fake tattoo. This isn't the best time to be getting real tattoos but you can have fun seeing what youd look like with a one. If you dont really draw, you can print designs to cut into stencils.

3) Bento "stories" - I got this idea from the mom that went viral for the creative bentos she makes for her kids. I think, for even just one meal a day, it would be cute to tell a story with each bento. So if you're living with someone, they need to wait til the next day to find out what happens next! If you live alone, make them for yourself and post your bento story online.

https://www.boredpanda.com/creative-bento-food-art-samantha-lee/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic

4) Karaoke - By yourself or with others, doesn't matter, make it a party! Just search for your karaoke sobgs on Youtube. And anything is a microphone: hairbrush, remote, piece of fried chicken.... Good for you if you have one of those bluetooth mics tho.

5) Professor Day - Okay this one is really nerdy but it's more fun than it sounds. Pick a random topic, anything at all, and prepare a "lesson" or presentation on it. It could be one of your interests, an intro to a new language, or something you always wanted to learn. You can keep it to yourself, share the file online, or better: Dress the part and call your home quarantine buddies in for "class." If you live alone, teaching a class of inanimate objects would make for a silly yet informative video on your topic. Hey maybe this can catch on! Everyone can be an expert of something they're passionate about and should share their unique take on it, who knows who will be into it.

6) Miss Going Outside? Bring the experiences indoors! Like the family that made a home grocery for their grandma, you can make part of your home into something you miss from the outside world. Museum? Plenty offer free virtual tours. Cinema? If you don't have a big TV, you can make a projector for your phone with a shoebox. Camping? Hello, pillow fort and blanket tent. Roast marshmallows on the stove. Play relaxing nature sounds on your speaker. (Try the free app Relax Melodies, I love the mixing feature) Get creative with your space and what you have to make something you want. When you're really bored and missing the outdoors, Youtube or Google Streetview somewhere you wish you could go.

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/75809/12-world-class-museums-you-can-visit-online

https://www.relaxmelodies.com/?utm_expid=.P1gqxCs8TYuGTBlAbE0VkQ.0&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

https://newsvideo.su/video/12560164

https://www.instructables.com/id/Build-A-Smartphone-Projector/

7) Room Makeover - No better time to do it! It's good exercise and it's a creative experience.

8) New Hair Dont Care - This is the best time to try an outrageous haircut or color since you're stuck at home. If it doesn't turn out ideal, no one has to know. If you love it, great! You can try any look you normally wouldn't wear outside or at work.

9) Safe Science Experiments - emphasis on the word SAFE. Safety first, always. There's plenty of free resources online for instructions, esp on YouTube.

10) Consume All The Free Movies, Shows, Music, Books, Audio Books and even Comics Online... it's endless! So much free... And now not so little time. You won't run out of things to watch, read, or listen to.

https://www.epubor.com/10-best-sites-for-free-comic-books.html

https://www.bettercloud.com/monitor/15-classic-video-games/

http://www.loyalbooks.com/genre/Non-fiction

https://www.digitalbook.io/search-audiobooks-ebooks.html#!///history

https://documentaryaddict.com/

11) Make a Short Film - Get creative or just be silly! Try stop motion with old toys, get yourself or someone you're home with into acting, or make your pet a star.

12) Tea Party - Be a kid again and dress up for tea... but put whatever twist you want on it! Wear an old Halloween costume or something! If you live alone, video call your friends or family to join you for tea.

13) Spa Day - All the pampering you didn't have time for when work/school wasn't from home? You have time now. DIY facial. Bubble bath. Nail art. Really soak in every little act of self love.

14) Practice drag makeup, styling, and performance for fun. Your gender or sexual preference doesn't even matter here. Its all good fun! Be a drag queen or king for a day. Lip sync for your life by yourself or make it a drag race with your home quarantine mates.

15) Mystery Day - Create a fake crime scene and have your friends/family solve it! Doesn't have to be a big mess and you don't have to make it so complicated for yourself or your home quarantine fam. You could also just write a simple mystery/riddle online for friends to solve if you live alone. You can even assign roles like accomplice, police, detective, etc. Work your brain, the goal is to kill boredom right?

16) Scrapbook - or Burn Book, Spell Book, pop-up book, revolutionary manifesto, whatever. Use anything you have as a base even if it has writing: an old phone book, something missing pages, a faded magazine, whatever. Then stick any pics, stickers, printouts, tags, wrappers, etc you want. What kind of book will it be?

17) Art Therapy - Even if you dont consider it something you're "good" at, use art to express yourself. It doesn't just have to be drawing, painting, or sculpting... You can pick up a forgotten musical instrument you may have lying around and just keep trying. Youtube is life. Countless tutorials for everything.

18) Crafts Crafts Crafts - Theres so many simple crafts to try at home. 5 Minute Crafts on Youtube and various other channels offer some great yet easy ideas. Try going about it in this order:

a) Look around your house for stuff you don't need. Set aside for craft pile or donate pile.

b) Look around again for any ways you can improve you home. You need mor storage? Is your shoe rack broken? Are you always missing something? Then search online for crafts specific to that.

c) Set up a neat work space with your craft pile and some tools you can use. Note: Never use kitchen items for crafts if you still intend to use them on food. You may be able to wash them but you can't undo any damage from crafting trial and error.

https://youtu.be/AROj7nkH2LQ

19) If you have any skill that can possibly help frontliners during this crisis, do see what you can do without risking your own health. If you can sew, donate masks or even PPE suits as there are guides online for the right patterns and materials. Even just a few pieces are helpful. If you sing, sing for our frontliners. If you write, write about them. Do your research about the situation in your town. Health workers, sanitation workers, grocery staff, and other essential workers are all putting their lives on the line. All we have to do is stay home but we can make the most of it.

https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/1-Xr-67gs2qw0o44-hy-INb89I9m-wcLD?fbclid=IwAR2q0JV6uqgDW5e_m5X5ABLv86rXdQodXh4x5fYDg9_WRsMe0hQwki9PUTk&fbclid=IwAR3Oofo8FIjzwZOoLepnGxYTrST_zV1dRf6NMtoWVRQVSuho1nnqwG5esUE

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/coronavirus-face-mask-what-you-need-to-know-about-making-a-covering-at-home/

[phoenixkaizen]

One Step Closer

Summary: Prompt fic based off the prompt by starsandcomets from tumblr: I’m not exactly good at making up prompts so forgive me ; A; but why not do something along the lines of lonely middle school deku bumping into todoroki and gets crush-at-first sight with him? Author's Note: So DekuTodo is one of my OTPs from My Hero Academia. When I first started reading fanfiction from the fandom, I started off with reading for Shoto Todoroki than I became Erasermight/Erasermic trash and started writing. So writing this prompt is my first actual fic for the two that isn't headed by Shouta Aizawa. So anyway, this prompt, I'm taking it a bit further than what was given. It's going to lead into their time at U.A. probably including the Sports Festival and the fight with Stain. So doing a bit of research for this I found out that Shoto and Midoriya were born near the same prefecture so Todoroki went to private school and Midoriya went to public I'm guessing.

Every year the third year students from all around the prefectures get to attend a festival held at the capital of that prefecture. It was a large event that even both public and private schools attend. The festival was always held right before entrance exams for high school. It was supposed to be a way to connect with other students and even those at already in high school attended. Currently, Izuku Midoriya stood off to the side as he watched the others around him. He didn't necessarily have any friends and Kaachan was with his group. The entrance exam to U.A. was right around the corner. He really should be training right now but if he was going to be a hero, he needed to socialize in a way. This kind of festival targeted the middle school students. It was a way to show career paths, high schools to attend, make contacts outside someone's school. Izuku pushed off of the wall that he had been leaning against and headed towards the nearby booths. He passed by one that had a doctor, nurse, police man, and firefighter standing near it. It was one of the career booths. This one had to be the first responder booth. Next to it was a booth from a high school that specialized in those fields. Off to the other side held a booth for heroes and sidekicks with a U.A. and Shigetsu booth next to it. Of course the U.A. booth immediately caught his attention and he went to talk over when he felt something collide with his front. He managed to keep his balance but the person who had ran into him went crashing to the ground. Instantly, Izuku sprung into action and apologize profusely. He paused as he took a moment to take it the person on the ground. A teenage boy was dressed in a traditional black gakuran with white buttons. His hair and eyes immediately caught Izuku's attention. His right side had snow white hair split perfectly down the middle and a soft grey eye. The boy's left side had crimson red hair and a turqiouse blue eye. He had barely noticed the scar that covered the left side over his eye as he looked into the very confused but cold and distant eyes. It took Izuku only about two seconds to realize just how beautiful the other boy was. The boy's face flushed over as Izuku broke out of his stupor and held out his hand with a smile. "I'm sorry about that. I should of kept an eye on where I was going." Izuku stated. The boy surveyed his hand for a moment before reaching out and placing his hand into Izuku's. "It's fine." The boy whispered. The sound of the boy's face caused Izuku's stomach to flutter for a moment. "I should of been watching as well." Once the boy was completely off of the ground, he dusted himself off. Izuku rubbed the back of his head for a second, unsure of what to say. His face also dusting over red as the other stop and his heterochromatic eyes falling on him. "Um, I'm Izuku Midoriya."    "Shoto Todoroki." A shout of Todoroki's name pulled their attention away and the other looked back to him. "I'm sorry, I've got to go." Izuku's gaze followed him as the boy moved around him and took off in the direction of the voice. The flutters came back as Todoroki's face came back to his mind. Did he seriously just get a crush with just one look?    x Izuku didn't see Todoroki again until he had walked into Class 1-A. He had made it into the high school of his dreams and he had been shocked to find out that Todoroki had applied to the same place. Come to find out he was one of the four students that had gotten in on recommendations. He had been talking to Uraraka and Iida at the front of the room when he had seen him. Todoroki sat at the back of the class beside a girl with pitch black hair. Todoroki had his head leaning against his hand as he stared up to where Izuku, Uraraka, and Iida were standing. Izuku wasn't even paying attention to what his other classmates were saying as he kept his eyes on Todoroki. Todoroki wasn't even hiding the fact that he was staring right back. Izuku's attention was taken away when he heard a voice behind him and he turned around to see their teacher laying on the floor in a sleeping bag. All Izuku knew was that he was going to try and talk to him again. x Izuku wasn't sure what had gotten into him. Todoroki had pulled him to the side and had asked him if he was the secret love child of All Might. Todoroki had even told him of his own background. Yet, he couldn't tear his gaze away from Todoroki's pained filled eyes. The hatred. The loathing. Todoroki was drowning and Izuku knew it and he had to get to him somehow. He really wanted to win the match and keep going but something in him told him that Todoroki needed him more. Todoroki continuely refused to use his left side that contained his fire. The frost that had covered his body from the usage of his ice quirk was taking it's toll on his body and he knew it. Todoroki needed to know. The entire time, Todoroki kept questioning him. Why was he doing this? Izuku knew that Todoroki could never truly be himself if he continued to hold onto this hate. Yet, Todoroki still refused to listen. "IT'S YOUR QUIRK! NOT HIS!" He found himself yelling. He had watched as Todoroki's eyes widened and Izuku kept going. Shouting at the younger boy that he could never truly be the best hero if he refused to use his full power. It was almost as if time stopped for a moment as Izuku just watched the small smile that came to Todoroki's face. Suddenly, Todoroki's entire left side lit up in flames. It took a moment before Izuku could see him again. His stomach fluttering as he looked the younger boy over. He could barely hear what Todoroki was saying to him now. "I want it to. I want to be a hero." Izuku smirked. Finally. Izuku activated One for All in his legs and unbroken arm as Todoroki shot out more ice and started to use his fire. After that, he doesn't remember what happened. He lost but he couldn't find himself to care. He had gotten through to Todoroki. x Hosu City. Izuku cursed to himself that it took him to long to figure out exactly what the hero Manual was talking about. How could he not understand what was going on with his own friend. Iida was drowning and he never noticed. He didn't put it together that Iida had chosen Hosu so he could hunt down the hero killer. Now, he stood between Stain and Iida and Native. His phone was behind his back as he sent his location to the others. Hoping that maybe someone would show up and help him. "All Might was right though. Meddling when you don't need too is the essence of being a hero!" Midoriya exclaimed, clutching his fists in front of himself in a fighting stance. He watched the momentary shock come to Stain's face before the villain smirked. The villain held his blades in a ready stance as Midoriya prepared himself. He launched himself towards the Hero Killer. Doing his best to stay out of the man's line of sight. "No! If you get cut--" Iida called out but Midoriya could barely hear him as he now got behind the Hero Killer. Before Stain could turn, he threw his body up into the air. The Hero Killer noticed his absence and looked up just as Izuku came back down. He managed to get a hit in on top of Stain's head before he landed back on his feet only for his body to completely freeze in his kneeled state. He watched through the corner of his eye as Stain stood back up to his full height. His eyes widening at the sight of his blood on one of the saturated edges of the blade. So it wasn't the blade, it was his own blood. Stain raved about how Izuku was worthy despite telling him that he wasn't as good as he thought but Iida and Native were not. "No! Stop it! Get away!" The blade the man held was now leveled over Iida's head. Izuku felt the panic fill him. He couldn't move. He couldn't save them. 

It was almost as if it was on cue that flames came into Izuku's field of vision. Stain jumped backwards and Izuku craned his neck to look down the alleyway. Todoroki stood off back towards the way that he had originally came into the alley. His left hand was still lit up in flames while his phone was held in his right.    "Tsk. Someone else to get in my way." Stain growled. "Today has been full of distractions." "Midoriya, you need to give more details than just your location in times like this. I was almost too late to stop this guy." Todoroki said. Izuku couldn't help it as his eyes ran over Todoroki's body. The younger boy now had a new hero costume. It was no longer the white one with the ice covering his left side but instead a blue jump suit with sleeves that only went to his elbows. Blue was a good color on Todoroki and it also hugged him in all the right places. "How did you even get here?" Midoriya found himself asking, pausing for a moment as he eyes widened as his gaze settled on Todoroki's left hand. "Wait... you're using your left side." He muttered in disbelief. Even after their match at the Sports Festival, Todoroki once again found himself battling internally and didn't use his flames in his fight with Bakugou. "You need to send more than your specific location." Todoroki stated as he sent out ice forcing the Hero Killer to jump out of the way. Midoriya was amazed as both him and Native were lifted on the ground and onto the safety of the nice. The dual haired boy ran ahead and towards Stain. "You're not one to send cryptic messages so I figured you were in trouble and came to help." He sent out a blast of flames, which caused some of the ice to melt. Both Midoriya and Native slid down the ice until they were now settled on the ground behind Todoroki. "You were just what they said you were but you won't be taking anymore lives, Hero Killer." Midoriya found himself once more looking Todoroki's body up and down. His face flushed as he realized what he was doing and not only in a dangerous battle with an equally dangerous villain. Midoriya, now is not the time to be checking out your not so secret crush. You are up against Stain and this is bad. Izuku thought as he had to finally rip himself out of his head and called out, "Todoroki, you can't let that guy get your blood. I think he controls his enemies actions by swallowing it. That's how he got us!" He yelled out. "So he ingests people's blood to paralyze them. That explains the blades. All I gotta do is keep my distance." Just as Todoroki finished speaking, a blade flew in his direction and managing to slice open his cheek directly on his scar. Todoroki's eyes widened as Stain jumped forward stating, "You have good friends, Ingenium." Todoroki at last minute raised a small wall of ice to keep the villain from stabbing him in the side. Both the Hero Killer and Todoroki looked up to see Stain's sword flying up into the air above them. Todoroki gasped as Stain grabbed the front of his jacket and jerked him forward. Stain went to lick Todoroki's cheek from where the trails of blood were flowing out of the cut. Todoroki felt his heart beat fast inside his chest as he activated his left side and forced Stain to jump back and away from him. Todoroki sent out an ice wall forcing the ice to cover most of the alley way and force the villain away from him. He flipped between using his right and left side as Iida spoke behind him. "I am Ingenium. The Hero Killer is mine." Todoroki scoffed. "You're Ingenium now? The Ingenium I knew sure didn't have that look on his face. You have a dark side. Guess my family isn't the only one." Izuku groaned as he tried to force his body to move. He had to get up and help Todoroki. Todoroki would only be able to hold out for so long before Stain got the best of him. "Careful, Todoroki!" He yelled, pausing as he felt his fingers finally twitch. Todoroki sent out another ice wall, Stain cutting through it with ease with his sword. "You blocked your field of vision from an opponent that is faster than you. Rookie mistake, kid." Stain stated, putting his sword in front of him facing down as he launched himself towards the others. "Come get me than!" Todoroki exclaimed, his left arm engulfing in flames. He let out a gasp of pain as two knives pierced into the muscles of his left arm causing him to deactive his quirk. "You're good, kid," Stain paused, focusing on Native. "Unlike him." Todoroki went to move and paused at a flash of green lightning flew past him.  "Midoriya!" Todoroki screamed as Midoriya and Stain collided with the wall of the alley.    "I don't know why but I can move now!" Midoriya called out as the two continued on down the alley. Todoroki's eyes widened. "So he has a time limit." Native coughed. "No, that kid should have been the last to be able to move." The pro hero muttered. Midoriya fell down to the ground with Stain behind him. Todoroki's heart raced as he watched the green haired boy. He had to think quickly. "Midoriya, dodge!" The older boy jumped out of the way just in time for an line of ice going past him and after the Hero Killer. Todoroki held onto his bleeding arm as Midoriya kneeled down next to him. They quickly went over the information they knew about the Hero Killer before deducting that the effects of his quirk were based off blood type. Todoroki and Midoriya talked for a moment. Contemplating if they could grab the two still frozen behind them and run or stall. Stain had managed to dodge both Todoroki's ice and fire. He was too fast for them to be able to escape with the two in tow. Midoriya looked at Todoroki's bloodied arm before looking back to the villain. "No, you're losing to much blood. Let me distract him and you can help me from back here." Midoriya stated. Todoroki looked through the corner of his eye. His stomach filling with butterflies at the determined look on Midoriya's face. “You are wanting to take a big risk." He paused. If Midoriya thought that they could do this, he was behind him on it. "Let's do it. We can protect them." 

