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shroomdreams · 6 months ago

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propagation 2: Ruan Mei

CW: Cunnilingus, multiple orgasms, monsterfucking, oviposition (Ruan Mei gets eggpreg), breeding kink, reader can be interpreted as any gender (you have an ovipositor)

A/N: I don’t even have the words to describe how unhinged this got. I wrote nearly all of this in the Notes App and only just recently transferred it somewhere else. I hope you guys enjoy this behemoth of a part 2. 2.9k words

It has been a little over a year ago since you found yourself on Herta Space Station. Shortly after Ruan Mei had visited the station and left, she found herself exploring an abandoned planet, where the only signs of life were plants and some creatures that had yet to be analyzed. Ruan Mei thought that would simply be it, until she found you. She found you scavenging what appears to be a broken spaceship for parts, tearing off metal with your bare hands. You noticed her presence, but said nothing, turning your back to her and walking off into the wilderness.

After that, Ruan Mei started a little base of operations on the planet. She was a scientist, first and foremost, and a member of the Genius Society for a reason. Not only was she analyzing the creatures on the planet, she had been making an effort to get on your good side. You intrigued her, after all. There was something more to you than your appearance suggested, and she intended to find out what that is. It started off with small gestures. She would find you at the wrecked spaceship, offer you food, and watch you walk off. It's no surprise that you would be distrustful of her, since it's possible that she is the first and only human you have seen. However, her eyes lit up when you didn't walk off into the wilderness like you usually do, instead following her towards her base of operations.

It took a few weeks, but she had managed to teach you Standard Galactic Common, since she didn't have a Synesthesia Beacon on hand. From then on, you followed her around whenever she went out to explore, since you knew the area better than her you helped her out in some situations.

However, she would soon have no more interest in this abandoned planet, and would make preparations to leave. "Thank you for your help these past few months, snowdrop," Ruan Mei smiled. "This little expedition wouldn't have been as successful without your help."

"You're welcome." You say, though your face is marred with a frown. "...Does this mean you will leave now?"

"Not now." Ruan Mei shook her head. "It will be a while before a transport ship comes to pick me up."

"I see..."

Now Ruan Mei is aware that she isn't the best at emotions. Her stint in Herta Space Station made her truly realize that that is something she should be working on. And right now, she sees the frown on your face, how you look to the side with furrowed eyebrows and a twitchy leg. A thought occurs to her head.

"Snowdrop, would you like to come with me?"

"What?"

"I... Don't recall ever seeing the village you keep telling me about," Ruan Mei replied. "And I did not want to bring it up, since you might have your own reasons for not showing me, but I want to ask. Was it ever real?"

"..."

She continues. "Come with me. I know a place that might be more suitable for you."

"...Are you certain?" You hesitantly ask. "I... I'm not-"

You're momentarily cut off when Ruan Mei suddenly grabs your hands and looks you in the eyes. You flush.

"I promise you that you'll be taken care of there. Of course, you'll have to do some work… But don't you think it's better than living here?" The words seem to tumble out her mouth, almost clunky sounding. But Ruan Mei is pleased to see you nod.

That's how you find yourself awkwardly gripping a pen and writing down an application form for Herta Space Station while Ruan Mei makes idle chatter with the owner herself. After taking your measurements, you find yourself in a room in the Seclusion Zone, near the place where Ruan Mei stashed her confectionery creations. She sits down next to you, and you suddenly feel like curling into the corner, her scent overwhelming you. You could hear your heart hammering in your chest, drowning out the silence.

"So... This is where we part ways for now." Ruan Mei starts, staring at the wall. You nod. "You'll have to work hard here."

"...Ruan Mei, I..."

You see yourself reflected in those deep, cyan eyes of hers. She always seemed to be staring at something far away whenever you talked to her, keeping her vision pointed to the most interesting sight to dissect. But right now, she stares back at you. Body moving on its own, you press a chaste kiss to her lips, and another, and another... Until you end up with Ruan Mei laying on top of you, breathing ever so slightly. The soft pink glow of her cheeks, her sparkling eyes, the way her hair tickles your face... She cups your face and steals a final kiss.

Of course, she had to leave at some point, but not before giving you a direct line of communication to her. One email a month, maybe a brief conversation when Ruan Mei isn't so busy. You get into a routine at the Space Station, and soon enough you become a respectable worker with a decent enough reputation, despite being Madam Herta's brand new specimen. Thankfully, being stationed at the bottom part of the station gives you a lot of privacy. Life has become much more stable than your time on the jungle planet.

...Which is why you've suddenly locked yourself inside your room. You've immediately sent out a notice to your supervisor that you will be indisposed for a very long time. Ruan Mei stopped receiving your responses for three weeks.

A growl escapes you as you grind down on the pillow between your legs, trying your damnedest to grab some kind of relief. Blankets and other soft materials have been ripped open and stuffed with eggs, that will thankfully never hatch... Shifting your legs, you accidentally drop your camouflage when the door to your room suddenly slides open. Hidden in the darkness, you hiss out in alarm. But before you could lash out, you suddenly catch a whiff of that familiar, sweet scent.

"Snowdrop?"

That voice was almost enough to snap you out of the stupor clouding your mind. Almost. Your arms quickly grab the entity and pull them into the room, pinning their arms to the wall as the door shuts tight, leaving your eyes to glow in the darkness. "...Mei..." Her name sounds so foreign, your mandibles clicking together as you stare at her. "You came back..."

"I had to," She whispered, looking at you with a curious gleam. "You stopped responding, and Herta told me you went crazy."

"She isn't wrong." You sighed, leaning in and inhaling her scent as another pair of arms pop from your abdomen, gingerly touching Ruan Mei's sides. Despite the new sensations, Ruan Mei keeps calm, allowing your arms to hold her in place. "It's... The Propagation. Every other month or so, my body feels the urge to- well, Propagate. But it's stronger now, and if I had to guess-"

"It's because of me." Ruan Mei finishes. "I understand."

You can't help but shudder as you hesitantly pull Ruan Mei close. "I... It's a big thing to ask of you, but... Please help me." You whispered. "You can do whatever you want- I just need to-"

Ruan Mei cuts you off by leaning her head to where your mouth should be, taking one of your mandibles with her tongue and licking it. A surge of heat courses through you, your arms lifting one of Ruan Mei's legs and hooking it over your waist, grinding against her as you hold her close. That was enough confirmation for you, as you lay her down on your nest- er, bed.

First to go were her accessories, one pair of hands setting them aside as your other pair slowly slid off Ruan Mei's dress, followed by her shoes. The only piece of clothing left was her garter belt, which completes the beautiful sight in front of you. Though her expression remained largely the same, there was a red hue coloring Ruan Mei's cheeks as you slid between her legs, mandibles tenderly inspecting her inner thighs as you looked up at her. "Once I get started, I won't be able to stop so easily..." You murmured, leaning your head against Ruan Mei's thigh. "So... I'm asking again. May I Propagate with you, Ruan Mei?"

Ruan Mei leans back and wiggles her hips in response, her pussy glistening ever so slightly. "Give me your all, snowdrop." Hissing, your tongue extends outward to lick at her folds. It's unclear if it was your actions or Ruan Mei's own arousal that made her core soaked. Either way, your tongue glides over her labia, quickly getting addicted to the nectar weeping from her slit. "Mmnh~" Ruan Mei sighs, her legs trembling as you drink in her essence, held apart by your arms. She gasps when one of your arms reaches over to play with her breast, rolling your fingers over her hardening nipple. "Ah~!" Ruan Mei cried out as you plunged your tongue deep inside, chirping as you felt her walls throbbing around the wet muscle. You shift positions a bit, sitting up and holding Ruan Mei's hips to your face.

A series of moans and sighs are drawn out from your beloved scientist's mouth as you drive your tongue in and out of her pussy, her slick and your saliva dribbling down into the sheets below. She could feel her body growing hotter as two wispy shapes appear right above where her womb is located, whining when she feels you brush up against a rather sensitive spot. Ruan Mei shakily reaches towards you, but then throws her head back with a cry as you shove your face deep into her cunt, your tongue brutally rubbing against her walls and causing more of her juices to seep out. "Ah! Ah! Ohhhhh aeons! Aaaah!~" Her hips stutter against your face as she feels her release wash over her, covering your face with her cum. Gasps and moans escape from Ruan Mei as you remove your tongue, pleased to see her sprawled out on the sheets. "H-Have... Have you finished the preparation?" She asked. Ah, that's your clever girl. You reach down and start teasing the space between your legs.

Ruan Mei's eyes go wide as she watches a strange appendage emerge from your cloaca, its appearance making her drool. So girthy... Would she be able to fit that inside, even with your help? You sigh as you position yourself at her entrance. This shouldn't hurt her too much. You hold her hips. "I'll... Go slow." You growled, stamping down your impatience. "Please tell me if it starts feeling bad."

Seeing her nod, you slowly start pushing inside, snarling and buzzing as you inch deep in her cunny. Ruan Mei feels the air being knocked out of her as you cozy up against her walls. "Ah- Ahhh! S-So... Huge...!" She hissed out, legs shaking as you finally bottomed out, her cunt stretched and filled with your length. You're entirely certain that her hips would be bruised from how tight you were gripping them. Meanwhile, your other hands play with her breasts, teasing and pinching her nipples. Ruan Mei pushes her hips against yours. "P-Please, snowdrop. Move." She whimpered, casting a needy look to you. "I want your eggs inside me. Please."

Your resolve snaps. The room fills with a symphony of slaps and moans, inhuman noises produced from your vocal chords as you roughly thrust into Ruan Mei's pussy, her walls constricting around your rod like a vice. Ruan Mei arches her back as you pound her sweet cunt, her poor breasts continue to be toyed with as you continue your movements. Your mind devolves, pure instinct takes hold of you as you your hips roughly slam into Ruan Mei. Whines escape from Ruan Mei as you rut against her, her fingers entangled in the sheets as she takes the harsh movements of your body. In your lust-addled mind, you notice her pussy fluttering around you and her moans getting louder, a sure sign she was nearing her release. It was a good thing that the two of you are in the seclusion zone now...

You slide your arms underneath Ruan Mei and pull her close as your thrusts grow sloppy, a series of clicks and chirps intertwining with Ruan Mei's cries. "I'm- *chitter* I'm gonna lay them inside you-" You gritted out. "Hold on tight-" Ruan Mei squeals when she feels a strange pressure growing at the base of your cock, her hands flying towards your carapacian body as a round object starts making its way into her body, instinctually trying to back away but unable to.

The knot in her belly comes undone as she sprays her release on your stomach, the egg settling inside her womb as Ruan Mei screams in a mixture of pleasure and alarm, foreign feelings of pure lust and want wrapping around her mind as you lay three more eggs inside. You huff, preparing to draw your hips back. Though this was the first time you’ve done such a thing with a human, you have enough awareness of your own body to know that you’re supposed to fertilize them after the eggs have been laid inside.

What happens instead is Ruan Mei’s legs swinging over your hips and pulling you back, causing you to let out a screech as you plunge deep inside her. You look down at her, and realize that you might have gone a little too far. Hey eyes stare back at you with an ocean of need behind them, whimpers and pleas tumbling out of her mouth. “W-Where do you think you’re going?” She gasped out, looping her arms around your neck and pulling you in to lick at your mandibles. “We’re not done yet, aren’t we?”

“R-Ruan Mei, let go-” You hissed out, trying to pull out. “I- I won’t be able to- Hmm~” Her walls flutter around your length.

“You wanted to Propagate with me, didn’t you?” She questioned, and you had to double take when you saw that she was actually pouting. “Propagate with me then.”

“I… You’re gonna be the death of me, you know that?” Ruan Mei says nothing in return, instead bucking her hips up to further entice you. You snarl. “Just- Just promise me that you’ll stay here? Please? Stay u-until- *huff* until they come out- Haaah-” Your hips start moving on their own accord, building back up momentum as you feel yourself throb in Ruan Mei’s snug walls. Soon enough, Ruan Mei lets out a hoarse cry as your release coats her walls, arching her back as she rides out her second orgasm.

You eventually pull out and sit back, chittering in pure satisfaction as sleep overtakes Ruan Mei, the combined puddle of your fluids staining the sheets. Her stomach bulged ever so slightly, the mark of Propagation glowing on her skin. You’re not… Entirely certain on how to navigate this with everyone else. But as you lay back down and pull Ruan Mei in for a hug, mandible gently touching her face, you decide that you’re ready for whatever happens next.

The next three months, Ruan Mei spends her time in the Seclusion Zone, sitting in the lounge area with her creations while you take care of them. She also discussed with Herta on building proper accommodations for your children, which Herta agrees. You’re somewhat worried that Herta might have ulterior motives for accepting such a deal, but Ruan Mei reassured you that everything will be fine. At the end of three months, Ruan Mei holds on to your hand for dear life as she lays your eggs, shakily holding them in her arms while you proudly chitter at her.

Soon enough, the eggs hatch, and Ruan Mei watches in fascination as the Stings crawl towards her. “How interesting… Despite the fact that I am just their incubator, they seem to recognize who I am.” She murmurs, watching as a baby Sting curls up in her lap, while the other Stings crawl on her arms.

“Well, you did give birth to them after all,” you reply, dropping your human look as you gather a few Stings. “The Propagation is a parth born of loneliness, and.. I’m very happy that I’m not alone anymore.” Ruan Mei smiles and leans in for a kiss, which translates to holding one of your mandibles in her mouth.

OMAKE:

While you and Ruan Mei have a moment with your children, Herta and Screwllum have a discussion about the many oddities the Space Station is hosting.

“Your extensive curio collection, Ruan Mei’s creations, and now descendants of the Swarm. You truly attract a wide range of phenomena, Herta.” Said Screwllum. Herta shrugs.

