#I went to school with M for K-8 and this morning I had a dream she was standing behind me on the pathway through my college campus

[moonlitmoth]

50 Questions

Tagged by @maladjustedchangeling

1. What is the colour of your hairbrush? Hot pink

2. Name a food you never ever eat.  I hate mayonnaise and white cream based sauces (like alfredo) so much it’s a borderline fear. I hate fish, brussels sprouts, and asparagus. I love passionfruit flavored things but I’ve never been able to bring myself to eat the real thing because it looks so fucking weird. It’s like alien fruit. 

3. Are you typically too warm or too cold? My hands are always cold but the rest of my body is pretty normal.

4. What were you doing 45 minutes ago? Watching Paper Moon with my dad.

5. What is your favourite candy bar? I’m generally a sour candy fan, but I like Take-5, Twix, and Kit Kat bars. 

6. Have you ever been to a professional sports game? Just Dodger games. I actually like baseball (mostly playing it), it just takes too fucking long. I watch rugby on tv occasionally. 

7. What is the last thing you said out loud? Let me preface this with a story: When my parents were dating my dad tried to teach my mom a little German, and instead of saying “danke” my mom thought it would be funny to say “donkey” so it’s just been a longstanding thing in my family where instead of saying “thank you” we say “donkey.” So my dad just made me dinner and I said “Donkey, daddy.”

8. What is your favourite ice cream? Cookies and cream or cookie dough, but I also like coffee ice cream. I also really like the circus animal cookie one you can get by the scoop from Rite Aid/ Thrifty, but I started making my own by adding crushed up animal cookies to cake batter ice cream and adding pink food coloring and a shit ton of rainbow sprinkles. It makes me so fucking happy. 

9. What was the last thing you had to drink? Water

10. Do you like your wallet? Not really but a wallet’s a wallet. 

11. What was the last thing you ate? A beyond burger. 

12. Did you buy any new clothes last weekend? No. I keep thinking about buying myself come cute loungewear sets to wear around the house, but I really shouldn’t spend money on dumb shit right now given the current economic situation. 

13. The last sporting event you watched? Um I watched a rodeo on tv a few months back. One of those big international ones. 

14. What is your favorite flavor of popcorn? Kettle corn

15. Who is the last person you sent a text message to? My coworker/ friend

16. Ever go camping? Technically. I used to go every summer with my high school BFF and her family up to El Capitan State Park or Carpenteria (both on the beach) and camp at the grounds there. But it was hardly ever “roughing it.” Carpenteria’s just a little beach town so all we had to do was walk a block to go get our s’mores supplies lol I like camping though

17. Do you take vitamins? Yup

18. Do you go to church every Sunday? No, my family was never super religious in that way. I went to a parochial catholic school from K-12, so we had weekly mass anyway, so my parents didn’t have to take me. We mainly went on the big holidays like Easter and Christmas. 

19. Do you have a tan? Nope

20. Do you prefer Chinese food over pizza? Yes

21. Do you drink your soda with a straw? Sometimes. I prefer soda from glass bottles

22. What color socks do you usually wear? Whatever is least noticeable and compliments the shoes i’m wearing. 

23. Do you ever drive above the speed limit? Not really, too anxious. 

24. What terrifies you? Mainly that there’s no life after death. 

25. Look to your left, what do you see? My window

26. What chore do you hate most? Cleaning my room. I’ll clean other parts of the house to avoid cleaning my own room. 

27. What do you think of when you hear an Australian accent? Honestly, no offense, but I find Australian accents super fucking annoying, though not as annoying as South African English. Like, omfg I can’t stand it. 

28. What’s your favorite soda? Cherry Coke or Hansen’s Pomegranate soda, which is getting harder to find. 

29. Do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive? Depends

30. What is your favourite number? 1017 because I’m a narcissist (my birthday), but also I have this thing where that number pops up a lot in my life. 

31. Who’s the last person you talked to? My mom

32. Favourite cut of beef? I don’t really think about it. Probably just filet mignon. 

33. Last song you listened to? New Order - Academic

34. Last book you read? Last one I finished was Waiting For the Punch by Marc Maron (I mostly read a lot of memoirs). I’m trying to read Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente, but it’s not really sucking me in unfortunately. 

35. Favourite day of the week? I like the hope of a Friday night, knowing I’ve got 2 days to do something fun even though I’ll probably do nothing lol

36. Can you say the alphabet backwards? Probably but like who cares?

37. How do you like your coffee? Iced. I mostly like giant vanilla or pumpkin ice blends from Coffee Bean.

38. Favourite pair of shoes? Black chelsea block heel ankle boots. I’m also wearing my leopard slip on sneakers from H&M a lot. For my birthday this fall I’m planning on buying myself some over the knee boots and some Fluevog Cubist Cupcake boots (the witch boots of my dreams). I’m so excited. 

39. The time you normally get up? Normally for work it’s 6:15am but these days more like 10am

40. What do you prefer, sunrise or sunsets? I’ve suddenly become a morning person the past few years. 

41. How many blankets on your bed? 2 on top of a comforter.

42. Describe your kitchen plates. They're my grandma’s. Just white with turquoise polka dots around the edges. 

43. Describe your kitchen at the moment? Uh..too small for the amount of people in the house. White, traditional cabinets with tan granite countertops and my grandma’s ugly lace curtains hanging on the window over the sink. 

44. Do you have a favourite alcoholic drink? I rarely drink but I mix myself a Dirty Shirley sometimes. 

45. Do you play cards? No

46. What colour is your car? Grey

47. Can you change a tire? Yes

48. Your favourite state? California, bitch. I don’t think I can live anywhere else. 

49. Favourite job you’ve had? Haven’t had it yet

50. How did you get your biggest scar? I cracked my head open as a kid by falling backwards onto our coffee table while watching the cartoon version of Sleepy Hollow. Had to get staples in my head and everything. 

I tag: @hausdushades @lyannawinterfell @crumboftheearth @copper-jay @maryreadings @nyxmalum

[wired-mk]

@tuffypelly tagged me so let's go!

Nickname: IRL I go by Mary or Mar (my mom sometimes calls me Mao as a joke, lol), but I go by MK online.

Zodiac: Virgo (August 28th)

Height: 5'2" or 5'3"

House: Gryffindor, according to a random Buzzfeed quiz.

Last Thing I Googled: 80s womens fashion (My mom's work is doing a fashion week to help raise spirits).

Song In My Head: Them Changes by Thundercat (Just the intro, though. Catchy).

Followers And Following: 89 followers, 1419 following (holy cow I didn't know I followed that many people-)

Amount Of Sleep: Varies from day to day. Mostly I try to go to sleep around 9, but end up falling asleep at around 11 or 12. I always get up at 7 to take my meds, then take a 2-3 hour nap.

Lucky Number: 7. No particular reason, I just like it.

Dream Job: Either a veterinary assistant or a cartoonist.

Wearing: A black Cheshire Cat t-shirt with black shorts (aka my lounge wear/pajamas).

Fave Songs: Currently: Shangri-la by EOB, Uneventful Days by Beck, Got The Life by Korn, She Don't Know by Zach Callison and Watch Me! by K-Modo (I am once again asking you to please listen to Watch Me! it is GODLY to me).

Instruments: I don't currently play any instruments sadly, but in elementary school I played the violin and the recorder.

Random Fact: When I was younger (I think like 7 or 8?), me and my family stayed at a hotel that was rumored to be haunted. I brought my GameBoy Color and a Pokemon Crystal cartridge with me, and sat it on the nightstand when I went to sleep. In the morning the cartridge was missing, but the GameBoy was still there. No one in my family had taken it out, because I asked them. To this day, I still think it was taken by ghosts. 👀

Favorite Authors: I've been reading more fanfiction than actual books, so I'll just list my current favorite fanfic authors: Freelance_Magic, ChexNix, Shanghai_OhMy, Zephryous, Swirlycinnablast, PeanutButterOctopus, Pastelgothlapis, RandomHuman12, Gamergirl_exe87, AsilandWriting and avocadophobic. Those are just a few off the top of my head.

Favorite Animal Sound: Cats trilling & chirping, banded bullfrogs croaking, baby cuban crocodiles squeaking, foxes 'laughing', bats squeaking and badgers squeaking.

Aesthetic: I don't think I have a particular aesthetic but I like futuristic/cyberpunk stuff (where my username comes from, lol), a lil bit of vaporwave, pastel colors (mostly blue, teal & green w/ a lil bit of pink), metallic colors (mostly silver & platinum), whatever the backgrounds in Steven Universe, MM:HOPH & Sonic X have going on, and gemstones.

Tagging: @retrooreo @ltlrwriter-blog @ilovethetalkingclock @love-thefanwhocan-t @breakurniconicokneecaps @crescentencounters @1-m-0 @ghost-among-the-evergreen (it's not tagging you for some reason? Idk)

#tagging meme #tagging game #mk is typing...

[personagf-moved]

alphabet & soft questions ✨

I was tagged by my bb’s @prksjmiin (alphabet ask) and @joonieblossoms (soft ask) and i didn’t want to make two separate posts so im gonna apologize in advance bc i decided to stick both posts together :’) dkdkkdkd yall aint gotta read everything but if u do ily and im sorry i write novels on novels dlfksdkf

i’ll tag @koyasdad, @1ovegf, @joonlit, @sleepyyyoongs, @constellationstars and @capgi 💘

honestly feel free to do either one or both or none if u want dkkdkdkd i just wanted to tag u guys bc ily

Alphabet ask:

a // age: 21

b // birthplace: new jersey!

c // current time: 1:17 am

d // drink you had last: coffee

e // easiest person to talk to: my brother when he isnt being an absolute fool

f // favorite songs: 

aint it fun - paramore

trivia love 

honey - kehlani

abbey - mitski

moonlight - ariana grande

g // grossest memory: i was in the city one time and a bird shit on my forehead. i think about it at least twice a week 

h // horror yes or horror no:  H O R R O R   Y E S   B A B E E E Y Y Y Y Y Y Y im the absolute worst person i’ll dead ass watch a scary movie/video or read horror stories by myself just bc. 

i // in love: with my whole ass soulmate namjoon. i luv u string bean man

j // jealous of people: im not even gonna try to lie i am a very jealous person and i am so sorry about it but i really cant help it lmfao. blame my scorpio venus i guess

k // kids of your own someday: when i say i have been thinking about this everyday.........! i wanna have it all i want the kids the white picket fence the dream house everything. i cant wait to be a mommy one day and love n support my bb’s :’)

l // love at first sight or should i walk by again: we a whole ass fool on main and believe in love at first sight!!!! i really do believe soulmates are a true thing and if a love is destined to be across an infinite span of lifetimes and universes then it will always find its way back. when you know, you know, and i genuinely believe that. 

m // middle name: padilla

n // number of siblings: 1 older brother, 1 half brother (older), and 1 half sister (older)

o // one wish: to find true love

p // person you last called: my manager bc i had a work question lol

q // question you’re always asked: “why are you like this” (usually friends @ me when i wild out...which is like everyday), “are you mad?”, “how old are you REALLY?”, “how’s your brother?” (bc he ghosts all family n i have to speak on his behalf like always fsdfjksdf)

r // random fact about you: i once used a horrible bootleg copy of the force awakens to make a star wars crack video dubbing the part in shrek when he first meets donkey over the scene when rey first met bb-8 and it went viral and has like 200,000 notes and even had articles written about it. also i had a weird fascination with jar jar binks and danny devito when i was in high school and i had a habit of making either one of them my icon on school accounts so i could make people laugh when they emailed me or saw me in a word document skfkkkfkf

s // song you last sang: “abbey” by mitski :’(

t // time you woke up: exactly 10 this morning and it was weird bc i picked up my phone and it had JUST turned 10 when i looked i was so shook lol 

u // underwear colour: she be black 

v // vacation destination: paris bc im a basic bitch :’) also japan/all asian countries. i wanna connect with my roots more :/

w // worst habit: yeeting the fuck outta people’s lives when i think they’re getting too close/when i get overwhelmed. im sorry im a flighty bitch @ anyone i’ve ever ghosted :( i love anyone who’s ever tried to talk to me and its never ur fault, i just get the urge to escape sometimes and i’m trying to fix it 

x // x-rays: omg @ tori dead ass me too tho, i had x-rays when i broke my arm when i was around 6 :o

y // your favorite food: my mom’s spaghetti! and sushi. also i love any and all filipino food but specifically i like nilaga and kare-kare oooo baby

z // zodiac sign: we’re a proud libra sun 

Soft ask:

What’s the smell of your shampoo?

we got them fruity scents up in here we keep that shit smellin like a goddamn strawberry field take a fuckin whiff babes

What’s your aesthetic?

the moon and stars, soft pink and purple sunsets with a burning red on the horizon, sunrises as well, paintings and generally all art revolving around flowers and the celestial, pretty pastel pink and yellow, the sound and smell of rain falling against the window while being curled up in bed uwu 

What’s your favorite time of the day and why?

lately it’s been night time. i generally get more creative and feel more at home during the night. i miss being a morning person tho. 

What do you most like about the beach?

not a lot fklsjdjfkslkdflksdlkf i usually only go to get a tan and walk the boardwalk with my friends, but if i had it my way i would never step foot in the ocean for the rest of my life sdjdjdjdjsj we dont trust her!!!!!!!!!

What do you worry about constantly?

when i’m gonna figure out what i wanna do with my life lol. i took a year off to think about it but all i ended up doing was working myself to exhaustion and getting comfy in a work only mindset and now i’m only even more confused about what i want to pursue. i’m just glad im going to chicago next week because i feel like a change of setting for even just a week could give me a much needed reset on my mindset going into the next year. i worry about the future but the problem is i worry about the present too lol. oh well, we’ll figure it out!

