#there were also five exams last summer

[darlingpwease]

me: wow!!! only two exams this winter!!! last winter there were five!!!

six exams and a term paper in the summer:

[cupcakeinat0r]

Your middle-aged, loser Genetics professor who has a dad bod <3

Part 8

Miguel usually starts his day off by preparing a dark cup of coffee immediately after finally peeling himself out the bed. With droopy eyes and a five o’clock shadow, his husky figure stumbles into the kitchen, thirsty for caffeine. As he waits for the machine to do its magic, he’ll maybe run his hand through his dark, peppered, slept-on hair or take a moment to clean his glasses with the fibers of his sweats. Once the cup is prepared, the fresh scent of grinded coffee beans in the air, he’ll lean against his kitchen counter, sipping happily from his world’s best brain mug. He’ll relax for a moment, thinking about the material he’s planned for the day. Once he’s done, he’ll wash his cup, and start getting ready.

He left the suit about three years ago, taking up the job as professor of genetics and biochemistry at around the same time.

He’s been happy with his life here. It’s quiet. It’s peaceful. It’s simple. Everything he wanted. All the domesticity that was missing in his life had been rediscovered once he hung the mask. It’s been the best decision he’s ever made.

He didn’t think things could get better until you came along. This gorgeous, smart, funny, sweet person that had him wrapped around their finger. And given his stature and age, he never would have thought you’d fallen, too.

So this morning looks a little different, and every morning since he’s met you, for that matter.

Miguel gets up from bed faster now, with you on his mind. Once he makes his way into the kitchen for his fix of coffee, he’s reminded of the dream, possibly a pornographic one, he had about you. He’s like a horny teenager all over again, with an ache between his legs that, now, only you can inflict on him, and it’s there every morning.

Miguel now uses the time that it takes for the coffee to drip to shoot you a good morning text, accompanied by multiple heart emojis. And of course, he takes a little longer to get ready in the mornings just because he wants to make sure he looks his absolute best for you.

Today, while sipping on his café, he remembers the conversation you two had. It was when you two had gone to his office after the library. And then he remembered the things he shared with you about his past life; how amazingly you took the dump of lore. Only a higher power would know what anyone else would’ve done or said after hearing things like that. He smiles to himself as he thinks about your one and only question/response to it all:

“Are you happy?”

The response itself was all that he needed to see if his feelings for you were valid, and these feelings have become the strongest thus far. Miguel doesn’t want to jinx it, but he thinks what he’s feeling is something a tad bit more serious than a simple crush, and that both excites and terrifies him.

While he gets ready for the day, he then thinks about the conversation prior to that. He meant everything he said last night about not having sex, but at the same time, he would want nothing more than to show you how much of a good man he can be to you, both in daily life and in bed. Even though he’s hard at the very thought of you, he also wants you to feel safe more than anything. Being with you is far more important than the needs of his dick.

The fact that you’re his student also sort of weighs in as well. Getting caught in a professor/student scandal on the last week of classes before you receive your masters would be disastrous. Thankfully (and surprisingly), no one has been suspicious of y’all this semester.

Honestly, Miguel is just looking forward to Summer, because for him, that means he gets to take you out and enjoy you every chance he gets.

<3

For the last few days of classes, you tend to your exams and Miguel busies himself with his own work. You guys haven’t really been with each other, with the exception of passing each other in the halls. It hasn’t been easy on you at all, and even more so on Miguel. Let’s just say his office door has been spending more time locked than unlocked, and not to score papers. Thankfully, the walls are thick.

The day you take Miguel’s exam is the very last day of classes, and at this point, both of you are antsy to not only see but just feel each other. The tension in the air is thick, the text messages have become spicier, and on multiple occasions have the phone calls been so close to just becoming pure phone sex, but you and Miguel had to keep your distance. Just for this week, and afterward, y’all can do anything you desired. For now, you have to settle for the small touches and occasional eye contact during the exam.

That night when he dropped you off at your place, you half joked about him giving you a perfect score purely out of bias.

“I would never. I take my exams very seriously, for your information.” He responded smugly, his hairy forearm on the door of his car where the window would be. “Besides, you’re far too smart for that.“ His voice softens toward the end of his sentence, that lovesick smile he always gawks at you with on his face.

“I’m serious, Mig. I want an accurate grade.” You match his volume, leaning down onto the car window, face to face with him.

“Mama, I promise. I’m sure you’ll get a perfect score anyways, but on the off chance that you don’t,” he leans closer to, his breath on yours, “Maybe I’ll just have to give you more private sessions during the Summer.” You chuckle against his lips once they meet yours.

“You’re such a horndog.” The words are muffled by his lips and tongue. “Only for you.” He mumbles, unable to keep his mouth off of yours. Miguel really was hot n bothered by you all the time, but honestly, you wouldn’t have it any other way. He’s your little loser after all.

The glances and “accidental” brushing of hands had definitely occurred before and during the exam. Emotionally, it kind of took y’all back to the beginning of the semester, when the feelings were first bubbling. Alas, you had to stay focused. Compared to your peers, you practically flying through it. Even though you spent half the time mingling during them (and making out), the tutoring actually helped in the end.

When it was time to submit your exam, you gave him a knowing look. All Miguel does is give you a smile, but one that was genuine and sweet. One that reassured you in the sentiment that he was going to score you accurately.

At the end of the day, you didn’t even care about what score you got, as long as Miguel nor you get in trouble. That’s all that mattered to you.

<3

It’s later in the day, and you’re in your dorm. Tomorrow is your big day. The day you walk along the stage and take your master’s in your hand; physical proof of your knowledge and hardwork. You were also thinking about Miguel and what he’s up to, but what’s new.

You were thinking about how after your graduation, Miguel will no longer be your professor and you his student. You would just be two people who were absolutely crazy about each other, and you were looking forward to that.

You get a text from Miguel.

Missing my baby. Just thinking of you.

Aw, I miss my big teddy bear, too. What you up to?

Finished about 30% of these papers. Need to take a break, though. What if I came and picked you up?

And go where?

Home

I’m already at home, ya goof

I mean my home, but you absolutely don’t have to. We could go to the library or whatever you want.

No! I’d love to come over.

You sure?

Of course, I wanna see what other books I can steal from you

Only in this for the books, I see. Ouch.

Don’t be dramatic, you know that’s not true

Do I?

You gonna pick me up or not?

Putting my shoes on.

He had you kicking your feet. You were unsure if it was a good idea, but that didn’t stop it from being an extremely enticing one. You were just worried about someone seeing you enter his home, but otherwise, you would love to see where he lives, despite making the deal about not seeing each other until after graduation. This whole time, you’ve only gotten familiar with his office, and that’s only one small part of him. You just couldn’t wait any longer to be near him, and besides, classes are technically over.

<3

“So you’re half spider?” You and Miguel relax in his living room. You scour his book shelves while he makes you a drink. His place is exactly how you imagined it. It’s a balance of sharp and cozy, like him.

“I know, not the most exciting of confessions.” Miguel’s sarcasm seeps through his speech and it makes you huff. Such a sass master.

“I’m being for real. I think that’s amazing and all, but I’m glad you chose to leave that life.” Your eyes are still on the spines of his books when you start to hear heavy footsteps coming your way. He’s just as excited to be near you as you are, if not, more.

“Me, too,” Miguel wraps his arms around your waist from behind, pressing a kiss on your head, “or else I would’ve never met you.”

“Aren’t you lucky?” You playfully comment, getting on your tip toes to kiss him, his pouch rumbling against your torso from his chuckling. “Definitely. Without you, I was starting to lead on a pretty lame life.” Miguel humored at himself. He knew that although going to teach classes, returning back home, and repeat was a pretty peaceful routine, he also knew it could be a boring one at times.

You lean your head back in exaggerated astonishment, “Why would you say that? You’re the coolest person I know, and not because you were spider-man,” you run your hands up and down his chest as you list off his cool factors, “You’re a genius, you’re a family man, you’re funny, you’re also an Austen man, what more could I ask for?”

Miguel looks down at you, his muse, his angel, his everything. “Thanks, mamita. I’m proud to be your choice. Making me feel like the luckiest man in the universe.” You’re enjoying this little romantic banter between you two, and Miguel loves it.

“However, that last one is a secret between us. Can’t have people knowing that their exSpider-Man enjoys classic literature.”

“Speaking of which, have you gotten to the end of pride and prejudice?” You take his hand and lead him to the couch where you both plop down and find a good cuddle position. Miguel is the perfect amount of warmth even though he wore nothing but sweats, meaning his dad build was out in all of its glory. It took everything in you not to pounce on him. Miguel wasn’t much help either. When he’s sitting down and you’re sitting in between his legs and he brings you in close to him to hug you. He’s all kissing your neck and playing with the waistband of your pants with his hand because truly he wants to eat you out so so so bad and is extremely so hard by the intimacy, but he knows tonight is not the night, and so did you.

