#best business courses at First City University College

[eduspiral]

Top Business Programmes at Malaysia's First City University College that SPM or IGCSE Students Should Consider

Top Business Programmes at Malaysia’s First City University College that SPM or IGCSE Students Should Consider

What Makes First City UC an Excellent Choice for SPM or IGCSE O-Levels Students Interested in Business Courses? With over 30 years of experience, First City University College’s Faculty of Business, Hospitality & Communication (FBHC) has a track record for preparing students to overcome challenges in this dynamic, ever changing business world. Besides offering industry-relevant programmes, the…

[rboooks]

DPxDC fic idea: The Infinite Realms Hobby Store

Danny Fenton drops out of school on his sister's recommendation to aim for a GED. Then two weeks after he does receive his high school equivalence document, Danny and his sister Jasmine pack up and move to Gotham, where they promptly open their own business. A small hobby store that's during rather well for itself, especially with offered classes to learn said hobbies.

The instructors of the classes are all a rather colorful bunch that don't seem from Gotham but aren't bad like outsiders usually are.

The siblings continue their education through online courses and attend Gotham University. Jasmine studying psychology and Danny studying engineering.

They don't seem like up-and-coming villains who may be behind the strange changes in the city. Nothing terrible has happened so far but that's just it. Nothing has happened, and if that doesn't make every citizen's skin crawl, nothing else will.

It's like the core of Gotham is breaking away, and no one knows what it is or if it's a good thing.

Tim Drake, disguised as Alvin Draper, signed up for the offered Photography class to prove they were and stop them before it's too late.

Danny and Jazz are aware there is something strange about Alvin Draper.

Still, they have thier hands tied, prepping Danny to take the Ghost Throne, keeping up with college, trying to fix a crumbled relationship with their parents after the Big Reveal, and keeping all of Danny's ex-Rouges satisfying their obsessions by having them express it through a hobby.

Ember teaches guitar on Mondays.

Technus does coding an hour before her.

Lunch lady has a cooking lesson on Tuesday.

Poindexter does miniature models on Wednesdays.

Kitty got Photography and modeling on Thursdays.

Johnny, who is never too far away from her, runs his crocheting class at the same time.

And Ghost Writer does creative writing on Fridays.

Saturdays is a surprise course by whichever ghost is free that week, and Sundays they are closed.

They just can't find the time or energy to figure out that guy's deal. Best to leave Alvin alone.

They hope to stay out of Batman's radar long enough to break all the curses Gotham is dosed in. It's one of Danny's first real jobs as Ghost King, so he's trying his best, but come on, this place is a mess.

Not to mention the people generally seemed unhappy to have the curses gone. Apparently it doesn't feel right or something.

(Johnny insists Alvin is just a bisexual disaster who has a crush on both of them but Johnny is also a bisexual disaster so the Fenton siblings don't listen to him.)

[bbrissonn]

𝐋𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 - 𝐋𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐇𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬

summary: in which your brother finds out about your relationship with his best friend’s younger brother

disclaimer: english is not my first language and this is not proofread so please excuse any errors and if any words are missing add them in your head :) also this is a work of fiction, this doesn’t reflect how these boys act in real life, and it isn’t how i imagine them acting 

warnings: none (i think), not proofread,  

pairing: luke hughes x y/n zegras (lemon au)

wc: 1.7k

a/n: first part!! i was going to make this way longer at first, but i thought this would be enough for just the first part, kinda roll into things and the fics would become longer and longer every time. hope you enjoy !

previous masterlist next

-EARLY MARCH '23-

“Y/N! Hurry up!” Your oldest brother, Trevor, called out. You let out groan before answering him. 

“You said 7:30, it’s 7:20. Calm down!” You yelled, rolling your eyes slightly as you slipped your shoes on. You were currently in Anaheim visiting your brother during your spring break of your freshman year of college, and the two were about to head out to drive around the city and grab something to eat. 

“Finally.” Trevor said as you walked down the stairs, Jamie laughing from his place on the couch in the living room. 

“You’re so dramatic, it’s actually insane.” You whispered before biding your goodbyes to the Canadian boy and heading outside the house, your brother following behind you. 

“So, what’s been up with you?” Trevor asked a couple of minutes later, the two of you now on the road as music played through the speaker. “How’s college? Is Umich everything everyone talks about?”

“Good, everything’s good.” You answer simply, hoping he would start talking about something other than school. The main reason being that you had a boyfriend, one you hadn’t told him about yet since your relationship was still new. But also because said boyfriend was your brother’s best friend’s brother, Luke. The two of you had known each other ever since your brother’s played in the ntdp, but you were never really friends, only meeting a couple of times. 

That all changed when you started attending the University of Michigan the previous fall, and suddenly Luke was every. You kept seeing him everytime you went and left class, football games, and just around campus in general, but no words were ever exchanged, just small smiles. 

But that all changed one night in early november, your sophomore friends, who you meet in your dorm building, wanting to introduce you to some of her friends, most of which happened to be in the hockey. So, you eventually found yourself sitting in the sophomore’s home, most of their friends also present. Thankfully, you had met your friend’s other girl friends before so it wasn’t too awkward, but you were the only freshman there, and they all had a special bond that you didn’t have with any of them. 

Eventually you had stepped outside, sitting on the stairs of the porch to take some air. You were all alone with your thoughts until someone joined, the only familiar face you had seen that night. The two of you then started talking about everything and anything, school, your brothers, hockey, and after that night, the rest was history. 

Luke asked you out on a date about three weeks later, talking everyday, meeting up during the weekends to work on homework together, going for coffee, just hanging out in his room, and much more. You had slowly became friends with the rest of his roommates, Dylan being around the most since he and Luke knew each other the most. 

Now, of course your brothers knew that the two of you were friends, something that made all three of them very happy. But the both of you weren’t sure how’d they react when they’d find out, so for now, that was a detail neither of you tought was important to mention. 

“How’s Luke, I haven’t talked to him in a while?” 

“He’s good, busy with hockey and all.” You answered dryly, making Trevor send you a weird look, but he decided to just shrug it off. “We don’t actually like talk that much and stuff, you know, just like casual hello’s and small talks around campus.” 

“Really? ‘Cause that’s not what Jack told me.” Your brother said, making you scoff a little. 

“Okay, we haven’t talked that much recently.” You justified, mentally cursing yourself for even bringing that up in the first place. Trevor shot you another glance before changing the subject, now talking about what you guys should get for dinner, something you were grateful for. 

Later that evening, you were sitting on the couch in Trevor and Jamie’s living room, both boys seated on either side of you. A random show they had been obsessed with recently playing on the tv as you texted Luke. 

“You’re not even paying attention.” Trevor groaned as he looked over at you, wanting to see your reaction to what had just happened in the show, only to find you grinning at your phone. His voice made you look up at him, bitting your lips as you closed your phone and let it drop on your lap. 

“Sorry.” You mumbled before once again trying to understand what was even happening in the show. You didn’t understand what they both found so interesting in it, so you decided to go grab a glass water quickly, leaving your phone on the couch right next to your brother. 

Back in Ann Arbor, Luke was laying in his bed, his eyes half opened as his fingers ran over his keyboard. All of his other roommates fast asleep in their room since they had an early morning practice the next day. A frown formed on his face as his last text was left on read, your grey bubble disappearing. 

Lemon 😚💕

Babe? 

He sent, bitting his lips as he waited for you to open his message. 

Meanwhile, the sound of your phone dinging made Trevor’s eyes look over at it, he was never one to snoop around your phone, but the nickname caught his eyes. Who on earth was lemon, and why was he calling you babe? He resisted the urge to open your phone and look at the message, instead waiting until later to ask you about it. 

“Who’s lemon?” He asked almost an hour later, the two of you being alone in the living as Jamie had gone to be a couple of minutes earlier. His words made your eyes grow wide as you turned to look at him, looking like a deer caught in headlights. 

“Lemon?” You asked him, trying to act like you didn’t know what he was talking about.

“Yeah, lemon.” 

“Lemons are fruits, Trev, didn’t know you were that dumb.” You shrugged off, your heartbeat getting quicker and quicker by the second. 

“Oh, so fruits have phone now, and one of them is texting you calling you babe? That’s crazy, first I’ve heard of that being possible.” He said with a smirk as you bit your lips. Just as you were about to say something else, your phone starting ringing, lemon being the one to call you. Your phone was now on the coffee table in front of the couch, you looked over at your brother and before you even had time to reach for it, Trevor grabbed it and answered the call. 

“Hello?” He said, and a gasp echoed from the speaker of the phone. “Hello?” Trevor repeated, getting a little agitated. 

“Trevor?” Luke asked confused, and at the same moment, your brother’s face fell as he looked over at you. 

“Hey, Lemon.” Trevor said with a smirk, another gasp from Luke was heard before the boy hung up the phone, making your brother scoff. He threw the phone at you before looking at you with an expression you couldn’t quite understand. 

“You’re dating Luke?” He asked, and this time, it was your turn to scoff. You weren’t ready for Trevor to find out about your relationship, or at least not like this, and you were ready to lie as much as you need to. 

“Please, you’re being delusional, Trev. Me and Luke? Never, he’s like… he’s like a brother to me.” You said, trying your best to look as relaxed and composed as you could. But Trevor didn’t believe, he was in no mean the smartest man on the planet, but he wasn’t the dumbest either. 

“Right, and I am guess you’re like a sister to him?” He asked and you were quick to nod. “So, should I start calling you babe too or?” 

“Babe? You think Luke called me babe? You must’ve misread whatever it was that you saw.” 

“Sure I did, Y/N/N, sure.” He smirked before focusing back on the TV. You weren’t sure if he believed you or not, but that didn’t matter at the moment, as long as the two of you didn’t talk about it anymore, you didn’t mind what he believed. 

“Does he treat you good?” He asked after a couple of minutes of not so comfortable silence, making you let out a groan. 

“Trev, Luke and I aren’t―” 

“Y/N/N, don’t lie to me, okay? I am not that stupid. Luke’s a good guy, if he makes you happy then I don’t care. You’re eighteen, you can make your own decisions, but I swear if he ever hurts you in anyway I’ll―” 

“He won’t. He’s not like that, Trev, and you know it. He brings spiders outside instead of killing them, he’s a munchkin.” You explained, making Trevor roll his eyes. After that, the subject was drop, and it was like a weight was lifted off your shoulders. You wouldn’t have to hid anymore, well at least no in front of your brother. 

~

“Hi.” You spoke as you answered the incoming phone call from your boyfriend the next morning. It was almost 10, meaning Trevor had left for practice, and Jamie was probably still in bed. 

“I am sorry.” Luke said straight away, his voice shaky a bit. His tone and words made you laugh a little before letting yourself fall backwards from your sideways laying position, your back now resting against the soft mattress in the guest room of your brother’s shared home with his best friend. 

“Lulu, calm down. He’s fine with it. Threaten to beat you up if you hurt me, but other than that, he doesn’t mind.” You explained, recalling your talk with your eldest brother the previous night. A loud sigh echoed through your phone from Luke, making you giggle a bit. 

“So, I won’t have to go into hiding when he comes during the summer?” The youngest hughes questions, making you giggle once more. 

“You’re so dramatic, bubs.” You laughed. On the other end of the line, Luke was sitting in his car, one that he was finally able to use since he now lived in a house and had a place to park, unlike the previous year, their practice finishing mere minutes before. He had a soft smile on his face as your laugh rang through his ears, a sound he loved so much. 

“I miss you.” He stated as your laughter died down, a smile of your own appearing on your face. 

“I miss you, too, lemon.”

[aziraphales-library]

Hello amazing people! I wonder if you have any recs for human aus where the boys are like teen or uni aged? Like cute young love story. Maybe spicy. Thank you! <3

Hi! Tags you'll want to take a look at are: #childhood friends, #high school au, #college au, and #university au. Here are some more to add...

