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isagisyoichi · 3 years

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PINKY STAR (RUN) :｡･:*:･ﾟ’★,｡･:*:･ﾟ’☆

SYNOPSIS: isagi as your boyfriend

CHARACTERS INCLUDED: isagi yoichi my boyfriend of many several years

WARNINGS: swearing? i think idk i forget also yah pretend they all go to the same school and stuff. also horribly self indulgent if u couldn't already tell

A/N: if you remember my old one delete it from your memory it was literally so bad help anyways the re-up because my boyfriend deserves better. also i really like this one and i feel like it’s more in character for him :P lol i've had this in my drafts for like, ever <3 but also my last post for a while because i have ap exams and my sat soon :P

FOR: the anon that asked me where my original isagi bf hcs went :’)

after the initial awkwardness of being in a new relationship fades and you two become comfortable with each other, a relationship with isagi would be like dating your slightly awkward best friend who you make out with sometimes.

like, i don’t really see isagi being high maintenance, so i feel like a relationship with him would definitely be on the relaxed side, but still romantic, you know?

isagi’s inner monologue is so funny and he definitely lets his thoughts out to you. it makes you laugh to see your usually friendly-to-all boyfriend have his moments, too.

you guys are one of those couples that give each other a look when someone’s doing something weird in public #telepathicconnection <3

but, isagi’s really such a sweetie with you. i know user isagisyoichi may be slightly biased when they say this, but believe me when i say that isagi’s 100% boyfriend material.

walks you to class whenever he can. always either holding your hand as he listens attentively to you complaining about school.

writes down things he feels are important about you in a digital note entitled “y/n 💗,” so he can remember them in the future.

isagi's used to talking to all kinds of people, so even if you're not the most talkative, he can adjust with no problem.

and he’ll always entertain you about whatever stupid conversation you wanna have.

kinda basic with pet names. babe, baby, dork (he would, i don’t wanna hear it), are his usual rotation.

randomly compliments you/says these really romantic things out of nowhere because he can’t control himself and often blurts things out.

“yeah, of course, when we get married, i’ll-”

“when we get married?” you inquire as you cut isagi off. you two have never discussed marriage, just but the thought of isagi wanting to spend the rest of his life with you is enough to make your head spin.

isagi’s eyes go wide when he realizes what he’s said. damn his mouth that moves faster than his mind.

swallowing hard and taking a breath, isagi says, “y-yeah, when we get married,” further affirming his statement with a nod, albeit a bit of a nervous one.

now both of you guys are flustered LOL.

likes to sit his head in your lap and have you play with his hair, while you two talk or just sit in silence.

such a good listener, perfect person to rant about anything with. he’s very understanding, he’ll hold you if you need him to, wipe your tears if you’re crying, give you advice if you need it, just overall so sweet.

also always knows when you're sad because of his intuition. isagi encourages you to open up to him, but ultimately doesn’t force you, just lets you know that he’s always there for you <3

(that's kind of lie because isagi does pry a little LOL, but he means well)

takes care of you! nags you a little, tries his best to make sure you're not doing anything stupid, and if you are, that someone responsible (him) is watching you, looks after you when you’re sick, etc.

gives you his jacket when you’re cold (he’s been waiting to do that his whole life bro LMAOO), carries your things, always texts you good morning and good night, just overall sooo good to you.

but as soft as he is for you, isagi does have this tendency to get these random spouts of confidence, so sometimes he’ll say or do something really bold out of nowhere.

like, he’ll suddenly grab your waist and pull you closer to him, or he’ll kiss you out of the blue. the flustered expression that rests on your face for a change always makes him smirk *heart eyes*

in general, though, isagi's still kind of awkward sometimes regardless and does say or do things that make you go "???" and make him be like "why did i do that" LOL he's so cute though <333

he’s pretty basic with dates, usually opts for things like restaurants, walks in the parks, movie nights, or stuff like that, but they’re still really fun!

but, if you ever want to do something out of the norm, he wouldn't be opposed to it, either. but, you do have to tell him ‘cause he's not a mind reader lol.

(okay but, one time, isagi tried to watch a scary movie with you because he wanted to do that thing where he wraps his arm around you during the scary parts, but HE ended up being scared instead 😭)

isagi’s the type to put your name with a heart emoji or the date you guys started dating in his instagram bio LOL

y/n 💓 IHS Forward #10 ⚽️ *insert some soccer quote about grinding*

it’s a bit middle school, but you let it slide because you know he just wants to show you off <3

study sessions are normal between you two but, you guys always get bored or distracted halfway through and start watching youtube or something LOL.

it’s canon he’s a thigh man lol, so if he ever sees you wearing an oversized shirt, especially one of his, with shorts, isagi will literally short circuit in real life.

he keeps his hand on your thigh when you guys cuddle that day, tracing patterns on your skin, or just squeezing it every now and then.

in general, though, isagi likes poking at and playing with them whenever they're out <3

once, isagi wanted you to do that trend on tiktok where he sits between your thighs and stuff, but he had no idea how to bring it up LOL

so, isagi just watched tiktoks of it in front of you and hoped eventually you would get the hint 🙄

and you did, thanks to his incredible lack of subtly. he doesn’t even care when you giggle and tell him how bad he is at being slick, isagi got your thighs around him, he won!!!!!!

takes a picture (or two or three) to savor the moment.

(even though he could literally just ask you to do it again in the future, but whatever, i guess)

when you’re dating isagi, the team comes with him too LOL

they’re always snapchatting you pictures of isagi when they’re hanging out without you, with stupid captions like, “look how sad your boyfriend is without you 😞”

isagi’s not even sad in the picture, he’s just confused as to why they’re shoving a camera in his face 😭

isagi one hundred percent attempts to get you to run the mile with him during gym if you don’t already.

“babe, just try!” isagi pants, as he catches up to you and your friends, as you guys are still on your second lap.

admittedly, the effort is cute, but beloved, i hate to break it to you- i will not be doing anything of the sort.

he will sit down or walk around with you after you finish the mile, though. if he’s not already playing soccer lollll.

when he does choose to go with you, expect exclamations from the team about how isagi “abandoned us for his little relationship” 👎

isagi’s receiving love language is words of affirmation (also basically canon LOL) so, he really values the compliments you give him with his whole heart.

you could tell him how his hair looks nice in the morning, and isagi will think about it all day.

whether it be about how cute he is, or how talented of a player he is, isagi really is happiest when you praise him <3

speaking of soccer, isagi has this tendency to get lost in the moment and talk your head off about some soccer related tangent that probably makes no sense to you.

his eyes light up and his voice is just oozing with passion for what he does as he goes into detail about how he made this crazy goal at practice while you stare at him with the biggest heart eyes ever, adoring his dedication.

and of course when isagi realizes he was rambling, he apologizes profusely for “boring” you, like the gentleman he is.

but when you reassure him that he could never bore you and that you want nothing more than for him to go on, isagi begins to feels lightheaded due to his adoration for you <3

if you're the type to go all out when it supporting isagi at soccer- like make one of those corny signs, yell from the crowd, wear his spare jersey to games, isagi will physically have to withhold his heart from jumping out his chest.

he's a little embarrassed that you're doing all that for him, but the effort means soooo much to him.

and speaking of soccer, it would mean a lot to isagi if you not only supported him at games and stuff, but expressed an interest in learning more about soccer as a whole, too.

you know, learn a little more about the game on your own accord, ask him to teach you how to properly play, or even challenge him to a one on one, do stuff like that, and he’ll literally be head over heels for you. well, more than he already is.

(he always goes easy on you on your guys 1v1's and he thinks your efforts are adorable, no matter how much you may or may not suck)

he'd repay the effort and try to get interested in whatever your hobbies are!

also, you can get him to do almost anything if you pout and beg hard enough, you’re literally so hard to say no to in isagi’s eyes <3

isagi’s the type to not realize when other people are flirting with him LOL

he just thinks they’re being nice (unless they’re being straight up) and i don’t think he would really process it because he’s so focused on you romantically, if that makes sense.

once he realizes you’re jealous, isagi apologizes earnestly, reassuring you over and over again that you're everything he could ask for and that he would never intentionally try to hurt you and all that jazz.

although, i will admit, sometimes isagi’s kinda smug when you're jealous, especially when it’s over a dumb reason 👎

however, when he’s jealous i feel like it could go one of two ways-

on normal days, isagi would just stand there to “intimidate” the other person, maybe cough a little for emphasis until they go away lol.

but on days where he’s already mad/filled with adrenaline/or someone’s really not taking a hint and you’re visibly uncomfortable- oh boy, it’s like a switch flips in him.

has those same fiery eyes he has during the climax of a game. the energy he’s exuding is dead serious, and that alone is enough for the person bothering you to go away. not bad for a man that’s only 5’8 🥰

adding on, isagi doesn’t take any shit about you, ever. even if it’s from his friends. usually isagi’s very neutral and doesn’t actively try to start conflict, but there are some things he’ll always defend and you’re one of them.

isagi always listens/watches/reads/etc whatever you recommend him (on that note, please recommend him good anime because isagi’s out here willingly telling people his favorite anime is darling in the franxx), even if he doesn’t necessarily like it LOL

you could show isagi objectively, the worst song ever and he would be like “yeah, it was good babe!” (it was not)

also does the same thing when you bring him shopping with you, like he's absolutely NO HELP 😭

you could try on the ugliest sweater known to man and he’d like “you look nice 🙂” pls be honest isagi, you can say it’s hideous!!!!!!

but isagi’s also being somewhat truthful in his statement because he does genuinely think you look nice in everything <3

also loves when you wear his clothes- always feels a mixture between pride and slight shyness?

kinda lol idk but overall, isagi really is sooo happy you wanna show him off that much, especially when you're wearing something of his around his friends :')

he says “i love you” first, no doubt.

he’s a bit nervous when he does because he doesn’t know if you’ll reciprocate, but he really does love you and he feels like he physically can’t hold it in anymore.

“i promise you don’t have to say it back!” isagi reassures anxiously. “i know it’s a really big commitment, and if it’s too early for you right now-”

“i love you, too.”

#queued #blue lock #bllk #blue lock x reader #bllk x reader #blue lock headcanons #bllk headcanons #isagi yoichi #isagi #isagi blue lock #isagi x reader #isagi yoichi x reader #isagi headcanons #isagi fluff #isagi imagine

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clumsyclifford · 3 years

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ok hello i absolutely love all ur fics, you’ve just got a certain quality in ur writing that is just… mmm. yeah so anyway, do you have any advice on how to improve or just how to write?? (especially fic cause personally i struggle with that more than original stuff??)

hello!! that is very kind of you to say thank you <3

advice on how to write. oh boy. oh man. well i can try. i will do my best. i will also try to be brief but we all know how that song goes

update from having finished answering this: alright. okay. this is not only long, but decidedly english teacher-y. i’m sorry that i am the way that i am. this is what you get for asking a leo for writing advice. am i joking? maybe. maybe not. anyway. this post got away from me in a big way so here’s a read more. warning: LONG post under the cut.

1. study your characters. for RPF like the band stuff i write, that literally means watching interviews, watching them perform, seeing how they interact with each other, picking up on their mannerisms (behavior) - what they do with their hands, if they repeat themselves or stutter when they talk, the quality of their voice when they're talking about different things, and so on. also keep track of things they mention a lot in interviews especially about each other - for example jack has mentioned before that alex has an annoying habit of twirling his hair when he zones out. that kind of thing. IMPORTANT NOTE!: you don’t have to use all of this information. just like studying for anything, you collect all the information you can and then you parse through it and use whatever you think will contribute or be relevant to your story.

2. remember that characters are people. or at least they’re representing people, which is an important distinction (see #3). still, considering that your characters are people can be a helpful way to get out of your head. see, characters are supposed to be archetypical, and fulfill a role, and say certain things in certain ways and never really deviate from that. but people are highly unpredictable and behave in random ways for random reasons and have thought processes that are unfathomable. people will just do fuckin’ whatever. if you’re worried that your characters aren’t behaving in a believable way, keep in mind that you’re trying to make your characters represent people, and people’s behavior is justifiable any number of ways. people just do shit.

3. remember that characters are not people. sike! no but seriously, this is just as important to remember. unfortunately, no matter how hard you try, characters are never going to be people. that’s a good thing for stories, though. characters can pick up on nuance in senses that people can’t - they can distinguish between different facial expressions, different smells, different sounds - BUT ONLY INSOFAR AS IT MOVES THE STORY ALONG. in other ways, characters are ridiculously oblivious. you can use this to your advantage. in fact, a lot of the time, you have to. if your character notices right away that someone is flirting with him, then you can’t write a 30k slow burn, for example. characters don’t do that thing humans do where they go “what?” but then halfway through the re-explanation they register what’s been said. pretty much everything characters say has meaning. (by this i don’t mean semantic meaning, i mean significance - characters don’t really just say “what?” because they didn’t hear what someone said, they say “what?” because they can’t believe it or they don’t understand it or they refuse to understand it. characters never seem to run into the didn’t-hear-them problem. must be nice.)

characters can do whatever you want or need them to do, because you’re in charge of them. (sometimes this doesn’t feel true - mine do all kinds of shit and i just have go “well alright then” - but it is true.) they are gears in a story. you decide when and how they turn.

4. dialogue is your friend. i am super super biased here, because i looove writing dialogue. if you talk to sam about this i’m sure she would say that description and narration are the ways to go. but you came to me, so i get to say that dialogue is god. i don’t want to say that dialogue is the only method of communication (i know nonverbal communication is real), but dialogue is the fastest and most effective method of communication, and by extension, the most effective way to advance relationships between characters. now. obviously there are exceptions. if characters are kissing, they’re probably not doing a lot of talking. if they’re trying to be undercover or discreet, they’re more likely to rely on gestures and facial expressions than speaking. if you’re writing a very peaceful scene, you might not want to undercut it by adding a lot of chit-chat. but i maintain that dialogue is the best way to move a story along, for a few reasons.

first, at least for me, too much description is just tiring. depending on how skillful the writer is (sam), i can read a fair amount before i hit my limit, but unlike in mean girls, the limit DOES exist. you don’t want to over-describe the world (see #5). second, i find that dialogue is a really really good indicator of a person’s character. this is especially true and relevant in fanfiction, which is a lot more character-driven than original fiction in many ways. also, in a sec i’m gonna talk about showing [not/and] telling, which is every english teacher’s bitch, but dialogue is a really good way of showing who a person is and also a good way to establish facts about the universe. you could just narrate and be like “Jack hated waking up early,” and that works and in many cases it’s perfectly legit. but you could also do something like this:

“What the fuck,” Jack mumbled, still half asleep. “You better have a really fucking good reason to be waking me up this early. Like someone better have fucking died.”

and sometimes that’s just a more fun way to say it. (for the record you can also show AND tell here! there’s no reason why you can’t have this line of dialogue and then a line in the narration confirming how very much jack is not a morning person!)

the last reason why i am particularly fond of dialogue is because i am also particularly fond of communication, which is a preference thing. let’s face it, guys: characters aren’t gonna communicate if they’re not literally actually talking to each other. dialogue means talking to each other. talking to each other means solving problems, fixing (or creating) conflicts, understanding each other better. i love communication, ergo, i love dialogue. And You Should Too.