“Hey, I’m not complaining if Ruan Mei wants to play family here. Besides, I am curious about the Swarm outside the Simulated Universe.”

“Hypothesis: Ruan Mei would not take kindly to you using her ‘children’ in experiments.”

“Oh relax! I just want to run a few tests on them, gather data, and just leave them to do whatever they want-”

“Is that why I’ve been hearing that you’re planning on enrolling them to Little Star Cluster Daycare?”

“Please, as if they’re going to that dingy old place. No, I’m just nabbing a few teachers from Beneva’s Learning Institute and having them teach the kids here.”

“And Ruan Mei agreed?”

“Well, yeah. Buuut she also said she might be staying here indefinitely until they’re at least old enough to look like human children.”

The two Genius do not notice Arlan running after Asta in the background, screaming about how she shouldn’t just buy an entire nursery’s worth of toys.

#shroomie.fic #honkai star rail smut #honkai star rail x reader #hsr smut #hsr x reader #ruan mei x reader #ruan mei smut #propagation reader #amab reader #monsterfucking

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astorytotellyourfriends · 11 months ago

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annual writing self-evaluation

All answers should be about works published in 2023.

i. Optional if applicable: link to last year’s self-evaluation

1. List of works published this year (in the order that they were posted):

as per usual that list is too long for this post so here's my 2023 fic roundup

2. Work you are most proud of (and why):

far and away it has to be before i bury you purely because it was 1. SUCH an endeavor to begin with, and 2. so unbelievably different from anything i've written before. like, the criminal minds au was me dipping my toe into the pool of horror/suspense, and this fic was diving in headfirst. and i know it's not everyone's cup of tea (or most people's, tbh) but i've been so pleased with the reactions of those who have read it and i'm so, so thankful for it 💛 (honorable mentions to always have & i always will and a tender age, tho)

3. Work you are least proud of (and why):

it's not that i'm not proud of it but a fic that's been hanging over my head all year is if the fates allow because god i hate that it's almost been a year since i updated it and I'VE BEEN TRYING to work on it but my brain just refuses to focus on it! i'm really hoping to finish it soon, though (and the gd pirate au too UGH).

4. A favorite excerpt of your writing:

man am i glad i did an ask meme like a week ago that asked this question so i can snag an answer from that rather than spending 3 hours combing through my fics lol

5. Share or describe a favorite comment you received:

lmfao @cyraclove left this one on a snippet of the onlyfans au i sent her and it's my favorite thing ever

6. A time when writing was really, really hard:

there's been a few instances of that over the last year but no specific events immediately come to mind. it seems to come and go in waves for me and all i can do is just ride it out and hope my inspiration comes back.

7. A scene or character that you wrote that surprised you:

ok like i swear to god i never thought i would write omegaverse and yet a tender age happened and it basically came pouring out of me and onto the page so like?? what the hell was that??? (also no i have not forgotten i promised a sequel, it's percolating i promise)

8. How did you grow as a writer this year:

i tried new genres!! i really enjoyed the writing process!! (even if it made me absolutely insane at times)

9. How do you hope to grow next year:

i've said this a billion times before but i think next year i want to try writing original stuff alongside fic. idk if i'll finish a whole novel or what, but i'd at least like to start something.

10. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc):

my friends 💛

11. Anything in your real life show up in your writing this year:

not that i can think of but i did actually let my sister read some of my stuff and she told me that i have a lot of ust in my writing and (yes this is weird but she's my sister and i know she means well) that she wished i had an outlet for it irl so like. i guess that's something?

12. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers:

i always say the same goddamn thing and today i saw a post that really encapsulated that so i'm just going to copy it here:

13. Any new projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year:

as per usual, so many. i've got a bunch half-started already that i haven't shared yet and i'm really hoping to be able to get them Mostly Finished before i start posting them, so keep your fingers crossed and an eye out 👀

14. Tag three writers/artists whose answers you’d like to read:

@cyraclove, @medusasfinalgirl, @staceymcgillicuddy (and anybody else who would like to do this, i'm tagging u)

#annual self evaluation #about my fic

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cdevroe · 1 year ago

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Apple Vision Pro is exactly what I hoped for

I am very happy.

For many years I've wanted a computing experience that resembles precisely what Apple announced at WWDC just a few short weeks ago. In 2019 I wrote "I want any size screen, any time, any where." As poorly written as that sentence may be, I think Apple is attempting to deliver just that.

In late-May, just before WWDC, I jotted down what I'd be looking for in an Apple headset. I mentioned that I would strongly prefer an AR experience over a VR one (Apple Vision Pro provides both and the user can choose to what degree), that I wanted the OS to be centered on productivity rather than gaming (it is), and that my hope would be that the platform would be as productive as using an iPad within a few years (and I think it will be).

I didn't expect Apple to deliver my vision for an AR computing experience so clearly. But if Apple Vision Pro ships in early 2024 as advertised we will be living in a world of my dreams.

I also wanted to jot down some of my thoughts after having seen the presentation, read the webpage, listened to many experiences people have had with the device, and looked at the now the recently released SDK.

The good: Apple Vision Pro will likely ship with tens of thousands of native applications, and hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of compatible apps and games. This is a key differentiator that hasn't been mentioned enough. Most of the apps (such as email, browsers, etc.) on competing platforms aren't very good and have to be built from scratch. Apple is going to blow all other competitors out of the water on the app front. There will be productivity and creativity apps, games, utilities, and much more. No other current headset may ever be able to catch up.

The bad: In my view, the 2-hour battery life is easily the worst thing about Apple Vision Pro. I have to imagine that Apple are attacking this issue as much as any other internally. My bet is that prior to shipping they will be able to say that version 1.0 of Apple Vision Pro will last a bit longer on a single charge than they've been willing to say so far. But this will have to get to "all day battery life" within a few versions. Even if that means shipping a much larger battery.

There are two freeze frames I'd like to share from Apple's videos of the Apple Vision Pro in use that have me the most excited.

Productivity apps on visionOS

I think visionOS is going to change a fair amount over the next several years. The above screengrab, from about 1hr 30mins into the WWDC Keynote, shows how apps will look in version 1.0. Not apps on a screen but screen-size apps. I like this, in theory, but I'm eager to see if visionOS will mature to allow for much higher information density than Apple has been demoing. It isn't that I want to have one hundred windows open all over the room, but I would like visionOS to allow me to do more than I can do on a good sized 4K display, not less. I don't really need a poster-size version of my Messages app.

A large screen in a small room

This second one is so cool - it shows you truly can have any size screen whenever you want. It shows that someone watching a movie in a small apartment is no longer limited to the dimensions of their largest wall. The same could be done for photo editing on a plane, video editing at a park, or writing email in sunny conditions on a backyard patio.

I see so much potential for this platform. Far more than any other MR headset we've seen from any other company. During John Gruber's The Talk Show Live at WWDC, Mike Rockwell quipped that Apple wasn't interested in making a toy. I think it is clear that instead they are trying to make something essential. I think they are on the right path and I hope it succeeds.

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fanfictasia · 10 months ago

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20 Questions For Writers

Oooh thanks for the mention! :)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

237. Lol.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

5,917,459 words. Yeah, I'm shocked too. XD

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Pretty much only Star Wars. We've got a couple MCU fics, though. :P

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Mandalorian Menace - A Din and Grogu time travel to TPM

By My Side - An Anakin time travel from after the framing arc to Christophsis

When the Galaxy Falls - Obi-Wan time travels back to ROTS and kills Palpatine on the Invisible Hand

Gates of Hell - Vader time travels from 7 years after ROTS to Mortis

Brotherhood - Anakin is raised as a Sith by Sidious and Dooku

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Always. <3

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Fade Until I'm Gone where Anakin loses everyone in his family - and I mean everyone, including Palpatine - and lets his dragon-form consume him.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

This is an INSANELY hard question to answer. Loooool. I honestly can't pick, but it's between Multiples - Vaderkin in ROTS, Blood-Kin, and Ben-Ekkreth-Chippie. Too lazy to say what they are, so just. Look at them if you wanna know. :)

8. Do you get hate on your fic?

Not usually, and almost never on ao3.

9. Do you write smut?

Nope! :)

10. Do you write crossovers?

A couple, but rarely. :P

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

A few months ago or so, I found out that someone recorded a couple of our fics and put them on YT (and a few others places). We got them all taken down though.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yeah, several people have asked about translating.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

A couple times.

14. What‘s your all-time favourite ship?

Um... this is a hard question. Lol. Probably Anakin/Ashla (our OC)? xD

15. What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I'm Listening - sorry to all those MCU fans who are following it. xD

16. What’s your writing strengths?

Anything that's emotional or relationship-drama focused. If it's emotional, we can write it, no matter how long or angsty it is.

17. What’s your writing weaknesses?

Anything that's very actiony or too fluffy. Those parts of fics can drag on for literal weeks before we buckle down and do them. Lol.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I don't usually do it since it doesn't fit, but I have thrown in Mando'a words and phrases when applicable. It's fun to do. :)

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Star Wars (duh) :D

20. Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

Lost in the Familiar which we haven't started posting yet. Other than that, probably Candlelight since it gets into post-ROTJ time travelling Anakin's trauma in a way that I looooove. <3

Um... Okay, sorry if you didn't want to be tagged, and just feel free to ignore this if you want, but... @sinvulkt @ladyvader23 @spell-cleaver @galaxythreads @clawedandcute @myfairkatiecat

20 Questions For Writers

This was sitting on my notifs for a few days and i finally took the time to do it. Thank my darling @takadasaiko for the tag!! 💕💕

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

I have 88 works in total, 31 of which are for Star Wars.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

574,873 words.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently, I'm only writing for Star Wars. But I used to write for Arrow and Supergirl, and ASoIAF, Dark-Hunters and Chronicles of Nick are in standby. I'm waiting for right motivation to come back to any of the last 3.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

I'm only talking about Star Wars fics here...

Kadala (The Mandalorian) [and 4th place in most kudos of all my works]

Rough Awakening (The Bad Batch) [and 5th place in most kudos of all my works]

Welcome to Yavin IV (Rebels)

An Explosive Situation (Rebels)

Rescue on Ryloth (The Bad Batch)

And the the rest of my all-time fics with most kudos are

Take Your Breath Away (Arrow)

Undisclosed Desires (Arrow)

Made For You (ASoIaF/Game of Thrones)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try my best, but sometimes I forget, and then it's been weeks and months since I got the comments that I'm embarrassed to reply them after so long. Even though, I think it's important that a writer let the reader/commenter that they appreciate it, even if it's with a simple "thank you" or an emoji. I know I'm being a hypocrite here since I fail to do what I preach, but it doesn't make it less true.

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I think that would be Drifting, because it's kind of open ending, left to be interpreted, so it could end however the reader wants. Although, I left an author's note at the end saying what's my preferred ending, which always will be inclined to the happy side.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

High Above the Ground because is the happy ending i want for Commander Fox and Riyo Chuchi. They deserve only the best!

8. Do you get hate on your fic?

No, not really. I've gotten only 1 stupid message of someone criticizing a fic, but that was years ago when I still posted on FF dot net. The joke was on the reader because I moderated all the comments there so I just deleted it and nobody saw it but me. Honestly, I just laughed about it cuz their argument was just stupid.

9. Do you write smut?

I do, all kinds -from the most tame thing to the most perverted. But I used to wrote way more in my old fandoms, especially for Arrow. I think for Star Wars I've written just 1 or 2 smutty fics, and tamed at that.

10. Do you write crossovers?

I've tried a couple of occasions but never finished them. I'm not opposed to them obviously, but I do think the combination of fandoms has to be just right to work. Or at least, when it's me doing the writing.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yes! Many, many years ago in the first fandom I ever wrote for. It was awful and hated it! You see, this was in the stone age of the internet when fandom specific sites abounded and not everyone had an account on FFnet yet (and Ao3 was not even a dream). The site I published on was split in 2 sections because the ships war in the fandom was bloody and ruthless, so to avoid the slaughter, I kept myself in my preferred side. But one day, a friend who read fic on both sides told me that someone stole my fics. Avoiding to get caught, the person who did it published them under a pen name that was almost exact to mine, she only added a period at the end, which could easily go unnoticed. Oh, and she interchanged characters names so it'd fit the other ship.

At first, my friend thought I had posted them but she knew I'd never write for that ship, like ever. In the end, it turned out that I wasn't the only one who had being plagiarized. Several people ON BOTH SIDES were. Thankfully, the person was caught and banned, but we almost burned the site down because of the whole shitshow.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

By me, yes, several. All into Spanish (my mother tongue). By others, not that I know of.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

Yes! A couple of times for different fandoms, and I loved it. I hope I'll do it again. The thing is that you need to find the right partner for it, or it can be a nightmare.

14. What‘s your all-time favourite ship?

I don't appreciate this question, let me tell you. It's hard to choose. But I think I have to go with Olicity. I love them still (even if the show ending ruined it for me). Close second would be Braime (and I'm glad that there's still hope for them on the books, because as usual the show fucked them so but sooooo bad)

And as Star Wars specific, I don't think anyone will be surprised if I say it's Kalluzeb, right 🤣 They're my babies and I adore them!

15. What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Anything for Arrow or Supergirl. I sworn off those fandoms after their respectively awful endings.

No promises, but there's still hope for all if my unfinished works for Star Wars 😅

16. What’s your writing strengths?

Coming up with ideas. So, so many ideas. All the time and I want to write them all.