What is a song you’ve cried to before?

oh boy...

trivia love

moonchild

first love

she used to be mine - waitress soundtrack

20 something - sza

26 - paramore

the letter - kehlani

landslide - fleetwood mac

when you see my friends - mayday parade

and many........many many more...... skskskks music is my main emotional outlet so naturally im gonna cry over anything that reflects my heart

What are some relaxing tips for your followers?

as The World’s Number One Most Stressed Out Human Being™️ i am definitely in no way fit to give advice on how to relax LMFAO 

but i guess something that always works for me is putting on music i KNOW will make me sing a long or make me happy to distract me from the nerves i’m feeling. also putting on my favorite comfort movies to make me feel better (they’re big fish, scott pilgrim vs the world, and spirited away btw lol)

 What are some things that make you tear up?

the ending of coco, seeing my mom cry, or anyone i love cry tbh, when children are neglected/abused, thinking about the world i’ll have to bring my future children into and how i’m going to be able to teach them to stay strong and bright in the face of it, lyrics that hit too close to home, absolutely anything tbh i cry easy

What is your favorite from each sense?

sight - the view of my cherry blossom tree against a pink sunset in the spring of my childhood home, a person’s eyes and how they light up when they smile, especially when they crinkle as they laugh

smell - the earth after rain, a forest in autumn

taste - my mom’s cooking, good coffee on an early morning

sound - beautiful melodies and harmonies to accompany them, a baby cooing, birds chirping at sunrise

touch - my pillow when its nice and cool, a cat’s tummy, a baby’s cheeks, fingers running through my hair

What is an alternative reality you’d like to live in?

one where im married to namjoon n we have a lot of smart musical prodigy babies who have his dopey smile and i live comfortably in our big ass home in korea where i raise our babies n get that good pipe down every night like i should

jk i wanna live in a reality where magic is real and i can cast spells and live my best life as the true witch that i am

What are some troubles you face on a daily basis?

for starters im ugly as shit so theres one

if we mean practically then i have really bad knees and i recently busted them again so its been really hard getting up and down stairs lately and bending over 

but idk theres not really much. emotionally i just tend to get withdrawn and timid in public so it can be hard for me to speak up when i go out

What is one scene from a book that makes you really sad?

unfortunately i haven’t read as many books lately as i did when i was younger...so a lot of my memories are from books that i read like as a kid lol......THAT BEING SAID i think rue and finnick’s death in the hunger games was truly heartbreaking to read, the spine of my copies of both books have cracks on those pages bc i had to read it several times just to really believe it. also i thought it was written so heart wrenchingly well that i had to go back.  also in looking for alaska when pudge, a man who loved to know people’s last words, realized that he would never know alaska’s last words. im also really thankful for that book bc it introduced me to wh auden’s poetry and to this day he’s still one of my favorite poets of all time.  

Say something to your followers:

thank you thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU for following me and for some reason deciding to stay after how many times i act up on the daily. all jokes aside i really appreciate every single one of you no matter the number and i sincerely hope that you always have love and joy in your heart and that 2019 treats you well. i HONESTLY mean it when i say that i am always here if you guys want to talk or send me things or roast me or talk shit seriously i wanna hear it all and talk about it all i think all of you are so interesting and so beautiful and i’d love to get to know more about you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU GUYS! yeet!

#this is soooo long im so sorry oh my god

[dangjohnnythiccaf]

Just reblogged the original. Just bored so (only doing 50 cause I'm lazy lmao)

— 1. Who was the last person you held hands with? My sister? Idk

2. Are you outgoing or shy? Outgoing online, shy asf irl

3. Who are you looking forward to seeing? @dissociationdaydream

4. Are you easy to get along with? I suppose so

5. If you were drunk who would be the person to take care of you? I don't drink but probably @haley-in-neverland

6. What kind of people are you attracted to? Sweet, caring ones with a good sense of humor

7. Do you think you’ll be in a relationship two months from now? Who knows

8. Who from the opposite gender is on your mind? Bang Chan😂

9. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable? Depends

10. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with? Haley

11. What does the most recent text that you sent say? "Send me one more picture of Dr. Phil and its over for you"

12. What are your 5 favorite songs right now? 1- So What- Bts, 2- High Hopes- P!atd, 3- Say My Name- Ateez, 4- Promise- Jimin, 5- Taehyung- Singularity

13. Do you like it when people play with your hair? YES

14. Do you believe in luck and miracles? Yes

15. What good thing happened this summer? Went on vacation

16. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? Nope!

17. Do you think there is life on other planets? Nah

18. Do you still talk to your first crush? Nada

19. Do you like bubble baths? Not very often

20. Do you like your neighbors? Yes, except for 1 creepy guy that hits on my mom

21. What are your bad habits? Yeet

22. Where would you like to travel? The world

23. Do you have trust issues? Yessss

24. Favorite part of your daily routine? Crying until I fall asleep😭😂

25. What part of your body are you most uncomfortable with? A shorter list would be what I'm most comfortable with lol. Probably my stomach

26. What do you do when you wake up? Check my messages

27. Do you wish your skin was lighter or darker? Just clearer💁 (and a smidge darker wouldn't hurt)

28. Who are you most comfortable around? Haley

29. Have any of your ex’s told you they regret breaking up? Yes

30. Do you ever want to get married? Yes

31. If your hair long enough for a pony tail? Yes

32. Which celebrities would you have a threesome with? 👀👀👀👀👀 J I M I N AND H O S E O K

33. Spell your name with your chin. I can't on this phone😂😭

34. Do you play sports? What sports? Yeet

35. Would you rather live without TV or music? TV for sure

36. Have you ever liked someone and never told them? Dear God yes

37. What do you say during awkward silences? I don't, I pretend I'm on my phone

38. Describe your dream girl/guy? Bang Chan ftw😂

39. What are your favorite stores to shop in? Wal-Mart

40. What do you want to do after high school? Already graduated and I'm doing nothing lmao

41. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance? HELL N O

42. If your being extremely quiet what does it mean? Depends lmao

43. Do you smile at strangers? Sometimes

44. Trip to outer space or bottom of the ocean? Neither yikes

45. What makes you get out of bed in the morning? I'm forced to😂

46. What are you paranoid about? Everything

47. Have you ever been high? Nah

48. Have you ever been drunk? Big yeet

49. Have you done anything recently that you hope nobody finds out about? Yesss

50. What was the colour of the last hoodie you wore? Black

Bonus: tell us the story of your first kiss. He was my boyfriend at the time and we had been dating for about a week and he kissed me against my locker without my consent and I dumped him that afternoon lmao

[a-morris99]

Week 3

If ‘Social justice is about making society function better – providing the support and tools to help turn lives around’ (UK Gov.co.uk), how well do you think the UK is achieving this today? What role can drama or theatre play in this?

Social justice is equal treatment of all, no matter your income, skin colour or gender. The government however tend to focus on just the money side of things. How much income per household and how this is the cause of the problem for those in poverty. By focusing narrowly on this one issue, it has caused neglect to other socially unjust problems. Theatre as a voice and platform for social justice  is incredibly important. It allows those who may not have been educated to be witnessed to injustice within their society. Being in a country that is run by a political party that has still neglected to house those from a devastating flat fire in the country's capital almost 4 years ago, I am not surprised that there are so many uneducated adults, children and elederly amongst our society. That is why it is the job of every individual to educate ourselves, be the voice that the government isn’t and notice when they place a band-aid instead of a solution.

Gallagher states that some of the young people that they studied seemed to have internalised robust neoliberal messages, taking full responsibility for their social and economic struggles. In what ways do you think this might apply to you in the context of your life and your third level study of drama?

Being new to adulthood took some adjusting for me. Having been sheltered in a small private girls school, witnessing what to take to keep the wheel spinning as an adult was a change. However with this comes financial independence, budgeting and responsibility. The anxiety that accompanies these matters can cause a neoliberal way of thinking. Living at the economic edge of society and communities can cause “humiliation and powerlessness” in young people, but through neoliberal agendas they try to combat this. Personally, growing up within this bracket was difficult as everyone has dreams and aspirations of what they hope their adult life would look like. It may have been naivety or living in a country where young people are at the bottom of the pecking order, but it was extremely difficult (and still is) trying to set myself up for success and the future. I don’t have unrealistic expectations, just that I am comfortable financially and do not need to worry about if the food in my cupboard could get me to the next week.

However, drama as a tool of educating, learning and expression has allowed me to steer away from neoliberal attitudes. Social justice will always be at the forefront of my mind and something I am extremely passionate about. Drama gives a space, voice and time to fight for social justice, and I agree that “those of us working in our small corners of the world on a justice agenda through drama must ask the hard questions”. This element of drama can be overlooked, however it is one that changes lives, educates those who may not have been educated on a subject matter and allows those to see beyond their own life and own difficulties. This is something that is carried in almost every person who is a passionate drama maker or spectator, it goes beyond a classroom and what is said in a news article. It brings words, social problems, natural disasters and anything in between to life.

Describe in your own words what ecological thinking means?

Ecological thinking is an awareness we have of ourselves and on social imagination. It is how we can contribute and fight for social justice. Social imaginative can be triggered by theatrical imagination. When used in theatre this is to allow the public to “reimagin[e] oneself as an active, caring citizen in a collective world”.

Can you think of when you first became aware of or interested in social justice? Are there any specific things you do in your life that contribute to the notion of a just society for all?

I first came aware that society was unjust when a friend of mine and I (aged 11) were getting the bus home from school. There were numerous other pupils from different schools on the bus. My friend was a girl of colour and was wearing a hijab, as soon as we set foot on the bus, a group of caucasion boys started shouting racial abuse at her. I had never been witnessed to a racial attack and was not educated at the time of what to do. Thankfully the bus driver who was also a member of the Muslim faith stopped the bus and threw off the group of boys. Then he and another woman who was on the bus and witnessed the event spoke to my friend and I, they made sure she was okay and the woman took time to tell me about what I should and could do if it was to ever happen again. The next day we went into school together and spoke to my form tutor about the incident, the following morning we had a whole school assembly on the history of the slave trade (which, living asnd growing up in Bristol there was an extensive collection of all the awful things that the city and the men in charge at the time did) and what has changed in recent years. This reaction was appreciated by my friend as before, she did not seem shocked by the incident that occured, she said she was used to it and it was something her parents taught her would happen from a young age. This particular event was what made me first aware that we all had to fight for social justice, it was everyone's responsibility.

I find it hard doing daily activities that contribute to the notion of a just society for all, however I have completed two skydives for incredibly important charities for non visual disabilities and Suicide Response team, I actively sign petitions for wrongful arrests during BLM protests, work annually at homeless shelters during holidays, and educate those on LGBTQ+ rights and try use my voice for good. Sometimes I get overwhelmed that just my voice will not be able to make a change, however it is all of our individual voices that when brought together can make a society that is more equal for all.

Freebody, K. and Finneran, M. (2015) Drama and Social Justice: theory, research and practice in international contexts. London: Routeledge.

Department for Work and Pensions (2012) Social Justice: transforming lives. Place of publication: Crown Copyright Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/49515/social-justice-transforming-lives.pdf (Accessed: 8 March 2021).

[myladyladybug]

Unreceived - Chapter 7

Rating: K+

Words: 1376

Summary: Adrien experiences familial love for the first time since his mother left and he has no idea what he’s doing anymore (not that he ever did).

FF AO3 hogeky buy me a coffee?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Author’s Note: This is a fic based off of a comic written and drawn by @hogeky. Please go there to view images and support her comic!

Permission was received to write this fic.

Marinette woke groggily, her neck and back aching as she opened her sleep filled eyes. Joints popped and muscles stretched. It wasn’t the first time she had fallen asleep on the couch in her room, but she would have thought she’d learned not to by this point. It always resulted in sore everything for at least two days.  

Today’s awakening differed ever so slightly, in partial to the warmth she experienced on the left side of her body. Curious, her eyes shifted over to see the blond head of hair that sat messily atop a sleeping face. In a manner most painful, Marinette’s eyes widened and she woke in mind as well as body. The panic sent a shot of adrenaline into her it took too much of that energy not to cry out with an inappropriately loud voice.

“Wha-?!” she gagged. Immediately, her hands went to cover her mouth, reacting faster than her consciousness.

It wasn’t a dream.

Hands still untrusting of her voice, Marinette leapt from his side, fearful of waking him with her shock. Evidence of her body next to his took form of an indent in the couch, and a ghostly shape where the blanket had rested on her shoulders. There was obviously a person missing from the view, and she wondered how long Adrien would be able to stand it before waking. She checked up on his hesitantly, not wanting to be caught staring, but for a moment, it was all she could do to tear her eyes away from his sleeping visage.

We fell asleep.

Her eyes lingered, observing his calm expression, and allowing the situation to wash over her.

He looks so peaceful.

A part of her realized that he must have been waking up, because a smile quirked onto his cheeks. This part of her was likely not a conscious part of her, since Marinette continued to stare at him until his eyes slowly opened, and she was found standing from a distance, displaying an intense amount of prolonged eye contact.

Adrien opened his mouth in an attempt to dissolve the tension, but never got the chance to make a fool of himself, as Sabine called from the lower level of the house in a volume that only a mother could achieve.

“Kids! Come down and eat breakfast, or you’ll be late for school!”

For a moment, neither of them responded, allowing their hearts to catch up with the shock of the situation. Before they could think to make another move, Sabine’s voice rang out once more.

“Oh, and Adrien! Eat quickly and get dressed. Nathalie will be picking you up!”

In no time at all, Marinette and Adrien cleaned themselves up and were sat at the breakfast table with lovely displays before them. And yet, regardless of the bountiful amount of food, neither found it in themselves to touch any of it once the realization had settled in that Adrien was having breakfast at the Dupain-Cheng home.

Nobody made eye contact; Marinette focused on a spot on the floor beside her, Adrien stared intently at his food, and M. Dupain-Cheng was absorbed with the morning paper. The silence was nerve wracking, and Adrien gripped at his seat with the desire and fear of breaking it. Even though he wanted to say something, he found himself unable. He had been brought up so long not to speak unless spoken to, particularly in cases of being in the presence of strangers, and particularly in the presence of adults. Not only that, but he had also been an imposition to Marinette and her parents, and regardless of their kindness and seemingly willing hospitality, it still made him anxious at the thought that he had burdened anyone at all.