“I’m not finished yet, but I’m close.” He mumbles against your skin. Miguel was always a master of flipping your switch, this time using the smacking of his plump lips against your supple skin, claiming your neck, shoulders, and jaw as his.

“Mm… y’know what would be a great idea?” you manage to get out.

Miguel stops what he’s doing and braces himself. “Oh God. What?”

“If you read whatever you have left of the book to me.”

“You want me to read it? Out loud?” Miguel finds this cute. You nod your head eagerly, and Miguel was absolutely cooed by the request. “Like I’ve said millions of times before, I love the sound of your voice.”

“Para ti? Claro Que si, mi vida.” And so he went and grabbed the book and his glasses, settling back into his position under you, and began reading in his soft, silky voice. You listened intently, the words falling right out of his mouth, making music to your ears. For Miguel, this was an honor. He’ll take glances down at you and see that you’re in total awe of him, latching onto every word he recites. He hadn’t done something like this since, well, Gabriella.

This is the life he wanted. The life he had been living the past three years had served him well, but Miguel felt it. He felt it was time for another chapter. He was so certain. He’s decided he wants this every night.

Miguel reads on, simultaneously rehearsing what he’ll say in his head. The themes of newfound love and romance of the book was inspiring him. It made the scene all too perfect for the both of you. He then takes a long pause on a page. You can feel his belly hitch. “Everything alright?” You ask softly. “I’m okay. More than okay.” He sounds as though he might get emotional.

Miguel looks away from the book and into your eyes, putting the novel down. You two are in his home, on his couch, cuddling with a book, and the school year has come to an end. Miguel needs to say something and feels it’s time to share it. It’s now or never.

“You,” he began, his voice barely above a whisper, eyes shining, breath steadying,

“I love you.”

The words send your heart rate to oblivion.

“W-what?”

“I love you.” Miguel says this so matter of factly, like he’s never been so sure of something in his life.

You had to make sure what you heard matched what he said and it did. You’ve wondered when he would say it. You would’ve been fine had he done so on the first date! You only have one response to this, and tears well up in your eyes before you can say it, “I love you, too.” You attack Miguel with kisses, and both of you relish in this monumental moment in your blossoming relationship. You’ve finally found the prince to your fairytale.

“I adore you”, “I worship you”, “I’m so proud of you,” and more “I love you”s fall from Miguel’s lips, making the tears well up in your eyes again and your heart swell even more.

Miguel continues to read for you, savoring the special memory you both will now share for a very long time. Sometimes, he’ll just stop mid paragraph just to say it to you again, that he loves you, and you say it back. Both of you are giddy little kids, telling each other how much you love the other, trying to one up each other like it’s a contest. At some point, you can feel yourself start to fall, and Miguel sees it, but he proceeds with the story. The mixture of his lulling voice and the soothing sensation of his rising and falling tummy was the perfect combo for sleep. Once you’re completely out, Miguel turns off the lights by voice command, and lays a blanket over you. He holds you tight against him, as if you could disappear at any moment, and plants a kiss lovingly on your forehead. He whispers ‘te amo, mi vida’ before slumber takes him over as well.

<3

You can feel a light gently shed on your eyelids. You’re not fully conscious yet, drifting between the states of awake and asleep.

Your fingers flicker with life, and you think you feel something rough. Your eyes crack and you’re met with a blurred figure. Your vision focuses and you make out a face, your fingers lingering on the jaw. Your lips curl at this face. The closest thing in view is a pair of dark lips, parted and inspiring deep, low snores. Taking account of their breath, you feel the inhaling and exhaling of his stomach against your front side. You lift your head slightly to get a better view of the person you currently lay on top of. Tousled black hair, dark eye lashes that ornament sleeping eyes, thick brows lacking the tension creases that would otherwise be there, and some missing glasses, which now sit on a side table. The sight was sweet enough to make the coldest heart melt. You take a moment to just observe his breathing, his relaxed state, and start leaving small, ghostly caresses on his face, absorbing each line and shape of his rugged complexion. This is the most vulnerable you’ve ever seen him. You wanna stay in it forever. The outside world finally makes its presence known with a few chirps of birds, and your attention goes to a window and that’s when it hits you: you’re still in Miguel’s place, and you both had fallen asleep on his couch. At last, you gain enough consciousness to realize that, for the entirety of the night, you had been held the same way a child holds their most beloved teddy bear by your exprofessor, now lover.

No, you two didn’t have sex, just like how it had been discussed a few days ago. You were both still clothed, yet, somehow, this feels even more intimate than when y’all eat each other’s faces.

Your attention is stolen back by the snores of the man below you, which makes you stifle laughter. You could honestly lay there watching him for hours. Your eyes glazed over every inch to ingrain the perfect mental image of this soft moment.

A few more seconds pass by before his snoring pattern comes to an abrupt halt and his eyes flutter open, landing on you. His watch goes off in a small, irritable beep. His tired eyes lift as he smiles at the view, despite the noise. This was something that he’s dreamt of waking up to every day.

“G’morning, sleeping beauty,” you softly speak, leaning down for a kiss on his forehead, “You sleep good?” Your voice is sweet, the moment seconds before leaving it honey-like.

“Morning,” his hands that wrapped around your waist unravel and rub your back, “Mhm. like a baby. Don’t think I’ve slept like that in… well, ever.” An early raspiness spills from his lips and its deep enough to make your insides flutter. “Me too.” You reply, gazing into each other’s eyes before sharing one or two good morning kisses on the lips, the second one lingering a couple seconds longer.

“Can you confirm something for me?” You continue, and Miguel raises an eyebrow.

“Was I dreaming or did you say the L-word to me last night?” A giggle leaves Miguel’s mouth. “Yeah, I did, and I’ll say it again.” He says in his low voice. You grin ear to ear, bodies glued together as if they were merging into one. His hands come up to your face tenderly, and with pride, he confesses again,

“I love you.”

A/n: I’m back girlies, did u miss me?

<3Taggies<3

@safixiovi @mukeovernetflix @mochikisses @miguels-cock-piercings @miranexx @bunnibitez @deepdiveintothedeephive @faretheeoscar @sillygardeneggperson @librababe99 @sariespi @little-lovelace @monstersimp @oharasfilipinawife @obi-mom-kenobi @hyjionie @maomaimao @pomakori @pinkhelados @mochimoqa @princesatracionera @queerponcho @walmaerts @froggygal @yaysposts @koko-1025 @kikaaauu @lauraolar14 @anotherprettyprincess @kaidxra @farrowroyale @pigeonmama @exactlyyoungchaos @fayeofthenightingale @s4dow

@hartsucks @amberbalcom14 @wait2nourh @tatooieve @helen-j-magnus @cl3stevu

@mintssanctuary @ghost-lantern @snails-doodles22 @tinythebunni

[ryin-silverfish]

Could you tell us more about fox spirits? or what you know about them? Since the Kitsune is the fox spirit that people popularize the most, information on the Huli Jing is difficult to search for.

*Deep Breath*

Man, oh man. On one hand, I am fascinated by fox spirits, on the other hand, entire books have been written on them (in Chinese), and there are a staggering amount of Qing dynasty fox tales in Yuewei Caotang Biji (阅微草堂笔记) and Liaozhai Zhiyi,(聊斋志异) it's hard to know where to start.

[Previous ask about nine-tailed foxes, the duality of auspicious and demonic, and Su Daji]

Fox spirits, like any other yaoguais, is an animal that has lived long enough and absorbed enough Qi to gain sentience. Through cultivation, they can eventually gain a human form.

According to Tang folklore, they need to wear a human skull on their head while bowing to the Dipper stars/moon, without the skull falling off, in order to transform into a human.

However, foxes are also talented shapeshifters and tricksters who have this reputation for seducing humans, male and female alike.

In earlier legends, that's just their nature, but Ming and Qing tales expanded on that, stating foxes have sex with human to drain their Qi or life force, because they need those to form an Inner Core——an orb of solidified Qi that contains all of their cultivation and life force.

(Usually, it's female foxes seducing human men, because they need some of that sweet, sweet Yang force to compliment their Yin.)

(But some Ming folklore collection said that male foxes also go after guys in the guise of women, while in others, male foxes are just seducers of women.)

(Oh, and there are actual lesbian foxes in Qing legends. Like Feng Sanniang from Liaozhai Zhiyi.)

But one must keep in mind that foxes, like all yaoguais, are not inherently good or evil. For every sexual predator and Daji-like temptress, there exists a graceful scholar, a chill friend, or a lovestruck girl (Liaozhai is full of human-fox romances).

