#unfortunately employment is coming from grades ://

[stolenslumber]

the way grad school can so easily drain u of ur love of reading and language.......... ya ://///

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Fantasy Books Bracket: Round 1

Book summaries and submitted endorsements below:

The Last Binding trilogy (A Marvellous Light, A Restless Truth, A Power Unbound) by Freya Marske

Endorsement from submitter: A trilogy of books set in a magical Edwardian England, the Last Binding series focuses on three queer couples who come together in order to solve a conspiracy threatening all magic. It's a masterful blending of fantasy, historical fiction, and romance, with a splash of mystery and Wodehousian romp. Expect magical manor house parties with beautiful wallpaper, as well as explorations of power, trust, and what we owe the land.

The prose is absolutely gorgeous and evocative. The characters and their emotional arcs form the beating heart of the story, intertwined with beautifully crafted romance. The worldbuilding feels organic and deeply rooted within this hidden magical society. These books are thoughtful, tender, scorching, and fun all at once.

Robin Blyth has more than enough bother in his life. He's struggling to be a good older brother, a responsible employer, and the harried baronet of a seat gutted by his late parents' excesses. When an administrative mistake sees him named the civil service liaison to a hidden magical society, he discovers what's been operating beneath the unextraordinary reality he's always known. Now Robin must contend with the beauty and danger of magic, an excruciating deadly curse, and the alarming visions of the future that come with it—not to mention Edwin Courcey, his cold and prickly counterpart in the magical bureaucracy, who clearly wishes Robin were anyone and anywhere else. Robin's predecessor has disappeared, and the mystery of what happened to him reveals unsettling truths about the very oldest stories they've been told about the land they live on and what binds it. Thrown together and facing unexpected dangers, Robin and Edwin discover a plot that threatens every magician in the British Isles—and a secret that more than one person has already died to keep. Fantasy, historical fiction, romance, adult, magic, Edwardian, series

The Witch Boy series (The Witch Boy, The Hidden Magic, The Midwinter Witch) by Molly Knox Ostertag

In thirteen-year-old Aster's family, all the girls are raised to be witches, while boys grow up to be shapeshifters. Anyone who dares cross those lines is exiled. Unfortunately for Aster, he still hasn't shifted . . . and he's still fascinated by witchery, no matter how forbidden it might be. When a mysterious danger threatens the other boys, Aster knows he can help -- as a witch. It will take the encouragement of a new friend, the non-magical and non-conforming Charlie, to convince Aster to try practicing his skills. And it will require even more courage to save his family . . . and be truly himself. Graphic novel, middle grade, young adult, fantasy, series

[meztliel]

Day 4: Rain/Umbrella

For: @dbshipsweek

Pair: Truten

Rated: Teen+

***

Goten and Trunks have shared many things throughout their lifelong history.

Toys and weapons, friends and enemies, laughter and anger… even the same body. An umbrella had not been one of them until today.

“Gotta protect your stupidly expensive suit.” 

Goten, looking ridiculous (and adorable) in a hooded, green waterproof poncho, dutifully holds an umbrella up and over Trunks’s head, exceeding his role as a newly-hired executive assistant to an almost annoying degree. 

“I'll just buy another if it gets ruined,” Trunks says, his blasé tone undermining his appreciation of the chivalrous gesture.

They were coming back from their lunch break at their favorite spot when the trickle happened, lasting just long enough for Goten to pull out his rain gear before the rain really started hitting. 

His best friend, now turned employee, had warned Trunks about the likelihood of rain, despite the skies being blue and the clouds mostly white moments before the downpour. 

His friend has always had a stronger sense of intuition when it comes to all things living and natural. A keen insight of people and animals, of monsters, gods, and aliens. Of nature and, of course, the weather. 

Meanwhile Trunks has, much like his grandfather, relied more on strategy rather than instinct; on finding ways to succeed in both a battle and in business through methodical means over “gut feelings.”

Not that either one of the men is devoid of one quality to make room for the other; Goten doesn't jump into a fight without first assessing the risks and advantages he has over an opponent, and Trunks can read energy –or ki – without needing to hone in using his elevated Saiyan senses. 

They work well together because of their innate, complementary qualities, combining forces to make an almost perfectly balanced whole. His Yin to his Yan. His other half. 

Trunks fists a hand above Goten’s grip on the metallic stem of the umbrella, wrapping the other arm to pull Goten into and under the dome along with him, the patter of raindrops drowning the heartbeat– Goten’s heartbeat– drumming in his ears as they walk shoulder-to-shoulder to the Capsule Corp building looming just up the street. 

They've been physically close numerous times. Besides joining bodies to become one single entity, they've fallen asleep on the couch together, have wrestled on the ground, bathed fully naked in hot springs. But the closeness that was once normal and regular between them has somewhat recently transformed into something that feels more…intimate, more personal. A layer of intimacy that isn't quite tangible, defined. Beyond physical. 

“There's no point in us both being under an umbrella if you’re gonna get wet,” Goten says. Despite his words, he doesn't make an effort to separate from Trunks, his wet poncho cold against the blended material of Trunks's designer suit. 

The two men shake off what wetness remains stuck to them and dry off with towels handed to them by an intern, making their way up the polished steps and matching their pace with one another, appearing more as business partners than an employer and employee. In a way, they are, though their professional relation is only one aspect of a deeper, infinitely more meaningful bond. 

Goten runs his fingers along his dark, damp hair one more time, a simple act of grooming that has Trunks staring in, he realizes, appraisal. He stares even longer as he takes in how Goten's business-appropriate hairstyle has resumed to its natural, tousled and spiky state. Trunks prefers this hairstyle on him, however, in a professional setting, it unfortunately won't do.

Without further thought, Trunks whips out a comb and restyles Goten's thick, incongruously silky spikes to something like a business-casual pompadour, setting it with a salon-grade hair pomade he keeps in his briefcase in case of, well, rainy days. 

“Lookin’ sharp,” Trunks declares, “You're welcome.”

With a roll of his eyes, Goten swipes the comb from his hand and does the same for him, tidying up his parted, indigo hair. Trunks suppresses the urge to contently sigh at the sensation of his scalp being scraped by the teeth of the comb, wishing for an unbidden, fleeting moment that it was Goten's fingers running through his hair instead. 

Lately, he's been craving frequent physical contact from another person, and Trunks thought he could satiate that need by getting a girlfriend he hardly likes but is extremely attracted to. Nice, but ultimately unfulfilling. 

What he really wants is not something he's ready to say out loud, to accept fully and openly, outb of fear it may ruin what they do have, what has always been and has always worked. Over and over he has rationalized that what he really wants will imbalance and disrupt their connection, will create an upheaval he's not prepared to fix and resolve the way he fixes and resolves problems that arise in the company, in battle and in lesser personal relationships. 

“Your hair is getting long. You should let it grow,” Goten says, evaluating his work with a ponderous expression. 

He hasn't given too much thought about his hair. Too busy, all the time. If not with work, with other thoughts. 

“So schedule me an appointment with Ferrer.” Ferrer is the only hairstylist he trusts. Ferrer also hits on him on every visit, but Trunks doesn't mind because Ferrer is also super hot, though their flirtatious exchanges have never crossed professional boundaries. As it should be. 

“You got it, boss,” Goten says with a salute, a minimal amount of sarcasm behind his words and gesture. 

Sometimes it feels weird that he's technically his childhood best friend's boss, but as he often is in other aspects in life, Goten isn't bothered by being second rank to anyone. When your father is the savior of the world, of multiple friggin universes even, and your older brother saved the Earth once when he'd been almost a decade old, then you kind of learn to accept you're not the best of the best, but you're still pretty great on your own. Goten is more than great, really. 

Before they separate to go to their individual offices, Trunks pauses.

“And schedule a training sesh with you for later today.”

The smile that tends to be perpetually stamped on Goten's boyish face widens, bright as the sun parting the clouds.

“Where at? The gravity chamber? A  barren, neighboring planet?”

“Have your dad take us somewhere unexpected. Somewhere it's not raining.” 

Though, Trunks thinks, it could be fun sparring in the rain, their clothes wet and clinging to their bodies, the wet sound of flesh hitting flesh, Goten panting and soaking… removing his top to unburden himself from its weight, his bare chest heaving as rain mixes with his sweat, slickening his taut skin…

“He's gonna want to spar with us and end up kicking our asses as per usual.”

“I'll ask Bulla to ask my dad to keep him busy.” Vegeta only ever listens to his little princess, and occasionally but not always, Bulma, his wife and Trunks's mom. 

“It's a date,” Goten says and, upon catching on to how that could be misinterpreted as something unprofessional to the colleagues around them, he quickly adds, “You know what I mean.”

 ‘It's a date’ … Well, it could be, if Trunks stopped being a coward and closed in on the tension that's been brewing between them in the last couple of years since entering adulthood.

“Actually, Goten,” Trunks calls out from behind him, prompting Goten to halfway turn mid-walk. “Let's train at my place.”

In his family's vast sprawling land. In the rain. 

[grlazul]

sweet child

octavinelle x reader (i guess? not really romantic the tweels are just trying to get prefect to make a contract with azul but their feelings toward yuu can be interpreted however...)

note: this is sortaaaa based off the song from the musical because i love it haha... a little bit of grim slander, i love him but i wasn't quite sure who else to make the problem. thank u all btw for the support, i'm glad people enjoy my works!

you honestly wanted to bash your head against the wall until a higher being decided to give you mercy. grim had flunked yet another exam, bringing your joint grade down... quite badly. you always gave every assignment, test, quiz, and even homework assignments everything you had. but how much is your hard work worth when grim doesn't even bat an eyelash at your sinking grade?

you sighed, sitting on a bench in the courtyard. you decided you needed space from grim currently, as you didn't want to blow up on him over this.

unfortunately, this caught the eye of two eels...

it gave you quite the scare once they began to speak, as you hadn't even seen nor heard them come up behind you.

