#especially after a year of bad generics

[lebanesetoaster]

Is there anything sexier than a name brand post-it?

[julijbee]

girlbossing too close to the sun.

[autumnhobbit]

.

[agalychnisspranneusroseus]

CW slightly suggestive content but uhhh

Sashanne having a more physical relationship in highschool before it becomes explicitly romantic, like I'm talking 17-18 years old right? And lately, every sleepover includes making out and lots of touching and y'know, while still strictly calling each other just friends. It's not that they're not in love with each other, they just... don't want to think about it right now. It's just easier this way. Just like how it's easier not to talk about it when it's over.

But they're definitely not exclusive, and Anne has seen Sasha dating boys for the past few years - never girls - and it's honestly killing her inside. She doesn't want to bring it up because why would she? They're just friends! And sometimes they have fun together, but it's just that, little more than an entertaining sleepover activity that doesn't mean anything. Even if Sasha always tells her she's beautiful between kisses, even if she always hugs her tight afterwards. They're just friends. They trust each other with their lives. Nothing's wrong.

But one time they're lying together on Anne's bed, cuddling while Sasha plays with her hair, exhausted and comfy and content, and as they chat, Sasha casually tells her about the boy she was with last weekend, and Anne gets surprisingly angry all of a sudden. Her excuse is that Sasha needs to tell her before doing anything because, what if they get sick or something? It doesn't make much sense but the words fall out of her mouth anyway. She hates hates HATES the idea of a boy seeing Sasha the way she sees her, HATES the idea of a boy touching her, or being this close to her, and frog now she can't get the image out of her head, which is hauntingly explicit because she tries so hard not to think about it that she can't help think about it. She has tears in her eyes. If Sasha was offended by Anne's previous implications, she lets it go as soon as she sees how upset she is. They both know Anne has no right to ask Sasha to stop seeing people - they're just friends, after all - but Sasha has always been the protector, and she already hurt Anne too many times, the last thing she wants is to make her cry (nowadays, seeing either of her girls cry always makes her stop on her tracks, no matter how angry she was before, no matter how right she knows she is, it's like it pushes a special button in her brain that tells her your priority now is to make her happy again, no matter how inconvenient it is). She has two options now: to call this off now before it gets worse and they both end up hurt, or promising Anne some level of exclusivity, even if it just means asking permission before being with a boy. Or anyone, for that matter, but as pretty as girls are, there are only two that truly own her heart and she could never bring herself to be with another. Not after Anne. There is only one other girl she'd be with after Anne and she's half a continent away.

She'd be willing to give Anne that power. She's eager, almost, as if making up for something even though she didn't do anything wrong. Anne can't accept it - friends talk about boys at sleepovers, Sasha telling her about her boyfriend of the week should be normal. She asks Sasha to forget about it, and curls into her side and lets her continue play with her hair while she holds back tears. She knows this is a game for them, she shouldn't expect Sasha to treat it as anything else. Even if it makes her feel a litte bit like a toy.

[xxplastic-cubexx]

comic fans aren’t saying that we hate the fact that cherik are in the mcu we just hate how badly it’s going to affect the comics (and how it’s CURRENTLY affecting the comics) Charles and erik’s relationship is one of the staples of x men and they’re literally ruining it before our eyes since they’re bringing them to the mcu, and let’s be honest the comics are 10x more important for these characters then the movies (changes in the comics can change how the characters are portrayed in the movies so who knows maybe they’ll bring lilandra to doomsday to fight off the cherik gay stuff like what happened to the fox movies ahem ahem charles and moira stuff) It’s not only affecting cheriks dynamic and relationship ofc but also the other characters and where the storyline of the modern comics is heading!! so much regression has been going on!! the comics have been backpedaling into old storylines that we’ve heard thousands of times to appeal to the movie watchers + 97 fans.

now i dont want to say we're SCREWED INDEFINITELY..... waters are def rocky is all ima say...

