#coding tutor near maine

[greenxgloss]

Smut ➔ (M) Fluff ➔ (F) Angst ➔ (A)

Requests: CLOSED!!!

Head Cannons

➔ MYG Boyfriend HCs ➔ (F,M)

Themes: Bullet points of Yoongi as a boyfriend Yoongi x Fem!Reader

Requests

➔ In Sickness and In Soft Sweaters ➔ (F,A)

Summary: You come home with food poisoning, and Yoongi does everything to make you feel better Themes: protective!yoongi x Sick!reader, Fluff, Angst maybe??

➔ Housewarming Party ➔ (M)

Summary: At your housewarming party, Yoongi's lingering touches and heated gaze reignite a long-simmering attraction between you, pushing your teasing friendship to its breaking point. With the music and laughter of your friends just outside the door, you surrender to the tension, finally giving in to the desire that had always simmered beneath the surface. Themes: Flirtatious!Yoongi x Clueless!Reader, SoftDom!Yoongi, Smut, F!Reader, F oral receiver, Drunk characters, mention of alcohol, little tiny bit of comedy and slight peer pressure but in a funny way.

➔ Against the Oath ➔ (F, A)

Summary: As the heir to your parents' position in the gang you were raised in, you were forced into an arranged marriage. However, when your forbidden best friend uncovered the dark secrets of your intended suitor, he stepped in to take his place. Themes: MafiaLeader!Yoongi x GangHeiress!Reader, Near arranged marriage, Angst, Fluff, Controlling parents, Best friends to lovers.

➔ BTS as Your Fanboys ➔ (F, A)

Themes: Idol!Reader, Gn!Reader, Fluff

➔ Color-Coded Chaos ➔ (F, A)

Summary: You never believed in people like Min Yoongi—until he swaggered into your life pretending to need tutoring, only to crack your carefully ordered world wide open. What started as a dare slowly unravelled into something real, and after betrayal, heartbreak, and a quiet apology in a lecture hall, you both found your way back to each other. Themes: Angst, fluff, slight Emotional manipulation / betrayal, slight Toxic masculinity / objectification, Smoking references, Opposites attract, Power of emotional intimacy over physical

➔ Pregnancy, Panic, and Yoongi’s Patience ➔ (F,A)

Summary: In the quiet chaos of early pregnancy, you battle morning sickness and bizarre cravings while Yoongi proves, in every tender and tired moment, that love—and his steady presence—makes it all a little easier to bear. Themes: Y/n getting emotional and morning sickness, Yoongi literally being the cutest dad-to-be, fluffy fluff

One Shots

➔ Brothers Bestfriend ➔ (F,M)

Summary: When Namjoon, your older brother asks you to drop off some things at his bestfriends house and you're left alone with him after an end of summer party. Themes: Big brother!Namjoon, SoftDom!Yoongi x ShyFem!Reader, Smut, Fluff

➽ Main Masterlist ➽ Taglist Form ➽ Kpop Masterlist ➽ G Dragon Masterlist ➽ Buy Me a Coffee Through Ko-fi

[on-noon]

Worldbuilding in my Main Fantasy World: Part 2: Rakan

Rakan is one of the bigger and more powerful countries. What their country specific magic is is a topic of some debate. The two main sides are that they don’t have one or that it’s teleportation but because of how teleportation is the magic of space, it was able to travel to other countires. The evidence for teleportation being the country magic is that Rakan is home to the colorful Teleporting Butterfly. Alas, the name is a misnomer. It’s actually a time traveling moth. But the time traveling is a closely gaurded secret known to only two people at a time (if not, Zadaf will fix that.)

Rakan is a monarchy, with the current king or queen choosing their heir, usually the most powerful among their relatives (Here, power essentially means ‘if they don’t have metamagic, they’re not even in the running’). However, if the monarch is successfully assassinated, then their assassin becomes the new monarch.

The tradition of assassination leading to taking over the throne dates back to before the counties were united under one ruler (in fact, that’s how the First King took control, by killing other Counts). These days, taking over the position of Count via killing them is regulated to only duels following a code, and only members of that noble family can challenge the Count.

The Counts have control over most of the governance of their county, from collecting taxes (of which a portion goes to the monarch, of course) to setting laws. However, the portal network and school system is the domain of the monarch.

Rakan has public schools, free to everyone from five to fifteen. The schools are not required, and also not of the best quality. The classes frequently have upwards of forty students. The schools teach reading and writing, heat magic, portal magic, and arithmatic.

Rich people will frequently have their children be tutored up until they can get accepted into an academy. Academies mostly use the standardized exam for their admissions, which has an essay, a multiple choice section on general knowledge as well as magic exams on both portals and heat magic.

