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quirklessidiot · 4 years

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Title: daddy’s first day [coward series au] Pairing: F!Reader x Miya Atsumu Genre: fluff, parents au, slice of life au Synopsis: In which Miya Atsumu takes charge of taking care of the kids for a day Warnings: none!

notes; you don’t need to read coward tbh to read this chapter, its just miya atsumu navigating his life as a daddy hshsshs [side stories are updated every friday] read the series here! [ ss;; one, two, three, four ]

“...Remember that Youta is allergic to shrimps and Yuuto’s got sensitive skin, I have all the medication in case anything happens and Yuuto has his soap in the bathroom in a separate container, just make sure that the water isn’t too cold nor too hot and remind him to wear sunscreen every two hours.” You explain, placing the last of your valuables in your bag “...I’m also on speed dial and you also have the number of their pediatricians on your number 2 speed dial, I also have the food in the tupperware prepared the night before-”

“Y/N, sweetheart, please calm down. I’m not going to kill our kids when you’re gone for the next nine hours.” he frowns at how distrusting you were towards him. okay, he admitted that he may have hated the boys at first but that was before. They were your kids now, that was totally different! They weren’t some random brats on the street! You should have a little faith in him!

“Atsumu, you almost burned down the house while making scrambled eggs.” You expressed, a glint of amusement on your eyes, “Would you like me to call ‘samu-san or Daiki-san?”

He scoffed at the mention of those two men, after ‘samu found out that he was actually an Uncle of those kids, he suddenly had a one hundred sixty degree change of attitude. Of course, Atsumu was happy that you guys got along and the kids seemed to start warming up to him but it seemed like you trusted ‘samu more these days and that daiki too.

“Alright, just help them with their homework and heat up the food okay? I have everything prepared.” You leaned in to give him a quick peck on the temple before leaving. He watches you leave the house in a hurry for work with a frown on his lips.

Married life with you was easy, you were like a superwoman. A great mom, a great co-worker, even a greater wife. How come he couldn’t be as half as good as you? Like be a cool dad to your kids or something? He couldn’t even cook the damn eggs well and there you were, making some Michelin star cuisine while making your kids happy and content and your work life thriving.

“Oh,” Yuuto’s brow is scrunched together as he exits his shared room with his brother, see, that’s what he gets from the kids, awkwardness and insults (mostly insults,really), “You know ever since you came back, ‘kaasan’s always been busy and hasn’t been spending time with us.”

“Yeah.” Youta yawns, scratching his eyes as he exits the room, “You even make bad food, I think you should just keep playin’ volleyball or something.”

Atsumu feels a tick on his forehead, they were definitely his sons that’s for sure.

“I’m trying here.”

Yuuto stifles as chuckle at his father’s reply, wanting to comfort him, he told him a little fact that their ojisan told him recently, “Sure you are, you’re doing a lot better than okaasan, Daiki-ojisan said okaasan didn’t know how to hold us until we were three or four.” the eight year old grinned.

Atsumu grabs a tupperware from the fridge that’s labelled ‘breakfast’ and proceeds to heat it up on the microwave, “I’m sure that’s a lie. Your okaasan seems to do very well now, it’s hard to imagine her messing up.”

He watches them eat their egg rolls and bacon, time flies quick these days. The boys were already eight years old and were getting more and more into volleyball. Youta exclaimed he wanted to be a pro like him while Yuuto wanted to be like you (although he still played volleyball a lot because he had the competitive streak thanks to his father)

“Can we invite Tobio-ojisan on our birthday?” Yuuto asks while Atsumu rolls his eyes, he can’t believe that this kid still idolized that idiot. He beated him thrice already! (okay, Tobio had beated him five times including high school nationals but still)

“Oh also, Shoyou-ojisan then we can play against them!” Youta grins, mouth stuffed with egg rolls. Atsumu grimaces at him then grabs a napkin to wipe off the rice on the side of his lip, “How are you guys not impressed by me?” their father grumbles.

“You’re our otosan.” Yuuto deadpanned.

“Yeah, we see you everyday.” Youta added.

After helping the kids out in the bath (especially Yuuto since apparently he needed a temp check for the water), he had them do their projects and assignments (you had a long list on what they should accomplish today and one of them was a science planetary object)

The thing is though, he wasn’t very good at that.

He ended up having ‘samu on speaker to help the kids as they choked on their laughter because their otosan still thought that Pluto was a planet.

It also didn’t help when their math assignments came up, oh boy, Youta had a problem with one number and when he tried to explain to Atsumu that there was a new way to solve that and that their sensei had told them to solve it that way, he got pissed, “I don’t know that way! Why would they change math? MATH IS MATH!” He screeches at the notebook as if it had done something wrong to him.

Safe to say, Yuuto had a field day as he watched his otosan frustratingly solve the math problem whilst muttering something about how math was complicated and they didn’t need to change up the equations. Youta, on the other hand, had to calm him down and tell him they could just use the old way to solve the problem.

“...I want pizza.”

“Your mom left us dinner.”

“It says here on the note that you have to bake it in the oven.” Yuuto reads out loud, “ ‘Samu-ojisan says that you shouldn’t touch an oven though.”

Atsumu feels like he’s aging quick because of these two kids, how is it that they were such angels to you but little devils towards him? “...when they’re angels, they’re Y/N’s kids but when they become devils, they’re yours.” ‘Samu jokes.

Ah, he felt his forehead tick on that statement. He had some pretty redeeming qualities that he passed on to his kids like his looks and skills in volleyball!

“Otosan, I don’t think you should put the tupperware in the oven.”

“I know what I’m doing here.”

Clearly, he didn’t. He ended up melting the plastic tupperware and having to call for takeout right after. The three of them looked at the melted tupperware and the food spillage in the oven, “Okaasan really likes those tupperwares.” Youta points out.

“I’ll buy her ten new ones.” Atsumu grimaced at the food in the oven, he should clean that and get rid of all the evidence when you come home in an hour. In fact, he should just buy a new oven because he thinks the smell is permanent there, “Wanna watch a movie before you go to bed? I promise I’ll cover for you.”

“You just don’t want us to tell okaasan that you melted her tupperware.” Yuuto pointed out.

“Pffft…” Atsumu laughs, pretending to shake it off, “I would not.”

“Extra scoop of ice cream on Sunday.”

“Yeah!” Youta echoes.

Atsumu narrows his eyes, “Deal.”

They ended up sprawling on the couch after putting on their pajamas. The kids sip their milk next to him, after seeing Kageyama drinking loads of it, the boys decided that if a big boy like Kageyama Tobio could drink milk, they could to (Osamu crackles because they didn’t seem to listen to Atsumu lecturing them about the benefits of milk) Halfway through the movie, the kids fell asleep and the blonde feels his eyes shut soon after too.

You come in quietly as you notice the quiet chatter of the TV and the figures of your three boys on the couch, all snuggled together. Your heart immediately softens as soon as you see the domestic scene in front of you. Something you probably never could imagine before, your boys. You take a picture before waking your husband up with a light kiss on the jaw, “You look like you had a fun day.” you mumbled, loud enough for him to hear.

“I hate math assignments.” was all he could reply.

You silently chuckled as you picked up Youta, “I’ll put the kids to bed, mind running me a bath?”

“Can I join in?” Atsumu suddenly awakened as soon as he heard what you said, a smirk dancing on his lips, “Save water and all that?”

“Are you really going with me in the tub?” You narrowed your eyes, “Last time we did that together, we ended up having two kids.”

“What’s another two more?”

“Miya Atsumu.”

taglist [officially closed, if you guys want to be removed for the side stories, feel free to tell me hehe ilyasm and thank you once again, coward wouldn’t be possible without all you people + other readers]

@fortheloveofiwaizumi ; @svtbitch ; @kiyoomile ; @lovedanii ; @juno-multifandom ; @gyubit17 ; @saeranoppa ; @nixxona ; @kyomihann @shorttstackk ; @intoomuchfandoms ; @yammmers ; @mx-minxx @itsmattsunshinehere ; @missingmystogan ; @volleybloop ; @imcravingyou ; @yams-wants-that-booty ; @liathachcapricious ; @pinknugget @seikamuzu ; @marigoldthoughts ; @sillykittt ; @baejinoffcl ; @alluring-akaashi ; @bnhasstuff ; @intheawks ; @bokuakadaily ; @agaassi ; @yams046 ; @dope-squish ; @chrisrue15 ; @vermillionwaves ; @demursv1ogs ; @just-snog-already ; @angmarwitch ; @simpingonothers ; @woo-youngs ; @cowward ; @chaelysian ; @sempiternal-amour ; @jungshookmeup ; @jovialnoise ; @karlitabi-rrito ; @iwaizluv ; @sugarandsoft ; @tspice283 ; @ohshirabu ; @syzygymai ; @volleybloop ; @oikaw-ugh ; @pockytokyo ; @differentballooncollection ; @keniloveshaikyuu ; @turquoiselace ; @playboygeniusphilanthropist ; @keijislut ; @notyourbitchboy

@misosamu @Etherynaw @ryaaaax @allysasteaparty @mikaashi @brownie0food @ph10xy @Chocolaterumble [hi, i can’t seem to tag u guys, i think you need to open your tags uwu]

#miya atsumu x reader #miya atsumu imagine #miya atsumu scenarios #miya atsumu fanfiction #atsumu x reader #atsumu imagines #haikyuu imagines #haikyu!! fanfics #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu headcanons

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sunsetcurbed · 3 years

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you showed me faith is not blind (miracles happen)

Pairing: Alex/Willie Words: 4,415 Rating: T Chapter Warnings: BRIEF mention of animal death, only a sentence in passing. Chapter: 2/11 read on AO3

Chapter Summary: "Then you would be Alexander Charles Taylor Mercer, Prince of Beasiga."

Alex bobs his head some more. "Yup. Exactly. That. So I'm pretty sure you've got it wrong, at least the father part."

His grandmother—maybe not?—laughs lightly and shakes her head. "I'm quite sure, Alexander. You have your father's eyes."

(2)

The rest of the school day passes uneventfully—just Julie and Alex getting some homework done early while discussing possibilities for their next gigs, that is, the ones they'll play after their Halloween gig at Drake's and their gig at Camelot just two weeks after that. Just as Alex finishes his biology worksheet, the final bell rings signaling the end of the school day. Footsteps thunder throughout the school as students hurried to lockers, and then to busses and cars, but Alex waits patiently at the table with Julie. She frowns at this. "Don't you have to catch your bus?"

"Not today. I'm getting picked up," Alex explains. "But I told them three so all the busses would be gone by then."

Luke joins them then, moving immediately over to Julie to press a kiss to her cheek sloppily, yelling, "midterms are done!"

She laughs, and pats his chest. "Yes, they are. Congratulations."

"Thank you, you too. And Alex! You did i—"

"No," Alex and Julie say at the same time.

Luke frowns and looks between then. Julie glances up at him. "I'll explain on the way home. Alex, do you want us to wait with you?"

"Nah, I'll be fine. You two get home. It's been a long week."

"Definitely," Luke agrees. "We'll see you tomorrow at practice."

Alex nods, and then the two of them take their leave. Settling back down at the table, he pulls his phone out of his pocket and messes around on it until he glances up in the right hand corner and sees it's two minutes to three. He gets up and makes his way outside, relieved to see that he was right about his timing—the busses and the majority of the student traffic are all gone, so whoever is picking him up should have no issue.

He's been standing along the sidewalk for less than three minutes when a polished black limo pulls into the parking lot—purple, gold, and grey flags sticking out of the front and back of the car. He raises an eyebrow as it drives into the student pick up area, and then looks around for whoever it might be here for. In the back of his head, he knows there's a possibility…

There's a girl walking out of the school with her head down, looking at her phone and he really, really hopes—

"Mr. Taylor?"

Shit.

He turns to the voice and sees the driver of the limo out of the limo out at the back door, holding the back door open for him. "If you may."

"Uh, thanks."

It's an awkward ride over—the partition is up so he doesn't get the chance to speak with the driver like he'd (maybe) hoped to, and his phone can only keep his mind so occupied when he's riding in the back of a limo. It's not like he'd about to post this on social media or text his friends about it, anyways. So he's left mindlessly scrolling through instagram, which is boring after a while. He shuts his phone screen off and leans his head back against the headrest. He has no idea where his grandmother is even staying during her visit to LA. It could be a while.

Sooner than he expects though, they're pulling into a drive way for a… a… house? mansion? palace? castle? Alex honestly isn't sure. None of the words feel right. He looks at the surroundings. Whatever it is, it feels out of place here. It's on a normal street, with normal houses and buildings next to it—normal houses that are towered by its reaching gates and normal buildings that are put to shame by its elegant architecture. He sits up and collects his bag that some how drifted to the middle of the limo during the ride and opens the door, slamming it into the driver, who was just about to open the door for him, in the process. Alex gasps. "Oh, my god, I am so sorry!"

"No worries, sir," the driver nods, stepping further back from the door, allowing Alex to push it further open so he can step out.

From there, he makes his way to the front door where he and his backpack are patted down. When they're given the all clear, he's ushered through marble tiled hallways, past a wooden floor library, until they reach a living room with a plush, golden carpet. Alex feels like he should take his shoes off but the person leading him doesn't take theirs off, and doesn't ask him to take his off, so… Alex's shoes stay on.

"Please, have a seat," the man says with a motion at the overly white couch to Alex's left. Alex sits carefully on the couch, resting his bag next to his feet between the table and the couch. He looks back up at the man who is still standing in the entryway. "I am Alden, an attaché for Beasiga."

"Cool," Alex nods. He has no idea what that means. He'll Google it later. "Hey, uh, Alden? What is this place?"

Alden reaches an arm out and gestures around, which Alex thinks is a little unnecessary, but. Well. "This is the Beasiga Consulate."

"Oh," Alex frowns. That, he does know. Well, sort of. He knows it's something similar to an embassy, and he knows an embassy is for diplomats. So—his grandmother must be a diplomat. Meaning she must take much pride in Beasiga meanwhile Alex couldn't even remember the name of the country until Alden said it a minute ago. He certainly wasn't going to know any pub trivia about Beasiga to impress her.

"So—my grandmother… is she—"

"Am I what?"

Alex's neck cricks at how fast he whips it around to find the source of the new voice. At the other entrance of the living room stands an elderly woman in a grey dress that is both simple and elegant. He can see from looking at her from where he's sitting that she's much shorter than Alex, but the way she holds herself makes you doubt that. Most importantly, she has a wide, toothy grin on her face that makes Alex relax into the couch. She looks so genuinely welcoming that he can't help but forget about his worries about Beasiga and pub trivia.

"Alexander," she says. Somehow, it sounds like she's singing and commanding it both at once.

Alex stands from his seat and crosses the room to her. "It's nice to finally meet you," he greets. He's not sure if he should go for a handshake or a hug, but she solves his issues by stepping into his space and reaching up to hug his neck. He leans down and hugs back.

"It's long overdue," she tells him as she steps back. "Now come, sit with me, please. We have much to catch up on, yes?"

For the next while they talk about Alex's life and somehow he doesn't feel overwhelmed about it. He tells her about growing up in Los Angeles, about meeting Luke and Reggie in kindergarten, and then Julie and Flynn in seventh grade. He tells her about forming their band in eighth grade and then about befriending Willie in ninth grade. He goes on to talk about his siblings—Ava and Austin—that his mom has with his step dad, and then his love of English and reading and his inability of all things technological. They some how end up on the topic of his dancing, and he explains that he doesn't dance often, but he loves when he gets to.

Conversation shifts at some point to her life in Beasiga, though she is much more vague than Alex would like her to be. She tells him about her dogs (two Dobermans, Mia and Sophia) and her horses, an entire stable full. They talk about his dad for a while—just superficial things for now, like the fact that he'd never gotten remarried or had another child, and like the fact that his favorite horse was named Charlie, for Alex's middle name. She speaks briefly of her work with the government, just small asides here and there about projects they're working on, and countries they're working with. There's a lot of history that she brings up, but she never seems upset when he doesn't understand her references, at least, not until…

"I don't suppose you've heard of Frederick Alexander Louis Mercer?" his grandmother asks with a deep frown, crossing her ankle behind her other foot carefully.

He frowns. Here's that pub trivia he doesn't know. "No, I can't say I have."

"Frederick was Beasiga's crown prince," she tells him with a meaningful look, which he doesn't understand. She leans forward. "And Frederick was your father."

Alex's mind blanks. "That's… okay," he says, bobbing his head in a quick nod as he presses his lips together and bites the insides of them, trying to will some thoughts back into his mind. "I don't think—I'm not sure you're quite right on that. Because if you were, then—"

"Then you would be Alexander Charles Taylor Mercer, Prince of Beasiga."

Alex bobs his head some more. "Yup. Exactly. That. So I'm pretty sure you've got it wrong, at least the father part."

His grandmother—maybe not?—laughs lightly and shakes her head. "I'm quite sure, Alexander. You have your father's eyes."

"Lots of people have similar features, I mean, only so much diversity can realistically be expected, honestly," Alex rambles. He thinks it makes sense. He's like. 60% sure it makes sense.

"A paternity test was done because of your heritage."

Alex sucks in a sharp breath through his teeth. "Yeah, that one's a little harder to contest."

His grandmother—apparently definitely—smiles at him like he's not making a fool of himself right now. She reaches across the gap between the chair and the couch and places her hand on his. "I am Queen Louisa Mercer, and you, Alexander, are the natural heir to the Beasiga throne."

"… okay."

"Okay?" his grandmother repeats, quirking an elegant eyebrow and drawing her hand back.

Alex shakes his head, getting himself back into it. "I mean—I—uh. Actually, I'm not… really sure what I mean. I… you know I can't be a prince, right? Being a prince means eventually being a king, well, at least in this case it would I think, and being a king means ruling a country and ruling a country means leading people and the only thing I can lead is a beat when I'm with my band. I mean you do realize I have absolutely no experience with… princely or… royal affairs, right? I wouldn't know how to act, or talk, or… no, no. I'm not a prince."