17. What’s your writing weaknesses?

Finishing writing the above-mentioned ideas. I tend to splay myself too much when I'm writing, and it takes me forever to get to the portion I really want to write (usually the idea that sparked the whole writing process) and I lose steam. That's why I have so many unfinished WIPs. I wish they'd write themselves.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

It's ok if used sparingly. A word here, a phrase over there is fine, but if a wall of dialogue that the reader needs to scroll down to the notes or click on a tooltip to find out the meaning it's the worst!!! A better solution for a writer that really needs/wants to have a whole conversation in another language for plot reasons or whatever, then all they need to do is to say once that the characters are talking in the other language and put the dialogue in the same language they've been writing the rest of the narrative and in italic.

The characters who don't speak the language won't understand what's being said, but the reader will and their reading will be more pleasant and fluid.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

An Argentinian show called Floricienta. A modern retelling of Cinderella.

20. Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

I don't like this question either! All my fics are my babies! How do you want me to choose?!! There are so many I'm proud of. I guess I'll point the most recent one: Feed Me Poison, Fill me till I Drown I really like how this story is coming along. It's not done yet (what else is new? 😅) but what's coming is so so good!

Tagging (no pressure): @renee561 @thecoffeelorian @genericficerblog @airlockfailure @mistr3ssquickly @insertmeaningfulusername @fanfictasia

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kaistrex · 3 years ago

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2021 Fic Year in Review

I won't be finishing anything else before the year is up, so I thought it was time for this. No one tagged me but it looked fun so here we go 😂 Edit: Now tagged by @raisesomehale! 🥰

Personal ramblings ahead!

Total number of completed works

Total word count:

161,800+ 😱

Fandoms written in:

Teen Wolf

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expected?

Considering at the beginning of January I didn’t think I’d write a goddamn thing or be involved in fandom at all, a helluva lot more haha. This is the most I've written in a single year ever, easy.

What’s your own favorite story of the year?

Where the Real Beasts Are (yep, I’m still banging on about it 😂) because I persevered with it after 4 years of writing and wrote my first 100k+ fic 🤗

The runner-up is Home though. I’m really proud of the plot idea for that fic ^^

Did you take any writing risks this year?

I think signing up for the big bang was a risk, even though I didn’t realise it at the time! I think in my sign up application, I estimated my fic would be in the 20-30k range, but then it grew and grew to 2-3x that length. I realised around the end of June that the daily word count goal I set just wasn’t going to cut it, so I had to double it to 1k a day, and for the month of July, all I did every evening was sit in front of my laptop and slave away. I’m not built for that kind of level of production haha

I ended up getting it finished and self-betaed (a process which took like 10 hours 😂) 30 minutes before it was due to be revealed to everyone on my posting day. It was not a fun time, and I actually kind of grew to resent the fic haha woops~

Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the new year?

I’d really like to get my Lonely Stiles fic off the ground. I’ve added another plot thread to it that has turned it into a longfic from the long oneshot I’d planned because there was something missing, so it’s well on it’s way to taking shape. I’d really love to be able to write the whole thing and then post it to a schedule because that’s something I’ve never done before.

I did intend to use it for my big bang piece if I sign up again, but now it’s going to be chaptered, I really don’t want to have to post it all at once per the event rules, so... we’ll see!

Most popular story of the year?

Probably Cloaked in Gold? I’ve never had such a strong reception to a fic before which was especially mind-boggling considering I thought I was just sending it out to die because it had to be posted all in one go.

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion:

Home. The reception for the fic even now it's finished has been pretty soft (the Secret Santa fic I posted 3 days ago is already on it’s way to eclipsing it via kudos by the end of the week 😂) On the other hand though, in the 5/6 years I’ve been writing Sterek, I’ve never had such incredible comments as I got on that fic which I still think about even now, AND it inspired someone to draw art so I really have nothing to complain about 🥰💖💖💖

Most fun story to write:

Probably Lemon & Ginger or The Hand-me-down. Generally when I write, I'll always hit a section where I think I just want this bit to be dooooonnnne, but both of these were short and mostly written over the course of a day, so they came to me pretty easily. They just felt right 😊

Biggest Disappointment:

I’d completely forgotten about this, but now I’m laughing remembering when I ‘un-privated’ a fic I hate because people had been asking after it and sharing pdfs anyway, thinking I’d just do it quietly and it would be there for the people that wanted it and I wouldn’t have to think about it ever again, only to discover that it sent out a notification to HUNDREDS of my ao3 subscribers. That was... unfortunate to say the least 🤣 Does that count?

Biggest surprise:

The reception to Cloaked in Gold. I was blown away by the response to it. I keep getting comments on it with regularity even now, even though usually once something's posted, comments dry up after a few days.

#personal #fic year in review #mywriting #i love an excuse to ramble about this stuff #i have no one else to talk to about it 😂

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estudos-sociais · 2 years ago

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How to Make Friends

A few weeks ago, I got a note from a reader named Amanda Schockling. She wrote, “I’ve been out of college for 3 years now and my question is this: How do you make meaningful friendships and connections as an adult?”

It’s a good question, but I didn’t know how to answer it. After I graduated, I moved to D.C. for a new job. It was a really tough year that turned into three tough years. I met friends through work, but never felt like I found my people. I discovered that I loved yoga, but never found a community there, probably because you don’t talk during yoga. Maybe if I’d read this, things would have turned out differently.

There’s no one way to make a friend, but there are definitely things you can do to try. I asked The Edit contributors and some co-workers from around The Times if they’d ever had trouble making friends and if they had any advice. Here’s what they said:

If you’re looking for a cheat sheet Jazmine Hughes, associate editor for The New York Times Magazine Making friends is actually quite simple; most people are flattered that someone cool (that would be you, taking my advice) wants to befriend them. If there is a person in your workplace, church group or running club that sets off Potential Friend sirens in your head, here’s what you do:

1) Become a person who is comfortable spouting non-sequiturs. Friendship starts by talking, which means that someone has to start talking! Comment on the weather, or the smell of the room, or something on TV last night … regularly. It’s pleasant to make conversation about something light. Just talk about Beyoncé!

2) Then, once you have built up a rapport with your Potential Friend, you have to DTT: Divulge To Them. Share a very tiny secret, like you have cramps or you’re hung over or you accidentally voted for Bush. This is step one to building trust.

3) The next step is crucial! After you DTT, wait a period of time, and then refer back to the thing you divulged to them! You are creating an inside joke. THE FOUNDATION OF FRIENDSHIP.

4) And finally, you have to ask them to hang out with you one on one. And then again, 2-6 weeks later. Then they should get the hint and ask you to hang out, too. Now you are friends. Congrats!

If you’re in college Kevin Liao, contributor to The Edit When I first got to college, I immediately felt an unshakable isolation. “I must be doing something wrong,” I thought. But I soon found comfort in my dorm’s RAs, who assured me this was a normal part of being at a new school. And while they didn’t magically cure my loneliness, they definitely helped me live with the feeling.

Lauretta Charlton, Race/Related editor I went the University of San Francisco, but my best friends from college went to other schools in the Bay Area. What brought us together was music. I went to shows every week — Bottom of the Hill, the Fillmore, Great American Music Hall — and that’s were I found my crew. There were times when I went to shows alone, and that was hard. But once the band started playing, I forgot about how embarrassed I was to show up solo. Music brings people together.

Hallie Reed, contributor to The Edit In high school I had a hard time making friends, so I tried to make it easier on myself in college. I chose a college with small classes. I pledged a sorority so I would have built-in social activities. I joined the crew team so that exercising would be social, too. It’s gone a lot better than high school so far, but there’s still moments of loneliness even in my sophomore year.

Claire Haug, contributor to The Edit What they don’t tell you when you’re filling out your college applications is that college is an inherently lonely experience. So much of your college life is spent alone, whether it’s studying or doing errands or just watching a movie by yourself on a Friday night because none of your friends’ schedules line up. One of the most valuable things I’ve learned in college so far is how to be alone without being lonely.

If you’re starting a new job Caity Weaver, writer for The New York Times Magazine and Styles The best way to make friends is to be curious about people. This doesn’t mean you should say “Tell me about yourself!” to everyone you meet — that’s disgusting. When you start a new job, transmit the message that you are friendly by peppering co-workers with bite-sized questions about their lives and jobs. Most people will think you have demonstrated good taste by being interested in them. If they give you one word answers, or avoid eye contact, they aren’t looking to make a friend right now. Move on.

John-Michael Murphy, software engineer I worked my first job in a small college town in North Carolina. While there were a lot of young college students around, there weren’t many young professionals in my same stage of life. Being gay in a conservative state added another wrinkle. I never found a group of friends like I had in college. Instead, I wove a fabric of unconventional friendships, many which I still maintain. I made friends with local musicians and scheduled coffee with professors on campus. I found these friends when I stopped looking for people who shared my age and interests and when I stopped letting fear of embarrassment or awkwardness get in the way. Scheduling phone calls with my long-distance friends helped. So did widening the radius on dating apps.

If you just moved Sopan Deb, culture reporter Shortly after I graduated from Boston University in 2010, I moved to New York and started working as an assistant producer at NBC’s “Rock Center with Brian Williams.” I wasn’t the happiest person in the world at the job, namely because the show’s low ratings meant it could get canceled at any second, which is, uh, what happened.

But leading up to the unceremonious axing, it was a stressful experience. Add in a painful break up with my college girlfriend, my head wasn’t in a good place. I needed to find something to help take the edge off.

I took an improv class.

There are two things I recommend to every 20-something year old. Take an improv class and see a therapist. Even if you feel like you’re very mentally in touch with yourself, it’s helpful to talk through things with someone.

And improv is an incredible experience. You get to create new worlds out of nothing. It’s such a social experience that you can’t help but make friends. And even if you don’t, you’re laughing the whole time. And when you are a recently-graduated young professional, experiencing being on your own in a brutal city like New York, you can’t ask for too much more.

Stine Dahlberg, managing director of brand marketing I have a habit of relocating, having done so nine times in 15 years. When I moved to New York a year ago I decided to see it as a catalyst for doing things I’ve never tried before. Continuing Education classes were a great way to meet new people and I got to try new things like graphic design or drawing. Many companies have HR budgets to fund that, use them! And if you can, find a co-working or community space with events and talks. I’ve met so many amazing women at The Wing.

Tim Hatton, contributor to The Edit After four years of living with roommates, I came into this summer terrified to have an apartment to myself and an internship in a cubicle. That’s not to say I don’t like being alone. I do, but I also know that means I’m always at risk of isolating myself. It’s been important to plan ahead and actively make time to spend with other people.

If you’re just getting older Robbie Harms, contributor to The Edit I teach fifth grade, and I often envy how easily friendships form among 10 year olds. Four square, Fortnite, food — all of these can spark conversation. Heck, the mere act of sitting next to the same person for five-plus hours a day is bound to produce at least a few friendships.

In the post-college years, I’ve learned that there is no secret formula, no three-step process that results in an impressive social circle. Instead, I’ve found it’s best to keep it simple: Be kind and approachable. At least, that’s what I’ve learned from my fifth graders.

Claire O’Neill, art director for NYT Climate In some ways, the older you get the harder it seems — when you’re way less physically capable of all-nighters and way too busy for the hours-on-end hangs like you had in college. Over the years, though, I’ve found that all it really takes is one good friend. Someone who you can be totally yourself around, riff and grow with. The click is fast and natural with a person who just gets you, and who you get in return. It’s also way more comforting and rewarding than a big circle of acquaintances who keep you busy, but maybe a little less grounded.

Ian Caveny, contributor to The Edit My wife and I have started a practice we call The Friendship Meal. What happens is something like this: we take a person or a couple and invite them to come have dinner with us. It’s almost always a disorienting thing to begin with — we don’t know them, they don’t know us, and everyone’s pretty shy. And sometimes the meals stay there: shyness and lack of connection, we eat and go separate ways. But sometimes that special spark happens, and, all-of-a-sudden, the conversations last for hours. And that makes the risk worth it!

Have you ever struggled to make friends? Do you have any advice for how to get through it? We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected] with the subject line “Friends” and we’ll share some of your answers in the future. Please include your full name and location.

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snarksandkisses · 5 years ago

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What I think about COVID-19 this morning - Malia Jones, PhD, MPH

What I think about COVID-19 this morning

March 5, 2020

Maybe I'm the closest thing you personally know to an infectious disease epidemiologist. Maybe not--I'm not an expert on this virus by any stretch, but I have general knowledge and training from studying epidemics that is applicable, so here are my thoughts.

First and foremost: we are going to see a tremendous increase in the number of US cases of COVID-19 in the next week. This is not because of some new pattern in the spread of the disease, but rather due to a major change in the requirements to be tested. Until yesterday, if you had flulike illness but had not recently traveled to China, Italy, South Korea, or Iran, you could not be tested. This is just the way healthcare works, you get tested if you meet the case definition and the case definition included travel.

As of yesterday, you can be tested if you are sick and have a doctor's order to be tested. So expect things to feel a lot more panicky all of a sudden. We will see hundreds or thousands of new cases as a result of testing increases.

Second: is that panic legitimate? Sort of. This is not the zombie apocalypse. The death rate of 30 deaths per 1000 cases is probably a wild overestimate. (The denominator is almost certainly wrong because it is confirmed cases--and we only confirm cases when we test for them). That said, even at 3 per 1000 cases, this would be a big deal. A very big deal. By way of comparison, the death rate for influenza is between 1 and 2 in 1000 cases. So, yeah. Roughly 0x to 30x worse than a huge global flu pandemic? That's a problem.

Unlike flu, COVID-19 is not *particularly* dangerous for children, so that’s some happy news. It is dangerous for older adults and those with lung conditions, so we need to be extra careful to protect those populations from exposure.

Also, for millions of Americans, getting any serious illness requiring a hospitalization is a major problem because they can't pay for it. And our health care system is probably going to struggle to keep up with it all. And with China basically closed, our global economy is going to take a huge hit and we'll feel the shockwaves for years. Those are real concerns.