Tom caught sight of the boy who appeared to be sweating himself into a fit. He could practically see the thin string of his sanity about to snap. The side of his mouth twitched into a smile as he amused himself with the idea that this boy felt uncomfortable in his home. He had no reason for this discomfort (or rather, at least no reason Tom could fathom) and thus was creating panic for the sake of panic.

The large man reached a hand out to place on Adrien’s shoulder, causing the blond to jolt at his touch.

“Don’t worry about a thing, son,” M. Dupain-Cheng chuckled, “Any friend of Marinette’s is like family to us.” The strain in Adrien’s shoulders and face visibly relaxed, and in his eyes were a look of awe, confusion, and longing.

“Of course, you’re always welcome,” Madame Dupain-Cheng cheered, appearing behind them with a smile on her face. “Come visit us anytime you want!” Adrien’s lips thinned. A part of him couldn’t fully understand the scope of their kindness, and he truly didn’t know how to respond to it. He wasn’t sure how to feel. Even if he decided that he did know what he wanted to do at the end of it all, he wasn’t sure if his father would ever approve of his choices. Their kindness would all have been for naught, regardless of his decisions, and he hated that.

His father. He had almost forgotten.

“Uhm, excuse Madame Dupain-Cheng,” Adrien asked tentatively. “May I ask how you convinced my father to let m stay the night?” The smile on Sabine’s face remained unfaltering, which only gave it a more worrying impression to everyone at the table.

“We just had a little talk,” she said, her reply curt, but her voice infallibly sweet. The colour drained from his face, partially in fear of what Madame Dupain-Cheng had said, partially in fear of how his father had handled it, and partially in fear of Madame Dupain-Cheng in general.

“Maman! What did you do?!” Marinette cried. Still her mother’s smile remained.

“Don’t worry dear. We just talked like grown ups!” Sabine repeated, walking back behind the kitchen counter. Tom leaned closer to the two at the table.

“If your mother goes ‘grown up’ mode, you can expect trouble,” he jested in a mock whisper.

“Dad!!” Marinette shrieked. The level of embarrassment in the room had risen to an all time high and she was not having the best of times, especially when Adrien looked as shell-shocked as he did.

“So honey, are you going to the game tonight?” Sabine interjected, her tone terribly cheerful.

“Of course! It’s the finals!” Tom replied.

“You’re changing the subject,” complained their daughter. Lightheartedly, their conversation continued as if she hadn’t spoken. Both were enjoying this tremendously.

“I got good seats too!”

“Oh!” Madame Dupain-Cheng exclaimed, bringing out a tray from the oven. “Kids, take these macarons to school. We made them fresh this morning. Hope you like them!” Marinette got up to help her mother in packing the pastries away and Tom remarked on the smell of the room. Adrien remained seated and gathered himself.

There was something about where he sat that made him want to cry. His seat alone was not particularly uncomfortable, nor was he in any physical pain. But still, the pit of his stomach felt hollow and a lump formed in his throat. Marinette was commenting on the macarons, but he couldn’t really hear her anymore. Above the hollow feeling, was an ache that pounded strongly in his chest. There was warmth, a warmth that filled him indefinitely and melted his entire body until every muscle relaxed into nothingness. And yet there was also pain, a pain that yearned for… this; everything that this was. A pain that yearned for the jolly man that welcomed him into their home with such ease. A pain that yearned for the gentle woman who defended him and cared for him. A pain that yearned for a girl who cried for him when he felt that he could not cry for himself.

Adrien looked over at the three having a conversation beside him. Despite his lack of reciprocation, they never spoke as if he were not in the room. In fact, currently, Marinette’s parents were teasing her about the fact that a boy had snuck into her room at night and whether or not they should be worried. He smiled.

So this is what a real family looks like.

Author’s Note: Hello friends! I have reached a point in life where job stress (or lack thereof) has taken over, so writing is going to be very slow. In fact, shit hit the fan mid chapter, but I still need to write to get some piece of mind so, don’t worry about that. No big deal! Sorry for delay and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Also, I totally realize I called Sabine “Mrs. Dupain-Cheng” earlier, but I’m changing it now to Madame, only because French.

#myladywrites #hogeky #ml #ml fic #ml fic unreceived #ml fanfic #ml fanfiction #miraculous ladybug #adrienette #but only a little bit

[an-anaemic-pen]

Project Phoenix Chapter 3

The Green-Eyed Fly

The Manifestation || The Power Play

Summary: Kate’s a normal teenage Midgardian girl; except there’s a Loki in her attic, and now S.H.I.E.L.D.’s after her, and also, she has powers. Apparently, she’s meant to save the world. She just wanted to finish school and maybe fall in love—at least she’s accomplishing one of those.

Relationships: Gen, F/M (Loki/Original Female Character)

Rating: M (Graphic Depictions of Violence, Underage if you squint bit—nothing occurs while characters are underage, Sexual Content)

Mood: To Glory, Invincible

Kate felt consciousness poking at her, but her eyelids were heavy and she didn’t feel like opening them right away. She swallowed. Her breath was still fresh and the movie she had started was filtering into her ears. She was in a state of something akin to limbo; she was aware enough to see she was falling asleep, but not aware enough to be able to properly comprehend words and phrases. Thoughts went in odd directions and found strange ways to stumble upon mainly kids cartoons from her past.

She felt comfortably warm, which was strange since usually when she fell asleep without a blanket she didn’t actually go unconscious. She eventually would grow too cold and that would wake her up. She tried to remember what she had been doing that allowed her to fall asleep without a blanket on… the floor?

Kate opened her eyes to her blinding computer screen light and groaned. She lifted up her hand and rubbed her eyes, feeling around until she was able to close her laptop and open her eyes to the darkness of her room. She sat up and her head was greeted by the underneath of her desk. With a groan, she lifted up her hand again, rubbing the spot where her scalp and the desk had met and checked for blood. There was nothing.

The memories of what had happened who-knows-how-long ago filtered back into the front of her brain. She looked at her wrists and added pressure to them and the spot where Loki had grabbed her arm. There was no pain or any sign of bruising. “Was it a dream?” Kate muttered to herself.

She crawled out from underneath her desk and stretched. It could have been a very, very vivid dream. That would make sense. She remembered reading somewhere that a person is more likely to remember their dreams when they are beginning to wake up because they are more aware. Plus, she had woken up just as she was about to die. The article had said that people can’t dream past death because the brain doesn’t know what comes after. But the movie was still playing when she woke up, Kate realized, and she couldn’t remember any of the plot up to the point she was apparently at. Even if she had fallen asleep, she would have remembered something.

Kate walked to the center of her room. “Loki?”

There was nothing.

She spun around, scanning her room for any sign of the man with glowing green eyes. Kate looked at her feet, staring at them in thought. In her peripheral vision, she saw her clock glowing 8:23 PM. She shook her head. It had to have been a dream.

She began to walk towards her door, grabbing the handle and turning it. It abruptly stopped. Kate furrowed her eyebrows. The curtains were open and she was in the same clothes as before, and the only time she ever locked her door was when she was changing. She unlocked it and looked behind her back. “Loki?” she called again.

There was still nothing.

Kate turned back and opened her door, entering the hallway and going into the bathroom. She turned on the lights and looked at her neck. There was no sign of any sort of bruising. She ran her fingers through her hair. “I’m going insane.”

She ran down the steps, swatting away a fly as it buzzed by her head. Ah, spring, the season for bugs to return from hell to annoy everyone, she thought. Kate went into the kitchen and opened the fridge, grabbing a container of juice and a cheese stick.

“Hi, honey,” her mother said from the family room. “How are you?”

“Fine,” Kate shrugged. Her mother didn’t like hearing about other people’s dreams, so Kate decided not to ask her about her’s. She unwrapped the cheese stick and took a bite after putting the container of juice down. She rested the cheese stick back on the counter, turning around to go get a cup.

She reached for one with a flower design on it, returning to her cheese and the juice to find a fly resting on the mozzarella, nibbling away little tiny bites of her snack. Kate grumbled but swatted the fly away. It didn’t move a single bit, continuing its feast without a care in its tiny little fly world. Kate swatted again. Still, the fly ignored her. She looked down at it. She didn’t want to kill it. If she did, she would have to deal with the bug guts afterward.

She sighed and picked up the cheese stick, walking over to the back door and slipping on her flip-flops.

“Where are you going?” her mother asked from where she sat on the couch reading.

“There’s a fly on my cheese stick so I’m gonna go take him outside.” Kate opened the door and walked out. She stopped and leaned back to stick her head back in. “Then get another cheese stick.”

Kate let the door swing shut behind her and sat down on the steps. She brought the cheese stick up close to her face. “Be free, little buddy.” She put the cheese stick down and was about to get up when she noticed that the fly’s buggish eyes were glowing green the slightest bit. Her eyes grew wide. Had it been a dream and was this just a really weird fly, or was it something else?

“You’re really cute for a fly,” she commented absent-mindedly as she removed one of her flip-flops. “You’d look really good in—” she paused and pretended to be thinking of something, all the while bringing the flip-flop up to the perfect angle “—shoe fly pie.” As she smacked down the flip-flop, the fly moved out of the way. It was really quite miraculous that it moved just before her shoe hit the cheese.

“Ah-ha!” Kate exclaimed in triumph, jumping up and watching the fly in the summer’s evening twilight. “I knew it!” She lunged at the creature and, after a few attempts, captured it in her hands, trying not to immediately let go as it flew around in its new prison. She brought her hands up to her face and smiled. “You better tell me where the heck those bruises went, you little harpy.”

With those words, she went inside and back up to her room.

A smile of devilish satisfaction sat upon Kate’s lips as she used her elbows to flick on the lights. She shut the door behind her with her foot and looked around, discovering a glass jar and a book she could use.

Kate released the little bug, grabbing the book and mason jar as fast as she could. She narrowed her eyes and her irises darted around her eyes are she followed the creature. As it landed on a wall, she snuck up towards it and smacked the rim around the fly.

Realizing it had been spotted, the bug flew off the wall, only to be found it was trapped inside the jar. Kate slid the book carefully underneath and moved the little prison to rest on her desk. She sat down in her chair backward, resting her arms on the back of it and lowering her head so she was level with the fly-prison.

“Listen up, Loki, you better tell me where those bruises went. It wasn’t a dream, I know it wasn’t. You can’t play tricks on me any longer, so tell me.”

The fly simply buzzed around for freedom.

She glared for a moment, her eyes widening briefly in realization. “Okay, I suppose you are a fly, and flies can’t talk. So, how about this.” She glared again. “That chamber only has a certain amount of air, eventually, you will run out of oxygen. So, you either die or you give in and talk. When you’re ready to talk, just slam into the glass so that you buzz—” Kate grabbed her computer, looking up morse code “—Like, for a second, then pause, then buzz for another second, then another pause, then buzz for another second, then pause again for, like, two seconds, then buzz for another second, then pause, then do, like, a really short buzz, then pause again, then another second-long buzz. That’s morse code for ‘OK,’ so I’ll know what you’re saying.”

The fly stopped flying and landed on the book, seeming to stare at Kate.

“Okay, um how about this.” Kate looked around. When she didn’t find anything of use, she looked back at the little fly and put her fingernail on the desk. “This is morse code of o.” Kate tapped on her desk three times, brief pauses between each tap. “This is morse code for k.” She tapped again, a shorter tap followed it, then a longer tap. “So, when you’re beginning to slowly suffocate in that tiny fly body, just tell me.”

Kate got up off of her chair, completely forgetting about her cheese and juice, and restarted her movie while relaxing on her bed.

By the time the movie was finished the fly had barely budged. “Man, you’re a stubborn little thing. That must have been forever in fly-time,” Kate commented after sitting back down on her desk chair. “I’m going to bed soon, so this’ll be your last chance to talk before tomorrow morning. Cool cool?”

The fly merely buzzed around wildly before sitting still. “Here, I’ll go get you some food so you don’t starve.” Kate stood up, going downstairs and grabbing a new cheese stick. She ate most of it on her way upstairs but saved a rather large piece for little Loki.

Kate carefully lifted up the mason jar, sliding the mozzarella under without allowing the fly to get out. She washed her face and took out her contacts, locking her door and shutting her curtains after she was in her room again. Just as she was about to take off her shirt, she froze. “Yeah, I’m not letting you watch me change.” She picked a notebook up off of her desk and placed it down in front of the mason jar. Once she knew it was safely balanced, she changed into pajamas and settled down for bed.

Shortly after, her dog, Jake, joined her on the bed. The little corgi curled up next to her with his head on the pillow, sighing not long after. Kate smiled, rolling over and wrapping her arm around her companion.

She quickly slipped into the state of sleep-limbo, still tired from waking up under her desk, and felt her dog twitching as he dreamed. “Sleep tight, pupper,” she muttered and wrapped herself around Jake’s tiny dog body.

As Kate slipped closer to sleep, buzzing entered her systems. At first, she thought it might have been her phone—maybe a friend was calling in need of help on the essay due on Monday. But when it persisted, she groaned. “Shut up, fly, I told you tomorrow.”

Slowly, certainly slowly, it dawned on her just how loud the buzzing was. She was dragged out of sleep to realize it was Jake. He was growling the slightest bit. It was a low, threatening growl, and Kate nudged him. “It’s just a dream, buddy.”

Still, it persisted.

Kate nudged him again, slightly harder this time. “Jakey Baby, it’s just a dream.”

Finally, she opened her eyes. She propped herself up on her elbow and looked down at him. Jake was awake, his teeth bared at something in the dark. With tired eyes, she looked up.

Loki stood in the center of the room, green eyes glowing, staring at her with menace. “Okay,” he hissed. He walked up towards the bed, crouching down.

Even in the sleep-high state Kate was in, she knew it wasn’t a good time to talk. Her brain wasn’t working properly and she desperately needed sleep.