Vignettes of a Life Together by Busy24_7 (E)

Crowley, botany student and professional worrier, is harboring a massive, secret crush on his new roommate. Aziraphale, on the other hand, is more clueless than he is given credit for. Will these two ever figure it out, or is Crowley doomed to a life of pining? A 5+1-style fic with a whole lot of fluff and intentionally minimal angst. Rated M for the first few chapters, but will be upgraded to E if Crowley ever gets his way…

The End is Where We Start From by Optimistic Starlight (E)

“Aziraphale, hello. It’s er, been a long time.” “Yes, dreadfully long. You look different.” He immediately coloured in evident embarrassment. “I mean, of course you look different, as do I of course, I didn’t mean bad different, that is to say…” Something inside of Crowley, something that had been in a deep freeze for several eons, was starting to thaw. It was letting little bits and pieces of familiarity break loose to float back into their rightful places in his soul. One of those pieces, those round, blue eyes, suddenly snapped into place, and he felt a corresponding wave of long-forgotten feeling wash through him. Aziraphale is anxious. Make Aziraphale happy. “Yeah,” he interrupted. “D’you wanna… get a coffee or something?” *** Crowley and Aziraphale meet by chance on the street. They've met before, in their youth, in a different life. Some difficult things have happened since then. Will they be able to find their way back to each other and to themselves?

Down to the River by CemeteryAngel725 (E)

Twenty-five years ago, Tony Crowley walked out of Azi’s life and broke both of their hearts. Since then, Azi has been living in suspended animation, working in the army/navy surplus booth he inherited from his dad and writing horror novels. Now Tony is back from the city, flush with success and wanting to catch up with Azi. Should Azi risk his heart and try to reclaim what they’ve lost? Or is it too late to start over? A Good Omens human AU inspired by Bruce Springsteen.

Against All Odds by GroovyNightStrawberry (E)

How can you just walk away from me? When all I can do is watch you leave 'Cos we've shared the laughter and the pain and even shared the tears You're the only one who really knew me at all Az is eleven, and his world is falling apart. His best friend is walking away from him, and Az can't find a way to make him stay. Thirty-five years later, there's a familiar face at Aziraphale's new job, and it threatens to break his heart all over again. Can they do it better this time?

Opposites Attract by Pal456 (M)

The Eastgate family hated the Crowley family. Hated them so much, that their children were not to spend any time together. That never stopped Aziraphale and Crowley being drawn to one another time and time again even though their families would pull them apart. As years go by, Aziraphale tries to do right by his parents in order to take over the family business one day, but it seems like the Almighty might have a different, ineffable, plan that brings the two together every chance they get.

One and the Same Fall by ElliottRook (E)

Aziraphale Fell is a UK student attending an American Catholic school on exchange, an escape from a strict, conservative family. Anthony Crowley is a juvenile delinquent on his last chance, sent to live with his uncle and attend a school that promises to shape him up. When they cross paths at St. Bernadette's, they nearly instantly become friends, and nobody likes it--not the teachers, not the old-money students, not Aziraphale's family--but it's the best thing that's ever happened to either of them. Hanging over their heads, though, is Crowley's plan to flee the moment he comes of age, and what will happen after they're no longer trapped in the same gilded cage.

- Mod D

[bellaxgiornata]

All These Years [Part 4: "All the Broken Pieces"]

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Fem!Reader

Summary: You met Matthew Murdock unexpectedly at Columbia University and you couldn't deny that there was an instant attraction–for you. But for Matt, you became as close of a friend to him as Foggy did. As the years pass by, your feelings only grow for your best friend, but all you can do is watch as he dates and sleeps with every other woman on campus and eventually in New York City but you.

Warnings/tags: 18+ for this series; contains emotional hurt with no comfort until the final installments, angst, pining, friends to lovers, slowburn, and eventually smut

Word Count: 4.4k

a/n: Our next update is finally here! This one features a very sad Matty and more pining. Hope you're enjoying the pain still because there's more to go! You can find the entire list of installments for this series here. Our next update will be "Graduation" I believe and it should be the end of our college pining days (but the start of more pining post-college).

Tag list: @theetherealbloom @acharliecoxedfan @rotscinema @magnumstyles @roseallisonparker @readerhead @paracosmic-murdock @v4leoftears @why-always-me-gosh-please @redbircl @keepingitlokiii @yarrystyleeza @ofmusesandsecrets (for some reason tumblr isn't letting me tag you, friend!)

You were currently slumped over your laptop on your bed focused on your assignment. You’d wanted to get a headstart on it, grateful that for once your roommate was going to be at her boyfriend’s dorm for the entire night and not yours–a rare occurrence on a Saturday night. So rare you’d even canceled your Saturday night plans with Foggy for the first time ever earlier today because of it. Though he’d been understanding and almost excited because he’d later told you that he’d scored a date with Marci for the evening. You were happy for him, looking forward to grabbing coffee tomorrow morning to hear how the date had gone.

Though there was a part of you that felt a bit lonely just sitting here on your bed working on homework all by yourself on a Saturday night. It wasn’t exactly the most exciting way to spend an evening in college, but it wasn’t like you had too many others to spend your time with. Sure, you had another group of friends you'd made from classes that you occasionally spent time with when you weren't with Foggy and Matt pre-Elektra. But really, deep down, there was still only one person you wished you could be with tonight. But that was never going to happen. 

Matt was still with Elektra. It had been just over three weeks since you and Foggy had accidentally walked in on them having sex and Matt had said some hurtful things before you’d said some in return. You’d barely seen him since, which didn’t really surprise you. The one time you had run into him briefly you'd been with Foggy. Matt had tried to apologize to you again for what he'd done and said. In return you'd offered him a clipped apology as well. It had seemed like he'd wanted to say more, but of course Elektra had called and interrupted. And that had been that. You had tried not to think too much about it since, busying yourself with schoolwork. It had gotten to be far too painful for you to be around Matt. 

With a huff you glanced down, noticing the time on your laptop and realizing it was close to when Foggy was going on that date with Marci. You picked up your phone and flipped it open before taking a moment to scroll through your text messages until you found Foggy's name. You pulled up a new text and began typing up a message. 

6:42PM:  Hey Fog, good luck on your date! I want the details tomorrow!

Closing your phone, you set it back on the bed beside you as you focused on your assignment again. It was barely a minute later before the sound of your phone vibrating met your ears and interrupted your focus, though. Absently you reached out, picking it up and flipping it open to read Foggy's text.

FOGGY 6:43PM:  Might have to cancel on her :(

You frowned, your eyes narrowing as you reread the message. Why would he need to cancel on her? He had been talking about Marci nonstop for weeks now. You knew how excited he had been for this date. Fingers flying across the little keypad, you typed up a message. 

6:43PM:  Why do you need to cancel?? You've been dying for a date with her!

Impatiently you stared down at your phone, waiting for his response to come through. What had happened to make him want to cancel his plans?

FOGGY 6:44PM:  Matt and Elektra broke up. He’s a mess. Doesn’t feel right leaving him here alone

Your eyes went wide as you read the text over and over a handful of times, your brain trying to process the information. Matt and Elektra had broken up? Just now? How? Why? And who had actually been the one to end the relationship?

So many questions began racing through your mind. Your body felt like it didn’t know how to properly react. All of your emotions of excitement and relief mixed with despair and heartache for Matt were quickly swirling in your stomach making you want to grab your trash can and vomit. You’d hated Elektra, and you had certainly hated who Matt had become when he’d been with her, but at the same time, the thought of Matt a heartbroken mess in his dorm room had your own heart twisting and writhing in your chest. He didn’t deserve that pain even though both you and Foggy had known the day was coming when things would end.

And apparently that day was today.

Biting your lip, you sat on your bed suddenly feeling torn. Part of you wanted to help Foggy and Matt by offering to stay with Matt. That way Foggy could have his date and you’d be able to comfort your friend. Because you cared about Matt despite how shitty things had been between the pair of you over the past few weeks–really, the past few months. Though you knew if he really needed you, you’d always be there.

But the other part of you was hesitant to offer up your comfort to Matt. You had very strong feelings for Matt still, feelings that he had no idea about. And the thought of sitting with him and trying to pick up all those shattered pieces of his heart that another woman had smashed to bits sounded like absolute torture. Especially because you desperately wished he would entrust you with that very same heart. And you knew you’d happily treat it with so much love and respect if only he’d just want you like that in return. Never in a million years would you ever want to break it.

But you were only his friend.

Eyes dropping back down to Foggy’s text, your thumbs hovered over the keypad. Exhaling a long breath, you knew exactly what you were going to do. Truthfully you didn’t even have to think about it. As pathetic as maybe that made you seem, you loved Matt. And if he was hurting, you’d always be there. 

6:48PM:  I can stay with him, Fog. You go enjoy your date.

Saving your progress on your laptop, you began picking up the mess of scattered books and papers on your bed. Your phone vibrated along your sheets when you had begun to turn off your laptop. Reaching over, you grabbed it and spotted the new text from Foggy.

FOGGY 6:50PM:  No, I can’t ask you to do that! You crazy??? I know how you feel about him still!!

Setting your jaw firm, you typed up one final response to Foggy.

6:50PM:  DON’T cancel your plans. OMW over now.

Gathering up a few of your things, you tossed them into your backpack. You weren’t sure how late you’d be staying at Matt and Foggy’s dorm, but if Matt wanted to wallow silently then at least you’d be able to finish your work while you kept him company. You slipped your phone into your pocket before tossing your backpack onto your back and then you exited your dorm. 

It took you about ten minutes to leave your residence hall and make your way to Matt and Foggy’s before riding the elevator up to their floor. But the closer you got to their dorm room, the more nervous you felt yourself becoming. You weren’t entirely sure what to expect when Foggy had said he was a mess, and you weren’t entirely sure how the sight of it was going to make you feel. Nevertheless, you forced yourself to continue around the corner until you’d made your way down the hall and stopped in front of their room. You took a single, shaky breath in before you raised a fist and knocked twice.

The door swung open a few moments later to reveal Foggy with his long hair combed neatly. He’d even managed to throw on a clean, button up dress shirt that you weren’t aware he’d even owned. You’d never seen him wear anything other than tee-shirts, most of which displayed some sort of band logo on them. You shot him a small smile, one he awkwardly returned.

“You cleaned up well,” you told him.

“Thanks,” he said. “You uh, you sure about this?”

You nodded, forcing a wider smile onto your face. “Yeah. Matt’s going through a hard time and he’s my friend. I want to be here for him,” you answered.

The look Foggy shot you when you’d called Matt your ‘friend’ had not gone unnoticed, but you refused to acknowledge it. Though Foggy eventually stepped aside, gesturing you into their dorm with a wave of his hand. 

You stepped inside and saw Matt curled up over the sheets of his bed, his knees drawn up to his chest and his back facing the door. His shoulders were drawn up tight towards his neck, his head visibly tucked into his chest as well. Swallowing hard, you felt tears stinging at your eyes instantly. You were certain your heart broke in that moment. He looked so small .

“So I uh, I actually need to head over to Marci’s dorm soon,” Foggy said awkwardly, breaking the silence.

Your attention returned to Foggy and you saw the way his face fell at the sight of yours. He opened his mouth, most likely about to tell you he wasn’t going to go on the date, but you quickly nodded at him.

“Yeah, go on,” you told him. “Don’t be late. Doubt she’d like to be kept waiting.”

“You’re…sure?” he asked hesitantly.

Sniffling lightly, you nodded again. “Yeah, go on,” you replied. “Go enjoy your night.”

Foggy mouthed a ‘thank you’ before he grabbed a jacket and left. And then you were suddenly alone with Matt who had remained silent and motionless on his bed. Nervously chewing your bottom lip, you made your way over to Foggy’s bed and slipped off your backpack, setting it down. Turning towards Matt’s bed, you awkwardly tugged the sleeves of your sweatshirt over your hands.

“Hey, Matty,” you greeted softly.

He whispered your name in greeting back, his voice cracking as he did. Somehow your heart fell even further in your chest at the sound.

“Do you–” you paused, wincing at how dumb this sounded even to you, “–want to talk about what happened?”

“No,” he answered.