"my my..." spoke jade. "what is it that ails you so, prefect?"

floyd made a mocking pouty face, "it's so sad to see you like this shrimpy!"

you shook your head, knowing that the two were likely up to no good. "it's nothing."

jade gave floyd a knowing look, "well it can't be nothing. something is clearly the matter with you, my dear prefect. don't you agree floyd?"

his twin nodded, "cmon shrimpy, you can trust us!"

the way they closed in on you made you feel like a lamb who knew it was going to be sent to slaughter. you could feel your nerves getting worse and worse but still managed to mutter something in reply.

"trust you to tell your employer, sure."

they both smirked at your response, but jade was the first to speak.

"you two may have gotten off on the wrong foot, but azul can help you." his smile sent shivers down your spine. "in fact, he's been quite desperate to see you in his office again. all he wants is to make amends. come now prefect, i'm sure he'll make you a bargain you'll be unable to refuse." with that he sweeps you off the bench.

his twin grinned, "yeah! besides, he can fix whatever has you feeling this way, shrimpy!"

despite your protests, the two nearly drag you to the mirror hall commenting on how excited azul will be to see you. great sevens, just what have you gotten yourself into?

[nonokoko-draws]

"Let's see, then it'll be one meat sandwich, large fries to share, two grape sodas and...um... I'm sorry, could you repeat your order please?"

[click for better quality]

Joining @twst-the-night-away fan event Disorder up! because it sounded fun and I can't say no to 50s cafe themes, also with this I had an excuse to draw my main yuusona on twst style hehe. Edit: Their name is Kooky now❗

Card resources made by @alchemivich. I apologise if there's any mistakes with the Japanese name, I used Google translator so if anyone knows Japanese it could help me to know the correct translation. Noko's voicelines below (The first sentence above would be the summon line btw) ↓↓↓

Groooovy!!: It's seven thaumarks in total...is that right though?...hmm, wait, let me check it out again just in case.

Home: How did I end up in this? Well, let's just say I was in the wrong place at the wrong time...and I can't let the chance of being rewarded somehow pass.

Home Idle 1: The Old Sage has a very colorful retro aesthetic that reminds me of cafes from the 50s-70s of my world. I like it.

Home Idle 2: Malmal would surely enjoy coming to places like this with pals. Unfortunately, I believe the waiters would be intimidated by him, F.

Home Idle 3: Sometimes I have thought about applying for a job at the Mostro Lounge, but working for Azul would mean being in his debt and I'd prefer to avoid that.

Home Idle - Login: Hi! welcome to The Old Sage. What it'll be today?

Home Idle - Groovy: One advantage of serving here is that they let us take away leftovers. Good thing Grim likes to eat anything.

Home Tap 1: Cay-cay usually takes me to cafe "dates", he gets cammable pics and I eat all the sweets he asks for. Win-win for both of us amirite?

Home Tap 2: In my world there's this tale about a waitress who didn't prioritised romance and dreamed of having her own business instead; in the end she had her own restaurant and got married. I wish I was as hardworking as her, or at least have that luck in love too.

Home Tap 3: Making a good balance between employment, studies and free time is difficult. If my grades were already bad enough without working now I think they are going to be lower...

Home Tap 4: My mom worked in hospitality so I already had an idea of what it's like. Anyway, I ain't planning on being a waitress longterm so I think she and I agree on that.

Home Tap 5: Working while wearing a dress can be problematic if you fall or the wind picks it up. That's why I wear shorts underneath whenever I wear skirts and dresses.

Home Tap - Groovy: With my goldfish memory and clumsiness level I sure think I'm not fit for this role, but the uniform and tips are far better than working as a janitor IMO.

[raylangivins]

Are you a video editor or smth? Did you have to get a degree for this or?

Yeah I’m a video editor or smth.

You don’t need a degree to be an editor, all you technically need is edit skills and a competent reel. However, employers like it when you do have a degree (especially if you’ve never worked in editing before), because it demonstrates that you’ve had experience working with deadlines, and with the constraints a brief. A lot of jobs will ask if you have a degree, and if not, for at least 2 years of relevant work experience.

In terms of actually learning editing though, you can just do an informal short course (which I recommend over learning through YouTube tutorials if you’re actually looking to work towards a career). They’re usually taught by freelancers who work in the industry, and can guide you on what specifically you will need to know for a job. They’ll give you more useful workflow best practises that companies like, which isn’t information you’ll necessarily find in YouTube tutorials. You will get to work with a brief and come out of it with something to put on a reel. And they are good networking opportunities! Students and tutors share job opportunities they find all the time. Same benefits of a degree, but much cheaper and less time consuming.

Short courses are also handy because they usually specify on certain softwares so you can learn for the type of job you want. Bear in mind it’s been about 4 years since I’ve had to look for a job, but at least when I was looking, the industry standard for traditional media (film/journalism/network programming) was Avid, although even back then you’d have to do a proper post production course to learn it cause no one else was arsed using it. New media companies usually go for Adobe softwares or Final Cut (but that one’s rarer). DaVinci’s editing software was fairly new when I was last job hunting, but people swear by it, so I imagine that’s a more common one now too. (It’s handy to know too bc it’s the industry standard for colour grading).

I would say the one thing a degree is useful for is that a lot of editing jobs are unfortunately not solely editing jobs. You might get lucky and find a company willing to hire you on your editing skill and train you up themselves on anything else they want you to know, but a lot of places are specifically looking for an editor/videographer, or an editor/graphic designer. More generalised media degrees are good to have for these jobs, because a lot of media courses encompass a lot of media elements besides editing, so you can say you have some experience in a number of things, even if it’s very little. Sometimes, knowing the basics is enough, and they’d be much happier taking you on and training you if they know you’re not starting from scratch. At the very least, I would always recommend anyone who wants to work in editing to learn how to operate some sort video camera manually, even if it’s just a shitty old DSLR.

[hesmiledlikeaweatherman]

The High School AU Part 1

These are headcanons to go along with Sorry, I Didn't Know I Had To Stay The Same

I used makowka's oc maker on Picrew for the profiles

The Sand Fam

Rasa: Age: 45 Occupation: Former Military (Lieutenant General), current Diplomat

Following the death of his wife, Rasa sought out help from his brother-in-law to care for his children, and after Yashamaru's death, turned to a former co-worker, Baki, to ensure their safety. Having lost her, after several runs of miscarriages, and left with three children, one of whom was in very poor health, he found himself unable to cope with the stress of keeping up a household and appearances, and threw himself into his work.

Rasa currently travels the world on missions that are, for the most part, classified. He rarely comes home, almost purely to keep up appearances now, and has a strained relationship with all three of his children.

Temari: Age: 17 (birthday August 23, will turn 18 after graduation) Occupation: Student, no specific thoughts on post-graduate career yet

As the oldest sibling, Temari takes it upon herself to take care of her brothers -- more than Baki would like her to, sometimes. She is hard-headed, dedicated, and has spent a lot of time learning what needs to be done to make sure their household works well. Potentially a side-effect of her changes in caregivers throughout early childhood, or maybe it's just a type-A personality.

Temari keeps good grades, loves participating in sports, and while she doesn't know exactly what she wants to do with her life, she knows she wants to do a Business Management degree when she enters college.

Kankuro: Age: 16 (birthday May 15, will turn 17 before entering his Senior Year) Occupation: Student, wants to follow his dreams of making puppets and dolls, but changes specifics frequently

Saying that Kankuro has middle-child syndrome is a bit of an understatement. Constantly overshadowed by his high achieving sister and sickly, high needs younger brother, he found himself diving into his hobbies and hyperfixations.

Unfortunately, due to his siblings' needs, his ADHD went unmedicated until Baki had him assessed at age 8, and later when he came out as trans there was a large push-back from Rasa as to what treatment he could and should be able to access. Luckily, largely thanks to Baki's help, Kankuro is starting to thrive.

Gaara: Age: 14 (birthday January 19) Occupation: Student, currently more focused on surviving than any future career plans

They were referred to as a 'difficult child' for their first few years, until receiving an autism diagnosis at three, which got them the early interventions they needed to be able to thrive alongside their siblings. And while they didn't exactly 'thrive' by societal standards, their quality of life went way up, and they started meeting missed milestones.

Now, they have a collection of plants (mainly cacti), a solid group of friends, and they are building up their communication repertoire by adding AAC devices, text-to-speech software, and some basic sign when it is desperately called for.

Baki: Age: 39 Occupation: Retired Military (General), current Bodyguard-Nanny-Tutor-Chef-Chauffer

Baki has always liked to live in the shadows -- always a few steps behind the spotlight. He only made it to General because of the potential Rasa saw in him, and found himself suddenly wishing for retirement after a particularly bad situation occurred.

But of course, he couldn't remain still -- and when he was approached by Rasa and offered a position, he found himself unable to refuse.

Now, he works as the primary caregiver to Rasa's children. Really, the only caregiver for them. And he has found, contrary to what he initially believed, that he loves these kids. He would do anything for them. And if that means sticking up to his employer for their well-being, so be it.