"But you are, dear Alexander," she smiles, "and don't worry about how you speak or behave for now, we have plenty of lessons planned to help with that. Oh, it will take plenty of work but you are certain to become a magnificent prince, how could you not? And oh, you'll love Beasiga, the palace is a beautiful place to live—"

"I'm sorry," Alex cuts her off, "but LA is also a 'beautiful' place to live, with my friends, with the added bonus that it comes without the crushing pressure of ruling a country. And you're speaking as if you know me. You're certain I'll become a magnificent prince? How? Did you get to know me so well in the first year of my life? Because you missed the next fifteen years of my life and if you were to ask around, people who actually know me would laugh at the idea of me ruling a country. Like I said, I'm not a prince. I'm barely even a functioning human."

Without waiting for a response (though he hears her vehement protests), he gathers up his backpack and shoves himself off the couch and hurries through the halls to the front door. He doesn't wait for the doorman to open the door, instead flings it open himself in his rush to get out, out, out.

From there, it's a matter of running down the drive way, out the gate, and as far away from the house (mansion? palace? castle?) as he can before he collapses to the ground and curls in on himself, breaths coming and going raggedly. He pulls out his phone and swipes through his contacts, looking for the least stressful person he can think of. He taps the name and listens to the phone ringing, hugging his knees to his chest as he counts his breaths, in—2, 3, 4. Hold—2, 3, 4, 5, 6—

"Alex?"

"Julie," he exhales, a second too early, but he thinks Julie is more likely to help him now than a breathing exercise. "Julie," he repeats.

"Alex? Shit—what happened?"

Alex laughs mirthlessly. "Oh. So, so much, Jules. I can't even begin… I can't… I don't—It's all—"

"Okay, we don't need to talk about it then," Julie says. "Hey, is anyone with you? Can you tell me where you are? Just—I need to know you're safe." Alex looks up and finds the intersection he's near and rattles it off to her. She's quiet for a moment. "Thank you," she murmurs. "Do you need to do a grounding exercise or do you just need someone to talk to?"

"Just need someone to talk to," Alex says, dropping his head so his forehead is resting on his knees. "I—as much as I'm freaking out, I still feel like everything that happened was a joke or something? So there's anxiety, and it's bad, but it's not… it's not debilitating yet."

"That's good," she says, and Alex can imagine her nodding with her words. "Do you… do you want to talk about what happened? We don't—oh, wait. Willie just texted me back, I texted the group with where you were and he's ten minutes out. He's going to pick you up."

"Oh."

"Do you want me to tell him not to?"

"Uh—no, it's. It's fine." He looks back down the street in the direction that he came from—where his grandmother was currently staying. He's actually surprised no one had chased after him, but he supposes that it's not urgent as they have ways to find and approach him later. He huffs at that, right into the phone, reigniting Julie's worry. "No, no, I'm fine," he reassures her when she asks again if he wants her to call Willie off. "It's not that. It's… I… don't know. It's been a long day, Jules."

"I'm sorry," she says, and she's so sincere that her apology alone makes him feel a little bit better. He smiles, and feels his breathing even out a little bit. "I'm going to stay on the phone with you until Willie gets to you, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Alex nods. He searches his brain for anything that could possibly take his mind off of what just happened. He's not surprised when his thoughts land on music. "Did you and Luke figure out the second verse of Finally Free yet?"

"Oh, my gosh! Yes! I can't believe we forgot to tell you today! We cracked it last night…"

He listens to her babble on excitedly about their new song for the next few minutes until he hears the crunching of tires on pavement. He looks down the street and sees Willie's forest green '02 Accord—completely out of place in this neighborhood—pulling up and smiles. He interrupts Julie in the middle of her sentence, which he knows she forgives him for the exact moment it happens, and thanks her for talking with him and for sending Willie. She bids him goodbye and he pushes himself off the ground and grabs his backpack once he's on his feet. Willie rolls to a stop when he's in front of Alex and Alex can hear the click of the doors unlocking. He looks in the car and sees Willie flash his eyebrows up and down quickly and grin. He smiles back and gets in the car, setting his bag at his feet before buckling himself in.

"Thank you," Alex says in greeting.

"You know I'd do anything for you," Willie shrugs, looking back at the road as he shifts the car into drive. "I was just driving around listening to music anyways."

"Still, I appreciate it. I would have had to call my mom otherwise and I don't really want to speak to her right now."

Willie laughs. "What? You came all the way out here with no way of getting back? And what'd your mom do?"

"Oh, no, someone from… someone was supposed to drive me back but—well. Uh. Anyway. And my mom—she. Let's just say she hasn't exactly been honest with me." Alex fiddles with the ripped threads on the knee of his jeans and tries to ignore the looks he can feel Willie throwing at him every few seconds.

"Hasn't been honest in what way?"

Alex hesitates. On one hand, he really doesn't want to talk about this. It is an especially bad idea to talk about this to Willie because he doesn't want to tell his crush that he's a prince, where it might seem like he's trying to make himself seem impressive for his crush, which he certainly does not want to do. Then again, Willie would have to assume Alex has a crush on him to jump to that conclusion and if Willie assumes Alex has a crush on him, Alex has bigger problems. However, if there's anyone to tell, it would be Willie. Sure, Julie might be the obvious choice, but she'd push him to be honest with Luke and Reggie as well, which he… doesn't want to do. He's not sure if they'd resort to teasing him about it or ending up weird about it, and right now, he doesn't want to deal with either of those things. Willie though. Willie can keep a secret like no one's business. Julie still doesn't know that Alex's little sister accidentally killed her hamster when Julie asked Alex to watch her while Julie's family went on vacation over spring break in the ninth grade. Alex called Willie in a panic and Willie drove him to seven different pet stores until they found an identical hamster with a similar temperament. So, Willie could be trusted.

The question is, though, did Alex want to tell him? To a degree, yes, because this was Willie and despite being scared of saying things that would embarrass himself, Willie always made him feel safe and he wanted to share things with Willie. But also, telling Willie would make it more real. Telling Willie would bring it out from his grandmother's house (mansion? palace? castle?) and into the real world and Willie knowing about it would make it more personal. Right now, the further Willie drove from Alex's grandmother's house (mansion? palace? castle?), the further the anxiety got from him. He worries that if he tells Willie, that anxiety will come back.

But the anxiety will come back anyways, won't it? It's not likely that that's the last he's seen of her and her… crew? And he's going to have to face his mom too, who must know exactly what was happening today. So, maybe it would be nice to have someone on the outside to talk about it with… right?

Alright, so that's decided. He's going to tell Willie.

Alex sucks in a deep breath and it wavers. He goes to speak, but instead, he just lets out a small whimper instead. Willie looks to him, alarmed, and then back to the road. Alex hears the turn signal tick, tick, tocking, and then the car is turning, and then stopping. Willie puts the car in park and twists in his seat to face Alex. "Hey, Alex," he says, reaching a hand over to grab Alex's left hand off his thigh. "Can you look at me?"

Alex looks at him.

"Cool, thanks. You having an attack?"

Alex blinks. Willie is still in focus, and he can feel Willie's hand in his, can feel Willie's thumb rubbing against the back of his hand, can hear the traffic on the streets rather than the blood rushing in his head. He shakes his head no.

"Great. That's great. Do you want to talk about what happened today, or do you wanna go watch me crash and fall off my skateboard at the park while I try and do some gazelle flips?"

Alex laughs and draws in a steadying breath. It's still shaky, but less so. "I want to."

"Okay. Take your time, okay? We've got all the time in the world, yeah?"

"Yeah."

Willie smiles and squeezes his hand. Alex smiles back, but he doubts it comes out looking much like a smile. He looks away and looks out the front window of the car. They're in a drug store parking lot, parked far off to the side away from the clump of all the actual customers' and employees' cars. It gives them some semblance of privacy, yet it also draws attention to them by making them separate. Alex wonders if somehow, him now knowing he's a prince, if he's also somehow separate from everyone else. If something about him has changed, and people's eyes are going to be drawn to him the way they are to a car parked away from the others in a crowded parking lot. On some level, he knows that's ridiculous. Nothing about him has changed. Hell, he hasn't even fully processed or accepted this fact. And yet his world still feels fundamentally altered and he thinks that, somehow, everyone will be able to see that on him somehow.

"Two days ago my mom told me my grandmother was in town and wanted to meet with me," Alex starts, not giving himself any more time to think. He's staring at a license plate number but even looking directly at it he couldn't tell you what it was. "It—well, my paternal grandmother. I know you know that Mike is my step-dad but when I was a year and a half my biological dad and my mom got divorced and I never heard from him, or my paternal grandparents, again apart from the yearly birthday and Christmas gifts. And you might remember I got the news that my biological dad passed away at the end of July." Here, Willie hums. "I thought, maybe my grandmother wants to connect with her only remaining family. That's how it started out, too. It really seemed like that was her intention.

"But then she asked about—fuck, I can't even remember his full name. But she asked me about the prince of Beasiga. The prince of Beasiga, who was my father." Willie's thumb stops rubbing Alex's hand but Alex doesn't let that stop him. "Now, she mentioned earlier in the conversation that my father never remarried, that I was his only child, that he was her only child, so that made… so I'm a prince? Of Beasiga. And the natural heir. And she wants me to take prince lessons so I can one day become king and rule Beasiga, which I doubt she'd think would be a good idea if she could see me now. Sure, give the kid with panic attacks an army!"

It was quiet for a long moment and then Willie squeezes his hand. "Beasiga doesn't have an army. They only have a national guard." Alex snaps his head around to look at him. "I did a project on the country in tenth grade world history."

"See?!" Alex cries. "You know more about this country than I do! And they expect me to lead it?!"

Willie frowns. "Well, they'd give you lessons—"

"You—what you think I should go lead this country?" Alex gapes.

"Wha—n-no! I just meant that if you took those lessons you'd learn what I had learned. They wouldn't send you in empty handed," he says, and Alex notices Willie's thumb has started rubbing circles on the back of Alex's hand again. He feels some tension seep out of his body and he relaxes back into the car's seat and closes his eyes.

Alex sighs and brings his right hand up, pressing his thumb and forefinger into his eyelids until he starts to see white. "My mom… She never told me. Sixteen years. Even after he died and she probably knew there was a possibility of this happening. How is that fair? I deserved to know about this."

"You did," Willie agrees.

The car grows silent after that. Only the noise of the stalled engine fills the air. Alex brings his hand away from his face and looks over to Willie, who is watching him with warm eyes. The weight of Willie's hand in his is comforting, enough that Alex has the split second thought of leaning over the gearshift and kissing his friend. That thought is shoved out of his mind as soon as it comes. His friendship with Willie is something he's never willing to risk. Well, 'risk' implies there's a chance that Willie might return his feelings, which Alex is sure he doesn't. Kissing Willie would be purely self-indulgent and Alex can't do that. It'd be nice, but—

"You're taking all of this very well," Alex says, breaking the silence of the car while also silencing his thoughts. "What are you actually thinking?"

Willie grins and squeezes Alex's hand. "Oh, yeah. Very well. My best friend is a long lost prince, I'm not freaking out at all," Willie rolls his eyes. "I'm… thinking that I've always thought you were regal, so this—"

"Oh, come on," Alex rolls his eyes.

Willie leans back laughing, eyes crinkling at the edges and Alex's stomach flips. After a few seconds Willie sobers up and his laughter subdues into a soft smile. He sends a wave through his arm, shaking Alex's in turn. "I'm thinking that this is a stressful situation but that you're gonna get through it. And that I'm gonna be here for you, okay?"

Alex squeezes Willie's fingers. "Okay."

Willie slips his hand from Alex's and readjusts in his seat so he's sitting facing forward again. His hand falls on to the gearshift. "I think you've had enough for one day, huh? Wanna go get tea?"

"Fucking please."

#willex fic #willex #willex fanfic #jatp fic #jatp fanfic #ysmfinb #my writing

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theowlhouseheadcanons · 4 years

Text

Headcanons: Study Routine

Amity is your brainiac classmate – that Top Student star doesn’t stand for nothing. She's the one who's always taking notes at class, and when she's not, it's only because she has already revised the subject at home;

She follows a rigid study schedule she imposed to herself, dedicating more than 2 hours each day to the art magic, switching between revising theory to actual spell casting;

Her brothers are always around to either pick on her for being such a bookworm – both of them didn't need to put through half of the effort she did to thrive on classes – or assist her in practice. But even for that, they would mischievously neglect her pleas just for the fun of it, accepting in the last minute before Amity gave up;

She and Willow used to study together when kids, and while Willow always been insecure about her grades, Amity was the one to keep up the pep talks and push them forward in their study meetings;

Willow is a dedicated student, although she doesn´t impose flawless standards for herself as does Amity; She prefers to pay extra attention in class so she can cut as much time as possible from home study.

She feels extremely guilty when she forgets to make any homework, but she´s too shy to ask to copy from others (especially when Amity is around); (But since Luz joined Hexside, the human´s excitement about everything just made it impossible to forget about any “witch paperwork”, as Luz calls it so... problem solved?)

She tries her best to work through subjects she finds harder, revising at home and everything but, as the time passes by, she gradually (and quite unconsciously) shifts her attention to subjects of her preference until the point she “catches” herself scrolling through botany books or trying a new fertilizer brew;

Not rare, she´ll walk around her room talking to her plants as if she was lecturing them on the subject she´s trying to learn (or venting at them because she just can´t get it)

Gus is an improviser. He pays an average amount of attention to class - but he´ll get extra participative if the class is covering any subject that has the smallest connection to human world trivia - and he only studies one day before the test (and he does well!);

He´s a fast learner, but for that, he needs to have his heart on it. He´ll happily dwell deep in specific subjects that call his attention and become quite advanced in them (takes his self illusions for example) but he´ll keep beating around the bush and avoid as long as he can to approach topics that aren´t that attractive to him - especially those he can´t clearly see the practical applications of learning it.

He makes good use of his powers - and by that, I mean good use of his illusions. Sure, he uses a few ones to take notes for him, but it doesn´t stop there - they´re the ones who wash the dishes and clean his room, or run the laps in P.E, or pretend to be sick at home so he can harvest for human treasures without caring much about the hour (which already got him in trouble a few times, but he always swears that “next time will be different!”)

Back on the human realm, Luz was your excited student: she jumped from club to club, got agitated with any creative exercise they had to do and actually tried to bring interesting things to school work (which in this case also translates as odd stuff that usually drew people away) But in Hexside, even her weirder projects ideas are tagged as “average” and acceptable - And she loves it!

During the first days, she was so delighted about it she would spend the whole day babbling about her new learnings and doings to any unfortunate creature that crossed her path - and most of the time this creature was King: “please...no life is worth this torture…”

She´ll randomly drop some “did you that” kind of information on them too, and the Owl Lady be like “yes Luz, I know it, I went to Hexside too” “BUT did you know--”

She constantly invites Willow and Gus to study together at The Owl House - and if it isn´t a crucial or hard subject they´re revising, they´ll likely focus for half an hour and spend the rest of the time just hanging around.

Luz also tries to indulge Amity to study with her and, even though the Blight girl argues she rather study alone, she always yields to the human pleas in the end; She´ll say she´s only doing it because she doesn´t want Luz to fail her grades, but they end up having a good time;

#the owl house #the owl house headcanons #the owl house luz #the owl house eda #the owl house king #luz noceda #amity blight #the owl house willow #the owl house gus

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lovenotesandneonstars · 4 years

Text

And That’s Enough.

Wanna hear a secret?

Every writer I've ever known has, at some point, faced a soul-crushing anxiety over whether or not they're really a writer.

"But Topher," you might say, "That's not a secret!"

If I were being clever, I might give you a wink and the slight twitch of my nose that all the wise old men do. But I'm not very clever, I'm not necessarily wise, and I'm not old. So instead, I figured I might tell you about how I learned to solve that crisis for myself. But in order to get there, we have to start at the beginning.

I was a fairly lonely kid, never really had a steady friends' group, and when I was in second grade I started deliberately getting lunch detention so that I could spend my lunch period reading without being harassed by my classmates. I thought it was a genius plan. Well, that, and my second grade teacher (who was also my third grade teacher, yay for small towns!) and I had a personality clash. I would finish my work too fast and start reading from my pocket dictionary (yeah, I was THAT nerd), and would correct him in class. He, in return, would try to find any way possible to punish or humiliate me. It was fun! I loved reading no matter what trouble it got me in, and getting in trouble just gave me more time to read.

Ask any writer you know and they'll tell you that in order to write, you have to enjoy reading. And I was always excited to read (which hasn't changed much as I've grown, I just find less time to be able to read these days. #Adulting, right?) at any chance I got. When I was in 5th grade, I stayed in the truck with no AC and just the window rolled down for 3 hours while my mom went grocery shopping to read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (which took me a whopping 5 hours to finish!). When sixth grade rolled around, I started wanting to try my hand at creating something instead of just consuming it. For a lonely, depressed kid, the world of fiction was the best friend I had.

The first thing I remember writing was House MD fanfiction. It was my favorite show and I started out as any respectable fanfiction writer does: with a Mary Sue self-insert! Eventually, I had a small cult following on the school bus, and found my way to the big leagues of fanfiction.net about a year later. I moved onto another overdone trope: songfics. From there, I kept writing fanfic, even after my mom found it and banned me from it. I just enjoyed writing so much. House MD turned into Harry Potter which turned into Glee. I should also mention the other kind of writing I found as an eleven year old, right after I started writing fanfic: role playing. I stumbled upon a Harry Potter RP one day while trying to find video games for my favorite franchise and, with the help of a kindly more experienced role player, was taught how to RP. I was hooked. Soon, all my free time turned to writing. I was neglecting my video games in favor of blasting my favorite album at any point and writing more and more. And when I wasn't writing, I was reading. Harry Potter, The Princess Diaries, Percy Jackson, whatever I could get my hands on. Middle school was consumed by writing and reading, whether it was the actual series I was into or fanfiction for it.

