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all-my-love-for-harry · 4 years

Text

Show off.

summary: artemis likes to show his daddy off and harry takes every opportunity to make his son proud.

word count:

based on these requests:

"for the single parent series, could there be one where harry and the reader go to artemis’ school for like parent teacher interviews or like harry goes for a school father’s day kinda thing? thanks!"

and

"wait so what about artemis like showing his daddy off🥺 cause that bb just knows how awesome his dad is and he wants everyone to know it"

and

"For my shy little boy can you write something were parents go to schools to talk about their jobs and Artemis chooses Harry and introduces him as his that and harry gets all mushy and happy to talk about his job and tells funny/cute stories about Artemis and Y/n while they were on the road with him. Please."

and

"hi I love my shy little boy series! could you write something about Artemis calling or telling his friends at school that Harry’s his dad or like Harry attends Artemis school event??"

a/n: hi! sorry for taking so long, i haven't been inspired lately but here we are again! hope you enjoy!

you can find more of my shy little boy here

*:･ﾟ✧ ✧ﾟ･: *:･ﾟ✧ ✧ﾟ･:

November, 2019.

Starting on a new school has never been easy, especially if school year has already started and you’re the last one to join. Making the decision of putting Artemis in another school wasn’t an easy one, but surely the most practical one. After moving in with Harry, Artemis’ school ended up too far from home, so his parents made the decision to choose another one that was closer to their house.

It was hard at first, the poor boy would cry trying to convince his mummy to let him stay, sometimes faking having the flu or a headache. Y/N would sigh and try to explain to him how he had to put on a little effort, she understood it was hard for him to leave his teacher, his friends, a routine he was already used to. However, closing off and refusing to talk to his classmates didn’t make things better.

Slowly but surely, Artemis started to accept the changes. He started talking to a few kids, opening up to the idea of making new friends. He’d talk about what he liked, disliked and, of course, he’d talk about his mummy and daddy.

“My daddy says we treat people with kindness!”

“My mummy packs me breakfast every day.”

Those were some of the things he’d usually say to his classmates. However he held back a little when it came to talk about Harry, having his mummy explain to him before how not everybody had the best intentions when it came to them, so sometimes it was better to not say too much. But Artemis couldn’t help it, he loved his daddy too much.

One day, he was at school sitting beside one of his friends, a little girl named Allison. The teacher had giving them permission to use the last minutes of the class to do whatever they wanted, and Artemis was coloring a book next to his friend.

"What's your daddy's name?" The girl asked.

"Harry," He smiled. "Harry Styles."

Much to his surprise, the blonde girl let out a high-pitched laugh while shocking her head. “No, he isn’t.” She stated. “Harry Styles’ a rock star. That’s what my mummy says.”

Artemis furrowed. At this point, he was well aware what his daddy’s job was, but to him Harry’s always been a normal person. The man who dated his mummy and now was his dad too. “He is!” Allison just shook her head again, making her pigtails move as well. It frustrated the boy how she seemed to not believe him, when he was obviously telling the truth.

So he crossed his arms across his chest, pouting. The teacher has noticed the little disagreement the kids had, and she secretly took the girl’s side. It had been a little over a month since Artemis had arrived to the school and she was yet to meet the boy’s dad, as Y/N was always the one who picked him up. Soon enough, the parents of the children started to show up, and the classroom became emptier.

There were a few kids left besides Artemis that were still waiting to be collected when Harry showed up. He was excited to meet his son’s teacher since he wasn’t able to before, he’s been pretty busy since the album release was approaching therefore his time was being consumed by meetings and last minute trips to the studio. He walked down the hallway with a big smile on his face, looking down at all the small humans with their parents. He must admit, if there was one thing he didn’t like about Artemis’ new school, it would be the uniforms. The tiny, navy blue polo his son had to wear under the long sleeve shirt with the logo of the school embroidered on his shirt was a little too formal on his opinion, but it was part of the rules.

Harry’s smile grew at the sight of his son waiting for him. “Daddy!” Artemis was the one who spotted him first, getting up from his chair and running towards him. “You came!”

“Of course I came.” Harry said, his hands ran through the mop of curls Artemis had. “Go for your bag, I’ll say hello to your teacher.”

Artemis did what his daddy told him, and when he passed next to Allison, he made an ‘I told you so’ expression. “Told you I wasn’t a bloody liar!” The little girl opened her mouth in offense, but to be fair she didn’t believe him when he told her.

“Hi, I’m Artemis’ dad.” Harry offered the teacher a smile as they shook hands. It was still surreal to him introducing himself as a father, and it never failed to put a smile on his face. “I’m sorry I didn’t come earlier, things have been a little hectic at work and I’ve been out of town.”

“Uh, It-it’s okay. It’s nice to meet you Mr. Styles.” The woman in front of him was nervous and he was sure she wasn’t aware who Artemis’ father was. “I don’t know if you’ve received the email yet, but we’re having a small gathering with the parents on Wednesday so they could come talk about their jobs to the kids and stuff.”

He nodded. “Thank you for telling me. I’ll talk to my girlfriend about it but you’ll see either of us here.” He gave her one last smile before he took Artemis’ hand in his. “Let’s go, baby. Say bye to your teacher.”

“Bye!” The little boy waved to her before turning his attention back to his daddy. They walked outside of the school at to his car, Harry listening closely to what Artemis was telling him. “Allison didn’t believe you were my daddy!”

“She didn’t?” He asked as he lifted Artemis to put him on his car seat. “Why wouldn’t she?”

“She said her mummy told her you were a rock star or something.” He shrugged. “But you can be both right? A rock star and my daddy?”

“Of course I can be both!” He exclaimed, kissing the top of his head.

Harry carried Artemis’ backpack inside while the small boy ran towards the living room, in look for his mummy. “She’s in her office, mate.”

“Is she working?” Harry hummed in confirmation.

While Y/N was working in her office, Harry helped Artemis clean up before they started lunch together. When the food was ready, she finally came out of the room and went to find her boys. “Hello, darlings.” She said.

“Mummy!” Artemis ran towards his mum and gave her a hug.

The family of three ate happily, conversation never dying down because of the small bubble of joy that couldn’t stop talking with his parents. He’d talk until he became too tired he had to be put down to his afternoon nap. Harry was putting everything in the dishwasher when Y/N came back down, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind.

“I met Artemis’ teacher today.” She hummed in response. “She uh, did she tell you about the parent thingy?”

“What?”

“You know, where parents go talk to the kids about their jobs.”

“Oh, I didn’t think they’d do that.”

“Have you gone to one?”

“Yeah, last year at Artemis’ old school. It was fun.”

“It’s on Wednesday.”

“I think it will be good if you go.” Harry turned around to see her, thinking she wasn’t serious. “What? You don’t think so?”

“No, no. It’s not that. I just thought you’d want to go.”

“I’m sure Artemis would want you there, your job is more interesting.” She joked, making hum frown.

“That’s not true.”

“You’re right. But i still think you should go."

Taking a deep breath, Harry entered the classroom. He has has a little wardrobe crisis trying to decide what should he wear to the event. He didn't want to be too formal, quickly deciding that a suit wouldn't be the his first choice. But he didn't want to be too casual either, his job might not require a tux and a tie but showing up in sweatpants and a hoodie wasn't a choice either. So he settled for a pair brown slacks that he paired with a white button up shirt and some gucci loafers.

He wanted to make his son proud so he has also prepared for any questions the kids might have. He didn't consider his job to be more important than the others, but the children would probably be interested when a man with an unconventional job walks in.

There were already a few parents standing in one side of the classroom when he arrived, and a man was in the middle of explaining what he did for a living while standing in the middle of the room. Harry immediately spotted Artemis sitting on a chair, however he was looking around the room trying to find his daddy.

When his hazel eyes met Harry's green ones, the little boy smiled widely, glad he was finally there. Harry made him a sign, silently telling him to pay attention to the other parents until it was Harry's turn.

It had been fifteen minutes since he arrived and he was finally next in line. Currently, a middle aged woman was explaining how she was an accountant and trying to make numbers sound interesting to a bunch of five year olds. Nonetheless, Harry clapped when the woman finished talking and that encouraged the kids to clap too.

The teacher made him a sign and Harry stepped in the middle of the room. "Hello, my name's Harry."

"That's my dad!" He heard Artemis exclaim from his seat.

"That's right." He chuckled. "I'm uh, i'm a musician, which means i make music for a living." He started saying. "We all like music, right?" The children cheered. "I love music, and the reason why i do what i do is to try and make people feel something through my music." Harry was actually trying to make it interesting, so he decided to add a twist. "My job also makes me travel the world constantly."

"Have you been to Japan?" One boy asked.

"I have, yes. I like to learn from the countries I visit, and Japan is one of our favorites. Right, pal?" He looked at Artemis for confirmation. "Last time I was there, I took my family to this beautiful place to eat. Unfortunately, they didn't have forks and we had to eat everything with chopsticks. My... girlfriend didn't know how to use them, and in one wrong move she sent flying a piece of sushi to the table next to us, can you believe it?!" The kids laughed.

"What else do you do?"

"I tour the world, and bring my music anywhere I can. Have you ever been to a concert?" Some kids nodded and some others shook their heads. "Well, concerts are a lot of fun, you'll see when you get older. One time i forgot my passport at home, and couldn't get on my flight. I had a concert to give!"

"And what did you do?"

"Artemis here delivered it, right son?" The curly haired boy nodded shyly at his dad.

"Where do you get your inspiration from?" One little girl asked, raising her hand before speaking.

He smiled, not expecting that question from a child. "From life, honestly. As you get older you try and find a way of expressing yourself and art is very important. You see, there's a lot of ways we can comunicate without having an actual conversation. It can be through a painting, or a poem, perhaps even dancing. I chose to do it on a song. What i write about? Things that makes me happy. And what makes me happy? Well, that's easy. My family."

☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁

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twistedlymad · 4 years

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UwU Your writing is amazing !!!!! I loved the puppy and cat escapades \ ^o^ / . Would you be willing to do one in wich the mc is bullied by the extras, because you know, no magic and already a director, how would the boys react?? Will this be the end of the extras?!?? Ill be eternally gratefull. iTs okay if you cant throug. Hope you have a wonderfull day, and dont forget to drink plenty of water, and take breakes. Take care of yourself!!!!

Originally, I had planned this to be another chaos fic, but, I realize while writing this, that bullying is something that cannot be taken lightly. In the Twst Fandom, we also had our fair share of bullying from a few anons and that isn’t okay.

So, in writing this fic, I made it more sentimental and just so you guys know, if you’re having a bad day or a bad time in general, feel free to talk to anyone, including me! Do not ever hold in your sadness.

But anyway, I hope this fic lives up to your expectations anon! Thank you for requesting and have a lovely day!

What if you got bullied? (Ft. Everyone!!)

What was supposed to be a great day, turned out to be the worst day you could ever have at Night Raven College.

Your day started off normally, in fact, it started off well! You woke up with a good mood. You saw the furball that you loved so much beside you, sleeping peacefully. You smiled as you gently shook him awake.

“Grim, wake up, it’s already morning.”

“Fgnaaaaa, five… more minutes…” The sleeping creature said, swatting your hand away. You just shook your head at his antics.

“No can do, remember what Crowley would do if he caught us being late again.” You said and the creature’s eyes immediately shot opened and he jumped out of the bed, scurrying about to get ready for the day. You saw his slightly panicking self and giggled to yourself.

“(Y/N)! We shouldn’t be dancing and prancing! If we do, we’re going to be late!” Said the creature as he saw you heading over to your closet in a small waltz.

“Oh, Grim, I woke you up 10 minutes earlier than usual.” You said as you grabbed your uniform and headed to the bathroom. “You have 10 minutes to spare, take your time.” And you left the mumbling little furball in the room, face planting himself back into the bed after hearing your words.

The first half of your day had gone by rather quick and uneventful, not that you were complaining though. It’s nice to not have fights and chaos to settle every once in a while. You had a lot of laughs and smiles here and there with your group of first-year goofballs.

However, your peaceful day was about to turn upside down.

You were walking back to your classroom. Your friends were reserving your spot in Professor Trein’s class while you went to Crowley’s office to take care of some business involving Ramshackle Dorm. You and Grim made your way down the hall to the class.

Some students saw this and thought it was a great opportunity to make you trip and fall. So, one of them stuck out his leg while you were making you were walking. You didn’t have enough time to react and ended up falling for their antics. You immediately turned your body around so Grim, who was in your hands, would be shielded using your body. Your back hit the ground, HARD. A few gasps here and there were heard.

Grim rose his head from your chest to see you using your elbow to prompt yourself up.

“Fgnaaa! (Y/N)!” The furball immediately went to help you up by providing some support.

“Oh, sorry, didn’t see you there.” The student who tripped you said as his friends were laughing.

“School rules say that no magic or fights are allowed on school grounds.” His friends snickered.

“I’m fine… Just… Let me get up.” You said to Grim, who was still helping you.

“Pffft, look at her, so defenseless, she shouldn’t even be at this school!” The student said harshly.

“Hello?! Night Raven College is a place for prestigious mages. Not humans who can’t use magic and defend themselves.” Another student said to you.

“And to think she’s a prefect! Hahahahaha! You couldn’t even compare to the other dorm leaders!” His friend added and they all agreed.

“Looks like Crowley had made a huge mistake in bringing you here, why don’t you just crawl back to that sad excuse for a dorm of yours alongside your lousy furball!” And the group of students cackled at their snarky comments about you.

You just drooped your head down. Even though you didn’t want to admit it, but, they were right.

You had no magic, you were ridiculed at the entrance ceremony but, Crowley still gave you a place to stay and he even made you an official student here. While others struggled in getting here, you sort of knew why they hated you.

You tried your best to hold in your tears as you felt them pricking at the corner of your eyes while your friends defended you.

But, one comment had pushed past your boundaries.

“You’re not even considered to be human in my eyes! To me, you’re just trash. Go find a trash can and make yourself at home!”

Was… Was this what the other students really thought about you? Trash? Useless? No value? You closed your eyes, taking everything in, ignoring everything and everyone else around you. And proceeded to walk away without saying a single word.

Grim shouted for you but you payed no attention to him and just kept speed walking. Your walking slowly became running and you were then running as fast as you could, just letting your legs lead the way. After awhile of running at full speed, you had slowed down and stopped to take a breather. You looked around to see where you were in order for you to get back to school if needed.

However, you were back at Ramshackle Dorm. Your dorm. The tears you had been holding back flowed out as you took slow steps to the dorm you loved. You went in and closed the door behind you. Leaning your back against the door, you cried out your heart as you slowly slid down.

All the student’s words are stuck in your head, reminding you of what everyone else thinks of you. Your tears just kept flowing as you used your sleeves to wipe them away.

‘They’re right, I’m not meant to be here in the first place.’ You thought to yourself. ‘If everyone hates me so, then, I should just disappear.’ You said in your mind as you stood up and went to your room.

You packed some clothing and madol, ready to leave and hopefully start a new life outside of Night Raven College. You stuffed everything into a duffel bag and went to the main entrance of your dorm. You placed your hand on the doorknob, thinking of a route to leave the school undetected. But when you opened the door…

You were faced with everyone you ever knew.

And I mean everyone! Your group of best friends, the dorm-leaders and your seniors. They were all gathered in front of your dorm.

“Ahh! (Y/N)!! I’m so glad we found you!” Ace said as he, Deuce, Epel, Jack, Sebek and Grim came to hug you. You were surprised, too shocked to even register what had happened.

“We heard about the incident today, we already reported it to the headmaster.” Riddle said.

“But the first-years also reported that you were nowhere to be found. So, we came looking for you and your dorm was the only place we haven’t checked.” Azul continued.

“So, we all gathered here after our search!” Kalim concluded. The first-year boys pulled away from their hug and they noticed your bag.

“(Y/N)? What’s going on? Why are you leaving?” Epel asked you. Your eyes slowly travelled to the bag.

“Um…” You started but Deuce cut you off.

“Is it because of those damned students?” Deuce asked you. “Did they threaten you?”

Now, everyone’s eyes were on you. You averted their stares by lowering your head.

“No…” You said, dropping the duffel bag.

“They didn’t threaten me. But, what they said was true, was it not?” You lifted your head to let everyone see your tear-filled eyes. “I am just a human, I don’t possess any magic powers and yet here I am in this school for magicians. Not only that, but I am also the dorm leader for this dorm and I have been made a prefect! Isn’t that unfair to everyone else?” You said out loud, letting everyone hear you.

“I understand why they would have these kinds of thoughts. I understand why they hate me. That’s why I thought that if I have left, no one would have these kinds of thoughts ever again. After, I am the problem, aren’t I?” You concluded.

Truth be told, the boys were shocked. They… They have never seen this side of you. Heck, they never thought you would be capable of producing these types of thoughts. In their eyes, you were always so cheerful and kind, even when things got out of hand, you would remain calm and solve the problem to the best of your abilities. To think someone this pure and precious to them would have such depressing and degrading thoughts is beyond them.

However, this shocked Grim the most. The creature practically lived with you for so long and he didn’t even have a single clue of this side of you was scaring him.

“No, you’re wrong.” Grim lowly mumbled, but you couldn’t hear him.

“What?” You asked the furball.

“YOU’RE WRONG!” He practically screamed at you.

“Grim-chan…” Cater said softly.

“Even if you did leave, their thoughts won’t change! You’re not the problem! It’s them!” The furball yelled to you. Everyone was taken aback by Grim’s sudden outburst. But the first-years were quick to back him up.

“That’s right! It’s not your fault (Y/N)!” Ace said to you.

“Students at NRC are picked by the mirror of darkness. No one can easily come and go in this school.” Leona reminded everyone.

“Exactly, you arrived here for a reason.” Rook said.

“You assisted us with our overblots, not every child of man could do that.” Malleus said, representing every dorm leader.

“You had us working together in sync during the Inter-High Magift Tournament.” Ruggie added.

“You brought us together as friends.” Sebek stated.

“Most importantly, you let me have a place here at NRC. Because of you, we were only able to attend the school as a student.” Grim said. “No one has ever done something like that for me before.” The creature said as he slowly crawled up to you.

Everyone’s words had stunned you. You were so busy thinking about the negative comments about you, you forgot about all your relationships with your friends and seniors.

Like, how you always had tea in Heartslabyul. Riddle would always invite you to have tea with him and the others, you would enjoy the peacefulness of the dorm under the supervision of their dorm leader. Trey would always ask for your help in the kitchen and you would have a fun time with him while making sweets and desserts for everyone. Cater would whisk you away to either a selfie-session in the dorm’s gardens or a photoshoot in any new place that the he had found to be photogenic. Ace and Deuce would invite you to play croquet with them from time to time, of course, you were very careful with the flamingos and hedgehogs as you didn’t want to hurt any of them, but, you couldn’t resist in using the flamingo to bonk on either Ace’s or Deuce’s head every once in awhile. It’s okay though, the flamingo understood completely.

Like, how you always trained yourself in Savanaclaw. Leona would sometimes go easy on you if you were invited to join one of their many Magift activities, although, you weren’t sure if he was pitying you or he was just being lazy in general. You would help Ruggie prepare food for everyone as you knew he could use an extra hand or two, it also meant you could pick up a new recipe here and there and you got to taste test all the food. Jogging sessions with Jack were also a normal thing, hey, if you’re going to be joining in Magift tournaments without magic powers, the least you could do is train yourself physically.