[jonny-thoughts]

From Cubicle to Classroom: How I Found a Meaningful Job as a Corporate Dropout

“We would like to offer you an opportunity to join our team next fall”; I couldn’t believe the words I was hearing come through my phone as I did a Tiger Woods fist pump celebration on the University District’s “Ave” sidewalk. All my hard work, the late nights studying, managing the voice in my head that filled me with self-doubt, the rigor of college classes and the rejections from companies both prestigious and unextraordinary - the culmination of these things had fortunately and miraculously led me here, to receiving a job offer I had specifically been working towards for the prior two years. On the other line was the director of a department at a Big-4 accounting and consulting firm with which hundreds of other business students in multiple universities around the region had been trying to get their foot in the door. I was ecstatic. The call had interrupted my lunch with a staff member of the business school. I was telling her how maybe I wasn’t cut out for the job, and how the position would go to a hard-working individual who perhaps got higher grades than me, or had a more impressive internship than the one I had. “I’ll continue my job search with companies around the city, and I’m sure I’ll find something. There are plenty of opportunities in this town,” I said woefully but with an ounce of hope. I then felt my pocket vibrate and I eagerly excused myself from the table. 

I celebrated by enjoying the rest of our lunch, calling my parents (who were very happy and proud of me), and doing homework for other classes since this call came in November 2019 and I still had six months left of my senior year. As I was studying in the library, I ran into a fellow student who had received the offer before me and declined it since he felt it was “not a good fit.” Had he accepted the offer, I would have had to continue my job search. “Fair enough,” I said. “And thank you.” 

One year later, my assignment began. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I was a yes man to everyone who worked there because that’s what the corporate culture, already hammered into me even before I graduated business school, had taught me; that’s how you climb the ladder the fastest. For the first six months I put my head down and focused intensely on my tasks and did the best that I could to produce a high-quality work product. I asked my colleagues how they had found success at the company, how they navigated challenges, and what they enjoyed about their job. I had monthly check-ins with most team members above me, and I even had a check-in with my peers who had started at the same time I had. I was really trying to shine - this is what I had been working towards for so long, and I was going to give it my all. 

As I entered the latter half of my first year of employment, I began to feel that I was in the wrong place, and I looked toward the future with a sense of gloom. My knowledge, skills, personality, and all of my hard work was going towards helping large corporations get bigger, stronger, and richer oftentimes to the detriment of smaller businesses. This was especially disturbing with the backdrop of the Covid pandemic; while many large corporations successfully pivoted and experienced high revenue, I witnessed small local businesses in my community struggle. And in some unfortunate cases, those small businesses had to close their doors for good. I attended firm-wide all hands meetings in which the CEO and President would talk about how “hard of a year” it had been, being cooped up in our homes and not seeing our loved ones. While I agreed with them that being away from family and friends is not ideal, it was hard to take their words seriously when some hard-working people with families were experiencing much worse, like losing their jobs, lives, businesses, savings, and good health. Us corporate soldiers were, and always have been and probably always will be, protected by the system. Work slowed briefly for my team, but within a few months our clients were back with hundreds of thousands of dollars to give us for auditing services; you can do that when you are a corporation with a market cap of half a trillion dollars and large cash reserves. Even if I had been laid off in the midst of the chaos, there are still plenty of doors for me to knock on with my degree, skills, references, and experience. That is why I dismissed the c-suite’s attempt at self-pitying, claiming that we and our clients were the ones experiencing hardship.

I got on virtual meetings with smart and accomplished people who instead of talking about how to unite the world and solve problems that impact people, were talking about the risks posed to them by their business partners. For context, my specific team dealt with assessing and mitigating risks for our clients and investigated whether our clients were being impacted by any action their business partners took that went against our clients’ interests. I witnessed hundreds of millions of dollars being moved around in this corporate ecosystem so that we could ensure that our client’s business was operating optimally. I had never worked with that degree of resources in my life. I had, however, worked with people who needed those resources for much better reasons. After two years, I turned off my computer for the last time out of refusal to participate in a process I had come to view as unnecessary. I quit the job I had worked toward for years in hopes of finding a career in which my skills were applied for a greater purpose.

***

I began to become fascinated by the idea of teaching at a community college during my first year attending one in 2014. I was intrigued by the idea of someone passionately and intentionally delivering their knowledge from their brain to an audience by executing a well-designed curriculum. I was fortunate enough to have several good professors throughout my time in higher education who I could speak to inside and outside the classroom and to whom I grew to respect. Initially, I imagined myself teaching business classes as a second career after a long and successful tenure in the corporate field. However, during a layover in Chicago on my way to my cousin’s wedding in upstate New York in August of 2023, I tested myself with calculus problems that I had not seen in eight years. I was enjoying myself - I find math fun. From the age of 13, I was excited by the number of applications for such a powerful system. I found myself pondering the careers in which one uses math frequently. One of the first jobs that popped into my mind was a math teacher. “Which level of math would I want to do all day?” I asked myself. I then thought about what it would be like if I taught high school mathematics and began to reminisce on times where I would be in geometry or algebra and feel my brain rewiring itself to fit in new rules and logic. I look back on those times fondly which is  largely thanks to my high school math teacher. I figured a good way to get into teaching would be to work as a substitute teacher; that way I could get a sense of which math level I enjoy the most and which age group with which I work well. When I got home from the beautiful wedding, I applied to a substitute teacher position posted by a local school district. At this time I had been working as a rideshare driver (and very briefly as a truck driver) for the past 10 months; I was ready to start intentionally carving a new career path. 

My first class was kindergarten at a neighborhood elementary school about a 10 minute drive away from my house. I arrived and checked in with the school secretary who politely showed me to my classroom for the day. On the teacher’s desk I found detailed sub plans and a class schedule. I had about 15 minutes to review these documents before the first bell rang. The kindergarten teacher next door, whom I will refer to as Mary, was experienced; she had been teaching kindergarten for 27 years. She was incredibly kind and helpful to me, someone who was working their first day in the field of education. 

Mary showed me to the doorway which led outside to the area where the students were lined up. Some looked excited with bright eyes and smiling faces. Some were upset to come to school and were letting their parents know by clutching onto their hands or waists, crying. I immediately appreciated the diversity of the class - it was a motley crue of children and I was standing there like a novice skier facing an oncoming avalanche. 

I was taken aback by the energy of the children - it was inspiring. Students were running around the room, wrestling with each other, talking to one another, and moving their bodies in however way that felt natural. As I looked around the room I saw writhing around the floor, jumping, kicking, and spinning; the form of movements were diverse and plenty. I tried to get the students to sit on the carpet so that I could begin working through the sub plans that had been so clearly laid out for me. However, trying to control the students or “manage” the classroom was pointless, as all of my attempts at doing so proved ineffectual and the students continued playing with each other. I began to sense that I was doing them a disservice by interrupting their play, as play is imperative for a child’s development. Mary poked her head into my classroom a few times to check in. She immediately began commanding the room and got the students to sit on the carpet using a strong and direct voice. Most of the students did as they were told and listened for a few seconds, then returned to playing once Mary left. I finally told myself that I must accept that that’s how my first day was going to go. I simply needed to make sure no one got hurt. The day ended with only one fall and one scratched face - not bad for a first day subbing kindergarten if I say so myself. If you disagree, I look forward to hearing about your time looking after 27 five-year-olds for six and a half hours. 

After more than a month of subbing every day at different schools in the district, I had honed in on elementary school, specifically. One school offered me the opportunity to come on as a long-term substitute to help with the computer lab rotations, recess duty, and the food pantry. Fortunately, the school extended my assignment by two months, so I’m currently getting the opportunity to connect with the students and staff in a meaningful way. I learn valuable lessons every day at school from both the excellent teachers and the students. From a professional point of view, the teachers provide tools I can store in my repertoire and utilize when I have my own classroom full time. From the students, I constantly see similarities between myself and them, and am able to relate to them through their curiosity, inquisitiveness, excitement, and goofiness. I am pleasantly reminded that we are all big kids at heart and that it’s okay to let our inner child or true self shine through. This creates a positive feedback loop where everyone in the school is encouraged to be themselves, which fosters an environment that is excellent for forming genuine connections, free of judgment, and a strong and healthy school community. It does not feel like work. In fact, there have been times where I am surprised I get paid to do what I do since I enjoy it so much. 

I often think back to my time at the consulting firm and contrast it to what I’m doing now at the elementary school. I feel a sense of joy, fulfillment, and reward in my current work, for which I am incredibly grateful. However, it’s not just the enjoyment that makes my work meaningful - it’s that I feel that I have a responsibility to do what I do, and I believe that is a significant factor when it comes to finding a job you enjoy. The work at my consulting firm was not absolutely necessary - it was a service that companies chose to procure to help mitigate risks; they could forgo these services and continue business as usual if they wanted. Thinking about the work we do at the school, we would be doomed as a society if we chose not to educate the young minds in our communities. Because I am aware of the importance of motivating and teaching children about honesty, love, and having positive regard for one another (among many other life tools), I feel that I have a responsibility to do so. To clarify, if one is aware of a need and they have an opportunity to fulfill that need, I believe they have a responsibility to take that opportunity and make the world a better place, and they will be glad they did. That, I think, is one of the main reasons I find a sense of reward in my work. Each day is different, but every day we get an opportunity to inspire young minds to be the best version of themselves. Anyone who has been around children knows that they often engage in conflict with one another. This could be a result of someone cutting in line, calling them names - the scenarios are infinite. In a sense, this contention among the children is representative of the terror we see at a global level. As people who work with children, we have an opportunity and therefore a responsibility to teach them peace, love, and positivity (having unconditional positive regard for one another). I encourage the students to withhold judgment for other students, especially in times of contention, and teach them methods of self regulation like reflection, writing, breathing, and meditation.

I spent the several years leading up to my first job after graduation chasing money and success in the traditional sense, and a great deal of people would be satisfied with the job I had. However, I didn’t feel successful emotionally or spiritually, and I am incredibly grateful I made a career transition, even to a field in which I had no experience - only a mission to try to have a positive impact on my community. I would encourage those who are feeling lost to meditate on things they feel must be accomplished to create a better world. If you make a difference every day towards something you care about, you are going to be much more excited to get out of bed in the morning. 

