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writeblrcafe · 1 year
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A Comprehensive Guide for Writing Advice
Sometimes, despite enjoying writing so much, something is not working for you. Maybe your well of ideas has run dry. Or your WIP has hit a corner and you can't find your way out to the end of the story. Or you need to go back to your finished draft and see if there are any kinks to clear up.
Fortunately, everyone at Writeblrcafé has experienced such, and to help you out, we have a bunch of links to helpful posts by fellow writers to help you along on your writing journey as well as some helpful links to other websites, resources and software.
General:
WHY IS WRITING IS SO FUCKING HARD? (@writers-hq)
Writer Block First Aid Kit (@isabellestone)
Websites for writers (masterpost @2soulscollide)
Writing advice (masterpost @theliteraryarchitect)
Writing resources (masterpost @stinastar)
One look thesaurus (a reverse dictionary where you can enter words or concepts)
Coming Up with Ideas:
97 Character Motivations (@theplottery)
Character Flaws (@fantasyfillsmysoul)
Character Profile (@mistblossomdesigns)
Characters Unflawed (@emptymanuscript)
Why Theme is More Important than Plot (@theplottery)
Weekly writing prompts on Reedsy
Drafting:
3 of the worst story beginnings (and how to fix them) (@theplottery)
Cheat Sheet for Writing Emotion (@myhoniahaka)
Creative Writing for Writers (@writerscreed)
Describing Physical Things (@wordsnstuff)
How to Craft a Natural Plot (@theplottery)
How to Write a Story? (masterpost @creativepromptsforwriting)
How to write: ethnicity & skin colour (@youneedsomeprompts)
What the F is Show Not Tell (@theplottery)
Writing advice from my uni teachers (@thewritingumbrellas)
First Draft: story outlining template meant to help with planning your next big writing project (@fauxriot)
The wonder/ discovery arc (@evelynmlewis)
How to structure a chapter (@theplottery)
How to pace your storytelling (@charlesoberonn)
How to write and research mental illness (@hayatheauthor)
Seven Blogs You Need To Read As An Author (@hayatheauthor)
Editing/Revising:
Eight steps in making the editing process of your book easier (@joaneunknown)
Kill Your Darlings (@tibodine)
Self editing tips (first pass) (@projecttreehouse)
Publishing:
Chill Subs: biggest database for literary magazines and small presses; track your submissions and get your writing published!
5 steps to get your novel ready to self-publish (by @nanowrimo)
Resources for finishing and publishing your novel (masterpost by @nanowrimo)
For self-publishing: this page gives you the exact pixel count of a book spine based on its page count, and/or a template you can use for the correct width/height ratio.
Software:
Scrivener: one time payment of $60 or 70€ (macOS/windows), $24 (iOS; no Euro listed for iOS); used by professionals, many tools to write and organize your novel
Bibisco: free and "pay what you want" version; multilingual, world building, character profiles, writing goals, story timeline, mind maps, notes and more templates to write a novel.
Manuskript: free open source-tool; outliner, novel assistant, distraction-free mode
Ghostwriter: a free and open alternative which has a decent interface with some interesting features, like Hemingway Mode, which disables one's backspace and delete keys, emulating a typewriter.
NaNoWriMo: an international contest to encourage writers to finish writing their novel with many events, groups for exchange with fellow writers, helpful writing advice and help for self-publishing and publishing traditionally.
Campfire Writing: website, desktop app, and mobile app, with tools built in to help manage characters, magic systems, research, etc. It has a great free option, plus monthly, annual, and lifetime purchase options. It also has built-in NaNoWriMo compatibility and a catalogue of tutorials and writing advice videos (suggestion by @harfblarf)
Websites And Writing Apps Every Author Needs In 2023 (@hayatheauthor)
Let us know in the comments if there are any links we could add to it! Reblog this post to help a fellow writer.
Support our work by buying a cup of coffee on KoFi.
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mondaymelon · 1 year
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when they first fell in love with you. ♡
(sumeru genshin impact males x gn!reader)
written headcanon style! enjoy ✩
(a/n) might be writing a part two of this with tighnari and some other male genshin characters so please comment which characters you would like to see! thank you for reading ♡
˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚
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cyno ♡
he was never the emotional man, at least not around other people. but to you, he was just the hobby-chasing mahamatra who liked to play card games religiously.
the two of you met a long time ago, years before, during his time at the academia. The two of you had the same biology class. over the course of half a semester and more than a few group projects, you could say the two of you had grown relatively close.
close enough that cyno, being cyno, was comfortable enough to tell always tell you his most terrible jokes.
"hey. why did the biologist break up with the physicist?"
you had stared at him quizzically, not sure if this was a test or an actual question about the work, but replied anyway. "what?"
"they... had no chemistry."
"..."
"do you get it - because like chemistry is a subject of science and biologists study the science of life and we're in science class and-"
he'll never forget the way you laughed that day. the way your serious expression faded into one trying to hold back laughter, and the way your lips curved upwards instantly... he felt his heart skip a beat as you let out a quiet giggle under your breath. he didn't know why or what, but a wave of affection swept over him, almost engulfing him completely before he reeled it back, face tinted red.
"hehe, you're funny, cyno." you had told him, smiling sweetly, still struggling to mute your laughs.
"am i?" cynos crimson eyes were wide as he looked at you with a look of surprise.
"mhm!" you nodded at him, beaming. "oh, are you free after school today? we should meet up to do the homework."
cyno hid his face from you then, face burning and flushed red as he mumbled out a response. "i'm free."
"great!" you slid him a slip of paper, torn off of your biology worksheet. "i figured you should have my number. don't forget to text me, okay?"
"i won't."
and he kept his word.
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al haitham ♡
it all happened after the school announced an academia-wide field trip to the desert, quite the far trek in hindsight. you were surprised the school even agreed to it. that aside, the entire school was excited about it, especially to people who had moved from the sandy dunes to the lively rainforest in order to study at the academia.
however, al haitham, your literature class partner, had stayed silent. you glanced at him several times throughout the entire day, but his expression didn't change one bit, nor did he even look from his book.
"al haitham." you called out his name, eyes sparkling curiously. "what are you reading?"
"a comprehensive look at sumeru's last 300 years." his answer was short and quick. you whistled, impressed that he was willingly reading such a text.
"are you going on the field trip?" you questioned, wanting to ask but not wanting to annoy him.
"i see no reason not to." yet another blatant answer. he turned the page absent-mindingly, eyes trailing from sentence to sentence. you decided to let him read, not wanting to bother him more than you already had.
just then, a group of students walked into the room, bustling about loudly and chatting amongst themselves not too quietly at all. if they noticed the two of you, they certainly didn't care. they laughed and shouted some more before taking the tables next to where the two of you sat and continued to squawk about.
you caught al haitham wincing at the noise, mutely noting the fact that he had taken off his headphones. you never realized the ashen-haired man had sensitive hearing, but now a lot more things made sense- especially the fact that haitham never ate lunch, like the other students, in the cafeteria.
hesitantly, you reached up and cupped your hands over al haitham's exposed ears. "is it too loud?" you whispered as quietly as you could, hoping that al haitham wouldn't be bothered by your question.
as you glanced down at his expression, his look of astoundment startled you. his emerald eyes sparkled with a look of tenderness that you would've expected as he gazed up at you, his diamond shaped pupils staring up at you and you only.
then, so subtle you almost missed it, he whispered, face flushed:
"thank you."
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kaveh ♡
kaveh was always a friendly person, and that was certainly not an exception when it came to you. after a class, he would always burst into the room and come to walk you to your next one.
it come to a point where you would wait for him to show up after the lecture ended, purposely packing up your things slower as you scanned the door for any signs of the blonde man. and he always showed up.
always.
except, then he didn't. you waited until the students of the next hour began to come in, and then waited more until you were sure you were already late. yet, he still didn't show up. worry began gnawing at your stomach as you fidgeted through all of your classes that day, mind cloudy.
and he wasn't there the day after that, either. you missed his presence, his sunny demeanor, and his blushing reaction whenever you decided to tease him.
after about a week of the constant torture, he showed up again, grinning and raising his hand as if he was expecting a wave after your design class.
and you didn't just give him a wave. you dropped all your things instantly, eyes wide and teary, and leaped onto the man, sending both of you tumbling to the ground as you gave him the tightest hug you could manage.
underneath you, kaveh let out a shout of surprise, trying to get you off of him so he could get up, but he wouldn't budge. and he glanced down at you, confused at what had gotten you so worked up, he spotted glistening tears spilling down your face.
"wh-what's happened?" he questioned with a worried expression as he helped you up, tears still running down from your eyes. "did someone hurt you? who was it??"
"idiot..." you leaned against his figure, burying your face into his chest, not caring if you were to be late or not. "you left without a word...!"
"i-i'm sorry-!" kaveh glanced down at your figure clinging onto him, face flushed as his heart pounded so loud that he was sure you would be able to hear it. "i caught a cold..."
"don't leave me again like that, okay??"
"o-okay."
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wanderer ♡
you had known him for a long time now, you would've admitted if you had no other choice but to be truthful. but it was a hopeless thing, since never once did he ever seem to notice you - much less care about you or your wellbeing.
at least he had never outright told you that he disliked your presence. it was a small comfort, but a comfort nonetheless.
so it was a surprise when he showed up at your doorstep, clothes and hair drenched from the relentless rain outside. he stared at the ground sheepishly, expression embarrassed as he spoke. "i... i didn't have anywhere else to go."
"oh." you had stood there for quite a bit, mouth rounded and eyes wide before returning to your senses. "you can come inside. i'll get you a towel."
the dark-haired man nodded silently, stepping outside as drops of water fell from the sides of his hat. you halted, whipping around. "leave that on the porch."
"but-"
"it's wet. it's going to be no help when we try to get you dry." seeing scaramouche's face fall, you cleared your throat. "but if you must, you can leave it in the mudroom."
"...alright."
you weren't even sure why he was sitting in your living room, a towel around him and sitting on your couch by the fireside, slowly sipping a hot mug of tea. he didn't seem to be thinking of speaking anytime soon, so you did it in his place.
"did you need something?" you questioned him after taking a long sip from your own mug.
"no, i just..." he shook his head. "can i stay here? just for a little while longer?"
the softness in his voice startled you, but you managed to give him an answer without stuttering either way. "you can stay for however long you want." at your response, you saw the male's eyes light up, along with his face flushing a bit too, an action that was not gone unnoticed.
"...i appreciate it. i want you to know that i really do. thank you."
masterlist ✩ next
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thebestofoneshots · 7 months
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Gilded Constellations | wolfstar x reader
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Series Masterlist | Previous episode
Pairing: Wolfstar x Reader Word Count: 7.2 K Warnings: none Prompt: Things finally start to make sense, maybe you'll finally discover one of the mysteries that have been surrounding you This IS a wolfstar x reader fic, but it's incredibly slow burn. They won't start all dating each other until we're very deep into the story, but I promise the long wait will be worth it.
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ANNOUNCEMENT:
In a couple of weeks I'll make a Q&A to cellebrate Gilded Constellations reaching 100,000 K words. And I'd love for all of you to be a part of it. So send in your questions, they can be anything you want, things like: How did you get the idea? Where does inspo come from? writing tips (I mean I don’t know much but anyway), character design, fancast, fav characters, things about me, about my plot notebook, literally anything you want, ask away (just state: For Q&A event or something) <3
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Chapter 14: Maybe I’m Amazed
Monday October 25th, 1976
You and Remus had a presentation today, but he wasn’t anywhere to be found. You waited near the door of the classroom, with your notes in your hands, looking over them while tapping your feet on the ground, toying with your ring, and turning to look at the hall every couple of seconds, hoping to see him miraculously arrive. But he didn’t, in fact, it was the second time that day people you expected to see were nowhere to be found. 
You were also supposed to go flying with James and Sirius in the morning like you did every single day, but neither of the boys made it. You went up to knock on their room’s door, but nobody answered, and after waiting for a few minutes, you decided to go for the morning flight by yourself. 
Professor Flitwick saw you at the door, looking nervous and smiled at you empathetically from his desk. When your class was just about to start you sighed and walked closer to him. 
“Professor, I don’t understand what’s happening, I’m not sure if Remus will make it. He didn’t tell me anything, I haven’t seen him since yesterday and I–“ 
“It’s ok,” he said calmly “Mr. Lupin is sick, I was informed.” 
“Sick?” You asked with a frown. 
Flitwick nodded, “I believe he and some of his friends all ate something that upset their stomachs at Hogsmeade on Saturday, they’re at the nurses’ office.” 
You opened your eyes wide, that was your lie. But if the boys really were at the infirmary, then it meant something had happened to them on their stupid prank last night. 
You frowned, almost wanting to run off to see them, but resisted the urge to do so “What’s gonna happen to our presentation then? He’s worked so hard on it, I wouldn’t want him to lose his grade.” 
“You can present with him next class,” he told you comprehensively “It’s ok Miss (Y/LN), take your seat, don’t stress too much about it. I know you’ll give a brilliant presentation once your partner’s feeling better.” 
You nodded “Thank you, Professor,” you told him with a smile and went to take one of the seats. 
The class started, Lily and Marlene had worked on their project together and they went first, talking about the properties of wordless magic and then making a very small presentation, teaching some volunteers to make sparks with their wands without saying a word. Tom and Marlene were next, and they gave a talk about the dangers of dark magic and so on. A couple other students asked for volunteers, and while in normal situations you’d have been among the first to raise your hand, today was an exception, you were a little too busy, tapping your feet under the desk and looking at the clock every couple of minutes. 
At some point you decided you had to do something, so you took some parchment out and wrote a small note: 
Hey Puppy! You all right? I missed you and Prongs on our morning flight today… Remus missed our presentation too, tell him Flitwick said we could present next class. Are you all really at the infirmary? Because I know for a fact it wasn’t something you ate… Unless you actually ate something last night, I wouldn’t put that past you lot, but I’m sure that’s not it. I’ll keep an eye out for your answer plane. 