Like, how you always felt welcomed at Octavinelle. Azul would welcome you into the VIP lounge when Mostro Lounge was extremely busy and you couldn’t find a place to sit at. You would also help out around Mostro Lounge when you saw that the place was packed to the brim. Usually, Jade would entrust you with drinks while he and Floyd went to prepare food for everyone else. When Mostro Lounge closed its doors for the day, you would enjoy some tea with the three underwater mermen or you and Grim would play around with Floyd, pranking other students and dorm leaders. Heck, you and Floyd even pulled off a few enormous pranks against the staff members.

Like, how you would be invited to feasts and parties at Scarabia. Kalim would always have a big smile on his face whenever he invited you to go dine with him at Scarabia. Jamil always appreciated your help in the dorm, let it be helping him prepare food for the party that Kalim had just decided to have five minutes ago or just keeping an eye on the dorm leader while he went to settle some other business involving the dorm.

Like, how you would have small makeovers at Pomefiore. Every time you walked past the beauty-queen/king, you were immediately stopped by him, because either your bow or tie was crooked or your hair was a mess, well no matter the case, Vil would fix it for you. When you visited Pomefiore from time to time, Vil would take the chance to give you high quality beauty products to try and he would always go on a rant on how you should always take care of your image. Sometimes, Rook would sweep you away just to go on a mini hunt with him. Although, let’s be real here, you two always ended up spying on Leona at the Botanical Gardens while he skipped his classes. Epel would whisk you away to his room and teach you to on how to carve apples. You managed to carve a few of the staff members and even your friends onto the apples, of course, you would carve on a few extra features onto your masterpieces. Like, say, a moustache for Ace or funky-looking ears for Crowley. You also helped to keep Epel in check whenever Vil and Rook were teaching the first-years on table manners and proper etiquette.

Like, how you would enjoy mini-gaming sessions at Ignihyde. Usually, you would initiate the session with Idia. You two ended up playing both Co-Op and PvP games. While playing games that require you to cooperate, the two of you would discuss your plans and pick out the best course of action. The same cannot be said for Free-For-All games though. A few minor insults here and there are thrown between the two of you. But at the end, the victor will always do a little happy dance before continuing onto the next game. You loved Ortho like your own brother! Always treating him to various desserts and helping him drag his brother out from his room. Ortho looks up to you like a sister as well. There may have been a few times he’s actually called you big sis.

Like, how you would go on quaint little walks at Diasomnia. If you needed a breather, you would usually find yourself at Diasomnia. Due to a large forest surrounding the building and the silent atmosphere the dorm provides, it is the exact place where you would go to take a walk to clear your mind. Malleus would sometimes accompany you on these quaint little walks. You and Tsunotaro would chat about your everyday lives and problems the first-years would create. Lilia would make some tea for you after your walks and you would enjoy the tea and bits of biscuits and crumpets alongside the tea. You would also break up arguments between Silver and Sebek. The two would get into fights about the tiniest of things, from blaming each other for losing track of Malleus to blaming each other for not preparing for a test. Sometimes, Silver would accompany you on your walk instead of Malleus and you two would also have little chats here and there. Other than that, Sebek’s view of you actually improved after befriending him. He used to think you were a powerless human as well but after spending time with him and your friends, he realizes that you aren’t just any human being.

But for Grim, you had the greatest impact in his life. You accepted him, you took care of him, you loved him. And he loved you back, just as much. To him, you were his family since he had never had one.

In conclusion, you matter.

You. Are. Of. Value.

You are precious to them, you bring peace to them, you brought them together as a whole.

Once that thought had nested in your brain, you realized that you were foolish in having these thoughts in the first place.

“I’m sorry…” You said, crying. Grim went and hugged you.

“It’s not your fault… Just know that we’re here for you.” Said the furball as everyone also came and comforted you. You had spent the day with them as a whole, you watched a few movies, horror movies in that case. It was fun hearing the dorm leaders and their members scream shout yell made a loud sound whenever a jumpscare appeared.

You guys also played games together, but, I am not allowed to share any details because I actually know nothing. No, I’m totally not being threatened here Reader-san, don’t worry about me.

Send help pls.

Also, after the bullying incident, the boys were a bit more protective around you when in class/school. Usually, your group of first-years would accompany you wherever you go, let it be from your dorm to the cafeteria or from the class to another dorm, at least one of them will be at your side. And when they couldn’t be there, either a dorm leader or an upperclassman would be near you. Any student who seem like they have bad intentions to either you or Grim, would face unspeakable consequences.

And I mean unspeakable. So, I cannot inform you of these consequences as I am under an oath to not reveal anything. Um. Yeah. Good luck persuading the boys to tell you : )

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cancerbiophd · 3 years

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Why am I so afraid of professors? They're all so smart and cool and I always feel like I'm not good enough, especially when they appear to be irked or treat me coldly/with hostility. It makes me feel stupid and unadequate and unworthy. I'm terribily uneasy every time I have to interact with them. Even if I studied hard and I know I'm saying something correct i tend to get unsure and submissive, like in a very 'i-hope-i'm-doing-this-right' and 'please-don't-hurt-me' way. Of course this affects my exams because it looks like I'm not sure of what I'm saying... and the professor gets irked even more because they obviously think I haven't studied and I'm wasting their time. I hate myself for it. Please, do you have any tips to overcome this?

Hi Anon, ohh I know that experience very well. I also used to be absolutely terrified of professors when I was in college. Raising my hand to ask a question in lecture? Nuh uh! Going to office hours? NUH UH. I had huuuge anxiety regarding all that.

But it slowly got better (though it took longer than I--and my grades--would’ve hoped), so I have some ideas on how you can also become more comfortable around professors. Feel free to try any you feel comfortable doing, and also keep in mind this is in no way a comprehensive list of ideas, and that everything will take baby steps and most importantly, time.

Firstly, know it’s not your fault. I’m not a therapist or anything so take this with a grain of salt, but it seems to me that something traumatizing may have happened in your past/still happening in your present to create this current feeling of fear around authority figures, especially if one of your constant fears is being physically hurt by them. If that seems to ring true, I highly recommend seeking the advice of a professional therapist, as they can help you find more permanent solutions through these types of obstacles. I think seeking a therapist would be a very kind thing you can do to take care of yourself because, most importantly, you deserve to live a life free from fear, and secondly, it’s affecting your day-to-day life (ie. your grades and mental well-being).

Secondly, I really hope you have a really good experience with a professor one day. A professor who is so kind and so passionate about helping you that it’s a huge step in healing and growing. To get you started, I highly recommend following one of my favorite blogs and professors on tumblr @xiaq. They’re seriously amazing and just, an all around good person.

Sit near the front of the classroom/lecture hall. Not only will this help in paying attention/retaining information during class, but just by being closer to your professor will help slowly ease you into being more comfortable in their presence. You may also feel more comfortable asking questions in class, as you won’t have a wall of students turning around to look back at you as you speak (I know this gave me huge anxiety).

Have a study-buddy for each class who you can go to office hours with. Experiences are always less intimidating when you’re with another person. Another bonus of a study-buddy is that you can also ask them any questions you have, and thus possibly skip having to interact with the professor all together (which would be a good thing if the professor really is being unhelpful and rude).

Going off of that, surround yourself with people who inspire you, specifically those with are very comfortable around professors. As social creatures, we oftentimes will passively pick up the mannerisms of those around us. I used to be suuuuper timid and shy, but my confidence grew during high school and college after I became friends with more confident people.

Seek out a TA first (if possible). TAs are students too (they’re just in graduate school), and they may come across as less intimidating. Heck, I could’ve been your TA :)

Spend more time with professors or TAs, even passively. Regular exposure is the fastest way to having something feel “normal”, after all. Ideas of doing this include: volunteering at a research lab, getting a part-time job on campus somewhere that has regular interaction with professors or TAs, volunteering at university-sponsored events with professors, hanging out at community learning centers where TAs volunteer as free tutors (if your university has them), signing up for smaller-sized classes (more professor interaction), or even doing homework in public study lounges near professor offices (these areas have the bonus of usually being more quiet than libraries).

Do something even more intimidating than interacting with a professor. Ok here me out: Once you accomplish something that’s even scarier, your newly gained confidence will be like, “Wow, if I could do something that’s so much more intimidating, then talking to my professor isn’t so bad in comparison!” What you do is up to you, but it should be something that’s obviously safe, but challenging enough so that it’s just a little bit scary, and in the end you’ll be more confident for having accomplished it. Like performing in public, or running for a leadership position for a club you’re in, or working a part-time job/volunteering opportunity that gives you the chance to interact with lots of diverse people.

Know you are not being a burden when you ask a professor for help. A) It’s their literal job to teach. You are no more a burden asking a professor for help on their class than you are going to the doctor’s office when you’re sick. As a student who is paying thousands of dollars in tuition (or someone is paying that for you), you are the reason why that professor has a job and a salary. So they need to do their job well, right? B) Teaching is also their passion. There are a variety of career paths they could’ve taken (especially for those with a PhD), and staying in academia is usually by far one of the hardest and most competitive paths, so the fact that they’re still there means that they really do enjoy what they do.

But know also that professors are human. Sometimes they may be having a bad day that’s unrelated to their students, and may seem a bit more tense and terse. We’ve all been there, right? If a professor or my boss seems a bit snippy that day, unless they explicitly say to me “Julia, I am so mad at you right now”, I chalk it up to something else happening in their lives that has nothing to do with me. My mental wellbeing has greatly improved by adopting this way of thinking: “never assume another person’s intentions and only accept what they explicitly tell you.”

Say more “thank you”s instead of “I’m sorry”. This moves things away from erroneously putting all the blame on you towards being appreciative of the other person’s time and energy. Instead of “I’m so sorry I don’t understand this from class” try saying “Thank you for taking the time to teach this again to me”. See how different the vibes are? And how much more positive you feel by saying the second one? The other person will also feel more positive about the interaction too. If you catch yourself instinctively saying “I’m sorry” (because I know it’s a habit that’s hard to shake), quickly follow up with a “thank you” as well: “I’m sorry I don’t understand this from class but thank you for taking the time to teach this again to me.”

Lastly, be patient and kind with yourself as this will take time. Overcoming something that gives us anxiety takes exposure, patience, and time; it won’t happen overnight. Take baby steps at first, and it’s ok if you just can’t do something today. That’s alright, you can try tomorrow.

Also, if anyone who has gone through something similar has any advice or words of support to share, please feel free to reblog or leave a reply!

Good luck anon, I hope things get easier for you ❤️

#Anonymous #college advice

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beelshamburger · 3 years

Text

This was my gift for @starautocon for the Obey Me Secret Santa 2020 event! I hope you like it :D

Star looked at the ground as she sat on the chair. Normally she would be comfortable or feel at home in Lucifer’s room, but this time it was different. She was in trouble.

She didn’t mean to hurt the demon so badly. Not like that. But they were being such assholes, they were practically begging for her to beat them up. Those spoiled brats.

They were this demon gang, some guys who were far too cocky and rude. They used to bully whoever they found were weaker than them. Their leader was a complete asshole, and would always tease any little demon that was around.

Eventually, they decided to make fun of Luke.

Hell no.

They started teasing him whenever they passed him by the hall, or found him alone in the classroom, and of course when Star noticed, she had to intervene.

Still, they hadn’t stopped and had decided to tease her instead.

So they had been getting on her nerves for a while, teasing her and insulting her whenever the demon brothers weren’t near. At one point, it had become too much, and before she knew it, Starbreaker was out and she beat those demons to a pulp. She was far too mad, too angry to even think straight. So she didn’t even flinch as she sliced open her opponents arm with her trusty dagger. Or cut off a demons ear.

Before she could get to the third demon though, Satan and Lucifer quickly came inside the classroom and grabbed her arms, trying to restrain her. While Simeon ushered her away to the nurses office, Star watched from the corner of her eye as Lucifer and Satan turned in their demon forms and made their way to the other demons. She smirked, satisfied that at least Satan and Lucifer were going to make those demons regret their actions.

But that didn’t mean she was going to be let off scot free. Lucifer was definetly mad at her, and she knew she was going to get a long lecture when he opened the office door. The demon brothers never liked her getting into fights, they got worried, which was in a way sweet, but still made Star a bit mad that they didn’t seem to believe she could take care of herself.

When Lucifer came into the room, Star could feel the air grow colder, and she tried to suppress a shiver and keep her face as neutral as possible when Lucifer sat in front of her. He was definetly mad.

His face was pulled into a frown, and his eyes burned with anger. Star only stared back, trying to rebel in her own way. After minutes of silence, Lucifer sighed and ran a hand through his hair, leaning back on his chair.

“Will you explain to me why, when I left you alone for around five minutes, I come back to see you all bruised up fighting with some demons?”

Star glared. “They were being dicks to Luke. I was only trying to defend him, not my fault those assholes turned it into a fight.”

“It seems to me that you don’t understand that you’re in a place surrounded by demons, powerful ones at that-”

“I could still beat them up.”

Lucifer raised his hand and Star went quiet.

“I’m not worried about that. I’m more worried about them causing you any fatal wounds, they could still harm you. Besides that, you could be sent back home. You know if any exchange students are caused or cause harm to anyone,they’ll be sent back. Is that what you want?”

Star clenched her fists. “So did you just want me to stand back and watch as they teased Luke?”

“I’m not saying that, what you should have done is to call us, me or Satan, even Barbatos.”

“Oh sure, and not teach those guys a lesson? If I had called any of you, sure, they would have stopped, but just for a little while. They’ll never understand that even weak people can take care of themselves, and they’ll keep teasing eveeyone. By beating them up, I honestly feel like I did them a favor. Now they’ll think twice when they bully someone.”

“Star you can’t just do this sort of thing and expect no consequences. You should think it through-”

“I DID think it through, seriously do you think I’m that stupid? I did know what the consequences are, and I did it knowing what could happen. You have to understand I can take care of myself.”

“Well, what if the situation had gotten out of control? What would you have done if Starbreaker had come out, and you weren’t able to control the outcome? You could have killed those demons, and I won’t be able to get out of that one. Why can’t you just sit still for a while?”

Star quickly shot up from her seat and grabbed Lucifers collar, and angry aura all around her.

“You can’t tell me what to do, stop treating me like a child Lucifer! Why can’t you just trust me for once, trust that I can do things on my own? I’m so tired of everyone treating me like a fragile doll, like I’m lesser than them. I want to be treated just like everyone else, on equal ground.”

Lucifer glared. “Now listen-”

“No! You listen Lucifer! I’m seriously so done with everyone, why can’t all of you understand, I’m not a child.” Star could quickly feel her anger rising, and that Starbreaker was trying to come out. She was getting real pissed off, especially because Lucifer couldn’t seem to...understand.

Lucifer quickly placed a hand on her shoulder, but Star shoved it away. “Seriously Lucifer! I thought that you could understand, yet you still want to treat me like I’m-like I’m, I don’t know a toddler?! Is that how you see me? Because honestly fuck you Lucifer.”

The room once again became colder, and Lucifer stared at you, his calm facade starting to wear off and his anger beginning to rise. Star realized that what she might have done was probably not the best thing, and she felt goosebumps rise at the back of her neck as Lucifer changed into his demon form and walked over to her.

“You don’t get to talk to me that way. I’m the one that’s taking care of you in the exchange program, therefore you do as I say, and I say that you hop off your high horse and try to understand how your actions could affect you, and the people around you. You ask to be treated as a grown up, yet here you are, throwing a tantrum because of something you did. Honestly it just makes me laugh. Sure, you’re powerful the same way me and my brothers are, but that still doesn’t change that you’re human. And don’t even get me started on how most of the times Starbreaker takes over, you loose control, and you know you do. What if you ended up killing those demons, huh? You would’ve been thrown in jail, maybe worse. You don’t know if they’re part of a bigger gang, if they’re friends with higher and more ruthless demons. What if they all wanted to take revenge on you? Star, I know you’re strong but I’m sure you wouldn’t have been able to fight all of them. They would’ve destroyed you sooner or later.”

Star bit her lip. She knew Lucifer was right, in a way. She didn’t know if those demons had other connections, and she really would have been screwed over if a large group were to attack her.

She only looked at the ground and sighed, then mumbled an apology and left the room. Lucifer didn’t stop her. He seemed to understand that she wanted some time alone,to think things thorough, and to calm down.

Star went up to her room.

.......

Eventually Satan gently knocked Star’s door, and came in. Star was sitting on the bed, still pretty angry, and she didn’t react when Satan sat beside her.

They sat in silence for a while, until Satan spoke up. “Why don’t you try that breathing excercise I taught you before?”

Star sighed but complied and did what Satan told her. They had been doing breathing exercises for about half an hour, and she had to admit that now she felt better.

“Thank you Satan.” She said, as she turned around to look at him. He only smiled and then nodded towards the door. “Well...I’m glad I could help....Lucifer is outside the door, by the way.” Star’s eyes widened and Satan shrugged. “I will leave you two to talk it out. As much as I like to mess with him, I hate it if it’s you who ends up with the short end of the stick. If he says anything hurtful though, feel free to call me so I can punch him. I’ll be in the library.”

Star tried to smile to show how grateful she was. Satan had helped her a lot after all.

Satan opened the door to her room, and just like he said, Lucifer was standing outside, waiting for him to leave. Star couldn’t really tell, but she thought she felt the aura around Satan shift as he passed Lucifer. He was probably giving him a death stare to warm him. Star shuddered.

When Satan was gone, Lucifer closed the door and looked at Star. She was trying her best not to look at him directly though. Finally, after a few moments of awkard silence, Lucifer sighed and sat beside Star in her bed.

“I’m sorry.” He said.

Star sighed. “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have talked to you like that.”

Lucifer shook his head. “Don’t be. I can understand why you would feel frustrated by the way we’re treating you...you were right. We have been treating you as if you can’t take care of yourself when, you actually can. I want to apologize if it seemed like I didn’t trust you, or as if I thought you were lesser than me. You’re not. I just...I really worry Star.”

“I know...but you have to let me do things for myself. I appreciate your help, but there are thing that I prefer doing on my own.”

“You just have to take better care of yourself Star. You can’t keep throwing yourself at every demon you see.”

Star opened her mouth to protest but Lucifer held up his hand. “Listen. It’s not because I’m afraid that you won’t come out alive or something of the such. I know you are strong. I’m just afraid that there will be a time where you will find someone who’s able to beat you. Not only that, I’m afraid that...you will be taken away. You know the rules of the exchange program, and if you fight other demons, no matter who ends up getting hurt, you will be brought back to earth. We just can’t allow anything bad to happen...and I don’t want you to go away...”

Star looked at Lucifer, wide eyed and blushed a bit. Lucifer had never been one to express his feelings like...like that. Honestly Star had never seen him so vulnerable. It was kind of cute in a way, yet her heart ached as she thought about what she had done. Lucifer was just trying to protect her, but not because he didn’t think she couldn’t do it herself, but because he didn’t want her to leave.

Star gently placed a hand on Lucifer’s shoulder. “I’m really sorry.” She whispered.

Lucifer shook his head, and then leaned his forehead against hers. “You’re just...you’re really important to me. Did you know that? You have changed me and my brother’s lives so much. You have become part of our family, and while doing that you somehow managed to bury yourself deep into my heart. And now I don’t want to let you go.”

Star felt herself blush as she looked up at Lucifer. “I...I really like you Lucifer. I really do. I’m so sorry for...for not being considerate about your feelings...you were trying to take care of me. Thank you. I will never leave you. I promise that I’ll behave.”