One of the academies that use their own admission standard is the Royal Sorcerer's Academy, which is nearing its second decade. They recurit in a unique way, as it is the academy that trains those that have metamagic. Rakan tests everyone aged 14-16 once every three years for metamagic, and then force everyone in the country to attend the Royal Sorcerer's Academy.

Rakan doesn’t have an explicit immigration policy, as they don’t really have a legal category of citizenship, it’s more if you live there, you’re a resident and have to pay taxes and whatnot.

Part 1: Magic (some of it)

Part 3: Dracin

@choasuqeen

[invincible-selfxmade-punk]

It's been raining on and off all day which is great. However my day started off with a hateful email from apparent and that pretty much ruined everything for me.

This lady has never liked me. I had her son last year and this year I have her daughter.

Both of them had the nisfortune of being in my worst classes. The boy was very smart and as far as I remember he left and went on to middle school with an A average. He did this all on his own because in the class were three boys that were absolutely hell-bent on making me cry and be miserable every single day. If they were not rough housing, they were stealing things from other kids, or they were dropping water bottles and watching them burst open, are the main guy was doing a Magic Mike like striptease and shaking his privates and everyone's face including mine. The parents of these boys well one of them tried to keep their kid in line, the other two did not give a s***.

I don't know the daughter that well yet but I do know she is nowhere near her brother's level , nor is the rest of the class.

I keep getting complaints from parents that say their children tell them I'm going too fast. If I go any slower it's not going to be a fourth grade level anymore it's going to be more like second. And that's not going to help them at all when STAAR test comes around.

At the same time admin is telling me I'm going way too slow and if the kids can't keep up well f*** them. I wish I was kidding but I'm not.

Basically they are saying the kids are not that low, they only act stupid in social studies, because I and the other social studies teacher allow them to get away with it.

So I get to work early 2day, hoping to get some grading done because I am so behind. I open up my laptop and I see the email from the parent.

We are required to respond to every email within 24 hours so even though I was pretty sure I knew what it was saying because she has been complaining since school started I opened it up first. She tells me that I left her son behind, completely overlooked and neglected him all last year, & now I'm doing the same thing with her daughter.

About that time I mentally just shut down and really didn't try to read the rest but I know it was basically saying she didn't understand why her kids were being singled out and her daughter had only missed one day and how could she have possibly gotten so far behind only missing that one day and a bunch of other crap.

The last time I saw her son was earlier this year when we had meet the teacher night when he ran up and gave me a hug.

I told her if she really thought that I had ruined her son's edicational life in some way she was welcome to bring him to school after school or on the weekends and I would happily tutor him in whatever it was that he was missing in his history class that I had somehow caused.

I explained that because no one in that class listened to me the second week of school when I had them get on to Google classroom, when it was time for the quiz more than half of them could not take it because they had not gotten on Google classroom.

Simple instructions like open your browser, click on Google, click on Google classroom, click the plus button, and enter this code ---are way way too hard for them to follow as a class so I had to do it with every single kid individually. That caused even more time to pass. So it took two days to get tested when it should have only taken one. By the time I was able to get her daughrer in, it was the end of class. Her daughter missed the quiz that have been that day then she missed the test because she was absent the next day.

I told her from the bottom of my heart I do not know what more I could be doing and that I cannot slow down anymore without causing us to be even further behind than what we are.

I told her I was already teaching someone how to read during my lunch time but the way I saw it she had three options: she could switch her daughter to the other class which was going exactly as slow as minw was because the kids are all on the same level, I could have her daughter come in at lunch where I could tutor her at the same time that I was teaching the other girl English, or the lady herself could come visit my classroom, and tell me personally exactly how she wanted me to teach the class.

Then on top of all of that hubby finally went down to go get a new set of glasses. But because we live out in BFE we have one optometrist and one optical. And to have an updated eyeglasses prescription and a basic eye exam and the absolute cheapest pair of glasses they had cost a total of $900 with insurance

He has been wearing broken glasses for almost 2 years and absolutely refuse to go out of town to achieve her place then the classes were still in good enough condition he could wear them. Now they are so bad the lenses will not stay in and he is not able to drive with them. Plus I've got another appointment coming up out of town so he had to go and get glasses before he could drive me because I'm still not at the point where I can drive myself. All of this could have been taken care of last year for a quarter of the price. But no he only wants to do things on his terms when he wants to do it.

[raointean]

#OMG OMG YES #also is this my oportunity to share my headcanon of Bail being from a region far from the capital city of Alderaan #and that his family has some sort of past conflict/problem and that's where Bail's adventure spirit comes from #Because even when he was rised in an aristocratic/noble family his surroundings shaped a big part of who he is

@girlrandomstuff

*deep breath* Headcanon time! Sorry it took so long to get back to you on this, but I've been rotating this like a potato in a microwave for weeks now!