What can we do? Our focus should be on *slowing down the spread* of this disease so that we have time to get caught up. Here is my advice:

1. Wash. Your. Hands. Wash them so much.

The current best guess is that coronavirus is transmitted via close contact and surface contamination. A very small study came out yesterday suggesting that the virus causing COVID-19 is *mostly* transmitted via contact with contaminated surfaces.

I have started washing my hands each time I enter a new building and after being in shared spaces (classrooms especially), in addition to the standard practice of washing after using the bathroom and before eating. Soap and water. Hand sanitizer also kills this virus, as does rubbing alcohol (the main ingredient in hand sanitizer).

There is no need to be obsessive about this. Just wash your hands. A little bit more effort here goes a long way.

2. Don’t pick your nose. Or put your fingers in your mouth, on your lips, or in your eyes. Surface contact works like this: you touch something dirty. Maybe it's an elevator button. Virus sticks to your hands. Then you rub your eye. Then you touch your sandwich, and put the sandwich in your mouth. Now there is virus in your eyes and mouth. See?

You may be thinking, but I don’t pick my nose because I am an adult! An observational study found that people sitting at a desk working touched their eyes, nose, or lips between 3 and 50 times per hour. Perfectly normal grown-ups, not lowlifes like my friends.

2a. There was one note that came out suggesting that face masks actually promote surface contamination because you're always adjusting them--i.e., touching your face. I don’t know if that’s true. But face masks should not be worn by the public right now, unless you are the person who is sick and you're on your way to or actually at the doctor's office. The mask’s function is to prevent spit from flying out of your mouth and landing on things when you cough or sneeze. It flies out of your mouth and is caught in the mask instead. If you are the person who is sick and not on the way to the doctor, go home. Let the people who really need them have the masks. Like doctors.

[ETA on 3/6/2020 honestly people I am getting so much push back on the mask recommendation!! The world is running low on masks. If everyone wants a mask so they can feel ok about keeping their Daytona Beach Spring Break plans and then hospitals in India can't buy them anymore, shame on us.]

Coronavirus does not appear to be airborne in the sense that doesn't remain floating around freely in the air for a long time, like measles does. You are probably not going to breathe it in, unless someone is coughing in front of you. If someone is coughing in your face, feel free to tell them to get their ass home and move 6 feet away from them. (Yeah I know, if you have a toddler, you're screwed.)

3. Sanitize the objects you and lots of other people touch, especially people outside your family--like door handles, shared keyboards at schools (brrr), salad bar tongs, etc. Best guesses are that the virus can live on surfaces for 2-48 hours, maybe even longer, depending on the surface, temperature, and humidity.

Many common household cleaning products will kill this virus. However, white vinegar solution does not. You can make your own inexpensive antimicrobial spray by mixing 1 part household bleach to 99 parts cold tap water. Spray this on surfaces and leave for 10-30 minutes. Note: this is bleach. It will ruin your sofa.

4. "Social distancing." You're going to get so sick of this phrase. This means keeping people apart from one another (preferably 6 feet apart, and sanitizing shared objects). This public health strategy is our next line of defense, and its implementation is what will lead to flights and events cancelled, borders closed, and schools closed.

For now, you could limit face-to-face meetings, especially large ones. Zoom is an excellent videoconferencing option. If you spend time in shared spaces, see #1. Ask your child's school about their hygiene plan, if they haven't already told you what it is. If I were in charge of a school setting, I'd be hand sanitizing the s*** out of the kids' hands, including in and out of each space, and taking temperatures at the door. I am planning to email our school nurse right after this to ask if they need my volunteer help cleaning surfaces.

If you can telecommute, do that a little more. If you are someone's boss and they could do their job remotely, encourage them to do that.

Avoid large gatherings of people if at all possible, especially if they are in an area with cases OR places that lots of people travel to. If you attend group events and start to feel even a little bit sick within 2 to 14 days, you need to self isolate immediately. Like for a tiny tickle in your throat.

5. All your travel plans are about to get screwed up. If you are considering booking flights right now, get refundable tickets. ETA: most trip insurance will not cover cancellations due to a pandemic. Look for "cancel for any reason" trip insurance.

Considerations for risks related to that trip you’re planning: how bad would it be if you got stuck where you are going for 3 to 6 weeks? How bad would it be to be isolated at home for 2-3 weeks upon your return? Do you have direct contact with people who are over 70 and/or have lung conditions? If those seem really bad to you, rethink your trip, especially if it is to a location where there are confirmed cases.

6. If you are sick, stay home. Please! For the love of all that is holy. Stay at home. Your contributions to the world are really just not that important.

7. There is a good chance some communities will see school cancelled and asked to limit non-essential movement. If someone in your family gets sick your family will almost certainly be isolated for 2-3 weeks (asked to stay at home). You could start stocking up with essentials for that scenario, but don't run out and buy a years' worth of toilet paper. Again, not the apocalypse. 2 weeks' worth of essential items. Refill any prescriptions, check your supply of coffee, kitty litter, and jigsaw puzzles.

8. I do want to remind everyone that when public health works, the result is the least newsworthy thing ever: nothing happens. If this all fizzles out and you start feeling like ‘Wah, all that fuss for nothing??’ Then send a thank-you note to your local department of public health for a job well done. Fingers crossed for that outcome.

9. Look, I think there are some positives here. All this handwashing could stop flu season in its tracks! We have an opportunity to reduce our global carbon footprint by telecommuting more, flying less, and understanding where our stuff comes from. We can use this to think about the problems with our healthcare system. We can use this to reflect on our positions of privilege and implicit biases. We can start greeting each other using jazz hands. I'm genuinely excited about those opportunities.

There is a lot we don't yet know about this virus. It didn't even exist 90 days ago. So stay tuned, it is an evolving situation. The WHO website has a decent FAQ. Free to email or text with questions, and you can forward this to others if you think it's useful.

May the force be with you.

Malia Jones, PhD, MPH

[email protected]

I’m an Assistant Scientist in Health Geography at the Applied Population Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I study social contact of humans, and spatial patterns of infectious disease, among other things.

P.S. The number one question I am getting is, did you really write this? Yes. I wrote this.

I didn't write it for professional purposes, so I didn't put my work email on it. It was really just meant to be an email to my friends and family in advance of what I expect to be an escalation in the panic level. But it was apparently welcome information and went viral on FB. I've decided not to edit out the swears, even though I wrote this with a much smaller audience in mind.

Thanks for checking your facts! Go science!

#COVID-19 #coronavirus #wash your hands #Social distancing #don't panic #but maybe just a little panic

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official-weasley · 3 years ago

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The Irreplaceable Charlie Weasley: Pt. 8, Ch. 1

PART 8: WHERE IT ALL ENDS Chapter 1 - The First Three Years

Nova

THE FIRST TO AID (1992)

I couldn't believe how rested I felt. I haven't had that feeling in a really long time. Having two days off really does do you good, who would've thought. I turned around and saw that Charlie was already out of bed. The fact that I was rested wasn't the only rare occasion. Having 2 days off at the same time as Charlie did, THAT was even rarer.

We worked in the Sanctuary for about a year now and if I didn't love my job as much as I did, I would've given up a long time ago. Feeling tired and smelling like roasted meat most of the time wasn't even that bad because of the work I could do.

—

I still remember the day when I arrived. I was so nervous to meet everyone and to see what exactly my job would be. They greeted me with extended arms and big grins plastered on their faces, just like Charlie said they would. He came 2 weeks prior and waited behind the crowd of people who were excited to meet me.

The welcomeness of everyone calmed me down a bit and I just gave in. I knew I already got the job, that I am not going to go through an initiation process or any of the sorts.

“Wotcher! You must be Nova!” A man with a thick mustache approached me and squeezed my hand so tightly that I wanted to wince from the pain. I could see that Charlie wasn't the only one with muscles around here as I eyed the man, that introduced himself as Ben, up and down.

The next one to offer me a hand was a blond man named Tim. He had to be about my age but with a lot more scars than Charlie had. He was followed by Alice, Beatrice, Sam, and Dominik. After they all asked me the polite questions of how were my travels and if I need anything I should just ask, I finally reached the two men that looked like they were in charge.

“You must be Andrei.” I smiled. He was the only one I recognized as Charlie told me a lot about him and he was the one who wrote me the letter.

“Pleasure to finally meet you! Charlie can't shut up about you!” He returned the smile and shook my hand. I tried not to blush and act as professionally as I could, even though my eyes went to Charlie, who was standing behind them, at once.

“And I'm Felix.” The other one said. Felix Rosier, Charlie told me about him as well. Apparently, very talented and he went to our school and was a Prefect. I studied his face to see if I could recall seeing him at Hogwarts, but he didn't seem familiar at all.

“Nice to meet you both!” I liked meeting all the rest but I can't lie, I was the most excited to meet these two. The way Charlie spoke about them has piqued my interest.

“We can chat more at dinner. You must be tired.” Andrei said and gestured to start walking with him.

Charlie joined us, beaming. I knew he couldn't wait to show me around and I knew he was just as excited for me to finally be here as I was. I missed him so much in these past 14 days and I couldn't wait to hug and kiss him.

“You wait here.” We stopped in front of a wooden cottage that looked like a reception. “Dorothy will be with you soon to accommodate you.” He grinned. His eyes met those of Charlie's and he winked at him. I had no idea what was going on but I was excited to get my own place.

I have been dreaming about living in one of these cottages ever since Charlie told me that our date room in the Room of Requirement was something like these huts in the Sanctuary.

“Ah, Dot! Here you are!” Andrei playfully slammed his hand on the wall next to the door that just opened. Dot was a middle-aged woman that reminded me a lot of Molly if Molly had pitch-black hair.

“Oh, a new arrival!” She squeaked. “Come in dear, come in!” She waved her hand and I looked at Felix and Andrei who nodded that I should go inside.

“Let's see...your name?” She stepped behind her desk and started looking through the many piles of papers she had on it.

“Nova Blackwood.” I gave her my name.

“Blackwood...Blackwood...” She browsed through the papers murmuring more to herself than to me.

“Ah!” She exclaimed and lifted a piece of parchment into the air. “Blackwood, Nova! Our new Magizoologist!” She looked at me and I couldn't hide the excitement on my face, which indicated to her that I was the right person.

“Looks like you have a roommate!” I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. I was used to having a roommate at Hogwarts. Tulip was the best one anyone could ask for but I was hoping, after spending almost an entire Summer in a house full of Weasleys, that I would get some alone time. I loved Charlie's entire family and I loved spending time with them but as an only child, it could be very tiresome when 5 kids try to get your attention at once.

“Let's see here.” I looked up at Dot, snapping myself from my thoughts.

“Ah, very curious.” Her brows met. “We usually don't have roommates of the opposite gender. Was this a request?” She looked at me, bewildered. I blinked at her, not knowing how to reply. I didn't have to fill out an application for the cottage. Charlie told me he was going to...oh.

“Charles Weasley.” My lips curved even before she read his name. “Nice lad, not intrusive so you won't have any problems living with him.” She reassured me, clueless just how unbothered I was with my new roommate.

“He's my boyfriend, actually.” I decided to spear her the embarrassment as I could see she was looking for more words to make me feel comfortable with the fact that my roommate was a man.

“Oh.” Her cheeks turned slightly pink. “That would make more sense, yes.” She cleared her throat. “Well, here are your set of keys.” She handed me the keys with a Romanian Sanctuary keychain. “And I would just need your signature here.” She put her finger on a piece of paper and I came closer so she could hand me a quill and I signed the document.

When I got back outside, Felix and Andrei were gone and Charlie was leaning on the wall next to the entrance, having the same smug face he always had when he was proud that he was able to surprise me.

“I heard you have a male roommate.” He winked at me and pulled me into a hug.

“Yeah, I heard he's pretty handsome. You never know what might happen.” He laughed at my sarcastic comment.

“Sorry, to burst your bubble but I've heard he is very much in love with his girlfriend.” He kissed my forehead.

“Bummer!” I cupped his face and kissed him as hard as I could. I missed him so much. I couldn't wait to be around him every single day.

—

“Morning.” Charlie said as he heard me walking down the stairs. Something smelled delicious. I have never thought that us living together would mean that he would cook so much but he was just incredible and so painfully handsome. I hated when he cooked only in his boxers. If we weren't living in a wooden cottage with a high risk of burning it down, I would strip him every morning while he was cooking.

“Morning.” I hugged him from behind and peaked at the stove. “Pancakes, what's the occasion?” I kissed his back and chuckled. We had pancakes every time we had a day off together. It was our little treat and because we had two days off, we had pancakes yesterday too.

“Well, this rarely happens...” I could feel his body vibrating in giggles, as he placed a pancake on a plate. “That we have two free days in a row and I had no idea what to cook.” He poured another pancake into the pan.

“I still can't believe it.” Charlie and I didn't work together often. He worked with a team to tame and feed Dragons and I either worked with researchers or my team of Magizoologists, which I was now a leader of. The only time we worked together was when we needed Dragons to observe their behavior around the creatures we brought into the Reserve or if we needed to move a Dragon to a specific location for better observation.

Getting a day off was something we both struggled to get. Charlie was one of the best at doing his job and if something went awry they always turned to him for help. After half a year of working with 2 other Magizoologists, Felix saw that I had a talent for working with creatures and that they tend to listen to me more than others so he put me in charge of our team.

I now work with 4 other Magizoologists and several researchers and we have done so much in a year. I have written 2 groundbreaking papers about Dragon interaction with Hippogriffs and Mountain Trolls and after these two days of free time with Charlie, I am going to work with one of my dream creatures as Andrei approved my research for a Chimera.