Lucifer smirked and in a playful tone replied, “you better, or next time I’m hanging you from the ceiling like Mammon.”

Star gasped. “You do that and I will actually destroy you.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

The both of them smiled, and spent the rest of the evening cuddling. While Star couldn’t really promise not to stop fighting at all, she did say that she would try to control herself a bit more.

Thankfully the demons didn’t come back the next day. Or the next. Or the next. Star wondered what could’ve happened to them, but neither Lucifer or Satan answered her questions. It was until one morning that she heard some classmates talking about the issue. They were both whispering, saying that Lucifer may or may not have done something to them (theories were that he made them carry a Boulder for a thousand years, or that he made them hang upside down for a long time. Others went to other extremes though, saying that Lucifer had literally banished them from existence.) Lucifer never confirmed or denied, but he did say that whatever had happened to them,they deserved. After all, he never really forgave them for hurting Star.

They also became a lot more closer, since Lucifer would spend more time with Star. She felt a bit offended thinking that it may have been because he still didn’t trust her to take care of herself, but she also couldn’t stop feeling that it was maybe because he wanted to be with her all day. And that thought always made her feel giddy. Sometimes alucifer would catch her looking at him (probably because she was still trying to figure out what the hell he wanted) and he would smile at her, this warm, loving smile. And Star would always smile back.

The end!

#obey me secret santa #ObeyMeSecretSanta2020 #obey me #obey me beelzebub #obey me leviathan #obey me mammon #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me belphegor #obey me lucifer

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everlarkficexchange · 5 years

Text

Everlark Fic Exchange: Masterlist

Springtime Edition (2019).

It's Your Birthday 2 by @sunsetsrmydreams

Prompt 3: When students are forced to squeeze together and share seats because of water damage in classroom, Peeta and Katniss spend hours pressed against each other, like in cave, whispering, sharing... [submitted by @567inpanem]

Love the Sunrise by @hutchhitched

Prompt 7: Peeta opens his bakery back up after the war. There are, as expected, lots of female customers who would like to get a little to close to Peeta for Katniss's comfort. Sensing her jealousy, Peeta sets out to prove she has nothing to worry about (can be rated M, if you please!). [submitted by @albinokittens300]

You Belong with Me by @iliveilaughiloveiread

Prompt 10: Based on "You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift music video: Katniss is Lucas Till's character, she has a relationship with Gale, but she doesn't really like being with him. Peeta is pining for her, like Taylor Swift's character, observing them and think he and K belong together. [submitted by anonymous]

Deliverance by @shesasurvivor

Prompt 16: The baker hires Katniss to make his deliveries as she walks her trade route. She gets eye opening glimpses of town life and especially of the Mellark family relationships as her job responsibilities grow and she spends more time in the bakery. [submitted by @567inpanem]

Singing Duets by @historywriter2007

Prompt 18: we’ve never met but our showers are on opposite sides of the same apartment wall so sometimes we’re showering at the same time and we sing duets AU? [submitted by Anonymous via @katnissdoesnotfollowback]

You are my Sunshine by @wingletblackbird

Prompt 20: Gale returns and he and Katniss patch things up. Peeta seems to feel he's lost her to Gale even after they healed together. Katniss won't stands for this, and explains that no matter what, they would have happened anyways. "I'd chose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a a hundred worlds, in any version of reality. I'd find you and chose you." [submitted by @albinokittens300]

Extended Office Hours by @hutchhitched

Prompt 22: Student/Professor. Katniss is stressing out about an assignment and decides to go and talk to Professor Mellark about it, as he’s always been understanding and patient in class. However things turn awkward when Katniss stumbles upon him in his office after hours watching porn on his laptop. Is it deliberate, maybe he needed to relieve some stress or did his brother/friend send him a link to something that he shouldn’t have opened?? It’s up to you writer :) [submitted by @peetaspikelets]

What can you Do? by @wingletblackbird

Prompt 23: I would love to read an In-Panem AU fic/this would have happened anyway story where we see the beginnings of an Everlark relationship and how it slowly turns into puppy love [submitted by anonymous]

Four Steps to Being Single by @wingletblackbird

Prompt 24: Canon Divergence. Through the years Katniss can’t stop paying attention to Peeta and she’s actually aware of it. When they settle as victors in district 12 or when the time for the victory tour comes (whichever you prefer) she can’t keep herself away from him and the line between friendship and something more becomes blurry until it disappears. [submitted by anonymous]

Maps by @wingletblackbird

Prompt 25: I have a song prompt based on Maroon 5’s Maps. It fits Everlark so much. Peeta was there for Katniss in her dark times while she almost gave up on him when he was at his worst down on his knees. But eventually he followed the map that led to her and they got back together. [Anonymous]

I Just Can't Remember Why We Said Goodbye by @butrfac14

Prompt 31: everlark on the brink of a divorce, but then they remember all of the things they've gone through, the sacrifices they made for each other, that they can't live without the other and end up not getting the divorce. [submitted by @sunflowerslyf]

The Unexpected by @albinokittens300

Prompt 32: katniss and peeta are best friends who have a biological child together (how they ended up having a kid is up to you and how they’ll get together is up to you) [submitted by anonymous]

Prompt 33 by @wendywobbles

Prompt 33: “Where’s my engagement ring?” [submitted by @sunflowerslyf]

Katniss the Baker? by @norbertsmom

Prompt 34: Peeta offers to teach Katniss how to bake thinking it'll be a great laugh, but? She's actually kind of amazing at it? [submitted by @ally147writes]

Prompt 41 by @wendywobbles

Prompt 41: Everlark based off the Hallmark Christmas Movies Meme: I still going to watch them and act surprised when she falls in love with the small town baker who only wears sweaters instead of falling for the big city CEO? Yes! Does not need to be Christmas time, but definitely end game Everlark. [submitted by @historywriter2007]

Glitch by @booksrockmyface

Prompt 43: Prompt: I would love anything the "there's only one bed" trope.[submitted by @booksandchocolatesmears]

A Father Figure by @wingletblackbird

Prompt 44: Their love was forbidden in more ways than the obvious one (older!Peeta). Their love conquers all even with revelations that destroys other person relationships. AU. Toast babies for extra cookies. [submitted by @animekpopxx]

Prompt 45 by @butrfac14

prompt 45: They fell in love young, they married young. People keep telling them that it’s not going to last. Well, they are proving them wrong. [submitted by @animekpopxx]

The Raven and The Gods by @alliswell21

Prompt 46: Peeta, the Greek god Apollo, hears the most beautiful voice at his temple so he comes down to earth to find this beautiful maiden. Follows how this god falls in love with a mortal and withstand the trials the other gods put them through. [submitted by @animekpopxx]

1,498 mph by @alliswell21

Prompt 47: Modern. Peeta is back home on his time off from the Air Force or army. He meets the newest employee in the bakery, a younger Katniss, who’s working hard to help her family while still going to school. They fall for each other and they didn’t even know when it happened. [submitted by @animekpopxx]

Time of Peace by @alliswell21

Prompt 48: Their people had a period of peace that stared to crumpled when bad choices and bad people started to destroy that. With a war in the horizon, there is only one choose to keep the peace. The chief’s daughter needs to marry the crown prince. Werewolf!Peeta Humans and wolves. [submitted by @animekpopxx] Fic by @alliswell21

Incubus by @alliswell21

Prompt 49: He has spent centuries coming at night and sleeping with as many humans as possible, many dying from childbirth with no child to bear, or because his lust overpowered them. He needs to find a women that can live through his lust and birth an healthy offspring and after centuries, he thinks he found the one, the sixteen year old Katniss Everdeen. Dark incubus!peeta Angst Old times. [submitted by @animekpopxx]

Mockingjay Temple by @creamytinydays

Prompt 50: In an ancient time, grief-strickened 17-yr-old Katniss (fatherless, emotionally abandoned by her mother, just lost beloved sister) walls off her heart, curses the gods for taking Prim, and is severely punished with immortality = unending days of mourning and emptiness in which life has no meaning, until she meets Peeta and learns it’s not years but love that makes a good life. In loving him the curse breaks, she is mortal again, and together they live a HEA. [submitted by @567inpanem]

F-CATS by Buttercupbadass

Prompt 51: Fantasy: “Buttercup” (ironically named “Freedom Cat” by Capital scientist who created him) is an intelligent mutt designed to infiltrate rebel groups and sabotage uprisings, but after being healed by Prim and seeing the impact of Mr. E’s death, he turns on the Capital. “This whole operation was your idea.” [submitted by @567inpanem]

Why Do I? by @hutchhitched

Prompt 53: Everlark have been friends for a long time. Then this exchange happens. Person A: Why Do I even like your dumb ass? Person B: Huh? Person A: *panics* I SAID YOU HAVE A NICE ASS. [submitted by @iliveilaughiloveiread]

Reflections by @justajjfan

Prompt 54: Katniss, for some reason, using a car's window as a mirror not knowing there was someone inside the car because of the window being so heavily tinted. Until Peeta, the owner of the car, rolls down the window. [submitted by @sunflowerslyf]

Up We Go by @sandyeyes

Prompt 59: "The 'caution floor is wet' sign was there, so it's not my fault you can't read." [submitted by anonymous]

Tripping in Love by @neverstopwhileyoureahead

Prompt 60: Katniss and Peeta are both in a very crowded train when suddenly Katniss falls onto Peeta's lap and they don't know each other but Katniss finds Peeta really attractive. [submitted by anonymous]

The Price Of One's Soul by @peetaspikelets

Prompt 65: Dialogue prompt “You did all of this for me?” [submitted by anonymous via @katnissdoesnotfollowback]

Be In My Eye by @reachingforaspark

Prompt 70: No one Katniss knew got reaped, and after the 75th the games stopped, hunting became easier, she’s looking forward to graduation, and she feels a growing attraction to boy with bread but she’s clueless as to what to do after 1 ½ decades of acting role of son her father never had and man of the house. She approaches problem like stalking game: observe. She learns a lot but realizes she needs help from only one person: popular merchant and Peeta expert Delly who’s thrilled to help in manhunt <3 [submitted by @567inpanem]

To be Her O.A.O. (one-and-only) by @noneyabidnes

Chapter 2

Prompt 73: Katniss marries Gale before he’s sent to fight WWII. Gale sends home his buddy Peeta to break the news to his wife and family that he’s fallen in love with someone else in Europe and is staying there after the war... Peeta is under the impression Katniss is a cold woman that only married his friend out of obligation but finds out the other side of the story soon enough. [submitted by @alliswell21]

In from the Cold by @melacka

Prompt 74: In Panem AU (no reapings): Katniss miscalculated how soon a snow storm was supposed to hit D12, and gets stuck in town while trading with the merchants. Peeta comes out in the snow to get her to come into the the bakery... she thinks he’s either crazy, up to something or simply dumb... whatever happens next is up to you! [submitted by @alliswell21]

In the End by @alliswell21

Prompt 76: historical au where katniss and peeta are bethrothed since birth and peeta's mom is actually nice. they grow up to be best friends neither of them knowing about the bethrothal until something breaks their friendship and they become enemies. when they finally turn the right age, they find out about the bethrothal and are forced to marry and consummate their marriage even if they despise each other. [submitted by anonymous]

Better Tomorrow by @mega-aulover

Prompt 78: forced to share a bed and building a pillow barrier but still waking up tangled together. [submitted by anonymous]

The Virgin (Social) Suicides by @ally147writes

Prompt 85: Katniss makes unsettling discovery that everyone in her close and extended group of friends has dated at least once and sometimes even each other. Except for her. The “late bloomer” teasing (b/c she’s never even been kissed) stings. Older boy Gale crosses paths with group, finds he shares common interests with Katniss, they get together to hunt, leads to him casually inviting her out for a real dinner date. Not feeling desire but pressure to “get it over with,” she accepts. Peeta has regrets. [submitted by @567inpanem]

Let Us Lay In The Sun by @knittingbutch

Prompt 87: Katniss and Gale are about to get married and while Katniss isn't entirely sure if she really wants to marry Gale, she does nothing to stop the preparations. While Peeta, realizing he can't just let Katniss go, does everything to stop the wedding and tell Katniss his feelings for her. Peeta thought he's a hopeless case the day before the wedding until... (it's up to you how it will end, but hopefully it's hea) [submitted by anonymous]

Unmasked by M

Part 2 to ...

Prompt 88: Historical Katniss and Peeta hate each other. They attend a masquerade ball and for some reason end up kissing each other. Sparks fly everywhere. Katniss tries to find the man behind the mask but Peeta knows it was Katniss though he doesnt say anything. They end up bethrothed even if they 'despise' each other. How they fall in love is up to u and how katniss figured out it was peeta is up to u [submitted by anonymous] Fic by M

A Weight Off The Heart by @albinokittens300

Prompt 89: Canon divergence. Katniss and Peeta talk when they return to District 12 after the first games and grow closer.... [submitted by @thestuckinbed]

The Lake by @thegirlfromoverthepond

Prompt 92: Modern AU: Katniss is present when her father dies a traumatic death. She doesn’t just stop singing. She stops speaking completely. Desperate to help her daughter heal/express herself, Mrs. Everdeen enrols her in art therapy where she meets Peeta Mellark. [submitted by @wingletblackbird]

By the Book by @hutchhitched

Prompt 94: Smut. Hot, sweaty, passionate, loving, smut. Everlark has to be married and it can only be the 2 of them. No three-somes or switching partners. [submitted by anonymous]

Now Voyager by @mega-aulover

Prompt 102: There's only ONE bed! [submitted by anonymous]

Prompt 105 by @butrfac14

Prompt 105: Katniss was naked when Peeta first saw her. [submitted by anonymous]

A Second Chance by @javistg

Prompt 110: A time travel AU: Katniss from Mockingjay, (any part of the book, it's up to you), winds up back the day before her sister's first reaping. What does she do now that she knows what's coming? Now that she knows how Peeta feels about her, and she knows how desperately she needs him, and what they could share? What on earth could she, or should she, even do/change? And what is she should lose it all again? [submitted by @wingletblackbird]

Stranded Travellers by @historywriter2007

Prompt 112: I was hoping for one bed, but there are actually two, so now I have to find a way to naturally end up snuggling with you. [submitted by anonymous]

Long Exposure by @alliswell21

Prompt 130: Katniss works as a park ranger. Peeta is a photographer/artist coming to said park to find inspiration. [submitted by @wingletblackbird]

A Bite of Inconvenience by @katnissdoesnotfollowback

Prompt 131: Visual Prompt. Text: 4 ½ stars out of 5. Delivery time stated between 45 to 60 minutes but it was delivered within 25 minutes. This was a bit of an inconvenience as I was balls deep in the wife at the time. [Submitted by @amazinglovers747]

Late submissions from previous exchanges:

Always You by @sunsetsrmydreams

Prompt 46: Broken-hearted Katniss goes to see a psychic, hoping to get one last message to her departed loved one (Goodbye? I’m sorry? Where’s the key to the safety deposit box?). Peeta is earning his college tuition using his charm and empathy to tell fortunes. What happens when they encounter each other? [submitted by Anonymous] Springtime Edition 2018.

You can also find some of these fics on our AO3 Collection.

[Ed. notes: Fics organized by prompt number]

#springtime edition 2019 #masterlist #our fics

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p-artsypants · 5 years

Text

Longest Night (12) -Investigating

The day started out sucky to begin with. Her crush ousted to the class and Adrien. Lila taking pride in exacting her revenge. But by the time patrol was over, a young man was dead, and Ladybug's identity was at risk. Lila was the least of her concerns. Good thing Adrien was taking it all like a champ. Whump!Fic

Ao3 | FF.net

Rena Rouge and Carapace take the spotlight!

—

Alya and Nino, now both dressed and ready for the day, rode to school in the Agreste car.

“This is what it must feel like for Adrien, on the way to school.” Alya said softly.

The ride was quiet, as the Gorilla was a silent man.

“Yeah...got any tunes?” Asked Nino.

The man grunted, but reached over and tapped a preset on the console.

Jagged Stone started playing.

“Yep, this is Adrien’s ride.” Nino laughed a little.

At school, the Gorilla dropped them off, and then went to go park.

Students milling around all noticed the Agreste car arrive, and stopped to look with curiosity. Seeing Alya and Nino exit just made sense, and they carried on without another thought.

Hand in hand, Alya and Nino went into the school and to their lockers. Their classmates weren’t hanging out in the commons, so it was a guess that they were all together in the classroom, probably taking Mr. Agreste’s advice to heart.

As they put their backpacks away, there was a soft clearing of the throat from Alya’s pocket.

Trixx was peaking out, and then gestured his head outside.

Oh yeah! They had their Miraculous!

Surely the teacher would understand if they didn’t show up to class right away, right?

—

Rena Rouge and Carapace crouched on a roof, across the street, careful to keep out of sight of the pedestrians.

“So, where do we start?” Asked Carapace. “Do we want to get Chloe?”

“Not yet. We haven’t talked to her at all to see what state she’s in…No, I think we should go to Montparnasse and check in with the detective.”

“Do you think he’s trustworthy?”

“I’m…not sure. I think so. I hope so.”

“Well, he said the coordinates led over to Montparnasse, right? Let’s go and see if we can stalk them! If they’re on our side, then we can help them out.”

Rena Rouge was quiet, thinking.

He took her silence as hesitation. “No?”

“I mean, yeah, we should.” She clarified. “It’s just...being Rena Rouge was fun. Fighting side by side with my hero, fighting ridiculous villains. But this...this is sobering. These aren’t wacky villains that control pigeons or turn people into ice cream. These are evil humans that like to kill and are good at it. It’s just...scary.”

“Like that scene in the Incredibles.” Carapace said.

“What?”

“The scene where they’re in the cave? And the mom says something like, ‘these aren’t like the bad guys from your cartoons. They won’t hesitate to kill you just because you’re children.’”

“Yeah,” she laughed hollowly. “Exactly like that.”

“Well, Dash and Violet joined the fight anyway.”

“Yeah but…we don’t actually have superpowers. Just…suits with a charge. A charge that can run out.” She clenched her eyes shut. “If Ladybug and Chat Noir couldn’t beat this woman, what chance do we have?”

Carapace took her hands. “Babe. Look at me.”

She did.

“Ladybug and Chat Noir had no idea she was after them. But Salo has no idea that we’re after her.”

That did ease her mind, at least a little.

“Aren’t you scared?” She asked.

“Oh I’m petrified!” Carapace laughed. “And if it was anyone other than you on this roof, I would be gone. Home. Under my covers.”

She snickered.

“But…I have you. My partner. And…I suddenly remembered that scene from Wonder Woman, where they’re in the trenches? She literally goes up against machine guns with a shield. She wasn’t fighting crazy supervillians with wacky powers. Just…trained men with guns. And—and Captain America! He was fighting Nazis!”

Strength came back into her limbs, and she sat up a little straighter.

“You have my shelter, my shield. I will protect you.” He kissed her lips gently. “Now, are you ready to save our best friends?”

Rena Rouge smiled wildly. “Absolutely.”

—

The run to Montparnasse wasn’t too long, considering they were leaping across rooftops.

Despite Fu’s warning to lay low, they were spotted by civilians pretty quickly.

“Look! It’s Rena Rouge and Carapace!”

“They must be looking for Ladybug and Chat Noir!”

“Go team go!”

It was nice to have people cheering them on, and Alya felt a little stronger.