[teenagefeeling]

thrifters always talk about finding vintage clothes but no one ever talks about the massive abundance of abercrombie & fitch, aeropostale, american eagle, urban outfitters, and hollister that u will find in like every goodwill to this day. i think maybe supplies are finally dwindling idk but the chokehold that those brands had on normie fashion in the late 2000s cannot be overstated

[epiaphany]

Just wanted to thank you for all your no music scenes! Truly highlight during this hiatus! 🩵🩵🩵

( Also if you have the time the buddie confessions ending scene? I know they don't talk in it but I wonder what's it like without the music )

hi! thank you! that's so sweet of you to say, it means a lot 🫶🏻

unfortunately because of the lack of dialogue in that scene, it's not really possible to remove the music in the same way, because there is a lot of music on all the audio channels. i have tried and did manage to make the music not as dominant and bring out the other sounds (door opening/closing etc) a little bit, but it really didn't make that much of a difference for me to think that anyone besides me (who have listened to this clip maybe 100 times now) will be able to tell 😅

[ravenwolfie97]

all pokemon games are good but they are not all equally as good

send post

[offthewall1979]

o my gosh. it's NOVEMBER. i am listening to THE JACKSON 5 but i haven't listened to their christmas album yet. i'm PUMPED

[roughentumble]

not to rip off Poolverine for my m/f ship but. Rogue in Anna Paquin's red riding hood look from Trick R Treat and big bad wolf Logan.

you are so homophobia im calling tue fandom cops on you wee woo wee woo here they come

[altruistic-meme]

have you hiked in the Appalachians?

hiiiii <3 the answer is... yeah? i'm sure i HAVE dskhf

i live in georgia, i've certainly BEEN to the appalachians plenty of times. not just here but across probably most of the states they're in. and i've hiked in... a LOT of places (mostly due to geocaching, though also occasionally just for fun at my parents behest)

the only problem is that when i was younger, i never really paid attention to where exactly we were :') there are some i can name for sure; Cloudland Canyon, for instance, though thats not in the appalachians and also idk if stairs count as hiking?? though there are *googles it* 1200 steps one-way so maybe it does at that point idk it's a fond memory even as my whole family has vowed to never return (i will one day, probably). and also Elijah Clark state park. actually i'm pretty sure i've BEEN TO every (or at least almost every) state park in Georgia. and hiked in a lot of them too.

so tl;dr is yes, i am sure i've hiked in the appalachians, though i really don't remember it ;;;;; i should do it again

[justaholeinmysoul]

The main example of how the mass thinking nowadays is UScentric and unfiltered from context is the age discourse. The whole boomer thing.

[crossdressingdeath]

Okay mostly I have very much enjoyed AC2 (Ezio is my boy and I would in fact do anything for him, I spent maybe an hour in this man's head and was like "okay yeah I see why he got three games", he is a delight and I love him and my god the supporting cast is fantastic) but the time skips are a little excessive. Ubisoft, I get that you really wanted to include the bonfire of the vanities but hear me out: you could've had an equally cool fight for the Apple with a made up guy whose death wasn't tied to a specific date. Or if you really had your hearts set on the bonfire of the vanities you could've had Savonarola take the Apple later? Or had it take longer for Ezio to track him down? Move Ezio acquiring the Apple to later so that no one has it as long? Basically I'm not entirely sure it was the best idea in the world to have a guy tell Ezio in plain language that his target was probably in Firenze and then go "Anyway it took him nine years to do something about that" (it's possible that Savonarola wasn't actually in Firenze at the time, but since the game never actually says that or shows Ezio going looking for him...). Genuinely I do love this game but you can really see them stretching the timeline until it breaks to put as many big historical events in there as they could without having to go full alternate history.

[akisteahouse]

COURTING YOU? SINCE WHEN?! Featuring Diasomnia!

requested ask from here!!!!

While courting, crocodiles can be surprisingly tender, involving much touching of snouts, rubbing of necks, blowing of bubbles and resting of heads on each other’s backs.