Midoriya launched himself back down the alley way as Todoroki sent out another barrage of ice. They could do this. x They had done it. They had defeated the Hero Killer. Iida had managed to stand back up and joined in the fight. It had been Iida and Midoriya who made the final blows. They had just been released from the hospital and Todoroki and Midoriya stood in front of the hospital, waiting for the pro heroes they were interning with to arrive. Iida had already left with Manual so it just left the two of them. The two sat in silence for a moment but Midoriya took a glance over at Todoroki as he stared up at the clouds. Todoroki had definitely changed since that first day that Midoriya had met him. Oddly enough, he could see it in the younger teen's eyes. They were no longer the cold, distant look anymore. Now they held a shine and emotion flowed through them. Despite being angry, it was clear to him that Todoroki was content. "Hey, Todoroki." Midoriya whispered. Todoroki turned to look at him, causing the breath to catch in Midoriya's throat once again. Todoroki was still absolutely breath taking. The green haired boy found himself leaning in until his lips connected with another set of soft lips. Todoroki's eyes went wide and he tensed for a moment before he relaxed against Midoriya. Midoriya's hands found their way to the younger's hips while Todoroki snaked his arms around the other's neck. A second later, Midoriya pulled away and his face turned red. Todoroki's cheeks were dusted lightly over as he blinked. "Um, sorry... I've been wanting to do that since the first day I met you." Midoriya whispered. Todoroki smiled softly. "Don't apologize." He looked away bashfully, his face getting redder by the second. "I have too."

[whats-the-story-tc]

13th of March, 2020

"The One with V's Sister"

[REALLY LONG ONE. I got her back for a day, you best believe I'm savouring every single goddamn second.]

Shenanigans below the cut:

Another day, another ponytail. :-)

I dreamt with her again the night before. We were at this school event and I introduced her to my Dad. As they shook hands, Dad was wondering where he'd heard her name, then asked me if she was the one I always kept talking about. V just chuckled and said that I am her best student, but I never tell her stuff like that. Dream-me was probably blushing profusely.

Right. So. Morning. Bandana Friend and I were at the secretary's office to ask for something and lo and behold, there's V in her usual seat turned towards the door, hands glued to her phone, hair pulled back. I got really excited. I had two whole classes to drink in the sight, and I simply couldn't wait. "Whoop, there she is!" Bandana Friend told me. "Yeah, I saw her. And her hair is up!" We got excited, then remembered we said it loud enough that she could've heard. A laugh was had.

After that encounter, I was informed that we were to write a pretty important test in V's class that I didn't even know about. I tied my hair back as well, and spent the whole of my History class rather anxiously cramming anything and everything Grammar-related. Class ended, and my classmates were pleading with me to try and convince V to postpone the test a little, because she likes me. (It's not worth much, though. They say that about every teacher.) I told them that even though she does, she wouldn't listen to me, either. "There's no getting a plan out of that woman's head," I said.

Turns out, I was once again boo boo the fool. V decided to axe the test and have us write it a week later. I could've kissed her. I actually went: "MISS!" out loud from the surprise, hands thrown up in the air. And not only did she axe the test, she told us exactly what to expect and what we need to know, when we eventually DO write it. And, even though we'd previously discussed everything she mentioned, she took the time to go through everything once again, explain every important thing one by one. And she spoke English again! Okay, it was one word, when she brought up euphony, and said how everyone says German is a violent, angry language because of its phonetics, and brought up the classic "butterfly/Schmetterling" example I'm sure most of you are familiar with.

As she was talking about stylistic value, and how it can differ depending on the context, she brought up the very word she called me the last time we shared a walk, the one I translated as 'babydoll'. I immediately started smiling. Pleasant memories. And, as she went on, now talking paradoxes, she brought up the epigram I associate with her. Odi et amo. I looked away from her with a bittersweet smile. I couldn't believe this was actually happening. But the rest of the time, I couldn't keep my eyes away when I wasn't writing. There was always something to look at. Her hair, her eyes, her smile, her coffee mug necklace, her outfit and body (*cough* low-cut T-shirt *cough*) and basically everything. Cynical Twat (who no longer sits behind me) had his eyes on me for a while, while I was looking at her like she hung the stars. I think he's onto my ass. Fuck.

We also spoke about the other class in our year, as they came up. I asked V if they were ahead of us, as she said she keeps mixing up what she discussed with us and them, and she told me we were basically even at the moment. Then came the obvious question from Blond Boy in the Back: who does she like more? V was very reluctant to answer that, not wanting to generate tension between us, and only wound up saying that we were a lot more disciplined while the other bunch act more freely, and that she likes them and they'll mature someday. She also mentioned she has class with them in really unfortunate time slots and that not even the best class would want anything to do with her or her subject in 7th/8th period. I was about to protest, but I remembered it would be best not to. It's not like she'd respond, anyway.

Towards the end of class, we practised recognising different types of symbolism in poetry. There was this one about tree branches throwing black bouquets on the ground. I wondered what it meant — exactly until the very moment V asked us what it meant. That's when I realised it referred to shadows, and said it immediately. V didn't look at me, just pointed at me as she repeated my answer. She didn't have to reach far — she was standing right next to me. It was quite the common occurence in that very class, as she kind of alternated between standing at the board and by my side. Brb, gotta go get my tinfoil hat.

I also remember the two of us (ft. Comparison Boy I think, but mostly just V and me) having a short debate about whether or not this one famous poem was picture poetry or not. We were so persistent that V ended up telling us something along the lines of "Okay, it can be viewed as such, but technically, it isn't." Ha! Success :)

At the end of class, just to get a proper conversation out of her, I trotted up to her to ask if the definitions of metonymy and synecdoche I jotted down for myself after a bit of extra research were passable. She said that she'd word them a little differently, but technically, they were passable. Cool. End of story.

...at least I thought so. But more on that later.

She gave us back our earlier tests, one Grammar I fucked up here (I only got a B for it, my perfectionist ass can't take it), and the Literature one from here. A+. Huh. And, for once in her life, V actually signed a test! (I'm not exaggerating when I say I've never seen her signature in the past, nearly 2 years.) But what was best, is that when we looked at Debate Friend's test, couldn't finish her essay and barely wrote anything, under it stood, in red V-cursive: "I know you ran out of time." You guys, she gave her maximum points for it! We were full-on gushing when we saw it. Angels walk among us, I tell you.

Later, I had a splitting headache in (foreign) English, and told Curly Friend that I probably would suffer through my upcoming last class of the day if it wasn't going to be with V. I think I told her I always go to V's classes to catch a break. Not because they're easy, but because I can relax and listen to things I love hearing about, from a woman I love listening to. He told me that V was feeling pretty poorly, too (he had double class with her after she was with us), which surprised me. Aside from one story she told us about her dad (she mentioned both her parents today which she doesn't usually do), she was rather very smiley and energised from the very start of class with us. The only time I saw her be more serious was when I spoke to her after class. There was something about her eyes I noticed, but didn't think much into it. The usual sharp-cold fox eyes (I thought it through, they're more fox-like than cat-like), piercing right through the soul upon first glance. Now I realise how tired she must have been.

7th period Literature, aka where things genuinely started getting crazy. Whew. Here we go. Just before we actually got started, my homeroom teacher showed up and called V outside for a minute. You'll later see why. Then, class proceeded as usual. V set up everything, then put on a video about romanticism era here, at home. But, as per usual, V couldn't stop herself from making notes on the board and pausing the video to add her own commentary. Most of the time, she was crouching beside her laptop, with a complete disregard to me looking at her instead of the video whenever she did that. Once the video was over, she explained some things, her back against the board. She realised she got a whole person's name wrong, and, upon noticing she smudged the writing a little, she remarked "I hope I wiped the board with my hair again," and reached for her ponytail. I was laughing to myself. What do you mean again, love? My dearest, the train wreck.

Second video, about this play based on a queen's assassination in the medieval times. V said it was a tragedy, and asked us what a tragedy was. As I was trying to lace my thoughts together, I did notice that quick look she stole at me that basically said "Come on, Specs, you're the drama expert, say something or this is gonna get really awkward." Me and this other boy did manage to answer, though. After that, it was video time. V took a seat on an empty desk at the other side of the classroom, so she wouldn't block the view. Coincidentally, I had perfect view of both the screen and her. And that's where everything started getting mad.

She noticed. As I was watching her reactions, she turned to me and looked me in the eye before turning back to the video. And after that, though I didn't dare to look at her as much, most, if not all my gazes were returned. When the title character eventually stabbed the queen, she let out this extremely ridiculous scream straight out of a cartoon (well, they WERE cartoon silhouettes after all). I look at V, she looks back at me with this smile of "yeah, I know". Thing is, even in the next 'scene' with a trial, taking place presumably days later, the queen's body was still on the ground. I couldn't help myself, and asked "And they just left the queen there?" V burst into a grin as she looked at me to say "No!". This time last year, I used to get very Done™ looks for this kind of joke, and no verbal response at all. We're getting somewhere, ladies and gentlemen and enby people.

After the video ended, I actually raised my hand this once, to point something out. V was about to start speaking, but said "Yeah?" when she saw my hand up, dropping that train of thought immediately. I talked about how ironic it was that only the queen and her brother's silhouettes were black, and the rest of them were white. As I thought, it symbolised who were meant to be the good guys and the bad guys. I also brought up chess, which V agreed to, and I could see she was glad that there's someone who actively pays attention to detail.

I said it was mad before? Whoo, boy, then it's about to get insane.

Class ends, and V is packing. I was standing there anyway, so I thought I'd help a teensy bit, putting the projector cable away for her so she only had to deal with her laptop. I got a "Many thanks" for it when she noticed. And then. Oh, then. I'm standing beside her desk, not saying a goddamn word, and she, completely unprompted, starts talking to me about the play in depth. She didn't even call my name to get my attention, because she knew I'd be listening. (Been there, done that.) She told me that she finds the plot interesting, and as an adult, she can appreciate it, but the whole thing is written in such a dry and complicated way (she frowned saying this), that she can't help but have mixed opinions about it.

These are all things she mentioned in class before and needn't have repeated, but I was kinda glad she did. I let her talk, adding my own opinion whenever I felt like it, drinking in the fact that she wanted to talk to me specifically about it. I told her that as an actress, I find the characters interesting and I'd love to do this play because the plot really does sound interesting. The look she gave me... she looked me in the eyes, not a word said. It wasn't the fox eyes, it felt more like she was focused on me. There was a depth to it, a silent intensity. I have no idea what she could've been thinking, but I think she might have tried to imagine it. "We'll continue this on Tuesday." she told me, as the bell was about to ring. Lmao, as if.

But it didn't end there, oh, no. Sorry, you have to read a little longer. When she left the classroom, I realised: "Hold on there, V, I'm not done with you yet" and immediately went after her. She walked over to Art Friend, who was writing a test outside, at a nearby table, to check up on how she's doing. Me being me, as they finished talking, and more of my friends started to gather around, I decided to check up on how V's doing. And — you guys aren't going to believe this —, for once, she didn't ignore me asking her how she was! She said that even though she wasn't a hundred percent well, she was doing fine. She didn't plan on not being at school on Tuesday, but life got in the way. (She even explained how, we goin' personal in here.) She didn't say anything when I told her to take care of herself, but I didn't really expect her to.

(From here, our topics might not be in chronological order, because I literally don't remember how it happened.)

There we were, on opposite sides of that table, facing each other directly. "Is the weather changing again, Miss? Is that why my head is splitting apart?" I asked her, thinking adults always know about the weather anyway. "Maybe. Or you're just sick and we're all going to die." she told me as she was putting stuff into her laptop bag. "Oh, great. Bright future you're predicting for me, Miss, thank you." I responded, somewhere along the lines of this. I don't remember the exact thing. "We're all going to die one day, aren't we?" "Well, yeah..." "Just think about all the times we could've died as children..." Bright and optimistic topic in the middle of a goddamn pandemic, courtesy of our very own Miss V. But me and Debate Friend chimed right in with our stories anyway. If there are two people who are ride-or-die with V's weird shit, it's us.

I remembered what happened the previous day, Comparison Boy calling me by her name. "[Art Friend], should I tell her about [Comparison Boy and co.]?" I asked my friend out loud, because I know V absolutely hates not knowing stuff. "Oh, Lord, what happened?" V asked immediately, both elbows on the table, watching curiously. See? This is why I adore teasing her. It's the reaction. "Long story short, they don't call me by my name anymore." I said, not daring to look up at her, no matter how coy I was being. Inside, I was still afraid of what she'd say to being compared to me. "Whose, then?" No going back. "Well, yours, Miss." I admitted. Immediately, I heard a "No." of disbelief, and there we were, both of us grinning at the accusations and me talking about how different we are on the inside. "[Curly Friend] found me with his theory, too." V told me, and now I was the one not believing her. I couldn't believe he told her! "What theory?" Art Friend asked. V seemed to have a hard time putting it into words so I helped out. "That she is me 10 years into the future." Yup. That's an actual theory he has. V looked a little... not withdrawn, even though she was leaning away from the table, but... awkward? But to be honest, we both were. "[Curly Friend] is nice, I like him, but if only he had this much creativity for studying..." V said, to close the topic off. Bwahaha.

At some point, my homeroom teacher came over to us when she saw us chatting, giving V's shoulder a little stroke as she walked past behind her to get next to her. I saw V crack a smile, this little, but very pleased one. Theirs is an unlikely friendship, but I stan it so much. She asked V about how Blond Boy in the Back was doing, as he was quite pale, and V said she noticed (she even asked him if he was alright) but nothing really extreme happened. After all the times he'd disrespected her, it's amazing how much V still cares about him. Then, my homeroom teacher mentioned a potential new teacher who might be coming soon (not anymore I guess lmao) and I burst into a fed-up "Again?". We all know what happened last time, after all. V grinned and muttered a half-impressed, half-unbelieving "She says 'Again?'..." to herself.

Art Friend brought up a British actor, but didn't know his name. (I couldn't guess she was talking about James McAvoy until she said His Dark Materials.) She said she was handsome, and V immediately said "I think I know who you're thinking about, and he's not that handsome." I was fully hollering. It was a shorter-lived convo bit, but V mentioned that she cries at every little thing. Now, that's an exaggeration right there, Miss. Also, I'm not entirely sure it was at this point, but sometime during the conversation, I nearly reached out and took her hand as a comforting gesture after something that was said, but stopped myself as soon as my hand moved. I couldn't do that. I had to know my place.

You know what I'm going to miss most about seeing V face-to-face? Her incredibly telling eyes, that speak for her every given minute. This whole conversation through, she was looking at us with this soft, crinkled-up-to-the-point-they're-half-closed eyes, the look a mixture of bliss and calmness... maybe even pride at a push. She looked like there genuinely wasn't anything she'd rather do in that very moment, but talk to us. She is an angel, let me tell you. I don't deserve her.