They closer they drew to Montparnasse, the more stealth they tried to practice. It would be awful if Salo found out they were nearby and looking. Their entire plan of action would be ruined.

“Look!” Rena pointed out three black utility vans driving together towards the north end of the district. “That’s either Europol or more of Salo’s men, I’m sure of it.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Fox intuition.”

“That’s not a thing.”

“Let’s just follow and see!”

Sure enough, the vans all came to stop outside a dilapidated apartment building. Though the rest of the buildings were nice enough, this one was just a little grungy. The windows were either painted, or boarded up. The door was covered with a sign that simply said ‘condemned’.

A needle in a haystack.

Men exited the vans, dressed in bullet proof vests and all black. They all kind of looked similar, but one stood out among them, a man with an eye-patch.

“Secure the perimeter, make sure no one can come in or out unnoticed.”

So they got to work, blocking off the streets from by standers and surrounding the building.

“Okay,” said Carapace, “I feel like we can trust them now.”

“You didn’t before?”

“It was the whole eye-patch thing that threw me off. Only villains have eye-patches.”

“That’s rude. My uncle has an eye-patch.”

“He’s also in prison.”

“Other uncle.”

“Your point?”

“Didn’t you hear? Salo’s the reason he has that patch in the first place.”

“What? How do you know?”

“She was widowed four times, after she stabbed her first husband in the eye with a butter knife!”

“How do you know he was talking about himself?!”

“Fox intuition!”

“That’s not a thing!”

“Hey!” A voice shouted up to them. “What are you two doing up there?!” It was the detective.

“Whoops.” Said Carapace. He and Rena descended to the street, approaching the group of officers. They stood tall, and tried to appear as authoritative as possible.

“Detective Bertony?” Rena Rouge asked.

The man became defensive, frowning. “How did you know my name?”

“I’m Rena Rouge, and this is Carapace.”

“Yes, the auxiliary heroes for Ladybug and Chat Noir. It’s hard to forget you.”

“Alya Cesaire, author of the Ladyblog, told us what you discovered, and we’re here to help.”

The detective groaned, “told them not to tell—“ then he sighed. “No, you know what? It’s fine. We can use the extra help. And...I can assume you’re trustworthy. Given your affiliation with the victims.”

Hearing Adrien and Marinette referred to as ‘victims’ was like a punch to the gut.

“Ladybug wouldn’t have entrusted us with Miraculous if we weren’t.” Carapace said firmly.

The detective breathed a sigh of relief. “Alright, I’ll bite. Here’s a radio, would you two be willing to go in first? We can get bullet vests for you too, if you need it.”

Rena smiled sheepishly. “I’ll take a vest. I haven’t tested to see if the suit bullet proof, and I’m not keen on finding out today.”

“Radio us if you find anything. Anything at all.”

Rena nodded, securing the vest and putting the radio in her front pocket.

He rested a hand on her arm. “You’re being extremely brave, but please, call for back up. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you too.”

“We’ll be careful.” She assured. “Ready partner?”

He nodded once and they headed to the door.

With their super strength, it too nothing to break the door down, dust on the floor flying up in the action.

Rena turned on her lapel flashlight, since it was so dark.

The building was a mess. Trash littered the floor, the labels on cans and chip bags looked dated, like from the 90’s. There were holes in the walls, where the dry wall had crumbled and only wooden slats remained.

They paused and listened, straining to hear any noise.

There was nothing.

“Work our way up?” Asked Rena.

“Sounds as good of a plan as any other.”

Carefully and quietly, they made their way through the building. Some rooms had gross furniture, some were completely bare. But there was a healthy spread of burnt spoons, used syringes, and razor blades.

“A drug den,” said Rena simply. She turned on the radio, and stated, “we finished our sweep of the first floor. There’s a lot of drug paraphernalia. No sign of anyone being here recently.”

“Copy that, move onto the next floor.”

“Roger dodger.”

“Wait,” Said Carapace, nodding at a grisly door under the stairs. “Let’s check the basement.”

She shuttered, “yeah, just stay close.”

The stairs creaked madly with each step, giving up any semblance of stealth they had. It was only a few steps before they came to the bottom. It was totally dark, cold, and stank like mold.

“How are your allergies?” Asked Rena.

“I’m probably going to have hives everywhere, but I’m not worried about that right now.”

They wandered their way further in, Alya’s light landing on the heavily graffitied walls, stained mattresses, and used condoms.

“This isn’t right,” she said suddenly.

“What do you mean?”

“Can you pull up the site on your phone?”

Having turned into the turtle, Nino’s phone had merged into his shield, and he was able to pull up the stream. Adrien and Marinette were still suspended from chains. Rena pointed at the background. “Look at the walls. They’re made of concrete, old concrete. But there’s no graffiti. They’re totally bare. All the walls we’ve passed have been spray painted somehow.”

“Maybe…there’s a room that was off limits to the artists?” He asked hopefully.

She shown her light in the last few rooms, noting much of the same. A drug den from some 20 odd years ago. “Let’s go back up.” She spoke into her radio, “basement is clear. Graffitied walls, and dirty mattresses.”

“Nothing looks like it’s being used?”

“Not by people, rats maybe.” As she said that, a little black blob ran by her feet and she shrieked.

“Rena Rouge! Come in! What is it?”

“Sorry! Sorry! It was just a rat!”

She heard some chuckling from the other end, like the other officers were laughing at her expense.

“You still alright?” The detective asked.

“Fine, fine. We’re going upstairs now.”

They returned to the first floor, and then travelled the steps to the second floor. A door closed on the end of the stairwell, with a padlock in place.

“I got this,” Said Carapace, driving his shield into the door.

Luckily the hinges were so old the whole door came off the frame with a clatter, again, shattering the element of surprise.

This hallway was much, much different from the floor below. Cables ran every which way, along the floors, over boxes, even some stringing across the hall.

Rena turned on her radio. “We found something on the second floor. Lots of cables…not sure what else.”

“Copy. We’ll move in.”

“You know,” said Carapace, walking slowly down the hall, to where all the cables were leading. “I’m thinking of another movie right now.”

“What’s that?”

“Incredibles 2, when Elastigal finds that old apartment building with all the cables in it from the evil computer guy?”

“Yeah…?”

“And it turns out it was just a decoy?”

Rena stopped. “What…what makes you think that?”

“Turtle intuition?”

“Shut up.”

They reached the end of the hall, standing on either side of the door.

“Ready? On three…one…two…three!”

Carapace busted down the door, while Rena shouted behind him. “Freeze!”

There was no one in the room.

No one anymore, at least.

But there were dozens of computers lined up along the walls. Website servers. Huge fans were blowing on them, but the room was still incredibly hot.

In the middle of them all was a large antenna.

“What!” Rena shouted in anger.

“This must be the website hub. They’d need this many servers with the amount of traffic they get.”

“Okay, so it’s a clue! But I didn’t want a clue! I wanted my best friend! I want—“ Rena clenched her fists as the sound of footsteps clambered up the steps.

Men flooded into the room, already getting to work inspecting the equipment and plugging in.

Rena ghosted past all of them and into a room down the hall that was less crowded with equipment. Carapace was quick to follow.

“Alya—“

“It was supposed to be over by now! It’s been…24 hours.” She shook her head. “A full day. How many more are our friends going to have to suffer through in that—that hell!?”

“Al…”

“We slept in a bed last night! We had coffee and croissants…I got to take a shower and I got to use a very nice toilet! What about them!? When was the last thing they ate? Drank? Where do they sleep?!”

Carapace laid his hands on her shoulders, gripping her tightly. “Al. I get it.” By the hoarseness in his voice, she couldn’t doubt him. “I’m worried about them too.” Then he pulled her into a sure hug, holding her while she fought to keep the tears at bay.

She was Rena Rouge right now. She couldn’t cry.

They didn’t know how long they had been holding each other until there was a knock at the door. “Sorry, I hope I’m not interrupting.”

Rena wiped under her eye. “No…just…just expressing some disappointment.”

“Well, the good news is that this is where that call came from. This is also the server for their website.”

“…what’s the bad news?”

“The bad news is that the call was sent through wifi. And the website is updated through an FTP client. After trying to trace the IP address, we found thousands of them that could be potential matches. Our best guess is that they’re using a VPN. It’s…it’s not likely that we’ll be able to track them from here.”

Rena shut her eyes tight, bringing her fist up to her mouth. Anger? Grief? Blackened rage? She was a whirlwind of emotion. Finally, she spoke, “So, what? This was all a waste?”

“I wouldn’t call it a waste. We might not find anything right away, but we’ll monitor their activity. They’ll make a mistake. And if the server goes down, they’ll have to come back and fix it. We’ll be here waiting. This is a good lead.”

Rena didn’t know if she should bare to hope. “Okay.” She breathed, “we…we have to go now.”

“I understand. I’ll be sure to update our mutual acquaintance when I have more information for you.”

Without another word, they left. Hearts heavy, and hope draining.

—

My knowledge of how websites work is pretty sad. Don’t grill me.

We may be going back to the Adrien and Marinette next chapter. But I haven’t decided yet.

#miraculous ladybug #ml #fanfiction #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #longest night #rena rouge #carapace #alya cesaire #nino lahiffe

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anonymousdior · 4 years

Text

My Lived Experience

I’ve been silent the last few weeks, not because I don’t have a voice or an opinion on what’s happening in this world right now or even more specifically, in my home country. But, because there is just so many feelings of all kind of everything. But, I feel like it’s time to speak up and tell my story and my views.

First off, If you are new here or need a reminder; I am Tri-Racial. My father is African American; my mother is Italian and Indigenous. Mix those three with being a medical anomaly; it can be confusing thing to divulge to people. Which is probably why I usually don’t. In fact, most people don’t know anything about me I would say. But, that’s about to change.

Let’s get real blunt.. I grew up within Racism. In fact, Racism is as much as my family as a brother and sister would be. How so? One family was so disgusted with my blackness that they administered burning liquids to my scalp to change the way my hair follicles grow. Yes, this was something the main culprit had researched. This family had called me every slur in the book, “The N word”, “Burrhead” were some to name a few. I was treated differently from my cousins because they were considered “pure” and I was “polluted and dirty.” That was just one family. My other family refuses to acknowledge me due to being mixed and insults are hurled on a regular basis in reference to my whiteness or indigenous side. In fact, some self hatred resides within my Father’s family as well. On another note, I was given away and sent away because of my blackness and how it would be easier if I was not nearby for the One side of the family.

Fast forward a few years, I was living with my meema and mooma, a strong Cameroonian woman and African man and my uncle C, an African American male. I am in a neighbourhood that was 96% African American and had a 92% crime rate. Racism was very much apart of this neighbourhood. The neighbourhood was fenced in, to not allow the residents inside venture out. In fact, there was a school, library and a shitty grocery store within this fenced area. It was expected that everyone residing within these buildings would stay within the fence and not “pollute” the rest of Atlanta. If you did get out, well expect to be hunted down and harassed. If you wanted a job, you would have to lie on your application of where you lived. The APD would roll in every day, with guns in hand, not even in the holster anymore. They would rough you up for no reason and if you fought back, you’re arrested on the spot and lucky if you made it to the precinct without needing medical attention. However, in the “white” neighbourhoods, no policing was needed and when you were arrested, you were treated as a human. This neighbourhood was treated as less than. Don’t think the APD are bad? Don’t understand why Atlantans are so suspicious of the APD?

Let’s get real again...I was walking home one night from my shift at T-Mobile. It was dark but I was dirt ass poor, not to mention my money had been taken from me (That will be discussed later on). I am minding my own business and all of a sudden, the APD with their cherries on pull over and draw their guns at me, I am 17 years old and alone, not to mention a girl. They yell at me to get on the ground only once, when I ask what is happening or why, I am lunged at and my face is pushed into the ground. With guns still drawn at my head and this heavy officer on me, I’m asked where I live and what am I? I answer the name of the neighbourhood and I am bi-racial. All of a sudden I’m told that I will do and I fit the description of an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon from a bar that was at least a 2.5-hour walk away. I was arrested and thrown into the back of the car, while wearing my T-Mobile uniform, the whole time I am pleading with them that I didn’t do this crime, that I was at work and to call my boss, he will tell them. I was told by an Officer to shut up and that all people from my neighbourhood are guilty and that anyone with “Black” is straight up wrong and guilty of being alive. AN OFFICER, someone who is supposed to serve and protect. They refused to listen to anything I had to say, didn’t allow me a call to notify anybody and threw me in jail and as they threw me in there, the arresting officer called me a “dirty ghetto N word.” I spent a month fighting charges that weren’t mine to begin with and that based off my registered ethnicity aka racism, I was automatically guilty. In the end, a judge was smart enough to actually read the whole case and discovered I actually DID NOT fit the description among other things.. However, I was still 1 hearing from going to prison for 10-20 years... all because I was bi-racial and one of those races was black.

I had a grandfather once, we called him mooma. He was an amazing man and one of my hero’s. He was amazing, respected anyone and everyone and would love to talk proverbs with you. A god-fearing man. When I was young, he had an “accident” that left him permanently blind. By accident I mean white supremacists thought it would be fun and an act of god to my mooma who was simply asking if there was biracial kid books within a bookstore. After he left the bookstore that’s when they jumped him. The APD did nothing and refused to file a police report and dropped my mooma off at a mental health area instead of a hospital. Years from that incident, my mooma would leave for a work trip to Texas and would never return home. My mooma became just another black man gone missing. When we went to report it to the police, we waited 3 hours to file the report while other White families were served asap. When they got around to us, they never wrote anything down and said he probably had a 2nd family because he’s black.... My mooma was murdered by White people who thought they were better then my grandfather...Who didn’t care he had a family waiting for him and a granddaughter waiting for the next critter book. Someone deemed my mooma was not fit to live simply because he was a black man.

As I grew up, I took note how other kids would be treated compared to myself and the people within my neighbourhood. When my uncle would take me to the aquarium, we would be questioned for 5 minutes on the pricing of the aquarium and how there was no guns or drugs allowed. During this time, the white families were let through with no problems. The black families were always questioned and lectured. When I went to school I noticed the kids from my church had better books, their books went to Bill Clinton, my books went to Jimmy Carter. They were assigned homework and readings, I went to class with the lesson on the board with maybe only 4-5 kids in the classroom while our teacher read the newspaper or a book, the white kids teachers were invested in their future.

As I went into high school, I started attending church with my meema at her request. In her words, “to pray the white devil out of you.” While my meema was busy praying for the white devil out of me, I was getting beat up every Sunday in the back of the church for being black by the pastor kids and their friends. They called me every name in the book, called me disgusting, ripped my shirt and spat on me. They always stole my money (as per for my comment a few paragraphs up, I was always broke because of it) In fact, one Sunday they beat me up so badly I went to the hospital. We tried to file a police report but the APD never came... That was the last time we went to that white church. From this moment on, I have only stepped in a church twice.

When I moved back to Canada, I was hopeful that it would be different and more peaceful. In fact, I have heard how not racist Canada is. I have to disagree; it’s just more behind your back, less in your face then back home. I once was told I need to calm down on the alcohol as I’ll fully turn into a “Drunken Savage.” Or not wanting to learn about the culture and mocking it at every moment someone has. Of course, a racist slur towards my Indigenous side.

Even from my Canadian city I reside in, Georgia still inflicts is racist ways on me. The black vote is suppressed to the point legal actions have been launched all around. The white adults can register easily and usually have a flawless voting process. That is not the case for the minority population and people who reside within low income neighbourhoods. To the point, the last election I was given a hard time to register saying my W looks like a V and that I was trying to defraud the voting process. After persistence, I was able to vote but was given 3 faulty ballots that were already filled out for the current president. When asked for new ones each time I was told why wouldn’t I vote for Donald Trump, he loves the poor. On top of that, this year’s voting process was no different and I was given a timeline that was not given to my white friends to register. I was given the run-around and every excuse to vote and was told the same excuse, that my paperwork was filled out with the wrong color pen, that there was problems with a computer system that they don't even use to register or that I was registered within a different state. None of this was an issue before they read where I was from and the ethnicity on file...

The above is just a taste of the racism I have experienced/witnessed. It’s a daily battle within myself to love myself and embrace all that I am. The Black, the white and the indigenous. I still avoid mirrors, most photos and you will never catch me at the beach or the pool in fear my hair get’s wet and you see that little hint of curl come to light.

So yes, these protests are justifiable. Yes, the Atlanta protests were the first turn to ugly and violent.. It’s because we are angry and it’s not just these few incidents, it’s a history of corruption, systemic and blatant racism. It’s years of oppression and anger bubbling it’s ugly head to the surface. I can assure you, it’s always been there..I end this blog with one of my favourite quotes from a movie “The Great Debaters” (If you have not seen it you should!)

“Saint Augustine said, "An unjust law is no law at all," which means I have a right, even a duty, to resist -- with violence or civil disobedience...You should pray I choose the latter.”

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solastia · 6 years

Text

The Dragon’s Lair | 1

Pairing: Dragon Hybrid Namjoon x Reader (The others will show up one by one)

Word Count: 3,141

Genre & Warnings: Hybrid au. Fantasy themes. This will have a little bit of everything. Lots of fluff, some angst, perhaps eventual smut. Mentions of physical abuse and possible other trauma or emotional issues in the future. Brief mentions of death but no MCD.

Notes: I’ve been ‘hoarding’ this in my drafts forever. It was literally only missing a paragraph. I’ve considered the idea of doing something for hybrids for a while, and I kept getting asked about it, so this is my attempt! I wanted to do something other than the ole’ cat and dog thing. Also, keep in mind that the plan for this fic to is write it in a way that I can keep adding to it for as long as I want to. I have no definite end in mind as of yet. I figured I’d release it to give you guys something to read while you wait for Faith.

Some days you praised Kwon Soonyoung for being the best friend and overall human being on the planet. Other days, you cursed the day you became friends. Today felt like it was going to be the latter.

“I really don’t know about this, Soonyoung. It just seems so wrong,” you grimaced as he pulled you along towards the grey-bricked and incredibly ridiculous building.

The Fairy Pawmother was one of the most popular businesses in town these days. And, in case the name didn’t give it away, was styled ostentatiously to look like a small castle. There were koi ponds instead of a moat and a cobbled walkway instead of a drawbridge, but it was painfully obvious the entire place with themed purposely. The two towers on either side of the building were actually a popular cafe and a Hybrid specialty shop that employed the adoptable hybrids themselves.

“You’re thinking about it the wrong way, that’s all. I mean, sure. It would be nice if they all had their freedom and people stopped treating hybrids like lesser beings. The law is easing up on them little by little every year, so maybe someday there will be hope. Until then, there are all these hybrids without anyone to care about them. They are all alone, no one to care whether they live or die.” Soonyoung sighed dramatically and wiped a nonexistent tear from his dry eyes.

“The guilt trip route? Ugh, fine,” you groan and follow him towards to entrance.

Soonyoung smiles gleefully, as he usually does when he convinces you to do what he wants. Which is quite often, sadly.

“Come on. You won’t regret having a hybrid of your own. Since your Grandma died, I worry about you. She was all the real family you had left. I know you have me, and I consider myself your family too, but you could do with more. Just remind yourself you’re saving them from someone that won’t feel about hybrids the way that you do. You’ll treat them good, whereas they could have gone to a sex fiend or something.”

“Who says sex fiend? Weirdo.”

“Your weirdo,” Soonyoung drapes himself across your back, squeezing softly.