“What's this?” I waved an unopened letter laying on our dining table. Charlie's eyes moved from the stove to me.

“I think it's from Ron.” He placed another pancake on the pile. “Haven't opened it yet. You can do it if you want.”

I turned the letter and unglued the seal. Charlie was right, it was from Ron.

“They have what!” My eyes widened as I was reading the letter. I remember when Charlie told me that Ron befriended Harry Potter. I mocked him that he outdid his entire family by just being friends with the Boy Who Lived. They were having a rather peaceful year and we were glad they weren't getting as many letters about detention as Fred and George were.

“Is it from Ron?” Charlie turned the stove off and brought the pancakes to our table.

“Oh, Hagrid.” Charlie started laughing and shaking his head as he was reading the letter from behind my shoulder. “He got himself a Dragon!”

“He's insane!” For some reason, I didn't find it as amusing as he did. He liked Hagrid's crazy ideas much more than I did. I knew Hagrid always wanted to have a Dragon and I guess now that he somehow got his hands on one he saw they were not just another Fang.

“How are we going to transport an illegal Norwegian Ridgeback from Hogwarts to Romania?” I couldn't think of a single idea how to do it.

“Not just a Ridgeback, love. NORBERT!” Charlie was having too much fun with this. I just playfully rolled my eyes at him, without a reply.

“It's impossible.” Charlie was still laughing, putting jam on our pancakes. “We can't do it on a weekly notice.”

“Unless...” I said under my breath an idea appearing in my head.

“Unless?” Charlie sat down next to me, beyond excited.

“We were friends with two pranksters and a smuggler at Hogwarts...” I am not going to lie, I was getting excited too. “And Tonks and Tulip are coming here next week anyway.” I suggested.

“You want to entrust Tonks, Tulip, and Jae with a Dragon?” He raised his eyebrows at me.

“We would help!” I defended my idea. “They would kill themselves if they went alone.” I chuckled.

“Love, we barely got two days off in a month, how are you going to get to Hogwarts?” He leaned on his hand and I knew he was having as much fun discussing this as I was.

“Let me talk to Rosier. He has a soft spot for stories like this.” I swung my hand as if it wasn't a big deal.

“You should go with them, I'll stay here. Someone has to be here to let you in.” Charlie was giving the idea some thought. “And there's no way Rosier is going to let both of us go.” He added.

“So, should I write to Tonks?” I couldn't believe we were going to do this.

“I will write back to Ron. I think in the middle of the night would be the smartest and somewhere up high so that you can leave as undetected as possible.” He nodded.

“Astronomy Tower?” I suggested.

It didn't even take Tonks a day to reply with a yes, having both Tulip and Jae on board. As predicted, Felix was up for it as long as nobody would see us and now we just had to wait for next Saturday.

—

“Be careful, this is a Norwegian Ridgeback.” Charlie hugged me to say goodbye. Jae was already waiting for me and Tonks and Tulip were going to meet us at Hogwarts.

“I know my Dragons, Weasley!” I winked at him and kissed him. Ever since we have been working together he calmed down a little bit when it comes to me being hurt.

I was scratched, burned, and bitten more times than I would enjoy and he got used to the fact that I am fine every time so he stopped eyeing me as if I was made out of glass. And once I threw in his face that he isn't any better, having the biggest burn mark covering the majority of his left arm, a big cut on his back, and a still healing scar that halved his left eyebrow, he finally gave in that I can have scars as well.

Just like me, he couldn't deny that the scars suited him. I already found him incredibly attractive but he looked so cool and sexy with all his scars, once healed properly, of course.

“I love you and I'll see you soon.” He pressed his lips against mine and gave me one of those kisses that weakened my knees. He always did this when he knew we won't be able to see each other for a while.

“I love you too, Charles.” I looked deep into his eyes. “Now, I have to go!”

I rushed outside and Jae and I apparated together. The warm air filled my lungs as I have almost forgotten how much warmer Britain was compared to the Sanctuary.

“Are you ready?” Jae whispered to me.

“Are you?” I looked at him and by his gaze, he knew exactly what I meant.

Charlie was corresponding with him more than I did but I talked to Penny, Tulip, and Tonks regularly. A few months after our Seventh Year, Jae and Tulip broke up and when Charlie and I compared the messages between the two, Jae seemed way more hurt than Tulip did.

“I'll be fine. We have to focus on the Dragon anyway.” He dismissed me.

“Have you talked to her at all, since...you know?” I finally unlocked our arms, as we were still standing on the spot we apparated to.

“A few times.” He whispered. “We are trying to be friends.” He tried looking me in the eyes but decided to avoid me at the last second.

We ran as quietly as possible to the Astronomy Tower. Tonks and Tulip were already there with three brooms. We still didn't know how exactly we would do this but it was now or never. I hugged them both and Tulip indicated that we are going to talk later. She looked at Jae and their eyes met for a split second before they both looked to the ground.

“Alright, let's do this!” Tonks was as excited as she was every time she did something that could get us in trouble. She was an exceptional Auror-in-training but her mischievous spirit never left her.

I shared a broom with Tonks and we flew up to the top of the Astronomy Tower where two kids were waiting for us with a big box behind them.

“Nova?” Whispered the boy.

“That's me. Where's Ron?” I looked at him.

“He was bitten by Norbert...I mean the Dragon.” Said the girl. “I'm Hermione Granger and this is Harry Potter.” Tulip gasped when she realized who the boy she was looking at was.

“I would love to chat and get to know Ron's friends but this is not the time and place.” I whispered as I got off my broom. They both nodded in agreement but I still shook both of their hands.

“Is he in the box?” I looked behind them and they turned around.

“Yes.” Nodded Harry.

“We didn't know exactly how you are going to approach the situation.” Hermione looked embarrassed. She reminded me of Penny; not wanting to break the rules but somehow finding herself in the midst of it anyway.

“Leave it to us, sweetheart.” Tonks put her hand on my shoulder and took out her wand. “See, light as a feather.” She said proudly after casting the Feather-Light spell upon the box.

“Is it sleeping?” Jae asked, eyeing the box.

“It's okay. I'll carry him, Jae.” I reassured him and stepped closer to the box. I opened it and gasped. “He's beautiful.” I looked at Harry and Hermione who looked at me like I was mental.

“I can see how you were friends with Hagrid.” Harry said, trying not to be impolite. I chuckled and cast the stunning Spell on Norbert.

“You should meet Charlie then.” I grinned and lifted the box with my wand. “It was nice to meet you both, now please go inside. Charlie will write to Ron to update him on everything.” I gestured that they should step back as my friends mounted their brooms again.

“And say hi to Ron for me. I hope he gets better soon, Dragon bites can be quite nasty, got a few myself.” I waved my hand at them but quickly put it away as they got the same horrid expression on their faces as before.

I sat behind Tonks and we started to fly away from the Castle. We stopped three times in between so I could recast the spell on Norbert and I was hoping nobody would spot us. We got to the Sanctuary with an hour to spear before sunrise.

Charlie's proud grin when he spotted us only got bigger once I carefully placed down Norbert and told him to look at him.

“He's a beauty!” His eyes sparkled. “I can't believe someone just gave the egg to him.”

“Not everybody is as excited as you are about Dragons, Charlie.” Tulip giggled.

We showed our friends to our cabin and then I helped Charlie settle Norbert to the spot his team prepared for him. On the way back, I told him how it was and he laughed when he heard the faces Ron's friends were making.

Finally, we could start talking and I hugged Tonks and Tulip again. We were glad that the situation wasn't as awkward between Jae and Tulip as we thought it would be as we sat around our fireplace and talked about our school days and our lives now.

Tulip told us that she published a very important paper and that if everything goes through she might start working on a new telescope.

Jae told us that he was being relocated to America as they were lacking Aurors there and I couldn't help but notice that Tulip was intrigued by that idea. We haven't seen our friends in such a long time and it was nice to just sit back and relax with them. We were missing Andre and Penny but we knew that with them being engaged, it was only a matter of time we would all get together again.

THE FIRST TO WED (1993)

“Charlie! We're going to be late!” I looked at myself in the mirror, desperately trying to do something with my hair. Where is Andre when you need him? Oh, right, getting married!

“Do you reckon...” I turned around as I heard Charlie rushing down the stairs. “Wow, you look...” He stopped when he saw me, blinking at me as if he couldn't believe his eyes. “Ravishing!” He breathed out.

“Thank you.” I couldn't stop the grin spreading across my face. I liked my beige dress with black lace. It showed my curves and I felt good in it but I still hated my hair. “What did you want to ask me?” Our eyes locked as he came to kiss me.

“Uhm...” He seemed completely lost for words, his eyes still on mine.

“You're drooling, Weasley.” I giggled and turned back to the mirror.

“Do you reckon Tulip will bring a date?” He finally snapped out of it and started putting his tie on. He was so handsome, I tried looking at myself in the mirror but my eyes kept escaping to him.

“Probably not. Why?” I finally managed to capture that one lock that made the hairdo bearable. I was sure Penny would fix it for me anyway.

“I just opened the letter Jae sent me yesterday.” He lifted his chin to finish tying his tie.

“He's bringing a date.”

“He's what?” I frowned and turned to him. “Penny will lose it if they start drama at her wedding.”

“So out of the blue as well. Didn't say her name or mention her before, either.” Charlie shrugged his shoulders and started kissing my neck.

“What are you doing?” Our eyes met in the mirror and I knew the look on his face.

“You look too good in this dress, love.” He winked at me and got back to my neck, his hands on my zipper.

“Char, we don't have time.” I said in a whisper, closing my eyes.

“We're apparating there and the wedding doesn't start for another 3 hours.” He tried calming me down, his hands on my shoulders, ready to take my, now unzipped, dress off.

“I'm the Maid of Honor. Penny will kill me if I'm late.” I turned around and kissed him passionately.

“I see how much you care, yes.” He whispered in my ear, pulling me towards the sofa.

“Okay, but don't ruin my hair. I just got it up.” I gave in.

“Likewise.” He winked at me and his eyes escaped to his tight pants. He looked too good in the suit.

“Oh, shut it!” I pushed him gently so he stumbled on the couch and started untying his tie.

—

“There you are!” Tonks locked our arms together and rushed me inside the second Charlie and I apparated. “See you later, Dragon Boy!” She waved at the left behind Charlie.

“Tonks, where are you taking me?” She was dragging me all the way to the bathrooms.

“Tulip and Jae are back together!”

“What?” My jaw dropped. “So she is Jae's plus one?” That will avoid a lot of drama.

“Yes! Ever since Jae was relocated to America they have been seeing each other again!” Tonks whispered, excitedly. It felt like we were at Hogwarts all over again.

“I thought Tulip was suspicious when we went to get Norbert.” I rubbed my chin, thinking about it.

“Finally!” Tonks and I both jumped in the air. “What took you so long!” We turned around and saw Penny standing behind us, looking unamused.

“And what's with the hair, Blackwood!” She blinked.

“Please, fix it!” I pleaded and before I could say anything else she was already dragging both Tonks and me to her changing room.

“So what do you think?” Penny asked, beaming when Tonks and I saw her wedding dress.

“Pen...” I was lost for words. It was perfect for her. She was going to look like a princess.

“I know, right!” She knew what I meant without even saying it.

“Well, let's see it then!” We all turned around and saw Tulip standing in the door frame. We all rushed to hug her and Penny pulled her inside and sat us all down.

Tonks and I looked at Tulip and winked at her.

“Tonks, I told you not to say anything.” Tulip hissed at her.

“Get off it. She would find out sooner or later!” Tonks laughed.

“So, are you guys serious, or is this just for the wedding?” I asked, waiting for Penny to put on the dress.

“It's been going on ever since he moved to America.” Tulip blushed.

“That was 4 months ago!” Penny came from behind the room divider, her eyes widened, not even fully in her dress.

“Yeah.” Tulip giggled. “I guess it's not just for the wedding.” She was blushing like crazy. It felt different this time around. As if they were more serious.

“I can hear wedding bells!” Penny sang.

“Oh, no!” Tulip shook her head. “Nova's next!” She leaned on my shoulder.

“Why, because Charlie and I are together longer?” I laughed.

“It's a miracle you two aren't already married, Blackwood.” Tonks mocked.

“We're too busy to think of things like that right now.” I wasn't lying. We really were. We talked about it that night when Charlie expressed the interest in marrying me when we told our families we're together. But we have never mentioned it since and I wasn't bothered by it.

“Sure, every excuse comes in handy.” Tulip winked at me.

“Okay, what do you think?” Penny interrupted our staring contest and we all looked up at her. Tears started gathering in my eyes, she was so beautiful. She reminded me of that one princess from a Muggle fairytale from a book I used to read to Ginny. Beauty and the Beast, I think. Tonks had her hands over her lips and Tulip's mouth was open.

“Penny, Andre is the luckiest bloke in the world.” Tonks said with a shaky voice.

“You look beyond beautiful.” I stood up and reached for my purse. “You wrote to me that you needed something blue.”

“You remembered!” She turned to me.

“It might not be traditional, but it's very rare.” I barely held in the tears, looking at her. I spent far too much time on my makeup and I knew Penny was too emotional to fix it.

“Is that a Dragon scale?” Tulip gasped as I put the brooch on Penny's sleeve.

“A Swedish Short-Snout one.” I nodded.

“Nova, it's beautiful!” She hugged me and I waved to Tulip and Tonks to join us.

—

I felt my cheeks turn pink as I was walking down the aisle before Penny. I saw Charlie standing next to Andre and Jae and I loved the way he was looking at me. It reminded me of the night of the Ball when he saw me walking down the stairs.

