#thinking after I finish this Master’s I'm gonna be a teacher

[serverusslaype]

Shameless, pt. 8

Severus Snape x professor!reader fic

Shameless Masterpost

omg hi guys.............

i'm so sorry for leaving it this long, i just literally could not write anything, my brain was absolutely fogged up - probably because i had covid unknowingly lmao. this is another long chapter so i hope this makes up for it! <3

thank you for reading and for all your kind messages and support, i appreciate you all so much. i know i say this constantly but i really mean it. stay safe and keep healthy, guys!! love you :')

let's get this train on the ROAD!!!

The summer of '93 was an interesting feat, to say the least. Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban, and you'd found yourself dating someone you never thought you would.

You had not expected yourself to be caught up in a whirlwind type of romance, especially not by someone you'd despised back in school. Yet, here you were, arm in arm with none other than school menace, Benjamin Bluewater. The two of you were currently strolling through Hogsmeade, wide smiles spread across your rosy-cheeked, cold faces. The snow crunched beneath your feet as Ben wrapped an affectionate arm around your waist, pulling you close against him. You failed horribly at trying to hide the bashful smile that picked at the corners of your shivering lips.

"I'm gonna miss seeing you every other day." Ben said, giving you a squeeze.

"Yeah," you hummed happily, glancing up, "this summer has been very..." You trailed off, struggling to find the words. Ben glanced down at you, a lazy half-smile reaching his lips.

"Unexpected?" He chuckled, finishing your sentence for you.

A grin broke out on your face and Ben leant down to plant a soft kiss against your smiling mouth. "Definitely." You replied against his lips, nodding softly, letting your eyes fall back to the powdery-white trail in front of you as he pulled away. "You can visit me if it gets too hard." You teased, nudging him playfully with your elbow. It'd only been a month and a bit of seeing Ben, but he really had you hooked. Each time you saw him, the agonising thought of you and Snape melted away from your mind a little bit more. You felt like you'd finally got control - he was no longer dictating how you felt. However, you did feel a tad bit guilty. At times it felt like you were using Ben to get over the broody Potions Master. You didn't dare tell him about it either, you were pretty sure that he wouldn't take it well - in fact, you were certain he wouldn't. How would he believe that you'd fallen for the man that used to cause the pair of you grief in school? For starters, he used to be your teacher all those years ago, and secondly, in Ben's mind, he considered Snape an ugly old git.

"I think you'll be the first to crack, Y/N." Ben nudged you back, prompting a playful scoff to fall from your mouth. Ben's lips broke into a grin, pleased with your reaction.

"As if," You choked. "Wait, who was it again that turned up at my door the day after our first date? Oh yeah, you." You scrunched your nose up at him and poked out your tongue, though, your attention was soon hooked by the flash of what looked like a figure dressed in all-black. Your breath caught in your throat as your head snapped to the left, eyes flicking desperately between the forest of pine trees, searching  for what you thought you had seen. Ben picked up on your change in behaviour almost immediately.

It couldn't be, you thought, heart suddenly beginning to race.

"You okay?" His bushy brows furrowed at your unusual skittish demeanour, clearly worried about you. Ben's alarmed voice did not compute in your head. "Hey," His hand slipped from your arm and fell to your wrist, tugging it at it to pull you from your thoughts, inducing a soft gasp from you as you spun on your heel to face Ben. It looked as if you had just seen a ghost of some sort.

"What?" You questioned softly, blinking. Ben stared at you.

"You look like you've just seen a ghost, Y/N." He said, concerned. You swallowed and wet your lips, looking down at the ground as he brushed his thumb tenderly against your wrist.

"I'm alright." You looked back up at Ben, placing a forced smile upon your lips. He didn't seem convinced, though he didn't press you. He gave you the benefit of the doubt. "Just, err, just a little on edge, you know with, erm, the whole Sirius Black thing." You lied, a nervous chuckle leaving your throat.

"I don't think the mass murderer known as Sirius Black would bother himself with a place such as Hogsmeade, Y/N." Ben smiled, almost amusedly at you. You stayed silent, not sure what to say. Ben let his blue eyes to flick between yours, almost like he was attempting to read your mind. You broke the connection and glanced away, an uncomfortable feeling creeping up your spine. Ben sighed gently and looked ahead of the two of you. The town of Hogsmeade was settled in the distance, shrouded in a cloudy mist. An idea popped in his mind. "Would a tea or a hot beverage of some sort make you feel a little better?"

"Um, yes, I could go for a tea." You nodded lightly, looking back to Ben. A small smile graced his features as he let his warm hand slip into yours. The corners of your lips tugged upwards a little. Ben felt at ease once more as your pretty face was lit up with that bright smile of yours. He couldn't resist placing another sweet kiss upon your lips.

"Alright. Let's go, I know just the place."

You laid on your bed in your quarters at Hogwarts, the pale sunlight peeking through your curtains was slowly ceasing as the evening began to set in. Your mind was constantly reeling back to yesterday afternoon. You continuously replayed the memory of the flash of black in your mind, attempting to put a name to what it was. A sigh of frustration left your lips, leading into a groan. You refused to acknowledge who you thought it was. There was just no way.

All those feelings and thoughts that you'd buried and hidden away with the idea of Ben started to creep back out of it's cage and it frightened you. Perhaps it was foolish of you to think that you'd move on so quickly. A month and a bit was definitely not enough time to heal. Yes, you were unquestionably foolish to think that forty-three days was a satisfactory amount of time to rid yourself of the thought of someone you had been near almost every day for a year.

Whatever, you thought. It'll pass. It will... won't it?

Gods, now you were doubting yourself. You knew you still felt deeply for Snape, of course you did, you spent almost a whole year in his presence, but you thought dating someone else in the meantime would have solved some of that. Jesus, that's messed up. Were you just using Ben to get over Snape? This was so wrong on so many levels. You liked Ben, truly you did, but you always found yourself comparing him to Severus. The way he spoke, the way he moved... your mind was plagued with him, and you were an idiot to think that locking away the thought of Severus would do anything but help yourself. You did this to yourself, and now you deserved to deal with the consequences. You just had to act like your feelings for him didn't exist, maybe that would help. …Maybe it wouldn't, but that was the best idea you had right now.

You needed to clear your head, and badly. Your buzzing thoughts were starting to drown you. You quickly slipped out of your bed and headed out of your room, quietly shutting the door behind you. Just as you were about to turn around to walk down the hallway, a tall, shabby looking man stood in your way. He had light brown hair with flecks of grey in it, a fluffy moustache and a rather painful looking scar was scraped across the middle of his handsome face.

"Oh- hello," You said in surprise, confusion evident in your tone. The man smiled at you jovially, his eyes crinkling at the edges. He looked rather tired and pale. You tilted your head at him, furrowing your brows.

"I apologise for scaring you," The man pursed his lips as he attempted a light-hearted joke, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I'm Remus, err, Remus Lupin, the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor." He added, his eyebrows raising a tad.

"Oh, yes, of course!" You instantly smiled, your cheeks turning a little red out of embarrassment. Lupin found it rather endearing. You scolded yourself for forgetting soemthing so important - Dumbledore had mentioned this the day before you left for Summer break. "I'm so sorry, it had totally slipped my mind. My name is Y/N L/N," Your smile widened as you held out a friendly hand for him to shake. "I'm the professor of Herbology here at Hogwarts."

"Ah," He nodded, returning your smile and shaking your hand. His grip was firm. "Lovely to meet you. I hope we get along well, Professor L/N." Remus said trustingly, his hands returning to his pockets. You clasped yours together, resting them against your hips out of habit.

"I'm sure we will, and please, call me Y/N." You grinned. Remus gave you a curt nod. "Is this your first day here?"

"Teaching yes, but in regards to having been here before? No." He replied.

"Oh?"

"I attended Hogwarts as a small boy, so it's a little nostalgic walking round the place again." Remus explained, earning a surprised look from you.

"It seems as though every single teacher here also used to be a student here." You laughed lightly, inducing an amused smile from the new professor.

"It seems that way, yes." Remus nodded.

"Well, I hope to see you around, Remus." You smiled politely at him, noticing the way he slumped slightly in posture, almost like he was trying to hide himself. Remus returned your smile and dismissed you with a nod, continuing past you with a slow gait. You let yourself think for a moment. Those scars looked pretty horrific, they looked rather... deep. A grimace twisted your facial features as your mind raced with quite gruesome and morbid theories on how Lupin had acquired those wounds. You shook your head rather vigorously as if to relieve your mind of the grisly images that were popping in and out of it.

The hallways and corridors of Hogwarts were peacefully empty once again. Students, old and new, were still back at home preparing for the next school year that began in just a couple days. Goosebumps erupted on your body out of anticipation as you thought about what the year could hold - though, you were mainly excited to get back to teaching your beloved subject. In fact, you'd missed it a lot over the summer. More than you expected to, despite the distraction called Ben.

A tiny smile flickered on your lips at the thought of him, your eyes glued to the floor in front of you as your feet carried you forwards, a cool chill wrapping itself around your bare shoulders. You were wearing a thick-ish, buttercup-yellow night dress; the sleeves reached your wrists, but it was a little baggy up top, causing the wide neckline to slip partially off your shoulder. The chill made you quickly pull it up with your fingers, enveloping yourself with your arms.

Bumping into Professor Lupin outside your room had caught you off-guard. The thought of grabbing a coat of some sort had slipped from your mind the second your curious and confused eyes fell onto him. You shivered slightly, cursing yourself for being so forgetful sometimes. It might have been late August, but Scotland's freezing climate left no survivors.

"Did you not think it unwise to go around strolling in such... poorly thought out attire, Professor L/N? It is almost as cold as the arctic." That deep voice that had caused you so much grief and heartache shot through your head like a stray bullet. You froze in your position, your breath hitching as you refused to turn around to acknowledge the man that spoke with such articulated words it seemed laughable. You felt like you couldn't move. Like you were in a glue trap, like a little mouse.

Eventually, you thawed. "I'm not cold." You replied shortly, reluctantly turning around to face Snape. Your heart instantly sped into a gallop as your eyes fell onto his tall, brooding figure. Then and there, thought of Ben entered your mind as you stared at the Potions Master, immediately comparing the two. You knew Ben didn't make your heart race like he did. Your shoulders suddenly slumped with guilt. You shouldn't be thinking any of this. Ben was good for you, he treated you with kindness and respect, and most of all, he actually liked you.

"Your trembling figure says otherwise." Snape tilted his head at you, scrutinising you. Right then you wanted to shrink down into nothingness. You couldn't bear to feel so vulnerable underneath his eyes. Somehow, Snape looked better than the last time you saw him. And you hated that. You were sure you looked utterly terrible right now.

"I'm fine." You said sternly, dragging out the syllables as you fought back the bitter glare that was itching to break out onto your face.

"Fine, hm..." Snape drawled, almost mocking and sarcastic, letting his dark eyes drop down your figure, studying your improper outfit. You hugged yourself tighter at the sight, cheeks suddenly burning as you felt rather self-conscious. His brows knitted together suddenly, like something had just clicked in his mind. "Why aren't you wearing a coat?"

You hesitated. "I forgot to grab one." Snape's brow arched at you disapprovingly. You fought the urge to groan at him. "I bumped into the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Remus Lupin, outside my door." You explained, tone flat. "It's not like you care whether I freeze to death or not anyway." You added, rather bitterly. Snape narrowed his eyes at you, glaring. He did care, but he would never show it. Not right now, at least.

"Lupin?" He repeated, ignoring your last comment as his jaw ticked out of irritation. You frowned at his odd reaction. "I suggest you stay away from him, Professor L/N. For your own..." Snape trailed off, pondering on his words as he let his eyes sweep over you in a patronising manner. "...good." He uttered, almost like a warning. You were completely and utterly confused. Why did Snape seem so unwelcoming towards Lupin, he'd just joined Hogwarts, unless there was... history between them? Was there?

"What's wrong with Remus?" You asked, eyes narrowing in curiosity and suspicion about his feelings regarding the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Snape's jaw clenched at the sound of Lupin's first name, almost like he flinched. "He seemed perfectly kind and pleasant earlier."

Snape didn't reply. A harsh, exasperated sigh fell through your nose as you rolled your eyes at the enigmatic man before you, growing tired of his games. Why did he always act so cryptic? What was the problem with telling you the truth? Would it be so bad?

Before you could protest and poke at his mind, Snape began to stalk away from you, prompting a curt scoff to leave your lips. Your teeth were gritted out of frustration as you stared at the back of his head. Christ, he really hadn't changed - he was still pissing you off at an almighty rate. At this point, it was impressive.

"Hey!" You exclaimed, forcing Snape to halt in his tracks. He turned his head to the left, silently encouraging you to continue. "Would you just answer me?"

"I don't owe you anything." Snape said rather coldly. You clenched your jaw rather angrily at his rude reply. Jesus, will this guy ever just bite the bullet for once and give in?

"When you tell me to 'avoid' Professor Lupin, I think that demands an explanation as to why I should, Snape," You said, shaking your head at him like he was daft. "You must be delusional to think otherwise!" That must have struck a nerve within the Potions Master, as he swiftly spun around, his cloak turning with him dramatically like a bat, making you shrink in regret. He stormed over to you, footsteps heavy and determined. You backed yourself up, a little unnerved by his sudden and intense approach towards you. Snape got right up in your face and you could feel his hot breath dance across your skin, sending anxious goosebumps down your spine. It felt like your heart was about to fall out of your chest from the high gear it had suddenly kicked into. 

How could- no, why was your body still reacting so fiercely to Snape? Weren't you meant to be focusing on Ben?

"Lupin is not who you think he is, Y/N." Snape warned, snapping you out of your thoughts. It nearly sounded like there was a hint of concern in his voice, like he was worried about you. You had to laugh at that, as if Snape - the man who had pretended like you didn't exist for half a year - cared for you. He'd never stoop to such a pathetic ideal. You brushed the hurtful lie under a dusty rug in your mind, averting your attention back to the pair of deep, obsidian-coloured eyes that sat mere inches away from your own.

"And how do you know that?" You challenged, a hint of venom in your voice as you mocked his serious tone. Snape sneered at you, leaning back from your face, like he was disgusted.

"Your ignorance is blinding." He replied bitterly, still refusing to explain anything to you. At this point he seemed like a child to you. From his the way he glared at you, and reeled back from your agitated little form, Snape seemed to be disappointed in you. You didn't think he had a leg to stand on with that idea.

And so, that was your last straw, you couldn't hold in your frustration anymore; it felt like all the pressure that had been building up beneath your skin was coming to a rise and it had finally burst at the seams. "Jesus, Snape!" You cried out, infuriated, your hands flying up to pull helplessly at your hair. "Why is it so hard for you to answer me?! Are you so incapable of that?!"

Snape seemed a little taken aback by your outburst as the ill feeling of deja vu began to seep into his bones. This felt a little too familiar: it reminded him of that night he found you drunk. Yet, right now, you were stone-cold sober, and still shouting the same things at him. In regards to your outburst, he truly hadn't seen it coming, and yet, he was almost always aware of how you were feeling. He could read you so easily. To him, you were like a book he'd read almost a thousand times. He remained quiet again, unsure of how to reply to your instantaneous combustion; a briefly-lived feeling of worry that he'd add more fuel to the fire.

He couldn't reveal the reason to you. He'd given Dumbledore his word that he would not speak of Lupin's condition. In fact, Snape had doubted Dumbledore's usually-wise judgement when he mentioned that he'd hired Lupin. The Potions Master thought the Headmaster had gone mad for openly inviting a werewolf into Hogwarts, let alone allowing him to teach classes full of children. And then, he'd found himself roped into producing the Wolfsbane potion so Lupin could keep his wretched condition of Lycanthropy at bay. Snape still doubted the whole idea. He knew it was doomed from the very beginning. Balancing the safety of Hogwarts on the constant, perfect production of a potion and the hope that Lupin was competent enough to remember to take it each day of the preceding week of a full moon?

Doomed, Snape thought.

Despite your best efforts of attempting to force the answer out of Snape, he knew you'd figure it out sooner or later once you noticed which ingredients he'd be borrowing from you. He had faith that you were smart enough to work it out. So, he stood straighter in front of you, wordlessly giving you his answer as he turned around to walk away from you.

No.

"A warm, warm welcome back to you all!" Dumbledore's raspy voice boomed through the Great Hall, the applause from students and staff alike to quickly quietening down. You were seated comfortably between McGonagall and Hagrid, and it felt awfully similar to last year. Just a year ago, you had no idea what you were strapping yourself in for. "Before we indulge ourselves in this delectable feast, I'd like to welcome Professor RJ Lupin, who will be the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher," Dumbledore said, turning around to gesture to Lupin with eccentric, wrinkly hands. The professor stood up goofily with anxiously-clasped hands, giving a grateful nod to the Hall as they applauded him. He caught your eye, and you sent him an encouraging smile, ignoring Snape's distasteful face beside Lupin.

"Good luck, professor! Now, our teacher for the Care of Magical Creatures for many years, has decided to retire in order to spend more time with his remaining limbs. Fortunately, I'm delighted to announce that his place will be taken than none other than our own, Rubeus Hagrid!" The Headmaster announced as he spun around to gesture to the half-man-half-giant sat happily beside you, a genial smile spreading across the Dumbledore's face. Applause and whoops erupted in the Hall once more as Hagrid gave a short nod and a cheerful smile to the hooting crowd. You rolled your eyes and elbowed him, prompting him to stand up, his large belly shoving the table forwards with a sharp screech; a handful of glass goblets falling over and smashing. McGonagall looked up at the newly-appointed professor rather disappointedly before eyes her goblet that now laid shattered before her.