Then came high school, and my RP site shut down, and my book pile ran out, and I fell into a deeper depression than I had before. I had always loved music, but I got more into it as I couldn't find much to read that I was interested in. But on the bright side, I was making real friends! I wasn't spending my lunch times alone anymore, and I had people to talk to about the fandoms I loved. Writing and reading fell to the wayside as I explored more music and l got back into video games. I was also a theatre kid, and was getting ready to audition for my first high school play.

Everything changed when my mom passed away on December 5th, 2011, 4 days after her 52nd birthday. My dad made me stay home for a week, and when I came back, all my "friends" refused to talk to me or spend time with me. My depression hit heavier than ever, and I was even lonelier after having had a taste of regular friendship. I spent all my time playing video games and listening to dark, angry music, until June 2012, when I watched a movie called It's Kind of a Funny Story, based on the book by Ned Vizzini while I was sick. It instantly felt like I needed the book in my life, and my dad, thrilled to see me wanting to read again, let me order the book. I fell in love, and to this day, over 8 years later, it's still my favorite book. Soon after, my love of writing came back and hit me and I got back into role playing. I had a role model to look up to who wrote something so relatable to me that it hurt so good, and the video games took a back burner. I was inventing people left and right to see what kind of trouble I could get them into.

My world came screeching to another halt when my newfound role model took his own life on December 19th, 2013. This time, though, instead of backing off from the role playing, I dove deeper into it. I found new friends on the internet and kept making new people. Not long after that, I came out as transgender, and used writing to cope with my dysphoria and strained relationship with my family. Every waking minute I was either role playing or thinking about role playing. I snuck on my phone in class to write replies when the teacher wasn't looking. I wrote replies in my notebook to type up when I got home. I went from short, 3-sentence replies to hundreds of words at a time.

Then, in May 2015, I graduated high school, and I was off to college as a psych major! In the time between, I had graduated to running RP sites as well, and I was constantly writing. My summer was filled with writing, and once I made it to college, I got back into fanfiction, this time on Archive of Our Own. AO3 seemed far more professionally laid out, and it had more freedom of what could be posted. I started writing band fanfiction. I made friends through my fanfiction, now, in addition to RP. It was where I would retreat when homework was too boring or my classes were too much. In November 2015, I participated in my first National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). I instantly found the community I was meant to be in and made many friends that I would come to consider family. Ny first NaNo I came in just shy of 13,000 words on a band fic. I couldn't believe I had managed all that in one month with being a college freshman, starting a new job, and continuing to work on my role playing! Things were great! For the next year, my life was nothing short of amazing. I got a summer job on campus, went to my first Pride, and made more friends.

Once again, my life came to a screeching halt on November 2, 2016. Remember how I mentioned I'd always struggled with mental health issues? Well, I ended up in the hospital for just over 21 hours for suicidal intent. This was pretty much the darkest moment and a turning point in my life. It was also kind of ironic, because my favorite book had to do with much the same thing. After getting out, I dove back into NaNoWriMo for the second time, still working on band fic, and this time, ended up just short of 20,000 words. I was doing more, and using it to take away the anxiety I was feeling in my classes. I was hating my major, and the RPs I was in were falling through, but I had a project to work on. For the first time, I kept working on the project after NaNo was over. Things were good again, and over the summer, I made the decision to change my major from Psychology to Creative Writing, but ultimately had to wait one more term because I was already signed up for classes.

I completed my third NaNoWriMo in 2017 with fewer words than the previous year. But I was committed. I had helped start a Discord for my home region for NaNo and was now spending almost full-time hours volunteering for my region. I finished my last semester as a Psych major and then I made my way home for the holidays, where I continued to write, diving back into fanfic for TV shows and now adding Youtubers to the mix. When I returned to school at the beginning of 2018, I started my new life in all my English classes, including my first writers' workshop, and I fell in love. I was still writing fanfiction, though, while others were writing original fiction, and all that I could think was that I HAD to be a fraud. How could I be a real writer if I was just writing fanfiction for my classes? It was frustrating to think that I was stuck writing something that most people saw as mindless drivel, or even ripoffs of the works and lives of others. After my first term of creative writing, I took some time off from my fiction class, and used that to take a break from anything that wasn't RP.

Fall 2018 brought with it many challenges. For one, my college converted to the semester system, and having to confront a new length of term was difficult. It also brought around an intermediate fiction course for me, as well as a creative nonfiction course. Here, I found something I enjoyed: I was able to write about my own life, instead of the lives of band members. After a while, I got to know the band members, which completely killed my desire to write band fic. Life seemed a lot easier without that urge, and I started writing original fiction. In November 2018, for the first time, I wrote original fiction for my 4th NaNoWriMo, and my word count grew, once more, to just under 22,500 words. It was progress, and I felt great. I finally knew how to work on something original on my own.

Spring 2019 was even harder than I had faced before: I had received the news that I was not getting financial aid, and would not be able to return to school the next year. I was devastated, and determined not to have to return to my dad's house for the following year, back to the small town where I had no prospects. I scrambled to find a job, but nothing worked out, and for the next seven months, I jumped from living situation to living situation, relying on my friends to keep me alive and ending up in a tightly packed studio apartment with 2 friends and their 3 cats.

One of these 7 months was my 5th NaNoWriMo and my second attempt at original fiction, this time trying to use a character I had been RPing with for some 6 years at the time. I started using new writing tools, like 4TheWords, and threw myself into NaNo, using it to deal with the frustrations of everyday life. This was the first time I came so far: 28,611 words! And still... My project stalled out. As a major pantser, I had gone into the project with one developed character, one who only had a name and profession, and the plotline "They fall in love". It was freeing, to have something new to work on that I had no idea where I was headed and that I had someone brand new to create. All this was helping me adjust to the new job I found in September, a job I found myself absolutely loving. It was the best time in the world, all I could ask for. I found a new RP site and made more friends. Come December 31st, I found a new place to live, and was finally living on my own.

Then, my writing on that novel stalled out. I couldn't figure out where to go, or what to do with my characters, and so I dove back into role playing. It was all I could do, really, to keep myself occupied when I wasn't working. Things were looking up: I found out I was returning to school in fall; I loved my job; my roommate and I got along well. And then, things fell apart again, to the point where I had to stay somewhere else for over a month while there were construction issues on my apartment. I was depressed, but RP and writing kept me going. Finally, things settled down, and life seemed well again.

That is, until halfway through March, when COVID-19 ended up basically destroying the world I lived in. I lost my job (live performances during a pandemic are a no-no) and had to move back in with my dad, and, well, here we are. 4 months post job loss, I'm trying to get ready for all online classes, and trying to cope with moving back to the town that I couch surfed to avoid. It's been hard, and writing hasn't come easily. I haven't been able to really focus on anything other than role playing until now, and I still find myself questioning whether I'm REALLY a writer every time I realize that this essay or my RP is the only writing I've done in months. After all, how can I claim to be really dedicated to NaNoWriMo or even my writing in general if I can never finish a project? It's been almost impossible for me to do so in the past. All I've been able to do is come up with yet another idea that I've yet to attempt to actually write, and that has no real plot, and that I'll (probably) never finish, either?

Then I think of why I started to write this. I needed to have some writing to show some people I want to impress, and I started angsting over whether or not I'm actually a writer, and if I'm really cut out for this. And the fact that there are over 2500 words more on the page than there were when I started means that, in spite of all my anxieties, I am a writer. All these words I've put out into the world the last several years would never have come into the world the way I've decided to use them if I wasn't a writer. Even now, as I sit here writing this post, for something that I truly love, I'm reminded that I'm not a writer because I follow XYZ formula, or because I plan things meticulously, or because I have some famous novel out there. I'm a writer because I write. And that's enough.

#essay #2020 #writing #am i really a writer #nanowrimo #life #creative nonfiction

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gloriousstudentfury-love · 4 years

Text

No Mass ✰

y/n’s POV

"I'm going to the Alvarez's!" I yelled

"Did you eat breakfast?" Schneider asked

"Yes." I groaned, knocking my shoes on the ground as I was anxious to get over there

"Obviously, you didn't brush your hair." Schneider said, gently patting my head

"What? Yes, I did." I gasped, pushing down my hair

"My bad. I know you didn't take your medicine." He said, shaking the orange bottle he took out of his pocket

"Come on, I'm fine. I promise." I said

"Nope. Come here." He ordered, putting one in my hand

I glared at the little white pill in my hand, wanting to put it in the trash

"Promise me you'll take it." Schneider begged

"I promise." I sighed, walking out the apartment door

I shut the door and crushed the little pill with my foot. I used my heel to push the dust under the welcome mat. 3

__________

Once I got to the Alvarez apartment, I walked right in as if I lived there. I practically did.

"What's going on today Alvarez family?" I asked, shutting the door gently behind me

"We're just moving the Pope." Penelope said as if it was a normal thing

"Do I want to know? Actually, don't answer that. I don't." I said, sitting at the kitchen table next to Alex.

"Did you take your medicine?" Alex asked, raising his eyebrows in question

"Yes." I lied, patting his shoulder

I turned to find Lydia putting up a picture of the Pope on their counter. We laughed at her as she continued to dance her way to her room.

_________

Later, I was back at the Alvarez's house. Lydia invited me and Schneider over to eat dinner with them.

"You can probably dump that whole thing on there." Schneider said, referring to the food Lydia was passing out

"Next time." Lydia, lovingly, laughed

"Hi!" We all said, as the door slammed following Penelope's entrance into the apartment

"Welcome home, Lupita. We are almost done, but there is plenty left." Lydia said, pointing to the dinner on the table

"Aw. Dinner with my entire family... and the whitest people I know." Penelope said, gesturing to me and Schneider

"We're not that white." I said, unconvincingly

"Honey, you're as white as your converse..and those are really white." Penelope joked, making everyone laugh

"Yes, I invited them, again. They're orphans." Lydia said

"Do orphans always have rich dads who buy them buildings?" Alex asked

I tensed at the mention of a dad, but shook it off with a smile. I wasn't going to cause drama in a situation that didn't really involve me.

"Hey, I may have money in the bank and two living parents, and four living stepmothers...but there is a hole in here. We never had family meals. I ate alone in front of the TV. At least now, I have this one." Schneider argued, ruffling my hair

I instantly felt guilty about not taking my medicine. I knew he wanted what was best for me, but I just couldn't bring my self to do it.

"Ay, pobrecito Schneider." Lydia said

"Oh, don't get me wrong. It was a massive TV. Sometimes my nanny would join me, but only if I agreed to watch telenovelas." Schneider said

"Ooh, those are so over the top." Elena groaned

"Right? This one time, Rosa got jealous of the housekeeper cause she was makin a move on her man, so she threatened to throw live scorpions on her while she slept." Schneider said

"Sounds good. Which one was that?" Lydia asked

"Oh, no. Rosa was my nanny. Ex nanny. Now, stepmother. I'm so glad to be here." Schneider sighed, rubbing the table

"I'm just glad to be home with everyone." Penelope said, smiling at her family

As if on cue, Elena's goth friend walked out of the bathroom and sat in Penelope's chair.

"Who the hell are you?" Penelope asked

"This is Carmen, my best friend. I'm doing my history project with her." Elena said, introducing the stranger

"These all sound like things I should know. Hi, Carmen." Penelope smiled, introducing herself

"Hi." Carmen sighed, dramatically

"I'm Penelope. Kind of a big deal around here. So, uh, what's this history project you're working on? And then maybe later you can show me how you turn into a bat." Penelope asked, teasing Elena's friend

"Well, we just got done explaining the whole thing." Elena said

"Oh, come on, mija, I missed it." Penelope begged

"Oh, wait. Alex, y/n, tell Penelope that funny story that happened in chemistry class." Lydia laughed

"Again?" Alex asked

"Okay, I'll tell it. So, there is the floor and... slip. Oh, that Dylan." Lydia laughed as she barley got through any of the story

"Oh, That story never gets old." Schneider said, laughing at Lydia's incoherent story

"I've been working so much. I've been missing all the scoops plus Latina Twilight over here. Careful. There's a lot of garlic in that chicken." Penelope said, continuing to tease Carmen

"Your mom's kinda mean. I'm obsessed with her." Carmen, oddly, smiled

"Who would like a pastelito?" Lydia asked

We all eagerly took one, ignoring the pizzas Penelope had brought home

"Mm! You know what? How about we go on a hike this Saturday like we used to?" Penelope asked her kids

"Mom, Uh, Carmen and I need all Saturday for our history thing." Elena said

"Yeah, and Abuelita, y/n, and I have tickets to wrestling." Alex cheered

"I don't understand why you waste good money on that." Penelope sighed

"It's educational." I said, attempting to convince her

Penelope stared at me with a "we both know that's bullshit" look.

"Eh, I don't know." I shrugged

"Okay, Saturday's out. How about we go on a hike Sunday morning before it gets hot?" Penelope asked

"You seem to have forgot. Sunday morning is for church." Lydia said

"So, we skip church." Penelope suggested

"You seem to have forgot. We don't skip church." Lydia said, shaking her head at her only daughter

"Mami, it's okay if we miss it one time. It's not gonna kill us." Penelope insisted

"Oh, really? My great uncle Luisito skipped church, and on the same day, he was crushed by a runaway tractor." Lydia said

"Why don't you just go to church and then go hikin' after?" Schneider asked, solving their obvious problem

"We're Latinos, Church takes all day. By the time you're done with mass and you've said hello to fulano y fulana, it's five o'clock." Penelope said

"Oh, you exaggerate. 4:30." Lydia insisted

"I wanna see these guys this weekend. Come on. Cause I like them." Penelope said, pulling her kids close to her

"I have to put my foot down. Sundays we go to church, and then sometimes we go to Applebee's." Lydia said

"Well, I have a foot, too, and I'm gonna put my foot down and say this Sunday we're not going to church." Penelope argued

"Well, I am putting both of my feet down. We are going and that is the end of it. Ya!" Lydia said, shushing Penelope

"That's not your decision to make." Penelope said, beginning to get angry

"It's starting to feel kinda like home in here." Schneider smiled, making me shake my head

"I'm with Mom. We don't need to go to church. After all, Abuelita, you don't believe half that stuff." Elena said

"I believe everything." Lydia argued

"Really? When you take the communion you believe you're eating the actual blood and flesh of Jesus?" Elena asked

"Ay, no, it's a symbol. Don't be gross." Lydia said

"Okay. So, if you believe that then you're Protestant." Penelope said

"There is no need for name calling. All I know is that a good Catholic does not skip church. Right, papito?" Lydia asked, looking towards Alex for support

"I like church. I see my friends and I eat some donuts." Alex said

"Now, this one gets it. We're going." Lydia said, patting him on the back

"No, we are not! I work hard all week. When I get home, there's barely enough time to have a meal with the kids. Weekends are my only chance. So, this Sunday, no church. End of discussion." Penelope said

Lydia stood up and said something in Spanish, confusing me and Schneider.

"Ooh." Alex and Carmen said

"What? What'd she say?" Elena asked, who was also confused

"I am raising my voice, because I cannot believe we're having this discussion! I'm their mother! I don't need permission! I decide." Penelope fought

"And I am your mother, and I decide what you decide." Lydia said

"We are a family, damn it! Don't make me choose between you." Schneider said, "Okay, I'd choose Lydia because of her warm food and even warmer hugs. But I'd feel really bad about it."

"All right, everybody, go do your homework. Schneider, take y/n and go call one of your moms." Penelope said

"Fine. Guess we'll just eat this all alone in front of my massive TV." Schneider said, storming out

"Thought that was at his dad's house-" Penelope started

"He has one too!" I yelled as we stormed out 2

_________

The next morning, I was sitting on the couch before school when someone knocked on the apartment door. Schneider went to open it to reveal the whole Alvarez family.

"Hello, Schneider. Listen have you—" Penelope started

"Wow! I always forget how huge your apartment is." Alex said, barging into the apartment

I waved from the couch before going back to my TV show, trying to ignore the chaos around me.

"Nah, come on, it's not that big. But let's talk in the parlor." Schneider said

"Schneider, have you seen my mom?" Penelope asked

"Gosh, no." Him and I, suspiciously, said

"Then why do I smell fried plantains and Cuban coffee?" Elena asked, glancing around the apartment

"Fine! She spent the night. But I want you to know, nothing happened." He promised

"Ew." I said, shaking my head at the older man

"What were you thinking chasing that women away? She's funny, charming, and when she gets angry, she cleans." He said

"Where is she?" Penelope asked, ignoring most of what he said

"I don't know. After last nights ugliness, she spent the night and left without saying goodbye. So, she already knows the drill." He said, referring to the previous women that had been in the apartment

"Again, Gross." I groaned

Then, a girl walked out a Schneider's room wearing just a shirt. Alex stared at her, making me laugh at his immaturity.

"Unlike some people." He said, glaring at the girl

The girl walked into a different room, and everyone turned their attention back towards Schneider

"What was that? And why was she drinking my coffee?" Penelope asked

"Well, when my family oasis blew up last night, I had to seek solace in the arms of.. I don't know her name. Your mom called her the stick girl and made her eat plato de huevos." He said

"Did Abuelita forget to give her her pants, too?" Alex asked, making me laugh

__________

Later, Schneider and I were still at the Alvarez's because Lydia wasn't there when Alex and Elena got home from school.

Penelope walked in and we all greeted her with smiles and waves, still worried about Lydia.