We had so many beautiful moments together and we made so many memories during all these years but that night was still one of my favorites and every time Charlie looked at me the way he did now, it reminded me of just how much he wished for us to be together back then and it made me feel so special to know I was able to bring him that happiness.

The ceremony was beautiful and Tulip, Tonks, and I all cried as Andre and Penny exchanged their vows. They were such a beautiful couple. After all the food and all the toasts, it was time to dance. I couldn't help but hope that we would have more of these moments together because I was having so much fun dancing with the girls.

I loved that our friendship was so strong that even though we saw each other a couple of times per year we still acted as if it was every day.

It was finally time for Penny and Andre's slow dance. I was probably looking at them as if I was in love with them both. I meant what I said earlier, that I didn't mind that Charlie and I weren't engaged or planning on getting married any time soon but moments like this sparked something in me that made me think otherwise.

“May I have this dance?” Charlie suddenly appeared in front of me, disturbing my thoughts and as I zoned back in I heard that Magic Works started playing. I took the hand Charlie offered me with the biggest grin on my face. That was the song we slowed danced to at the Ball. That was the song that made me break down all my walls and the song that made me realize just how much I wanted to be more than friends with Charlie. It was our song.

“They look amazing together, don't they?” Charlie said softly as my head was resting on his chest and we were slowly moving to the song.

“They do. I am so happy for them.” I smiled.

“Are we next then?” I looked up at him when he asked the question.

“What do you mean?”

“To get married.” He brushed my nose with his, the biggest smile on his lips.

“I...” I blinked at him. His question surprised me.

“Just because we don't talk about it, doesn't mean it's not on my mind, love.” His sparkling eyes were killing me softly.

“You're not asking me now, are you?” I could feel my heart against my ribcage.

“You really think, this is how I am going to propose to you?” He chuckled.

“Oh, so you already have it planned out?” I placed my head back on his chest, my heartbeat was getting faster with each sentence.

“Of course, I do.” He said as if he was thinking about this every day.

“You don't want to get married?” He asked after a minute of me being silent.

“I want nothing more than to be married to you, Charles.” I looked up at him as I heard his heartbeat raise. I could see he was trying to hide his excitement but he was doing a rather bad job. “It's just...we never talk about it so I didn't put much thought into it.”

“Well, it's going to happen, Blackwood.” He kissed my forehead. “Bill predicted that I will make you an official Weasley. I can't let his Divination talent die.” I laughed.

“Then perhaps we are next.” I smiled at him and his eyes sparkled as if I just said yes to his marriage proposal.

When we get married, I knew that it wouldn't compare to Penny's wedding. It was amazing and we had so much fun. Events like these made me realize just how much I miss my girls and we promised each other that we would visit one another as often as we could.

After people started leaving and Jae, Andre, and Charlie fell into a heated debate about the Quidditch World Cup next year, Penny took us girls outside.

“I have to tell you something.” She put her hands to her cheeks and she looked as if she was about to start crying. Tulip and I exchanged a look.

“I'm pregnant!” She exclaimed and we all jumped up, in awe.

“Merlin's beard, Penny!” Tonks didn't know how to reply.

“You're moving fast Mrs. Andre Egwu!” Tulip pulled her in a tight embrace.

“We're going to be aunts!” I shouted and started jumping into the air. They all laughed and joined me. I was right, her wedding can't be topped.

THE FIRST TO FEAR (1994)

“Are you sure you don't want to come?” Charlie shook my shoulders as I rolled my eyes at him.

“For the millionth time, Char! I will stay with your mum and Ginny.” He let out a sigh. “You rarely see your brothers, you should spend some time with them!” I placed my hands on his cheeks. Ever since Arthur announced that they were going to the Quidditch World Cup we have been bickering over me staying at the Burrow.

He has been at the Cup with his family a few times and he just wanted me to experience it. I believed him when he said it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see how Quidditch is really played but I had enough by just him describing everything so vividly. I always felt like I was there with every one of his stories.

I wanted him to spend some time with his brothers and his dad. I knew he missed them more than he would like to admit and he will get to say that he was at the World Cup with Harry Potter. He was the new Seeker for the Gryffindor Team and I knew Charlie couldn't wait to talk to him about it. Besides, we rarely got time off and whenever we got to the Burrow we were so preoccupied with every single family member that I don't know when was the last time I spent some quality time with Ginny.

I was worried sick when she was taken by the Basilisk and kept sending Pip to Molly to see if she got any news. The whole Weasley family, including me, was so grateful for Harry to rescue her and the fact that Ginny has the biggest crush on him is just too adorable. I would say that they remind me of me and Charlie when we were their age, but for some reason, Hermione and Ron ring more of a bell.

“I don't know if the Burrow ever had 3 girls without a single boy before.” Charlie chuckled and I joined him. I wished Hermione would stay too. I would like to get to know her better as Ron couldn't stop writing to us just how brilliant and smart she was.

“The Burrow will do just fine!” I pressed my lips to his. “Just enjoy your time and have fun for a change!”

“Hey, I have fun!” He smirked at me.

“Sure you do, Mr. Serious.” I ruffled his hair. I loved that he let his hair lose every time he wasn't working. It made him so charismatic. He rolled his eyes at my remark but said nothing. He knew I was right. He was focused on his work most of the time and rarely unwinded. I admired that about him but he needs to relax more, he's a workaholic for sure!

“Alright!” He finally gave in as our lips parted. “Have fun with my mum and Ginny.”

“I will. We will party like crazy!” I laughed.

“Sure, especially when mum starts asking questions about us.” He winked at me. That was the only part I wasn't looking forward to.

We have been together for 4 years and she has been nagging us about marriage and children for 2. I knew she will take this opportunity of us being alone to talk about it as she obviously couldn't get through Charlie's thick skin.

“What if I was planning to propose during the game and you're not coming?” He tried convincing me one more time.

“You are not that cheesy, Charles.” I giggled.

“You know me too well, love.” He pressed his forehead to mine and hugged me tightly. He took a deep breath and I knew he wanted to remember my scent.

“I love you, Charlie.” I looked deep into his eyes. The words still gave me butterflies sometimes. “Now go have fun with your brothers!”

“I love you too, Nova.” He kissed me one more time, hugged Molly and Ginny, and ran after the others.

—

“So, Ginny.” I sat down next to her on the sofa. She eyed me suspiciously without turning her head, pretending to read.

“Yes, Nova?” She said, casually, even though I was pretty sure, she knew what I was going to ask her.

“You and Harry.” I nudged her and she let out a deep sigh.

“Forget it, Nova. I am not talking about it.” She turned the page of her book, pretending to be unbothered by my question.

“Hey, you were the first one to know about me and Charlie, I have the right to know.” I acted offended.

“There's nothing to tell. He doesn't fancy me.” She tried to keep her voice normal, but I knew her too well to know she wasn't okay with it.

“Oh, give him time! There is something going on in his life every year at Hogwarts!” I wasn't wrong. I couldn't believe how peaceful we had it compared to him. The Stone, the Basilisk, his Godfather last year. The kid has some stuff going on!

“Yeah, right.” She chortled, trying not to get her hopes up.

“Look, sometimes boys need longer. He'll come around.” I tried to encourage her. It was obvious Harry had too much on his mind to think about having a crush.

“Wasn't it the other way around with you and Charlie?” She winked at me, a smirk painting her face.

She was right. Charlie started fancying me in our Third Year and I needed about a century to realize that having him as a friend wasn't enough.

“That's beside the point. I was blind!” I laughed.

“You really were.” She leaned on my shoulder. “I don't know, Nova. Perhaps, I'm too young.” She finally gave in to talking about him.

“Rubbish!” I started brushing her hair with my fingers. “He's only one year older than you.”

“And he's Ron's best friend!” She continued. “You know how protective he is!” I chuckled. I knew all too well.

That evening when we told our families that we are together, 11-year-old Ron cornered Charlie and threatened him to learn the meanest hex at Hogwarts and use it on him if he hurts me. And Charlie is his family, not me.

“If you two would fall in love, I am sure he would understand.” My fingers still in her hair.

“It's ridiculous if you think about it.” She closed her book. “I fancied him since I was 10 and he knows too.” She lowered her head.

“You are beating yourself over it too much!” I pulled her in a half hug. “You're going to be in your Third Year this year. You still have time.”

“Do you ever wish you and Charlie started dating sooner?” She looked at me with those beautiful eyes. They were the same as Molly's.

“I used to.” I answered honestly. “When I realized how long I liked him for and how long Charlie had feelings for me, I wished we would've gotten together sooner, but I am certain we came together at the right time and I wouldn't change a thing.” My lips curved as memories started rolling in front of my eyes.

“So, you're saying to just be patient?” She asked.

“Perhaps but also don't find yourself waiting for him. Enjoy your life. If it's meant to be, you two will come together at the right time.” I smiled at her.

“Thank you, Nova!” She hugged me so tightly that she could give Molly a run for her Galleons. “You're the best sister!”

My cheeks turned pink. Every time Ginny called me her sister it melted my heart. She adored me since she was 4 years old and always made me feel so included in their family. That never changed, even now that I was part of the family.

We helped Molly with dinner, even though it was much easier cooking for only 3 people for a change. Now that everyone was at Hogwarts, Molly could relax a bit as she and Arthur were alone most of the time during the school year.

I couldn't believe how much fun we were having. Molly was a completely different person when the boys weren't around. I don't think I have ever seen her so relaxed. She told us all about how she and Arthur fell in love and all the cheesy gifts he has given her over the years. I knew she enjoyed talking about it to us as I am sure the boys wouldn't be so keen on listening to their perfect love story.

The two days passed quicker than Charlie would catch a Snitch! Ginny has already gone to bed as she gave up on waiting for the lot to come back as we weren't sure exactly when that would be and I knew she wanted to avoid seeing Harry. I was sitting in the living room, in Molly's usual spot, as it was easier for me to write my reports in an armchair and since Molly went upstairs to take a bath I reckoned I would have some alone time to finish my report on the Chimera which was still in the Sanctuary.

It was a tough creature to work with but I didn't lose patience and Felix and Andrei told me that there is no rush to have a revelation. Dragons and Chimeras were creatures that both had such strong magical energy and I knew getting them together was not going to be easy. At first, I thought that the Chinese Fireball would warm up to the creature but almost made me bald instead as he breathed fire straight into me to let me know he does not approve of my friend.

Charlie wanted to help me but Ajax, the Chimera wasn't that fond of him and got vicious every time Charlie was near me. I considered him to be jealous as I befriended the creature on my own. Norbert was doing the best with Ajax, out of all Dragons, and Charlie was rather proud of him for that. He was the one who took care of Norbert the most and as he was almost fully grown and has gotten a bit out of control and more stubborn it was a miracle that he got along with Ajax.

“Nova, dear!” I lifted my head from my scribbling at Molly's words. “You should go to bed.” She came down the stairs in her nightgown.

“I have to finish this report.” I smiled at her as she started to the kitchen.

“Want some tea?” She whispered to the best of her abilities as she put the kettle on. I nodded, her eyes were still on me.

“You're not going to bed?” I smiled at her as she sat down on the sofa.

“Oh, no!” She shook her head. “You know me. I constantly think of my boys.” She swung her hand as if worrying for them was the only thing she did.

“Should I move? I'm in your seat.” I finally noticed and started moving my papers around.

“No, dear. You sit and don't let me bother you.” She grinned. “I just want some company.” I lowered my head down to finish the report. I only had a conclusion to write anyway.

When I put my quill down and closed my ink bottle I looked up at Molly and saw her staring at me. I couldn't stop my cheeks from turning bright pink.

“I'm sorry.” She put her cup down. “Sometimes I just can't phantom how lucky Charlie is to have you.” My heart started racing at that. I could never get enough of her compliments and I always started missing my mum when she said things like this.

“Well, I should say the same.” My lips curved. “I always feel that I'm the lucky one.”

“I just wish Bill would find someone as well, you know.” She sighed. Me too. Bill was so great and I couldn't believe he wasn't seeing anyone special.

He wrote to me a couple of times about this girl he was seeing that was also a Curse Breaker but it didn't go well. He did fancy this girl he met at Gringotts once but nothing came out of that either.

“He will.” I stood up and sat down next to Molly. “He just hasn't found that special someone yet.” I wanted to reassure her. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that Bill won't find a nice girl to settle down with.

“And what are you two waiting for, anyway?” She asked after a moment of her nodding and staring at the fireplace.

“What?” I didn't exactly know where she was aiming with her question.

“Four years of being together and no ring on your finger.” She raised an eyebrow at me. I knew this was coming.

“We...” I felt like I was 16 and had to explain to my mum why I got detention. “We are in no hurry.” I scratched the back of my neck.

“In no hurry!” Molly scoffed. “You two are as perfect as anyone can be. You should be married and pregnant by now.” My eyes widened at her words. I was not ready to have a baby yet. I was only 22!

“Well, we talked about it, and with the field of work we're both in we don't feel like it's the right time.” I was being honest. My career was only getting better and better and Charlie is in for a promotion.

And to be fair, we might've talked about us getting married on rare occasions but we have never talked about having children. I knew I wanted to have a family and I knew Charlie felt the same but we never discussed it beyond that. I couldn't imagine raising a child next to Dragons and a Chimera.

“Nonsense!” Molly waved her hand at me. “There is never a right time. These things just happen.” I didn't know how to respond to that. I knew she and Arthur got married fresh out of Hogwarts and Bill came soon after but I wasn't planning to follow in her footsteps.

“Right now,” I started slowly, “being just the two of us is enough for Charlie and me.” Her expression softened a bit. She had a soft spot for our relationship.

“I understand.” She put her hands on mine. “But at least give marriage a thought. You would be such a beautiful bride.”

“A crying bride.” I chuckled and she joined me. I know I was going to cry at my wedding even more than I did at Penny's.

