#this is how i spent my time right before class instead of reviewing info about classwork which probably wouldve actually been helpful

[professorxsmokesweed]

Chapter 1. 

Hi my name is Charles Francis Xavier and I have floppy brown wavy hair (completely unrelated to how I got my name) and bright blue eyes that are more blue than the color blue everyone comments on them constantly and a lot of people tell me I look like Charles Darwin (AN: if u don’t know who he is get the hell out of here!). I’m not related to Gregor Mendel but I wish I was because he’s a major fucking hottie. I’m a mutant but I look exactly like a normal human. People sometimes call me Professor X (because of my mutation). I’m also rich, and I have a giant mansion in Westchester New York that I’m converting into a school (I’m 30). I’m an academic (in case you couldn’t tell) and I wear mostly cardigans. I love Oxford (the university where I graduated) and I buy all my clothes from there. For example today I was wearing a blue cardigan (to bring out my eyes) with a white button up, tan slacks, and black shoes. I don’t need to wear lipstick, since my lips are already so naturally red. I was walking outside the mansion. It was extremely sunny with some clouds, which I was very happy about. A lot of CIA agents stared at me. I ignored them because I am the better man. 

“Hey Charles!” shouted a voice. I looked up. It was.... Erik Lehnsherr! (Magneto)!

“What’s up Erik?” I asked. 

“Nothing.” he said and then silently stared very intently at me. 

But then, I heard my students call me and I had to go away. 

#AN: IS it good? PLZ tell me xmenz! #hello hi hello does anyone know what my immortal is anymore. are half of you even old enough. #please google it and then go 'okay this is funny' #it took me so long to find a way to replace hot topic i was sasuke thinking.gif #it couldnt be an actual clothing brand because most people on this site dont know those & theres no way it couldve been left as hot topic #this is how i spent my time right before class instead of reviewing info about classwork which probably wouldve actually been helpful #i want to make this my pinned but i also feel like i need an intro section. hmmm #i shouldve made one for erik too. alas #cherik

[weasleysimp394]

Boggart [F.W.]

word count - 1.4k

Fred Weasley x Reader

A/N - please be nice lmao this is my first time writing an imagine. This story is based on what I imagine my own boggart would be.

TW - self h*rm (scratching), depression and anxiety, mention of a su*cide attempt, and monophobia (i think that’s what it’s called; fear of abandonment)

Background info - in this scenario, Newt Scamander was born in 1978, the same year as you and the twins, and Lupin wasn’t fired in your 5th year.

________________

In your sixth year, you take Defence Against the Dark Arts for a NEWT level with your friends George and Newt. There are Fewer students than in your OWL classes, so often times your classes are a mix of students from all four houses. 

Today in DADA Professor Lupin is reviewing Boggarts and has brought one from Snape’s potions stores for you and your classmates to practice on. The cabinet in the corner rattles and shakes while Professor Lupin talks about how he had to convince Professor Snape to let him take the boggart instead of just letting Snape deal with it. “remember class, if you happen to come across a Boggart outside of school, you should avoid dealing with it alone! Boggarts are best dealt with with other people.” Lupin reminds everyone of the counter curse Riddikulus and instructs everyone to think upon their happiest memory. Memories of the Christmas you spent with your boyfriend Fred and his family resurface in your mind and you smile. You can still smell the crackling fire and taste Mrs. Weasley’s hot chocolate.

You’re jolted back into the present by Lupin’s instructions “think of your greatest fear, and how to turn it into something Jovial!” Your face falls as your anxieties and fear surface from where you keep them buried. While you’re lost in thought Professor Lupin instructs everyone to form a line in front of the cabinet. You find yourself herded fourth in line, behind a gryffindor girl you don’t know, your house prefect Cedric Diggory, and George, with Newt behind you. You watch the gryffindor girl turn her boggart from a mummy into a pile of toilet paper, and the rest of the class laughs while you wrack your brain on how to turn your greatest fear into something laughable. Cedric approaches the boggart and it turns into a dark-haired ravenclaw girl crying and backing away from him. Before you can recognize this as fear of hurting those close to you, Cedrick has turned the boggart into his girlfriend laughing. George approaches the boggart next, and your anxiety heightens.

how do i make this funny?!

You’re wrenched from your thoughts as you watch George cast Riddikulus and the boggart shifts from his twin’s corpse into Fred energetically doing the chicken dance, and the whole class bursts out laughing. “I’ll be right back class!” Lupin says chuckling as he slips into the hallway to talk to Professor McGonagall. 

Your hands shake and you approach the boggart nervously. Fred stops doing the chicken dance and with a pop the boggart turns into your mother looking imperiously at you, her lips curling into a wicked smile. “you’ll never be good enough.” she says, her voice dripping with contempt. With another pop the boggart turns into your father, malice written all over his face. “why can’t you do anything right?” he chuckles, and again the boggart turns into someone else. Your older sister. Your mind goes numb, the counter-spell forgotten. You hear Draco Malfoy laugh as the boggart turns into Newt. “What’s wrong Y/L/N, cat got your tongue?” Draco and boggart Newt wear matching malicious smirks. The rest of class can only stand there, mesmerized.

pop

You choke out a sob as the boggart turns into Fred. Fred, who was always so good at comforting you and making you laugh, was now towering over you, his face uncharacteristically dripping with contempt. You fell to your knees at his words, unable to move. “I never loved you Y/N. I’m leaving.” an evil smirk still painted across boggart Fred’s face. You tore your eyes away from what was now your worst nightmare unfolding before you. You were gone before you could hear Newt shout Riddikulus!, bumping into Professor Lupin in the hallway, tears streaming down your cheeks. You ignored Professor McGonagall and Professor Lupin’s shouts, running to your favorite hiding spot in the castle, where you knew you could be alone.

____________

“Riddikulus!” Newt shouted, and the boggart now disguised as a writing desk quickly exploded. “Bloody Hell mate, d’you reckon you know where Y/N went?” George said, worry written across his face. “No, but i have a few ideas. I’m going to look for them, and if i can’t find them, i’ll meet you in the great hall.” Newt said, quickly becoming determined to find you before your thoughts could get the best of you. He shuddered, thinking of the night Professor Lupin carried you back to the hufflepuff common room, having found you unconscious at the top of astronomy tower, passed out before you could jump. Newt shook his head and cleared his thoughts, right now he just needed to focus on finding you. He nodded and waved to George as the two boys set off in different directions.

After searching the entire third and fourth floors, Newt trudged down to the great hall, exhausted, discouraged, and really worried. He glanced at the hufflepuff table, laden with food for lunch, then sat down at the gryffindor table, across from Fred and George. “any luck?” Newt asked, glancing at George and picking up a bowl of soup. Fred grimaced at your choice of soup and George shook his head solemnly. “what were you guys doing Georgie?” Fred looked to his twin, curious. Newt nearly choked on his soup. “You didn’t tell him what happened?!?” an oh shit look quickly spread across George’s face while Newt’s spelled shock. He quickly explained to Fred what had happened in Defence against the Dark Arts while George guiltily pushed his food around his plate. As Newt explained what had happened, Fred’s face changed from worry to anger. “Are you both daft?? Why in the bloody hell would you leave her alone?! You should’ve come and found me, I know where she’ll be!”

Fred jumped up out of his seat, shooting a pissed look at a confused Newt and George. He raced up the moving staircases, and climbed a winding staircase up to a tower overlooking the giant squid playing in the lake. Fred’s face softened with worry as he found you curled up there, dozed off, tears staining your red cheeks, your wrists an angry red from being scratched. He knelt in front of you and lifted your chin with his thumb and pointer finger, gently waking you. You look up, confused and dazed as he wipes away your tears. “it’s okay love, i’m here.” he whispers with a sad smile. Your eyes fall, unable to meet his gaze. “it was you. in Professor Lupin’s room. You said you never loved me, and that you were leaving.” Your whole body shakes as sobs wrack your body. “that wasn’t me darling, that was a boggart. I would never say those things.” Fred says softly, catching your hand before you can start scratching again, he gently traces circles on your palm, grounding you. The small tower room is silent for a moment as tears stream down your cheeks. Then you find yourself pushing Fred away, unable to stop your hands. “I don’t deserve this.” you whisper “you should be with someone who’s not... broken.” you choke on another sob.

Fred stands up and picks you up easily, then sits down and gently places you in his lap. His hands circle your waist, and you face him. “listen to me darling, I know you can’t believe me, but i love you with all of my heart. And to me you’re perfect, not broken in the slightest.” He lifts your head up again and forces you to look at him. “I want to be with you.” he whispers and kisses your forehead. You fall forward, burying yourself in his chest, and he rubs your back whispering sweet nothings.

When you’re finally up to it, Fred takes you by the hand and leads you back down to the great hall, where all your friends, George, Newt, Ginny, and Luna earnestly await your return. You eat a grilled cheese sandwich and smile while Newt cheers you up sending his niffler to steal Draco Malfoy’s expensive watch, the hufflepuff egged on by the twins. Fred’s thumb rubs circles on the back of your hand and he whispers “you’re good enough darling.” just for you to hear.

____________

A/N: thanks a bunch for reading, especially if you made it this far! If you want me to do an imagine/scenario about your boggart, send it to me and i’ll definitely get to you, since this is my first post!

thanks loves, have a magical day! 💛

#fred weasley #fred weasley x reader #newt scamander #boggart #george weasley #fred weasley imagine #mental breakdown #hogwarts #professor lupin

[927roses-and-stuff]

Miracles in Gotham: Chapter 4: Unwelcome Discoveries (Part 2)

Hey, guys! This fic is inspired by @ozmav’s Maribat AU. Shoutout to @mystery-5-5 for brainstorming ideas with me for this fic. 

Woah, updating twice within the same week? It’s like I finally learned how to manage my time!... Not. Honestly this is my stress relief right now because I have two papers due tomorrow and those subjects are not as much fun to write about. On another note, I just finished my midterm and passed! So, yay! Anyways, hope you guys enjoy and have a little bit of luck come your way too. 

Btw, after you’re reading this can you guys please tell me if I’m writing too much angst after reading through this chapter??? I am writing what I think would logically happen in this type of scenario, but I also tend to be really pessimistic. 

If you want to see more, follow: #miraclesingotham or ask to be added to the tag list.

Tag list: @northernbluetongue @zerotosiki @spicybelladonna @my-name-is-michell @legendaryneckjudgestudent @lokiifriggasonn

First Previous Next Fanfic

By the time Marinette entered the classroom, her mood had lifted considerably from moments before. She sat at her usual seat and prepared her things as the rest of the class filed in. Her mood was slightly disrupted by a disgruntled Lila who roughly swept past her, but otherwise it seemed like today was finally going to be a normal day; well as normal as one could get in Paris, anyway. As the last remaining students settled in, Mme. Bustier walked into the room with a huge stack of papers. She settled them on her desk before addressing everyone. 

“Good morning, everyone!” 

“Good morning, Mme. Bustier,” the class parroted back in varying degrees of enthusiasm. Mme. Bustier smiled in satisfaction. 

“Now before we begin our usual morning exercise, I would like to call up Marinette and Alya to help me distribute these packages for you. I will give you a few minutes to look through it before discussing it further,” she said, as she split the pile of papers in half and handed one half to each girl. Marinette’s eyes bulged. The stack of papers consisted of multiple stacks of paper about twenty pages long each. She and Alya shared a glance before obeying Mme. Bustier’s orders. She started at Chloe and Sabrina’s desk and ended with Rose and Juleka at the back. Then, she returned to her seat, analyzing the stack of papers in front of her.

“Wayne Enterprises Sponsored International Connections Program in Gotham City, USA Information Package and Permission Forms”

After that was a bunch of paragraphs that Marinette skimmed over. The first few pages detailed what the program was for, their accommodations, costs for travel along with what necessary documents were needed, and all sorts of other details that made Marinette dizzy. The next few pages after that outlined the risks specific to Gotham and resources that students and their guardians were strongly recommended to review before even stepping onto Gotham grounds. The pages after that were permission forms asking for the legal guardian’s consent, her personal info, insurance, etc. 

Needless to say, the whole class was baffled. In fact, some of them were downright lost, considering they didn’t even know a Gotham City existed in the US. Or what Wayne Enterprises was supposed to be and why they were offered to join this program. Only Max and Alya seemed excited at the prospect of the field trip, judging on the excited murmurs that Marinette could hear. She picked up on the word “vigilantes” from Alya and “greatest detective” from somewhere behind her  and suddenly it all made sense. She wasn’t sure if she heard correctly, but she was pretty sure she heard Lila talking in self-assured whispers to the confused people around her. She held in a scoff, before returning her attention to the papers in front of her.

Marinette frowned, closing the package and pushing it away from her. She waited for Mme. Bustier to explain the details more clearly. Unfortunately, Marinette already knew there was no way she could go, at least, not without risking Paris’ safety. 

“If you have finished, please bring your attention to me. I will explain everything. Please leave all your questions till the end,” Mme. Bustier said, clapping her hands to get everyone’s attention. “As you may have noticed, this opportunity has been given to us by M. Bruce Wayne of Wayne Enterprises. He has chosen our school as a trial school for a program that he wants to implement next year to help expand student achievement nationally and internationally. As well as to encourage young students like yourselves to make connections with students from other countries. In fact, I believe it was Mayor Bourgeois who sent M. Wayne a glowing recommendation of our class from fundraising events to everyone’s extracurriculars and achievements! I am so proud of all of you.” 

At the front, Chloé straightened in her seat and smiled smugly. Beside her, Sabrina was looking from Chloé to the stack of papers in front of her in disbelief. The class was in a similar state of shock, and soon whispers erupted excitedly from most people in the class before Mme. Bustier silenced them all. 

Oh, that made sense, Marinette thought. Despite the sense of pride she felt for herself and the class (their hard work deserved some reward after all, especially with all the akumas recently), she knew Mayor Bourgeois was not the type of person to recommend just anyone from the goodness of his heart. He had recommended this class to M. Wayne for Chloé’s own success. Which was a bit of a shame, Marinette thought, since Chloé had more than enough resources to find opportunities for herself. However, she couldn’t help but feel grateful to whatever deity convinced Mayor Bourgeois to include the class, anyway.

“Anyways,” Mme. Bustier said when the class had calmed down. “I expect everyone here to listen to what I have to say and take it to heart.” Mme. Bustier’s voice settled lowered, her tone becoming dangerously low. “This program is a huge opportunity however, Gotham City is full of many risks and I am making it absolutely mandatory for everyone in this room, as well as their legal guardians to use the sources outlined under “Risks to be Aware of While in Gotham City” Section. While M. Wayne has assured the supervisors for the trip as well as M. Damocles that our accommodations will be in Gotham’s financial district, there is still going to be danger; more than what we’re accustomed to in Paris.” 

At the end of her spiel, the atmosphere in the room weighed heavy on Marinette. She had never seen Mme. Bustier so strict before, her teal eyes piercing through everybody in the room. 

“Um, Mme. Bustier?” Lila spoke and stood up. The class swivelled their attention to her. “I’ve actually been to Gotham City and have met M. Wayne before for a humanitarian project. I’m sure M. Wayne will make sure to do everything to keep us safe.” 

“That may be, Lila, but I assure you, these instructions were given to me by M. Wayne himself via email. He will do his best to make sure our trip is as safe as possible, but that means we need to do our part in keeping ourselves safe.” 

Blinking owlishly, Lila faltered. “Yes, of course, Mme. Bustier.” She forced a smile. “I was just saying so because it would be an absolute shame for anyone to miss out on such a great opportunity!” 

Marinette rolled her eyes. Sure, she thought. That, or she just wanted everyone to know that she knew Bruce Wayne- whoever he was- and be impressed.  At least she didn’t claim that she saved Bruce Wayne’s horse or something similar. Or claim to be friends with the vigilantes Alya had been fangirling about earlier.

The rest of the morning was spent going through the rest of the package from how to ensure that everyone had their visa, to what they should bring and how they should behave while they were there. Marinette frowned; there was something off about this trip. She wasn’t sure whether it was the duration of the trip ( which had a minimum of one month, with extra time being granted in case of any future interruptions), or why an American company would choose this specific French class for the trial program instead of a class in say, London, or any other country that spoke English. It seemed that Max was thinking along the same lines as her, because the moment Mme. Bustier finished, his hand shot up in the air. 

“Yes, Max?” 

“I have a few questions concerning this program. Why is there a minimum allotted time for our stay? Would our parents need to agree to any extension of staying? And how are we supposed to communicate or even understand anything when most of us don’t speak English?” 

Mme. Bustier smiled. “Those are all excellent questions. As I have said before, Gotham City is dangerous so there might be trips that are part of the program that will need to be rescheduled or we may need to take a later flight in case anything happens at the airport. Therefore, we need to be aware that our trip may last longer than the required month. Next, while we are there, you will be put in remedial English classes along with any classes you choose to take at Gotham Academy for the duration of our stay. This way, you will have the opportunity to brush up your English skills.” 

Alya was quick to stand up and shoot her hand in the air. “Will we be going on any field trips outside of Gotham City? Like Metropolis?” 

Mme. Bustier stared at her. “Maybe, but as for now, all details of the trip are included in the itinerary in your packages.” 

Alya deflated, slumping in her seat. Marinette turned toward her and whispered, “What’s so special about Metropolis?”

She perked up and whispered excitedly. “It’s the home of Superman, Booster Gold and Blue Beetle!” Marinette had absolutely no clue -nor any real desire to know- who those were. It didn’t seem to matter as Alya rambled on. “And, and, and, it’s also the home to Pulwitzer prize-winning journalist Lois freaking Lane  from the Daily Planet. I love her. I think I told Nino once that I would leave him for her (Nino gave an affirmative “uh huh”) if the opportunity ever arose and he said he wouldn’t mind as long as he could be with Superman. But that’s alright because Lois Lane is a badass and I love her; she is a genius-” 

“Ahem.” Mme. Bustier coughed. Alya stopped mid-speech and laughed sheepishly. Her voice must have been louder than she realized.

“Sorry Mme. Bustier.” 

“No problem, Alya. Just keep your excitement until the end of class.” She smiled softly. “And, I will see if I can mention your love for Lois Lane to M. Wayne.”

The way Alya froze in her seat, her jaw unhinged and wide eyes, Marinette wasn’t sure if she was in normal shock or if Mme. Bustier had actually managed to kill her with words. She chuckled before nudging her side to bring her back to reality. Shaken out of her stupor, Alya thanked Mme. Bustier and sat in her seat. Her smile was record-breakingly wide and she seemed to vibrate in place. 

Letting out a giggle, Marinette was ecstatic for her best friend. Sure, she may not know the superheroes she mentioned, and still wasn’t too sure of who Lois Lane was, but Alya looked like she won a million euros and meeting her idol would be a great opportunity. As Alya continued to freak out however, she shared glances between Adrien and Nino in front of her and had to stifle their laughter. 

Maybe if Alya did meet Lois Lane and Superman, and Gotham vigilantes, she could share her excitement with Marinette when the class returned to Paris. 

The rest of the day had been pretty normal, with the addition of excitement in the air as her class discussed the trip to Gotham. Students from other classes seemed to be split between being jealous of the class for the opportunity, or relieved at the foreseeable absence of what they dubbed as “the akuma class.” Students from her own class huddled together in their small groups, already planning on what they wanted to do, what they thought Gotham would be like, and how they were excited to meet any cute Americans. Marinette couldn’t help but let their excitement affect her as well. Not only was going abroad always a cause for excitement but surely it was a relief to be able to leave Paris in the foreseeable future. It was exhausting being targeted by stupid demonic butterflies and sucking up your feelings like they didn’t exist (Unless you were Lila, then you cried and let everyone worry about your emotional state and any akumas that could come from it, that is). However, Marinette had a feeling that this trip to Gotham would stir a lot of drama within their class, when everyone had the chance to reveal any negative emotions without the consequence of an akuma around. 

Well, that was that, she supposed as she went home for the lunch break, the permission forms tucked under her arm. She had been half tempted to chuck them in a bin somewhere, but knew her parents would be pissed if she didn’t tell them. Thus, she entered the bakery and once there was a lull in the orders, asked both of her parents if they could talk. 

She led them upstairs in the living room and placed the bundle of papers on the dining room table. Marinette briefly explained the program and let them read through the package carefully. By the time they finished, Marinette only had an hour left of her two hour lunch break. 

“So?” She prompted, trying to gauge their reactions. 

Her maman and dad exchanged a glance and nodded, before turning back to her. 

“You’re definitely going.” Her maman said, putting the package back on the table. 

Marinette’s jaw dropped. “Wait, Maman, don’t you need some more time to think about this?” She couldn’t believe it. She should’ve chucked the package in a bin. 

Her dad frowned. “Marinette, we don’t like it either, and it’s not...ideal, but we believe it’s for the best if you stay away from Paris for now.” 

Marinette’s eyes widened, glancing back and forth between her maman and dad. “What do you mean?” 

Her maman sighed. “Ever since we almost got akumatized on the day you were expelled, me and your father have been talking, and well, Paris isn’t safe for you anymore. It hasn’t been for a long time.”

Her dad nodded in agreement. Marinette felt befuddled. She felt like she definitely lost a few brain cells. 

“Gotham City isn’t safe either, Maman, Papa. Didn’t you see the risks listed?” Marinette asked, grabbing the package and desperately scouring through the package. This was so not happening; she couldn’t afford to leave Paris. 

She heard a sigh coming from her maman, before her hands settled on Marinette’s own. Marinette glanced up to stare at her maman’s cloudy grey gaze. “It’s definitely not ideal, and we wish you were somewhere safer, but I trust that M. Wayne and the school administration would never have allowed this to happen if it was too risky.” 

“But-” 

“And, “ her dad interjected before Marinette could continue. “If this hadn’t come up, we would’ve sent you away with your grandmère and you would’ve had to pause your schooling and travel around Europe with her until it was safe to come back home.” 

“Or,” her maman added, giving Tom a small glare. “We would’ve sent you to Shanghai with your uncle Wang. At least this way, you can continue with your schooling and still be with your friends under the maximum amount of protection.” 

Her breathing turned heavy at her words. Her heart was beating faster, was it just her imagination or did it feel like the room was stuffier than before. She didn’t understand. Why now? They had been planning to send her away. She pressed a hand against her chest to try to control her breathing. In through the nose, out through the mouth. It had been a calming trick Master Fu had shown her when she had been at the edge of getting an anxiety attack. 

Not for the first time, Marinette wished she could just tell her parents she was Ladybug. Then again, maybe that would’ve motivated them further to get her out of Paris. 