Sebek Zigvolt! Whose face grew crimson at your utter lack of decorum, as he so nicely put it, when you’d fallen asleep on his back after one of Vargas’s more tiring lessons - what? You’d groaned, ignoring all of his minimal at best attempts to push you off, further curling into him, shoving your face into the crook of his neck, completely oblivious to the poor first-year’s inner turmoil. You insolent little -! Fine, he’d allow just this once. (Lies. He wouldn’t mind even if you did it daily.) Calloused hand now usually placed against the back of your neck while walking, fingertips pressed against your nape, so gently, almost like he was afraid holding onto you too tightly would shatter you, all while his posture remained ramrod straight and face flushed a pretty pink, as if he was embarrassed from doing something intimate…oh well, you wouldn’t expect any less from your favourite emotionally constipated croc <33 Running up to you one day brandishing two bubble wands like they were swords, loudly complaining about the brainless humans(who really were just confused onlookers wondering why the two of you were blowing bubbles at the courtyard), before immediately flipping and complimenting your excellent bubble-blowing form(red-eared all the while, waving his bubble wand back and forth like he was doing something important. Cute.) Stiffly asking one day if he had permission, permission to what, exactly, you weren’t so sure but hey - why not? Steeling yourself for whatever Sebek had in store for you, only for something hard to bump rather awkwardly into your forehead, another thing pressed against your nose… eh? His hands cradled carefully around your face to rub his nose against yours, so positively red you couldn’t help but giggle - a bad decision, on your part, because you quickly lost your footing and fell onto the grass, sending poor Sebek tumbling down with you(Whatever, it wasn’t like he cared that much, anyway - not when you were laughing like that, eyes ceased at the corners and cheeks ruddy). Barging into your room for the umpteeth time the next week, a hint of nervousness in his tone - “Lilia has arranged a meeting with you. It is only expected of him - my parents are currently unavailable to assess my mate, so he will do it in their stead. Pardon? Of course, I’m referring to you! Have you gone mad?” Madly oblivious, sure, but hey - a boyfriend’s a boyfriend, especially since it was your fav croc ;)

While courting, bats will douse themselves with perfume, sing or scream to express desire, as well as engage in mutual grooming and wing-flicking.

Lilia Vanrouge! Whose grin widened like a Cheshire's when you invited him out for an impromptu karaoke session, and even more so when he caught a whiff of your new perfume - “My, my, how bold ~” …eh? Resting his chin on closed fists, as he watched you belt out a popular song with a sickeningly dreamy look in his eyes, before choosing his own song with all the seriousness of an army general leading his troops to war, cheerfully screeching into the karaoke mic death metal, beaming at you with a proud grin after the song ended(well, Cater did mention he liked metal, so this probably wasn’t out of the ordinary, right?). Dousing himself with copious amounts of strong perfume right before attending any of his classes that you were in to the point that the entirety of Diasomnia knew what the two - mostly one - were up to, sending you looks of mild annoyance whenever they caught you and Lilia walking by(“Just say yes already, i don’t know how much more of this lovey-dovey nonsense I can stand -“ “There’s a betting pool if you’re interested -“ “Oh, really?”). Unexpectedly rough hands becoming touchier and grabby with you, if possible, now always semi-permanently glued to your body, whether it be simply running his fingers through your hair(oh-so gently brushing out knots or the occasional tangle with the care so unlike his usual reckless demeanour, almost like he was worried pulling a little too sharply would harm you) or barging randomly into your dorm for impromptu self-care nights, armed with face masks from Pomefiore and a old movie in hand(eyes gazing into yours a little too adoringly when you’d fallen asleep on his shoulder halfway through, fingertips brushing a stray lock of hair back, humming sweetly as he draped a blanket over your shoulders - he’d have to rummage through your kitchen to prepare you a wonderful meal when you woke up…he was sure you wouldn’t mind too much, now <33 Face turning a shade of pink he would have giggled at when you decided to surprise him by randomly appearing from behind and almost screaming his name, his raspberry-red eyes widened in delight, voice awed and nearly breathless, taking your hands in his, with a stupidly lovestruck look in his eyes - “Does this mean… you’ve finally accepted me? Oh, I should tell Silver right away! He’d be delighted to have another parent - hm? Did you really think we’d become mates without me introducing you to my family? Goodness beastie, what a funny thought! Come along now, you can meet the rest over dinner!” :))))