You read it over a couple of times and then started to bend it into a very small paper plane that you left over your desk. When class was over you used the same spell Remus had used at the beginning of the course so that your little plane landed close to Sirius. 
It wasn’t until you were in the middle of transfigurations that a different paper plane landed over your desk, you carefully unfolded it and started reading:
Hey beautiful! Thanks for that strong vote of confidence! We didn’t actually eat anything bad. Remus says he’s sorry for missing the class, and that he’ll do your homework for a week to make it up to you, I’m jealous! 
We really are at the infirmary though, last night’s prank went awry and we accidentally got attacked by Grindylows. We’re all right, Remus got the worst of it anyway… But we came to check on him first thing in the morning, that’s why we didn’t make it to the morning flight. Your rumour somehow got all the way to Poppy, and when we went to check on Remus she gave us some medicine and had us stay in the infirmary to check on us… so it’s basically your fault. 
Anyway, you should still come see your poor boyfriend in the infirmary, pamper him with kisses and offer him some tasty treats… at least.
ps. Since I haven’t retrieved the ones from last week, that would mean you owe me six so far…
You smiled when you finished reading, Sirius was a total flirt, and you loved that about him. When you read over it though, you frowned, that was the second time Remus got hurt after a prank, and if they were attacked by Grindylows, there was no way they were just fine, those little creatures could be absolute savages, you’d know, since one time a friend at your older school had fallen on the lake and been attacked by those nasty little water beings, she had to be taken to the hospital wing, and stayed there for a week. Of course, Remus was bigger, stronger, and a more advanced wizard, since that had happened to her in 3rd year, but regardless, Remus must be pretty battered up, again. 
Finally, you sighed and went back to trying to turn the quill you had in front of you into a bird. Not that you were doing too good at that either.  You let out an exasperated groan after your 3rd try of only getting a beak and little legs to appear on the quill. 
Professor McGonagall approached you  “Everything ok Miss (Y/LN)?”
You nodded, the air of exasperation remaining regardless, “I’m really struggling to get this right,” you told her “This is the first time I ever done transfiguration, and no magic had been this challenging for me before, it’s just…” 
McGonagall smiled understandingly “Would you mind if I got you a tutor? I know a couple students from your year that would be more than willing to help.” 
“I… uh… I’m not really that close to everyone in my year…” 
McGonagall raised an eyebrow, you were pretty much already a member of one of the Gryffindor friend groups, and the rumour that you and Sirius were dating was already spreading too “I was thinking Mr. Lupin could help, and from what I gather you’re already friends…”  
“Oh… Remus? Yeah, we’re close!” 
“Excellent, I’ll tell him once he’s back on his feet. Poor boy, he must be feeling pretty tattered up today.” 
You nodded “Yeah, he shouldn’t have eaten that.” 
“Eaten what?” She asked, confused. 
You arched your eyebrows “The thing at Hogsmeade that made them all end up in the infirmary…” 
“They all?” Minerva quipped “Who else is in the infirmary?” 
“Sirius, James and Peter.” 
“They are there?!” She asked, seemingly surprised. You frowned, how did McGonagall know Remus was in the hospital if she didn’t know the boys were there too?
“Isn’t that the reason Remus was in the infirmary?” You asked, rather confused. 
“The reason he–? Oh right, yeah right, must have slipped my mind.” She said and stepped away. 
You frowned, there were many things that did not make sense with Remus Lupin, you’d already accepted that, and moved on from it, since he was one of the best people you’d ever met, but this, this was just off. McGonagall was not the type of teacher to whom things just “slipped her mind”, and that was a fact. Unless she knew Remus had been in the infirmary for another reason, and if that reason was that he’d been attacked by Grindylows, then that would imply she knew about the boys’ prank and was covering for them, which made even less sense. 
And today was not the first time things were weird, it was like some teachers knew something that you didn’t. And it was all somehow related to Remus. And you really did not want to pry, but your mind, being naturally curious, could not stop thinking about it. And it all seemed so familiar; like you only needed to find the one little string that would solve the entire mystery, and it was just there for you to reach out and pull, but somehow, you were trying to find the tail end with your eyes closed. Maybe Remus really did blindfold you the first time you met, but instead of using the physical blindfold, he’d used an intricate web of half-facts and untold tales. Of course, he didn’t owe you any kind of explanation, and it was not like you were going to ask but a part of you really, really wanted to discover the mystery. 
You spend the entire class pondering all the little things that didn’t make sense about Remus Lupin, thinking of trillions of ways in which they could be connected to each other, but nothing seemed to make sense. No matter how much you racked your brain, you could not find the string to tie it all out. You were so focused in uncovering the mystery that you didn’t even realise when the class was over. 
“Hey (Y/N)! You ok?” Tom said as he shook your shoulder, snapping you out of your thoughts. 
You nodded “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” You said, but your head was pounding from so much thinking, and to be honest, you did not want to deal with divination class, so you corrected yourself “Actually, would you mind telling Spellman I’m feeling a little dizzy, and that I’m going to the infirmary?” 
Tom gave you a look and nodded, the two of you stood together and started walking towards the door “And where are you actually going to?” He asked, curiosity getting the best of him. 
“Hm? Oh, to the infirmary actually, I’ll just pass by the kitchens first.” 
“The kitchens?” He asked confused as you both continued walking towards the stairs. 
“I’m taking some food for the boys,” you explained, Tom nodded, but still looked confused “They got caught up in the excuse from yesterday and Poppy got them to stay in the infirmary to check on them.” 
“So you’re just feeling bad as an excuse to go see your sweet boyfriend,” he teased. 
You nodded “Yeah, and my friend who got attacked by Grindyllows.” 
Tom frowned “Grindylows? At this time of the year?” 
“Yeah, why?” 
“It’s weird, when the lake starts to cool down they disappear.” 
You frowned at that, yet another puzzle piece to solve, but by then Tom was already walking towards a different set of stairs “See you around, hope you feel better, I’ll tell Spellman where you went,” he said loudly. Tom really was the worst liar you’d ever met. 
“Thanks Tom,” you managed to say before scurrying through one of the hall entrances, so people wouldn’t notice the weird exchange you’d had. 
Once you got to the kitchens you knocked on the frame and asked the elves if you could have some food, they nodded and started preparing you some snacks to go, you asked around, hoping to find Nimbbletwist, but the elves told you that she’d been commission to something by Dumbledore that particular day. When they were done you thanked them profusely and waved goodbye. You grabbed the package of food and after placing the entire thing inside your backpack you started walking towards the infirmary. 
Once you were next to the huge, half-opened doors, you slowly slipped inside, hoping not to cause too much of a stir inside, but the place was pretty much empty, other than the hushed whispers you heard at the end of the room. A curtain was covering the boys from your sight, and muffling their voices. 
“We need to find a better way to deal with your furry little problem,” You heard Peter say “Moony’s been going pretty wild the past few times.” 
“Ehm…” You cleared your throat, whatever the boys were talking about, the fact that they were whispering about in an empty room, meant that the conversation was secret enough for them, and you were not planning to eavesdrop on some of the nicest people you’d met. “Morning boys,” you said with an awkward wave. 
Sirius smiled the second he spotted you, Peter looked like he’d seen a ghost, and Remus looked too tired to care much about you having shown up almost out of nowhere. But James was the first one to speak “Hey (Y/N)! Sorry we missed the morning flight.” 
You nodded “Sirius told me all about your mishaps,” you said as you walked closer to them, you looked around trying to find a sitting spot, and when you didn’t you resolved to stay standing “Brought you guys some snacks.” 
“You actually did?” Sirius asked with a dashing smile, eyes shining in content. His girl had brought him snacks, and she looked as lovely as ever while doing so. By then, you were already turning your backpack in front of you and pulling the little pack the elves had built for you. So he helped you hold it as you pulled the food pack and placed it on the bed besides Remus. They’d packed sausage rolls, pork pies, scotch pancakes, Jaffa cakes and tiny Bakewell tarts, Peter dug right into the sausage rolls, like he was starving. 
“Poppy didn’t give you boys any food?” 
“She gave us soup,” Peter said in between bites “It was so bland and tasteless, she said it’d make our stomachs feel better.” 
“I thought it was good,” Remus said with a shrug. 
“Yeah, you got the one with spices,” Peter complained “You should’ve said we had a headache or something instead.” 
You raised an eyebrow, “Since when are headaches something 4 people can have at the same time?” You retorted. 
Peter shrugged in response “A magical headache or whatever.” 
“At least, thanks to you, we didn’t get in trouble for skipping class,” James said with a shrug. 
“Exactly, that’s my girl!” Sirius said with a wink, then he grabbed your arm and pulled you onto his lap, you arched your eyebrow at him once you were comfortably sitting on him “You looked like you were tired.” 
You laughed, shaking your head “Yeah, sure Puppy, if you say so.” 
“Don’t think I’ve stopped counting,” he said as he wrapped his arms around you a little tighter, setting the two of you in a more comfortable position. 
Finally, you turned to Remus, he wasn’t eating any of the things you’d brought, James was munching on a pork pie and even Sirius was enjoying a Bakewell tart, but Remus looked genuinely beaten up. He had a sharp gush on his face, and another one down his arm, probably many more underneath his clothes and bandages. Just when you started to pay attention to the open wounds, and realising how different they were from the ones your friend had gotten when she was attacked by Grindyllows, Sirius spoke again “You’re wearing your ring today,” he said pointing at it as he grabbed your hand to look at it. 
“Found it in a drawer as I was getting ready in the morning,” you told him “seemed to match the mood of yesterday.” 
“Because of the moon and the stars,” Sirius agreed, paying a closer look at your ring, you nodded, “It’s very beautiful,” he said, slipping it out of your finger and testing if it would fit in his pinky, it stood out among his thicker rings, but he didn’t seem to mind. 
“Won’t you eat anything?” Peter asked Remus as he munched on his fourth sausage roll. 
“I’m not really feeling it,” Remus responded. 
“Mmm… Actually–“ you said as you placed a cookie in your mouth to bring your backpack to your lap again. Sirius took the cookie from your lips and held it for you, you turned to him and whispered a small “thanks,” before you continued to rummage through your bags, “It’s here!” You said as you pulled out a chocolate bar. It was the same brand Remus always carried around, and you’d bought a few at Honeydukes over the weekend. You’d decided to always carry one in your bag, to offer to Remus when he was feeling off, just like he’d done for you several times. You handed it over to him. 
The boy smiled as he grabbed onto it “Thanks love! Don’t deserve it after I failed you for today’s presentation.” 
“Don’t be silly Rem, you had an accident,” you told him motioning to him on the bed. 
“And where’s my chocolate bar?” Asked Sirius as he leaned his head over your shoulder to give Remus a better look. 
“You don’t get one today Puppy, I only packed one in the morning, sorry.” 
“And you gave it to Remus instead of me?” He teased, playing offended. “You do remember I am your boyfriend right?”  
“Well, clearly Remus was the one to save all of your asses last night,” you said pointing at the bandaged boy, and then at the rest, who barely had a scratch on them “However the hell did you get into a fight with Grindylows?” 
“We were trying to get some gillyweed,” Remus responded while he pulled on the paper of the chocolate bar to open it “for a special prank we wanted to do on the Slytherins.” 
“With gillyweed?” You asked with a frown. 
“For a potion,” James added “took the recipe from one of Grandpa’s old journals.” 
You narrowed your eyes at James, but nodded, Who knows? the Potters are pretty much experts on potions, they’d know. “Did you get it?” 
Remus shook his head “We were too busy with the Grindylows.”
“I could maybe help you–˝
“–No!” Remus, James, Sirius and Peter said at the same time. You closed your mouth at that, taken aback by their answer. 
“Love, you did see Moony, right? Do you wanna end up like that?” Sirius reasoned. 
“Well… I’m a good swimmer, I could scare the Grindylows away with bombarda or something–”
“–don’t worry about it,” said James “We decided we would buy it in a magazine and get it delivered, we don’t wanna have to go through that again,” he motioned to Remus. 
“But thanks for offering,” Remus added “It’s very brave of you.” 
You shook your head, “those stupid Slytherin boys have been getting on my nerves lately, whatever prank you do to them, I’d love to help.” 
“They’ve bothered you again since the broom incident?” Sirius asked. A shiver ran down your spine as you remembered the way Evan had pulled you over the railing last night. 
“Nothing I can’t deal with, they’re just a bunch of cowards.” 
James looked at you with apprehension, he thought it was his fault that Barty had started to pick on you, after all the ball you threw at his face had originally been directed at him, not at you. You wondered if the boys had heard of yesterday’s commotion in the astronomy tower, they probably hadn’t, they wouldn’t be relaxed at all. 
Sirius yawned from behind, closing his eyes as he leaned closer to you, resting his head over your neck. “You boys should go get some sleep,” you told them when you noticed that it wasn’t only Sirius who was sleepy, James’ shoulders were slumped, and he normally stood straight, while Peter was sluggishly munching onto his fourth sausage roll. “I’ll stay with Rem, I need to wait for Poppy to come anyway, I want something for my headache.”
“You’ve got a headache?” Remus asked with a frown, “Why didn’t you tell us earlier?”  
You tried to shrug but stopped when you remembered Sirius still had his head over your shoulder “You looked a lot worse,” you said with a teasing smile. 
He shook his head with a breathy laugh, “Don’t put yourself second luv, I’m fine, I’m strong! See?” He said as he raised his arm and as if to show off his muscles. 
You laughed, he wasn’t lying, but it was still funny. “You sure you can stay luv? What about your classes?” Sirius asked. 
“I’ll catch up later, it’s easy. It’s not like we have transfiguration.” 