Your tongue darted out, nervously wetting your lips as you nodded. Slowly you sunk down onto the end of Foggy’s mattress, awkwardly crossing your arms over your chest. Your eyes dropped down to your dirty shoes.

“I loved her,” Matt whispered.

Instantly your eyes snapped shut at those three words spoken so heart wrenchingly softly in the room. Your breath caught in your throat, your heart giving an awkward jolt in response.  God, this was going to be more painful than you’d anticipated. 

“I know,” you replied just as quietly.

“But it wasn’t enough,” he said.

Your arms tightened even further around your chest as if they could keep your heart in place. “What happened?” you asked.

“She wanted me to do something that I–I couldn’t do,” he confessed. “So she just…left me. Without a word.”

Anger clawed at your chest, rage desperately wanting to break free and lash out at Elektra. What could she have possibly wanted Matt to do that he couldn’t? And how did that justify leaving him without a word? How utterly heartless was Elektra?

“You deserved better,” you stated, fighting to contain that seething anger inside of you. “No one should make you do something you don’t want to do. And they certainly shouldn’t punish you for it.” Your teeth grit together, hands curling into fists inside of the sleeves of your sweatshirt. “You deserved better , Matt,” you repeated firmly.

“But I loved her,” he whispered.

Sighing heavily, you shook your head. “Maybe–maybe you did, Matt,” you began, “but I’m not so sure it was reciprocated. Certainly not in the way it should have been.”

You braced yourself for the verbal lashing sure to come your way. For the raging, protective side of Matt that always appeared to defend Elektra. The one that had made you cry not too long ago. 

Instead, Matt sniffled loudly, somehow further shrinking into himself on the bed. A tear managed to slip out of your watery eye and you quickly wiped it away with your sweatshirt sleeve.

“You’re right,” he admitted. “You and Foggy were both right. I'm sorry I was–was such a shitty friend."

Shoulders dropping at his apology, you felt your expression softening as you watched him on the bed. His head slowly rose from the pillow and turned towards you, his eyes landing on you on the end of Foggy’s bed as if he somehow knew you were sitting right there. You could clearly see the blotchy redness on his cheeks and the glistening tracks of his tear streaks. His face was pinched tight, his mouth twisted into a deep frown.

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "You and Foggy deserved better."

Your gaze dropped down again, your hands fidgeting inside of your sweatshirt sleeves. "At least you see that now," you mumbled.

The sound of Matt shifting along the mattress caught your attention and you looked back up. He was pulling himself into a sitting position, resting his back against the headboard of the bed. He looked broken sitting there with his pain written clear across his face like that. The sight alone gutted you. You truly hated Elektra for whatever the hell it was she had done to him. 

“Everyone always leaves me,” he whispered.

Shaking your head firmly, you pointed out, “Foggy and I are still here.”

“Yeah, but you–you left me for a bit, too,” he replied. “And I don’t blame you. I was an ass. But still–you left.”

Your face fell instantly at his words. It felt like he’d ripped your heart right out of your chest and threw it on the ground.

“I didn’t leave you, Matt,” you told him. “I’ve always been right here. I still am. I’m–” you sucked in a sharp breath, “–your friend.” The word came out of your mouth like broken glass, cutting you up from the inside out as you said it. “And I’ll always be here for you.”

His mouth pulled upwards in a sad, disheartened smile. Even from the end of Foggy’s bed you could spot the tears shining in his eyes. The moment one of them slipped out, you were pushing yourself off of the bed and making your way over towards him. 

“Scoot over, Matty,” you ordered.

He didn’t hesitate; Matt immediately began sliding towards the edge of his bed and making room for you. You climbed up onto the mattress beside him, resting your back along the headboard, too. The entire right sight of you was pressed up against the entire left side of him, from your shoulders all the way down to your legs. It was the closest the pair of you had ever really been–certainly the closest to cuddling and crossing the border of friendship that you’d ever been with him. 

You couldn’t fight the urge to lean in a little more into his side. Seconds later you felt Matt pressing further back against you, and then very gradually you felt him slowly come to rest his head along your shoulder. A smile slipped across your lips as you cautiously tested the boundaries, lowering your head to gingerly rest against the top of his.

“Thanks for still being here,” Matt whispered.

“I’ll always be here, Matt,” you repeated softly.

He nuzzled his head further along your shoulder and your eyelids fluttered closed. Cuddling–you were cuddling with Matt. And sure, it was strictly platonic, especially because he was literally heartbroken–you weren’t going to lie to yourself about that . But that didn’t mean you weren’t enjoying every goddamn second of having Matt to yourself like this. Of having him right there for the first time ever.

“I’ll always be here, too,” he murmured, his voice a deep rumble.

The sound of a door softly closing faintly registered in your ears, your nose scrunching at the sound. You stirred slowly awake, eyelids gently raising. But then you quickly squinted, the light of the room bright in your eyes. It took you a moment to adjust to it, but when you did, you spotted Foggy standing at the foot of your bed with wide eyes. Your own narrowed back at him, wondering what he was doing in a rumpled button down in your dorm room.

But then you noticed the weight on your shoulder and your eyes grew wide. Gaze swiftly dropping down, you spotted Matt’s unmistakeable leg still pressed up against yours. Very carefully you withdrew your head from atop his, your eyes still wide. The both of you must have fallen asleep like this last night shortly after you’d shown up. Apparently you weren’t the only one who’d been comfortable enough to stay asleep the entire night.

“Oh my God ,” Foggy whispered roughly, your attention quickly shifting to him. “Did something finally happen?”

“What? No!” you whispered back, barely shaking your head. “No! He’s literally broken up over his ex, Fog. How could you even think that?”

“Because of exhibit A!” he harshly shot back, waving a hand frantically at Matt still asleep on your shoulder.

“We just–just fell asleep,” you told him.

Your focus dropped down to Matt’s sleeping face and a soft smile formed along your lips. He looked peaceful lying along your shoulder, not a crease of worry or a single tear anywhere on his face. His lips were ever so slightly parted and you could hear the faint, even breaths as he exhaled. What you wouldn’t give for this to be a nightly occurrence. Or to be able to gently card your fingers through his hair and place a soft kiss to his temple. For him to wake up and glance in your direction, his eyes creased from a warm smile on his own mouth as he whispered ‘good morning’ to you. 

What you wouldn’t give for Matt to say he loved you .

“So then what did happen?” Foggy pressed.

“He told me a little about the break up,” you answered.

“He did?” Foggy asked with a gasp. “He wouldn’t say a word to me about it.”

Your attention was still on Matt’s sleeping face as you spoke. “He didn’t tell me much,” you admitted. “But he told me enough. And she–she definitely broke his heart, Fog.”

“I know,” he said, tone softer than it had been. “How’re you doing?”

Your head darted in Foggy’s direction at the question instantly. “What?” you asked.

“After last night,” he clarified. “How’re you doing?”

“I’m–I’m fine,” you told him.

Foggy’s eyes narrowed suspiciously at you. Not wanting to talk about that right now, especially not with Matt asleep on your shoulder, you quickly changed the subject. 

“How was your night?” you asked him pointedly, waving your left hand at him. “I see you’re getting back early in the morning. Someone doing the walk of shame?”

A bright smile quickly spread across Foggy’s face, the warmth of it radiating easily around the entire room. “I wouldn’t call it a walk of shame. More like a…walk of satisfaction. Success. Triumph!”

You rolled your eyes. “So you got laid, did you?” you teased.

“Yes,” he answered with that beaming smile. “Yes, I did.”

You laughed lightly, shaking your head. “Good for you, Fog,” you said.

A soft groan came from beside you and your smile quickly fell. Matt began to stir against you, slowly lifting his head from your shoulder.

“Morning buddy!” Foggy called out.

“Ugh, morning, Fog,” Matt grumbled, his voice a bit hoarse. 

A sheepish smile crossed your lips as you glanced at him beside you. “Morning, Matty,” you greeted him shyly.

He froze immediately, his head tilting to one side. “Did I–did I accidentally fall asleep on you last night?” he asked.

“Uh, yeah,” you answered awkwardly. “But I guess I fell asleep on you, too. So…I guess that makes us even?”

His lips curled up slightly at the corners, his expression a little brighter than when you’d first shown up last night. The sight alone warmed you.

“So who wants to hit up the dining hall for breakfast?” Foggy asked enthusiastically. “I could go for all of the bacon and eggs. Like literally all of it.”

“Your night went well, I take it?” Matt asked, voice still rough from sleep as his attention turned towards Fog.

“Yes it did my friend,” Foggy replied excitedly. “So who’s hungry?”

You shrugged a shoulder. It was Sunday morning, not like you had a class to get to or anything. And you did need breakfast.

“Sure,” you said. “I could certainly go for some eggs and orange juice. Maybe some coffee after because you owe me details about your date, Nelson.”

“Oh, I don’t think you want to ask him for details,” Matt cut in quickly, shaking his head. “You’re not going to want the details.”

“Why not?” you asked him.

Both of Matt’s brows jumped up high onto his forehead at your question, a small grin forming on his mouth. 

He was so damn beautiful it physically hurt.

Quickly snapping out of your thoughts, you pulled a face and lightly slapped Matt’s arm. “Gross, I don’t mean details about the sex! I want to know about the date !”

“With Fog, they go hand in hand,” Matt told you.

“So what about you, Matt?” Foggy asked from across the room. “You want to grab breakfast with us?”

You slid off of Matt’s bed, readjusting your sweatshirt and trying to comb your fingers through your hair. It looked like Matt was thinking, his eyes landing somewhere near you at the side of his bed. A few moments later he nodded slowly.

“Yeah,” he answered softly. “Yeah, I’ll come with.”

“Great!” Foggy shouted. “It’ll be just like old times again! The three amigos!”

“Not if you don’t stop being so chipper,” you shot back. “It’s way too early in the morning for that level of excitement.”

“I second that,” Matt said, slowly scooting himself across the bed towards you.

You watched as he rose to his feet next to you, fighting to keep your hands to yourself. The urge to reach up and draw him into a hug, hold him close to you yet again, was stronger than you'd ever felt before. You assumed it was because you'd now knew what it felt like to fall asleep cuddled up to Matt all night. And it seemed that was going to make things even more difficult for you now.

"Alright, well, I'm starving so let's go before the dining hall gets busy," Foggy said brightly, clapping his hands together. "Today is going to be a beautiful day, I can feel it!"

You huffed out a laugh, watching as Foggy exited the dorm. He was definitely more awake than usual. 

"You uh, mind handing me my cane?" Matt asked. "Think it's on the nightstand."

"Oh, yeah," you answered quickly. 

You turned, grabbing his cane from his nightstand. Turning back towards him, you placed it into his outstretched hand. He muttered a soft 'thanks' as he began to unfold it, your eyes watching the deft movements of his hands as he did. 

"Can I bother you for one more thing?" he asked as he worked.

Your gaze slowly drew up to his face, pausing on his own eyes. He was looking somewhere near your chin, the weight of his sightless stare raising the hair along your arms. You could still see the hurt and pain plain as day in his hazel eyes despite the way his mouth was gently curled up at the corners this morning. He was still grieving Elektra. You weren't stupid enough to think otherwise even if he wasn't curled in a ball crying in his bed right now. 

You'd also be lying if you said you didn't wish you could mend all the broken pieces of his heart for him. Fix it back up and make it better than new with the love you had for him burning so hot inside of you. You just wanted to reach up and kiss him. You wanted to find the courage and the words to express how much he meant to you and how he deserved the world.

You just wanted him.

"Yeah," you breathed out.

"Can you hand me my glasses?" he asked. "Don't really feel like being stared at today."

Blinking hard a few times, you pulled yourself out of your thoughts. Clearing your throat, you nodded as you forced a smile onto your face.

"Yeah, uhm, let me find them," you answered.

"Probably also on the nightstand," he offered softly. 

"Right, yeah," you mumbled.

Swallowing hard, you turned back to the nightstand. Tears were pricking at your eyes and clouding your vision for a moment, but then you spotted the dark frames and picked them up. You handed them to Matt's outstretched hand and watched as he slipped them on. He shot you a little smile afterwards, one that had your heart squirming.