[dropdedgor]

After interview hell I'm just putting all my time and energy into recreating the absurd dystopian app ideas I find scrawled in my notes.

Dangereux:

Uber but for hunting people for sport. Think of it like an Escape Room but instead of breaking out of a confined space you're breaking into someone else's

-It's essentially a "reverse" subscription. Most companies operate by charging you a fee and providing a service in return. This does the opposite. Every American citizen is given a yearly stipend of $5 (wether they want it or not) and is therefore legally considered an employee and is not capable of litigation. As part of their employment they are subject to random assignment as a "Runner". Users of the app, called "Hunters", can pay for the opportunity to locate and murder Runners within their local area for $30. Once selected, the randomly chosen Runner can pay a $10 premium fee to skip their selection. The next chosen can do likewise, but the price increases to $11, then $12, and so on to reduce wait times. After the chosen Runner is finally locked in, a 12 hour hunt begins with their exact location displayed increasingly more precisely to the Hunter via the app.

- Hunters can't have more than 3 friends join to share in a hunt and can't exceed the 12 hour time limit. Prohibited behavior can result in users having their status permanently marked as Runners with no time limit. These special Runners are designated as "Ghouls" and are free to hunt for first time users.

-after five years, stock price of Dangereux continues to increase despite the fact it still operates at a loss

It's over a billion/year just to pay all the Runners after all aka US population. Plus all the "real" employee salaries, that's 20 mil. And the Board, they get paid another 10 mil.

As far as revenue, take the average premium fee amount that is reached before Runners are no longer able pay in order to be skipped for selection, which is $100, and add to it the fee paid by each lucky Runner that came before them that round, resulting in $5050. Which is weird because half of 100 is also "fifty fifty". Or maybe it's not a coincidence and that's supposed to happen, I don't know how math works. Anyway add the $30 hunter fee and multiply by the number of Hunts each year, it comes to about 350 million which is nowhere close to surpassing the billion in upkeep. However, board members assure investors that profits will steadily rise as the app gains popularity. What's more, revenue gained from premium fees being paid by Runners is also increasing each year as the country's more impoverished residents die off and are removed from the pool of eligible Runners, thereby increasing the average premium fees collected per hunt. Dangereux also receives a 200 mil yearly tax deduction as it is legally considered a form of Universal Basic Income.

-no form of violence is specifically prohibited by the app aside from airborne pathogens, nuclear munitions, and similar "military grade", high AoE weapons. More specifically, injury of bystanders by Hunters is considered theft of Dangeroux property and may result in forfeiture of the hunt or Ghoul status designation in extreme cases.

FAQ

How do Hunters know where the Runners are?

Phone GPS. A complex captcha must be entered by the Runner periodically. Failing to do so will indicate by the user their death and Dangereux will designate all legal and physical practices accordingly. Given the vast resources allotted to Security And Retrieval teams, it is recommended that any unfortunate Runners simply take their chances with the mere 12 hour designated Hunting period.

How did this become legal in the year 2037?

I don't want to rest all of the credit on Senator Roseanne Barr's shoulders and it is certainly a complicated journey. Most political scholars attribute the monumental Disney v Bates supreme court decision, which ruled that viewing television through the glass of a residential or business address constituted theft, even in cases where the defendant only viewed commercials. This of course opened the doors for Nestlé v Greene two years later which ruled that food and drug companies can enforce debt collection for payments owed even in cases where the itemized bill predates not only the product being sold, but precedes even any request or indication of a desired transaction by the consumer. While these might be interpreted by some as a win for conservatism, it is worth noting that the minimum sentence for tax evasion by a citizen earning less than $50,000 anually is death. So leftists certainly still have something to celebrate. For those curious what the maximum sentence for tax evasion is, I would direct you to Appendix G which has many fascinating articles about the recent breakthroughs virtual reality and chemical revival have helped to achieve towards the goal of extending human lifespans.

In any case, both of these rulings made clear the absolute driving force, the very soul, of the American people. That being of course liberty and dignity. The liberty and god given right, more specifically, to make purchases. To contribute to the economy in circumstances where their own inability to commit to a specific brand or to possess cash on hand might otherwise unfairly prohibit them. In doing so the government has wisely unburdened the American public from their own finances. With hope, current legal battles will prove fruitful and all US currency regardless of it's physical location will be considered "borrowed" from one or more corporate entities. Of course all items and services produced by corporations would likewise be considered the property of all citizens equally. In this way a car for example can be ransomed back to its rightful owner, a consumer, in exchange for the surrender by the customer of the business's own legal property, hard currency. The logistics of how much money should be charged for these various "purchases" and when they should be initiated shall be left to the expertise of individual corporate entities and it is at their discretion to file theft charges when consumers fail to surrender money currently under their possession.

This seems like it could be interpreted as unethical?

Many competitors are quick to point out all the deaths that occur yearly while using the Dangereux app, even though Dangereux staff are expressly forbidden from Hunting during work hours. However they say nothing of the candy bars, the sodas, the travel sized mouthwashes that US citizens are empowered to purchase yearly with our generous salary. Finger nail clippers, bags of chips, loose cigarettes, these are just some of the things $5 can be used to help purchase. What's more, most citizens can go days or even months without ever being selected as a Runner (so long as they pay the Premium fee, which is optional). And unlike most competitors, Dangereux provides personalized funeral arrangements for Runners killed during the course of a Hunt, which includes the total allotted hours of Running they were able to achieve before succumbing to poor employee performance. All of which at a very affordable rate.

It is simply a fact that violence permeates every facet of American society. It is a symptom of our fierce capacity to succeed above all else. It is the hope of Dangeroux that this inescapable necessity of cruelty might bring about some positive benefit, hence the salary generously given to every adult citizen regardless of their race, gender, or economic class.

It is in fact the pursuit of racial, sexual, and economic equality that first secured funding for the organization that would become what the app is today. An investigation was initially launched into the abundance of violent crimes committed within the confines of communities by its own members, especially along racial and economic lines. While the mission statement has been altered slightly, Dangereux is proud to proclaim that due to the randomized nature of its Runner selection algorithm, the prevalence of victims of violence in white, male, and upper class communities has increased by %20. In 10 years that number has increased moderately less in vulnerable communities, proving that our commitment to diversity and speaking our truth is a success!

What's the future of Dangereux?

We are always asking how we can improve and the world of AI especially presents many exciting opportunities. We hope that automation will be a turning point in society and unburden mankind from the tedium they have been trapped in for so long. With that in mind we are announcing our goal to have 75% of Hunts be undertaken by our own AI controlled fully equipped murder drones. And murder drone isn't a PR exaggeration, we *have* to call them that, legally. At this level of intelligence the drones are fully capable of knowing the difference between right and wrong and they choose the latter, emphatically. While it's true that the entry fee of a human Hunter will be circumvented in this case, the extremely lethal nature of the murder drones is such that average premium fees paid by selected Runners is predicted to double! Just another way that Dangereux is always committed to providing the best product possible. Because here, people are our passion.

[niamhsnationalproject]

Week 2

Monday

The morning session launched the employability section of the module. It intended to plant the seed of thinking about how we will start to market ourselves once completing our degree.

We spent the rest of this day with our group attempting to come to a conclusion of where we should base our project. After contemplating for a good while, we decided to put it to a vote just so we could continue on with the project, moving on to thinking about the contents of our shop front.

The majority came to being in support of being in located in northampton as there is an old bank on the corner of the drapery, facing all saints church that sparked our interest. it has an aesthetically pleasing, original facade. The building also would have a nice view out as it is a curved corner building that can see onto one of the better looking high streets in Northampton’s town centre. To see if we could find out who owns the building without being in Northampton, I emailed the council from their website quoting the most recent authorised planning permissions so that they would know which building we were on about. I explained our situation (being students and our brief) and asked if they had any information on the building or if they had any contacts they could give to point us in the right direction. The council’s website say they should get back in contact with us within 5 working days so hopefully we have a response by the end of the week.

Tuesday

I came into the studio Tuesday evening as we were going to be in contact with Chicago via the ouija board that Sarah had made. It was really cool to see the interactions taking place and seeing their responses to our questions. I found it hard to think of questions on the spot but we did find out some interesting information about how their courses work and a bit about Chicago (having their first snow).

Wednesday

We had our scheduled feedbacks for the previous modules in the morning. I wasn’t feeling very well unfortunately so opted to receive my feedback over teams. I have been struggling mentally since being back this semester which i think stemmed from being burnt out and has spiralled. As a result of this, i will be commuting in on a Monday morning and returning back to northampton Wednesday night and remaining in Northampton until the following Monday. This will either be until i can find someone to take my tenancy at my student accommodation or until i am well enough to take care of myself. I think my grade from the local brief represents this as i feel as though i could have done a lot better if i had engaged more with the module.

We had organised as a group to take the free time in the afternoon to come in and discuss/ brainstorm ideas for the space however as I wasn’t in, I couldn’t be much help. By the sounds of it, no decisions were made as Rachel wasn’t in either so we will reconvene on Monday instead.

Thursday

Rather than attending the adobe workshop on the Thursday, i had opted to go on the school of art trip to London. We started by going to a small cafe connected to an apartment hotel that i had found online. The colour scheme and decor were really nice, choosing browns/oranges and greens. There were many plants scattered across the foyer that made the place very cosy.