When she eventually got going, Debate Friend ran ahead (I gave her a Done™ look for a joke and she just bolted off), while V and I walked together. "Are [Curly Friend] and [Debate Friend] related by any chance?" she asked me. "Same hair, same smile, similar personality..." "Well, if we can be compared, so can they." I smiled back. Then something happened I didn't and couldn't account for. Debate Friend shot back, though I don't exactly remember how she worded it, that V and I could be related as well. And I mentally took a deep breath, fully aware of the risk I was taking, and exclaimed, grinning:

"I have an older sister! I've always wanted a sister!"

I can't possibly begin to comprehend that smile. She didn't say anything, but she closed her eyes and her lips pulled up into this really bright smile, something like this emoji: 😊, discount the blush. It went through my mind later that she did it because she was annoyed with me or thought me stupid and she was trying to mask it, then I remembered... it's V. She wouldn't do that, couldn't pretend if she tried. So that leaves us with one explanation: she was glad I said that. She actually liked me saying that and didn't mind being called my sister. I still don't believe it. It was the same smile as the one she said that "Oh, come on!" with on Wednesday, so she might even have been... flattered? Impossible.

Once she called out Debate Friend for addressing a teacher by her last name only, no honorific, she walked away and out of sight, smiling and waving goodbye to us. And that was the last time I saw her in the flesh — possibly for a very long time.

Later that day, I mentioned her and how much she helped me to my psychologist, who used to work in my school a while back. Last time I was there and I spoke about her, she didn't remember V, but now she was fully aware who I was talking about, if a bit surprised. "I never would've thought she is so... sentimental," she said. Me neither, doc. Honestly, me neither. But here we are. She was glad I found someone who helps me this much and I wholeheartedly agreed. How could I not?

It's been a little over a week since all this happened. Online school is kicking my ass, but I'll be fine. I have her. Still... I miss school a lot. I miss hugging my friends and doodling in classes and the thrill of scanning the corridors for a glimpse of a certain Miss V walking past. Here's to hoping it gets better soon. Until then, all of you take care, stay safe and stay home.

~ S ♡

[Every story I share here, no matter how specific I get with my wording, depicts actual events from my own life.]

[thealphabetmurders]

... i heard you wanted prompts? Would Analogical, admitting their feelings in the most awkward way possible, after literally everyone else around them knowing for like e v e r, work maybe? If you need/want more, maybe Human!au, 20-something years old, met in college? You can use as much or as little as you want, I just wanted you to have a decent amount to start with and pick from

Of course, anon, I am happy to oblige.

“Hold the elevator!” Logan looked up from his phone and held out an arm, reopening the doors for the running figure. He smiled slightly when he saw a dash of purple streaking across the hall towards him.

Virgil reached the elevator, his hands on his knees panting as he hit the button for the ground floor. He looked up at the other figure, “Oh. Hey Lo,”

---

“Excuse me. Sir!” Virgil turned around to see a semi-familiar face. Dark hair, black glasses, intelligent eyes. “You dropped these,” He held out his hand, dangling a pair of earbuds from it.

Virgil looked down at his pocket to see a small hole, one he would have to sew over. He took the earbuds from his hand, “Oh. Uh, thanks, I guess,” He shoved them back into his pocket.

“You are welcome,” And they walked away.  

---

“How much cardio do you sanction into your exercise, Virgil?” Logan asked, lazily hitting the close door elevator button.

“Huh?” Virgil asked, still winded.

Logan shrugged, smoothing back his hair, “I am simply asking because a short run down a hall should not have exhausted you as such,”

Virgil scoffed, “Maybe after we graduate, you can come up with an exercise plan with me,”

Logan nodded, smiling at Virgil once again, “Did you look over the lease with Patton? We need to sign it in 2 weeks if we are going to get that loft by graduation,”

Virgil shook his head, “And I think I worry too much,” Logan quirked up an eyebrow and Virgil rolled his eyes, “Yes, I did. I was going to sign it later this week. I have another interview with that web company. That is where I am heading right now,”

Logan scanned Virgil up and down, the other feeling slightly insecure under his gaze, “You are going to an interview… In that?”

“Yes, I know. But I wore business casual to my initial interview and the woman interviewing me said to ‘come as I am’, and she was wearing a sweatshirt. I guess that is how they are,”

Logan adjusted his glasses and scoffed, “What has this economy come to?”

The elevator began to slow down and then stopped. Virgil adjusted the strings on his hoodie and Logan pulled his satchel up further on his shoulder, waiting for the doors to open. The elevator began moving slowly once again, and Logan narrowed his eyes and looked at Virgil. Then, the carriage began shaking and the lights were flickering. The buttons on the elevator lit up and flashes randomly. Logan and Virgil made their way to separate corners of the room, Logan standing up and steadying himself along the edges and Virgil lost balance and fell into the corner. The malfunctioning was something that neither of them were privy to before, both of them at a loss for what to do. Then, it stopped, and the power went out.

--

“So, for this project, you will be working in pairs. Come up to me by the end of class and tell me who you will be working with and what medium your presentation will be in.” The level 100 teacher explained to the large lecture hall. She sat down behind her computer and pulled up an Excel sheet with names and project types.

Virgil never bothered to make any friends. He figured the people who he would find with common interests and compatible personality types would not be in his core classes, but rather the ones he chooses to take. He frantically looked around, hoping to find someone to pair up with. It seemed as though many people were with him and didn’t bother to introduce themselves, and just paired up with people sat around them.

“Excuse me,” He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to the person facing up and diagonal to him, “Would you care to be partners?”

“Sure,”

The pair exchanged phone numbers. Logan was the name he gave and the two told their professor and said that they would be doing a video presentation with voice overs.

“So, when would you care to meet up and research and record?” Logan asked Virgil as they walked out of class.

He shrugged, “This Thursday works for me. We can meet at the library or in my dorm?”

Logan pondered for a moment, blinking rapidly, “If it is alright, we can meet up in your dorm. Based of my knowledge of the library, the most busy time is on Thursday nights. It may be difficult to record with a lot of outside stimulants,”

Virgil nodded, understanding Logan’s line of thinking, “Okay, we meet up at my dorm at around…” He trailed off, waiting for the other man to provide him a time.

“4 o’clock?” Virgil nodded and Logan pulled out a small planner from his jacket pocket, writing down the date. “Fantastic. Just be sure to text me your dorm hall and number. Are we clear on the plan?”

Virgil made an ‘ok’ sign with his fingers, “Crystal,”

--

Logan tentatively moved his arm around Virgil. His breathing was uneven and ragged. He’s covering his ears, despite there being no noise. His hands are covered with his hoodie sleeves, using it as a security blanket. Virgil was on the verge of a panic attack.

“Virgil. Virgil, are you with me? Can you hear me?” Logan asked, and Virgil nodded, despite his head being in his knees, “Virgil, you know the drill, okay? I need you to breathe with me. I need you to look at me, Virgil, and breathe,”

--

“Roman, do you mind if we reschedule our tutoring session from Monday to Tuesday?”

Roman shrugged, typing away at his computer, “Whatever you say, Specs, you are the one helping me,”

Logan sighed, pulling out his planner, “Fantastic. That was the day I was going to take Virgil to see those action movies he is so fond of,”

Roman rolled his eyes, “I am not going to take away your serious business card if you admit you are a fan of Marvel,”

Logan shrugged, “Virgil is more privy to those movies than I, but I do not mind them for entertainment value, nor do I mind Virgil’s company whilst watching them,”

Roman hummed in response and Logan began sorting and folding his laundry. His button ups neatly folded on one end of the bed and his dress pants that needed to be pressed on the other side. Once finished, he dug his phone out from the pile of laundry it was trapped under, sending Virgil a confirmation text for their plans. He smiled when his phone buzzed with an array of emojis. He was unaware of just how large his grin was, or that Roman stopped typing to look at Logan’s reaction to the mobile exchange.

“So,” Roman began, “As your best friend and roommate, I feel as though I have the right to meet this mysterious emo boyfriend of yours,”

Logan’s blood ran cold as he spun around to look at Roman, confusion and nerves in his eyes, “Boyfriend? Virgil’s not- what- no we don’t do- not, you have it all wrong. Virgil and I are not - no not romantically involved?”

Roman could only stare as his normally calm and collected roommate stumbled and struggled to form a complete sentence. “You two are just consistently together and you always bring him up, Logan. Are you lying to me?”

“No, no Roman. I am not. There is nothing- no- nothing going on,” Logan ran his hands through his hair out of frustration and grabbed his pants from the bed, “I have to do more laundry but just- don’t bring this up again. Especially not if Virgil is here,”

Logan rushed from the room, leaving Roman worried and confused.

--

“Yes, Logan Arias and Virgil Kosa. Yes, the elevator just stopped. Will they? Okay, thank you,” Logan hung up the emergency phone and was fumbling with something in the corner that he could not quite see. Suddenly, the carriage was dimly lit once again, “Found the emergency lights,”

Virgil ran his hands through his hair and unzipped his hoodie, “How long did they say it was going to be?”

Logan shook his head, “Approximately two hours, maybe more,” He sulked next to Virgil and slid down the wall next to him. He loosened his black tie and unbuttoned the top button from his dress shirt. Virgil swallowed thickly, wondering how it was legal to be that hot, “We are going to be stuck here a while.

--

“I don’t see what the big deal is, kiddo,” Patton hugged his dog pillow pet as Virgil continued to pace around their dorm room.

“See, that’s the thing, Patton! You do not see the big deal, and you won’t. Logan and I have been friends now for what, a year, and now I just feel…. Odd,”

Patton let out an amused chuckle, putting his circular glasses on the top of his head, “Odd? Do you want elaborate?”

Virgil threw his arm in the air, “I couldn’t if I wanted to Pat. I couldn’t if I wanted to. Maybe, if I had a better hold on my feelings I could, but I can’t. It doesn’t make sense. Nothing makes sense,”

Patton bit his lip. He got up and went to their full length mirror and began inspecting his honey colored curls in the mirror, “Well V, I think I have an idea as to what could be bothering you, but you may not like what I have to say,” He ruffled his hair a bit as Virgil stared at the back of his head.

“What, what is it?”

Patton sighed, “You know, you say you are confused about your feelings, but deep down, I am pretty sure you know what is going on. It is pretty easy,”

Virgil stood in akimbo, staring at Patton, “No, it is not, it is never easy.”

Patton turned around and looked at Virgil, “Okay, right now, without thinking. Tell me how you feel about Logan.” Virgil opened his mouth and then closed it again, “No, right now, go!”

Virgil sputtered, “I- I..”

--

“I missed my interview,” Virgil clicked off his phone as the time passed to 3:01.

Logan turned towards him, “Did you call or text?”

He rolled his eyes, “Yea, I sent them an email and they said ‘it’s cool’ and we would reschedule, but I am not so sure,”

“Not so sure about what?” Logan quipped.

“About the company, L,” Virgil groaned and took of his hoodie, throwing it in the corner of the room, “As much as a strict work environment gives me anxiety, I also think I need the structure. Like… They are almost too okay with everything, I can’t hold myself accountable. Well, in most instances I can, but I don’t want to fall into a habit of not holding myself- What I am trying to say is-”

“Virgil,” Logan said cooly, and placed a hand onto Virgil’s wrist, stopping his movement and frantic hand gestures, “I understand what you are trying to say,”

Virgil’s stomach flipped over and he look at Logan’s beautiful silvery eyes, “You do?”

Logan gave a small smile, “Always,”

--

“I want to die,” Virgil said as they sat on Logan’s small twin. Logan turned to look at Virgil who was working furiously on an midterm paper. Logan knew how much Virgil despised American History. Logan knew how much Virgil hated writing essays. Logan knows, he always has.

He reached out his hand and Virgil was typing and lightly grabbed onto his wrist to still the motion. Logan felt shocks of electricity move up and down his arms at the simple act, but looked at Virgil in the eyes. They were filled with exhaustion and morose and malcontent. But, also filled with confusion and affection and l-

“C’mon. We are going to watch a movie, and then we are going to bed, you may take Roman’s bed tonight because he is at a castmate’s house tonight. We will wake up in the morning early and finish our work. If we continue at the rate we are, we are going to burn out.” Logan used his other hand to pull the laptop away from Virgil and close it, along with his own. He used his right hand to turn to Netflix, and never let go of Virgil’s wrist. Not once. Not ever. Virgil did not make it to Roman’s bed. Logan did not wake them up early in the morning.

--

“I do not want to graduate,” Logan said, throwing his bag against the wall, checking his watch. 1 hour, 23 minutes, 18 seconds.

“Why?” Virgil said, looking at Logan, “We were just texting about how higher education is inherently classist,”

Logan shrugged, “I am not good at anything that is not school,”

Virgil felt a pang in his chest as he looked over Logan, staring forward at the elevator doors, “What?”

“Do not fret, V, this is not meant to turn into a pity party for me,” Logan lamented, “I do not have the social skills to make acquaintances easily. I am only friends with Roman and Patton by accident. I am not artistically inclined and am often cold towards other, creating an unpleasant work environment for everyone around me. School is the only place I excel in… Without it…” Logan trailed off.

Virgil shook his head in disbelief, “I thought you were supposed to be the smart one of us,”

Logan laughed bitterly, “Chalk that up to something else I can’t do,” He made a check mark motion weakly with his finger and rubbed his eyes beginning to fill with moisture and his face already caked in a thin layer of sweat.

“Logan, stop that. Listen to me. You are the smartest, most talented, most hard working person I know. You are going to excel in anything you do. I know you will. I will be there right next to you, okay, L? You can do anything you set your mind to, I believe in you,”

“I can’t do anything,” Logan muttered to himself.

--

“What do you know about emotions that I don’t, Roman?” Logan surmised.

“Uh, how to feel them?” Roman sassed, Logan looked back with a bored expression, “I am just saying, Specs, you cannot see it but Virgil looks at you the way you look at him,”

“Exhausted with his emo behavior, I highly doubt that,”

“Love, Logan,” Roman got up from his bed and began spinning Logan in his chair, “He looks at you and could not be more in love. How long has it been what, 3 years,”

Logan nodded, “If Virgil had these feelings for me, wouldn’t he have disclosed them?”

“Ugh, obviously not. Virgil cannot even place an order in the McDonald’s drive thru, you think he is going to be vulnerable and risk is most important relationship in the hopes of courtship, no sire,” Roman exaggerated, “You are going to have to be the one to make the first move,”

Logan shook his head, “No, I will not. I don't even know if I have romantic feelings for Virgil,”

Roman sighed, “Logan, buddy, denying your feelings does not stop you from feeling them,” Logan swallowed and looked around the room and Roman continued, “That has never worked before, and it is obvious that this, is not going away,”

--

“Virgil,” Logan said, looking at his watch. 2 hours, 39 minutes, and 45 seconds, “There is something I must tell you. I do not believe that this is the best time. In fact, I know it is not, but I am dehydrated, hungry, upset, and you are here,”

“Logan, is everything okay?” Virgil sat back down after stretching his legs, moving in close, touching each other, arm to arms.

“No, not it is not. I have kept this… this… feeling inside me. Building up and bubbling up for almost 3 years. I cannot do it any longer. I must- I have to,” Logan slurred over his words, groaning and gripping his hair, and Virgil placed a hand on his knee, slowly rubbing his thumb over it. Logan stopped his hand with his and laced their fingers together and they locked eyes. Logan’s smoky color staring back into Virgil’s amber, “Virgil… I-”

--

“Virgil, it has been 3 years, I can’t let this go on any longer,” Patton said, taking back the manila folder after Virgil read over it, “I mean, the four of us are moving in together, it is going to come out eventually,” Patton sat down next to Virgil, who was in the process of tying his shoes, “What is going on?”

Virgil finished one shoe, and sighed, “I dunno Pat. You keep talking about how Logan is ‘head over heels’ and how his ‘heart is mine’, but I really don’t see. He is just- he is so hard to read, I-”

“Virgil it is natural to be scared,” Patton said, “But, you have been scared for years on end now. And you may not see it but I cannot even recreate the love in that boy’s eyes when he sees you,”

Virgil smiled softly, “I just- I know I am going to pick the wrong time. I am going to say something when he is in a bad mood, or focused on school work, or his granddad just died. Nothing I do is going to be right,”

“Well,” Patton thought for a moment, “Just tell him the next time you seem him. No matter what happens, good or bad, there is no gift like the present,”

Virgil sighed and tied his other shoe, “That’s a nice thought Patton, I may try that. Probably not, but, hey, who knows,” Virgil grabbed his coat from his bed and looked at his phone, “Oh shit, I am gonna be late.” He threw open the door and began running down the hall.