“Still having trouble with that?” Peter asked politely. 
You nodded “That’s literally the cause of my headache, couldn’t get a feather to turn into a bird. McGonagall said she’d give me a tutor.” 
“How delightful,” Sirius said ironically. 
“My thoughts exactly,” you agreed, “but then she said it’d be Remus, so it’s fine, we’re already working together in so many other classes, he must be getting sick of my face.” 
“Oh shut up, I would never,” he said as he broke off another square of his chocolate.
Sirius extended his hands towards him “Gimme soooome Moooony!”
Remus rolled his eyes, but extended his hand with a piece towards your boyfriend anyway, when their hands brushed against each other Remus hissed “What the hell Pads?” He said with a frown, looking betrayed. 
Sirius looked at his hand, his eyes widened as he saw he was still wearing your ring, your silver ring. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to shock you.” 
“Shock him?” You asked confused, that wasn’t the reaction you’d expect from someone who’d gotten an electricity shock. Let alone Remus’.
Remus nodded, “I’ve got a small cut in my hand,” he lied “It was rather unexpected.” 
You looked at him with a bit of a frown, you hadn’t seen any cuts on his hand. James suddenly stood up and clapped, gathering everyone’s attention “Well, if I don’t move now, I’m falling asleep on this chair. Pete, Pads, you coming along?” 
While you turned your head to look at James, Remus threw a look at Sirius, who frowned apologetically and mouthed “I’m sorry, I forgot.” 
“I’m coming,” Peter said, standing up after James. “Need anything from the dorm?” He asked Remus. 
He shook his head “I’ll catch up with my homework later.” He responded. 
“I’ve got a couple of books here in my bag, we can read something while they go sleep.” You offered your friend with a smile. 
“Sounds great!” Remus responded with a smile. 
“Nerds!” Sirius teased. 
“Pads?” Peter asked, “You coming too?” 
Sirius nodded, burying his head on your back as he hugged you tighter. 
“You don’t have to go,” you told him since he didn’t look like he wanted to let go of you just yet. 
“Why don’t you come nap with me instead?” He mumbled, voice a little muffled since he still had his head pressed to your back. “You smell really nice today.” Truth be told, Sirius thought you smelled nice every day, but with some of the dog qualities still lingering on him after the previous hours of being a dog, he was both extra sensitive to smell,  and extra clingy of his human too, not that you knew any of it. 
“Let the poor girl breathe mate!” Peter teased. Sirius just groaned in response. 
“I’m gonna stand up luv,” he told you, you were about to stand, but he just stood up while still holding onto you, and once he was up, he slid to the side, and dropped you right back on the chair. Well then, I guess that works too, you thought. 
“Bye Puppy,” you told him as he walked towards his friends. He raised his hands, showing 9 fingers up and raising his eyebrows. You rolled your eyes, but also realised he was still wearing your ring on his pinky finger “Oi my ring!” 
“I’m keeping it as collateral,” he told you, “‘least until you pay up what you owe.” You gave him an amused smile and shook your head as he left. 
“What do you owe him?” Remus asked once the boys were gone. 
“He hasn’t told you about that yet?” You asked casually “says he doesn’t like being called Puppy–“ 
“–that’s a lotta crap.” 
You laughed “Yeah, well he charges a kiss for every time I call him that.” 
Remus raised his eyebrows, now he was amused “he’s just taking advantage of you love…” 
“Is he though?” You said back with a little smirk “The way I see it is a win-win situation. He gets to be all flirty and I get to kiss his pretty lips.” 
“Touché,” the boy agreed, he too thought Sirius had pretty lips “Can I tease him with the nickname too?” 
“All you want,” you replied with a smile “if he tries to kiss you, though, don’t blame me for it.” You both laughed, and a comfortable silence followed, then you remembered you still had books inside your bag and pulled them out, setting them on the bed beside him. He grabbed the one at the top when you noticed which book it was, you pulled it from his hands. “You can’t read that one.” 
“I can’t read… A Wizard's Handy Handbook of Spells?” He asked as he read the cover name from your hands. 
“It’s not that,” you added, holding it tightly between your arms. “It’s… not actually A Wizard's Handy Handbook of Spells, I charmed the cover.” He arched an eyebrow and tried to take it from your grasp, you pulled back but it was too late, he had it in his hands again.  Remus had an awful lot of energy for someone who had been badly hurt just a couple of hours ago. “Remus, give me that!” 
“I wanna know why you charmed the cover first,” he said while dangling the book in the air. 
You looked at him with a frown and jumped forward to try and grasp the book from his hands, but he pulled it back, to the side of the bed. “Remus!” 
“Am I gonna have to read it?” 
You stood up, and extended your hands over him, to try and get the book that was on the other side of the bed, but your feet got trapped with your backpack strap and you ended up falling over Remus. He groaned as your body crashed over a particularly nasty bruise. Your scent filled his nostrils from the closeness, Sirius was right, you smelled awfully nice, a little like him too.
“Shit Rem, I’m sorry,” you said standing up as soon as possible “I didn’t mean to–“ The brusque movements had caused his shirt to rise up slightly and you actually saw the nasty bruise your body had crashed against, you looked at it with a concerned frown and then back at your friend “Remus…” 
He averted your gaze, he did not like being pitted “I’m fine.” He said once he turned back to you, using his free hand to pull down his shirt again “I’m strong, remember?” 
“Yeah, someone falling over a bruise hurts, no matter how strong…” 
He shrugged, he’d definitely had worse than you falling over him “You’re light, didn’t hurt much.” You looked at him, sighing “and you smell nice, no wonder Sirius wants to have you on his lap all the time.” Finally, you laughed, shaking your head as you stared at your friend. Remus realised you had a really nice laugh as you did, he shook his head from the trance of staring, he wasn’t sure he’d ever found a girl as pretty as you. “Will you tell me what kind of book you were trying to hide from me, or will I have to figure it out myself?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. 
“It’s a spicy romance novel,” you said avoiding his gaze, he smiled diverted. The more you know, he thought. “It was recommended!” You added. 
“Yeah, sure.” 
“It was!” You insisted “By your little Ravenclaw girlfriend, actually” 
“Nina Blythe?!” he asked in disbelief.
You nodded “Are you sure you don’t want to date her? She’s clearly into the good stuff.” He gave you a look and you laughed, Nina was beautiful, but she definitely still had a baby face, like Remus had said when you told him she had a crush on him.
“She’s not really my type.” 
“Which is…?”
“None of your business, of course.” He replied sassily, and then changed the subject “How spicy?” He asked, curiosity taking the best of him. 
You shrugged “I’ll tell you when I get to the spicy part,” you told him with a shrug, taking the book from his hands, he let you do it without any fuzz this time “But um…” you pointed at one of the other books on the bed “this one’s good, you’d like it.”
“Is it also spicy?” He teased. 
“Remus!” You complained, “Not every single book I read is spicy!” 
He shrugged “Wouldn’t shame you if you did.” 
You rolled your eyes and let out a breathy laugh. “It’s not spicy, but it is really good.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” he said, taking the book and opening on the first page. Soon enough the two of you were comfortably reading. You were so engrossed in your book that you’d totally forgotten the initial reason you’d gone there. But as you continued flipping pages, it was like the string you had been trying to reach earlier was finally there, shining brightly for you to take it, and tie all the mysterious facts into one sole explanation. As your eyes moved through the words in the book, the description of the male lead started to resonate with you…
Remus was strong. Remus had a lot of scars and bruises all over his body, and they were definitely not caused by Grindyllows, he always carried around a calming draught and had other rather strong painkiller potions in his room as well, he tended to stay away from you when you wore your silver ring, literally jumping from your grasp when you touched him with it on one time, and was also visibly mad at Sirius when he brushed over his fingers with it on, as if they both knew something you didn’t –electric shock, my ass. 
McGonagall knew he was in the infirmary, no, she expected him to be in the infirmary today, yesterday was full moon. 
When you told him that he could get the Fluxweed he said he was good at catching so he switched with you, he would’ve had to harvest it on the full moon. All the boys got really suspicious during the full moon, and the two times you’d seen the full moon happen in the castle, Remus and all the boys had disappeared. Peter was talking about “a furry little problem” just before you cleared your throat earlier. James had joked about his romance novel being called “The Beast Within.”
In the boggart class, when you got a werewolf, all the boys had tensed up, even the way Lily had approached you, constantly looking back and forth between him and you. 
You looked up at him, Remus looked tired, Remus had a great sense of smell, Remus got a lot more irritable around this time of the month, Remus was ripped even if he didn’t look like the type to do much exercise, in fact, you’d never seen him do exercise. Remus Bogart had been the moon. Remus was right in front of you, looking like he’d been up all night and yesterday was full moon. 
Remus’ nickname… Remus’ nickname was fucking Moony! 
YESTERDAY WAS FULL MOON. 
Finally seeing clearly every single thing that didn’t make sense in your head, all the half-told tales and the lies and the inconsistencies, “You’re a werewolf…” you mumbled, almost in a whisper. 
He had been too distraught with the book to notice, so he looked up at you “Sorry, what was that, luv?” 
Your head started swirling with fast thoughts, Remus hadn’t told you himself. Remus probably wanted his lycanthropy to be a secret. Remus had gone to great lengths to hide it. You’d barely met him a couple of months ago and you were sure most people didn’t know about his condition, other than a few teachers, the boys and, maybe Lily. She probably knows, in the bogart class, she seemed alarmed. But Marlene, Mary, Beth? They probably have no clue. What right did you have to know before the people who’d met him years ago? Whoever the hell were you to butt in on this boy’s life? Even if he’d become one of your closest friends. I do not want to make Remus uncomfortable. I do not want Remus to hate me for prying. “I.. uh.. Do you like golf?” You improvised, almost cringing at yourself for how stupid your question had been. 
“Golf?” He asked with a frown.
“Aha…” you continued “the muggle sport, Golf. With uhm.. sticks and small balls,” you then made a little golf swing with your hands. 
“Yeah, I know Golf,” he responded, still confused “Never played it tho.” 
“Me neither,” you responded honestly “This character though,” you pointed to the book “Seems like- very obsessed with it.” 
Remus frowned and leaned forward on the bed, to try and get a glimpse of the book, you remembered that you were literally on the page about the scars on the werewolf’s body and you instantly dropped the book. It closed shut on the floor. You leaned down “Oh no, I lost my page.” Maybe you were a worse liar than Tom in the end. 
Remus arched an eyebrow as he saw you leaning on the floor, you looked rather desperate. 
“You okay?” You nodded and sat back on the chair. “So… how was it? spicy?” 
“Not much so far,” you responded honestly “just very in-depth descriptions of the male lead’s toned abdomen from the time they went to swim on a lake together.” 
Remus nodded, maybe he’d have to borrow the book from you at some point. “And you’re liking it?” 
“Plot’s good, yeah. Very enlightening.” 
“Enlightening?” He asked, not quite understanding how abs would be enlightening, but who knows, maybe they are. 
“Mhm…” you said when you realised the slip-up “What about your book?” you decided to drag the subject away from the spicy werewolf book and onto the one Remus had instead. 
“I’m loving it, actually. I didn’t know you had such great taste in books.” 
You smiled at the compliment “The portrait of Dorian Gray is an absolute classic, it has some of the most killer quotes I’ve read in my life.” 
“Nowadays people know the price of everything–“ he started.
“–and value nothing…” you finished the quote for him, “And there are so many others, you won’t be able to stop.” You told him with a smile, “Like… the only way to get rid of temptation, is–“ 
“–to yield to it.” He said at the same time as you did, a certain glimmer in his eyes when he did. 
Out if nowhere the images of the kiss you’d had at Marlene’s party came back to Remus, he remembered how soft and gentle you’d been, he remembered how your hand over his shoulder had felt, how kind your lips had been to his, how you’d tasted of fresh berries and potions, how after the kiss was over you looked genuinely pleased but cracked a joke to ease the tension, how contagious your laugh had been… how sweet you smelled that day, always with a hint of Sirius’ scent from how close you were to each other. What the hell is wrong with me? She’s dating Sirius! She’s dating Sirius –my crush best friend– Black, he thought. He snapped himself out of it as soon as he could, coughing up a couple of times to clear his throat. 
You looked at him, with a bit of concern and stood up, quickly walking towards the nightstand to pour some water on a glass and hand it over to him, he took it, fingers brushing against your small hands. He cursed himself for feeling something when they did, he’d rather feel nothing at all. Why must you be so kind?, he thought as you waited for him to finish drinking, to put the glass back in his place.  “Thank you,” he mumbled. 
You just smiled kindly “That’s what friends are for.” No, he thought, the boys were rarely as attentive as you were, and Lily, well Lily rarely visited after the full moon, even if she always took a moment to ask if he was feeling alright. Maybe that was why he was feeling so weird all of a sudden, he just wasn’t used to being cared for the way you cared for him. He then started to wonder if you were that nice to everyone, or only to your closest friends, he wanted to know if you also carried around Peter’s or Prong’s favourite treats in your bag, or if you had ever given chocolate to Tom, Alex or Teddy, if you borrowed books to Lily, or if you laughed along Nina the same way you did with him, he felt a tiny pang of jealousy when he imagined those things happening. Remus, stop it! he told himself, by then you’d already sat back in your seat, and found yourself engrossed in your book. Or at least you were pretending to be, in really you were still cursing yourself for asking if he liked golf. 
When you noticed he was staring you turned to him with a diverted smile “Do I have something in my face?” 
He seemed to be snapped out of his own thoughts “What?” 
“You were staring,” you told him, pretending to be uninterested as you still looked at the book, in reality, you were wondering if maybe he’d heard you ask if he was a werewolf and if he was considering how to kick you out of his life for butting in on his private business. 
“Ah…” he acknowledged “I wasn’t…. I was thinking of last night’s accident,” he lied. 