"Welcome home, Lupita! We already started, but I insisted nobody say anything interesting till you got here." Schneider said

"Aw, that's so sweet." Penelope smiled, looking at all of us sitting at the dinner table

"It's been weird." Elena sighed

"Did you find Abuelita?" Alex asked, desperate to see his grandma again

"Yeah, she's with Jesus now." Penelope said2

"What?" We all screamed, thinking she meant Lydia had died

"No, no. Sorry. She's at church. Poor choice of words. Uh, whoa! What do we have here?" Penelope asked, looking at everything Schneider had set up

"Oh, Nothing special. Just some nutted quinoa, wilted broccoli with radish micro greens, and venison carpaccio on a bed of nettles. Grab a cedar plank and dig in." Schneider said

"Big change from Abuelita's cooking, huh? You like it?" Penelope asked all of us

"I can't wait to have eaten it." Elena said, as Schneider stared at her waiting for an answer

"I didn't think I would like nettles, and I was right." Alex said, setting down the fork he was using to eat

"Well, I'm competing with perfection here." Schneider sighed

"It's okay, Schneider. We all thank you for this very Caucasian meal. Good to see you again, Elena's best friend, Carmen, you beautiful weirdo." Penelope smiled

Carmen stared at her, uninterested in what Penelope was talking about.

"I'm sorry things got crazy the other night. That's- that's not us." Penelope insisted

"Seems like us." Alex disagreed

"We have all kinds of arguments in my family. I have two brothers. Ones a priest, ones a witch, so..." Carmen said, making us look at her oddly

"I'm really glad I'm getting to know you better, Carmen." Penelope

"Hello!" Lydia said, dramatically making her reappearance through the front door

"Oh, Thank God!" Schneider said, running ahead of everyone and hugging her

"I am so glad you're home. I was wilting under pressure to be you." He groaned

"Oh, hello, babies." Lydia said, hugging Elena and Alex, then me

"I'm sure you did fine. Who threw up in the table?" Lydia said, approaching the table and judging Schneider's cooking

"What were you doing all day?" I asked

"Oh, you know, saying my Rosary, praying for the departed souls...Asking forgiveness for your mother." Lydia said

"Why?" Elena asked

"Oh, She didn't tell you? She's no longer going to church. Ever." Lydia said

"We can do that?" Alex asked

"You can't. We will all go together. Us. Your mother will go hiking with Satan." Lydia sassed

"Yeah, and then we'll go to Applebee's. Cause Satan loves the Fiesta Lime Chicken!" Penelope sassed right back

"So, I guess you want to take my grandchildren to hell with you." Lydia asked, furthering the argument between her and Penelope

"I don't wanna go to hell." Alex cried, making me pat his shoulder

"There is no hell." Penelope said

"Don't worry, papito, there is." Lydia said, not making Alex feel any better

"Okay! You- you really wanna do this? All right, let's do this. I am not even sure I even believe in God, Okay?" Penelope said

"Hardcore." Carmen said, as the Alvarez's gasped

"Oye, you're so smart. If God doesn't exist, who made all of this?" Lydia asked, gesturing around the apartment

"Target." Penelope said2

"Okay, can we agree that if there is a God, it's gender neutral and not a He or she?" Elena asked

"No! God is a man. If he were a woman, there would be less problems. Pobrecito God. He tries so hard." Lydia said5

"Look, Mami, I get it. You like going to church. It's habit. You go out in lipstick, get dressed up, see your friends, gossip. It's your little social club, Mami, and that's fine." Penelope said

"It is more than that. I pray. I seek forgiveness." Lydia said

"And I am so glad that that gives you comfort. But that doesn't mean that God exists, okay? I'm sorry." Penelope said

"He kept you safe. Every day that you were gone, he kept you safe. My little girl says she wants to go in the Army, and then the army sends her to Afghanistan where she is getting shot at and I don't even know what else. Do you have you any idea... how much I worried? When you were deployed, I went to church everyday and I prayed that he would keep you safe. And he did. So don't you tell me about God. I know that God exists, and he is great." Lydia said, crying as she finished her story

"Mami, I'm sorry. I had no idea. You know, you went missing for one day and I was worried sick. I can't imagine what it must feel like to worry all those years." Penelope said

"All those years putting up with Birdie, with her terrible hairdos and her smelly breath." Lydia said

"Look. I still wear the cross you gave me." Penelope said, showing her the dainty cross necklace

"So you do believe!" Lydia exclaimed

"No, I don't wear it because it's a cross. I wear it because you gave it to me." Penelope said

"I don't understand the difference, so please just let me have this." Lydia said

They both sobbed and hugged each other, as everyone else looked on with a smile.

"So, are we going to church or not?" Elena asked

"Yes. Wait, no. Wait.. Sometimes, okay?" Penelope asked

"At least at Christmas and Easter. And one other time, so we are not those people." Lydia said

"And I'm not saying God doesn't exist. In fact, I check in with him constantly, you know, like, 'please God don't let Elena come home with a face tattoo.' And Mami, I am glad that you find comfort in church. I just find it in different places." Penelope said

"That's how I feel when I watch John Cena." Alex said, making everyone laugh

"Exactly, or Sonia Sotomayor... or Death. Everyone has something that inspires them." Penelope said

__________

The next morning, I was sat on the couch with Alex watching the News. All of a sudden, a story about a car swerving off a bridge, into a lake, came on.

I stopped focusing on what Alex was talking about and stayed glued to the TV. As the story went on it started getting harder to breath, and I was shaking, and my eyes were tearing up.

"y/n? y/n! What's wrong?" Alex asked, grabbing my hand when he heard my labored breaths

"I... can't... breath." I said, shaking my head and crying

"Mom!" Alex screamed, calling out for an adult to come help

"What?" She asked running in, quickly rushing to the couch

"Something's wrong with y/n." He said, tearing up as I continued to shake and attempt to catch my breath.

"I'll go get Schneider. Wait here." She said, running out the apartment door

Elena, Alex, and Lydia tried to get me to calm down, but I just couldn't.

"Where is she?" Schneider asked, running in with Penelope.

When he saw me on the couch, he sat down and placed his hands on my shoulders, forcing me to look at him.

"Okay, okay. Remember your breathing. Breath in, 1,2,3,4,5. Breath out, 6,7,8,9,10." He said

We did that couple times, and I calmed down to the point where I could at least talk.

"What happened, kid?" He asked, rubbing my back in comfort

"The news. And the story, the car, bridge, lake." I said, beginning to tear up again

"y/n. Why didn't you take your medicine?" Schneider asked, realizing what had happened

"I did." I lied

"No, it wouldn't have been this bad if you had." He insisted

"I can't, okay? Every time I take those pills, I feel numb. And as crazy as it sounds, I want to feel the pain. I need to realize that what happened to my parents is real, not some horrible nightmare that I can just forget. I need to remember, and I need to heal on my own. I know I'll never have a mom who cares for me, or siblings to comfort me, or a dad to hang out with. I miss that, but pretending it's not real is worse." I said crying

Everyone stared at me either with teary eyes or sympathy, making me want to sink into the couch.

"Hey, I may not be your mom or your dad, but I'll always be there for you. I didn't think I'd enjoy taking in someone else's child, but since you've been with me I couldn't imagine life without you. You're my family." Schneider said, hugging me, "You can't hide these kind of thing from me, though. You have to try and be honest about it."

"We'll always be here too. For anything." Alex said, coming in to wrap me in hug

The rest of the family joined in one big hug, making me realize that Schneider was right. I may have lost my biological family, but family isn't just about DNA. It's about surrounding yourself with the people who will love and care for you through everything, and that's what Schneider and the Alvarez's are to me.

_________

Alright, I hope this chapter provides an idea of what happened to her parents. Thank you guys for the reads!! And please, any feedback is welcomed.

#odaat #alex alvarez

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wandering-----wonderings · 4 years

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Ok, this scene bothers me slightly, because it's like when the wrote it they didn't really care to double check themselves on it. We never see any pre-Sydney on the show except for when she was a kid and a quick bit of her recruitment during Q&A (1x17); all, to my recollection, silent scenes. In this episode (All The Time In The World; 5X17), they're going back (with non-silent scenes) and showing some of Sydney's life before SD-6.

In this particular scene ... well, let me break it down.

- Put on your dancing shoes. We are going out tonight. - I can't tonight. - "Can't" is not an option. Charlie got us passes for that new club in Silver Lake. - That job fair's tonight. I want to go. - Job fair? Syd! You've four years to figure out what kind of job you want. - My advisor yelled at me 'cause I still haven't picked a major. - Education. Done. Be a teacher like your mom. You always talk about how happy she was. - I thought about that. But I think of teaching as my safety net. - Teaching's no safety net. You know how dangerous it is to be a teacher? Kids bring knives to school these days. - I hate that I could make a decision now that would affect the rest of my life. - Well, I say go with education. Oh, Charlie is bringing a friend tonight - Danny something. We'll pick you up at eight. - I'll see you later. - Sydney Bristow? I was hoping I might have a moment of your time.

First, we have the location. That ''new club in Silver Lake'' is supposed to be ''a new coffee shop that has live jazz in the afternoons'' in ''Westwood''. The time, then, is also off: it should be ''afternoon'' instead of ''tonight''.

Second, Sydney doesn't go to a job fair. Earlier, before this scene in the book (Recruited), she's perusing the paper for a job - doesn't find one. Francie gets her on at the restaurant she works at, Les Amis Cafe. The end of her waitressing days also happened before this scene. The excuse for not going with Francie and Baxter is that she's swamped with homework - which, isn't untrue.

Thirdly, ''I still haven't picked a major'' is wrong, too. In the book, it reads: ''Only one thing was wrong with her mental picture. It wasn't happening for her. Not good for an education major.'' Francie also says to Sydney, ''So you're serious about this master teacher plan, huh?'' So, yeah, I'd say Sydney's planned on the teacher thing for a while.

Fourth, and my main problem with this, is that Charlie and Danny are never mentioned in the books. Francie is dating a guy named Baxter and (earlier in the book) she encourages Sydney to ask out her crush (Dean Carothers) to a party - it doesn't go well. No Charlie, no Danny. Now, this could all be solved by saying that not everyone read the books and the writers wanted to use characters that people would remember from season 1. Ok ... but, we knew about Noah Hicks (Sydney's first real boyfriend) in season 1. So, what, she met Danny and was just friends with him, got recruited, had a relationship with Noah, and then after Noah left she went to Danny? The problem with that is, again, Danny was never mentioned in the books. Too, I'm sure just using the names in the books cost money; which may be why they chose not to use Danny or Charlie - or Will or Marshall for that matter. (They have a Graham Flinkman and it's my personal belief that he is Marshall's older brother; that Graham either retired out - or worse - and then SD-6 recruited his just-as-brilliant younger brother to replace him. That seems like something right up Sloane's alley, anyway.)

My point is, the season 5 scene happened after the books were written and it was an exact scene; the same scene portrayed in two different ways. If they were going to shoot a scene for the show that they'd already written in the books, why weren't they consistent?

Unless they wanted someone to notice. I vaguely remember reading something about The Box part 1&2 (1x12-13 - the one with Quentin Tarantino in it) that they made mistakes in the episode on purpose to see if anyone could find them. As much as I re-watched the series, I could point out a lot of them; now, the only one I remember right off is in one scene, the woman has zip-ties on her belt, the camera focuses on someone else and when it comes back to her she no longer has the zip-ties.

I'm being picky aren't I? Oh, well, I've already started - might as well do the other memories.

Now this 'memory' I don't have a problem with - because it's a deleted scene. First, yes, Sydney did have to take a lot of tests and, yes, she did better than anyone. She was a little out of character, though. What's wrong with it is that Sydney doesn't meet Dixon until Noah Hicks introduces her to him (very briefly) in the third book (Disappeared). So all the tests she took, she took them before she met Dixon. She did bump into him on the way to Sloane's office in the first book (Recruited), which was actually shown in 1x17 (Q&A), but we don't really know it's him because no name was used, just a description. ''...bumping shoulders with a tall, dignified-looking black man.'' Again, it's a deleted scene, so maybe the reason it got cut was that they realized it didn't work with what they already had out there. Which begs the question: why didn't they do that with the Francie and Sydney scene?

Speaking of the 1x17 scene, she did start out at a desk job on the twentieth-floor. A difference is that the book says she had to sign ''about two dozen nondisclosure agreements'' and the episode has that number at ''about five-hundred'' - big difference if you ask me, but she might have had to sign more over time that totaled to ''about five-hundred''. Another thing, is that Wilson (her handler and recruiter into SD-6) didn't take Sydney from the hallway to Sloane's office; she was in Wilson's office and he took her to Sloane's office from there, and that was when the shoulder bump happened with Dixon. The hallway scene is actually more reminiscent of when Wilson took Sydney (to his office) to meet Pilar and Yoav, her weapons and hand-to-hand combat instructors, respectively. Other than that, it was pretty accurate.

This could have happened, plain and simple. There's nothing (to my current knowledge) that says whether or not it did or didn't.

In the book it says Jack was in car with Laura/Irena, and in the scene ... well, it doesn't say he wasn't, he was just telling Sydney her mom died. So, yes, this could have happened and it fits both the book and show, but wasn't this something that they actually varied with on the show? Like, it was a bridge then it was a road, he was in the car then he wasn't. That part I can't remember.

Also could have happened. It doesn't go against the other scene they had of her putting the puzzle together when she was under hypnosis. What's intriguing is how Jack is acting. He's a little colder in the hypnosis scene than he is in this scene, but that actually fits with his relationship with Sydney becoming as strained as it was. In the memory when Sydney first learned of the puzzle, and at her birthday party (which may or may not be an entirely accurate memory), Jack was warm and kind to her, and by the time Sydney has gone through the project and is able to build a gun he's starting to become cold and detached. Project Christmas itself is most likely the reason why. After all, taking your young child to Build-a-Gun workshop and then erasing her memory is bound to have an effect on anyone.

Now, this memory could have happened because there's no mention of her telling him she works in a bank in the books; so she must have told him at some point because he seemed to already know when he (finally) made a book appearance. ''She had barely even heard from her father since she'd started college.'' Although, we don't get to read how there first dinner went (in Father Figure) since it has her meeting him right as the chapter ends. After that he's trying to get her to focus on school - like he did in the episode but he was trying to be more stealthy in the book. Granted, everything that happened between them in the book would have been too long to show, so this memory kinda sums it all up. However, there is the small issue of where the scene happened. In the memory, it shows Sydney coming through the door and saying ''Dad? Are you home?'' The books, on the other hand, say ''His home base was still L.A., but he didn't even keep an apartment anymore, choosing instead to live in hotels on the rare occasion he was actually in town.'' Now, we don't see the outside of where 'home' is, so it could be a hotel. Although, with as much as he travels and how little she sees/hears from him, I doubt she'd have a key to get in - and what kind of spy leaves the door unlocked. Also, it doesn't really look like a hotel from the inside, and I don't recall ever having been in a hotel room that had a hallway in it; not to say that they don't, but if Jack just got a room for himself then I'm imagining him going for something basic. So books say hotel, memory indicates a house.

Could have happened. It didn't happen in the books, but doesn't mean it didn't happen.

Ok, I'm done now. I know I'm being too picky. I just love this series so much. They were the first ''adult books'' that I read and I guess it kinda just stuck with me. Which, technically, they're classified as ''teen fiction'', but there was crushing and kissing and kick butt-age and, of course, spy-drama, so at the time I was reading them they felt very adult.

#Alias #All The Time In The World #5x17

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sugaandyams · 6 years

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“Mean Girls” Haikyuu crack fic: Part 2

Part 1 is here. Disclaimer still applies.

Chikara’s next class is literature and Narita and Kinoshita both have chemistry, so they all head back as the gym class collects their equipment.

Kinoshita hands Chikara a detailed map of the school. “This is your key to survival at North Shore,” he explains. “Arguably, the most important part is lunchtime. There are so many cliques.”

The bell rings before Kinoshita can explain them. “We’ll catch you at study hall,” Narita promises. “It’s right before lunch so we can leave early and scope out the cafeteria.”

Chikara is about to thank him when the crowd of students rushing to their next class swishes him away. He somehow manages to enter his homeroom once more.

Takeda looks away from the whiteboard to the doorway. Chikara can tell he’s once again the last student to arrive because all the desks are taken except for one near the front.

“Sawamura-Sugawara, I’m happy you’re in my class!” Takeda smiles. “How about you take a seat behind Akaashi?”

Chikara takes a wild guess that the figure hunched over, searching through his satchel, is Akaashi, only because of the empty desk behind him. He nods and sits downs. Takeda passes out syllabi and goes down the list of materials needed for this year.

He tries to listen to Takeda but his eyes wander back to the map. “Sexually active band geeks?” he mutters to himself. The guy in front of him turns around. “Did you say something?”

Chikara glances up and nearly gasps. “What?”

Akaashi (shit, that’s such a pretty name) has the most gorgeous hair Chikara has ever seen on a human being. Could a person have such beautiful eyes?

“I thought you said something,” Akaashi shrugs and Chikara needs to remind himself to breath.

“I did but I was just talking to myself.” Why did I say that?! he questions mentally.

Akaashi chuckles and Chikara really wonders if he can stay in his class when he’s having a bisexual reawakening. “I’m Akaashi Keiji. You’re the new student, right?”

“From Africa,” Chikara replies. “Sawamura-Sugawara Chikara.” Akaashi’s eyes widen a tad but return to their normal state when Chikara adds, “You can call me by my given name.”

“Alright, Chikara-kun.” Akaashi gives a light smile before turning back around in his seat and Chikara stares at his map, heat swarming to his face.

He doesn’t expect another conversation with Akaashi today but at the end of class, he turns back around after gathering his textbooks. “Have a nice day, Chikara-kun.”

“Bye Akaashi-kun,” Chikara says, a tad breathlessly. How can one person have such beauty? It’s not fair. Not fair at all.

Since Takeda is such a nice teacher, he didn’t assign any homework so Chikara has nothing to do except talk to Kinoshita and Narita during study hall. Luckily his blushing goes down so neither question him.