I definitely agree with you on all of this... and now I have a plot line! We now know from The Mask of Fear that Bail's grandfather was incredibly "results oriented" which caused a rift between him and Bail's father (who shall henceforth be called Mr. Prestor to avoid confusion). I think the grandfather was probably the type to demand absolute perfection from his children, and maybe it got to be too much for Mr. Prestor, causing him to pick up his wife and kids and move somewhere away from everything. (OR! Maybe Mr. Prestor moved away as a young man and married a rural/country/lower class girl, causing further estrangement!!!)

Now, estranged as he is from the main Prestor family, Mr. Prestor is still unholy rich. He has a big house, all the best technology, the best tutors for his children (I'm assuming Rouge and Tia are still Prestors until expressly told otherwise), and absolutely doesn't have to work (maybe he's some kind of artist?). However, all that money can't buy friends. The nobility won't go near Mr. Prestor because it would put them out of favor with his father (and possibly because of the marriage scandal). The non-nobility in the village nearby are friendly, because the Prestors buy their wares and employ some of them in their household, but there's a sharp class boundary there.

Bail doesn't care about class boundaries. He's a kid. He's bored, he's lonely, and he has Leia's unfortunate habit of running off the moment he's left unsupervised. The village kids also don't care all that much about class boundaries. Their parents have told them to be respectful to the Prestors, sure, but they don't understand why. All they know is that this random boy tumbled into the middle of their game and now he's their newest friend.

Bail would probably grow apart from them as the differences in means, education, and prospects became more obvious, but they would also have a lasting impact on him. It's going to affect the way he thinks about class, of course, but because kids pick up ways of speaking from their peers instead of their parents, he's also always going to sound like a villager from some out-of-the-way corner of Alderaan if he speaks naturally.

In short, the man can code-switch like nobody's business, and in the most hilarious way possible. He either sounds like a hick or an aristocrat. No inbetween.

Headcanon about Bail's accent

I noticed there is a rather sharp shift between Revenge of the Sith and Tales of the Jedi/The Bad Batch. (It's even thicker in those two than it was in Clone Wars, where he's portrayed by the same voice actor!)

The Republic, for all its flaws and corruption, is all about bringing different types of people together in pursuit of a common goal. In contrast, the Empire is all about being homogeneous. Everything must be The Same.

Now, they don't have time to worry about standardizing an Imperial dialect- they have much more important things to worry about, like non-humans in power *horrified gasp*. HOWEVER, someone suggests to Bail, who is from a lower prestige region of Alderaan (although he'd still have to come from an elite family to have gotten close enough to Breha to marry her, unless it's some kind of Jasmine and Aladdin situation), that he should consider changing his accent to be more like the "normal" (read: prestigious) Alderaanian accent.

Bail promptly dials his native accent up to eleven as a subtle "fuck you" to the Empire and everything it stands for.

[drsorrell]

Wed. 8.30.23

Reminders and Announcements

Office Hours: MWF 8-8:30/11:30-12 pm at library tables near our classroom or by appointment (in person or online).

Norton Stuff: Get Norton code and register for eBook, Chapter Tutorials, and InQuizitive on our Schoology site.

Writing Center: SVC has a great Writing Center whose tutors can really help you! I added the link to the Writing Center and the poster below with a QR code for sign up to our Schoology site as well!

Me Talking (Ch. 1)

You read Ch. 1, “‘THEY SAY’: Starting with What Others Are Saying” (19-31), and Ch. 21, Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill, “Should Everyone Go to College?” (488-505) for today. I'll try to break down Ch. 1 super quickly here and then let you guys handle Owen and Sawhill, then tell me about it:

Ch. 1: When you are making an argument--an argument about an idea, not like which place has the best wings!--you always need to start with what other people are saying. = I Say. WHY??? This sounds annoying.

(1) You need to show you are aware of the conversation that is already going on so that you seem informed and intelligent, like someone I should bother listening to.

(2) Attaching your argument or idea to an ongoing conversation or debate will make your audience more interested in it.

(3) By keeping on returning to what other people think or say with those "return sentences" your chapter mentions, you will be able to continually show how your own viewpoint is different and better!

This is how the They Say/I Say dynamic or "move" works, and I'll give you an example before asking you to write one of our own with some partners about Owen and Sawhill:

Example: People often make fun of the disaster of online education during the pandemic. They talk about things like "learning loss" and students not paying attention. This may be true. For me, as the parent of two school-aged children at the time, it definitely was. But, I would argue that the problem wasn't online education itself. The problem was the way we used it. We did the same kind of stuff in the classroom online, so, of course, it was boring. If we had tried new things, it would have worked better. For example, on Halloween, my daughter had a bag of crafts, and each online teacher taught a different craft that day; they threw 'learning" in a traditional sense out the window, and it worked great; the kiddos were all very excited!