No, her maman and papa loved her. They just wanted her to be safe. They weren’t aware she’d been taking care of Paris all this time. 

She felt her maman’s warm presence beside her as her papa engulfed them both. She barely registered the apologies her maman whispered as she stroked her hair. She was too busy pushing down all her anxieties. 

She couldn’t risk getting akumatized. 

Her lunch break had been long over by the time she had calmed down. By then, both her maman and papa had returned to the bakery with promises that they would talk about this tomorrow and that they would call the school to report her absence for the afternoon. 

Marinette barely registered them as she trudged up to her bedroom. Then her bathroom. Shower. Dry hair. Change of clothes. Bed. 

She didn’t know what to feel. She didn’t notice the kwamis flying towards her and snuggling with her, in her hair and the crook of her neck. 

“What do I do?” She asked listlessly. 

Tikki floated to her field of vision. “Marinette. It’ll be okay.” 

“How?” 

Tikki didn’t give an answer. She sighed and sat up. She was going to write in her diary until she read her last entry. Right. Marianne. She sighed. She’d call her and then go on an early patrol of the city. 

She didn’t want the helplessness that came with being Marinette.

Taking a long, deep breath, she grabbed her tablet and called Marianne through video chat. Surprisingly, despite her age, Marianne adapted to technology pretty well. She and Master Fu were living somewhere in London, enjoying their retirement together. Marinette liked to keep up with them regularly, since she missed Master Fu, and their present now gave her hope for her own future. 

She waited for the screen to load, and smiled widely when Marianne’s face entered the screen. She looked like she had just gotten home; the makeup she was wearing was starting to fade, and her hair was tied in a slightly wet updo bun.

“Marinette! Bonjour! How have you been, darling?” Marinette noticed that she had adopted a slight British accent when she talked. It hadn’t been that long since they last talked, so maybe her and Master Fu had been going out more. 

“Bonjour Marianne.” She softly waved her hand. “Everything’s fine actually. How are you and Master Fu?”

Marianne smiled, re-focusing her own screen so Marinette could see her more clearly. “Everything’s been great. Wang has taken to liking massage parlors again. We just visited one yesterday.” 

Marinette smiled fondly. She could feel Wayzz’s presence on her shoulder as he listened intently. If anyone had been more devastated than Marinette about Master Fu’s amnesia and departure, it would have been Wayzz. It had taken a long time for him to open up to Marinette and the other kwamis, often leaving the Oolong tea she brewed for him to run cold. Fortunately, he was getting better and opening up more. Their love for Master Fu had been what helped he and Marinette bond together as a new Guardian and kwami. 

“I’m glad. It seems like you two are really happy.” 

Marianne squinted her eyes; she could feel her gaze through the screen. “Why did you call, Marinette?”

“I, ah, had a question about the Miraculous actually. I was wondering if your time with Master Fu before had given you any insight to them.” 

Marianne frowned slightly, rubbing her chin. “I’ve picked up on a few things, but Wang was really secretive. I’ll give it my best shot for you, dear.” 

“Thank you! I was wondering if you had any clue as to why the Miracle Box turned into an egg when Master Fu renounced his Guardianship to me?” 

Marianne sighed. “I wish I could tell you, but I’m as lost as you are.” 

She deflated. Her hands gripped the tablet tighter. She knew there was only a miniscule chance that Marianne would’ve known anything, but a tiny part of her had hoped that luck would be on her side. Exhaling, Marinette thanked her. 

On the other side of the screen, Marianne’s frown deepened. As happy as she was with Wang Fu, it was cruel for destiny to hand such a young child the enormous and numerous responsibilities that the Guardian had to bear. She glanced at Wang, who was sleeping on the couch contentedly. She was happy they could now spend the rest of their lives together in peace when most of it had been previously spent in war. 

Speaking of war… 

“Marinette, darling! I think I might know of someone who can help you!” 

Marinette perked up. She had been about to change the subject or close the call, but maybe she had a bit of luck on her side after all. 

“Who?” 

“During the war, when Wang and I escaped to Paris, we were aided by someone who would become one of our closest friends. When he was recruited to battle in the war, he was very young, so Wang had lent him the Snake Miraculous for its powers of Intuition, at least until the war was over.” 

Marinette felt Wayzz stiffen on her shoulder. 

“She doesn’t mean…”

“Unfortunately,” Marianne continued. “When he returned home, he had an argument with Wang and almost didn’t return the Miraculous. It was only a month later that he left it on our doorstep. We haven’t heard from him since, but maybe he might know something. He was always a genius and intuitive beyond his years.” 

Marinette frowned. “Do you know where he might be now?” 

“His name is Alfred Pennyworth. He mentioned once that his family had a tradition of serving a family called the Waynes.” 

Marinette’s frown deepened. There was the name Wayne again. Which meant Gotham. It felt like the universe really wanted her to go there. She sighed. At least she’d have an objective while she was there- if she did go in the first place. She smiled again, once she saw Marianne’s worried stare. 

“Thank you so much, Marianne. I need to go now and plan what to do. I hope you and Master Fu stay well.” 

Marianne smiled. “You too, Marinette. Don’t hesitate to call me for anything, dear.” 

She merely nodded, and they both logged off. She set aside her tablet and turned to face Sass, who was already in front of her. 

“Tell me everything you know about this Alfred Pennyworth and your time with him, Sass. I need to know if he can help before considering everything.” 

The snake kwami merely nodded. “Of course, my Guardian.”

#and of course by universe i mean me #miraclesingotham #mlb x dc #maribat au #maribat #yall im really gonna add trauma to this already traumatized butler huh #i am so sorry #this arc was not supposed to be three chapters long #even i want them to go to gotham already but the set up ugh #ml x dc

[warriorlid14]

So Rose's career:

I always imagined Rose as very much being a Gifted Child like her mother. Unlike her mother, however, she doesn't have the same passion for academics or learning. Oh, she cares about her grades and is quite competitive over them, but she's not going to spend weeks studying in advance for an exam or pouring over library books when she doesn't have to. (The way I kind of picture it is: Hermione will get an assignment then go through many many books that cover the topic and then write like three extra pages answering the prompt and adding in a bunch of other info. Rose will get the assignment, check the rubric, and then draft her essay to make sure that she hits everything on the rubric. It's well, thought out, but within the page limit and uses two sources instead of Hermione's seven. They both get O's.)

So Rose is plenty competent in a lot of subjects, but doesn't really have anything that particularly calls to her or that she's passionate about. (Unlike Hugo who's had a facination with muggle things and how they interact with magic since he was a kid. Hugo is very much a scientist and researcher and even went and got himself a PhD and loves his area of research. His biggest concern is that this area of study is practically nonexistant. In Europe, there's like four other people covering this vast topic, and he only likes two of them: a muggle-born witch who graduated from Beauxbaton and her muggle brother who spends half his time cursing wizarding research practices. How is he supposed to get his papers peer-reviewed if he has no peers?? But I'll stop talking about Hugo because this is about Rose.) When the time comes for Rose to choose a career, she has no idea what to do. She has various options that she could potentially be good at, but there's nothing that catches her eye. She ends up taking a variety of NEWT level classes to see if she finds anything. She does enjoy transfiguration more than the others, but doesn't know what to do with it and when someone suggests being a transfiguration professor, she laughs.

This is actually a super stressful time for her. She's genuinely terrified she'll find nothing that she's passionate about. Ron reassures her that no matter what she picks, she can always change her mind later on. After all, he spent years in the aurors before he found something else he enjoyed more. (Rose nods along to this, but worries that she'll be stuck in an infinite loop of job after job that she hates.) Eventually, she ends up taking an entry-level position at the ministry that her mother had told her about. It has a decent salary and could lead to a good career.

Hermione is over the moon that her baby is following in her steps. She tries to hide just how excited she is, but she secretly maps out her entire career in her mind. Her Rosie is super intelligent and talented and could end up leading any department she wanted. Her and her baby bringing an era of political change to the wizarding world? Yes, please. She will teach her all the Politics. She makes an effort to have lunch with her as often as she can and introduces her to everyone and is always like "how was your day? Did you make any new friends? Is there anything you need clarification on? Please tell me if you need anything". She has all the best intentions. But like... Rose is very much not excited about this. And she stays at the ministry for months after she had wanted to quit because she knows her mum is excited to have her there.

So this is the part where it gets super specific and I pretty much pulled a career for her out of my ass: at some point, and I haven't planned out how this happens exactly, but Rose stumbles upon a particular opportunity within a very difficult area of transfiguration, which let's call Animation as I have no other name for it right now. So imagine if we put on a play about Toy Story. Now imagine if instead of using actors, we used the actual toys. And recreated the entire movie, but using magic to bring the toys to life (... like, not actually bringing them to life. But like, puppets to the extreme. You get my point. I mean, I know they don't have movies and stuff, but they have magic. They need other entertainment other than Quidditch. And plays using all inanimate objects is my solution. They probs adopted it from muggles at some point. ANYWAY.)

So Rose, who's discovered this apprenticeship and is growing tired of her job at the ministry that she doesn't find stimulating in the slightest, decides to quit and take the apprenticeship... which is kind of the equivalent of dropping out of college to join a band. Hermione is not amused. A huge fight ensues, the biggest fight between Hermione and Rose thus far, with Hermione telling her to reconsider and that she's making a mistake and that she's jeopardizing her future. And Rose is screaming back that she can't control her life. Even Ron (after the fight and trying to calm them both down) is like "are you sure? But are you sure?" Like I said, this is a very difficult art, and very few people succeed, and unless you succeed, you will not be making a lot of money. (Ron very much does not want either of his kids struggling with money like he did). Rose dismisses their concerns. The tension between Rose and her mum is palpable for weeks afterwards.

Now Rose very much loves her new apprenticeship. As she sees what others can do and the beauty of the art and the talent behind every move makes her fall in love with it all. BUT. Here's the thing: it's a very, very difficult field of magic. She knew this, of course. In the same way she knew that getting ten OWLS was difficult, but she did it anyway (with only some effort). For the first time in her life, she struggles at simply being adequate, let alone excellent. She stays up for hours every night practicing, sometimes with little results. And after months of this, and one too many nights of crying because she's falling behind, she talks to her dad and tells him she wants to quit. That she made a mistake. That she wanted her ministry internship back, or a temporary job at the shop, or anything else really. Ron, who hates seeing his daughter struggling, agrees. (He's a little hesitant, but is like "well, if you really, really hate it")

So Rose tells Hermione that she's quitting and that she wants the job back if it's still available to her. And Hermione says no. She's not getting the internship back. Or the job at the shop. Or anything else. And she's not quitting her apprenticeship either. She's seen the way Rose's eyes light up when she talks about what she's learning. And the concentration on her face when she's practicing. And the way she looks on in awe whenever she's taken her parents to some of the shows. And she's not going to let Rose give up on doing the thing she loves.

(After some years of her apprenticeship and then trying to get her name known, Rose does indeed become super successful.)

(Meanwhile Hugo is like, a nanosecond away from breaking the statute of liberty to get some decent research funding)

#rose weasley #hugo weasley #hermione granger #ron weasley #headcanon #harry potter

[cadpadawan]

A Presentation of Epic Proportions

Just the other day, I had a school assigment of the most peculiar kind. It was supposed to be executed as a collaborative team effort in groups of 2-3 students. I was blessed with two individuals, whose contribution to the project was very minimal. One of the guys was too busy with his part-time job to contribute much, though I have to give him credit for trying anyway. The other one focused more on waiting for some kind of a divine inspiration to start working, and spent the time in the local pubs looking for it. Such a bohemian approach might have proven quite effective, had this assignment been associated with the nuances of various craft beers, but alas, it was about a sheet metal design that, by definition, must have dearly dispirited my fellow student not to give a shit. So, I basically had to maneuver this team project to completion practically on my own. For a solo endeavour, it simply was a bit too much to chew, especially as I initially set the goal a little bit too high, in some ill-adviced burst of optimism. Well, when the project started, I genuinely thought that these two heroes, without a cape, would actually contribute more to it. Eventually, I made it – but as you may observe in the transcription of the project presentation, that I had to perform in English...oh, well...check for yourself. Here it is, in full detail:

“Ok, ladies [articulated with an extensively sarcastic tone, as the audience was 99% young men], may I have your undivided attention, please...

We have gathered here today to witness the ultimate triumph of the human mind over matter, that is, sheet metal matter in this particular case. I have the immense pleasure to welcome y'all to the magical mystery Powerpoint presentation of a state-of-the-art sheet metal gun cabinet. This spectacle will be brought to you by this dubious threesome of mechanical engineering undergrads... Oh, wait. My dear colleagues in this joint venture could not make it today, unfortunately, quite like they could not make it most of the time, during this whole project. For starters, I might as well introduce you to my designer team, anyway – the aptly named Team Ahma [a reference to a Finnish sitcom]. My team consisted of these two characters, who magically were mostly absent throughout this ordeal. Had they actually made it to school today, here in the right hand corner of the podium, you'd be seeing a handsome young bloke named [I better not publish any personal information, y'know...], and in the penalty box, for cross-checking the progress, you'd be witnessing the hangover happyface [please, insert a sophomoric genitalia reference here]. Please, give a round of applause to these two high-performance individuals here.

The underlying objective of this collaborative effort was to design a steel cabinet, with the basic function to store away four individual pieces of firearms in an upright position, hence designed exclusively for weapons of the long-barreled variety, such as shotguns and hunting rifles – or, if this cabinet was targeted at customers in the Middle Eastern regions, also AK-47's. This design project was commissioned, supervised and reviewed by our Dear Leader and mentor in 3D design [well, y'know how it goes by now, don't cha...]. This sheet metal design project was commissioned with one precondition: the cabinet's storage capacity was to be limited to four guns. It was due to the fact, that the Finnish gun legislation had a thing or two to say about storing larger number of guns. The material thickness of the cabinet walls, locking mechanism and whatnot were strictly regulated if the number of weapons exceeded four. So, basically I had free hands to come up with pretty much any kind of cabinet, as long as I maintained some kind of an awareness, that the gun rack was not designed for more than four pieces.

Sounds relatively easy, right?

Except maybe for the fact, that the flood of options presented a kind of a challenge in itself. I was faced with the pointed question: where could I find a single, all-consuming concept for such a sheet metal design? You see, I didn't really pay attention when we had the theory class. I was too busy typing cover letters for a summer trainee position. Ok, where do people find info on anything nowadays?

Well, online, of course.

Despite being a member of the sad boomer generations, whose level of internet comprehension usually will not suffice for anything more than checking emails and watching dubious adult entertainment, I managed to do quite an extensive round of online research. So, before getting my hands dirty with the tedious maneuvering around the minute details of the actual design, I navigated in the cyber jungle of gun retail. I checked what kind of cabinet applications were available, with what specifications – and most importantly, for what price range.  I browsed through the online bazaars of long-barreled guns typically stored in a cabinet like this, as well. In the hope of gathering some information that might prove useful in my project. I even gave a once-over at the legislation. It was totally unnecessary, but some of the imperatives imposed by the law actually seemed worthy of consideration.

Maybe I should elaborate...

As I do not have any prior experience in the sheet metal industry, except at the customer end, I was essentially shooting in the dark at random. I could have squeezed my brain juice into the project design, with neither forethought nor intention, and just hope for the best. I decided to implement some of the basic tenets of the gun regulations in the design, instead. Neither of my fellow designer students objected. One was too busy, trying to make some money with real work, and the other one just didn't give a shit. Why did I want to go the extra mile, then?

[Off-topic alert: here comes a lengthy rant about the sad state of affairs, when you’re getting re-educated in the ripe age of +45...]

I shall graduate in December 2021, and when the day comes, I'll be closer to 50 than 40 years old. My past work history consists of mainly irrelevant bullshit jobs. Until my life drastically changed in 2016, I used to consider work as just a nifty means to pay for my real passion, that was to make music with no inherent commercial potential, that is: all kinds of progressive rock, for beer money and ”exposure”. Work was just the necessary evil to pay for all this. What I actually did for work didn't really mean shit to me...and now, as I've been trying to apply for any kind of a trainee job, suitable for a mechanical engineering undergraduate, I've come to notice that my previous work experience doesn't actually mean shit to my potential employers either. I started applying for trainee positions starting next summer already in early December. Now, we're living in mid-March. Each and every application that I sent out, bounced back like a boomerang, with the bulk response written in the most dry and academic tone: thanks, but no thanks. So, if I wanted to make a difference in the eyes of my future employers, I would be compelled to go the extra mile every single time I had the chance. I guess I can now better relate to how it must feel to be, say, young, gifted and black in this country – or in any other Western country, for that matter. I had become an old white nigga in the eyes of society. I might as well have shot heroin all my life so far...I have skills and experience that are totally irrelevant for an engineering job. 

I wonder if there was actually some factual point, that I was circum-navigating there...

To cut to the chase:

I chose to apply the minimum material thickness of 4 millimeters to the outer walls of the cabinet, along with the idea, that this cabinet ought to be practically impossible to break into. I hoped that these design constraints would lace this project with more focus and drive. After all, it's quite a hard-wired human tendency to fall into the trap of under-achievement, or to get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of a design project like this. In this particular case, lowering the standards would have probably saved my ass, though. Usually, being dolled-up with no exact destination to go, getting the job done without paramilitary leadership, or the channeling of demons, might prove unnecessarily hard.

On top of this, a sneak peek at the similar products on the market provided some crucial insight on the basic dimensions and structure for this type of a gun cabinet. There was no need to invent the wheel anew, when all I needed was some modifications on it. With all the necessary background information gathered, I was ready to outline the initial to-do list for the project, where to start, and how to stay on track. In short, I decided to go for a cabinet of impressive proportions and powerfully expressive character – a sheet metal cabinet on steroids, sort of. The preliminary online research also implicated, that the market was actually dominated by rather second grade tin cans. In this respect, I assumed that it wouldn't really take much of an effort to stand out. I concluded, that my desire to put a little more emphasis on the function and safety of the cabinet would suffice to differentiate it from the competition in this particular capacity range. Thus, one of the key elements in this cabinet design was the double-layered steel chassis, structured in 4 millimeter steel plate. For the sake of simplicity and cost-effective manufacturing, I favoured the basic perpendicular bends of 90 degrees. After all, I was not about to design a fancy mobile decoration of steel, to be suspended from the ceiling on Christmas eve. For such an unregulated cabinet design, the material thickness was probably a bit of an overkill, but I reckoned that it would prevent any unauthorized entering into the cabinet. Furthermore, I assumed – and quite rightly so – that these two layers of steel were prone to make the structure heavy enough, not to be moved into the pikey-model Toyota Hiace with Bulgarian register plates, at least not single-handedly by any amphetamine-fueled random break-and-enter artist. Obviously, a determined professional would make his way for the guns, no matter what this cabinet was made of. First and foremost, I designed this cabinet along the lines, that the robust structure would essentially discourage any half-assed attempts to illegitimately take possession of the goodies inside. I would guess, that it's not a thoroughly thought-out idea to break and enter into a house of some old timer who owns guns, in the first place. Let alone, the idea of trying to break into a cube of steel, without proper power tools. In the unfortunate case, that a random junkie decided to go for it, I would dare to envision, that all the meth in the world was not enough to grant manpower to manually force this steel door open. It would require spesific tools, paired with an exceptionally determined or desperate mindset. Although, I guess it would certainly make for a hilarious episode in one of those popular reality shows you can watch on TV nowadays

In conclusion, taking on such an extra challenge provided me with a clear objective for this design project. Had I known the amount of work that ensued, I might as well have chosen to install a beer tap, or a Nintendo Wii game console with motion sensors to my design. I opted for enhanced security. Although, the Finnish gun culture is nowhere near as bizarre as the American ”Shoot 'em up”-culture, quite the contrary, actually. In the outbreak of a zombie holocaust, the Finnish gunmen are more likely to remain as one of the last sane frontier guards on the fault lines of civilization, in my honest opinion. We don't get to witness random mass shootings, conducted in a spur of the moment drug-frenzy, so often. Nor do we need to read about juveniles shooting one another in a fit of an existential teenage angst, because the Playstation 4 abruptly went offline for no apparent reason.

On a more serious tone, I started the project by searching for some vague idea for a steel cabinet, and the gods of mechanical engineering must have been in favor of this humble endeavour, since I managed to formulate the concept fairly quickly. At the end of the day, how hard can it be to sketch a rectangular box with a door? My kids are reaching teen age, but I'm sure they could have managed to draw something like this with a slide ruler and a pencil way back when they were only five years old or something. In retrospect, though, I feel compelled to make a bold statement, that it sure ain’t easy. Somewhere along the way, I was introduced to a phenomenon, that I would like to refer to as What The Fuck-factor. I apologize for the graphic and evocative term I coined for it, but believe me, it is quite an appropriate definition for such an indecent phenomenon. It is formulated also in the Murphy's Law: if something has even a slight chance of going wrong, it most certainly will. I had my fair share of that in this project, that’s for sure.

The next chapter in this surreal drama, the actual design process itself, was carried out with the PT Creo 3D-modeling software, in compliance with the guidelines imposed by the sheet metal standard DIN 6930. Without giving it that much thought, I adopted a kind of top-down approach. I decomposed the concept into smaller sub-concepts, such as the individual components in the assembly. It all sounded great in theory, but in the rush of a work overload, the emotional strength to actually keep the big picture clear in mind at all times...it just magically seemed to evaporate into the thin air, like fairy dust...

To be brutally honest, the design process was a fucking nightmare.

I apologize for my frequent use of French adjectives. I've been trying to discipline myself against the abundant use of such foul language, but I just can't help it. My mouth is quicker than my moral filters for politically correct choice of words. Besides, the occassional strong word usually gets the point across much better, and I wouldn't be surprised if the cuss words were accountable for the most part of the modern office communication. Before starting a new life as a CAD-padawan, I used to work for a company, where the corporate language was best described as management by perkele.

Perkele is a vintage cuss word in the Finnish language, loaded with some eerie sense of personal empowerment, thus way more powerful than the more offensive ones, that are trending in the speak of the millennials.

The sketching started in a tried-and-true manner: by throwing up some random ideas in whatever form seemed fit. The design concept for the steel door seemed to provide a promising start. So, without further experiments, the steel door design was underway. Since the door played quite an integral part in the cabinet, the dimensions of the door pretty much laid out the framework for the rest of the design. And this small, ill-considered choice of component was probably the single most damaging factor contributing to why things got essentially sour a little bit later. The overall thickness of the door, in particular, set all kinds of funny little restrains on the design of the other parts, consecutively. It was 35 millimeters, that is a relatively large number in this context, and it projected a certain set of esoteric demands on the dimensions of the doorframe, and particularly on the hinge mechanism needed.