Kinoshita centers Chikara’s map on their library table. “Okay, we’ll explain all the major cliques,” he promises.

“I can’t believe sexually active band geeks is an actual clique,” Chikara mutters.

Kinoshita smirks but before he can make a comment, Narita ruffles Kinoshita’s hair. “I didn’t even say anything yet!” he grumbles.

“You were going to say something,” Narita knowingly says.

“Shut up.” Kinoshita looks over Chikara’s shoulder and waves. “Hey, Akaashi.”

Chikara freezes.

Akaashi gives a slight nod. “Hello Kinoshita-kun, Narita-kun.” He takes another step to see if it’s Chikara. “Hi Chikara-kun. I suppose you’re also in this study hall block.”

“Yeah,” Chikara murmurs and feels his face get hot. Kinoshita and Narita exchange glances.

“It’ll be helpful if Takeda-sensei ever assigns us a project,” Akaashi says. “We can partner up and work in study hall together.”

Akaashi and I as partners? Chikara numbly nods. “That would be nice.”

After he leaves and Chikara can breathe again, both Narita and Kinoshita have smirks on their faces. “You like him,” Narita states.

“I do not,” Chikara replies.

“Liar,” Kinoshita says. “How come you started blushing like mad?”

“Do you think he noticed?” Chikara asks, concerned. He’d hate for Akaashi to notice- what if he doesn’t want to be friends with him?

Narita decides to hide the fact Akaashi is very analytical and probably did notice.

“Akaashi-kun is a nice guy,” Narita assures Chikara, patting the back of his hand. “Don’t worry about it.”

Somewhat soothed, Chikara looks back at the map. “So, what all do I need to know?”

Kinoshita cracks his knuckles. “JV jocks, varsity jocks, desperate wannabes, burnouts, the greatest people you’ll ever meet-” he gestures towards Narita and himself. “And the worst, the Plants.”

Chikara runs through their conversation as he gets out the lunch line, wanting to buy a water bottle. He spots his new friends across the cafeteria, sitting by the wall and he relaxes his shoulders in relief. Right where the map said they’d be. He starts walking there, not realizing he’s walking in front of the Plants’ table when a guy stops him.

“May I help you?” Chikara asks, noting how attractive the guy would be if not for a smug and smarmy look across his face.

The guy, blond with an undercut and piercings, tries to give an innocent look. “We’re doing a questionnaire for new students, answer some questions for us, will you?”

Chikara mentally sighs and decides to go for it so he doesn’t make any enemies on his first day. “Sure.”

“Is your muffin buttered?” The completely male table Chikara just passed starts laughing. “Pardon?” Chikara blinks. Did he hear that correctly?

“Would you like us to assign someone to butter your muffin?” the guy asks, with an unkind smirk on his face.

Oikawa Tooru rolls his eyes and leans forward, resting his arms on the lunch table. “Is he bothering you?” he asks Chikara before glaring at Terushima. “Why are you such a creep?”

“I’m just being friendly, Oikawa!” Terushima insists.

“You don’t come over to my house for a party, break one of my parents’ vases, and then try to hit on some innocent boy- and failing, by the way- in front of us,” Oikawa coolly replies. He moves his eyes to Chikara. “Would you like to have sex with him?” he asks.

Chikara takes a step away from Terushima. “No thanks.”

Terushima’s grin slides off his face.

“Problem solved!” Oikawa happily says. “You can go shave your back now.”

Terushima curses under his breath and Chikara continues walking, glad that’s over.

“Wait!” Oikawa calls and Chikara turns his head. “Huh?”

“Sit down,” Oikawa invites, patting the table. Chikara glances at Kinoshita and Narita, who gesture for him to come over. He gives a simple “I don’t know what’s happening” look and pulls out a seat.

“Why don’t I know you?” Oikawa says with a tilt of his head.

“I came here from Africa and it’s my first time attending school in five years,” Chikara admits, opening his water bottle.

“Shut up.” Oikawa looks back and forth between Mattsun and Makki. “Shut. Up!”

“I didn’t say anything?” Chikara confusedly says.

“Home-schooled.” Oikawa rests his head on his palm. “Wow.”

Makki gives a bewildered look to Chikara. “If you’re from Africa, how come you’re not black?”

“Makki!” Mattsun hisses. “You can’t just ask people why they’re not black!”

Oikawa leans forward and smiles. Chikara doesn’t understand how Kinoshita and Narita hate him. He seems really nice! “Hold on for just a moment,” Oikawa says as he leans back against his seat, winking. Chikara casts his look back to Narita and Kinoshita, who look at him with perplexed expressions. He slightly shrugs in response.

Oikawa finishes talking with Makki and Mattsun. “Okay,” he begins with a deep breath. “We don’t ever do this, so it’s a huge deal.”

Mattsun sweetly smiles. “We want to invite you to have lunch with us for the rest of the week!”

“That’s-” Chikara begins before he’s cut off by Oikawa. “So, see you tomorrow?”

“On Tuesdays, we wear sea-green!” Makki adds.

Kinoshita bursts out laughing in the boys’ bathroom. “You have to do it!” He wipes away his tears, he’s laughing so hard. “You have to do it and tell us all the horrible stuff Oikawa says!”

“But Oikawa seems sweet,” Chikara argues. Kinoshita stops laughing. “He’s not sweet! He’s a life-ruiner, he ruined my life!”

“What happened?” Chikara asks as Narita puts an arm around his shoulders. “When we were 12, Oikawa told everyone-”

“Kazuhito!” Kinoshita huffs. “Can we not?”

“Sorry.”

“Why do you hate him?” Chikara asks, curious to know.

“What do you mean?” Kinoshita responds.

“Oikawa. You seem to really hate him.”

Kinoshita doesn’t answer for a few moments, expecting Chikara to continue. When he doesn’t, Kinoshita raises his eyebrows. “I do. What’s your question?”

“Why?”

Kinoshita glares at Narita so he doesn’t say anything. “Nothing. It’s not about hatred or anything. I just think it would be super funny for you to hang out with them and tell us everything that happens.”

“What would we even talk about?”

“Hair products,” Kinoshita suggests while Narita claims, “Hot guys.”

“Please Chikara?” Kinoshita even sticks out a lip. “Please?”

Chikara sighs. “Fine.”

Kinoshita squeals and gives him a big hug. Maybe it’s worth it.

He won’t think that for long.

“Tomorrow is Tuesday and they said they wear sea-green. Do you guys have anything sea-green I can wear?”

Kinoshita snorts. “No.”

Narita shrugs. “Not really.”

“How about a trip to the mall after school?” Kinoshita offers.

“Oh! This is what kids do in those cliché movies!” Chikara cheers.

“I love you so much,” Kinoshita laughs.

Luckily Narita has a car and drives them to the mall. They spend a few hours there, goofing off after they found the perfect shirt for Chikara. It’s almost exactly dinner time when Chikara is dropped off at home.

He waves goodbye as Kinoshita leans over the driver’s seat and honks the horn as goodbye.

“Hisashi!” Narita yells as Chikara laughs, opening the door to his house. Daichi and Koushi were totally not standing by the door as soon as they heard the car drive up.

“Were those the friends you texted us about?” Koushi asks, having received a text message from his son a few hours before the end of school that he had a ride.

“Yeah,” Chikara answers, setting down his bag and backpack. “What’s for dinner?”

“Hold on,” Daichi says, blocking the kitchen door. “Aren’t you going to tell us all about your special day?”

“Did you meet any other friends?” Koushi inquires eagerly. “Any cute guys?”

Chikara figures he’d be fine- until his dad said that last statement. “What? No!”

“You totally did!”

“Dad!” Chikara whines, wishing he isn’t such an easy blusher.

“Who’s this boy?” Daichi instantly asks, crossing his arms. “I’m a cop, I can search him up in the records.” There’s a subtle teasing tone but Chikara never underestimates his fathers’ protectiveness.

“I’ll tell you over dinner,” he murmurs, going around Daichi and getting out a glass of water to calm his hot face.

“Our little boy is going up so fast,” Koushi whispers to Daichi. “Just yesterday he was clinging to our shirts and asking for our help on everything.”

“I think we need to have another talk with him, just in case.”

Chikara spits out his water. “Dads!”

#haikyuu #mean girls #au #ennoshita chikara #kinoshita hisashi #narita kazuhito #daisuga #ennoaka #Aaron is revealed to be #akaashi keiji #I love Ennoaka #matsukawa issei #hanamaki takahiro #oikawa tooru #takeda ittetsu #sugawara koushi #sawamura daichi #terushima yuuji

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str-spangled-banner · 7 years

Text

Home - Part 3 - Bruce Banner X Daughter!Reader

Part 1

Part 2

MASTERLIST

TAKING REQUESTS

Summary: After Tony drives you home in hopes to build up a friendship, you get to show your skills as Bucky becomes in need of some help.

Warnings: None.

Words: 3 193+

A/N: Ahh so here’s another part!! Thank you everyone that’s been saying so much nice things about this series and wanted more. It means a lot!

She walked out of her classroom, holding her geography book tightly in her hand as she was continuously bumped into in the busy hallway. She managed to get to her locker and exchange the geography book for her biochemistry one.

“Hey!” Peter startled her by appearing out of nowhere. She gasped, letting out a sigh as she could have sworn her heart had stopped beating for a second.

She looked to her left and at him. “What are you doing here? I thought you said your English was canceled?” She looked up at the large clock above the entrance, counting it to be almost two and a half hours that Peter would have stayed in school without a reason.

“It was, but I had to do some, eh… Homework - Yes - Homework, which I did in the library.” He was a terrible liar.

“You’re lying.” She stated. “You lick your lips every time after you lie I’ve learned from the dozens of times you’ve told Professor Carmichael that you have a sore throat whenever he asks you to read poems before the class.”

“I don’t do that.” He claimed, his tongue darting out, causing her to chuckle as she began to close her locker and head for the doors out.

“Whatever you say, Peter. Whatever you say-” She silenced herself as she came out and saw a bright orange sports car parked at the bottom of the stairs leading up to their school. Tony was leaning against it, casually ignoring the large crowd of students that had gathered around him to gawk and take pictures.

Both Peter and Y/N looked at each other in panic just when Tony looked up from his phone and noticed the duo.

“There you are!” He called out, the entire crowd turning to look up the stairs to where Y/N and Peter stood like two deer’s caught in the headlights of a car, which wasn’t far from the truth.

Y/N made the first move and slowly began to head down the stairs. Peter followed her carefully, trying to ignore everyone staring. The crowd cleared a small path as Y/N approached, wondering what she had to do with the richest man in New York who just so happened to be Iron Man as well.

“Parker. Aunt May called, she wants you home, pronto.” Tony pointed to Peter before pointing down the street. Peter wasted no time but hurried out of the circle of students to head home. He would have wanted to stay behind, considering how he had waited two and a half hours just so he and Y/N could go home together, but he didn’t want to defy Tony.

“Chop chop, Banner.” Tony clapped his hands together, walking around the car to the driver seat. “In the car we go.”

She felt her cheeks burn red as the car door automatically opened for her and Tony repeated for her to get in. Students still took pictures, some she even recognized from her own classes, which didn’t exactly make her feel any better.

She climbed inside the passenger seat, watching the door descend and close after her. Tony roared with the engine and the crowd moved aside, making way as Tony began to drive.

“How was your day? How are you?” Tony had a quirk to his tone like he knew exactly what he had just done, which she didn’t doubt was true.

“Ehm…” She stared blankly at the road ahead, recalling swinging down New York with Peter, not to mention the situation she was in at that moment. “Interesting.”

“I’ve noticed… You and Parker went on a little adventure this morning. At least that’s what the news channels are claiming.” Tony said nonchalantly and her eyes snapped to him.

“They are?”

“Every single one.” He assured, taking a left and leaving the school block. She wanted to ask if he was mad about what had happened, but she was too afraid the answer would be yes.

She cleared her throat. “You said Aunt May wanted Peter home?” She questioned and Tony instantly knew what she was after.

“His parents died a long time ago and he moved in with his aunt and uncle after that. His uncle, Ben, he passed away a few years ago however. Now it’s just Aunt May and him.” Tony explained and Y/N could feel her heart drop. Peter always seemed so happy. She had no idea he had gone through such a rough childhood. She wished she would have known, but what would have changed? Most likely nothing. “She doesn’t know about his whole Spiderling business though, so don’t show up at his place asking for another ride to school, or whatever.”

She wouldn’t. Preferably, she would wait quite a while before she would follow Peter for another “ride”.

“How are you?” Tony asked, his voice a little more tense. It was awkward for him to talk to her, but only because he wasn’t sure how to act or what to say. He hadn’t even known she existed for twenty four hours. He liked her already. She was smart, brilliant actually, and that she was Bruce’s daughter raised in a family that did not support her talents made him feel oddly protective. He couldn’t explain it. His mind had drifted and thought about how it could be because he had no kids of his own, and Y/N and Peter were the only kids around, but he hated to think about it. He felt too vulnerable when he did.

“You already asked me?” She raised a brow, looking over at him as his subtle smirk was gone, looking almost troubled instead.

“You know, I’m just making sure you’re cool. Moving in with earth’s mightiest heroes can be a drastic change.” He slowed down at a red light before stopping.

“Making sure I’m cool.” She quoted him, letting out a short breath as she smiled. “Yeah, I’m cool.”

“What? Am I not in on the teen lango?” He questioned and she laughed louder.

“No, no, you’re definitely up to date.” She said sarcastically, looking out he window to her side as they were slowly progressing from Queens to Brooklyn.

Tony became silent, feeling like he should give her some room to breathe. She had a lot to think about, even he could understand that. She was good at adjusting, for her own sake if anything. She was already starting to feel at place with the Avengers and to have Peter as a friend, to sleep almost a hundred floors above the ground and have her own workshop with state of the arc tech.

“Wait…” She suddenly began to think. “Why are you picking me up from school?”

Tony realized he hadn’t explained why he had showed up unannounced after her class was over. “Well, I tried to text you and say I was on my way, but you never replied. I thought you should get a more safe ride home compared to this morning…”

She furrowed her brows and scrambled for her phone in her pocket. As she pressed the home button, she had had a text from an unknown number, which she definitely knew was Tony’s upon reading it.

“I’m sorry. The speakers are broken so I can’t hear when I get any notifications-” Tony suddenly held a phone out in front of her, flawless and something that definitely didn’t exist on the market for anyone to buy. “What?”

“It’s your new phone.” He said and sighed as she didn’t take the phone, dropping it in her lap instead. She quickly snatched it in fear that it would fall. “You have the teams numbers already, access to Friday, a gps system of my own design, screen projection, unlimited data, double lensed camera, a dashing 250 gigabyte of storage and access to the online storage unit that everyone in the Tower has… Need I say more?”

“No you definitely don’t cause I can’t take this.” She refused, holding the phone carefully, afraid she was going to as much as scratch it.

Tony let out an even louder sigh. “When are you going to cut this out? This constant denial of my gifts? In the time we’ve argued about you getting this phone, I’ve earned enough money to make at least ten more.”

She opened her mouth to speak but shut it as she couldn’t think of what to say. It was such an unusual thing for her to received gifts. She had a hard time simply accepting them.

“I don’t know what to say.” She admitted, looking down at her new phone in her left hand and her old one in her right. The difference, both in technology and condition, was almost embarrassing.

“A simple thank you usually does the trick.”

“Thank you.” She blurted out. “Heaven knows I could use 250 gigabytes of storage… But, if you don’t mind me asking, what’s Friday? Except a day of the week?”

“Friday?” Tony called out like she was speaking to someone. “Could you explain to Ms. Banner here what you are?”

“Of course, sir.” A female voice came through over the radio, Y/N eyes widening as she stared down at the speakers. “Hello Y/N Banner. My name is Friday. I am an Artificial Intelligence program designed and created by Mr. Stark. I can aid you with a large variety of things, such as delivering messages to members of the Avengers, search for information on the internet and in any unique files that reach your level of classification. Do not hesitate to ask for my help. If your request is beyond my capability, I will do my best to solve your issue with other means.”

Y/N’s lips were parted, eyes still glued to the speakers even after Friday had stoped talking.

“She’s my second AI. The first one was called Jarvis, but he turned into the Vision, so now I have Friday around.”

“What?!” Y/N exclaimed, turning in her seat towards Tony as every single thing he said, did or showed made absolutely zero sense or was far beyond what her mind was able to process. “I feel dizzy.”

“You’ve never seen an AI before?” He questioned after her intense reaction.

“Not in person, but I’ve never heard them turning into… Into…” She couldn’t find the right word.

“Humanoid cape dude with a stone in his forehead?” Tony suggested.

She sunk down in her seat, defeated. “Yeah… Exactly.”

“Well, you’ll get used to it, Banner. In the world of superheroes, things are never what you think they are… You though Peter was a normal guy in your school. Turns out he’s Spider Man.”

She had realized by that point, and that was one thing she had yet to adjust to. Her life was going to be a lot more strange with the Avengers than it had been in her little house in Murray Hills with her mom. Strange wasn’t at all a bad thing though. She would take strange over dull and repetitive any day. She had always felt like she was a lively soul trapped in a apathetic life. If she had the option to break out her true self and live an exciting life, she would. If that meant casually discussing how an Artificial Intelligence program managed to turn into what practically is a living thing, so be it.

“Home sweet home.” Tony said after another fifteen minutes in the car, the Stark Tower appearing before them. “I think your dad said he wanted to see you when we got home.”

She had planned on seeing him anyway. “Do you know where he is?”

Tony looked up at her before glancing down to the radio, nudging his head towards it. “Why don’t you ask Friday?” He wanted her to get familiar with how Friday worked, and the best way to learn is to do.

Y/N cleared her throat, looking down at the radio. “Friday? Where is my dad? I mean- Dr. Banner?”

“You father is currently in his laboratory, Ms. Banner. Should I tell him that you’re arriving shortly?” Friday proposed, which wasn’t a half bad idea.