5. describe the world, but don’t over-describe. i opened this fic earlier and it was like “jack was excited to wake up to go to his first class at the university of baltimore” and i just. i was like is this really relevant. do i really need to know this. and i never found out because i closed the fic but in my defense it was on wattpad and i had only opened it out of curiosity. look. there are three ways to use details in fic. (a) introduce them right away (b) introduce them when they become relevant or (c) don’t introduce them at all. let me give you some examples.

(a) say your character A (i’m using jack because i’m used to him) wakes up. he’s in his room in his house off-campus. character B (rian) walks into the room. this might be a good time to explain that rian is his housemate. to that point: “show not tell” is a good rule, but sometimes “show and tell” is just as good. e.g.:

Rian walks in, holding Jack’s Green Day shirt and looking irritated. That’s really nothing new; Rian looks irritated at Jack roughly once a day. Being housemates for a year will do that to a friendship.

boom, now you’ve let everyone know they live together without throwing it in their face, and you’ve also told everyone that these two guys are friends and have been friends for at least a year but probably longer. you showed it by having rian walking in holding jack’s shirt - usual housemate behavior - but you also told it in a subtle way that established the relationship and some kind of history between these two. well done.

(b) sometimes you want a certain detail to make an impact. this is the kind of thing you hold onto and don’t specify, and in certain cases you leave the reader wondering, “well what about x?” and then when you finally explain x they go ohhhhhhhhhh. yknow. the italicized oh. consider the following:

(A)

“Alex is in my bio class,” Rian says, referring to Jack’s ex-boyfriend of last year.

Jack frowns. “So? Why should I care?”

“He’s my lab partner,” Rian says. “I have to spend a lot of time with him.”

“I don’t care what you and Alex do,” Jack says. “But you should know he sucks at bio.”

Rian gives Jack a look. “First of all, that’s not true, he’s incredibly smart. And second, I’m telling you as a courtesy, because I thought you might not want your ex-boyfriend hanging around our house after he broke your fucking heart.”

(B)

“Alex is in my bio class,” Rian says.

Jack frowns. “So? Why should I care?”

“He’s my lab partner,” Rian says. “I have to spend a lot of time with him.”

“I don’t care what you and Alex do,” Jack says. “But you should know he sucks at bio.”

the only difference between these two excerpts (which i just wrote lol they’re not from anything real) is that the second one doesn’t explain who alex is right away. that makes it way more interesting when rian reveals who alex is a few lines later. magic.

(c) take this college au that we’ve established here. where does it take place, you ask? easy answer: it doesn’t matter. you don’t need to say what school they’re at. this will make your job easier, because then no one can fact check you, and it also means you don’t have to decide what school they’re at. but even if you do decide, it’s not usually necessary to say. believe me, you can go thousands of words without ever needing to specify what school they’re at. you know why? because it doesn’t matter. and no one cares. and as soon as you specify in canon that they’re at a particular school, you are bound to be accurate to everything that school does, and that makes your job way more difficult than it needs to be. as hazel once said, work smarter, not harder.

6. adverbs are also your friend. (yknow, words that describe verbs, typically ending in -ly, like “loudly” or “angrily” or “smoothly”.) ESPECIALLY when it comes to dialogue tags. (dialogue tags are the things you add to dialogue to say who’s talking and how they’re talking - like “he said” or “he whispered” or “he earnestly explained” or whatever). a lot of the writing advice you’ll see nowadays will usually guide you away from overusing dialogue tags other than the classic “says/said” and i STRONGLY concur with that advice. things like yelled, cried, mumbled, snapped - these are very good in moderation, when you’re really trying to emphasize the way a person is speaking. the more you use them, the less impact they have. in most cases, a simple “he said [adverb]” will do. instead of “he snapped” consider “he said curtly/sharply/coldly.” instead of “he mumbled” consider “he said quietly/clumsily/softly.” I WANT TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT THESE ARE NOT DIRECT SYNONYMS. every word has a nuanced and slightly different meaning and that is the BEAUTY of the english language!!!! all i’m saying is that in many cases, a verb can be replaced with an adverb to achieve roughly the same effect, without making the reader feel like they’re scanning a thesaurus.

and speaking of a thesaurus: it’s not cheating to use outside resources like thesaurus.com to help you come up with words. i fuckin love thesaurus.com. i use that shit all the time for everything. i use it when i’m writing emails. i used it just now to write that last paragraph. thesaurus.com is your BEST friend.

7. grammar. (and spelling but that’s really a given.) unfortunately if i tried to teach you all of the essential rules of grammar this post would exceed tumblr’s previously-nonexistent word count limit. so i’m not gonna teach you any of them. this is just a general point to suggest that if/when you’re writing, have someone you trust, with a good grasp of grammar, look over it. of course it doesn’t have to be perfect or AP style or anything like that. readers will overlook a certain amount of grammar mistakes and every reader has a different threshold. but in general, as a grammar geek and former journalism editor-in-chief, i have a duty to my grammurai code to preach the importance of grammar in writing. good grammar does not necessarily mean good writing and vice versa, bad grammar does not necessarily mean bad writing, but bad grammar makes good writing a lot harder to read, and in some cases will even obscure your actual meaning. so please, have someone read it. for the record this is me offering up my services. i am very good at fixing grammar. i have lots of weaknesses in writing but grammar is one of my strengths. please prioritize grammar. thank you for coming to my ted talk.

***

okay so now that i’ve said all of this shit and pretended to be an expert and embodied everyone’s tenth grade english teacher, let me add one very important disclaimer:

none of this is always relevant.* writing is an art, not a science. you are never going to be following all of the rules, all of the time. you shouldn’t. it’s good to know the basics of constructing a plot, establishing a character, showing and/not telling, moving the story along. but a lot of this advice is really subjective and heavily influenced by my writing experience and habits and tendencies and preferences, and those are simply not generalizable to the world. i am a sample size of one and science dictates that that means my results cannot be statistically significant. i am just some guy. earlier i said you don’t want to over-describe the world. but maybe you do! maybe you’re really into worldbuilding and you want people to know what they’re getting into. maybe you’re like sam, and you just don’t feel as confident in your dialogue skills but you love painting word pictures. i said that adverbs are your friend, but maybe you just prefer to use verbs. maybe you don’t want ANY dialogue tags and you want the reader to interpret the dialogue based on context and content. i said that characters aren’t people and they won’t behave like people, but maybe you’re trying to write hyper-realistic characters. maybe you’re just going for believability over narrative. WHATEVER. the point is, rules are made to be broken. no one is going to have The Answer for How To Write Good because there isn’t just one answer. every single writing rule has exceptions and you can be that exception as many times as you want.

*except grammar. grammar is fucking always relevant.

i hope any of this advice was helpful to you, even though i english teacher-ed the fuck out of it. and for what it’s worth, i approached this as if you were a relatively novice writer, but i know absolutely jack shit about your writing prowess and experience and habits. so maybe you already know all of this and none of what i’ve said is helpful at all. if you have a more specific problem, i would be happy to try and help. if you’re hoping for more specific feedback, i’d have to read something of yours first - but again, happy to try and help. i don’t know if you can tell but i loooove writing and english and grammar and all of this shit and it would be my honor. i have now spoken so long that james madison himself is begging me to shut up so i’ll stop here but thank you for coming by and giving me the opportunity to expatiate a shit ton. and GOOD LUCK i forgot the most important advice of writing which is HAVE FUN LOVE WHAT YOU WRITE AND WRITE WHAT YOU LOVE OKAY BYE

#yowza #mamma mia #hachi machi #someone get this bitch a muzzle #i feel like i keep saying i sound like an english teacher here but i never specify that im not actually an english teacher #god i wish my blog brand was just 'the person you come to with writing questions'#is it too late to establish myself as that #ask #writing advice #stuff #im giving it the stuff tag. i said enough that i feel like it's earned the stuff tag.#anonymous #if i keep looking at this im just going to keep adding things because adhd-coded brain wants ME to overdescribe. hypocrite #so im just gonna hit post n run #good luck

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korra-the-red-lion · 3 years

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Unnatural Affairs. Chapter 20: What Do We Do Now?

(Ally + Lyn + Michael)

Ally.

It doesn’t make sense to me.

No matter how many times I’ve stared at the picture, it’s just not connecting. How could our professor be the one in the picture when he was alive and well, torturing us with his love for drama? It was like my brain had stopped working, because there were no theories or thoughts running through it for once. I was at a loss for words.

We ended up just going back to our rooms after that bomb was dropped, because what else could we do? We needed answers from someone who could actually give us something to work with. Our best option was to see if Dahlia would be able to tell us anything, or maybe even the lady that Michael’s been speaking to at the Dreaming Mythic.

As I unlocked the door to my room, Sarah was still up, working away at something on her laptop. She glanced my way when I walked in, looking away with an embarrassed flush. At this point, I was used to her just ignoring me, even though it still stung. Controlling the urge to sigh, I dropped my schoolbag and purse onto the floor, then kicked my boots off. I was ready to hit the bed right there and then when I heard Sarah clear her throat.

“Hey…” she said carefully, glancing my way.

“Hey,” I said just as cautiously.

“So, like…um,” Sarah rubbed her hands together awkwardly. “I thought about you told me… and like, well, it is a little hard to believe but I’ve decided something. I’m not going to like, ruin a friendship I have with you because of that.” She sat on the edge of the bed now, her eyes filled with tears. “I’ve been a bad friend, Ally. I hope you can like, forgive me for taking so long to realize that. I totally understand if you like, never want to talk to me again. I just wanted to let you know that I like, really miss you and know how badly I messed up.”

My own eyes had filled with tears and now they were spilling out. They left hot trails on my cheeks as I nodded. “I forgive you.”

Sarah sobbed as she got up. I got up too and we hugged each other tightly. I couldn’t believe that this was happening. I honestly thought that this was over, that we were never going to talk to each other again. I’ve lost so many people in my life to this, so the fact that I had so many friends I had who accepted me was so startling beautiful.

We pulled away and Sarah put her hands on my shoulders, looking into my eyes. “Ally, you have to, like, promise me that you’ll be more careful, though. Those bruises…they were horrible.”

“I’m trying to be,” I sniffled. “It’s not like I’m looking for danger, danger just comes looking for me.”

Sarah giggled wetly. “Danger usually follows trouble. So, if you’re like, looking for trouble, danger is sure to be there too.”

“Okay, I’ll try a little bit harder.” I smiled softly at her, placing my hands on hers. “Now, sorry, but I really need sleep. I’m about to pass out on my feet.”

“Please don’t.”

Tonight, as I slipped under the covers, my heart felt a little bit lighter, even if my head was full of uncontrolled thoughts.

XXX

Drama was the most awkward class the next time I was in it.

I sat in between Mags and Michael, as Professor Kinkly was wrapping up his lecture for the day. Exams were only a few short weeks away, so he wanted to make sure he was cramming all his last-minute crap in now. I wasn’t listening to a word he was saying as my eyes were focused solely on the clock, watching the seconds tick away. Class seemed like it was never going to end.

“…and I’m handing back those papers you all wrote for me,” said Kinkly as his final remarks before the end. I sat up a little straighter when I realized what was going on.

He started calling names so people would go up front and grab them. When my name was called, I stiffened for a second before scooting out of my seat, slipping past Michael as I did. When I walked up to him, all I could see was the face in the photograph. He barely looked any older now. How was that even possible?

“Good job, Alexandra,” he said as he handed back my paper. “It was a very interesting read.”

“Thank you,” I said stiffly. I’m not sure why, but suddenly I really didn’t like that he had my full name. There was a deep discomfort settling in my stomach at the thought. I quickly retreated back to where my bag was and stuffed the paper inside.

“Is everything okay?” Mags asked as they glanced at the grade scrawled on the back of their paper.

I nodded carefully, making sure to look more relaxed. “Just ready to get out of here, I’m starving.”

“Amen to that.”

Eventually Michael got up to get his paper. I’m pretty sure he was actually the last person in class to get his paper. Poor guy and his unfortunate placing in the alphabet. Together, we scampered out of there, the two of us sparing one last glance at our professor. I noticed with a jolt that he was watching us leave, the lens of his glasses reflecting funny, so we could barely make out his eyes. It was very creepy.

My head was in the clouds as we walked across campus, not really focusing on the conversation at hand. We passed by Dahlia’s tree, and I found myself looking for the ghost, only to see she wasn’t showing herself right now. I wondered where they went, if they couldn’t go back to the spirit world or whatever.

We sat down in the meal hall, and I could practically feel the tension in the air. Students were nervously catching up to last minute work that needed to be submitted. Others were discussing final papers or final exams. Some of the students even were discussing the big football game that our team was playing in this week. It was surprising, considering how bad they were last year. They really turned things around, I guess. Overall, there was just a sense of unease filling the room today.

Maybe it was just my over heighted senses, but I was feeling a lot more spiritual presence as well. I’ve suspected for a while now that there was something going on…oh. Oh. OH.

My eyes widen as the thought hit me like a wrecking ball. Oozing walls. Doors locking themselves. People had reported many times that something bizarre or unexplained happened each time there had been a murder. I was sensing stronger spiritual presence, even more so than usual. None of the students had said anything so far, but I wasn’t sure who would really be able to pick up on that. But suddenly, her skeptical face flashed in my mind, and I knew who I needed to talk to.

Janna Kawada.

I didn’t even think about it before, when she had mentioned it to me, because my mind had been collecting so much information at the time that I buried it. But she saw Fiona. She saw her in the mirror. No one else had ever said as much, but that meant that either Janna could see them too or the spiritual powers were growing, and I just never noticed because this is what I was used to.