Like, there is a tale in Yuewei Caotang Biji that's just a guy chatting with his 50-60 looking fox associate about how foxes cultivate. When asked why he's so candid about this stuff, he really sums up it best:

"There are good and bad ones among our kind, just like humans. If you humans don't shy away from speaking of human evil, why should I?"

He then proceeds to talk about how legit fox cultivators collect the essence of sun and moon like any regular Daoists, while the ones that seduce human and suck away their life forces are taking a shortcut and inviting heavenly retribution in the form of thunderbolts.

Other Qing legends introduce the hilarious concept that all aspiring foxes must pass an exam organized by the Lady of Mt. Tai, to, well, earn their cultivation permit. Not even foxes are free from the clutches of imperial examinations, it seems!

Still, their old auspicious association does give rise to the archetype of "cultivator/sorcerer foxes", as well as a higher chance of recruitment into the Celestial Bureaucracy.

Which might explain why foxes were so frequently venerated in popular religion. Like, northern China has this thing called the "Five Great Immortals" (五大仙), five species of cultivated animals that people worship:

Hu (胡), Foxes

Huang (黄), Weasels

Bai (白), Hedgehogs

Liu (柳), Snakes

Hui (灰), Rats

When I travelled to the city of Pingyao, Shanxi last summer, one of the sites I visited had a Yuan dynasty building, and its second level is a shrine dedicated to the "Fox Immortal", guardian of the imperial official's seal.

Fun fact: fox spirits have a habit of impersonating Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in Tang dynasty legends. Manjusri and Maitreya seems to be the most popular choice, and in 三遂平妖传, a Ming dynasty novel, "Sagely Old Lady"(圣姑姑) the heavenly fox also impersonates Bodhisattva Samantabhadra.

So imagine my surprise when I actually encountered some foxes next to a highway during the same trip, while visiting Mt. Wutai, Manjusri's sacred mountain!

[yuurei20]

Question, but do you know if anyone has made a timeline for the main game? Like the months that the books take place in, when the unbirthday party was, when was the club fair(or whatever it was called), how long are the winter/spring/summer/fall breaks? Etc etc

I'm pretty sure I'll have to make my own timeline for my fic but if someone else has already made one I can build off it or if not, any info you can give will help lol

Hello hello!! Thank you for this question!

I put together a collection of what months the books take place in (according to the occasional hints we receive from the characters) in response to a question to how often people have been overblotting, and also wrote about a potential reading order (1), as well as a follow up reading order (2), but those incorporate events, so there is some time-weirdness!

For a more straight-forward reference, I believe that this is what we know!

Book 1 takes place at the beginning of the school year, and the beginning of the school year is in September! So while no character says directly, "here in Book 1 it is September," it seems like a safe guess.

Book 2 revolves around the Interdorm Spelldrive Tournament, which Crowley says is in October.

Book 3 is much more vague! We know it begins on the last day of final exams, but that could be anywhere from October to December.

Book 4 starts on the last day of the first semester and ends after school has started for the second semester, implying December-to-January, but I do not think it is ever expressly stated how long the students were away.

The Culture Fair is held in mid-February but Book 5 itself begins "just over a month" before, so early-mid-January seems like a safe assumption!

Book 6 starts "a few days" after the mid-February Culture Fair, the same day that Idia observes that there have been five overblots in less than six months (and then immediately joins the club).

At the beginning of Book 7 the prefect observes that "it's supposed to be spring," but the timing is a little vague! It is presumably sometime between February and May, as there is a Spelldrive tournament in May that doesn't seem to have happened yet.

The question of how long breaks are is a very interesting one! :> I am not sure it has ever been explained anywhere how long the students are away for vacations, and with how NRC seems to be based on a variety of different school systems, it might be best to not make any assumptions yet. Maybe we shall be told someday! :>

[prettyboysdontlookatexplosions]

last week before break!! and it should be a pretty chill one… a last minute cancellation means i have 5 or 6 sessions left, depending on whether this homework help student i may or may not be giving a trial session to comes through, and the only prep i have left is digitizing a single practice test for the hunter exam, although ideally i’d like to get the next one done along with another ACT and some workbook pages so i can hit the ground running in january (and there is that dev work to do….). i’ve been thinking about my idea of setting a goal for hours worked in a year and what i might do with my time in those weeks where i can theoretically get away with doing less and honestly… i might just try to bank some ACTs… it’s such a long fucking test…. although also my one ACT student might switch to the SAT so other things may wind up more pressing lol.

another thing i have been Pondering this week is, i stopped doing a morning routine of any kind because i was so busy and it took so long and i didn’t feel like i had the time, and honestly, HONESTLY, it’s been fine in that i have enough of an internalized routine that i’ve made it through fall mostly doing what i need to do and not even feeling particularly horrible (i checked my time tracking app and last fall i was working less but my mental health was soooooo much worse), so on some level i was like well maybe i don’t really have a use for a morning routine. but i think by now i have come to the realization that if there is anything i want to change, add, or improve…. that’s where the morning routine comes in lol. that’s the value add of a little conversation with myself.

this week was p. good! some quiet productive days at home in which i, most importantly, tamed my room so that waking up in or entering it doesn’t fill me with a wave of despair that requires repression, and also continued addressing the kitchen situation. on friday i saw gladiator ii (fun and denzel is going CRAZY but paul mescal is no russell crowe) & sang britney’s novelty christmas song at a bar that does karaoke fridays (“we all thought we didn’t know this song and then we all realized at the exact same time we did” — two separate people to me afterwards), & on saturday (i did not plan for this) i saw wicked (once again: ariana grande literally deserves an oscar) & got diner food with a friend i hadn’t seen since summer. today i worked & tried to do a little set up for tomorrow & worked out, which i only managed twice this week (my steps were also very low and guess what i have also been having a terrible fucking time falling asleep…. hmmmmmm……..), which means i am finally set to finish this fucking program tomorrow or whenever my legs feel up to hiit day. i am either going to start it straight over because i liked it a lot or do one of her shorter problems while my body continues reacclimating to working out until i can get on a five day schedule again… will depend on how i wake up the next couple days lol. other than that, try to get in a couple more amnesty blurbs (i’ve managed 4 so far which is a little less than i wanted but oh well…), keep it chill for week 15, and… maybe bring back the morning routine? as an experiment to start seeing what feels good right now so by january i have a plan? maybe! we’ll see.

[maryjane888]

On the stump (h.s.)

Part II

Two weeks. Only two more weeks and the semester would be over. It's hard to fuck it all up in only 14 days, but not impossible. Y/n was not going to allow herself to lose focus being this close to her dreams. She had it all planned on her journal and in her meticulously curated vision board. She was going to finish all her grading this week and give Mr Morris a highly detailed lesson plan for next semester like none other. He would recognize her hard work and send that recommendation letter to the UN offices. She would reserve the last week to focus on her last exam. Acing that was a guarantee. By the start of the summer she would receive her congratulations email, making her an official UN intern. A celebration was obviously going to be arranged with her friends and family. Then, the search for an apartment and logistic details would occupy the rest of her summer. By the beginning of fall, y/n was going to be on her cozy new place in Vienna working at the UNOV. There was no room for failure.

Y/n kept thinking about the strange interaction she had with that man Harry and Mr Morris. She decided not to question her professor about it. She didn't want to come off as intrusive. If he felt like it would have been important for her to properly meet him, then he would have formally introduced them that day. Who was he, anyway? Not a student of his, at least not a current one. Y/n was also almost sure he wasn't teaching there either. He looked to young for that. Maybe they were relatives? She decided she needed to go somewhere public in order to continue her work and feel the pressure of strangers to stop herself from wondering about silly things.

…

Y/n's plans came true. Although it did not surprise her, she always felt the warmest sense of fulfilment when she got the things she most wanted. Receiving tight hugs and numerous praises from her family and few friends, recognizing her hard work and high achievements, was definitely one of her favourite things in life. Y/n thrived on that; it gave her purpose.

When she got to Vienna, fresh out of Schwechat Airport, she had never felt so free. She opened the taxi's window and let the crisp air travel to her lungs, as she contemplated her new home for the next 9 months. Y/n carried her two large suitcases up the stairs to her small studio with the help of the taxi driver. There were lots of things to do now. Unpack everything, clean and tidy up the place, buy some decorations, groceries, get familiar with public transportations and timetables, learn the itinerary to UNOV. She did all that during the weekend prior to the start of the internship, and she also got a little time to explore the fun places in the city. She couldn't wait to make friends and hang out with them.

On Sunday night, as y/n was planning her perfect first day outfit, she began to feel her dinner turn into knots in her stomach. She wondered if the job would meet her expectations, if she was good enough and if she would get along with her colleagues. Y/n hoped things would run smoothly. She hoped she would enjoy it. Y/n tried to remind herself that not everything was under her control. She could only show up with a friendly smile and trust her capacities, and not be afraid to ask for help. Perfection was not something she should be expecting this early. Awkwardness was a part of the process of being successful. Y/n would do her best, and everything else would come to her.