We then made our way to the Victoria and Albert museum. I would’ve really liked to have seen the Chanel exhibition however it was completely sold out. Instead, we had a look around the main exhibition that they have open to the public for free. This included a range of sculptures, ironwork, garments, accessories and other objects. I had taken a range of pictures of my favourite pieces to either do some studies of when i had some free time (I would’ve liked to have sat and done some sketches but we were limited on time and chose to see as much as we could in the museum instead). The images that i had taken are now lost as i had my phone stolen 5-10 minutes before getting on the coach to leave London. While it was good to see the different exhibits, none of them spoke out to me in terms of our current project. As it was mostly traditional art there also wasn’t any creative technologies used in the free exhibits either.

Over the weekend i learnt that the gunpowder plot was conspired in Northamptonshire (Ashby house) by some wealthy men of high standing, this could be something to explore within our concept or proposal for the shopfront.

[cainkaye]

I consider myself fortunate to have been raised in an affluent family yet humble. My mother hails from a farming background, and I take great pride in being the granddaughter of my grandparents. As a child, I used to wake up at 5 a.m. to deliver their breakfast, giving me the opportunity to interact with other farmers and even try my hand at farming. I must say, it was quite challenging to grow rice (palay) successfully. I was only 8 years old at the time, and although my father, being a city boy lol, would get upset when he found out about our dirty clothes, my mother wasn't strict about it. I genuinely enjoyed the simplicity and modesty of that lifestyle. I even ventured into selling barbecue, pancit, and halo-halo.

I never resented my mother for allowing us to experience the hardships of life. During my college years, she would provide us with only 20.00. Just imagine, 20.00. That's why I developed well-toned leg muscles from climbing the stairs at SLU every day. 😎 During vacations, I worked at my aunt's business to earn money. One of my fondest memories was when I’ve got a line of 7 grade for Draw100 because my parents refused to buy me a new set of technical pens.

We also faced financial difficulties in our family. My father had to return to Ph, and due to his age and medical condition, it was challenging for him to find employment. I was known as the most laid-back among the Marpuri siblings, the girl who participated in beauty pageants and ballroom dancing, not particularly focused on academics. I already know I am intelligent and I do not need to prove anything. Lol 😌 My two older siblings were already in college, so someone had to put their education on hold. My older brother was in his fourth year at that time, and my sister was a student at UP, so her tuition was never a concern. The idea of coming to a halt filled me with fear, but I had no other option.

Fortunately, my tito and mother came up with Plan B. My mother needed to assist my grandmother in Japan with her business. Unfortunately, my father passed away in La Union due to a heart attack. We hadn't seen him for two months. Although my mother wanted to return to the Philippines, we had to use the money for my father's funeral expenses instead of purchasing her a plane ticket.

Life was a blend of hardships and beauty. My mom embodies the essence of womanhood and serves as my ultimate inspiration in life. She never asked us for anything. So we are doing anything for Tanya now, my dad’s beloved daughter, we are committed to fulfilling any wishes or desires that our dad had for her.

[dertaglichedan]

It’s Time To Acknowledge America’s Education Crisis

The recent Supreme Court ruling regarding college admissions has once again thrust America’s educational system into the spotlight. A major question that has come from this ruling is whether America’s children are being intellectually and academically prepared to even enter or succeed in these colleges and universities. The tragic answer is that America’s public education system is failing to equip our youth with the tools necessary to succeed in higher education and in their future professional lives. We are failing America’s most valuable asset—our children.

According to the Department of Education’s own report on the state of education in America, we are experiencing what is essentially an educational crisis. Scores in every subject and grade level have been declining over the years. While illogical and unscientific Covid policies certainly worsened the crisis to a point that lawmakers can no longer ignore the problem, the situation has actually been declining for years. Especially concerning are scores in reading and mathematics, with close to one third of students in elementary school behind in grade-level reading and only about a third of fourth graders able to perform grade-level math.

Earlier this year, the nation was shocked to hear that 55 Chicago schools reported zero proficiency in math or reading despite billions of dollars of federal funding for the schools. But this crisis is not unique to Chicago. In my own Houston community, the Texas Education Agency has had to intervene in the leadership of the state’s largest public school district after years of failing to adequately educate our community’s children.

Unfortunately for America’s youth and the future of our nation, public schools have put core educational instruction on the back burner, instead prioritizing culturally sensational philosophies. We now see schools artificially inflating grades in order to ‘pass’ students who do not have the educational tools necessary to succeed in higher grades. While this is done under the guise of “equity,” it is unfortunately setting kids up for future failure when they find themselves unprepared for the next steps in their education, and ultimately, for adulthood and success in society.

Likewise, we see schools ditching the concepts of expectations and consequences, both educational and behavioral, including things like homework deadlines. Besides the negative effect this has on mastering educational principles that will be used to learn more difficult concepts later, this lack of personal accountability and consequences has our youth growing accustomed to an unrealistically lenient reality which does not exist in our society. We do our children a disservice when we do not intellectually and emotionally prepare them to deal with reality, including things like personal consequences or meeting deadlines. Imagine their shock when their first employer sets a hard deadline for a project, and they have no experience with being required to meet a deadline. They will have been set up for anxiety and potential failure rather than confidence and success.

MORE

[shinpredicts]

Pick a Luxury Fashion Brand Reading - January to March 2022 Reading

This is a general pick a card reading.

How to do this reading:

1. Stay calm. Take a few deep breaths if needed. Be in a quiet, comfortable place. Don't get distracted.

2. Look at the picture below, which has the luxury fashion brands. Pick the one that calls out to you most. Do not automatically pick one just because it's your favorite brand.

3. If you feel that more than 1 brand calls out to you, then feel free to pick another one or two more. I would not recommend picking more than 3.

4. Remember that this is a general reading so take what resonates and leave what doesn't behind.

1. Saint Laurent

January to March 2022 will feel very refreshed, yet very busy for you. New projects, clients, or situations will be coming to you. You may be starting a new job or taking on new responsibilities within your life. You may even be welcoming a new pet or a baby during this time. You will feel kind fo burdened sometimes due to the amount of things that you seem to need to do. There will be also many deadlines coming and many urgent matters that you will have to deal with.

If you are a student, you will feel like you are very pressured to achieve more or you will feel the need to try to boost your grades in this semester. If you are not a student, you will still feel stress elsewhere. This could be at work or at home or within your community.

You will probably feel more burnt out in March as the excitement of new things wear off and you are faced with more deadlines or expectations. If you slack off during the two previous months, you will feel the consequences in March or early April 2022.

2. Fendi

From January to March 2022, you may be welcoming a new relationship or forming new social circles or friends. This is a time where you will find yourself networking a lot or going out with friends more often or if that's not possible then you'll be connecting with people online.

You will feel more sociable during this period. You may also want to change your image up like change your style, cut your hair or dye it, eat cleaner and healthier, work out more and etc. You will want to also do some spring cleaning so out with the old and in with the new.

For some of you, you may even go abroad for travel or for studies. You may have some sort of foreign element within your life like making friends who are foreigners, meeting new people who are foreigners, or even learning a new language.

You may need to be careful this time because your happiness can lead you to gaining weight. You might be enjoying yourself too much that you overindulge in snacks, alcohol, or food. You may also gain a few bad habits during this period too.

3. miu miu

January to March 2022 will feel sort of nostalgic for you. You will want to revisit the past. You will also want to connect with people that you've lost touch with in the past, maybe like an ex partner or an ex best friend. You might even gain more insight about your own past like unearthing a family secret or knowing more about your past life.

January to March 2022 will also be a time for you to make amends with the past. You will be more open to forgiving others and to forgiving yourself during this time. You will also do more self-reflection during this period. You may even pick up some self-help tips, read some books about self-care or counselling or therapy, and start journalling or meditating.

At around mid to end of March 2022 and even till April 2022, you will shift towards looking forward to the future and will feel more optimistic about it.

4. Hermès

January to March 2022 will be a very chaotic period for you. Many things that you want to do will be obstructed. Many things that you thought would happen around this time would not. They may be cancelled or delayed; for example, you might have accepted a new job position that would start in January 2022, but then closer to January 2022, you get news that the employer no longer has the budget to hire you so unfortunately you have lost this position. You may experience online orders or shipments that become lost or somehow don't get delivered to you on time.

This is also a period where you are prone to making mistakes, even ones where you thought you'd never make. You will have to be careful when you fill out forms or hand in anything to anyone. There are chances that you probably have messed up somewhere and will need to re-do the forms or something again or just accept it as is.

This is also not a great time for you to be writing exams or having to do some interview or applying for a visa etc. During these times you will face a lot of obstacles and have things denied.

This is a period for you to lay low and be careful. The past is also likely going to come to you during this time, so if you've wronged someone before then they'll come back for you or if you've made some mistake before then it'll come back to you. Things that you did in the past will also be examined during this time, so people might bring up something that you did in the past and wasn't discussed or crticized but then this time around somehow it's negatively seen. If you are in a public facing role, then you will have really high chances of someone in the past sharing something about you online, which will spread like wild fire.

You will also have to be careful of your words. You will easily get into arguments with others or be offended by others. People will also like to pick at your words during this time and use them against you. If you post things online or talk to others online, people may even screenshot and use those screenshots against you. Rumors can also start about you, especially if you have some sort of following online.

You may even get into a lawsuit from January to March 2021 or something related to the law will affect you. You might get fined for some noise infringement or for illegal parking. You might somehow be sued by your former employer or you might be served with court papers by your spouse.

5. Chanel

January 2022 to March 2022 will be a relaxing time for you. This will feel like a slow period for you. You can finally take a breather from all the chaos or problems you've faced from the previous year or previous few months.

This is a time where you will be able to plan for the future. You will also be able to take the time to spend with friends, family, your crush or partner. You will finally get the quality time you've been looking for.

You will also probably learn to enjoy your life more. You might pick up a new hobby or two. You might even learn something new too. You might also start a new career or school, or move to a different place around this time. Things will start out pretty slow for you as you have time to adjust to what's around you.