“Of course,” you responded, “Grindylows must’ve  been horrifying.” 
He nodded, absentmindedly and the two returned to your respective books. 
Series Masterlist | Next Chapter
TAGLIST: @rayrlupin @callmelovergirl @warcelia @ireneop @endversewinchester @moonyunebi @smuttysluttybitch @mazzymoons @drugs-for-memes @sofiacblair @vmpir3lvr @remuslupinisbae @rabluver @willgrahamisalesbi4n @thatobsessedreader @orkwardx0  @itskailey24 @hell0-kittie @belovedmoony @blacksgarden @loving-and-dreaming @cassie-love20 @starchaser-lily @zucchini-queenie @springflwer07 @sseleniaa @cometsghost @orkwardx0 @imdoingbetternow  @sbrewer21 @remuslupinsbae @maxinehufflepuffprincess
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ridreamir · 4 months
Note
How about some head cannons for blue berry academy students befriending a new student reader who turns out to be a faller? The reader is from our world and does have at least some memory loss.
And so I might have turned it into a fic and not a list of HCs... lemme know if you want me to rewrite it lol -- it was getting kinda long so this might just be a part one of two if people actually like it. If not I'll just move onto other things :p
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With the multi-billion dollar project underway to extend Blueberry Academy's underwater campus, there's been an influx of new students lining up to attend the recently founded institution!
As for you who may or may not have crash-landed in Unova not long ago -you with no credentials- there's no way you could have applied to join the wave of incoming students... had it not been for a string of improbable events that tied you up in some top secret plot.
An unpredicted meteor ripped through the planet's atmosphere in the late hours of night. A burst of unusual green-blue energy had not only been visible to the naked eye, but it set off all the satellite radars in the region. And what stumbled out of the impact zone was the most unlikely part of the story.
... Where... were you? Did you... fall asleep again? Opening your eyes, the cold midnight wilderness flashed alight with an eerie aurora floating close to the ground. The dust was settling, but instead of dispersing into the dirt, it'd been floating up back toward the clear starflecked sky. The surrounding field stood littered with broken shards of... something. They'd been decaying into twinkling flakes light enough to float off the ground — and being that it was pitch black, the only light you had to see was quickly dispersing from the stripped soil and clumps of torn up grass. Once they'd burnt the last of their light, it had left you nothing but one last gentle light source. Registering the mysterious shimmering crystal not far from your face, you sat up, with no proper sense of how you'd got there or what it had been doing on top of you. You must've walked for miles with it in your arms before passing out from exhaustion.
...
You're really asleep again. You tried to cry out, open your eyes. Nothing happened. You tried to feel your fingertips, your breath in and out of your nose. Where is your body? Nothing... happened. The shell forming around you kept out the melded together white silhouettes, but it also kept you in. But a woman burst through the doors, and you couldn't make out here face as she yelled at them to stop. No, all you could make out was the familiar pattern of her earrings. "Can't you see that you can't drill through this?!" She pushed them out of the way, standing between you and their stainless steel tools. "You'll do nothing but hurt the both of them!"
. There's some illegible message displayed on the device you hold in your hands. You look down at it, not remembering what you were doing before.
You can't make out any of the details anymore, but you're unable to look away as you hear the sound effect from pressing the A-button. The symbols warp into familiar letters. You suddenly feel a slightly overshadowing presence behind you. At last, comprehensible text materializes.
"And so you have returned with some pretense of self awareness. Not as you were before, however."
You press the A-button again. "More a shell of what you once were... Something I lament to say likely cannot be reversed." A-button. "Nay, you are not the you that I once knew." You... press it again. "..." It does not speak, so you press it again.
And again.
"I am at a loss as to whether I should mourn a past that has faded into obscurity or feel at peace knowing that you are as ever-changing as the world you left in my charge." You press the button one more time, but the voice seems to hesitate for a moment, thinking of what next to say.
". . . "
"Regardless, I have been awaiting your return for a very long time."
.
.
.
Better to get up and put on your tacky school uniform now than fall back asleep and wait to be dragged out from your boring old dorm room by the scruff.
Being taken as a test subject in the most remote middle-of-the-ocean facility felt more like being held prisoner than enrolling in school. Your homeroom teacher, Ms. Briar, had served as a reminder that the muddy flashes of memories you had of being encased in a living crystal were, in fact, real. She seems to know a lot about the creature you woke up holding, but next to nothing about you. While still mildly annoyed by her poking and prodding, you've warily come to accept that her endless curiosity is not out of cruelty. She is... respectful toward you. Not of your boundaries, but she's fascinated with you in a mild manner that does not immediately endanger your safety. Speaking of, as you sat down and slung your bag over the desk chair, Terapagos came tumbling out, clinking clumsily against the floor. "Aaa-" It cried, stuck on its back. Or, well, not it. He. You quickly scooped him up and set him back on his legs. He's looking up at you, nudging your shoe with his head. His unusually large eyes sparkle as he stares with unmatched innocence, waiting for you to bend over and pick him up. Which you do, knowing the pink haired girl that sits a few rows behind you is vibrating in her seat. "Cute... so cute..." She's mumbling under her breath. Ever since you 'enrolled' she'd done nothing but stare at your companion, which he seemed to find uncomfortable if the pulling at your shoelace wasn't enough to convey that fact. "Alright, little guy, alright. I'm on it." You huff, gently plucking him off the ground with two hands. He cries out in joy and she suddenly clutches her heart, falling backward out of her seat.
...
Nobody here talks to you. Not because they haven't tried, but because every attempt has been met with you either pretending you hadn't heard them or getting up and walking out the classroom. All Briar had to do was take the attendance. They couldn't necessarily threaten you into forced bonding with others. No, your real confinement was having to go into the terrarium and complete menial tasks for the equivalent of money just so you could buy food and school supplies. You didn't even want to be here, you just didn't have anywhere better to go. Apparently they just wanted to protect you for the time being, but there's no way in hell you'd believe that's why they sent you into glorified solitary confinement in the middle of the ocean. Everyone else had permission to come and go whensoever they pleased.
No, your only equals here were your few Pokemon friends. The researchers might've claimed to be keeping your friends in the terrarium for the sake of their health and the preservation of the outside world it mimicked, but you'd never believe in their so called pure intentions. No, this was a pretty little garden for outsiders looking in, and a cage too small for ornate living decorations like you.
Terapagos had been your only one constant since day one, and he was wary of most other people. You trusted his judgement the most. Most other people. The lunch ladies were apparently the saints of the Pokemon world. The food staff are genuinely kind, and Terapagos is a fiend for all types of Pokemon confections you're quickly learning. They've told you that most Pokemon have a taste preference, but not your special little pal, though the poor thing had such a tiny stomach that does not match his monstrous appetite at all.
There's one other person Terapagos had once been intent on pestering in at the cafeteria, but was quickly distracted by another helping of berries and whipped cream.
Compliments to the hardworking Alcremie in the kitchen, they were the only ones who could truly keep his menace at bay... You were endlessly thankful for the distraction, anyway. You wouldn't have known what to do if he'd marched right on up to the four of them chatting amongst themselves over lunch. Red haired dude. Pink haired girl. Scary four eyes. Annoying dragon jerk. Everyone knew who they were. Those were the most problematic trainers in all the Academy.
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cameronspecial · 5 months
Note
hii !
do you think can you do a fic where drew is helping reader study for grad school?
something cute and sweet like maybe he sees she’s stressed and turns it into a game
Study Buddy
Pairing: Drew Starkey x Reader
Warnings: N/A
Pronouns: She/Her
Word Count: 0.5K
Masterlist
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Drew can see how stressed Y/N is for her big test coming up. She doesn’t get many tests as a grad student, mostly dealing with long-term projects. So the psychology test worth fifty percent of her mark is nothing to take lightly She’s dedicated most of her time to studying, which left Drew little time to spend with her. Watching her stress over her cue card at the dining room table, he comes up with a solution that could help fix two of their problems. Her being stressed and them not spending enough time together. He heads over to the table and pulls out a seat across from her. Her eyebrow raises at the spray bottle and mini KitKats in his hands. “What are you doing with those?” she questions. He gives her an evil smirk, “It’s a surprise. Give me your cue cards.” She hesitates before pushing the deck of paper toward him. 
She watches as he picks up the first card and reads off of it. “What is fluid and crystallized intelligence?” he reads out loud. She takes a second to think, “Fluid intelligence is your capability to learn new things. Crystallized intelligence is the accumulation of the knowledge you have gained over time.” He gives her a grin, leaning over to give her a kiss and then sliding over a KitKat bar. She happily takes the chocolate and opens it up to eat it. She breaks it apart and hands one side to him. He takes it, shoving it entirely into his mouth. He moves on to the next card. “What are Thrustone’s primary mental abilities?” Y/N freezes at this question, taking longer to answer. “Verbal comprehension, word fluency, associative memory, inductive reasoning, numeric ability, spatial visualization and perceptual concepts,” her confidence drops off as she gets to the final ability. Drew grimaces before taking the spray bottle and squirting her with it. She squeals, holding her arms up to protect herself “It’s perceptual speed,” he breaks to her.
“What was that for?” she yells, not really in anger but in surprise. Drew shrugs, “You’re studying psychology, so I thought I would do my own Pavlovian experiment.” She glares at him and snatches the bottle away from him. Her fingers find the trigger, hitting his face with cold water. She giggles at his look of shock but scrambles out of her chair when he gets up to chase after her. She uses the water to keep him away. He eventually catches up to her and picks her up by the waist. He wipes his wet face on her shirt, listening to her silent pleas to stop. He puts her down and she kisses his cheek. “I think I like this game, but let’s change it a little. If I get it wrong, you spray me. If I get it right, I spray you. Deal?” she offers. He can only chuckle at the words, holding his hand out to lead the way back to the table. And that is how an afternoon of studying left Y/N and Drew absolutely soaked.
Taglist: @winterrrnight @loves0phelia @thelomlisrafecameron
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deadhawke · 1 year
Text
Comprehensive Trigun Stampede Timeline
(With sources and references!) I will use the abbreviations EY to stand for Earth Year and PE to stand for Planet Era, the calendar and year system used by No Man's Land. I will use ~ in front of a date to indicate that it's not concrete but is about that time.
This should hopefully be a comprehensive timeline for TriStamp. I've done my best to comb through both the series as well as some of the extras from Studio Orange on Twitter, and I will provide sources/pictures as well as reasoning where relevant. So onto the actual timeline starting with.....
~EY 2256 - Project SEEDS leaves earth - based on Rem saying that it has been about 200 years since they left Earth and in that scenes the boys look like they do after at least a year old.
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EY 2405 May 3rd - Tesla is born
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EY 2455 July 21st - Vash and Nai are born
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EY 2456 July 21st - Vash and Nai's first birthday
~ EY 2456 - The Big Fall - due to the fact that Vash and Nai still look about the same age it is either the same year or pretty close to it when the Big Fall happens
~ EY 2461 - When Vash runs away from Home to confront Nai and he gets his arm cut off. Brad says it had been 5 years since the Big Fall.
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PE 00 November 1st (~ EY 2502) - The first city November is established as well as the Planet Era Calendar. Based on Vash, Nai, Luida, and Brad all saying it has been about 150 years since the Fall at the time the actual episodes take place, the math works out to this happening about 46 years after the big fall. This information comes from Studio Orange's twitter where they posted some extra world building info.
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PE 00 December (~ EY 2502) - 2nd city December is established
PE 01 July (~ EY 2503) - 3rd city July is established (RIP your theme song slapped)
PE 01-02 (~ EY 2503-2504) - The rest of the seven cities of Augusta, Octovern, May, and September are established
~ PE 79 (~ EY 2581) - Rollo is taken and Eye of Michael-ed. Based on a combination of what Roberto and Conrad say in episode 5. Conrad says in the flash back after Rollo has been experimented on that he is the first to survive for 5 whole years. And then Roberto later says its been about 20 years since the town was abandoned aka since Rollo came back as Monev the Gale and wrecked the place. Roberto says the 20 years comment when looking at the state of the house and before finding the photo of Vash and bby Rollo.
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PE 81 (~ EY 2583) - Meryl is born! This also helps us establish the year the episodes take place as Meryl was born in 81, is 23 years old, and just finished college in 103 which you can just make out at the bottom of the screen. (23 + 81 = 104) Meaning the majority of the episodes themselves take place in PE 104
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~ PE 84 (~ EY 2586) - Rollo comes back to the windmill town as Monev the Gale and wrecks the place.
PE 99 - PE 103 (~ EY 2601 – 2605) - Meryl is in college!
PE 104 May 25th (~ EY 2606) - We finally get to Episode 1! Meryl and Roberto find Vash half dead and he has the duel with the military police! As stated earlier we have determined the year based on Meryl's resume.
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PE 104 May 25th/26th - Episode 2/3 happens. This episode may either be the same day as episode 1 or it could be the next day as there is multiple ways to determine the timing. First way: As Vash is attempting to leave Roberto does say "Wait... You told me this morning." when asking who Vash is seemingly running away from. This would indicate that it is the same day as episode 1 since that is when Vash first tells them about Knives. Second way: Episodes 2/3 take place the next day as in the intro sequence while Vash is cleaning his gun it is night outside as shown by the window in his room, and later on we see it is day and we know it is a window as when Vash is leaving you can see the light outside. I personally still think this is the case since the town people have also had a chance to get together and plan Vash's capture, and when Roberto is referring to the morning that could be referring to the interview he and Meryl were doing with him in the bar.
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PE 104 May 29th/30th - Episode 4 happens. The radio states it has been 3 days since Jeneora Rock.