Now, the hinge mechanism...

That was a real pain-in-the-ass in this project...

The ultimate can of worms.

There is an idiom in the Finnish language, usually uttered aloud in a fairly sarcastic tone. It goes: ”liian monta liikkuvaa osaa” - that stands for ”too many moving particles”, in English.

It's a perfect description for the hardships that I encountered with the hinge design. The mission objective was to control the movement of two metal bodies, in relation to each other. Or to be more precise, to control the opening of the door. The doorframe was pretty much a static component. So, I had one moving particle – the door. Due to all kinds of funny preconceptions, it soon became painfully obvious, that this one moving particle was actually one too many.

Liian monta liikkuvaa osaa, y'know...

And little by little, frustration was gaining momentum...

I had the steel door assembly figured out by now, as well as the design for the doorframe. Then I realized, that I had figuratively shot myself in the leg. I could almost taste the irony in my mouth. The universe seemed to have a sick sense of humour. Don't get me wrong, I am actually one of those Myers-Briggs personality types who prefer their humour just like they prefer their morning cup of coffee – pitch black, with absolutely no sweeteners. (I'm also quite fond of quality gin, and craft beers with a bitter flavour...so, I guess I'm a downright psycho, and those of you, who order soya frappuccinos in Starbucks, will be my first victims, when I finally lose my shit and dash off on a killing spree...I'm joking, right?)

I soon realized, that if I wanted to implement all the safety measures that I originally opted for, I needed to ensure that the door fit the doorframe like a glove. The tight clearance between the door and the frame was an inherent part of the whole concept for an idiot-proof gun cabinet. In practice, the idea was that the door would refuse to eject open, even if you cut your way through the bolt of the lock, or the hinges. This approach necessitated a lot of extra work. It also called for a special kind of double-action hinge mechanism, something similar to those jump-action hinges that come installed in some of the hipster brand kitchen cupboards, like Puustelli etc. This type of hinge ejects the door outwards first, before opening 90 degrees in the desired direction. Well, it works wonders in the kitchen fixtures, but...

Would it work with a steel door that weighed like a ton?

That was exactly what I needed to find out.

Had this concept fully realized in practice, which it obviously did not, it might have actually imposed an additional set of requirements on the hinges, in turn. I formulated all kinds of funny little mental configurations, how this particular type of hinge might have worked in this cabinet setting. At some point, it finally dawned on me, like a sudden moment of comprehension, or the sensation to which the Japanese zen buddhist tradition refers with the term ”satori”. I was practically shooting myself in the leg some more...

Even if I made this science fiction hinge mechanism work, so that the door would actually open beautifully, without any obstructions...then what?

In the name of safety, I had adjusted that clearance between the door and the frame to be extremely tight. Thus, it was absolutely necessary for the door to be perfectly aligned with the frame, vertically. Otherwise, the door would neither close nor open. This concept seemed to suggest that it was essential to lock the door into position, when either fully open or fully closed. Otherwise, it would get stuck. So, the deeper I delved into the details of this particular hinge mechanism, the more evident it became, that it would probably be way too complicated to design. I must admit that I felt tempted to call it quits, and go home and watch football on satellite TV. This project was turning into a joke, with me being the punchline, and it wasn't funny anymore.

I introduced this sheet metal project as state-of-the-art, remember?

Now we're getting to the artsy part.

I could have responded to this unfortunate turn of events by sketching an alternative, or even a set of alternatives, and then move on like nothing happened. Sticking to the idea, that my steel door insisted on the application of this particular type of hinge mechanism, was beginning to resonate the ambience of a game of Tetris, where you kept getting the wrong pieces round after round, ad infinitum. At this stage, however, my unjustified optimism hadn't been killed yet, so...when this issue called attention to an ever-increasing amount of detail, I simply considered it as a challenge accepted, or a personal insult to my intelligence, even. It was a call to arms. Thus, I insisted on not to seek any alternatives, not yet, as if bound by a samurai honour code. After all, I had the concept for this particular type of hinge mechanism clear in my mind. There was only the trifle matter of putting it into realization, to take care of.

At this stage, the summoning of demons might actually have proven quite handy.

I was faced with the ultimate question: how to tap back into the creative flow, when the empire was falling around me? 

Maybe I should have attached a slide of the hinge mechanism I found in some engineering porn site that was infested with a multitude of graphic illustrations and video shootage of all kinds of highly technical gadgets and gizmos. Y'know, the one that I found most promising to develop further. 

Well, I didn't – so, you'll just have to imagine how it looked like. 

I'm sure this sounds like the stuff from some poorly screenplayed science fiction movie, or the mindless verbal rambling of a voodoo hierophant who's probably tripping balls on magic mushrooms. However, I'm afraid that I'll have to let you down on your vivid speculations about the origins of this concept. It was very real. We found something similar applied to safes and vacuum containers, and such, with more or less sophisticated mechanisms, that might have worked with our sheet metal cabinet. The only catch with all the mechanisms was that they seemed to require lots of time to design, especially to get the dimensions exact – and this project was little by little running out of time. Our cabinet door required something sturdy, like the hinges on a huge cast iron safe. The weight of the door, fully assembled, approximated near thirty kilos already. On the other hand, we needed something compact, in order to squeeze the hinges in the formidably narrow space between the outer sheet metal casing and the doorframe of steel. 

For some peculiar reason, this project suddenly started to feel like the biggest wild goose chase in the history of gun cabinets...but, like I said: after an extensive online research, we finally came across such a sophisticated mechanism, that seemed appropriate for our needs, with just a few minor modifications. It called for an infinite amount of trials and errors to dimension right, but we gave it a go, anyway. The margin to have each component in our cabinet assembly in working condition by the deadline was getting incredibly small, and risk assessment probably wasn't our strong point. We took on a challenge, only to fail in the most beautiful fashion. Obviously, this particular hinge design proved way too sophisticated to execute in the given time. Eventually, we had to face the facts, discard this fancy hi-tech mechanism, and go for the second best option. Just twelve hours before the deadline for the final submission, I basically had to witness my deep faith in humanity disappear into the ether, as this issue with the hinges turned out to be such a gift that just kept on giving. I resolved this problem with a straightforward and brutal solution: by thrusting a simple rod of steel vertically through the door, attached with a pair of bronze sliding bearings. After that, I extruded a couple of additional holes in the doorframe – and voilá! The cabinet design was complete. This impromptu change of plans, conducted in the very last minute of the project, obviously compromised the original idea for an idiot-proof cabinet door, but we really had no choice.

Maybe next time we'll be equipped with more profound wisdom and battle-hardened experience, so that we'll be able to execute more informed choices. This project was supposed to be a crash course in the wonders of sheet metal design, and provide us with some hands-on experience with the topic. In practice, it was more like an experiment in the dark forests of the human mind. In this respect, however, we did quite well. Yes, the design process turned sour and frustrating at times, or to put it in a more evocative wording – it was a genuine pain in the ass, but did we die? Nope. It certainly is a very human trait to lose focus and give up, after reaching the ultimate frustration point. On several occassions, during this endeavour in psychological torture, I was tempted to take a Big Lebowskian stance, let go and cry out:

”Fuck it, let's go bowling!”

But I didn't.

Of course, I can only speak for myself, when I say that out of sheer hatred towards anything even remotely related to sheet metal, I forced myself to complete this assignment – like, when the software crashed on me for the fifth time during the course of just a few hours. My immediate urge, more often than not, was to smash the computer screen with a baseball bat, when things didn't quite go as planned. But, instead, I manouvered myself into a kind of zen state of mind. Of course, my mind was not completely empty, like in a genuine higher state of consciousness. It was actually pretty full – filled with some explicit thoughts, certainly Not Safe For Work environment, but I guess it's safe to say that these thoughts mostly hinted that I was not going to let a stupid machine get the best of me. Well, I have 15 years' worth of experience in logistics, so I guess I am more resilient to stress than the average person. I have worked for Satan himself, in a most high-stress job you can imagine. So, as an afterthought, I guess this project was actually fairly easy on me. It was challenging in many respects, but eventually the project design was completed with not much collateral damage.

Maybe this chunk of metal does not provide enough ground to build a profitable business model on it, but it just might suggest a novel and street smart way to store away your firearms. I'm sure you could get a bigger and standardized cabinet for almost the same amount of money, but then again: who actually needs to possess more than four pieces, anyway? If you feel a sting in your heart, when I say this, maybe you should ask yourself:

Did Jeffrey Epstein really kill himself?

Am I just preparing for the zombie apocalypse?

I would guess that no one in his, or her, right mind really needs five or more firearms. For those of us, who need a cool storage application for max. 4 guns, I designed this shiny little sheet metal beast. I am still entertaining the possibility, that this boutique cabinet might have an enticing appeal to those of us, who prefer a highly customised luxury approach, rather than a generic application of nothing special, dashed out for mass production in the sweatshops of the third world countries. Obviously, this design philosophy did not quite exclude the need to take the ease and cost of manufacture into account – and that's what I did.

I refrained myself from integrating overly complicated shapes, just for the sake of appearance. Every bend in the sheet metal structure was well-thought out. Maybe I could have done with less welding seam, but I opted for reinforced safety. Remember, the primary goal was to enhance the possibility to come up with an idio-proof cabinet design. You see, idiots and guns don't really mix that well. It sounds like common knowledge, but as we all can see in the nine o'clock news on a daily basis, not many are catching up...

From the very outset of this project, I tried to view this cabinet design through the imaginary lens of the potential customer. I dare to guess, that the most likely candidate to purchase a weapon storage application of this caliber (pun intended!) would be a white, heterosexual Finnish male going in his late 50's. This stereotypical character resides somewhere in the back of beyond, in the most rural areas of Finland, in the hard core of the Baby Boomers paradigm, that is the classic ”rintamamies”-house, built in the 1940's. Our protagonist here presents the Jungian archetype of a DIY-handyman, with a passion for hunting wild game in his spare time. He is quite an active and respected member of society – the local hunting society, in particular. He's got his mortgage paid off by now, which means that he can very well afford to treat himself to something special, every once in a while – like, a brand new, state-of-the-art gun cabinet, because the old one is...well, old. With this in mind, I decided to design this cabinet for the higher price range. I rest assured that the hefty price tag would be justified by the extra emphasis on security. I wanted to take my cabinet design to the next level, and to some degree, I guess I  succeeded. After all, it usually is a tell-tale sign of an amateur-at-work to compete on price. I opted for excellence without compromise. All too many gun cabinet manufacturers seemed not. The vast majority of the products on the gun cabinet market seemed to capture the ethos of the classic one-liner, said by the American musical genius Frank Zappa, back in the day:

”If we can't be free, let's at least be cheap.”

For many, this kind of an approach seemed to be a very viable option in a gun cabinet design. I'm sure it can be a convenient philosophy in life, in general – as it seems to be for many, too. It was never an option for this particular design project, to say the least. I am a firm believer, that you are the sum of all the experiences you go through, as well as the people around you. Being surrounded by dysfunction and incompetence will eventually get you nowhere. At the end of the day, with all the designer's blocks and frustrations dealt with, after getting strangled in a multitude of loose ends, for God knows how many times, overcoming the obstacles in this ”joint” venture eventually provided me with a sense of pride in a job well done. My gun cabinet might not become a nifty prototype for a potential customer product, but nevertheless, I came up with something unique. The technical documentation of this project design might seem like a white paper on how to ruin a perfectly promising raw idea, but then again....there is no such thing as perfection, when it comes to rushing things to completion, especially, when it's not something you're doing by choice.

In retrospect, with the hinge issue aside, the design for this cabinet evolved pretty smoothly and effortlessly. The double-layered steel chassis took maybe a couple of days to sketch, model and annotate – just like most of the other components did too. Believe me, it's not an understatement, when I tell you that 90 percent of this project consisted of figuring out how to make a double-action hinge work in a desired way. Maybe it could serve as a topic for further development. It probably would require quite a few iterations to configure the mechanism to work perfectly in the context of this gun cabinet. With this project, though, I had to rush the design to meet the deadline. Thus, I cannot say for certain, whether this sheet metal cabinet will perform as desired, or if it has any of the enhanced technical value I opted for. Chances of true success might be minimal, respectively. With the benefit of doubt, however, I dare to suggest that the original objectives of this project could still be accomplished through the application of such customised hinge mechanism. Now, we'll probably never know.

Unless, of course, the conservative dark forces are going to bring back the good ol' times, and I can have another go at this...

Or, maybe not...

I thank you dearly for your time and patience. If you wish to ask me anything about this project, I will gladly answer. Of course, it would be more convenient to continue with the technical and psychological nuances of this project over a pint of beer...but alas, the school cafeteria does not have the licence to sell alcohol. Well, anyways...knock yourselves out.

Ok, that's about it. Now I'm excited to pass the torch on to the next project team: the podium is all yours. 

Arrivederci!

It remains to be seen, how my English teacher reviewed this presentation. Most likely, the required level of formality was not reached, which might be reflected in my English grade. However, I think that there is only a narrow window of opportunity to make a lasting impression, in the everyday interaction with the people around you. I would guess, that this presentation will not be as easily forgotten as the ones peppered with rambling formalities. My last Powerpoint slide, that was depicting the benefits of this design project, was basically just a picture of a giant facepalm. Try erasing that mental image from your mind now, eh!

[academla]

how many courses did u take per sem for psych? ik it varies person to person but what would u recommend if u could?

Okay, so I figured that the best way to do it would just be to show you the classes I’ve taken thus far! I don’t have my updated official transcript yet so I just used a screenshot from my school portal for spring 2019. Hopefully it will help you get a feel for what type of classes and courseload you might be looking at as a psych major. Bear in mind that I can only speak for my school and you will be limited by your degree requirements, so what classes you end up taking will be mostly up to your advisor and your specific university requirements.

I do hope seeing that I’ve only taken 4 classes some semesters will make you see that you don’t have to take 5-6 classes and be super stressed to be on time with your degree, though! Online classes are a great option if you’re concerned about fitting your credits/requirements in but feel overwhelmed by attending 5-6 classes every week. They can be more expensive, but if you do community college first, you’ll save lots. Taking online classes enabled me to take 5 classes a semester during my sophomore year, which got a lot of credits out of the way (and I wouldn’t have been able to do that if I’d had to take 5 classes on campus as well as work two part-time jobs). 

This is going to be long considering I haven’t even gotten to my course history yet lol so I put a read more for everybody’s sake!

Okay, so your first year is typically going to be focused on gen eds. I got my English, language, and math requirements out of the way. You’ll obviously take intro your first semester, and I opted to take social psych second semester, but abnormal would probably be the natural sequence. I’m in the honors program so I also have honors-specific requirements (both English classes and my Ethics & Society seminar were honors courses, and I have to take two honors classes at my university as well as my honors thesis).

My second year, which was the last one before getting my Associates degree in psychology, was also spent completing my gen eds, but I took two psychology classes each semester instead of just one. The most common ones to take during the first half of your degree are intro, abnormal, social, child, and personality psych. Research methods and statistics are also two major requirements, pretty much everywhere as far as I know. I took statistics first semester (though many people don’t take it til their second year) and research methods my last semester before getting my first degree. Note: both of my history classes as well as my child psych class were online, which is possibly the only reason I could actually handle 5 classes at a time. There’s no way I could’ve taken 5 classes on campus!

When I transferred, all of the classes I’d taken at community college transferred over and I was able to slide right in as a junior without having to make up any classes. By that point, your remaining requirements will pretty much be psych-specific and you will get to choose electives. Typically, you’ll still have to take a neuroscience-type class and a cognitive science class. My PSYCH 392 class (junior year writing) is also a psychology-specific requirement. Second semester, I took two electives (the PSYCH 391s), a required cognitive psych class (learn & think), and since I fulfilled my major requirements for the most part and am just racking up credits, I opted for a 4-credit sociology class. The Prac-Research that you see is also from working at a child development lab, which you can also get credit for so that’s pretty cool!

Anyway, I hope that was at least minorly helpful. Basically, talk to your advisors constantly, if you ever have a question, if you’re ever concerned, etc. I replicated my own spreadsheet because the degree audit at my university was a lot more confusing than the one at community college, but use your student portal! If it’s confusing, reach out to your advisor! As long as you are proactive, keep on track, and ask questions as soon as they come up, you’ll definitely take whatever classes you need to take.

One last note for all majors: do your research on professors. Profs make or break the class. My friends have erred many times taking a class without reading reviews beforehand, and then going back after and finding out that the professor had like a 2.0 on RateMyProfessors. I always read reviews (but make sure they’re recent and preferably the class you’re considering) and if two course options seem good, I’ll always go for whichever has the best professor. And there’s no info on the professor, just go with the later class ;)

#psychology #advice #college #idk what else to tag this #wow it's 1am #this was probably totally unhelfpul #my bad #anonymous #ask

[mysticsparklewings]

Watercolor Kitty

Look, paint!   So not that long ago I more or less made the decision with myself that I wanted to branch out into watercolor. I've been avoiding the world of painting for a while because...I mean, have you guys seen that gigantic rabbit hole of supplies to pick through, for one thing?? Beyond that, just overall my past experience and knowledge of paint up until this point hasn't been that inspiring. (I'm going to describe past experience now, but in small text so if you're not interested you can just skip it.) For starters, it wasn't until like halfway through high school that I finally understood there were even different kinds of paint that behave differently, and I did not learn that from art class, either. I'm not sure when and where exactly, but I found out on my own and was like, why were we never taught this. A thought I still have regularly, I might add. You'd think that would be a pretty high-ticket item in art classes past Elementary school. All of my watercolor experience until recently was contained within my elementary and middle school years. The colors were always super washed out and even though at one point we went over techniques, we didn't actually get to use them more than like twice. And then high school art never addressed watercolors again. Other than that, I had heard the term "oil paint" thrown around, but I didn't really understand what it was. The closest thing I knew of was oil pastels, but that didn't help because they were like older cousins of crayons and not very paint-like at all. I have done a few things with acrylic in the past, but mostly solid backgrounds (or not very interesting school projects that never explained they were acrylic paints in the first place; it's paint just use it as instructed) in which I spent entirely too long trying to mix just the right color and enough of it, and then you have to bend over backward to keep the stuff from drying out. No thank you. Then last year I started my adventure in trying to recreate this thing called the Rainbow Sponge (and have done so to moderate success, but that's a conversation for another day) and in that process acquired some inks by Dr. Ph. Martin. When testing colors to make sure I was grabbing what I wanted, they reminded me of watercolors, and the general impression I got during that time (from experimenting and from researching) was that they pretty much were watercolors, the exception being that once they dried you couldn't re-activate them. (And they were purely liquid; most watercolors are either the little panned cakes or the more traditional "paint consistency" you find in tubes and apparently the liquid watercolors you find are usually dye-based instead of pigment based, so they behave slightly differently on paper.) After seeing a couple of Youtubers I trust try them, I decided to spoil myself with some commission money and ended up with this set of strange watercolor sheets, and even though I didn't know much about watercolor, I really liked them and the idea of a water brush instead of a traditional paintbrush and 50,000 trips to change paint water. Plus, by this time I had learned that watercolor doesn't have to be all totally washed-out pastels. Who knew, right? Somewhere in this mess, I was attuned to the idea of first the Derwent Inktense, ink-based pencils and watercolor pencils, which both came as side-effects of my deep-dive into the world of colored pencils. They both sounded intriguing--Pencils you can blend out with water to get rid of the streaks?? What??--and after I checked the Faber Castell Polychromos off my Art Supply Wishlist, watercolor pencils went next. The set of Arteza ones that I got, I like pretty well. After that, since I had at least two watercolor supplies I rather liked using enough though I didn't really know what I was doing, I figured I might start looking into gaining some knowledge on what to do with them. A couple of weeks ago I acquired a book called "Watercolor Workshop" by Sasha Prood because it instantly caught my attention for telling you on one page what to do with an example, and them providing you with a space to give a try for yourself, which is not something that is all that common to me in "how to X" books. This book made me want to procure a set of tube watercolors, and after some poking around on Amazon with a specific budget and requirements in mind, I ended up with a 24 set by Crafts 4 All and an empty travel palette by Meedan to put them in. (As I've come to understand it, this seemed like the best route to go for tube colors; I know myself too well to trust just squirting the paint onto a regular palette every time and not wasting it, especially when it comes to mixing colors, so I went the route of putting some paint in little half-pans and letting them dry to hopefully prevent that.) I won't go too much into detail like a review of that set of watercolors or my tube-to-pan process here, because I want to play with the paints some more to get a better feel for them before I truly sing their praises or condemn them, but so far they're actually working out a lot better than I thought they would, considering they were pretty inexpensive. So far my biggest complaints are A. I'm not crazy about the smell, as it's a pretty "industrial" scent, but I get the feeling a "paint smell" is relatively unavoidable; and B. I wish there were more colors. The range in the 24 set feels pretty balanced out (though one more purple wouldn't have hurt), I just wish there were more in total. (And for all I know they sell a bigger set, I haven't looked into it, but this isn't really a bad thing; I like what I've seen so I want more.) As is maybe obvious, I meant for this to go up closer to Valentine's Day, but my palette didn't come in until the day after, I had to wait at least a day after that for the paints to dry out, and I can only paint so fast. (I had the sketch done on like the 12th, I think, and the line art on watercolor paper on the 13th). And by then I had a couple of other pieces backlogged, so since I had missed my holiday window, I figured I'd just post it at the next available opportunity. (And after I got off my lazy bum to write this description ) I was inspired by some very red-furred kitties on Pinterest for colors and I've been trying to get a bit into hand-lettering, though I didn't get too fancy with that here because I mostly just wanted to play with the paint and see what I could do (and I was also putting a new set of Sakura Gelly Rolls to the test on just how waterproof they were--fortunately they passed!). It's going to be tricky to break my habit of how I like to usually blend and shade with my other supplies, as watercolors just don't behave the way markers and pencils do, but as I said earlier, these were working to my liking much better than I had expected. My little fluffy kitty here isn't perfect, but I do think she turned out quite cute. I was trying to avoid using my other supplies to really let the watercolors breathe and do their thing, but I did have to add a gold border with a Pentel Sparkle Pop because it just needed something. The only real issue with this piece I ended up having is that the physical copy has a nice stain where at some point I wasn't careful with waving my brush around and got a little blop of yellow ochre paint near the bottom right corner. I lifted off what I could, but apparently, I had not noticed it for long enough it did get to settle in a little. Fortunately, I was able to crop it out on the scan, though! I do have one other art piece ready to go for Wednesday, but beyond that, I am hoping to do more with these watercolors and I should have some new supplies coming in the mail this week with a couple of planned test-pieces in mind. (Does anyone else just get this relieved sort of exhilaration from getting new supplies? No? Just me? ) (Also I'm mostly trying to get into a consistent upload pattern, even though I keep missing a couple days here and there ) ____ Artwork © me, MysticSparkleWings ____ Where to find me & my artwork: My Website | Commission Info + Prices | Ko-Fi | dA Print Shop | RedBubble |   Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram

[starry-kfics]

picking flowers [sanha]

word count: 15.1k (get some snacks and get comfy)

warnings: mentions of suicide, mentions of bullying, minor depression (no main characters attempt or talk of suicide; no explicit mention of bullying)

author: mel

request: HEY can you do a HS au with Sanha where his crush -and classmate- looks like a cold girl but when she’s with her friend she’s like really funny person and he falls in love with her day by day… i don’t know its clear or not. I think i messed up 😂😂

extra info: kinda angst, mostly fluff. angsty fluff? fluffy angst?? also, i majorly condensed the ages in astro (mj and jinjin are in the same grade, bin and eunwoo in the grade below them, and rocky, sanha, and the reader in the grade below binu)

♡

To say that you were a good student was a bit of a stretch. It wasn’t that you were failing all your classes, you were just never one to get straight A’s all the time. You wouldn’t need Algebra for what you wanted to do.