While courting, dragons may offer their potential mate treasures from their own hoard, as well as show displays of power to win their affection. Inviting their potential mate to their hoard is considered to be a sacred act, as well as an agreement to the courtship.

Malleus Draconia! Who had been acting even more socially inept than usual - awkwardly offering you gems and necklaces and brooches which you were sure cost more than you could ever spend in your lifetime, right next to delicately carved stone gargoyles(that took you quite a while to find a place for, but no worries), along with frequently alarming actions that anyone else would’ve been scared of - such as Malleus nearly flooding the school after you tried to get up from your lunch table to get water, Malleus snapping a tree cleanly in half after Rook had been ‘observing’ the two of you, Malleus stepping on your keychain which had fallen off your bag, causing him to despair and cause rainstorms for three days… ah, good times, good times(and probably nothing more to the way his emerald green eyes seemed to glisten at you when you told him that breaking your keychain was fine, since it was an accident, and such a small thing wouldn’t deter you from being his friend… yeah, probably nothing.) Inviting you out to visit his room one day with a rare flush to his pale cheeks, pointed ears reddened to their tips - odd, but this was a normal friend activity, right?? Flushing an even deeper shade of scarlett when you admired his hoard collection of pennants and souvenirs gifted to him from Lilia, happily recounting all of the outlandish stories he’d been told by him as he grew up, eyes blown wide like a surprised cat’s after you’d told him you’d love to experience those places, places he’d only ever heard of since birth, with him - “Did you… did you really mean that?” Avoiding your gaze like an embarrassed schoolgirl all of a sudden, usually composed face tinted pink, something so worrying you couldn’t help but reach out to touch his cheek, just to check in case of an odd fae illness - something which only led to Malleus staring at you like a particularly strange animal, only for him to sigh(dreamily?) and lean into your warm touch, closing his eyes shut. (He really was sick, then. He had to be. After all, his body temperature was oddly hot, and his pulse seemed to be growing faster by the minute.) Humming a new tune - a song Lilia used to sing for him when he was young, apparently - the day after, appearing in your front door like he’d been summoned, lips curling upwards the minute he’d since your face, in all its just-woken-up-bedheaded glory. “Ah, there you are, my dear. I’ve already informed Lilia of our relationship, and he has approved. Though, those senators seem less… excited about our future, but no matter. We should leave for Briar Valley in a few days time - I’m sure they’ll have a change of heart after meeting my lovely future head consort in person, and if not… well, I’ll simply just have to do some convincing.” ;)))

BONUS:

While courting, humans don't usually rest on each other’s backs, scream to profess their love, nor do they typically invite potential mates to their hoard - but neither were they raised and surrounded by fae, so Silver certainly was a different case altogether.