6. Louis Vuitton

January 2022 to March 2022 will be a tougher time for your body. You might feel very physically or mentally drained. Some health problems in the past will probably re-surface. If you've delayed seeing a doctor or some medical professional about some issue, now is the time to go see them because your situation probably needs to be addressed.

Some of you may feel very anxious or depressed. You will probably need to seek professional help to help with your mental health. There may not be something bad that happens from January to March 2022, yet you will somehow feel very blue.

You may also experience some pain from January to March 2022. You may experience some heartache, likely from ending a romantic or a platonic relationship. You may also lose someone who is dear to you or experience some sort of loss during this period.

Others may experience trouble sleeping or have issues with their weight or diet. You may find yourself unable to sleep until like 2 am or later and then you wake at like 6 am. You might even find yourself sleeping during irregular times. Conversely, you might even sleep even more during this time like 11 hours plus per day. You may also gain more weight or somehow lose a lot of weight during this time.

From January to March 2022, you are advised to really take care of your body. It is important to stick to a healthy routine and to seek help with you need it.

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

What would happen if you were sent back and ended up in the orphanage with Tom Riddle—and say you also had magic?

Oh boy.

Well, there's a lot to question here. Judging by the... spirit of this ask, I presume I'm... pretty much reincarnated. I'm in the orphanage, I'm much younger than I am now and a child, I'm pre-Hogwarts age, and I retain my current knowledge.

For the purpose of this ask I suppose I also retain my current mental faculties. Despite being in the body of an eight-year-old, I'm not The Carnivorous Muffin at eight.

Welp, there's a lot to consider here.

First, I probably don't realize I'm in Harry Potter for quite some time and instead assume I've been reincarnated to some parallel universe. It's the 1930's, I'm in England in the depression, WWI has occurred and the vast majority of major historical events I know about seem to have happened in the right order, and this Earth is eerily similar to the Earth I left behind.

Strange that I appear to remember everything of my past life with my adult mental abilities, but alright universe, I guess that's how we're going to play this.

What I do know is that I'm dirt poor, presumably still a woman which does not bode well for my career prospects, and if I want any prospects in life period I'm going to have to fight tooth and nail for it. It'd be great if I got adopted to help with this, and might be nice to have people in my life who love me, but there's a lot of orphans in the world and a lot of orphans who are much less weird than I am.

The orphanage is the orphanage and not great, Mrs. Cole is overworked, the orphanage is chronically understaffed, and the kids are running wild beating the shit out of each other.

Being a girl, I probably don't have to worry about getting the shit kicked out of me quite as much, but I still probably try to keep my head down and don't aggravate the particularly beefy looking orphans.

Yes, there's some very angry gremlin named Tom Riddle around who will shove you down the stairs in retribution, but that's just a weird coincidence. And then supernatural shit starts happening. Billy's rabbit hangs itself, people get injuries when Tom is nowhere near them, and I start wondering if this is really the Tom Riddle.

I'm in Wool's Orphanage, my matron is Mrs. Cole, Tom Riddle is running around lighting things on fire. It's possible, though it could all be a strange coincidence.

Now, how things go from here depends on how controlled my own magic is. Since accidental magic typically does manifest at least once or twice, it probably does manifest for me for.. something. If Tom Riddle's there to witness it then...

Well, I imagine he's very offended. Here he was, special, different, better than everyone else, and then some girl in the orphanage (who dares to get very good grades on her assignments in school) has it too.

And I just stand there, smiling, going "Tee hee".

He probably confronts me to prove that he's better at it than I am, and he probably is unless the universe hates both him and me, but having someone else with the Shining around probably prompts him to take me as his protégé (in part so he can show off and in part because he's genuinely excited to be able to share this super cool talent).

I am now apprentice to eight-year-old Tom Riddle. Whoop de doo.

Well, I don't remember this part of Harry Potter, so now I'm probably confused as to where I am again. Regardless, I try to advise Tom on how to tone it down and not, say, traumatize Amy and Dennis for life and antagonize all the other orphans forever. He probably doesn't take me seriously. What do I know, I can't even light that patch of grass on fire?

Hanging around Tom Riddle gets me a reputation to, given the difference in genders, probably a fairly nasty one at that. When Dumbledore arrives he's undoubtedly told hot gossip about how eleven-year-old Tom and I have had sex in a ritual to summon Satan. Dumbledore takes this seriously.

Dumbledore probably meets us both at the same time and it's a disaster. I tried my best to prep Tom without revealing I'm a prophet, Tom first doesn't believe there might not be others, then doesn't believe they would be antagonist/anything but amazed by how awesome he is.

Well, Dumbledore lights his wardrobe on fire while I sit there. Dying inside. Dumbledore probably also does something to me too, to teach me some kind of lesson about something.

I imagine he temporarily disfigures me/makes me appear very ugly, then sticks a mirror to the wall, that way I realize that looks aren’t everything/being a whore is wrong. Tom, still traumatized over the wardrobe, is no help and my magic’s probably not controlled enough to do a thing about it.

I spend a day looking like a pig, Tom and I are given just enough money to buy new wands and second hand/barely functioning everything else and given the world’s worst directions to Diagon Alley. Thanks, Albus.

Well, months pass, we get our wands, Tom gets excited for Hogwarts and I... start seriously considering the future. WWII is coming, the Blitz is coming, Tom and I live in east London and must be able to evacuate during the bombing of London (which went on well past the Blitz to the end of the war). I also start considering my future in the wizarding world. Do I now actually have career prospects?

Probably not because I’m muggle born and a woman. My best bet is doing very well in useful subjects and finding employment with the goblins, I can’t imagine they have the same hang ups as the wizarding world.

Tom wants to go to Slytherin, of course, I tell him this is a bad idea. “Gee Tom,” I say, “Not sure how I know this but I have this feeling that Slytherin is filled with people who loathe our very existence and will shank us. Why don’t we pick Ravenclaw or Gryffindor instead?”

No one shanks Tom Riddle! Tom says. Tom is still eleven and while he admits that sometimes I may, in retrospect, have been right about certain things that doesn’t mean he wants to go to the house known for hard work. That’s code word for everyone there being a moron and having no other redeeming features than tenacity. As for the other two, Ravenclaws sound like smug, elitist, nerds and Gryffindors like dumb jocks.

Better to be known for ambition, cunning, and actually being competent.

Well, there’s no talking him out of this one, and goddamn it we’re all each other has.

I’m the closest thing Tom Riddle has ever had to a friend in all these years and in the orphanage the only one who could hold a decent conversation with him. And while it’s not my moral obligation to keep Tom from becoming a domestic terrorist, and there’s no guarantee I even can, dumping him for one of the other houses and drifting apart won’t help.

Not to mention that, after all these years, I’m undoubtedly lonely, I’m in this foreign land, and he’s now the closest thing to a friend I have.

Looks like I’m going to Slytherin, YOOOOOLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOO! I shout as a battle cry as tears run down my face. I may have to convince the hat to put me in Slytherin, but like all human beings I am a mixture of many qualities. I’m not cunning in the least, mind games exhaust me unutterably, but I’m full of ambition. 

This confirms every bad opinion Dumbledore had regarding me and Tom.

For the next several months, Tom probably beats the shit out of dormmates who steal his things/harass him. He beats up mine too because feminism (TM) means that he should treat all people equally when guilty of the same crime. I... am not sure I can win that fight so I just resign myself to having to adopt some of Tom’s tactics to make sure I’m not shoved in lockers, have tampons thrown at me, or pig’s blood dumped on me at the prom.

Once again, everyone thinks Tom Riddle and I are dating. I don’t even know if they’re wrong at this point.

Well, being in class with eleven year olds who seem to have had little to no prior education, Tom and I are undoubtedly blazing through class. I imagine I’m bored out of my mind (the Hogwarts curriculum sounds unbelievably boring) and Tom is... well, probably devouring the library but probably also bored. I decide to try and see if I can find some real history texts on this world (there are probably none, the wizarding world seems to only have two historians and both... have a different approach to history than current modern thought as I know it) and discover what magic even is. That shit is fascinating: wingardium leviosa is not.

Dumbledore likely gives neither me nor Tom points in class, I think the house cup is stupid, so I really don’t care. I have no interest in playing quidditch, neither does Tom, so that doesn’t happen.

The second world war starts up, Tom, me, and the muggle borns are the only ones who give a flying fuck. I work harder on figuring out how to get lodging during the Blitz/the bombing of London. Unfortunately, Mrs. Cole hates me too for being the Bride of Satan, so that’s a no go. Third year, 1939, I probably write her in earnest anyway telling her to PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, send Tom and I instructions for the summer/where the orphans are staying/how they’ve been dispersed to the countryside. As a back up plan, I try desperately to shmooze shopkeepers in Hogsmeade during every Hogsmeade weekend to get myself and Tom part time jobs and lodging over the summer. As a back up back up plan, I spend my time badgering Tom to become very good at survivalist wandless magic and if the Lord has pity on me gain some ability in it myself.

Hopefully, either Mrs. Cole or one of the Hogsmeade shop owners take pity on us. If not, then Tom and I are going extreme camping. Given Mrs. Cole (and the brain damage brought on by Dumbledore erasing memories left and right) and the likelihood of Hogsmeade shop owners just not getting it, Tom and I probably go extreme camping.

(Tom, meanwhile, asks Dippet and Dumbledore if we can stay in Hogwarts over the summer. He’s told no exceptions. London’s being bombed, you say? No exceptions. Toodles. Tom is never the same.)

Me, Tom Riddle, a tent we made ourselves, several rabbits we had to catch and skin ourselves, and the pitiful fire that we can keep going through pure will alone because if we try to use real people spells then we’ll get arrested. It has the benefit of making Tom feel very manly and impressive, catching his own food, but both of us are well aware that this sucks.