And, to say that you were popular was also a bit of a stretch. It wasn’t that you were a hermit with no friends, you just didn’t get along with everybody. You didn’t need to be friends with a bunch of people.

Yoon Sanha, on the other hand, was a mystery to you. Almost your polar opposite. He was a straight-A student, was friends with pretty much everyone, and was best friends with the five most popular, attractive, and well-liked upperclassmen at your school. He himself was dorky, tall, gangly, and had just gotten his braces off. Everything popular media said would guarantee him to be bullied for all of his school days. But he wasn’t.

You didn’t resent him for not being bullied, it wasn’t his fault, and you weren’t bullied yourself. But your best friend, your only friend, was. And that, was something you could blame on Sanha.

Yang Jeongin and you became friends on accident. You were going to skip the second half of the school day to go down to the nearby river, and literally tripped on him. He was sitting outside, eating his lunch alone, because nobody would let him sit at their table. So you ended up staying that day, kind of taking him under your wing at school. He was one year your junior, and that combined with his propensity to cling onto you and not hang out with others brought the attention of a bully, Yoon Jaeha. It was a random Tuesday that had you and Jeongin hanging out together at the small outdoor quad before school. You were sitting on a bench, listening to a few new songs as Jeongin did some last-minute studying for his math test. This was really how you spent most of your time with him, doing your own things in proximity to each other.

In your peripheral, you could see a group of boys talking and laughing with each other. You knew who they all were, the popular, attractive, well-liked upperclassmen that had taken Sanha under their wing, much like you had done with Jeongin. Except Sanha was never pantsed in the middle of the halls, or body-checked after second period everyday, or taunted relentlessly whenever he was alone. Jeongin was.

His bully had thankfully learned that you would stand up for your younger friend, and only targeted him when he wasn’t with you.

“Y/N.” Jeongin groaned, slamming his book shut and catching your attention.

“Yes?”

“Can we skip today and go to the river?” “Aren’t you the one who always told me how important school was, and that I should stop skipping?” “I hate math.” “Me too, buddy.” You reached over to ruffle his hair. He swatted your hands away before fervently trying to fix it, “Y/N!” A cackle escaped your lips as you went to mess it up again, only making Jeongin more infuriated and eventually give up, “You’re impossible, Y/N.” “Now you sound like all my teachers.” You grinned, grabbing Jeongin’s book to open it back up for him again, and placed it on his lap. “I want you to do at least two more practice problems before first period, okay?” “Yes, mom.” He said mockingly, but did as you asked anyway. With a victorious grin on your face, you popped your ear bud back into your ear. And accidentally made eye contact with Sanha as he was glancing over at you. His face broke into a smile, probably thinking that your residual grin from interacting with Jeongin was a friendly smile directed towards him, and you quickly looked away. Shit he’s going to think you want to talk to him. Yoon Sanha was unfortunately, a very friendly boy. Awkward and somewhat nervous, sure, but never shy. And you really didn’t like talking to people. Or at least him. So you quickly started doing something intently on your phone, browsing for new music to listen to and hoping that Sanha would just stay with his friends. But instead, two blue sneakers came into view on the grass under your phone. Grimacing, you took one ear bud out, not even bothering to pause your music. “Hey, Y/N.” Sanha greeted you brightly. “Hi, Sanha.” You said shortly as Jeongin looked over to you with wide eyes. “Did you study for the test in Chemistry today?” “Yes.” “Well, did you understand it all? Because I’m not quite sure about balancing reactions, and I was wondering if-” “Sorry, but Jeongin and I were actually reviewing his math right now, and we’re about to go inside to get his calculator.” You started tugging on your friend’s jacket to get him to stand up. “Oh, well I have an extra calculator in my bag, and I was really good at systems of equations last year, so I could help-” Sanha offered, and you cut him off again as you started hurrying away from him. “Nope, don’t need your help. Bye, Sanha.” “Well could we go over Chemistry at lunch, Y/N?” You turned around, walking backwards away from him as you kept shoving the flustered Jeongin, “Wish I could, but I’m afraid that I’m going to come down with a terrible stomach bug right before lunch.” With that, you practically kicked the door open and yanked Jeongin inside, Sanha staying outside as the door closed behind you. Looking at the time, you said, “Here, I’ll walk you to first.” “You don’t have to be mean to Yoon Sanha like that.” Your friend quietly pointed out as you started walking up the stairs together. “It’s not his fault.” “But he doesn’t do anything about it.” “Maybe he doesn’t know.” “How could he not? The whole school knows. And they also do nothing.” “You pull off ‘hating the world’ really well, Y/N.” “I don’t hate the world.” You pointed out. “I don’t really hate anything. It’s just a strong dislike.” “Do you like anything, Y/N?” Jeongin teased, and you took a moment to ponder this. “Food, my family for the most part, food, you, I guess.” He wrinkled his nose, and you rolled your eyes. “Like an annoying little brother.” You took the opportunity to spin it on him, elbowing his side teasingly as you said, “Speaking of liking things, are you going to talk to Yena today?” Jeongin immediately flushed at the mention of his crush, rubbing his neck nervously. “When will you let that go?” “When you finally confess to her. It’s been two months, Jeongin!” “She doesn’t like me!” “I happen to have insider information, that she does.” “Insider information requires talking to someone other than me, Y/N. Which you don’t do.” You finally arrived at his classroom. “Piss off, Jeongin.” He had a grin on his face as he opened the door, braces and dimples making an appearance. “See you at lunch, Y/N.” “See you.” Shaking your head to yourself as you walked away, you were still grinning mischievously. He didn’t need to know how you knew. All he needed to know was that you knew Yena liked Jeongin as much as Jeongin liked her. It felt like your little brother was getting his first crush, and it was adorable to you. Now he just needed to confess. But, your knowledge of people liking other people didn’t extend to anybody who might like you. Which is probably why Yoon Sanha bothering you didn’t catch your attention. To you, that was just who he was, a very nice, very smart, very bothersome boy. At lunch, you walked to your normal spot behind the school building, by the gate that you usually snuck out of. This was where you’d first met Jeongin, and where you two liked to have lunch, once he’d convinced you to stay instead of skipping almost every other day. But he was late to your lunch meeting, and you peered around the corner looking for him. Had Jaeha found him? Was he in trouble? But then you saw him walking out of the building, perfectly okay. In fact, better than okay. Walking next to him, smiling and laughing was Yena. With an irrepressible grin, you gave him a thumbs-up when you made eye contact with him. You two had a momentary silent conversation, as he asked with his eyes if it was okay for him to not sit with you today. You waved him off with a shooing motion and a nod. He sent a thankful smile before focusing back on whatever Yena was saying, sitting together at a table. You were so proud of your friend, and excited for the alone time. Maybe you could skip and go to the river alone like you used to. Jeongin never wanted to skip with you, the most he would do was go just beyond the gate to sit in the meadow with you during lunch. But he always had to be back on school grounds ten minutes before lunch would be over. His insistence on the matter was a good thing sometimes, your teachers had complimented that your attendance was getting better, and your grades were even getting better. Not a lot better, but noticeably so. Standing up, you decided to at least skip the next two periods, and be back for your Chemistry test. Making up tests was the worst, and definitely not worth skipping them in the first place. Jogging towards the fence, you gleefully found it unlocked, as it always was. You were pretty sure the groundskeeper had lost the key and never bothered getting another one to lock it back up again. Once in the field, it was a twenty-five minute walk to the river, which is why Jeongin would never go with you, it was too far to be back in time. But now you were unhindered, and with a skip in your step, took the somewhat worn path you always did. The river was nothing special really, in fact it was more of a creek, no powerful current or depth anywhere. You’d even packed a swimsuit one day and taken a dip, it only went up to your bellybutton at the deepest point. Unfortunately, you hadn’t planned on going, so there was no foresight to bring a swimsuit, or a blanket of some sort to sit on. So instead, you took this time to practice. In a small clearing on the river bank, you laid down your jacket, put a song on full blast, and tossed your phone on top of your jacket. There, all alone, the sounds of the river meshing with the music, you could dance to your heart’s desire. And you did, practicing a routine you’d made by yourself. In your mind, you’d imagined it to be with a partner, but Jeongin didn’t want to dance with you, he was afraid it would make Jaeha tease him more. So you were stuck dancing by yourself, which was fine. You’d gone through the full song about three times when there was suddenly a voice singing along to it, approaching from your left. You could recognize those off-beat, out of tune wails anywhere. “Park Jinwoo.” You declared with something like a smile, as he walked into the clearing. “I didn’t pin you for the type to skip.” “And I didn’t pin you for the type to dance alone next to a creek.” He said in a similar manner, no malice between the two of you. “It’s a river.” “My bad.” You had no issue with Jinwoo, or any of the other upperclassmen Sanha was friends with, but your need to distance yourself from Sanha meant interacting with his friends as little as possible as well. “So what are you doing out here?” You paused your music to talk to him. “I came to talk to you.” “How’d you know I was out here?” “Sanha.” “And how did he know I was out here?” “He notices things about you.” Jinwoo shrugged. “Like the fact that you really don’t like him.” “And that’s your business because?” You were now getting tired of the conversation, pocketing your phone and grabbing your jacket to start walking down the riverbank. “Because,” the older boy followed you, keeping your pace. “I was the one who encouraged him to go talk to you, and you shot him down.” “Again, how is that your business? It’s my right to talk to who I want to talk to, and to not talk to people that I don’t want to talk to.” “I’m not trying to tell you how to live your life, Y/N. But don’t judge Sanha by his brother. He’s a really sweet kid.” “Whatever.” Jinwoo checked the time, slowing down for a moment, and you did as well, curious as he let out a groan. “I need to go now if I want to be back in time for sixth period. Please, just think about it, Y/N. Bye.” You didn’t even return his farewell, watching his retreating figure with satisfaction. Now you could be alone again for another hour; you weren’t going back until seventh period. Plugging your headphones in, you decided to watch a few dance practice videos by some idol groups, to get inspiration for your own dances. Eventually, you realized that you needed to start heading back as well, you’d wandered pretty far down the river. Back at the school, the gate was made to look like it was locked, probably Jinwoo trying to make sure nobody was suspicious of anyone having snuck out. Fake locking it behind you, you got to the quad just as the bell rang, and slipped into the hallways as they started to get crowded with kids leaving their sixth periods. “It’s hella trophies and it’s hella thick.” You half-muttered and half-sang along to the song playing through your headphones under your breath, doing some of the choreography in your head. “What you think 'bout that, what you think 'bout that?” “Bet it’s got my haters hella sick.” A voice joined in from beside you, unfortunately next to the ear that didn’t have an earphone in, meaning that you couldn’t pretend like you didn’t hear them. “Congrats, you know a song that I know.” You rolled your eyes at Sanha as he matched his strides with yours. “I know more BTS songs. Do you like them too?” “A lot of people know BTS songs.” “What’s your favorite?” “I don’t have one.” “Mine is 'I Need U.’” “I didn’t ask.” You walked into your classroom, not bothering to hold the door open for Sanha behind you. But that didn’t deter him, he followed you to your lab table. Unfortunately, on the first day of school when the seating charts were made, you arrived late and the last available seat was at the front, right next to Sanha, who actually wanted to sit at the front of the classroom. Another reason that you liked to skip the second half of the school day, you had lunch, and the last two classes of the school day with him. “You weren’t in sixth period, Y/N.” Sanha commented as he sat down. “Yep.” “Why?” “I told you, I got a stomach bug.” You deadpanned, begrudgingly sitting beside him. “And it magically got better before this class?” “No, I might puke on you at any second. In fact, I feel something coming right now, maybe you should move before I projectile vomit on you.” Sanha still wasn’t put off by your behavior, merely looking at you with an eyebrow raised. “Oh, that’s attractive.” His sarcastic remark almost made you laugh. Key word: almost. But, he seemed to notice you holding back a smile, a small one spreading across his own face. Before he could say anything else, you stuffed your headphones back in and turned the volume on the song up. The teacher seemed to notice this, giving you a pointed look, and you took an ear bud out to listen to her. “Y/N, phones away, and headphones out of your ears.” The teacher chastised you. “Yes, Ms. Kim,” You paused your music, tucking your phone into your backpack. “Y/N.” Sanha called your name, and now you were doubly irritated. Ms. Kim had taken away your only method of ignoring Sanha now. “Sanha.” “Why do you hate me?” “I don’t hate you.” “Well it seems like you do.” “Then you’re about as observant as a wooden stick.” “Well that sounds like you’re only mean to me because you have an enormous crush on me and don’t know how to express your feelings.” “Get your head out of your ass.” “Vehement denial. Suspicious.” “Don’t make me physically put your head up your ass.” “Well then what’s the reason?” Thankfully, the bell rang and Ms. Kim immediately started passing out the test, forcing Sanha to shut up. Surprisingly, you were done before Sanha. It was a subject that was easy to you, balancing equations, formula weight, stoichiometry. For some reason, you understood it with little studying. Sanha, however, scratched his head as he was only three questions into the test out of ten, with fifteen minutes left. You watched out of the corner of your eye with intrigue, were you actually better than Yoon Sanha at something academic? If you really cared, you would maybe gloat about it, but kept it to yourself. No need to interact with him any more than necessary. The bell rang, and he still had his test out, meaning that you could leave and not have to worry about him following you to continue your conversation. At the front of the school, you were elated to see Jeongin waiting for you. The two of you lived in the same direction from the school, and walked together for the first five minutes before having to go your separate ways. “I thought that you would be walking Yena home.” You teased, not even a hint of jealousy in you; you were genuinely thrilled for your friend to be talking to his crush. “She had to stay for art club.” Jeongin explained as you two started your journey home. “You should join art club, then.” “I don’t like art.” “But you like Yena.” “Y/N!” He was flustered again when you brought her up. Slinging an arm around his shoulders, you pulled him down in an apologetic yet still teasing grip. “I’m sorry, Jeonginnie. I’ll stop talking about your crush.” “Now let’s talk about yours.” “And who would that be?” “Literally every member of BTS.” “Ah, you’ve got me there.” You maintained your normal banter with Jeongin until the intersection where you had to split up, saying your goodbyes to each other. At your house, you chatted with your dad and had a snack before starting on your homework.

The next week of school had gone by seemingly without incident. Until you showed up three minutes later than you normally did to the quad before first period, and found Jeongin curled up into a ball behind the school building. Rushing to his side, you saw that his cheek was split open, a small amount of blood pooling to the surface, and you could tell that he was holding back tears. “Holy shit, I was three minutes late.” “And I was four minutes early.” He added miserably. “That’s seven minutes for Jaeha to do this.” “Jeongin…” You said softly, reaching into your backpack for some tissues and a bandaid. “We should take you to the nurse. And then the principal. This is unacceptable. Jaeha has taken it too far.” He hissed as you dabbed at the blood, wiping around the cut. After you had pressed a bandage the wound, Jeongin shook his head, mumbling, “What will Yena think?” “Yena will think that Jaeha is an asshole and that you were brave for telling an authority figure instead of crying by yourself behind the school.” “I’m not by myself, you’re here.” Your friend pointed out, and you sat back on your knees with a sigh. “Fine, we won’t go to the principal, or an authority figure. But you bet your entire ass I’m going to talk to somebody about it.” And so that’s how you ended up standing in front of Yoon Sanha’s locker before fourth period, arms crossed as you tapped your foot impatiently, waiting for him. Jeongin got to his first period okay, and you were worried for him the whole day until lunch, when you left your third period early to get to Sanha’s locker before passing period started. Surprisingly, it was Jeongin that approached you at the locker first. You sometimes forgot that his locker was in the same row as Sanha’s, “Y/N, what are you doing?” “Don’t worry, Jeonginnie, I’m just going to talk to him.” You assured him, and he cast you a nervous glance. “Are you sure? I really don’t need anything else to aggravate Jaeha…” “Jeongin, I promise, I will get him to stop if it’s the last thing I do in this godforsaken school. Now go eat lunch with Yena, she’s probably waiting.” With those words and a supportive smile, you watched him disappear down the halls. The next person to approach you was exactly who you were looking for, accompanied by a couple people you weren’t necessarily looking for. Myungjun and Jinwoo, his two friends that were in their last year of school before university. “We’re going to go to lunch now.” Myungjun announced loudly, veering the other direction down the hallway. “Good luck Sanha!” Jinwoo whispered to the younger boy, although it was loud enough for you to hear. Sanha approached you hesitantly, but with a big smile. You put up a hand just as he opened his mouth to greet you. “We need to talk.” Grabbing his arm, you dragged him outside. You dragged him past the quad and behind the school building. He was quiet the whole time, but clearly confused, maybe even a little scared. “What do we need to talk about?” He questioned. “Have you seen Yang Jeongin today?” You asked simply. “Your friend? Of course, his locker is a couple down from mine.” “Best friend.” You corrected, causing a glimmer of a smile to cross Sanha’s face, then you continued on. “And, did you see the bandage on his face?” “Yeah. What is it, a pimple that he doesn’t want to scar or something?” “No, it’s a wound. From where your brother punched him.” Sanha froze, eyes widening and jaw nearly dislocating in shock. “M-my brother?” “Yoon Jaeha.” You confirmed. “He doesn’t even know Jeongin. I promise, he didn’t do th-” “Shut the fuck up.” You tried not to yell, taking a deep breath. “You’re in denial, and you need to stop. It’s disgusting.” “What do you know?” Now Sanha was getting angry, his face turning red as he tried to contain his yells of indignation. “Nothing, you know nothing!” “I know plenty, Yoon Sanha.” “Really?” “Yes, really. My older brother used to bully people, too. He would make fun of them, push them into lockers, rough them up if they looked at him the wrong way. And I ignored it, I turned a blind eye and idolized him for being my big strong older brother that could do no wrong.” You practically spat out your words as you relayed the story. “Then one of the kids he bullied tried to commit suicide. He lived, thankfully, but my brother and my family will never be done apologizing and repaying their penance to that boy and his family. And I absolutely hated- no, still hate- myself for what I did; ignoring it, and letting it happen.” Bile was rising in your esophagus as you spoke, your words bringing about the most unpleasant experiences and feelings in your life. But you continued. You had to, for Jeongin, “That’s what you’re doing, that’s why I dislike you. You know it’s happening, and you’re turning a blind eye, whether accidentally or not. I’m not a hateful person, I’m really not. I want to be kind and loving, and giving out second chances left and right. But people like you, people like me, don’t deserve them.” Sanha was speechless after your rant, and you wiped at your lip where saliva was threatening to launch itself. You had gotten yourself worked up, and you quickly realized that maybe you had said too much. He was looking at you with the most complex range of emotions: anger, pity, sympathy, betrayal, disbelief, and just plain old sadness. “You deserve a second chance, Y/N.” Sanha finally spoke, his voice soft but clear. Even though his words were clearly meant to make you feel better, they set you off again. “This isn’t about me!” You screeched, almost in hysterics. “It’s about your jackass brother leaving Yang Jeongin alone.” The boy in front of you was at a loss for words, or anything at all. He stood petrified, and you were too worried about crying in front of Sanha that you’d forgotten about your original mission, slinging your backpack over your shoulder, stomping over to the gate. Not even caring that Sanha now knew exactly where you were, you just needed to get out of there. You knew the field and river behind the school better than anyone, you’d be able to hide from Sanha if he decided to follow you. And you prayed and hoped that he didn’t. If you ever saw his face again, you thought that you might puke. Because all you could see was yourself.

The next morning, you were tempted to tell your mother you were sick, and just stay home from school. But you hadn’t missed a day of school since you’d become friends with Jeongin, and you weren’t about to start now. Especially not when he just got punched in the face yesterday. Jaeha might want to continue.