"Finally, on a more describing note, at the request of the Ministry of Magic, Hogwarts will until further notice play host to the dementors of Azkaban, until such a time Sirius Black is captured." Dumbledore said, a stern and serious tone taking place of his usual reserved one. Gods, how could you have forgotten? Mass murderer Sirius Black was still on the loose. Apparently the thought of Snape was enough to distract you from a highly important news article. And now, one of the most feared creatures of the Wizarding World was going to be lingering around Hogwarts? This was not what you signed up for. Your teeth started to chew against the inside of your bottom lip anxiously.

"Will they be on the school grounds?" You whispered to Minerva beside you, failing miserably at trying to hide the shaky fear within your voice. She instantly looked at you, smiling softly. You'd always had a phobia of dementors, and now the fact that they were going to be lurking around the school had put you on edge. Merlin, can this year get any worse?

"I'm not sure, my dear." Minerva replied to you quietly, subtly noticing the fear swimming in your eyes. The older witch placed a hand upon yours in an attempt to soothe your anxiety. "There's nothing to worry about, I assure you." You merely nodded at her, unbelieving. Nothing to worry about, sure. It's not like some savage, minacious murderer is on the loose.

"The dementors willl be stationed at every entrance to the grounds." There goes your sanity. "Now, whilst I've been assured that their presence will not disrupt our day-to-day activities, a word of caution: dementors are vicious creatures. They will not distinguish between the one they hunt, and the one who gets in their way." You hated the way that Dumbledore spoke of the dementors, and it hardly settled your trembling and anxious mind. No, in fact, it bloody well worsened it. The old man was basically saying if you get in their way, it's a death sentence. They have no sense to decide whether you're a threat or not, or they just don't care.

Either way, you were screwed. You could not produce a Patronus charm, let alone a corporeal one, and it was something that played on your mind a lot. You could never find the right memory to do so. Every happy memory you flicked through in your mind, it just wasn't happy enough. So, if you came into contact with a dementor, you were, let's say, royally fucked. Was your life that sad?

"Therefore, I must warn each and every one of you, give them no reason to harm you. It is not in the nature of a dementor to be forgiving. But, you know, happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, when one only remembers to turn on the light." The Headmaster finished with a cryptic riddle, making you sigh a little heavier than expected, catching an intrigued look from Hagrid. Sorry, but what the fuck does that even mean, Dumbledore? You were well aware that Dumbledore was undoubtedly an ingenious and powerful wizard, but sometimes, the things that came out of his mouth just sounded like nonsense. Maybe he just said those random things to keep up his mysterious act.

As you looked up from the nervous, fidgeting fingers in your lap, your eyes locked with that same pair of black, emotionless ones that were staring so deeply into yours just last night. Immediately, you looked away, your cheeks flushing red out of embarrassment, and perhaps, suppressed affection. There was that weighty feeling of guilt again, finding your shoulders once more. Ben's smiling face materialised in your mind as you shut your eyes, attempting to rid yourself of the buzzing feeling that Snape had awakened within you. With just one look into his eyes, you were melting back into your old ways.

You heard the creaking of a chair shift beside you as a gentle mass poked your side. "A'right down there?" Hagrid questioned quietly, noticing your subtle change in demeanour. You were suddenly stiff in your seat.

"Yeah, yeah, fine thanks, Hagrid." You cleared your throat, avoiding those two addicting pools of inky-black.

"Hmm." Hagrid hummed beside you, obviously skeptical about your curt response. He let his eyes flick to where you were previously looking, his stomach sinking as he spotted the broody cause of your sudden mood change. Hagrid didn't bother pressing you for answers, he knew you had enough on your plate, and he would rather you come to him. The last time you spoke about your problems regarding Snape, you were in tears, or you would burst into tears, there wasn't really an inbetween.

Silently, you were thankful that the newly-appointed professor beside you chose to keep shtum.

As you glanced back to where Snape sat, he was completely avoiding your eyes too, however, as you continued looking over in his direction, the wave of a hand beside the Potions Master caught your eye. Flicking your gaze to the right, you noticed it was Lupin waving sheepishly at you, a kind smile tugging at his scarred lips. You returned his smile and waved back, turning to the professors beside you as he glanced away from you.

"Professor Lupin seems to be a kind soul." You commented outloud, a genial smile upon your lips. McGonagall glanced at you, eyeing your curiously.

"Yes," She agreed slowly, her eyes gently dissecting you. "Have you met before?"

"No, I just bumped into him a couple nights ago, by my door."

"Yer' door?" Hagrid repeated in an octave higher than usual, intrigued.

"He just happened to be there when I walked out." You frowned, wide eyes looking up at the gigantic man, trying to understand what he was insinuating.

"Right, right." Hagrid quickly said, almost awkwardly as his cheeks reddened a tad, averting his eyes from your suspicious ones. Minerva's lips quirked into a small, amused smirk as she glanced between you and Hagrid. "Well, this food looks delicious, ay?" He cleared his throat, raising his brows as he glanced down at your plates that were now burdened with a generous amount of steaming hot meat and vegetables. You couldn't help but laugh softly to yourself at Hagrid's awkwardness. It was sweet to you.

Before you let yourself indulge in the plate full of food in front of you, you dared to look in the direction of a certain gloomy individual. Snape had already begun to eat, which surprised you. He usually takes a few bites and retires to his office, but this time, he'd stayed. You frowned to yourself as you stared at him, observing the glum way he kept to himself, avoiding any kind of conversation. Once more, you found yourself yearning for him. And yet again, your heart and mind were telling you two different things.

"Isn't that a Mimbulus Mimbletonia plant, professor?" Came Neville Longbottom's curious voice, his inquisitive eyes dragging over the plant you held cautiously in your arms. A cheery smile graced your lips as you nodded at the boy.

"Yes, indeed it is, Mr Longbottom." You said proudly, inducing a thrilled smile from Neville. "Can anyone tell me what it's uses are?" You asked, glancing around your greenhouse at mostly confused faces. You had an inkling that none of them would know the answer, perhaps apart from Hermione or Neville, who you noticed seemed to excel in Herbology. Though, Hermione wasn't in your class this morning. So to you, it was all down to Neville.

"Stinksap, right?" Neville answered quickly, his bunny-like teeth sticking out from underneath his top lip as he stared at you, awaiting your reply.

"Correct, and what can we use stinksap for?" You questioned, your smile widening at Neville. A sense of accomplishment suddenly tickled your body - maybe your students were listening to you and learning. You were a little worried that you hadn't exactly made an impact on them. As you got lost in your fretting thoughts, a light voice you weren't familiar with caught your attention. You turned towards the dark-haired girl, her deep blue eyes lighting up with confidence as she retrieved you from the abyss that you unfortunately called your mind.

"Stinksap can be used in certain potions as it contains very good healing properties," Alisa Arumina spoke up, earning a tilt of your head. You nodded at her, encouraging the girl to continue. "However, you have to be extra cautious when handling such a plant as this one since it will squirt out rather rancid smelling sap. Hence the name, stinksap." She finished, a sheepish smile upon her lips. You grinned proudly at her.

"Yes, lovely! Ten points to Ravenclaw, Miss Arumina." You carefully placed the plant down upon the table you were all gathered around. Before you could continue on to explain how to care for it, a distraught sounding voice called from behind you, at the door to your greenhouse.

"Professor L/N," Madam Pomfrey called out, her voice shaky. Immediately, you spun around with a worried frown upon your face. She sighed. "There's been an accident, do you have any mature Mandrakes ready for use? A Wiggenweld potion is required at once." Madam Pomfrey's eyes looked afraid. This must be serious, what the hell happened? You thought as your heart began to anxiously pick up in pace.

"Err," You stumbled over your words, blinking quickly. "Yes, yes, of course. I'll have them delivered to you immediately." You nodded in a poor attempt to assure the terrified look upon Madam Pomfrey's face. It didn't work.

"I'm afraid Professor Snape has asked for you to go to him right away." She said regretfully. Of course he fucking did, you groaned inwardly. 

"Is it so hard for you to come and retrieve the Mandrakes yourself?" You demanded as you burst through Snape's classroom door, your irked eyes finding Snape's startled ones. Though, just as quickly as he had looked startled by your sudden entry to his room, he had returned back to his usual angry glare, shooting it directly at you.

"Is it so hard for you to knock before entering?" Snape grunted at you, rubbing his fingers in circles against his temples. He lifted a hand and patted the empty space on his desk beside him. "Place the mandrakes here." You scrunched up your nose at him in disgust,

"I'll put them there once you tell me what the hell is going on."

"Your dear friend, Professor Rubeus Hagrid, thought it wise to introduce the children to a hippogriff on their first lesson together." Snape sneered as he rose from his desk in a slow and intimidating manner, his hands splayed out across the deeply grooved, dark wood surface. "I knew he was an oaf, but I at least thought he had retained some form ofhuman intelligence. Perhaps even common sense!" He exclaimed, his brows glued together in fury. Your brows mirrored his own as he insulted your friend. "A student was injured, Professor L/N, a student of my house." Ah, so that's why he's so upset. "Draco Malfoy." Riiight, it's adding up now, you thought, your anger simmering down slightly at the utterance of a student being injured.

You knew Hagrid wasn't incompetent, he was smart enough to not put students in the way of danger, but maybe this was a very big mistake. Perhaps he was too... eager. A hippogriff is a highly dangerous animal, especially if the students are not taught how to approach one beforehand. A strained sigh left your nostrils as you clenched your jaw, averting your eyes from a fuming Snape.

"Is he alright?" You asked, hesitating. "Hopefully he didn't lose a limb..." You muttered whilst perching yourself down upon a stool to your right.

"By the grace of the gods, Malfoy's arm was merely scratched," Snape seethed, clearly still very angry. Maybe it'd be best if you just left now, you did leave your class unsupervised for this visit. The thought of being a hypocrite niggled at your mind as you thought back to the time you'd chastised Lockhart for doing the same thing. But, this wasn't the same thing right? This was urgent, his was... whatever, you're better than that babbling, bumbling baboon anyway.

"So, it wasn't even a big injury...?" You repeated, frowning. "A little... scratch and you're almost losing your hair over it?"

"I think you're missing the point, Professor L/N, as always," Snape scoffed at you, earning a resentful glare from your eyes. "Hagrid has proved himself to be incapable of handling a class safely. I mean, a student injured and sent to the hospital on the very first lesson? Seems like a bad omen, if I do say so myself."

"Oh, please, Snape," A frustrated, heavy sigh left your nostrils again as you glanced to the side. "It's his first day!" You laughed incredulously, defending your friend. Sure, Hagrid might have misjudged this lesson by a smidge, however, you knew he would never put students in harms way.

"His first day, and his incompetency has resulted in injury!" Snape replied bitterly. He clearly didn't like Hagrid, and it was very obvious. He only ever spoke bad about the man, and it angered you. Hagrid was more than just an... 'oaf'. "Those... beasts... should have never been allowed at Hogwarts, regardless." Snape's nose crinkled in disgust.

"Give him the benefit of the doubt!" You cried out at Snape hopelessly. "And Buckbeak is a perfectly good hippogriff, you have no idea what you're talking about."

"How would you know that?" Snape's lips curled up into a distasteful sneer once again. Your cheeks ran hot as rage boiled beneath them at his comment.

"Because I know Buckbeak, Snape," You seethed at him with your fists balled, "Buckbeak would never do such a thing unless he felt threatened or insulted!" A hand flew up to wipe at your face, your breathing becoming ragged and hopeless. As you glanced back at Snape, he paused for a moment, his lips curling into an amused, incredulous smirk at your words. He couldn't believe what had just fallen from your mouth. Did he hear you correctly? Were you truly so delusional?

"You 'know' Buckbeak? Don't be absurd, Y/N." Snape huffed at you, his eyes narrowing as the corners of his lips tugged downwards disdainfully. "Buckbeak is a wild creature, it is hopelessly foolish of you to believe you can understand, much less, tame one!" He said, strained, his knuckles turning white from the aggressive, vice-like grip he had on his desk.

"These creatures are deeper than you think, Snape," you frowned, eyes stormy and reckless, unknowingly searching for trouble. His long fingers flew up to massage the bridge of his nose, clearly growing more fed up by the second. "Perhaps you'd understand if you had a heart within that empty chest of yours." A curt, exasperated sigh tore from your nostrils. Though, before you could take back your words, a blanket of regret wrapped itself around your seething body, your once-stormy eyes widening a tad as the realisation of what you had just uttered began to seep in. The sudden silence in the room was unbearably thick.

Snape's eyebrow twitched as he raised his head. Slowly, he fixed you with a dark, scrutinising gaze, rendering you speechless. Your body froze. "Bold, today, are we?" Snape's deep, stinging voice cut through the quietness like razors, reaching your ears like a thousand sharp pins.

You didn't answer him, fearing you might provoke him further. You'd never seen him like this. Dark, unnerved, fervent. It was terrifying to you. Perhaps you did cross the line. Gods, what had you done? Couldn't you have just brought the Mandrakes and sodded off? Jesus.

Snape marched towards you without a word, his cloak billowing out behind him like a flag. You couldn't help but notice the fury emanating from every single inch of his body, prompting your cheeks to flare up in a wild, raging blush. You had no time to defend yourself from Snape's long, cold and slender fingers as they clutched your jaw in force, shooting a frightening yet delicious shiver down your spine. A soft surprised gasp escaped your throat as he pushed you off of the stool you were sat on, a loud bang breaking through the silence as it clattered to the floor. Your back was instantaneously pressed against the table behind you as Snape shoved your backwards from the hold of your jaw, your eyes pooling with sudden panic as his fingers tightened against your skin, bound to leave marks. Fearfully, the palms of your hands flew to steady yourself against the edge of the table he'd rammed you against; your back arched painfully as he leaned right into your face, a spine-chilling scowl adopting his features.

The two of you were mere inches away from each other. Snape bared his teeth at you in a sneer, almost like he was revolted by your presence. He let his thumb slip upwards from your chin to the skin just beneath your bottom lip, pressing it against your teeth. Your eyes were forced to stare into his, his ones cold and penetrating in a way that only Snape's could be. Your heart was pounding so loud in your ears that at this point that you were afraid you'd go deaf. 

Both of your chests heaved laboriously, leaning against one another, like you'd just sprinted for a mile without stopping for a break. As you stared into Snape's threatening eyes, you felt your body numb, his signature scent of sweet wine, books and smoke invading your nose like it was nothing. Against your will, your body welcomed it and you felt yourself relapsing from the addicting smell. With wild eyes locked together, you saw something else swimming in his wicked, black eyes. They almost looked pained, helpless, maybe even like they were... yearning? Your eyes flicked over his face gradually, slowly drinking him in. Whilst the two of you stared at each other, trapped between one another's body, a fluttering sensation slowly materialised in your gut, prompting your eyes to fall to Snape's angry, quivering lips. The undeniable urge to press your lips against his own was scratching at you like a desperate caged animal. You inhaled sharply and blinked, averting your hungry eyes back to his own, distracting yourself from such thoughts. Again, you found yourself lost in him.

Before you even had a chance to look deeper, Snape's bone-chilling voice tore you from your thoughts. You felt as if he'd noticed you spotting something deeper lingering within him.

"Get. Out." Snape spat, roughly releasing you from his grip, your hand flying up to soothe your aching jaw. You stood there, your arched back and splayed out hands against the edge of the wooden table, flabbergasted. Snape stalked back to his desk acting like the previous minute did not just happen. For once, you obliged and stood up straight, your feet immediately rushing forwards to carry yourself out of Snape's classroom in absolute silence, face blank with shock. As you shut the door behind you, you paused in your footsteps for a moment, eyes locked absentmindedly on the cobblestone ground in front of you.

What the fuck had just happened? Can the two of you no longer have normal interactions? You always have to be at each other's throats each time?

Your fingers lifted up to your face and traced where Snape's fingertips had been pressed into the skin on your jaw, a dull soreness emitting from the area as you touched it. That's definitely going to leave a mark.

Fuck.

You just hoped Ben didn't visit you for another week or so. There was absolutely no way you could explain this without it seeming super fucking suspicious. Oh jeez, Ben. How were you meant to face him when you'd just been on the verge of kissing Snape? It was just in the heat of the moment, obviously... Was it? Did he feel it too? No, of course he didn't, he looked like he wanted to kill you.

A frustrated groan bubbled in your throat as you stomped away from Snape's classroom door, heading back to your class.

Merlin, were you fucked.

Part 9!

hey guys.... i hope you enjoyed this part, i apologise again for how long it took me omfg. i'm ashamed. :( i just couldn't get the creative juices flowing, then i got covid (which im still battling). like bruh give me a BREAK PLEASE.

anyway, i already have part 9 planned out so i'm hoping it wont be as long to type up!! <3 love you guys.

please let me know what you thought!! also what are your patronuses if you have one?! mine is a snowy owl :)

taglist: (i hope i haven't missed anyone or added anyone by accidient!! if i have i'm sorry and please tell me!!)

@a-laufeyson

@emilynissangtr

@livillain00

@meowskii

@nooneeveryonenoone

@vesperbatty

@biggest-simp-eversposts

@881127fara

@freshmoneyalmondathlete

@sonoluvr22

@v3lv3tvampir3

@lashipperrubia

@camilla-black

@acakius

@hiddlestonspassionsackx

@tellatubbies

@mikariell95

@sunshinemink

@m0rtifiedg0th

@spookymicrowave

@sayonara30

@novas-dreamworld

@ms-snape

@captainrogers-19

@allygranger

@nataliewalker93

[mysteryshoptls]

SR Grim - Apprentice Chef Vignette

"Let's keep on doing aaallll these fun things together"

[Kitchen]

Grim: It's… It's…

Grim: IT'S DONEEEE!!

Grim: Look, [Yuu]! My super special awesome cake's finished!