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PE 104 May/June/July - Sometime in this period episode 5 happens. I suspect towards the mid/end of July since Vash and Wolfwood are still upset with each other over Rollo during the start of episode 6. (@ StudioOrange what happened during their off screen road trip we wanna know)
PE 104 ~ July 20th - Episodes 6/7 happen. The timing on this is entirely based on how long Vash remains passed out in Home before waking up, but at least one day passes from 6/7 to Vash's very bad no good day that is episodes 8/9/10/11/12 since it goes from day on 6 to sunset on 7, and then back to day when Vash wakes on the ship.
PE 104 July 21st - Episodes 8/9/10/11/12 aka Vash goes to Soup day aka the twin's 151st bday or thereabouts. We know for sure it was July 21st thanks to Nai giving his bro the worst bday present ever and the radio announcer confirming the date explicitly during the anniversary for the epilogue.
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PE 106 July 21st (~ EY 2608) - Episode 12 epilogue happens as stated by the radio announcer.
BONUS: SE 110 June 2nd (~ EY 2612) - Now this is an interesting date, as this is the "effective" date listed on Wolfwood's pastor contract.
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We do know for sure however that the date June 2nd SE110 cannot equal June 2nd PE110, and equal the current day and year, as this happens on July 21st. It also cannot be the date Wolfwood is sent after Vash as they meet up May 29/30th, and even if that date is wrong (like if more than a day passes between episodes 1 and 2 somehow), if the year was 110 then Meryl would be 29 years old, very much not a fresh out of college newbie since we know she also graduated in 103.
General theorizing from myself and the wonderful people who have commented on this post and on others post seem to align with SE possibly meaning Sinners Era and being slightly off from the Planet Era year system the rest of the planet uses.
For my personal theorizing, the closest match to this date is if SE110 is equivalent to PE104 (so a six year difference between year systems), and an extra 3 days happen between Episodes 1 and 2/3, then it may be the day Wolfwood was sent after Vash. It could also be that we are making the incorrect assumption that they are using the Earth calendar with Earth calendar month lengths. If May is 28 days then that would place Episode 4 on June 1st with my current timeline which would be even closer.
In summary: The important part is that Vash, Wolfwood, Meryl, and Roberto spend a total of about 2 months traveling together between May 25th and July 21st. And I have no fucking clue what's going on with Wolfwood's contract.
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b-courageous1010 · 2 years
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Organization tips for Structured Productivity
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It’s vital to be organized while working in finance as it is important to keep your priorities and routine tasks organized and completed in a timely manner.Things can get hectic in a blank of an eye so I highly recommend trying various time management and organization techniques to find what works for you. What works for someone else might not work for you but thats okay!
Below are 2 of my favorite organization tips and techniques I use in my day to day work life:
❥𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨
Chunking your time during the day which basically means creating a plan to work on each task for a certain amount of time and after the allotted time is up you will move on to the next task.
This is ideal for those who might have long term assignments or side projects.
I use this method to ensure I am giving adequate time to each of the tasks and projects I currently have on my list while also determining the progress I am making on each task
Example of my day
8:30 - 10:00: Decluttering my email and addressing everything that needs to be addressed - I also use this time to plan out what I need to accomplish that day while also noting important meetings and side project status updates.
10:00 - 12:00: Balancing payables
1:00 - 2:15: Work personal/Team email
2:15 - 3:00: Side projects
3:00 - 3:30: Run team files
3:30 - 5:30: Continue Side projects
I would also like to note to be realistic about the amount of time you designate for each task. Make sure it’s reasonable amount of time while also accounting for human error.
❥𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 & 𝘖𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯
Emails Folders
For my role it’s extremely important that I maintain a clean inbox because it’s a indicator of whether or not I am keeping up with my day to day tasks.
When I receive an email I will determine and complete the action items required and file it away for record keeping purposes. Thus only leaving emails in my inbox that are still outstanding. On average I get about 20 emails a day for various items and we are advised to not delete them ever.
So I developed a system that will allow me to archive emails in their correct folders so in the event that I need to pull an email for CYA (cover your a*ss) or for just for additional information I actually know where to begin to look for it. I created and grouped folders by the type of fee or fee process it pertains to and I will then make sub folders if needed as this also helps speedup the email search.
I have a folder for each of my primary tasks but they also have subfolders for example, I have a folder labeled “Ledgers” but within the folder I have sub folders for the different types of fees we process such as Holding, Commission, etc. and this is usually for tracking purposes.
I also made a MISC folder for routine departments emails such as the firms weekly newsletter as well as different routine alerts we receive. each routine email has a sub folder within the main folder. But I also have monthly misc folders for misc emails that are not routine and are received during the given month.
For example I have a folder in my inbox labeled “5/1/2022” which is where I would move misc emails received during the month.
❥Invest in a planner/desk planner
You can’t store all the necessary tasks, processes and additional information you will need on a given day all in your head. It is vital to get all your thoughts on paper or a digital planner as this will open up space to think critically for the new items coming your way. Not doing so you run the risk of tasks falling through the cracks because they slipped your mind.
It is also proven that writing information down not only helps with cementing information in your mind but aids with comprehension as well.
Personally I use a disposable desk planner for short term day to day tasks they tend to change everyday. I like to use my physical planners as more of long term items as it could get bombarded and messy with the more things I add.
My Fav
The pages on the above link are sectioned out for different purposes and it has a very minimalistic design while also being highly functional.
Box for today’s focus - Cleaning up ledger activity
Section to add to dos - Tasks I need to accomplish that day
Notes section - I might jot down a misc item or two over the course of the day
Meals - I like to keep track of my meals to reflect on my eating habits
Water tracker - I make it a game to see how many cups of water I can drink a day which has been very helpful with staying hydrated.
Schedule for the day - Here is where I notate any important time commitments for the day such as running the file at 5 or any meetings scheduled for that day.
It’s important that you develop your organization skills in finance as we are often pulled in many directions at the same time and still expected to perform at a high level. What I learned is that your organization skills and habits can either make or break you. You want to make sure you are not only putting your best foot forward but also building a solid foundation that can be developed over time
In Closing, I want to stress the importance of finding out what works for you! I personally have a couple of planners I write in for various reasons but I recently decided I wanted to include excel into my planner rotation as I often feel like I live my life through numbers 😅 but I say this to show you that the possibilities are endless! There is no one way or wrong way to do this just as long as your method works for you!
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What could i do to help him if my gallifreyan has a hearts attack?
🚨 Immediate Actions for a Gallifreyan Hearts Attack
Secure the Scene: First, ensure the environment around you and your Gallifreyan friend is safe. Look out Daleks or any other environmental hazards that could pose additional threats.
Initial Response: Engage with your Gallifreyan friend by asking, 'How are you feeling?' and gently shake their shoulder while inquiring, 'Can you hear me?' This might help gauge their level of consciousness.
Seeking Bystander Assistance: When dealing with a Gallifreyan hearts issue, getting bystander help is key, but remember, a human ambulance won't cut it for their unique biology. If able, ask around for anyone with knowledge of alien medical care to assist, and direct others to help keep the area clear or communicate with specialised medical teams using any advanced tech you have. It’s all about finding the right support while ensuring everyone understands/remains unaware of the patient as a non-human.
Recognising Cardiac Arrest: Check for the two hearts' rhythm and normal breathing patterns. The absence of these signs indicates cardiac arrest, but if there's a pulse and they're breathing, proceed with a systematic ABCDE assessment.
Here are a normal set of life signs for reference.
Respiration Rate (breaths per minute) - 5-10
Supplemental Oxygen (cannula/mask etc. in use?) - No
Temperature (orally) - 15.1-19°C / 59.1-66.3°F
Systolic BP (top figure from blood pressure) - 151-240
Heart rate (individual) - 45-90
Level of consciousness - Alert
CPR Adaptation for Gallifreyans: If you suspect a cardiac arrest:
Perform 5 compressions over the left heart (from the patient's PoV), maintaining a depth of 5-6cm.
Switch and perform 5 compressions over the right heart (from the patient's PoV) with the same depth.
Administer 2 rescue breaths.
Keep this going until they have signs of consciousness or until medical help arrives. If you tire, find someone to swap out with to maintain good quality CPR.
Precordial Thump Strategy: If one heart seems to have stopped and you don't have a defibrillator, deliver two precordial thumps. One should be on the chest over the affected heart, and the other on the back, aligning with the heart. This method is slightly unconventional but might kickstart the heart again in urgent situations.
When Help Arrives: When Gallifreyan or similarly equipped medical responders arrive, provide them with a quick but comprehensive overview of the situation. Your actions and the information you've gathered can be crucial for the next steps in the patient's care.
🤖 Additional Tips
Stay Calm: Your calmness can help keep the Gallifreyan calm.
Telepathic Assistance: If you're skilled in telepathy, offering a soothing mental presence can help stabilise them.
Emergency Kit: Always keep a Gallifreyan medical kit nearby.
🚑 Post-Emergency Care
Once the immediate threat is over, following up with a specialised Gallifreyan medic is vital. Your Gallifreyan might need specific treatments to fully recover and prevent future incidents.
Remember, while these steps provide a general guide, each situation is unique. Always prioritise professional medical advice when available.
Hope that helped! 😃
→🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (WIP) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP)
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》📫Got a question / submission? 》😆Jokes |🫀Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts 》📚Complete list of Q+A 》📜Masterpost If you like what GIL does, please consider buying a coffee or tipping below to help make future projects, including complete biology and language guides.
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cat--comic · 12 days
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blog 1. happy birthday
welcome to the new cat comic blog! if you're reading this on tumblr, hello! if you're reading this on neocities, i love you more. page looks pretty snazzy, right? check out the very pretty melankorin.net, this page looked a lot more plain before i ate that page's design aesthetic.
ok.
it just so happens that yesterday, the 13th of april, 2024, was cat comic's first birthday. this comic is officially one year old! goo goo ga ga! it makes me glad and more than little scared that i've been working on this for so long. it's my longest-lived project to date and still going strong, which means a lot coming from my bloody trail of abandoned projects.
what the hell is cat comic about?
cat comic is a story born out of a lot of my fears vis-a-vis my creative projects. it's a story about creation, whether that deals with art, identity, or culture, and about the history that doggedly stamps itself on any creation, and about the problems of indie projects. it's a story about a cat and a dog and some other various animals who get into lots of trouble, and it's mainly a story about the end of the world.
i think you can tell that there's a lot of throughlines to my other work (unfinished or otherwise), which is pretty thematically appropriate. actually, cat comic was originally reusing far too much of eyrie, an old comic idea of mine. eyrie followed an aspiring paladin and their little buddy as they made their way to the shining capital of a theocratic nation, delving into a mirror world that reflected public perception of things along the way. it was a pretty fun concept.
anyway, it informed a lot of cat comic's original premise—it began with an ascent from belowcloud to a shining city in the sky. huh... sounds familiar. like eyrie, it also dealt a lot with divinity, mirrors, and perfection (as in: perfection in the eyes of society, not cat comic's current sense of it). it's fun looking back at these early drafts of cat comic because you can clearly see all the influences i was pulling on, big or small. i was pretty fine with doing this because, as it pains me to remember, cat comic was to be a "fun" and "short" project where i could "do whatever". haha.
cat comic's changed a lot since then and it's also hardly changed at all. a lot of the original ideas are still there in the batter, but it's also evolved into something pretty different and much closer to my heart. and it will continue to change and evolve! although perhaps not quite so drastically as it has over the last year.
what's the plan with this thing?
i had a conversation with a friend a while ago (hiii ardenna i know you're reading this. love you) about our respective story projects and our problems working on them as single creators. i don't have a team for art or writing—it's all me, babey—and that means everything about this project is going to take what we in the industry call a "long time".
this time next year, i want to have a comprehensive plot. that might sound like a lot of time for not a lot of work but believe me i need it—i'm doing a bit of a unique format for this story and i want to put the time in to make sure i stick the landing with it. my secondary goals for the next year also include finalizing designs for all of the main cast and making sure they're all fleshed out... basically, by next year, i want to be able to start actually drawing the comic. i don't want to start drawing it then but, just, you know, be able to.
as of last week, i've handed in my senior project (and passed with flying colors, thank you), which means i can start turning my attention to things other than that. i've already talked a bit in my 2024 blog post about my plans for the year and how i would like to devote the rest of the spring to exercising my comic muscles. i would like to stick to this plan, despite the fact that school is trying to murder me.
right now, i only have vague ideas of what those exercises will be. once i'm completely done with my senior project (report handed in at the end of this month) i'll start workshopping them. again, my priority with them is not telling a story so much as working on coloring, panelling and figuring out my workflow.
and, apart from my year-long goals and season-long goals, i just want to flesh out these pages a little more. i kind of rushed getting these up because i wanted to hit the birthday (and i didn't even manage that LOL). i want to get some more of my brain bits out on canvas! but they never tell you how hard it is to figure out how much you want to share and how much you want to keep to yourself for now. i'm making little lists and i think i'm doing a pretty good job.
final notes (SAPPY WARNING!!!)
thanks to my friends (hi again) who are very excited about my comic. it means an immeasurable amount. friendship forever
and to everyone else... remember: birds can't fly with wet wings. goodbye for now!
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twojackals · 3 months
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The Gateway
"I need an icon, an image of my God(s), it's $300 I can't afford it."
Hold up.
Just... hold up.
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Go out into the world.
Yes, leave your computer. I believe in you.
Go outside, and walk as far as you need to walk, until you find: a rock.
What kind of rock? It's not for me to say. A small rock, a big rock, a jagged rock or a smooth rock, a beautiful rock, a rock only a mother could love -- the kind of rock is entirely up to you, and you will pick this rock from all the rocks because it calls to you and says "I am the rock". Trust me. It will happen. No, not… not verbatim. It's a vibe. There are no talking rocks in this equation.
TL;DR: a rock.
Take that rock home.
You're going to need some limited supplies and procedures.