You left the house ten minutes earlier than normal, not wanting a repeat of yesterday’s consequences of you being tardy. The school campus was quiet this early in the morning, only the staff and a couple other kids were there before you. You even had time to stop at your locker before heading back to the school gates to greet Jeongin. To your delight, his arm was linked with someone else’s. Yena’s, specifically. They were chatting, and you stood waiting for them with a smug smile on your face. “Good morning, Y/N!” Jeongin greeted you brightly before nervously introducing Yena. “Yena, this is my best friend Y/N. Y/N, this is Yena.” “Hey, Y/N. Did you finish our Computer Technologies homework?” Yena asked, and you fell into step with them. “Actually, yeah.” You swung your flash drive around on your keychain. “It was the only homework I did last night.” “You two know each other?” Jeongin was dumbfounded, and you smirked at him. “I told you, Jeonginnie, insider information.” Yena giggled as he sat down on your normal bench, immediately slumping over. You sat on Yena’s other side, talking with them for a bit. But you couldn’t help your eyes from constantly flitting over to your right, where Sanha was standing with his older friends. Had he told them about your “conversation” yesterday? Had he talked to Jaeha at all? For some reason, you doubted it. He was probably still denial, like you had been. Someone approaching from the left of your small trio caught your attention. You were immediately wary as the figure caused Jeongin to tense up. You stood up, slowly moving in between your friend and the older boy. Yoon Jaeha was walking towards you, shoulders hunched. “Hey, Y/N. Could I talk to Jeongin privately for a moment?” He coughed awkwardly, and you narrowed your eyes. “Whatever you have to say to Jeongin you can say to us too.” Yena threw out, and you were unsure how much Jeongin had told her about his situation with Jaeha. Clearly it was enough for her to join you in defending him. “Uh, okay.” Jaeha cleared his throat again. “Well, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry, Yang Jeongin. About your face, and uh, everything. It was a shitty thing to do, and I’ll leave you alone.” Jeongin seemed surprised, standing up himself to stick his hand out to the older boy. “I forgive you, Yoon Jaeha.” Jaeha shook his hand, then mumbled one last apology before slinking off somewhere. Your friend looked at you with wide eyes. “Y/N, I don’t know what you did yesterday, but thank you so much!” Jeongin launched himself into your arms, and you stumbled backwards for a moment. Laughing, you hugged the boy back. “You’re welcome, Jeongin.” He let go of you, and Yena gave you a hug as well, thanking you too. “I’m just happy that he’s done bothering you.” You said, your heart swelling with happiness. Your best friend was grinning madly, braces on full display and dimple deeper than the ocean. “Now I’ve got someone I need to talk to.” You excused yourself from your friends. “We’ll see you later, Y/N!” Jeongin promised as he and Yena went the opposite direction from you. Shouldering your backpack and swallowing what was left of your pride, you took determined steps towards the group of boys who had watched the whole scene. As soon as Jaeha left, they immediately tried to turn back to what they were talking about before, as if they weren’t watching intently. But you knew that they were. And you knew that there was one of them in particular you had to speak with. “Sanha.” You called out his voice as you walked up from behind him and a boy you knew to be Minhyuk. “Hi, Y/N.” He didn’t seem as eager to see you as he did yesterday, and you suddenly got worried. “Can we talk for a minute?” “Of course.” The tall boy gestured for you to lead the way, and followed you to the bench where you had just been sitting with Yena and Jeongin. “Thank you, for whatever you said to Jaeha to make him stop.” You took a deep breath before continuing. “And I’m sorry, for yelling at you yesterday, and for basically calling you a piece of shit that didn’t deserve a second chance. That was out of line.” Sanha blinked, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. “You don’t need me to forgive you, Y/N. You need to forgive yourself. I can’t give you whatever validation you’re looking for. I really can’t.” Your chest shuddered at his words, they were true. You saw yourself in him, in his situation, and tried to get forgiveness from him. He could see right through you, though, and you didn’t know how. “Fuck, you’re- you’re right.” You sniffled as tears started filling your eyes again. Furiously wiping at them, you were determined not to cry. “Come on,” Sanha stood up, slinging your backpack onto his shoulder with his own, and gently took your arm in his hand. “Let’s go somewhere.” You were still trying not cry as Sanha took you to whatever destination he had in mind. The sounds of the students chattering amongst themselves faded away, and when you looked up from your shoes, you noticed that Sanha had taken you behind the school, in the shade provided by the building. He sat down, tugging on your wrist for you to do the same. You obliged, vision still watery as you couldn’t even make eye contact with him. “Do you want to talk?” “No.” “Okay.” He accepted your answer, not moving to stand up or anything. Instead, he just sat there with you, as if waiting for you to say something. Eventually you did, the silence becoming suffocating, “Why are you being nice to me? I was an absolute asshat to you because of something your brother did.” “I’m being nice to you, in hopes that one day you’ll be nice to yourself. Because I really do believe that you deserve a second chance, Y/N. And you should give it to yourself.” His words brought even more tears to your eyes, and soon they were streaming down your cheeks. He was making you truly look at yourself, something you hadn’t done since your brother got the call that his classmate he had bullied had ended up in the hospital, wrists in thick bandages to stop the bleeding.

And it was terrifying. You wrapped your jacket around yourself tighter, trying to comfort yourself. The sound of the warning bell ringing reached your ears, and you said to Sanha, “You should go, you don’t want to be late.” Sanha made no move to leave, “I also don’t want to leave you crying behind the school by yourself.” And so Yoon Sanha sat with you until your eyes were dry, and the red puffiness had receded a little bit. You stretched as you stood up, and he did the same. “Thank you.” You uttered, not quite sure of what to say. He nodded, checking his watch. “We’ve still got twenty minutes left of first period.” “Then we should go in, better late than never.” Checking that there were no wandering teachers or staff members first, the two of you crossed the grassy quad together, slipping into the main building. Both of your first periods were on the second floor, so you were still by him as you walked up. When you got to where you knew your paths would diverge, you were starting your goodbye when Sanha suddenly blurted something out, “See you sixth-” “Do you want to sit with me at lunch?” You cocked an eyebrow, “How do you know I’m in your lunch? You sit inside.” “Ah, I just, kind of notice things?” “I’ll see if Jeongin’s eating with me or Yena’s art club friends today. If he is eating with them, I might come by your table.” “You don’t sound angry.” “What would I be angry about?” “Jeongin and Yena.” “It’s not like I’m into him or anything,” You snorted almost in disbelief. “And I’m actually super proud of him for getting other friends and talking to his crush.” “That’s nice.” He commented, a smile on his face. “Maybe you should get other friends too.” “We’ll see what happens at lunch, then.” You started walking towards your classroom. “Bye Sanha.” “Bye Y/N!” Lunchtime rolled around, and Jeongin still hadn’t replied to your text asking where he was sitting. With a shrug, you guessed that he was sitting with Yena and her friends, and decided to find Sanha’s table. You heard Sanha’s friends before you could see them in the packed lunchroom, various screams and hysterical laughter met your ears. Approaching the table, you immediately looked to Sanha. “Hey Y/N! You can sit here,” He patted the seat to his left, and you did so. “That’s my seat!” Came the indignant voice of Myungjun as he joined the table. “Oh hi, Y/N.” Jinwoo, who was walking with him, elbowed his arm, “MJ hyung, just sit next to me and leave them be.” Disgruntled, Myungjun sat beside his friend, pulling out his own lunch. The other boys came to the table, giving you wary hellos. The six boys were all hungrily munching on their food, and you just sat there, somewhat amused by it. “Do you not have a lunch, Y/N?” Sanha asked with a frown as he noticed that you weren’t eating as well. “I was planning on skipping this period and fifth and going to the boba cafe a couple blocks away.” You explained your lack of a meal, and immediately had various foods shoved in front of you. Chips from Sanha, a quarter of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich from MJ, a cookie from Bin, rice from Minhyuk, an apple from Dongmin, and a juice from Jinwoo, were all presented to you. More like forced at you, technically. “You guys can keep your food, I really don’t-” You trailed off when you saw the pointed look from Sanha. This was part of a second chance for yourself, accepting others’ kindness. Changing your demeanor, you said, “Thank you.” With that, you popped a chip into your mouth, and the friendly conversation and banter at the table resumed.

After that lunch, you realized that you’d gotten six new friends, whether you wanted to or not. Dongmin lived down the street from you, and had started leaving in the morning just before you did, walking with you a couple blocks before Bin would join the both of you. Then, you were most likely to be roped into the group meeting before school started. Minhyuk and you had ended up together for a project in your second period. Jinwoo would often find you after second and talk with you for a moment as you went to your third periods that were near each other.

Then, the group would reunite at lunch. When you all had to break apart for fifth period, Myungjun tagged along to yours, since he was a peer for that teacher. Of course sixth and seventh period were spent with Sanha, whom you’d started finding less and less bothersome. In

fact, if he didn’t immediately give you a bright smile when you sat beside him in Chemistry, you were a little disappointed. And that text to Jeongin still went unanswered. It wasn’t that you’d forgotten about him, it was far from that. You still loved your best friend with all your heart, but his now-girlfriend had introduced him to so many more people that he was becoming friends with. And while it made your heart twinge, you were proud of him. After all, you were also becoming friends with other people. It was as if maybe your friendship was meant to be just a stepping stone for you both. “Y/N, can we study tonight? I did not get that lesson.” Sanha groaned as the two of you walked out of Chemistry. “Yeah, let me give my dad a heads-up that you’re coming over.” You agreed, bringing your phone out of your pocket. There was a text already there, the name having not popped up on your screen in well over two months. [jeongin: do you want to come over for pizza and movies tonight? we haven’t hung out in forever. i’m staying for art club, but you can come over around dinnertime] Your throat seized up as you thought over your response. Theoretically, you could finish studying with Sanha before dinnertime then go to Jeongin’s house. But your dad had kind of fallen in love with Sanha, insisting every time he was over that he stay for dinner. And you really loved it, it was something you’d never pass up, despite the embarrassing stories your father would tell about you.

[you: i wish i could, but my dad said i can’t hang out with anyone unless i bring my grades back up. sorry] It was somewhat true, your dad said no friends after school, unless it was for something school-related. Or unless it was Sanha. He didn’t even try to hide his favoritism towards your new friend, preferring him over any of the others you’d introduced him to. Minhyuk had come over before for your project, and your dad pretty much treated him as a criminal, but would probably let Sanha get away with murder. Going into your texts with your dad, you started typing as you and Sanha walked down the stairs. [you: hey dad, sanha’s coming over for chemistry studying] [dad: oh no! i’m going to your mother’s work dinner tonight. give him my apologies. we’ll be home at seven!] [you: can i order us pizza then?] [dad: yes, i left money on the counter for you anyway] Your phone buzzed with another text, and you glanced up to thank Sanha as he held the door to the school building open for you. [jeongin: that’s okay. tomorrow right after school?] [you: that sounds perfect. see you then!] Dongmin and Bin joined you and Sanha at the front of the school to walk home. They said their goodbyes as Dongmin was apparently going to Bin’s house, as Sanha was going to yours. At your house, you threw your stuff down and grabbed a snack for you and Sanha to eat. At your kitchen table, you brought out your textbooks as well notes from the class. “Okay so, which parts of periodic trends do you not get?” You asked, chewing on a cracker. “Uh most of it. Like, I understand why it happens, kind of, but I just don’t remember which ways and the exceptions and all of that.” Sanha replied before popping a cracker in his own mouth. You launched into an explanation of the material, for some reason you actually understood it. Once Sanha was sure he understood, you all did a couple practice problems from a worksheet your teacher had given you. However, when you went to check your answers, Sanha had gotten almost all of them wrong. “That’s it, I’m dropping out.” He groaned, shoving his books and papers away from him. Calmly closing your own book, you stood up. “Let’s take a break. I got Super Mario Brothers Wii.” "Oh hell yeah!” Sanha was suddenly energized, running down the hall towards your room. Sitting side-by-side on your bed, knees touching as his long legs were folded underneath him as best he could, you played video games with Sanha. It had become an integral part of your friendship, whether you were at your house, his house, or one of the other boys’, you two always ended up at a game console of sort. Screams and cheers and groans always spilled out of both your mouths, depending on if you were on the same team, and if you were winning. This time you were on the same team, trying to finish the levels at the best proficiency you could. You were about halfway through World One when Sanha’s character died, losing his last life. That meant that you had to completely restart the world. “Are you shitting me?” You hissed, just about throwing your controller onto the floor. “I’m sorry, Y/N!” Sanha cried out, wrapping his arms around you, pulling you tightly to him. You fell over onto your bed at the force, a mess of limbs and laughter as you tried to wriggle out of his grasp. But he held tight to you, apologies adding to your laughs in the air. “I forgive you! I forgive you!” You squealed out, and he finally released you. Still with a grin on your face, you managed to sit yourself back up. Your eyes caught on something outside your window, and you nearly screamed. There was someone peering into your window, just barely out of sight. Before you could alert Sanha, or call the police, or scream, you realized that it was someone familiar. And that you definitely needed to talk to them. “Sanha, could you go make me a cup of chocolate milk while I set up the next level, please?” You asked him sweetly, and he stood up. “Of course.” He raised his arms above his head to stretch, shirt sliding up ever so slightly before he put his arms back down. “I’ll get myself a glass too. Do you want food while I’m in the kitchen?” You weren’t hungry, but you needed to delay him as much as possible, “A sandwich sounds really good right now.” “Aish, what am I, your husband or something?” “You offered! And, I was thinking more like a servant.” He chuckled, sticking his tongue out at you, which in turn caused you to reach forward to give his chest a push, “Alright, I’m going.” Once he was out of sight, you closed your door before padding over to the window. Pushing it up, you called out, “Yang Jeongin! Get your nosy little ass over here!” Your friend emerged from behind one of the taller bushes in your neighbor’s yard. As he got closer to your window, you realized that he seemed upset. With good reason, as far as he knew, you’d blown him off for Sanha. “Hey Y/N.” Jeongin had a tartness in his voice as he spoke, “I thought you were grounded from friends?” “My dad made an exception for studying.” You explained, hoping he wasn’t too mad. It was true that you didn’t hang out as frequently, but you still didn’t want to lose your friend completely. “That really seemed like studying.” “We were taking a break-” You were only partway through your excuse when you realized that Jeongin wasn’t angry, or even annoyed. Instead, he seemed amused as he listened, head tilted to the side. “Don’t you dare be thinking what I think you’re thinking.” “And what would that be? That you and Sanha have huge, enormous crushes on each other?” Now it was Jeongin teasing you about crushes, and you didn’t like the change of roles. You were supposed to be poking fun at him, not the other way around. Scowling, you attempted to change the topic, “Why are you even hiding outside my window, Jeongin? That’s a bit stalker-ish.” “I saw you and Sanha walking together, and I know that his brother drives him to school. So I decided to investigate.” “That’s super stalker-ish, Jeonginnie.” “You’re avoiding.” “You’re annoying.” There was suddenly a yell from inside your house, “Y/N, do you want ham or turkey?” “Uh, give me a minute!” You replied, just as loud. “I’ll come to you-” Jeongin was still at your window, looking smug as he crossed his arms. “Don’t! I’m changing! Currently naked! Do not enter!” “Oh, okay.” Sanha’s voice was closer, he must be right outside the door. He cleared his throat awkwardly, “I’ll be in the kitchen.” Once you were sure he was back in the kitchen, you turned to the boy outside your window with narrowed eyes, “You’ve gotta go, because now I actually have to change so he doesn’t think I was lying to him.” “Fine, fine, I’ll be going.” Your friend raised his hands up in surrender. “But once you two are a thing, we’re going to have double dates, okay?” “Leave.” With one more dimpled laugh and wave, Jeongin walked around to the front of your house, then down the sidewalk. You breathed a sigh of relief, closing your window up and quickly switching your school clothes out for pajamas. Treading out to the kitchen, you tried to be nonchalant about your changing of clothes. Sanha had two chocolate milks and one sandwich made, and he explained the lack of one sandwich, “I haven’t made yours yet, because I didn’t know what you wanted on it.” “Ah, I’m not that hungry anymore, actually.” You replied, helping him to start putting away the sandwich ingredients. “Besides, we need to get back to studying anyway.” You two had finally gotten through the chapter, and Sanha slammed his book shut in victory. “If I see another chemical formula I might just burn my eyes off.” With a chuckle, you closed your book as well, and finished the last of your chocolate milk before speaking again, “We should order the pizza now, so it’s here by the time we get hungry again.” He agreed, and you quickly called it in. As you were ordering, you watched as Sanha stood up, walking towards your living room. Figuring he just wanted to sit on something comfier, you stayed in the kitchen to finish the order. When you had hung up, you shuffled into the living room as well to see Sanha’s long body sprawled out on your couch. He looked half-asleep, so you decided not to bother him, moving to sit in the armchair beside the couch. “Y/N,” he whined, reaching a hand out to grab your forearm. “Sanha,” You mimicked his tone, and he looked up at you through his eyelashes, clearly tired. “I’m cold.” “I’ll get you a blanket.” “But I don’t want a blanket.” “Then freeze.” “Y/N.” He tugged on your arm, and you realized what he wanted. “Jeez, you’re so needy.” You scoffed as he sat up slightly, letting you sit where his head just was. He laid his head back down on your lap, and your fingers instinctively started running through his hair, absentmindedly playing with his brown locks with one hand, the other grabbing the remote to start finding something to watch. “Y/N.” “I swear to God, Sanha, what is it now?” “Thank you for giving me the chance to be your friend.” Your annoyance faded and you felt your face soften as you looked down at Sanha, putting the remote to the side. He was looking back up at you with a fond smile on his face as you kept messing with his hair, waiting for you to say something back. “I still don’t know why you wanted to be my friend,” You frowned, hands stopping as you became absorbed in your thoughts. “I was a jerk to you because of your brother.” “Yeah, you were. But I knew that you weren’t actually a jerk, I saw you smile, and laugh, and joke with Jeongin at school. And one time I’d gone outside during lunch, and saw you go behind the school building, and I wondered where you’d gone. Then I saw you on the other side of the fence, in the meadow, and you looked so peaceful. I knew that you were a wonderful person, so I wanted to see it for myself.” “And am I as wonderful as you thought I was?” “Even more so.” Sanha’s words were so sincere, and so sweet, and he looked at you with such a loving expression, you felt your heart start to hurt and your eyes threatened to water up. “Thanks, Sanha.” You chewed on your lip, and he smiled up at you. “Speaking of the meadow, do you want to go there with me tomorrow? Just for lunch, you don’t have to skip any of your classes.” “Sure, that sounds like a lot of fun.” And with that he rolled onto his side, adjusting his head in your lap into a more comfortable position. You realized with a fond smile that he was going to take a nap. Instead of entertaining yourself with the TV, you pulled out your phone in one hand while the other absentmindedly played with Sanha’s hair, brushing it away from his face, letting it fall back onto his forehead before you brushed it away again. The repetitive cycle relaxed you, and apparently Sanha too as his breathing evened out, the faintest kitten-like snores coming from his slightly-parted lips. He had actually fallen asleep on your lap. Opening the camera on your phone, you took a few pictures of the sleeping boy at various angles. Some made him look like an angel, while others were so unfortunate you had to choke back your laughter at them. You decided to send a couple of the worse ones in your new friend group’s group chat, appropriately named Hot Mess Central. [you: can you believe this 11/10 visual right here: attached images] [mj: im cACKLING OH MY GOD] [minhyuk: no seriously, he’s actually cackling right now. it’s hurting my ears] [jinwoo: i can also confirm that] [bin: i’m saving each and every one of these pictures] [dongmin: wait y/n, it looks like he’s sleeping on your lap] [mj: THATS THE CUTEST SHIT EVER] [bin: is he??] [jinwoo: i double-checked the pictures and you can clearly see y/n’s hand in his hair!!] [minhyuk: that’s adorable] Rolling your eyes at the detective skills your friends decided to employ to embarrass you, you replied. [you: yeah, his head is on my lap because he’s a Needy Bitch™] [jinwoo: yeah but he’s YOUR needy bitch] [you: that’s one of the least endearing things i’ve ever heard of] [bin: sanha is one of the least endearing things i’ve ever heard of] Holding back a snort, you typed out your response, going back into your camera roll for the angelic pictures of Sanha you had. [you: oh that’s just mean, bin. he’s plenty endearing: attached images] [mj: THATS THE CUTEST SHIT EVER] [you: that’s a very wide vocabulary, mj] [dongmin: that’s a very bad way of avoiding the situation, y/n] [jinwoo; i agree, y/n is avoiding] [bin: i second that] [you: no bin, jinwoo already seconded it] [bin: then i third it] [minhyuk: y/n is still avoiding] Sanha started to shift in your lap again, and you realized that his phone had been continuously going off with the messages from the groupchat. [you: you guys are waking sanha up with these ten million messages] [minhyuk: let’s not interrupt their cuddle session anymore then] [jinwoo: good point!] [you: i’m going to strangle you guys tomorrow] [dongmin: that’s pretty kinky, y/n, save it for sanha] [mj: nO WAIT THEY’RE CHILDREN DONGMIN DONT ENCOURAGE THAT] [jinwoo: anyway, we’re all going, bye!!] [bin: bye!!] [mj: BYE BABES] [dongmin: BE SAFE I LOVE YOU ALL BYE] [minhyuk: goodbye, i guess??] Not even reciprocating their goodbyes, you turned your phone off. But apparently ending the conversation to preserve Sanha’s nap was for nothing, because when you looked down at him, his eyes were already focused on you, watching you sleepily. “Something wrong, Y/N?” Sanha reached up to poke at your cheek. “You’re frowning.” You swatted away his hand, the gesture nonetheless bringing a fond smile to your face as you shoved his hand back down towards him. “Your friends are a bunch of idiots.” “Hey, they’re your friends now too, Y/N.” He pointed out, hands undeterred and still reaching up to poke your cheek, then nose, and you gave up on deflecting them. He continued his cute assault on your face, as his own way of tracing your face, eyes and fingers memorizing your features as he did so, under the excuse of annoying you. But that was how he normally approached something like this, something that went beyond the normal bounds of friendship, that maybe signaled that he wanted something else from your relationship. He disguised it just as him being childish. The bell rang, causing both you and Sanha to startle. He sat up to allow you to stand up and get the door. It was the pizza, and you quickly paid before carrying back to the kitchen. As you ate and talked, you forgot about the groupchat and could just focus on your friend. When you were putting away the leftovers and Sanha helped to put the dishes in the dishwasher, you heard the garage door opening, meaning that your parents were home. “We’re home!” Your mother called out, and you poked your head out of the kitchen. “Hi Mom! Hi Dad!” You said cheerily, going to give your mother a hug. “Is Sanha still here?” Your dad asked as he absentmindedly gave you a hug, and you rolled your eyes. At this point he probably preferred Sanha over you. “Yes, Mr. Y/L/N, I’m in the kitchen!” Sanha called out, and your dad rushed in to greet your friend. You watched with amusement as Sanha put down a plate to reciprocate the hug your father gave him, and they immediately launched into a conversation. You didn’t know how, but if you let them, your father and Sanha could talk to each other for hours like good friends. Your mother put her purse down, watching the two as well. “If you don’t start dating that boy soon, your father might.” Your mother warned jokingly, and you didn’t know if you wanted to argue or laugh at her statement. You opted to look at her with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. She lifted your chin back up with a disapproving tsk, “Don’t be so surprised, I’ve known he’s liked you since you first mentioned the annoying boy in your classes who wouldn’t leave you alone. I didn’t raise a stupid child, you’ve known it too, Y/N.” Sighing, you slowly nodded in agreement. Had it crossed your mind before that Sanha might like you as something other than a friend? Yes, but you never dwelled on those thoughts. Had it crossed your mind that you might also like Sanha as something other than a friend? Yes, but you valued this new friendship too much to think like that. The possibility of losing not one, but six friends, was terrifying to you. You never thought of yourself as wanting to have many friends, but now that you did, you didn’t want to let them go. You’d just be selfish for wanting anything else from your relationship with Sanha, or any one of them. It would disrupt the dynamics of the whole friend group. “Good,” She picked up her bag again, patting your shoulder before calling out to your dad, “Honey, Sanha should be getting home before it’s dark.” “Oh, you’re right.” Your father frowned as he looked outside, the sun was hanging low in the sky. “Y/N can walk him home, right?” “Of course.” You said brightly as Sanha went to pick up his bookbag. “Thank you, Mrs. and Mr. Y/L/N.” The boy bowed to your parents in succession. “We’ll see you later, Sanha. Goodbye.” Your mother hugged him, then your father as they walked you two to the door. You and Sanha walked in near silence, a comfortable silence. The only sounds that met your ears were your breathing, and the tune he was humming lightly. You liked when it quiet like this, it was often hard to get Sanha to settle down, most of the time he was all over the place. Which you liked about your friend, it was contagious, but sometimes you just wanted some peace with him. Sanha’s house was several streets over from yours, far enough from the school to warrant his parents buying his older brother a car to drive them to school, but not so far that he went to a completely different school. The quaint two-story house he lived in came into view, and you stopped on the sidewalk at the front. “Bye, Sanha. Thanks for studying with me.” You smiled, and in the dimming sunlight you could see that he had a bittersweet smile on his face as well. “Thanks for having me over, Y/N.” He said, and the both of you paused. Your mother’s words were on your mind, and your friend seemed lost in his own thoughts. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” You stepped forward to give him what would normally be a friendly hug, but as your arms squeezed around his torso, you felt your heart being squeezed too. “See you.” With that, you began walking away, giving him a final wave as you turned the corner back towards your house.