“Disgusting. Get off me,” you kick your foot back, hitting the giggling Soonyoung lightly, but you can’t hide your soft smile fast enough before he catches it.

“This place is great too. They treat the hybrids well. They feed them properly, have good rooms and jobs if they want them. They even bring in teachers for homeschooling and stuff. It’s where I got Jihoonie.”

“My point exactly. Jihoon is a little brat.”

“A brat that you spoil as much as I do. Don’t think I didn’t notice that you suddenly have jugs of milk in your fridge when you hate milk. Or that you guys have movie marathons where he comes back so stuffed he doesn’t want to eat dinner. Or the fact that those headphones you claimed you won in a contest at work and gave to him were almost $3,000. And you forgot that I share your Amazon account.”

“Having a nosy best friend is the worst,” you grumble, looking around the lobby of the Hybrid shelter.

It looked bright and welcoming, with ivory painted walls covered in pictures of past adoptions and a lounge filled with plush crimson couches. There were several nice looking families waiting, presumably to pick up their new Hybrids, but Soonyoung pulled you away from there and towards the front counter.

The man at the counter was stunning, with beautiful dark eyes and pouty lips. When you couldn’t see any evidence of him being a Hybrid himself, you were almost disappointed. His eyes glimmered with mischief as he caught you checking him out, his gaze piercing you in a way that made you wonder if he could hear your thoughts. You blushed and looked away, glad for Soonyoung’s interference as he excitedly greeted the man.

“Heechul hyung! How are you?”

“Better, now that you’ve brought me something pretty to look at. Jihoon’s class doesn’t get out for another hour if you’re here to get him.”

“I know! I actually brought my friend Y/N here to look around. I think she’d give someone a great home,” Soonyoung pulls you forward, and you wave shyly.

“Allow me to introduce myself, then. I am Kim Heechul, the Fairy Pawmother himself,” he catches your cringe and laughs.

“I know, it’s a silly name. I wanted to just call it Heechul’s in sparkling lights, but my partner Leeteuk told me this isn’t a Casino so I couldn’t do that.”

“It’s not a casino. It’s not a real castle either, but that didn’t stop you. So don’t blame me,” a yell comes from the office behind Heechul.

“Are you getting mad already, babe?” Heechul turns and smirks at the door.

“I’m not mad!”

“You’re yelling.”

“Well, I’m mad now!”

Heechul giggles and turns back to you, observing you from head to toe with a thoughtful look.

“I don’t think a cat or dog will do for you.”

“If you’re about to suggest a hamster, I’ve already got one,” you smirk and jerk your thumb to point at Soonyoung, who huffs.

“That’s great! I totally see it.” Heechul laughs, slapping the counter a couple times.

He slowly sobers before rounding the counter and gesturing to the two of you to follow him down a spacious hallway.

“No, I mean something...a bit more challenging.”

As you follow him down the hallway, you look through the enormous windows that stretch all the way across, revealing what appeared to be common rooms on either side. You observed the Hybrids, pleased to note that they all looked healthy and happy. There were multiple televisions and game consoles for them to use, toys for the younger ones, plenty of comfortable lounge chairs. The walls were lined with bookshelves, most of them packed full of all types of genres, some used for organizing board games. All in all, it didn’t appear to be the type of shelter that you’d heard horror stories about.

“What do you do for a living, Y/N?” Heechul suddenly asks.

“I’m a graphic designer. I work freelance taking on commissions for various companies.”

“That’s good. That means you are at home a lot, right? Your hybrid will appreciate that. So you’re the artsy type?”

“That’s one way of putting it,” you laugh softly. “It’s mostly making promotional stuff. Ads and things like that. Pays well enough. I still try to draw and paint what I want on my own time, but I don’t get paid for that.”

Heechul nods, continuing on silently, but with that same thoughtful look on his face. Maybe he was trying to think of the right hybrid for you? That would explain the questioning, anyway.

“The halls for exotic breeds are right in here,” Heechul explains as he stops you in front of an elaborately carved door. “Normally, you’re only allowed to see the exotics if you’ve been thoroughly vetted. Most don’t even know they are here, because many of them are the only ones of their kind and we only want them to go to the right people. But I have a good feeling about you. Not to mention, any friend of Hamster's is a friend of mine.”

“You’re never going to let that go, are you hyung?” Soonyoung sighs next to you.

“Not in a million years. Sorry, Hamster. Anyway, there is a class in session right now, and I thought we could sneak in there so you could look around. See if anyone catches your eye,” Heechul leads you to a room that had an open archway instead of a door. You could hear a deep voice rumbling above the rest, presumably the teacher as he was answering questions.

Heechul leads you into the classroom, and the three of you sit in the very back of the class. The room was set up like a small college classroom, with one long table and four seats at each one. The room was bright and covered in educational posters, most of them cheesy. There were probably fifteen hybrids here, most of them with no characteristics to tell you what they were.

When you finally glance at the podium, you feel like the breath has been knocked right out of you. The man standing there is so very tall, with a small waist and long, toned legs. His tan skin was practically glowing, his cheeks slightly flushed with excitement as he enthusiastically explained something to one of the hybrids. When he finished his explanation, he smiled, and you swear your heart stopped. His full lips alone could have caused that reaction, but the sweet grin was accompanied by two deep dimples on either side. You’d never understood the fascination with dimples, but you had to agree they added a touch of innocent appeal to his face, making the overall picture irresistible.

As you looked closer at the man, you realized he was a hybrid too. His eyes glowed a sparkling golden shade that would be impossible otherwise. He was, unfortunately, wearing a beanie so you couldn’t tell if he had any ears or something under there. His nails were different too. Either he painted his nails, or they were naturally a shimmering blend of silver and gold.

“Class dismissed! Don’t forget to do your reading, I’ll pop quiz someone at dinner,” the man smirked at the grumbling hybrids as he collected their things.

You watched the hybrids file past, curious what made them “exotic.” You couldn’t really see much that struck you as something that different. Just the occasional odd eye color or hair that could be brushed off as coloring if one didn’t know better. The golden-eyed man stayed at the front, writing something into his big notebook.

“Hi, I’m Yixing,” a handsome hybrid plopped into the seat next to you, smiling gently. He was so adorable you couldn’t help smiling back.

“Hi, I’m Y/N. And this is my friend Soonyoung.”

“Oh, we all know him. He’s old news,” he teases Soonyoung with a poke to his cheeks, and he tries to act offended, even if the effect is ruined by his giggle. The hybrid turns back to you. “Are you here to adopt?”

“It seems so.”

“That’s great! We exotics don’t get adopted out very often, but you look nice. I’m sure you’d take care of one of my friends very well.”

“Not you?”

“Yixing here is already adopted. His owner had to go to some conference thing for Doctors, so Yixing was staying with us until he comes back. Which will be tomorrow. I bet you’re excited to see your Baekyun again, huh?” Heechul grins at Yixing, who starts babbling excitedly.

“Yes! I hate when he goes on those trips. I miss him. At least I can come here and still take my classes and stuff, so I’m not lonely.”

“That’s nice of you guys to do that,” you quirk an eyebrow at Heechul in surprise. “Usually once a hybrid is adopted out, the shelter wipes their hands of them. Or so I understood.”

Heechul nods. “Most places, yeah, that’s probably true. But we let all the hybrids here know that they can always come back, no matter what. Even if it’s just for classes, or for respite care like Yixing here. This is a safe home for all.”

At least you knew you’d be adopting from a decent place, even if the idea of ‘owning’ something that was whatever percent of human they were made you feel uncomfortable.

“So, I don’t know if it’s rude of me to ask or not, but I can’t tell what kind of hybrid you are,” you ask hesitantly.

Yixing’s eyes shine mischievously as he grins.

“I see Heechul brought someone back here without telling them everything again. He did that to Baekhyun too. He loves to watch peoples faces as they discover the truth,” Yixing giggles as he and Heechul share a look.

“I’m a Unicorn.”

“Har Har,” you respond flatly.

Yixing winked before closing his eyes. A glittering pastel glow appeared around his forehead, and slowly what appeared to be a horn grew out of his forehead. The color of the horn reminded you of the inside of an abalone shell, truly beautiful and shining brightly with a myriad of colors. You blinked a couple of times in disbelief.

“And before you say anything, no, I’m not a Rhino,” Yixing laughed as he took in your befuddled stare.

“But...Unicorns aren’t real. They’re a myth,” you stammer, unable to take your gaze from the still shimmering horn that refuted that statement.

“Myths had to come from somewhere, didn’t they? In fact, most of our exotics could be considered “myths,” Heechul countered softly. “Hybrids themselves shouldn’t exist, according to science. And yet, here I am with a building full of them.”

“Does it...what is...um,” you floundered, trying to search for the way to ask about him without seeming rude.

“What does a Unicorn do? I have healing magic. I’m also able to emit a calm aura, which is probably why you’re not running out of here screaming about crazy people right now,” Yixing giggles.

You nod, unsure of how else to respond. It was a lot to take in. And you weren’t quite sure what to believe yet.

“So you thought I should adopt a mythical hybrid?” you mumble to Heechul, who merely nods and gestures towards the golden-eyed man who was still scribbling away at a desk.

“Not just any. I wanted you to meet Namjoon. He’s been here for a long time because I was waiting for the right person to care for him. I have a gut feeling that you’re the one,” Heechul explains.

“OH! Y/N would be perfect for Namjoon! I don’t know why I didn’t think of that myself!” Soonyoung squealed.

“Wait, if you know all of them and aren’t surprised by all this, is Jihoon an exotic?” you ask with a frown.

“Yup. He’s a Bakeneko. So, still technically a cat,” Soonyoung laughs. You make a mental note to remember to look that up later.

You couldn’t even imagine being the one to try to care for someone like Namjoon. Namjoon. You tried the name out in your mind a few times. It fit him. However, he was almost intimidatingly gorgeous and obviously smart, judging by the fact that he was in here teaching a class. What use would he have for you?

“What is he?” You ask, almost terrified to hear the answer.

“I’m a dragon,” a deep voice replied in front of you. You quickly meet Namjoon’s eyes as he grins reassuringly at you.

“Hello. I saw that Yixing had his horn out in front of someone new so I thought I’d see what was going on. I’m Namjoon.”

“Did you say a dragon?” you ask, unable to keep the shock and worry out of your voice. You realize your mistake when Namjoon’s face falls, and his easy-going grin was replaced with a polite smile.

“Yes. Sorry.”

“Oh, no. Don’t mind me. I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I’m just learning that you all exist is all,” your laugh is a little self-deprecating, but Namjoon seems relieved.

“You’re very pretty.” Namjoon mumbles, a little blush growing on his cheeks as he studies you.

“Thank you, Namjoon,” you're flattered that someone as beautiful as him would think so.

“Are you here to pick someone up for adoption?” Namjoon asks as he pulls up a chair to the table and gets comfortable.

“Uh, yeah,” you blush from the intensity of his stare, his golden eyes flickering as he observes you.

Heechul is grinning as he watches the two of you interact.

“I brought her to meet you, dummy,” Heechul snorts.

Namjoon’s eyes widen in shock. “Me? You want to adopt me?”

If you’d had any doubts before, they were gone now. The way that his voice wobbled and his eyes filled like it was unbelievable that someone would want to adopt him broke your heart.

“If you’ll have me. I have a lot to learn, I think.”

Namjoon’s smile was so wide and bright, and he reached over to pull you into a hug.

“Thank you. Thank you so much,” he mumbled into your neck. You squeezed him gently back then turned to Heechul.

“So what all do I have to do?”

“I can take care of all the boring paperwork myself. Why don’t you and Namjoon hang out for the day? Get to know each other. He can show you his room, so you have an idea how to decorate his. You probably have enough rooms in your Grandma’s house to even build him a studio.”

You stared at Heechul in shock.

“I never told you I inherited my Grandma’s house.”

“Whoops,” Heechul smirked, not concerned to be caught out in the least.

“You’re not quite an ordinary human either, are you? Are you a hybrid?”

“I’d be offended to be called an ordinary anything, sweetheart. Come along, Hamster. Let’s leave them to get acquainted.”

#kwriterskollection #kpopwritingnet #btswriters #bts #bts fanfic #Kim Namjoon #Namjoon fanfic #Hybrid!bts #Hybrid!Namjoon #Dragon!Namjoon #Hybrid au #fantasy au #kpop #kpop fanfiction

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freckled-words · 5 years

Text

Repost: Control

Because it is the spooky month! And because it was requested by my lovely blog wife @the-wild-ego Edited by @the-wild-ego Art done by @goodieghosty Inspired by & lyrics from “Control” by Halsey

And all the kids cried out, "Please stop, you're scaring me"

I can't help this awful energy

God damn right, you should be scared of me

Who is in control?

You weren’t normal. You’d known that for as long as you could create memories.

It had just taken you awhile to realize what made you different from the other kids.

In your eyes, the world didn’t hold just people, plants, and animals. There were also the “Others”. The creatures that hid under the bed, or made nests in dust piles, or watched from the shadows.

When you’d tell your grade school classmates about the man with his head split open, three eyes, and teeth that were made of pine needles, they’d cry. They were scared. You were telling them about monsters. If they’d let you finish, they’d know that the Pine Needle Man had only wanted help finding pine cones.

When you’d write stories about the tiny dust rabbits that lived under your bed, and share it with your English class, your teacher would scold you for writing about fiction. The assignment was supposed to be on the real world.

As the years went on you stopped sharing with people. You turned to the library, and the internet, learning that you had a gift, or a curse. It was called ‘The Sight’. You could see through the layers that separated humans from the world that overlapped with the mortal plain.

The house was awake, the shadows and monsters

The hallways, they echoed and groaned

I sat alone, in bed till the morning

I'm crying, "They're coming for me"

Understanding this about yourself did not make things easier for you. Because you stopped sharing what you saw, you didn’t tell people about the Others that would hang around in your classroom. You couldn’t help but acknowledge them, especially when they became agitated with being ignored. You tried to quietly send them off with a growled, “Go away” or “Buzz off!” Except someone else in your class would hear you. Then word would be spread that you were talking to yourself, and yelling at things that weren’t there.

Of course you’d been sent to the Principal’s office a handful of times.

Each trip your parents had to make to the school was another evening spent being yelled at within the privacy of your house.

“Why can’t you be like the other children?!”

“An embarrassment to this family!”

It didn’t matter which parent was yelling. They both conveyed the same message.

You were alone. Left to fight off the ghosts, ghouls, and unnamed on your own.

So you did.

Year after year, you faced down the Others. Some learned to leave you alone. Some found you to be their favorite source of entertainment.

When you’d go downstairs in the mornings, with gashes on your arms, or bruises on your face, your parents assumed you’d snuck out in the night. You’d be grounded for having done nothing other than surviving.

With each year, you withdrew from other people. There was no point in trying to befriend anyone, not when you’d just chase them off with your odd behavior soon after. You got to a point where you only interacted with someone when forced to. You had a particularly strong dislike for partner/group assignments.

By the time you got high school you’d become numb to anything “scary”. Death, in particular, had long since lost it’s fear factor. Some days you had a stray thought that, should you die suddenly, no one would miss you.

As that thought settled in and repeated itself more often, you learned that the phrase, “Negative draws negative.” was certainly true.

The Others were, for the most part, small things. Tiny beings that you could push, or shove off you when they began to cling. In your final year of high school you noticed that the smaller ones were being replaced by ones that were bigger and more aggressive. The worst ones were able to speak to you.

They would hover near you during classes and whisper, ‘Look how high up we are. If you opened that window, and fell, you’d die. Wouldn’t that be great?!’

Everything they would say was about you killing yourself. You hated it. You hated them. You wanted them to shut up. More than once you’d had to hastily leave the classroom to use the washroom, an attempt to put distance between yourself and their horrid whispers.

Home didn’t offer any form of salvation either. Your parents had decided to act as though you didn’t exist, unless you directly spoke to them when you needed something. In response, they’d give you a cold stare and hand you a small bit of money to get what you needed. They weren’t really your parents, they were just the people that legally had to take care of you until your 18th birthday. You wouldn’t be surprised if on that day you found yourself living on the streets.

And I've grown familiar with villains that live in my head They beg me to write them so I'll never die when I'm dead

The days blended together. Only being broken up when an Other, of particular appearance, caught your attention.

Half way through the school year, your Phys Ed teacher became fatally ill and had to be replaced. Your classmates were fine with this. Ms. Charts was a drill sergeant and never gave anyone special exceptions.

“I caught sight of the new teacher. It’s a guy! And he’s hot, with a capital H. I really hope he wears something that shows off his body.”

Although you didn’t interact with your classmates, you still paid attention to what they said. It didn’t hurt to keep informed on things happening. Sometimes bad things that happened to others were your cue to watch for meaner beings they couldn’t see.

Going into the gym that day you put in the effort to learn about the new teacher. Your eyes went to him, and you froze.

Your lips parted in a silent gasp.

For nearly 18 years you’ve seen things that were gruesome, disfigured, and down right haunting.

Your new gym teacher. Was not human. Nor was he something you’d ever seen before.

If you squinted you could see the version that everyone else could see. A man in his mid to late twenties. His hair was buzzed on the sides in and clipped short on top, much as a soldier would. He had dark brown eyes, and skin that was naturally tanned in a shade of light copper. You figured he had some Asian ancestry. Standing roughly 5 feet 9 inches his body frame was lean and hinted at a lot of muscle not being displayed.

Your Sight showed you something entirely different.

The short hair was grown and pulled back in a low ponytail at the base of his neck. There was a slight glow to his skin that made his copper tone seem golden. His irises were a solid amethyst with black slit pupils. His eyes had a natural dark lining on the bottom rim. As he addressed the class, introducing himself as Mr. Battle, a length of shadows curled around him. When you tilted your head ever so slightly you realized it was a tail! It twitched at the tip, or swayed back and forth.

Altogether, he seemed to be a humanoid feline?

“ Y/N? Y/N!”

You startled at your name being called. While you’d been digesting this new discovery, he’d begun doing roll call. You ducked your head with a slight glare as your classmates snickered. His gaze leveled on you, and very briefly his brows furrowed, as though he were puzzling over you.

“Alright, start with laps!” He projected his voice like a military sergeant, making everyone jump and take off for the outer edge of the spacious room.

As you ran you felt his stare burning into the back of your skull. Anytime you turned to meet his eyes, he managed to look away and watch the rest of the class.

You didn’t like this, you didn’t like him.

Throughout the rest of the warm ups, basketball drills and a couple more exercises, you put together a plan. It was a stupid plan, and it would put yourself at risk, but you didn’t care. At least you’d die from something more interesting than a blob with teeth and eyes.

Your Phys Ed class was right before the lunch break, meaning he wouldn’t have another class to follow. If you got lucky, you could confront him here in the GYM without anyone seeing. The last thing you wanted was an audience to mock you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Changed back into your regular clothes, you’d hung back in the change room, waiting for everyone to leave.

The bell for lunch period rang and you listened to your classmates dash out of the GYM. You gave it a minute or two before venturing out.

Just as you’d hoped, Mr. Battle was the last remaining person. What you didn’t count on was for him to be clearly waiting for you.

Those slit pupiled eyes rested on you, his arms were crossed and his posture reminded you of a cat resting casually, ready to spring at any second.

“I was wondering what had this place crawling with creepy crawlies. I got my answer pretty quick.” The military sergeant tone was gone, in its place, a more natural rumble.