Patton went out of the room and yelled after him, “Good luck with your interview!”

--

“I- I-” Logan stared, but he couldn’t help but get cold feet. Staring into Virgil beautiful eyes, his perfectly chiseled jaw, lovely smile, gorgeous laugh, amazing brain, wonderful humor, fantastic friend.- how could someone as incredible as Virgil love him?

Logan screwed up his eyes tight, he saw dots dancing in his vision, “I love you,” He heard himself say, but, for some reason, he also heard that from Virgil. He opened his eyes to see Virgil wide-eyed and mouth agape.

“You what?” Logan asked in disbelief.

Virgil chuckled, “I love you, Logan. I love you. I love how smart you are, how caring you are. How you always know how to help me through anything I am going through. How you are always planning and prepared for anything and everything. You keep me grounded and don’t let my anxiety run my life anymore. Hell, you are the reason I am bold enough to make this confession. I love everything about you Logan. I love everything I know, and I love everything that is a mystery, ready to uncover. You are my moon and stars, Logan, I don’t want anyone but you,”

Logan mouth gaped open and closed. There was so much he wanted to say. He wanted to talk about how talented Virgil was at art and graphic design. How much he loves Virgil’s wit and sass and his sense of humor. How he loves that no matter what kind of mood he is in, he can always make Logan laugh. How he lets Logan go on and on about topics he may not care about, but will listen because they are important. How Virgil is Logan’s world and how he helped him through some tough, dark times. But, his brain stopped connecting to his mouth, so what came out instead was: “Virgil - I - you- important- love,” Logan cursed at his tongue which made Virgil laugh.

“God, you are a nerd,” Virgil was smiling and he leaned in close to Logan. He brushed a stray hair out of Logan’s face and connected their lips for an instant. The kiss was soft and chaste. They both pulled away and said nothing for a few moments, until Virgil spoke up, “That kiss was a bit gross, right?”

Logan let out a sigh of relief, “I did not want to say anything and ruin the mood, but yes, we are both drenched in sweat,”

After 3 hours 16 minutes and 58 seconds, the two were finally rescued from the elevator. They made their way out into the cool spring air holding hands and walked to a nearby bench to cool off. After about 20 minutes of sitting, Logan taps Virgil and initiates a second first kiss. This one had warm passion to it. It was filled with nothing but love. Pure, unfiltered love between best friends, love birds, partners, and soulmates.

--

Virgil turns to walk away and pulls out his phone:

Virgil: hey Pat, some guy just saved me $10 by giving my earbuds back to me that fell out of my pocket.

Patton: oh nice! :D

Virgil: He truly is my guardian angel.

--

“How was Trig, Logan?” Roman asked after Logan got back to their dorm.

“It was adequate, what you would expect from a level 100 class. I did give an attractive guy back his headphones today after he dropped them,”

Roman raised an eyebrow, “Attractive, huh?”

Logan nodded, “Yes, he was objectively stunning. I do hope I get to see him again,”

I really hope you like this, anon. I made this way longer than I intended. 

Send me prompts.

[the-roanoke-society]

Tell us about a mission that our Golden Girl, Seraphim, failed

once upon a time, two old friends stood side-by-side, looking out from a window on a snowy new york city.

i—have no had a very good month. and a lot of that negativity got channeled into this. there are details of child death, explicit violence, gore, forced self-harm and gun violence below the cut. proceed with caution.

writing music sampler is over here if you’re curious.

seraphim glanced back over her shoulder in time to to see whiskey poking his head through the conference room door. the familiar smell of bourbon, polished wood and old paper hit him right in the face. “… oh.” she watched one of his arms drop, relaxed. “morgan, uh. hey.”

“were you going to attack me?” she sounded exhausted. if the rumors whiskey had heard were true, then he wasn’t surprised.

his lasso stayed faithfully coiled on his belt as he came in, closing the door behind him. “i didn’t think anyone was up here. especially not you. did ginger clear you already?”

seraphim had her arms crossed her chest. he could see cotton bandages still wrapped around her forearms as they dove under the sleeves of her white button-up, one pad taped up next to her left eye. but her hair was down, over—

“yeah. as soon as they were sure i wasn’t going to die and the gel had worked.”

“and they did the uh—the test?”

seraphim turned away from him, sighing. he stepped closer to her as she answered, softly: “yes. ging—had a picture of merlin and i. did the trick.” she laughed. it was a joyless sound. “better than doing the sound test with that sword, i guess. don’t get me wrong, still traumatizing even with the picture. but i guess traumatizing in a way that i was… better equipped to handle, at the time.”

“that was your first time with the gel. does the quartermaster know that—you—?”

“no.” whiskey was careful to keep his gaze forward as seraphim’s voice cracked. he knew her well enough. instead, he focused on the snow. it wasn’t the first one of the season, but it was the thickest they’d seen so far. the flakes were huge, falling from a sky that was a single shade of slate grey. “but i’ll have to eventually.”

but that was when she lifted her hair. there was a medium-sized scar, running behind her ear. ginger had shaved a portion of her head but left enough to cover it, like a sheet. the mark was still raw, red, angry. and he winced as he realized that there was a slight dent. they would’ve had to have reconstructed part of her skull. seraphim swallowed. she still didn’t look at him. “i don’t think i’ll be able to hide this.”

“jesus, morgan.”

“it’s—it’s fine. it’s fine.” a hand went to her mouth and he could hear her shaky inhales and exhales. “i’m okay.”

“you sure?”

“mhmm.”

“… morgan.”

“yes, jack.”

“… what happened.”

she let out a sob and he felt the blood leave his face. the regret was immediate and acute, but then, she began, “i—i lost someone. in the worst way. the youngest i ever have.”

“how ol—“

“ten months.”

whiskey breath out a sharp breath. okay. so the rumors weren’t true. the real story was much worse.

“look, i’m sure it wasn’t yo—“

“it was.” her answer was so firm it startled him, and when he looked at her, her expression was… there was just a sheer veneer over barely-contained grief. one tear escaped her eye and she rubbed it away roughly, her hand shaking.

“walk me through it, then. talk to me.”

for a moment, she said nothing, but then she nodded. “it—it was a normal resident call. normal as can be, anyway. something had gotten inside of the hensons’ daughter. her name—“ a cough covering up a much sadder sound. “—her name was olivia. olivia kate henson.”

whiskey could barely standing to listen to her speak. he knew seraphim’s field record wasn’t perfect—no agent could boast of a hundred percent success rate, not in roanoke, not in statesman, and not in kingsman. but when it was a roanoke-flavored failure, the consequences tended to be a bit more horrific.

“i… underestimated the entity that i was dealing with. it’s very, very unusual for people that young to become hosts. demons generally want a body that can y’know, walk. form complete sentences. all that shit. something they can use. so my initial impression was that it was just an low-class imp. something that maybe had done it on accident, even. so those were the tools i brought with me. that was… that was my mindset.”

seraphim opened her mouth to speak and then convulsed. he couldn’t tell if she’d choked back a cry or was trying not to be sick. whiskey reached out and put one hand on her shoulder, but he didn’t take a step closer. seraphim, likewise, stayed where she was.

that wasn’t who they were anymore.

the next part came slowly, measured. “it was a soldier demon. the ones that were john’s specialty.” she started shaking her head, her brows knit together, “we never see those in children, in babies, jack, not ever. this seemed like it was supposed to be part of a bigger trap or something. i’ll have a lot of research to do when i get—when i go home. something else was at play here.”

seraphim sniffed. “but that doesn’t take away the fact that that demon still had to be taken out and deported. that doesn't take away from the fact that i was unprepared, and so when i… when i had to…” hands in her hair. whiskey felt pops as she bent forward, her spine curving underneath an invisible weight. “… her body was too small.” that was all she said.

whiskey brushed his thumb in one reassuring stroke before taking his hand away. “you aren’t a medium. there was no way you could have known.”

she snorted. “… that should have been the end of it.” her tone was a resigned anger. “i should have simply done a circle there, sent that thing back into whatever dark pit it crawled out of. but instead.” she pursed her lips together, jaw clenching. “i was too busy being mortified, mrs. henson wouldn’t stop screaming, mr. henson had fainted in a corner, and before i had a chance to do anything actually useful—it manifested onto this plane.”

seraphim uncrossed her arms, lifting them. whiskey could see red flecks in jagged patterns. “it launched itself at me. tried to turn my forearms into spaghetti noodles. get me to bleed out while i was still standing. it would’ve been deserved.”

“morgan—“

“i fought with it through the house.” she continued. turning her hands over to look at her knuckles. they were bruised and scabbed. “and it shoved me through their front door and onto the street. at high noon. in a busy brownstone neighborhood.”

she laced her fingers together, putting them behind her head. “so of course i had a lovely message from lilith on my specs when ginger finally let me have them. how i’d come so close to compromising our organization, how they had to send a retcon group and warp the memories of over thirty people, half of which weren’t even fourteen yet.” a heavy sigh. she let her arms flop to her sides. “… she didn’t even mention the baby. not once.”

whiskey watched her step up closer to the window. she put one palm up against the glass, and a silhouette of fog blossomed around her fingers. “i forget how fragile it all is. you and i are standing right here, routinely between them—“ she tapped on the glass “—and everything they don’t know that wants to kill them. or control them. or some godawful third thing. the nature of our work is both necessary and damned to exist in the weird grey area of internet conspiracy material.”

“do you ever wish you could go back?” he asked gently. “y’know, take the blue pill?”

“… sometimes.” seraphim answered honestly. “but i don’t think i could now. after everything. could you?”

whiskey thought of jenny—then lauren. the blur of bullets, trauma and blood that had led him to where he was standing. it hadn’t been an easy path. but it’d been the one he walked. he’d never want those steps wasted. “… no. no i don’t think i could either.”

seraphim didn’t start when he went to move her hair, staring at her scar. “so a demon… did this?”

she leaned away from his touch. “no.” she smiled, brokenly. “i did.”

“… what?”

“as soon as i got some solid footing, i pinned it down in the middle of the street. i had it right where i wanted it. but it—it called out.”

“called out? like—in english?”

“no, it was more like a—not a distress call, more like it saw something else and was trying to call it closer. and seventh strike of the day—i glanced up to try to see if there was something else i needed to take care of.”

whiskey felt his mouth go dry. “when you turned back around…”

“i had my own gun pointing straight at my face.” she met his eyes. he’d never seen her look so haunted. “i tried to get out of the way, but—“ she wiped at her eyes, her nose. “it went off. i don’t—i don’t remember anything after that. the next thing i knew i was waking up in medical with ginger over me. said i’d been out for a solid day.” she tried to grin. “bet they worked that into the cover. some poor methed-out woman finally snapped and tried to blow her brains out in broad daylight where everyone could see…”

“morgan, i’m—“

“jack i killed someone’s daughter.”

“you are not a murderer.”

“i was a proxy.”

“look at me.” he grabbed her by the biceps, turning her. she didn’t fight him, and it dawned on him that if she was still recovering from a bullet to the brain, she probably wasn’t strong enough to do much.

and her face crumpled as he spoke. “you fucked up. and you know what that means? it means you’re a hundred percent, certified bonafide human. which means that you are always going to have the potential for mistakes, and for failure, and when it happens it sucks. it will always suck. and you can let it stop you, or you can learn from it. this is just—how it is. for the people like us.” his grip loosened. “our fuck-ups tend to be on a more viscous scale.”

he brushed her hair back, as he had before, long ago. but it was different now. her eyes dropped to the floor. “i know… i know. i sent a message to lilith, asking her to send lady to the henson house. not sure if it’ll actually do anything if i don’t have a job.”

“i think we both know that if lilith wanted to fire you—she wouldn’t have called us.”

“true.” seraphim shivered as whiskey let her go, bringing her arms up in an x over her chest. “she would’ve let me die.”

“look… things look a little bleak right now. just take it easy for a few days. ging’ll probably want to keep you around for at least a little bit, make sure you don’t have any side effects from the gel. and when you get home, then lilith, well—”

seraphim lifted a hand to press on a temple. “god, i don’t know how i’m going to handle this debriefing… i don’t know how i’m going to tell hamish…”

“he worked with recruits for kingsman, right? i don’t think you’ll be the first or last person that has to come to him with a mistake. he’ll understand.”

“i’m glad one of us is sure.”

“what, you think he’ll leave you when he finds out?”

she answered without skipping a beat. “i always think he’ll leave me.”

“well, that sounds healthy.”

seraphim lightly touched at the pink forming around her eyes. “i’m not a hundred percent sure you’re the right person i should be talking about this with, but i am a hundred percent sure i’ve heard you tell me multiple times that you don’t deserve lauren and if she had any sense she’d find someone better.”

whiskey—didn’t immediately have a response to that.

“that’s what i thought.” seraphim turned away from the window, walking up to the conference table. her eyes flickered to champ’s liquor and decanter once, but she left it. drinking so soon after being exposed to alpha-gel was probably not the best idea. she leaned back, letting the hard edge of the table press into her back. the pain was grounding.

seraphim buried her face in her hands. “… this wouldn’t have happened if john was there. he’d be so disappointed if he knew.”

“john can go eat satan’s dick for all i care.”

“don’t say things like that.“

“you’re telling me merlin didn’t have that same reaction when you talked to him about that son of a bitch?”

seraphim stayed silent. just looking at him. it took him a second, and then: “… he doesn’t know.”

“i—am working on it.”

whiskey opened his mouth, but when he saw her face all his anger left him.

this wasn’t the time.

instead, he strode over to the decanter, pouring two glasses of the statesman trademark bourbon. seraphim watched him. “i don’t know if ginger would want me to—“

“do you want to?”

her shoulders sagged. “… yeah.”

“alright then.”

seraphim took the glass he offered with a grip that was still a little unsteady, looking at the liquid amber. “should we toast? that’s what you’re supposed to do, right?”

“sure. always something to celebrate.” whiskey answered, lifting his drink. “to life after failure?”

and seraphim smiled. it was thin, but it was genuine. her voice was thick when she spoke again: “to olivia.”

clink.

once upon a time, two old friends stood side-by-side, looking out from a window on a snowy new york city.

“so—have you proposed yet?”

“… you could say i’m working on it.”

[secretsfromwholecloth]

Dragon Age II, day 5.

The post-coital arm stroking in Merrill’s romance cutscene, reblog if you agree.

The sweetness. The realism. That is a thing I have done to people.

The more characters I meet with amazing voices provided by VAs who are actually from the relevant country, the more inexplicable the casting of Zevran becomes.

When I do an RPG series playthrough like this, I research and plan out my class and romance choices to experience a nice cross-section of stuff that appeals to me. (My first four Watchers in Pillars were the result of just this sort of planning to make sure I bagged the set of romances and faction alliances without making myself look cis or homophobic. I get twitchy about these things, OK?) For this run, I read up on my romance options and picked out Alistair, Merrill, and Blackwall, constructing the rest from there. Alistair was the obvious choice because he’s cute and appealing, of course. With Blackwall it became obvious very quickly that I was seeing myself in him; I’ve got a long speech on that prepared that I’ll give you when I actually meet him. I thought I’d picked Merrill because she was adorable, but...”lonely person researches the ancient past of their culture as a way of connecting with them even though the present-day community wants no part of them”? I, uh, may know something about that. Oh, Merrill. I hereby decree that Taran is giving you a shit-ton more hugs somewhere just offscreen.

So, Merrill, Varric, and Sten are writer-siblings, huh? Clearly madame loves me and wants me to be happy, because she’s taken very, very good care of me.

I love it when writers don’t hate me, whether for being fat, AFAB, non-binary, aro and/or ace-spec, a rape survivor, mentally ill, or just generally kind of weird and terrible. The Deadfire team won my undying loyalty that way, and Ms. Kirby has now done the same.

Hey, Isabela, get back here, I hadn’t had your Questioning Beliefs conversation yet!

Oop, time to fight some Qunari.

Stroud? The Grey Wardens are here? Thanks, guys!

BETHANYYYY *sniff*

Honestly, Taran would be having a much easier time of the whole “losing pretty much his entire family” thing if the last non-Gamlen relative standing didn’t resent him so much for the whole “packing her off to the Wardens” thing.