The next day after third period you walked out to wait for Sanha behind the building. You reminisced about when you used to eat with Jeongin out here; you hadn’t been behind the building or in the meadow since you’d become friends with Sanha and the others. Sanha’s head peeked around the corner, and his face lit up when he saw you. “Hey, Y/N.” He smiled, and you reciprocated it. “Hey. You packed a lunch beforehand?” You question, linking your arm with his to walk out towards the gate. “Yes, and I brought those candies you like, too.” “Ah, you’re the best!” At the gate, you let go of Sanha’s arm to undo the chain, and dropped the unlocked padlock onto the ground. Pushing one side of the gate open, you took his arm in yours again and led him through. You decided not to go too far into the small meadow, stopping at a place where you knew that you couldn’t be seen from the school grounds, but it was still close enough to get back before the next period. Sitting down, you pulled out your own sandwich and drink to start eating. The warm sun above you countered the cool spring breeze that fluttered through the flowers and grass around you. You chewed on your sandwich happily, and Sanha was quiet as well as he ate his lunch. “Oh, I brought that book of poetry you wanted to look at!” You suddenly remembered, reaching into your bag. Sanha had been complaining about a poetry assignment for his Literature class, and you wanted to prove that it actually wasn’t all that boring. Pulling the book out, you realized that Sanha had brought chocolate for himself, and you really didn’t want it getting on your book. With a shake of your head, you scooted closer to him until your thighs were touching, and opened the book. Resting your arm on his leg, you held the book open for the both of you to be able to see. He leaned over your shoulder to look at it, giving you a small nudge when he was ready for the page to be turned, and you would give him a nudge when you wanted him to give you one of the candies he’d brought. Since you were holding the book, he would have to place it in your mouth for you. Soon, the two of you got into a rhythm, you were realizing the speed that he read at and would be able to turn the page without prompting, and just your mouth falling open was enough for him to know to feed you another candy. There was a moment when you two had read a particularly powerful poem, Sanha had said, “Wow, that’s incredible,” and his warm breath washed over your much colder ear and cheek, that you realized how close he was to you. His chin was resting on your shoulder, left arm behind your back to prop himself up, and you were leaning on his lap, back almost against his chest. And you became horribly aware of the fact that you wanted him even closer. This wasn’t enough. You wanted him to wrap his arms around your waist, to sit you between his legs, and nuzzle his face into your neck. “Y/N, you can turn the page.” Sanha’s request snapped you out of your terrified daze, and you quickly did so. But you could never regain the focus on the poems that you had before, every movement or slight shift he made amplified the roaring in your ears. You blamed your mother and Jeongin for putting the thoughts in your head. There was no way Sanha liked you like that, so therefore there was no reason for you to like him like that. In your mind, that was final. The bell ringing for next period nearly made you jump out of your skin, and you were quick to scramble away from Sanha and stuff the book back in your backpack. “We should get going, you don’t want to be late for class and I’m sure if we run we can make it back just in time-” “Isn’t there a river near here?” Sanha interrupted your ramblings, calmly standing up and shouldering his own bag. “Uh, yeah. It’s about a twenty minute walk from here.” “Well then let’s go.” “What?” Sanha looked at you innocently, “Let’s go to the river, it sounds like fun!” “You realize that we’ll have to skip at least two periods, right?” “Do you really want to go to Algebra, Y/N?” “Well no, but your parents would literally kill me if they found out that you skipped with me, they already don’t like me.” You pointed out with a frown. They never said it outright, but you could tell that the Yoons disapproved of you. You weren’t quite sure why; if Sanha had for some reason told them about your tendency to skip the second half of the day, or your previous dislike for him, or if they just didn’t like the fact that you were a girl. Whenever you were at their house you noticed that they treated you much colder than the others, who they pretty much considered as five more sons. You were an outlier at his house, which was such a stark contrast from how he was treated at your house. “My parents can go choke,” He scoffed, and you looked at him strangely for a moment before bursting out laughing. You stood there in the middle of the meadow, keeled over as you just wheezed. Your sides were hurting as you laughed the hardest you ever had in probably months. Finally, as you stood up, wiping a stray tear from your cheek, you saw Sanha watching with a fond smile on his face. “Well, alright.” You said, picking up your backpack. “Let’s go to the river.” As you went on to start leading the way, Sanha casually linked his arm with yours, a simple gesture that made your chest twinge. You tended to walk home together like this but you never were bothered by it until now. And you knew that if you tried to let go he was only whine until you linked your arm with his again. It was an annoying but endearing trait about him. So the two of you continued on the path you hadn’t taken in months, not since the day you’d gone off on Sanha behind the school. It seemed like a lifetime ago, but it was less than five months. So much had changed for you. Sanha rambled on about the most random stuff, and you just listened to him, an amused smile on your face. Occasionally he’d say something you had to refute or comment on, but he mainly carried the conversation himself as usual. It was so different from your friendship with Jeongin, where either you were talking the most or neither of you said much, in a comfortable silence. That made you think about Jeongin again, and how you had dinner plans at his house tonight. When you’d told your mom, she was elated, previously she had been worried that you weren’t friends with him anymore. You knew that she loved him like a son, especially for 'getting you back in line’ again. Not that she didn’t like seeing Sanha all the time, but your mom was always preaching that you needed to balance everything in your life, including old friends and new friends. She suggested that you introduce Jeongin to your new friends, but you shrugged it off. It was okay for you all to have different friend groups, you both knew that deep down you were still each other’s best friend. In fact, Jeongin had made more new friends than you did, eight new friends as compared to your six. Soon, you knew that you were reaching the clearing that you usually practiced your dance moves at, and you got more excited. Sanha seemed to notice that you were picking up your pace, and followed suit until eventually you both were running through the grass, swerving to avoid the occasional tree. Giddy, you finally burst into the clearing, and grinned as you saw it to be exactly as you’d left it. Just twenty feet away was the riverbank, and underfoot was packed dirt with somewhat trampled grass that made it a good place for you to practice your dance moves. “This isn’t really a river.” Sanha commented, to which you pursed your lips. “It’s a river.” You said sternly, and he raised an eyebrow in amusement before changing the subject. “So what did you usually do down here when you skipped?” “The last time I was here I practiced a bit.” “Practiced?” “Oh uh, I dance a little bit.” Sanha’s eyes lit up, “Can I see?” Your eyes immediately widened, you never really danced in front of anybody except Jeongin a couple rare times. “I’m self-taught, and choreograph my own stuff, so it’s usually not that good, and-” “You choreographed it by yourself? That’s awesome!” “Well that’s doesn’t mean it’s good choreography, it’s nothing like what real dancers do or anything.” “What makes someone a 'real dancer?’” “Uh, I don’t know. Actually being successful, and not feeling like you’re going to puke at the idea of dancing in front of someone.” “Y/N, you’ll be fine. It’s just me, you know I’m not going to judge you or anything. Seriously, it’s gotta be great if you did it.” Your friend seemed to know exactly what to say to convince you, and with a sigh you brought out your phone. “I need to do a couple stretches first.” You mumbled, bending over to touch your toes, then doing a few others before returning to your phone. Sanha sat down in front of you, eagerly looking up at you. You selected the song, and quickly paused it before handing it to him. “I haven’t really practiced in a long time, by the way.” “It’ll still be awesome!” With a deep breath, you tried to focus yourself, walking to where you needed to start. Imagining the first few steps, you then nodded for Sanha to play the song. As you danced, you tried to avoid eye contact with Sanha, especially at some of the more intense parts that were inspired by idol dances. You took moves from both boy and girl groups, adding in a few of your own, and desperately tried to match it with the music. There was a couple times you’d miss the beat and have to scramble to catch up. But nonetheless, the song finally came to an end, leaving you breathing heavily and a grin on your face as Sanha clapped madly. “That was so good, Y/N!” He cheered, standing up to wrap his arms around you. You stumbled for a moment, laughing lightly as you hugged him back. “Thanks, Sanha. I messed up a bunch, though, and I know it probably looked really awkward, too. I choreographed it with the idea of a partner in mind, but Jeongin didn’t want to do it with me. I was thinking of asking Minhyuk, I know he’s been dancing for a while. Or Bin or Jinwoo, they dance too, right?” “We all dance! I can do it with you!” “Really?” You questioned, never quite pegging Sanha as the type to dance. “What do you think we all do in first period, hm?” “I honestly don’t know what your first period even is.” “It’s a free period for Jinwoo and MJ, and Music for the rest of us, so they come in and we either dance or do vocals together. We have after-school practices at Bin’s house sometimes, too.” “Wow, that’s actually pretty cool. Why haven’t I heard about this little idol group before, hm?” “We’re not idols.” Sanha pointed out, flustered as he messed with his hair. “Who knows, you boys might be one day.” “Ah, I doubt that.” “Sing for me.” He was clearly caught off guard, face turning pink as he fervently shook his head. “No way.” “Ya! You just made me dance for you!” You complained, and he seemed to realize his hypocrisy.

“Fine, fine.” Your friend took a deep breath, trying to think of a song to sing. As the melody flowed out smoothly from his mouth, you recognized it easily as I Need U, the song he had named as his favorite BTS song that one day in the hallway. It was so long ago.

Sanha’s voice was clear, surprisingly strong and level for someone his age. You found yourself transfixed as he sang, watching him intently, yet he was looking anywhere but you. As he finished the verse, you clapped excitedly, which caused a wide grin to spread across his face.

“That was so good!” You squealed,squeezing his arm supportively for a moment.

“Ah, I didn’t warm up before, but thank you.” Sanha paused, looking around for a moment.

“Something wrong, Sanha?” “No, I just- Let’s go down to the river!” Your friend suddenly burst into a run again, and with a sigh, you chased him down to the riverbank. As soon as he reached the waters’ edge, he kicked his shoes off, rolled up his pants, and stepped into the beginnings of the river. “How deep do you think it is?” He asked, and you shrugged. “It’s about up to my bellybutton, so for you, probably your hips or so.” “You’ve been swimming in it? We should go swimming!” “Yeah, in September. It’s way too cold now, and besides, we don’t even have swimsuits with us.” “So?” Sanha seemed unfazed, starting to unbutton his long sleeve school uniform shirt. He walked up to place it in the grass, then returned to the water in just his white t-shirt, gesturing for you to follow him. “Come on!” “Uh, no way.” You crossed your arms. “I can’t just take off my shirt and go swimming you ding dong! We don’t even have towels!” “Y/N, please?” He pouted, eyes pleading with you. “Nope.” “Y/N.” “Sanha.” You mimicked his whiny tone. “Y/N.” At this point, he was already up to his mid-thighs, pants soaked. “Sanha.” “It’s not even cold, it’s actually really warm!” “So?” “At least take your shoes off and get your feet wet with me.” Relenting, you slipped out of your sneakers and socks, then treading closer to the river. The water was in fact quite warm, you realized as it lapped at your ankles. Just as you were sarcastically about to ask Sanha if he was happy, you were met with a huge wave of water that reached most of the way up your legs. “Yoon Sanha!” You screeched, leaping away from him. “I’m going to kill you, you little punk!” Sanha had a mischievous grin on his face as he waded further towards the middle of the river. “How are you going to do that if you’re all the way over there?” Steeling your nerves, you took a few more steps into the river until you were close enough. With complete disregard for your earlier statements of not wearing a swimsuit or not wanting to get wet, you leapt at your friend. You successfully had tackled him in the middle of the river, causing the both of you to be almost completely submerged. As you continued your playful assault on him, more and more of you got wet, until the both of you were soaked from head to toe and tired of your river wrestling. “Well congrats, we went swimming. Now how are we supposed to go to school in soaking wet clothes?” “We don’t.” Sanha trudged out of the river, pulling his shoes back on. “If I wasn’t so cold and annoyed, I might like this bad boy side to you, Sanha.” You commented, opting just to tuck your shoes into your bag so they didn’t get muddy from the dirt accumulating on your wet feet. “Well then let’s get you less cold and annoyed so you can fully appreciate it.” Sanha offered his dry school shirt out to you. Begrudgingly, you put it on over your own wet uniform. It didn’t do much to warm you up, but you appreciated the gesture. “Thanks, Sanha.” “We should go to my house, I think it’s closest.” “Uh, your parents would most definitely not appreciate us walking into their home looking like this.” “They don’t get home for another five hours, it’s fine.” He said, taking your bag from you to carry it along with his own. So you followed Sanha to his house, which was in fact relatively close. You were thankful that school wasn’t out yet, nobody else needed to know about your midday skip and dip with Sanha. That could go downhill very quickly. Traversing through the streets barefoot, you desperately tried to keep up Sanha’s somewhat quick pace, his legs were way longer than yours. Thankfully the speed-walk helped to warm you up, and he was right about his house not being far away from the river. By the time you got to the familiar two-story house, you didn’t feel cold anymore. Until in the final stretch from the street corner to his house, the wind picked up, thoroughly chilling you to your bones. “Shit, that’s cold! You hissed, breaking out into a run towards the house. Sanha followed suit, desperately fishing his house key out and fumbling to unlock the door as the breeze kept coming. Finally, you both shoved your way through the front door, and slammed it behind you. Taking your arm in his light grip, Sanha guided you to the kitchen where he set your bags down, then upstairs. "I’ll get you some towels, and some warm clothes.” Sanha informed you, leading you into his bedroom before starting to search through his drawers. “You can change in the bathroom. Do you need anything else?” “Uhm,” You coughed awkwardly for a moment as you debated whether or not to inform him of the issue that literally every article of clothing you were wearing was soaked through. “You don’t need to give me your pants.” “Y/N, yours are absolutely drenched, you need to change!” “Yeah, well my underwear is also drenched, so that would just soak through your pants anyway!” Wordlessly, and with red cheeks, he opened another drawer and added one more article of clothing to the stack before handing them to you. You muttered a thank you before slipping into his bathroom. Starting by peeling your own wet clothes off, you took a towel to your body to dry the skin underneath, then to your hair. You attempted to tame your hair with your fingers before addressing the clothes situation. The last article of clothing Sanha had added was a pair of boxers, and you nearly burst out laughing when you saw that they had a pattern of a character from his favorite childhood cartoon. Your awkwardness faded away and you were still chuckling as you slipped them on, followed by the sweatpants and t-shirt. You were delighted to see that he had given you one of your favorite t-shirts of his, the blue and pink striped one. Whenever he wore it you would comment that he looked like someone from a kids’ tv show, which would only prompt him to puff out his cheeks and attempt to look as cutesy as possible. Emerging from the bathroom, you held your wet clothes in your arms, patiently waiting outside Sanha’s bedroom door. When he opened his door, his eyes were caught on you for a moment, and you shifted under his awestruck gaze. “Could I have a jacket or something? My arms are cold.” You requested, and he immediately snapped to attention, retreating back into his room before handing you a large zip-up hoodie.

“Thanks. Uh, where’s your dryer?” “Oh, yeah, here.” Sanha led you to the laundry room, and once you got the load started and slipped your arms into the hoodie, he dragged you out to the living room. “Movie?” “Sure, you choose.” You said apathetically, tucking yourself into the corner of the couch. He promptly settled in beside you, resting his head against your side as he looked through his Netflix. Your thoughts were elsewhere, the movie just providing background noise to your internal turmoil. Sanha was too sweet on you, and you didn’t know why. You weren’t spectacular at anything, and you definitely weren’t nearly as nice to him as he was to you. You were sarcastic, with a biting tongue, and sometimes too harsh of a sense of humor. But it never phased Sanha, he still pursued you. He softened you sometimes, like now, as you sat in his clothes on his couch, absentmindedly running your fingers through his hair; or like earlier in the meadow, when you were reading poetry together. But you were terrified, of what you would eventually do to him. This couldn’t last forever, you weren’t a soft person, you weren’t a nice person. You weren’t a person fit for Yoon Sanha. The warmth against your body was suddenly gone, and your fingers fell from the top of Sanha’s head as he sat up. You blinked in confusion, watching as he turned to face you, the most serious expression across his face that you’d ever seen. “Y/N.” He finally spoke, and you noticed that the movie had been paused. “What’s up?” “Nothing, Sanha.” You shook your head, trying to feign a smile. “No, there’s something. What’s wrong?” “Sanha, I’m fine.” “Y/N, you’re crying.” You hesitantly touched a your face, and you were, in fact, crying. Bitter tears slipped down your face, one after another. They wet your hands and your lap, but you kept crying silently. Your chest shook as you cried, and you could feel your lip quivering as you tried not to fall into full on sobs. “Talk to me, please.” He begged, grabbing your hand with his. You wrenched it away, sputtering out, “I don’t deserve a second chance. I don’t deserve your friendship. I don’t deserve you, Yoon Sanha.” “Y/N… I don’t know what else to say to make you understand that you deserve so much in life. I wish I could give it to you, and I’m sorry that I’ve failed you and that you still feel this way. If I could take all your pain and put it on myself, I absolutely would.” You could hear his voice start to waver, and when you looked up at him, his eyes were pooling with tears of his own. He looked at you with red eyes, and you could almost hear your heart breaking. “No no no, I didn’t want you to cry too.” You mumbled, wiping at his tears with your thumbs. “I’m not worth your tears, Sanha. Please don’t cry for me.” “Y/N, how the fuck could you think that?” Sanha’s voice suddenly turned hard. “Was I not good enough to you? Did I treat you so badly, that you still think you’re not worth anything? I thought I had tried my hardest, to show you that you deserve to be happy. I’m sorry, that I didn’t.” “No, Sanha, you did, I promise. You did so much for me, it’s my fault.” It really was your fault. It was always your fault. “Do you know why I wanted you to like me, why I wanted to be your friend so badly?” “Because you thought I was a wonderful person.” You answered his question with a confused frown, knowing that he had just told you this yesterday. “A wonderful person that I had- have, a huge crush on.” You just about choked on your own throat, shock halting the flow of your tears. Scanning his face for any sign of humor or something else that would signal he’s not being truthful. But there was a pink tinge across his ears and cheeks, and he had immediately started fidgeting with the hem of his shirt despite his confident words. He was telling the truth. Yoon Sanha has a crush on you. You wanted to immediately apologize to him, that he had gotten a crush on someone so horrible, that you couldn’t date him, because you wouldn’t be good enough for him, you would end up hurting him. But you stopped yourself from word vomiting. You were only thinking about yourself, pretending that it was for his sake. You’d been doing that this whole time, and you could see the disappointment and just plain tiredness on Sanha’s face from it. It was exhausting, to him and to you, to always be belittling yourself. He wanted you to love yourself, to have happiness so much, and here you were ignoring his wishes. You were hurting him almost as much as you were hurting yourself. You wanted to chastise yourself and hate yourself for being so selfish, but would that get you anywhere good? No. You needed to break this cycle. “I… have a crush on you too.” You finally let yourself say it. It would have been a big weight lifted off your chest, except an even bigger one replaced it, pinning you in place.

It was Sanha, who had practically tackled you in a hug, pushing you further back against the arm of the couch. You would have loved it, except you were awkwardly contorted, the wood underneath the upholstery of the arm pressing into your vertebrae. “Sanha, my back, please.”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” He apologized, sitting up straight again, but one of his hands had found yours, holding on firmly. “So?”

“So what?”

“Where should our first date be? Ooh, we could go get dinner tonight! I’ll pay for you and everything!”

“Sanha, I’m still wearing your clothes, no way am I going on our first date looking like this.”

“I think you look cute in my clothes.” He said with a frown, and his newfound bluntness for complimenting you made you hide your face in your hands momentarily, you could feel your cheeks heating up.

“I also already have plans with Jeongin tonight,” You added, remembering your friend, and then glancing over to the clock under the TV. School was ending in two minutes, and you nearly rolled right off the couch, hastily running to the kitchen table where your phone was.

[you: hey, i’m not at school, so i’ll just meet you at your house]

[jeongin: that’s fine. you were at school this morning, where are you now?]

[you: sanha’s house]

[jeongin: i have a couple questions]

[you: i’ll tell you about it when i see you in like, ten minutes, okay?]

[jeongin: fine]

Clicking your phone off, you returned to the living room to see a dumbfounded-looking Sanha, exactly where you had left him. “Sorry, I had to let Jeongin know I wouldn’t be walking home with him.”

Sitting back where you had been before, Sanha slowly blinked, and you reached over to take his hand in yours again, missing the feeling just in the minute you’d been away from him. You couldn’t imagine how it’d be when you actually left his house.

“That’s fine.” He plastered on a smile, and you tilted your head curiously.

“We’re having a movie night.”

“Oh that’s nice.”

“At his house.”

“Cool.”

“And we’re just friends.”

“I know.”

“And he has a girlfriend.”

“So do I.”

You nearly choked when he had said that, the heat rushing back to your cheeks. “Who says I’m your girlfriend yet?”

“Who says you’re not?” Sanha retorted, which only made you lightly smack his chest indignantly. “Okay, okay, I get it. We should have at least one date before I call you that, right?”

“Three.”

“So we’ll have one date tomorrow, and since the day after that is a Saturday, we can have two dates that day.”