She repeated these mantras as she arrived to the foyer. One of the secretaries at the reception guided her to a meeting room where she would meet the other interns and get familiar with the tasks she would be given. Y/n took a deep breath before entering, grounding herself to the moment. First impressions were everything.

There were five people sitting and two other standing side by side at the top of the table.

"Good morning. You must be Y/n." One of the women standing smiled at her. "Good morning. Yes, I'm Y/n". She smiled back at her and at the other eyes examining her.

"Welcome. You can take a seat. We will start the presentation now since everyone has arrived." Y/n sat down and checked the time. She was 15 minutes early. All the others had arrived before her. Mr Morris had warned her about this. She would be working with the best students at their universities. A group of overachievers. And she was the last one to arrive.

The presentation was divided by the two women. They were friendly and made sure the interns were comfortable. The activities didn't seem too difficult to y/n. Challenging, yes. But not discouraging. She felt motivated to start working.

"You will be attributed a tutor. Your tutor will be the one responsible for giving you your specific tasks. These tasks will concern mostly his work and position , although you can perform activities in any field of the UNOV. Your tutor will be someone with experience inside these offices. If you need any help, you should go to him. You will meet them now."

They ended the presentation and gave the interns the names and offices of the people responsible for them. Y/n looked at the printed sheet in her hand. Mr. Styles, office 33D. While she waited for the elevator, she read the brief description presented below. He was a Junior Professional Officer on Drugs and Crime. He had held that position for the last four years. She took a photo of his e-mail and schedules for easy access. Drugs and Crime were not her favourite fields, y/n preferred the Environment Programme. She even highlighted that during her interview, thinking she would be a lot more valuable to that department. Y/n tried to not look disappointed as she knocked on the door to his office. 33D.

“Come in.” As she opened the door, she stopped in her tracks, confused by the man sitting at the desk. Y/n couldn’t speak when she locked eyes with him. He didn’t seem to be surprised. “You can close the door now and take a seat.” Harry looked almost annoyed at her lack of action and words. Boy, how the tables have turned.

Y/n took a seat. Is this a joke? “I’m Harry Styles, your tutor.” Her tutor had seen her in her bra. “You’re- “ He raised and eyebrow at her loss of words. He was unimpressed. “I’m your tutor”. Was she hallucinating?

“We have met before.” Y/n made it sound more like a question than an affirmation. He broke the eye contact and took a deep breath.

“Yes, we have. We shouldn’t have. Specially in those circumstances. So, let us forget about it.” He clasped his hands and leaned a little forward. “I won’t be giving you a lot of work today. I’ll call someone to show you the department. You’ll get familiar with your intern colleagues later.” Y/n felt like he was trying to get rid of her. He wouldn’t even look her in the eye. “You can wait in the floor’s lobby.” Harry started to type on his computer, completely ignoring her. “You can go now.”

Y/n wanted to cry of frustration. She couldn’t believe she would be stuck with him for the rest of her internship. She wouldn’t ask for another tutor on her first day. That would make her look too demanding. She would wait a few weeks to ask for that. In the meantime, y/n would have to find a way to cope with this annoying man.

…

Three weeks had gone by, and y/n wasn’t happy. She had gotten familiar with two other interns, and they had even gone out for a couple of drinks in the city. She was really enjoying her cozy studio and her neighbours were quite friendly. Things were doing well except for the main reason she was staying in Vienna. Her job. Harry was giving her tasks that could be given to a 12-year-old. Go print these. Go get me a black coffee. Go give Mr. What’s His Name this file. And those were the few things she would do for him, because most of the time he would just send her off to watch some old documentaries about drugs in some empty tiny office. It was supposed to broaden her horizons on the matter. She was like a dog to him. Fetch, fetch, fetch. Sit there and do not disturb me. All day. Every day.

Y/n was losing her motivation and most importantly her mind. It was impossible to maintain sanity around that devil of a man. She had an exquisite curriculum. She had an amazing interview. She was chosen for her hard work and excellency. She could not tolerate this any longer.

So, on Monday morning, Y/n decided she would confront him about the tasks she was being given. And if he did not change the types of activities he planned for her, then she would ask for another tutor.

She looked at the reflection in front of her. Y/n didn’t particularly have the most threatening face. Her features were childlike. She just hoped her makeup would make her appear older and more serious. Fingers crossed for that smoked liner. After freshening up and giving herself a pep talk in the bathroom, y/n strode to 33D with determination.

“Good morning, Mr. Styles.” I felt weird calling him that. But it would also be bizarre to call your superior by his first name.

“Morning.” He barely even noticed her, preferring the sight of his computer screen.

“I would like to talk to you, if that’s possible.” Y/n tried to discreetly wipe her sweaty hands to her trousers. “Sure.” Not even a glance. Great.

“It has to do with the assignments you have been giving me.” He stopped typing “What about them?” Y/n cleared her throat and continued. “They’re not quite like the types of activities that were described to me during the internship presentation.”

“So? I don’t see the problem. I am not obligated to give you the exact same chores.”

“I understand, but the problem is that these chores are not very challenging. A child could do them.” He raised an eyebrow at her. He was not happy.

“Mr. Styles, I have skills and knowledge that could be very helpful to the department. I am not here to fetch coffee. All the other interns have been doing tasks that are far more interesting than the ones I’ve been given.” Maybe that was too much.

Harry got up from his chair and slipped his hands in his pockets and gazed at her for a minute before speaking. “Fine. I’ll give you more interesting tasks.”

“Oh.” Was it that easy? She should have complained sooner. “Thank you.” Y/n felt relieved at his answer. It wasn’t as bad has she thought it was going to be.

“You’re dismissed for the rest of the day. I’ll have to plan other errands for you.” Y/n swore she almost saw a glimpse of amusement in his eyes. Was he a mad man?

…

That morning, despite the heavy rain and dark grey clouds, y/n woke up on the best mood. If felt like her first day of work. She felt motivated again, knowing that she wouldn’t have to do the job of a secretary and actually or at least potentially do something fun.

On her way to the offices, she received and e-mail from Harry telling her to meet him in the lobby. They would be working somewhere else today. Y/n grew happier, not minding the fact that she forgot her umbrella at home. The walk from the bus stop to work wasn’t long anyway. Harry spotted her the moment she arrived. The girl with the dripping wet hair and a big smile on her face. She’s weird.

“You’re going to be sick. Go to the bathroom and try to dry it out before we go. Be quick.” She didn’t mind his moody demeanour as long as he didn’t ask for another one of his black coffees. Y/n used some toilet paper and the fancy hand dryer to help her look a little better. Her hair was more voluminous and had soft waves due to the humidity. She also looked a bit flush from the walk and the heat of the dryer. Y/n looked like she had just made out with someone. Not very professional.

They rode together in his car to the place where they would be working. The place in question was still a mystery to y/n. Better not bother him with any questions. It was a miracle alone that she was doing something different.

For some reason, Harry kept glancing at her. Did she look too bad? She wished there wouldn’t be someone too important wherever they were going. She noticed a few planes flying low. They were close to the airport.

He parked the car in front of what seemed to be an old warehouse. A very big one. Was she getting kidnapped? He probably got tired of her and decided he wouldn’t tolerate any interns for any longer.

“Where are we?” To y/n’s surprise, Harry opened the door for her. He showed his ID to the security guard that was standing near by and motioned her to follow him.

“This is where the Austrian federal police investigate drug smuggling and other cross-border crimes.” They walked side by side through a long dull corridor. Then he opened another door to a small dark room with a two-way mirror that allow them to see another one. A classic interrogation room.

“The UN tries to make sure that all the fundamental rights of the people being investigated are protected. Even if they are criminals. The department believes in a more humanistic approach to deal with bigger social problems.”

Two other men entered the room and greeted Harry. “This is y/n. She’s here for some field work.” They offered her warm smiles. Y/n didn’t exactly feel at ease, being in a small room with three other men in a random warehouse. She did always want to work in politics though. And politics were dominated by men.

“They’re about to bring him in.” One of them said.

“Who are they bringing?” She whispered to Harry.

“Just watch.”

A woman with a navy uniform entered the questioning room. “Polizei” was written on top of her right shirt pocket. This woman stood there waiting for something. Another man entered the room accompanied by a security guard. He was probably in his mid-forties.

As soon as he sat down, the officer started the interrogation. At first, she almost seemed friendly to him, but after a few minutes she was slowly becoming more serious. One by one, each question provoked the suspect just a little bit more, gradually tormenting him. With his cuffed wrists laid on the table, y/n could see how white his knuckles had become from how hard he was curling his fists. He was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

All of a sudden, the alleged culprit, who had remained perfectly still until now, got up from his chair abruptly, making it fall sideways to the floor. The loud sound made y/n jump slightly. Harry did not move an inch, nor did the two other men by her side.