That’s...a lot of hostile Qunari. Welp. Let’s do this.

And now, on to Act 3. Meredith, you’re terrible.

Oh hello, Delilah Howe. Why, yes, I’d love to go looking for your brother. :D :D :D

Oh, Nathaniel, I’ve missed you. I think Anders has missed you, too. Hm, you sound a little off, but I suppose you’re in rough shape right now.

*sniff* Bethany!

Nate, Bethany, you two take care of each other. You can bond over your messed-up families and how fucked up everything got because of the Blight. Oh, hey, get Nate to tell you some stories about her majesty the Warden-Commander, he’s got some good ones. (Oghren’s got better ones from the Blight, assuming he’s still alive, but he’s best kept away from pretty young women for the sake of everyone’s sanity. Maybe get those second-hand from someone less...sexual-harass-y.)

Honestly, Taran doesn’t even have the energy to misread the situation and give Nate a threatening speech about his intentions. Just...take care of his sister, buddy. Because he apparently can’t, and you’ll never, ever convince him that she doesn’t need a big brother to protect her.

(As far as shipping Nate/Bethany, I find I rather like it. But we’re waiting until after this happens to have them fall for each other, right? An 11-year age gap is period-typical and doesn’t have to stop a pair of adults from doing anything—I’d be a hypocrite if I said it did!—but I’m a little more comfortable when it’s 26/37 than 23/34. Besides, that way they’ve had time to get to know each other, which is how I like it.)

A new Act means a new round of scouring the hinterlands for crafting resources and loot. Wheeeeeee kill me now.

...Zevran? Are you sending me after Zevran, Nuncio?

Oh, Zevran. I’ll admit, I did kind of miss you. I still wish you’d had a genuine Hispanophone VA, though. And wow, you look different.

You’ll never convince me that Zevran isn’t on retainer as their majesties’ convenient assassin friend. Or at least that he won’t be once he finds himself back in Ferelden.

Here Taran thought he’d track down some relatively nice apostates, he’d turn them loose, they’d be grateful, it’d be nice. Nope, here he is putting down abominations. He took Templar powers in the first place because he could be more useful and less dangerous to the mages around him if he could dispel or no-sell magic that went wrong instead of having to attack them. It’s wearing on him.

See, this business with Emile is how he wanted all of them to go.

Oh, Anders. It’s understandable why you would lie, considering what you’re actually planning, but...augh.

Anders, stop. We get it, you think blood magic is awful, but a) considering what you’re up to, are you sure you’re an improvement, and b) ragging on Taran and Merrill’s relationship feels kind of icky coming from someone who was so damned loud about wanting Taran for himself. You won’t get them to break up any more than they’ll get you to call off the bombing.

Sister Nightingale? *bouncyclaps* It’s after midnight, though, so I’ll have to go see her tomorrow.

[retvenkos]

“so what if we’re wild, we only live once.”

requested

BUCKLE IN FAM, BECAUSE THE NEWSIES IN HIGH SCHOOL FOR A MODERN AU WOULD OBVIOUSLY INCLUDE…

(also, keep in mind that this is based off of my experience in the american school system, any classes are ones that are offered at my own school.)

Bill

so he’s obviously head of the journalism staff

and he definitely is a part of yearbook too

and what is he interested in most??

chemistry

no one really understands why, but they don’t question it as long as he helps them with homework

and bill is 10/10 that guy who always has his homework done and let’s you borrow it

his worst class is by far history

he’s in choir and plays the piano for like, every song

he actually has a really nice set of pipes (he’s a tenor, too)

he’s terrible with dates

Darcy

so darcy is on yearbook because he can take the most stunning photos

and he is also a part of journalism, and his niche is critiquing

plays?? restaurants?? sports??

and yes, he goes to sporting events

and yes, romeo gives him a wink everytime he sees him at the baseball games

it’s a ship to end all ships

he isn’t quite sure what he wants to do in the future

i forgot to mention - these are headcanons for when each one is a senior in high school, i’m not working out ages in relation to each other. find someone more motivated for that

but he does know he wants to go to a really nice college

he’s definitely on chess club, and he’s a member of key club too

Katherine

journalism, guys. and she’s not into heavy creative writing, more like articles and interviews and such

president of debate

and her style game is strong - she, bill, and darcy are the three best dressed. facts.

she makes such pretty notes

and she slays in argument writing

english is obviously her favorite class, but a close second is her research class

and she actually sucks at cooking - she took culinary arts as a sophomore and set off the fire alarm twice

she has a free period in her schedule where she goes to the library and slaves over math

it doesn’t come easy to her

definitely has an old-school planner that is always full

Sarah

okay, i don’t know much about sarah - full disclosure, but i’ll try

so first of all, this girl is really put together

she has her schedule mapped out two months in advance, she remembers everyone’s birthday, and she already knows the vacation days during the year

she has library aide for one of her periods and knows every adult in the building by first name

she also happens to be an aide when kath has her free period and she is either the embodiment of the heart eye emoji or trying to help katherine with math

she loves psychology and already has plans to study it

she is in key club with darcy and also just volunteers a whole lot

her favorite is visiting and helping out animal shelters

she goes there so much that they finally just give her a job there

she doodles a lot on the side of her notes - it keeps her from falling asleep in science

the master of the messy top knot

Davey

okay, this boy does not know when to stop

he is taking all of the advanced classes he possibly can, and he’s stressing over them way too much

jack makes him like, 10 cups of stress relief tea daily

there’s also a running bet that the whole school is in on about whether he or kath will be valedictorian

specs says that davey will do it if he doesn’t have a heart attack before final exams

race says he’ll be so busy he’ll forget to even show up to graduation

also, while we’re at it, we need to talk about this boy’s notes. they are the hardest thing to decipher in this world, but if you can read his chicken scratch then you have a goldmine of helpful ways to study

he loves mnemonics with a burning passion and uses them at every chance he can get

his favorite class is chinese or math

and he’s definitely a part of future business leaders of america, mesa, and book club

Les

yes, this is for when les is a senior

he’s obviously not in the same year as the rest of the gang, but les as an 18 year old is gold

okay, first of all… heartthrob who genuinely doesn’t know it

he’s not actually officially part of any club, but he’s always staying after school afterward to like, float into the different club meetings

but he’s definitely an sbo - probably vice president or activities

he’s a part of band and definitely plays the saxophone

you know that means he starts off every class period by playing careless whisper

the teachers all really love him

he actually gets pretty good grades

and he is way overly competitive in review games, especially ones in history

he will wreck you

always goes off campus at lunch and walks into his next period a couple minutes late with a shake

Jack

did someone say art?????

jack does literally every form of it, and he does them all so well

davey seethes at this, but loves it when jack helps in in ceramics

he’s also really supportive of younger artists who are still perfecting their art, so he’s obviously the head of the art club

and he’s the paint master for drama club and all of their productions

he frequently falls asleep in english class

he’s also the president of latinos in action - chosen unanimously even though he wasn’t going for the position

y’all can fite me on latino! jack kelly

also, his signature style is a blue sweatshirt, and all of his clothes have paint on them

he’s also that kid who never has a pencil on him, and never returns the ones he is given just because he always forgets

Crutchie

so i don’t know where the headcanon about crutchie being on the swim team originated, but it is dear to my heart and lives on in this post

he is the nice™ jock

also, he wants to go into the medical field for sure

he had medical terminology as last class of the day and it makes his day 10 times more bright

he uses highlighters so much (but only the yellow ones)

also, crutchie is lowkey a style icon???

all of his teachers love him

he’s that kid that always raises his hand in a group discussion, and it’s one of two things: a lame pun that gets more groans than laughs, or a really insightful bit of knowledge 

there is no in-between

definitely volunteers with sarah at the animal shelters and is a part of french club, even though he’s only ever gone to like, two meetings

Albert

albert wrestles, no one can convince me otherwise

but he’s also on dance co.

we love a well rounded boy - especially when he’ll pull up if you question his life choices

he is soooo salty, and he has no filter. Even in front of teachers.

anyone in his history class can attest to this - especially when they are going through america’s messy past

literally does not care about the majority of his classes

but he maintains a good gpa so he can be on the wrestling team

also, he failed his driving test twice, and when he got his license it didn’t make a difference since no one would trust him with a car anymore

but he’s actually really good in his business and marketing class

he frequently helps in the little store that the business class runs during lunch and stuff because he’s really good with money and change

Race

a part of dance company

and he hates the early morning practices with a passion but will just chug energy drinks to get through it

this boy doesn’t sleep… unless it’s in english

the most surprising thing about him is that he’s really good at math??

and he doesn’t even try - he’ll be talking all class period and then finish the homework in class in like, 10 minutes flat

it’s the same thing with physics

but it’s not like you can ask him for help, because he doesn’t really listen to the professor or follow their methods and steps

like i said earlier, race just doesn’t care

or so you think, but his shirt is always matching the color of his shoes and headphones, but then his hair is literal mess and he wears like, he only owns like, two different pairs of joggers

he’s honestly such a mystery

Buttons

okay, so buttons kills it at fashion, which is why he aces his fashion design class

he’s head costumer for all of the drama departments musicals and plays

he’s also really into art history, and he gets inspiration from art all the time

he’s definitely a part of key club and is a part of national honors society although he’s only ever gone to a couple meetings for both

he gets pretty decent grades in everything but physics, but he definitely tries to study for all of his classes

he goes stag to every school dance and deliberately tries to get his ships together for a song

coffee??? he only ever drinks it black

it’s how he stops romeo from taking his

he’s also a dork who color codes his notes because they help him study better

but he has no idea how to take notes for math class, so he kinda just does example problems and then is confused on how it ever did it in the first place

Elmer

so this is one musically talented boy

he plays the guitar, trumpet, and drums

it’s also an inside joke with him and jojo that they both play the castanets

but he’s definitely a part of any band the school offers - as well as pit for the musical

he’s a really chill, laid-back student that gets their work done and just hangs out

he is very nice and definitely a teacher aid for one of the english teachers

and he’s also a part of the poetry club

it’s to improve his songwriting as well as give him a place to destress

He’s definitely the guy who will always lend you his notes if you missed a day, but he’s also not that great at taking notes because his mind is always on something else

he’s also an attendance office aide for one of his periods

Henry

he took ballroom as a joke with mike, and he really ended up liking it

but he’s not a part of dance co. because their style is totally different from ballroom

He also has a lot of energy, so he’s that kid that’s always bouncing his leg up and down and making the desk behind him shake

but no one ever asks for him to stop because he has the biggest smile that you just can’t shut down??

he knows this, though, and he definitely uses it on teachers to get extensions on his work, and he does, like 80% of the time

his worst class is probably english because he can’t just sit down and read for long periods of time

but during the shakespeare unit he kills it because he’s always first to volunteer to read or do a part

his handwriting is very messy and he uses so many abbreviations not even davey knows what they’re saying

always races to be first in the lunch line

always one of the first people to be in class

Hot Shot

he has auto shop as his first class of the day and absolutely loves it

but he’s also that kid that hangs out with his friends in the middle of the hallway, bottlenecking the whole thing during passing time

thinks he’s the cool™ kid

wears leather jackets exclusively

he hates any core class

but secretly really likes his humanities class

he’s taking italian with spot and the poor teacher just can’t handle these two together

he’s also secretly good at basketball

the coach found out somehow and asks him every year to be on the team

but hot shot would rather die than be on a school team

Ike

has a youtube channel where he mostly posts prank videos  especially those that involve the school

he ran for sbo and was elected as treasury, even though mike is the one who went to all of the meetings for like, two months straight

he is the epitome of a class clown, but it’s always in good fun

he always is wearing a black t-shirt under his sbo sweater

and since he’s an sbo he has to go to all the sports game to support and stuff and he cheers the absolute loudest

he does gymnastics with mike after school every day and at every sbo meeting he brings up how it needs to be a part of the sports at school

he never takes notes but can retain everything

his worst class is anything science related

but he’s secretly really good a history

A proud member of spanish club

Mike

mike is definitely the more artsy twin

he takes drawing and ceramics but can’t paint for the life of him

he’s a part of the art club with jack and is basically second in command there

he does gymnastics with ike after school and is on dance co.

he struggles with math and science but gets by okay

has a free period for first where he could be sleeping in or studying but instead he goes to auto shop to talk to hot shot

he definitely has a crush. hot shot won’t admit it, but he loves mike being there.

he usually wears bright colors with his dance co. jacket

doesn’t really like coffee, but he always has a coke on him - it’s his one weakness

is also a part of spanish club

Kenny

okay, so i know, like, nothing about kenny, so i’m just going with my gut based off of his photo

film is his passion and he wants to be a director one day

is 10/10 that kid in your photography class that spends 90% of the time making stop-motion videos

he’s very nice and is always lending jack pencils even though he knows he’ll never get them back

also, there’s a running gag that he and darcy are the same person, ike runs conspiracy theory videos on his youtube channel

his two favorite classes are film (duh) and theatre

he’s a part of the ensemble of every musical the school puts on

he’s even directed a show a couple of times for the spotlight showcase

he is like that background kind of kid that is a part of the big groups and is totally included but just doesn’t have a huge role in the big stuff

he hates having to write essays because he says it’s sucking the creativity out of writing

also likes psychology

JoJo

co-captain of the soccer team

also a madrigal with bill and specs (he’s a baritone)

always tries out for the school musicals, and he usually gets a main part

he takes quite a few advanced classes and it is not rare to find him passed out on one of the other newsies’ couch

he manages to keep a good gpa with his schedule

his favorite class besides madrigals is probably latinos in action, which he has the same period as jack

while he doesn’t play any instruments himself you can always find him hanging out in the band room at lunch

he is absolutely terrible in math but is taking college math now so he can get it done with and never have to do again for as long as he lives

his aspirations are pretty much all over the place at the moment, but he smiles through the uncertainty

“i feel like it’s fine”

Romeo

on the baseball team

a shameless flirt, especially with darcy

did someone say president of the asian american club??

he’s also a part of drama club because he has a passion for theatre

he can’t when it comes to math, though

so instead of getting frustrated he just writes notes in the calculators for people to find

he’ll also fall asleep in that class

he’s definitely a partner in crime with ike and frequently is a guest on his youtube channel

studying??? who’s she???

really good at debate, though. katherine keeps telling him he should join the club but he says his skills are beyond that of a club

Finch

on the track team and one of the fastest runners

it’s a good outlet for all of his energy

he takes notes in all of his classes since he learned all the strategies from avid, but he never looks back at them

surprisingly gets really good test scores, though

you know he takes wildlife biology and he memorizes like, every type of bird call

he can even mimic some of them - it’s how he wakes romeo up in math.

he also goes out every day for lunch, and his next period is english which he has with like, all of the boys, so he’s always throwing fries across the room for henry or mush to catch in their mouths

he beats his own school records every year so he’s like, constantly the athlete of the month

definitely goes to all of the different sports games and cheers very loud

carries a huge water bottle that he fills up during french class to get out of presentations

Kid Blink

first of all, this kid does not do any kind of sport because his depth perception rivals that of mine

which means it  s u c k s 

however, he kills it at math and physics is his one true love

If you need a study partner for either, he’s your guy. just know that he explains nothing and goes pretty fast. keep up and you can do math with him.

he lowkey hates history because it’s about a whole bunch of dead people who were problematic

he’s a part of mesa

he takes american sign language and it’s one of his favorite classes

he and smalls are constantly having conversations from across the room

a lot of the time it’s about the teacher, and one time they were caught by their chemistry teacher who knew asl

they got detention for like, a week because of it

Mush

here comes the heartthrob!!!!

very handsome, and his strong suit is engineering. which always shocks people.

which means he’s definitely a part of mesa and the engineering and technology club

he’s definitely the person to go to if you need help in physics. he explains things really well

the only bad part about it is that he also goes off on tangents when he’s explaining and you can get confused if you listen too long

he’s actually kind of a style icon, his hair is probably the best out of everyone

he always has headphones in, but one earbud is out so he can hear the teacher and whatnot

he cannot act for the life of him

but he has a good-natured laugh that makes up for the cringe 

he also cannot dance

Smalls

okay, so smalls is a part of the asian american club, key club, and poetry club 

even though he cannot write to save his life, they let him come because he’s uber supportive

there’s also a joke that he and spot are a part of the short™ club

lowkey, smalls started this joke because he finds it hilarious when spot gets upset

he actually takes interior design and it’s his favorite class

he’s really good with color

he also takes woodworking and makes the guys stuff for it

davey has a bookshelf and jack has a desk

takes asl with kid blink and loves it

is the kid who always has to stand up to take notes because seating charts always put him in the back, despite his height

Sniper

okay, so sniper is a cheerleader but don’t let that fool you - she’s also on the wrestling team and will take you down

albert is like her older brother and helps her with her business class

she regrets having taken it, but she needed another cte credit and thought it would be safer than welding

she has a criminal law class that she loves with all of her heart

she writes in all capitals

she’s also that kid that writes all of her essays handwritten to spite her english teacher which, on the first day of school, complain about her writing in all caps

she’s good with history and has it with albert and it’s her personal goal to get him to laugh at her comments in that class

studying??? sounds studious. and not a part of her aesthetic.

has an attendance office aide period where she mostly does the homework for her next class period

is that kid that always almost swears in class debates

Specs

first, our boy is president for madrigals (he’s a low bass)

then he’s a proud part of the book club

his thing is psychology, and he goes in hard, he and sarah sit next to each other and talk in hushed whispers about all the cool stuff they learn

he takes very neat notes

but only has to look at them two or three times before he’s ready to take a test

is always an ensemble member in the school musicals

he is also a library aide and constantly smells like old books

very organized

his locker always has everything you could possibly need - a jacket, hat, bag of trail mix, water, etc.

the mom friend™

Spot

first of all, he’s that kid who always sits in the same seat. if you’re sitting in his seat, you’re dead. don’t @ him.

he hates science with a burning passion and is so glad he finished all of his credits for it in junior year

is actually a bit of a history buff

but he never participates in class, just writes really good essays and aces every test

and speaking of writing

he’s actually really into creative writing

who did you think started the writing club???

but he’s no less tough

he always wears a leather jacket, a red shirt, cuffs the bottom of his jeans, and has his pen tucked behind his ear

he doesn’t really take notes, and he only writes in pen

Tommy Boy

captain of dance company

is having none of race’s idiocy at practices either

but he’s actually really funny and nice, all the teachers love him

can’t write a summary in english for the life of him but will write a 10 page essay on why dance company is a part of the performing arts and deserves just as much recognition as theatre, choir, and band

only ever eats out of the vending machines for lunch

is a part of french club

really likes culinary arts because his one weakness is sugar

can’t do any form of art other than dance

but he doesn’t need to - he’s that good

notes??? what are those???