I had to speak with her. I needed to know. But where would she be? A third year Biochem student on the soccer team. She probably didn’t live on campus anymore, and practice was no longer going on. Crap. I needed to think. How would I be able to get in touch with her?

“Michael,” I said suddenly, turning to him.

He was holding his fork halfway to his mouth, noodles dangling from them, dripping sauce onto the plate. “Uh, yea’?”

“Do you happen to know when the Biochem lab is for the third years?”

Slowly he put his fork down, his expression puzzled. “Kinda. Why?”

“I need to speak to someone. Janna Kawada.”

“The one from the newspaper article?”

I nodded quickly. “The very one and the same. It’s super important. I’ll explain it later.”

Michael frowned in thought. “Right. I think there’s actually one that happens at 4:30 today, so if you stalk outside the building, you might be able to catch her. But if you don’t, those labs are usually four hours long.”

I glanced at the time on my phone and saw that it was only 2:18. Crap.

“Why do you have to talk to her?” Mags asked, drawing my attention to them. Crap. I forgot we were sitting together still. My mind had jumped way too far ahead there for a second.

My brain worked furiously as I came up with an excuse. Finally, one popped into my head, and I said, “I’m thinking of taking Chem next term as my science credit, and I might need a tutor for it.”

Mags looked skeptical. “Why not take an easier class? Human Bio is supposed to be a bird course.”

“I want to challenge myself,” I lied.

Mags looked at me for a long minute before shaking their head. “Whatever, you do you. I don’t care. I personally would take the easy option though.”

I just nodded in response, not being to say much else. I had a plan now, I needed to focus on that. Maybe I could talk to Dahlia before then? I bit my lip, thinking it through. She was never willing to tell who had killed all these people before, but it still might be worth it. Deciding it was, I picked up my bag and said goodbye to my two friends.

Quickly I made my way back to her tree. I plopped myself down and knocked on the tree. After a few minutes passed, I was worried that she wasn’t going to come. But I felt the shift in pressure as all sounds stopped around me. Dahlia appeared beside me, but something about her posture was different. She had her legs pulled up, her chin resting on her knees with the smallest of frowns on her lips. Dahlia looked younger and more vulnerable than I’ve ever seen her before. She gave me a side-eyed glance. “Yes?”

I shifted so I was shoulder to shoulder with her. “What going on with you? You seem down or something.”

Conflict played out behind her sea-green eyes before she gave me a small shake of her head.

“Are you sure?” I frowned.

“Always,” she drawled. “What is it that you need, darling?”

“Well…I just noticed recently the increase of spiritual power on campus,” I said slowly, judging her reaction. But as usual, it was nearly impossible to read. “And I was wondering if you maybe knew something about that.”

Dahlia stayed quiet for several seconds as she gathered her thoughts. Finally, she did a jerky nod. “I can’t say too much. But yes, you are correct. He’s gathering power for his next…target. But that’s all I can say.” She shifted so she could look at me fully. “Ally, there isn’t much time left. If you don’t hurry, someone else will die.” Her image flickered briefly, as if she was disappearing.

A dash of fear spiked in my system for a flash. I was running out of time? I didn’t understand, and there was something that was not letting Dahlia tell me. I thought I saw a shadow of a hand creeping onto her face.

I wanted to reach out and touch her, to comfort her but I knew I couldn’t. I placed my hand next to hers and stared into her eyes. “Listen, I will stop him. I know you can’t help me but thank you for trying anyway.”

Her image flickered again as she smiled at me. “Archives, Ally. Check them, your answers are there. Trust me when I tell you that. It’s going to be extremely dangerous, but I do believe in you. I believe in Lyndsey and Michael as well. Just be smart.” She flickered even more intensely now, nearly disappearing from view. Her eyes lit up with mischief as she said, “Salty silver witches hurt those who cannot write missives, Ally.” She disappeared after that. Of her own volition, I wasn’t sure.

I sat there, puzzled. What did that even mean?

XXX

Michael.

It was later that night when Ally came stumbling into the basement of the library. After she had gone off to do whatever it was, I hadn’t seen her for the rest of the day. After Lyn got out of her practice, she texted me saying that she was able to help with any research, but for once I think we were all stumped on our next move. So, I ended up telling her not to bother. She still showed up and ended up just working on her paper. She looked up over her laptop, staring at Ally in silent confusion. I was just as confused by her sudden arrival.

Ally gripped her phone tightly in her hand, her whole body shaking. With what, I wasn’t sure. Slowly, she sat down at out table. Lyn pulled her headphones off and reached over to place a hand on Ally’s forearm.

“Ally, you okay?” she asked, the concern noticeable in her tone.

Ally nodded. “I think I figured something out.”

I scootched my chair closer. “Like what?”

“I…” she took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before slowly releasing it through her nose. The shaking stopped a little. “I spoke with Janna today, because I realized something. When I did my interview with her all those weeks ago, she told me she saw Fiona. It literally just came to me when I was thinking about the spiritual presences on campus feeling stronger. So, I did the stupid thing and asked her. I legit asked her if she could see the dead.” She stopped and took another deep breath.

“She said that she couldn’t. Not normally anyway. Michael, you said you could see her too, right?” I nodded and Ally continued. “Okay, so it is stronger. Stronger that other people can see it, which is why I think Dahlia was able to possess Lyn like she did, because she is already powerful as is, so it just increased her power. But it’s not all-around campus, it’s only at the Athletic Centre.”

“How come?” Lyn asked, her brow furrowed.

“Because…” Ally bit her lip, her face pale. “It was the last place someone was murdered.”

I tapped my hand against my knee, trying to keep my nerves in check. “What does that mean? Why does it matter it was the last place someone died?”

Ally pushed her glasses up her faces and pressed her hands to her eyes. “So, I spoke to the others before coming here. The others being the ghosts, that is. They all told me similar things.” She put her notebook on the table and pushed it forwards so we could read it. “Basically, each time someone had been murdered, the area where the last person had died some a sudden spike of energy. Jamieson said that he always hated having his class in Harper Hall because weird things happened all the time. Amelia was the last one to die, and she hated spending any time around the old art building, where it turns out there was another student who was killed there, but never reported on because it was considered an OD. Since Jamieson can’t leave the Student Centre, he didn’t notice the dark energy that surrounds the Athletic Centre, and he wasn’t aware that someone else had be killed.”

She sat back in her chair, the weariness on her face making her look older than 18. “So, the reason why you guys could see them when you normally couldn’t, is just that. But it gets worse, because Dahlia just went missing earlier. I can’t sense her at all. But, before she disappeared, she told me that the killer is gathering power for his next kill and that we’re running out of time. I’m not sure why he needs energy to kill, but if we think that he was the one who made Fredrik into the monster, he might be planning something similar.”

Lyn’s face looked like it was set in stone as she chewed on this information, while I continued to tap my hands against my knees. Ally sighed as she rubbed her face. “But I think if we can send Fredrik back, we can weaken the spiritual energy. That’s where Katherine comes in.”

“If she agrees,” I said quietly.

“If she does,” conceded Ally.

We stayed quiet for a minute, each of us thinking about different things. What if Katherine didn’t agree? I suppose we could always ask Talia, I’m sure she would help. But how much time did we have left? Not to joke in a serious situation, but I really hoped that he’d have the decency to kill before exams, so they were at least cancelled.

Lyn got up suddenly, as if she was possessed. Oh, maybe that wasn’t the right choice of words. Oh well. She said nothing to us as she headed for the staircase that led to the second floor of the basement. Ally and I shared a look before I shrugged. I wasn’t going to make the effort to go and see what she was getting up to.

XXX

Lyn.

I don’t know what possessed me, but I knew I needed to look in here.

The archives.

I was spending so much time looking up things online that I forgot about one thing: a lot of these old newspapers haven’t been put on the internet yet because someone had to do it manually. People were a lot of things but being paid a lame wage plus no motivation equalled someone not doing their job.

I knew the person who died in the ‘60s was Dahlia Cressman, because we had her old things in our home. My great grandpa had mentioned it a few times too. There was no point in looking into that, now that I’ve made that connection. But the opening of the school, that’s what I needed to know about. Ally had mentioned it a few times, but it wasn’t until now that something occurred to me. Dahlia had told her someone had died before the campus had opened. These things happened, unfortunately. Accidents happen at construction sites.

But what if that death was more than that? I went all the way into the back of the room, going to the oldest shelf. I gently pulled out boxes full of old news articles, flipping through them until I found what I was looking for: the article written about that day.

I gingerly opened the paper, being careful of where I laid it on the table. My eyes scanned through the garble of the paper until I found what I was looking for. The headline was still legible, reading Tragedy at New University Location.

What should have been a wonderful day ended in tragedy. During the nearly finished construction of the new University campus built in Yokeville, a disaster struck. 27-year-old Jeremiah Kinkly was found dead this morning, Tuesday June 12th. It was suspected that Kinkly was trying to sneak into the property, into the Kramer Hall building. This building had not been finished yet, and many pieces of scaffolding had been hung in place, not locked up. According to RCMP officer Lawrence, it looked as if the man fell to his death.

“His body was somewheres near the building, all mangled like,” said the young officer. “I got a call about a trespasser, and when I got here, I seen the body right away. I knew there was nothing I could do for him. Poor soul.”

Mr. Kinkly is survived by his mother, father, and pet dog.

The picture they had used for him looked exactly like the Drama professor. But that wasn’t the only thing I was looking for. I went back into the archives and shuffled through more of the boxes, knowing what it was I needed. The lights flickered dangerously overhead, which told me I was looking in the right spot after all. My heart picked up its pace when I found it. Quickly I read it over, just to be sure. I grinned in confirmation and headed back to the table. I picked up the newspaper and went back upstairs, where the other two where still sitting, looking just as tired as I felt. I put the paper on the table and pushed it towards them.

“Do you see the issue I see?”

Michael looked up with a frown. “What do you mean?”

I tapped at the end of the article, when Ally gasped. “Mother, father. No other family is mentioned. How is that possible? They must be related. They literally look like the same person…”

I dropped my other find on the table. “Look at this.”

Ally picked it up, her eyes widening as she got to the end of the article. Michael took it next and read through it a few times, his brow furrowed as he muttered, “This doesn’t make sense.”

“They’re the same person,” I said, crossing my arms. “Robert Kinkly claimed that he was related to the dead man when asked about after his hiring, but there were no other children, and the family seemingly didn’t have another child. Even if they did, Kinkly wouldn’t look as young as he did. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“But how…?” Ally’s voice was practically a whisper. “How is it that he died but he’s here now?”

Then Ally’s face paled as realization bloomed in her eyes. “He’s like them. He’s like the Moore siblings.”

Michael asked, “What does that mean?” as I sat down.

“They’re tangible. They can touch us and we can touch them.” Ally pulled over her notebook and started writing furiously. “I suspected the reason why they could be because they had turned into something evil. Was it because they had no family? Kinkly would fall into that category if that was the case, because his family may no longer be alive. But does that make him the killer?”

“The killings started happening once he got a job here, in the ‘70s,” I pointed out. “You said that Amelia didn’t like going to the art building, probably because someone had died there. What did she say about that?”

“That she always felt like there was someone watching her there,” said Ally. “Would it be worth it to try and talk to the ghost there? Maybe we can learn something.”

Michael ran his hands over his face as he mumbled, “We might as well.”

“Yeah, it’s not like it can get any more insane than this,” I said with a slight smirk.

Ally looked between us before nodding. “Alright, we’ll go for it tomorrow. I’m too tired tonight.”

“Blessed,” said Michael as he started tossing his things into his bag. “I really didn’t want to go tonight, no offence.”

“None taken.”

I packed up quickly too and followed them out. I made sure to say bye to Eileen as we left. I loved the little old lady and she always helped me out in first year. We walked with Michael all the way back to his res before I walked with Ally back to hers.

I wasn’t the most observant person on the planet, but I thought she seemed a little happier recently. A smile flickered across my face unbidden, and I looked up at the stars. They were hard to see through the light, the pollution, and the clouds, but they were fighting through. I always liked going camping in the summer and staring up at them, losing myself in them. It was one of the few things I liked as a teenager. It was a way for me to get away from all the drama at home.

Ally’s hands slipped into mine as she pressed herself against my side. I looked down at her and she was smiling up at me, her face pink from the cold. It was amazing that she could still smile through all of this. Her strength never ceased to amaze me. We were standing in front of Lukas but Ally didn’t seem to be in a rush to get inside. She probably would have stayed there for as long as possible, but I could already see she was starting to shiver. So, I bent down and kissed her, whispering good night in her ear. She kissed me back before heading inside, and I waved to her as I left.

I wasn’t sure why I went this way instead of heading back to MacGavin, but I found myself standing in front of the big tree. The one where Dahlia resides. I placed my hand on the bark, not able to feel the roughness because of my gloves. It was a strange feeling, knowing that someone I was related to had died here on this very campus. I didn’t feel a sense of sadness or anything, since I didn’t know anything about the chick, but still. It was a little unsettling, you know?

“Hey, um,” I felt my ears heating up, “I have no idea if you can hear me but thanks. I know I gave ya grief the other day for possessing me and shit, but you save our asses. Um…great grandpa never stopped missing you. I wish we had the chance to meet, because honestly you sound like a super cool lady. And thanks for helping Ally out, even if you can’t give her all the answers. I’m sure you have your reasons.” I let my hand drop to my side as I looked up at the branches, noticing for the first time that all the water had froze, creating a crystal-like appearance. It was gorgeous to look at. “Uh, yeah. That’s about it, I guess. It’d be awesome if you could help us one last time, but I guess you’re missing. I hope you’re okay. Well…bye, Dahlia.”

Did it feel super fucking weird to talk to a tree? Yes. Did it make any sense to me? Nope. But for whatever reason, I felt a little bit lighter as I walked back to my res.

XXX

Ally.

Next time I decide to solve murders of long dead people and go on spooky missions during the night, I’m doing it in a warmer season because I’m so sick of the cold at this point. It was only 8:00 at night but I was freezing.

I pushed open the doors of the art building, welcoming the warmth that blasted my face. The building was still open because there was a play going on for Drama. I had already seen it on a previous night because it was part of our grade to do so. I was here for a different reason tonight. To speak to one last ghost. Hopefully.