"Thanks," he murmured. "And uh, thanks for staying with me last night. It–it meant a lot."

You nodded, glad he couldn't see the watery smile on your face as you did. "Of course," you croaked out. Pressing your lips together, you tried to control your emotions. "That's–that's what friends do." 

You cleared your throat roughly again when Matt’s head tilted curiously to the side, his dark brows pulling together on his forehead.

"We should probably go before Foggy comes back and yells at us," you said quickly. 

"He's probably already forgotten about us," Matt joked. 

You laughed lightly, wiping a sleeve across your damp eyes. "Probably right," you agreed.

"You–you mind guiding me?" Matt asked hesitantly. 

Your gaze dropped down to his hand hovering in the air between you both. A small smile returned to your face at how close this almost felt to how things were before Elektra had fucked everything up. 

"I don't mind at all, Matty," you answered. 

As you reached out and drew his hand to your arm, you couldn't help but notice how tight he gripped it this time. Something about the way he held onto you felt…different. Almost as if he needed you.

But you shoved that absurd thought aside as quickly as it had come before leading the pair of you towards the dining hall.

[reina-tries-2-write]

The Space Between Sounds

Chapter 1: Unfamiliar Territory

SYNOPSIS: What will your first day at Tokyo Jujutsu Tech entail?

WC: 3.2K

AUTHOR'S NOTES: The story switches between your POV and Toge's between the asterisk cuts. Any descriptions of sign language will be referencing ASL not JSL since I don’t know it. This is my first serious work so I hope you enjoy!

masterlist - next

You step off the train onto the platform in Tokyo, stomach churning with anxiety. The station is noisy, louder than you expected and the ambient volume is a lot to take in. The buzzing and humming is unlike anything you’ve ever heard before and it feels like electricity is running through you.

Scanning the crowd in the station, your eyes finally land on the person you’re looking for. He’s not hard to spot since he’s easily over six feet tall and wearing a blindfold which only makes him stand out further. You walk over and greet him which he eagerly reciprocates before leading you out of the station.

The two of you don’t talk as you make your way through the massive city that you are spending most of your time gawking at. You lived in a remote village and had never seen a building taller than four stories so the city was quite the shock for you. It was beautiful and a lot more colorful and busy than you expected which was honestly a little overwhelming but enjoyable nonetheless. The towering skyscrapers reflected the mid morning sun in a dazzling display that sparkled in your vision as you took in the colorful lights and people of the city.

Today is your move in day at Tokyo Jujutsu Tech and you are incredibly anxious about it. Sure, anyone would be nervous about moving five hours from home for university but you have an extra reason to be nervous.

Aside from missing the first month of classes, the thing about you is…

You’re deaf.

You can read lips and speak fine, or at least well enough to be understood, but you still battle a communication barrier. It can be quite frustrating at times as well. When people find out you’re deaf but can read lips, they often exaggerate their mouth movements as they speak which only makes it harder for you to understand them.

You find yourself nodding and smiling along with strangers quite often, having absolutely no idea what they are saying to you.

Back home, your friends Mari and Kai were the only ones who weren’t weird about you being deaf and took the time to learn sign language with you. You had a blast teaching them in middle school and the three of you were super close throughout the rest of middle and high school.

The three of you went off to separate colleges but promised to do your best to keep in touch despite being so far apart. You were definitely going to stay in contact with then since they’re your best friends, number one supporters, and honestly, the best people in your life. They’re more like family really.

You snapped yourself out of your thoughts of your friends and back into your anxious reality as the blindfolded man, Gojo, lead you up a dark cobbled path onto campus.

As you walked closer and closer, the buzzing, humming, and crackling in your ears got louder. Despite being deaf, you can hear cursed energy, and is louder the stronger it is. That being said, Gojo is pretty damn loud and so is the campus.

Regardless of the volume, it is really nice, set in the woods just inside the city and has beautiful traditional architecture. There are several different types of housing buildings on the campus along with student housing of course.

There is also a large training area with multiple accompanying buildings, and more official looking buildings where classes and other meetings are probably held, in the middle of campus.

There are some nice secluded corners of the campus too with ponds and shrines and small places to spend time in nature.

Gojo leads you to a dorm building and you take a deep breath of the crisp September air before walking up the three wooden steps. After the front door closes behind you, you sigh lightly in relief at the welcome, slightly quieter atmosphere.

Your room is nothing crazy fancy but it’s still very nice. Your belongings have already been delivered and are neatly sitting on the wooden floor in the middle of the room.

All of the furniture was wood but was in very good condition, clearly new and well taken care of. The bathroom was pretty plain, white tile and vanity, a shower with a small bench inside, and a small cabinet under the sink. You take in the warm wood of the room, breathing in the smell of varnish and a fresh citrus-y cleaner. The only noise in the room was the loud crackling and buzzing of Gojo’s cursed energy blaring in your ears.

After looking around, you turn to him to await further instruction, having no idea what you’ll be doing today.

“Alright! Now I’ll give you a quick tour of campus and then you can meet the other first years.” He tells you.

You nod your head nervously and follow him out of the dorm. Despite the fact you are able to speak, you prefer not to. Mari and Kai had described your voice to you on one occasion and, through no fault of their own, made you extremely self conscious about it. You knew you didn’t sound normal and had what is called a ‘deaf accent’ which only made you even more different. Needless to say, you never speak unless you absolutely have to.

You hated the way people reacted when you did speak— the way their eyebrows would knit together, and their smiles would falter, told you everything you needed to know. It was better not to try. Better to just be silent. Stay in the background.

Gojo takes you around campus and explains some day to day activities, giving you a mini version of the orientation that you obviously missed. Walking by the training arena, you spot four people at work. Well, three people and a panda to your utter surprise.

Noticing your intrigue, Gojo explains that they are the other first years and that you’ll get to meet them soon. You watch a guy with platinum blond hair and the panda goofing off which makes the girl cross her arms and shake her head as if to fake disdain for their antics while the other guy laughs along.

They all clearly knew each other pretty well at this point and that only made you feel even more excluded. Not only were you going to have to learn how to read them, get to know them, and be accepted, but you were going to have to figure out how to communicate without talking if possible. You didn’t want them to think any differently of you.

Well, more than they initially would.

Were you going to be able to fit in with them? What were they going to be like? Particularly the panda. Was he able to talk? Would you be able to read him? What if you couldn’t?

After a tour of the buildings, Gojo lead you down the stairs into the arena where the other students were still training. He greets them and instructs them to come over to meet you. The humming-buzzing noise gets louder as they approach and you are able to tell that the taller guy is the loudest which only makes you more nervous. He’s almost as loud as Gojo and you know he’s freaky powerful.

Your only goal today was to try and fit in. Okay just get through introductions without looking like an idiot. If you can do that then maybe, just maybe, this whole new life— your fresh start— wouldn’t be so terrifying. Yeah. You got this. You had to. You couldn’t survive four years alone without anyone who understood you. Back home it was so easy to slip into the background unnoticed. But there were so few of you here you had to fit in. You’d just be a burden to them if you couldn’t. You had to be seen— useful for once.

You get increasingly nervous as they all stand around you and you begin to fiddle with your bracelet, plucking at the beads with shaky fingers as Gojo introduces you to them, simply saying your name and explaining that you’re deaf.

You wished he would have said more and you looked up at him, eyes pleading to give a better explanation. You desperately wanted to fit in. But he didn’t look over at you.

You give everyone a timid wave and notice the guy with platinum blond hair seems to take particular interest in you, his thin brows raised curiously. Unfortunately for you, he’s got a high collared sweater covering his mouth so you won’t be able to read his lips.

Everyone goes around and introduces themselves to you but, as usual, you have no idea what their names are. New words you’ve never seen spoken before, names in particular, were very difficult for you to lip read.

The girl seems a bit standoffish, crossed arms and raised brow, but looks relatively happy to have another woman around nonetheless as she looks you up and down with a bit of approval. You get the feeling she’s pretty intense and despite having the least amount of cursed energy, you’re most definitely intimidated by her presence and sizing you up.

The taller guy seems pretty tired, eye bags and slouched posture, and a bit shy due to his timid wave and smile. But he gives you the impression that he’s pretty easy going and approachable despite the massive amount of buzzing cursed energy he’s struggling to control.

The panda eagerly introduces himself but since you’ve never exactly spoken to a panda before, you have no idea what he says at all. He then gestures to the blond guy and seemingly introduces him since he doesn’t speak to you. Or you don’t think he does anyway. He gives you an eager wave, eyes crinkling with his assumed smile.

Great.

You still had no idea who any of them were. Not to mention, you’re particularly anxious about how you’re going to communicate with the guy who covers his mouth. Hopefully that wasn’t a regular thing with him. Could he even speak? The panda did introduce him and for all you knew, he could be deaf too. You highly doubted that though. He would have signed to you if he was, right?

****************************************************

Gojo told us that the final first year would be arriving today and we were all curious as to who they would be. I got genuinely a bit disappointed at having yet another person who wouldn’t understand me but that’s just how things are for me. Always have been, always will be.

We were in the arena for afternoon training when we heard Gojo come in. With him is the new student, another girl to Maki’s clear intrigue. The pair make their way down the stairs and we meet them at the bottom for introductions.

“Hey guys! This is our final first year Y/N! One important note is that she’s deaf but she can read lips so we’ll do introductions now!” Gojo chirps in explanation.

She gives us a shy smile and wave before continuing to fiddle with the bracelet around her left wrist. She looked absolutely terrified of being here, out of her element and around people who she clearly couldn’t understand. She nodded and smiled along with everyone’s introductions but I know she had no idea what we were saying.

I’m very used to getting that look when I speak. The awkward smile and glimmer of confusion in their eyes, stiff and nervous body language, being obviously uncomfortable and suddenly reserved— I know all the tells.

But something about her quietness was different. It was like she was escaping into her world of silence whereas my quiet was just something I was used to. Something that just inherently came with me.

I felt genuinely bad that she wasn’t understanding but of course there wasn’t anything I could say to help the situation. Panda introduced me and I did my best to be welcoming and approachable. I could tell she had extra no idea about Panda and I, probably because she’d never spoken to a panda and it was difficult to read his lips. Well, snout. Whatever.

I’ll have to do a proper introduction with her later when I can type or write something up. I didn’t want her to feel isolated. I know what that’s like too.

****************************************************

After the very unhelpful introductions, Gojo tells them to resume their training and says that you can just watch for the time being as the allotted afternoon training time was almost over. You nodded and sat down on one of the benches as the others continued.

The girl wielded a polearm and was clearly very talented with it, sparring with the Tired Guy who’s weapon of choice was a katana. The Panda and Blond Guy didn’t wield weapons and instead goofed off a bit and worked on their physical fitness, doing a few laps around the track and the like.

Training ended a little bit before dinner time and you walked back to the dorms with the others, behind them on the dirt path. Blond Guy looked back at you a couple times, his expression hard to read and you hoped he wasn’t being judgmental even though he most likely was.

You weren’t very hungry due to the large meal you’d eaten on the train a few hours ago so you simply headed off to your room to unpack. Plus you wanted an escape from the loud buzzing of cursed energy that was going to take some getting used to.

You started with your litany of clothes, filling up your closet before you started on the mess of boxes. You hadn’t exactly organized them very well in your rush to pack and you had to dig through them to find everything you needed as you went.

The room quickly turned into a mess, items scattered all over the place as you looted through boxes and simply dumped a few of them out on your bed to rifle through the contents.

But a couple hours later and your room was complete, reflecting your bedroom back home, your style, and personality as you liked it to. It was an extension of yourself in a way and you felt much more at home now that it was decorated and the like.

Okay. Nice and organized and just like home. Yeah. This is good.

It was now your new sanctuary in this new and honestly overwhelming place. Despite your orientation, you were still pretty clueless as to what was going on around here and you struggled to keep up with the fast pace of the place.

It was well after dinner time when you got hungry and thankfully, one of the few things you understood was that the kitchen was communal and you had free reign to use whatever you’d like unless it was clearly marked with someone’s name.