Silver! Who had decided to ask his fellow peers for advice on how to properly court you - hence, Sebek. “INTIATE INTIMATE TOUCH!” was his junior’s advice, which turned out…okay. His original plan of going on a walk in the forest together had been a massive fail, falling asleep on a bench when you’d asked to take a break - his head perched on your shoulder, long eyelashes fluttered shut, near silent snores escaping his barely opened lips. (Not like you minded much. Silver falling asleep on you was becoming a common occurrence, the more you spoke to him.) His second attempt at wooing you coming directly from his fa - Lilia, himself - to invite you out for a karaoke date. Which was fun - until Silver’s song of choice came on, a song Lilia had strongly recommended to ‘properly show them you’re interested’… a decision he’d later come to regret, after being hit in the face with heavy bass and its singer letting out an unholy shriek. Though he did try his best to sing along, which turned out… interesting. His voice hoarse from all that screaming and shouting, leading to him being confined to his room due to his unbearably sore throat, sighing wistfully and staring out his window, watching the blue birds chirp and squirrels climb up trees, deep in thought…(why wasn’t any of his courting methods working? Should he ask Kalim for help next?) Jolting up when Malleus barged in, in his own polite way, smiling from ear to ear as he spoke,”Your beloved has arrived with soup. I believe they are here to assist you. Lilia has already let them in. Good luck.” Face tinted a soft pink when you sat down on his bed and offered him a flask of chicken soup(that he was extremely grateful for, after politely refusing Lilia’s many attempts to feed him his strange concoctions), auroral eyes locked onto your gaze, so intently focused on you that he tipped over the thermos of soup, apologising over and over as he felt you do a once-over on him, fingertips lightly patting him down, eyes scanning him for injuries. “I love you.” The words escaping his mouth before he could stop himself, eyes blown open by his own directness, even more so when you flushed a shade of pink he found absolutely charming, reciprocating his feelings. Wait…really? Smiling giddily like an idiot after you’d accepted his confession, opening the door to walk you back to your dorm, only to see Lilia, Sebek and Malleus to tumble out, presumably listening in to the entire thing. Looking up at you with an apologetic smile, holding onto your hand just a little bit tighter, as if trying to reassure you -“I hope you weren’t too surprised… they might be a little much, but it's okay, because i love you, and I’m sure they’ll love you just as much as i do.” :))))

hey, if you liked this… check out Savannaclaw’s or Octavinelle’s versions?

alternatively; check out the Diasomnia masterlist?

[fireinmoonshot]

darling | robert reynolds x reader,

THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR MARVEL'S THUNDERBOLTS*.

Pairing: Robert 'Bob' Reynolds x Reader Summary: You always call Bob darling in private... until you accidentally slip up and use the nickname in front of the rest of the Thunderbolts. Warnings: Mentions of food/drink, reader is mentioned to not be mentally ready for a relationship and has a bit of a moment at the end struggling with their thoughts/struggling mentally in general. Word Count: 1.3k A/N: Thank you all so much for the amazing response on my first Bob fic 🥹 For my second one, this was actually the first idea I had for Bob but it took a bit of workshopping to get right. I ended up being really happy with it. I love writing the Thunderbolts team dynamic. I also put a little easter egg in there for anyone that's read all my other Joaquín fics since February this year. I hope you all enjoy! 💗

Bob had been called many different things in his life. There had been a series of insults from his family and people he’d hurt during his time as an addict. Walker always called him Bobby, which he hated. Valentina called him by his full name, Robert. He had other names like Sentry and Void when he was using his powers. But none of those could ever come close to his favourite from you.

Every time he hears the word darling come from your mouth, directed at him, he thinks it might be the closest he’s ever come to true happiness. He wishes every time that he could bottle that feeling up and keep it for when the days are especially tough.

“Darling, can you pass me that book?”

“Darling, how are you doing after that mission?”

“Darling, do you need me to do anything for you?”

The only bad thing is the fact that you aren’t his. It’s a mutual decision, though, so he can’t be mad. You’ve been in mutual like for a while now. But both of you have known that entering into something serious when neither of you are mentally ready for something like that would just be foolish and end up with one or both of you being hurt. Your friendship always mattered more than the possibility of your futures together.

But the nickname still stuck and Bob was glad for that.

He never cared that it was just in private. In fact, he rather enjoyed the fact that it was just for the two of you. That, whenever he was alone with you, it was almost a guarantee that he was going to hear your voice speak that gorgeous word.