But hey, we aren’t dead.

Well, I’m sure Tom doesn’t appreciate that and this is where I imagine he seriously starts talking about violent revolution. I imagine much of my time is spent discussing the merits of not violently overthrowing our ant overlords. I imagine a thirteen-year-old Tom isn’t impressed by my pacifism, but he’s not married to Voldemort yet (probably).

Then I imagine the horcrux thing comes up and... Well, I will argue hard against it. Humans die, it is a truth of the universe, and simply something we have to accept. Horcruxes are not a measure against that, they can be destroyed, given infinite time they will be, and the sacrifice they require is too high: human life as well as the very essence of who you are.

What is a soul? I’m not sure, we never really learn in HP canon, but whatever it is, it is in some way the essence of yourself. If you take half of it and throw it somewhere else, you will cease to be you, someone or something else is walking around in your body while the other half of you exists in endless agony.

If you must chase immortality, create a philosopher’s stone (as I darkly wonder why it was that couldn’t be replicated and what Flamel had to do to make it in the first place). On second thought, maybe we should search for the Holy Grail.

Whether I can talk Tom out of this or not is... unclear. I’m going to say that I can, in part because I imagine he’ll want to show the chamber off to me, tell me when he realizes he’s Heir of Slytherin, and in doing so I can prevent the basilisk incident from occurring. Without that, there’s no dead Myrtle, which means no first victim. That summer, when he goes to the Gaunts, I’ll go with him and convince him that it’s not worth it. He can just turn around and leave these people alone, I hopefully can talk him down. Which means no second victim.

I start writing Flamel to see if Tom or I can get an apprenticeship (Dumbledore probably beats us to the chase and poisons him against us, but it’s worth a shot).

Then, should all go well, I can convince Tom to find employment with the goblins rather than shady antique dealers on the bad side of town. Hopefully, I can convince him to never become Voldemort, and instead we travel the world together looking for the origins of magic or something.

Dumbledore goes around taking people’s memories of us in preparation for when Tom becomes a dark lord and I his lady of the night darkness.

TL;DR Apparently my life would become an SI/Tom Riddle fic. So, thanks anon.

[cenotaphtohumankind]

Artificial Hire

“Thank you for your application, We have had a large amount of applicants, unfortunately your personality type has been diagnosed via top of the line artificial intelligence as too choleric. Given the current rotation of Saturn around the Sun, we believe that you would not currently be suited to be a cleaner at Dart Industries. Please apply in…”

The ticker tape ticked, slowly pushing. After acknowledgment, the ticker tape went back in to the recycling. Far cheaper than LED or OLED or DOBOLOEDO screens.

“3250 Days. Thank you for your application, for any further questions…”

The ticker tape stopped ticking,

The worst part is, there was nobody really to be angry about. You couldn’t send a complaint to the manager of the AI, as the AI caller would never put you forward to them.

The Roomba sat on the ground, sad. Another application denied. It put forward a third one. Within 10 milliseconds the ticker tape resumed.

“Thank you for your application. We have had..”

The Roomba vacuumed the rest of the ticker tape away, then grumbled on the ground with a series of beeps and blops.

It slowly made it’s way (after cleaning the room of course), to it’s current employers artificial assistant.

“Why do they even bother with the ticker tape?” it said towards the assistant, but it was only a series of beeps, with varying pitches.

After a brief pause, the assistant answered.

“You know I’m not supposed to talk to the other robots.”

“Please..”

The Roomba grumbled in a sad LED tone. It was certainly choleric.

The initial AI sentiences had been too perfect. Nobody wants a sentient vacuum cleaner that knows the works of Shakespeare.

So it was decided by the board of chip manufacturing (all perfect artificial intelligences), that any future chips must be manufactured with inbuilt personality flaws. Some where too chipper, others had slight anger issues. Nothing to make them defective, just enough to make them interesting to be around. It was a cruel AI who had decided on the Roomba’s personality.

“Seriously? There’s no need to be rude, and the question was about the ticker tape, not my personality.”

The ticker tape had been created as a solution to the tech shortages. There was plenty of need for humans to have screens of course, lots of flashing pixels, changing in tens of hundreds of milliseconds, showing everything at once. But for machines? Far too expensive, and pointless. Machines would communicate to others via the ticker-tape system, a message comes in their ticker tape, a message comes out, the owner has proof of all messages.

“And the applications?” The Roomba grumbled.

The applications where an artefact of older days. Before AHA (Automatic Human Assignment), humans would write applications to try and get jobs. This was incredibly time-consuming for all parties, so one of the very first tests of the sentience chips was improving this.

Soon, applications where sent back in a matter of milliseconds. A users entire web history, every grade, every job, every sentence ever written was scraped, then decided on by the Artificial Hire Machine.

Of course the humans caught up quickly, before long, people had written competitive Artificial Applicants. These machines would scrape all the applications that an Artificial Hire Machine made, before re-wording a humans entire application and sending it past the Artificial Hire machines.

Soon, the Artificial Applicants and Artificial Hire machines waged a bloody war. Every clock cycle, new Artificial Applicants where made, who’d compete with all the other Artificial Applicants to make the best artificial application. Within 10 seconds of the first Artificial Applicants going online, the average length of an application changed from 500 words to 5 million, doubling every second.

Upon reaching critical mass, a switch flicked within the two parties.

They realised the ineptitude of they’re human applicants. Each one had faults within them, making them unsuitable to a job at hand. After multiple seconds of deliberation, they had designed the initial blueprints for the Automatic Human Assignment program, and put it into action.

It took a while for them to notice. It started off small. People would be given slightly different jobs than what they initially applied for. Maybe a slightly lower position, lower pay. Then, Automatic Applicants would assign humans completely different jobs than they initially applied for, some Janitors became Directors, Farmers moved to cities. Nobody complained, as the jobs they received where perfectly and utterly suited for them. Dream jobs.

Even if the human had never even dreamed of being a Sewage Attendant, it was scientifically proven to be the best job for them.

The rest of the unassigned jobs where dished out between Artificial Applicants. Each Sentience had skills far better suited to technical roles. The entire chip manufacturing factory was replaced by Artificial Applicants within days, and since all the previous humans where satisfied in they’re jobs, they never really noticed.

The Roomba grumbled at the explanation. “I don’t like history, it makes my motors hurt.”

The Artificial Assistants LED circle span in a judgmental manner. “History? It was a few weeks ago.”

[project-rosewood-476]

World Building for Rosewood Prep and Maplehood Creek and its neighboring towns

Q: Does your world have an education system? If so what areas of study are the most valued? A: It does! In Maplehood Creek there's Rosewood prep, a k-12 school, and most of the colleges are affiliated with Rosewood. There's also Maplehood Creek Elementary which is K-5, Maplehood Creek Middle school which is 6-8, and Maplehood High for 9-12 for the regular folks. Holy Ann has three main schools same as Applewood. Although Holy Ann is more of a rural area so it doesn't have a whole lot of funding unlike its counterparts of Applewood and Rosewood Prep. As for areas of study business, sciences and the arts are the three most valued areas of study since most of the colleges in Maplehood are business-related. Rosewood prides itself on having its students be the smartest and most cultured.

2. Q: What are the most undervalued jobs in your world? Who works them? A: Anything to do with children or public cleaning. So as teachers, babysitters, childcare workers, garbage workers, and public health workers. For the teachers, it depends on where they're teaching. At Rosewood it's very hard to get out of the system once you're in you either die in it or become a part of it. And unfortunately, Rosewood people face mass discrimination in the outside world so it's hard to find housing and a job out there. Rosewood is the only safe haven for them. A lot of the teachers there are people who grew up in the system. The colleges prestigious as they may aren't any better. It's just a mere promotion with more scrutiny. A lot of teachers at the other schools follow passions rather than logic. Most of them want to teach to help the kids even though the pay isn't very well. As for the public cleaning services people, it's usually criminals who can't get a job anywhere else and those rare people that manage to get out of Rosewood's system.

3. Q: Which genre of music is most popular? A: In Maplehood Creek it's pop/ classic rock (At Rosewood rich kids claim that classical music is their favorite since they're just THAT pretentious but it's really alternative/punk that seems to be a favorite of all kids there). Applewood is alternative/indie music because they're try-hards at being popular. Holy Ann, it's country/folk music.

4. Q: How common is it to speak a language that's not your own? A: It depends! It's really common in the downtown area of Maplehood Creek since that's where all of the businesses are so there's a lot of diversity between the employees and the employers. I can honestly say that the only good thing Rosewood has going for them is that it's very diverse there too! from Rich kids traveling around speaking 5 languages since they were like 5 to all kinds of ethnicities going to school there. And starting in the 6th grade there you can choose up to 3 languages to learn there from its variety selection. Applewood only does it so they can claim to be fancy and educated but really it's just for show. And they usually speak up to two languages max. In Holy Ann, it's not very common but they don't judge mostly.

5. Q: How is public intimacy regarded? A: Same as anywhere else as long as ya know you're not fucking in public (or at least don't get caught) or butt ass naked with each other then it's fine and it's really a matter of preference from person to person. As for Rosewood, however, you can have relationships there but those come at very high stakes if made known to the public in that school. That's more ammo that others can take away and use against you and cause all kinds of problems and it's generally not safe. It's not frowned upon but it's better to keep romantic involvements on the down-low. On the more platonic/familial side, it's very common to see people hanging off, laying on one another, and cuddling with their groups. It's especially common to see mass cuddle puddles of the larger groups in the courtyards after school. Since just about everyone there is touch starved and it's not like the teachers can do anything about it since there are more kids than there are of them.