The music for the show was muffled but could still be heard through the doors. The two students in charge of the tickets were talking to each other to pass the time, paying me no attention, which was perfect. I didn’t want them to ask me any questions.

I quietly walked by their table as I felt my skin prickling. I looked up to see him sitting there, a young man sketching. I used the stairs to get up to the third level of the building, a decision I regretted almost immediately. Look, I’m not the most fit person, I’ll admit that, but I don’t think anyone on this planet could take multiple flights of stairs without getting tired. If they could, they probably weren’t human.

He was waiting for me when I finally made it to him, trying very hard to not wheeze. He had slicked back black hair and curious blue eyes. He gave me a wave and a small smile that I returned as I leaned over the balcony, looking down to the ground floor.

“You’re the one making waves around here, huh?” he asked, floating off so he was standing next to me.

“That’s me.”

He nodded, looking down as well. “You know you’re making a name for yourself in the spirit world, right? I usually don’t haunt here anymore, since I gave up hope a long time ago that anyone was going to bring that killer to justice, so when Dahlia told me about you, it was hard to believe. Yet, here you are.”

“Here I am,” I said softly. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my notebook and pen. I smiled at him as I waved it. “Mind if I ask you a few questions?”

“Go right ahead, young lady.”

“What’s your name?”

“David Lancaster,” he answered simply.

“If you don’t mind telling me, I would like to know how you died.”

“I don’t. I was here, working on my art project when I heard something strange. I decided to go check it out, because the banging wouldn’t stop. I ended going into the auditorium, that one over there,” he pointed at where the play was currently taking place. “Once I was inside, the doors slammed shut behind me and they wouldn’t budge. I knew about the emergency exit, so I wasn’t too scared yet, but I’d just seen Halloween with my girlfriend Sally, and I thought maybe it was my buddy Joe playing a prank on me. But as I got closer to the door, I felt this terrible chill just seep into my bones. I thought it was from the door since it led outside, but I was very wrong.

“Next thing I knew, I was frozen to the spot. I couldn’t move, no matter how hard I tried. Then I felt someone come up from behind me and jab me in the arm. I tried to get a good look at who it was, but I never saw his face, only heard his voice. He jabbed me again, and my vision went black. When I woke up, my body was lying on the ground and I wasn’t in it. I believe the coroner said I had OD’d. That hurt the most, since I never did a bad drug in my life. Just some weed, but most people my age had.” He scratched his chin before running his hand through his hair in thoughtful silence.

I put the pen down, surprised at how easy that fell off his tongue. I suppose being dead for nearly 50 years stopped you from being sensitive about your own demise. But listening to him, I was certain now that Kinkly was behind this. I asked if he saw the killer’s general height and hair colour, and when I showed him a picture his eyes widened a little.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” he muttered to himself. “I remember taking classes with Professor Kinkly. He told me I was his brightest star.”

“I think…” I took a deep breath in and steeled myself. “I think he was the one who killed you, David.”

David looked at me, his jaw slack with surprise and his eyes watery. He closed them and his body started to shake. I was confused when I realized he was laughing, and I took a step away from him. The laughter became echoing, as if there was more than one voice laughing with him. When he turned to look at me again, his eyes were gone, and the skin was melting off his bones. Fear spiked in my system as I stumbled away from him. I spirted to the staircase, trying to get away from him.

“I told you he was coming! He’s coming for you!” His voice followed me all the way down, and when I turned around to see if he was gone, I saw nothing. However, when I got to the bottom of the stairs, he jumped out in front of me, reaching for my face. I screamed in shock as I fell back.

His face had warped into something monstrous, with bloody saliva and sharp teeth. I whimpered as I tried to scoot away, but the only thing behind me was the stairs and they stopped me from going anywhere.

“You shouldn’t have stuck your nose where it didn’t belong, you stupid girl,” said the voice of Kinkly’s from David’s mouth. “If you had minded your own business, then I would have left you alone. But now? Now, I have to KILL YOU!” He roared in my face, raising a clawed hand.

I lifted my arms up in protection when something strange happened. His body froze and began to twist in an inhumanly way. He looked like someone possessed in a scary movie. One clear blue eye found mine and he said in the calming voice from earlier, “You need to get away, young lady.”

I’m not sure how David took his spirit form back, but I quickly scrambled away. There must have been a distortion of space in place, because no one was around. I was all alone here, stuck with the murderer who killed so many before me. I wasn’t sure how long David was going to be able to hold out for, and I didn’t want to stick around to find out.

I hear him howling behind me and I made a mad dash to the door. I slammed against the glass and pulled on them violently, but they wouldn’t budge. My panic levels were starting to rise to a dangerous level as I looked around for an escape from this hell space. My eyes were drawn to the other exit, back from where I came from. My pulse was pounding in my ears and in my head as I ran like crazy past David, who took a vicious swipe at me as I did. I managed to dodge out of the way, with only a nick in my jacket to show for it.

The sounds of galloping followed behind me as Beast David charged at me. I jumped out of the way as he flew by, taking a chunk of the floor with him. I winced as I hit the floor but ignored it for now as I scrambled back to my feet. I raced towards the exit and smashed my shoulder into it, and the door popped open with a hiss like a pop tab. I slammed it shut behind me and backed away. David slammed into the door but couldn’t make past it.

Students were leaving from the other side, blissfully unaware of the monster that was on the other side. David’s form melted as he disappeared, his haunting empty sockets being the last thing I saw.

A few students glanced my way as I stood there, breathing heavily. I winced as I took a step back, pain flaring like heat in my ribs. I must have landed on them funny when I jumped. I raked my fingers through my hair, trying hard to bring my heart rate down.

David’s voice had sounded so familiar to me, and now I know why. He was the one who warned me, back in the library. He warned me that someone was coming for me. How he did that, I wasn’t sure. But it was him.

Slowly, I made my way back to my dorm room. I quickly fired off a message in the ‘Spook Searchers’ group chat as I did, wanting to let the others know what happened. I was just about to slip my phone back in my pocket when I noticed that I had a notification on Messenger still. It was from someone who wasn’t considered a friend. Curious, I hit it open and saw that it was from Katherine Howard. I was a little unsure of who that was until I read the message.

7:52

Katherine:

listen I thought about it

come meet me at the shop and we’ll talk

bring your friends if you want to idc

Shoot, that a while ago. It was nearly 9 now. I sent back a reply saying I was coming now if that was okay. The little green dot saying she was online appeared, and the little meatballs showed up saying she was writing back. All she said was “yes,” so I gritted my teeth and walked briskly towards the store.

My ribs felt like they were stabbing me as I approached the store. I wiped at the sweat that starting to form on my forehead despite the cold weather. I was really, really, really getting sick of being hurt from these ghosts. If this kept up, I was going to need more serious stuff than just some Tylenol and Ibuprofen.

There was a single light on in the store as I got closer. I peeked through the window and jumped when the door swung open. Katherine hurried me in and quickly closed the door behind us, making sure it was locked. She directed me to follow her into the back where she sat on the counter and offered me the stool. I sat on it gingerly, watching her carefully.

Katherine was tugging on her hair, a nervous gesture from what I saw last time we spoke. It was tied back in a messy ponytail with pink tips, and I could see a hearing aid resting in her left ear. She had long nose and stunning green eyes that were watching me carefully as well. Her eyes darted to the door and back to me before she hunched her shoulders.

“Did no one else want to come?” she asked, moving her hands at the same time.

I shook my head. “I didn’t ask them, actually. I just got back from business and come over here.”

“Business?”

“The supernatural kind.”

She exhaled through pursed lips as she nodded. “Right. Well…I thought about what you asked of me.”

I waited for her to continue, but she just sat there and said nothing. I frowned and with an indication of my hand, I motioned her to continue.

Katherine sighed, dropping her hands to rest on the countertop. “What you’re asking of me is very dangerous. Like, stupidly dangerous. I thought long and hard about it, because it’s not just some decision I’m gonna make on the fly…but… I’ll help.”

My eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Really? How come?”

“Because, when I talked to my mom about it, she said it was the right thing for me to do,” Katherine huffed. “Whatever the hell that means. When I asked her why she couldn’t just do it, she said that she couldn’t anymore.”

I nodded slowly. “Okay…” I tried to shift, which was a bad idea. Closing my eyes, I focused on taking a deep breath through my nose. It actually made it worse.

“Are you alright?”

“Just a little sore,” I said through gritted teeth. “So, not to come off as rude, but are you actually a witch? I know Michael was a little blunt in his approach last time.”

Katherine’s face went slightly pink as she nodded. “Magic is real. My mom taught me all that she knows. But if you guys need me to do a banishment or exorcism or whatever, that’s a really heavy spell. I’m gonna be wiped out after that.”

“Good to know.” I stood up, not being able to withstand the discomfort anymore. “I’m sorry that I’ve put you in this position, but I’m really grateful that you’re helping us out. It means a lot to me.”

Katherine looked away. “Whatever. It’s the right thing to do. Someone shouldn’t suffer like that because the acts of another did that to them.”

My eyes must be playing tricks on me, because I thought I saw something flicker around Katherine’s head when she said that. But there was nothing there. I did still have that strange sense like I did last time, however. I wasn’t sure what it was about her, but there was something that was calling to me. It was very puzzling.

“Is that all you wanted to talk about?” I asked. “Because if it was, I’m going to head back to my room. I’ve got some stuff to catch up on.”

Katherine nodded and slipped off the desk with grace. She walked over to the door and glanced through the window before unlocking it. She glanced at me with her hand resting on the handle. “We’ll have to do it before the full moon next week, otherwise I’m worried this guy will be too much for me to handle. I’ll get a boost too, but I’m not risking my head for this.”

I thought back to our last full moon encounter with Fredrik and shuddered. “No complaints from me. Thanks so much, Katherine. I really mean it.”

“You’re welcome, sheesh,” she pulled the door open for me. “Be safe walking home… Uh, Ally?”

“Ally,” I confirmed with a smile.

“Right. Okay, well, I’ll message you when we should do. Might be in the next couple of days.”

“Okay, just let me know. Bye, and have a goodnight.”

“You too,” she said quietly. She watched me leave and walk a little up the street before ducking back inside and most likely locking the door again.

At least one good thing happened before the night ended. Knowing that we had someone who was willing to help us with our Fredrik problem was a way better ending than me nearly getting killed by David’s monster form. The stabbing pain in my ribs was now a dull throbbing, which might not be the best sign in the world. I just needed to get back to my room and take some meds before heading to bed. God, this semester couldn’t end fast enough if it wanted to.

#unnatural affairs #ua #ally holland #lyn hart #michael yamamoto #dahlia cressman #mags richard #ghosts #paranormal #romance #wlw romance #sapphic lead #murder mysteries #writing #orginal work #orginal writing #original story

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surveys4ever · 3 years

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25.

Section 1 – Who were you?

Think back as far as you can. What is the first memory you have? I think meeting my (now) dad for the first time when he and my mom were dating. I was very upset because he was short and that’s not what dads were supposed to look like in my 3 year old eyes since my bio dad was super tall.

What is something you remember enjoying very much as a small child? Playing Barbies, watching Barney, Happy Meals, being with my grandma.

How old were you, when you made your very first friend? Probably preschool.

Are you still friends with this person today? Facebook friends, yeah. Real friends, no.

Was there a story somebody read or told you that has stuck with you? No one ever read to me after I learned to read for myself so one day I was sick and I came home and curled up with my mom on the couch and asked her to read me a Little Mermaid book I had and she did, even though I had to get up to go shit myself halfway through and it meant a lot to me at the time.

What is something you get an immense feeling of nostalgia from? Hannah Montana for some reason. It was my favorite show and we didn’t get the Disney channel so whenever we went to a hotel, nobody could tell me fuckin NOTHING because we were watching Hannah Montana whether they liked it or not.

As a child, were you a sore loser or a sore winner? I was the only child for 8 years and then the oldest after that so I never lost at anything and now when I do, I feel like I'm the biggest piece of shit loser there’s ever been. So that’s fun.

Did you go through the "naked phase"? I learned that you didn’t have to sleep in pajamas and you could just sleep naked so I did it for a while but then realized that I much preferred pajamas.

Which television shows do you watch the most as a child? I loved TV so basically all of the 90′s/early 2000′s shows there were.

Did you play with siblings, neighbourhood kids or by yourself? Either with neighborhood/school kids or by myself. I didn’t ever really have siblings who weren’t my kids, if that makes sense.

Is there something you really miss from your childhood today? I miss back when everything was simple.

Section 2 – Likes and interests

Would you ever like to try competitive pinball playing? Ummm, no.

Do you knit, crochet or cross stitch? I’m trying to teach myself to crochet.

Have you ever, or would you like to attend a gaming or comic convention? No thx.

What's your opinion on online multiplayer games? I really liked Among Us for a while there but I don’t really enjoy how rude everyone is on online games.

Do you like to go cycling? If so, where? Uh no.

Have you ever tried woodturning? If not, would you like to? Never tried it, don’t really have any desire to, but it can be relaxing to watch!

Do you enjoy drawing? If so, what do you usually draw? I do! I usually draw graphics for YouTube videos or doodle over Instagram photos, draw things to put on shirts with my Cricut, etc. I use my iPad for so many things.

Have you ever attended a painting class? If so, what did you create? I haven’t but I would like to!

How about a creative writing course? If so, did you get any feedback? I took Creative Writing literally every year it was offered in high school and I always got awards for having the top marks in the class.

What is your favourite form of exercise? No thank you.

Section 3 – People

Who is the most important person in your life (besides yourself)? My husband.

Do people generally approach you easily? I think so!

Do you get along with people well? If not, what's the problem? Yeah! I’m pretty friendly and easy going.

Do you enjoy being in crowds or do you prefer your own company? I would much prefer my own company than crowds.

Which one of your friends have you known the longest? I still talk to the girl I was best friends with in the 6th grade on occasion so like 17-18 years?

Do you find it easy to make friends now? If not, what makes it difficult? As an adult who works from home, making friends is hard as fuck.

What is something about people that annoys you? Something I've noticed in recent years is just how entitled and greedy everyone is. Everybody wants something from you or for your skills to benefit them without them putting in any work or paying you for your time. It’s just gross.

What is something about people that you really like? We have really, really harsh winters and if you ever find yourself in the ditch for whatever reason, there will be a lineup of cars stopped behind you to help you push it out or let you chill in their car while you wait for a tow truck. On the really bad blizzard days, there are groups of men in big trucks that literally L I V E to go around and help pull people’s cars out of the ditch. It’s the only time I feel like there’s actually a sense of community around here.