Then, the suspect managed to hit the officer and make a long cut across her cleavage with his shiny cuffs before the security guard could get a hold of him. Y/n hadn’t even heard the question that made him lose his mind. The only thing she could see was the crimson that was spreading through her chest. She started to feel faint.

“I’m not feeling well.” Y/n grabbed Harry’s shirt for some support. “I need to get out of here.” He noticed how pale she was. The flushed cheeks from minutes ago totally drained. Harry immediately helped her out of the room. She noticed the two other workers were no longer there. When did they leave?

Harry made her sit on the floor of the corridor and grabbed a cup of water from the machine nearby. “Drink” He squatted in front of her, eyes on the same level, and gaze at her, making sure she didn’t pass out. “Are you okay?” Did he look concerned?

“I’m better.” Y/n rested her head on the wall and handed him the plastic cup.

“What happened? Did you eat breakfast?”

“I don’t like blood.”

“Oh.” Y/n took a deep breath to try to relax and forget that awful image from moments ago.

“What happened?” One of the men from earlier returned. A confused look on his face. “We’ve managed to control the guy. Is she okay?”

“Yeah. Just some low blood sugar it’s all.” Harry gave him a tight smile.

“Was it because of the scene in there? Didn’t she pass the training?”

“Don’t know. Everything’s fine now. Sorry for the trouble.” He dismissed his colleague too quickly for y/n to protest. She still felt weak.

“What training? What did he mean?” They were alone in the grey corridor now.

“It’s nothing. Let’s go back to the offices. “ Harry wouldn´t look at her. “This was a bad idea.” He murmured to himself.

“No. What did he mean?” Y/n was irritated now. What was he hiding from her?

“It’s nothing, y/n, let it go.” He tried to pull her up, but she fought against him.

“No. Tell me now!”

“Fine!” Harry got up exasperated. Fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. “People who observe these interrogations are supposed to take a stupid course on how to deal with violent situations.”

“What? Why did you bring me here then?”

“I didn’t know you would react like that!” Y/n couldn’t believe he thought this would be a good programme. Harry was the worst. He made her miserable. He was irresponsible and selfish. She had come to her final straw.

“I’m going to ask for another tutor.”

“What? You can’t be serious.”

“I’m very serious. You don’t know a thing about tutoring. I haven’t learned any thing with you these past weeks.”

“You will not ask for another tutor”. Harry lowered himself again and pointed a finger at her, an angry look in his eyes.

“Try me.” She had gained her colour back. The anger had awakened her.

“For fuck sakes, y/n.” Harry didn’t know what to do. He didn’t think she was this displeased. He thought she would be happy with the simple chores he gave her. That was stupid of him. It was also stupid to have brought her there.

“I’m sorry.” Harry let a heavy sigh leave his lips in defeat. “I shouldn’t have brought you here. I’ll be a better tutor.”

Y/n couldn’t believe what she had heard. “How can I trust you? Why do you even care that I might want another tutor?”

“It doesn’t matter why. I’m offering what you want, isn’t that enough?” She eyed him with suspicion. “At least think about it.”

“Fine.” Y/n gave in as well. He looked relieved.

Y/n got up slowly but still lost balance. Harry immediately snaked an arm around her steadying her by his side. They walked together towards the exit. Y/n couldn’t help but blush at the close proximity.

She was at least a foot sorter than him. While admiring his jawline and messy curls, her heart was beginning to beat a little faster. Y/n tried to remind herself that he was still her tutor.

“I’ll take you home.”

[the-way-astray]

Broken heart/Broken mind: Strieefe Crack Edition

(Very important too keep that as the tag cause if not it might end up mixed with the normal fanfic on here 😭)

Also just pretend Sophie doesn't exist in this universe

Sense thus was originally a sokeefe fic and all I'm doing is swapping names around your parents are now Grady and Edaline

Deal with it

(Context: thus was actually the first chapter of the fic and I figured that it's kind of important for you to have this since it's actually a huge part with the concept about these medical conditions)

Also ik the sharing the room part probably isn't accurate but it's gonna be this way for convenience

The nurse led Stria and her parents into the hospital room that she'd be staying in. She clutched the bright blue elephant in her hands. Edaline patted her back, urging her forward. She stood right where she was and shook her head.

For the past several months, Stria had been passing out at random. The doctors later identified them as seizures.

They were freaky when they happened. Her vision would tunnel out and her tongue would tingle. When she'd come to, her head would pound. Her little four year old self found it extremely hard to communicate what was happening and her feelings after an episode.

The most she could do was cling to her parents and cry as her brain would pulse against her swimming skull and her heart rate left its hummingbird pace.

Lots of medicines and brain scans later, and no one could identify the cause or the remedy. So now, here she was, being forced to spend her summer before kindergarten stuck in the hospital.

Stria clung to Grady's hand as she peered up at the nurse. "You said I'd be sharing a room and I wouldn't be lonely."

"You are. Your little buddy is just asleep right now." She pointed to the closed privacy curtain on the other end of the room. "He came back from a few exams a bit earlier, so he's tired. You'll get to meet each other soon enough."

Stria shuffled further behind Grady, but nodded. She was led to the bed. The nurse placed an IV to her wrist. Sophie whimpered.

After the nurse left Grady and Edaline explained how they'd be back in a little bit. They had to go talk to her doctor for a couple of hours to know how her hospital stay was going to work.

Then, she was alone again. Although, with the silence, she was able to hear her roommate on the other side of the room. His slight snore was muffled by what sounded to be a whoosh of air. She wondered what his name was.

Thirty minutes later, she got her answer.

She heard rustling on the other bed and a few struggled grunts after the snoring had ceased. There was a slight frustrated whine, then the sound of a few buttons being pressed and a bed adjusting. Another button click, and the privacy curtain started to slide open.

When the curtain had fully opened, it revealed a blonde blue eyed boy, appearing to be close to Stria's age. The whooshing air turned out to be an oxygen tube that was attached under his nose. Stria had noticed he was hooked up to considerably more machines than she was, including an IV, oxygen, heart monitor, and other different wires she didn't know did what.

In his drowsy daze, he didn't recognize her presence. His eyes continued to droop before he turned his head to her. His eyes widened. He tried to sit up, but only managed a wince.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her.

She smiled at him. "I'm your new roommate!"

His lips twitched up. "Well, hello then! I'm glad not to be sitting on my own in here anymore. I'm Keefe."

"I'm Stria!" She giggled. She pointed to all of his wires. "What are all of those for."

He shrugged. "I'm honestly not sure what they do." He looked down at the wires. "I think something to do with my heart."

"That's cool. Mine are for my brain." She pointed at the stickers on each temple. They'd been applied by the nurse before left. "How old are you?"

"I'm five." Keefe held up all the fingers on one hand. "My birthday was last month. You?"

"Four, but my birthday is in August." She shrugged.

They continued to talk together until Sophie's parents got back. By then it was already getting dark. Grady and Edaline walked into the room.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here," Edaline mussed.

Stria turned to her parents. "Hi," she told them.

Grady kissed the top of her head. "Hey, Kiddo." He gestured to Keefe. "Who's that?"

"That's my new friend, Keefe!"

Edaline chuckled. "Well that awesome sweet heart. We just wanted to come check up on you before heading home and ready for bed. Unless you need us to stay?"

Stria glanced at her new friend then back to her parents. She flashed them a smile. "I'll be ok."

"Alright, baby girl. Love you." She leaned down to kiss her cheek.

Soon after her parents left, another nurse came in with dinner for both her and Keefe. It was mac and cheese. When it was time to settle down to sleep, the nurse came back in and looked over the both of them. He told Stria if she needed anything or had another seizure, to press the button on her remote. He also showed her how to adjust the bed and use it to change the channel on the TV.

He went to Keefe, following her, adjusting his oxygen tube and changing out his IV bags, which were almost empty.

The nurse, which she learned was named Elwin, flicked off the light and told them goodnight, leaving Stria and Keefe alone.

She wanted to keep talking, but Keefe was already pulling the covers over his shoulder. He grabbed onto a green anteater looking stuffed animal that was previously lost in the sheets and muttered, "Goodnight."

She echoed her response. Not sure what else to do after Keefe started his snoring again, she also settled under her blankets.

honestly, i don't really have a lot of commentary. this is less cringe than normal so. idk what to even say

"Stria shuffled further behind Grady, but nodded. She was led to the bed. The nurse placed an IV to her wrist. Sophie whimpered." SOPHIE MISTYPE SPOTTED

honestly i fully have no other commentary. half of the shit here feels inaccurate to me, even at age five, but also like. that's because this used to be a sokeefe fic. so. uh . . . nice fic? you've definitely improved at writing since this, that much i can tell. nice job

[inkofamethyst]

December 26, 2024

Home. Healed.