First, you're going to want to wash your rock. Get all that dirt off of it, make it as clean as a little rock can be, though a little bit of dirt is certainly not going to be a dealbreaker. It's just a good idea not to bring a bunch of outdoor dirt inside unless you have intimate knowledge of the area the rock was in. Dirt may have more than just "earth" in it. In addition, I would recommend purification. Bury the dry rock in salt or clean sand for the next 24 hours before bringing it "into service" on your shrine or altar setup.
Second, you're going to need writing or painting implements. This could be a pen (if you feel it can actually, successfully write on your rock), a sharpie (very good for writing on rock), or paint! But if you're like me and can't paint in a straight line to save your soul, don't worry, use whatever you can use to write on this rock. I recommend steering clear of the color red in terms of paint and ink when thinking about my own Kemetic practice, but if your personal practice has no holds barred in terms of color selection, I am certainly not going to be a person to stop you.
Next, you're going to need a word, set of words, or phrase. Often, the word or words is going to be the name of the Deity you are trying to represent, but it could easily be something else if you feel so moved to go in a different direction. I am not teaching you how to be a cookie-cutter magician here, I am encouraging you to navigate your life and your choices on your own; but, for the basic guidance, a name is certainly sufficient. It's important to note that this name needs to be one you understand. Writing is one of the most powerful forms of magic in this universe, but if what you are writing is meaningless to you, you are losing a functional amount of this power because you are putting a lot of energy into basic comprehension. Choose a language or symbolism for the name you will be writing that holds meaning to you within your own mind and your own heart. You should see this name, these words, or this symbol or set of symbols, and immediately feel your Deity within the moment you see it and within yourself. It should be recognizable at a glance every single time. If you want it to be extra special in another language (particularly one of ancient origin), you want to ensure you comprehend it in this one-glance way. You should not have to sit and think and remind yourself "What does this mean". Instant recognition is what you are looking for.
Finally, you are going to paint or write this name, phrase, symbol or set of symbols, onto your rock, and while you are writing, you are going to be putting your energy in the form of 'intent' into this creation. There are a lot of ways you can do this. You could be thinking of the Deity in question while you do the decorative aspect of this project. You could be playing music, you could be singing, you could be chanting, you could be reciting a phrase or poem or set of words that holds meaning between you and your Deity. What is important is that you focus your intents into the writing of your Deity's symbolism whereby that rock is the focus point of this intent, and that rock in turn becomes your intent.
Yes, it's true: this simple, lowly rock, will be your icon, and it will be just as if not more effective than any other store-bought icon you could have possibly found on the internet because of the process you are undertaking now. Because it isn't about how closely your icon resembles your Deity. It isn't about how much money you've spent on your iconography, either. It isn't about new materials or old materials, it isn't about one person's interpretation or spelling of a name or another, it isn't about one particular kind of phrase or the exact words of a spell or chant or song. You do not need to spend $100, $300, $2,000 on a shrine icon, because the point of a shrine or altar or ritual icon is not what it looks like or who crafted it or what materials went into it.
The purpose of a shrine icon is all about:
Representation
Intent
Focus
Energy
Connection
Bond
And as you impart your focus and your intent, coupled with one of the most powerful forms of magic -- writing, you are creating and inscribing and imbuing a representation and embodiment of the Deity you follow, issuing a bond between you, Them, and that object that cannot easily be broken. This icon is going to be with you, on your shrine or altar or in your ritual setup, representing the powerful presence of your Deity and giving you a focus point for your communication, intention, energy, and direction.
Once completed, this icon should be treated with the same dignity and respect you would treat any altar or shrine icon that is representative of a Deity. You should keep it relatively clean, decently protected from harm or accident, in a purified state (which can include re-doing the salt or sand purification if needed), packed with care when moving, and deprecated in an appropriate manner if you will no longer be using it (probably a post for another time).
This is no longer just a rock.
This is a gateway, that you have created, and the bounds are limitless.
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oddmawd · 3 hours
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Hello! I just wanted some clarification as to why earning some income off of fanfiction is this horrible unethical act.
Do fanarts and zines also apply under this copyright infringement and if so, why are those works allowed to make some profits but not fanfiction? To me it seems like a double standard, especially because I seriously doubt anyone making either fanart or fanfic are claiming that the characters and story are their own original works. Blatant plagiarism and profiting from it is one thing but receiving some income because someone really likes a fan work is another.
I understand that in extreme cases, authors can sue, like you mentioned Anne Rice but in most cases, the authors tend to be chill with fanworks? They know it encourages engagement and hell, some of those big scary publishing companies that you seem to be wary of actually scout fan artists and writers to bring on board for their next projects.
And it's not brought up often in these arguments but Anne Rice herself became lenient towards fanfics of her original work in the last couple years before her death, even apologizing for her behavior then.
So while I understand the concern for lawsuits, I just don't see how writers and artists are "late stage capitalist dicks" for earning an income off fanworks that are clearly stated and implied to be the original works of the author and not their own.
typically i'm a "never assume malice where ignorance can serve as an explanation" kinda person, but YEESH, it's hard not to perceive hostility in this one boys, here's why:
1) i never called writers and artists "late stage capitalist dicks," and putting that phrase in quotes to make it seem like i did tells me you're not here for productive communication...that intentional misquote showcases either a blatant attempt at weaponizing intellectual dishonesty OR a lack of reading comprehension on your part, one i doubt i can correct through anonymous tumblr asks
2) "why are fanzines allowed but fanfics are not?" presupposes what you think my position on the matter must be, but i haven't expressed my opinion on fanzines, let alone voiced a double standard in favor of them...this is (once again) a blatant attempt at putting words in my mouth and/or a complete misread, intentional or otherwise, of what i actually stated...and in fact i said in a comment that fanart ALSO exists in a legal gray area, so you didn't do your research very thoroughly if those are the words you're trying to put in my mouth (solid attempt tho, 6/10)
3) i ALSO didn't call anything unethical, as you claimed in your comically hyperbolic opening line...i called selling fanwork illegal. morality and legality are not the same thing, so whether your mistake regarding the differences between legality and morality is the product of ignorance or malice, the fact remains that it's yet another blatant misread of what i said, good job there buddy, you're batting a thousand
i could dig further into the bad-faith rhetoric oozing from that ask (the sheer hyperbole and melodrama of it + the litany of loaded questions are an immediate sign it wasn't sent in good faith), but i think i've made my point LMAOOOOOO...but to sum up, i have very little interest in engaging with you when you're talking in SUCH bad faith and with such an antagonistic tone...you're misrepresenting SO MUCH so blatantly and with such confidence, it gives me zero confidence in your desire to actually learn or explore these very interesting issues...you just wanna argue and twist my words, and i'm not gonna enable that bad behavior by giving you more to twist
but look bruh, i get it: you're feeling defensive over a comment about being careful about monetizing fanwork, and you took a post about the concept of capitalism and its impact on the arts so personally you confused comments made about capitalism itself for comments about you as a person...but this hostility is NOT a commensurate reaction to what i said and i'm shocked you think otherwise, and if you want to have this conversation, we can...but only once you learn to argue respectfully
TL;DR: i doubt your ability to engage in good faith so i'm not going to respond earnestly, as it'll be a waste of my time...reread my posts after you've had time to release this defensive energy...engage with what i said, not with what you THINK i said...have a nice night and best of luck to you
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Tbh the reason AI can't replicate reality in a realistic way is simply because you can't recreate reality. You can simulate reality, sure. But to properly recreate reality isn't possible. The reason that is is because there are no lines in real life. Images are made up of pixles and real life is made up of billions of hyper-complicated things. I can very easily see the distance of the doll on my desk to the wall. Can I tell you *what* the distance is? No, but I can see how far the doll is from the wall. Computers can't do that. They think in numbers as they are forced to decipher *flat* images. To get an AI to create an even semi realistic reality would be ung_dly expensive because you would have to teach the AI using real life distance and form, not just letting it calculate how far or what form is what from a flat image. But again, cameras can't see distance and form in the same way human eyes do. Cameras can only capture a flat image and have to decipher through said flat image. AI doesn't understand the complexities of how things move, look, or even sound because it can't look at it the way a pair of eyes could. I *know* how much I have to extend my arm to touch something, because I can see how far away it is. I know where my posters begin and end, not because of *just* a color difference or hue change, but because I can *see* exactly where they end. Computers will never be able to replace artist, maybe in the mainstream industry BUT they are still going to have to hire real artist to make their content because AI can't produce exactly what you want because it can't think like a human brain. There are companies who've tried to use AI to replace certain aspect and it's proved to be so frustrating that these animators are forced to reanimate the ai work, because it just *isn't* what they wanted or need for the project.
AI assistant tools can certainly be helpful to artists, especially in the industry. But the fat cats in Hollywood already know they can't *actually* get rid of us, because their silly robots just don't do it right.
all of this is true yes and I think moreso even without questioning the reality of human perception there is just the fact that ai doesn’t think in the same way a conscious being does. text algorithms don’t generate compelling (or, let’s be real, comprehensible) narratives because they work by stringing together words one by one — every singular word is followed by the most likely next singular word based on whatever database the model is using. ai can’t write unique characters or dialogue or even navigate most plot holes because it doesn’t have a memory of what it’s said beforehand and even if it did it wouldn’t have a larger context to place its writing within
the same goes for image algorithms. sure, an ai can give you can approximation of a knight, but the armor is going to be completely nonfunctional if you examine it even a bit. an ai can give you a room with the prettiest color palette in the world, but there’s also going to be a hole in the ceiling with a branch going through it because it doesn’t understand the concept of skylights beyond knowing vaguely what they look like. regardless of whether or not what it’s doing counts as “thinking” (though I do think there’s a pretty clear answer to that), what ultimately matter is that an ai is incapable of thinking critically. you can give an image algorithm a prompt like “add flowers in foreground” yes but you’re never going to succeed with a prompt like “follow the laws of physics”
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pcttrailsidereader · 19 days
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Trash on the Trail -- What's Out There
Bandages, balloons, bullet casings: Here’s how much trash is on the Pacific Crest Trail
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A pair of environmental scientists who thru-hiked the trail last year conducted the largest known and most comprehensive survey of litter on the Pacific Crest Trail. Illustration by Sophie D'Amato/The Chronicle from No Trace Trails elements.
Their findings reflected my own perception of trash on the PCT. The litter I have encountered does seem to be concentrated around highway crossings, campgrounds, trailheads, and high-use areas with easy road access. The issue of toilet paper along the trail is a more complicated issue . . . one that seemingly combines awareness, behavioral change, and some infrastructure support.
ByGregory Thomas and Harsha Devulapalli
Roughly 1 million people per year venture onto the wild and scenic Pacific Crest Trail, the 2,650-mile hiking route that winds through the West Coast’s soaring mountain ranges between Mexico and Canada.
That includes hikers out for a day in the woods, backpackers on multiday trips and thru-hikers seeking to conquer the whole thing in one long trek. Inevitably, some of those nature lovers leave behind micro-trash and bits of plastic litter. No one has sought to quantify the impact of trash on the trail — until now.
A pair of environmental scientists who thru-hiked the trail last year conducted the largest known survey of litter on the PCT, providing a sharp look at the kinds of materials people leave on the trail, in what concentrations, and where. The project was carried out, mile by mile, by Tori McGruer, 29, who holds a doctorate in environmental toxicology, and Macy Gustavus, 25, who holds a master’s degree in watershed sciences.
Here’s what they found.
A look at a few of McGruer and Gustavus’ findings
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Graphic by Sophie D'Amato/The Chronicle from No Trace Trails elements
© OpenMapTiles© OpenStreetMap contributors
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McGruer and Gustavus started their journey in March 2023 in Campo (San Diego County), near the Mexican border, the launchpad for northbound thru-hikers. They’d secured $16,000 in funding through grants and partnerships, quit their jobs and hit the trail.
From the get-go, they found significant concentrations of litter — bottle caps, gum wrappers and rubber fragments.
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Over the next six months, McGruer (right) and Gustavus hiked the full 2,650-mile trail, which crosses the High Sierra and the Cascade Range, to the Canadian border. They cataloged — and usually collected — more than 1,000 pieces of trash. They found lots of snack wrappers, used toilet paper, Band-Aids and cigarette butts as well as novelties like Mylar balloons, a spent shotgun cartridge and a rusty horseshoe.
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The researchers surveyed 1-kilometer segments of trail at 10-mile intervals — a total of 260 survey areas ● (a rate of about 2-3 per day). Each hiker scoped for litter on her respective side of the trail to a distance of about 6 feet from its center.
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They handled trash objects with plastic salad tongs for sanitary reasons and deposited them into waterproof stuff sacks, “so if there was something gross we could put it in there and not worry about it leaching out,” McGruer said.
Certain heavy or cumbersome items, like pieces of an abandoned car, were cataloged but left on the trail. They categorized each item using Rubbish, a mobile app that helps users organize and geolocate litter in open spaces.
So, the dirtiest stretch of the entire trail?
A long segment bookending the San Gabriel Mountains on the outskirts of Los Angeles was the dirtiest of the entire PCT, presumably due to its proximity to a major metropolis. One-third of all the trash the researchers logged during their trip came from this region.
A few survey areas there contained hundreds of litter items. However, the researchers set a 100-item maximum when counting litter in a given survey area. When they hit that threshold, they believed they could extrapolate the trash concentration with reasonable accuracy, they said.
Mylar Balloons
Those shiny, metallic, helium-filled balloons are remarkably durable and capable of floating long distances. Strangely, they are winding up in remote wilderness areas at a rate that is concerning to biologists, as the Chronicle has recently reported.
McGruer retrieved several of them in the Southern California desert — one stuck in a patch of bushes, another submerged in a river. Survey aside, she made it a personal mission to remove the ones she found.
“One day I had like three partially inflated ones attached to my pack and someone passing us on the trail said ‘happy birthday’ to me,” she said.