That wasn’t what you thought he was going to say. Thrown off, you quipped, “Look who’s talking.”

The layer around his form, that portrayed a normal human vanished, leaving you with a clear, unblurred view of himself. “You’re not very smart. You have the Sight, not the Gift. Don’t get cocky brat.”

The tail, that had been made of shadows before, was a true solid black tail now. The end of it flicked back and forth, another sign of irritated.

You clenched your fists within your hoodie pockets, “I’m smart enough to know you can’t kill me, not if you want to keep up appearances as a teacher.”

His upper lip raised a little, allowing you to get a glimpse of a sharp canine, “I’m not here by choice. Your school has been drawing more and more Nega Dwellers and they’ve started spilling onto my territory. Once I deal with this mess, I’m handing in my resignation.”

His arms fell to his sides, he flexed his fingers and his natural nails lengthened into gold tipped claws.

Your feet shuffled back, startled, a spike of fear breaking through your false bravado. Was he really going to kill you?!

“Y-You can’t kill me, they’ll immediately suspect you.” There was a quiver in your voice.

Why now? For these past few years you’d told yourself that death could come, and the world would be the better for it. Now here was death, ready to shred you apart, and you didn’t want to die.

Your fear increased as his lips drew back, showing more teeth in a feral grin, “Don’t worry kid, you’re not gonna feel a thing.” He crouched low, his body tensing and ready to spring.

The glow around him expanded into a bright light, blinding you. Covering your eyes, you heard his shoes squeak as he sprung forward. “PLEASE DON’T!”

There was a rush of air, you felt it blast past you, there was a series of squalls and pitched squeals. Lowering your hands you hesitated to look.

Standing just next to you, Mr. Battle held a squirming black thing. You paled seeing that it was roughly the same size and shape as you. A mouth with rows of teeth gnashed together as it thrashed around.

“Good job kid, if you hadn’t snapped out of it, you would have made me a liar.” His slitted pupils slid back to you, “If you didn’t find the will to live, you would be feeling your own throat being crushed right now.”

His clawed fingers squeezed and the creature squealed louder. The thing tried looping parts of its goopy body around his arm, to make him let go.

You stepped further back, a hand covering your mouth as you shuddered, “What… What is that?”

“This nasty thing is called a Life Leech. This is the biggest I’ve seen in a few years. Usually when they get this big, the person they’re possessing commits suicide.” His tail swayed widely back and forth, his smile wide and pleased.

“How did I not see it?!” How long had that thing been feeding off you? Was it when you started having those thoughts? Thinking that death would be fine, thinking that no one would miss you if you killed yourself. Although you were distant from your parents, you knew they would be upset with your passing. Years ago, you promised yourself to move somewhere quiet, away from the darkness and the coldness of your family. When had that changed to giving up? To just craving death and an end to it all?

Mr. Battle held out a hand and a golden blade appeared. You could see Egyptian hieroglyphs carved into the steel of the blade, the end of the hilt was shaped into a lion’s head. He thrust the blade up and under the Leech’s chin. It died instantly as black, bubbling liquid spewed from the wound and it’s mouth. He released its body and wiped the blood off his blade on the side of his pants.

The blade vanished and Mr. Battle seemed to become an entirely different person as he yawned. His posture slouched and his tail lowered to give the odd little sway, “You can see some shit kid, but not everything. You’re welcome by the way.”

You were still reeling from the thing being revealed to you, and the impact it had had on your life.

Seeming to pick up on that Mr. Battle strolled off towards the exit, “See ya, kid.”

He was just about to push the door open when you managed to pull some of yourself back together, “W-Wait! Who are you?!”

Looking back over his shoulder he reprimanded, “Not that you’ll see me again, but it’s Mihos.”

Then he was gone.

Somehow you got yourself to continue through the rest of the day, and it all seemed surreal as everything seemed to be less daunting.

When you made eye contact with your classmates, they didn’t flinch or return it with scorn. A girl even gave you a small smile back.

The Others that had plagued you with suggestions of killing yourself were gone. So, too, were the ones that had seemed like permanent fixtures in the corners of the classrooms and in the hallways. Had you been the one drawing them all here? That Life Leech had been stirring up so much negative energy in you, it had been a homing beacon for the worst of them.

New ones began to show, smaller, and surprisingly timid ones. They reminded you of the Pine Needle Man. They weren’t there to cause harm and had been kept away by all the more menacing ones.

Mihos had said ‘Nega Dwellers’. If the Life Leech and the Others that meant harm were called Nega Dwellers, what were these nicer ones called? Was there a way to make sure the Nega Dwellers didn’t latch onto you again? Or what about getting them off other people?

You’d been so intent on keeping yourself away from other people, to protect yourself from their scorn, and ridicule, you’d never thought that maybe you could help them. You’d come close to stepping over the edge and letting death take you, there had to be others that could be saved from making the leap.

Your interaction with Mihos had happened all in a handful of minutes. In that short span of time, your mind had been opened to the rest of the world that only you could see.

You couldn’t navigate it on your own, that much had been made apparent to you. Would Mihos help you?

You recalled his dismissive behavior and how he’d magically vanished after dealing with the Life Leech. No one was talking about the good looking gym teacher anymore, in fact you were certain no one remembered the details of GYM class. Just that it had happened, and it had been uneventful. How had he done that?

For the first time, you had goals for yourself. The first being to find Mihos, the second, was to convince him to teach you.

Life wasn’t going to be a monster that drained you away until you were nothing. It was going to be the monster you befriended and helped you explore the dangers of the world.

#Mihos #Natewantstobattle #fanfiction #fiction #Control #spooky month

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lfthinkerwrites · 5 years

Text

Tales From Gotham Academy: Field Trip

I have no self-control. None. I apologize.

Six months after Superintendent al Ghul's visit, the yearly Gotham Academy Spring Field Trip rolls around. Someone save the teachers.

AO3 Link

On a warm April Monday afternoon, at 2:35 on the dot, a deep, Teutonic voice rumbled through the speakers of Gotham Academy. "Attention, all members of the staff and faculty. This is Principal Hugo Strange. Report to the Teacher's Lounge after the final bell for a mandatory staff meeting. That is all." There was a brief pause before the speakers crackled to life again. "Do attempt to conduct yourselves like civilized human beings, rather than wild pigs.”

Meanwhile, in the Teacher's Lounge, the beleaguered but beloved Vice-Principal Jim Gordon was waiting for the teachers to arrive, alongside his trustworthy secretary, Kristen Kringle, who was holding in her hands a bunch of plastic straws. Gordon sighed, then took a sip of water. "Well, Kristen. It's that time of year again."

Kristen nodded. "Yes, Vice-Principal Gordon." She bit her lip. "How well do you think they'll take it?"

Gordon put his glass down and sighed again. What he'd give for some of Crane's moonshine right about now. "About as well as they usually do."

"So not well at all then," Kristen said. "Oh dear."

'Oh, dear' was right. In the six months since al Ghul's visit, the teachers, for the most part, had gone right back to their mischievous behavior. Granted, Kerr had been arrested and was now incarcerated in an institution upstate, which meant no more explosions, but still. He didn't get paid enough for this crap. Finally, the last bell rang, and Gordon heard the sound of students exiting the classrooms and making their way to the exits. The teachers would begin to arrive shortly.

Neil arrived first, with a bounce in his step and a song in his heart. "Wilkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome!"

Gordon waved, then gestured to the long table set up in the middle of the room. "Hi, Neil. Take a seat."

Neil did as he was told. Jervis Tetch arrived next, taking a seat three chairs down from Neil. "Hello, Jim," he greeted with a tip of his hat. "We're not in trouble again, are we?"

"No, Jervis, no one's in trouble." Not yet at least.

Jonathan Crane arrived next, pausing for a moment to narrow his eyes at Neil before taking a seat next to Jervis. Victor Fries, Miguel Dorrance, Harvey Dent, Kirk Langstrom, Victor Goodman, and Basil Karlo, the new drama teacher and bane of Neil's existence, arrived in quick succession, filling out the seats around the table. The Sirens arrived as a group, as usual, and took the last empty row on the far right. Bolton stomped in after them and glared at the assembled group. Crane's prank against him the previous October had succeeded in robbing him of his power over the group as not even Jervis or Arnold Wesker, the timid new chemistry teacher who followed him in, flinched at his display. Bolton's face fell and he took the last seat on the far left.

"Are we all here?" Gordon asked, looking over the room. He noticed two empty chairs between Jonathan and Neil, did a mental headcount, and let out a groan. "Where are Edward and Dr. Young?"

"They'll be along," Harley chirped. "Penny's just wrapping up her 'private consultation' with Eddie in her office."

Gordon wiped his hand across his face. "God Damn it." Six months after al Ghul's visit, and Edward and Penelope were still conducting themselves like newlyweds. It would be almost adorable if they didn't seem to insist on doing so during school hours. He'd already had to promise Waylon and the rest of the janitorial staff a 10% pay raise for all the times they'd found themselves locked out of their closets, or unable to enter a room to clean it. At least the pair of them had enough decency to not leave a mess. Well, decency may be a bit of an overstatement where Edward was concerned. Speak of the Devil and he will appear, the pair chose that moment to enter, holding hands and ignoring everything else in the room but each other. They took the empty seats between Jonathan and Neil, ignoring Harley's giggling, Pamela's scoff, Jonathan's eyeroll, and Bolton's glare. "Well," Gordon cleared his throat. "Now that we're all here. You all know what time of year it is?"

"Time for us to cheat on our taxes?" Edward quipped.

"Eddie," Penelope scolded. "Behave."

"No," Gordon said firmly. "It's the last week of April. You all know what that means."

Realization dawned on the assembled group. Some, like Jervis, Edward, and Harley, turned pale. Others, like Harvey, Jonathan, and Pamela, turned stoic. Others, like Arnold, Basil, and Penelope, became confused. "I'm sorry," Penelope said. "I don't follow. What's going on?"

"Next week is the yearly Freshman Spring Field Trip," Gordon explained. "Every year on the first week of May, Gotham Academy takes its Freshman class on a field trip."

"And every year chaos ensues," Pamela grumbled. "Where are we even taking them this year? Weren't we banned from every water park in the tri-state area after last year?"

Penelope looked at Edward with wide eyes. "How did you get banned from every water park in the tri-state area?"

"It's a long story, Darling," Edward answered. "But let's just say it involves water slides being used in a way that was not their intended purpose, an unfortunate bowel movement in the wave pool, and Kerr wearing a thong."

The group shuddered as one at the mental image.

"We're not going to a water park," Gordon said.

"I thought we were banned from all zoos too, after what happened the year before last," Jonathan said.

Penelope opened her mouth, then closed it and took a deep breath. "Let me guess: the kids freed all the animals?"

Edward scoffed. "If only it was that mundane."

"We're not going to a zoo either," Gordon said. "Somehow, we managed to find a theme park about 60 miles upstate that was willing to accept us."

"Our merry little demons in a theme park," Jonathan drawled. "What could possibly go wrong?"

Gordon ignored him and continued. "We'll be sending out permission slips tomorrow that will be due on Friday. The trip is next Friday. Now, traditionally, we allow the Seniors to have the day of the field trip off as a free day and keep the Sophomores and Juniors on a half-day schedule. We'll still need about half of you to stay here to mind the place while the rest of us are on the trip. I'll be going on the trip myself, so I'll need a couple of you to come with me. Any volunteers?" A still silence swept across the room. Penelope moved to raise her hand, but Edward caught it and gently lowered it, shaking his head at her. Gordon took a deep breath. "Fine. And who wants to volunteer to stay at the school?" Everyone as one raised their hands, just as he expected. "Come on folks," he pleaded. "I don't like this any more than you do, but it has to be done. Someone, anyone, needs to volunteer to come on the trip." No one said a word or moved a muscle, not even Neil. Gordon set his jaw. "Fine. I'm afraid you leave me no choice." He turned to his left and nodded. "Kristen. The straws please."

Kristen dutifully stepped forward and presented the straws to the group. "Short straws go on the trip, long straws stay at the school. There should be enough for everyone." She gave them a solemn nod. "May the odds be ever in your favor." She started at the far left side of the table and worked her way down. Bolton was the first to draw a straw, pulling out a long one. Gordon breathed a sigh of relief. Bolton was the last person he wanted on this trip. Miguel was next, pulling a short straw and scowling. Then Langstrom and Goodman, each pulling a long straw. Fries pulled a short straw, Wesker a long straw, Karlo a short one. Harvey drew a short straw and loudly cursed. Neil also pulled a short straw and pouted. Penelope was next, pulling a long straw to her and Edward's visible relief. Then it was Edward's turn. He looked at the straws bunched in Kristen's hands and pondered them for a long moment.

"Just pick a damn straw and get it over with," Jonathan grumbled.

"Don't rush me," Edward snapped back. He finally picked a straw. A short straw. His face fell and he crossed his arms. Jonathan was next, also pulling a short straw. He handled it more gracefully than Edward at least.

Jervis pulled a straw next, getting a short straw. "Oh well," he chuckled nervously. "Least we're all together, right chaps?" Gordon already felt dread pooling in his stomach at the thought of all three members of the Dork Squad on the trip together.

That just left the Sirens. Harley bit her lip and drew a straw, whooping for joy when it was a long straw. Pamela was next, drawing a long straw. Finally, Selina drew the last straw and smiled like the cat who had gotten the cream. It was a long one. The Sirens would be staying at Gotham Academy together. Gordon didn't know whether to be relieved or worried.

Edward at least wasn't shy about making his displeasure at this known. "How did they each manage to draw a long straw!?" He jabbed his finger in their direction. "They cheated! They must have!"

"We drew straws!" Selina said, rolling her eyes. "How could we have possibly cheated?"

"Well, you did!" Edward shouted back.

"I'm callin' shenanigans too," Jonathan joined in.

"No, there are no shenanigans," Gordon said. "And we're not going to spend the rest of the afternoon arguing about this. Anyone who drew a short straw is going on this trip and that's final!" Harley triumphantly stuck her tongue out at Edward. He opened his mouth to retaliate, only for Penelope to give him a pointed look. He closed it, then crossed his arms again in a sullen pout. "So we're settled," Gordon spoke again. "Miguel, Victor Fries, Basil, Harvey, Neil, Edward, Jonathan, Jervis and myself will be on the trip, Bolton, Victor Goodman, Kirk, Arnold, Penelope, Harley, Pamela, and Selina will be staying at the school. Any questions?"

"You still haven't said where exactly we're going, Jim," Harvey pointed out.

Gordon blinked. "Oh, right. We'll be going to Mt. Olympus theme park."

At the mention of the theme park's name, Edward went rigid in his seat. Penelope noticed and shot him a concerned look. "Ooh," Harley said. "That's that new one based on a videogame, isn't it? The one with the big maze in the middle of it! What's it called?"

"The Riddle of the Minotaur," Edward said. His face looked ashen. He abruptly got up out of his seat, much to the confusion of the rest of the room. "Excuse me." He then fled from the room. Penelope and Jonathan looked at each other, then got up to follow Edward out, Jervis in close pursuit.

Gordon rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the rest of the equally surprised group. "What do you suppose that was about?"

#high school teacher au #the gotham rogues #Someone save Jim Gordon #it's back...