As he revealed his plan to you, despite how dumb you knew it was, you found yourself still with a fond smile on your face. Yeah, he was a dork sometimes, but wasn’t that why you liked him? He was purely just… himself.

“We’ll see what happens.” You forced yourself to stand back up off the couch, still holding Sanha’s hand and pulling him off with you. “I need to go, I told Jeongin I’d meet him at his house in ten minutes, and that was two minutes ago.”

“How far away from here does he live?” Sanha followed you back into the kitchen, fingers still laced through yours.

Thinking for a moment, you tried to compose a mental map of your neighborhood. You lived between Jeongin and Sanha, closer to Jeongin’s house and the school than Sanha’s house. Thinking back to when you’d walk to either of their houses, you did a small amount of math in your head.

“Nine minutes. So I’m already late.”

“Then what’s another two minutes?”

Narrowing your eyes at Sanha, you were trying to decipher what he was implying. “Two minutes to do what?”

“I don’t know- just, not leave me yet.” He mumbled, swinging your linked hands.

A fond smile found its way onto your lips as you hoisted your schoolbag onto your shoulder, leading Sanha to the laundry room so you could get your now dry clothes. You only let go of his hand to put them in your bag, then sat at a kitchen chair to slip your shoes back on. As you stood up, you put both backpack straps on. He immediately took your hand in his again, following you to his front door like a lost puppy.

“Y/N?”

“Yes, Sanha?”

“Have fun.” Your friend? boyfriend? date mate? told you with a soft and genuine smile on his features.

You were expecting him to whine and beg you to stay, but you were pleasantly surprised to see that he was willingly let you leave to see your friend. “Thanks, I’ll text you later, okay?”

“Call.”

“Okay, I’ll call you later.” You let go of his hand and wrapped your arms around his waist tightly. “Bye, Sanha.”

“Bye, Y/N.” He hugged you back with a firm yet comforting touch.

Your chest swelled and you couldn’t help but bury your face in his chest, just loving the feeling of being with him. But you’d already wasted another two minutes getting ready to leave, and Jeongin tended to get impatient, and you knew he’d have a million questions for you when you got there. Finally you had convinced yourself to let Sanha go, and opened the front door. Outside, the breeze had settled down, and you were glad that Sanha had given you warm clothes, it was still somewhat chilly.

“Y/N, one more thing?”

“Hm?” You turned around in the threshold of his house.

He swiftly leaned down, placing a soft peck on your cheek. Your face was heating up again, and you hid your face in your hands that were covered by the sweater sleeves. “Oh.”

Sanha had something akin to a smug smile on his face, clearly proud of himself for being able to make you flustered. “Bye, Y/N!”

“Bye again.”

With that, you forced yourself out of Sanha’s front door and onto the sidewalk, giving him one final wave over your shoulder. The wind picked up again as you walked, but you could barely feel it, your insides felt all warm and fuzzy from your interaction with Sanha. Not to mention that you had wrapped his hoodie around yourself partially to block out the chills and partially just because it reminded you of him. It was ridiculous how soft you were for him already.

Arriving at Jeongin’s house and knocking on his front door, you were ready for the earful you were about to get for being five minutes late. The door swung open, and you sheepishly smiled at your friend as he took in your appearance.

“I have a lot to tell you.”

#imagines: sanha #yoon sanha #sanha #astro #sanha imagine #sanha imagines #yoon sanha imagine #yoon sanha imagines #astro imagine #astro imagines #sanha scenario #sanha scenarios #astro scenario #astro scenarios #aroha #fluff #angst #fluffy angst #i: picking flowers #*100

[an-almost-dropped-croissant]

Test Tips

If you didn't do well on exams, don't feel bad. Just think of how you can improve. My big tip for taking in information is notes. Take all your handouts, tests, reviews etc. and condense them into notes. Make it visually appealing. For inspiration check studyblr, it always gets me ready for study sessions.

Note for university students! Most of you take laptop notes in lectures, these still work for you! There are highlight settings and chart templates on most writing apps.

Protip: Chromebooks etc. allow you to have two windows running at the same time. This is great for copying down direct quotes from sites. Just drag the window to one side until an outline appears that covers half the screen. Adjust to preference from there.

Colour code. Sticky notes in specific pages that are the same colour as one topic's notes (example: sections on cancers and notes about cancer/carcinogens/mutations) are very helpful for quick access to key info.

Find a way to make it fun. It's much easier to memorize things you enjoy. I love history, so I just make it more interesting. John A. Macdonald, a founding father of Canada, spent thousands of dollars on champagne and fireworks to impress his colleagues. Boom, fun fact.

Memory tricks. To remember things like diagrams, people, definitions, and events, use memory tricks. Find key words or phrases that stand out to you, doesn't matter how absurd, and make a pun, a reference to something you enjoy, a joke, anything that you can immediately identify.

Use colourful pens/highlighters. Colour draws attention in to what is highlighted. Use colour sparingly, and still use colour coding. Highlight headings, key words, bullet points (to be visually appealing) and anything else that you need. You are more likely to retain information written in blue ink than black or pencil.

Find videos. If the teacher just isn't helping, teach yourself through videos. They have engaging audio and visuals to better explain concepts. I especially recommend this for math. Take notes off of the video, but keep them under a specific heading dedicated to videos so you can ask about what you learned next class to see if it's right.

Make diagrams/charts whenever possible. Writing out notes and diagrams once is equivalent to reading them 7x. As opposed to just looking at a diagram or chart, make your own. Not only will it help you learn, it looks damn pretty too.

Find tools that work for you. I can't emphasize this enough. We've all had bad experiences with pencils that aren't dark enough/broken, pens that don't glide, erasers that won't work, calculators we don't understand. You need a solid foundation before you even start notes because if you don't you'll end up frustrated instead of pleased.

Find techniques that work for you. Figure out what kind of learner you are and roll with it. I'm a visual and kinesthetic learner. I take notes, I'm very hands on and I respond well to colours and videos. You might not be the same. In that case, some of my tips aren't the best for you.

Listen to music. That does not mean music you get hype to. I've made that mistake. Find instrumentals from animated movies, acoustic covers, nothing too crazy or distracting. Music has been proven to help you study subjects you don't enjoy. Make a playlist of calming songs that you still enjoy.

Put your phone down. I know, shocking. Your phone is keeping you off task, so set it on the opposite side of the room, notifications off. Pick it up when you take a break.

Take breaks. Every half hour or so, have an alarm that tells you to get up, stretch, drink water, and check your phone. Study hard, take a minute to regroup, repeat. Really stretch out those wrists, you'll thank me later.

Schedule your study sessions. Most of you are in high school or university, so you have extracurriculars, jobs, social lives. Find time for work and dedicate a half hour or more a day to just looking over/ writing down more notes.

Stay healthy. When it's 3am and you body is screaming, just go to bed. Pain and exhaustion are the body's way of saying step the fuck up Kyle, so respect that. Drink water, eat healthy snacks, sleep at least 6 hours, get sunlight, go for walks. Try to drink one coffee in the morning and no caffeine after 4. You have nothing if you don't have your health.

I have more, they just aren't coming to mind right now. If you have questions or want more tips, hit me up!

#studyblr #study motivation #study tips #test tips #note taking #note tips #exam tips

[prorevenge]

Pro revenge by whistle blowing.

warning: long story.

One of my first jobs out of college wasn't really a true job. I interviewed at a proprietary trading firm and was offered a job as one of their traders. Looking back, it was naive to join such a firm and this was right before the '08 crash. They sold themselves as being pro traders and all you had to do was put up some capital which got added to the group's pooled fund. After that, you went through training and once the boss thought you were ready, you would 'go live' with your trading account. There were no paychecks, but you did get to keep most of your profits. Later on, I learned that the bosses of such groups made money by either taking a cut from your profits or by taking a fee from your traded volume. This group skimmed from both sides taking 15% from your profits and a fee from your trading volume which came out to about $1.5 every 100 shares traded.

For months, I spent time learning from the "Pros," and then I began to realize along with some of the other newbies, that the only person making money was the boss. The turnover for new traders was high. Some people lasted a month, others a year or two. As I got to know people around the office, I began finding out that very few made any money at all. The boss was a micromanager and watched the risk monitor for his group like a hawk. If you hit -$50 in a day, you were locked out and couldn't trade anymore throughout the day. Also, you were limited to trading stocks up to $40 per share with a max size of 200 shares. It was very difficult to make a living trading like this.

Here is where things get interesting. The boss took a liking to me at first because I was tech savvy. They had a large computer lab with many trading groups and about 1,000 workstations set up for trading. The group I was in had maybe 35-40 traders. The floor was staffed with 2 IT techs. Needless to say, if there was a tech problem, it took a while for your support ticket to get answered. So, instead of waiting, I just hacked the network and got the domain admin credentials (back in the days of XP and Server 2k3). I then proceeded to add my account to the local admins group on my PC at the office. In turn, I was able to install updates, patches, different trading software, and more. The IT staff never knew and the boss liked how I got around the system and gave me an additional role as the 'unofficial IT guy' for our group. This exposed me to the bosses PC as well as all of the other traders.

Doing the unofficial IT work, I ended up meeting everyone in the group. As I became friends with some of the more seasoned traders, I found out that most were surviving by receiving a commission for signing up new traders and not from trading. New traders would put $3-10k down and after the 'training class,' they'd go live. A small portion of that went to the employee that recruited the trader. One guy, let's call him 'trader x' who had been there the longest started telling me all about the boss and I began to understand how shady this whole operation was. Having access to the bosses PC when he asked me to help with some basic tasks, 'trader x' stopped by and coerced me into doing some digging. The boss was gone, and we found a lot of shady documents relating to the company. The boss had an alternate identity, bank accounts in another name, ID's with his picture and different info. It was all very suspicious. Shortly after that day of digging, he entrusted me to bring an envelope with some documents to the bank for him, and I did. Although, when I met with the banker about the documents I was dropping off, she used the other name trader x and I found on the bosses PC. When I mentioned the name I knew, the banker had no idea who I was talking about.

Soon after realizing it was a sketchy place to be working at, and seeing my fellow traders drop like flies due to the trading restrictions, I came across one of the bosses emails to an unknown part that went into detail about how to properly sign up traders and bleed their accounts dry for the maximum profit. I'm oversimplifying it here but this got to me and I went home ticked off. Trader X and I talked about it and he confirmed that this was the bosses modus operandi. Collect the training fee, have the trader sign the contract with the group, and cycle them out as fast as possible. So that night, I went home and wrote up a post on a trading forum about the group, its practices, and warned anyone looking at joining the group to steer clear. I went to bed and thought nothing more of the post until the next day.

The next morning, when I arrived in the office, everyone was being held in the conference room. We were all getting interviewed/interrogated about a post that was found online about our group. Shit! It was my post! I remained calm and when it was my turn, I just remember thinking to myself "Never underestimate the power of denial." When asked if I had any knowledge of anything posted online, I said that I did not. Suspicion was there but it got dropped after I was threatened with an empty threat that if I did know anything, I was in breach of the contract I signed that stated that I could be sued for damages up to $100k. I didn't buckle under the pressure and maintained that I didn't know anything. After a few days, things cooled off and I was asked to stay late to work on the bosses PC again. This time, I pulled a copy of all the bosses emails and saved it to a flash drive.

When reviewing what I took, and knowing that this was a 'fly by night' sort of operation going on, I packaged it up and sent the pst file to the SEC via an anonymous email address. I then reached out to all of the traders I had known that left and were swindled out the their money and urged them to submit complaints / tips to the SEC about the trading group. All in all, I think about 20 complaints were sent out through my efforts. When I looped in Trader X about everything I had done, he jumped in and got more people from before my time starting with the group to submit complaints.

Now it was time for my exit. I wanted to be done with this group. I contacted the boss and informed him I wanted my money back and based on my calculations, I should be flat overall with my account. I made nothing and lost nothing since I had started. The boss over the phone tried to inform me that I signed a contract and according to that contract, the money was no longer mine. To his surprise, I told him he was wrong and that I actually had a copy of his contract. I then proceeded to read off the sections that clearly stated that they money provided was for training purposes and would only be kept by the company if losses were not paid back to the company. He was surprised I was able to read this off to him because all copies of this contract were only available to the traders the day they signed with the group. He never provided a copy for your own records, and clearly did so because he did not want you to fully understand what you signed or have you scrutinize over it with a lawyer. Once I explained my logic of how my account was flat and that my capital contribution should be fully refundable based on the wording of the contract, his response to me was "The contract isn't open to interpretation!" I responded by saying "You think your contract isn't open for interpretation. Are you kidding? the Constitution is open to interpretation. What makes you think your contract is set in stone?" He proceeded by threatening me with the clause regarding the $100k in damages and claimed he had proof I posted online about him and his group. I told him I'd gladly meet him in court... I knew he wouldn't want to go to court and I called his bluff. A few days later I received a check for the money I initially put up to join the group.

What makes this qualify as pro revenge was that during the market crashing in '08, the office where the group operated out of got a visit from the SEC about 3 weeks after all the complaints were received. Trader X informed me that the boss was pulled into meetings with investigators from the SEC and a few days after their arrival, the boss was gone and the group dissolved. Since there were many other trading groups sharing the floor, anyone left over was given the option to get their money back or to join another group on the floor. The last I heard about the boss was that a few years after the whole SEC investigation, the parent company was investigated. They ended up changing business names and downsized significantly. As for my old boss, he moved out of the country after a few failed business endeavors. It was pretty sweet how everything played out and I was glad that most of the traders I was there with got their money back. In the end, some of the traders who knew the full story referred to me as the whistleblower of the group but in a good way!

(source) (story by daytrader1231)

#pro revenge #by daytrader1231 #prorevenge #pro revenge stories #revenge stories #pro #revenge

[returnofthemattblog-blog]

Month 12: Professional Practice

     In the last 12 months we as a class have covered a great deal of material and completed a whole lot of tasks.  It’s pretty remarkable all that has happened in the last year. I was skeptical about having enough time to do this MDMFA program and to this day, I’m still not quite sure how I was able to get it all done. As my experience map below indicates, it was definitely an up and down journey. But as the saying goes, you can’t get too high with the highs or too low with the lows. If this journey was easy then everyone would do it. Having the fortitude to power through it helped strengthen me as a professional and as a person. As the last class winds down and we are completing our final assignments and projects, it seems only appropriate to go back to the beginning and walkthrough how it is I ended up completing my mastery journey.

1—Mastery: Personal Development and Leadership

           The first class helped me to get back into the flow of doing schoolwork again.  It had been quite some time since I did college level work and finding a routine that was going to work with my schedule proved tough at first. In the end, it helped me to learn how to organize my time and plan out my week to be efficient as possible.  No matter what line of work you are in, this is an extremely useful skill, and one that employers love. I learned how to use the APA style for writing and, with some practice and lots of editing, was able to complete my first research paper in the program. I was proud of myself that I was able to get back into the paper writing mindset, although it wasn’t easy.

2—Defining Clients Needs

           The first class that really dove into the design field, Defining Clients Needs introduced me to the whole design process when beginning a project.  I learned to create mind maps and how important it is to sketch before starting to digitally create items. Learning the complete design process beginning to end helped me understand the most efficient way to go about working on a project and also what a client may be expecting along the way. In creating the mind maps, I impressed myself with how many different ideas I could come up with for each map I created.  We were asked to do 9 total mind maps and I was able to fill up a whole page with ideas for each of the nine. Organizing those idea on paper made the designing in the next class much easier.

3—Brand Development

           Iteration, iteration, iteration.  If nothing else, I learned that iteration is the key when trying to come up with a design.  After selecting the city of Kyoto as the subject of my project, I sketched out dozens upon dozens of different logos. I never thought I was very good at drawing, but I surprised myself with how well each one turned out. I had never used Illustrator before and it had been 16 years or so since I used InDesign. Creating toolboxes for the Kyoto campaign was a struggle for me but I was quickly able to learn both programs enough to create the toolboxes as well as some high quality logos.  I would have never guessed that I would be able to learn software quickly enough to create professional looking designs in 4 weeks or less.

4—Effective Copywriting

           One of my favorite classes, Effective Copywriting had us find an analyze ads to see what worked and what didn’t. Creating personas was something completely new to me and the process of creating them was interesting. Being able to visualize the target consumer is one thing, but the more details you come up with about them, the more precise the message can be. I learned in this class how to be concise with my message and only give the info that the reader truly needs. Attention spans aren’t long, so it’s better to keep it short and sweet. When finalizing my PSAs, I decided to make all 3 ads look uniform as far as layout and color scheme.  By doing this, I learned how to make a rough “template” in InDesign that made the design process much quicker. I again was proud of the final result and had 3 well done PSAs to add to my portfolio.

5—Design Research

           This class had us creating a fictional benefit concert to help sea turtles as well as a website to promote it. I had done some basic web design in my undergrad classes but that was with Adobe Go Live software which doesn’t exist anymore. That design was based more on functionality instead of design aesthetics and effectiveness. I felt this class had the most work involved and I spent a great deal of time learning how to do certain things in Illustrator and InDesign. I’d be fairly confident in my web page designs but then found out that it wasn’t as good as I thought when we had the peer reviews and the instructor critiqued it for me. I’ve never had any problem accepting feedback but I did learn in this class that even though a designer may be confident in their work, there is always something that someone else sees that needs attention. Part of it was my inexperience in web design, but either way I took a great deal of knowledge away from this class. I remember that I learned how to wrap text around objects and how to manipulate letters the way I wanted and that helped my website look better than I could’ve imagined.

6—Organizational Structures

           Because of my background in video and video editing, this was another one of my favorite classes. Through my research, I was introduced to cinemagraphs. I had never seen or heard of them before but I immediately became fascinated with them. Combining still images with motion was genius and I couldn’t wait to learn how to do it.  Much to my surprise, I found out that you can edit video in Photoshop. Not only could you edit in Photoshop, but the process to create a cinemagraph wasn’t nearly as complicated as I expected. I became pretty good at creating them and am looking forward to creating some new ones of my own, when time allows. As a designer, I learned to pay attention to everything in an image to see what kind of message it is delivering to the audience. For example, when promoting tourism in Kyoto, it is best to show all the people in the image smiling and enjoying themselves rather than having no expression or seeming somber. The people in a few of the images I chose where very small, but when their expressions were point out to me during the instructors critique, I completely understood where he was coming from.

7—Design Strategies and Motivation

           An important lesson learned in this class is a project is never truly done. There are always things that can be changed or upgraded to make it work better. I revisited the logo I created for the Kyoto campaign and did more iterations to fix the issue of the logo not showing up very well on busy backgrounds. It was in this class where I learned how to use the Creative Clouds library to share assets between programs. I could create something in Illustrator and save it to my CC Library and easily pull it into InDesign with no problem.  I was excited when I learned this, but also aggravated at myself because I was half way through the MDMFA program and I just now figured it out.  It would’ve been helpful to know about this for some of the projects in earlier classes.

8—Design Integration

           I enjoyed doing the cinemagraph so much in month 6 that I decided to revisit the project and create another cinemagraph to go with the campaign. I was much more skilled with Photoshop this time around and became very handy with the masking tool. I also decided to branch out and try to design something new that we hadn’t discussed in any of the classes: business cards. I came up with many business card designs for the Kyoto campaign and focused on making it match the campaign as best as possible. A valuable lesson I learned during this process was to take into account the client and how much the design would cost. Since the client for this project is a government, they may not have a large budget to spend on something small like business cards. Therefore, I designed two different types of cards, a vibrant, detailed card for the dignitaries and a more cost efficient one for standard employees. Something as simple as a business card had a lot of considerations to be aware of.

9—Multi-Platform Delivery

           Including the PSAs that I had created in my portfolio was very important to me and in order to do so, I needed to create a fictional company and design a new logo to place on the ads. The organization’s name needed to explain what the group does as well as be memorable so people wouldn’t for get it. That was the first step. After I came up with the name, I had to create multiple logos that would also be memorable and fitting for the company. At this point I had become more proficient with Illustrator and was able to create digital comps fairly easy. After receiving multiple rounds of feedback, multiple iterations of the logo were created before I was satisfied with the result. It seemed as if the instructor was my client and after I proposed my logo design to her, she would recommend changes that needed to be made. It was a nice glimpse into the real world of design.

10—Measuring Design Effectiveness

           A designer could create the greatest design project in the world, but if the consumer doesn’t like it, doesn’t understand it, or is offended by it, it is all for nothing. I learned one of the most effective ways of testing the project is by having the target audience fill out a questionnaire. My questionnaire surprisingly received a large number of responses, all of which were helpful.  An aspect of the questionnaire I wasn’t expecting were the answers that were given on the last open ended question of “Do you have any comments?” By allowing the person to speak freely, many honest opinions and insights were shared about my designs. These made me go back and change some things which made the project that much better. The saying “the customer is always right” seemed to be accurate in this case.

11—Thesis: Presentation of Design Solution

           The time had come to create the thesis presentation and the pressure was turned up a notch. Luckily I had all my work and files from each class organized and that made it much easier to go back and find the projects I needed. As with any job, design or otherwise, organization is key when trying to use your time efficiently. I had never used the web design site wix.com but I quickly picked up the basics of it and was able to create a visually pleasing site to showcase what all I had learned in the program. The way a site is laid out makes a big difference on readability and, as with other projects I designed, simple seemed to be better. Visual overload can be distracting and I didn’t want it to take away from the content of my thesis. Just like being up against a deadline in the real world, there was a lot to do in a short amount of time but I was able to focus and put my best effort forth in what was probably the most important class of the program.

     This final month helped us freshen up our resumes and practice our cover letter writing skills, both extremely helpful things as we go out into the world of media design. This final class wrapped everything up nicely and let us visually see our journey through the experience map. There is no doubt in my mind that every instructor that I encountered in the MDMFA program has me well prepared to be successful not only in the field of design, but in life as well.  Many thanks to them.

[vetschoolvacation]

Here comes another ending...

AND ITS A BIG ONE.

Ok, not THE big one (graduation) or even the big one before THE big one (finishing on the island), but its the big one before that which is A big one.  6th semester is coming to and end.  This is the first semester that I won’t have four finals during finals week, meaning I will be done the Wednesday of that week instead of Thursday.  That right there is one of the kind of rights of passage of getting this far... you get to 6th semester and you finally get to wear green scrubs because you’re in surgery and you finally get to only have finals til Wednesday.  I don’t know, its really such a small thing but its also extremely exciting, probably especially because I am actually going home this break and I am leaving RIGHT after my last final which is before most people in other semesters are even done their second to last one!  