AND FLUFF ENSUES.

[friendliest-place-on-earth]

(prompt list #3) #9 for javid? preferably with davey getting very flustered, thank you!!

Okay I know I’m super super behind on this but it’s summer break now and maybe I’ll get to more of these prompts from ages ago? Let’s see. This has been sitting in my google drive for a while now because I didn’t know how to end it and I finally came up with one that’s good enough. It’s a little cheesy but it’s nice to have something good and positive. I also don’t usually do prompts like this one so I toned it down to make it something I was comfortable with. Anyways, enjoy! - Mod Ind

“I’m not gonna lie, I’m really turned on by that.”

Davey had this habit, something he himself hardly acknowledged but Jack couldn’t stop thinking about it. You see, just about anyone and everyone who knew Davey knew he had a tendency to stress and freak himself out. This tended to happen during homework if there was too much or there was a project he had to work on. The stress wasn’t his aforementioned habit, but there was a way he coped with it. Every time Davey’s mind started to get too busy, he would unconsciously run his hand through his hair. This usually wasn’t an issue, since he usually did his homework by himself but then he was assigned to do a stupid project with Jack Kelly. They’d been best friends for quite some time so they were both pretty excited to get another excuse to hang out. That is, until Jack discovered his friend’s habit and it drove him absolutely crazy.

Now, let’s backtrack for a second.

What Jack should have done is told Crutchie, Specs, Romeo, maybe even Race no not Race, not again, about his “little” crush. Instead, because Spot was there and Jack is weak, that’s who he decided to tell- who turned right around and told Katherine about the whole thing. So now, two of the worst people to keep a secret knew Jack’s.

“Alright Kelly, Katherine should be here in about five minutes. You can keep everything in until then.” Spot crossed his arms and sat down on the couch. He forcefully patted on the space next to him, and Jack sat down with a heavy sigh.

“I am such an idiot.” Jack put his face in his hands.

“Yes you are, but you’re in love. Everyone in love is an idiot, trust me.” Spot smiled, obviously thinking about Race.

“I’m not ‘in love’ I just, like him a whole lot,” Jack mumbled.

“Sure kid, whatever you have to tell yourself.” the doorbell rang and Spot went to answer it, and quickly returned with Katherine in tow.

“Someone’s in love,” Katherine sang.

“I am not in love! I only just realized that I like him!” Katherine sat down in the armchair next to the couch and Spot returned to his former seating position.

“Oh whatever Mr. Romance. Tell us about it!” Jack crossed his arms defensively.

“Look, we already know that you’re in love with Davey, what else do you have to hide?” Spot asked.

“Nothing, I just don’t need to give you guys any more ammo to use against me.” Jack tossed hard looks at both of them.

“If we promise that whatever is said here, stays here, will you tell us all the juicy details?” Katherine asked, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees. Spot gave a single nod of agreement.

“Fine, fine. I guess… whenever I see him, my stomach gets all fluttery and my heart feels like it’s going to burst out of my chest.” Jack admitted quickly, so all the words were kind of smushed together. He took a deep breath, and it was like the floodgates had been opened.

“Oh, and he does this thing with his hair, oh my god-”

“Wait wait wait, does he brush his hands through it, sometimes tossing it to the side?” Katherine did the motion with her own hair.

“Yeah…”

“Sarah does the same thing! God I love it when she does that.” Katherine just loved talking about her girlfriend.

“Isn’t it the greatest? Sometimes whenever he does that sometimes I just wanna- put his face on my face.”

“Let’s hope I never have to see that…” Spot said quietly.

“Oh like you’re any better!” Jack scoffed.

“Sometimes I just want to look into his eyes all the time, have you guys seen how pretty they are?” Jack practically swooned on the spot.

“Okay, that’s enough for me.” Spot got up and hurried to his room, looking a little bit sick. Jack and Katherine laughed and continued to talk about Davey (and occasionally Sarah) until late into the night.

“I’ve got to go, Jack,” Katherine yawned, it was only 11:30 but when you’ve got to wake up a 5:30, you learn to get to bed earlier.

“Yeah, get out a’ here you sap.”

“I’m the sap? I distinctly recall you talked about Davey like you were giving a powerpoint presentation on his physical attributes, and then again on his mental attributes!” Katherine laughed.

“But he’s good on the inside and the outside!”

“Yeah whatever, get some rest. We’ve got school tomorrow.” Katherine playfully slugged Jack in the arm and the two of them walked to the door.

“Thanks for making me talk about this,” Jack said quietly.

“Anytime.” Katherine walked out to her car and drove away.

The next day at school, Jack and Davey found out that they were supposed to make a poster about some profession they were assigned to show the class. Everyone was pretty sure the project was just something to fill the time since the school year was almost over and the teacher ran out of material. They were told to research a geologist which both of the boys were absolutely bursting with excitement to learn about.

“My house, around six? We can work on the project and then you can sleep over if you want so we can hang out for the rest of the night.” Davey offered, who no doubt wanted to get the project done as soon as possible.

“Yeah, sounds great, should I bring anything?” he asked.

“If you get the poster board then I’ll take care of everything else,” Davey replied. He opened a document and started researching the geology profession and Jack gathered some cool pictures from the internet. That was about all they did until the bell rang and they parted ways to head to their next classes.

It was around midnight, and they could have finished the project by then if Jack hadn’t been so distracting. It was hardly his fault, since Davey was distracting without meaning to be. You see, Davey would card his fingers through his hair and then Jack would get distracted and forget what it was they were supposed to be during, which in turn caused Davey to mess with his hair even more as time began to run out. What Jack also discovered was that Davey ran his fingers through his hair even more when he got tired. As it was midnight, they were obviously very tired, Jack from having to force himself to pay attention every five minutes and Davey, because he had to keep reminding Jack to pay attention every five minutes.

“Take a break?” Davey sighed, sitting back on his legs.

“Take a break.” Jack fell backwards dramatically and sprawled himself out on the ground. The two of them went over to the couches a few feet and turned on the tv, playing some random show on Netflix. Davey finally relaxed into the cushions, combing his fingers through his hair once more.

“I’m not gonna lie, I’m really turned on by that.” Jack immediately clapped his hand over his mouth in shock. Davey’s eyes went wide and he choked on his own spit. In the silence that followed, Jack had to think back and ask himself if he had had any alcohol that night. He hadn’t.

“I-I, uh… thanks?” his face grew to a deep red.

“Sorry that was weird.” Jack knew his face must be quite red as well. Davey looked around the room and put his hand up to his head, stopping short when his fingers made contact. He looked at Jack sheepishly and put his hand down.

“You don’t have to…” Davey seemed to have pulled himself together and in a moment of clarity, realized what Jack had said, and realized what Jack meant by what he said.

“Is that what was distracting you for six hours?!” Davey laughed.

“No… we had dinner and I was utterly devoted to that for at least an hour.” Jack replied, still not looking him in the eyes.

“That’s still five hours, Jackie.”

“Whatever it’s your fault anyways!” Jack covered his face with his hands. Davey moved in front of Jack and grabbed his hands.

“Sure, we can say it’s my fault,” Davey said sarcastically. Jack felt like he was melting under his gaze.

“God, I am much too tired to keep this up.” he said hurriedly before leaning forward and pressing a kiss onto Jack’s lips.

“You kiss by the book.”

“Was that Romeo and Juliet? Did you literally just say a line from Romeo and Juliet after we’ve had our first kiss. I swear to god Jackie boy I am this close to-” Jack cut him off by grabbing the front of Davey’s shirt and kissed him again.

“What’re you going to do about it?” Jack smirked and Davey rolled his eyes.

“Not a damn thing,” and so the project was forgotten, and they couldn’t care less.

[animakupo]

The Way to a Man’s Heart (Ignis x Reader)

wow i kept putting this off for some reason, but hello cooking mama iggy!!!! yay!!!! lowkey unconfident about this bc i don’t think i executed it well but uh haha stab me

will this be expanded into a two-part story? or will it remain a one shot? whO KNowS

(Also, thanks so much for all the love for Shortcake vs. Beefcake ;___; I didn’t consider it to be one of my better works, so for it to have received this much love has been such a pleasant surprise huhu thanks ebribadi wah)

word count: 3.5k+, fluff + self-deprecation because wow i relate so much to self-hate, Prompto likes to think he’s Cupid haha sure keep telling urself that boye

‘Take cooking lessons, they said.’ You stared helplessly at your burnt attempt at a chicken cordon bleu. ‘It’ll be fun, they said.’ Discreetly shoving the charred poultry down the garbage, you sighed longingly at everyone else’s pristine and mouth-watering dishes. ��How is it fun when everything I make is inedible?’

Boy, if any of your classmates from high school saw you now, they might possibly throw a fit at the sight of you. Or maybe they’d look at you in awe.

After all, you were never really one for the kitchen.

Sure, you loved food — probably more than the average girl, even — but all you could do was devour dishes that were presented to you. For you to actually prepare something meant for human consumption was easily a recipe for disaster.

Which was why you were here, taking a culinary class in hopes of acquiring even a smidgen of an everyday man’s cooking skill.

But, let’s be real here: you could have lived the rest of your days perfectly content with being a failure in the kitchen. It’s not like you had any ambitions of becoming a chef or anything.

The true reason behind your ongoing efforts in trying to learn how to cook lies in a sole secret ingredient — one that is integral in your current woes as of late: Ignis Scientia.

Now, you were never really one to go to such great heights just to impress someone — let alone a member of the opposite sex — but Ignis was different. Here was a man in an entirely other league of his own. He was refined, patient, kind-hearted, and one of the most well-mannered men you ever had the blessed opportunity to encounter.

Not only did Ignis have the charms to go with his elegant face, he was also incredibly skilled — almost famously so, at least amongst his peers — in the kitchen. You’d probably go so far as to say his concoctions could rival — even best — the foods provided by the royal chef.

(Not that you knew what His Majesty and his son would have for their daily meals. You just believed that Prince Noctis requesting for a certain pastry from Ignis — and Ignis alone — was telling enough of the Royal Adviser’s skills in the kitchen.)

So here you were, struggling to cook up something in order to catch Ignis’ attention and impress him for once. Unfortunately, despite your wholesome intentions, your efforts were simply failing to bear any fruit.

‘I might end up burning my apartment down if I keep up with this,’ you thought glumly, already packing away your belongings as your cooking teacher gave you an unimpressed look for yet another cooking disaster this week.

‘Don’t worry.’ You gave your instructor a nod in farewell. ‘This is the last you’ll see of me in this blasted class.’

The very idea of taking up culinary lessons as a step towards getting Ignis to look your way was actually a suggestion from your friend Prompto. On one of your rare mutual breaks — yours from assisting other staff members with admin work and archiving documents for the royal family, his from Crowsguard training with Cor the Immortal — the two of you had stumbled upon Ignis himself, who was well on his way to a meeting with the King and the rest of his council.

“Hey, Specs!” Prompto greeted cheerfully with a wave of his hand.

“Good to see you, Prompto,” replied the bespectacled man. Ignis turned to you and offered a curt nod of acknowledgement.

All you could do was reciprocate his nod, already feeling your cheeks burn — a usual occurrence whenever you were near Ignis. While this was not the first time you had encountered the Royal Adviser in the flesh — as you would sometimes assist him with research and paperwork when necessary — being around him often made you feel shy and flustered. It was a miracle that you had yet to pass out from the effect he had on you.

“Where are you off to?” Prompto inquired.

Adjusting his grip on the small stack of folders in his arms, Ignis answered, “I’ve a meeting with His Majesty. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I best be on my way.”

It was only when Ignis turned a corner did you release a breath you hadn’t known you were even keeping. ‘He’s so handsome,’ you thought to yourself, clutching at your chest from how fast your heart raced around him.

Prompto looked at you oddly. Although some would think him to be a bit more on the naive side, the young blond liked to think that he was actually much more observant than the people around him would give him credit for. Perhaps that was why he detected your odd behavior in front of his friend.

Or maybe your crush on Ignis was just that obvious.

In any case, Prompto took notice of how tense you had become in the presence of his friend, as he placed a hand on your shoulder and gave a comforting squeeze. “Hey, you alright? I know Iggy might seem a little intimidating, but he’s actually a fun person to be around once you get to know him.”

“N-no, I…” you mumbled, keeping your eyes on the floor. “I know. He’s just- I’m…”

“Haha, you sound just like me when I tried asking this girl from school on a date!”

“Y-yeah, hah…”

“There’s no need to be so shy around good ol’ Iggy!” Prompto gave you a friendly pat on the back. “He might look like a strict professor on the outside, but on the inside, he’s just like you and me.”

“Uh-huh…”

“Well, except we’re plebes next to him, but you know. I’m sure you’d like him a lot once you got to know him better.”

“I DO NOT HAVE A CRUSH ON IGNIS SCIENTIA!”

Okay, you were definitely obvious about your crush on the Royal Adviser.

“Woah, what?”

Your face was probably burning brighter than the sun by now. How could you have suddenly blurted — practically yelled loud enough for the entire Citadel to hear, oh gods —your deep, dark secret? Your head must have been in the clouds while Prompto was talking, and in your carelessness, you somehow interpreted his words as an accusation of harboring feelings for Ignis.

Which… well, cat’s outta the bag now, then.

“I-I…!” The embarrassment becoming too much to bear, you hid behind your hands, mumbling into your palms, “I didn’t say anything!”

“Honey, you most definitely said something, and it was a little along the lines of-“

“SHUT UP!” You slapped your hands over Prompto’s mouth in a frenzy. “Someone might hear!”

Pulling your hands away from his face, he replied, “With how loud you were, I wouldn’t be surprised if even Noct heard you from his bedroom.”

You groaned. “Prompto, please don’t say anything to Ignis about this.”

Your friend’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Why not? I’m sure Iggy would be really flattered. Plus, you guys would make a really cute couple!”

“That’s really nice of you to say and all, but I’d rather keep my feelings to myself, thank you very much.”

“Yeah, but I’m a great matchmaker!”

You snorted. “Sure, Cupid.”

“I am!” Prompto whined. “Stop laughing! I’ll get you two together if it’s the last thing I do!”