He cared for the rest of the team so deeply, but the moments when it was just you and him were his favourites. When you’d be laying together on the couch, both of you reading the same book and having to wait till you’d both finished the page before turning to the next one. When you’d be in the kitchen together, Bob washing the dishes as you plated up some kind of masterpiece for dinner. The quiet times, when everyone else was asleep and you and Bob would stay up trading memories like they were the worlds greatest secrets. 

The level of comfort he got in your presence surprised him, but he accepted it quickly.

It’s why, when you enter the room, he knows that you’re there. He relaxes almost instantly, just from sensing you getting closer. You reach out to rest a hand on his shoulder before you stop yourself, resting it on the top of the chair that he’s sitting on instead. 

There’s still a little hesitation when it comes to touch between the two of you. Both because neither of you want to cross the invisible line you’ve both drawn, but because of Bob’s powers too. He still isn’t fully in control.

“Morning, darling,” the word slips out before you can stop yourself. It’s so normal these days to refer to Bob like this, but always in private. Never in the dining room of the Watch Tower where every other member of the team is having breakfast.

Bob is none the wiser to your blunder. He gets that same starry look in his eyes as he always does when he looks up at you, standing behind him. He wants to reach out, wrap an arm around your waist and tug you onto his lap, though he wouldn’t have the confidence to do such a thing even if his powers weren’t an issue.

He always melts a little when he hears you call him darling. 

Across the room, you hear a groan.

“Oh, hell no,” Walker says, dropping the spoon back into his bowl of cereal. “You two are not doing that. Whatever is happening here, I don’t care, but we are not listening to you two call each other darling. Especially over breakfast.”

“What’s so wrong with a bit of young love?” Alexei exclaims, throwing his hands up in the air as he looks at Walker across the table. “This is good! Love heals the soul, there is nothing wrong with love!”

You frown. “Okay, who said anything about love?”

Alexei and Walker ignore you and continue to bicker.

You catch Yelena’s eye from across the room where she’s sat by the window, but she just shrugs her shoulders and goes back to staring out at the skyline.

“I would’ve thought you’d be all right with seeing affection, Walker,” Ava says, entering the room behind you. She’d obviously overheard the noise from the hallway. “You are married, even if you’re not together right now. Are you telling us you never called your wife something like that?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t make everyone else listen to me!”

Bucky, who has been watching everything the whole time from the corner of the room where he’s sitting, coffee in hand, huffs out a laugh. “You guys think this is bad? You should be glad you’ve never spent time around Joaquin Torres when he’s away from his girl.” He shakes his head and takes a sip of his coffee, not bothering to explain any further about the new Falcon. 

You take advantage of the moment of silence that Bucky has caused to attempt to fix the situation. “Okay, no more talking about love or who is and isn’t allowed to call each other nicknames. Can we just drop it? It was a slip of the tongue!”

“Only if you explain why you said it,” Walker says.

“No,” you reply, pulling out the chair next to Bob’s and sitting down in it. It’s all you offer in way of an answer to Walker and he seems to surprisingly give up on fighting you on it. 

You glance over to see that Bob is still looking at you, his eyes glistening and a small smile on his lips. The sight of it makes you smile as well. “I am never calling you that in front of the others again… even if it was just a slip of the tongue, that was mortifying.” 

Bob smiles again and nudges a drink that’s sitting in front of him over towards you – he’s prepared your favourite and had it waiting for when you arrived. You try to ignore the feeling that rises in your stomach at the small act of kindness. 

“But when it’s just us?” He inquires.

“You know it’s different then.” 

You pick up the drink and take a sip of it before leaning back in your chair. Walker and Alexei have started bickering over something else. Yelena is still looking out the window, Bucky is in the corner with his coffee and Ava is exiting the kitchen with a drink of her own. It’s a fairly mundane kind of morning for a group of people meant to be the ‘New Avengers.’

There’s a sudden feeling that rises in your chest at the thought of your new status as an Avenger. It’s uncomfortable, unwelcome. You still don’t know how you feel about it, even many months later. It should be a good thing, but then why does it fill you with dread?