My only stressor right now is the qualifying exam for which I am quite literally counting down the months. Only five more until it's over for better or for worse (I can't stop thinking about that time I choked a big competitive presentation in eighth grade ugh uhg ughhghhghh). But I have to prepare it. And defend it.

My parents do not think I am serious about Bicolline nor do they believe I will actually enjoy it. Specifically due to the camping aspect. I think that with a nice enough tent and plenty of bug spray I will be just fine. Frankly the most difficult part wont be the costuming or travel logistics or even the cooking, but learning passable/basic French in a year and a half. Yuck. I realized recently that a good bit of my spanish listening comprehension is just completely gone which does not bode well (I think reading is still okay though). Luckily I am friends with french speakers (and I think it'd be really really funny if I somehow picked up their accents) with whom I can practice.

Bought my comic con ticket. I think I'd been putting it off because of my uncertainty around whether I would pass the qualifying exam. I am still largely uncertain. The future feels quite nebulous to me right now..

But comic con! I am officially devoting time to cosplay-building. I want to have at least one for the main day, and I will commit to dark-haired characters exclusively if I add another one or two for the other days (need to watch Arcane s2 but Mel could be a great one). I do have some favorite redheads that I may do another year if I enjoy the experience (may also do a blonde year though the only blondie I'm interested in right now is Stephanie Brown). Anyway I'm pretty excited to go all three days; last year's workshops and events sounded fun, and I definitely won't feel rushed to see everything all in one day. I'll see if any of my friends are at all interested in tagging along for a day or two.

It'll be a packed summer especially if I'm also learning an instrument.. agh.

Today I'm thankful that I didn't, like, majorly crash into my grandmother's garage, heh. And that the cost to repair it wasn't insane. It's now a bit dented, sure, but hey, it's functional now. And, besides, I was driving for the first time in months and didn't have a backup camera. So yeah. Thankful it wasn't worse, thankful I managed to arrange its repair within only a few days, and thankful that I was harder on myself than any of my family members were, heh.

AND THANKFUL TO BE HOME :D

and and thankful that the dentist said that I was doing a good job with my teeth (despite the mostly unfixable crossbite which is annoying)

thinking about speedrunning one last book before the end of the year..

[lainternet99]

ENTRY #27

I come unto thee, just a few minutes before the clock strikes twelve!

Today my day was fun. In my humanities class, the teacher had us do a pop quiz in the style of the game show called Jeopardy. We were divided in four teams of five and because of me, we won against another team by just 20 points! Our teacher will give us each 1% extra in our exam, from what I understood. I don't understand why it's so little, but hey, I'm not complaining. I was rather happy; a lot of people in the class were impressed by my knowledge! It's not that I pay attention in class (I really don't), it's just that I naturally like these kinds of things... Ancient Greece, philosophy, medieval era, these are all things right up my alley... More or less.

After class, I went to join my brother who had just finished class as well. He got himself food then bought me a pretzel. I gave him a few pieces and kept the rest to myself. I love pretzels. He had the car keys, so instead of taking the bus, we drove home. It was very fun. I kept listening to "Chop Suey!" by System Of A Down, but mostly for the part that goes "Father! Father! Father! Father into your hands, I commend my spirit....." I just LOVE that part. I feel like I'm witnessing a heavy metal rendition of the Crying Mary statue. I can't explain it. Or maybe it's just because I love christian lyricism and art. I'm not christian myself, but I still can't help but find myself adoring the art related to it. It's very beautiful.

Tomorrow, I have a hebrew exam as well as my audition for the role of Helena from Shakespeare's "A Midnight Summer's Dream". I practiced a bit with the hebrew alefbet just to familiarize myself and I have also practiced my lines for tomorrow. I still have a small part left, but my audition is at 5:30 P.M and my last class finishes at 4 P.M, so I have an entire hour and half dedicated to simply rehearsing. I can have myself memorize these few lines in less than ten minutes if I commit to it; which I will! I have no choice; I'm passing first for the role of Helena, which is major and very demanded, so I must set the bar high! Not only must I memorize it well, I have to put tones, an accent, and gestures! I pray that I get the role... she has long monologues and I am just a sucker for that kind of thing when in theatre!

RATE OF THE DAY: 10/10

—— lainternet99

[billycorn]

Babe come quick, Billycorn just dropped the most insane lore about himself in the tags of a reblog game I tagged him in—

On a more serious note, holy smokes, you're studying marine biology??? You've raised honeybees??? My guy you can't just drop these pieces of trivia and dip.

What's your favorite thing about studying marine bio?

Do you have a top five list of marine animals you like?

Do you have a favorite ocean zone (or level / depth range— I can't remember the proper term for the different depths of the ocean)?

What was your experience raising honeybees like? Did you learn anything neat about bees at large, or even just your hive(s) in particular?

Would you recommend raising honeybees to hobbyists, with your experiences in mind?

Do you have any tips for someone wanting to start out in beekeeping? (If you can't tell, I'd love to get into beekeeping, even just as a field of research, hehe. I'm not in a place to have a physical hive anytime soon)

One last question— you mentioned liking hot chocolate. Do you have a favorite mix? And do you like to add things into it, like whipped cream and cinnamon, or a peppermint cane to stir it with? If so, what do you like adding?

I really like this ask because it gives me the opportunity to "drop these pieces of trivia and dip." That said, I'm gonna give a bunch of information no one asked for, because why not? (You opened Pandora's Box)

For context, I grew up on a small farm in the Australian countryside, a little ways from a major city, and we had a lot of animals, including: Dogs, Cats, Turtles, Doves, Chickens, Guinea Fowl, Peacocks, Guinea Pigs (who I am very allergic to), Cows, Horses, and Fish. One time, I found a Fox pup who'd gotten separated from it's Mother so I cleaned it up and took care of it until the local Forest Rangers could come pick it up. I swaddled him in a blanket and he started purring (I didn't even know foxes purred, it was a little different to a cat's purr), and he's held an honorary place in my heart since. Hope you're doing well out there, Junior!

Now, for the BEES. I don't have too much to say about them because they were largely self-sufficient. I helped build the hive (we just had the one) and put it in a sheltered spot, to protect from bad weather. After that, we moved the colony in and let them do their thing. We got the colony in Summer so they had plenty of time to build up their honey reserves before winter, when they'll eat a lot of it. The first cycle of seasons, you don't harvest any honey because the hive needs time to establish their honey stores. Also, it's good to be aware of any diseases present in nearby hives, in case there's any cross-contamination.

Raising the bees is my Dad's hobby, I just helped set it up and then stand back and watch as he gets stung harvesting the honey because he refuses the wear the bee suit. More than once I've been outside and seen him go sprinting past with a bunch of angry bees chasing him. The honey was delicious though.

If someone really wants to get into Beekeeping, I'd say go for it, but if you're not certain, then hold off. Also, research the different types of hives before you get one - mine is a flow hive. Fun fact, the demeanour of the Queen effects the colony. If the Queen is aggressive, the colony will be aggressive and more likely to sting. If the Queen is placid, you'll have any easier time.

Okay, onto Marine Biology! In Feb, I moved out of home, several hundred kilometers away to study Marine and Antarctic Science, majoring in Marine Bio. It's been a massive few months. I'm almost finished 1st semester (2 exams left, wish me luck) but I'm still pretty early into the course.

My favourite thing about Marine Bio is just how much there is to learn. I'm curious by nature and the oceans are filled with things to learn about that I never would have guessed. I was flabberghasted when learning Starfish are considered invasive pest species in some parts of the world.

Favourite Ocean Zone, I'm most comfortable on the Continental Shelf, but the Hadal Zone is the coolest. The deeper you go the weirder the sea life gets and I just think that's neat.

Top five marine animals:

Turtles (any and all) (Also, Carracosta is one of my top 5 favourite Pokemon)

Coelacanth

Handfish

Nautilus

Platypus

And finally, Hot Chocolate! My favourite mix is Jarrah, a few teaspoons, boiled water and some milk, maybe a marshmallow on the side. I haven't tried adding things like Cinnamon or Mint, but I'm thinking I should now.

[hueylengyong15]

The top five Amusement Parks that I planned to go to in the future:

Escape Theme Park in Paradigm Mall:

Two years ago, before the start of my Senior year, we wanted to plan a trip to Escape after finishing our final year exams. However, this idea failed because the other students from another campus had booked a trip earlier to enjoy the last day of the second term.

I was sad that we could not go on a field trip with our class due to the online classes that were conducted by the teachers in Canada. It was also a bummer as we were getting bored in class, we would always use our laptops to entertain ourselves.

I did not go to Escape last year because I had to finish many assignments and do the final exam before the deadline that my lecturer gave me. This made me super stressed out because I wanted to go out with my friends instead of being stuck at home doing nothing after finishing my assignment.