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orbemnews · 3 years

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'We picked up a scent down there': Search for missing 11-year-old continues into day five On Friday, the search for 11-year-old Ryan Larsen entered its fifth day.The Nebraska State Patrol issued an Endangered Missing Advisory for the La Vista boy after he walked out of La Vista West Elementary on Monday around noon.Authorities say Larsen has autism. He’s described as being 5 feet, 8 inches tall, around 125 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes. Ryan was last seen wearing a black jacket, blue jeans, an Old Navy shirt and had a polka-dotted umbrella.If you have any information on his location, call 911.Latest DevelopmentsFriday evening:Numerous law enforcement agencies are continuing to search for Ryan Larsen, who has not been seen since Monday, May 17.According to a news release La Vista police, teams from the following joined the search for Ryan at Walnut Creek Recreation Area: Sarpy County Search & RescueNebraska State PatrolOmaha Fire & RescueYutanDes MoinesThe above agencies have stepped in to offer divers, boats, high-tech equipment and tracking K9s, according to the news release.A police K9 picked up a scent at Walnut Creek Recreation Area, but it is too early to determine if the scent is animal, human, or something else.According to police, crews began searching at Walnut Creek Recreation Area because Ryan and his family visited it. Police said Ryan previously wandered off while visiting the recreation area.Crews will be searching both land and water at Walnut Creek Recreation Area until they either find him at the recreation area or officials can rule out that he is there, police said. Officials are asking that the public find an alternate path or recreation area to use as crews continue to search the area. La Vista police uses the See It, Say, It, Send It app to gather tips. For information about the app, go to https://www.seeandsend.info.(Friday afternoon)At 3 p.m., La Vista police reiterated that the search continues to be focused on the Walnut Creek area. They said this is because it’s an area Larsen has run to before. An Omaha dive team is searching the water. They are using sonar technology to search the water as well. La Vista Police Chief Bob Lausten said there is no information to indicate there is anyone in the water, officials are just checking all the boxes.Matt Sutter, with Nebraska State Patrol, warned that the Endangered Missing Advisory for Larsen will be expiring soon, but that is only because these must expire after 72 hours. La Vista police said this does not mean search efforts will diminish. Lausten said that La Vista police have a relationship with Larsen. He said multiple officers knew him personally. “Ryan had brought us Christmas gifts at Christmas so there’s a relationship that we have, you know with him specifically, and it cuts, it cuts deep,” he said. He said there will be a focus on mental health for the officers.”These guys or gals are working their tails off on this. Sleep? What is sleep? They don’t even care about sleep, they’re there, they’re running, they’re doing everything that they need to do,” he said. Lausten said he is worried that Larsen has become stuck somewhere where he was hiding. He said that officials will notify the public as soon as possible if Ryan is found. FULL PRESS CONFERENCE BELOW:(Friday morning)There were no new sightings on Larsen as of Friday morning. Authorities were guarding the entrance to Walnut Creek Recreation Area. Lausten told KETV that the area is “one of the best leads they have” in the search for Larsen. “We know there have been cases, our FBI partners have told us, they’ve had missing kids with autism that have been out for seven days and they’ve been found alive and everything has been okay,” Lausten said. Lausten said the search stretching into next week is a real possibility. La Vista police said they do not need any more volunteers, but asked that people consider donating to the Salvation Army or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.(Thursday evening)Officers went door to door to hand out flyers as the search continues for a fourth night. Law enforcement leaders say this is not the first time Ryan has wandered off, but they say he’s never been gone this long.Thursday evening, a police officer who said he has known Ryan for two years spoke with KETV NewsWatch 7’s Abbie Petersen.According to officer Stuart Nadgwick, Ryan had a lifesaver bracelet to track him up until February.Nadgwick fights back tears as he talks about Ryan.”Ryan is a good kid. He has gotten to know a lot of officers from our department. At Christmastime he will make ornaments for the department and then bring them to the department. He has a big heart,” Nadgwick said.Nadgwick met Ryan when the child became a member of Project Lifesaver, a program designed for those who have a risk of wandering.According to Nadgwick, over the course of those two years, Ryan wandered multiple times.”A majority of the times that Ryan had wandered, he was located in a relatively short distance where he had wandered from,” Nadgwick explained.He added that Ryan has multiple triggers that make him wander.This has happened from his apartment, a park and even school before. He likes to hide behind things, like trees, but when approached, made himself available.Now having him gone this long is heartbreaking for everyone.”Over the course of those two years, you get a friend with him. We’re talking about a 11-year-old boy who has challenges brought on by disabilities,” Nadgwick added.The good that Nadgwick has seen in Ryan outweighs any negative situations he’s been in with Larsen.”He is a good kid. He is a good kid and I know there are a lot of people worrying for him right now and if he has the ability, then it’s time to come home,” Nadgwick said.He also said that at this point, Ryan has to be cold, wet and hungry. Police want to get him home safely. Anyone who sees Ryan is urged to call 911.(Wednesday evening)As of Wednesday night, the FBI and representatives from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children were also at the scene to help with the search.”We’re pulling in all the resources that we can,” Lausten said. “They’ve had cases before even with kids with autism have left and they’ve been found. … With the experts that we have, we have a pretty good idea of what we’re doing here and what we need to do.”The City of La Vista announced Wednesday afternoon they did not need any more volunteers. They said there had been no sightings and asked the entire Omaha metro to be on the lookout for Larsen.Larsen had searched ‘how to hide from police’La Vista Police Capt. Jeremy Kinsey said detectives are working with the family and searched their computer. Kinsey said they found searches Larsen made regarding, “hiding from the police,” “hiding underground” and “how to avoid being spotted.”Kinsey said Larsen is very “high functioning,” has a history of running away and history of hiding.”He likes to hide in the weirdest spots,” he said. “He could very well be watching us right now, laughing at us.”He said Larsen has a history of not liking to be spoken to, especially by strangers. Kinsey said there is no reason to believe Larsen has been abducted or that anything suspicious is going on.”He’s playing the ultimate game of hide and seek on us now and he’s winning,” he said.Kinsey asked that people be kind on social media and not bombard officers with speculation.“I promise you we’ve thought of checking trash cans and parked cars,” he said.”There’s no playbook for an 11-year-old autistic that likes to hide and runs away,” said La Vista Police Chief Bob Lausten.How Larsen walked away from schoolAnnette Eyman with Papillion La Vista Schools says he was transitioning from one room to another classroom and a teacher noticed within about 5 minutes he was gone.There are no surveillance cameras on any of the elementary schools in the Papillion – La Vista School District, so checking cameras was not an option, she said. They believe he walked out of one of the school doors.”They immediately began to search the building to see where he was and then notified Ryan’s mom and the police immediately,” Eyman said. “I cant think of anything more heartbreaking as a parent or a staff member than having to look for a child.”Other informationLast sighting: Officials said Larsen walked out of school around noon Monday. A nearby business provided police with surveillance video that showed him in the area around 2 p.m. There have been no other credible sightings of the boy since.Manhole search: Around noon Tuesday, crews were zeroed in on a manhole where they had heard noises, but officials said Larsen was not inside.Info for volunteers: Officials said volunteers should search ditches and tall grass, believing he is likely tired and wanting to lay down. Officials stated that volunteers should not approach Larsen if they see him, instead they should call 911 and follow him at a safe distance. La Vista Police Capt. Jeremy Kinsey urged volunteers not to go on anyone’s private property for their own safety.”I don’t want you to be bitten by anyone’s dog, or have some knucklehead with a gun come out threatening you,” he said.He also asked people to continue to obey traffic laws. LA VISTA, Neb. — On Friday, the search for 11-year-old Ryan Larsen entered its fifth day. The Nebraska State Patrol issued an Endangered Missing Advisory for the La Vista boy after he walked out of La Vista West Elementary on Monday around noon. Authorities say Larsen has autism. He’s described as being 5 feet, 8 inches tall, around 125 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes. Ryan was last seen wearing a black jacket, blue jeans, an Old Navy shirt and had a polka-dotted umbrella. If you have any information on his location, call 911. Latest Developments Friday evening: Numerous law enforcement agencies are continuing to search for Ryan Larsen, who has not been seen since Monday, May 17. According to a news release La Vista police, teams from the following joined the search for Ryan at Walnut Creek Recreation Area: Sarpy County Search & Rescue Nebraska State Patrol Omaha Fire & Rescue Yutan Des Moines The above agencies have stepped in to offer divers, boats, high-tech equipment and tracking K9s, according to the news release. A police K9 picked up a scent at Walnut Creek Recreation Area, but it is too early to determine if the scent is animal, human, or something else. According to police, crews began searching at Walnut Creek Recreation Area because Ryan and his family visited it. Police said Ryan previously wandered off while visiting the recreation area. Crews will be searching both land and water at Walnut Creek Recreation Area until they either find him at the recreation area or officials can rule out that he is there, police said. Officials are asking that the public find an alternate path or recreation area to use as crews continue to search the area. La Vista police uses the See It, Say, It, Send It app to gather tips. For information about the app, go to https://www.seeandsend.info. (Friday afternoon) At 3 p.m., La Vista police reiterated that the search continues to be focused on the Walnut Creek area. They said this is because it’s an area Larsen has run to before. An Omaha dive team is searching the water. They are using sonar technology to search the water as well. La Vista Police Chief Bob Lausten said there is no information to indicate there is anyone in the water, officials are just checking all the boxes. Matt Sutter, with Nebraska State Patrol, warned that the Endangered Missing Advisory for Larsen will be expiring soon, but that is only because these must expire after 72 hours. La Vista police said this does not mean search efforts will diminish. Lausten said that La Vista police have a relationship with Larsen. He said multiple officers knew him personally. “Ryan had brought us Christmas gifts at Christmas so there’s a relationship that we have, you know with him specifically, and it cuts, it cuts deep,” he said. He said there will be a focus on mental health for the officers. “These guys or gals are working their tails off on this. Sleep? What is sleep? They don’t even care about sleep, they’re there, they’re running, they’re doing everything that they need to do,” he said. Lausten said he is worried that Larsen has become stuck somewhere where he was hiding. He said that officials will notify the public as soon as possible if Ryan is found. FULL PRESS CONFERENCE BELOW: (Friday morning) There were no new sightings on Larsen as of Friday morning. Authorities were guarding the entrance to Walnut Creek Recreation Area. Lausten told KETV that the area is “one of the best leads they have” in the search for Larsen. “We know there have been cases, our FBI partners have told us, they’ve had missing kids with autism that have been out for seven days and they’ve been found alive and everything has been okay,” Lausten said. Lausten said the search stretching into next week is a real possibility. La Vista police said they do not need any more volunteers, but asked that people consider donating to the Salvation Army or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. (2 of 3) Consider a donation to the @salarmyomaha which continues to support our officers with food and water as they search for Ryan. They have been a huge help – please consider now helping them. https://t.co/MTornApQLL – click the red ‘Donate Locally’ button. — La Vista Police (@lavistapolice) May 21, 2021 (Thursday evening) Officers went door to door to hand out flyers as the search continues for a fourth night. Law enforcement leaders say this is not the first time Ryan has wandered off, but they say he’s never been gone this long. Thursday evening, a police officer who said he has known Ryan for two years spoke with KETV NewsWatch 7’s Abbie Petersen. According to officer Stuart Nadgwick, Ryan had a lifesaver bracelet to track him up until February. Nadgwick fights back tears as he talks about Ryan. “Ryan is a good kid. He has gotten to know a lot of officers from our department. At Christmastime he will make ornaments for the department and then bring them to the department. He has a big heart,” Nadgwick said. Nadgwick met Ryan when the child became a member of Project Lifesaver, a program designed for those who have a risk of wandering. According to Nadgwick, over the course of those two years, Ryan wandered multiple times. “A majority of the times that Ryan had wandered, he was located in a relatively short distance where he had wandered from,” Nadgwick explained. He added that Ryan has multiple triggers that make him wander. This has happened from his apartment, a park and even school before. He likes to hide behind things, like trees, but when approached, made himself available. Now having him gone this long is heartbreaking for everyone. “Over the course of those two years, you get a friend with him. We’re talking about a 11-year-old boy who has challenges brought on by disabilities,” Nadgwick added. The good that Nadgwick has seen in Ryan outweighs any negative situations he’s been in with Larsen. “He is a good kid. He is a good kid and I know there are a lot of people worrying for him right now and if he has the ability, then it’s time to come home,” Nadgwick said. He also said that at this point, Ryan has to be cold, wet and hungry. Police want to get him home safely. Anyone who sees Ryan is urged to call 911. (Wednesday evening) As of Wednesday night, the FBI and representatives from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children were also at the scene to help with the search. “We’re pulling in all the resources that we can,” Lausten said. “They’ve had cases before even with kids with autism have left and they’ve been found. … With the experts that we have, we have a pretty good idea of what we’re doing here and what we need to do.” The City of La Vista announced Wednesday afternoon they did not need any more volunteers. They said there had been no sightings and asked the entire Omaha metro to be on the lookout for Larsen. Larsen had searched ‘how to hide from police’ La Vista Police Capt. Jeremy Kinsey said detectives are working with the family and searched their computer. Kinsey said they found searches Larsen made regarding, “hiding from the police,” “hiding underground” and “how to avoid being spotted.” Kinsey said Larsen is very “high functioning,” has a history of running away and history of hiding. “He likes to hide in the weirdest spots,” he said. “He could very well be watching us right now, laughing at us.” He said Larsen has a history of not liking to be spoken to, especially by strangers. Kinsey said there is no reason to believe Larsen has been abducted or that anything suspicious is going on. “He’s playing the ultimate game of hide and seek on us now and he’s winning,” he said. Kinsey asked that people be kind on social media and not bombard officers with speculation. “I promise you we’ve thought of checking trash cans and parked cars,” he said. “There’s no playbook for an 11-year-old autistic that likes to hide and runs away,” said La Vista Police Chief Bob Lausten. How Larsen walked away from school Annette Eyman with Papillion La Vista Schools says he was transitioning from one room to another classroom and a teacher noticed within about 5 minutes he was gone. There are no surveillance cameras on any of the elementary schools in the Papillion – La Vista School District, so checking cameras was not an option, she said. They believe he walked out of one of the school doors. “They immediately began to search the building to see where he was and then notified Ryan’s mom and the police immediately,” Eyman said. “I cant think of anything more heartbreaking as a parent or a staff member than having to look for a child.” Other information Last sighting: Officials said Larsen walked out of school around noon Monday. A nearby business provided police with surveillance video that showed him in the area around 2 p.m. There have been no other credible sightings of the boy since. Manhole search: Around noon Tuesday, crews were zeroed in on a manhole where they had heard noises, but officials said Larsen was not inside. Info for volunteers: Officials said volunteers should search ditches and tall grass, believing he is likely tired and wanting to lay down. Officials stated that volunteers should not approach Larsen if they see him, instead they should call 911 and follow him at a safe distance. La Vista Police Capt. Jeremy Kinsey urged volunteers not to go on anyone’s private property for their own safety. “I don’t want you to be bitten by anyone’s dog, or have some knucklehead with a gun come out threatening you,” he said. He also asked people to continue to obey traffic laws. Source link Orbem News #11yearold #continues #Day #Missing #picked #scent #Search

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galren · 6 years

Text

Anfor

Aruk went to a music conservatory for a year when he was a teenager. It was everything he wanted, but also a number of things he didn’t want on top of it.

“You’re late again. We go over this every other week, Aruk. And you smell terrible.”

Three months had passed in the time since Aruk left his family in Yosem to study piano performance at Anfor Conservatory of Music, and though he put his heart and soul into his studies and practice, Aruk had not fully adapted to university life.

“I’m sorry, sir, I was upstairs in a practice room. I’m trying my best, I promise, I just—”

“Fell asleep on the keys again?”

It was the fourth time in as many weeks. As the semester progressed, the practice rooms became less available, and for shorter amounts of time, to a point where Aruk had made it a habit of going to the music building in the middle of the night in order to get his daily practice in. Though he was a night owl in his own ways, Aruk would regularly spend upward of five hours playing the piano only to pass out on they keys just before sunrise.

“...Yes.”

Despite being a solid foot and a half taller than Branford, the elven piano professor, Aruk felt his head recoiling into his own shoulders in shame.

“Well, I can’t stay that I’m terribly upset about it, I suppose,” Branford replied. “You put more practice time in than any of the rest of my students, and it shows, even with those massive hands of yours. Just be sure you get back to your dorm and shower soon, for your own sake. And wash your clothes while you’re at it, I could smell you as you walked in here.”

“I’m sorry. I just don’t...have money for detergent,” Aruk finally admitted. “I’ve tried washing my clothes in the sink at my dorm, but it’s not the greatest.”

“Aren’t you on a full scholarship? Where’s all of your money gone to?”

“The scholarship only covers tuition and housing. I don’t really have anything else, outside of a tiny bit of money for food that my parents sent me, but that’s just so I don’t go more than a few days at a time without eating.”

“Uh...well. Right then. Let’s...let’s get to the Ravel, shall we?”

“Sure.”

It was the first time Branford had asked him about his personal life, and Aruk inwardly hoped it would be the last. He’d been working on the last movement of Ravel’s piano concerto for the duration of the semester, and while he did keep falling asleep in practice rooms, Aruk had made noticeable strides toward perfecting it, outside of a few passages that needed tightening up.

“Well, I think you know what parts you need to work on without me saying, if I’m being honest, Aruk. Work on tightening up the middle section more. I know that’s easier said than done, but that’s what happens when you have to do a condensed version, since you’re not playing it with an orchestra behind you.”

“Ah, yeah...it’s getting there, though?”

“It is, and having said that, I do think that you ought to audition to play it with the orchestra next semester. It would be a good experience for you to do that.”

“Er, well...Edgar is the orchestra pianist, isn’t he?”

“He is right now, but it would still be worth your time to audition, even if you don’t get in.”

“Well, I’ll think about it, I guess. Oh, and uh...next lesson, can I get your help with some of the stuff we’re working on for jazz quartet? There are a few passages that feel weird under my fingers even after practicing them.”

“That’s fine, though as you know my focus is primarily on music from times before jazz, so I don’t know how much I can help you stylistically. Now, I do need you to head out, Edgar has his lesson right now.”

“I understand. See you next week.”

Aruk stepped out of the small office and felt his heart leap into his throat as he rounded the corner ran headlong into Edgar Sherborne, who seemed to be pacing the hallway impatiently. Despite the resting scowl on Edgar’s face, Aruk beamed down at him, his right hand scratching at his left arm subconsciously.

“Oh, hello Edgar! Sorry for holding up your lesson. I heard you practicing yesterday afternoon, the Rachmaninoff sounds very good! I’m sure it’ll be even better by the time you go on for your recital.”

The third-year human was considered to be a prodigy and the best pianist at Anfor, training under famous musician after famous musician before arriving at the conservatory. Edgar, for his part, knew what people said of his skills and reveled in it.

“Yes, it will be flawless by then, that’s a given, Aruk. It sounds like the Ravel is coming along for you as well. Auditions for next semester of orchestra are coming up, by the way. Do you intend on trying to audition to play the Ravel with the orchestra?”

“Er...I hadn’t really given it any thought. Branford just mentioned it to me a minute ago, actually, but I assumed that—”

“That I’ll be doing the Rachmaninoff with the orchestra? I assumed as much as well. Of course, I didn’t expect anyone to challenge my spot in the first place, but given that you’re the number two pianist here, I wanted to know if it was something you were doing, especially since you’re playing an orchestra piece for your jury as well.”

“Oh. Well, I hadn’t really planned to audition, I’ve got the jazz quartet and big band for my ensemble credits this year,” Aruk said. He was vaguely aware of the fact his heart was beginning to race. “I’ll be sure to be there if you perform with the orchestra though! It would be fun to do a double concerto with you, too. Also, if you need a page turner for the concert—”

Aruk stopped talking as the office door closed, when he realized Edgar had walked away for his lesson. Taking a breath to steady his heart, Aruk walked down the hall to head for the small classroom where his jazz quartet met.

“Oh hey, Aruk. Didn’t think you’d actually make it on time, considering how hard you were sleeping in the practice room upstairs this morning.”

The drummer, Norgren, was a stout dwarf who at times could barely reach the kick drum pedal. Nonetheless, he was a skilled drummer, and was one of the more amicable students at the conservatory.

“You coulda woken me up, you know. I was a little late to my piano lesson, but I’m awake now. I’ll be fine for rehearsal.” Aruk sat down at the piano in the corner of the practice room as Norgren set up his drum kit.

“I can’t even see through the practice room windows to know who’s in there at my height, Aruk. Figured it was you though, considering it sounded like snoring. Either way, it’s not my job to keep you on time for things. You’re an adult, do it yourself.”

“That’s…” Aruk began, then stopped with a sigh. “You’re right. Sorry.”

“No big. You should probably wash your clothes too. Out of detergent again or something?”

Again, Aruk felt himself recoiling into his shoulders, even though he towered over the dwarf. “Yeah. I just...I washed some of my clothes by hand last night, but they were still drying when I came here to practice, and I haven’t gone back to my dorm yet.”

Before Norgren could say anything else, Aruk quickly asked, “We’re working on Monk’s Dream today, right? Or did we need to go over Blue Rondo as well?”

Norgren sighed and ran a palm over his face. “It really depends on Alric. I don’t think we need to do Blue Rondo, you have it down just fine and you know that Barrett and I have it covered on the rhythm section, it’s just…”

“He’s pretty inconsistent, yeah,” Aruk said quietly. “When he’s feeling it, he’s right there and it sounds great—”

“But when he’s having an off day, it’s like every note he plays is coming out of a broken oboe instead of a saxophone,” Norgren finished. “Sometimes I really wonder how he got into this place, but I guess his good days make up for his bad ones.”

“Are we talking about Alric?” Barrett asked as he entered the room. The bassist for the quartet, Barrett stood a foot shorter than Aruk, but, like Norgren, the human was more welcoming than most of the people at Anfor. “Because I heard one of his relatives works in the registrar and that’s how he got in here.”

“What, you mean to tell me people get into Anfor because their families have influence? I’m shocked,” Norgren said with a laugh. “At least in my case I know I got in here because I’m good, even if my family does have money.”

“Well, yeah, the only person here who got in solely on their ability to play is Aruk,” Barrett replied. “Even if Edgar is good, his parents are music history teachers here and his aunt works in the registrar, so I’m sure all Edgar had to do was look in the direction of the conservatory doors and the admissions office mailed him an acceptance letter on sight.”

Aruk said nothing, but sat down at the piano, green face flushed with embarrassment.

“I can’t imagine though. How’d you make it through an audition process that long, Aruk? I’d have been dead tired after 6 or 7 hours, but I heard it went for 12 hours on that one day,” Norgren said.

“Er, well...truth be told I didn’t have to do that much,” Aruk said. “I auditioned early in the morning, and then they sent me to a side room to wait for several hours before they called me in and asked me to play again. So, I had plenty of time to rest and eat and go to the bathroom and all that. Then they had three of us in the recital hall on different pianos all at once and they made us perform the audition excerpts from memory in front of people. That was the stressful part, really.”

“Sounds it,” Norgren said. “Still, glad we got you and not just another stuffy classical pianist who needed course credits. Three years at this place and you’re the only one so far who actually wanted to do jazz band instead of being coerced into it.”

“Why’s that?” Aruk asked. “Jazz is fun.”

“Everyone wants to be the concert pianist with the orchestra, but only one person gets the spot, you know,” Barrett said. “So, basically everyone who’s not Edgar gets the shaft, but they still need ensemble credits to graduate, so we get stuck with them.”