If you live alone, what would be your criteria for a roommate? I honestly would never have a roommate because they could either be your friend or a stranger and living with friends is a good way to ruin a friendship if your living styles aren’t similar and living with a stranger just sounds like a nightmare.

How about criteria for a spouse, if you're single? I am married but my criteria was honestly that I just wanted him to be kind and funny and I got that tenfold with my husband.

In general, what's your attitude towards people? I can’t stand to be around grumpy people. If all you do is gripe and complain about literally everything, I’m out. No thank you. Why is your hobby being angry? Take up knitting or something for christ’s sake.

Section 4 – Habits

What is something you do every day without fail? Baby talk the dog and snuggle with Beebs.

What is your typical breakfast? I’m a leftovers for breakfast kinda gal but lately I’ve been having a bagel and watermelon.

Which article of clothing do you like to wear the most? I loooove me a good baggy T-shirt and booty shorts.

Is there a TV show you watch habitually? We’re currently watching Unhhhh while we eat dinner every night, haha!

Where do you usually spend most of your day? I really only sit in 4 places--bed, the couch, my makeup/work desk, or my sewing desk. Depends on the day which one I’m at.

Is there a product that you do not want to run out of? Moisturizer. I’m a dry son of a bitch.

What is your preferred mode of transport? Car!

Do you usually have something playing in the background when you're home? Nah. I’m in silence a lot of the time.

Where do you usually get your groceries? Walmart for the bulk of it, a local grocery store for the specialty items, and Target if we ever run out of something midweek because I cannot handle Walmart more than once a week.

How often do you go to your local park? Like once or twice a month in the summer!

Which of your hobbies do you indulge in most often? Sewing and Sims currently!

Section 5 – Favourites and dislikes

What is your favourite fruit? Watermelon!

How about your favourite berry? Strawberries are the only berry I like.

Which food do you highly dislike? Fish. It’s all disgusting.

What is your favourite song, and why? I hate this question. Who can pick one definitive favorite song out of the bajillions of songs that have been written??

What is a movie you cannot stand? Anything with Seth Rogen in it, any movie that's got a 3+ after it (looking @ you, Fast & Furious), and all the fuckin’ superhero movies that have the same ‘ah yes, this undefeatable bad guy that we have absolutely no chance against and will undoubtedly kill us all--but we’re going to pull through at the last second with the power of friendship!’ plot line.

Which trait in a person do you find most appealing? I don’t know how to describe it--certain people just have that spark and you can always tell right away if they’ve got it or not and those are my favorite kind of people.

Which trait puts you instantly off? If they’re religious it’s an instant no from me, dog.

Who is an actor/actress who you dislike so much you can't watch them? I really, really dislike Tom Holland. I honestly think he’s a terrible actor.

What colour are your favourite shoes? White!

What is a smell that disgusts you to no end? B.O., on me or others. I just can’t deal with it.

Which door handle/door knob do you like the most in your home? They’re all the same.

Section 6 – Culture

What is something very typical to the culture of your home country? Apple pie and baseball are the only things coming to mind atm.

Do you enjoy art? If so, which form of art is the most enjoyable? I do! But I prefer art that you can look at and know the artist is incredibly gifted and/or has put in a ton of time and effort to master their skills. None of that million dollar paint smear on a canvas shit.

What is something about another country's culture you don't understand? I feel like other cultures take their family and their family’s approval way too seriously. That might be rich coming from someone who doesn’t have a very good relationship with their family but I just don’t understand what the point of making yourself miserable to make your family happy is.

Do you ever attend the theater? If so, which play did you see last? Last thing I saw in a theater was Shangela perform a drag show, haha!

How about the opera or the ballet? Nope.

Which dance troupe do you enjoy, if any? ...they still do that?

Do you attend concerts or gigs? If so, which band did you see last? Not as much as I’d like to as no one good really comes here very often. Last band we saw was X Ambassadors and Paramore!

Are you interested in foreign food? I’m not uninterested but I’m not super interested either.

If so, which country's cuisine do you enjoy the most? Chinese...albiet probably a very Americanized version of Chinese.

Do you enjoy stand-up comedy? If so, who is your favourite comic? I doooo! Bo Burnham and Drew Lynch are my favorites.

Do you contribute to culture in some way? If so, how? I try to? I’m an influencer so I definitely have a platform of a couple hundred thousand people. Not sure what exactly I contribute tho.

Section 7 – Charity

Do you volunteer your time to anything charitable? If so, what? Newp.

Do you donate money to any charities? If so, which ones? No. I don’t trust a lot of charities, to be quite honest. A lot of them are very shady and I’d rather donate money directly to someone who needed it rather than it getting tied up in a charity where it might never actually see the people they claim to be helping.

If you have pets, are any of them rescues from shelters? We adopted our dog from one of my husband’s coworkers but she probably would have gone to the shelter if we didn’t take her.

Do you donate your old clothes, linen etc. to charitable organizations? Yes! We almost always have a bag of donations in our trunk that we always forget to take to the thrift store when we go.

If someone you know is in need, is it in your nature to offer help? If I can, yes!

Have you ever donated Christmas presents to children of poor families? We used to do that when I was a kid.

Have you ever had to rely on other people's charity? One Christmas when I was really young I remember my parents signed up for a sponsorship through the Salvation Army where a family adopted us and bought us Christmas presents and Christmas dinner or whatever.

How do you feel about donating to charities endorsed by celebrities? I would never donate to a charity simply because it was sponsored by a celebrity but I guess its the easiest way for a charity to get the word out that they need donations.

Is there a charity you absolutely never ever will not trust? PETA, Salvation Army, Goodwill, and that breast cancer one with the horrible CEO.

Have you ever donated to a cause that had a person going door to door? No. I extra wouldn’t if someone came knocking on my door asking for money.

In general, what is your opinion on charity? I already did my rant about them, haha.

Section 8 – Entertainment

Which was the very first video game you remember playing? Ocarina of Time I believe!

Which was the very first film you remember watching? That I don’t remember. Maybe that Barney movie with the magic egg?

What is your go-to form of entertainment? TikTok usually.

Do you have a large collection of DVDs/Blu-Rays? Nah. We have a drawer but we usually stream everything.

How about music albums? Beebs collects vinyls!

Do you prefer to have your music on vinyls, tapes, CDs or digital? I prefer digital and Beebs likes vinyl.

When and where do you like to entertain yourself usually? Either the bed or the couch.

Do you ever binge watch shows? If so, what are you binging now? Usually! I’m sadly in between shows rn.

What kinds of books do you like to read, if any? I honestly don’t read anymore.

Is there a book series you're currently collecting? ..

Is entertainment something you prefer to enjoy alone or with someone else? I have my shows and then we have shows we watch together. So there’s a time and place for both!

Section 9 – Internet

Do you always have access to the Internet, wherever you go? If not, why? Yup!

Which website do you frequent the most? Website website? Google. App website? Instagram or TikTok.

Which search engine do you prefer and trust the most? Googs.

What do you use the Internet the most for? Social media or entertainment.

Do you judge people who have their phones out all the time? If so, why? Random people? None of my business. But if we’re spending time together and I’m trying to have a conversation with you and you're not paying attention to me because your nose is glued to your phone, I’m gonna be pissed.

If your connection goes down, what do you do? Go do something that’s not on the internet?

Is there something you wish you could do online that isn't possible yet? I still wish you could smell things through the internet.

Do you remember the first time you used the Internet? When was it? Yes! I believe the 2nd/3rd grade?

What was a website you used to frequent that doesn't exist anymore? I loved the Disney website with all the games.

Do/Did you ever have your own website? That was the thiiiing back in the day.

Isn't it great how much knowledge and info we have at our fingertips? It’s great but also overwhelming.

Section 10 – And finally...

What is something you consider to be highly controversial? Politics, apparently.

What kinds of jokes do you like the best? I love a good pun.

Is there a person who makes you laugh effortlessly? Oh definitely.

Which part of your body do you like the least? My eyes.

What's something random, out of context you remember from your past? I don’t do well with really vague questions.

Do you wear shoes indoors? No, I’m not a heathen.

What's the silliest thing you've worn on your body in public? I don’t think I usually wear silly things.

What's the most important thing in your life right now? Just spending time with my fam. Trying to get over this anxiety.

What is the most distant point on the planet that you've been from home? Florida.

Do you enjoy trivia games? If so, which one's your favourite? We love some Trivial Pursuit in this house!

Are you more logical or emotional? My emotions take over and then my logic brings it back in. Equal parts, baby.

#survey

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tedtcnk-blog · 6 years

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e.m.t. - intro

I’m abigail but I go by either abby or gail and i go by she her pronouns. I live in edt timezone and I’m a seventeen year old junior in high school. I’m a pretty busy student seeing as i take mainly ap classes and am involved with several extracurriculars so i may not be EXTREMELY active, but im going to try my best to get to know you all and interact with everyone!! <3

&&introducing your character

[ marlon langeland. seventeen. he/him. ] EDWARD TONKS has stepped through the barrier to platform 9 ¾. the SEVENTH year HUFFLEPUFF student is most looking forward to FEELING AT HOME AGAIN.. their peers describe HIM as ELEEMOSYNARY & FACETIOUS, and has dubbed HIM as the SOILED DOVE. TED feels FORLORN about the war raging outside of hogwarts plans to JOIN THE ORDER when the year is up.

&&aesthetic loud and echoing laughs, summer rains, late nights sitting in the dewy grass, watching fireworks light up the stars, goofing around and wrestling for fun, catching fireflies in mason jars, hair frizzing in the humid air, faces lit by lampposts and the moonlight, poofy and patterned duvets, spending all day wrapped up in the sheets, the smell of freshly cleaned clothes, sad songs played on low, tattered jeans caked with mud, sneakers with the soles falling out

&&bio

Ted Tonks, born with the full given and strictly biblical name Edward Michael Tonks, was born to a family who had three very cut and clean rules. For most of his life, at least the first eleven of them, he followed these rules without a hiccup. The first one was fairly simple; never bad mouth mom and dad, seeing as they feed and provide for you after all. The second was that everyone ate together as a family every other night, and that meant the whole family, including great-grandma and grandpa. The last was the trickiest being that it seemed to be about 100 rules in one. It, however, was the one that was the most unforgivable if broken, that being that it demanded that everyone in the family was to follow, without question, every word the bible said.

Though Ted’s family was fairly huge when you factored in cousins and such, it was mostly easy for him to follow these rules. Being the only child, he absolutely adored his parents and they somewhat adored him back. As a child he was always on his father's heels, begging to go to work with him in the summers and waiting by the front door for him to get home on school nights. The second rule, as well, was easy because he never questioned spending moments with his family and enjoying the good food that was always passed around. It was the third, however that stopped Ted in his tracks.

The way his mother was, it seemed like everything he did broke some rule. She’d snip at him for running in from the garden and dragging mud into the house, claiming that he’d broken some holy rule when really all he’d done was get a bit of dirt on the floor which was mind you, fairly easy to get up. He bit his lip and dealt with it, however.

When he turned eleven however, and it came time to go back to school, everything in his family dynamic shifted. He remembers distinctly the day when he got home from a friends house to his mother who looked like she’d never been more angry in her life. Without a word he fled to his room, not daring to pester her about what was for dinner or when his father was going to be home. Dinner time passed, and as he heard the typically clanking of forks and spoons he also heard bitter voices, speaking in hisses and whispers. Not sure what he’d done, he sat at his door, feeling guilty at every sound he heard as he picked at the dirt that was still smushed into his hands.

Eventually his mother explained to him that he had done something wicked, though refusing to explain, she allowed him to come down and eat his food which had already grown cold. The whole time he ate, he felt his father’s eyes from the living room watching every move he made and the way his mother stationed herself at the kitchen sink made her look like a hawk circling its prey. He finished and was led straight back up to his room, where his mother shoved a letter into his hand and left him to his own devices to figure it out.

During the week that led up to the date that had been so bitterly circled on the paper, Ted had been kept under the hawk eye of both his parents. They hushed him at dinner when he attempted to get answers about what the school was like and his father look down right offended when he asked when they were going to go get his supplies. On the day of departure, Ted was more than ready to leave and finally get answers on to why everything was so hush hush. He known he’d seen something about wizardry around the logo of the school’s letter, but he thought it was merely a joke or some sort of metaphor. Surely he wasn’t being sent to do magic, his mother always told him that it was evil and not real anyways.

Sure enough, only after a few minutes aboard the Hogwarts express did he really understand why his parents had been so quick to mute him and hide him away. Feeling awful, his first few months at school were awful. The kids laughed at him for not having the right supplies and wearing homemade robes that his mother had very obviously made with no care in the world. Even after he finally was provided with the right things and fully grasped what Hogwarts was, not many seemed to even bat an eye in his direction. He learned, however, to make the laughing into background music and grew accustomed to the fact that both of the two worlds he belonged to would never fully see him as a member of their society.

&&some place magical

Ted has always adored the magical and home-y feel that hogwarts has given off. Though both parts of his life have it’s downsides, he finds hogwarts more of a home to him than his official “home” He adores the way the whole castle is detailed unlike his old shed-like house he grew up in. He was raised well off enough, but seeing as his family had a shared farming business, his parents never found it sensible to upgrade from their first home they’d ever gotten together. The house was fine, just bland. The walls were bare, the house was small, and felt more temporary than anything. It just felt like a home until they got a new one, like a halfway unpacked house.

The detail of the castle, the nooks and hidden halls and ornate paintings, all of it, captured his fascination. He never gets tired of roaming the halls, finding new places to stop for a quick moment of silence or a spot to do homework when his roomates get to loud.

&&anything else

Ted himself can be a bit opposite of his parents fuddy-duddy ways, and while this is a good thing, his childish like humor and attitude can get him into a bit of trouble at times. Its been with him since he was young. His mother was always on him for trekking mud through the house or spending too much in the yard and not inside studying. Now that he’s a bit more mature he knows better, yet his childish ways still sometimes get ahead of his conscious mind at times.

&&ted vs. tech

Ted is actually really well versed with technology and it’s ins and outs. Probably seeing as he grew up in the muggle world, he was used to always being surrounded to these devices and working with them from a young age. That and the only real way he connects with his father anymore is through their love for technology. His father, though his professional occupation is a lot more boring and repetitive, really enjoys messing with technology and figuring out how everything works. While Ted isnt THAT interested in the mechanics of it, he pretends to like it anyways. He’s more interested in the social media side of things.