2. Genting Skyworlds:

This was another outdoor theme park outside of Selangor that I had not been there since almost fifteen years ago, ever since my first trip to Genting Highlands back in March of 2009. I initially wanted to plan another trip to my childhood place since they have Bluesky movie franchises such as Rio, Epic, and other attractions related to films and television shows.

In June of 2022, we wanted to go on a day trip to Genting, but some rides did not open yet due to the soft opening and some plans in the future. The date was pushed back to this year due to many assignments this year.

Before the second-semester break ends, I hope there won't be a long queue when I try out the attractions as planned. As for the indoor theme park, next time when one of the lecturers hosts a field trip, we could all have fun after the final exam ends.

3. Super Nintendo World in Osaka, Japan: As I heard about this place on Facebook, I researched their website online on what attractions would be there for me to try one day when I go on a holiday break to Japan. When I saw some pictures on the website, I found out that there was a real-life Mario Kart for me to ride on.

I heard this park would have a meet and greet session with Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach once you enter the park. As mentioned by the staff members, this place allows you to take pictures which allows me to keep them in my photo album or have them printed out in the souvenir shop. I also wanted to try all of the food at Nintendo World, so I could show my friends what I enjoyed the most.

4. Adventure Waterpark Desaru Coast: This waterpark has five different themed areas ranging from Shipwreck Reef to Penawar Falls. In 2017, I asked my parents to bring me there to this place during the summer break after the exams were over. However, my dad said it was too far for us to go because we had to stay at the hotel overnight and this wasn't the right time for him to go out with me because he had work to do in the office then.

I dreamed of trying the Kraken's Revenge Water coaster as I have never ridden on a rollercoaster on the water before. Presumably, next year if the last day of the semester is over, then we could all take a trip there and have some fun in the sun to take away all of the assignment stress in all of our classes.

5. Lotte World:

I haven’t been to this popular indoor theme park since 2019 when I went on a short holiday to Seoul during my winter break, I wanted to try all the rides that were suitable for me to make memories of having a fun trip for me and my family to go there.

One of the attractions that I rode was the Conquistador, a pirate ship from Spain that rotates at a 360-degree angle which is similar to the Tomahawk ride from Sunway Lagoon where there were two cars instead of a single car. As I got on the ride, I yelled, "This was the best ride that I have ever ridden in my life!"

Another ride that I visited was the Fly Venture, a VR ride that featured 4D animation. When I entered the area, I was very impressed that they had a steampunk-themed attraction and a flying theater which made me feel that I was flying on an airplane in the sky. Overall, this attraction was the best theater ride in the world, and one day, I would try this five times over and over again.

I also tried the other rides such as the Balloon Race, Camelot Carousel, Desperado interactive shooting game, and many other rides which I rode by myself before the park closed for the night.

When I went to Lotte World, I tried my luck to get a prize from the hammer game. However, I won a free lollipop, and my parents told me I did not need every toy from the amusement park because I had too many toys on my bed as it would be too crowded for me.

The park has a variety of food and beverages ranging from Korean to Western cuisine. Although the food was not that expensive, I managed to get Spaghetti Carbonara and their castle pizza from TGI Friday's Lakeview restaurant which was okay compared to the food from the Malaysian TGI Friday's.

I wanted to plan a trip for myself including my old school friends when we have time. When I get a job after graduating from college, I will go for an internship first to see if they can accept me working there. Once this idea is done, I can start my first day at work and earn some money for my basic necessities before I can go on holiday alone or with some good friends.

I hope some of our plans work out this year and next year. If not, it's okay, there's always next time when things don't work out the way we plan with our friends.

[gyumimiz]

1. fever dream high in the quiet of the night

the train runs through fields and meadows as you’re reading the last chapter of the book you borrowed from the library before your trip. the window above your head is slightly open and the wind is making your hair a little bit of a mess. but it feels nice. the air outside smells like warmth and summer. you slowly start to recognize your surroundings, meaning you’re close to your destination. you start to look for the sea which should appear soon somewhere among the hills. 

you quickly pack your things to the backpack when the train reaches its final destination. you get off, surrounded by tourists also coming here for the holidays. parents with their kids, elderly couples and groups of teenagers fill the train station as you’re trying to find haerim among them. 

finally, after looking around for like ten minutes you spot a brown haired girl with two braids waving at you. “there she is”, you mutter to yourself. big grin appears on your face as you make your way to your cousin and you two hug each other so tight you almost can’t catch your breath.

“i missed you so much i thought i’ll die if i won’t see you soon” she admits while trying to help you with carrying your baggage “jesus, what did pack there?”

“yeah i’m glad to see you too. and you know, it’s hard to decide which clothes to bring knowing you will probably force me to go to the parties with you each weekend”

“not this year my friend!” she shakes her head “i told you, i’ve already met the prettiest boy on this planet. i mean... i haven’t met him but i will, i mean WE will.”

right after you unpack your stuff in haerim’s bedroom, you two decide to go for a night walk along the coast. it’s finally cooler outside and the moon and stars shine so beautifully that night, you can’t take your eyes off them, taking hundreds of photos with your phone of the night sky.

you wander along the path by the sea, talking about everything and, at the same time, nothing at all. you grumble about your exams and complain about the fact that you just graduated from high school, but you have nothing figured out. she talks about how she hates living in such a small village because nothing really happens here except summertime and she can’t wait to move to a bigger city. you can’t really understand her, because you would love to live there. you love it when nothing is happening because it’s just so peaceful. your cousin is like the total opposite of you. but maybe that’s why you get along that well. 

since it’s only the first week of summer vacation, there aren’t too many tourists yet. you pass only a few couples and families on your way. the villas near the seaside seem to still be empty and waiting for their owner to come to visit for the holidays. it’s so quiet here. but only until you two hear loud laughs and screams from one of the mansions. some men, or maybe boys, judging by their voices, are probably having a lot of fun up there on the terrace.

of course, your cousin stops and tilts up her head to see their faces. probably to see if one of them is her type or whatever, you think. you just roll your eyes and cross your arms, not really interested in the whole situation.

“oh my god” she says and covers her mouth too late to stop herself from saying that.

you take a deep breath and look up. 

you see a group of five guys, clearly enjoying their time together. they all look as if they were around your age. one of them has bleached hair which, at first, kind of draws your attention. 

he caughts you two staring and smiles. more towards haerim than you.

“hello!” he says, which makes the other one turn around to check who’s his friend talking to. 

and then you feel weird. like, the world kind of stops, as you catch eye contact with the brown-haired boy. he is gorgeous. because handsome is too little to say, you just have to say he is gorgeous. 

he holds half empty bottle of champagne in his hand and you can clearly see he is already a bit drunk. but his dazed eyes and messy hair make him look as if he was straight from a romance movie. he smiles softly, which makes you look away and catch your friend’s hand to pull her with you as you walk away.

“heyy nice to meet you, wait!” but you just say to your friend: let’s go haerim it’s late “we still have some champagne left!” you still hear the voice of one of the boys behind your back

“what are you doing? they invited us and you just...” haerim starts but you cut her off

“bestie, be serious, we’re not drinking with strangers” 

“you really are no fun, that was this boy i told you about!” she complains on your way home.

okay, you can admit. he was pretty. maybe even more than pretty. maybe even the prettiest boy you’ve ever seen. 

well it doesn’t matter now, that you’re all comfortable and cozy in your bed with grumpy haerim laying by your side. she is still kind of mad at you that you ignored the pretty boy and just walked away. but you’re sure that tomorrow she’ll just find another one to admire and forget about the guys you saw tonight. 

and, of course, so will you. 

note: i know it’s short but i just wanted to upload the first chapter already:D i really hope u liked it and sorry for the mistakes (i haven’t really checked it) also, i will upload playlist soon and let me know if you want to be added to the taglist (or removed). as for now i only added people who commented on main post<3

please interact with this post because i see no point in writing this if it has like 3 likes after idk like 2 weeks

masterlist

taglist: @choijxn @flwerfield @felixrs @yxnjvnnie @reetxjaitly @babigriin

[kamyru]

Turn my experience as a med student into fan-fiction ideas

Some of you know I'm a med student, but some don't. So, as a background: I am in my 3rd year of med school in East Europe. And I study the six-year-long program, where the first three we study general sciences regarding medicine (microbiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, physiology, etc), and the last three we study medical fields. Also, we are allowed in the hospitals, have labs in there, talk with patients, are required to have one month of Summer practice every year, can volunteer at the emergency room, and other things. During these years, I accumulated a little experience in how hospitals work. 

There are some things that I went through that I'm ready to write about, especially because one of the otome I take requests for is "Romance MD: Always on Call" (Now, I write for Kasumi, Takado, and Sentaro). However, if you have ideas, you can request things from here for other games. And here is my idea: I tell you my experience, and you send me requests based on it. 