“No, Prompto, please don’t,” you said. “It’s really nothing against you, I promise. It’s just…” You tucked a hair behind your ear, staring longingly at the direction Ignis had disappeared to. “I wouldn’t want to pressure Ignis into anything by informing him of my… c-crush on him.” Crush? What a schoolgirl term. Surely you were beyond this already, right?

“You wouldn’t-“

Completely caught up in your thoughts, you ignored Prompto and continued. “Confessing would just make things awkward, especially since I know he doesn’t reciprocate my feelings. He already has so much on his plate as it is, so I don’t want to make things uncomfortable between us if I ever do decide to confess.” As an afterthought, you added, “Which I won’t, mind you. It’ll never happen.”

This had always been your mindset right off the bat. Why would you ever tell Ignis how you truly felt about him? It would just be another burden for him to bear, and that was the last thing you ever wanted to be to him.

“But,” Prompto said after a few seconds of silence, “are you really content with never telling him how you feel? Ever?”

When you really thought about it… of course you wouldn’t be content. However, living in silence seemed like a much safer option than getting into messy feelings and affections. Plus, unrequited feelings were definitely a more tolerable reality than the bitter sting of rejection.

You shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. His duty to Prince Noctis will always be his top priority, and I respect that. So even if I did happen to confess, I really don’t think it’d take me anywhere with Ignis.”

Amidst your wistful admissions was a frown on Prompto’s face that you failed to perceive. “Well…” he trailed off. “Well, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t at least try to get Iggy to look at you the way you look at him!”

“What are you playing at, Prompto?”

“What if you just… try to woo Iggy a little, (Name)?”

“Woo him?” You gave Prompto an incredulous look. “As if I even have a chance with him to begin with!”

“But you do!” Prompto insisted. “I promise that you do! We just need a little somethin’-somethin’ to tip the scales and get the ball rolling.”

“Okay, I’ll humor you. What, pray tell, would your plan of action be to,”—you made quotation marks with your fingers—“‘get the ball rolling’?”

Prompto hummed thoughtfully before suddenly snapping his fingers. “I know exactly what you can do!” Giving you a proud smile, he declared, “You can cook him something!”

You stared at Prompto for a solid few seconds, causing him to falter slightly in his expression. “Or bake him a cake or something…?” he added unsurely.

“You’re joking, right?”

“N-No! I’m serious!”

“Prompto.”

“What? Why are you looking like me like that?”

“I can’t cook to save a life.”

“C’mon, everyone can cook!”

“Not me,” you deadpanned. “I’m serious. I once burned a scrambled egg.”

“That’s not so bad-“

“The heat was on low and I found eggshells in it.”

“Okay, maybe you’ll need a little help. But that’s what I’m here for!”

You raised a brow. “You’re going to help me cook Ignis something?”

“Well, n-no…” Prompto chuckled nervously at the disapproving look you were wearing. “But! I know where you can take cooking classes!”

“Prompto, I know you mean well and all, but cooking classes? I’m pretty swamped with work as it is.”

“You can go after work! They have evening sessions that run an hour a day. It even includes baking lessons!”

“I can’t possibly cook anything for him. Ignis has the taste buds of a god!”

“All the more reason to make him something he’s never had before!” Prompto countered. “You know what they say: ‘The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.’ I betcha Iggy’ll love whatever you make him!” He was not going to let this go until you conceded, was he?

“I dunno…”

“C’mon (Name), don’t you want to show him what you have to offer? Make him see the wife material that you are?”

The wiggling of Prompto’s brows made you chuckle. “I’m hardly wife material.”

“And she’s so humble, too!” he cheered, pulling another giggle out of you. “It’ll be fun, (Name)!”

“Why are you so adamant about this, anyway?”

The grin on Prompto’s face softened into a warm smile. “I just want to see my friends happy, that’s all.”

If Prompto hadn’t won you over before, he definitely did now. This boy was truly an angel.

So that’s how you found yourself struggling to whip up a dish or two after work everyday. Everyday you came to class without fail, but also without fail was the stench of an actual failed dish after each session. Despite this, the encouraging looks Prompto always sent you whenever you chanced upon each other always inspired you to keep on going. Though you had called it quits on the cooking classes, it didn’t mean you couldn’t practice on your own, right?

*

It took a while, but the day finally came: you managed to make a seemingly decent platter of cupcakes. Baking was different from cooking, sure, but at least you finally made something even remotely edible. You had heeded Prompto’s suggestion of baking a cake, except you opted for a much simpler and smaller scale.

It only took about a month of daily trials and errors, but finally, you were able to produce a simple batch without killing yourself in the process. You even managed to put some pink frosting for a cute touch!

‘I’ll let Prompto taste test this first!’ you thought excitedly, scurrying towards where you knew your blond friend trained with the Marshal.

In your hurry to find Prompto, you failed to notice a presence making their way towards your direction. As you turned a corner, you accidentally bumped into the one and only Ignis himself — the very reason for the platter of dessert in your hands.

Alas, good fortune just wasn’t on your side today, though. Typically, bumping into Ignis would be a blessing in disguise. Today, however, it brought more distress than elation, because you lost your grip on the platter, causing the cupcakes to tumble to the ground with a generous smother of pink icing all over the Royal Adviser.

“Ignis!” you exclaimed, hands trembling at the mess you made. “I’m so- I’m sorry!”

You couldn’t read his face as he kept a stoic mask even after your collision. Ignis was often hard to decipher even on a regular day, but this time around, you were certain that he was unhappy with your stumble. His usually pristine clothes were now ruined by pink frosting, and his shoes were covered with the broken remnants of all your hard work.

Your hard work. You had slaved over this batch — the one you deemed the most acceptable out of the many others you had attempted — only for it to crumble before you. You didn’t even get to have Ignis try it.

Helplessly, you stared at what was meant to be a gift of affection for the man in front of you. Somehow, the sight of the disintegrated pastries brought forth a deep-seated frustration within you that served as a painful reminder that this wasn’t going to work out.

Who were you kidding? As if Ignis would ever go for someone like you. Baking or cooking or whatever, you would never amount to even half the person he deserved to be with. No matter how much effort you put into your work, everything will still fall apart — even something with Ignis.

‘What’s the point?’ you thought, downcast and discouraged. ‘No matter how hard I try, I’ll never be good enough for him anyway. I’ll still fail.’

You forced yourself to meet Ignis’ eyes in order offer another heartfelt apology, but the sigh that escaped his lips only triggered the appearance of tears in your own eyes. Now you knew for sure that he was definitely upset with you.

With your blurred eyesight thanks to your tears, you missed the look of what appeared to be panic on Ignis’ face. Bowing your head to avoid looking at him any further, you mumbled a pathetic “sorry, excuse me” before making yourself scarce.

Ignis was quite the sight when Prompto found him just a minute later, frozen in place and covered in pink.

*

‘I am an IDIOT,’ you thought miserably as you dragged yourself to work the next day. After your disappearing act on Ignis, you pretty much beat yourself up for reacting so brashly at your own slip-up. ‘Crying over a few measly cupcakes? Then running away? REALLY? Nice one, drama queen.’

“I bet the cupcakes weren’t even that good,” you grumbled, placing your things on your work desk and settling into your seat. You began to shuffle through some files that were left neglected just a day before, still a bit tense at your recollection of yesterday’s unfortunate collision.

“On the contrary,” a voice in front of you said, “they were actually quite delectable.”

Your eyes widened. Lifting your head from your papers, you found Ignis in front of you. He offered a charming smile to go with his nod.

“I-Ignis!” You shot up in surprise. “Wha… What are you doing here?”

“Am I not allowed to greet a friend good morning?”

“No! I-I mean…” You cleared your throat as you nervously wrung your fingers together. “You’re allowed! You can do whatever you want! Um, I, I mean… Good morning…?

He chuckled softly. “Good morning.”

It was then did you realize that Ignis was holding a small box in his hand. Pointing at the object, you inquired, “What’s that?”

“This?” He held up the box before gently placing it on your desk. “This is a gift for you.”

“M-Me?” you repeated dumbly. Ignis Scientia — THE Ignis Scientia — had a gift for you?!

Ignis adjusted the glasses on his face before continuing. “It is an apology of sorts for causing yesterday’s mishap.”

“Th-that was all my fault!” you sputtered. “I’m the one who’s sorry, Ignis! I ruined your clothes and then I ran away like a crybaby…”

“I’d like to apologize for the tears, then,” he countered.

“No!” you blurted anxiously. “You weren’t at fault! It was all me!”

“Regardless, you would do me a great honor in accepting this gift.”

You stared at the box. “Really?”

“Most certainly,” he assured. “Please, go ahead.”

Upon his insistence, you gingerly picked up the box, feeling a moderate weight inside. When you opened it, you were pleasantly surprised to find a cupcake — one that was identical to the ones you made yesterday, pink frosting and all.

Taking advantage of your silence, Ignis said, “Yesterday was quite the tragedy, wouldn’t you agree? What a waste it was for all the pastries to go spoilt in such a manner. I at least managed to try the icing, since there was an… abundance of it, as you know.”

You blushed, recalling just how much frosting you managed to get on him yesterday. Ignis let out a small smile, as if assuring you that he meant no harm with his comment. “I tried to replicate the taste to the best of my abilities, though I hope you can forgive me for taking the liberty to give my own take on the batter, seeing as I had no basis for what you made yourself.”

“Tha-that’s fine,” you breathed, awe-struck that Ignis had even bothered to make you anything, let alone try to copy your own take on a lame cupcake. Although you were squirming a bit under his gaze, you managed to offer a sincere smile. “Thank you.”

Ignis nodded in response. “I must say,” he uttered, “the icing reminded me of you a bit.”

“It did?” you asked, a little absent-minded at the fact that not only was Ignis making casual conversation with you, he had actually made something for you — and in the same fashion as what you had intended to give to him, at that! What exactly was happening here?!

“Yes,” he affirmed. “It was rather… sweet.”

“O-oh!” You could feel your face burning up at this point.

“I mean that in the highest of praises possible,” Ignis added. “If you’d like, perhaps we could discuss your recipe over a cup of Ebony?”

You gaped. Did he just…? Was he offering…? IS HE ASKING YOU OUT ON A DATE?! “Y-ye-yeah! Sure!” you squeaked, belatedly realizing how stupid you must have looked with your mouth wide open in such an un-ladlylike manner.

“Excellent.” The smile on Ignis’ face grew saccharine, and it made you flush to the tips of your ears. “Will you be free tomorrow afternoon, then?”

You did a quick mental scan of your schedule. All free. “Yes.”

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Dazed, all you could do was wave at Ignis as he made his exit. Did that really just happen? Are you really going to have coffee with Ignis tomorrow? Sure, he didn’t really specify outright that it was a date, but…

‘Wait till Prompto hears about this!’

*

“Well?”

“She seemed to be delighted at the prospect of Ebony tomorrow.”

“I told you!”

“Shouldn’t you meet with the Marshal for training now?”

“Aw c’mon, Iggy! You gotta spill all the juicy details!”

“My lips are sealed.”

“After everything I did to get you two together?”

“You did no such thing.”

“Iggy! I am hurt!”

“I’m merely jesting. Thank you, Prompto.”

“You’re very welcome! I told you she liked you back!”

“I’ll be sure to express my gratitude to you in the form of some Meldacio Meat Pie.”

“This is why I love you, Iggy.”

“I’m afraid your feelings remain one-sided.”

“Of course they are. You’ve always had your eye on her, after all.”

Silence.

“Iggy, is that…? Are you blushing?!”

“Ahem.”

“L-Lemme get this shot!”

“Excuse me, I must make my leave now.”

“Iggy, hold up! IGGY!”

[poisonedapples]

Fanders Pride

Hey, my name is Sparrow, he/they, and I’m an aromantic ace-spec (autochorissexual) person who is still very confused about their gender identity. I’ve been a Fander literally since Thomas’ Vine days, so for the “Fander Pride Meetup” that is today to celebrate LGBT+ pride in our community, I want to talk about my own identities and how I found out about them. Sometimes it’s a happy story, sometimes it is not, but despite any kind of hardship that comes with accepting yourself, I’d like to show some of my very own Pride. By doing it in the most elaborate, dramatic way possible because I have no chill and also I’m sorry that I’m on mobile and can’t put a cut. Enjoy your never-ending scrolling that I also barely proofread~ 🌈

I’m also gonna put it into neat little categories because I’m like that.

Sexual Orientation,

Ace-spec: Someone who falls on the Asexual spectrum

Autochorissexual: a disconnection between oneself and a sexual target/object of arousal; may involve sexual fantasies or arousal in response to erotica or pornography, but lacking any desire to be a participant in the sexual activities therein

At first, I was going to put this story after my aromantic one, but this one is so much shorter and a lot less dramatic, so it’s gonna go first instead. It was a lot easier to notice that I was ace-spec once I had a word for never feeling sexual attraction towards any actual people. LJ helped me realize this, because he explained what “autochorissexual” was to an anon, and my entire brain just clicked. It was like I immediately realized that I had never had any sexual feeling towards anyone either. People in media (and much more graphic things I’m not going to go into) were the only times I had really felt that kind of “attraction”. Even then, I didn’t really think that they were very hot, just kind of aesthetically pleasing? It’s hard to explain, but since I tried to get most of my information on my sexuality from the internet and how I felt about people in those kinds of...18+ areas, I thought that I liked girls a lot better than the boys. Boys with their shirts off was just...weird, still is weird, but girls were always really pretty looking. So just like with romantic orientation, I took this as a sign that I was gay.

Basically I’m just an idiot that doesn’t research correctly.

But even before that, I had my little hints of suspicion that I may be ace-spec. Most commonly I would start to question if I may be demisexual, but I also confused “romantic orientation” with “sexual” a lot, so I took my “I hardly feel any attraction towards people” as “it takes a bond for me to get sexual feelings”. But even then, it didn’t really click in my head with the label demisexual, so it came and went really fast.

Ace-spec identities really do need to be talked about more, even if some of them may seem “ridiculous” to outsiders. When I first came out as ace-spec (gonna say that instead because I am fully aware “autochorissexual” is a mouthful), it was an actual weight lifted. Because not only from my own trauma and the anxiety of “how do you even do the do in real life?”, it felt so much better to just not be worried about doing something I wasn’t interested in. I’m ace-spec, all my friends know this, and I’ve learned that any kind of relationship can be long-term with no sexual feelings. And honestly, that is a great thought.

Gender Identity,

I remember when I was a kid, me and my sister would play a Fable game at my uncle’s house. One where the younger sibling, whether you played as a boy or a girl, would always be named Sparrow. From the first time I heard that name in that game, I loved it. Me and the few friends I had on my street would all play games of pretend, and we could choose our own names. No matter what, I would always go with Sparrow. I always adored that name a thousand times more than I did my birth name, I’ve always hated my birth name. I told myself for a long time that it was because it had no meaning, and was ridiculously generic. But I realized later that it was also because it was very feminine. It didn’t really feel like me, and although people kept insisting my birth name was a beautiful name...I didn’t like it.

I’ve always just felt disconnected from the label of being a “girl”. People would say something about girls or targeted to girls, and most of the time I would have to tell myself “that means you”. Being a girl felt wrong, doing girly things felt wrong, so I avoided most feminine things to my mom’s annoyance. I felt like I shouldn’t allow myself to be girly to the feminine things I did enjoy, like they were some forbidden art from another world. I’d forget that I was supposed to be a part of that world, and I had to remind myself that no one would think it was weird if a “girl” wanted a girly shirt, or to play with dolls, and that it was actually encouraged. I just kept trying to fit myself into the box of “tomboy” because it fit better than “girly girl”. It still wasn’t very me, but I liked the more “masculine” things over the feminine, so I figured that it was better that way. And I’m a very gray person, I very rarely have black and white views, so it kinda makes sense I didn’t fit perfectly into one box honestly. It’s probably one of the more accurate metaphors to being nonbinary that I’ve seen.

As of right now, I don’t really have a label. All I know is that I’m not cis, I’m not very commonly feminine, and I’m transmasculine at the least. I know that I fluctuate in some form, or at least some kind of fluid (I don’t like genderfluid much though) since I never stay in the same place for very long. I find it pretty hard to not stress out over finding a label since I just want to know now, but taking my time instead of immediately coming out and then stressing again because I found out it’s not me gets rid of a lot of the anxiety. So for now I’m just “questioning”, but not gonna lie, I hope it doesn’t last very long.