That being said, Ted is a snapchat GOD and don’t you dare break your streak with him. He’s that bitch that sends streaks every HOUR to make sure none of them are broken and will give his password away to someone if he gets in trouble and has his phone taken.

He’s that person to put his phone on airplane mode as well while he reads dms. Rather be safe than sorry bc that way he can avoid whoever he wants :))))))

His twitter is also nothing but retweets from the account @garyfromteenmom

Want to see Ted go buck wild bananas? Literally play 1 second of goofy goober rock and he will be up and dancing faster than you can turn it off

#( &&INTRO )#( &&ABOUT )#incanto:intro

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philomathstudies · 7 years

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Introduction: Hi! I’m Annie, I recently graduated as valedictorian of a class of almost 700, and I’m about to be a freshman at Johns Hopkins (go blue jays!!). High school was some of the best and worst moments of my life, and looking back, there are so many things that I wish I’d done and things that made me successful, so I wanted to share them! Of course, disclaimer, these tips may not apply to everyone!

(These tips generally apply to all classes, but if you have a specific subject you want tips on, I’ve taken these AP courses: european history, world history, us gov’t, macroeconomics, lang, lit, calc ab, chemistry, physics 1, physics c, environmental science, art: drawing, biology, human geography, chinese, and art history. Feel free to message me!)

College applications are a crapshoot- I can’t begin to tell you the number of incredible, brilliant people with extraordinary, international level achievements that got denied at top schools in favor of those lacking those accomplishments. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean those who got in don’t have qualities that earned them a spot, it just speaks to the unpredictable nature of the college application process. When deans of admission at top schools openly say they could reject all admitted students and build the same exemplary class from the waitlist, or that they have enough qualified applicants to fill 3 or 4 classes with, there’s a certain amount of luck involved. Therefore I urge all rising seniors to go into this process realizing that the odds are not in your favor. I went into the process with too much blind hope, too confident in my ability to be that lucky 1 in 10 (or less) that would gain admission, and I was sorely disappointed. So that leads me to my next tip…

Don’t do things just for your college application- Those slim acceptance rates are the exact reason I urge you not to join things solely for how good they look on a college application. It seems counterintuitive; wouldn’t they give you a better chance of acceptance? However, my point is not to dissuade you from extracurriculars, but rather to commit to ones that genuinely make you happy. As I wrote above, the process is so competitive that even international achievements may mean rejection, so don’t waste your high school experience by dedicating so much time and effort to something that you feel obligated to do.

Try everything your freshman and sophomore year- My biggest regret is not joining clubs where my passions lie simply because I was too lazy or scared of things like public speaking my freshman year. It’s much more intimidating to join as upperclassmen, and you may not be able to participate at all the levels/in all the ways people who have dedicated 3-4 years can. Even if you don’t think its for you (like debate for me because of my fear of public speaking), I urge you to expand your horizons and push yourself out of your comfort zone. Many clubs give you great opportunities to build leadership, public speaking, etc. skills and to find your passions.

Know both sides of the flashcard- I learned this tip from my organic chemistry class, and I’d never though about how useful it is. For example, if you’re memorizing polyatomic ions, it’s extremely important that you know both the formula and the name, as either version may show up on the exam. Not doing this also makes the weaknesses in your memorization evident- whenever I study vocab, I tend to glance at the side with the term and only memorize the definition. This meant that when I was given only the definitions, I couldn’t remember the word they defined, because I was so used to being given the vocab word and responding with the definition.

The first lecture of the unit is one of the most important for STEM classes- I know the beginning of the unit can often seem like the perfect time to tune out, as it goes over information you’ve previously learned or the easiest material of the topic, but it often forms the foundation for everything else in the unit. For example, the first lecture on a stoichiometry unit will probably teach you dimensional analysis, a skill integral to calculating molecular or empirical formulas, moles or grams of a substance, etc.

Buy/sell books secondhand- Everyone knows how expensive college textbooks are, but between SAT and AP prep books, and books for English, high school books can cost quite a bit of money too. Unless they redesigned the exam recently, you absolutely don’t need the newest edition of the review book, so buy from upperclassmen and then sell it to underclassmen the following year.

Learn to self study- Unless you’re really lucky, you’re guaranteed to have a teacher who doesn’t teach, teaches badly, or whose teaching style just doesn’t work for you. Personally, I find that self learning, especially if I’m struggling because resources such as textbooks and online explanations, and videos seem to contradict, really helps me understand the topic throughly. In AP bio, my teacher had us create claymation videos on the processes of cellular respiration and photosynthesis independently. It was incredibly frustrating and confusing because all the resources described the cycles in varying degrees of details, but I felt like I genuinely understood the topic, instead of having been spoon-fed the information and memorizing it. Obviously, this method isn’t very efficient for frequent use, but the key is to try to understand the material independently instead of going to the teacher the moment you hit a snag.

Keep your backpack/binders/notebooks reasonably organized- When teachers ask for homework to be passed up and you have to dig through mountains of papers in your backpack, not only is that super stressful, but a lot of teachers won’t let you turn it in after they have already collected all the papers. I was definitely guilty of being lazy and just stuffing papers, once I got them, into my backpack instead of taking a few seconds to slide them into a binder, and as a result I got 0s on lots of homework because either I couldn’t find it at the time or because everything was so messy I didn’t remember there was homework. Try to have some sort of organization system going on or at least a homework folder, because those 0s add up and can be the difference between an 89 and 90.

You’re gonna get senioritis, badly, and that’s ok- I’ve always been the type of person who did every homework assignment and was very focused on grades, so the idea that I would completely let myself ago seemed absurd to me. Don’t underestimate what senior year does to you. I can honestly count on one hand the econ worksheets that I actually turned in during senior year, and I made my first B in a grading period during the spring. I was very stressed about how awful my grades were, but unable to muster the energy to do anything about it. And you know what, it’s ok. It’s senior year, you can give yourself a break. Yes, your senior grades are still important for college applications, so don’t go from straight A’s to straight C’s, but for the most part, all the hard work is behind you. Do keep in mind that these habits may haunt you when you’re a college freshman. I haven’t started classes yet, but based on how little I studied for the math placement exam for my college, senioitis doesn’t magically end when you graduate, so don’t let it get completely out of control during the year.

Learn how to do math without a calculator- If you take either of the AP Calculuses or the SAT, you need to master this skill because there are sections of the exams that are strictly non-calculator. Beyond that, when you get to calculus, you’ll be introduced to complicated concepts, where not being able to multiply by hand will drag you down.

Keep old notes- Not only for finals, but some topics are very interdisciplinary, like biochemistry, so it’s very important that you have a working knowledge of both biology and chemistry. As you take advanced classes, such as for me, taking physics c after physics 1, it will be assumed that you have completely mastered the basics, and they will be skipped or referenced very quickly. It is very useful to look at notes on the basics, which provide the foundation for the advanced material you learn.

Invest in a whiteboard- Whenever I was learning about processes or cycles, from the Krebs cycle to organic chemistry mechanisms, it was really useful to practice drawing the steps over and over again. Then when it came to the test, I could do a brain dump and draw out the information as a reference.

Understand formulas instead of blindly memorizing- This basically has physics and calculus written all over it. In physics, you should be given formula charts during exams, and in any case, something like F=ma isn’t terribly hard to memorize. The problem comes when there are a multitude of formulas that are derived from one of the fundamental equations. Of course, deriving from scratch each time is incredibly tedious, but I want to dissuade you from simply memorizing it or storing it on your calculator, because that means you probably don’t understand the physics behind it. What makes physics so difficult and different from any other subject you’ve taken is that every problem will have a slightly different scenario that tests your understanding of the physics behind it.

Use all the time given to you during tests- I know I hate looking back through my test because I just get so bored halfway through, but missing points because of silly mistakes is honestly the most frustrating thing ever when you had plenty of time to check. Depending on if I have time, I like to cover my original work and resolve the question. If checking answers is not your thing, try slowing now when you first see each question, and checking your work briefly each step.

Form study groups- Talking about something, especially teaching it to someone, always helped me remember something so much better than reading it on paper. It’s also so important to have second interpretations of the information you’re studying to ensure that you don’t make a huge misconception.

AP students: released/practice exams are your best friend- Obviously, they’re the best resources for studying for the AP exam, but they’re also a great tool for a hint at what your teacher’s tests may look like. AP teachers have access to tons of College Board material and will often use questions directly from old exams.

If you start getting confused during a lecture- Many times this is because I didn’t pay attention during the very beginning, so I’m missing that important foundation I talked about in the previous tip. Of course, I typically wouldn’t recommend doing things other than listening to what is currently being taught, but in this case, I would just get more confused and it’s a waste of time. So I discretely go back to my previous notes and focus on understanding them.

The most stressful part of schoolwork is just thinking about your assignments- There’s always specific period of time that threatens to kill me- a week where I had two competitions simultaneously, in cities 3 hours apart. When you’re taking 7 AP classes at the same time, just reading over your to-do list will make you want to cry. Even on a normal day, as I go to classes throughout the day and my list of homework gets longer and longer, it makes me so stressed to where I’m planning out how to finish everything and I’m no longer listening in class. It overwhelmed me so much that I just wanted to take a nap and avoid school. But every single time, stressing about the work I have is 1000x worse than sitting down and actually going through each task. I find that what had seemed impossible before was very doable, and many times I even finished early enough to relax before bed. Keep a positive mindset, don’t underestimate your abilities, and have the discipline to start working immediately on the hardest days, and you’ll be fine. Of course, this doesn’t mean that the workload that is able to be handled by one person can work for another, and things like mental illnesses are things I have no experience in, so this is definitely just something that worked for me and is not applicable to everyone.

Best of luck with high school! If you have any questions, feel free to send me an ask!

My AP World masterpost

Asks I’ve answered about school

#studyblr #studyspo #studyquill #heysareena #tbhstudying #elkstudies #academiix #eruditekid #etudiance #studybuzz #p #acadmia

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justalittlebluetiefling · 7 years

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Chapter 11: Sometimes I Can’t See Myself

Rating: T Fandom: The 100 Pairing: Bellamy x Clarke Chapter: 11/? Word Count: 1716 Words

Chapter Summary: The one where they start a tradition, but things don’t go so well. Practice makes perfect, right? AKA the one where there are so many phone calls.

Also on AO3

“Please, Bell? Pretty please? We need a relaxing evening, and you know we’re stuck in those shitty dorms.” Octavia folded her hands under her chin and pouted, batting her eyelashes.

Bellamy just arched a brow at her and she blushed. Barely. While still managing to maintain her plea. He knew her dorm room was far from shitty, but he also knew that they didn’t have any room for a movie night. “Don’t lay it on so thick next time. One day, I’ll be immune to this shit.”

It was like she burst into prep mode immediately. She whipped out her phone and started frantically texting. “Thanks so much, big brother. They’re all going to appreciate it.”

“Who is this ‘all’? I thought you were just talking you and Princess.”

“And Monty and Jasper?” She scrunched her nose at him and smacked his arm. “Come on, Bell. They think you’re awesome. And…” she flipped her phone around to show him the screen. “Monty says he’ll bring you some moonshine?”

“He’s not old enough to buy alcohol.”

“Yeah. He makes it,” she said as though that were the most obvious thing in the world. “He’s really smart.”

“Is uh… Jasper was the one with the goggles, right?”

Octavia nodded and that was about the point Bellamy decided to give up and just let it happen. He had liked Monty when he met him at the party, but he wasn’t sure how he felt about his sister hanging out with someone who could make their own alcohol. In a dorm. Where there was at least occasional supervision. He was grateful when she sent him to the store with a very specific list of popcorn, candy, Mad Max, and Inside Out. When he got back, he found her pacing in the kitchen, talking on the phone. He set the bags down loudly, but she just glared at him.

“Seriously, you work yourself too hard.” Long pause. “Yes, I know that, but…. Okay seriously, if you have to, just bring your stuff here.” Short pause. “Don’t even start. Bell won’t mind. No, I’m serious. He’s a big nerd just like you when it comes to that studying stuff.” Short pause. “If you don’t have your butt in this door by 6:00, I will make him drive me to the dorms and kidnap you. From our own dorm room. Don’t you underestimate me, Princess.” Octavia squeaked. “I’m sorry! It just popped out.” Short pause. “Now I won’t complain. I promise. I’d pinky swear if I could.” Short pause. “Okay, don’t sever an artery.”

Bellamy winced and escaped into the living room before she could hang up. It didn’t help that the second that Miller and Harper heard that Octavia was bringing friends over for movies, they cancelled all plans they had. Miller had actually asked someone to trade shifts with him at the bar and was firmly planted on the couch with no intention of moving. He ‘wanted a good seat for the show.’

Some best friend you are. Bellamy glared, willing Miller to read his mind. It might have worked, because he toasted Bellamy with his bottle of beer and a snarky grin.

Princess was the last to arrive. Jasper and Monty visibly relaxed when she walked in the door. They had been sitting on the arms of the armchair Octavia was in, occasionally shooting Bellamy nervous looks. Her phone was tucked between her cheek and her shoulder, and she had a bag that dropped to the floor by his coffee table with a loud thunk that made him a little worried his floor would break.

“Hold on, mom,” she finally said, covering the microphone with a finger. “She called right as I was walking up the steps. I’m sorry.”

Bellamy shrugged and pointed at the door to the kitchen. Princess nodded and left the room. Bellamy raised an eyebrow at Octavia. “Don’t look at me. I told you her mom’s crazy. If she didn’t answer the phone, Abby probably would have driven over here.”

“… at a movie night with some friends.” Princess’s voice could be heard faintly. “Octavia’s brother has an apartment. … Seriously, mom? His roommates are both only twenty. ... Well, at least he’s in school now! Does that really matter?” Miller elbowed Bellamy and raised his eyebrows suggestively. Bellamy pushed Miller off the couch. “Yes, I’m still here. … Come on, that’s gross. We kind of hate each other, but we’re trying not to for O’s sake. … Fine. I’m trying not to hate him for O’s sake. … You like Octavia. … No, I am not going to call Wells. I am done having this conversation now. … Mom, stop. I’m going to go study… yes, I’m going to study while watching a movie with my friends. That is possible. Goodbye.”