Trigger warning: Mention of sexual harassment, death, suicide attempt, suicide

The doctor declared the patient dead while I was the one doing CPR.

One of our professors tried to convince a museum to give them a deformed human leg because they had never seen anything like this and wanted it for their collection.

One older doctor sexually harassed my friend and me while we were on the night shift because they knew there was no one to punish them or be on our side.

A colleague saved a woman on the streets by giving her CPR in time before the ambulance arrived and didn't tell anyone for more than a year.

While visiting the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit), we found out that three out of five prematurely born babies that were at the time in there were abandoned. 

A colleague who was too afraid to choose medicine from the start decided to try their chances and enter the university. The year they chose to be their last try, they finally got accepted. 

One of the colleagues, who was doing their practice at the Forensic Medicine department, found out that the dead patient was their cousin. 

A patient that came into the ER after a suicide attempt told us that their dream was to be a doctor, but their parents told them to give up because they were an ethnic minority.

I found out my mom was in the hospital during the exam period. 

More than 10% of the dead people from Forensic Medicine that we saw during practice were doctors that committed suicide. 

A doctor from ICU gave us a motivational and full of empathy speech about how we must be kind to all the patients even if we are tired because no patient wants to come to ER just for fun.

My boyfriend cheated on me with my best friend while I was away at the university because "he felt lonely and ignored".

A parent from the ER tried to convince the doctors to let them go home because they had a kid to take care of, and the kid was left alone at home. 

Missed holidays with my family because I had to prepare for exams.

Saw my best friend quit medical University due to mental health issues.

As I said, my blog isn't about my medical experience. But there are stories that I want to tell, and I think that incorporating them in fiction would help me get this out of my chest and others find out more about the medical system. So, if you have any ideas, don't hesitate to send them to me. 

I write about:

Her Love in the Force (All characters)

Irresistible Mistakes (Yukihisa Maki, Shunichiro Tachibana, Jun Araki, Toshiaki Kijima, Toma Kiriya, Natsume Asaoka)

Oops! I Said Yes?! (All characters + Daimon Togo)

PLUST Loving U so True (Mikoto Amamitsu, Ryoga Buto)

Professional Boyfriend (Ikki Tatsumi)

Romance MD: Always on Call (Toshiki Kasumi, Munechika Takado, Sentaro Kyogoku)

Tokyo Love Hustle (Taro Akuchi, Suzumu Mado)

[sad-lime]

Unemployment era day four. My now ex direct supervisor called me and confirmed that the two sisters I was working with and their PARENTS (dad also works for the company) basically plotted to get me fired. Lied about me and smeared me just to make themselves look good it seems. Their mother made an ‘anonymous’ phone call last week and accused me of sitting in the truck and stealing company time?? I wasn’t. Then the DAD called after I left for five minutes to give an unhoused guy a ride (because it was 4 am in January in Wisconsin and he was having trouble walking mind you) and said I “left employees at a job site to pick someone up.” I fully let her know what I was doing but I guess she never liked me LOL! So then I got fired via groupchat with absolutely no warning by the vice president of the company without him consulting anyone and absolutely none of my direct superiors who actually worked with me agree with what he did. They were going to let me move territories this week so that I didn’t have to work with those girls anymore!!! The sister who can drive (because of course the other one can’t) wasn’t even THERE the morning I gave that guy a ride!! She was ‘sick’ because she has had some nebulous stomach bug that has been going on for the last six months and is her excuse for missing nearly every other shift. She dropped her sister off and picked her up but didn’t come in. I told my old supervisor about this and he thinks they might be lying on their time sheets!! Genuinely baffled that this is real life and that I just got bullied by teenagers and their parents. What. I cannot stress enough how crazy this is. We do landscaping in the summer. I am one of only two people on the entire landscaping team that is a licensed herbicide applicator. The other one doesn’t work in our territory!! Neither of the sisters who hate me are licensed! The one that is old enough has taken the certification exam twice now and gotten less than a 50%!!!! The other one is still in high school and can’t drive so they’re a package deal!! What!!!!! So anyways. Talked to my old supervisor for like an hour and he said everyone who knows me wants the guy who fired me to apologize and give me my job back because this was literal bullying and an attack on my character BUT the guy who fired me would have to buck up and admit he made a mistake and there’s nothing anyone can do about it because he’s their boss. What the fuck. If I genuinely got terminated for something I didn’t do and giving an unhoused man a ride then nail me to the cross I guess

[iantimony]

End of year asks:

1. 14. 19? ❤️

yayyy

song of the year

ohh this one is tough. ugh I will finally get around to peeking at my spotify wrapped. okay evil music app says my top song was "Coming Home Song" by Sammy Rae & the Friends which, yeah, sure, I buy that, really killer album drop by them this year. this was followed by "Good Life" (same artist), "Leah" (Seeing Double), "SeaTac" (Coral Bones), and "I'm Just Another Person Oh God" (Daisy the Great) as my top five. all really good song of the year contenders for me I think.

14. favorite book read this year

ough. augh. I think probably "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula le Guin because I finally got around to it and it really was just as good as everyone said. I didn't read much this year unfortunately, at least not much that stuck out as memorable and good (I can recall a few that were memorable but bad/I did not enjoy, like "Bunny" and "Every Heart a Doorway", which, now that I think of it, I think the latter was last year ??? I have not been reading much for pleasure which is so sad I miss it)

19. excited about for next year

many things! I need to do my prelim exams by the end of the spring semester for my own mental health so I'm looking forward to being one step closer to PhDone. I have my fingers crossed for some sort of summer internship that can segue into later employment. also my partner is moving in with me for the last leg of my PhD while he figures out PA school applications/last few requirements so that will be delightful :-)

[1d1195]

Oo oo oo!! Which calc?? Or like… ALL of the differential, integral, vector, etc? I hated vector unfortunately. I thought I’d love it bc, ya know…physics is my thing😂 but then we got into triple integrals and changing the variables of them, and I did not feel very hypnotic fully fresh anymore. I think derivatives were my favorite, but in integral, I figured out I could do IBP in my head 💀 so that was fun☺️

Also, I think I told you I decided to retake diff eq this summer(?) bc my instructor last year decided to hate me, but this term I got a 92 on my first exam and a 98.5 on my second one😭 We have two more exams before the term is out, so hopefully those go okay. like??? Fair grading goes so far! My instructor last year, if I lost a sign or fucked up a constant, they would take points off for every step after. I remember one problem I did that on like, step two, and it was graded a 1/15. Hello?? All my work is correct, I just made a tiny algebraic error, so what is this for😭 This instructor tho, they just write like “-.25” for that one part and call it good😂 BC I KNOW THE CONCEPTS!!!! I JUST CAN’T ADD FOUR AND SEVEN ANYMORE!! Got to far into math and now I have to check on my calculator three separate times that five and five is indeed ten 🤣 you think after four calcs, linear algebra, stats, diff eq, and a year of calc based physics that I can do simple arithmetic?? Absolutely not lmao

I’ve been looking for a new job because my current lab position doesn’t receive benefits, and where I live, you can only stay on your parents insurance until you’re 26. And I’ll be that old on the 26th😂 I have too many health issues to NOT have insurance.

I applied for a position at another lab, and they emailed me yesterday for the next step! It sucks that I have to leave my current lab since I’ve been there for over five and a half years, and I LOVE what I do, but there’s also been a lot of shit going down so it’s probably for the best lmao

-👩🏻‍🔬

Honestly, haven't even looked at the curriculum. I'm pretty sure it's Calc I for most college level courses. I actually took AP Calc ages ago and I remember we covered derivatives, limits, implicit differentiation (MY FAVORITE 😍😍), some integrals, optimization maybe? I forget. I'm pretty nervous about teaching it so I really SHOULD start looking at it, but I'm on fumes of remembering how much I LOVED it when I took it and I'm just so excited. IBP is actually terrifying to me. Idk if I could do that I really need to study 🤭

LOVE that for you! I knew you would do well! I'm happy to report that as a teacher I'm a very fair grader the way you described. If you mess up a sign anywhere on the problem I take at most 1 point away. (Algebra doesn't have like 15 steps for me to take away additional points). I want them to know the process more than the little arithmetic (but also they get a calculator that they REFUSE to use when I offer it so I like to take points off for that too). So 3/4 for an otherwise flawless problem is what I do.

I'M THE SAME WAY. All my friends ask me to split checks and do the tip when we go out to eat and I'm like "lol, give me a piece of paper be, I can't subtract anymore."

I hope you get the new job! Benefits are so important. Your golden birthday! How lovely! Do you have any fun plans? I'm going to do my best to remember but that's around when I go back to work!

Thanks for checking in! I hope you're having a great week! 💕

xoxo