The cake looks like a tuna can…

Grim: Yeah! I made it look like the most delicious thing in the world. See how even the word "tuna" looks good?

Grim: As for what I put inside the cake… That's a surprise for when we eat it! MYAHA!

Grim: I bet this is gonna be the bestest thing on the table. We gotta hurry and get it back to Ramshackle!

[Ramshackle Dorm – Anniversary Party]

Grim: Slowly… Slowly…

Grim: Gently, gently… Careful…

We're almost back to the dorm, you got this!

Grim: Gah, carrying a cake so it doesn't collapse is so hard…!

Grim: …But all the guys we passed on the way here from the cafeteria said it totally looked tasty, yeah?

Grim: Y'know, maybe my genius ain't just in eatin' food, but makin' em, too.

Grim: Back when you and me took the Master Chef course, I thought all this work was a pain, but…

Grim: Now I'm thinkin' that it was good we did it. 'Cause now tasty things can be made into even tastier things!

Grim: Myahaha! Thanks to this cake, today's party's gonna be the cat's meow!

Grim: Ah! But that annoying guy Trein is gonna be there… He might get mad if I get too excited.

Grim: Maaan, he's always findin' things to nag me about. Like the other day, he tried scolding in me when I was runnin' in the halls.

Grim: It pissed me off, so I tried pokin' fun at him, but then he just came at me!

Grim: Obviously I ran, but that old man is faster than he looks…

Grim: And then he just caught me in no time, I wasn't expecting that. Just nabbed me by the neck.

Grim: "Try to be a bit more like Lucius," he said… But I ain't a cat, y'know!

Grim: Don't know if Trein snitched on me or what, but even Crewel got mad at me, saying "Stop causing problems."

Grim: But then Crewel whispered later, "If you're going to tease Trein-sensei, make sure you don't get caught."

Grim: Myahaha! Crewel might be a teacher, but sometimes he's got a wicked side. He gets me.

Grim: …Though, he can be a huge stickler if ya mess around in class or get bad grades.

Grim: I remember the other day was pretty scary. He had us all lined up in a row, and was grilling everyone on who spilled the chemicals on the table…

Grim: No one fessed up, and Ace and Deuce were silently keepin' their heads down, so I stayed quiet too.

Well, we all got held responsible, in the end.

Grim: Tch. Trein and Crewel are both way too strict!

Grim: I like Vargas's class the best. 'Cause I don't need to take difficult notes in his class!

Grim: Like the other day, he started going on and on, saying, "If you want to be a great mage, then you need to have muscles as rippling as mine!" or whatever…

Grim: I was just nodding along, and then class ended with just him talkin' about his own muscles. Myahaha, waaaay too easy～

Grim: …Hm? Wait a mo'.

Grim: Do you think… The reason that Vargas showed up here randomly one morning a few days ago to go exercise together…

Grim: DID HE THINK I WANTED TO TRAIN WITH HIM BECAUSE I WAS NODDING DURING ALL HIS BOASTING!?

Grim: The sun wasn't even up, it was still dark, so that was a real pain!!

Grim: …Man, I think I might like Crewel or Trein better after all, ‘cause they don't cause me problems.

[Ramshackle Dorm – Anniversary Party]

Grim: Y'know, now that I think about it, all the profs here are really strange… Is this school really alright?

Grim: Oh. But I think the strangest guy ain't one of the teachers, but Sam. I'm sure of it!

Grim: And that's cause… Remember the other day when I lost at rock-paper-scissors and I had to go buy snacks by myself?

Grim: Before I even got inside the store, I heard Sam talkin' with someone inside.

Grim: But… When I got inside, he was all alone.

Grim: When I asked who he was chattin' with, he said his "friends on the other side," but… WHAT DOES HE MEAN FRIENDS ON THE OTHER SIDE!?

Grim: He wouldn't tell me no matter how many times I asked. It's so eerie. But man, he's got a ton of cool stuff for sale, so I keep going back.

Grim: I remember then, too, before I could say what I wanted, he already had out the perfect number of snacks I had money for.

Grim: Oh yeah, and Crowley came in the shop right after me. Looks like he's always shoppin' at the Mystery Shop, too.

Grim: He started braggin' to me that he gets to order whatever he wants.

Grim: So I told him I wanted some special tuna cans then, and he says, "This privilege is for teachers only!"

Grim: He just kept on bragging, he's the worst! Crowley's so useless!

We should be thankful, since he let us attend here.

Grim: THANKFUL!? He should be thanking me for gracing this school with my genius!

Grim: And I bet Crowley'd gobble down the whole feast we got prepped if I take my eye off him for even a second…

Grim: No way I'm gonna give him a single bite. This time I'll make sure he's jealous of me.

Grim: Hey, [Yuu]. You 'n me're gonna protect this cake with our lives!

Grim: I might not be able to rely on you to do everythin' yourself, so good things we also got those ghosts.

Grim: If all us Ramshackle folk work together, we could even take on two Crowleys. We'll stun him silent!

Grim: I bet the ghosts're feelin' real alive right now. They were really getting' excited for Founding Day.

Grim: They were all, "It's so wonderful everyone is throwing a party here at Ramshackle～"

Grim: They also said that everything's getting' amped up 'cause we came to Ramshackle.

Grim: Myahaha. So that means… All the fun and happy times are all thanks to me!

1. Exactly!

Grim: Yeah. So you just keep on following me, no worries. Grim: As the boss, it's my job to take care of my henchie!

2. I think you're going a little overboard there.

Grim: Myah!? Y-You… You don't get how good I am to ya, huh!? Grim: I'm always pushin' myself hard doin' things for ya. Like, uh… Uh… ALL SORTS OF THINGS!

Grim: So let's keep on doing aaallll these fun things together!

Grim: Ah. Looks like everyone's here.

Grim: Hey, [Yuu], open the gate. We gotta bring the cake in quick!

Grim: I bet everyone'll be so surprised and happy. Myahaha. I can't wait～!

Requested by @butterflyremix.

[hwa-stars]

Skirt lifter (Chapter 12)

Genre: High-school au, slow burning love, fluff, mention of mature language (+14)

Pairing: non idol Park Seonghwa x fem named reader

Summary: In which Park Seonghwa is accused of being a pervert.

Word count: 1.9k

Taglist: @dinossaurz @hecateslittlewitchling @babigriin (if anyone wants to be added, please comment)

I laid down on the grass groaning, not caring of the others look at me weirdly. I enjoy the sun and the quiet of the place for a moment, today was an exhausting morning.

"You look like you're about to die."

"That's because I am." I replied still laying on the grass.

Wooyoung sit next to me, he didn't said anything for a while just watching something from afar. I sit down and looked what he was was looking.

There was a basketball game and the players were Hongjoong, Seonghwa, San, Yunho and other people, Yeosang was cheering for them and I smiled internally he is so cute.

"You don't wanna play?" I asked after a while of being in silence.

"Nah, it's boring." He shook his head. "You should come to the party."

"If you're here by Seonghwa's request, you can tell him to go to..." Wooyoung laughed.

"I'm here on my own." He replied still laughing. "We'll be there too so it's gonna be fun."

"You and I have different meaning of having fun, besides I don't know the celebrant and I wasn't invited."

"That's why we're inviting you. So what do you say?"

"I don't know." I mumbled and he pouted.

"At least think about it, the party is next week so you have plenty of time."

☆☆☆☆☆

In our third day here, each team had the task to scout 20 pounds of fruits all over the area. Supposedly, this activity will challenge our abilities to work with what we have, for a moment it seems fair until San showed us the paper that he pulled out.

"How can you choose peanuts out of all the fruits here?" Hongjoong massage his nose bridge. "How unlucky are you San."

"Now we have to scrounge for fucking peanuts?" I frowned looking at the paper with 'peanuts' write in.

"I'm sorry." San mumbled sitting on the floor.

Hongjoong and I exchange glances, feeling a little guilty for what he said to San, it wasn't his fault it was just luck what paper you take so we can blame him.

20 minutes later

I'm carrying 20 pounds of peanuts after been digging through the dirt for an hour. I willed myself to the common room while struggling to lift the basket of fruit.

"Peanuts?" Seonghwa asked looking at my basket.

"Peanuts."

"I got watermelon."

"I hate San." I said feeling jealous that Seonghwa didn't have to go through dirt.

"As you should." He replied and natched the peanut basket. "Where are they, isn't it supposed to be a group task?"

"San slipped and sprained his ankle and Hongjoong took him to the infirmary."

"Well, that suck Pororo." He laughed.

"Don't you have anything better to do Seonghwa?" I rolled my eyes.

"What's better than annoying you?" He smiled and continued walking. "Have you changed your mind about been my date?"

"I have actually."

"And?"

"I realized that I haven't expressed how much I don't want to go with you." He leave the basket on a table.

"What can I do to change your mind Pororo?" He pouted at me.

"Open all of these peanuts." I signaled the basket.

"You promise?" He asked excitedly.

"Sure, while you're on it peel the skin of the peanuts too." I said sarcastically and leave the room.

☆☆☆☆☆

After confirm with the teacher that we had already complete our task, I paid a visit to San at the infirmary to deliver the news to him.

I thought that Seonghwa will come along, but after I leave him in the room he disappeared.

"Hey." I open the door and look a San, he looked like a sad kitty. "You good?"

"Yeah a little sore but thanks for asking." He mumbled sad.

"Don't worry, I finish the activity. You can call me a peanut Master now." San let out a cute laugh. "Where's Hongjoong?"

"He went informed the teacher about what happened. I'm sorry that you had to do the task alone." He mumbled playing with his fingers without looking at me.

"It's fine, seeing you fell down, was an entertaining thing." I teased him and he smiled.

"I'm gonna let that since I can see how you work hard based on the dirt in your nails." He pointed at my hands.

"Yeah, I have tried to remove it, but I couldn't."

Suddenly, San look though the drawer next to him, looking for something and he pulls out a needle.

"Hand." He signaled my hand.

"I'm not a dog." He laughed and take my hand. "Prick me and I'll give you a bruise worse that Seonghwa."

"Don't worry I got it." He replied and focused on his task.

"Wow, you're really good."

"I should be, my older sister makes me clean and painted her nails all the time."

That statement makes my heart warm, brothers helping their sisters doing stuff with her. The closest to a brother that I have is Jongho and he was way afar from that, the door open again making the both of us look.

"Hey, Minseo." Hongjoong greeted and some people were behind him.

Wooyoung, Yunho and Yeosang entered the room settled themselves around San's bed asking if he was feeling good and I smile of how they care for him.

"We appreciate you finishing up the task." Hongjoong mentioned "How can we repay you?"

"Forget it, it's done now."

"But..."

"Where's Seonghwa?" San asked

"He said he'll visit you later, he said he has something to do." Wooyoung answered.

"Doing what?" Yunho asked.

"I don't know, but he had a basket of peanuts with him and he was cracking them." The red hair boy explained confused.

I felt that it was my responsibility to look for Seonghwa and check why he was a real dummy for doing that stupid task that I told him.

"Leaving since Seonghwa isn't here?" Yeosang asked teasing me.

"Please, he's the last person I want to see." I lied looking at the room.

"You're a terrible liar like Seonghwa." San mentioned and shook his head.

"I'm not, I was just planning to take a shower."

"Sure." The five boys said nodding their heads.

"He's in our room, it's the room #10." Wooyoung mentioned and I just nodded.

I reached to the sleeping quarters, going to the boys floor were some guys approached and started whispering lookingbat me but I ignored and continued my way searching Seonghwa's room.

"Someone's gonna get some." A boy whispererd out loud so I can hear him and I just rolled my eyes.

Finally, I reached the room#10, I was about to knock when I noticed the door was cracked open.

I took a peek and saw the guy sitting on the floor with the basket of peanuts and some sheels of peanuts around him.

"Ah, the things I do for you Pororo." He sighed and shook his head and continued with his task.

I blushed at his words, my eyes shifted to the floor where the basket now was already halfway full with unpeeled peanuts. The guilty flooded at me. I knocked the door and entered the room and Seonghwa looked at me with shock.

"What the fuck are you doing Seonghwa?" I snapped at him.

"You have been asking me that lately." He laughed and Crack a peanut. "What are you doing here Pororo?"

"Stopping you."

"From?"

"This, quit it Seonghwa! I was joking." He sighed as he rested his back on a bed beside him.

"I figured out, but I just wanted to give it a shot." He took the basket of peanuts and patted the spot next to him. "Can get these to waste."

"Okey." I murmured and sit next to him.

"Do you hate me that much that the idea of going with me at a party upset you?" He took one peanut and eat it.

"I don't hate you." I said taking one too.

"Then what is it?"

"I don't belonged in your circle Seonghwa. Just asked other person to go with you."

"I told you, I don't want to go with someone else."

"Why?"

"If it's not already obvious Pororo , I..."

The door slammed open and Hongjoong, Yunho, Yeosang and Wooyoung fell on too each other and groaned from the door.

"San you're an idiot." Wooyoung hissed.

"Don't put it on me, I'm injured." He defend himself.

"Are those our peanuts?" Hongjoong asked looking at the basket and we nodded.

"What's up roomie?" Wooyoung put an arm on Seonghwa's shoulder smiling at him. "You're looking really handsome today." He patted his blonde hair and Seonghwa glare at him.

"What are we talking about?" San sit down on a bed.

"About how dumb you're for sprainning yourself." Seonghwa snapped and I stand up. "Are you leaving?"

"Yeah, I'm not supposed to be here." I remind him, he tried to stand up but was held by Yunho and Yeosang.

"You're not going anywhere." Hongjoong held him too and they started discussing.

I walked out of the room walking down the hallway, when I stopped at the middle of the hallway and chewed my bottom lip.

I spun on my heels and started walking to room#10 again, and I knocked and waited for a response, hearing Wooyoung said 'come in' and I cracked open the door and peeked inside and the six boys turned to looked at me at the same time.

I'll regret for this later.

"Just wanted to ask if there's a theme for the party?"

Some days later

Finally we were going back to the city, I just wanted to take the bus and get out of this hell.

"I forgot to ask you, what made you change your mind?" Hongjoong whispered dramatically.

"Never think you'll be a gossip girl!"

"One of the buses has a flat tire, therefore the students of class will be evenly distributed to the other buses." The teacher announced.

When everything was settled and we where distributed, I settled myself on my seat next to the window, leaving my stuff in the free seat.

"Hello Pororo." Seonghwa smile as he lifted his suitcase and move my suitcase taking the seat next to me.

"What are you doing here?"

"Weren't you listening Pororo? There's a flat..."

"Yeah yeah I know, but where's San?"

"He took a car due to his injury." He replied and suddenly I want to had an ankle sprained. "So, whether you like it or not you're stuck with me for the next six hours."

He looked at me smiling and I just avoid his eyes looking by the window blushing when a flash greet us and see Hongjoong holding a camera.

"That's a cute photo." Hongjoong gushed before he showed us the picture.

"Why did you bring a camera with you?" I asked

"I was instructed to take some picture for the yearbook." He explained "Would you mind reviewing the pictures and check which ones are the best."

After hours of looking at Hongjoong's pictures I felt car sickness and gave the camera to Seonghwa so I can rest a little by looking at the window.

Seonghwa was so concentrated looking at the pictures, he bit his lip concentrating in every picture that he saw. Every time he found a picture he like, his eyes light up and seems that he was falling in love with every landscape picture that he saw.

"Are you checking me out Pororo?"

"Yes."

"And?" He rested the camera on his lap.

"You already know that you're handsome Seonghwa, my opinion of you doesn't matter."

[spindle-girl]

Daybreak 1.3

as always, it's really fun when Wildbow describes a sixth-sense power. it'd be cool to see a Crystalclear interlude

Parahumans are definitely possible, except I’m not sure how using parahumans squares with the sentiment toward parahumans.” Fume Hood spoke up from the background.  “Set us against each other, they benefit either way.”

i don't think Fume Hood's guess is good, for a couple reasons, but the main being that parahumans fight all the time. you don't really need to set them against each other. that's the norm

“I hurt a pregnant lady and she lost her child and I don’t even feel that bad about it,” Fume Hood said. ... “I’m pissed,” she said.  “People are making such a big deal over this, and I can’t bring myself to see it their way.  It was an accident.  I told the civilians to sit and stay put, and this stupid-”

i actually really like this as a character trait. being pissed off at someone you killed because you didn't want them to die, but you're still the one who killed them. and her continued monologue seems like it affected her a bit besides being pissed

“The heat got too much, like I said.  And- and I was tired, you know?”

doing cape stuff starting at sixteen until you were twenty-four, yeah not too surprising

Jail isn’t fun, but it was what I needed, I think.”

not too surprising to see this, Taylor said a line not too dissimilar. it's a shame Sophia never got a chance to talk much after her imprisonment. or even the Birdcage capes like Lung, especially since he got imprisoned twice

Actually, i take that back. i think we got Teacher mentioning how the Birdcage kind of drove him mad or something in his epilogue, but i think it gets treated as different from regular jail since it's the classic Super-prison that's Always Terrible in comicbooks

“You said before that you have real regrets,” I said.  “And you can call yourself selfish, but I think the dots connect here.  Your reasons, your regrets.”

probably true, but I do hope that anger shows up. makes her more interesting for me at least

“It can,” I admitted.  “I’m spooked at the idea it will.  For now, just… be a hero,” I said.  “Don’t walk away from this sort of thing for good.” “You guys keep saying stuff to me, like, don’t run off, don’t sacrifice yourself, be a hero, as if it’s implied I’ve got ideas I haven’t said out loud.” “You’re a self-described shitty person and an ex-villain.  We’re not allowed to be suspicious?” I asked.

gonna have to come back to this once i finish, heroic sacrifice talk and all.