You made yourself a simple sandwich and as you finished, you heard the buzzing increase like someone was walking toward you. This noise was more of a humming that wasn’t overwhelming and had an almost pleasant pitch. Like a machine quietly whirring as it worked intently on its task.

Cursed energy noises— that was your one and only auditory cue as to your surroundings and since most everyone had some amount of cursed energy, you learned to tell where people were relative to you.

****************************************************

I ran into Y/N later that evening in the kitchen on my way to get something to drink. She had her back turned to me as she prepared something on the counter and as much as I wanted to approach her, I didn’t want to scare her or anything by suddenly appearing or tapping her shoulder.

So I stood there a bit oddly as I contemplated how I wanted to approach but a few seconds later, she turned around. Thankfully she didn’t look surprised or scared about my presence and I chalked it up to her having felt my footsteps as I walked in or something. That or she just wasn’t a jumpy person and was used to others randomly appearing.

She looked really troubled, her brows furrowed at seemingly nothing and her shoulders slouched as she held a blue ceramic plate with a simple sandwich on it.

Looking up at me, she froze, eyes wide for a second.

Did I scare her? Was there something intimidating about me? Was it because it was just the two of us in here? I didn’t want to be threatening.

She blinked a few times before she gave me an awkward smile before her expression fell even further than it was before.

I did my best to ask if she was okay but she didn’t pick up on it immediately. But after a few seconds, she understood and shrugged her shoulders in answer before looking down at the plate in her hand, expression conveying some sadness among other things.

She holds her hand up in an odd goodbye of sorts, almost as if to stop me from asking or saying anything before she scampered off to her room, shutting the door loudly.

What was going on in her head? Was I not as approachable as I thought? Or was something else going on? She probably had a very overwhelming day and another social interaction might be too much for her right now. I wasn’t offended at her awkward departure, I was just worried and confused about what she was thinking. I didn’t want her to feel isolated here.

****************************************************

Turning around, sandwich in hand, you saw Blond Guy in the kitchen behind you. He gave you a smile and wave before his expression changed. His brows furrowed and his head tilted to the side ever so slightly.

Your eyes widened as you froze in place.

How were you gonna communicate with him? The one person around here that you can’t understand at all. Was he gonna think you were weird for smiling and waving and gesturing instead of talking? Would you be able to fit in here with him?

He pointed to you and then gave you a hesitant thumbs up. Your own brows furrowed in confusion before you realized he was asking if you were okay.

Are you okay? No, not really. You were overwhelmed and exhausted and hungry and terrified of what tomorrow was going to be like.

But you give him an awkward smile before shrugging your shoulders and diverting your gaze from his violet eyes to the sandwich on your plate.

You notice what looks like a frown on his face, again you still couldn’t see his mouth, but the rest of his face conveyed it fine.

Oh god, what is he thinking? Does he think you’re weird? Does he not like you? Is he scared to try and communicate with you?

You hold your hand up briefly as a goodbye of sorts before sheepishly heading back to the quiet of your room.

The weight of the day settled onto your shoulders as you shut the door behind you. For a moment, you stood there, leaning your forehead against it, letting the quiet calm you down.

Finally, a space where you didn’t have to try so hard.

[drdemonprince]

What's your take on the solidarity camps of students in countries where the colleges are state funded?

I recently got into contact with my local SfP group, which is planning a camp atm, with the goal of getting our college to stop an exchange program with an Israeli university heavily involved in weapon development. But they havent even made that demands to our college. I know the college would refuse those, but I am nontheless worried they are hurrying into building an encampment for the sake of having one. Not the actual focus behind the camps. The main goal of the camp would be to exist in solidarity to others and since our city is small I doubt anyone will hear about it.

Of course I am helping elsewhere to the best of my abilities, but I worry we will put valuable resources into it and ultimately achieve nothing.

Making the camp for the sake of having one is a laudable goal. it is a wonderful thing whenever the people seize the land to return it to public use, and build interdependent networks where food, housing, books, lessons, community, etc are all shared.

Nearly every campus encampment is formed with the understanding that university administration will not agree to demands. The building of encampments is a start of a much larger movement to seize control over the universities -- control that has been systematically taken away from the students and faculty that shape it over the course of the last several decades.

Think about it for a second. How absurd is it that the students whos debt pays for these institutions and the professors whose research, teaching, and publishing shape the intellectual life of these institutions have NO say in what the university does or how it spends the money that they are both responsible for?

what value does an administrator introduce to that equation? why are they even there? why have the number of administrators grown every year while the number of tenure-track and full-time professorships shrinks? why have student representatives been booted off the Board of Trustees in favor of people who do not teach, research, study, or contribute to any of the actual meaningful work of a university in the first place?

Getting campuses to fully stand with Palestine and divest from genocide (and divest from the Israeli apartheid state) is a tall order, because violent colonial Zionism is baked into how these institutions now work. A university today is more of a real estate and investment holding business than it is an institution of knowledge -- and so massive corporations, the military, and settler colonial states and their lackeys have more control over them than the students and professors do. We're an afterthought.

When students form encampments on campus and refuse to budge or even to negotiate with administration, they do so knowing that a far more dramatic upending of the existing power structure is in order. And forming a large, vocal, physically present, interdependent community is a crucial step to having the power and social bonds necessary to take control of our universities back.

Everything is connected. Universities are invested in Israel for the exact same reasons they no longer offer job security to professors and exploit underpaid part-timers for the majority of their teaching labor, closing out entire generations of marginalized scholars from research and publishing or institutional leadership. I know these trends are less stark outside the United States, but they are happening worldwide, and ours is a strong example of what's coming for the rest of the world. So it is GREAT to see students outside the US standing in solidarity with us and seeing that all our struggles are connected.

(To read more about the rise of administrative positions in academia and the loss of influence students and professors have, check out the book The Professor is In by Karen Kelskey).

[walkingthroughthisworld]

James Earl Jones - US Army

by Blake Stilwell

Jones was an exceptional cadet, a member of the Pershing Rifles Drill Team and the National Society of Scabbard and Blade. The same performance ability that let him excel with the Pershing Rifles led him to the Michigan's School of Music, Theatre & Dance. He knew he wanted to be an actor, but he once referred to his fellow cadets as "the only semblance of a social life."

He initially left the university without completing his degree. With the Korean War raging at the time, he thought he would be sent overseas. But it ended in an armistice later that year, and although he returned to graduate in 1955, Jones' life took a different course.

After graduating from college, he was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia, for the Officers Basic Course and to attend Ranger School. Jones was assigned to the 38th Regimental Combat Team, where he led the setup of a cold weather training command at Camp Hale near Leadville, Colorado.

"Our regiment was established as a training unit, to train in the bitter cold weather and the rugged terrain of the Rocky Mountains," Jones told the Army in an interview. "I took to the physical challenge, so much so that I wanted to stay there, testing myself in that awesome environment, mastering the skills of survival.

"I loved the austere beauty of the mountains and the exhilaration of the weather and the altitude. I didn't mind the rigors of the work or the pioneer-like existence. I thought it was a good life."

Jones was a good officer and soon was promoted to first lieutenant. When the time came to decide whether the Army should be his career, his commanding officer asked him a poignant question: "Is there anything you feel like doing on the outside?"

His father, Robert Earl Jones, had been an actor performing in plays on stage while James was a young man. Jones told his commanding officer he had always thought about following his father's path. His commander told him he could always come back to the Army, but he should pursue his dreams.

After his discharge, Jones moved to New York City, where he studied acting at the American Theatre Wing using his GI Bill benefits while working as a janitor to support himself.

His first acting jobs came in Michigan at the Ramsdell Theatre in Manistee, where he had once worked as a carpenter and stagehand. Just two years later, he was a lead actor. By 1957, he was on Broadway. In 1964, he made his film debut as Lt. Lothar Zogg, a B-52 Stratofortress bombardier in Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb."

James Earl Jones' first leading role was in the 1970 film "The Great White Hope," a part he'd previously played on stage. His performance led to his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, making him the second Black man to receive the nod.

After a career spanning more than 60 years, Jones has been called "one of the greatest actors in American history" and "the best known voice in show business." He received the National Medal of the Arts from President George H.W. Bush, Kennedy Center Honors from President George W. Bush and the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. He also has achieved the "EGOT" -- winning at least one Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award.

But after a lifetime of success, he still remembered his time in the Pershing Rifles as some of the best years of his life. Jones died at his home in Dutchess County, New York on Sept. 9, 2024. He was 93 years old.

[mybrokenveins3000]

Freshers - College!Ross Macdonald

A/N: HII!! This is my first time writing anything on Tumblr, let alone the 1975 related. I hope you guys like it. Ignore how my grammar is all over the place, quotation marks and commas confuse me.

I move to university in about two weeks, I doubt anything like this will happen, but a girl can dream. Anyways, enjoy! Also, this is dedicated to @hypersonic04 <3

word count: 1.6k

♫ My Funny Girl - Harry Teardrop // Eighteen - Pale Waves

It's almost been a month since you moved to the city for university. Tonight, you're at a coursemate's flat for Pres. Trashy guilty-pleasure pop blasts through the speakers and you're busy avoiding people, drinking by the window. You watch the condensation trail behind a departing aeroplane over the cityscape. You're thinking about where you are now, the kind of people you brush shoulders with, and how easy it is to feel so desperately alone out here.

Despite the air of maturity and the swill of liquor in your mouth, it always shocked you how laughably predictable university boys can be - especially those on your Film course. It's been a month and you're already bored by the typical film bro spiel of "why Tarantino is the best director of all time" and how "there's something manic pixie dream girl about you".

Speaking of, you feel a tall, masculine shadow cast over you interrupting your intense thinking. Cue the "what's your favourite film" question, you think to yourself.

"What's your favourite film?"

Right, here we go again.

"Depends. Who's asking?" you laugh to yourself, still watching that blinking plane.

"Um, me." Now that felt more like a question.

"And, who are you?" You whip around and see a tall boy in a black hoodie. Who is this? He's cute... is your immediate response to the stranger.

You playfully prod at him with your empty solo cup, "Youuu are not on my course."

He laughs gently, casting his eyes to the floor. Despite his shy cadence, there's an effortlessness and confidence about him that is rare to find among these overgrown teenagers. "No, I'm not. I do History."

You squint and he senses your confusion about his presence at a Film student function.

"I came with him", he gestures over to the couch. The scantily clad, mop-headed, binge-drinking, serial flirt, Matty Healy, lounges across your girl friends' legs. You scowl. You and Matty have argued in and out of every seminar you've ever shared. It surprised you that someone like the boy in front of you was here with him.

"He actually told me to ask that question"

"Hm?"

"Your favourite film? He said it's a good conversation starter but I'm beginning to think," he makes a note of your comically disappointed expression, "that he is very, very wrong"

He smiles at you. You can't help but smile back at him. The image of him preparing to talk you flashes in your mind. You smile harder.

"Roman Holiday", he leans over to hear you better over the drowning sound of pop, exposing his neck and the chain dangling around it. "My favourite film is Roman Holiday"

"Never heard of it--"

"YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF ROMAN HOLIDAY?!?!" He certainly didn't need to lean in to hear that. He laughs at the inner film nerd in you coming out.

In that moment, he could see it. You and his best friend having passive-aggressive discussions during seminars. It's stupid to admit the twinge of jealousy he felt at the idea. I mean, you had only just met. Maybe it's the alcohol or Teenage Dream on the speaker, maybe he wants to see that enthusiasm and hear you talk about films forever and ever.

"Maybe we could watch it sometime."

It doesn't help that you blush easily. You can see yourself now, a vision in bright red.

"Does that line work for every girl?"

"I don't know, I haven't used it before," he smiles and rakes a hand through his hair. Fuck.

Wait, let's not get ahead of ourselves. "Who are you again?" you ask before you can glow any brighter.

"I'm Ross."

You reply with your name and extend your free hand to shake his.