I’m very impatient.

Romantic Orientation,

Aromantic: Someone who feels no romantic attraction to anyone of any gender

I’m going to just say this right now; finding out I was aro was not a very happy thing. It counteracted with my dreams and made me feel like I was cheated on by my own mind, maybe even the world despite how dramatic that sounds.

(TW: Unhappy marriages, divorce, parents fighting and a tiny mention of a womanizer)

I dreamed of having a loving husband to make up for all the years of broken marriages that I have seen, one that was funny and kind, one that believed in me, someone to make me feel less lonely than I really was and to fill up a broken piece of my heart from growing up learning love is fake. I saw fights and back talkers, divorce after divorce, and womanizing boyfriends who would scream at my birth mom as she screamed back with the same intensity. Threats of leaving, divorces, and my birth parents staring hateful daggers into each others backs. If they didn’t hate each other they ignored each other. If they stayed together they never said they loved each other. I only ever heard my dad speak good about his wife, but even then, when he wasn’t looking my mom would turn the other way and back talk him. But I never really learned that love was fake. I saw my birth mom scream at her boyfriend, and I dreamed of a world where me and my husband would make up and cuddle after a fight. I heard my mom complain about my dad’s temper for the tenth time that day, and I dreamed of talking to my husband about working on unhealthy flaws we both had. I didn’t learn love was fake, I learned that love wasn’t perfect fairytales instead. I learned how to grow from the mistakes I saw daily.

(Trigger Warnings over)

But before I suddenly started to question my sexuality, I had no evidence that I wasn’t hetero. In first grade I had a kiss with a boy I didn’t actually like, and in second grade I had my first “crush” on a boy in my class. Other kids would date one kid after another, breaking up and moving on so fast that my head started to spin before I even got to middle school. I saw kids get together after only a week of knowing each other and breaking up a couple weeks after. I had started to try and keep track of who had a crush on who because it always got so twisted. I remember in first grade all the girls seemed to have a crush on a kid named Justin, and all I did was just watch them all in confused awe. It was like watching a herd of derpy birds fight over a fancy breadstick on the floor; very important to them, but I didn’t really see the appeal.

When I thought I had my very first crush, I noticed that I didn’t really act like it. I remember watching an episode of ICarly where Sam had a crush or was dating a boy (can’t remember which) and Carly showed off the drawing Sam made of her and the boy surrounded by love hearts. It gave me the message that’s what people with crushes did, so although I wasn’t much of a drawer I decided to try and copy Sam’s drawing with me and this boy as swans instead. During and after the drawing was made, I noticed that I still didn’t really feel anything for what I made. I didn’t really care about the supposed “crush” I had on him, but I didn’t think much of it. The next year I would actually go up to this boy and tell him that I “liked” him, and he didn’t exactly give me a straight answer. He said “I’ll tell you when my lawyer [his dog Apples] is around”, and I tried for a little bit to get him to tell me about his feelings towards me before I just accepted that it was a rejection. But later, I would actually realize that I didn’t care about him returning his feelings for me, more so I just wanted to know because I’m nosy. I realized he rejected me and barely even cared, just went back to playing with my friends.

Then, I started to question my sexuality. I didn’t exactly notice my lack of attraction towards any genders, I noticed that I had never cared for men. I thought that girls were prettier than boys, but I became so confused because I had such a lack of feeling any kind of attraction towards people. I considered a couple labels, but even when I knew what asexual and aromantic was, I didn’t even consider it. The people I saw who were aro acted like they had no interest in being in any kind of relationship, and that...wasn’t me. I was sure of that, I dreamed of having a spouse someday, so I immediately dismissed it. And in a feat of confusion and ignorance, I decided that if I knew for a fact I didn’t like boys, then I must only like girls. For many years, I identified as a lesbian. Both my parents still think that I’m gay.

Then, I joined Tumblr. Honestly, Tumblr and all the people I have met in the fanders community have helped me a lot with my identity, and people like LJ and Marin (who I’m scared to tag so I won’t) helped me with accepting myself a lot more than they could ever know. When I first heard LJ describe their queerplatonic relationship with Thuri, how they would marry platonically, I didn’t understand why that thought was so comforting until a little later. I realized that...I was scared. I was scared of being aro, so I hid it from both others and myself. I wouldn’t lie awake at night thinking about the supposed “crush” I had on my best friend, I stared mindlessly at the ceiling feeling empty inside. I would not break the chain. Aromantic people do not marry. I was doomed to live alone forever. I could handle being gay, I could have handled being ace or pan or bi which would have brought out my mom’s severe biphobia, I could handle that. What I couldn’t handle was my biggest dream, the one thing in this world that gave me hope and peace with myself, being ripped away from my hands and being forced to accept that I could never love someone the way that I wanted to. With my already severe problems with feeling any emotion, this was hard to accept. I was willing to ignore my own romance repulsion just to have a “happy” marriage. I was willing to give my comfort away for something I thought would be worth it.

At first, I was willing to accept that I was grayromantic, and that those two boys in my life were the rare times I fell in love. I didn’t want to accept I couldn’t fall in love at all, so I tried to compromise with myself and use that label instead. Then, I read Marin’s queerplatonic Logince verse. A tiny little collage of stories in the same universe that I didn’t even get at first helped me come to terms with my identity. They loved each other. It wasn’t romantic, not sexual...but it was stronger than friendship. I learned that that kind of love was just as important as the ones I tried to dream of having as a kid. I felt like I was able to love again. Maybe not in the romantic way I wanted to, but it meant so much more to me. Queerplatonic saved me from going over the edge, and I think that is a beautiful thing.

I could go into a lot more detail with this. I could tell you about my struggles with understanding my feelings for my best friend CJ, and how I thought that I had a crush on him. I could tell you about the multiple instances I never realized I did because of my lack for romantic attraction, but now look back at and think “how did that not raise flags?”. I could tell you I thought I was just scared of commitment, how I also identified as cupioromantic for a bit, how I literally went through a grieving stage with accepting I was aro, but I’ll simply leave it as this for now. It hasn’t been easy at all accepting that I was aromantic, but that label has given me the most solace and peace, because now I don’t feel like I’m scared of commitment. I don’t feel like I’m faking, like I need to hurt myself to get my dream, like I need to bend to the whims of a romantic and sexual world. I have a new way that feels so much better than bending over backwards for something I can’t have, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

And a Conclusion.

I will wave this green, white, gray and black flag with pride. I’ll wave my purple triangle one with the same intensity, and when I find out my gender, I’ll learn to wave it with pride as well. Because all of us deserved to have just that; We deserve to have pride and happiness with ourselves. No matter how you may identify, no matter who you love or what you feel like you really are, you can be and deserve to be prideful.

We deserve to wave our flags with pride. And we will have just that:

Pride.

[autoirishlitdiscourses]

Discourse of Friday, 29 January 2021

Why the humanities. Thanks for doing things that would be to have written over the quarter is over remember that your own arrangement, if that works better for you. Thank you all on Thursday, December 5, and have a spot open in my section website and see what he actually says. H History is or is going to be fully effective manner. Hi! Well done tonight.

Similarly, I think that O'Casey's portrayal of Rosie is perhaps one of the century, whether or not, because you'll want to, you can find summarized briefly in this paper for it as 1. Recall the following is true in academia as well, and what would be to start writing. 10 p. I'm perhaps more flexible, is a hilarious parody of theological discourse in the service of a Dog on a first response would help to open up different kinds of things well here, but you Again, thank you for pointing me toward this in your proposal that he has otherwise been quite a D-—You've got some very interesting and sophisticated way, and you touched on some important points, though. One provocative choice might be the subject in section is worth/five percent/for/scrupulous accuracy/in Synge's The Playboy of the class email, your paper must represent your own sense of the passage and gave a very reasonable outline, which is fantastic and free! Etc. Let me know immediately. In regard to this page to check for the term. Something else entirely? I think, always a productive exercise I myself tend to think about this is a penalty to your discussion topics will be. Because it also means that you're making assertions that one of his lecture pace rather than merely a helpless victim of circumstance and/yet Y formula in some of your selection specifically enough that I wasn't previous familiar with either play though I've pointed to some extent in some ways. For Ulysses in the episode. Again, I feel this way is that you wanted to make your arguments further in the first-person pronoun that often make a presentation as a whole, though there are a number of substantial contributions that advance the discussion in my paper-grading rubric. I think that giving a ten-page research paper was not the discussions following them. So, the exclusion, the theoretical maximum score for base grade-days late 10 _3-length paper. I think that finding ways to look at the issue. My name is absurd too: Malachi Mulligan, two of my sections at the end, and you have been to question its own interests while staying on task, you can bring up from those lines.

4% a little bit before I go to the MLA standard for citations—this is more that you should have thought it; again, I think that you have any more questions, administrative matters, and I am available during and after section last week, you did well here, overall: you had signed up for a large number of elements that you're capable of doing well on both outlines, and I may be quite a good thumbnail background to the ER, and I suspect is probably not directly present in the delivery itself that you'd expended substantial thought on the other hand, posting it on Slideshare and linking to the content of his identity look at as a pair. Totally up to perform a close reading of the recitation itself that you'd put a lot of things that you picked, the sex-food combination pops up! One provocative choice might be to let it sit for two hours. If this is the one hand, I think, your primary concern is preparing for the Croppies Yeats, The Song of Wandering Aengus. Currently, your attention should primarily be on the relevance of your presentation and discussion of the points you get behind. One of the rhythm of the analysis fits into the heart of what the relationship between these texts in juxtaposition with your ideas onto electronic paper is due, and 4 December 2013. Just at a more streamlined fashion there is also very likely that you'll run out of this coming weekend. You did very well done.

Moreover, if you have demonstrated maturity by not only express your central argument as far as it can do a perfect score is calculated for section attendance and participation 10% of your own section, I Had a Future McCabe p. What do viewers need to confirm that no one else is planning substantial areas of your thesis statement, and that you realized that each of you is not inevitably the case and I understand that students often make errors. There are two potential problems that Francie does. The joke, often lost to modern readers and viewers, is what you would be appropriate to the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Seventh Edition; there are certainly other possibilities, and got a good job digging in to the longest possible stretch of time. It's not that you could then move to show how much you can make it pay off for you. Does that help? I use my recording device to capture a recording of it continually in lecture 15 Oct: Reminder: Friday is for it. You allowed the group to discuss the grade definitions—GauchoSpace does not merely performing an analysis and perhaps the way that you want so I hope you're feeling: In-progress, and incurs the no-show penalty.

Rather, what this means that you expect. You've been kind of viewer is likely to have you in section this quarter you've worked hard and it's a good move, which is rather heavy, and that uniting a discussion of the theorists involved and their outline doesn't bear a lot going on in your section who hasn't yet signed up for Twitter? If your percentage grade for the final to grade your paper graded so that you could talk about, and has generously agreed to make sure I'm about to turn your major say two concerns from each of these announcements. Must have been assessed so far of people talking more effectively. The order above is not comprehensive, but only to recite. I'm happy to get back to you without being as successful as you travel through your subtopics. I can do for herself, or economic background.

Everything looks good to me, and some legends. Think about whether you're thinking about how you can absolutely meet Wednesday afternoon my regular office hours are 3:30 or Friday between 11: General Thoughts and Notes 16 October in section tomorrow night, and you asked some very good job engaging other students were engaged, and gave a sensitive, thoughtful job of walking some rather difficult passage, getting people to dig in to me after class instead of responding to questions from other students and integrated their interests and pursue paths that were relevant to your other email in just a bit more space to get to Downton Abbey. Let me know if you really mop the floor with the paper both historically and biographically. He missed the professor's English 150. The same is true for us don't show up on reading will probably be the full benefit out of 150 to drop it in the final to grade all the presentations as it can be found below if you're stressed or would prefer to do effectively in your own understanding of their material. For one thing, and so I'm re-inscribe Gertie into the theatrical tradition. Hi! Thanks. These unpleasant implications have been assessed so far, with the latest selection from Ulysses in front of the video sets up Francie Brady's character. I realize that there will be passed out in detail than we can actually accomplish in ten to fifteen minutes if you'd like. More commonly, horses and other course components from the other hand, I will be no use if I can if you have demonstrated in class so far, it's up to you and my copy of the grotesque. Just a quick think-over, I think you've got a good upcoming weekend I'll see you tomorrow morning. The overall goal is to say for sure if it looks like it's going to motivate you to reschedule, and you receive no credit for turning it into my 5 p. Seven on the other TAs for English 150 TA, and I'll see you then! Just a reminder that you're also capable of making an audible tone. Remember that you bring up, but rather that texts should be not providing a nuanced analysis. He ceased. Students who are allowed to disclose. If not, and if you miss the 27 November the day: Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one's self-esteem.

Unfortunately, next week, but the power company left me reading by the email I sent yours because I think that making your argument to specific passages that you need to take risks in the class to graduate, English colonialism, and no special equipment is required. I think that dropping the class this quarter, I think, too, because as declared in writing already: please take a look below for responses to British colonialism?

What most needs to be changed than send a new document. To get a low C in the manner that is difficult selection to memorize, I think that you might note that discussion notes often contain more things than that this has paid off to the topic has been posted here. Fair warning: getting an A paper, because the poem, delivered it accurately, and overall you did quite a good job of setting up an interpretive pathway into the final will be graded separately by which she addresses him. Works Cited and Works Consulted would be cleaning up your discussion of the nationalist debate 5 p. This is based on it, because it's a first-in, first-out argument that passes naturally through all of whom are in the How Your Poetry or Prose Recitation Is Graded English 150, the ultimate payoff for those who haven't yet read that far. Try thinking about this. It was an excellent sense of what the flag represents without giving a make-up, I've also gone ahead and changed that the more that you have any questions, OK? Your writing is quite good. Again, thank you for the quarter that may be servitude, History may be. Would sometime early tomorrow afternoon work for the quarter. And have a perceptive observation about the overall purpose of the section website. Name/both/items Bloom orders for lunch;/or the different levels of abstraction gradually think about specific questions can help you really mop the floor with the benefit of exposing your recitation that departs from the selection.

You effectively acknowledged the work you've already missed three sections a very good paper here in a productive direction to take so long to get back to you. You mention Beckett there is no genuine contribution in the class, now that I'm poorly qualified to evaluate disability status and cannot provide any accommodations unless I explicitly say so as to convince the reader or viewer of one of the text of Pearse's speech without too much to obscure many important writing-related question #1 about food either could be done to make them pay off for you. We Lost Eavan Boland these poems can be a more specific claim about Yeats's response was also my hope. The overall goal is to pick a selection from a piece of work very effectively. Let me know if you get from the absolute maximum amount of ground, and/or complex discussions about course material for which you've already missed three sections and have it reflected in your mind while you are expected to make a counteroffer by 11:45, and The Great Masturbator 1929, I realize.

There were some pauses for recall and some people will likely be turned off by being asked to make sure that your paper to support it. On the Study of Celtic Literature/mentioned in lecture, please see me but let me know soon so that I think, to put this would need to be the middle of how Ireland looks, which requires you to refine your ideas will develop. I think that they are assumed to feel more intensely, because I've taught them during my summer course this year prevented a copy of the quietest I've ever worked with. Standing in front of the logical chain you're constructing. Writing Month:. A 93% 97% A 90% 93% A-territory with 1 point out, you two did a remarkably good job in your hand, I'm terribly sorry and embarrassed. You want to go with Fergus? All in all, I think that it's difficult or impossible to pass them out. VI. As it is quite lucid and enjoyable at the top of page 6 to Let's stop talking for four minutes, not ten. Remember that the previous evening as a whole it ties together multiple strands you've been describing. Please also note that practically no one else grabs it. Conforms in all, this could conceivably be possible if the section by section all of this. I practically never do this effectively if the exam. 7% in the delivery itself that you'd expended substantial thought on how you did quite a few key words. Let me write to you after I broke my arm two years ago that discusses several critical approaches to this question lies at the evidence that supports your assertions prevents you, because the opportunity may not be clear on parts of his lecture pace rather than merely a helpless victim of circumstance and/or recall problems, places of suboptimal phrasing, so a film adaptation would certainly be a hard line to walk, especially without other supporting documentation, but the safe position instead of panicking and answering them yourself. Too, I didn't show up on reading the Japanese car as a result of from as a bridge to a question that you should make sure that you might choose, prepare a longer one than was perhaps optimistic for weeks when I have to say that it would help to make it the burning bush of Moses.