She threw the ball to the right, but instead of smacking into her palm, it curved in the air, orbiting her hand in a long ellipse as a moon might a planet.

fun with powers :)

I marched toward the bus, glaring at the first person in my way.  I activated my aura.

not so much fun with powers

I threw up my personal forcefield, shielding Jasper, my arm out toward the windows the other two were looking at.

why did i think Victoria couldn't dismiss her forcefield? like, it makes since she can put it on and off, but in my head i just thought it was permanent for some reason

End thoughts:

i see we're starting off what will become a theme of master-class villains. explosion of gore with control on whoever the blood touches is cool. i'm liking Fume Hood and Crystalclear for the most part too.

[cringecompanionapologist]

Top 5 Worst Days for Turlough

Okay maybe I'm as bored as I implied in the last post but this isn't a top five you're gonna find anywhere else.

Basically, here are five stories where very bad things happen to Turlough from least bad to most bad. Obviously, these are my perceptions and other people might not be put this in the same order. Also, I haven't seen everything, so I might miss something big and just not know.

Also, this turned out really fucking long because I just had to rant about number 1.

Number 5: Loups-Garoux (Big Finish Audio from 2001, written by Marc Platt)

I'm only putting this one at the bottom because Loups-Garoux is mostly a comedic story and Turlough seems to recover fine. He sees a vision of his dark side so terrifying he jumps out of a moving train and gets eaten by a werewolf, who spits him out because he has silver on him. Unlike in many of these examples, the Doctor seems a bit upset about this. But, this almost feels like business as usual.

Number 4: Trap for Fools (Big Finish Short Trip from 2018, written by Stephen Fewell)

Okay, this one might be a bit of a me thing. I can get a bit overly sensitive about the subject of mean teachers. In order to find and defeat the Monster of the Week, the Doctor has Turlough go undercover as a student at Space Brendon, basically. The Doctor seems completely oblivious to Turlough's misery and doesn't do much to help him through reliving experiences he was willing to kill to escape. This is another one that's mostly played for laughs, with most of the Horrors Turlough faces being mild bullying and a teacher pronouncing his name wrong on purpose to be a dick, but Turlough is actually intimidated by the mean teacher and mentally categorizes the other students by how much of a threat they might be and is just generally miserable the entire time.

Really, there's one bit that made me decide that this belonged on the list because it's really sad:

Someone please hug him.

Number 3: The Velvet Dark (Short Trip: Farewells from 2006, written by Stewart Sheargold)

The Master shoots Turlough with the TCE, making the Doctor think he'd just casually murdered him, only to reveal that he shrunk Turlough without killing him to make him a more manageable hostage. The Master places him in a box and shakes the box around when the Doctor hesitates in cooperating with him.

This story starts with the Master faking his death and the Doctor, Tegan, and Turlough attending his funeral. Tegan doesn't get why the Doctor is sad that the guy who killed her aunt is dead now. Turlough also doesn't get it, but he doesn't have as much of a personal reason to hate the Master, so he tries to be patient and Tegan seems kind of jealous that the Doctor listens to him more than her.

After being returned to his proper size, Turlough hates the Master just as much as Tegan does. The Doctor, apparently unable to truly hate the Master, kind of treats them both like the bad guys in this.

Number 2: Frontios (TV Serial from 1984, written by Christopher H. Bidmead)

An actual TV story! Tractators. Trion, at some point in the planet's history, was attacked by this story's Monster of the Week and now all Trions, regardless of when they were born, remember the Tractators on some level. It's never explained how this actually works, but Turlough personally had probably never heard of the Tractators until he saw a tunnel and a massacre just showed up in his brain. The Doctor awkwardly hands him off to the one-shots to go explore the tunnels, not knowing what to do about all this emotional stuff.

You'll notice that the Doctor's response to whatever happens to Turlough is a major factor in how I rank these.

Anyway...

Number 1: The King of Terror (Past Doctor Adventure novel from 2000, written by Keith Topping)

It isn't even close. The novels of the Wilderness Years (1990-2004) were aimed at an adult audience and there were very few limits on what sort of situations the Doctor and his companions could end up in. So, sometimes, shit got dark. I usually tend to find these morbidly funny, because saying things like "The Doctor and Dodo meet the Marquis de Sade" and "Doctor Who's Cannibal Holocaust" is fun. It just is. Shut up.

These books vary in quality. Some actually do interesting things with their darker subject matter while others are just sort of edgy for the sake of it. The King of Terror is in the latter category and is annoying as hell about it. I could go into way more detail about every stupid thing that happens in this book, but the Turlough stuff is the most interesting stupid thing, because of how fucked up it is.

So, Turlough, feeling a bit OOC on a trip to Los Angeles in 1999, goes to a bar, gets completely wasted, and chats up local girls trying to get laid. Then one woman stands out as hypnotically sexy, introduces herself as Eva, and invites Turlough back to her place to have sex. Turlough is too drunk to notice that this is moving a bit fast.

Anyway, Eva is actually a member of an alien species called the Jex who are trying to take over the world. They want to terraform Earth to be more like their homeworld, which has a hotter, thicker atmosphere, but their human slaves wouldn't be able to do hard labor in those conditions, so they want to genetically modify the humans to have higher heat resistance, among other things. There's something wrong with Jex DNA, so they need the DNA of some other alien with higher heat resistance.

The CIA, wanting to see where this is all going, tipped the Jex off that some aliens had just showed up in LA and Eva went out to kidnap one. Turlough then spends like half the book being experimented on to both confirm that he's an alien and that he's the right type of alien.

It's a lot of torture. I'm not even going to say any of what happens. Here's one screenshot of Turlough reflecting on all the torture happening to him that is vague but sums up why I'm not going to elaborate:

(Note: There actually is a reference to something specific in here and I apologize in advance)

Meanwhile, the Doctor and Tegan find out that Turlough's missing. Tegan seems to think that they should do something about this, while the Doctor comments jokingly on how often Turlough gets captured. He eventually gives Tegan the day off to take her mind of things, leading to a really stupid romance subplot, while he does absolutely nothing to find Turlough.

Turlough eventually very brutally murders Eva in an understandable lapse of sanity and escapes. The Doctor isn't even there when he gets back and they reunite "offscreen". From that point on, the whole subplot is basically dropped. The Doctor asks Turlough if he's okay, he lies and says he is, the Doctor knows it's a lie, but he's glad for a chance to act like it never happened.

So, it really sucks to be Turlough and I'm now exhausted.

[ahgasegotarmy116]

The ones I like most or are most invested in are:

1. Just take it (I’ve read this an embarrassing amount of times)

2. art of etiquette (I just can’t wait for the smut at this point, they’ve been dancing the tango for so long 😂)

3. still with you (I get the feeling JK is gonna find out in the worst way about the Jimin sleepover and damn I can’t wait for the stalker reveal or how much worse it’s gonna escalate! Can you tell I’m getting more invested in this one?)

4. he doesn’t deserve you. (I hate taehyung in this one, he’s evil!-no hate though I love your writing!)

I honestly should circle back to your master list and give falling and semantic error a shot. I’ll probably read seven days to fall again once it’s finished since you only have one more chapter)

I think I found your blog because of do it for him and that story is really unique and so good but damn JK is a terrible human being in that one 😂

Happy early birthday and hope you have fun in TX. I would give you recommendations but that’s the one part of Texas I haven’t been to lol

🧜‍♀️

Oh my gosh I love this

I love that you reread my stories that so wild to me! Thank you for doing that 🥺

Yeah that one is the definition of a slow burn but like they clearly like each other but his position as her teacher is really holding them back but their self restraint is slowly diasapting

I'm so glad you're getting more invested cuz yeah let's just say it's gonna be a bumpy ride for sure.

It's okay babes he's there to be the villain so you can hate on him as much as you'd like 😂 (I love Tae irl tho like he's my little bean 🥺 meanwhile TYPE 1 🫠)

I mean yeah if you'd like to you definetly can! I'd love to hear what you think about those two as well!

Semantic Error is inspired by the bl kdrama/manhwa 'Semantic Error' but I changed it so oc is a female and both of the people who are going after her are guys (Jungkook and Jimin...again lmao) I read it and I really liked the dichotomy of the personalties of the two main characters so yeah I'm excited to get back to that one at some point lol

Falling is one that was supposed to be a one shot but then I started building more of a plot around it after I posted it. I just loved the idea of an Angel Jungkook becoming a Fallen Angel but is still in love with Guardian Angel oc. I love it but ngl I almost feel like I want to rewrite it. I don't know though we'll see but I'm going to continue the story either way.

Seven Days to Fall Again has two more chapters left but yeah I don't blame you if you wanna wait so you can read everything all together haha.

Haha oh gosh yeah I think a lot of my followers found me because of Do it for Him and I'm super grateful to the person that requested it because yeah it really was unique and I really liked experimenting with that kind of plot line.

Tbh Do it for Him really didn't get too much attention until like a month or two after I posted it. Like it just blew up over night which was absolutely insane!

I got so many asks (as you can see from the masterlist lol) and it was so freaking cool! I owe that story a lot since I feel like it really brought me a great audience and I'm so thankful to everyone who has supported me even after reading Do it for Him.

Jungkook is a horrible person in that fic but I'm happy I was able to do that since he's supposed to be a yandere character but the part that scares me is that people wanted/thought they were gonna end up together.

I'm like wtf no way he's a psycho and she despises him! Why would she want to stay with him? But yeah I'm still glad that people loved him despite all of his madness 😂

Thank you love 💜 it's on the 14th so I've got a little while left to enjoy being quarter of a century lmao. I still can't believe I'm that old lmao I still feel like I'm 22 or something 🫠

Ahh I'm so excited like I spent a good part of the night planning and it's gonna be so fun!!! And no worries love! It's the thought that counts haha

Love you sm 🧜‍♀️ and I hope you enjoy my other stories as well if you end up checking them out haha

[nothorses]

Hey I’m about to head off to college and majoring in arts education, could I ask what that was like for you? Or maybe if there’s any wisdom you’d care to pass on?

Oh hell yeah! That's my niche!!

A lot of the college-specific stuff is gonna be dependent on your specific school, but if you ever want help navigating that nitty-gritty weirdness, feel free to DM me tbh. I've been through a lot of different bullshit.

Also, this is gonna be assuming US college systems. I don't know what might be different in other countries, and I'd recommend cross-checking or getting tips separately from someone who's been through college in your country if you aren't in the US.

That said!

Education degrees are complicated for a number of reasons, because they come in different forms:

Degrees with endorsements vs. degrees without endorsements. - An "endorsement" is basically the specific subject you're getting certified to teach. Your degree will require an endorsement if it's inclusive of middle or high school, which are typically secondary education degrees (middle or high school), or P-12 (preschool through 12th grade, usually specialized subjects like art, music, theater, etc.) - If you're getting an endorsement (and if you're teaching art, you will be), I recommend setting up a meeting with your advisor ASAP. You will likely be a major in multiple colleges within your university- the college of education, and the college of art- and this gets complicated fast. I had to apply and be accepted to both colleges separately, and I wasn't able to even apply for the college of education until I only had 10 credits left of art classes to take. You'll want whatever insight you can get well in advance, so you have time to plan and prepare.

Degrees with certifications vs. degrees without certifications. - A degree in education is different from a certification to teach in your state. Certification in the US is state-by-state, and it's a long, complicated, headache-inducing process. The easiest way to handle it is to make sure the degree you're getting includes certification. - Alternatively, you can get your Master's in Teaching (not education) which usually does include certification. Double-check that with your school, though! There are sometimes other programs that do this as well- in WA state, for example, the Governer's School has a much shorter, much faster teacher certification program, but I believe you need to have your Bachelor's first.

Special education versions of all of these. - Special education is it's own complicated mess; you can get a special education degree with an endorsement, I believe special ed degrees also factor in grade levels, and there are also separate certifications needed. Get insight from your advisor- and someone who knows the college at your school for it- if you plan on going into it. - Frankly, I don't recommend going into it. The field of special ed lags behind the rest of the education field, and if I'm being honest, my education professors have consistently been better-versed in disability accommodation and advocacy than the special ed professors I've taken classes with.

You should also know...

A bachelor's degree won't be enough to teach any higher than high school; if you're interested in teaching at a college level, you should look into Master's programs.

Master's degrees also mean you get paid more! Teachers will often wait to get one until after they've been teaching for a few years- definitely consider if you want one at all, and when would be a good time for you to do that.

Look into what it means to teach in your state: the experiences other teachers have had there, what the pay is like, etc. Start thinking about where you want to teach, and if that's different from where you're getting your degree, consider the route to certification that makes sense for you (i.e., if you don't want to teach there, you probably don't want to be in a program that requires you to also finish your student teaching in order to earn your degree.)

You should also look into your college of education's philosophy of education ahead of time. There are some really great programs out there with really progressive ideas doing genuinely incredible work, and there are also colleges that uh... you will not agree with. Save yourself the misery if you can, and figure out ahead of time whether "should I transfer to a better program?" is going to be a question for you.

Look into application requirements for the art education major through the college of art ahead of time! Oftentimes they want a portfolio of your work, and while they may not be super hard on your actual skill level, they will almost certainly be looking very closely to make sure you fulfilled the requirements posted.

When you do your student teaching, consider looking into "emergency substitute" or "intern/student teacher substitute" certifications in that district. I don't recommend subbing when you're doing your student teaching, but you may be able to get a cert like that in your district, and it can be a really good stop-gap if you need one.

And some more general, practical tips:

Meet with your advisor so so much. At least once a quarter, when it's time to sign up for classes, but more than that if you have any questions at all! Use the resources available to you!

Look up professors on ratemyprofessors before registering for their classes. Particularly if there's a choice between a few of them, and even if you only have one option. The vibe check can be life-saving.

If you're waitlisted for a class, you should: 1. Email the professor ASAP and ask for an add code. Tell them you're looking forward to the class, and if there's any reason you need that specific class, tell them that, too. 2. Show up to the first day of class and stay until the end. Usually people will just not show up on the first day and drop the class in the system later, and professors will generally give out add codes at the end of the class to anyone who's waitlisted and still hanging around.

If you really want to take a class, but it isn't available to you for any reason (you haven't fulfilled a per-requisite, you're not in the major, class times conflict), consider emailing the professor about it. Oftentimes they'll give you an add code, and I've found art professors in particular are usually happy to let in students who don't have the per-requisites, especially if they're somewhat experienced artists.

Don't buy books for your class before the first class (with the exception of English classes). Professors will often "require" books they never actually use in the class, and oftentimes they'll outright say it that first day; or they'll post PDFs of the relevant excerpts for free, or they'll tell you where you can get them for cheaper. (I personally don't buy books until after the first few classes. If they're not even gonna quiz me on it, I'm not spending $150 on the textbook.)

Don't throw away art supplies (even paper!), and don't buy everything on your professor's materials list right away. You do not need the specific brand and thing they suggest, and you almost certainly won't need them the first day. Those lists are great if you literally don't have those supplies, but if your professor tells you to get a specific set of drawing pencils and you have a similar set from a different brand, and/or with different hardnesses, don't worry about it. (Also, if you're short on money, they often have backup supplies they can lend you- particularly for super specialized things, like carving tools for printmaking).

In general: look into the resources your school has to offer, and take advantage of them! Counseling centers, student health centers, disability accomodation centers (free testing and diagnosis? sometimes??), tutoring services, writing labs, gyms and pools and shit, free food hookups- all of it! Maybe you don't need or want it right now, but just knowing those things exist can be invaluable down the line.

If you feel guilty for using the resources your school is offering you, I am bapping your head with a paper towel tube.

Look into clubs! Join clubs! Socialize!! Shit, even sports teams- I can't tell you how many people I've told about my school's equestrian team who would have loved to join it if they'd known sooner. My school had a tabletop RPG club, a specific trans club, even an aro and ace club! Join that shit!! Show up to a meeting! Leave if the vibes are off!! I still talk to people I met through the trans club at my school, and I only went to, like, 4 meetings. Do it!!

I can't think of anything else, and this post is long as fuck now. Whoops.

Reach out if you have any other questions, and seriously, feel free to get in touch over DMs about it. Use your resources!

Good luck!!

[velvetcloxds]

Oh wow! It sounds like you have a lot going on! I’m so proud of you for pushing through your classes — remember that uni doesn’t last forever and that you’re working towards something incredible!! You got this!! <3

It’s so amazing that you get to cover your mentor’s class! That’s so cool! Is it exciting getting to work on your own? What’s the next step after your teaching practice?

I’m doing good!! I ended up switch from a triple major to a double major with two minors to better fit my goals for grad school, so now I’m a psychology and sociology major with minors in criminal justice and social justice. I decided I’m gonna take a year off after I finish these programs and I’m gonna volunteer or travel (or both!) before I start my master’s program so I can’t wait to get all of that sorted and planned! :)

it's really already lasted too long but at the same time I've been considering going further, doing a specialization year into special education because I've been truly blessed getting to work with the non-verbal autistic kid that's in our class waiting for placement into a special ed school and I'd love to learn more and be able to be better for him and kids like him that are on the spectrum but not enough for them to be moved to special schools according to the country's testing system- then I've also been thinking about doing a bridge year to be able to teach high school as well as primary and kindergarten so I'm torn, I want to be done and move on but I want to be able to be the best possible teacher for the kids I'm in the class with and have as many opportunities as possible

well things work a little differently over here cause we do a month of teaching practice every year instead of half a year of just teaching practice at the end of your degree, so I still have two years of studying left before I'm done unless I study further- although in my third year, I can legally be hired as a teacher and not a paid student teacher so I'm hoping and praying really hard that the school has an opportunity like that open next year but either way I'm basically just going to put myself out there after this year and figure out how to manage school and teaching as opposed to school and student teaching anyway there's options at least, either a teacher or a student teacher still until other opportunities come up

honestly, that sounds good, I'm sure it does feel even slightly more manageable with two as opposed to three- this also sounds incredibly interesting, mostly because it reads like spencer reid vibes and I love that. that sounds so exciting! do you have any ideas for where you'd like to go or where you'd like to volunteer? masters is such a commitment I still have so much respect for all you're doing and taking on, can't imagine how you're doing it all at once!