Miller adjusted himself on the couch again as Princess walked back through the door, her cheeks pink. Jasper and Monty shared an uncomfortable look as they slid to the floor in front of O’s chair and Harper jumped over the back of the couch to sit on the other side of Miller.

“I’m so glad our mom isn’t that overbearing,” Octavia said, and Princess blushed even more furiously.

“You guys are lucky.” She settled on the floor in front of the coffee table and shared a look with Octavia who jumped up to start the first movie.

Bellamy watched Princess with an unwilling awe as she unpacked her books onto his table. He was impressed that she really did intend to study her way through the movies. It made him feel a strange sense of déjà vu. The only thing missing was a pen smudge on her cheek and the torn out pages from her notebooks. Well, and the see-through top, but he tried not to think about that very often.

Once the movie had started, he leaned forward under the pretense of taking the bowl of popcorn out of her way and lowered his voice. “Did I hear you defending my honor, Princess?”

Princess regarded him out of the corner of her eye and then sighed. “She makes unfair judgments about people. You’re pretty much a dick, but you’re trying to do something with your life.” She hesitated before adding, “She has no right.”

Bellamy didn’t like being wrong about people. He was still skeptical about her. It would take a lot more than a few nice words to actually change his mind, but he appreciated the thought nonetheless.

Clarke tried to divide her attention between the movie and studying, but she just got frustrated, so she kept her focus on her books. Even though she really wanted to see both of the movies that they had rented. She sighed as she pushed her French book to the side, and was surprised when Octavia leaned over and grabbed it off of the table. “Puis-je emprunter votre livre?”

It took her a moment, but she translated it in her head and decided to respond in kind. “Oui. Ce est à moi est à toi.”

She glanced back at Bellamy as O opened the book, but he didn’t say anything. He just raised his beer in a toast to her and smirked. That stupid smirk. Even when he was being half-nice, that thing wouldn’t leave his face. She turned back to Chemistry.

By the time they had started the second movie, she had moved onto Biology. Clarke stared down at the book, rubbing her temples. A foot bumped her hip and she whipped her head around to stare at Bellamy.

“Why are you even doing this?” Unlike before, Bellamy didn’t even bother to whisper, earning himself shushes from the rest.

“’This?’”

“Bio and Chem at the same time?” Octavia kicked him from the spot on the couch she bribed Miller for halfway through the first movie and Bellamy just pushed her legs away. “Four classes in your first quarter? Take your pick.”

“Haven’t we been over this? The plan is a B.S. in Biology. For my mom. And a B.A. in Painting and Drawing for me.”

“Yeah, yeah, I've heard. Your mom wants you to be pre-med, but you had other plans for your life. So tragic.”

“If I want to make everyone happy, I have to do ‘this’.” She gestured to the books in front of her.

“You have to?” Octavia kicked him again.

Clarke recoiled from his snap. “Yes. I have to.”

“Can you two not argue over Bing Bong, please?” Miller muttered under his breath. “Very important things going on here.”

“You were doing so well,” Harper hissed.

No one’s protests could stop a Blake once they were in full force though. He leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees, and Clarke could tell he wanted to stand. “I don’t think you have to do anything that you don’t want to do.”

She wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so she turned around. He had no right. She didn’t understand how he could go from telling her that she was going to buy her way through her classes to getting indignant and angry at her, seemingly on her behalf. It was mind-boggling. And distracting. “I don’t have to explain myself to you, Bellamy.” She shoved her books into her bag and stood, swinging it over her shoulder. “O, will you please bring my French book home?”

“Where are you going?” Octavia pouted.

“The library. I can’t concentrate here.”

Clarke stormed out before anyone else could say anything, slamming the door with a little more force than necessary. This had been her decision, and she was not going to let Bellamy fucking Blake make her doubt it.

O smacked him on the back of the head. “You chased her away.”

“Can you not?”

“Ass.”

Bellamy huffed as he crossed his arms and leaned back on the couch.

“Told you I needed a good seat. Now can everyone please shut up? I’d like to see if they can get out of the Memory Dump,” Miller said, earning himself a glare.

Clarke Griffin and Harper Williams are now friends Jasper Jordan and Harper Williams are now friends Jasper Jordan and Nathan Miller are now friends Monty Green and Harper Williams are now friends Monty Green and Nathan Miller are now friends

#bellarke fanfiction #fanfiction #my work #sometimes i can't see myself #also i switched it up to chapter summaries #it felt lame to keep the same story summary everywhere #i've got a few chapters backlogged #so i might post them all tonight #i haven't decided #also i don't speak french #literally everything i've done is from google translate #i'm so sorry if i messed it up #erin writes

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jessicakehoe · 4 years

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Self-Isolation Diary: A Day in the Life of Bojana Sentaler

As people around the country enter their fourth week of self-isolation, FASHION is reaching out to some of our favourite Canadians to get a peek into how they’re living their lives in lockdown (remember: #StayAtHomeSaveLives). Each week, keep an eye out for new self-isolation diaries from actors, designers, athletes and artists who are riding this uncertain time out with us.

Bojana Sentaler, designer

I am now in week four of being in official self-isolation at home, but I began social distancing in early March. As the president of SENTALER, I have responsibility towards many parties so I took precautions for my team and my own wellbeing very seriously and very early on in preparation of what we would experience in the weeks to come. We closed our office and our showroom early in March and have been working from home since then. Week one of self-isolation was chaotic with no structure and no answers for the unknown I was hit with. This pandemic essentially changed all of the plans and projections we had made for 2020 for my company. On top of work, I was also catering to my 3-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter who were on March Break and so full of energy and excitement to do ‘fun things’. While trying to keep them occupied, I was constantly following the news and trying to get answers on the uncertainty we were all facing. I was working around the clock on forecasting how this current situation would impact the business and what immediate actions I needed to take to minimize that impact. It was a time when quick decisions needed to be made and when everything I had planned for needed to be immediately changed, all while staying positive and optimistic for my team, who were following my lead. We would get on FaceTime calls daily and I would present an idea to them and then halfway through the conversation, I would say ‘no, let’s dump that.’ It was one of the hardest times for decision-making in my career as it was impossible to do any kind of realistic forecasting with the rapidly changing external environment. But my team and I got through that first week. We all worked very hard to move fast and make necessary changes to minimize the impact on the business. I am very proud and thankful for their loyalty and support. I understand that all of us are facing uncertainty, so their work ethic has meant a lot to me.

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Staying home for those who depend on us the most. ❤️ @SENTALER is joining the #ISTAYHOMEFOR challenge to encourage our community to stay home and stop the spread. I am staying home for the healthcare providers, frontline workers and our future. I want to hear from you! Who are you staying home for?

A post shared by Bojana Sentaler (@bojanasentaler) on Mar 29, 2020 at 8:20am PDT

Week two came fast and this is when I started to develop my new daily routine. In the morning before the kids wake up, I read BoF and WWD to get an update on the changes in the global fashion industry. Then I have my first coffee and breakfast with my husband and kids at 8.30am while trying to figure out what we can do to make the kids’ day more fun, since we both have to work from home. My daughter’s ballet and gymnastics classes have been canceled, as have my son’s swimming classes, so my husband ordered gym mats on Amazon and we set them up in our living room so that the kids can stay active and have fun while we both work. They jump from the couch to the mats pretending it’s a swimming pool, they dance, and they play.

During lunch time, I use the mats to work out. I try to do any form of physical activity since my training sessions have been canceled. The kids and I have fun playing freeze and follow-the-leader. My daughter has done so many cartwheels in the house that when I call her now, she cartwheels her way into my room. From 9am to 6pm I work in my home office. Throughout the day, the kids come in to show me their drawings, what they made or what they did. I am very thankful for these moments as it is a rare time in my life when I get to see so much of them throughout the day. My daughter said that the best part about the current situation is that I don’t have to travel for work and that I am staying home every day with the family.

My favourite time of the day is 6pm when I stop working and dedicate my time to my family. We have family dinner together every evening (with a glass of good wine, of course!). I use this time to teach my kids to communicate effectively and to voice their opinion on the current topic we are discussing, with reasoning behind their way of thinking. Although I am constantly thinking about the current global situation and what the future will be like, I really try not to bring this strain to the kids, so I make a conscious effort to joke around and laugh and be fully present in the moment with them. After dinner, we’ll do a movie night or have a dance party or chase each other around the house or FaceTime the grandparents, cousins and friends. After the kids go to bed, evenings are dedicated to reading and investing in myself as much as I can. It is rare for me to have this time to sit back and reflect on everything. Other than staying home, I am constantly trying to seek other ways that my family and my company can contribute to helping our community and our country.

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In response to the fight against COVID-19, @SENTALER is donating to the COVID-19 Research Response Fund at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto to support the development of better diagnostic testing and treatments for coronavirus (COVID-19) patients around the world. SENTALER will also donate 10% of all purchases made online from sentaler.com to Sunnybrook Foundation. If you would like to join us in supporting this cause, click the link in bio to learn more. Sending you all best wishes and wellbeing! ❤️

A post shared by Bojana Sentaler (@bojanasentaler) on Apr 3, 2020 at 1:02pm PDT

SENTALER has partnered with Sunnybrook Foundation to help raise awareness and funds in support of the COVID-19 Research Response Fund. We also initiated the lead in the Canadian fashion industry on the #IStayHomeFor campaign on Instagram. It was a great way to spread the message and for our industry to connect on something we are all facing together, while we are apart. No gesture is too small as everyone’s contribution counts. The way that I see it, the sooner we all take responsibility in doing our part, the sooner this will end, and we will all be able to leave our homes. I am also very aware that things will never go back to exactly the way they used to be. The old ‘normal’ will be something from the past and we will create a ‘new normal’ based on the learnings and experiences we go through during this global crisis. So much is going to change and the sooner everyone realizes this, the higher of a chance they will have at being happy as well as succeeding in the end. Week three. I am getting used to this new state and getting prepared to stay in isolation for a longer period of time. It looks like it could be months. My 3-year-old son and I gave my husband a haircut a few days ago. I have also started cooking more, which I am learning to enjoy. I am spending time going through my daughter’s Grade 1 curriculum and trying to figure out how to fit in my support for her daily online classes with her teacher. As in any situation, I always stay positive and try to make the best of it. I am thankful that I get to spend this time with my family. I am also aware that many frontline workers do not have the option to stay home with their family now. I have so much empathy for them and respect everything they are doing for us.

The post Self-Isolation Diary: A Day in the Life of Bojana Sentaler appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Self-Isolation Diary: A Day in the Life of Bojana Sentaler published first on https://borboletabags.tumblr.com/

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vidmktg30245 · 6 years

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Transcript of How to Market a Product Idea That Nobody Has Heard Of

Transcript of How to Market a Product Idea That Nobody Has Heard Of written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

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John Jantsch: Let’s say you have this idea for a product that nobody has ever heard of before. Nobody else has created. This innovation now has blue sky opportunity for you, but at the same time, now you’ve got the immense job of educating people about an entire new category of business, both treacherous and intriguing, at the same time.

You’re going to hear from Jonah Lupton, who did just that. He created a company called SoundGuard, which is producing soundproof paint, something nobody else offers, and we talk about his journey.

This episode of the Duct Tape Marketing podcast is sponsored by Podcast Bookers, podcastbookers.com. Podcasts are really hot, right? But you know what’s also really hot? Appearing as a guest on one of the many, many podcasts out there. Think about it. Much easier than writing a guest blog post. You get some high-quality content. You get great backlinks. People want to share that content. Maybe you can even transcribe that content. Being a guest on podcasts, getting yourself booked on podcasts, is a really, really great SEO tactic, great brand-building tactic. Podcast Bookers can get you booked on two, to three, to four podcasts every single month on auto-pilot. Go check it out. PodcastBookers.com.

Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing podcast. This is John Jantsch, and my guest today is Jonah Lupton. He is an entrepreneur, advisor, and also a podcaster, who has started numerous companies and he admits that some were a success and some were failures. He’s currently the founder of a company called SoundGuard.

So, Jonah. Thanks for joining me.

Jonah Lupton: Thank you, John. Appreciate it.

John Jantsch: Give me a little bit about your background. I’m always intrigued. This is from your bio. Started numerous companies. So, tell us I guess the two or three minute version of your entrepreneurial journey.

Jonah Lupton: Absolutely. I actually spend nine years after college working for the Wall Street investment banks, the Morgan Stanleys, the Smith Barneys, managing money for wealthy individuals and non-profits and foundations. Halfway through that, I realized that I wanted to be an entrepreneur, but I couldn’t give up my salary. So, I started figuring out how to launch some projects on the side. My first venture was back in 2007, failed miserably, and I did a couple more while I was still employed, all failed miserably. Then I realized, the only way I’m going to be able to be a successful entrepreneur is if I do it full-time. I can’t do nights and weekends.

So, in 2011, I walked away from the investment business, started another company, and over the last … I guess it’s six years, I started a few different companies. Some were successful. Some were not. Some were in the, let’s see, nutritional supplement space. I did a couple payment startups or fundraising startups like Crowdfunding. Then a couple years ago, when I was just trying to find a solution to my own problem, which was noisy neighbors in an apartment building, and I could not find anything out there that really solved my needs at an affordable price point, that’s when I came up with the idea for soundproof paint, hired some chemists, and for the last two and a half years, we … Well, spent about a year and a half doing product development and testing. Then, we filed all the patents, and now we’ve been live in the market for a few months.

John Jantsch: This is a silly question because it sounds like one of those things that seems obvious enough that someone would’ve tackled it before. Why has nobody tackled soundproof paint?

Jonah Lupton: It’s a good question, and it’s usually the first question I get when I tell someone what I’ve been doing. They all say, “Why isn’t Sherwin-Williams doing this? Or, why isn’t Benjamin Moore? Or PPG? These 30, 40, 50 billion dollar companies, why haven’t they done it?”

I don’t have a good answer. I’d like to think that they’ve tried, and maybe they couldn’t figure it out. Maybe it was just too difficult. I know a lot of those companies … The Silicon Valley … The saying is, “If you want to beat the big boys early on, do things that don’t scale.” I heard that five or six years ago, and that always stuck with me. I think there’s some truth to that ’cause these big paint companies, they want to develop a product, they want to put it on their shelf in their own retail-branded stores, or they want to put it on the shelf at Home Depot and Lowe’s, and they want you to come in and buy it and put it on yourself, so it’s all D.I.Y. That’s not our product. Our product will never be D.I.Y, ’cause it has to be sprayed on by a high-pressure sprayer.