Loki smiled. “I’m happy to talk now. By the way,” he turned his head over to the desk, “You might want to free that poor fly. It didn’t do anything.”

Kate shushed Loki. “My parents are both in bed, and their rooms are literally two of my walls!” she whisper-yelled. “So, shut up, and buzz off.” She flopped her head back onto her pillow, keeping a close watch on the man next to her bed.

“That’s not how this is going to work.” Loki reached forward to what looked like fix a chunk Kate’s hair, but Jake promptly lunged at his hand, biting it. Nobody got near Kate when he was with her, whether it was the God of Mischief or her sister.

Loki ripped his hand away from the dog. Jake laid back down next to his favorite person as if he had done nothing wrong. Kate looked smugly over at Loki, who now bore bite marks on the side of his hand. “That’s what you get. We’ll talk in the morning.” She closed her eyes, signaling the end of the conversation.

“What about the fly?”

Kate didn’t even respond. She was so tired if she heard him say another word, she was pretty sure she would punch him again.

A million thoughts rushed her brain, spiking her with a headache. You were willing to set the fly free before, why not now?

Kate wasn’t even going to respond. She simply thought of the weirdest image possible–which ended up being that one video from 2010 or something called cows & cows & cows where cows are jumping out of cows which are jumping out of more cows and there are cow spiders and bouncing cows and other weird cow stuff–and placed it like a barrier at her forehead.

Loki’s attack receded, most likely out of confusion and shock rather than him being too weak to persist. She kept the thought in her mind even after the headache went away. If she focused on it and it alone, she could keep her mental barrier up and hopefully go to sleep.

But the next thought was different. Loki seemed passive. A mind-version of him appeared amongst the cows and he spoke something. Kate drowned out his words with the sound of the strange music that went along with the original video.

“How did you learn to do that?” his real voice asked. Kate saw his lips in her thoughts were saying the same thing.

She let the attack drift away and opened her eyes. “I learned it from a book. The main character used mind magic, so I tried the same technique he learned.”

“Midgardians have access to magic?”

Kate shook her head. “It was a fantasy novel, with dragons and magic and stuff.”

“Ah,” Loki said in recognition of her words. He walked over to her desk and picked up the book and mason jar, letting the fly go outside of her room and shutting the door behind him.

With the bit of peace she was given, Kate took the opportunity to shut her eyes. She couldn’t remember if Loki came back and sat down to talk, or passively entered her thoughts like a ninja to explore her memories, or just left her be. Either way, she didn’t really care, because she was asleep in a few moments.

#fanfic #fanfiction #loki #loki fanfic #loki fic #Loki Laufeyson #loki (marvel) #marvel #marvel agents of shield #marvel fanfiction #S.H.I.E.L.D. #Project Poenix #Project Phoenix Chapter 3 #The Green-Eyed Fly

[gilbertandanne]

AU College Fic. Farkle never figured out how Riley really felt about Lucas, so it never got out. Now she’s turning 21 and the gang decides to go to Las Vegas to celebrate. Sometimes what happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas.

Rating: M

Pairing: Rucas

Word Count: 1,684

Cross-posted at ff.net            

Soundtrack (although not at all organized and subject to edits)

A/N: I don’t think the epilogue is nearly as bad as I might have led you to believe (given some of the responses I’ve gotten since last night).  I only meant that...well...it ends on a cliff.

Since this is the last part, I want to thank @gmwpluto again for letting me bore her with the details of the plot of this fic (and for the whipped cream gif haha!) and for the initial push back on the epilogue.  You made me want to fight for this, and I think it’s what made it better.  Thank you.

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | J | Q | K | A | J |

                                           Epilogue: Wildcard

One week later…

Riley sprinted across Columbia’s campus as if she knew exactly where to go.  Truthfully, she only sort of knew where Lucas’s dorm was.  Farkle had tried to tell her which building it was, but her sense of direction had never been her strong suit.  She knew she could have waited until that night to see him, but that was just it.  She couldn’t wait another minute.  They had finished the last of their finals, and it was time to celebrate the completion of another semester of college.

Just when she thought that she would be forced to ask directions, she spotted him coming out of one of the surrounding buildings.  Her grin widened as she willed her legs to pick up the pace in order to catch up with him.  “Lucas,” she called out breathlessly.

Lucas turned around at the sound of his name.  He would know that voice anywhere, but confusion etched across his features as he tried to look for her.  Why was she here?  Shouldn’t she be packing up her clothes for winter break?  When he heard her call out his name a second time, he spun around just as she launched herself into his arms.  He stumbled backward a few steps as he wrapped his arms around her.

Riley took a moment to breathe him in.  One week.  They had managed to go a week without seeing one another.  She had always balked at the idea of those couples that couldn’t last a few days without seeing one another, but now that she was in the beginning stages of her very first relationship, she finally understood exactly what those couples went through.  They had spent one glorious night together in Las Vegas, but she couldn’t help but to dream of the next time they could curl up against one another as they slept.  She knew that they needed to take it slow, but that didn’t stop her heart from wanting to be near him all the time.

Lucas grinned as the brunette leaned back to kiss him.  “Not that I’m not insanely happy to see you, but what are you doing here?  Shouldn’t you be packing?”

“Maya and I moved out this morning,” she smiled as her eyes slowly wandered down to the envelopes in his hand.  “Got mail?”

He chuckled.  “Yeah.  I haven’t checked it in a few weeks.  Between the trip and finals, I’ve been too preoccupied to check it.”

“Anything good?”

He looked up at her.  “I haven’t gone through all of it yet.  I was pleasantly…distracted as I was thumbing through it all.”

“Well,” she smiled as she rocked back on her heels, “I’m here to help you pack up.”

“I’m not sure how much of a help you’re going to be.”

She tilted her head to the side.  “What do you mean?”

He smirked as he wrapped his arms around her waist.  “Because you are the perfect distraction.”

“So, this is your room,” Riley questioned as she stepped into the dorm room.  She quickly noticed that his room was a lot bigger—maybe even twice the size of—the closet she shared with Maya.  “This is so unfair.”

“What is,” he asked as he sat his backpack down on his computer chair and tossed the mail on top of his desk.  He glanced around the room.  It wasn’t anything special.  Two twin beds.  Two desks.  One futon.  One mini fridge.  It seemed like a pretty standard dorm room to him.

“Well, first off, my dorm room is so small that Maya and I have to have bunk beds.  You and your roommate are fortunate not to have to do that.”

He shrugged as a faint smile formed across his lips.  “That’s what you get for not going to Columbia with me.”

Riley’s mouth fell open as she chuckled.  “Oh, you’re so gonna pay for that one.”  She slid her hands into the front pockets of her jeans.  “So, what all do you need to grab?”

He smirked as he leaned against the door.  “Why?  Are you in a rush?”

She smiled.  “Maybe I have something planned once we get your stuff from here to your parents’ place.”

He lifted his eyebrows in surprise.  “Oh, really?”  She had something planned tonight?  Up until twenty minutes ago—when she launched herself into his arms—he wasn’t even sure that he would see her today.  As he watched her raise her eyebrows to mimic him, he couldn’t believe that everything had worked out the way it did, and that he ended up with the girl of his dreams.

She nodded.  “You aren’t the only one who is full of surprises, you know.”

He loved that smile.  The way the corners of her lips turned up into a mischievous smile always made him yearn for her even more.  She was always plotting or planning something.  To know that he was fully part of that world now meant everything to him.  As he walked toward her, he realized that couldn’t stand the space between them anymore.  As soon as she was within arm’s reach, he snaked his arms around her waist as he lowered his lips to hers.  “Oh, I definitely know that,” he murmured before he kissed her once more.  “You were the one who wanted to play 21 minutes in heaven, after all.”

Riley’s lips formed a thin line as her cheeks reddened.  When she heard him softly chuckle in response, she playfully pushed him back.  “Go pack your bags, Friar, before I change my mind.”

“Oh, if you change your mind, I’m sure I can change it back,” he grinned wolfishly.

She rolled her eyes.  “You think you’re so smooth, don’t you?”

“Not even remotely,” he laughed as he turned away from her and walked toward his closet.

Riley glanced around the room for a moment as she listened to him stuff some clothes into a duffel bag.  She lightly patted the palms of her hands against her thighs as she slowly wandered around the room.  She smiled as she looked at the handful of pictures Lucas had scattered throughout his side of the room.  There were some of him in Texas—a few of him, Zay, Asher, and Dylan—and then there were some of his life in New York.  She stopped as she looked at one picture in particular from their middle school graduation party.  Riley smiled as she remembered one particular moment from that night: for one fleeting second, their fingers brushed against one another as they both reached for the same bag of chips.  She remembered experiencing that little spark even then—back before she really knew what it meant.  It seemed like another lifetime ago.  As she glanced up at the closet door that her boyfriend was hidden behind, she knew that everything had happened the way it did for a reason.  They weren’t ready back then, but she knew that they were now.

She bit the inside of her cheek while her fingers brushed against his desk as she slowly walked around it.  A minor crash made her head snap up in the direction of the sound.  “Are you ok in there?”

Lucas laughed.  “Yeah.  Yeah.  Just knocked over some old books.”

She smiled as she glanced down at the desk where he had sat the mail down.  Her smile slowly faded when she noticed a familiar insignia stamped on the upper left corner of an envelope that was mostly buried underneath a flyer for transfer student move in.  She cut her eyes back to the closet before she turned back to his mail.  She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear as she slid the envelope out from under the flyer.

Her hands shook as she lifted the envelope.  Her breath caught in her throat as she read the return address underneath it:  Texas A&M Office of Admissions.  She closed her eyes as she desperately tried to remember how to breathe.  When she opened her eyes, she could have sworn that the maroon label was taunting her.  She knew that she didn’t need him to open it to know exactly what it was—an acceptance letter.

“Riley, did you hear what…” Lucas’s voice trailed off as he stepped out from behind the door. He frowned the minute he laid eyes on her.  Even from where he stood, he could tell that all of the color had suddenly drained from her face.  “Are you ok?”  She didn’t acknowledge him at all as she continued to stare down at the envelope clutched in her hands.  “Riley, what is it,” he asked as he quickly closed the space between them.  When she still didn’t respond to him, he gently pulled the envelope from her grasp.  He took one look at the return address before he cut his eyes back to her.

After a minute, which felt like an eternity for both of them, Riley slowly looked up at him.  As their eyes met, she knew exactly where they would be a month from now.  A rush of words quickly tumbled from his lips as he desperately tried to explain to her why he applied to transfer to Texas A&M for the spring semester and why none of that mattered now.  She was his priority.  She was what he wanted.  He could get his education anywhere, and Columbia was a great school.  He tried to explain to her that the reason why he applied in the first place was because he thought that was what she wanted.  He knew that she was pulling away from him, and he thought that maybe it was time to get some space and move on.  He never took a breath as he assured her that the trip to Las Vegas had changed everything.  As he pleaded with her to forget that she ever saw it, Riley’s eyes slowly drifted back down to the envelope in his hands.  His words began to blend together as her mind drifted back to something she had learned while they were in Las Vegas—the house always wins.

One month later...

A/N: Yeah, I don’t like doing two notes, but when I originally planned this ending, I had zero plans of continuing it. However, my brain likes to disagree with me quite often, and I have thought about doing a continuation.  I do have a vague idea for it, but at the same time, I’ve done so so so many fics about him being in Texas and her being in NYC that I feel like it’s becoming a broken record.  So, I’m not sure about the interest and I’m not sure if it’s something worth doing.  That’s why I warned you about it.

#ouat2011 fic #**21** #rucas fic #riley x lucas #lucas x riley #rucas fanfic #rucas fan fic #rucas fanfiction #liley fic #uhhhhhhhh gotta jet!

[wanderingandfound]

How long are you going to keep showing up in my dreams?

#This sounds angsty but it's not. #I went to school with M for K-8 and this morning I had a dream she was standing behind me on the pathway through my college campus #as we listened to someone (a mayor?) talk about their (deceased?) bunny rabbit Dr. Pophy and I was seeming disrespectful because I was on my #phone searching for an email with a photi of this person and their rabbit from years ago. #I graduated college a year and a half ago. #There were more of my former classmates than just M but IRL I got a phone call that woke me up and I cannot remember who else was there. #Maybe B? Who I went to high school with? #personal #My Dream Life Invading the Internet

[bodega-daydream]