[seitmai]

You know the drill 😅

The way he strutted around the house naked was highly distracting, but you had so much to do.

I 100% would not be able to get ready having Bradley setting around naked lol

You wanted to argue that it was his big day, too. He could do anything for his presentation, and your kids would eat it up. But for you, Career Day was always a chance for the fourth grade teachers to show off who they were able to get in their classroom. Who had the coolest adults. It was ridiculous, but you were still excited about it.

Yes, let's show off the most amazing line up of adults !

Bradley's idea of breakfast was an enormous bowl of cereal, toast, muffins and a banana. "I don't have time to finish all of this!" "I'll eat whatever you don't eat," he promised. And he did.

That is very Bradley, but I love that for him haha

Second, he was already hoping and praying that Natasha was going to be able to distract you the way that he wanted. He needed a little bit of help from your students to make this extra special. 

Nat truly is his Wingwoman in very situation

And third, just because he thought his mom's retro ring from the early 1980s was cool didn't mean you would. But that was really the least of his concerns. He wanted you to have it if you agreed to marry him, but he'd buy you something else if you so desired.

So sweet and thoughtful 🥹

You sighed against him. "It's ridiculous, but I want my guests to be the coolest ones. The other fourth grade teachers all rolled their eyes at me for even writing to an aviator in the first place." "Joke's on them. You can't even get rid of me now," Bradley murmured, making you laugh. "You've got Nat and Marty. And one of your kids' parents owns a pizza shop. You're golden, Baby. Coolest fourth grade teacher ever."

Facts ☝🏻

"Jesus, Nat. I already told you I was anxious about this!" She huffed out a breath. "And I already told you that you could put in literally no effort at all, and she would say yes. You could hand her a ring and grunt, 'Marriage?' and she would start planning a wedding."

I love Nat's bluntness and nonchalance so much haha

Bradley laughed as he organized the pages again. "I want it to be special. Butterflies and all that shit. She makes me feel incredible."

🥹🥹🥹

"Why are you making me go after Lieutenant Trace?" he whispered as she engaged with the kids.

Oh no, poor Marty. He's gonna do great!

"I mean, once again, it would be Hangman and Coyote flying them, but even those two can handle holding a simple formation."

Hahaha iconic

"Do all of you think you can help your pen pal out with something for a few minutes?" Eyes went wide, backs went straight, and Oliver even saluted him as he started handing out the papers. "I brought all of the letters you kiddos sent me last year when I was deployed. There are a lot of them, and I'm going to use them for something special. A surprise for your teacher."

Aww it's so cute that he is gonna involve the kids in some way 🥰

"I can't tell you that," Bradley replied with a wink. "It's classified."

Perfect answer haha

"Are you really going to marry our teacher someday?" Violet asked as he handed her three of the handwritten notes. Bradley froze, unsure how to answer. "If she wants to marry me, then I definitely want to marry her."

Violet knows what's up

If you knew one thing about Ruby Masters, you knew she loved it when kids got excited about learning something new. And if you knew one thing about women in general, most of them loved a man in uniform. Right now, Marty was absolutely rocking his ensign khakis and his pins, and Ms. Masters stood up a little straighter when he turned your way with a smile on his face.

Uhhhh😏🤭

"Oh," Ms. Masters said. "It seems like Marty is... really good with his hands." Your lips parted in surprise. "I'm sure he must be," you replied, trying not to squeal as she smiled and covered her face in embarrassment.

"Not a quiz!" complained Jackie, but Bradley held up his hands in mock surrender.

Jackie is a mood, hahah

"Marty... Ms. Masters is hot and single, and she was flirting with you. She wanted you to ask for her phone number."

Go Marty!!!

The whole school was buzzing with excitement as everyone emptied out onto the lawn and the parking lot. Something must have happened earlier, because Marty and the school librarian were standing awfully close together in all the chaos. As far as Bradley could recall, he'd never seen that man smile so much before.

Ahhhhh yes!! 👏🏻🥳

Bradley put his own earplugs in before the sound of the jet wash hit. You and everyone else stared up at the sky where his colleagues were flying overhead, but he kept his eyes on you. He was in love. He had Carole's ring and the paper planes. He had all of these words that he wanted to say to you, but mostly he wanted to promise that he'd feel the same way about you forever. And he wanted to hear you say the same thing.

He is so in love I can't even 🥹🥰

Yours Truly, Bradley Bradshaw Part 25 | Rooster x Reader

Summary: Career Day arrives, and you definitely have the coolest collection of adults visiting your classroom. Bradley orchestrates a surprise, hoping you don't realize it's just a cover for something even bigger.

Warnings: fluff, adult language, 18+

Length: 4200 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female teacher!Reader

Check out my masterlist for more! Yours Truly, Bradley Bradshaw masterlist

You were up before your alarm, too excited to stay in bed for a minute longer. When you tried to roll away from Bradley, his knee dug into your butt, and you groaned.

"Morning, Gorgeous," he grunted, arm wrapping around you like a boa constrictor until you were snug up against him again.

"Bradley," you whined, trying to squirm away. "I'm sore from being spanked."

You could hear his soft rumble of laughter as he released you, and you dragged yourself out of the other side of the bed. You weren't sure how you were going to make it through the day like this. You didn't even know if you'd be able to sit down. Still, you couldn't stop the smile that bloomed across your face, and soon Bradley was wearing one to match.

"Maybe we should have saved that for tonight," you whispered, gingerly rubbing your butt as you pulled your most capable looking dress from the closet you now shared with Bradley.

"We can revisit that activity tonight if you'd like." Just when you were about to argue there was no way that was going to happen again just yet, he let his hand slip down to the right side of your butt which went untouched last night. He gave you a little squeeze and whispered, "I'll get breakfast ready. I want you one hundred percent ready to go for Career Day, Baby."

The way he strutted around the house naked was highly distracting, but you had so much to do. You wanted to make sure your hair and makeup were perfect, and you wanted to get to your classroom early. So you got started, and at some point when you were in the bathroom, Bradley must have put his flight suit on. He was wearing it when he knocked on the door, and you told him to come in while you rooted around under the sink, trying to find the lotion you wanted to use.

"What are you doing?" he asked, panic lacing his voice as you glanced up at him.

"Looking for my lotion. The stuff in the blue bottle." You turned back to your task, and a second later, Bradley was in front of you, snatching up the exact thing you were looking for.

"This it?" he asked anxiously, nudging the cabinet closed with his knee as he handed it to you.

"Thanks," you muttered, wondering why he was acting strange as you smoothed the lotion all over your hands and arms.

"Let's eat breakfast before you're late for your big day."

You wanted to argue that it was his big day, too. He could do anything for his presentation, and your kids would eat it up. But for you, Career Day was always a chance for the fourth grade teachers to show off who they were able to get in their classroom. Who had the coolest adults. It was ridiculous, but you were still excited about it.

Bradley's idea of breakfast was an enormous bowl of cereal, toast, muffins and a banana. "I don't have time to finish all of this!"

"I'll eat whatever you don't eat," he promised. And he did. You watched him inhale the rest of the food as you double checked that you had everything in your bag, and then the two of you went out to his Bronco with travel mugs of coffee.

------------------------------

Bradley was nervous about today. He couldn't pinpoint one reason why, because there were several. First of all, he'd spent so much time in your classroom already, maybe it wasn't the best idea to have him scheduled for last out of all the Career Day participants. The kids were bound to find him stale at some point, and Marty had just scratched the surface of his many talents. He didn't want it to be his fault if things ended on a low note for you today.

Second, he was already hoping and praying that Natasha was going to be able to distract you the way that he wanted. He needed a little bit of help from your students to make this extra special. 

And third, just because he thought his mom's retro ring from the early 1980s was cool didn't mean you would. But that was really the least of his concerns. He wanted you to have it if you agreed to marry him, but he'd buy you something else if you so desired.

"You're so quiet," you mused softly, and Bradley almost forgot he was holding your hand while he drove. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he said before clearing his throat. "Just going over what I want to talk to your kids about."

"What are you going to talk about today?"

He smiled and tilted the sun visor a little bit more. "Remember that video I posted on YouTube before I left in December? When I said there would be a quiz? I'm going to quiz them on everything they've learned with me. Stuff from the video and their field trip. Things I talked about in my letters. I'm going to try to stump them."

"I don't think you'll be able to," you said, lacing your fingers with his. "They hang on your every word. Just like I do."

Oh, he wanted you to have an engagement ring on that hand in the worst way. His life had changed so much since your first letter, but he knew pretty early on that he had feelings for you. And he knew as soon as the first date that he would end up here, completely in love with you.

When he pulled into your school parking lot, Bradley drove past all of the empty spots to drop you off at the front doors. "Aren't you coming with me?" you asked him, but he shook his head.

"I don't want to be a distraction for your morning routine. I'll wait out here for Nat and Marty and come inside with everyone else at nine."

"Okay," you replied, but you were looking straight ahead now. "I'm a little nervous."

"Why?" He shifted into park and reached for you.

You sighed against him. "It's ridiculous, but I want my guests to be the coolest ones. The other fourth grade teachers all rolled their eyes at me for even writing to an aviator in the first place."

"Joke's on them. You can't even get rid of me now," Bradley murmured, making you laugh. "You've got Nat and Marty. And one of your kids' parents owns a pizza shop. You're golden, Baby. Coolest fourth grade teacher ever."

You kind of rolled your eyes at him, but you smiled and kissed him before you climbed out. "I'll see you inside."

Bradley had a while to wait for Nat and Marty to arrive, and he considered running to Starbucks for his newest addiction. Instead he grabbed the bag that was tucked underneath his seat and started to sort through all the notes inside. It was a sizable collection now. All of the letters you and your students wrote to him made a stack a few inches thick. Some of the pages were creased and worn, but they would work perfectly for what he had planned.

When Nat tapped on his window, he jolted, sending pages flying.

"Why are you so jumpy?" she asked, opening his door.

"Jesus, Nat. I already told you I was anxious about this!"

She huffed out a breath. "And I already told you that you could put in literally no effort at all, and she would say yes. You could hand her a ring and grunt, 'Marriage?' and she would start planning a wedding."

Bradley laughed as he organized the pages again. "I want it to be special. Butterflies and all that shit. She makes me feel incredible."

His best friend leaned against the door, crossing her arms over her flight suit, and asked, "You still want Marty and I to help with your distraction scheme?"

"I need you to."

"You got it."

--------------------------------

Your students were on their best behavior. The guests were all excited to be there. Bradley kept smiling at you. Your rear end was still sore, but it turns out there was no reason to be nervous at all. Even the music teacher and school librarian decided to hang out in your classroom for part of the day, because your kids talked it up so much.

Nia's mom, a pediatrician, gave a presentation about keeping your body healthy. Oliver's dad talked about designing skyscrapers and then let the kids build with Lego blocks. Now you were listening to Natasha talk about the challenges of landing a fighter jet on an aircraft carrier, and even the parents were enthralled.

"What do you think would happen if I flew in too low?" she asked, pointing at Jackie who had her hand up.

"You could like miss the deck?"

"Absolutely," Nat replied. "And what if I came in from too high?"

Jayden's hand shot up this time. "You could crash!"

"I could indeed," Nat answered seriously. Five more hands shot up in the air as she talked about velocity, and Marty, who was standing next to you at the back of the room, leaned in closer to you.

"Why are you making me go after Lieutenant Trace?" he whispered as she engaged with the kids.

You smiled at the older man in his khaki shirt and dark pants. "You can hold your own, Marty. Trust me." You knew for a fact he arrived with two tool boxes and some engine parts you couldn't even identify. You were already excited for what that meant. He would be just fine.

Suddenly the room erupted in applause as Natasha finished up, and you made your way up to the front of the classroom. "Thank you so much, Lieutenant Trace. Next we will hear from our favorite mechanic whom we met on our field trip to North Island. Marty needs a few minutes to set up, so in the meantime, Nia's mom is going to share some healthy snacks that we can enjoy."

You were going to go stand with Bradley while your classroom dissolved into the soft hum of conversation, but Nat cornered you first. "I just got a text from Maverick about something so exciting, but I need to run it past you first. Can we talk in the hallway?"

"Uh, sure." 

You looked around the room before deciding on asking Ms. Masters the librarian to help you out. "Would you mind monitoring things for a couple minutes?"

"I'll take care of it," she promised with a nod, and you knew everyone was in good hands as you slipped out into the hallway with your boyfriend's best friend.

"How would you feel about a flyover today?" 

You stared at Natasha, blinking silently at her words. "A flyover?"

"Yeah," she replied casually.

"Like over the school?"

"Mmhmm," she hummed, buffing her nails on her flight suit.

"Are you serious right now?"

"Yes."

You felt like she was being kind of purposely slow to give details as your mind swirled. "You're talking actual Naval aircrafts?"

"Of course," she said with a grin. "I mean, once again, it would be Hangman and Coyote flying them, but even those two can handle holding a simple formation."

Now you were really excited. "How is this actually happening?" you whispered.

"Bradley and I asked Mav about it the other day," she said with a shrug. "Any chance we can walk out to the parking lot and make sure there's enough room for everyone to stand safely?"

When you tried to peek through the rectangular window in your classroom door, Natasha slid her body in front of it. When you tried to look over her head, she seemed to grow several inches as she went up on her tiptoes. 

"Yeah... we can go look at the parking lot." 

You were wearing your key card on your lanyard, and Ms. Masters could probably keep your class under control for an entire day if you needed her to.

"Well then, let's go."

----------------------------------

As soon as you walked out of the room with Nat, Bradley jumped to action. It wasn't his intention to steamroll Nia's mom or her packs of apple slices, but he had something important he needed the kids to help him with. Marty was setting up some sort of demonstration with tool boxes on the desks in the front row, but Bradley grabbed the stack of papers he brought with him and cleared his throat.

"Do all of you think you can help your pen pal out with something for a few minutes?" Eyes went wide, backs went straight, and Oliver even saluted him as he started handing out the papers. "I brought all of the letters you kiddos sent me last year when I was deployed. There are a lot of them, and I'm going to use them for something special. A surprise for your teacher."

"What kind of surprise?" Henry asked, crunching through a piece of apple.

"I can't tell you that," Bradley replied with a wink. "It's classified."

"Are you really going to marry our teacher someday?" Violet asked as he handed her three of the handwritten notes.

Bradley froze, unsure how to answer. "If she wants to marry me, then I definitely want to marry her."

"She wants to marry you," Violet said easily. "What are we doing with all of these letters?"

"Paper airplanes," Bradley announced, holding up the last sheet of paper. Even the parents and Marty seemed amused now. "We are folding them up into the best looking paper airplanes we can make within the next six minutes or so. Watch how I fold this one, and then work on as many as you can, okay?"

He folded it up using the top of your desk when he needed to smooth the creases, and then he held it up for everyone to see. "Start folding!"

There was a flurry of activity as he walked around helping, and even the librarian and music teacher were getting involved. Bradley whipped through a few himself before walking around the room with an open trash bag.

"When you're done, drop them in here."

"But what are they for?" Oliver asked, dropping three airplanes into the bag. "Are you going to have airplane races with our teacher?"

"Not exactly. All of you are really doing me a favor here though. I promise."

"Do you love our teacher?" Jayden asked. Bradley thought maybe he should have felt silly admitting it in front of all of the adults, but he did it anyway.

"I absolutely do. I'm going to use the paper planes for a little project to show her just how much, okay?" He got several nods in response as he checked the time. You and Nat left seven minutes ago, and he knew he couldn't hope for much more than that. "Time's up! toss everything into the bag. And you can't tell her about any of this!"

You were smiling when you walked back in with Nat. He thought that things must have gone well for everyone as he tied up the bag. Marty was ready to give his presentation, and the kids all scuttled back to their seats.

Now he had everything he needed to make this the best weekend of his life.

------------------------------

Marty looked a little nervous as he started out by greeting everyone and telling them a bit about himself. He told your class that he had a lot of fun the last time he saw everyone on the naval base. You already knew about his decades-long Naval career, and your students already thought he was extremely cool, but he was about to get even cooler.

"I brought three identical intake manifold pieces from jets exactly like the ones that Lieutenant Bradshaw and Lieutenant Trace fly. Does anyone know how they work?"

Several of your students raised their hands, and you watched as Marty walked around the room with the engine parts and let them answer his questions to the best of their ability before he took over.

"This is fascinating." You turned to your right where Ms. Masters was watching Marty, completely absorbed. "I can't believe you got military clearance to take your class to visit North Island," she whispered.

You were about to tell her that it was really all thanks to Lieutenant Bradshaw when you realized she was perhaps looking at Marty even more than she was paying attention to the engine parts in his rough hands. You cleared your throat softly and said, "You know, meeting Marty was probably the highlight of that whole day. And that includes touring the air traffic control tower."

"Really?" she murmured.

"Mmhmm. He put on a brilliant workshop for us. And he's just the sweetest man. Really takes the time to connect with the kids."

If you knew one thing about Ruby Masters, you knew she loved it when kids got excited about learning something new. And if you knew one thing about women in general, most of them loved a man in uniform. Right now, Marty was absolutely rocking his ensign khakis and his pins, and Ms. Masters stood up a little straighter when he turned your way with a smile on his face.

"Okay, time for some fun," Marty said as he headed back to the front of the classroom. "One manifold has been put together correctly." He held it up in the air once again. "Two are in pieces on these desks. I'm going to take this one apart and put it back together while you watch. Pay close attention, because after that, we're going to have a race."