This semester has been intense.  I set myself up well in the first round of midterms with pretty good grades.. which turned out to be a good thing because in the second round of exams I did not as well in two of my classes.  I managed to get through surgery lab without needing to remediate ANYTHING and shockingly apparently went through the OSCE (another practical exam) without needing to remediate anything there either (which I just found out today).  So officially, all that stands between me and home is my special species final this Wednesday (my easiest class and I currently already have an A in the class) and then my three “real” finals next week during finals week - Large Animal Medicine on Monday, Small Animal Surgery (the scariest one and the one I need to do best on) on Tuesday, and then Small Animal Medicine on Wednesday.... oh and of course I need to pack for myself and for Minnie and get her health certificate and paperwork squared away for her to be able to fly but anyway.  I feel like I am actually well prepared for finals for once.... not like I could take them right now but as for how much time I have to accomplish all the studying and everything I need to accomplish I am in a good spot.  I finished my Special Species study guide on Friday which is like a world record for how far ahead of an exam I’ve completed my notes for it!  Tomorrow I am going to comb through and edit it and print it and then just refresh and review the info in my free time tomorrow, Tuesday, and then again before the final Wednesday.  I also need to find my study guide from the midterm to review the info that was on that because there will be a bit of cumulative info on the final but not too much.  Since surgery is my lowest grade (still passing and fine but of course I want to give it the most attention) I have spent all of this weekend working on watching lectures and writing up my study guide for surgery and when I needed a break from surgery I looked at small animal medicine - there are only like 10 new SAM2 lectures on the final so I’m using SAM2 as my “break” from surgery when I get sick of it and just need to look at and think about something else.  Each day since thursdya I have set a goal for myself of the number of lectures I want to get through and... I’ve actually accomplished it each day!  (need to do one more for my goal today but... I will get it done!).  So I am feeling in a very good place.  I do need to get cracking on Large Animal Med starting tomorrow because there are the most lectures for that one (I think there are 27 or something insane like that) so since tomorrow will be “one week until” the LAM exam it just feels like I need to get to work on those or else my next weekend will be spent in a frantic panic which I don’t want!  I want to actually get through ALL of my lectures for ALL the classes THIS WEEK so that the weekend can literally just be spend editing, organizing, and reviewing the info for all three of my finals.  That means I have 27 LAM lectures, 10 SAM2 lectures and 8 Surgery lectures to get into study guide form in the next 5 days.

TOTALLY DOABLE RIGHT.

AMERICA I’M COMIN’ FOR YA.

#vet school #finals #vetblr #studyblr #rusvm #ross vet blog #ross student

[haveclotheswilltravel]

Combining Egypt and Jordan into one trip may seem like a lot to some. However, this itinerary is here to show that if you have around 14 days of vacation to spare, this can be just enough time to get a taste of these fascinating countries in one go!

For our trip through Egypt and Jordan, we had spent a total of 13 days. However, 3 of these days were lost to travel (so, technically we only had 10 full days of exploring). If you can get better flight times than us (depending on where you’re traveling from), you can use these dates for exploring instead of sitting in an airport.

I would recommend a full 7 days in Egypt, and then you can decide how many days/what to see for your time in Jordan. I also recommend traveling to Egypt first and then Jordan. My reasoning for this is because Jordan is less chaotic/stressful to travel through + there’s the Dead Sea! I would do Egypt first before you get yourself too worn out, and then spend some time relaxing in Jordan.

Complete Jordan & Egypt Itinerary for 10 or 14 Days

Day 1 – Arrive in Cairo

Overnight in Cairo 

Again, this will depend on your flight times how you can best use this day. We, unfortunately, only had enough time to get checked into our hotel and get some rest this day. However, if you get in early enough, you could do a half-day tour of Cairo or perhaps a sunset tour of the pyramids.

Day 2 – Pyramids of Giza + Cairo Museum or Saqqara

Overnight in Cairo 

Seeing the pyramids right away is a better idea than saving it for the end of your itinerary. This is because the Pyramids of Giza will likely be the biggest draw point for coming to Egypt, right? And there is a chance that if your tour doesn’t go according to plan (like our tour snafu) or the pyramids close unexpectedly – due to a celebrity or politician visiting (it does happen from time to time), you’ll still have enough of a buffer to see them at a different time. (Click here for all my tips of visiting the Pyramids of Giza.)

Morning – Go to the Pyramids

Getting to the pyramids right away in the morning will help to beat the heat and the crowds. You’ll also get better photos from the panoramic viewing area, because of where the sun is. (*Note – the open time does vary depending on the time of year, be sure to check with your hotel or tour guide.)

Click here for more info on visiting the Pyramids of Giza.

Afternoon – Tour the Egyptian Museum or Saqqara + Memphis

Many tours combine visiting the Pyramids with the Egyptian Museum or Saqqara. This is entirely personal preference, of course. If I had to choose, I would say the Egyptian Museum in Cairo wins, hands down for me. (Especially if the brand new Grand Egyptian Museum is going to be open when you visit!) The amount of history crammed into that museum is simply astounding. However, Saqqara and Memphis are both interesting to visit as well. They are also relatively quiet places to visit if you’re looking to escape the crowds of tourists. (*Click here to read more about Saqqara, and click here to check out my tips for visiting the Egyptian Museum.)

Djoser’s step pyramid – Saqqara

Day 3 – Fly to Luxor for a Nile Cruise // Karnak + Luxor Temples

Overnight – Nile River Cruise or in Luxor

We had opted for a Nile River Cruise to see the remainder of the sights. This is not a must to see these places. You could, instead, take the train to these destinations or fly to Aswan and then to Luxor and take day trips to all of the places mentioned. (You can also read my full Nile River Cruise review to decide for yourself.) I will say, though, the cruise was a relaxing way to see all of the spots mentioned in the remainder of this itinerary. 

Our Nile River cruise boat

Morning – Flight to Luxor + Nile River Cruise Check-in

For us, our cruise was leaving from Luxor (you could also depart from Aswan – depending on which days work best for your itinerary). We spent the morning at the airport and then getting checked into our cruise. We also spent a little time wandering around Luxor.

Karnak Temple

Luxor Temple

King Tut added his own decorations to Luxor temple.

The Avenue of Sphinxes

Afternoon – Explore Karnak & Luxor Temples

By about 3 pm that afternoon we set off with a tour group to explore Karnak and Luxor Temples in Luxor. They are must-see places! Karnak Temple is actually the second most visited sight in Egypt, the first is, of course, the Pyramids. Karnak Temple is also HUGE – so be sure to allow yourself at least a couple of hours to fully explore it. (Click here for more information about visiting Karnak and Luxor Temples.)

Inside the Valley of the Kings

Day 4 – Nile Cruise // Valley of the Kings

Overnight – Nile River Cruise or in Luxor or Aswan

Morning – Valley of the Kings

The Valley of the Kings is where for nearly 500 years (from the 16th to 11th century BC) the tombs for the pharaohs and nobles were made. They are all located underground in this valley so they would be hidden from looters…and now you can tour some of them! (Click here for more info.)

Afternoon – Traveling to Edfu via Your Nile Cruise or….

We spent the afternoon relaxing on our Nile River Cruise. However, if you opt not to do the cruise, you could spend this afternoon exploring more in Luxor. (There is also the Valley of the Queens to see!)

Another option is to go straight to Aswan now and take the rest of your day trips from there.

The Temple of Horus at Edfu

Day 5 – Nile Cruise // Edfu & Kom Ombo

Overnight – Nile River Cruise or in Aswan

Morning/Afternoon

Edfu and Kom Ombo are towns along the Nile River in Egypt that are home to 2 famous temples – The Temple of Horus at Edfu and the Temple of Kom Ombo. I, personally, enjoyed the Temple of Horus at Edfu – it was extraordinary to see and when we visited right away in the morning, there were hardly any tourists here. (Click here for more info on visiting these two places.)

For our Nile Cruise, we visited Edfu straightaway in the morning and then we visited Kom Ombo later that afternoon. If you opt to visit these as a day trip from Luxor or a day trip from Aswan, this will be an all-day tour.

the unfinished obelisk

Day 6 – Nile Cruise // Aswan Sightseeing

Overnight – Nile River Cruise or in Aswan

Morning – Temple of Isis (Philae Temple) + High Dam + Unfinished Obelisk

Aswan is a beautiful city located along the Nile River, and it is home to some very interesting places to visit! Out of all the cities we visited in Egypt, Aswan was, perhaps, my favorite. It was quite clean and modern and traffic was not as horrifically crazy as it was in most of Egypt. You can visit the Temple of Isis, which is actually located on an island and was built to honor the goddess Isis back in 690 BC. The High Dam (fed by the Nile River) is also not that far away…nor is the unfinished obelisk..which is the largest known ancient obelisk! (Click here to read more about all of these places.)

Afternoon – Relax or Do a Tour

You could spend your afternoon hanging about by the pool on your Nile River Cruise or your hotel or you could do an excursion. We visited the Nubian Village (you can click here to read my thoughts on that).

Another option is to take a sunset felucca ride and visit some of the islands in the area. (Personally, I think this would be the nicest option.)

Or you could see the Sound and Light Show at Philae Temple – which is supposed to be the best out of all of the sound and light shows.

No guides are allowed in here!

Nefertari’s temple

Day 7 – Abu Simbel then back to Cairo then to Jordan

Overnight – Aswan or Cairo or Amman (Depending on Your Flight)

Morning – Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel is an absolute must-do if you are traveling to Egypt. This was honestly cooler for me than seeing the pyramids, and I have been dreaming about visiting the pyramids since I was 8! Abu Simbel is a village in Southern Egypt, near the border of Sudan. It is home to two massive rock-cut temples one for the great Egyptian ruler Ramses II and one for his chief wife, Queen Nefertari. (Click here to read more about visiting Abu Simbel.)

Afternoon – Flight or more time in Aswan or Cairo

Depending on how your flight works out, you could fly from Aswan back to Cairo and then to Jordan. Or you could spend another night in Aswan or Cairo and then fly out the next morning. (There is also a tiny airport in Abu Simbel – but flights are very few and far between!)

Day 8 – Arrive in Jordan

Overnight in Amman

With the way our flights worked out, this entire day was lost to travel. However, if you get a better flight time than we did, you could spend this day doing a tour of Amman or even experience a traditional Jordanian dinner with a local family!

Day 9 – Wadi Rum

Overnight in a Desert Camp

This morning you’ll want to wake up and get on the road to Wadi Rum. The sand in Wadi Rum is known for being the reddest in Jordan (colored by iron oxide). Wadi Rum looks so much like Mars – many movies have been filmed here for their otherworldly scenes such as The Martian, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Prometheus, Red Planet and…of course, Lawrence of Arabia – just to name a few.

Once you arrive, you could do a sunset Jeep tour or camel/horseback ride. Then, spend the night enjoying your Bedouin camp (there are tons of luxury options to choose from too – if you’re not a fan of camping).  (Click here for more information on the camp we chose, and click here for more info on the Jeep Tour.)

Day 10 – Wadi Rum and Then Drive to Petra

Overnight in Petra (Wadi Musa)

Morning

Wake up bright and enjoy the sunrise from your desert camp. Then, you could take a hike in Wadi Rum, or perhaps do a different tour that you didn’t do the night before. 

Afternoon

Drive to Petra and get settled into your hotel – I would also recommend getting to bed early. Tomorrow is an early start!

Day 11 – Petra

Overnight in Petra (Wadi Musa)

Petra deserves at least 1 full day of exploring. I would get up early, and get your tickets to enter just as the visitor’s center opens. (It opens at 6 am all year long.) This way, you’ll beat the crowds, and have a few hours to enjoy it before tour groups begin showing up. (Click here to read all of my tips for visiting Petra.)

Day 12 – Dead Sea 

Overnight at a Dead Sea Resort

Morning – Drive to Your Dead Sea Resort

It’s a few hour drive to get from Petra to the Dead Sea.

Afternoon – Relax or Explore Mt. Nebo & Madaba

You could spend the afternoon relaxing at your Dead Sea resort or you could venture over to Mt. Nebo and Madaba for a half-day of exploring. (Click here for more info on Mt. Nebo & Madaba.)

The Madaba Map

Day 13 – Explore Northern Jordan – Jerash, Umm Qais & Aljoun Castle (or Extra Day of Relaxation at the Dead Sea)

Overnight at a Dead Sea Resort or overnight in Amman

Depending on whether or not you would like to explore Northern Jordan, or spend a day of likely much-needed relaxation day at a Dead Sea Resort – is entirely up to you! Northern Jordan does have some interesting sights to see – especially Jerash. You can click here to see my entire post on visiting these places and decide for yourself how you’d like to spend this last full day.

Day 14 – Flight Home

Head to the airport at least a full two hours in advance of your flight.

Hotels – Where We Stayed

Egypt

While we were in Cairo/Giza we stay at the Marriott Mena House – which had incredible views of the Pyramids! It was also a very luxurious place to stay. You can click here to read my full review of staying here.

For the remainder of the time in Egypt, we were on our Nile River Cruise. Click here to read the full review.

Jordan

While we were in Amman, we stayed at the Amman Marriott Hotel – and it was a fantastic stay! The staff, rooms and food onsite were all fabulous. 

In Wadi Rum we stayed at the Mazayen Rum Camp – which was one of the best experiences we’ve ever had in our travels.

The Dead Sea we had used the beach at the Dead Sea Spa Resort  – this was a bit of a walk to get to the beach from the hotel, but overall it was a nice resort.

Unfortunately, we made the mistake of not staying overnight in Petra, despite there being tons of great accommodation options.

*Click here to see all of my posts from Jordan

*Click here to see all of my posts from Egypt.

Visa Requirements

To check if your country requires a Visa for traveling to Egypt and Jordan, click here.

Travel Insurance

Something to consider…it’s a good idea, no matter where your adventure takes you, to have travel insurance. You never know what might happen! Some credit card companies do provide this service (check with yours), or you can get a quote from companies such as RoamRight.

If you have any questions at all about this itinerary – please feel free to ask in the comments section at the end of this post!

If you liked it – Pin it!

*Disclosure: some of these links are affiliate links. Meaning, if you click a link and make a purchase, Have Clothes, Will Travel gets a very small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting the brands that make this blog possible! I am also a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

How to Spend 14 Days in Jordan & Egypt – The Ultimate Itinerary Combining Egypt and Jordan into one trip may seem like a lot to some. However, this itinerary is here to show that if you have around 14 days of vacation to spare, this can be just enough time to get a taste of these fascinating countries in one go!

#14 day itinerary #Egypt travel tips #itinerary #Jordan and Egypt itinerary #Jordan travel tips

[thomasroach]

Remnant From The Ashes Preview: Sci-fi Cooperative Mayhem

The post Remnant From The Ashes Preview: Sci-fi Cooperative Mayhem appeared first on Fextralife.

Recently we were given the opportunity to check out Gunfire Games’ new Sci-fi third-person shooter: Remnant From the Ashes at their preview event in San Francisco. The following are our impressions of the game based off the time we spent there playing both single player and co op game modes. If you haven’t heard of Remnant From the Ashes before, then read on to find out more about a game that has us very very intrigued.

Remnant From The Ashes Preview: Sci-fi Cooperative Mayhem

Genre:  Action / 3rd Person Shooter Developed by: Gunfire Games Published by:  Perfect World Release date:  August 20th, 2019 Platforms:  PC, Playstation 4 and Xbox One

After playing the game at E3 2019, I really wasn’t sure what to think about Remnant. One hour with the game was not enough for me to get a good sense of the game’s concepts, especially without much direction on what to do or where to go. After playing again last week in San Fran, with devs showing me just how everything works, I got a much better idea and was pleasantly surprised just how much I enjoyed myself.

Remnant From The Ashes is is extremely difficult to compare to other games, and even more so without saying something like “It’s the Dark Souls of…”. It takes mechanics from games like, Immortal Unchained, Warframe, Dark Souls, and maybe even some rogue-like games, and sort of mashes them all into one. Strange right? Well it just works. No seriously, it just does.

The General Concept

Players will shoot or hack their way through mobs of enemies in order to find loot and gear that can improve their character. They will stumble upon Dungeons that have randomly generated maps, so they will be different with each successive campaign. One playthrough is supposed to take between 12-15 hours, and you will see less than half of Remnant’s Bosses during that time. Once you finish, players can then generate a new campaign to play through with their existing character, in order to fight even more of the game’s Bosses and gain even more loot. It will likely take you 3 or more playthroughs to see everything resulting in somewhere around 25-30 hours of gameplay.

While this might sound very basic at first glance, Remnant is extremely challenging, and features a loot and character progression system that adds more depth than you would expect. A big part of the game is building your character the way you want, and using a load out that makes sense for you. Note that the game doesn’t feature “loot quality” and that the Weapons and Armor are very much like Dark Souls, in that they all have their strengths and weaknesses.

Remnant From The Ashes Character Development and Equipment

In Remnant, you begin the game by choosing one of three Classes that follow the archetypes of: long-range, mid-range and short-range combat. However, these Classes all have the same base Stats, with the only differences being the Weapons and Armor you start the game with. Since you can purchase the equipment of the other Classes, this isn’t that big of decision, but it does serve the function of providing some variation in the early parts of the game.

Weapons

Players can have 3 Weapons equipped at once: a Hand Gun, Long Gun, and Melee Weapon. They can change these on the fly any time they wish, and Weapons function the way you’d expect. For example, you can use a repeating pistol that fires quickly for lower damage a shot, or you can use a revolver that has a slower rate of fire but does devastating damage. There are sniper rifles and shotguns, so players will have to decide which Weapons work best for their style of play. Weapons can be purchased from vendors, dropped from Bosses or Crafted.

In addition, these Weapons can be upgraded to +1, +2, +3, etc at various vendors, to further increase their damage, much like Dark Souls. They can also be outfitted with Weapon Mods, that have various effects. Some examples are granting a damage shield for 60 seconds, or marking all enemies on the screen so that you can see them through the walls. The Mods must be activated to be used, so you cannot use them constantly, but instead will need to “fill up” your Mod gauge in order to use the Mod once again. This is done by shooting enemies with the Weapon, and since you can slot them onto both the Hand Gun and Long Gun, there is some incentive to use both Weapon types.

Armor

Players will have 3 Armor Slots: Helmet, Body Armor and Boots. Each piece of Armor provides protection against various types of damage, as well as providing a certain bonus to the player. For instance, some Armor pieces will grant Stamina Cost Reduction, and others will provide increased Weak Spot Damage. You can mix and match pieces of different Armor Sets as you see fit, however, using all the pieces of the same Set will usually grant an increased bonus. That is to say that you get 7% Weak Spot Damage with one piece, 15% with two pieces, and 25% with three pieces.

Unlike Weapons, Armor does not have Mods. However, it can still be upgraded to increase the amount of resistance each piece has, though it doesn’t improve the bonuses the Armor provides. Players are encouraged to find the Armor combination that works best for their playstyle, and then upgrade it to further protect themselves.

Amulet & Rings

Players will also have 3 slots for one Amulet and two Rings. These accessories grant some sort of passive bonus, like damage reduction or increased evade window when dodge rolling. Players will mix and match these as they see fit to further enhance their character, and they cannot be upgraded.

Traits

As players make their way through Remnant, they will gain Trait Points that they can spend to further upgrade their character. Players must choose when and how to spend these Trait Points, which will define just exactly what they are good at. Players can increase their Health, Stamina, Mod Power Generation, Reload Speed, Resistances and others. More and more Traits become available as you progress the game, so you may wish to save some Trait Points for when they do.

Co Op Gameplay Is Where It’s At

The game is three player Co Op online, allowing you to play with up to 2 of your friends, adding to the both the chaos and fun. The game scales with more players, increasing the damage, health and number of enemies for each present in the game. This serves to keep the game balanced, while simultaneously keeping the game challenging, no matter how many people are playing.

Remnant was very much designed to be experienced with Co Op, though you can play single player if you wish, because many of the game’s Mods effecting your teammates as well. For example, you can heal in an AoE, restoring Health to all players near you. You can mark targets for all players to see, not just yourself. Additionally, there is also a Teamwork Trait, that makes you more effective when fighting alongside others.

Final Thoughts

Pros

What I really love about Remnant From The Ashes is: the controls feel really really good for a shooter, the game has a good “weight” to it, and the dodge roll is godly. The iframes you get when Dodging feel amazing, and it really allows you to get up close and personal, and it’s even possible to play a melee focused build with a bit of time and practice.

The character customization is much more than you’d expect, and both deep and simple enough for just about everyone to find it enjoyable. While I don’t know how many people will create new characters, to use different Builds, it will definitely add something to your first few playthroughs that you may not have anticipated.

The performance of the game was really pretty good. There were a couple bugs, and some minimal screen tearing, but otherwise it ran really smoothly, which was quite impressive for a smaller studio.

Co Op is just stupid fun, and things really get crazy with regularity. I can’t recall the last time I had so much fun Co Oping, and we had no issues while doing so, so that’s a big plus point. Hopefully there won’t be connection issues when it launches, and I’m optimistic based on what I’ve seen.

There are plans to keep adding content after release, so I fully expect this game to be even better down the road.

Cons

The game isn’t very long at 12-15 hours, and I expect successive playthroughs to be even faster. I worry the game will be very short and sweet, when I want to keep playing.

12 Armor sets in the game is not a lot, and I don’t think the gun variation will be enough to warrant the creation of multiple characters for different Builds. Although, the shorter length of the game may encourage this.

Though there were only a few bugs, the ones that were present seemed severe. For instance, my character would randomly melee sometimes while reloading. This happened on different machines, with different controllers. This is rather glaring, and one bug that can’t be present when the game is launched.

Remnant: From The Ashes has all the makings of a short but sweet title that might tide Action Roleplayers over until the rush of RPGs in September is upon us. I wish the game would be here sooner, as August 20th is cutting it a little close, but it should still give you plenty of time to finish before then. For 39.99$ USD, 25-30 hours of Co Op action is definitely justified based on what I’ve seen so far, and I can’t wait to play again next month! We’ll have a review up for you guys a bit closer to launch, so if you’re still on the fence, stay tuned for that!

If you enjoy learning about Remnant From the Ashes be sure to check our our developer interview with Gunfire Games. You can also watch the previous trailer released in Remnant: From The Ashes Cyclops Trailer Released. If you want to know all the latest info as it’s released you can drop by the Remnant: From the Ashes wiki.

The post Remnant From The Ashes Preview: Sci-fi Cooperative Mayhem appeared first on Fextralife.

Remnant From The Ashes Preview: Sci-fi Cooperative Mayhem published first on https://juanaframi.tumblr.com/