Bob can see the change in your expression and he’s quick to act. He reaches over and taps the table in front of you to get your attention. You pull your eyes away from the window, where you’d been staring, and meet his eyes instead. They instantly help to calm you.

“Quiet time?” Bob asks, nodding towards the door that leads into the hallway.

It’s like a code word between the two of you. When one of you needs to get away from the others or you start to get a little too wrapped up in your head. Two words that put you instantly at ease. 

You nod and Bob wastes no time in standing up from the table. You follow him, leaving your drink in the dining room and walking out of the room with him, ignoring Walker as he calls out, asking where you’re both running off to. 

“Thank you, darling,” you mutter, once you’re just outside the room.

Bob turns to you with a small smile on his lips. “Always.”

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

I think the reader's response to this post is probably going to either be "That's incredibly minor" or "Holy shit YES I'M ALSO PROUD", depending on people's personal experiences with academia, but:

Today I am incredibly proud of one of my students.

In the interests of disguising identities, let's call them Ceri. Ceri is one of my third year undergrads (meaning their final year, for anyone unfamiliar with UK uni systems.) They transferred to us last year, and within two weeks I was giving them the contact info to get to Student Services and get themself screened for ADHD; they have some mental health struggles, but I clocked pretty quickly that they STRUGGLE with procrastination, and punctuality, and attending 9am lectures in particular. Naturally, as is the way of my people, it took them a further four months to remember to go to the screening. Lol. Lmao. Rofl, in fact.

But, they did it eventually! Their screening lit up like a Christmas tree at the ADHD section, and they got a free laptop and optional one week extensions and a study support worker named Claire. This has helped tremendously, and although mental health + until-then-unsupported ADHD meant their academic profile had slid sideways somewhat, with the new tools available and a couple of resits they passed the year and hit this year running.

Until, that is, the last fortnight.

Now, I take them for a Habitat Management module that has two assessments: an academic poster presentation before Christmas, and a site-specific management plan in May. Naturally this means we are at that happy point in the year for the poster presentations. I give out the briefs at the start of the year, so they've had them since October; I've also been periodically checking in with them all for weeks, to make sure they don't have any major burning questions. The poster presentation was to pick a species reintroduction project, pull the habitat feasibility study out of it, and then critique that study; Ceri chose to look at the hen harrier reintroductions proposed for the southern UK. All good.

Which brings us nicely to today! Ceri's presentation is scheduled for 2.30. At 11am-1pm, I am lecturing the first years on Biodiversity, while Ceri is learning about environmental impact assessment with a colleague I shall call Aeron. This means we are separately occupied during those same hours.

Nevertheless, Aeron messages me at about 12.

"I think Ceri needs to see you after your lecture," he writes. "They're panicking, I genuinely think they might cry. I'm worried. Are you free at 1?"

I say I am. At 1, I get lunch and sit in the common area; Ceri comes to see me. To my personal shame, imagine all of the following takes place while I stuff my face with potato.

Now: this part is going to be uncomfortably familiar to anyone who has ever tried higher education with ADHD, especially unmedicated. It certainly was for me. All I can say is, I never had the courage to take the step here that Ceri did.

"I have to confess," they said quietly, and Aeron was right, they were fighting back tears. "My mental health has been so, so bad for the last fortnight. I've left it way, way too late. I don't have anything to present."

"Nothing at all?" I asked.

"I've been researching," they said helplessly. "I found loads on the decline of the hen harrier. But it wasn't until last night that I finally found a habitat feasibility study to critique. Generally... I've been burying my head about it, and it just got later and later. I thought I should come in for Aeron's lecture, and I should at least tell you."

This part is a minor thing, right? But honestly, I remember being in the grip of that particular shame spiral. I never did manage to tell my lecturers to their faces. I just avoided. I honestly can't imagine having the courage it took them to come in and tell me this, rather than just staying home and avoiding me.