“Yeah, do that… Thanks.”

“My pleasure, Miss.”

“See?” Tony raised his brows. “She doesn’t bite.”

“Ha ha.” Y/N laughed sarcastically, watching the garage gate open up as they approached. They drove inside, driving to the second floor of the indoors parking lot where she hadn’t been yet. As they reached it, her lips parted again as she took in the sight of a dozens sports cars, all bearing a license plate with Tony’s last name and a number. She wondered if he numbers stood for its place in Tony’s collection, but she didn’t want to ask as she saw some of the high numbers.

“What are your plans for the weekend?” Tony asked as they got out of the car together, heading for the elevator further away. “Because you do know it’s the weekend, right? You haven’t studied away your sense of time?”

“Just because I confessed to liking school doesn’t mean I live and breathe it.” She rolled her eyes, stepping inside the sleek lift. “I’m planning on getting my workshop in order, maybe do a quick drive to Murray Hills and get some of the stuff I didn’t manage to get with me.”

“If you need a ride, please call me and not Parker? Allow your old man to rest easy knowing you’re not dangling a hundred feet up in the air by a thread, literally, a thread.”

She let out a small laugh. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

They came to the floor of her dad’s laboratory as well as her workshop and one of Tony’s, if you ignored the fact that they were all practically his. She began to make her way to her dad but Tony stayed in the elevator.

“I’ll catch you at dinner. I have some work to do.” He promised, the doors barely staying open long enough for him to speak. She didn’t linger in the hall however but continued until she came to her dad’s lab.

“Knock knock.” She said whilst tapping twice on the door. Bruce stood by a screen, looking over at what seemed to blue prints of some kind.

“Hey!” His tired expression turned into a wide smile, quickly stepping away from the screen and taking a few steps closer to her. “How was school?”

“Good! How was your day?” She looked around his lab. “Any new, innovative projects going on?”

“Unfortunately, no. I’ve been working with the Quinjet engine today actually. It’s in need of some upgrading and I took on the task of doing it.” He pointed back to the screen. “I may be a nuclear physicist but I know my way around a jet engine or two.”

“What is the Quinjet really?” She wondered, looking at the blueprints he pointed at which showed the aircraft’s engine alone. Bruce then turned the screen around to face them and moved the current blueprint away to show a new one which showed a whole depiction of the Quinjet.

“Woah…” She gasped when the doors suddenly opened behind her, which it seemed to do an awful a lot. She couldn’t help but silently wonder if people didn’t know how to knock.

Bucky came in, a bit startled by the fact that Bruce wasn’t alone. “I- I’m sorry if I’m interrupting, but Tony is busy and my arm is bugging from the damn improvement he did… Improvement, my ass.” He murmured.

Y/N couldn’t help but stare at the bionic arm, which happened to be hanging limply at the moment, but was incredible nonetheless.

“I’m not sure how the mechanism is built up, James. I’m sorry.” Bruce admitted, dragging his right hand up and down his neck. “I barely even know where to start.”

Y/N looked between her dad and Bucky. She thought back to the ride home with Tony, when she had been told not to decline Tony’s gifts all the time. It had also made her realize that she shouldn’t be afraid to be a bit bolder. She wasn’t going to start cliff jumping or go on a spontaneous trip around the world, but she was tired of being so restrained by her own insecurity. She wasn’t living with her mom anymore and she need to realize that. She was allowed to be herself.

“Would you mind if I took a quick peak?” She asked hesitantly. Bucky looked from Bruce to her, raising a brow. Even Bruce was a bit surprised. If she offered her help, it was because she was confident with in the field she was needed. He just didn’t think she was so skilled that she thought she could handle Bucky’s metal arm.

“You’re into technology and science… Stuff?” He questioned. He hadn’t been able to get an impression of her in the short time that she had been around nor had he gotten to know her. That she was gifted with knowledge and skill like her father shouldn’t have been a surprise to him, yet it was.

“Quite.” She put it vaguely.

Bucky thought for a minute before shrugging his shoulders, which only ended up being one shoulder due to the bug that had shut his limb off. “Why not.” He gave in and pulled a chair up to a metal workbench in the middle of the room.

Y/N watched as Bucky used his flesh hand to lift his entire bionic arm onto the table, the limb landing with a loud clink. She gathered some tools, Bruce helping her, and took another chair and put it on the opposite side of the workbench.

She grabbed a screwdriver and flipped his arm around so that the palm was up, struggling slightly with the weight. She undid the screws and removed the panel which they had been keeping in place. She was so efficient that Bucky was a bit taken back. If he had been in her shoes, he would barely understand where to open his arm up. She had been able to get that within a few seconds.

“Can I get a screen?” She looked over at her dad and motioned for one of the holographic screens further off. He brought it to her and she used a wireless reading clip to clamp down on the circuit card exposed in Bucky’s forearm.

“Friday, bring up the programming.” She dared to ask, still not used to the feeling of talking to essentially no one. Without answer, the screen changed from blueprints to computer coding. She looked over it, scrolling down a bit before she abruptly snapped her fingers. “Ah, here we go. Easy.”

She tempered with the long and confusing code, adding a small fraction of it that had been missing. As soon as the new numbers had been put in, the metal plates across Bucky’s arm buzzed and moved as they regained their power. Bucky tried to move his fingers which worked perfectly.

“That was fast.” He said and looked down at Y/N who had already begun to put the loose panel back in place. He was surprised, even though she was Bruce’s daughter, she was incredibly talented. She was smarter than he originally had thought and was deeply impressed.

“I went to a programming seminar two years ago by accident and ended up liking it a lot more than I thought.” She confessed with a smile.

Bucky huffed, barely believing that he was looking at a high school student. “I can tell.”

TAKING REQUESTS

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cam-studies-life · 7 years

Photo

Hello, everyone! This is just the same post entitled “UPCAT TIPS” but with this cute header I made to go with it.

University of the Philippines College Admission Test

Application Process: Online or Paper

Application Period: June - August (the UPCAT is usually the first CET you’ll take)

Exam Date: August or September

Guide to Each Test

Language Proficiency (both Eng. and Fil.) - This part tests your basic knowledge of grammar for both languages (i.e. correct usage of words, verb tenses, subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement, etc.) If you have no problem with grammar and composition, I don’t think you’ll find this part difficult. BUT I suggest that you refresh yourself on the subject-verb agreement and pronoun-antecedent agreement topics for English because these were tricky. For Filipino, review the correct usage of words.

Math - The Math portion in the UPCAT was relatively easy, depending on your relationship with the subject. Make sure to review basic algebra (especially answering word problems!!), intermediate algebra (solving systems of linear equations, solving complex fractions, etc.), computing for the measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode), analytic geometry (equations of a circle, parabola, ellipse, hyperbola), and geometry (interior and exterior angles of polygons, transversal lines, etc.). It was easy, BUT the coverage was wide.

Science - The Science portion of the UPCAT usually contains many graphs and diagrams. You need to learn how to analyze these data in order to arrive at the correct answer. Also, pay attention to the descriptions being placed under the diagrams because - on more than one occasion - I was able to determine the correct answer by doing so. For this part, grasp the basics for each science (Bio, Chem, Physics, Earh Sci - especially Earth Science!!!), but also sharpen your analytical skills.

Reading Comprehension (English and Filipino) - Surprisingly, this was the most difficult portion of the UPCAT. If you’re an avid (and fast) reader, I don’t think you’ll find this part challenging - at least, the English portion. I was stressed out during the Filipino selection because English was my first language. I suggest that you widen your Filipino vocabulary and get used to reading Filipino selections. Another tip for the reading comprehension portion is to read the question/s for each passage first before reading the actual passage. This way, you can start looking for the answers instead of reading the text from start to finish, which is just a waste of time. Determine what you need to look for and start scanning the text, then move on to the next passage.

Before the UPCAT

1. Start reviewing early.

The material covered in CETs is usually very diverse, so you need to start reviewing early. I suggest that you finish majority of your reviewing during the summer because once school starts, other things such as homework, projects, extracurricular activities, etc. will compete for your time. However, try to squeeze in some review time in your busy schedule to keep the material you’ve reviewed fresh.

2. Attend a review program.

Although this is not a prerequisite to passing the UPCAT (in fact, my best friend did not take any review classes at all, but he managed to pass the entrance tests to the top 4 Universities in the country, including UP Diliman), I learned useful techniques from the review classes I took. Not only do they refresh you on the important lessons you’ve learned over the years, they also teach you effective strategies for taking CETs.

3. Pay attention to your grades.

Your chances of passing the UPCAT all depend on your UPG, which is computed in the following manner: 60% UPCAT score, 40% grades. In my case, my UPCAT application asked for my grades from Grade 9 – 11 and my class standing/ranking. Again, being the topnotcher of your batch is not a prerequisite to entering UP, but grades still matter. However, don’t despair if you know your grades aren’t stellar. That same best friend I mentioned earlier wasn’t much of an academic achiever. Your UPCAT performance still matters greatly.

4. Take many practice tests.

I think this is the most effective way to review for an exam. Apart from the practice exams that my review center gave me, I also bought some of the MSA Review books. I answered them while timing myself, and I regularly checked my progress. UP also releases an UPCAT online reviewer, which was like a mock test. I really recommend that you try this because it features questions/topics which are quite similar to the ones that appeared in the actual test.

During the UPCAT

1. When in doubt, make an intelligent guess instead of leaving the item blank.

Actually, I’ve heard many conflicting opinions about this matter. The UPCAT is the only CET that enforces the” right-minus-wrong rule”, meaning for every wrong answer, ¼ of a point is deducted from the number of right answers. Because of this, I’ve read tips from other blogs saying that it’s better to just leave the item blank than to risk a wrong answer. However, you lose the chance of getting one right answer. My math teacher finally put a stop to my dilemma when he presented a computation which showed that you have a greater chance of getting a high score if you answer everything (I’m sorry, I can’t remember his computation haha). When you encounter a difficult question, eliminate the outrageous or impossible choices then choose from the remaining ones.

2. Answer as quickly and as accurately as you can.

Time is of the essence. And when there’s a time limit, you need to use your time carefully. Don’t get stuck on a difficult question. Move on to the next one and just come back for it. IF you run out of time, shade a random circle. (see advice above)

3. Bring water and snacks.

You’re allowed to eat while taking the test because there are no breaks in between. The UPCAT is almost 5 hours long, so you need to bring something to eat. I remember bringing a pack of Oreos and a mamon (hehe). One of the test takers in my room brought a large bag of Lays for himself. To each, his own. Don’t bring something that’s too messy though, because you might stain your test paper with it.

After the UPCAT

1. REJOICE. For a while, then start preparing for the next CETs hays.

2. Wait anxiously for the results.

The UPCAT is most likely the first test you’ll take (around August or September). We were told that the UPCAT results will be released on February or March of the following year. Imagine the wait. THEN, in true UP fashion, the results were released late one night in December, five days before Christmas. Stay tuned to social media (that’s how my friend found out about the results being released early) because other students are bound to be tweeting the good news – especially in December.

Good to luck to all UPCAT takers this year! 😊

#UPCAT #tips #UPCAT tips #CET tips #iska #isko #iskolar ng bayan #review #college application #juliasacads #equaticns #studeebean #emmastudies #intellectus #CET #mypost

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cowboy-crimez · 7 years

Text

title: gifts to give and ones to keep

no warnings

Additional Tags: Established Relationship, Married Couple, Anniversary

Summary: seokjin and namjoon's anniversary presents throughout the years

Read it on Ao3

0: wedding

7 hours after Namjoon turns 20 and he’s slipping a wedding ring onto Seokjin’s finger. Both of them are grinning wide, and Namjoon is so excited that his hands shake as he slides the ring onto Seokjin’s long, delicate finger.

They’ve only been dating for a year and a half, but Namjoon knows that he wants to spend the rest of his life with Seokjin; can’t imagine a day when he won’t be in love, or when he won’t want to kiss him goodmorning and goodnight. They’ve been moving pretty fast anyways, Namjoon moved out of his parent’s house and in with Seokjin after only 5 months.

Namjoon’s parents don’t know he’s getting married; don’t know that he saved up all his money from his god awful job at Lululemon to buy a boring engagement ring and a slightly less boring wedding ring. Their friends know, but only because Yoongi and Taehyung are the witnesses. Yoongi thinks getting married young is a bad idea, but Namjoon just shook his head and said, “You don’t get it. It’s fine that you don’t, but, you just don’t get it.”

They can’t afford a honeymoon or a fancy reception. They’re getting married at city hall, their pictures taken with the tacky set up that is out.

Later, Seokjin passes Namjoon a wrapped gift, and says, “Happy birthday, sweetheart!”

Namjoon says, “I thought you were my present?”

1: paper

Money is still tight when their first anniversary comes around. Seokjin gets a little bit pouty because Namjoon tells him that he doesn’t need a birthday gift, when their anniversary is on the same day.

“Your love is the greatest gift of all,” Namjoon says, dramatically, flinging his arms around Seokjin’s shoulders. He’s only half joking when he says it.

Seokjin stills gives Namjoon a birthday gift of a new phone case. His anniversary gift is a poster and a handwritten card. Namjoon gets him a book that he’s been wanting for a while, and a hand folded paper crane that is covered in the words I love you!

Seokjin feels a little inadequate, but the genuine excitement that appears on Namjoon’s face when he unrolls the poster makes him feel good.

Seokjin doesn’t even remember that it’s also the one year anniversary of the last time his parents spoke to him.

2: cotton/china

Namjoon finally got promoted to manager of Lululemon, which he hates, but it means that for his second wedding anniversary he has enough money to purchase a set of fine china for Seokjin, since it is now very apparent that he will not inherit the set that has been in his family for 4 generations. Seokjin gets so excited that he insists on serving dinner on them, so they end up eating lasagna off fine china, taking sips of wine out of tea cups, making sure to stick their pinkies out as they do so.

Seokjin buys Namjoon a designer jacket, along with pants and socks. He wears them to college the next day and is horribly overdressed for his physics and architecture lecture.

3: leather/crystal

They’re fighting on their third anniversary, so it’s a much tenser affair. Namjoon is trying to finish his degree, and trying to look for a new job since he got fired when the Lululemon store in the mall closed, so he’s stressed and agitated constantly. Seokjin is just tired from the long hours he works in a hotel kitchen; wants to be able to come home after a day of hard work to a quiet house and a calm, loving husband. They’re both fed up with the amount of petty arguments that turn into full scale fights.

Namjoon isn’t even expecting a gift this year - for his birthday or anniversary - because he’ll be the first to admit that he’s been a pain in the ass for at least two months. So he’s surprised when Seokjin interrupts him from his homework at the coffee table with a tap on the shoulder. He sits on the couch cushion just behind him, and passes Namjoon a wrapped box.

“Happy third anniversary, babe.” Seokjin says, with a small smile. Namjoon almost cries. He opens the box quickly, Seokjin muttering a soft, “Careful!”

He pulls out a small glass sculpture wrapped in bubble wrap. It’s abstract, a combination of clear and coloured glass, but it’s beautiful.

“It’s by that artist you like, the one you were telling me about the other week,” Seokjin says. Namjoon looks at the piece then to Seokjin then back to the piece.

“Thank you,” he says, before putting it on the table, making well sure it won’t fall off. “Wait a second.” He pulls himself up and goes to the bedroom for a few minutes.

When he comes back he passes Seokjin a leather choker necklace and matching bracelet.

“Sorry that I didn’t wrap them,” Namjoon mutters, as Seokjin plucks them out of his hand and starts putting them up. He doesn’t say that he didn’t wrap them because he wasn’t sure if they were going to be celebrating their marriage this year.

“They’re perfect,” Seokjin says, leaning over to place a kiss on Namjoon’s lips.

It doesn’t solve their problems, but Namjoon thinks that that day made them seem more manageable.

Namjoon dusts the statue and keeps it clean for nearly ten years before it breaks during a move.

4: silk/flowers

They decide it’s time to move apartments, now that Namjoon doesn’t have to go to school. They finish moving only a week before their anniversary.

They decide to stay in the whole day, not bothering with going on a fancy date. Seokjin pops out at one point to buy a few grocery, and presents Namjoon with some flowers when he returns. Namjoon hates to admit it, but there’s photo evidence that shows his fancy being bright red when he holds the bouquet.

In the evening they sit on the couch and Namjoon hands Seokjin his wrapped gift. He excitedly opens the package to show expensive silk sheets. For a second his face goes blank.

“Get it?” Namjoon says, a little nervous at the lack of reaction, “Because we’re always saying that our sex is too good for normal sheets?”

Seokjin just looks up at Namjoon, before pulling up the gift that he wrapped. Seokjin tears off the paper, and shows Namjoon the exact same set of sheets.

“Oh my god,” Namjoon says, laughing so hard he’s almost crying. Seokjin finally starts laughing too. “Oh my god, I love you so much.”

They spend the rest of the evening drinking wine, and before they go to bed, they change the sheets on their bed.

5: wood/silverware

Seokjin tells Namjoon one day that he misses the trees that were in the backyard of his parent’s house. They haven’t visited Seokjin’s parents since they got married, and Namjoon is pretty sure Seokjin hasn’t spoken to them either. Namjoon’s parents are finally coming around, but it’s tense and awkward and Namjoon doesn’t expect, nor does he receive, any invites to holidays or gatherings.

They live in an apartment, and there isn’t anywhere that they could plant a big tree, so Namjoon finds a cute bonsai tree, and a nice pink pot for it to grow in. He ties a bow around it so that it looks nice when he gives it to Seokjin.

The look of pure joy and affection on Seokjin’s face when he puts the potted plant on the living room windowsill makes Namjoon’s knees weak. Namjoon receives a kiss and a cutlery set that’s themed after a movie he likes.

Namjoon thinks that the fact that he’s excited over cutlery is a testament that he’s getting old, but he doesn’t mind so long as he’s getting old with Seokjin.