August 6, 2018

I think I was part of this school program that took place near the ocean. Joanna was my friend there, one of the few people that I knew. We were on the beach watching a presentation about the upcoming school year and they were saying that there was something that needed to be solved. We had to find out who was murdering all of the people and what their motives were. As they were going through all of the different people you could think of a ton of different motives for each person. I think I was chewing some of this terrible gum and someone offered me M&M's so I tried to spit out the gum. We all started walking backup to schools buildings. The term hadn't started yet so we all still had time to kill. We decided that we wanted to investigate the murders that were going on because I think that if you figured it out you got a prize or something. As we were walking back I was not wearing any shoes on this very thorny path and I got a huge thorn stuck in my toe. Once I got to the end of the path I was able to take it out and some guy had made a comment. It was the main guy that I suspected and I used the opportunity to ask somebody who was and his name was Jeff and he lived in the A dorms. Johanna and I agreed that that is where we would start so after finding out where he was staying for the year we started to explore the campus to find out more information. I think our dorms were more on the mainland away from the party dorms and the boat dorms. So I went out to walk around but we didn't want to seem suspicious by going together, so we split up and she went back to the dorms and I continued on to look for Jeff's dorm. I walked through the party dorms which were mostly for the LGBT students because there was a large community of them and they wanted to give them a loving and understanding space to explore themselves. I walked through there and I talked to a couple of people who gave me clues about where to find that other guy. Once you pass through the party dorms you got to seem like a pier. It was night now and pouring with rain but there was a city across the water that was absolutely beautiful to look at. It was full of neon colors and I wanted to take a picture out on the gazebo but the view is obstructed there. But I because I had my phone in my hand I decided to turn on the voice recorder as I was getting close to the other dorms. It was very confusing to try and find these dorms. I followed all of the signs and it was still difficult, kind of like Penn Station. But finally I found them and I was about to go in when there were a bunch of the girls who lives there at the entrance and they were all wearing the same outfit which was a white apron over a white dress, very conservative as they also all had pearls and were probably all blond. They had room service and cleaners that would come in Daily and the guy who was bringing the complimentary soap for the day only had still face wash instead of bubbling face wash. They are complaining about how that wasn't good enough and that they wanted the bottled stuff anyway. So he gave a bag of it to me and I was very pleased with all this free stuff because he just kept piling on more little soaps. After that everyone went into their dorms and housekeeping left. I tried to sneak in just so I can look around the dorms and I passed by the check-in point. I was hoping that they wouldn't notice but also because it was so new in the school year I could get away with not knowing the rules. The girl who worked there did it look like the girls who stayed there. She was much more casual brunette half asian. There was a lot of information that needed to be filled out that I didn't want on the record of me going in to check on this guy. But I started talking to this girl and we sat on the floor in the hallway and she answered all of my questions. The whole dorm was moving like crazy and my first question is if these were one of the dorm boats. It was. I had asked her why a boat, why did everyone who stayed here looked the same and wore the same clothes, and why out of all of the dorms that he could have lived in why Jeff chose to live in the farthest boat dorm full of very conservative girls with a lot of rules. She had gotten caught up on the look of them saying that actually didn't matter what you were here because she was wearing a check shirt and black ill-fitting jeans. Then I think she gave me a bit more info but I can't remember but I had to leave because I didn't want to seem suspicious. It was very difficult to leave because the exit was very narrow and shared with the desks of all of the girls that lived there. They all rotated so I had to ask them to hold all of their stuff so I could shimmy my way off the boat. I feel like I made friends with the girl that worked there because we seem similar and we're both half Chinese. As I was leaving I saw Jeff coming back to the dorm and I decided to hang around the area but annoyed that I had missed his entry into the building where I could have maybe ask him more questions or just caught in a better feel of him. He stop to talk to somebody and then Sean Salaman showed up. He had the same notion about this guy and wanted to investigate as well. I wanted to talk about what I thought of him with Sean so we sat down outside to talk. He was wearing a giant plastic cup on his neck obscuring his face. I couldn't get over the cup cuz I thought it was awesome but then I really felt like kissing him because I just haven't seen him in a long time and we used to have a thing. I got up to kiss him over the brim of the cup and he moved his head away to the side. I sat back down and he was just like yeah I'm not into it anymore. And I was embarrassed but what can you do. So I tried to quickly change the topic back to Jeff but then Elvira walked by saying that her visa expired at 10:30 the next morning and they didn't tell her until just now. And a bunch of other girls came out and we're all just talking and hanging out so we couldn't discuss anything. I'm not sure where this part played into it but I went with Sam k 2A shooting range that was indoors. I don't know that we were actually keen on the shooting things but we either had crossbows or rifles and we're sitting down fiddling with them after shooting for a bit when two guys walked in to share the space with us. I didn't say hi because I wasn't sure if I knew one of them. I kept talking to Sam and then when the guy responded I was like oh no I was talking to her then he said I was rude. And then I realized that it was Britney's boyfriend Eric. White trash. Can a braided goatee that was like 8 inches long and gross. And then I realized that the other guy was just his friend but that I'd seen him before. There is another part I don't quite remember what the location was but it could have been the shooting range and just a bunch more people showed up. And no guns. But there was a dog there, a Goldendoodle, and I got on the ground and I tasted a bit to play with it under a table and it was so friendly and was licking my face all over, almost in a very gross way. Like the dog was already familiar with me as well. Which one I asked whose dog it was it was Alex Fishers, which I knew from a different dream where I met this dog already because it just came up to me and started jumping on me and playing. I pretended as if the dog were mine now and was rolling around clutching the dog until I realize that this looked very weird so I got up and pass the dog back over to Alex and felt really embarrassed.

[careergrowthblog]

Teachers describe their worst injury at work

For some reason, when I ask a question about people’s worst experiences I get far more clear answers to the question, alongside complaints about that I have a sinister agenda and demands that teachers be silent.

My latest question was:

What’s the worst injury you’ve suffered while working as a teacher?

I’ve had fewer complaints about this one, although somebody did sarcastically ask why I didn’t ask for people’s best injury. I’ve ignored the many responses where people discussed damage that was only to their pride, credibility or dreams. I haven’t included discussion of mental health as that’s been covered in previous posts. Also most (but not all) of the people telling me about their paper cuts have been left out. As ever, I followed up the more suspicious ones, but may still have been fooled. The thread can be found here.

I shot myself in the arm… though it wasn’t with a firearm. With the top of an exploding 2 L[itre] bottle. Lab coat had the bloodstains to prove it. I was utterly, utterly mind-bendingly stupid and learned a very great deal in about a third of a second

30 mini whiteboards fell out of cupboard onto my head – 1 at a time – 4 hrs in A&E and head glued back together – very painful … my fault for not putting them away properly

Caught a ring on a door handle and it cut into my finger so deeply it needed to be cut off by a mechanic at the garage across the road.

Paper cut… on my eyeball. Child did it by accident. It was horrific! Needed anaesthetic drops for a few days.

Basketball hit me full in the mouth…whilst I had a whistle in it…lost two teeth. The cost of getting them replaced was the real shock of the whole ordeal. My savings took as much damage as my mouth did.

Last Friday of this half-term – college laptop trolly rolled into my 2 biggest toes on left foot. Same foot as plantar fasciitis & Achilles tendinitis issues. I didn’t use the ‘f’ word as student was with me.

Hypermobility + a few months of sitting on tiny children’s chairs caused lower-back go into semi-permanent spasm. Had to ask for adult chair Policy was for child-centred classrooms with no adult desk or chairs- teachers to be ‘working with group or individuals at all times’ Was told ‘If we give a teacher a chair, the problem with that is that they will sit down and not get up from it’ So, the ideal was for T[eacher] to stand or kneel near a table, or sit on a child’s chair, or sit on the floor.

As new H[ead]T[eacher], went to U[pper]K[ey]S[tage]2 Xmas party, vaulted over bench to leave hall and removed 4 square inches of skin from bald head on door frame. Was away at a meeting with the L.A. the next day, by the evening local rumours were that I was in hospital with head injuries

1) Staple in my finger. 2) Banged my knee a few times.3) Catching my arm on door handles.4) Heart attack.5) Trapping my finger in a drawer.

1) got tangled in cables like a giant fly in a spider web 2) slipped down a muddy slope in front of the entire school while on bus duty. Massive bruising and huge embarrassment both times. Although a kind Year 11 helped me up out of the mud & didn’t laugh while the other 1499 students pissed themselves.

nearly lost my left hand in a horrendous accident on school trip! 10 ops later it’s as good as it will be. there’s the proof. …had hold of the seat in front as the coach rolled and then slid down m6… window broke…. Had to have it stitched into my stomach for 4 weeks for a flap to cover I know even I gulped when the doc suggested it! I was a ‘little teapot for a month.  it was a nightmare!! They needed the blood vessels to join… 9 hour op too! I should add the NUT were fab … Their solicitor was superb

Slipped a disc lifting student into water ambulance during school trip to Venice. Contracted TB (possibly not at school, but sounds good).

I was hit by falling scaffolding once.

Grade 3 tear of gastrocnemius. Happened on sports day. Exactly coincided with pistol to start 100 m[e]t[re]s. I thought I had been shot. True story.

Broke a burette off in my thumb last year and severed a nerve. Still no feeling in it.

Definitely a student moving chair onto foot whilst sat on it

Concussion- could see children messing around for TA & glared at them-ch[ildre]n stopped- missed footing on last 5 steps…cue pratfall/f[ore]w[ar]d roll

Exhausted by overworking and unreasonable demands, I completely missed a step and fell down stairs. Thought “Didn’t get a degree for this”.

Pulled my back celebrating a spectacular comeback by the Y[ear] 8 football team was coaching back in the day. Took 3 month’s chiropractic to sort.

Missed a step covered in a drift of leaves & fell full length.Usual hilarity from students tempered by fact that I was 8 months pregnant.

Broke a finger attempting to stop a rugby ball from hitting a spectator. Still hit her, but on the back rather than on the head.

Crashed my motorcycle on the way to school. Still got in. My form saw the blood on my leg. Got ambulance. Came back from hospital to teach.

Ruptured my thigh muscle taking a penalty against a year 7 on lunch duty. Went top corner though so not all bad  [this was from my former form tutor, but I’m assuming I’m not implicated as it was “1st year” not “year 7” back then]

Prolapsed disk when the caretaker used the wrong polish on the floor turning it into a skating rink!

Husband snapped achilles tendon, teaching football on astros…

Temporarily blinded as lid came off the copydex mid shake. Shouted “Shit!” loudly which shocked kids more than my eyes covered in glue.

Spine surgery from writing too many schemes of work without good back support. I took on a dept[artment] in 2nd y[ea]r of career, managed all of SLT and there was nothing. Had an op in 2009 and learned a lot about life in that year!

Accidental broken toe. Me vs. heavy box of music stands. Helpful child said ‘you can swear if you like miss – looked like it hurt’. It did.

I scraped my shin and badly injured my pride falling-off a chair balanced on a table, as I put up a display… as a class quietly worked…  and I dislocated my knee in a Staff Vs Parents hockey match.

Almost broke fingers and arm, grassboarding down a slope on y[ea]r 7 activity holiday session!

being bitten. Also having a chair leg land on my foot (sandals

Molten jelly baby flew out of boiling tube onto my hand during open evening demo. I kept smiling

Sort of injury, kidney stones from not drinking enough water during school day. Agony for 2 days. Now I know opioids REALLY work.

slipped on a wet corridor and broke a finger pride also suffered considerable injury. After year 11 stopped convulsing with laughter following my very slapstick slip they did show great concern and sympathy

Sewed through my finger on a sewing machine whilst helping Year 11. Just about managed not to bleed on her coursework!

Ice skating lesson with a school group in 1988 & stuck the rear right boot spike through my left boot. Stab wound & 2 broken bones in foot!

Fractured my arm after falling off a ladder putting Christmas dec[oration]s up or scalded my foot after dropping an urn of hot water.

Electric shocks from various electricity experiments, and falling over and hurting my thumb.

Ran a ski trip to Italy and chair lift bar fell on my head, lots of blood and was taken down the slope in the blood-wagon. Tried to walk through a swing door which was normally well oiled, unfortunately this time it wasn’t and I went head first into the glass!

Stitches in a finger due to a stubborn classroom locker. Expletives were used. Entire Year 4 class were shocked. Hospital swiftly attended.

cracked patella jumping rope with 3rd graders

Mild concussion. Projector screen fell from roof hit me on head.

A bruised backside when I slipped on ice taking Tutor group to Xmas carol service. They kindly picked me up.

Slipped a disc standing up from my chair whilst teaching a PSHE lesson. Needed [other teachers] to carry me away from class!!

Fell off a table whilst putting up a display. Did my knee good and proper

I stapled my finger when putting up a display. Ive also caught thousands of colds (but that’s illness not injury).

My funniest injury at sch[ool]: stapled my fingers together whilst holding a stapler & teaching.

Electric shock off a whiteboard…it certainly made me jump!!

Torn my knee ligaments jumping on a trampoline

During my PGCE I dislocated my shoulder from stopping a pass in a lunchtime basketball game.

Fractured my humerus, two ribs and cut my eyebrow… I fell

Trapped arm in a door while restraining a student (Special needs School) [went to] A&E

Regularly I have bruises mid thigh from walking into tables

I slipped in the dining hall on a sausage and did a strange somersault, a plate crashed to the floor bounced up & and sliced open my cheek

Tripped up stairs on the way to a lesson, laptop went flying, smashed my head on the handrail, knocked myself out, in front of students

Punched in the temple by a y[ear] 8 boy. Headbutted (didn’t connect) by an angry y[ear] 11. Wallet nicked by a y[ear] 11 that I had spent hours supporting.

Lice, scabies and flea bites. All in a days work. Oh yes. And a tub of black powder paint with no lid, fell off a shelf on my head. Scary sight.

Torn [anterior cruciate ligament] in right knee whilst separating two Year 9 boys fighting!

Once thought it good idea to remove OHP bulb immediately after it blew. Fingerprints returned after a few months

I ripped a muscle in my lower back moving a filing cabinet. Had waited for the site agent for 5 days and got tired of waiting.  won’t make the mistake again, will just wait nicely!

Bumped into a table (fixed to the floor). Bruise on my thigh is about 10 cm long, 5 cm high. Done this almost every month, for 20 y[ears].

Broke a tooth on school pitta bread…

Dropped a recycling bin on my foot and lost a toenail.

Got slapped around the face and then kicked twice one morning.

Burnt most of my hand when I didn’t use a long enough fuse for a flash powder demonstration

I fell off my bike in front of the main entrance, causing moderate but prolonged reputational damage.

Put a staple through my finger while putting up a display.

Badly cut knee and ripped suit after attempting to show Y[ear] 6 boys,playing football on the playground, ‘how it’s done’.

Took an “accidentally released” rounders bat to the gentleman’s area. If I wasn’t the recipient it would have been funny.

Partially tore ligaments while mucking about being a wolf in the playground

Tripped on cracked car park tarmac, burst knee wide open. Lots of stitches

I broke my foot at 7am at school on a dodgy paving slab and then walked around on it for the rest of the day before getting an X-ray. I also once dropped molten hot sulfur on my hand while doing a demo,had to teach the rest of my lesson with my hand in a bowl of cold water

Fell 2 steps walking down unlit stairs and twisted ankle. Had an xray and 2 days off work.