“Don't let your job be an excuse.” She brushed the lock of hair, that fell over my cheek, away. “You two love each other too much not to celebrate it and have a family.” She said in a soft voice that melted my heart.

She wasn't wrong. I caught myself daydreaming about having a family with Charlie more than I would like to admit. Perhaps we could talk about it even though I knew we would eventually get there.

“Bill has to get there first.” I tried to stir the conversation back to him as I didn't know what to add. If he was here, he would kill me.

“Right!” Molly rolled her eyes as she was reminded yet again that her eldest son didn't have a significant other.

She opened her mouth to say something else but she stopped as her eyes widened, looking at something behind me. I turned around and saw that she was staring at the Weasley Family Clock and the hands on the clock those of Arthur, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, and Ron turned from Quidditch to Mortal Peril.

We looked at each other and stood up. We were so deep in conversation that we didn't notice the time.

“When are they supposed to be back?” Molly whispered as I was sure she couldn't manage anything else. I could feel her shaking next to me.

“I am sure it is nothing they can't handle.” I tried reassuring her even though I felt my throat tighten.

We walked outside to the garden and sat down on the bench. I knew we would be able to spot them as soon as they return with the Portkey. It seemed we were waiting for hours. I could feel Molly drifting away on my shoulder and then lifting her head realizing she almost fell asleep. I tried to keep my focus on the spot where I knew the Portkey was and I couldn't help but get more nervous by the minute.

I went inside to make us some tea and my eyes turned to the clock. Still Mortal Peril. What was going on? How could they be in danger at the Quidditch World Cup? I couldn't understand and imagine what could've happened and that was the scariest part.

I went up to take a shower as the sun was almost rising. I couldn't sit still and look at the same spot anymore. It was making me too anxious. I came back down and used a Drying Charm on my hair as I heard the hands on the clock move. I hurried in front of it and the hands one by one started to move from Mortal Peril to Home.

“Molly!” I shouted and rushed outside. She was standing by the edge of the garden, her hands to her cheeks, looking at the Hill where the Portkey was. Percy was the first that I could see. He looked like a mess and a sense of worry on his face. George and Fred followed and then I saw Bill, his hand was wrapped in bandages.

My heart leaped as Percy, Fred and George reached us and Molly pulled them into a hug. Where were the others? Fred saw my worried face and came to hug me.

“He's alright.” He whispered in my ear and my heart started slowing down.

Before I could ask him where is Charlie and what in the hell happened, I saw him walking next to Arthur toward us. As Bill came to us and I pulled him into a hug, he winced at the pain in his arm. He smiled at me and nodded for me to go to Charlie. I started shaking and I couldn't just stand there, waiting for them to reach us.

I ran so fast that I thought I wouldn't be able to stop myself as I was nearing them. Charlie picked up his pace to meet me halfway and spread his arms as I ran into him with such a force, that he let out a small 'oof'.

“I'm okay.” He said gently, his fingers buried in my hair as we stood in the middle of the field, embraced.

“What in the bloody hell happened?” I asked as I finally let go of him and we started walking towards the Burrow.

“Death Eaters.” Charlie exasperated, pulling me in a half hug.

“Death...” I couldn't grasp the fact that they were attacked at the Quidditch World Cup.

“Where are Ron, Hermione, and Harry?” I asked.

“They aren't back?” Arthur said, looking around the Garden. Molly and I both shook our heads.

They explained what happened. How the Dark Mark appeared in the sky and how they accused Harry of conjuring it. How the loud voices and burning tents woke them up and how they tried fighting them back before they suddenly fled.

“An elf conjuring the Mark?” I repeated Percy's words, incredulously. “That sounds ridiculous.”

“That's what we said but she has been found with Harry's wand.” Arthur pursed his lips, not believing it either.

Charlie and I exchanged looks. We knew this didn't mean anything good. There have been rumors that He Who Must Not Be Named was coming back and will regain his power but we dismissed the rumors up until now. The Dark Mark wasn't a good sign and now I wished to be there so I could've fought with them.

—

Charlie and I accompanied the lot to the Hogwarts Express before we would have to return to Romania. Charlie kept teasing the twins with a secret we knew and they didn't. Hogwarts was going to host the Triwizard Tournament and Charlie was assigned to bring 4 Dragons to the school in November. He was beyond excited and I wished I could go with him.

“You'll find out soon enough.” Molly chuckled as she waved at the boys on the train. I couldn't help but get nostalgic and as I looked up at Charlie, amused that his brothers were clueless about what was going to happen, I couldn't help but picture us waving our kids goodbye like this in the future.

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random-thought-depository · 3 years ago

Text

A short vignette I wrote as part of a discussion on a forum I post on, with past/present tense and other grammar and formatting and math somewhat cleaned up from the rough version I posted there, and I’ve given it a title; it is a stand-alone piece and is not connected to any of my main SF settings; I took the liberty of re-using some relatively generic planet names and taking a little inspiration from John M. Dollan’s Arcbuilder Universe (if you’re interested you can find links to a little of John M. Dollan’s more recent writing on his Twitter):

----------

Advantages of Specialization

As I departed Cordillera, I passed a sign of the times. There was one of the big Hegemony freighters, on its leisurely upward fall toward minimum safe distance. It was much too far away for unaided eye visual contact, of course, but Mariposa's telescope gave me a fine view of it. And Cordillera space traffic control had supplied all the relevant details, of course; planned trajectory and burn timing, alpha-numeric designation - and a name; the Humbolt. Humbolts are whales that sing. Appropriate, I guess; it was big. Next to it little Mariposa would look - well, like a butterfly flitting around a whale, I guess. Mariposa is 50 meters long and masses 100 tons, 500 tons fueled up, with space for about an elephant's mass in cargo. Mariposa could fit inside Humbolt's fuel tank. Mariposa could fit inside the nozzle of Humbolt's fusion rocket.

Humbolt had finished its escape burn from Cordillera two days ago and it was just falling up now, not very fast. Its orbital rockets had burned at a leisurely .5 MSS, only a twentieth of a G, and hadn't burned very long. It hadn't even reached escape velocity from Cordillera's sun. Mariposa had burned hard, 3 G on the way up from Cordillera's surface, then 1.2 G the rest of the way to outbound flight velocity. Mariposa passed Humbolt quickly; the velocity differential was huge. Mariposa hadn't just reached escape velocity from the local sun, Mariposa had reached escape velocity from the galaxy! If I never burned her rocket or did a hyperspace jump again Mariposa would fall up very long and very far, into intergalactic space, where she'd fall up until her atoms evaporated by proton decay or the Big Rip tore her apart or she disintegrated from the slow sandpapering of the intergalactic medium, whatever came first. Of course, that wouldn't happen. I'd reach the local hyperlimit and jump to hyperspace in three months or so, then it'd be a few days in hyperspace, then another two months to get from the 82 Eridani hyperlimit to Hyannis. Funny; a few months to cross a few dozen AU, a few days in hyperspace to cross dozens of light years, a light year is more than 60,000 AU. Our-space distances aren't applicable to travel in hyperspace, of course, but I still think it's funny. Lots of people do.

As I passed Humbolt I studied telescopic images of it, studied its weaknesses, and thought maybe a whale wasn't the right analogy for it after all. Something from an ocean was, but not a whale. It was more like one of those deep sea fish that explode when you bring them to the surface, into the light.

Humbolt hadn't landed at San Ysidro Spaceport. It couldn't have. It wouldn't have survived trying. Humbolt is a pure creature of the void, that will never know the kiss of air or the touch of ground. It unloads and loads cargo at space stations, leaving transport to and from planetary surfaces to specialized local surface-orbit shuttles.

Humbolt is long thin pillar more than a kilometer long, with the fusion rocket at one end, a spherical fuel tank and the cargo and a small crew section spun for centrifugal gravity at the other end, and huge radiator wings between them. The long pillar is to protect the rest of the ship from the heat and radiation of the fusion drive. The fusion drive has a maximum rated acceleration at full cargo load of 2 MSS - one-fifth of 1 G. If Humbolt tried to accelerate much faster with a full cargo load, its engine would melt with waste heat. And if by some miracle it got itself up to 1 G that long pillar would snap and crumble. Put Humbolt on the surface of an Earthlike world, and it would disintegrate into a mass of rubble. If Humbolt tried to land like Mariposa, it would have the aerodynamics of a brick, and pieces of it would snap off from air friction, and its great rocket wouldn't have the thrust to control its own fall, and its own weight would break its back before it even touched the ground.

Maybe a whale isn't a bad analogy after all. The blue whale is the biggest animal to ever live on Earth; it's easier to be big in the water.

It's about efficiency, see. Humbolt should never experience a force of acceleration much above 2 MSS, so it's not built to take more than .5 G or so. That's a good safety margin, given the gentle acceleration its drive maxes out at. Building it fragile like this is efficient. Saves mass. Saves construction material. Saves fuel. Saves money.

It doesn't even really have a cargo hold. They just attach stuff to the front. Lots of different configurations are possible. On that trip Humbolt's front end was a greebled sphere of snapped-together rectangular cargo containers half a kilometer across, with a sort of tarp draped across it to protect it from high-velocity dust. There must have been hundreds of thousands of tons of cargo in that greebled sphere of cargo containers. It must have been a non-trivial fraction of Cordillera's yearly offworld trade. Cordillera isn't a big colony; it's a dusty dry world with only a few small seas, marginally habitable, only 160 million inhabitants. The sphere is the most efficient shape for a container, and the protective tarp is light, and Humbolt doesn't need to worry about streamlining. Trucks and trains and planes and boats and Mariposa are long and narrow because if you have to worry about streamlining you want to minimize frontal area. Humbolt doesn't have to worry about friction, so its cargo can be gathered into a sphere, which is efficient.

Free traders like me with ships that can take off and land like Mariposa are still a lifeline on Cordillera. Until a few years back Cordillera had just one orbiting space station to service big cargo ships like Humbolt. The Hegemony gave them another one a few years back though. Gave them another space station. A whole space station. Just dragged it in all the way from Alpha Centauri. The Hegemony must have plans for Cordillera.

Humbolt fell behind quickly. After they'd passed a few million kilometers behind they sent a text message telling me they were about to fire up the big fusion rocket. The burn timing was already registered with Cordillera space control who'd passed it on to me, of course; it was just standard procedure. The Hegemony were sticklers for this kind of thing. The contents of the message were very standard too; if it hadn't been composed by a computer it might as well have been. I wondered if it was AI composed or some sort of standardized form they had a human fill out. There'd be an audio warning and check-in too.

The audio warning was less standardized. A male voice, with an accent that might have been Tolimanish, saying, "This is the Kentauric Hegemony nationalized transport KDY-442-A74F, the Humbolt, calling free trader Mariposa. Hello, Miss, uh ... Miss Cherinise? Did I pronounce that right? Just as per standard procedure we're giving you a redundant warning that we're going to fire up the big atomic flashlight in 600 seconds. Please acknowledge."

Mariposa and Humbolt were almost seven light seconds apart at this point; far enough apart for light lag to noticeably influence conversation. I could have fired up the subspace radio, but Humbolt hadn't bothered, and I wasn't going to spend power on it if they weren't.

I sent back, "This is free trader Mariposa, I understand and acknowledge your message. I see we have the same destination. Does that make this a race? Seems to be going pretty well for me so far if so; I left after you and I'm already ahead of you."

I couldn't resist the dig, even though I knew it was lame and wasn't even an effective one, it just drew attention to my own weakness. I made it sound happy, like I was joking and saying something to have an excuse to talk to somebody for a few minutes.

The voice from the Humbolt said back, "You'd lose. Might want to make sure any un-hardened electronics are protected before we fire the big rocket, and maybe put your fuel tank between your crew and cargo compartments and us, just to be extra safe. You should be OK at that distance, but it's gonna be some real Manhattan Project hours out here when we fire. KDY-442-A74F over and out."

I said back, "Mariposa's been in battles and flare star megaflares and I've had to navigate more than one particularly nasty gas giant and brown dwarf magnetosphere. My ship's built tough, I'll be fine. Free trader Mariposa, over and out."

For some minutes Mariposa and Humbolt fell up away from Cordillera's sun, glowing only with the warmth of life support and radar and power reactor standby power and cargo environment maintenance. Then Humbolt's main rocket fired.

Mariposa can do 4 G at a steady burn, more in a sprint. The big limit is my own tolerance. Compared to Mariposa's muscular rocket, Humbolt's great rocket is weak in thrust. It imparts the gentlest of pushes. Humbolt's great radiator wings soon sizzle with heat at a fifth of a G. It ejects less than 200 kilograms of fuel per second, for a ship that masses hundreds of thousands of tons fueled and loaded. It's built for fuel efficiency, endurance, not thrust. The big rocket fires continuously for more than two weeks, compared to Mariposa's 22 hour 1.2 G burn.

And that efficiency implies its own sort of power. That 200 kilograms flies out of the rocket nozzle at more than two percent the speed of light. Humbolt's big rocket is a butterfly's sigh in terms of thrust, but in terms of energy it's a nuclear bomb that explodes continuously for more than two weeks. Ships like Humbolt have to maneuver near planets using weaker secondary orbital rockets because of the damage that storm of radiation and high-velocity charged particles might do. Alerts squawked nervously as Humbolt became a dark speck at the end a brilliant comet of charged particles and radiation thousands of kilometers long, the brightest thing in Mariposa's sky except for the local sun.

Mariposa uses not a lot of energy to eject a lot of fuel not very fast. This gives it the thrust to blast off the surface of a world. It's like one of those gasoline-powered SUVs you see on a lot of low-population worlds with big stretches of hostile terrain; go anywhere no matter how bad the road, power over rocks and through sucking mud puddles. But it's like an SUV; it guzzles fuel. And fuel-guzzling, in space, ultimately means slow. Humbolt uses terawatts of energy to eject a little fuel very fast, and this makes it fuel-efficient, and fuel-efficient in space ultimately means fast.