Your kids looked absolutely delighted, and you had to ask Oliver not to sit on his desk while he watched the demonstration. Even all of the adults in the room were watching intently as Marty worked with a wrench from one of the toolboxes until he finished reassembling everything.

"Pretty simple, right?" he asked. Your kids all nodded and answered yes. "Who thinks they can race me?" You gasped in delight when a few of your students raised their hands. "What if I made it a little easier? What if I was blindfolded?"

"No way," you whispered, meeting Bradley's eyes across the room where he was holding a garbage bag for some reason. "Is he serious?" you whispered.

"He's so serious," Bradley confirmed, and sure enough, Marty pulled a handkerchief from his pocket.

"I'll let your teacher pick my opponent," Marty said as he tied the square of fabric so it was covering his eyes.

You needed to pick a child who would be a gracious winner or loser, but you were almost convinced Marty was going to be able to beat any of them. "How about... Jayden."

You set him up next to Marty, making sure he had all of the tools he needed lined up. Then you gave them a countdown and stepped away again. The room erupted in cheers as Jayden puzzled his way through the task. Marty seemed to be moving smoothly, using muscle memory to do something he'd done hundreds of times before.

"Oh," Ms. Masters said. "It seems like Marty is... really good with his hands."

Your lips parted in surprise. "I'm sure he must be," you replied, trying not to squeal as she smiled and covered her face in embarrassment.

It turns out Jayden didn't stand a chance. "Marty wins!" boomed Bradley's voice, and you watched as the older man peeked out from his blindfold with a hesitant little smile on his face.

You were still applauding his effort as you thanked him for joining your classroom today. You were almost overwhelmed by how wonderfully the day seemed to be going. Bradley was your last guest, and then there was the flyover that Nat promised.

"Our last guest really doesn't need an introduction," you said with a laugh.

"Is it Lieutenant Bradshaw?" Oliver asked, ready to climb on top of his desk again as your boyfriend strolled up to stand next to you.

"Yes, of course it's Lieutenant Bradshaw." You smiled at him and said, "Take it away, Lieutenant."

There was a little smirk on his lips as he turned away from you to address your kids. "I know you all learned a lot about aviation this year, but right now, we're going to see just how much. I hope you all remembered that I said I was going to give you a quiz."

"Not a quiz!" complained Jackie, but Bradley held up his hands in mock surrender.

"If you pass, I can promise with one hundred percent certainty that you'll love the prize."

"There's a prize?" Violet asked, perking up.

"A secret prize," Bradley confirmed.

"Alright," Oliver said, still a little skeptical. "Let's do it."

Bradley started calling out questions, letting your students deliberate as a group to come up with an answer, and you leaned against the back wall near where Marty was packing up his toolboxes. 

"That was absolutely fascinating," you heard Ms. Masters tell him softly. "I'm Ruby Masters, the Mira Mesa Elementary librarian."

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Marty with pink cheeks, wiping his palm on his shirt before shaking her hand. "It's nice to meet you," he whispered while Bradley continued to try to stump your kids. "This is the first time I've ever been to a career day."

"Well, you're a natural with the kids," she replied, still holding his hand. "And obviously very smart. I'm kind of new to the topic of aviation, but always interested in learning more."

"Oh. There's an endless amount to learn," he muttered, staring at Ruby like he couldn't look away.

"If you're ever free and feel like it, maybe you could show me how you rebuilt that manifold so quickly?"

Bradley had your kids taking turns writing at the board now, but you couldn't stop eavesdropping as you witnessed Marty go silent. The crash and burn was painful as he just stood there while Ruby finally extracted her hand. You were silently begging Marty to say something. Anything. But the seconds passed, and Ruby took a step away from him toward the door.

"Okay, no worries. It was nice to meet you." She gave you a forced smile as she slipped out into the hallway, and you rounded on Marty who was standing there like someone just stole his favorite toy at recess.

"I don't mean to overstep, so please feel free to tell me to mind my own business," you whispered.

"Uh. Okay?"

"Marty... Ms. Masters is hot and single, and she was flirting with you. She wanted you to ask for her phone number."

His eyes went wide as he gaped at you. "She did? Are you sure?"

You cradled your forehead and groaned softly. "I'm positive. She can't have gone far. The library is out and to the left, and then another left."

He nodded before dashing out of the room, leaving you alone just as Bradley said, "Are you sure you're all still in fourth grade? Or is this a grad school level physics class? You win. I can't even stump you. Come see me or Lieutenant Trace to get ear plugs for the Super Hornet flyover."

Your classroom was probably louder than the jet engine would be.

-------------------------

The whole school was buzzing with excitement as everyone emptied out onto the lawn and the parking lot. Something must have happened earlier, because Marty and the school librarian were standing awfully close together in all the chaos. As far as Bradley could recall, he'd never seen that man smile so much before.

"Ear plugs in! And then hands over your ears!" Natasha shouted, giving a safety demonstration. "Do it just how I do it!"

It was almost time. Bradley tried to keep the hand holding and cheek kisses to a minimum, but it was so hard when you were standing right next to him. You looked tired but happy as you put your orange, industrial ear plugs in place. With a dreamy look on your face, you leaned up and kissed him right on the lips, and that familiar roar of an F/A-18 engine approached. 

Bradley put his own earplugs in before the sound of the jet wash hit. You and everyone else stared up at the sky where his colleagues were flying overhead, but he kept his eyes on you. He was in love. He had Carole's ring and the paper planes. He had all of these words that he wanted to say to you, but mostly he wanted to promise that he'd feel the same way about you forever. And he wanted to hear you say the same thing.

As soon as you had your ear plugs out again, you threw your arms around his neck with a huge smile. "Thank you, Bradley."

"For what? I barely did anything."

You laughed and shook your head. "You did everything."

-------------------------------

I love Career Day. Marty is the man. The oblivious man, but the man nonetheless. And our boy Bradley is ready to go! Thanks @beyondthesefourwalls

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[depressednerd]

It just very baffling how I finished 2 books in the span of 2 weeks when I barely even read any of my tbr list. Like what the fuck is up with that?

Anyways, I think my reaction about First-Class Lawyer is already quite late, since ei already finished another book already, so I should start with that.

First-class lawyer wasn't really something I planned to read. I saw it in passing ages ago, from angieloveshua who gave it under recommendation. What caught my eye by that time was Po Yun, which I had already finished (and just realized never managed to make a post about it, the sheer plot with that is still driving me mad and my love/hate/love relationship with one of the characters still bothers me til this date).

Anyways, First-Class Lawyer was oomph. The plot was wow, just wow. It wasn't pain-numbingly boring, as what I always thought when it comes to lawyers and I agree with that comment that if you ever read it, you'll want to be a lawyer (but we know at this point the difference between fiction and reality 🙂). First-Class Lawyer delivered to me a futuristic world full of intertwined events that were all part of one big plot. The mystery were sometimes kinda predictable but I was hit by the end some chilling revelations that I did not expect (the sweeper was a freaking chilling character like holy shit). I also loved how they opened my eyes when it comes to court proceedings. It was interesting to delve on the strategies lawyers take up to defend their clients. However, it did not show much about the shadier sides of lawyers, about how defending a known guilty person to reach a not guilty plea and victimize one lawyer even. While yes, it showed Yan Suizhi and Gu Yan taking cases where they defend clients who they knew weren't innocent, but it sweetens this event and showed how they made it seem they got away with it but still met justice (kinda optimistic in the real world). But I'm not gonna delve deeper on that because it fiction (and I should not apply much the rules of reality to the world created by an author creating a world different from.the reality we live in, respect and all). So I'll end with that

And now we come to the real and central part of this story. Zhe Romance 😎.

At first, I thought it was going to be a slow-burn, but after some revelations from our dear Young Master Joe, the fall was fated to happen.

I had some qualms with Teacher/Student relationship because I kinda see a teacher as someone's second parent. Additionally, I'm bothered with the age difference. The novel did downplay the age difference a bit, making Yan Suizhi a young and promising lawyer, youngest First-Class Lawyer ever, so he's probably around his late 20s when he became a teacher to a 18 year old Gu Yan? Correct me if I'm wrong. (Honestly, the novel muddled my brain from figuring out their age difference, so correcting me clears up this great mystery). However, there were still the power dynamics. I already tasted dom/subs lit before, but honestly got turned off if it ever blossomed into a relationship. So I was guarded how the author will play this power dynamic between the two.

And then, I saw they switched it up?? So the teacher undercovered as a disciple and the disciple became the teacher?? But sometimes, the intern behaves like his former self and the student allows it but doesn't bow to him?? And, it blew away the teacher/student dynamics. What I saw was how a close senpai and his kouhai interact, basically imagine 2 people who are friends but one is older than the other. It doesn't really feel teacher/student at all. And that was refreshing. The story did dabble about how uncomfortable it is about their previous relationship of being a teacher/student but both agreed to, not per say forget about it, but rather not delve deeper to it and affect their relationship. It was mind-blowing, and allowed me to regain my interest in teacher/student relationship.

Gu Yan. Gu Yan, Gu Yan , Gu Yan. How could anybody hate this adorable person. He has a cold exterior but within that is a very soft interior. He may act harshly and not pay attention you when you speak. But you could always rely on him when it really needs. And this tenderness ways is showed to the world when he interacts with Yan Suizhi.

Sigh. Gu Yan is something else. The sheer amount of pinning our dear Gu Yan had for his Dean Yan has been contained for so long, (10 fuckin years (although some demon pinned for 800+ years but we don't compare in this post, we all honor their pinning no matter how long, what matters is their feelings)), and the fact he still restrained himself, no matter how near that person was. He clearly prioritized Yan Suizhi, and made exceptions, although quite inappropriate, so that he could be comfortable despite living under a different skin. He was very considerate and his care towards the person he love was chosen. And god, the fever chapter was so satisfying.

But me liking Gu Yan doesn't refrain me from loving the troll. Yan Suizhi is a very amusing MC. His self-confidence is downright laughable that I kept on laughing at god knows what hours as he believed his acting was damn good, unknowing that his student already cracked his identity before one month ends (I'm not sure exactly when Gu Yan figured it out). And the way he solved his problem freely without thinking much of other's perception, just how he is being his unrepentant self is exciting to watch. He's humor is something relatable and the way he behaves with the people around him, how he teases everyone, especially when he's in a bad mood, is just golden. Their faces, I can't stop laughing.

But, what I valued the most the whole time is his interaction with Gu Yan. The way his guard is lets down, that's when he see his true self. Because, the way he treats everyone in the novel (about 3/4 of the story) still require some acting, since he's supposed to hide it in the first place. The only times he could be himself is when he's alone with Gu Yan, and he does that unconsciously. He found Gu Yan comfortable, and after some flashback, has felt this way for quite some time even back in their teacher/student days. Just the way Gu Yan acts differently from the people around him attracted his attention to him and everything falls to place.

Yan Suizhi is enclosed by this mystery. No one in his circle could ever pierce that bubbble, and neither could we, with how little the author gives about his past until around half of the story(?). And we learned that he put everyone within arm's length, never letting them too close and lives with that great of anonymity for quite a long time. And, I could relate with that. No one knowing who you are and settling to die with the fact that no one would never know you (I'm remembering Klein now as I type this).

We saw how Gu Yan slowly peeled layer after layer of Yan Suizhi and loving those parts unconditionallh. I cherished the point where Yan Suizhi slowly shared himself to Gu Yan, allowing one person to know his story, willingly share a part of himself to Gu Yan and that was beautiful. We slowly learn of him as he slowly started to depend on Gu Yan. And we saw this person, who has always been independent and alone find someone he could depend on.

And that's just sweet and what made me stick knowing their ending, a seemingly fairytale that I always wanted to have but will never deserve.

Besides the main ship, the side ship are worth screaming for. Joe and Ke Jin, I didnt saw the potential but after realizing and learning of Joe's feelings made me root for them finding a cure more. Like, my man has spent 3 years (probably more, not certain) in the company with the guy he loves, however, in silence. But he still stuck, and even studied psychology to tend his daily needs. Now I wonder why I didn't saw that with that much dedication. And seeing them together at the end felt satisfying seeing Joe be with the person he loves not being addled by a mental burden. I see a hint of George and Zhao, but I'm not sure if I'm interpreting things or there's a possibility there. Also, I want Eunice and Laura too.

I should probably end it to that. Just realized I amde a fuckin essay. Sorry if it's a bit too long to read, but like I said, don't like it don't read it. This is just me trying to be unrepentantly myself. God knows I need a bit of Yan Suizhi's self-confidence.

[sehunniepotwrites]

HAAAAAAAI i'm so glad i could bring a smile to your face in your day through my messages heheheheh ☺️ how was your day today!!!

omg is this telepathy or what! i was just considering and thinking of whether i wanted to pursue a masters after finishing up my undergrad degree studies!! hehe what's your masters in if it's not too private to ask 🫢 i was just thinking of doing masters because of my current timeline!! it's rly rly tuff to find a job here after graduating because the mkt is currently just kinda meh :/ so i was just wondering if perhaps going for masters would put me in a better spot!! but then again masters is something i can decide at a later time so rn im just gathering opinions from ppl who have taken it! wbu!! do u have any thoughts or opinions? :")

OMGGGGGG have i mentioned im a SUCKER for childhood besties concepts cuz that's just so so so cute 🥹🥹 I LOVE IT I CANT WAIT!!!! 😍 and my goodness how r u alw so creative w your ideas??? iM so unimaginative that like stories alw amaze me 🫢 hehehehe and HELLO wdym u have a life like a fic odnfoenfoke THATS SO COOL AND SWEET N LOVELY gosh i'd WISH i had like one thing from a fic ever happen to me 🥰🥰🥰🥰

AHHHH im so glad u could meet your friends and hang out together!! wish u had as much fun as u possibly could!! hehehehe how nice would it be if we could always be hanging out w our besties and just spending time together 🥺 hope you guys r meeting again soon!!! sounds rly rly fun to karaoke together it's been so so long for me to both karaoke and meet my friends cuz literally everyone im close to or care about is on exchange this semester :/

which brings me to my never ending rant of how despresso espresso i am this semester >< it's a rly tuff time in my life rn cuz im trying to navigate and find an internship that matches both my interest and my degree cuz it is a graduation requirement for me 🤡 i guess im at least getting somewhere w the search cuz i did have a pretti good offer lately! and im currently just pending the outcome of another role i interviewed for under the same company before making a decision (if i do get offered by the other role too heh) 😊 but then im just rly rly LONELY this semester and im just sad cuz im attending classes and doing everything by myself :/ and i dont have friends arnd locally rn that i could meet and just unwind after a period of stress so its rly draining me a lot on top of my never ending assignments projects and exams 🥲🥲 and yea ldr is so so tough and its so hard to keep my emotions in check because of how big of an overthinker i am so im always just having sleepless nights, constant nightmares and sometimes even sleep paralysis 🥲 i guess im becoming more independent from this whole experience though! forces me to become a whole even without everyone by my side and to continue living and functioning, doing what i should be doing!

i love coming to talk to u and reading all your responses too!! 🩵 m alw looking forward to your replies and your kind words to me hehehehe keeps me going!!!

love, 🍑

i've spent the weekend in bed becuase i'm sick again! i binged s2 of the summer i turned pretty and i cried a whole bunch. i love how they really took the angsty route this season--really showed how diff people deal with grief! probs gonna call out tomorrow because i've been sneezing like crazy and my voice is lowkey gone ;; i think i'm gonna try to get some writing done and post a teaser for a story that may never be completed but it's too good to just stay in my drafts!!

oh sure, i have my masters in education. i went thru a one year ma program with a teacher's cred tied into it too. my program was unique in that they condensed a two year prog into one accelerated and it was the toughest year of my life tbh. working full time as a teacher and going to school full time for basically two degrees was tough.

i love all my ideas but i haven't been able to finish them!!! i really want to get them out to the world bc theyre too good to sit in my drafts but it's so incomplete!! the one i am thinking about posting can be a standalone because its such an open-ended ending but there's still WAY more planned for it.

if you have time, playing games together online is a good way to keep in contact. we played pictionary on a website and it was super fun during the pandemic a lot!

it looks like youre slowly getting your ducks in a row for the internship despite the stress! but i see how missing your so and friends can affect your mood. feeling alone is never the best feeling and i totally see where you are coming from. but look at you, you're already looking at the positives out of your stressful situation! that's so great! you can only go up from here, you know? and listen, this is something i always tell my students, each person has their own timeline--their own time to make mistakes, to figure out what they want or need, etc. you may take longer than others but you don't need to worry about others. worry about you and focus on the things you can do for yourself to make you better. and if you make a mistake, that's just a lesson you can take. it's all about your growth mindset!

love u lots!!!

[itshyuka]

I think I'll use this little guy as an emoji 🦜

First off!! What did you think of do it like that? It still hasn't grown on me 😭

This is gonna be a long ask 😬

How did you get covid?? Glad to know you're better now!!

What courses you failed? Was it because it was hard or it was getting too much? I think I'll become a villain if/when I fail 🦔

That talk about immune system reminded me of a cousin who was working in a kindergarten and she was telling about the kids coughing in hers and the teachers face 😭

Didn't know you are from Australia!! The accent is everything! I hope that in the future I can visit there, after I (hopefully) graduate and start working.

True!! Life truly is full of surprises

My crushing life always sabotages me!! For real. So the first one is from my class 😶 and he's super smart, really cute and is into this one thing that I'm really into too!! How fantastic! But after watching him I saw that he wears a ring and after, you know, some stalking yeah he's definitely taken.