Cut my finger open whilst shutting a toilet door I spotted was ajar. Kid in my class provided me with loo roll from his bag that he kept there with a torch in case he needed to go for a poo in the dark! Not sure which event was the weirdest.

Fell off a chair doing a display- Huge bruise black on arm…despite just saying to students always use a chair for its intended purpose!

I broke my ankle in the middle of one of my [physical education] classes.

Broke bone in coccyx. Also got pneumonia from sewage has when basement flooded. Illness rather than injury really.

My eye got cut from a student’s nail when playing basketball with them. Lost a high % of peripheral vision in my right eye.

I’ve suffered a cut lip when a child I was sitting next to shot his hand up a little enthusiastically. Still think he did it on purpose

There have been a couple of reasonably serious injuries in the staff-sixth form football. Not to me though.

Banging my head – It’s not easy being a giant.

[From a school business manager] There was the time I was walking along a corridor & a teacher opened an outward opening door & pole-axed me. They were mortified..

Got punched by a parent, but wasn’t injured, and in retrospect she was probably in the right. Who was I to tell her son to tuck in his shirt?

Shut the filing cabinet in my classroom and trapped my nipple in it. No idea how I managed that..

Teachers describe their worst injury at work published first on http://ift.tt/2uVElOo

[gilbertandanne]

AU College Fic. Farkle never figured out how Riley really felt about Lucas, so it never got out. Now she’s turning 21 and the gang decides to go to Las Vegas to celebrate. Sometimes what happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas.

Rating: M (because of language, situations, and it’s Vegas, soooo yeah)

Pairing: Rucas

Word Count: 3,805

Cross-posted at ff.net            

Soundtrack (although not at all organized and subject to edits)

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | J | Q | K | A | J |

                                        Chapter Five: Fever

The phone in the girls’ room blared promptly at 7 the next morning.  “I’m going to kill him,” Maya groaned as she rolled over.  She picked up the phone, mumbled a ‘thanks’ to the front desk, before she swiftly slammed it back on the receiver.  Her head fell back down on the pillow as she willed herself to be taken back to the magical land where it rained twenty-dollar bills on her.

A few short minutes later, a knock on their door sliced through the otherwise quiet room. “Girls, it’s time to get up!  I’ve got breakfast already out here!”

“I’m really going to kill him,” Maya mumbled as she slowly sat up.  “Thanks,” she called out grumpily toward the door.  She ran a hand through her hair as she glumly thought about the fact that she only got about four hours of sleep the previous night.

“I tried to tell you,” the annoying voice on the other side of the door called out to them.

Maya stuck her tongue out at the door before she glanced at the brunette who laid in the bed next to her.  “Riles, we need to get up before Farkle sends in an army after us.”  As Maya waited for Riley’s response, she pulled her hair back into a bun.  When she didn’t hear anything from her friend, Maya turned to her as she knit her eyebrows together. “Riles?”

A pitiful moan finally escaped the brunette as she buried her head deeper into her pillow.  Was last night some weird dream or did she actually get drunk and force the one guy she had been in love with for a third of her life to make-out with her in the hot tub?  

“And a good morning to you too, princess,” Maya smiled as she climbed out of bed.  “Are you hung-over?  Farkle said he had breakfast waiting for us.”

“I can’t go out there,” she mumbled before she pulled the comforter up over her head.  

“Why?”

Riley shook her head.  There was no way she would ever be able to live last night down.  Even the mere thought of the hot tub made her flush with embarrassment.  She had never been that forward with anyone, so why did it have to be with him?

Maya frowned as she tried to remember what had happened last night.  It took her a few moments, but once she was able to piece it together, her eyes widened.  “Riley…darling…what happened after you and Lucas went to the hot tub?”

Riley groaned as she rolled over onto her back.  She knew Maya would remember.  The blonde didn’t drink nearly as much as she, Zay, and Lucas had.  She knew that she would never be able to leave the room without confessing everything about her ultimate humiliation.  “I propositioned him.”

Maya couldn’t contain her grin as she hopped on the brunette’s bed.  “Oh my God!”  She reached for the pillow that covered Riley’s face.  “Tell me everything,” she commanded as she tossed the pillow to the side of the room.

Riley furrowed her eyebrows as she slowly sat up.  “We were…we were in the hot tub…and we started talking about high school and the last time we were forced to play seven minutes in heaven together.”  She paused.  “I told him…that I had never played…and that it was something I had always wanted to do.”

“And?”

“And…we played…” she looked down at the comforter, “three times.”

Maya’s smile morphed into a positively evil grin at Riley’s confession.  She had hoped that something would happen between the two of them during the trip, but she never imagined anything like this would happen on the first night.  “Are we going to have to drain the hot tub?”

“Don’t be gross,” Riley grumbled as she rolled her eyes.  “It was just kissing…a lot of kissing.”  When she looked back up at Maya, Riley could tell that she wasn’t convinced that was all that had happened.  “Ok, so maybe it was a little more than just kissing, but nothing…look, my chastity is still intact, ok?”

“So…what happened after you played twenty one minutes in heaven?”

“Fifteen,” Riley quickly corrected.  When Maya raised an eyebrow at her, she sighed.  “We talked for the first six minutes.”  She looked down at her comforter.  “After that…he casually reminded me that we were all drinking pretty heavily and that we might not remember any of it in the morning.”  She remembered that almost as clearly as the euphoric feeling that engulfed her when they kissed.  Riley’s lips formed a thin line as a new determination began to set in.  It wasn’t real.  None of it was.  That divine place only existed because of the alcohol they consumed, nothing more.  “It didn’t…he didn’t…it was nothing.”

“What?”  That didn’t seem right.  Maya had kept a pretty good eye on the Texan over the last few months.  Even though he was dating someone else, his eyes only lit up whenever he saw Riley.  Maya had been convinced that he was in love with her best friend.  Had she been wrong?  Was Lucas actually the ‘love ‘em and leave ‘em type’ that everyone seemed to think he was?

Riley sighed as she resigned herself to the fact that nothing was ever going to change between her and Lucas.  If anything was ever going to change, it would have happened last night.  “It’s…it’s ok.  You know, I’ve been wondering ‘what if’ for a really long time…I finally went for it…and…and now I know.  He and I are friends…and that’s…that’s gotta be good enough.”

Maya’s face scrunched up in anger.  “Screw that.”  She scrambled to get off of the bed.  She was livid.  She had decided as soon as she stepped foot on the plane that she was going to make it her mission to get Riley and Lucas together.  To find out that he chalked last night up to the alcohol infuriated her.  “You know what?  I’m not going to kill Farkle.  He did think to get us breakfast, but I am going to go hogtie a cowboy pig!”

“Maya!”  Riley quickly tried to get out of bed, to stop Maya before she made everything worse, but instead, her feet got tangled up in her sheets.  She didn’t even have time to yell as she swiftly tumbled to the ground.

The loud thud stopped Maya as soon as she placed her hand on the door.  She spun around to see her best friend completely twisted in her blankets on the ground.  She rushed to her side.  “Riley!  Are you ok?”

Riley laid there for a solid minute before she finally shook her head.  “Maya, I have to get over this.”  She slowly lowered her eyes to the blonde.  “I’ve pushed so many guys away because of him…because I compare them all to him.”  She shook her head.  “Maybe that’s the problem.  Maybe you can’t compare other guys to your first love because you can’t ever really replicate feelings like that.”  She slowly sat up.  “I need to get him…and last night out of my system.”

Maya scrunched up her face in disgust as she helped her best friend get back on her feet.  “Was it really that hot?  Wait…don’t tell me.  Wait,” she shook her head.  “Tell me.”

Riley pulled her hair tie out of her hair before she ran her fingers through her tangled locks.  How was she supposed to put emotions like that into words?  “It was an out of body experience.  I’ve never felt that…that kind of connection with someone before.  I could feel it in my toes, Maya.”  She shook her head.  “It was like I was suspended in space or something…that everything around us didn’t exist.  It was just us.”  She paused as she threw her hair up into a messy bun.  Initially, she thought that he had felt it too—that after so long, they were finally on the same page, but it was only the alcohol.  She groaned in frustration.  “It’s my birthday weekend.  We’re in Las Vegas. I have to get my mind off of him before I drive myself insane.”

Maya smirked.  “You want to go out and meet some guys, don’t you?”

She shrugged.  Riley was never the type to try to pick up guys.  She was still a virgin, for crying out loud.  Still, she wasn’t opposed to a little diversion.  Maybe she could find someone or something to pull her away from the awkwardness she was certain to have with Lucas.  “I’m not saying that I want to actively seek anyone out, but I don’t know…maybe if I can distract myself a little, this trip won’t turn into a complete disaster.”

“Maybe we’ll find some people tonight,” Maya smiled.  “Because I doubt there will be any hot guys hanging out at the Hoover Dam this morning.”

Her head ached and her heart hurt, and yet, she chuckled softly at Maya’s comment.  She never wanted to know what her life would be like without her best friend by her side.  Even when faced with the harsh light of morning, Maya always knew what to say to make her feel a little better.

Farkle and Zay were already halfway through breakfast by the time Maya and Riley came out of their room.

“You guys only have an hour until we leave,” Farkle informed them as they wandered into the dining room.

“Farkle,” Maya groaned as she opened up a cabinet in order to grab two coffee mugs.  “I love you and I’m so grateful for everything you’ve done for us on this trip.  I know that there is a certain time that we need to be there, so I’m letting it slide for now, but please remember that this is supposed to be a nice relaxing vacation.”  She sat one of the mugs in front of Riley.  “So…have fun.”

Riley said nothing as she reached for the coffee pot and poured her and Maya a cup.  The moment she realized Lucas wasn’t in the dining room, she relaxed slightly.  She knew she couldn’t avoid him forever, but maybe if she got a little bit of caffeine in her, it wouldn’t be so bad.

Zay watched the brunette as she poured creamer into her mug.  She seemed a little off—sad even.  “You ok, Riley?”

She looked up at him as she brought the mug to her lips.  “Yeah,” she gave him a small smile before she took a sip.  “Just a little hung-over is all.”

“That’s definitely going around this morning,” he smirked as he cut up his pancakes.  He was never one to delight in the misery of others, but he was grateful that he wasn’t the only one who still felt some of the effects of the previous night.

“How bad is yours,” she asked him as she sat her mug down on the counter.

“Just a headache,” he shrugged.  “Some more of this delicious food should take care of it.”  He smiled as he looked back at her.  “Tell me you aren’t too hung-over to go even harder tonight.”

She grabbed a plate and walked over to the huge spread of food on the table.  As she looked over her options, the corner of her mouth turned up into a smile.  “I turn 21 at midnight.  It’s my mission to do laps around you tonight, sir.”

“That’s my girl,” he chuckled before he took another huge bite of food.

“Where’s the other one,” Maya asked the guys as she sipped on her coffee.  She promised Riley that she wouldn’t say anything to Lucas about the hot tub, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t get to the bottom of what happened.  She just had to be a little more creative in her methodology.

“Lucas?  He went down to the gym about an hour ago.”  Farkle paused.  “I’m not sure that he ever went to sleep last night.”

“We were up pretty late,” Zay told Farkle as he reached for his orange juice.  “I know I finally passed out right after Riley and Lucas went to the hot tub.”

Riley cut her eyes to Maya as she silently prayed the blonde would keep her mouth closed.  None of this had to be a big deal, but she knew it would be blown way out of proportion if the guys knew.  It would be better for everyone if they could all just move on from last night.

As Zay sat his glass down, he looked back to Riley.  “Did anything happen?”

Riley wrinkled her nose.  “Of course not,” she lied as she pushed her food around on her plate.  She hated to lie to her friends, but she didn’t have any other option.  “After my alarm went off, I got up and went to bed.”  That wasn’t exactly a lie.  She did leave after her alarm went off—for the third time.

“Maybe he was too excited to sleep,” Maya offered as a smirk briefly graced her features.

“He hasn’t acted like it,” Farkle told the group.  “He seems…moody.”

“He’s been like that for awhile,” Zay added before his phone vibrated against the table.  “The older we get, the more serious he becomes.  Maybe he’s just stressed about school, you know?  He’s still not sure where he wants to go once we graduate.”  He lifted his phone in order to read the text message.  “Ah!  Awesome!”

“The hookers are a go for tonight?”  Maya quipped as she reached for a plate.

“Ha ha,” he answered sarcastically.  “No, it’s even better.”  He turned to Riley.  “You wouldn’t be opposed to a few other guests at your birthday blowout tonight, right?”

“Of course not.”  She furrowed her eyebrows as she sipped on her coffee.  “Who is it?”  Who could they possibly know in Las Vegas?

“Asher and Dylan.”

Riley’s eyes widened as she sat her mug back down on the counter.  “Asher and Dylan are here?”  

Zay nodded.

Finally, some good news.  She knew it would be hard to avoid Lucas with only five people around, but throw in a few of his oldest friends, and maybe she might make it through this trip without completely losing one of her best friends in the process.  “Oh my God…yes! Absolutely!  How long are they here for?”

“They’re leaving tomorrow night.”

“Tell them that I will be offended if they don’t hang out with us tonight.”  It had easily been a year since she last saw them.  They had all become pretty good friends over the years, and Riley always had a blast with them when they were around.  Maybe that was what she needed in order to distract her from the embarrassment of last night.

“Alright.”  Zay quickly typed a response before he sat his phone down.  “Tonight is going to be so much fun.”

The group fell silent as they heard the door open.  “There he is,” Zay announced as Lucas came into the kitchen.

His eyes immediately landed on Riley as he entered the dining room.  Riley looked up at him, but as soon as her eyes met his, she looked back down at the full plate of food in front of her.

“What’s going on,” he asked the group as he wrapped his ear buds around his phone.  He thought his workout that morning would bring him some clarity about the events of last night, but instead, he ended up with even more questions.  Did she remember it?  Did she enjoy it?  Was it completely alcohol induced or had this been building between them?  He knew that his feelings for her had only grown over the years, despite the fact that they had drifted apart.  Did she feel the same way?  Had he finally broken through the ‘brother’ label or did she think that it was all some huge mistake?