The speakers go quiet over this exchange. A drunken voice exclaims "RIGHT, LET'S GO!" followed by peals of laughter and excitement.

You look at each other, hand in hand, knowing that you just started something good. Something good that you don't want to infect with even louder music, sweaty bodies and strobe lights - not now at least. If only Pres could last forever. You let go of his hand.

People flood out of the flat, but a girl friend of yours whose flat this is hangs back when she sees the pair of you not moving.

"Hey, could we stay here actually?" you tell her.

Having hosted so many film parties and Pres, she knows you're usually the first out of the door. She knows that you never do this or feel this, especially not for boys you've only met. But there's something about him and this squeezing in your heart. You don't want him to leave you.

She smiles, turning the speakers back on, the volume set to low. It's Boom Clap by Charli XCX. You wouldn't know this 'til much later, but she thinks you two make a good couple. "You don't need a key to leave and the door locks by itself, so feel free to stay."

Before she disappears out the door, Ross exclaims "Take care of Matty!!"

"No promises!!" she shouts back.

---

Saturday bleeds into Sunday. You're sitting on the floor with a boy you just met. He does History, you do Film. The Bluetooth speaker died in the middle of Colors by Halsey, but you both were too engrossed in conversation to realise it.

The October wind picked up, tossing the plastic cups across the room, but he was too busy looking at you, how the air danced and played with your hair. Neither of you could figure out how to close the window, you were both guests here after all. When he noticed you shivering, his black hoodie immediately came off. He blushed as you put it on, how the sleeves extended past your hands. It was hard for you not to hug yourself and take in his smell of petrichor and aftershave in its entirety. It was hard for him not to hug you.

By this point, you could name all his favourite teachers from secondary school and why the 1900s was his favourite century. He could list your top 10 films in order and the details about your hometown that you love. He recounts what it was like growing up in Wilmslow with Matty. You never knew Wilmslow ever existed, you never knew anyone's words could soften you to Matty.

As he speaks, you notice the distant whir of passing cars, the wind, the hum of the light bulb, and how this is all so tragically and desperately transient.

"What's wrong?" he asks as if he has known you a long time. He has made a note of how expressive you are, how whatever you're thinking or feeling is easy to detect just by looking at your face. You wouldn't know it, but he decides right then and there that he wants to recognise every micro-expression your face could make.

"I like talking to you," you admit, almost sadly.

"I like talking to you, too."

You glance out the window. "But you do know what they say about the people you meet in the first semester," they don't stay.

"Yeah, yeah, I do know, but" he delicately places his hand on your knee, "you're someone people want to keep."

Silence. There's an unspoken force about the two of you. It encourages you to submit to the endearing teenage stupidity and rash decision-making.

"You're someone I want to keep," he says finally. Whilst your eyes, tipsy and excited, have been jumping from surface to surface, his has been fixed on you the entire night.

A thump from the front door interrupts the moment followed by crashing and inelegant, drunken moaning.

"Ohmygod you guys are STILL HERE?!?!" screams that coursemate of yours, popping her head through the door. "MATTY, THEY'RE STILL HERE!"

A tiny "ᶠᵁᶜᴷ" can be heard from another room. You and Ross laugh to yourselves, not surprised by the scene unraveling before you two.

"You know I love you guys but do you mind fucking off?"

Ross is already stood up and helps you onto your feet. You could get used to this. You plant a chaste kiss on her sweaty forehead followed by "You know I love you. Use protection."

"Have fun, mate!" Ross yells down the corridor as you make your way to the door.

"ᶠᵁᶜᴷ ʸᴼᵁ"

---

You strike yourself as more tipsy than you realise as you wiggle the door handle and cry, "OHMYGOD, IT DOES LOCK ON ITS OWN!!"

And he's looking at you, smiling that same warm smile, as you get excited over a door. You're still wearing his hoodie.

You notice him staring, "what?"

"Nothing"

"You look like you want to say something?" He takes in a breath and shrugs. "If you wanna say something, just say it," you laugh.

To that, he lifts up your chin with his finger and kisses you.

As soon as he backs away, you toss your arms around his neck and inelegantly smash your face onto his. You can feel him smiling as you kiss. His arms pull you closer at the waist, hands underneath his hoodie.

"I've been waiting to do that all night," he whispers as you pull away. The streetlights and skyscrapers blink through the windows of the dimly lit corridor. Only this time in the face of the city, you don't feel alone anymore.

"Are you busy today?" he asks, tucking a stray hair behind your ear. You're still slung around his neck. It's all stupidly endearingly familiar, but also so new. You kiss through the conversation.

"No, no, not busy... do need to do my laundry though."

"Good, so do I." You silently agree to do it together.

You take his hand in yours and walk down the stairs.

"I'm someone you wanna keep, huh?"

"You're someone I wanna keep."

[toasttt11]

introducing maleah

Maleah Elise Barzal was born July 31, 1999, the second born of her parents Mike and Nadia. She has an older brother Matthew and a younger sister Liana.

Maleah has always been extremely smart from a young age and she seemed to just pick up knowledge easily, she got accepted into Harvard University at the age of 15.

She joined her first year of college in 2016 where she met her absolute best friend in the whole world, John Marino. He was a few years older than her but they hit it off completely.

Maleah has loves anything to do with fashion, since she could hold up a crayon she was drawing out outfit ideas, she got a sewing machine at a young age and would always make her own clothes.

She started her own fashion business and it blew up right away, she had hundreds of modeling agency’s wanting her to be their designer and many fashion companies reaching out wanting her on their design teams, but she denied all of them and continued to have her business grow.

Her business grew extremely large and became one of the biggest companies in the world within just a few years.

She started her own modeling agency connected to her fashion business and many models left their old agency’s to join Maleah’s. After she got her degree from Harvard she decided it was time to invest in large building for her business, she had many smaller shops across the county but she chose New York and bought a skyline building and that is the city she moved to after College with her son.

Maleah growing up had always played hockey and she loved playing and she was an insanely good hockey player but during the end of high school her business started to get bigger and she didn’t have time to keep playing hockey so she stopped playing but will still get on the ice to play with family.

Maleah had met John in 2016 and Mat had met Anthony in 2015, Maleah and Mat had both met their best friends and of course they introduced them to each other, and then most vacations or summer plans the four of them spent together.

Maleah feels like she has three brothers not just one. Anthony quickly adored Maleah and told everyone he adopted her as his little sister and Maleah didn’t have anyone she wanted to be the godmother of her son besides her sister so Anthony was her son’s other godfather.

She had been in a relationship for a few months in 2018 before she found out she was pregnant and her ex immediately signed off all of his parental rights and was never on her son’s birth certificate.

Malakai Jules Barzal was born July 13, 2019 to his mother Maleah Barzal, He joined her for her last year in College before they moved and lived permanently in a penthouse in New York.

John was the one who was by her side for the whole birth and took care of her throughout the pregnancy and let her almost break his hand while she was giving birth, he was without a doubt the one she named her sons godfather.

Malakai looks exactly like his mother and their is nothing about him that looks like Maleah’s Ex, Maleah loves her sons blonde curls as it reminds her of her own.

Malakai has always been on the shyer side and doesn’t like being around a lot of people unless it’s to play hockey, he seems to picked up his hockey and art skills from his mother.

Malakai really likes to cook in the kitchen with his mom, which helps her out a lot because she hates cooking but cooking with her son makes it enjoyable.

Nico saw Malakai for the first time in 2017 when the Devils were playing at the Islanders and he thought he just saw the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, when he went to try and find her she had disappeared from where he saw. From them he always looked extra in the crowd when playing the Islanders hoping to see her again.

[summercreolefanfictioner]

Will you please make headcanons of Subaru and his female bestfriend falling in love with each other? thank you in advance~

wow you all sure love falling in love with besties au huh? okay wish granted tho I made it modern college au cause the og lore doesn't do the plot justice

and yes this can serve as the side story of kanato's modern college au plot

ps. listen to the song while reading for a better experience

scream at the top of my lungs || subaru x female bff s/o (modern college au)

[aka mutual pining]

yes, you and Subaru have been best friends ever since high school, then came university and despite the difference between courses, he would still go fetch you after classes or accompany you whenever your break hours would meet

it was obvious to anyone that you two like each other but the thing is Subaru has been going on and on abt not wanting to hurt you

he's been dealing with the angst of his existence after finding out his mom was his dad's first cousin, and that he used her to gain a position in his wealthy company

but he would give you these mixed signals like he wanted to be that shoulder you can cry on; even willing to go on dates with you at the nearby cafe

loving him was like late night drives under the city lights as you listen to grunge pop rock songs

and you always end up teasing him bcos subaru is a soft cookie in romance

you laugh at his cringy ass face bcos it was pink everywhere and he didn't like it one bit, but he was willing to try anything just to be with you

yeah anything except take a step towards a committed relationship with you

ofc you two talked abt it one day, you even mentioned that you were tired of pining and pining for him and that you wanted to take this relationship to the next level like "I am willing to accept whatever issues you're dealing with, Subaru. Just... just give this relationship a chance."

"... Y/N, I... Can you give me time?"

that's why you two were stuck in this endless waiting game, with you hoping that Subaru would come to a conclusion and just get it on already!

we like slowburn stuff but not so sloooooooooow

it wasn't until you two were walking home then you saw how Ayato was caring towards Yui and how he even boasted she was his girl that you finally made a stop and asked him again

"Subaru, what are we? What am I to you?"

ofc this Sakamaki car is still conflicted, his inner turmoil resurfacing in the form of fear while trying to be considerate of your feelings

but to you, that face is already his answer

"I can't accept half-baked feelings from you. Not anymore."

you two didn't talk after that

like you spent days crying over that fvcking guy and he just went incognito mode like what happened you two didn't even exist

jerk

so you went on with your life, busying yourself with university papers and school org duties; you even got used to the fact that he doesn't wait for you to finish before he walks you down the station or straight to your home

you thought maybe deep down he really didn't feel the same way you do

more like he couldn't feel the same depth

it took like a month and half until the university held its own cultural festival

apparently you were the assigned panda mascot for the student council bcos you lost at rock paper scissors

so when it was finally time for a break, you took off the mascot head, wiped off the sweat on your forehead with your elbow, and when you turned around, it was Subaru fvcking bby car jerk Sakamaki

I swear you almost gave in

only for you to realize he's with the triplets for fvck's sake!

like what a good day to ruin

Laito was even making fun of you the nerve

but you decided not to pay them mind even tho you could feel Subaru's stares on you and went on your merry way

it was better this way, for you at least, cause it would be harder for you if you talk to him

so you were almost near the stairs when you heard someone yell

"Y/N, I LOVE YOU!"

and the world stopped spinning for a moment, everyone in the hallway pausing momentarily from their actions to watch everything between the two of you unfold

you thought it was just your weird imagination playing tricks on you... until Subaru was quickly nearing you and holding your hand

"Are you deaf or what? I even yelled I love you across the hall!"

and that's when reality hit you

oh no

OH NO-

so you dashed off while dragging him until you saw an empty room where you two entered; even made sure to lock the door so no one could interrupt

"What the heck was that, you idiot?!"

"Can't you tell? I just confessed my feelings for you!"

"I know that! But why in the hallway? And with many people there?"

"Because you kept on avoiding me, you idiot!"

"I was not."

"Pft. I even tailed around you all day while you're doing that silly panda dance of yours."

"W-W-Wha-???!!!"

you two started bickering again like the old days

but this time, there was something different in the air

it was another silent affirmation of a new couple

[petri808]

Nalu Yakuza Au *cover art by @jmoart214 💜

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |

*Special holiday chapter*

“Uwah!” 

Lucy’s excited giggle pierced the cold night air as she held out her hands to catch the snow falling around her. It’s not very often that Tokyo receives snow, maybe a couple times in a season and rarely enough to blanket the ground. On the sidewalk around her, other tokyoites scurry past uninterested in a young girl’s childish antics for it is two days before Christmas Eve and there are errands to run. She grinned at Natsu before looking towards the sky and closing her eyes for a moment while the cold little drops of snow flurries touched her skin. He merely chuckled as a warm smile graced his lips. It never failed to amaze Natsu each time the woman did something to make him fall in love all over again. But here she was, her face bathed in the artificial glow of store signs looking like an ethereal angel. 