The 2nd one is from another course. Now, I remember seeing him during the first week there and thinking damn he's really cute!! After making some friends in class this other girl, my colleague, was talking about her crush on him to our group slsjskks and I was like well not like I was gonna make a move anyway. But!!! Turns out he's taken too 🫠

There's probably a lot other more, there's this one so far I have only seen twice, at the bus stop. He wears glasses /actually all three of them do!!/ And god such a cutie, no idea if he's taken or not, but with the way my lucky works if he's not he's gonna be soon. All the guys I end up liking get a gf after some time.

Don't know if this is worth noting, I feel like a teenager but I'm actually over 21, and definitely a late bloomer, still waiting to bloom!

🦜

hahaha that’s okay, love a long ask in this house 😌 also ahhhh i'm so sorry this is like a 3 month old ask HAHAHAHHA

anyway to summarise really quickly! do it like that was okay, it wasn't my favourite. the recent collab though! that's a bop. also i think i got COVID on the flight back home from a holiday asjdfh it affected me for like a solid two weeks after i recovered as well 💀 also yes to loving the australian accent hasfjkashjkf i love having it even if mine isn't the strongest.

i completely failed one of my tax courses and then i bungled a finance exam or two hahahahahah it was all becoming too much at this point bc i KNEW i didn’t want to be an accountant anymore, so my motivation to study was blah. but i’d already committed 4 years, what was one extra year…. so i decided to just finish it and move on to a masters 🥲

ANYWAY THE IMPORTANT PART!!! I saw your update about ring guy being actually married which sucks but oh well. it's always the cute guys that are already taken zzzz HOW ARE ALL THE OTHERS????? I'M IN NEED OF UPDATES 💖 also it's okay to be a late bloomer!! i wish i was single more in my early 20s askdjfh (but i feel like that also comes from a wacky place of privilege to some.... maybe...... either way wholesome authentic friendships are also AMAZING relationships too!!!! i'm only now realising how important friends are to me vvv late in the game)

[inky-cap13]

Something Wicked This Way Comes: A Legend of Zelda Fanfic

The fic is here! and it fought me tooth and nail. a good chunk of this was written months ago and I don't like how it's written now, so I'm gonna call this the first draft and rewrite it based on memory. This specific fic takes place in the Minish cap/ four swords time and includes an original villain character I created. Enjoy my insanity under the readmore!

Zelda once heard a story. 

She’d been young, and curious about the world. One night she’d asked her mother for a story, about those creepy tunnels between the walls. Her mother had sighed, sat on the edge of Zelda’s bed, and told her. 

It went like this:

Long ago, there was a beast that terrorized the lands of Hyrule. It was known as the Puppeteer, and it controlled an army of horrible and demonic creatures as its puppets. The creature only stopped its reign of terror when the Goddess-blooded princess figured out that it would only stop if it was sealed away from the light entirely. She chased it beneath the ancient castle, sealing it away in the deepest reaches of the catacombs, never to see its way out to the land again. 

It sleeps. It seethes in its sleep, knowing it will get out one day, when the magic keeping it captive runs weak. It seeks revenge, revenge against the one who sealed it there to rot. It will break the seal. It wants out. 

After all, you know what they say. 

“Something wicked this way comes.”  

-

Zelda watches yet another bird fly by the window. She can’t tell if Link keeps dropping by to entertain her or if the birds just like going that way around the castle towers. She’s so bored, only ever looking at her teacher in order to fool him into thinking she’s paying attention to the repetition of a lesson she learned and mastered when she was twelve. 

She was just about to turn back to the window when there was a knock at the door. A page walked in, nervous and unsure of what to do in the presence of a princess bored out of her skull. He passed a piece of paper to the teacher and scurried out of the room. 

The teacher opened the paper. 

“You’ve been summoned by the King. It seems urgent.” 

Zelda was more than happy to leave, easily sliding out of her chair and out the door. 

It was a nice summer’s day, a few weeks before Din’s Festival began and pleasant enough that the windows of the palace were open. She felt the summer breeze drift in through the open window, along with the sounds of daily life in Castle Town. 

She arrived at her father’s study, where the King himself was knee- deep in paperwork for the kingdom. She waited patiently for him to finish reading the latest piece of paper, enjoying the summer breeze coming in from a nearby window. 

Father sighed as he set the paper down, looking far older than he normally does. He turned to her.

“Zelda, as you know, Din’s Festival is coming up, upon the summer solstice. The festival has an address and a role for you to play in the festivities, but I believe that you aren’t quite ready to fill that role.” 

Zelda couldn’t believe it. After everything that has happened to her since she had been only eleven, and she wasn’t ready? Bull. Shit. 

“The role of the Goddess Hylia is normally played by the princess once she reaches a suitable age, but you aren’t at that age.”

For Hylia’s sake she’s seventeen. 

“Maybe next year you’ll be able to play the part of the Goddess. I’m sorry.”

With that, he dismissed her and turned back to his work. 

_

Zelda was irate. Not of suitable age, her ass. She’s seen more bullshit in her entire stay at the tower of the wind than he’s seen in over a decade. Hell, she saw more of the world while she was a stone statue than any king has seen in the last two hundred years. Why should she prove herself only to get pushed aside-

A squeak ricocheted down the long hall. 

She paused in her tirade, listening. 

Another, closer. 

She looked down, careful to watch where her feet were in case she stepped on it, mouse or otherwise. 

A squeak came from her left, and she looked down to see a small, mouselike shape on the ground. She crouched carefully, bowing her head to try and see it better. Small, colorful streaks in a feathery tail, a distinctive cap…

“Link?”

He squeaked an affirmative. She cupped her hands and carefully let him climb onto them. He hooked tiny claws into her sleeves and began to climb up her arm to her shoulder, careful not to fall as she stood up. He grabbed onto a lock of her hair to anchor himself. 

“You heard him, correct?” 

A squeak. 

“He has been more like this, even though I have been ready to do things like this since I was fifteen.”

Another squeak. This was getting old. 

“We should get to a place you can change back. I need words, not squeaks.”

A rapid series of squeaks followed, and Zelda felt Link stamping his foot on her shoulder. 

“I can let you walk, you know.”

The squeaks stopped, but she knew he was still a bit upset, and his eyes were that dark blue color he liked so much. 

She arrived at the main gates, and strode through accompanied by a bit of illusion magic that made it look like she was a servant instead of the princess. She loved that spell. 

She hurried through the market, softly giggling along to the muffled squeaks she heard. Finally, she arrived at the city gates, and beyond was the patch of trees that she liked to sneak out to. She slipped into the bushes, and came out into the clearing in the center, just far enough in the woods that they were out of earshot from the main road. Link hopped down from her shoulder and scurried to the hollow log that helped him transform. He stood before her in no time, though the curse of the minish made him stay permanently the height of a child. 

“Your dad’s an old coot.” He said instantly, and his eyes were bright red. 

She smothered giggles. That was another thing about Link, he blurted things without warning sometimes. Of course, she did know about his colors, and the fact that they showed in his hair didn’t help his case sometimes. He was an odd case, and had a reputation for going silent one moment and yelling the next. 

Of course, most people also inadvertently insulted him by commenting about his appearance, so she hardly put the blame on him. 

“I’m serious!  He’s never let you do anything unless it’s for your emergency duties or working with the sages! He’s gotta let you do something other than sit in that stuffy castle all day!”

Yeah. He didn’t really like her father’s parenting methods. Obviously he respected the King, it was practically required, but the ways Link ranted about how she needed more freedom made his point all the more evident. 

She hated staying in that castle too, and rarely got to slip away from the endless busy work she was assigned. There was a reason she liked the illusion spells she’d learned. 

“I know,” She sighed, “And he is probably not going to let me do anything even if I am old enough to do my duties. I just- I wish he would see that I am perfectly capable of taking over my rightful duties as princess.” 

Link knew as much, and he knew she hated being forced so high above the citizens of Hyrule she was supposed to rule when the king stepped down or died. She’d been the focus of two separate adventures, where she’d been turned to stone or kidnapped by the wind mage Vaati and the dark spirit Ganon. Zelda had been helpless to do anything but watch from her tower or her spot in the castle courtyard, turned to stone. She had wanted to be down there with him, warning and helping to fight off the evil beings sent to stop him from completing his quest. 

She had been taught to wield weapons in the back yard of the blacksmith’s shop, and was decent with a shortsword and bow. She could fight if she needed, and she rarely did. That didn’t stop the itching in her hands when she was upset or when she just needed somewhere to go and blow off some steam. The blacksmith’s yard was one of her favorite places to be when she snuck out, and she was getting better with the various stock weapons that were to be melted and re-forged if they weren’t sold in time for new ones to be made. 

Smith’s yard was littered with such weapons when the two got there, and she picked her way towards the back door where she knew there were training clothes waiting for her. She’d trained there enough to know where everything was, and considered Smith a grandfather to her. 

Zelda could hear him in the front, speaking with a customer about something. She made sure to be quiet as she went up the stairs and down the hall to the ‘guest’ room she’d claimed as hers long ago. Her training clothes were neatly folded on the bed, they’d done the laundry while she’d been gone. She got dressed quickly, donning the green tunic and trousers that matched Link’s old tunic. She picked her bow and quiver from the corner and did her hair up in a messy bun. The spell on the old pin made her face unrecognizable as the princess, and only a simple pretty smith’s daughter otherwise. At least, that was the cover story if anyone asked. Just a smith’s daughter, who lived with her mother in castle town sometimes. 

She stepped out of her room to see Link impatient by the stairs. She followed him down to the yard, where the targets and training dummies were already set up. She got to work, hitting target after target with arrows trained for the bull’s eye. She was sure in her movements, having trained since she was twelve and rebellious against her father enough to agree to it. 

When the targets were filled with arrows, she turned to training with the throwing knives she’d gotten for her sixteenth birthday from Link. She was less proficient with them, and she wanted the same level as the bow. She still hit the targets painted on the slats of wood, but they weren’t very well thrown or hit the bull’s eye. She trained until the sun was nearly set, and hurried to re-dress herself and get back to the castle before dark. She knew she’d be in trouble if she disappeared for too long without an explanation, and she didn’t want to be trailed by a castle guard again. 

Link was bad enough without the presence of another guard. 

She snuck back in as the sun set, and was back in the castle’s halls before she knew it. She was approached by a page, the same as the one who had come into her study earlier. He escorted her back to her chambers, where she bathed early for the night, and dressed in an evening gown for dinner. She sat at her mirror and brushed her hair, contemplating her hairstyle for the evening. 

A soft knock came from her door, and she called for them to come in. Her father entered, shutting the door behind him. He stood by her bed as she set her brush down. 

“Zelda,” He began, “ I am sorry for my dismissal earlier. I know I was short with you, and I was not thinking correctly while addressing you as my daughter.” 

She nearly said something, but forgot it when he spoke again. 

“I still believe that you are not of age to take over your duties as princess-” 

 Enough. 

She stood abruptly, and snapped, “I know!  I know you do not want me to become the princess of Hyrule yet!  Damn it all, I am ready to take over!  You have done this since I was fifteen and ready to take my duties as overseer to the sages!  I have been taught the same things over and over since I was eleven, and you have not truly thought of me in ten. YEARS. I wish I could have seen what made you hold me in place for so long I cannot write a word without it being reported to you by a guard!  I have had ENOUGH of your stupid rules that became obsolete years ago! Let me use all this useless knowledge for something other than a test that never means anything other than wasted paper and time!” 

Her father tried to speak as she stopped to take ragged breaths. 

“Zelda, I-”

“No! No, you will not protest, because you know I am right.” 

“Zelda-”

“Get out!”

“ZELDA!”

He roared with all his might as king. She didn’t shrink as he seemed to grow beyond his skin, blocking half the room. 

“Zelda Donna Bell Hyrule the Fifth, you will not disobey me. You are not ready to take on your duties yet, and I will see to it that you stop that sneaking out habit you have grown over the years. No more!” 

With that, he stormed out. 

She had enough. Zelda started packing her things as soon as he was out of her quarters, ensuring that she had supplies to last her a few days of travel if need be. She pulled her spare maid’s tunic-dress and trousers out from the loose floorboard beneath her bed and got re-dressed in it. The less magic used, the better. Good thing she brought the pin that made her the smith’s daughter instead of the princess. 

The halls were quiet as she left, using as much of her knowledge as she could to avoid the castle guards and the servants that wandered the halls. She left by the side gate of the castle, and exited Castle Town through the east gate, going around to the cove of trees she was earlier. She knew the way to the smith’s by heart, and easily slipped in the back door. She could hear dinner being made in the kitchen, and set her bag down by the door. 

All sound from the kitchen stopped as Link’s head popped around the corner. His eyes were forest-green. 

“Zelda?”

_

The uproar in castle town was heard for miles in every direction. The Princess, missing! How awful, she must’ve been kidnapped!  There’s nowhere she could have gone alone, right? 

Dot smiled when she heard of it, and faked sympathy to the princess, yes, she must be in such distress, I hope she gets home safe. 

She’d been staying at Smith's for a few weeks now, training the days away and helping in the shop. If asked, she’d say her mother had taken a job elsewhere and she had wanted to stay with him instead. It helped, to have no one owe her for her very presence in the room. It was nice in a way she hadn’t had since she could remember. 

Link was such a big help in getting her settled for a while. He knew better than to ask when she’d be going back, but he was alway asking why. Why she’d left in the first place, and why she’d left so close to Din’s Festival, when she’d be needed day- of? 

She declined to answer, knowing she’d spill soon enough. She always did. 

And spill she did, one summer evening the day before Din’s Festival was set to start. She sat on the thatched roof, Link sprawled out beside her. The stars were out, and a half-moon stared at them from behind wispy clouds. All was quiet save for the sounds of nighttime, cicadas and crickets and frogs making a cacophony of noise. Dot sighed, bringing her knees to her chest. 

“Dot?”

“Yeah?”

“Why?” Why did you leave? 

“We fought. Father and I. He still thinks I am the little kid I was before Mother died. He tried to apologise, and messed it up with formalities like always. I- I snapped at him, and told him what I had been thinking. He tried to forbid me from leaving the castle. I left before he realized I would leave and, and not come back.” 

There was that summer silence again, now heavy on their shoulders. 

No one spoke when they went in for the night. 

_

Din’s Festival was grand as usual, red and gold banners strung up along every available space and lanterns hung from windows and doors. Everyone was dressed in their festival clothes, and the streets were a sea of reds and golds of every shade. Stalls sold midsummer fruits and hawkers strode back and forth with the latest goods high in their voices. Music was playing somewhere, drums and the distant sound of a flute. 

Dot and Link weaved their way through the crowd, ducking under elbows and around baskets. Dot pulled Link to the side, grabbing two Hydromelon slices from a street vendor and paying with ten rupees she’d grabbed from her pouch. 

They made their way to the large stage in the town square, where there was a play in place of the ceremony taking place in Castle Town. It wouldn’t be done until noon on the fifth day of the Festival but it was where many of the best food and goods stalls were located, and where the most people were. The two found their way onto the roof of a nearby townhouse and ate their food while looking out at the crowd below. 

There were kids running on and off the stage, playing in the wings and daring each other to climb the curtains as the stagehands tried to stop them. The parents of some of the children were nearby, some watching and talking with others. 

Link finished his hydromelon and threw the rind behind the house, landing it on a windowsill in a stroke of luck. He laughed as she tried to do the same, but failed the throw and threw it onto the roof instead. She grabbed the rind and threw it at him instead, making him fall over exaggeratedly and act like he’d been stabbed in an overdramatic fashion. She nearly fell off the roof from laughter, but caught herself at the last second after grabbing onto the roof. They stayed up on the roof as noon approached, talking and watching people come and go. Eventually, one of the heralds walked up on the stage to announce the first day’s proceedings. He bellowed for attention from the crowds and began to speak. 

“Hear Ye, Hear Ye! His Majesty The King Has Decreed The Festival Of Din Officially Open For The Twenty- Fifth Year Of His Lady Hylia’s Blessing Upon His Reign! May He Live Long To Rule!”

A cheer rose up from the crowd beneath the stage, and preparations began for the night’s festivities. Link stood from his place on the roof and began to climb down, leaping from ledge to ledge and finally landing in a heap of clothes from a line he’d gotten tangled in on the way down. Dot laughed and climbed down after him, landing next to him with far more grace than he had. Link untangled himself from the various articles of clothing and stumbled out of the alley after her. 

They made their way down to the stalls again, going slower to watch the festivities happening in the different parts of the town. Mock battles went down in the east part of town, false dragons and monsters of different callings went up against heroes wearing rusted scrap metal and wielding wooden swords. Dancers from all different parts of Hyrule were in the west, accompanied by drums that permeated the whole of the festival proper. In the north, performers from traveling circuses did flips and tricks for dazzled onlookers as hawkers shouted performance times and dates. The south of the town held traveling merchants selling exotic goods from the farthest reaches of Hyrule and beyond. 

They stayed out till nearly midnight, taking part in the festivities until they sleepily stumbled into the side door leading to the living area and collapsed into a heap of sleepy teenager on the couch. They fell asleep like that, too tired to go upstairs and sleep in their beds. 

_

The Castle Town clock tower struck midnight. 

Up above, there was still revelry and drink for the citizens of Hyrule. Dancing feet shook the earth and loud drunken songs rang hard and loud into the warm summer night. 

Down below, it was silent and dark. 

Deep, deep in the catacombs, the seal began to crack. 

_

Dot woke up on the floor. 

She blearily blinked up at the ceiling. She had woken up from something. Something fearful, she could feel her heart racing even as she couldn’t remember what it was. Maybe a nightmare, though those had become rare lately. 

She sat up to see Link halfway off the couch, dragging a blanket down with him. Drool soaked into his hair and trickled down his face. There was a small puddle on the floor. Ew. 