“Breakfast,” Farkle answered as he stood up.  He placed his plate on the bottom rack of the room service cart before he walked back to the kitchen to get another cup of coffee.

“I have a question for you,” Zay told Lucas as he sat his fork down on the plate.

Lucas slid his phone into his gym shorts before he looked at Zay.  “What is it?”

“Why didn’t you tell us that Asher and Dylan were here?”

Riley frowned. “You knew they were in town?”  That couldn’t be right.  If Lucas knew Asher and Dylan were in town, they would have been in the suite last night or at the very least, they would have all known about it way before now.

“I must have forgot,” Lucas easily lied as he walked over to the cabinet in order to grab a glass.  He didn’t want to get into all of that now, especially when he and Riley had some unfinished business.  If she knew the reason why he purposefully left them out, at least before they could talk about everything, he knew he would lose whatever slim chance he had with her.

“It’s a pretty big thing to forget,” Maya mumbled as she cut into her omelet.  Even though Riley had been slowly pushing Lucas away for the last several years, Maya knew that Riley was still closer to him than she was—although that didn’t necessarily mean that Riley knew him better.  Riley’s judgment was clouded by her insecurity.  Maya, on the other hand, could see right through him.  He didn’t forget anything—that much was clear.  A new theory began to take shape in the blonde’s mind as she watched Lucas pour a glass of orange juice.  Maybe he wasn’t blaming the alcohol for his tryst with Riley.  Maybe he was scared that she would blame it on the alcohol.  Maybe he was also aware of the same thing that Maya was aware of—that Asher Garcia had become very good friends with Riley over the years.  Perhaps the Texan was a little jealous?

Zay shook his head.  He couldn’t wrap his brain around the fact that Lucas knew their friends would be in town at the same time and didn’t say a word about it.  “What’s with you, man?  I get that you just broke up with your latest…whatever…but Asher and Dylan are two of our closest friends besides the people in this room.  How could you ‘just forget’ them?  We haven’t seen them since last December when they came to New York for Christmas.”

Lucas shook his head.  He really didn’t need a lecture about this on top of everything that happened last night.  Yeah, he knew Asher and Dylan were in Vegas.  No, he didn’t tell anyone about it.  He wasn’t exactly sure why, other than the fact that he had hoped to spend a little time with Riley on the trip, and the odds of that happening would shrink considerably if more people were around them.  After last night, all he wanted to do was to talk to her, to try to explain his side of their misunderstanding.  Knowing that she was probably mad at him about Asher and Dylan only added to his distress.  Why couldn’t they just talk everything out and move on?  “I’m sorry.  What do you want me to say?”

“What crawled up your ass, man?  I thought you wanted to have fun out here, but you’ve been beyond moody since we landed yesterday.”

Lucas glanced at Riley who had finally taken a small bite of her food.  She seemed completely disconnected from the conversation around her.  ‘Maybe last night meant nothing to her.  Maybe she doesn’t even remember.’  He sighed.  “I’m sorry.  I guess I’m just tired from not being able to sleep last night.”

“Picked a bad night for that,” Zay told him.  “Because we’re probably going to be up all night tonight.”

“Unless, you don’t want to go with us,” Maya filled in as she glared at the Texan.  “You can always stay here and sleep.”  While she was certain that whatever happened with him and Riley was some huge misunderstanding, she still was completely loyal to Riley.  If being away from him for a few hours gave Riley a little bit of relief and happiness, Maya was more than willing to offer that as a suggestion to the brooding Texan.

Lucas didn’t take the hint as he took another sip of his orange juice.  “I’ll be fine.  I’ll try to get a nap in on the way to the Dam and back.”  He watched Riley take two more bites of her food before she finally pushed her plate away.  He watched as she quietly started to walk toward the room she shared with Maya.  “Riley,” he called out.  He didn’t want to do this in front of everyone, but if not now, then when?  He knew that if she wanted to avoid him, she would easily be able to—especially with Asher and Dylan tagging along tonight.

Riley froze mid-step as she closed her eyes.  She clenched her fists as she forced herself to smile when she spun around to face him.  “Yeah?”

“I think we need to—“

“Lucas, it’s fine,” she interrupted.  “There isn’t any need to…we’re good.”  She wrapped her arms around herself.  “Ok?”  She couldn’t do this now.  She still wasn’t sure what to say or how to react.  She had been so careful over the last seven years—well, for the most part.  For one moment, she had a lapse in judgment.  For one moment, she forgot everything she had tried to fight for.  She knew that she was losing him from her life, but she wasn’t sure that the alternative would have been much better.  Was she content to remain silent and be in his life for the next two years or give into her feelings and get crushed in two months when he found someone else to better occupy his time?

His face fell.  “Yeah.”  Good?  He didn’t want to be ‘good’ with her.  He wanted to talk to her.  He wanted to explain to her that yes, he was intoxicated last night, but that the alcohol only lowered his inhibitions and gave him the courage to give into his feelings.  The alcohol didn’t make him do anything he hadn’t wanted to do since they were in middle school.  As he looked into her expectant eyes, he could tell that she didn’t want to hear any of it.  She wanted to forget about it.  She wanted to move on.  So, as he had since they were in 8th grade, he forced himself to remain silent.

Because that was what she wanted—that was what she needed.

Riley nodded in understanding before she turned around and walked toward her room.  As soon as she closed the door behind her, tears pooled in her eyes as she still felt the sting of his kiss on her lips.  

#ouat2011 fic #**21** #rucas fic #liley fic #riley x lucas #lucas x riley #rucas fanfic #rucasfic #rucasfanfic #rucas fan fic #rucas fiction #rucas fan fiction #rucas fanfiction #I know this chapter is lame af #I was going to change the chapter cut off but it was really screwing up the next chapter

[careergrowthblog]

Teachers describe their worst injury at work

For some reason, when I ask a question about people’s worst experiences I get far more clear answers to the question, alongside complaints about that I have a sinister agenda and demands that teachers be silent.

My latest question was:

What’s the worst injury you’ve suffered while working as a teacher?

I’ve had fewer complaints about this one, although somebody did sarcastically ask why I didn’t ask for people’s best injury. I’ve ignored the many responses where people discussed damage that was only to their pride, credibility or dreams. I haven’t included discussion of mental health as that’s been covered in previous posts. Also most (but not all) of the people telling me about their paper cuts have been left out. As ever, I followed up the more suspicious ones, but may still have been fooled. The thread can be found here.

I shot myself in the arm… though it wasn’t with a firearm. With the top of an exploding 2 L[itre] bottle. Lab coat had the bloodstains to prove it. I was utterly, utterly mind-bendingly stupid and learned a very great deal in about a third of a second

30 mini whiteboards fell out of cupboard onto my head – 1 at a time – 4 hrs in A&E and head glued back together – very painful … my fault for not putting them away properly

Caught a ring on a door handle and it cut into my finger so deeply it needed to be cut off by a mechanic at the garage across the road.

Paper cut… on my eyeball. Child did it by accident. It was horrific! Needed anaesthetic drops for a few days.

Basketball hit me full in the mouth…whilst I had a whistle in it…lost two teeth. The cost of getting them replaced was the real shock of the whole ordeal. My savings took as much damage as my mouth did.

Last Friday of this half-term – college laptop trolly rolled into my 2 biggest toes on left foot. Same foot as plantar fasciitis & Achilles tendinitis issues. I didn’t use the ‘f’ word as student was with me.

Hypermobility + a few months of sitting on tiny children’s chairs caused lower-back go into semi-permanent spasm. Had to ask for adult chair Policy was for child-centred classrooms with no adult desk or chairs- teachers to be ‘working with group or individuals at all times’ Was told ‘If we give a teacher a chair, the problem with that is that they will sit down and not get up from it’ So, the ideal was for T[eacher] to stand or kneel near a table, or sit on a child’s chair, or sit on the floor.

As new H[ead]T[eacher], went to U[pper]K[ey]S[tage]2 Xmas party, vaulted over bench to leave hall and removed 4 square inches of skin from bald head on door frame. Was away at a meeting with the L.A. the next day, by the evening local rumours were that I was in hospital with head injuries

1) Staple in my finger. 2) Banged my knee a few times.3) Catching my arm on door handles.4) Heart attack.5) Trapping my finger in a drawer.

1) got tangled in cables like a giant fly in a spider web 2) slipped down a muddy slope in front of the entire school while on bus duty. Massive bruising and huge embarrassment both times. Although a kind Year 11 helped me up out of the mud & didn’t laugh while the other 1499 students pissed themselves.

nearly lost my left hand in a horrendous accident on school trip! 10 ops later it’s as good as it will be. there’s the proof. …had hold of the seat in front as the coach rolled and then slid down m6… window broke…. Had to have it stitched into my stomach for 4 weeks for a flap to cover I know even I gulped when the doc suggested it! I was a ‘little teapot for a month.  it was a nightmare!! They needed the blood vessels to join… 9 hour op too! I should add the NUT were fab … Their solicitor was superb

Slipped a disc lifting student into water ambulance during school trip to Venice. Contracted TB (possibly not at school, but sounds good).

I was hit by falling scaffolding once.

Grade 3 tear of gastrocnemius. Happened on sports day. Exactly coincided with pistol to start 100 m[e]t[re]s. I thought I had been shot. True story.

Broke a burette off in my thumb last year and severed a nerve. Still no feeling in it.

Definitely a student moving chair onto foot whilst sat on it

Concussion- could see children messing around for TA & glared at them-ch[ildre]n stopped- missed footing on last 5 steps…cue pratfall/f[ore]w[ar]d roll

Exhausted by overworking and unreasonable demands, I completely missed a step and fell down stairs. Thought “Didn’t get a degree for this”.

Pulled my back celebrating a spectacular comeback by the Y[ear] 8 football team was coaching back in the day. Took 3 month’s chiropractic to sort.

Missed a step covered in a drift of leaves & fell full length.Usual hilarity from students tempered by fact that I was 8 months pregnant.

Broke a finger attempting to stop a rugby ball from hitting a spectator. Still hit her, but on the back rather than on the head.

Crashed my motorcycle on the way to school. Still got in. My form saw the blood on my leg. Got ambulance. Came back from hospital to teach.

Ruptured my thigh muscle taking a penalty against a year 7 on lunch duty. Went top corner though so not all bad  [this was from my former form tutor, but I’m assuming I’m not implicated as it was “1st year” not “year 7” back then]

Prolapsed disk when the caretaker used the wrong polish on the floor turning it into a skating rink!

Husband snapped achilles tendon, teaching football on astros…

Temporarily blinded as lid came off the copydex mid shake. Shouted “Shit!” loudly which shocked kids more than my eyes covered in glue.

Spine surgery from writing too many schemes of work without good back support. I took on a dept[artment] in 2nd y[ea]r of career, managed all of SLT and there was nothing. Had an op in 2009 and learned a lot about life in that year!

Accidental broken toe. Me vs. heavy box of music stands. Helpful child said ‘you can swear if you like miss – looked like it hurt’. It did.

I scraped my shin and badly injured my pride falling-off a chair balanced on a table, as I put up a display… as a class quietly worked…  and I dislocated my knee in a Staff Vs Parents hockey match.

Almost broke fingers and arm, grassboarding down a slope on y[ea]r 7 activity holiday session!

being bitten. Also having a chair leg land on my foot (sandals

Molten jelly baby flew out of boiling tube onto my hand during open evening demo. I kept smiling

Sort of injury, kidney stones from not drinking enough water during school day. Agony for 2 days. Now I know opioids REALLY work.

slipped on a wet corridor and broke a finger pride also suffered considerable injury. After year 11 stopped convulsing with laughter following my very slapstick slip they did show great concern and sympathy

Sewed through my finger on a sewing machine whilst helping Year 11. Just about managed not to bleed on her coursework!

Ice skating lesson with a school group in 1988 & stuck the rear right boot spike through my left boot. Stab wound & 2 broken bones in foot!

Fractured my arm after falling off a ladder putting Christmas dec[oration]s up or scalded my foot after dropping an urn of hot water.

Electric shocks from various electricity experiments, and falling over and hurting my thumb.

Ran a ski trip to Italy and chair lift bar fell on my head, lots of blood and was taken down the slope in the blood-wagon. Tried to walk through a swing door which was normally well oiled, unfortunately this time it wasn’t and I went head first into the glass!

Stitches in a finger due to a stubborn classroom locker. Expletives were used. Entire Year 4 class were shocked. Hospital swiftly attended.

cracked patella jumping rope with 3rd graders

Mild concussion. Projector screen fell from roof hit me on head.

A bruised backside when I slipped on ice taking Tutor group to Xmas carol service. They kindly picked me up.

Slipped a disc standing up from my chair whilst teaching a PSHE lesson. Needed [other teachers] to carry me away from class!!

Fell off a table whilst putting up a display. Did my knee good and proper

I stapled my finger when putting up a display. Ive also caught thousands of colds (but that’s illness not injury).

My funniest injury at sch[ool]: stapled my fingers together whilst holding a stapler & teaching.

Electric shock off a whiteboard…it certainly made me jump!!

Torn my knee ligaments jumping on a trampoline

During my PGCE I dislocated my shoulder from stopping a pass in a lunchtime basketball game.

Fractured my humerus, two ribs and cut my eyebrow… I fell

Trapped arm in a door while restraining a student (Special needs School) [went to] A&E

Regularly I have bruises mid thigh from walking into tables

I slipped in the dining hall on a sausage and did a strange somersault, a plate crashed to the floor bounced up & and sliced open my cheek

Tripped up stairs on the way to a lesson, laptop went flying, smashed my head on the handrail, knocked myself out, in front of students

Punched in the temple by a y[ear] 8 boy. Headbutted (didn’t connect) by an angry y[ear] 11. Wallet nicked by a y[ear] 11 that I had spent hours supporting.