This was their first winter after graduating from high school when nothing was yet set in stone and the rest of their lives laid before them. Once Natsu turned 20, he already knew that his father wanted him to succeed as the Oyabun, but he wasn’t ready to be a boss of their yakuza group just yet. He’s still young! And as he watched his girlfriend catching snowflakes, it only steeled his desire to focus on love not business… especially because Lucy is opposed to him becoming the boss. He held back a sigh and put on a smile as she grabbed his hand again to continue walking down the avenue. 

“Did you order the meal from KFC?” Lucy queried.

“Of course,” Natsu lifted their conjoined hands, kissing the back of her knuckles. “I even ordered your favorite cake from the patisserie.” 

“Mmm,” she bounced up placing a quick peck on his cheek. “You take such good care of me,” she cooed and snuggled to his side.

‘I’d kill for you,’ Natsu mumbled in his head. “I wanna give you everything kitten. I’ll always protect and take care of you.”

He knew that she knew exactly what those words meant… and it only added to her opposition. It wasn’t that Lucy was against him being the boss, what she’s really annoyed with is the whole boys club aspect of the yakuza. Natsu didn’t blame her for feeling the way she did, hell one of the things that attracted him was her strength. People often assumed Lucy was just another pretty girl who traded on her looks and lacked in intelligence, but they’re dead wrong. Picture it. The woman who was just minutes ago childly catching snowflakes was always in the top 10 percent of exams and was accepted into Tokyo University, one of the toughest universities to get into for business. Beautiful, brilliant, and feisty. He loved her so much… It’s because of that love that he didn’t want her joining the yakuza. 

Time to change the subject.

“Hey, I was thinking we should go to an onsen after visiting the shrine for New Year’s.” Natsu suggested. “We haven’t visited one in a while.”

“That would be nice, a trip before I start college.”

Natsu kissed her temple. “I’ll book a room with a private onsen.” 

The couple spent a sweet and savory Christmas Eve together at Natsu’s apartment, cuddling under the covers for most of the evening. He lived in a one-bedroom flat on the 26th floor of a high-rise apartment building where the nighttime views of Tokyo were beautiful. Outside the picture window, snow flurries fell and swirled through the air, catching on the light coming from the apartment before disappearing into the darkness. A few scattered buildings around the city were lit up for the holiday season making them stand out in the skyline. These really were the best times, when they could forget the world and all the responsibilities of life that lay beyond the front the door. Here in their own little heaven, where they made the rules, it was always sad to leave it. 

The next morning, Lucy went home with plans to hang out with her best friend Levy because Natsu had to deal with some end of year matters for the organization. No matter, it’s just five days until they’ll leave for their trip. He really hated being apart from her for more than a couple days, but he knew he better get used to it. Once Lucy started school, there will be times she needed to focus on projects and exams that may keep them apart for weeks at a time. He too may have problems that pop up that he needed to deal with. As the current first lieutenant it’s his responsibility to take care of matters before they escalated and required the boss to get involved. 

Finally, the 30th arrived. Natsu picked Lucy up from her apartment and they headed out in his car to an onsen located in the Saitama region. It’s about an hour’s drive, but the route is scenic once they leave Tokyo with forested land flanking many sections of the highway. During the autumn, the colors… all the reds, yellow, and orange leaves are pleasing to the eye, now those trees lay barren, and the pines are blanketed with piles of snow. Mountains of white wintergreens gleaming in the mid-afternoon sunlight.         

The ryokan Natsu chose was a mid-sized inn tucked away from the nearby city. Its design featured traditional Japanese style accommodations from tatami floors to pillowy futon mattresses, complimentary yukata robes, and in-room dining services. There are sliding shoji doors that led to a private deck and covered onsen bath that’s open to the outside. It’s a perfect hotel if you’re looking for a cozy, intimate getaway, and that’s exactly what Natsu wanted to spoil his girlfriend with before school stress began. Let Lucy start off the new year relaxed and sated. 

“Of course, I’m being clingy,” Natsu teased as they walked towards the guest room after check in. “It’s been a week.” He wrapped his arms around Lucy’s waist making it difficult for her to walk, but as much as she grumbled through gritted smiles, he won’t let go. The poor attendant carrying their luggage must’ve been so uncomfortable. 

The moment the door closed behind them… “Okay! Okay!” Lucy shrieked and clawed at the arms cinched around her waist. “So embarrassing!”

“Oww! Oww!” Natsu laughed as he finally let go. “Sorry kitten, I’ll leave the affection for behind the scenes.” Lucy rolled her eyes though there’s no malice in her expression, so Natsu still considered it his win. He kissed her cheek. “I’m just happy.” He kissed her cheek again. “Can you blame me?”

Lucy’s cheeks flushed. “No…” 

Yup, definitely his win.

The couple changed into the more comfortable yukata robes and hapi coats before venturing outside. For the three hours before the dinner service would be served, they spent it walking around the hotels zengarden and tea house. It’s a beautifully maintained garden replete with a koi pond that had a wooden bridge that crossed it, several intersecting pathways to follow, benches along the way to rest, and a couple of gazebo structures to enjoy the tranquility of nature. There’s a very light snow fall during the walk, but without much of a breeze the chill factor is tolerable. Natsu couldn’t remember the last time he’s been in a garden like this one. It might have been during a school trip. Had he held hands with Lucy then like he’s doing now? Possibly. Oh well, now there’s this memory to add to the collection.

Because the hotel is smaller it doesn’t have a sit-down restaurant, so meals are delivered to the rooms by request. Guests were also allowed to order specialty menus at the time of reservation, which is the route Natsu chose. He knew Lucy’s favorite dishes and made sure they were included. For dinner he’d chosen a mix of options. A chirashi bowl of sushi rice covered in a variety of fish, scallop, shrimp, and eel sliced thin in sashimi style. Braised pork belly coated with a sticky teriyaki sauce. Red miso soup with wakame seaweed, tofu, and scallion. Shrimp and vegetable tempura, and lastly for dessert, strawberry mochi ice cream drizzled with sugar glaze and kinako powder. The resident sake master included a top line junmai daiginjo sake to go with the meal. Everything was delicious. 

Now that their bellies are full and the sake has mellowed them, it was the best time to relax away the rest of the evening. They took turns taking a quick bath before slipping into the onsen. Natsu went in first. 

“Finally,” he teased from the steaming waters. “I was starting to worry you fell asleep in the bathroom.”

Lucy kneeled next to the edge with the towel wrapped around her body and her hair tied up in a loose bun. “I have a surprise to show you first.”

“Oh?” Natsu shifted his body to rest his elbows on the edge.

She turned around, still on her knees, then let the towel drop down to her waist to reveal her back. “I got it on the 26th so it’s still healing.” Lucy twisted her neck so she could see him. “What do you think?” Then before he started to respond, she let go of the towel and joined him in the water. 

Natsu prompted Lucy to sit with her back to him so he could look at it closer. “It’s a beautiful tattoo, fits you perfectly.” He ran his fingers over the soft, fluid line work that graced her upper back. Top to bottom it covered half of her back, perfectly centered over her spine with the wingspan stretching over her shoulder blades. He couldn’t quite place the style, a touch of whimsy, fantasy, maybe even tribal and the design was part butterfly, fairy, and angelic in its beauty. “Very delicate, perfect for a woman, but why wings?”

Lucy turned back to him. “Because you often call me kitten or angel, so when Levy and I visited the tattoo shop and I saw this design I decided to go with it.” She caressed his cheek and placed a pressured lingering kiss on his lips. “Now I’m forever your angel.”

Natsu pulled her onto his lap so she’s straddling his legs, wrapping his arms around her waist with hands draping over her lower curves. The steaming waters chased away the winter chill, while Lucy’s lithe body is framed by the lightly falling snow behind her and the overhead light created a haloed glow around her blonde hair. Just, breathtaking… and it’s all his. He grinned and returned the kiss in kind letting his forehead rest against hers, “Damn right your mine, and I’ll never let you go.” 

Snap Snap Snap “Boss? Oi Natsu, why the hell are you staring at the kids?”

“Kids?” Natsu’s eyes blinked and slowly readjusted from daydreaming. That’s right, the restaurant they ate dinner at was across from a park decorated with lights for the holiday season. He was waiting outside while Gray settled the bill when he noticed a young woman bathed in lights looking at the sky while two children, presumably hers, were laughing a few feet away as they made snow angels in the snow. Did he just flash back to a decade-old memory? The second he realized where he was, he turned around to address Gray. “I um, was just remembering how we used to make snow angels too as kids. Remember, Gray?”

Gray’s brow raised in suspicion, “not really, but whatever. I paid so let’s go.”

“Right…” Natsu glanced back to the park one last time before falling in step with his lieutenant. He’d almost forgotten that memory, but how could he. “My angel,” he muttered under his breath and gained another weird look from Gray. 

With the shinnenkai end of year celebration party coming up in a couple more weeks, Natsu had been too busy preparing to notice all the Christmas seasonal decorations around the city. Though a western thing, it was becoming more and more accepted as a secular holiday, especially in the bigger cities. But that wasn’t the issue of the moment. He really loved it when Lucy got that tattoo because he thought that it meant she’d accepted a future with him— Oh, how wrong he’d been because that was the year they broke up and ten years later he still wasn’t exactly sure why.  

“You go on in Gray, I’ll be in shortly.” They’d arrived back at the office building, but Natsu wasn’t ready to go in just yet. 

Natsu pulled the collar of his coat tighter to his neck to brace against a small gust of chilly wind. Lately his and Lucy’s current relationship as rivals was starting to wear on him mentally and it was getting harder and harder to control his emotions surrounding her. Guess ten years of pining really will drive a person insane. He closed his eyes and tilted his head to the sky to allow the little white flurries to chill his skin. Somehow, some way he’ll win his angel back and finally fulfill the wish he’d made at the shrine all those years ago. ‘I said it didn’t I Luce,’ he smiled to himself. ‘I’ll never let you go…’

[lilithfreya]

Six of Crows/Shadow and Bone Modern College AU's

Finally the last couple!!!

Kaz:

He's still the country boy we all love, but when his parents died during high school, he and Jordie were "adopted" by Jesper's dad, as the two have been friends for a long time. When Jordie went to the big city to try his luck and earn money so that everyone could have a better life, and in that period Kaz received letters, messages and photos from his brother and one more person in a Suli language, but when he found a man who would be a mentor to him, who later discovers to be Pekka Rollins, he ends up disappearing and leaving behind only a few pieces of information so he begins to draw up his revenge plan and it all starts when he enters the University. There he ends up taking courses in Administration and Economics, he with the money from lending the land of his farms and his investments ends up managing to buy part of "The Crow Club", a famous bar that is frequented mainly by university students but that also hides a lot of illegal business. There Kaz ends up knowing and knowing the secrets of several people and having to save Jes from his addictions, but what no one can understand is how he ended up meeting the captain of the gymnastics team and the cutest person in this world Inej and why they They were always together and she seemed to be the only person he really listened to. Reluctantly he ends up making friends with the rest of the crows, some influenced by Inej, others for his own interest like Wylan and even if he refuses to admit it he is happy to have a family again and they all end up being useful so he can to accomplish his goal of destroying Rollins and Wylan's father Jan Vna Eck and starting to build his money empire alongside his Queen.