The man was right. If it's a race, Mariposa will lose, I'll lose. Humbolt will reach the hyperlimit of Cordillera's system in a little over a month, reach Hyannis in a little over two months, well ahead of me. And with ships like Humbolt the Hegemony can charge shipping prices half of the minimum I can charge to stay in business and come out with a 20% profit. And they can ship high-bulk goods that are just out of reach for me. Mariposa is a flying fuel tank with an engine and a crew quarter and a cargo compartment attached, stuffed into something shaped like a delta-winged aircraft. Humbolt gets almost three times my delta V while being less than half fuel by mass.

Free traders like me kept trade flowing through the age of fragmentation and economic contraction after the disintegration of the Terran Empire. Our tough versatile little blast off from anywhere land anywhere rockets were just what human space needed back then. But it's getting tough for somebody like me to stay in business nowadays.

#my writing #stories #speed fiction #fiction #my fiction

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noona-clock · 4 years ago

Text

The Counselor - Part 3

Genre: Teacher!AU

Pairing: Bobby x You (Female!Reader)

Warnings: Sexism, Somewhat verbal abuse

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 | Words: 2,617

As usual, the weekend went by far too quickly.

Truly, whoever thought that a five-day workweek was a good idea -- whoever had invented that -- you wanted to have a talk.

When you really think about it, how did it make sense that out of seven days in the week, you should go to work for five of them? Why not four? A four-day workweek and a three-day weekend would make the world a much better place, you were convinced.

But, alas. There was nothing you could do to change that right now.

The fact that it was now the second week of school helped a little, though. The second was much easier than the first week, and basically from here on out, the weeks would go by in a flash.

I mean, Monday had already come and gone, and that was the worst day of the week! You’d already gotten it over with!

But now you had to prepare for the pre-test you were giving all of your classes tomorrow. Apparently, you had gotten a bit too overzealous when cleaning out your cabinets during planning, and you’d ended up throwing the test you’d used last year in the recycling bin.

But, hey. If you were going to work late creating a test, it might as well be on a Monday, right?

Just after you opened up your favorite test creator website, there was a soft knock on your door. You always left your door open after school, but you still called out for the guest to come in.

“Hey,” Bobby greeted before you even had the chance to shift your gaze and see who it was.

“Oh, hey,” you replied with a small grin, very quickly glancing at him before getting back to work. Bobby was probably the only co-worker you knew wouldn’t get offended if you didn’t give him your full attention when he came to see you.

“Whatcha up to?” he asked casually as he shuffled over toward your desk.

With a sigh, you answered, “I’m giving a pre-test tomorrow, but I guess I accidentally trashed the one I gave last year. Gotta make a new one.”

As he usually did, Bobby perched on the edge of your desk, and he grabbed the stress ball from next to your pen holder. “Sounds fun,” he murmured as he threw the stress ball gently up into the air and caught it when it came back down.

You simply hummed unenthusiastically in response and continued typing away on your laptop.

For the next minute or two, the only sounds in your classroom were the clacking of your keyboard and soft thuds of Bobby throwing your stress ball up and down.

This was one reason why you enjoyed and valued your friendship with Bobby so much. He could come to your classroom to talk but the two of you may not end up talking at all -- he didn’t mind. And neither did you.

Still, though, after you finished a few questions, you let out a soft sigh and turned your head wearily over to look at him.

“How was your day?” you asked.

Bobby paused, holding the stress ball in his hand and squeezing it as he looked back at you. “Pretty good, I guess,” he shrugged. “It was Monday, and my appointments are starting to pick up, so the school year is in full swing, I guess.”

“Yep,” you replied with a slight frown. “First week is over, so now the real work begins.”

You let out a mix between a whine and a groan as you leaned back against your chair, spinning around slowly and letting your arms hang down over the armrests.

“Hard at work, I see!”

You immediately sat up, ignoring the inward cringe you felt at hearing that particular voice. You wondered how long it would take you to get used to Principal Howell -- surely, you wouldn’t dislike him for the entire school year.

...Right?

“Yes, Sir, Mr. Howell,” Bobby answered, and you didn’t even need to look at him to know he was smiling that angelic but professional smile of his. “I really shouldn’t be bothering Y/N because she’s trying to get ready for her pre-test tomorrow, but she’s too nice to tell me to leave.”

Truly, thank god for Bobby. You were a nice person, but you weren’t too nice -- you most likely would’ve responded to the principal’s comment with something far too sassy to be considered professional.

“Aha,” Mr. Howell chuckled, wagging a finger toward the two of you. “Sounds like a woman to me.”

You began to push yourself out of your chair, ready to retort back with something even more sassy, but Bobby interrupted you.

“Thanks for checking in, Sir,” he said.

Mr. Howell either understood Bobby’s covert request to leave you alone or he was too stupid to and simply had other things to do (if you were a betting person, you would bet it was the latter) because he shot Bobby a grin and left.

“Are you serious?” you hissed, barely waiting long enough for your boss to be out of earshot. “What the --”

“It was definitely sexist,” Bobby agreed.

You let out a strangled groan and practically threw yourself back against your seat, your strength forceful enough to spin your desk chair around about 180 degrees. “And it’s only the second week!” you cried, throwing two fingers up into the air for emphasis.

Bobby sighed, and all of a sudden, your chair was spinning back around to face him. “If you hear him say anything more, let me know. I’ll start keeping documentation and talk to one of the assistant principals.”

...Had you ever said just how grateful you were to be friends with the school’s guidance counselor? Bobby wasn’t afraid to take care of problems, but he never did it in aggressive way, and you just appreciated that so much.

“Thank you,” you nodded, making sure to look him right in the eyes so he understood you really meant it.

Bobby simply replied with a close-lipped smile before putting your stress ball back beside your pen holder and sliding off your desk.

“I’ll leave you to it,” he said as he made his way over to your door. “And let me know if you hear anything else so I can add it to my notes.”

You brought two fingers to your forehead and gave him a quick salute. He returned the gesture just before he stepped into the hallway, making a soft, amused grin appear on your lips.

Normally, you would procrastinate right now. You would’ve told Bobby he didn’t need to leave, and the two of you would’ve start talking about whatever conversation topics came to mind.

But you knew you were going to have to stay late creating this pre-test, and the more you procrastinated, the later you would be here.

So, you sat up straighter in your chair and got right back to work.

“Happy Hump Day, Ms. Y/L/N!” one of the students in your last period class said with a smirk as he waved good-bye to you from your doorway.

“Yeah, yeah,” you chuckled. “See you tomorrow, Daniel.”

And just before he had fully left your classroom, you called out, “And don’t forget your homework tomorrow! Yesterday’s and today’s!”

“Absolutely!” you heard his voice reply faintly, and you wondered to yourself what the odds were he would actually turn it all in tomorrow afternoon.

You shook your head to yourself, a half-grin tugging at your lips as you began to straighten up your desk. While students like Daniel could be a handful... they were also kinda your favorite ones. Daniel, specifically, was very outgoing and loud -- not to mention forgetful and lazy -- but he was also sweet, thoughtful, and genuinely funny. He made up for the fact he forgot to do his homework 3 out of 4 days with how often he made you laugh or smile -- at least, in your eyes he made up for it. Surely not every one of his teachers felt the same way, but hey. What could you do?

As you put your pens back in your pen cup, your gaze scanned over your calendar to see what was planned for tomorrow -- and then you saw the note for Victoria’s tutoring today.

Oh, yeah!

You had remembered during your third period class earlier today, but you had already forgotten. Such is the life of a busy math teacher -- and that was exactly why you wrote things down so often. If you didn’t, you would never remember anything.

Right on cue, there was a soft knock on your door.

“Ms. Y/L/N?” Victoria’s sweet voice called out, and when you looked up to greet her, you saw she wasn’t alone.

“Hey,” you smiled, raising your eyebrows slightly. You recognized the girl standing next to Victoria as one from your first period class, but you couldn’t pull her name, even from the recesses of your mind.

“I brought Lisa with me,” Victoria explained. “Is that okay?”

Lisa! Yep, that was it. Lisa.

“Of course,” you assured them, gesturing toward the small, kidney bean-shaped table in the back of your classroom. “The more the merrier. ...Except not really because if too many people come for tutoring, it’ll turn into just another class period, and no teacher wants that after school.”

Both Victoria and Lisa giggled as they approached the table, taking off their backpacks and getting out their math textbooks.

You joined them at the table with a grin, pulling out the chair in the notch of the table and sitting down. “Where shall we begin? Anything in particular so far that you want to go over?”

Lisa answered that the lesson you’d taught today had been hard for her to follow, so you started there, having them flip to the chapter in the textbook you’d focused on just a few hours ago.

Since your lesson hadn’t clicked with either of them, you took a different approach to it this time. You used visual aids and tried to think of applicable examples -- especially examples that two teenage girls would appreciate. You had Lisa and Victoria come up with their own examples to make sure they understood, and then you began helping them with the first few questions on their homework.

“Good,” you praised Victoria after checking her solution to the second problem. “Do you feel better about it?”

“A little --”

But Victoria was interrupted by someone -- a male someone -- clearing his throat.

The noise came from your doorway, so you quickly shifted your gaze to see who it --

Oh, lord.

It was Principal Howell.

...And he did not look happy.

“Hi, Sir,” you greeted with a softly wrinkled forehead. “Can I help you?”

“What is going on here?” he asked in clipped tones.

He didn’t sound happy, either.

“I’m just helping them with --”

Mr. Howell stepped into your room, his chest puffed up and his eyebrows raised menacingly. “I don’t recall signing off on this,” he interrupted.

Your heart began to beat a little bit faster. You really didn’t like the way he was speaking, and you especially didn’t like that he was coming toward you.

“Oh, I --”

“I’m sure you’re aware, Ms. Y/L/N, that all after-school activities must be approved? By myself?” he asked, his tone nothing short of patronizing and condescending.

He had stepped too close to the table for your comfort, and since you didn’t want Lisa and Victoria to be physically in the middle of this, you quickly stood, almost knocking your chair over in the process.

“I --”

“I know that you young teachers have all these ideas and think you’re going to change the system, but I specifically said ALL --”

He raised his voice then, and you jumped a little.

“After-school activities need to be approved by me!”

“I’m sorry, Sir, I just thought--”

“Well, it’s very obvious you weren’t thinking, Ms. Y/L/N,” he snapped.

Inside, you were fuming. You were mortified. Terrified. Angry, embarrassed, and scared all rolled into one. You wanted to retort back with something smart and sassy. You wanted to tell him just what you thought of his stupid policy and his sexist remarks.

But on the outside... you found you just couldn’t. You could only gulp nervously and stammer and wring your hands together and --

“Mr. Howell.”

Suddenly, Bobby was standing next to the principal. You jumped a little again, and your heart sped up.

What was Bobby doing here?

Mr. Howell’s glare briefly shifted over to Bobby, and he muttered, “Ah, Mr. Kim. Hello.”

“My apologies, Sir,” Bobby said in his most confident yet casually polite voice. “This is my fault.”

Your brow knit together with confusion. This was all what now?

Mr. Howell looked just as confused as you felt, though there was definitely also some skepticism in his eyes.

“Excuse me?” he asked Bobby.

“I told her tutoring probably doesn’t count as an activity, so she didn’t need to get your permission,” Bobby answered.

...Oh my god. Bobby was taking the blame.

Even though it was actually the opposite -- he had warned you about the new approval policy, but you had assured him tutoring didn’t count.

“I’m so sorry,” Bobby added.

Bobby had been shuffling around as he spoke, and somehow, he was now fully in-between Mr. Howell and the table, successfully blocking the principal’s view of you.

“I assume she has your approval now?” Bobby asked. “Since it’s just two students, one day a week.”

You held your breath. For some reason, you were convinced Mr. Howell would refuse to give his permission.

But, to your utter surprise and relief, he murmured, “Yes, I suppose so.”

“Perfect,” Bobby replied with a grin. “Actually, while I have you, I was wondering if you could take a look at something in my office?”

You held your breath as Bobby escorted Mr. Howell out of your classroom, only letting it out in a short huff when you could no longer hear their footsteps out in the hallway.

You deflated back into your chair and let your head drop onto the table with a thud.

Wow.

That had been --

Wow.

Wow wow wow wow -- oh, god, you weren’t alone.

Immediately, you picked your head back up to look at Lisa and Victoria sitting across from you. “Girls, I am so --”

Both of them looked completely in awe, and apparently, your words were just the sign they needed to spill all of their thoughts.

“Ms. Y/L/N!” they both burst out, their voices somewhat breathless.

“That was so --”

“Mr. Kim!”

“He came to your rescue --”

“Oh, it was so romantic!”

Your head jerked back in surprise when you hear the word romantic.

“Wait, what?” you interrupted, doing nothing to hide the confusion in your tone.

Lisa’s eyes widened, and she asked with wondrous curiosity, “Is Mr. Kim your boyfriend?”

You almost choked on the air you were breathing, but you managed to answer her. “No -- friends. We’re just friends.”

Both Victoria and Lisa’s eyebrows lowered, and they glanced at each other knowingly.

“Are you... sure?” Victoria asked.

“Yes, I am quite sure,” you assured them. “And I’m not just saying that because I don’t want to divulge my personal life. We are just friends.”

They looked at each other again, but this time it was long enough to make you nervous.

So, you asked, “...Why?”

Both girls’ heads whipped back around to face you.

“Well,” Lisa began.

“We think he likes you,” Victoria finished.

Part 4

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