Lice, scabies and flea bites. All in a days work. Oh yes. And a tub of black powder paint with no lid, fell off a shelf on my head. Scary sight.

Torn [anterior cruciate ligament] in right knee whilst separating two Year 9 boys fighting!

Once thought it good idea to remove OHP bulb immediately after it blew. Fingerprints returned after a few months

I ripped a muscle in my lower back moving a filing cabinet. Had waited for the site agent for 5 days and got tired of waiting.  won’t make the mistake again, will just wait nicely!

Bumped into a table (fixed to the floor). Bruise on my thigh is about 10 cm long, 5 cm high. Done this almost every month, for 20 y[ears].

Broke a tooth on school pitta bread…

Dropped a recycling bin on my foot and lost a toenail.

Got slapped around the face and then kicked twice one morning.

Burnt most of my hand when I didn’t use a long enough fuse for a flash powder demonstration

I fell off my bike in front of the main entrance, causing moderate but prolonged reputational damage.

Put a staple through my finger while putting up a display.

Badly cut knee and ripped suit after attempting to show Y[ear] 6 boys,playing football on the playground, ‘how it’s done’.

Took an “accidentally released” rounders bat to the gentleman’s area. If I wasn’t the recipient it would have been funny.

Partially tore ligaments while mucking about being a wolf in the playground

Tripped on cracked car park tarmac, burst knee wide open. Lots of stitches

I broke my foot at 7am at school on a dodgy paving slab and then walked around on it for the rest of the day before getting an X-ray. I also once dropped molten hot sulfur on my hand while doing a demo,had to teach the rest of my lesson with my hand in a bowl of cold water

Fell 2 steps walking down unlit stairs and twisted ankle. Had an xray and 2 days off work.

Cut my finger open whilst shutting a toilet door I spotted was ajar. Kid in my class provided me with loo roll from his bag that he kept there with a torch in case he needed to go for a poo in the dark! Not sure which event was the weirdest.

Fell off a chair doing a display- Huge bruise black on arm…despite just saying to students always use a chair for its intended purpose!

I broke my ankle in the middle of one of my [physical education] classes.

Broke bone in coccyx. Also got pneumonia from sewage has when basement flooded. Illness rather than injury really.

My eye got cut from a student’s nail when playing basketball with them. Lost a high % of peripheral vision in my right eye.

I’ve suffered a cut lip when a child I was sitting next to shot his hand up a little enthusiastically. Still think he did it on purpose

There have been a couple of reasonably serious injuries in the staff-sixth form football. Not to me though.

Banging my head – It’s not easy being a giant.

[From a school business manager] There was the time I was walking along a corridor & a teacher opened an outward opening door & pole-axed me. They were mortified..

Got punched by a parent, but wasn’t injured, and in retrospect she was probably in the right. Who was I to tell her son to tuck in his shirt?

Shut the filing cabinet in my classroom and trapped my nipple in it. No idea how I managed that..

Teachers describe their worst injury at work published first on http://ift.tt/2uVElOo

[careergrowthblog]

Teachers describe their worst injury at work

For some reason, when I ask a question about people’s worst experiences I get far more clear answers to the question, alongside complaints about that I have a sinister agenda and demands that teachers be silent.

My latest question was:

What’s the worst injury you’ve suffered while working as a teacher?

I’ve had fewer complaints about this one, although somebody did sarcastically ask why I didn’t ask for people’s best injury. I’ve ignored the many responses where people discussed damage that was only to their pride, credibility or dreams. I haven’t included discussion of mental health as that’s been covered in previous posts. Also most (but not all) of the people telling me about their paper cuts have been left out. As ever, I followed up the more suspicious ones, but may still have been fooled. The thread can be found here.

I shot myself in the arm… though it wasn’t with a firearm. With the top of an exploding 2 L[itre] bottle. Lab coat had the bloodstains to prove it. I was utterly, utterly mind-bendingly stupid and learned a very great deal in about a third of a second

30 mini whiteboards fell out of cupboard onto my head – 1 at a time – 4 hrs in A&E and head glued back together – very painful … my fault for not putting them away properly

Caught a ring on a door handle and it cut into my finger so deeply it needed to be cut off by a mechanic at the garage across the road.

Paper cut… on my eyeball. Child did it by accident. It was horrific! Needed anaesthetic drops for a few days.

Basketball hit me full in the mouth…whilst I had a whistle in it…lost two teeth. The cost of getting them replaced was the real shock of the whole ordeal. My savings took as much damage as my mouth did.

Last Friday of this half-term – college laptop trolly rolled into my 2 biggest toes on left foot. Same foot as plantar fasciitis & Achilles tendinitis issues. I didn’t use the ‘f’ word as student was with me.

Hypermobility + a few months of sitting on tiny children’s chairs caused lower-back go into semi-permanent spasm. Had to ask for adult chair Policy was for child-centred classrooms with no adult desk or chairs- teachers to be ‘working with group or individuals at all times’ Was told ‘If we give a teacher a chair, the problem with that is that they will sit down and not get up from it’ So, the ideal was for T[eacher] to stand or kneel near a table, or sit on a child’s chair, or sit on the floor.

As new H[ead]T[eacher], went to U[pper]K[ey]S[tage]2 Xmas party, vaulted over bench to leave hall and removed 4 square inches of skin from bald head on door frame. Was away at a meeting with the L.A. the next day, by the evening local rumours were that I was in hospital with head injuries

1) Staple in my finger. 2) Banged my knee a few times.3) Catching my arm on door handles.4) Heart attack.5) Trapping my finger in a drawer.

1) got tangled in cables like a giant fly in a spider web 2) slipped down a muddy slope in front of the entire school while on bus duty. Massive bruising and huge embarrassment both times. Although a kind Year 11 helped me up out of the mud & didn’t laugh while the other 1499 students pissed themselves.

nearly lost my left hand in a horrendous accident on school trip! 10 ops later it’s as good as it will be. there’s the proof. …had hold of the seat in front as the coach rolled and then slid down m6… window broke…. Had to have it stitched into my stomach for 4 weeks for a flap to cover I know even I gulped when the doc suggested it! I was a ‘little teapot for a month.  it was a nightmare!! They needed the blood vessels to join… 9 hour op too! I should add the NUT were fab … Their solicitor was superb

Slipped a disc lifting student into water ambulance during school trip to Venice. Contracted TB (possibly not at school, but sounds good).

I was hit by falling scaffolding once.

Grade 3 tear of gastrocnemius. Happened on sports day. Exactly coincided with pistol to start 100 m[e]t[re]s. I thought I had been shot. True story.

Broke a burette off in my thumb last year and severed a nerve. Still no feeling in it.

Definitely a student moving chair onto foot whilst sat on it

Concussion- could see children messing around for TA & glared at them-ch[ildre]n stopped- missed footing on last 5 steps…cue pratfall/f[ore]w[ar]d roll

Exhausted by overworking and unreasonable demands, I completely missed a step and fell down stairs. Thought “Didn’t get a degree for this”.

Pulled my back celebrating a spectacular comeback by the Y[ear] 8 football team was coaching back in the day. Took 3 month’s chiropractic to sort.

Missed a step covered in a drift of leaves & fell full length.Usual hilarity from students tempered by fact that I was 8 months pregnant.

Broke a finger attempting to stop a rugby ball from hitting a spectator. Still hit her, but on the back rather than on the head.

Crashed my motorcycle on the way to school. Still got in. My form saw the blood on my leg. Got ambulance. Came back from hospital to teach.

Ruptured my thigh muscle taking a penalty against a year 7 on lunch duty. Went top corner though so not all bad  [this was from my former form tutor, but I’m assuming I’m not implicated as it was “1st year” not “year 7” back then]

Prolapsed disk when the caretaker used the wrong polish on the floor turning it into a skating rink!

Husband snapped achilles tendon, teaching football on astros…

Temporarily blinded as lid came off the copydex mid shake. Shouted “Shit!” loudly which shocked kids more than my eyes covered in glue.

Spine surgery from writing too many schemes of work without good back support. I took on a dept[artment] in 2nd y[ea]r of career, managed all of SLT and there was nothing. Had an op in 2009 and learned a lot about life in that year!

Accidental broken toe. Me vs. heavy box of music stands. Helpful child said ‘you can swear if you like miss – looked like it hurt’. It did.

I scraped my shin and badly injured my pride falling-off a chair balanced on a table, as I put up a display… as a class quietly worked…  and I dislocated my knee in a Staff Vs Parents hockey match.

Almost broke fingers and arm, grassboarding down a slope on y[ea]r 7 activity holiday session!

being bitten. Also having a chair leg land on my foot (sandals

Molten jelly baby flew out of boiling tube onto my hand during open evening demo. I kept smiling

Sort of injury, kidney stones from not drinking enough water during school day. Agony for 2 days. Now I know opioids REALLY work.

slipped on a wet corridor and broke a finger pride also suffered considerable injury. After year 11 stopped convulsing with laughter following my very slapstick slip they did show great concern and sympathy

Sewed through my finger on a sewing machine whilst helping Year 11. Just about managed not to bleed on her coursework!

Ice skating lesson with a school group in 1988 & stuck the rear right boot spike through my left boot. Stab wound & 2 broken bones in foot!

Fractured my arm after falling off a ladder putting Christmas dec[oration]s up or scalded my foot after dropping an urn of hot water.

Electric shocks from various electricity experiments, and falling over and hurting my thumb.

Ran a ski trip to Italy and chair lift bar fell on my head, lots of blood and was taken down the slope in the blood-wagon. Tried to walk through a swing door which was normally well oiled, unfortunately this time it wasn’t and I went head first into the glass!

Stitches in a finger due to a stubborn classroom locker. Expletives were used. Entire Year 4 class were shocked. Hospital swiftly attended.

cracked patella jumping rope with 3rd graders

Mild concussion. Projector screen fell from roof hit me on head.

A bruised backside when I slipped on ice taking Tutor group to Xmas carol service. They kindly picked me up.

Slipped a disc standing up from my chair whilst teaching a PSHE lesson. Needed [other teachers] to carry me away from class!!

Fell off a table whilst putting up a display. Did my knee good and proper

I stapled my finger when putting up a display. Ive also caught thousands of colds (but that’s illness not injury).

My funniest injury at sch[ool]: stapled my fingers together whilst holding a stapler & teaching.

Electric shock off a whiteboard…it certainly made me jump!!

Torn my knee ligaments jumping on a trampoline

During my PGCE I dislocated my shoulder from stopping a pass in a lunchtime basketball game.

Fractured my humerus, two ribs and cut my eyebrow… I fell

Trapped arm in a door while restraining a student (Special needs School) [went to] A&E

Regularly I have bruises mid thigh from walking into tables

I slipped in the dining hall on a sausage and did a strange somersault, a plate crashed to the floor bounced up & and sliced open my cheek

Tripped up stairs on the way to a lesson, laptop went flying, smashed my head on the handrail, knocked myself out, in front of students

Punched in the temple by a y[ear] 8 boy. Headbutted (didn’t connect) by an angry y[ear] 11. Wallet nicked by a y[ear] 11 that I had spent hours supporting.

Lice, scabies and flea bites. All in a days work. Oh yes. And a tub of black powder paint with no lid, fell off a shelf on my head. Scary sight.

Torn [anterior cruciate ligament] in right knee whilst separating two Year 9 boys fighting!

Once thought it good idea to remove OHP bulb immediately after it blew. Fingerprints returned after a few months

I ripped a muscle in my lower back moving a filing cabinet. Had waited for the site agent for 5 days and got tired of waiting.  won’t make the mistake again, will just wait nicely!

Bumped into a table (fixed to the floor). Bruise on my thigh is about 10 cm long, 5 cm high. Done this almost every month, for 20 y[ears].

Broke a tooth on school pitta bread…

Dropped a recycling bin on my foot and lost a toenail.

Got slapped around the face and then kicked twice one morning.

Burnt most of my hand when I didn’t use a long enough fuse for a flash powder demonstration

I fell off my bike in front of the main entrance, causing moderate but prolonged reputational damage.

Put a staple through my finger while putting up a display.

Badly cut knee and ripped suit after attempting to show Y[ear] 6 boys,playing football on the playground, ‘how it’s done’.

Took an “accidentally released” rounders bat to the gentleman’s area. If I wasn’t the recipient it would have been funny.

Partially tore ligaments while mucking about being a wolf in the playground

Tripped on cracked car park tarmac, burst knee wide open. Lots of stitches

I broke my foot at 7am at school on a dodgy paving slab and then walked around on it for the rest of the day before getting an X-ray. I also once dropped molten hot sulfur on my hand while doing a demo,had to teach the rest of my lesson with my hand in a bowl of cold water

Fell 2 steps walking down unlit stairs and twisted ankle. Had an xray and 2 days off work.

Cut my finger open whilst shutting a toilet door I spotted was ajar. Kid in my class provided me with loo roll from his bag that he kept there with a torch in case he needed to go for a poo in the dark! Not sure which event was the weirdest.

Fell off a chair doing a display- Huge bruise black on arm…despite just saying to students always use a chair for its intended purpose!

I broke my ankle in the middle of one of my [physical education] classes.

Broke bone in coccyx. Also got pneumonia from sewage has when basement flooded. Illness rather than injury really.

My eye got cut from a student’s nail when playing basketball with them. Lost a high % of peripheral vision in my right eye.

I’ve suffered a cut lip when a child I was sitting next to shot his hand up a little enthusiastically. Still think he did it on purpose

There have been a couple of reasonably serious injuries in the staff-sixth form football. Not to me though.

Banging my head – It’s not easy being a giant.

[From a school business manager] There was the time I was walking along a corridor & a teacher opened an outward opening door & pole-axed me. They were mortified..

Got punched by a parent, but wasn’t injured, and in retrospect she was probably in the right. Who was I to tell her son to tuck in his shirt?

Shut the filing cabinet in my classroom and trapped my nipple in it. No idea how I managed that..

Teachers describe their worst injury at work published first on http://ift.tt/2uVElOo