6: candy/iron

Both Seokjin and Namjoon are overly busy during their sixth anniversary. Seokjin is in the midst of opening his own restaurant, and Namjoon is finishing a handful of projects at work. They almost forget about their anniversary, until Yoongi brings it up. It took a few years, but he finally stops mentioning that they got married too young, too quickly, without thought anytime they mention that they’re arguing. Namjoon thinks it’s partly because Yoongi started dating Hoseok and is already so clearly in love with him.

After a brief freak out of ‘how could we forget? Does this mean we don’t love each other? Does it mean we’re stagnating?’ and slight ‘we got married on my birthday, what’s my excuse?’ from Namjoon, they both laugh about it and decide this year it can be small gifts.

Namjoon buys Seokjin a heavy cast iron pan, since he was saying that he needed another one for his restaurant, and Seokjin takes them both out to a small carnival and pays for all the cotton candy and junk food that Namjoon wants.

They go on the ferris wheel and it’s very romantic, sitting at the top, holding hands, saying ‘I love you’ until Namjoon almost throws up over the side.

7: wool/copper

For their seventh, they buy presents not only for each other, but also for Jimin, their new son. He’s seven years old, but small enough that he could be five. Namjoon loves to pick him up by his middle and throw him into the air, laughing at Jimin’s shrieks of joy when he catches him safely and lowers him to the ground. Seokjin, despite being stuck with the roll of Responsible Dad, is always ready to give Jimin piggybacks and sneak him an extra cookie for dessert.

They buy matching sweaters for all of them, and wear them as they exchange gifts with each other. Jimin insist on being the one to pass around presents, so they hand them to him before he passes them along.

“This one is for daddy Jin.” Namjoon says, giving Jimin a small box. He dutifully takes it and turns to Seokjin.

“For daddy Jin!”

“Thanks, baby.” Seokjin smiles, as he takes the box. He can’t tear open the wrapping anymore - he needs to set an example before Christmas - and when he opens the box he sees a pretty copper ring.

“I know that if you wear it too long it’ll turn your skin green,” Namjoon says, as Jimin gasps and yells, ‘Green?!’, “but I thought it would be pretty on you.”

Seokjin smiles and takes out the ring. “Jimin, would you help me put this on?” Jimin nods, and is a little too rough with sliding it onto Seokjin’s middle finger, but he ignores it.

“Pretty!” Jimin exclaims. Namjoon smiles and gives him anther box.

“This one is for Jiminie!” Jimin gasps.

“For Jiminie?”

“For Jiminie!”

Jimin smiles and tears open the package, and sees a small copper bracelet.

“Now you can match with daddy Jin!” Namjoon helps put it onto Jimin’s small wrist, as Seokjin passes Namjoon his present.

He smiles as he opens the set of copper plated drawing instruments, knowing that Seokjin remembered him saying that he lost about five pens in the course of two months. He’ll have to remember to take good care of these ones.

“Thanks, sweetheart.” Namjoon says, as he leans over to kiss Seokjin over Jimin’s head.

A few hours later, Jimin bursts into there room screaming that his skin is green and he’s turning into a frog.

8: salt

It’s the first and only year that Yoongi has given them a gift, and it’s the first year that he’s married. They watch as he and Hoseok carry bags upon bags of sea salt into their apartment, dropping them onto the floor of their doorway.

Jimin thinks it’s a game so he starts helping, which makes Yoongi crack up. Once they’re finished, they don’t say anything, and leave quickly.

Seokjin just takes it to his restaurant and cancels that month's order of salt.

9: willow/pottery

Seokjin thinks that Namjoon is getting too wound up when it comes to his job, his role as a father and husband and with life in general. His family is finally talking to him openly now, but Seokjin knows it’s hard for Namjoon to reconnect with the people who shunned him for so long. He buys him a hand carved wood chime, knowing that Namjoon will appreciate the reminder to slow down and just listen to the wind for a moment.

Namjoon talks Yoongi and Hoseok into babysitting Jimin every thursday night for a few weeks, and signs him and Seokjin up for a couple’s pottery class. He doesn’t know when he became to domestic that he saw the flier and immediately thought, ‘this is a great idea!’ They enjoy the small break from being parents, and usually go on small dates after the lesson.

They make mugs for each other in the class, and every morning they grin when they see the other drinking coffee out of them.

10: tin/diamond jewelry

Namjoon is only freaking out a little bit this year. Not only is he finally turning 30 - becoming what Jimin calls ‘an old man, dad!’ (Namjoon only mourns briefly that Jimin is at the age when he calls both of them ‘dad’ instead of daddy Jin and daddy Joon) - but he’s been married for ten years. He doesn’t regret it, but god, it seems like the years have just rushed by, like only yesterday he was a blushing 18 year old trying to flirt with the pretty 20 year old that was in his debate club.

He decides that this year, he’s going to spoil Seokjin mercilessly. He buys him a cute wine bottle holder that looks like a cat - Seokjin pointed at it in the store and laughed - and all new appliances for the kitchen at home. He gets Seokjin to take off his wedding ring, which caused the older man to frown, but then laugh when he saw the tan line in the shape of his ring on his finger, and Namjoon took it to the jewelers to get it cleaned and fixed. He doesn’t tell Seokjin, but he asks them to replace some of the smaller chipped diamonds with brighter, bigger ones. He even buys Seokjin a new watch with diamonds encrusted around the edge. It’s so luxurious that Seokjin blushes any time he wears it out.

Seokjin takes Namjoon out to a piercing parlor on their anniversary, and he pays for them to get matching ear piercings. Seokjin holds his hand when the needle goes through his skin. For Namjoon it feels like a bit of a rebellion, he’s turning 30, he has an office job and a kid, he should be too old to get his ear pierced! But he still smiles when he looks at the mirror and sees the diamond stud in his ear lobe. Seokjin is just happy to see Namjoon happy, so he sucks it up and tries not to wince too hard when it’s his turn.

They hold hands when they walk home, and Namjoon doesn’t know how they could get any happier.

20: platinum

Jimin comes back from college for a visit to celebrate his dad’s twentieth anniversary with them. He teases Namjoon an appropriate amount for his grey hairs, since he gave up dying them when he was 32. He takes his dads out to a nice restaurant, and insists on being the one to pass the gifts, just for old time sakes.

“This one is for daddy Joon!” Seokjin says, as Jimin rolls his eyes at the old name.

“For dad.” He says, pointedly not saying the whole name. Namjoon laughs as he opens the gift, smiling when he sees finely crafted cufflinks.

“Thank you, love.” He says, reaching over to give Seokjin’s hand a good squeeze.

He gives Jimin Seokjin’s gift, “For daddy Jin!” he makes sure to say. Seokjin receives a pair of pretty earrings, since he got his other ear pierced a few years after the first.

“They’re beautiful, sweetheart, thank you.”

They give Jimin a platinum ring, and for that, Jimin says, “Thank you, Daddy Joon and Daddy Jin.”

His dads smile the rest of the night, so he doesn’t allow himself to be embarrassed.

30: pearl

At 50, Namjoon can feel him and Seokjin slowing down. They don’t enjoy going out on long evening walks as much now, and time together is spent with more of comfortable silences now. They’ll glance at each other every so often, smile and press a kiss on the others cheek and go back to just sitting and holding hands. It feels like they don’t have as much to share anymore, they’ve spent so much time together that they know what the other is thinking.

If he were younger that would scare Namjoon, but at this age, it comforts him more than anything else.

Seokjin is starting to step back from his restaurant, still very much involved, but he’s been training a younger chief named Jeongguk for a number of years now, and spends less time chopping the food and more time at home thinking of new recipes and cooking them just for him and Namjoon.

They agree for 30 nothing too grand - both of them are starting to appreciate a simpler, less flamboyant style now. Namjoon buys Seokjin a few decorative spoons and bowls with a pearlescent finish. He also gets him a cute button up shirt with fake pearls instead of buttons.

Seokjin decides to cheat, and instead of going small, buys Namjoon an expensive black pearl earring. Namjoon gasps when he opens the box, looking at Seokjin, then the pearl, then Seokjin again. Then he smiles, and says, “You broke your own rule!”

He’s a bit sad to take out his tenth anniversary present, but wants to see how the new one looks. He decides that it’ll be the earring he wears to any fancy event.

40: ruby

Jimin visits with his own family on their fortieth anniversary, and they adore it. They slip out of the commotion for a short walk, just to get a moment to themselves. They walk slowly - partly because they want to enjoy the silence and each other's company, but also because over the years Namjoon has acquired many injuries, and at his age the result means that his legs get sore much faster.

“I should have bought you a cane this year.” Seokjin teases, walking faster. Namjoon frowns and catches up, ignoring the ache in his knee.

“Don’t you dare,” he warns, putting his hand on Seokjin’s shoulder to slow him down.

They stop at a bench and sit down to exchange gifts. Namjoon already gave Seokjin a ruby red scarf, in preparation for fall, but Seokjin knows that isn’t it. For a few moments they just enjoy the calming evening breeze, before Seokjin puts his hand in his coat pocket and takes out an unwrapped bracelet. Wrapping presents started to hurt his hands a few months ago - years of kneading doughs and whisking resulting in slightly arthritis. He ties the strands of leather around Namjoon’s wrist, the small ruby in the center pulling it downwards. Namjoon smiles at it, then at Seokjin, and kisses him softly.

Namjoon has given Seokjin many rings over the years. But the amount of care that Seokjin gives each one, the way that he plans out which he’s going to wear on any given day, and the way that he still points at rings when they’re window shopping always makes Namjoon buy him more. He passes over a silver ring with a small ruby embedding in the middle. He slides it onto Seokjin’s right index finger, and he takes a moment to admire it. Seokjin still has the prettiest hands.

They sit them for a few more minutes before getting up (with a small amount of groaning from both as they stand) and walk back to their house, hand in hand.

50: gold

Seokjin has difficulty opening and closing small clasps now, and Namjoon needs to put on his eye glasses when he clips the gold chain around Seokjin’s neck. He doesn’t take it off, partly because it’s pretty and small enough to leave on, and because it’s such a hassle.

“Still the prettiest boy I know,” Namjoon says, hooking his chin over Seokjin’s shoulder. Seokjin has deep crow's feet around his eyes, but they still sparkle brightly like he’s twenty years old.

Namjoon still likes to write to their grandkids and friends every few weeks, so Seokjin gives him a gold plated pen.

The first thing that Namjoon writes with it is ‘I love you!’ on a piece of paper, and folds it into a paper crane. Seokjin puts it on his bedside table, and looks at it every night before he falls asleep.

55: emerald

Jimin finally talks them into downsizing their home to one without stairs. They’re both disgruntled at the idea of moving out of a house that they’ve lived in for almost 30 years. But once Namjoon starts having to call Seokjin to help him walk up the stairs to get their bedroom at night, they admit that it’s not a bad idea.

For the first time they’re both at a loss at what to get each other. They don’t go out as much, so neither of them needs jewelry or watches. Seokjin’s arthritis means that he doesn’t cook many fancy, labor intensive meals as often, so he has no need for any new kitchen appliances.

They end up buying present together, for both of them. It’s a set of emerald coloured mugs, since their old ones are chipped and faded. Jimin comes over just by himself, and they sit around drinking hot chocolate out of them, just like when he was young.

When he hugs them before leaving, he says, “Happy anniversary, daddy Jin and Daddy Joon.”

60: diamond

Namjoon’s leg finally gave out, so he spends most of his time in bed or sitting. He finally admits that he needs a cane.

“Don’t you dare get me a fancy one for any holiday, every.” He warns Seokjin, who laughs. He was totally thinking about doing it, so he isn’t acting like it was a baseless claim.

Seokjin takes both their wedding rings to a jewelry, gets the stones taken out and the metal remelted, and gets new rings made of the parts. The rings had gotten worn down over the years, the gold gotten tarnished even though they both put much care into keeping it nice.

He slips the new ring onto Namjoon’s finger, as they lay in bed. Namjoon blushes a bit and slides on Seokjin’s.

“Just like we’re getting married again,” Namjoon says, bringing Seokjin’s hand up to his mouth, pressing a kiss onto the knuckle.

Seokjin smiles, and lets out a happy sigh, “If I had to do it over again, I’d still marry you.”

Namjoon grins, and kisses Seokjin’s lips this time. They cuddle up against each other, wondering what they’ll do for their next anniversary.

#lgbtqbangtan.net #bts fanfic #rambles #ya boy is back w/ that gay shit

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studyblrmasterposts · 7 years

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UPCAT Tips

By Cam Studies Life

First, I’d like to thank @studeebean for asking me about this! It was a joy to recall and relive my UPCAT experience.

Guide to Each Test

Before the UPCAT

1. Start reviewing early.

The material covered in CETs is usually very diverse, so you need to start reviewing early. I suggest that you finish a majority of your reviewing during the summer because once school starts, other things such as homework, projects, extracurricular activities, etc. will compete for your time. However, try to squeeze in some review time in your busy schedule to keep the material you’ve reviewed fresh.

2. Attend a review program.

3. Pay attention to your grades.

4. Take many practice tests.

During the UPCAT

1. When in doubt, make an intelligent guess instead of leaving the item blank.

2. Answer as quickly and as accurately as you can.

3. Bring water and snacks.

After the UPCAT

1. REJOICE. For a while, then start preparing for the next CETs hays.

2. Wait anxiously for the results.

Good to luck to all UPCAT takers this year! 😊

#college review #cet #upcet #entrance exams #review #tips #exams #up #submission

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weekegg2-blog · 5 years

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The Bear’s Den, February 26, 2018

BEAR DOWN, CHICAGO BEARS, BEAR DOWN!!!!

BEARRRSSSS

Wood: Building a Measurable Profile for the Andy Reid/Matt Nagy Running Back - Da Bears Blog - I want to cut through the noise to see if I can figure out which numbers matter when it comes to running backs for Chicago’s offense. This is a variation of the offense Andy Reid runs in Kansas City, so I looked at the Combine stats of all the running backs the Chiefs have acquired since Reid showed up in 2012 to see if there were any trends. This can help us identify what running backs at the Combine – and in free agency – might makes sense for the Bears if they look to re-shape the position this offseason.

Bernstein: Will Bears Be Tempted By This Draft? - 670 The Score - Ryan Pace has a history of being aggressive to get what he wants.

Emma: 5 Bears Storylines At NFL Combine - 670 The Score - The Bears have more stability than in years past but also questions to address.

2019 Offseason Outlook: Special Teams Turnover Is on the Horizon- Bears Nation - The Bears will have a new kicker in 2019, but that’s not the only hole the special teams unit might need to fill.

Medina: Free Agent Safety Lamarcus Joyner Could Fit Into the Bears Secondary, But at What Cost? - Bleacher Nation - One pundit believes there is a fun fit for the Bears with safety Lamarcus Joyner.

Medina: As Expected, the Bears’ 2019 Schedule Projects to Be Tough as Nails - Bleacher Nation - The Bears’ schedule was supposed to be tough last year, but that didn’t stop the Bears from winning the NFC North.

Medina: The Many Ways the Chicago Bears Can Find a Serviceable Kicker - Bleacher Nation - With Cody Parkey on his way out, the Bears’ search for a kicker is full speed ahead!

Finley: Could potential rule change curb the Bears' enthusiasm? - Sun Times - The Washington Post reported Monday that the NFL competition committee will discuss a proposal that would prohibit players from leaving the sideline.

Kenney: Former Bears cornerback Charles Tillman working as FBI agent: Report - Sun Times - Former Bears cornerback Charles Tillman traded in his play books for classified information.

Real Talk: For Bears GM Ryan Pace, this offseason might require heavy lifting - Chicago Tribune - The NFL scouting combine kicks into high gear this week in Indianapolis. Which leaves Bears general manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy with homework to do to turn a division championship team into a legitimate Super Bowl contender. What are the needs? And where do the Bears go from here?

NFL will consider reining in players' on-field celebrations — but just a bit - Chicago Tribune - The NFL, at the suggestion of some teams, will give consideration to barring players from leaving the sideline to join on-field celebrations, according to people familiar with the NFL's inner workings.

Stankevitz: Club Dub, running game solutions and questions for Matt Nagy at the Combine - NBC Sports Chicago - Matt Nagy will speak to the media for the first time since mid-January on Wednesday in Indianapolis. What are a few questions we're interested to hear him answer?

Ellis: Do any of these free agent kickers make sense for the Bears? - NBC Sports Chicago - Who's out there?

Mayer: Pace excited about Roquan Smith’s future - ChicagoBears.com - After inside linebacker Roquan Smith’s impressive rookie season, Bears general manager Ryan Pace isn’t placing any limits on the talented 2018 first-round draft pick.

Mayer: Ex-Bears Fuller, Gardocki to be honored - ChicagoBears.com - Former Bears Steve Fuller and Chris Gardocki will be inducted into two different South Carolina sports Hall of Fames this spring.

Mayer: Only two Bears among top 101 free agents - ChicagoBears.com - With 21 of 22 starters under contract, the Bears have only two players on an NFL.com list of the league’s top 101 free agents-to-be: defensive backs Bryce Callahan (No. 34) and Adrian Amos (No. 41).

Finley: Could Bears solve kicking woes in draft? ‘I’ve seen it crash and burn’ - Sun Times - Don’t count on the draft alone to solve the Bears’ kicking woes.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Panucci: “Survey says, …” TWT - Let’s talk Combine - Our Turf Football - OTFB’s reporter, Liz Panucci, is interested in learning your thoughts on the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine. Try the survey.

Meet Wilmette’s Halla Yang, winner of $20,000 in an NFL contest to make punts safer - Chicago Tribune - Halla Yang, a 39-year-old Wilmette resident, won $20,000 as one of four finalists in the NFL’s “1st and Future” punt analytics competition, a public contest aimed at making advances in player safety during punts.