There were small noises coming from the kitchen, likely Smith making breakfast and getting ready for the day. She laid back down, listening to the sounds of a post- festival town waking. The hawkers’ voices were muted in the distance, few and far between with the sounds of voices still quiet and not ready to leave home yet. There were distant sounds of cuccos coming from a neighbor’s house, and one crowed even though it was far too late in the morning. 

She finally got up when Link fully fell off the couch, landing with a thunk and a sleepy grunt. 

The day went by much as it did the day before. Sitting on the roof, this time a shop’s roof, and the banter of seeing who could spit hydromelon seeds the farthest off the roof or who could spot the funniest outfit down below. 

The herald got onto the stage again, only to announce the beginning of the sword-fighting tournaments and the sign-ups for the rest of the day’s events. She scrambled off the roof, Link following behind her. The tournaments were in the east side of the town, farther out in the open fields normally used for cattle and sheep. There were tents pitched to the sides of the field, where there were crowds of people scattered around the entrances to see who got what place and who went next. One of the tents was for sign- ups, where Dot made a beeline to. 

Inside the tent was a myriad of different booklets for sign ups, anything from jousting to log- throwing. She went straight to the archery book, where there was barely room for her to write her name. She shoved her way back to the outskirts of the crowd, ready to jump into a tree and watch from there. She found a certain multicolored boy sitting in the highest branches of the tree she chose, watching the preparations for the first rounds of fighters. 

_

She won her round, hitting the targets dead center every time. Her competitor, a tall man with a rather unwieldy bow, was extremely unsportsmanlike at being beaten by a teenage girl. 

She honestly didn’t enjoy that round. It was too easy. 

The next rounds were harder, but she still easily beat her competitors. All of them were more sportsmanlike than the man before, and she began to enjoy herself more. 

The targets moved this time, two people pulling ropes to move them as she aimed. She took a breath, aim for where it’ll be, and- 

SOMETHING IS WRONG.

She hit the target.

Her competitor did not. 

She walked in a daze to the sidelines. Her mind whirled, what was that resonating in between where did the arrows go and why didn’t I bring a waterskin. 

She hadn’t realized that Link was beside her until he put a hand on her shoulder. He said something, and she couldn’t hear it over her own thoughts and the noise made by the crowd around her. She was dizzy, the world lazily spinning around her but staying still at the same time. 

Dehydration. Great. 

She took the waterskin offered, gulping it down until she was satisfied. She handed it back to Link, who put it back in that weird pouch of his, and stood up to get some shade and rest before her next round. 

She laid down beneath a tree and dozed off. 

_

Something was laughing. It was a dark, knowing laugh, like the ones villains did in storybooks. She couldn’t see anyone, just darkness all around. She was in a stone structure somewhere, leaning against a wall. 

Someone was speaking. 

“Little princess, how foolish you are. You, who sealed me away, shall pay with the destruction of your precious Hyrule, and your little hero will be gone forever should he fail at his task. The dark shall rise again, and banish all who dare to rise against it!”

Someone screamed. 

_ 

Dot awoke with a shout, sitting bolt upright. 

She was still under the tree, with her straw hat on the ground beside her. The crowd was still there, and the competition was on. 

Still, it was strangely muted compared to earlier. 

Maybe it was that strange nightmare. It lingered at the edges of her mind, poking her with its inherent urgency. There was a warning in it somewhere. Something about destruction, and gone forever. She couldn’t really remember anything else. 

“Dot! DOT!”

She jumped nearly out of her skin at the shout from next to her ear. Link stood next to her, grumpy gray-violet-blue staring at her. 

“You’re on soon! C’mon, get up!” 

But first, the competition. She couldn’t let just anyone win, now could she?

_ 

Day three came and went with only the competition winners being announced at noon. Dot won first in the Archery competition, and got 200 rupees and a little intricately carved statue of a bow as a trophy. 

The statue sat on the windowsill in her room, framed by the curtains and the more crudely carved statue of a bird Link had given her when they were younger. 

_

Day four served as a small rest day for the two of them, sleeping in and helping clean the shop while Smith re-forged the old swords. 

Dot sharpened her weapons and some of the other, newly- forged weapons that needed to be put on display. 

There was a sense of foreboding in the air that night. It messed with her dreams, making them nonsensical and just odd. She tossed and turned, only getting tangled in her blankets. 

_

Crack. Crack. 

Crunch. 

_

The play started soon, and there were more people in the square than Dot had ever seen before. People were crowded in windows, doorsteps, and on roofs. 

She and Link had barely managed to get onto a roof before the crowds had begun to climb, and watched from above as the curtains moved with the breeze of people running to and fro backstage. The crowd’s chatter began to dim as the herald stepped onstage. 

“Hear Ye, Hear Ye! The Fifth Day Of The Festival Of Din Has Begun! His Majesty The King Has Given His Address For This Day, The Midsummer’s Zenith Of His Majesty's Lady Hylia’s Blessing Of A Pleasant Growing Season! Long May He Rule!”

The crowd repeated his last words as the herald stepped off the stage to make way for the play. 

The performance was the same as one would expect from a small- town theatre group, but she felt that something was… off. 

One of the actors moved oddly, like something was pulling him along instead of him doing his own actions. As she watched, the other actors began to move the same way, words clumsily tumbling out of their mouths and feet not quite hitting the ground right. 

Something is wrong.

She saw Link out of the corner of her eye, looking just as confused and unsettled as she did. She caught his eye. 

“You see it too?” She hissed. 

“Yeah. What the hell is happening?” 

“Something bad. I think.”

Just as the words left her mouth, the first actor went down. The crowd gasped, more actors collapsing to the ground, looking like puppets with their strings cut. 

SOMETHING IS WRONG. 

Dot leapt to the ground below, barely registering Link doing the same as the last actor collapsed. It was chaos, people yelling and crowding forward to get a better look. Dot barely made it to the wings, dodging around the people there as she swiftly climbed the stage. There were more people on the stage, kneeling beside the actors and calling for doctors and medics. 

SOMETHING IS WRONG.

Dot felt so dizzy suddenly, and she found herself on the ground before she could blink. 

What…

Then there were shouts. Closer, like whoever it was was near. A familiar blonde head appeared in her vision. 

“Dot! Get up, you can’t be on the ground, you’ll be trampled!” 

Trampled?

Link yanked her up, and she got to see the source of the shouting. One of the actors was up, but she was moving strangely like before, and lunging at the person nearest to her. Time seemed to move slower as another and another actor got up and began attacking. 

FOUND YOU. 

Time sped up again, and Dot leapt to the side as an actor lunged at her. The knife she kept in her boot glinted in her hand as another actor leapt at her. Link ducked and dodged in the corner of her vision, leading the actors on his tail to the back of the stage, away from the crowd below. She began to do the same, and led the two on her tail to the back, where Link awaited with a rope. 

Two down, twelve to go. 

Screams erupted from the front. Dot tore open the curtains to see more chaos, people chased by more possessed puppet- people than when she left. 

Someone grabbed her arm, dragging her off the stage and into the crowd below. She couldn’t find anyone she recognised, every face blurred and indistinct in the panic. She fought her way through the crowd, trying to find a way out. She only succeeded in making herself more lost in the crowd, pulled and pushed around by numerous panicked bodies that slowly scattered into different areas of the town. Dot managed to get free for a moment, looking around her for some semblance of an idea on where she was. 

An alleyway stretched in front of her, stone walls on either side. She turned, expecting to see the square behind her, but there was nothing. Only a wall to her back. Silence reigned over the scene, eerie and jarring compared to the pandemonium just before. 

What? 

Something clattered farther ahead, echoing down the alley. She tensed, looking for danger. Only silence met her ears.

“Now what on earth is happening…” 

She continued down the long alley, keeping to the wall as more clatters came from just ahead, the source never in sight. 

Something is leading me, but to where?

As she continued, the alley became darker, covered at some point. Dot conjured a minor light spell, revealing more empty alleyway. It seemed to stretch on forever, echoing with her footsteps and the strange noises leading her… somewhere. 

At last, she came to a fork in the path. The clatters echoed around her, but she couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. 

“Choose…”

She jolted, looking around for the source of the voice. 

“Hello? Who said that?”

Silence once again. 

She hesitated, looking around the room one last time before choosing the left fork. The path sloped down, leading her deeper into whatever labyrinth she had stumbled into. The air was cold, and she shivered as she walked further. Another turn in the path, and more hallway. 

How long have I been here? 

Long enough. 

Her question was answered with a hissing whisper loud enough to carry down the winding hall. She wanted to freeze, wanted to turn back, but her body moved without her permission. She took sumbling steps towards whatever awaited her down there, fighting against whatever had decided to possess her like it had those people above. It felt like forever when she got to the end of the corridor. 

A door faced her, made of cracked stone and carved with words she couldn’t understand. Something moved behind the cracks, sliding past the light. Scales glittered in the light from her spell, green- black and distinctly not good. Something about it told her draconic, though she’d never seen anything of the sort up close. 

Princess, It purred, How lovely of you to visit me at such a time. Oh, but I have waited so long for this, to see you at my mercy instead of whatever dream drifts my way. 

It laughed, a cold hissing sound that grated at her ears. 

Well, I suppose it has been far too long since my last meal. What better dish to have than the same princess that sealed me here to wither away, hm? Now, about this blasted door. 

It moved, slamming into the door holding it. Dot flinched away from the rubble, ducking her head. It continued to struggle against the door, sending more rocks flying across the corridor. 

Wait- She could move again!  

She bolted away from the door as the thing gave a screech and the hall blazed with light. She kept running, not stopping until she got to the fork again. She collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. The rumbling was distant, but she still needed to get out of the labyrinth. There was no getting out the way she came in, so she went down the right fork. The ground here stayed level, reaching out straight on from her feet. The rumbling got softer the longer she walked, but she had a creeping feeling that wasn’t a good thing. 

She kept moving, not knowing where she was going except for away. Her feet ached, and the scrapes she had stung. She wanted rest, and to figure out where she was. She finally sank down against a wall, tired and worn from all that had happened within the span of… an hour? Two? Time seemed to disappear down here, sliding by her fingers as soon as she tried to grasp it. 

She got up after a bit, continuing down the passage. It had become winding, turning back on itself and looping unpredictably. Forks faced her at random, forcing her to pick whether she wanted to go up, down, or sideways. She wandered and walked, tired and thirsty. There was seemingly no end to the tunnels, and no way out that she could find. Was she doomed to wander down here for eternity? Was this a punishment? For what? 

She looked back down the long passage to see… light? Blue light emanated from somewhere down the curve of the wall, lighting her way without the need of the slowly fading light spell. She crept forward, wary of whatever was down there. She peeked around to see a swirling portal, blue and bright against the damp stone around it. It made a low, quiet hum just barely audible in the quiet dead end. She crept closer, feeling wind pull gently at her hair and clothes. 

Strange… 

Before she could investigate further, something moved in the tunnel behind her. She jerked, stumbling just in front of the portal as it reflected something looking back at her from behind. It was huge, some demented draconic form made from human and cloth, surrounded with drooping scales that reflected the blue light shining from the portal, now the sole light source. A human face stared out from the end, covered over with translucent scales and staring with sightless, lidless eyes. A gaping mouth showed hundreds of rotted teeth, blunt and broken from disuse and neglect. A hollow scraping sound emanated from the dark corridor beyond, and it wasn’t hard to imagine more of its body beyond, slithering to join its head. 

She was frozen in fear, watching it come closer and closer. It opened its mouth wider and wider, showing more rows of teeth behind the first few, all the way down its throat. It reeked of rot and mildew, choking her with the stench. She hadn’t known she was leaning forward, away from the monster coming closer, until her nose almost touched the swirling surface of the portal. She backed up, stumbling over a stone and coming face to face with the creature itself. It was worse up close, every detail staring her in the face. She shrieked, rolling away from it as it struck at the place she had been moments before. It shook its head as it reared up for another strike, hissing angrily. 

She stumbled toward the only exit she could find- the portal. The beast’s reflection was large and close behind hers, only interrupted by the swirls that made up its surface. She dove through the portal just as the thing struck, tumbling into the darkness that consumed her. 

She felt the familiar touch of grass and brush as she drifted away to the strong reaches of sleep. Then nothing more. 

[supermacaquecool]

Fic meme; 2, 4, 33, 35

2 answered here.

4. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Care to share one of them?

Not sure how many.

I'm trying to write two things right now, might come to another two after I'm done.

From the first lot:

A) Ryo and Saki are skipping class, so it's just another of those fics mostly about people talking. I think I mostly wanted to write about why one becomes a truant, since I was an incorregible one during my schooling lol

Ryo actually lets out a small chuckle, but the text looks dry as hell. He wonders if he should send a sticker to convey it actually amused him. Geez, somehow texting is even more awkward than talking face to face sometimes. He wonders if Saki is actually in class and her teacher isn't there yet or if she's playing hooky like him. It'd be nice to talk to someone instead of just doom scrolling all day. He's no master at subtlety, and there doesn't seem to be any way to naturally stretch the conversation, so…

'cani call?'

The checkmark fades and is replaced by the read notification. It's been interesting to see which of his friends have the feature disabled. He wishes it'd be the kind of thing you can bring up in conversation without sounding totally bonkers.

'why? miss me that much?'

B) Since Aoi and Shuuji were the poll winners, I was gonna draw something for them, but then my cat bit my finger really hard lol So instead I'm writing them planning an outing for the group, but they get silly about it. Overachievers™ and all. (But I got almost nothing done for this one 🙈)

Might come back to:

I) Been toying for a while about the idea of exploring how Minoru's and Aoi's ideals might intersect. I wrote the first snippet months ago and finally thought up a scenario for the second snippet. Here's a preview of that second snippet.

Aoi is dead silent, frowning. Her face hovers over his, with that of him laying down and her patching up the cut on his brow. It's not often you get to see someone's nostrils from below. Minoru opens his mouth but decides against it last second. No, a hole joke isn't gonna fly with her. Even him can be considerate sometimes. Still, the seriousness is killing his vibe…

II) Wrote a Miu fic I'm agonizing about. I feel I need to adjust the narration to fit her pov better, so I need to revise it once I feel more comfortable with doing so. It's a girl incommunication fic lol (I also feel that it puts in evidence which was my fav scene from The Haunting of hill house). My friend said Aoi is very annoying in this passage, which pleased me greatly.

Aoi's eyes widened.

"You were listening."

Ugh. Busted. Miu shrinked, burying her jaw in the collar of her hoodie. "Only a little.

Aoi stared at her, sitting upright. "It's wrong to eavesdrop on people, you do know that, don't you?"

"Yeees,"Miu drawled. Well, that was it. She was talking to Miu like a little kid. She wouldn't answer any of her questions. Miu hated grown-ups because of this.

"Have you brushed your teeth?" Aoi asked next, as if to prove her point.

"Yeah," Miu lied by reflex.

Aoi smiled—she smiled a real smile. Miu could tell because her whole face changed.

"I know it's hard for you, so it's great you're making the effort."

Syakomon sighed and her shell closed. Miu wished she could that. Lying to Aoi was the worst; now, Miu felt guilty. Now, she'd actually have to do it, even though it was the grossest thing in the world.

Plus other things. I'm still thinking I'm gonna finish the multi-chapters/series I got there lol I also got another document about moments with Aoi and Saki, I wanted to fuse Simple Dreams to it, but I ended up not figuring out how to tie them together in an over aching theme... So I'll just go back to it and finish the whole scenario and post it separately, prolly. Ah, I keep remembering some other things. Like writing some pseudo horror stuff with Saki and Shuuji's first day in kemonogami world, and Plutomon, ofc (I was thinking writing something loosely inspired by The Telletale Heart...) These will take me way longer to get to because I have never written horror 😂😭

33. How do you feel about crack?

Never done it.

(Not particularly fond of it, but I don't really care enough to think much of it.)

35. Would you ever kill off a canon character?

Not really entertaining such idea atm since I mostly care about small interactions, and, also, the canon already kills charas for me lol But I'm more likely to want to injure the charas or make them go missing than outright killing someone. If I think of a scenario where someone dying would feel interesting, I would do it (I do like symbolic deaths a lot, but again, that's already canon in Survive lol).

[studentbyday]

Day 3/14 - Chem

These are the other things I did today. Idk if it's because I didn't sleep enough last night or I just didn't think my to-do list was possible just by how big it was, but I only got these and the electron configuration lesson in AP chem done today. 🤷‍♀️ Oh well, at least there was *some* progress... And I'm now "60% mastered" in U1 of AP chem.

Tomorrow I'm gonna try to:

Finish limiting reagent stoich

Finish types of reactions (also in stoich unit)

Finish stoich unit test

Finish Chem library U6

Finish periodic trends in AP Chem

If not tomorrow, then the day after: fix my electron configuration notes and other Viber notes when I transfer them to OneNote

At some point before I take university chemistry, I also need to review my high school physics notes on EM waves and quantum mechanics - especially focusing on the overlaps in the quantum mechanics section of the chemistry textbook that I find so dry to read. (I will probably have to read it later but for better or worse, I am sparing myself while I can 😅). And maybe, hopefully, filling in the blanks with external resources. I want to understand this un-intuitive thing intuitively. I can't seem to pull things from my brain using logic these days... I always seem to need to be fed. I am so in the habit of consuming info. And niche info (conceptual biology-type stuff), so I lose memory in other fields I've learned so far and so can no longer make connections, for example, between chemistry, physics, and math. Or maybe I was never able to do this because every time I thought I was doing it, I was just regurgitating what I was spoon-fed by teachers in high school. I don't know. But I do know that I feel dumber than before these days.

[neottia-orchids]

I'm not just burning the candle at both ends.

I'm also burning it at the middle...by placing it over another burning candle...while microwaving the whole thing.