“Speaking of that, you gonna audition for it, Aruk?” Norgren asked. “I bet you could get it, if you wanted to.”

“Think so? I kinda figured Edgar would get it whether or not anyone else auditioned. He is really good, after all,” Aruk said. His mind wandered to Edgar and immediately he could feel his heart start to race. “I don’t know if I could outplay him.”

“You could, for sure,” Norgren replied. With a laugh, he added, “That’d suck for us if you got it, though, then we might end up stuck with him as our pianist again, and he hates jazz. Still, I think you oughta give it a try. If nothing else, you might shake him up a bit if he thinks he’s got competition.”

“Well, we’ll see—”

“Hey, sorry I’m late, music history went over again,” Alric said as he walked into the room, unceremoniously setting his two saxophone cases on desks and flipping them open. The elf looked tired and harried, and he shuffled through spare sheet music stuffed inside one of the saxophone cases before pulling out the tenor sax.

“Sounds like Sherborne. You can see where Edgar gets it from,” Barrett said.

“Yeah, their time is important, yours not so much,” Norgren grumbled. “Getting office hours with him was almost impossible when I took his class last year. Anyway, let’s get this ball rolling. Alric, you good for Monk’s Dream, or do we need to go back to Blue Rondo?”

Alric shook his head. “After that class, I need to not be stressed right away. Let’s do Monk’s Dream first, it’s easier for me.”

“You got it,” Norgren said. “Aruk, whenever you’re ready.”

Aruk nodded and started playing, falling into a comfortable groove within a few measures. While he enjoyed the challenge of concert music, jazz quartet and big band rehearsals always put his mind at ease, and after the rehearsal ended he headed back to his dorm feeling less stressed about the rest of how he was handling his first year at Anfor.

When he reached his dorm, he was relieved to find the clothes he’d washed still hanging by the windowsill, completely dry and substantially less smelly than the clothes he’d already worn.

“This place is a bit of a mess,” he muttered to himself as he looked around the room.

He shared the room with a human violinist, but the last time he’d seen his roommate was early on in the semester. Aruk tended to be out all night at the music building, and his roommate was an early morning sort of person, so the only potential overlap they ever encountered was in the afternoon. There were clothes strewn all over the floor, and trash was left on nearly every flat surface that wasn’t one of the two beds in the room.

The room also had a lingering smell of stale weed to it, but Aruk took responsibility for that one, as he’d come to make a habit of smoking in the early afternoon while his roommate was out. Aruk may not have had much by way of money, but being that he was an outlander, he knew how to forage for things, food and weed included.

Aruk folded his clean clothes up and put them in his dresser drawers, mindlessly pulling out a glass pipe and small bag he had hidden in the back of his underwear drawer as he did. He stopped to pack and light up his pipe, then smoked it leisurely as he cleaned up his part of the room, pushing his roommate’s clothes and trash across to the other side of the room.

Once he was done smoking and he was satisfied with how his part of the room looked, Aruk took to the shower to wash off some of the leftover smell from the night before. Aruk was big in every sense of the word, and the dorm shower was built for people smaller than him; despite having to lean down to wash his own head and shoulders, Aruk enjoyed the shower, especially when high. The peace and quiet that came with the privacy felt good. Being able to get naked and not have to worry about it the way he could at home felt good. The sensations of the water splashing onto him and washing down his body felt good.

He stood in the shower for a long while, thoughts wandering from the feeling of the water to the sound of the music he’d played that day, to running into Edgar in the hall, and he spent a long time thinking about Edgar, so long that by the time he finally stopped thinking about Edgar the shower water had started to run cold, and he let out a groan as he came crashing down with the recognition that the water was cold even though his skin felt so warm, his whole body felt so warm, and it all felt good—

A while later, Aruk settled into bed for an early afternoon nap, the faint warmth of his high still lingering on his brain as he pulled the blanket over himself, reveling in the softness of his blanket on his bare skin. After thinking about Edgar some more, and thinking about how the day had transpired, he sleepily decided that he’d audition for the orchestra after all, because after hearing what everyone else had told him, it felt like the right thing to do.

It felt good.

#rockheadwriting #aruk wavesplitter

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maraudersmessrs · 6 years

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Remus Lupin and the Prisoner of Azkaban--- Chapter 22: Waning Storm

Ao3 link

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8 / Chapter 9 / Chapter 10 / Chapter 11 / Chapter 12 / Chapter 13 / Chapter 14 / Chapter 15 / Chapter 16 / Chapter 17 / Chapter 18 / Chapter 19 / Chapter 20 / Chapter 21 / Chapter 22 / Chapter 23 / Chapter 24 / Chapter 25 / Chapter 26 / Chapter 27 / Chapter 28 / Chapter 29 / Chapter 30 / Chapter 31 / Chapter 32 / Chapter 33 / Chapter 34

(Disclaimer: all of the dialogue in the second half is directly from the book)

“Alright.” She straightened and turned a desk chair about, gesturing to it. He made his way over, slowly, and sat while she gave him a quick once over, then she sat on a bed across from him. “What brings you in today, Remus?”

“Lily.” He answered truthfully. It was supposed to come out wry, but he feared his tone was merely dull.

Poppy froze a moment and he could see her looking at him, hard, searching her memory. Then, she relaxed. “Ah. I see.”

Rising, she wove around him and he watched as she bustled around the room, collecting things from shelves, the windowsill in her office. “I believe Miss Evans would be thrilled that she’s compelling you to take care of yourself from beyond the grave. Here,” she dropped a hunk of chocolate the size of a bludger in his hand in passing. “Gnaw on that. I’m not surprised this is happening now, to be honest. There can sometimes be side effects from the Wolfsbane potion that we are not fully aware of, as it’s so new. And I know that this close to the moon tends to catch you in a low mood anyhow.” She put the back of her hand to his forehead. “Is there anything else that might be contributing?”

Remus watched the chocolate as he slowly passed it from hand to hand to keep it from melting. “Sunday was Halloween. With Sirius and…” he trailed off.

“Heavens, it was, wasn’t it?” A look of reluctant enlightenment crossed her face before she shook herself and slowly moved her wand tip around his head, checking her watch. “Well...I’m glad that you’re coming in for help. Eat,” she added, warningly. “It’ll help.”

He almost protested that he hadn’t even been near the Dementors when the memory of Neville doing the same thing in his office surfaced accusatorily and, guiltily, he started in on it.

He left the Hospital Wing an hour later full of chocolate, empty of words, and with a strict order to rest the day of the full moon. Poppy seemed to think that something like a perfect storm had happened with certain side effects of the Wolfsbane potion, the impending Change, the happenings of Halloween, and his own depression. She had packed him off a Cheering Elixir, that he had been convinced to take once she had invoked the reminder of his status--Professor. “And what would you tell one of your students to do, hm?” Yes. He needed to be able to function.

Over the course of the rest of the day, the edge of the nothing pit softened into a slightly more manageable melancholy. The storming rose to a pitch, rattling the windows with the wind and crashes of thunder. The day of the full moon was rough, painful, and nauseating but it always was. He pushed through. The Change was literally bone breaking and soul wrenching, but…it always was. There was nothing else to do but press on. He dutifully took his small armada of potions Madame Pomfrey had assigned him over the course of the year.

Waking up became incrementally easier over the next few days and the presence of other people gradually became more welcome. The storms had cleared after the day of the Change and pale sunlight was seeping in the windows, heralding the cold turnover from autumn to winter. He had been invited to tea with Hagrid again--who assured him that it was tea, this time--and he was slightly pleased with himself that he accepted. Once again, Hagrid managed to make him smile a bit, and fed him some home baking, which proved to be...a task to ingest. But he managed. Mostly. A pity Fang was so afraid of him, he would have bribed him under the table with the food to help him finish it.

He attended the mandatory staff meeting where Dumbledore briefed all who were not present at the Quidditch match that had gone horribly wrong; Dementor invasion, Harry falling off his broom from the sky, his broomstick smashed against the Whomping Willow. How can this boy hope to gain an education when he’s being assaulted constantly? The other Professor’s expressed their concern, confusion and outrage at their strange behavior. Apparently, the Dementors had been itching to come closer to the castle, having been relegated to the entrances and very outskirts of the grounds, far from any sort of joy or human emotion. They were growing impatient. They were growing hungry. The cold, expressionless fury that sat like a chill mirror behind Dumbledore’s normally warm eyes as he relayed the tale shook Remus. He knew that Dumbledore was a great wizard, more powerful even than Voldemort but rarely was he ever reminded quite so blatantly; there was a force to his anger that was undeniable. He almost felt sorry for the Dementors. But not quite.

It tightened his chest to know that the Dementors’ affects overwhelmed Harry so totally. Voldemort, Sirius, the Dementors; he was under attack so consistently that it was a wonder that the boy had any courage or trust at all. But he had seen him laughing with his friends, showing keen attention in classes, resisting digs from bullies. Speaking of….Dumbledore had informed him that Snape had covered his missed day and he had had to contain his grimace at what that would mean for his...opinionated Gryffindor class. He hoped that Neville had fared alright. He hoped that Harry hadn’t had too hard of a time. Longing to support and help the boy was an ache that felt deeper than his bones; he felt it as keenly as he felt the chill after the Change, as he always did. But fear, doubt, and the knowledge that he was not worthy as a guardian to this boy kept him back, at arms length. What could Remus offer him that he did not have in Hogwarts and Dumbledore? He was a stranger, a man who held a fragment of his past that had been...absent. What claim did he have to any hope for the boy’s trust?

Stoutly, he stifled the impending backwards slide into despair and stoked a fire in his office. He returned to his rooms to let the heat collect while he searched for layers to don while he waited for his afternoon class. As he was digging through his clothes, his fingers hooked into something soft and he hesitated, then carefully drew it out. It was a long, faun-colored scarf, slightly pilled and worn, but still thick. Peter had given it to him, long ago, after he had noticed Remus’ tendency to bundle up after the full moon. His round face had flushed a bit as he admitted that he had knit it himself, that his mum had taught him. Remus ran his thumb over it, staring down sightlessly. Peter.

He always seemed to be slightly eclipsed in Remus’ memory; eager, short, quietly kind, but always elbowed back by the powerful personalities of James and Sirius. It had been him that had pushed for them to include Peter more, when he had seen the boy lurking wistfully at the fringes of their group. He knew what it was to be alone. To be outside. He never wanted that for anyone else. Poor Peter. Even his death was slightly over-shadowed by the sudden, shocking tragedy of Lily and James’s murder the previous day. An afterthought. But he of all people had been the one to find Sirius, to confront him, had shown his true courage at last and had been horribly slaughtered for it. Blasted apart with a street full of innocent people. The memory of Peter was always shaded with regret; I should have done more. More time should have been spent with him, spent on his memory, his sacrifice.

You have this opportunity to do something, now, something in him warned. Do not waste it.

No one should be alone. He would talk to Harry.

A few hours later, he reluctantly stopped soaking in the warmth of his fire and set himself up at his desk in the classroom. Happily, something in him seemed to have woken up and shaken off even more of the cloying weight of the previous week, for his smile as the first few students poked their heads in was genuine. Every entrance to the classroom seemed to be preceded by a strange, furtive peeking around the door frame and it took him a while to realize that they might have been expecting Professor Snape again. He then made sure to stay in full view of the doorway, after that. When it seemed everyone had taken their seats, he cast a smile around at them and it was like a bomb detonated, for everyone started to clamor and complain all at once. Through the storm of noise he gathered that Severus had been, well, Severus, and that he had skipped forward to lessons on werewolves.

At that, a cold wash went through him and he felt the smile drop from his face. With a great deal of control, he wrestled the sudden, overwhelming panic that was trying to run rampant through him. He saw only indignance, anger, and relief in the faces across from him. No suspicion, no disgust, no distrust. No one knew. No one guessed. As he was sure was Snape’s plan. I cannot believe…2 rolls of parchment on how to best kill me. And you intended me to have to read them all...give them feedback on their technique…. James and Lily’s son….Frank and Alice….

He shook himself. Pain was nothing if not familiar. With difficulty, he schooled his face into what resembled vague bemusement. “Did you tell Professor Snape we haven’t covered them yet?”

The wave of noise that followed told him what he already knew. Yes, they had, yes he had known, yes, he had done it completely on purpose. Well. Unlike some people, Remus knew how to be a goddamn professional. He smiled around at them. “Don’t worry. I’ll speak to Professor Snape. You don’t have to do the essay.”

He doubted he would, actually. What Severus would want most, besides a student revolt calling for his blood, was to know that he had shaken Remus. And that, he would not give him, not for anything. Best to let him think that he had stoically graded their murder scenarios and handed them back with praise. It was a knowledge that they needed, no doubt, but he needed to steel himself before going over the topic. He would not let that be taken away; he would do this in his own time. As the class progressed, the dread that had taken dark root in him gradually faded and he fell back into the rhythm of teaching. The students were eager and bright, the topic and specimen hinkypunk interesting. He was teaching, he was helping, he was needed.

When the class was over, he almost let Harry slip out, almost shied away from his decision to offer his support, but instead, called out, “Wait a moment, Harry, I’d like a word.”

Dutifully, Harry returned and watched as he began to pack up his things. “I heard about the match, and I’m sorry about your broomstick. Is there any chance of fixing it?”

“No,” Harry said, mournfully. “The tree smashed it to bits.”

Ah, that tree. Yet another way I’ve made life here just that much more unsafe…. Sighing, he said, “They planted the Whomping Willow the same year that I arrived at Hogwarts. People used to play a game, trying to get near enough to touch the trunk. In the end, a boy called Davey Gudgeon nearly lost an eye, and we were forbidden to go near it. No broomstick would have a chance.”

There was a silence from Harry, then he seemed to force himself to say, “Did you hear about the dementors too?”

Lupin turned to him to see the bewilderment, frustration, and shame warring on the boys face. Oh, Harry. “Yes, I did. I don’t think any of us have seen Professor Dumbledore that angry. THey have been growing restless for some time...furious at his refusal to let them inside the grounds….I suppose they were the reason you fell?”

“Yes.” He seemed to second guess himself a moment, then he blurted in frustration. “Why? Why do they affect me like that? Am I just--?”

Remus could see the despair and doubt creeping onto his young face and all at once he was unshakeable in his decision to reach out to the boy. Alone, he was blaming himself, doubting his strength. Not knowing the truth of what it meant. Unthinkable. “It has nothing to do with weakness,” he broke in, firmly. “The Dementors affect you worse than the others because there are horrors in your past that the others don’t have.”

He could see the boy struggling with this, staring at him with a mixture of disbelief and humiliation. The watery sunlight from the high windows fell across his face, shining on his glasses, his green eyes, the scar on his forehead. He needed to know his worth. He needed to know his strength. “Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them. Even Muggles feel their presence, though they can’t see them. Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself...soulless and evil.” The torn scraps of the Fat Lady’s portrait flashed across his mind, the blazing eyes staring at him from the Prophet. “You’ll be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life.” More memories attempted to blossom but he redirected his mind, looked at Harry. His parents dead, strangers trying to end his young life, betrayal at every turn. Danger where he should be safe. “And the worst that happened to you, Harry, is enough to make anyone fall off their broom. You have nothing to feel ashamed of.”

Harry’s eyes were fastened on the desk next to them. “When they get near me--” He swallowed, and continued, with difficulty, “I can hear Voldemort murdering my mum.”

Pain clenched in his gut out of nowhere, a pain laden with guilt. Not his mother, Harry’s. But...Lily….His hand had came up automatically to...do something. To reach out, to grasp his shoulder, his hand, to comfort but he forced it down. Teacher. You are not to him what he is to you. He rooted through his mind, his heart for what to say to the boy but what does someone say? What does someone say to a boy who can hear his mother dying for him? Oh, Lily. Harry. You deserved so much better. So much more.

Abruptly, Harry’s face twisted, resentful. “Why did they have to come to the match?”

Remus continued packing up to keep his fists from clenching. “They’re getting hungry. Dumbledore won’t let them into the school, so their supply of human prey has dried up….I don’t think they could resist the large crowd around the Quidditch field. All that excitement...emotions running high...it was their idea of a feast.”

“Azkaban must be terrible.”

I have often hoped so. On dark nights. “The fortress is set on a tiny island, way out to sea, but they don’t need walls and water to keep the prisoners in, not when they’re all trapped inside their own heads, incapable of a single cheerful thought. Most of them go mad within weeks.”

Harry studied him, obviously thinking. “But Sirius Black escaped from them. He got away.”

The surge of emotion that welled up in him at the name took him completely by surprise and he had to hasten to catch his suitcase that slid from his grip. The damping weight of numbness that had surrounded him the past week seemed to have altogether weakened his immunity to it. It felt raw. “Yes,” he stood again. “Black must have found a way to fight them. I wouldn’t have believed it possible….Dementors are supposed to drain a wizard of his powers if he is left with them too long….” And yet….

“You made that Dementor on the train back off,” Harry’s sudden voice spun him onto a completely different track and he had to recalibrate a moment.

“There are--certain defenses one can use. But there wa only one Dementor on the train. The more there are, the more difficult it becomes to resist.” And I barely did a passable job at resisting the one….

“What defenses?” Harry sounded eager. “Can you teach me?”

Anything. I would try to give you anything but… “I don’t pretend to be an expert at fighting Dementors, Harry...quite the contrary….”

But he was nothing if not persistent, like his mother. He was nothing if not endearing, like his father. He was nothing if not completely worthy of being able to defend himself against the horrors of this world. Defense Against the Dark Arts--and all other manner of all too human error and hate. Remus agreed. The beginning of next term, of next year. He would finally be able to be of use to Harry.

#HEY I'M BAAACK. It's a long one #I really wanted that scene from Lupin's eyes cause at that point Harry still had no idea who he was #my stuff #ficlet #Remus Lupin and the Prisoner of Azkaban

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tenroseforeverandever · 6 years

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Dear Father Christmas... Chapter 12: December 24, 2027

MASTERPOST

Characters: Tentoo; Rose Tyler; Jackie Tyler; Pete Tyler; Tony Tyler; OC Hope Tyler-Noble; OC Charlotte Tyler-Noble; OC Wilfred Tyler-Noble

Rated: Teen

Tags: Family!Fic; Kid!Fic; Pete’s World; Letters to Santa; Christmas Fic; Family; Fluff; Hurt/Comfort; Angst; Romance; Love; gun violence; violence resulting in death; life-threatening injury; life threatening situations

Summary: When Rose Tyler was little, she always wrote a Christmas wish list to Father Christmas. As she grew older, the wish list became more of a letter to someone she could confide in once a year, but she fell out of the habit somewhere along the way. Now, as a new mum, celebrating her daughter’s first Christmas, Rose takes up writing her Christmas letter to Father Christmas once again.

Rose’s Christmas letters are excerpts from her life with her beloved Tentoo and their children in Pete’s World, written once a year, for each of 31 years.

Chapter Summary: When Charlie makes a new friend, it opens her eyes up to the world around her, and her life is changed forever.

Notes: This was a long one, and along with a bloody awful cold, set me back from my schedule by a few days. I’m trying to make it up and get ahead again, but I fear the time is nigh when I will not be able to post on schedule.

@rose–nebula and mrsbertucci deserve all the hugs. Thanks so much for all your support, ladies.

Thanks to @doctorroseprompts for their 31 Days of Ficmas prompts. A reminder that I am using the prompts very much out of order, but I intend to use them all. The prompt I used today was Feast.