So, maybe that’s one reason, is that they just saw too many headwinds going into this market, but to be honest, I just don’t know. I mean, it was very difficult coming up with a formulation. My guess is we probably tried 20 or 25 different formulations with all types of different pigments and resins and fillers. I don’t come from an engineering background or a chemistry background, so I barely understand half of this stuff. I can’t even pronounce half the things that are in the product. Luckily, I partnered with some really good chemists early on. We figured out after these 20 or 25 formulations that there was a combination of three or four ingredients that, when put together, blocked out the most sound. We put all of those ingredients into this product, of course, meaning I don’t think any other company out there could come up with a product that was as effective as ours without using one of those ingredients and impeding on our patent.

John Jantsch: Well, yeah. When you go out and tell somebody in more of a sales conversation rather than a chemistry conversation, how does this work?

Jonah Lupton: We are blocking or deflecting sound. We are absorbing a little bit of sound. It’s hard to know exactly how much sound is being absorbed, but the majority is certainly being blocked or deflected. Where we see the best use cases for our product are on walls that are separating two spaces. So, you’re blocking the sound from passing through the wall. So, hotel rooms, apartments, condos, town houses, offices, dorms and student housing, those are all the markets that we’re starting off with. So, we’re starting off B2B. We’re selling through our sales reps, through distributors, going directly to the end customer. So, the ownership group of the hotel, the ownership group of the apartment complex. We’re going right to the facilities managers at the universities. I’m talking to two or three very, very large universities about doing all of their dorms in student housing when summer comes along.

John Jantsch: Right now, you are doing … do we call this installing? Or, the application of the … You’re actually doing it with your own people?

Jonah Lupton: No. Right now, and I don’t know if this will be the case in three or four years. It’s hard to know, but at least for now, we are only selling the products. We’re manufacturing and selling the product, and then we partner with contractors to actually install it. We have a training process. Any painting contractor in the country right now that handles commercial projects can fill out our application. We have to do a little bit of due diligence on them. I want to know who are the employees, they all have to go through background checks. I refuse to let some painter go into a hotel with key cards and cause a problem that we could have found if we had just done the appropriate background check. They have to have the right equipment. They have to have the right insurance coverage, and they just have to watch some videos, so they know how this is sprayed and, most importantly, how it’s measured. It’s very important that we get 90 wet mils of product onto the wall.

John Jantsch: I’m just going to ask you, what’s your measurement of success? So, when you go up to somebody and you say, “We’re going to make it soundproof.” Clearly, the wall’s so thick, it’s got so much on it today, it’s got a sound rating of some sort today, so what’s the measure of success for how you make it soundproof?

Jonah Lupton: We do a sound test up-front. That’s part of our … We have a two or three step process before we can even sell them any product. Obviously, we have a lot of leads that come into our website. Sales reps are out there generating leads. We’re going into a lot of different marketing channels to all generate leads. Once we get interest from the property, then we have to diagnose the problem. Is it something that we can help with? Is it a wall problem? Is it room-to-room? If there’s noise … If they’re on a busy intersection in downtown Boston and there’s street noise, that’s a window problem. That’s nothing that we can really help them with. Same thing if people are running up and down the hallways or slamming doors. We can help a little bit with that, but that’s more of a door problem.

So, as long as we diagnose that it’s a wall problem, we need them to send us some pictures. If we think that it’s an appropriate wall, meaning there’s no weird vents or something going from one room to the next, which you see once in a while, but assuming that it’s a project that we want to take on, I would say to one of my sales reps … I have 65 sales reps around the country in every major market. They’d go to the property, take some pictures, make a video, shakes some hands, et cetera, and then they’re going to run their own little amateurish sound test. Each sales rep has a portable speaker system with a built-in amp and Bluetooth and all that. Then they have a class 1 sound level meter, so they can essentially run their own sound test from room to room to determine, at least, how much sound we think is coming through the wall.

From that, I can sort of predict, if we put our product on the wall, how much sound we can essentially take out. In most cases … Well, I should say in all cases, it’s somewhere between 80 and 100%. It averages out around 90% just depending on the loudness of the noise, of course, and then the frequency range. Mid-frequency, we’re the best. We obviously do a great job on the high-end and the low-end, but the higher the frequency, the better we do. The lower stuff is a little bit harder to work with, but we still do.

So, I’d say we’re blocking out 60 to 70% on the low end, and 80, 90, 100% on the high-end.

John Jantsch: Many of the listeners of my show are small business owners and marketers. I know that one of the things that I’m guessing some of them might be thinking is, are their extra challenges in essentially creating a category? I mean, you would think, okay, this is blue sky opportunity out there, but there’s also challenges because nobody’s ever bought soundproof paint before.

Jonah Lupton: Exactly. That is one of the challenges, and that’s why we’re spending a lot of money on PR and brand-awareness and educating the market, and a lot of cold email outreach. I know a lot of people want to call it spam, but at the end of the day, I mean, we really did create a product that solves a problem for the hotels and the apartment buildings. I do believe that some of them want to hear from us, and we can’t get to all of them through conventional Facebook ads and PR and SEO and all that stuff. So, sometimes, we do have to buy some lists of general managers and blast out a cold email, and we actually get some really good response rates. We get great open rates. We get good click-through rates because I think people in these markets are genuinely intrigued by what we can offer them.

Now, and then the challenge is, of course, no one’s ever heard of soundproof paint. No one’s ever used it. There’s very few searches every month for soundproof paint. So, I can’t just create a bunch of content and have a nice website and put it out there and expect people to find us because it’ll take too long. We really have to be aggressive and proactive and go find them, bring them to the website, educate them, engage with them. It is a learning process, especially as we start going into the architect and the interior designers. I mean, we can’t drop them an email and expect to see us spec’d into a project two weeks later. We really have to nurture those relationships for a while, build up their confidence before they feel they can use us on a job, and it’s not going to come back and bite them.

John Jantsch: How much skepticism do you encounter? In other words, somebody saying, “Oh, yeah. Great. No way that works.”

Jonah Lupton: I think there was definitely a lot of skepticism in the last couple years as i was developing the product before I knew or anyone knew if I could actually pull this off. Once we did a project in Connecticut this past summer, and we hired independent acoustical engineers to come on site and do all the testing before and after the treatment, as well as having employees from the hotel in there before and after, it was like … The quote that I actually … I don’t think I put it on the website, but one of the housekeepers actually said to me, “When you start selling this and you start making your millions and you buy your mansion on the beach, can I come be your housekeeper?”

I was blown away. I really was speechless because that was our first real, real-world test. I had no idea how good it was going to do, how good is perform, and the way the acoustical engineer performs the test is similar to what my sales reps do. They bring in their portable amps and speakers. They hook it up. They play white noise at 95 to 100 decibels in one room. Then they go into the next room and they take readings, and this is before we put any product on the wall. So, 95 to 100 decibels in one room was translating to about 75 decibels in the next room. 75 decibels is still very obnoxious. So, if someone was in that room trying to sleep, they would have been very, very annoyed.

Then, we put our product on the wall, three coats, 30 wet mils each, let it dry. We do all that in less than a day. Then the next day, the acoustical engineer came back, and did the same test. We had dropped the decibels from 75 down to 55. At 55 decibels, you almost can’t hear anything unless you get really, really, really close to the wall.

That’s where you do have the perceptions of a soundproofed room.

John Jantsch: What did some of your previous businesses, and you may have not thought about this, but you may have an opinion. What have some of your previous business successes and failures been able to inform you on this venture?

Jonah Lupton: I actually posted about this a couple days ago. I guess it was last week on LinkedIn. I talked about my first failure, which was a company called Social Track back in 2007, when I … I mean, this is the early days of the internet, I guess, for guys like me that are non-technical, and in 2007, I was trying to find a couple co-founders. I knew I had this idea of … I wanted to create a dashboard that aggregated all of your social media feeds into one place. So, you’re Facebook feed, your LinkedIn, your Twitter, your YouTube, all in one pretty, nice-to-read dashboard. You could see all your activity, your connections, and messages, et cetera.

I was bootstrapping it because I was working full-time in the investment business, so I was making 100 grand, 120 grand a year and paying for rent and everything else. At the end of the month, whatever I had left over, I tried to put into Social Track. I found two co-founders literally off of Craigslist. We split up the equity one-third each. I had no idea what a vesting schedule was, so we didn’t do one of those, and quickly realized that neither one of these guys was going to be a good co-founder. They were both working full-time jobs. They were both married. They both had kids. One was getting read to move from Boston to New York, so he wouldn’t be very involved. He still owned a third of the company, and I had no way to really get it back.

I learned a lot of hard, hard lessons, where if you have a great idea and you realize it’s going to take a lot of capital to take that idea to the market and grow it, you have to go out and fundraise. I mean, as much as it sucks giving up equity and the company, that was not the kind of company that I should’ve been trying to bootstrap from the beginning.

Basically, a year after I shut the company down, Hootsuite launched, with essentially the same setup, the same idea, and they’re now a billion and a half dollar company. Not that I necessarily could have grown a Hootsuite. I mean, they’ve executed incredibly well. They have great investors, great employees and everything, but it was just a lesson that, I mean, if you don’t have the right co-founders and you’re not well capitalized, it is very, very, very difficult to scale a company in the technology space.

John Jantsch: I suspect that SoundGuard has been a bit capital intensive.

Jonah Lupton: It was. Yeah. Certainly developing the formula, all the testing. I did not appreciate how expensive all the testing would be, from lab testing to field testing, hiring acoustical engineers, doing fire testing, testing on the ingredients to make sure that we could pass all the EPA standards. We’re considered an environmentally friendly and low VOC product. We’re about 105 grams of hazardous material per liter, and the EPA says you have to be below 250. So, we are well, well below the EPA standards for eco-friendliness, which is good. I mean, that was obviously one of my goals from the beginning. It’s a water-based product.

So, coming up with a environmentally-friendly, water-based product that could block sound that didn’t infringe on any other patents out there, that could be sprayed onto a wall, could dry within two hours, that didn’t sag, that didn’t bubble … I mean, it was not easy, and it was expensive. I mean, in the last year and a half, I’ve probably spent 50 or 60,000 dollars just on legal work. Filing all the patents, having a manufacturing agreement set up and sales rep agreement and warrantees and all that stuff. Probably 50, 60,000 in legal work, 50, 60,000 on testing, 50, 60,000 on product development, maybe more than that, probably more than a 100. It has been expensive. I bootstrapped it with just my personal capital and business loans, more business loans than personal capital. My last couple starters basically wiped out my personal capital.

I went to a couple friends that are not even high net worth, but they just believed in what I was doing and they were willing to take a chance on this before we even had the product. I just did the classic Kevin O’Leary from Shark Tank, like, “Hey, give me $50,000. If this thing actually works and we start producing revenue, I’ll pay you back double your money.” Because a banker’s not going to give me any money. That was my only option. Then once we had the product, we did the test in Connecticut, we knew this stuff actually worked, I went back to them and I said, “Give me another $50,000, but now I’ll pay you 75% return on your money.” Then the last chunk of $50,000 was, “I’ll pay you 50% return on your money.”

Because as we took risk out of the company, obviously I was not willing to pay him the same terms that I was up front.

John Jantsch: What do you ultimately see your team looking like?

Jonah Lupton: I’m in the process of hiring right now. I would say of all the things that we are trying to tackle, hiring is the one that scares me the most. From running my own podcast for a couple years and doing 200 interviews, almost across the board, when I asked the founder, “What’s been the most critical aspect to your success in growth?” And it’s always the people. First, it’s people. Second is focus. So, those are the two things that I’m really, really honing in on is one, don’t get distracted by other meaningless ventures and projects that are going to come my way and two, I have to get the right people in place. I’ve never had to hire at scale before, and that’s what really scares me.

So, I don’t know if I should be trying to do it all myself or if I should try to bring in a part-time recruiter. There’s a couple companies out there that are trying to invest in us or form strategic partnerships. If I did something like that, one of the reasons would be so I could plug in to their HR staff and have their HR team help me hire the right people. We have 65 sales reps across the country, commission only guys, great people, but it’s very hard to get production from them unless you’re right in their face all the time. You’ve got to stay top of mind. I can’t manage 65 sales reps and then we’re probably bringing on another 50 distributors. That’s too many people and relationships for me to manage by myself. I need to hire at least a couple sales manager. I need to hire an operations manager, at least one or two, to help me go around the country and act as a project manager once things are up and running.

Right now, I’m outsourcing everything else. So, bookkeeping’s outsourced, obviously the legal work. I’m currently working with a digital marketing agency. Although, I’m getting ready to hire someone a little bit bigger and better. I’m quarter-backing a lot of things. I’m trying not … I can’t micromanage every little aspect of the company, so I really need to get the right people in place and then act as a manager of managers.

John Jantsch: Do you have, and again, maybe premature to be asking this question, but do you have an end-game in mind, or do you just want to see where this can go?

Jonah Lupton: Yeah. I mean, a little bit of both. I mean, I’ve certainly thought about it. I mean, I’ve put together spreadsheets of projects and everything else that may or may not come to fruition. Right now, with B2B market, like I said, so the hotels, the apartments, et cetera. In five months, we go B2C, so the homeowners, the small business owners, et cetera. I think this year, we can do at least 15 million in revenue, two-thirds of that coming B2B, one-third of that B2C. I think 15 is actually a little bit conservative, and we bring on the right distributors. Right now, I have a couple $250 million companies from Canada, Europe, and Australia asking to be the exclusive distributors in those areas. There’s so many good things that can happen over the next few months that could take that $15 million number up to 20 or 30 million.

I’ll say right now, I mean, I’ve already declined offers for $10 million for the company. It took me all of three seconds to say, “No thanks,” but each of those companies that wants to buy us would also be a great partner for us. Whether they make a strategic investment or whether we put together some sort of a joint venture partnership … I mean, all that stuff’s on the table. I’ll be in Boston all week meeting with a couple companies to discuss those things. VC firms are starting to call me, but right now, I’m just not ready to go down that VC channel. I don’t think it’s every going to make sense for us. I’d rather focus on strategic partnerships and strategic investments from big,..

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#Transcript of How to Market a Product Idea That Nobody Has Heard Of

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repumktg61602 · 6 years