The researchers found trash in about 60% of the 260 survey zones, meaning 40% contained no discernible litter. The hot spots along the trail tended to correlate with areas of easy access and high human traffic like highway crossings, campgrounds and day-use areas.
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Brian Feulner/Special to the Chronicle
Many of the zero-trash areas were in remote mountain regions like Northern California’s High Sierra and Washington’s Cascade Range, where few people set foot.
That finding tracks with the experience of Jack Haskel, trail information manager for the Pacific Crest Trail Association, which maintains the trail on behalf of the U.S. Forest Service.
“Much of the trail is pretty pristine regarding trash but you do find hot spots where there’s a lot of it,” he said.
The most common trash materials found were: soft plastics, such as bits of bar wrappers or cuts of duct tape; hard plastics like water bottles and broken trekking pole baskets; brass bullet casings; paper shreds and used toilet paper; cigarette butts; and miscellaneous fragments.
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In many instances, researchers encountered single pieces of stray trash, one at a time. But sometimes they’d find dozens of pieces of litter linked to a single event. For instance, in the backcountry of Shasta County they found 50 or more strands of tree-flagging tape used by foresters scattered on the ground.
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What’s that?
In some cases, differentiating rubbish from natural ground materials was challenging. Identifying and classifying objects required four of the five senses — sight, smell, touch and, at one point, taste.
Unsure about the makeup of a smooth chunk of translucent detritus they found in the dirt –— was it plastic? glass? a natural mineral? — Gustavus popped it into her mouth and bit down. Glass, she decided.
“That’s not common,” Gustavus said. “I don’t encourage people to do that.”
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Toilet paper
Used toilet paper left along the trail — half-buried, stuffed under a rock, clinging to bushes — is the PCT’s single, stand-out trash problem, according to Haskel of the Pacific Crest Trail Association. It is a gross, unsightly bane of trail rangers and volunteer stewards. The trash researchers found a lot of it — particularly in the northern states.
“In Oregon and Washington there was toilet paper everywhere,” McGruer said. “I was like, what is happening?”
In lieu of using a toilet, backpackers and hikers should bury their waste several inches deep in the ground, or use a wag bag and carry it out, and take their soiled toilet paper with them. Poop carries toxins and bacteria that, even when buried, can leach into nearby water sources and infect wildlife, Haskel said.
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Biodegradables
Sunflower seeds, pistachio and peanut shells, orange peels — the researchers found them scattered along the entire trail route, and seeing them drove Gustavus “absolutely insane.” Yes, they should technically break down over time, she said, but hikers shouldn’t feel free to dump them in the natural environment.
“It’s kind of a misguided principle,” Gustavus said. “That stuff does not belong out there.”
Pictured: Pistachio shells on the trail in the mountains of Washington State.
The pair completed their thru-hike in September 2023. McGruer (left) and Gustavus are shown here at the PCT's northern terminus in the remote mountains where Washington State meets Canada.
It’s important to note that many PCT users actively beautify the trail each year.
Local volunteer groups, rangers and backpackers are all known to pick up trash they encounter on their outings as a simple act of altruism. Also, eight years ago a pair of young men made it their mission to remove the junk they encountered during their thru-hike; they ended up with more than 700 pounds of stuff, including a mattress.
Extrapolating from their data, McGruer and Gustavus estimate there to be about 200,000 pieces of trash along the trail at any given moment. But that’s not to say the trail feels trashy, McGruer said.
“We frequently saw trash, but often there would be a small piece in one of our 1-kilometer surveys. You wouldn't register that as a ton of trash,” she said. “I think what our survey findings say is that people leave a trash footprint wherever we go with these materials that really don't break down in the environment.”
The survey project, which the researchers dubbed No Trace Trails, was supported by grant funding and financial backing through the Moore Institute for Plastic Pollution Research in Long Beach via the Richard Lounsbery Foundation in Washington, D.C., and the American Alpine Club.
McGruer and Gustavus are putting together a research manuscript for peer review. They’re also seeking funds to help analyze the microplastic content of a series of soil samples they collected during their hike.
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Sarah “Mountain Goat” Steinbauer from Austria hikes the Pacific Crest Trail near Quincy (Plumas County) on June 19, 2023. The heavy snowfall in the Sierra Nevada that year created special challenges for thru-hikers along the PCT. Brian Feulner / Special To The Chronicle
Credits
Reporting by Gregory Thomas. Reporting and graphics development by Harsha Devulapalli. Editing by Yoohyun Jung and Kate Galbraith. Design, development and illustration by Sophie D'Amato. Design editing by Alex K. Fong. Visuals editing by Ramin Rahimian. Powered by the Hearst Newspapers DevHub.
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camp-counselor-life · 2 months
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What does the future hold for GS?
So I've been thinking about what the future is going to look like in Girl Scouting. And, while I imagine this will be a gradual shift, it's already happening. So here are my predictions for the next 10, 20, 50 years, below the cut because it is loooooong:
This is in no particular order because tumblr isn't letting me reorder stuff:
More multilevel troops - we're really seeing this in my council, but in a lot of areas single grade troops are a thing of the past. I don't think I know any in my council right now. I think we'll also see more demand for multilevel badges and Journeys, especially for Cadette and older (yes we miss the IPs).
More demand for progression building badges - GSUSA prides itself in Girl Scouting's progression, which is seen in some places but not in others. For example, it's seen in Safety Activity Checkpoints, with Girl Scouts getting more and more options available, and in travel, where you're supposed to start with an indoor overnight, then a one night activity, etc. However, a lot of the badges do not have that sort of progression. Some, like robotics, sort of do (although often they're super similar to each other OR lack the background needed for older girls they assume already earned the DBJ version and remember it), but others that are in the same series have little to do with each other (looking at you, Science of Happiness going with Home Scientist) and don't really provide the opportunity to build skills the way the Try-its, badges, and IPs I grew up with did. I think there will be more of a demand for all level badge themes, such as horseback riding, paddling, and specific types of arts and crafts.
More diversity in programming - this means programming beyond badges, programming beyond Journeys. I think that we're starting to see this, and some may say that this is the duty of other youth-serving organizations, schools, or parents, but I think that demand will by far outpace this argument. There's already a huge push for more outdoor/camp, so I think that will continue as well.
More demand for accessible outdoor programming - this means two things. One, it means accessible to those with disabilities, from better inclusion of autistic youth to making facilities more physically accessible (this is a huge debate in camping as a whole rn). Two, it means that it needs to be accessible in other ways, such as financially accessible, locally accessible, and ease of use.
Better badge resources - right now, a lot of supplemental badge resources are developed by councils, so they're very hodge-podge. GSUSA has made some starts, but lacks a comprehensive plan for supporting badges, especially more technical or challenging badges, or older GS badges. The VTK is a start, but tbh it sucks in both content and functionality, so GSUSA will need to do some serious overhauls of their resources in order to make things usable.
No more Journeys - Sorry, I do not think that Journeys will last the test of time, especially with the way they're formatted now. Troop leaders hate them, because they are challenging in a lot of ways, so there's a huge demand for council to run them, and like, they are not meant for a one and done Journey in a Day format. There's also the Take Action Project, which I feel is not part of a proper progression with how they dump new Daisy leaders in with similar guidelines as Seniors.
More emphasis on non-troop leader volunteering - this varies a ton between councils, and my council is in the infancy of developing non-troop volunteering (which is actually my job lol). But I think that less and less people are looking for the kind of volunteering required to be a troop or service unit volunteer, so there will be a greater demand from volunteers for short term or low commitment volunteer positions. I see this especially coming from young alums, but honestly for anyone looking for an organization emphasizing female empowerment without devoting hours upon hours to its service.
More emphasis on short term troop volunteering - again, people don't have unlimited time and bandwidth for leading a troop year after year. Having a short term opportunity, especially for young alums, college students, and busy professionals, will be an important way to increase volunteers and have Girl Scouts continue.
More non-parent volunteers - I think that this goes with the whole "millennials" aren't having kids trend. Right now, non-parent volunteers are an outlier, and sometimes treated like they're weird or creepy for wanting to work with kids that aren't their own. Grandparents, aunts, cousins, sure. Young alums without kids are acceptable. But just random adults who want to help? What are your qualifications and who "hired" you? Developing pathways for non-parents to volunteer with GS is definitely needed.
More embracing of gender diversity in Girl Scouting - this does not mean I think they'll allow in boys, but I do think they'll need to at least adapt to nonbinary participants, volunteers, and staff, because troops are already doing it and GSUSA has not caught up. It puts councils in an odd position, because leaders are doing one thing, GSUSA has been putting off commenting on gender stuff since 2020, and councils are in the middle, making up their own guidelines.
What are your predictions?
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bizarrequazar · 3 months
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GJ and ZZH Updates — January 14-20
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This is part of a weekly series collecting updates from and relating to Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan.
This post is not wholly comprehensive and is intended as an overview, links provided lead to further details. Dates are in accordance with China Standard Time, the organization is chronological. My own biases on some things are reflected here. Anything I include that is not concretely known is indicated as such, and you’re welcome to do your own research and draw your own conclusions as you see fit. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or additions. :)
[Glossary of names and terms] [Masterlist of my posts about the situation with Zhang Zhehan]
01-14 → Possible hexagon ring sighting.
01-15 → Net-A-Porter posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.
→ 361° posted a commercial featuring Gong Jun. (1129 kadian, 51129 with the date.)
→ GXG posted six photos ads featuring Gong Jun.
→ Gong Jun's studio posted a behind the scenes video of the GXG photoshoot. Caption: "Freeze and relax, feel the leisurely spring in advance. @ Gong Jun Simon enjoys every moment of the rhythm~"
→ Elle magazine posted a teaser of their photoshoot with Gong Jun that would be released the following day. Caption: "The New Year brings the 'dragon', and the new year brings the 'beauty'. The cover of the new issue is about to be revealed."
01-16 → Elle posted their photoshoot of Gong Jun. Caption: "The shooting location is in a building decorated in artistic style. The porch has been decorated early with the festive atmosphere of the New Year. The lawn in front of the door is still green and full of the vitality that is rare in winter. At 6 o'clock in the evening the night before, @ Gong Jun Simon was still working on set. After finishing work, he rushed to Shanghai. After getting up early, he had to rush to attend a New Year's Eve party after filming. He won’t have a holiday tomorrow for New Year’s Day, but will go back to the set and continue filming. Looking back further, last year at this time he was also preparing for a New Year's Eve performance and joined the group the next day. 'It's good not to have a holiday,' he said. There was a sense of urgency in his words, as well as a sense of eagerness to try. 'I just hope that every project will be filmed smoothly and new projects will start filming as soon as possible.' Why is he so serious about pursuing a career. 'I have to do it well this year and try to use my time as much as possible.'"
→ Gong Jun posted six photos from the Elle shoot. Caption: "In the first year of the new era, let's have fun together." He also posted nine to his Xiao Hong Shu, caption: "Send 30 million red packets 🧧🧧🧧 Be healthy, be happy, be rich" and nine to his Instagram, caption: "Spring festival is coming!!! 🏮🧧🐲!"
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→ Elle posted a video of their photoshoot featuring Gong Jun. Caption: "This year @ Gong Jun Simon has launched a 'World Favourites' section, where he publishes travel p-logs from time to time. On the one hand, he wants to record the scenery he has seen, the food he has eaten, and the interesting things he has seen. On the other hand, he wants to share what he has seen and heard with everyone, so that they can see the world he has seen through his records. In these travel p-logs, the photos and layout are all his own ideas. Gong Jun is a person with a strong desire to share. He hopes to pass on the happiness in life to others so that everyone can feel this happiness together. Of course, this is also a process in which he magnifies the happiness he feels."
→ Gong Jun's studio posted a behind the scenes video of the Elle shoot. Caption: "Have a far-reaching inner rhyme and bring auspiciousness to the East. @ Gong Jun Simon is enjoying the fun of the New Year."
→ Gong Jun's studio posted fifteen photos from the Elle shoot. Caption: "The fiery national colours outline the oriental charm, and @ Gong Jun Simon writes the warmth of the New Year."
→ Gong Jun's studio posted a douyin of footage from the Elle photoshoot. Caption: "Gong Jun inherits the past and traces the present, and absorbs the meaning of Chinese style. @ Gong Jun Simon interprets the modern style of the New Year with a pioneering attitude."
→ PRSR posted a promotional video spoken by Gong Jun.
01-17 → Gong Jun posted a promotional video he did for Deeyeo.
→ Kinokuniya Tokyo responded to whalers' injuries about stocking the Zhang Sanjian photobook, saying that they have been unable to contact the suppliers. They later posted an update that they have no plans to pursue this further.
→ PRSR posted a video (flashing lights cw) of their photoshoot with Gong Jun.
→ Fresh posted a photo ad announcing that Gong Jun would be appearing in a livestream the following day.
01-18 (Candy shower!!! 🍬) → Gong Jun posted a screenshot of the song 南京恋爱通告 (Nanjing Love Announcement) by Galaxy Express to his Instagram. Caption: "Good morning!" Fan Observations: - For the significance of Nanjing, see [here]. - This is only the second time that Gong Jun has posted a song to his Instagram since 813, and the first time that he has done so with it being the only thing in the post. Prior to 813, he posted songs quite often. - The song lyrics include the line "Sunrise on top of the purple-gold mountain," reminiscent of the golden mountain photos Gong Jun posted on 2022-12-17 which many people believe showed Zhang Zhehan from behind.
→ Gong Jun appeared on a livestream for Fresh, hosted in Nanjing. [full recording] Fan Observations: - He wore a jacket with a gold hexagon pattern. - One activity involved drawing images associated with words. For Nanjing, he drew a heart. 🥺 - He mentioned the song he had posted earlier, saying that he had found it a while ago and had been wanting to share it.