Inej:

Inej and Kaz met during the camp they did during childhood and high school, there they both learned about circus life with Kaz training magic tricks and Inej being an acrobrate, thanks to her family, and sometimes working as an assistant to Kaz in the final performances, there she taught Kaz how to read Suli, and they spent the rest of the years talking via letters/postcards from the different places Inej spent with her family and messages. She was one of the first people to know Kaz's feelings about Jordie's death and all his worries and always did her best to advise him, and because of the distance she ended up accepting to be coached by the famous Olympic gymnast Tanten Heleen, however, due to cases of abuse that she ended up suffering there, she asked for Kaz's help to denounce and arrest Tanten, and get financial compensation for all this situation and gave part of that money. Part of the money was given for Kaz to be able to fulfill his dream and be able to go to the same university, I think that during this troubled period they ended up returning to Ravka to be able to stay out of the average time when they turned 18 and ended up getting married in secret. At university, she studied to work as a social worker and continued her gymnast training, as well as starting to do social work at the shelter, which she secretly funds with Kaz's help and the class for the younger children, something she loves most. no one knows is that sometimes Kaz goes there and gives magic presentations. All her friends keep trying to get them to be together but she pretends not to see the schemes and attempts at dates and has a bet with Kaz to find out which of them will be the first to find out everything, besides one of her secret activities for Kaz it's reading and discovering people's secrets so she also knows when Jes and Nina need help with their addictions, what to do to help Wylan to escape his father and help Mla and Alina against the weird teacher and to learn more about your past. And it all culminates in the arts and benevolence ball where all of their lives end up getting on track for the first time in a long time, several secrets are revealed and now they can live their happily ever after with those who chose to live, HAPPY ENDING.

(I think they ended up adopting one of the children that was cared for at the Shelter, a girl of about 3/4 years old who was always in awe of Inej thinking she was Rapunzel and was never afraid of Kaz unlike the other children who had to be conquered, as he thought he was the Prince of Inej.)

Thanks for everyone who had read, see U later ❤❤

If you haven't read the other couples yet, check them out here: Six of Crows/Shadow and Bone Modern College AU’s

[shinmiyovvi]

CoD Zombies Modern Au Concept

So here is my concept for my Modern Au Fanfic in Ao3 that I've planned for months and made some changes with it. Of course, this is full of headcanons of mine and I hope everyone would love this concept of mine 💖

(Note: The timelines are still separated but both timelines are already in the modern era.)

Primis:

“Tank” Dempsey:

A defense instructor.

Best friends with Val (OC) like their Primis counterpart.

Sometimes, he’s a gym instructor as well.

Likes to visit the bar where Val and Alfonso have their late-night gigs when they were still college students.

A great wingman to Val when it comes to having a relationship with someone.

Valena Villanueva (OC):

A famous detective around the city.

She is the junior of Marcus Cunningham (Oc) and a senior of Alfonso de Guzman (Oc and Val’s childhood friend).

Has a band for late-night gigs in bars when she was still in college.

Best friends with Dempsey.

She is the wife of Nikolai Belinski. (Which makes her Valena V. Belinski *fangirling intensifies*).

Nikolai Belinski:

A well-known writer.

He lived with his first wife peacefully until he lost her due to a car accident. (History repeats itself, I guess.)

He has a lot of novels and gets praised by everyone who reads his literature.

He first met Val when she was asking him questions about his wife before the accident happened, being concerned with his status as a target, she puts him under witness protection and let him stay in her apartment until the case was settled. 

He then starts a new life with Val as her husband. (I hope my brain is happy with this.)

Takeo Masaki:

A swordmaster (Headcanon)

He has two children ( Headcanon & because he mentioned something like “Listening to the joy of my children at play.” in Tag der Toten.)

Likes to spend time teaching his children katana training.

A caring and loving father and husband to his family.

Likes to make origami during his free time or clean his katana.

Edward Richtofen:

A professor at a university where he teaches pathology.

He gets praised a lot by his students at the university.

Helps Dr. Maxis with their usual experiments, making inventions, and enhancing their technology.

Was interviewed by Val and Alfonso about a murder that happened at Woodridge University.

He loves to read books during his break time while drinking coffee.

Listens to classical and oldies music (A huge fan of Frank Sinatra of course).

Ultimis:

“Tank” Dempsey:

A police officer (Headcanon)

Lives with Phoebe and his daughter.

He was part of the US Marine Corps and retired after the Iraq War.

He’ll always protect his family from any danger, even if it means causing his own life.

Tends to hang out with his friends during their day off.

Loves to take his wife and daughter to any place they wanted to go as they bond together.

Valena Villanueva (OC):

A physicist (Like her Ultimis counterpart)

Lives with her family and helps out with paying Agatha’s (OC’s younger sister) tuition fees in college.

Usually visits Nikolai’s bar to see her childhood friend Marcelito Gonzales (OC’s childhood friend) who works there to have some conversations with him.

A colleague of Richtofen, in which she finds her coworker weird for being an alchemist.

She is Takeo’s girlfriend (I hope everyone would agree with me on this headcanon)

Visits Takeo during his stand-up comedy session to boost his confidence.

Nikolai Belinski:

An owner of a bar.

Has a daughter whom he made his employee Marcel be his daughter’s babysitter.

Keeps the bar manageable as possible.

Takes care of his wife’s chamomile garden while she’s busy taking care of their daughter.

A caring husband and father to his family.

Takeo Masaki:

A former Japanese Imperial Guard.

He is the boyfriend of Val. (#Redemption Arc let’s go!)

Like his Ultimis counterpart, he still brings honor to his ancestors and the Emperor himself.

A stand-up comedian who still tries his best to make his audience laugh.

Loves to go to any parks with Val while drinking matcha frappe.

Edward Richtofen:

A physicist 

He’s also an alchemist and tends to drag Val into his hobby, though Val isn’t fond of alchemy, if that's what makes him happy, then she’s fine with it.

Val’s coworker and friend.

A guardian to Dr. Maxis’ daughter, Samantha Maxis. Still, he hates her for being annoying and stubborn when he’s around while getting jealous when she treated Val as her big sister.

Loves to play the piano in his free time.

[snowdice]

Sometimes Labels Shift Master Post (Part 2)

You can find the general Labeled Master Post here.

You can find Part 1 of this Master Post here.

Barbeque Stressing: (Complete) Virgil goes to a party and meets some people. He might end up scaling the roof.

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Finding Emo: (Complete) It’s Virgil’s last week of summer vacation, and since the university already went back to school, he is spending his day at the busy student union. Of course, being 16 means he looks enough like he could be a college student. He gets accosted by a couple of people.

AO3 Tumblr

Distractions (Complete) The superhero, Prince, tries out a new strategy when Bluebird is fighting a villain

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Relax or Else: (Complete) The great defeat of Bluebird by his most dastardly foes. (Logan has been overworking himself and Patton along with his trusty henchman Virgil intervene.)

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A Bag of Chips: (Complete) Food had always been a thing for Virgil. Someone reaching over and taking something from his plate causes a reaction.

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Dye Job: (Complete) Remus pulls a prank on Virgil by dyeing his hair during a sleepover. Except. He doesn’t.

AO3 Part 1 Part 2

Obligatory Beach Episode: (Complete) Virgil gets to go to the beach for the first time in his life.

AO3 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Not Today: (Complete) Logan comes home to Virgil and Roman playing video games.

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Saturday Morning Hugs: (Complete) Logan likes to hug his family with his powers. The problem being that he often does this without warning and without consciously realizing he’s doing it himself. The first time he does this to Virgil… he’s a bit shocked.

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Trying to Sleep: (Complete) Virgil and Logan are awake in the middle of the night for different reasons. Featuring more power hugs!

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It’s a Boy! (Complete) Remy gets Logan and Patton a card for their acquisition of a new child. Remy so adored inputting invalid command lines into the computer that was Logan’s mind.

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2am Texts: (Complete) Virgil gets a text from Roman at 2am asking to be picked up from a party.

AO3 Part 1 Part 2

Late to Class: (Complete) Professor Sanders is late to his lecture. (Basically Logan is distracted because it’s adoption day!)

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First Movie Night: (Complete) Patton invites Virgil to his first movie night with his new family.

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Hundreds of Thoughts: (Complete) Virgil and Roman get into a fight. Roman has trouble with people being mad at him.

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There’s a Caffeine Addict and a Child Loose in a Hospital: (Complete)  Virgil spends the day at Patton’s workplace. Remy insists upon mischief (and more coffee).

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Baking a Cake (With Someone Who Doesn’t Bake): (Complete) Logan attempts to bond with his child using the same strategy he always falls back on: lists.

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Irresponsible Waterslide Usage: (Complete) Remus and his mother convince Virgil to go down a waterside in the most chaotic and irresponsible way possible.

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Move In: (Complete) Virgil is getting ready to move into his college dorm… and out of the house he’s called home for the past few years. There are emotions about this fact.

AO3 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Wind Symphony: The Sequel: (Complete) Virgil gets his first ever clarinet. This is a very stressful day for him. He doesn’t even know the prices!

AO3 Part 1

Tales From Logan’s Office: (Complete) Virgil invades Logan’s office. (Multiple times.)

AO3 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Best Laid Plans: (Complete) Virgil (now) Sanders was once a villain vigilante kid down on his luck. After being injured helping the superhero Bluebird, he ended up being adopted by him and his husband. Logan and Patton Sanders helped Virgil in ways he didn’t even know he needed. Since then, he’s put away his persona of Shadow Caster, the strange, hard to label, super who haunted the city for a few years. Instead he’s opted for being a normal teenager and university student.

But while Logan and Patton often forgot in the midst of ice cream and movie nights and arguments about silly little things who he had been, he never had. And when worst comes to worst, Virgil will be willing to reach for a mask once again despite his fathers’ wishes and expectations.

Sometimes even the best laid plans fail.

AO3 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Bonus Features

Face the Music (Complete) Patton and Logan have a small chat about healing between Wind Symphony and Wind Symphony: The Sequel.

AO3 Tumblr

Unplanned Consequences (Complete) People react to what happened in Best Laid Plans

A03 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

[soharuniversityoman]

Studying at one of the Best Universities in Oman

Sohar University (SU) is a leading research-oriented institution located in the vibrant city of Sohar in the Sultanate of Oman. The university offers a modern campus with a range of amenities for students.  

The campus is comprised of several buildings, including academic and administrative buildings, student and faculty housing, a library, and multiple sports and recreational facilities. The campus is designed to promote an active lifestyle, with plenty of outdoor spaces for students to explore and relax. 

Additionally, SU is located in close proximity to many of the city's shopping and entertainment venues, making it easy for students to access what they need when they need it. Life in Sohar is a mix of traditional values and modern amenities. It is a great place to live and work, offering a unique blend of culture, history and modernity. 

University Resources  

The university offers a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in business, engineering, computer science, education and arts, language studies and law. The university also offers a number of certificate programs. All courses and programs are designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in their chosen fields. 

SU brochure provides an overview of the university's facilities, programs, and services, as well as details about university life and the admissions process. SU's commitment to quality and innovation in education ensures that students have access to the highest quality learning environment, the best teaching practices, and the most up-to-date curriculum.  

SU hosts a variety of events throughout the year that appeal to students, faculty, and the local community. These events range from academic to cultural and recreational activities. The annual events calendar provides an overview of important events and activities taking place on campus and can help students and staff stay organized and informed.  

The SU Professional Women's Group is committed to uplifting the professional women working at the university and beyond. The group strives to create a platform to promote, motivate, and inspire female students to become the next generation of successful leaders. It provides the resources and support needed to foster a professional and enabling environment for working women.   

Why Choose Sohar University  

SU provides students with a unique opportunity to pursue their academic and career aspirations.   

With 85% of engineering graduates employed in prestigious institutions, students can expect to gain valuable experience in their field to help them build their future.   

Training and job opportunities are coordinated annually with major industries, providing students with the necessary skills and contacts to help them succeed in their chosen careers.  

 Academic excellence is achieved through a curriculum informed by contemporary research, and students are treated as partners in their education.   

There are a number of shops, restaurants and leisure activities easily accessible, and students can benefit from the city’s fast-growing commercial and industrial centre.   

At SU, students have the opportunity to live and study in a diverse, multicultural environment.   

The university works in partnership with major international institutions, ensuring that degrees and programmes are recognised in many countries.   

Student success is also encouraged through a number of initiatives and competitions, with the University achieving first prize in the Colleges Debating Championship, TECHOFEST Competition, and National Beach Football Championship.   

All of this makes SU a great choice for students looking to meet their career aspirations.