"I think..." they said hesitantly, "I know I can submit up to a week late, for a capped mark. I think I need to do that, and apply for extenuating circumstances. But then I'll have both Aeron's assignment and yours due at the same time."

Which meant they would crumble under the pressure and likely struggle to pass both; so me, being as noble and heroic as I unarguably am, stopped eating potato and said, "Let's make that plan B."

(It was good potato. I am a hero.)

So, we made plan A: I moved their timeslot to 4.30, giving them three and a half hours. The shining piece of luck in this whole thing was that this was the crunch time assignment - if it had been Aeron's, they'd have had to try and write a 3000 report in that time. But for me, all they had to write was an academic poster, and those things are light on words by design. We found them a Canva template, and then we quickly sketched out a recommended structure based on the brief: if it's habitat feasibility, look at food availability, nesting site availability, and mortality risks in the target release site. Bullet point each. Bullet point how well the study assessed each. Write a quick intro and conclusion. Take notes as you go, and present the poster itself at 4.30.

"You think I should try?" they asked doubtfully, looking like I'd just asked them to go mano-a-mano with a feral badger.

"If you run out of time, so be it," I said. "But your brain is trying to protect you from a non-existent tiger. That's why you've procrastinated - it's been horrible, and you've been shame spiralling, and your brain is trying to shield you from the negative experience; but it's the wrong type of help for this situation! So while you're sitting there working on it, hating life, every time your brain goes 'This is hopeless, I can't do it', you think right back 'Yes I can, it just sucks.' And you carry on. Good?"

"Good," they said. "I'm going to mainline coffee and hole up in the library. Enjoy your potato."

And then, of course, I had to go and watch the other students' presentations, so that was the end of me being any help at all. I spent all afternoon wondering if they were going to manage it, or if I would be getting a message at 4.25 telling me they'd failed, and would have to submit late and hope for an EC.

And Tumblrs

Tumblrs

Let me FUCKING tell you

They turned up at 4.15, fifteen minutes early, wearing a mask of grim, harrowed determination and fuelled by spite and coffee, and they pulled up that poster and started presenting and yes, okay, I'll admit their actual delivery was dramatically unpolished and yes, they forgot to include the taxanomic name for the hen harrier on the poster and yes, fine, I admit that there were more than a few awkward moments where they lost their place in their hastily scribbled notebook but LET ME FUCKING TELL YOU -

They smashed it. It was well-critiqued, it had a map, it had full citations, it had a section on the hen harrier's specific ecology and role in the ecosystem, it had notes on their specific conservation measures. They described case studies they'd read about elsewhere. They answered the questions we threw at them with competence and depth. There was analysis. All that background research they'd done came right to the fore. They were even within the time limit by 15 seconds.

You would never have known they'd produced it in three hours, from a quivering and terrified mess fighting the bodily urge to dehydrate via tear ducts. After they left, the second marker and I looked at each other and went "So that was a 2:1, right?"

I caught up with Aeron downstairs and he was beaming. Apparently Ceri had seen him on their way out, and had gone over to talk to him. Aeron said the difference between the Ceri of this morning and the Ceri of then was like two different people; in four hours, they'd gone from their voice literally breaking as they admitted the problem, ashamed and broken, to being relaxed and happy and smiling.

"I reckon I've passed," they apparently told Aeron, pleased. "Maybe even a 2:2. There's things I wish I'd had the time to do better, but I'll be happy if I passed."

They won't know until late January what they got, because we're not allowed to release marks until 20 term days after hand-in, and the Christmas holidays are about to hit. But I'm really hoping I can be there when they're released.

But mostly, I'm just... insanely proud of them. I cannot tell you how happy I am. And I know, I know, obviously this is not a practice I would want to see them do regularly, or indeed ever again, and it only worked because they were fucking lucky with the assignment format, but like... when life is just punching you in the face, and you hit a breaking point... isn't it nice? That just this once, you pull off a miracle, and it's fixed? The disaster you thought was about to ruin you is gone? To get that relief?

Anyway. Super super proud today.