→ Gong Jun's studio posted eight photos from the Fresh livestream. Caption: "The carved jade dragon glows with vitality, and the veil and gold layer create the beauty of the new year. @ Gong Jun Simon feels pure in the momentum of soaring. I wish everyone a happy Laba Festival and prosperity with the dragon in 2024!"
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→ Gong Jun posted four selfies. Caption: "Today is Laba, so it's time to post selfies!" Fan Observation: The hoodie and pose that he's doing in them is very reminiscent of photos he posted on 10-31-2022, the anniversary of the One Night in Nanjing, which are in turn reminiscent of selfies Zhang Zhehan had once posted. [comparison]
→ PRSR posted a commercial featuring Gong Jun. The later also posted a photo ad.
→ Fresh posted five photos of Gong Jun from the livestream.
→ Yang Yang posted two photos of himself and Gong Jun from the livestream.
01-19 → Net-A-Porter posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.
→ PRSR posted two behind the scenes videos [1] [2] (flashing lights cw for both) of their photoshoot with Gong Jun.
01-20 → The Instagram posted a video of "Zhang Zhehan".
Additional Reading: → N/A
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cts-ryu-writing-desk · 8 months
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She's My Boss
I wrote this one a while back. I was so wrapped up in finishing Maternoween on a tight schedule that I have been neglecting to post this one. So now that the project is finished I am getting to posting some of my new ones. Enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~
"You coming out with Ethan?" A man's voice rang out of the receiver
A young man was sitting in a dark office room illuminated by his computer screen. "Sorry guys. My boss has been riding me about finishing these quarterly reports before Monday," 
"Dude she's working you to death, tell her to go fuck herself," Ethan's friend said over the receiver
"You know I can't, I need this job" Ethan replied
Ethan's friend let out a loud groan, "Ugh fine. But you're coming out with us tomorrow shitbag. No bailing," his friend hung up
Ethan let out a sigh hanging up his office phone. He remembered eight months ago when he had just shown up for his first day of work. A blonde woman named Debbie who worked in human resources met him in the lobby and brought him to the nineteenth floor. To a sales firm, the Office of Bryton & Donahue. Being handed it over to the receptionist who then handed him off to the team lead and led him on over to his work area. Mr. Bryton had come over to introduce himself. He happily welcomed Ethan to the company. Mr. Bryton was a nice bald man, around his early fifties. Ethan liked his friendly nature.
Until Ethan met Mr. Bryton’s partner, Trisha Donahue. She was a tall woman, towering over Ethan’s five-foot-two self. She was curvaceous, with an hourglass figure with such plump features. Big breasts that bounced subtly with each step of her stride, with her big hips swaying in a hypnotic curve. Trisha looked like a cougar, the kind of woman Ethan had masturbated to rather frequently. With a fiery temper to boot. Trisha knew what she wanted and expected her employees to follow through with it. After all, someone doesn’t become the leading business partner by being nice all the time. Bryton was the Charm and she was the Whip. 
He came over to Ethan, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” She shouted at him and Mr. Bryton. “Don't just stand around looking like an idiot! Get your ass to work! I don’t pay people to stand around and do fucking nothing!” She shouted louder storming over to him.
“Trisha he just started, I was giving him a proper welcome and making sure everything's set.” Mr. Bryton told her casually
“I don’t care! This isn’t an art gallery! Don’t just stand around!” Trisha turned back and stormed away. 
Ethan got sight of her swaying hips. Her fat ass was quite the distraction. And such an exciting thing. Ethan quickly turned away and sat in his cubicle facing his computer. Mr. Bryton saw this and came over to him, “Look don’t worry about her. She can be a bit of a hardass sometimes but she means well.”
“Y-Yeah. It’s alright.” Ethan replied nervously
Mr. Bryton wished him luck and left. He left Ethan there alone with a few files and log-in notes. And a throbbing erection. Ethan tried to calm himself down. But it was quite a while before that throbbing hard-on finally went down. After it finally calmed down, took time to learn the ropes of his job. A few weeks later he felt he was doing so well on the job. But whenever Trisha was around, it was another story. Ethan just tried to stay quiet and keep up with the workload. 
That was until he had to work a crazy overnight shift. He was working hard trying to compile everything into a comprehensive report. That he was asked to do so his supervisor can focus on another project. It was due by the next morning. Sadly to say no one had started it before handing it off to him. One of those tasks was handed off near the end of the day, followed by the deadlines. Ethan worked well into the night, the last time he was aware it was nine-thirty at night. The janitor had already left for the night. The office was quiet and dark. Illuminated only by his glowing computer screen. Ethan was hunched over, his head in his hands. A loading bar wasn’t even twenty-five percent by that point. 
A string of texts from his friends showing off the party Ethan was missing out on. He closed out his texts. Let out an annoyed and frustrated sigh. He pulled out his phone, going straight to the internet. It opened up to a news page. Touching and entering a simple URL, he was sent to another webpage. With thumbnails of plump thick bodied women. Big curvaceous women; with large breasts and some with big cellulite hips. The banner and name on the website in big bold letters read BBWCougars.xxx. Ethan was logged into his account on the site. Pressing on his favorites tab. Scrolling down and picking one of the dozens of videos that he had favourited. 
Figuring no one else was around, he simply let it play loudly echoing through the empty office. Undoing his pants and letting everything slide down to his ankles as he stored his long thin cock in his hand. It was enticing, his heart was racing, letting out little moans of enjoyment. He was getting closer, as the video reached its climaxing end. He didn’t hear the footsteps behind him. 
It was Trisha, a look of disgust, she was ready to confront him. That’s when Ethan blew his load. He was pent up, and boy could he fire a load. He threw himself as far back in the chair as he could. Blowing his load over him and right onto Trisha’s chest and chin. She didn’t say a word. Ethan slowly opened his eyes, seeing his white seed sticking out over his boss's black top. A horrible chill washed over him. Trisha just looked at him, the scene of him trying to get up suddenly. She stormed off, he tried to apologize profusely but it was too late. She stormed away. “Fuck, I’m gonna get fired,” he murmured to himself.
The next morning, around when Ethan was supposed to go into the office he simply stood in the lobby debating on running away. Just avoid going in at all today. Eventually and slowly making his way up to the nineteenth floor. Ethan kept himself on high alert. From what he could notice, nobody was saying anything. Or nothing that would or did sound suspicious. His ID card gave him access to the office. Maybe he was fine, or maybe this was all part of her plan, humiliate him in front of the office. Trisha’s secretary came over, “She wants to speak with you in her office.”
“Now…?” Ethan asked nervously
“Yes. Now.” the secretary said
Ethan went right over. His heart was racing. This was it. This was the moment he was getting fired. Trisha sat there looking at her monitor. “Shut the door,” she said sternly
Ethan did as he was told.
“Sit down,” Trisha ordered him
Ethan’s body was shaking. This was the moment he was getting fired. She cleared her throat, her eyes fixed on him. “Do you know why I called you in here?”
“Y-yes ma’am,” Ethan replied nervously
“About your behavior last night, and that mess you made on me, I should fire you right now.”
Ethan clenched up.
“The real question is why shouldn’t I?” Trisha shot at him
Ethan looked down, trying to think of something to say. He stood up shaking nearly in tears. He was scared. He knew he would have to beg for his job. “You’re fired,”  Ethan knew the words were coming any second now.
Trisha didn’t hesitate, “Pants off. Now,” she told him
Ethan was thrown for a loop at that moment. She got up and went right over to him. Forcing his pants down. He was perplexed. Ethan’s cock however, after feeling a woman’s touch, was not confused and easily stood firm and fully erect. Trisha wrapped her hand around it. It was warm. He whimpered a little. As she pumped his shaft up and down. It was like a dream. He wanted to say something. It was all happening so fast. “Hmmm. Not a two-pump chump at least” Trisha murmured to herself
She let go. Ethan’s heart was racing. “I won’t fire you, not yet anyways.”
“Huh?” Ethan let out
Trisha stood up in front of him, his cock left out in the open. "If you can make me orgasm before the end of the lunch today I won't fire you,"
Ethan's eyes shimmered in disbelief, and he started to drool. His cock was so hard and throbbing that it hurt. Trisha headed over to her chair 
Legs spread as she leaned back. He went in without hesitation taking in every bit of the experience the feeling of her warm thighs, the smell of her pussy, and even the feeling of her untamed forest of pubes as he moved her panties to one side. Burying his face into her fupa, letting his tongue explore. He was going at it vigorously burying his face deeper, to explore further. She could feel his lips and tongue exploring, searching desperately for her clit. His search made her wet from his drool.
Her phone rang. She answered, figuring Ethan was nowhere close to making her so much as flinch. Fortunately, the distraction gave him the perfect opportunity to bury his face nose deep completely going to town. The analogy playing out in Ethan’s head was like a fat guy in a pie-eating contest. Face deep and her clit. Wrapping his arms around her big thighs bracing himself in place so she couldn’t force him off. Her body tensed up as he found her click licking it wildly with his tongue. Sucking on it, getting it onto his lips. She could even feel his teeth. She tried to keep her composure during the call. She put her hand on his head trying to force Ethan’s head away from her. Out of reach of her pussy. She tried to clench her legs, crushing his head between her thighs. Anything she could to get Ethan to stop for a moment.
Once she hung up the phone he came up for air. Her crotch was drenched. Ethan was panting rapidly for air. Eyes glossed over in a daze. She looked at him ready to scream out at him. Instead of screaming she had to stop him from going back in. “What the fuck is with this kid?”  What she heard next told her exactly the kind of guy she was dealing with.
“Give me more Mommy,” Ethan just let it fly out of his mouth in a sexually charged intoxicated state
She let him go back in against her better judgment. And of course, Ethan managed to get her to climax not letting up as she orgasmed all over his face. Burying himself deeper wanting to taste every bit of her as she came. As the weeks went on she would drag Ethan away pretending to be furious about something he had done in the office. The two of them would fool around: Sucking, fucking, and fingering whenever the mood came over Trisha. She even started inviting him over or picking him up on the weekend wanting him more.
Ethan couldn’t get enough of her. He was falling in love with her body and her taste. While being prepared as a good man should. She would pull off his condoms. “You won’t need those, there’s no way you're putting anything in there anyways” Ethan remembers telling him once. 
To be fair he couldn’t recall. He just remembers being more aggressive with his fucking. Her ass made ripples as he thrust into her. Slapping her ass with enough force to turn her cheeks red. He would fuck her regularly multiple times during the day like a jackhammer. Hardly ever slowing down. Insisting that he was going to knock her up. “I’ll fuck you so good you’ll just wanna get pregnant.”
She tried to ignore his obnoxious male stupidity. She just wanted more. More rough sex. Lots of hair pulling, spanking, and some deep creampies, among other rather inventive decadences. Getting drunk on sex, practically skipping out on days of work because the two of them were just fucking without any caution. There were times she found it hard to keep him away. Loving the stamina of the young horny. A man in the prime of his sexual life. And this was all just within a month of starting their rambunctious sexcapades. It was a wild time leading him to where he was now. He got up, left the dark room, and headed down the hall to the bedroom. “Ethan! Is that you?” Trisha called out
“Yes baby, Just had to make sure my last distraction, was taken care of,” He said walking into another room while undoing his tie.
Trisha sat there in a bright red silken lingerie nightgown. Her belly was swollen. Giving her a very gravid appearance. She traced her hand over her stomach. Ethan could see some of the stretch marks, from her various growth spurts. A sign showing how far she had progressed in her pregnancy. Ethan had a big smile on his face as he went over to her gently placing his hands on her baby bump. “We missed you,” Trisha said sheepishly
“I wasn’t gone that long.” Ethan chirped, “Plus I’m not missing out on some quality time with my girls.”
Trisha looked at him blushing, “I told you they’re not girls. They’re boys.”
Ethan chuckled, “Well maybe one. But I’m sure all three are gonna be girls,”
Trisha pouted, “God that would be a nightmare.” 
Ethan sat next to her reaching close to her to plant a big kiss on her. “Don’t worry baby. If they are all girls I promise we’ll make more,”
Trisha blushed. “I-I-No. Yes. God Ethan baby please- No. I’m sure I’ll hit menopause soon”
“All the more reason to get you pregnant again as soon as possible,” Ethan said with lust in his voice
Trisha’s face went bright red. She ran through her memories of the countless unhindered sex the two had. Saying she was fine, close to menopausal - yet he still managed to impregnate her. She truly loved the attention he would give to her. He was well attuned to her physical needs and desires. And despite being shorter, and thinner than she was he loved her body, and the fact that she was pregnant now making her look larger drove him wild. Trisha snapped back trying to compose herself. “Well, if you insist”
She opened her eyes seeing Ethan on one knee, a ring box in hand. Ethan had a big smile. Trisha teared up. She was in a swirl of emotions as she covered her mouth in shock and excitement.
“So, what do you say baby? Would you make me the luckiest guy?” Ethan asked her
Trisha wiped away her tears. “You stupid kid,” she murmured, “I think you know our answer.”
He stood up, as she held out her hand. He slid the ring onto her ring finger and it fit Trtisha’s ring finger perfectly. The two went in for a passionate kiss. Ethan held her baby bump gently. Feeling their babies kicking and moving around in there. Breaking the romantic moment only slightly.
“As much as you like me like this I’ll be glad when they’re not kicking my bladder every day.”
Ethan went down and kissed her bump. Tracing his hand. Whispering “Listen ladies, I know you don’t know this yet. But mommy’s in charge. Most of the time.” Ethan planted a kiss on her stomach, “Isn’t that right Boss Mama?”
Trisha rolled her eyes, “Not right now” she said curling her index finger to him in a gesture to come close as she tried to scoot further onto the bed. Ethan came over undoing his clothes, going in for one more exploration of Trishas thick M.I.L.F. body.
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