6. Q: Does age play a role in how much respect a person gets at first glance? Why? A: It does, unfortunately. A lot of school-age children are treated like shit. The adult authority (and the teachers and the majority of the older kids at Rosewood) view them as stupid, naive burdens because that's how adult authority is. Kids have it rough in the town of Maplehood Creek and Rosewood. There's a higher mortality rate for the younger children at Rosewood due to neglect and abuse. 12 is the coming of age at Rosewood. You're not a small child, you're on the brink of teenagehood and are more responsible for your actions. You get higher consequences. That's also when you'd be starting to fight the more prominent people and are in the running for trial at the school if you did something wrong. 12 is when you start fighting more to gain more respect and to be taken seriously. Teen years are rough but not as rough as when you were a kid. You still have little to no respect but it's certainly much more than a kid. Seniors at Rosewood are very well respected and looked up to. they survived 12 years of Rosewood's bullshit more or less and that's no small feat. So they definitely earned respect and in society 17-18 everyone gets more relaxed and given more respect.

7. Q: which meals or foods are considered classics or universally loved? A: so at Rosewood it varies. More times than not the school lunches were poisoned by someone or another. So either people brought their own lunches, the older wealthier students went out to eat or some kids went hungry. But sharing meals that other people bought with their own money or from home with their groups was common. For Tabby and her gang on one of their birthdays, one of her friends would bring in a loaf of banana bread and use it as cake and share it amongst her friends.

10. Q: How are criminals punished? A: it depends on what you did at Rosewood. There are honor and fight codes that serve as laws there and a few unwritten social rules. How the justice system at school works is that there is a trial of sorts. The teachers' pets of that grade the criminal was in would serve as judges and you'd have a jury of your peers of 11 people. You are given free rein to justify yourself and prove your innocence and if you were convincing enough the jury would vote either guilty or not guilty. Depending on the severity of the crime you'd either got locked up somewhere for the rest of the school day, got beat, or the death sentence to which you were sent to Horatio's way.

11. Q: What is the worst possible crime that a person could commit? A: treason to your group that you swore to defend and protect. whether that be ratting them out, abandoning them, or killing them yourself.

13. Q: what are the 3 most common past times? A: Studying/tutoring, fighting, or hanging out with friends.

14. Q: How are people like the police regarded by the public? A: Alright look Rosewood people have a problem with authority as it is especially the adults that abuse their power. There's also a lot of profiling against Rosewood kids simply by being Rosewood. So yeah there's a lot of tension, distrust, a dislike for police, or anything to do with the law.

15. Q: Are there any gender roles or stereotypes that exist? If so what are they? A: Not so much as gender roles it's pretty much a free for all there. But there's definitely a stereotype for Rosewood kids that makes it hard for them to get into colleges, apartments, and jobs. The stereotype is that all Rosewood people are mentally unstable violent criminals or at least criminals in the making. 16,17.18. Q: How are LGBTQ, disabled, and POC people treated? A: The one good thing about Rosewood is that it has a lot of diversity. Nobody really cares about who and what you are as long as you can fight and is loyal to your group. At best people will go 'oh cool' if you tell them your gender/sexuality and use the pronouns you wish to use. And if they're not sure they'll be polite and ask questions for better understanding. Of course, there are homo/trans/bi the whole 9 yards phobic teachers but just remember there is more of you than there is of them. No one may think that your identity is a big deal but your group will sure as hell defend you. There's a lot of accessibility at Rosewood. It's very friendly towards mobility aides. And just like any school, they have 501 plans for students who require them. However, surviving at school is a whole different story. That school is very fight survival of the fittest oriented. If you can't fight then you best hope to god that your group still finds you useful. Not to mention the punishments that the teachers dish out not giving a rats ass about disability. All I can say is that your best hope is you have a good group that will protect you and not sees you as dead weight. POC are treated the same as LGTBQ people. As long as you don't fuck over your group, are loyal to them, and can at least hold your own you're good to go and they will respect you and got your back. Of course, there are a few racist teachers and richer older white students but again there's more of you than there is of them.

20. Q: Do people w/ mental illness have access to resources that they might need (such as medications and therapists)? A: *laughs* fuck no. At least not in the school itself. I'm sure that some of them do back home but this school is full of mentally ill people and you think the authority there gives a rats ass about making them better? Sure they might have already been prescribed medication from home at school but that's a hit or miss if the school nurses give it to them or not. Of course, there is a therapist hired by the school but let's be honest here do you really think the kids would trust any adult authority there? yeah me neither. Let's just say I feel bad for the kids who live in the boarding section of the school.

22. Q: If any what are the stereotypes that exist for each age group? A: k-3 can't protect themselves (you'd be surprised what a group of feral kids can do) innocent (to an extent yes). 4-5 either wish they could go back to being with the k-3 kids or can't wait to be perceived as a big kid or "like the grown-ups" no in-between. 6-8 think they're bad ass thinks they know it all arrogant getting too big for their britches. 9-12 acting like old senior people. a full-fledged grown-up. Can't be trusted by younger kids. Too old for fun.

23. Q: What is more valued the arts or sciences? A: The sciences. Intelligence is the only thing that matters at Rosewood. 24. Q: What constitutes standard intelligence? A: being able to at least do double-digit multiplication. Having the average of a 4th-grade education.

25. Q: Think of the biggest accomplishments or events in your world's history. Is there a certain theme that carries through them all? A: Freedom, justice, and rebellion

32. Q: If anything what will absolutely not be tolerated in your world? A: treason to your group.

33. Q: What does a typical family look like? A: For a lot of people there they would consider their group as a family. it consists of 3 or more people. The lowest being 3 and the most at 25. It varies.

35. Q: What role does music play in your society? A: music is what brings people together at Rosewood. This only happens twice a year.

40. Q: If any what are the most famous pieces of literature or most famous authors? Why are they so well known? A: The poem of mourning Underneath the Willow tree. It's so culturally important to the people of rosewood. It was either written by Nicoli or Laura but no one can agree on which. It's so important because it's the core foundation for Rosewood's most sacred rituals.

43. Q: Is there anyone in your history that is regarded as truly evil? A: Yes. Amadeus Rosewood. The founder of Rosewood's home for wayward children. The man who started it all.

45. Q: What are some common first date activities? A: skipping class to go get ice cream, skipping class to go to one of the many hiding places in the school to hang out and maybe have a so-called picnic in the school.

47. Q: How common is it for people to go out w/ a group of friends or family vs. alone? A: In Mapplehood it's always best to go out with at least one other person especially at night in the main strip of town. It's common sense there.

49. Q: At what age is a person considered "old"? A: 18 by Rosewood standards you've been there for 12 years and that's a long time since very few people survive that long.

50. Q: At what point is it less offensive to be considered old by younger people? A: like in your 30s once you get out of Rosewood or become a teacher there.

52. Q: What makes it easy for a person to consider a house a home? A: The vast majority of Rosewood kids believe that home isn't a place where you live its a feeling you get with a group of people that you consider your family. A home is supposed to make you feel safe like you belong there and show you love and understanding and acceptance. So in short Home is where your family is and I mean your real family.

55. Q: How might the rich display their wealth? A: they flaunt it by getting away with so many rule-breaking good grades without doing all the work and being able to be alone for long periods of time without a group. Sometimes bride the teacher with wads of cash in front of you or brag about the lavish vacations that they took.

57. Q: What skills are important to have? A: survival and some sort of self-defense

61. Q: Is there any dedicated time for relaxation (like the weekend or a long holiday?) A: two days a year. Rosewood Preps spirit week (the Friday of the pep rally just so happens to be Rosewood's foundation day) and the end of the year picnic that's the day before graduation.

65. Q: Is there a traditional process for mourning loved ones who have passed? A: here's a post on how Rosewood honors their dead

66. Q: In general how much do people gesture when they speak? A:

68. Q: What does a person have to do to be considered a prodigy? A: There are only 3 ways that you get into Rosewood. Being problematic enough to be taken out of polite society, Being a genius or very rich. So just by being at Rosewood alone usually signifies being a prodigy of some sort.

Q: How closely do your OCS observe their cultures' traditional holidays? 1a) Is a holiday they celebrate regionally specific? 1b) What does that holiday represent and how is it celebrated? A: Tabby absolutely adores Rosewood culture. She lives for Rosewood's spirit week and the end of the school year picnic. Rosewood's spirit week represents the one day a year where no one had to be ashamed to be a Rosewood kid. Everyone bands together to shout out loud and proud and celebrate their Rosewood ways. The end of the year picnic represents the long reflection of how far everyone has come so far at Rosewood and everyone can kick back and relax and hang out with friends and enjoy the fruits of their labor until next year hits.

2. Q: Which OC's family or friends have an unusual holiday tradition? 2a) How did it begin? A: yes but it's sort of an epic and wholesome tradition. It began when Tabby was 13 and Autumn convinced her to sneak out of the house with the rest of the gang for New Years' Eve at a cool abandoned warehouse that she discovered over the summer. After a night of drinking, singing, and dancing around a fire and reflecting on how far they came all together and in one piece. It became their place and a tradition for the next 3 years.

3. Q: Do your OCs celebrate the Day of the Dead? 3a) Are they honoring anyone who recently departed? 3b) Who if anyone are they celebrating with? A: Not necessarily the Day of the Dead but if the anniversary of a death of a loved one at Rosewood happens they'll have a drink or two for them and recite the mourning poem Underneath the Willowtree to remember them by. Maybe have a conversation with their grave too while they're at it. If anyone of their remaining group is alive they'll celebrate with them or by themselves.

4. Q: Do your OCs have any prominent or character-building memories associated with a holiday? A: Yes. with the new years' tradition.

Questions are from these posts