NFL considering another idiotic, unnecessary rule change - Pride Of Detroit - Just when the NFL was starting to shed itself of the “No Fun League” nickname...

Draft sets up for Packers to restock at key positions - Acme Packing Company - Even without knowing who Brian Gutekunst adds in free agency, the composition of this draft class suits the Packers roster perfectly.

KNOW THY ENEMY

2019 NFL mock draft: Packers address D and O-line with Burns and Risner - Acme Packing Company - While the Packers could take Jachai Polite and a tight end with their first-round picks, the latest SB Nation mock draft sees them going in a different direction.

Raiders, Coliseum Authority reach agreement for 2019 - NFL.com - The Raiders and the Coliseum Authority have reached an agreement for the team to remain in Oakland for the 2019 season at least, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported

Raiders have the most draft capital, Bears have the least – ProFootballTalk - In Year 1 after the Khalil Mack trade, it looked like a big win for the Bears. Year 2 may look different. The Bears made the playoffs with Mack leading their defense, while the Raiders were one of the worst teams in the NFL last season. Ken's Note: The Raiders have no pass rush, the Bears have the best pass rush. The Bears have Matt Nagy, Coach of the Year, and the Raiders have Jon Gruden, who's... well... an idiot.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Who is your least favorite player that isn’t a Packer? - Windy City Gridiron - Check out our latest WCG Chicago Bears offseason discussion topic.

Schmitz: Bear With Me - The Bearscars (With Jeff Berckes!) - Windy City Gridiron - On this episode, Bears over Beers host Jeff Berkes joins Robert S. to hand out end of season awards. Who is the MVBear? Who was the Most Surprising Player? Will Jay Cutler pass the "Best Hair" torch? Find out on this episode of Bear With Me!

WCG CONTRIBUTORS BEARS PODCASTS & STREAMS

2 Minute Drill - Website - iTunes - Andrew Link; Steven’s Streaming – Twitch – Steven Schweickert; T-Formation Conversation - Website - iTunes - Lester Wiltfong, Jr.; WCG Radio - Website - iTunes - Robert Zeglinski

THE RULES

Windy City Gridiron Community Guidelines - SBNation.com - We strive to make our communities open and inclusive to sports fans of all backgrounds. The following is not permitted in comments. No personal attacks, politics, gender based insults of any kind, racial insults, etc.

The Bear’s Den Specific Guidelines – The Bear’s Den is a place for Chicago Bears fans to discuss Chicago Bears football, related NFL stories, and general football talk. It is NOT a place to discuss religion or politics or post political pictures or memes. Unless otherwise stated, the Den is not an open thread, and profanity (including profanity only stated in pictures) is prohibited.

Click on our names to follow us on Twitter:

WCG Contributors: Jeff Berckes; Patti Curl; Eric Christopher Duerrwaechter; Kev H; Sam Householder; Jacob Infante; Aaron Lemming; Ken Mitchell; Steven Schweickert; Jack Silverstein; EJ Snyder; Lester Wiltfong, Jr.; Whiskey Ranger; Robert Schmitz; Robert Zeglinski; Like us on Facebook.

Source: https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2019/2/26/18240850/chicago-bears-den-offseason-links-news-free-agency-draft-salary-cap-nfl-combine-underwear-olympics

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chiseld · 7 years

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in too deep / playing for keeps

Yes, I’m not gonna lie: I woke up with Phil Collins in my head as an analogy for my enthusiasm about programming. You can mock me now.

Seriously though, this is how my last 24 hours went:

- Woke up late Saturday morning (around 10:30), got ready to face the day and less than an hour later I was ensconced at my favorite café to work at.

- Ordered some coffee and a grilled cheese sandwich and started tackling the final CS50 Week 1 homework problem. Problems 1 and 2 were extremely simple, so there was only one version of each; but for problems 3 and 4 there was a simpler version and a more complicated version of each. As I mentioned in my last post, I went straight to the more complicated version of #3. For #4, though, both versions looked interesting – and the more complicated one was starting to actually get complicated! – so I started off by tackling the easier version. That was fun. It took me about an hour, I think, to get a working version that passed all the automated tests.

- Then I moved right on to the complicated version of #4, and people, I think I have a problem: I spent a solid five and a half hours coding and debugging that thing, and I enjoyed every second of it. Even though I still didn’t have it working by the end! Aren’t people supposed to be annoyed by days like that? Why did I enjoy it so much? Who knows, but I’m not complaining :D

- Anyway, it looked like the issue that was blocking me from passing the tests for that one was most likely a data type error, so I posted a question on the StackExchange community for the course (my first ever Stack-something question!) – which I just this moment noticed finally received an answer that appears to solve my issue, NICE – and finally headed home from the café towards 6 p.m.

- When I got home, flying high on my successes and failures of the day, I decided to re-tackle the Odin Project Etch-a-Sketch that I still hadn’t entirely debugged. Remembering some advice that a fellow TOP student on the Gitter channel had given me, I clambered right back up into that project and dashed off a few lines of code – and voilà, it was done in five minutes. BOOM. Still pretty ugly, but functional, and that’s the point. I was too impatient to complete that challenge and move on to Ruby – maybe I’ll come back and pretty it up at some point in the future.

- So I pushed the fix to the repo (I still feel so legit when I spout out lines like that) and then, just for shits and giggles, started trying to add a new feature: a color picker (HTML actually has a “color picker” input type, can you believe it?!) that would change the color the user was currently painting with. It didn’t work, but in a very interesting way: instead of leaving the blue lines the user had already made on the canvas and then switching to a new color like red for the rest of the lines, after the color picker was clicked it changed all the OLD lines to the new color, but when the user kept drawing it was still with the original blue! So that was weird and interesting. I know exactly why it happened, though – I won’t get into the details now, but basically my app is dynamically adding a class to each square that the user hovers over, and my new code changed the color of that class, which of course would immediately change all the previously-hovered squares too. So that shouldn’t be too hard of a fix when I eventually return to this project.

- But like I said, I was too eager to move on to waste any more time with that now :) I had forced myself to try something I was nervous about – creating new branches in Git for each new feature, and then merging them back into the master branch when the feature was finished – so I started off by doing that; and while merging my “keep-it-square” branch (created in order to solve the overflow issue I mentioned in my post of a week ago) to master, I ran into another nerve-racking but important-to-tackle problem for the first time: a merge conflict! Gotta say, though, it was exciting to see Git jumping into my JS file and indicating the conflict with those surprisingly easy-to-understand lines. And it felt great to fix the conflicts, attempt the merge again, and see everything go like clockwork.

- My Git studies for the day weren’t over yet, though. I returned to the project page from TOP and checked the instructions on how to submit my solution. The answer was: submit a pull request. Yikes! I had done this once, ages ago, when I first started TOP’s curriculum, but in the interim I had forgotten all about how to do it. So, Googling to the rescue once again. I did a whole bunch of reading, discovered I still had an old fork of TOP’s curriculum on my own GitHub page, cloned it to my computer, pulled down changes from upstream (that was new to me!), then once I was all in sync with the original upstream repo, I went ahead and made my pull request. And logging into GitHub just now, I saw that it was accepted. SCORE!

- By now (yesterday evening around 11 p.m., I think, or possibly even later) I was so psyched to get all set up to tackle Ruby that there was no question of going to bed. I marked the Etch-a-Sketch project as “completed” and jumped feet-first into the next section of the curriculum: “Ruby Basics”. First issue to tackle: my ancient computer had very out-of-date versions of Ruby, Rails, Homebrew, Heroku – basically everything. Time to update. Or more specifically: time for an Installfest. TOP directed me to the charmingly laid-out Railsbridge Installfest site, and I started plugging away at it. Dang, but that took a while.

- An awesome side effect of the Installfest, though, was that by the end of it I felt even MORE comfortable with the command line environment than before. I mean, I had already gotten pretty comfortable with it at this point, but during the Installfest I got a bunch of warnings saying stuff like “WARNING: linking not completed. Enter [long command] to force the link and overwrite previous files. Enter [another long command] to see what files will be overwritten.” In the past this would have scared the crap out of me, but this time I was feeling plucky, so as all these warnings scrolled past my face, I copied each one that looked important into a separate text document, and once each new technology was as installed as it was going to get for the moment, I copied each command back into the terminal and worked through all the conflicts, overwriting old files (let’s hope I didn’t kill anything important! it didn’t seem that I did, though) and “forcing symlinks” and all this stuff I barely understood – but at least understood a hell of a lot more than I did a year ago. And what do you know: in the end all the installations worked, all my verifications passed, and Railsbridge even took me through creating a test app on Rails and deploying it to Heroku to confirm that everything was connected properly.

- WOW! By that point it was 3 a.m. – do you know how long it’s been since I last stayed up that late? I don’t, because I’m old and my memory’s gone (j/k. but I actually don’t remember. that’s how long it’s been). So I forced myself to shut down the computer and go to bed. I lay there in the dark all pumped up for ages, wishing I would just fall asleep already so I could wake up and start coding some Ruby!

- Finally I did fall asleep, but I was so psyched to get started on Ruby that I woke up without an alarm only six hours later, at 9:30 this morning, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and ready to get going (although I normally require at least eight hours of sleep). So I got up, drank some good black tea (Yunnan Noir with honey and goat milk, yum yum), and started writing this blog post. And now I’m done, so you know what that means... TIME FOR MORE CODING! :DDD

#ruby #the odin project #cs50 #github #ruby on rails #coding #codeblr #chiseling away

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wandering-----wonderings · 4 years

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Ok, this scene bothers me slightly, because it's like when the wrote it they didn't really care to double check themselves on it. We never see any pre-Sydney on the show except for when she was a kid and a quick bit of her recruitment during Q&A (1x17); all, to my recollection, silent scenes. In this episode (All The Time In The World; 5x17), they're going back (with non-silent scenes) and showing some of Sydney's life before SD-6.

In this particular scene ... well, let me break it down.

Unless they wanted someone to notice. I vaguely remember reading something about The Box parts 1&2 (1x12-13 - the one with Quentin Tarantino in it) that they made mistakes in the episode on purpose to see if anyone could find them. As much as I re-watched the series, I could point out a lot of them; now, the only one I remember right off is in one scene, the woman has zip-ties on her belt, the camera focuses on someone else and when it comes back to her she no longer has the zip-ties.

I'm being picky aren't I? Oh, well, I've already started - might as well do the other memories.

This could have happened, plain and simple. There's nothing (to my current knowledge) that says whether or not it did or didn't.

Could have happened. It didn't happen in the books, but doesn't mean it didn't happen.

#Alias #All The Time In The World #5x17

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imagining-supernatural · 7 years

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Avenging Angel: Part 24

Summary: You’ve spent the last five years on a dangerous mission to solve the crime that wrongly imprisoned your father. When the Winchesters find you half-frozen on the side of a mountain, they make it their own mission to save your life and make sure you stay alive. But after five years of uncovering horribly dark secrets, you’ve learned not to trust anyone. Especially people who seem like they have good intentions.

Word Count: 1484

Warnings: Implied/kinda sorta almost smut

Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4 – Part 5 – Part 6 – Part 7 – Part 8 -- Part 9 -- Part 10 -- Part 11 -- Part 12 -- Part 13 -- Part 14 -- Part 15 -- Part 16 -- Part 17 -- Part 18 -- Part 19 -- Part 20 -- Part 21 -- Part 22 -- Part 23

“Dude, you’re so gonna go to prison.” Raphael’s hot breath ghosted across your neck as both of you stared at the computer screen.

“You could too.” You turned your head for the briefest of seconds to toss him a wink before returning to the task at hand. “Partners in crime and all that.”

Once that talk was out of the way, you focused all of your concentration onto the screen again. Lines of code spanned one of your screens and the FBI website was pulled up on the other screen. When your friends had dared you to hack into the FBI database, they hadn’t thought you would be crazy enough to actually do it.

But you could never turn down a challenge.

“Another firewall down like it’s 1989.” So far you hadn’t tripped any warnings, and you were determined to not get caught. It was just too bad that you couldn’t get extra credit for hacking the FBI. You’d think that MIT would encourage challenges like this.

Maybe if you hacked the CIA…

“Hey, I need your encryption knowledge real quick.”

“No way.” Raphael shook his head vehemently. “This is your stupid project. I’m not a part of it.”

“Some friend you are,” you muttered. Who needed him? You could do this by yourself. It was just the measly Federal Bureau of Investigation. Easy-peasy.

And half an hour later, your speakers beeped and the screen cleared. You stared in awe millions of gigs of data danced at your fingertips.

“I did it.” Your reverent whisper was enough to draw Raphael’s attention from where he’d retired to your bed to work on homework. “I hacked the FBI!”

*****

Everything about this moment seemed perfect. Sam’s hands curling into your legs, pulling you closer. Your fingers tangled in his hair, tugging low moans and grunts from his throat. Lips swallowing needy gasps and breaths as you tried to keep up with him.

You wanted this with Sam. You wanted Sam.

But a little bubble of anxiety hovered at the edge of the room, spoiling your mood just enough.

"Sam, I need a breather."

He immediately pulled away, but didn't remove his hands from your body. "You okay?"

His genuine concern touched you and you couldn't help but lean forward and press a chaste kiss to his swollen lips.

"Yeah. I just—I really want this. I want tonight to end with both of us naked and tangled in those sheets over there with huge smiles on our faces." At your words, Sam shifted his hips slightly and a small preview of the very smile you were talking about peeked onto his face. "But I think I need a few more minutes to get used to the idea."

"We don't have to do this tonight. You told me that you had to get over the entire last year with Braxton. That's a pretty big mountain of baggage to get over."

It was like your entire heart melted at how understanding Sam was. "I'm over that. I'm not scared that I'm manipulating myself into thinking that I like you enough to sleep with you so that I can manipulate you by sleeping with you."

"You sure about that?" Sam asked, slowly rubbing his hands up and down your thighs.

With a nod, you pressed another quick kiss to his lips. "I had to defend my relationship with Braxton to my dad before and it felt... odd. Not quite completely wrong, but something was definitely off. Today when I defended you... I just, I realized that I really trust you. A lot. More than I probably should. I trust you and I like you and I want you."

Oh God, how much you really wanted him.

Another one of Sam's soft smiles snuck onto his lips. "Good, because I trust you, I like you, and I want you too."

With that talk out of the way, you wondered just how to pass the time until you could pop that anxiety bubble. "Do you wanna watch a movie?"

"I thought you weren't in the mood," he teased as he stood up, one hand gripping your ass and the other wrapped around your back for support while he walked over to the bed.

"Not when Dean was here. I just want some alone time with yo—" your last word got cut off in a squeal when Sam dropped you unceremoniously onto the bed. He grinned as he crawled over you to get to his side. While he pulled up Netflix, you scooted back until you were sitting against the headboard right next to him.

Your mind flew back to waking up beside Sam on that mountain. The first time you realized just how trustworthy he was.

"You know, when I woke up next to you, I was scared and overwhelmed and didn't really get to appreciate being next to a practically naked Sam Winchester."

His eyes slid over to yours, twinkling. "And I was so worried about this beautiful stranger surviving that I couldn't think about how good and soft she felt."

"Well, Dean's not coming back until tomorrow..." You swung your leg over his so you were once again straddling him. You kept your eyes locked on his dilated, hazel eyes as you undid the first two buttons on his shirt. Then you dipped your head and pressed kisses to the expanse of his chest, following the pathway of each button as it became undone.

The volume of the movie lowered until it was just background noise and you could hear Sam's breathing pick up as your lips travelled south. Finally you reached the last button and the kiss you pressed to his skin just above the waistband of his jeans was accompanied by Sam's strangled grunt. Your lips explored their way back up his body and your fingers pushed the shirt off of his strong shoulders.

Once he threw the fabric across the room, he pulled you in for a bruising kiss. "I think I'm wearing one more piece of clothing than I was on the mountain."

"Mmm, I think you are too."

It was in the way his muscles jumped under your touch. The way his breath caught when you lightly dragged your finger down the zipper of his jeans. It was in the swivel of his hips when you took your sweet time undoing the belt buckle and button on his jeans.

"Hips up." You slowly peeled the jeans off, tossed them on the floor, and then massaged your way up his legs. By the time you made it up his body again, he was a flushed, wrecked, turned on mess.

"I think I'm wearing too many clothes now," you whispered.

He growled in assent and quickly pulled your shirt over your head. You barely had time to feel self-conscious because he suddenly flipped you over. The soft bed was at your back, and the hard muscles of Sam's mostly naked body hovered over yours.

Flickering lights from the TV illuminated Sam from behind. You had no idea what movie he'd picked, and you had no intention of finding out because he was slowly making his way down your body as you had, leaving kisses all over your skin. Those lips that constantly invaded your daydreams set off tiny landmines as he kissed and nipped and sucked his way down to your pants. He took much longer than you had, and by the time he paused with his finger on the button of your jeans, you were a writhing, squirming mess.

"Sam," you moaned, lifting your hips in a silent plea for him to keep going. Never one to say no, he started sliding your jeans off, painfully slowly. As soon as your jeans joined his on the floor, he started the slow journey back up your legs, kissing his way up your calves and along the inside of your thighs. He paused just before reaching your underwear and winked. The he slid back down and copied his actions, working his way up your other leg.

You propped yourself up on shaky elbows and looked down at the blessed sight of Sam Winchester between your legs, looking like there was no other place he'd rather be.

Once again, he paused just before his lips reached your underwear and locked eyes with you. You were sure your eyes were so dilated they were nearly all black and your mouth was open, trying to draw oxygen into your lungs, but Sam was watching you like you were the most beautiful person he'd ever laid eyes on.

"This is what we were both wearing when you woke up." His low, gruff voice nearly undid you. "So, you wanna watch that movie now?"

"Oh, God no."

With a wicked grin, Sam moved until your legs were over his shoulders and your bubble of anxiety was nowhere to be seen.

Part 25 of Avenging Angel

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