You Talking (Activity)

I want you guys to break up into a couple different groups--no more than four people per group, and talk about the Owen and Sawhill chapter you read for today.

Come up with at least one They Say moment.

Then, come up with at least 2-3 I Say responses. Tell us what you really think. I'm interested! I went to college in the '90s, so I want to know what you all think about this stuff. Really.

Make sure you directly refer to the They Say claim when making your own I Say claim.

Try to write this stuff down, even if it's just in outline form because it might be helpful for your paper later! Then we'll all talk about it! You can do this on Schoology under Unit 1, which says Owen & Sawhill + TSIS Activity."This should also pop up on the right side of the main Schoology page for our class under Upcoming.

Discussion.

Homework

Read Ch. 21, Murray (506-526) and Graff (548-555).

Complete InQuizitive: “How to Use InQuizitive.

[kkb285shaniasurya]

KKB285

Creative Individual Concept Journal (maze park)

Name: Shania Surya

Student ID: n10646647

Tutor name: Sophia Mclnytre

Unit code: KKB285

Step 1 Record your observations, impressions, and research about the site, client, and brief (including mind-maps, and images)

First of all, Northshore is built on 304-hectare including public and private land which is placed along the 2,5km Brisbane river edge and located in the site of Brisbane River, Kingsford Smith Drive, and Gateway Bridge. Northshore is popular with the Eat Street area which supplies numerous experiences for local people and tourists. but, it is unworthy if the other sites are not developed. According to the client brief which is Economic Development Queensland part of Northshore wharf is made of timber and they also worked on container shipping which makes it distinctive. The main purpose is to develop this area to be linked with historical background and improve the site to become more interactive, originally, innovative, and a specific destination both for residents and tourists by placemaking.

Mind map about Northshore

Mind map about Northshore target audience

Example for quiz game on app

Example of placemaking ideas

-Maze garden with AR technology collaboration

-Floating market in the waterfront area

Step2 Brainstorming ideas, including sources of inspiration, concepts, and theories

The placemaking examples for waterfront projects:

The popular Lad Plee Floating Market operated in 1971 located at Chiang Mai, Thailand become an iconic place for tourist attractions (Pol Comaposada, n.d.). As it can be seen from Culture Trips (2017, 1:00) the concept is selling various goods, food, and drinks on the boat that gives a special feeling for visitors to try. All the good's price is very cheap and unique and the locals give a chance to bargain with the bottom price which is relatively low.

The examples of AR technology placemaking project:

Norton Art Museum at West Palm, Beach, Florida has launched apps called Norton Art+ works on AR technology that assist visitors to explore each museum artwork. By, scanning through the gadget it writes a piece of specific information about the artworks and provides guidance on the museum area that is virtually displayed. Norton Art+ invites young audiences to explore the contemporary 3D art concept and ideas by learning and playing through the picture virtually (Chadd Scott, 2020, para. 8). This art museum encourages tourists in all ages to imagine the process of the artworks that have been created. The AR technology produces 3D models combination of artworks to explain deeper understanding and left a pleasant impression for visitors. The development of AR technology has attracted more tourists and residents' intention to visit and know the history. It also enhances the growth of brand awareness (Joy Jan, 2022, para. 1-3).

Step 3 Research and compare your concept to similar, to existing projects

First of all, I research on maze park near me on google because I was wondering if there were any maze parks in Queensland but, in fact, there is one maze garden located on the sunshine coast where known as Amaze World. Then, during my research, I found Enchanted Adventure placed in Arthur Seats, in Melbourne. The theme park has won an award with five massive tube slides, followed by an indoor 3D dimensional indoor maze with four hedge mazes and numerous theme gardens. Both of the maze gardens are not developing the park with technology whereas this is a chance for us to improve the ideas. Moreover, these parks can be called family friendly because the activities and challenges inside the park are divided into two different age groups for children-teenager and adults which can be enjoyed by all ages. This concept is the most wonderful idea I can think of to meet the client brief criteria which are Economic Development Queensland. It also becomes a suitable idea to be applied, as it is calculated from the location and budget that is given. 

Why is it different from other similar projects?

The main thing is this maze park going to be connected with an app and collaboration of AR technology. Both combinations are to provide guidance and connection along the maze park adventure while visitor finds a way out to the finish line. During playtime, each checkpoint inside the maze garden gives a small quiz about the indigenous history of Northshore becomes one of the reasons why it is different from other similar projects. Besides, this project location is placed near the river site which can be enjoyed by parents or family. With the waterfront presence, it may give a sense of relaxation when they look through the river while accompanying their children.

Is the site-specific enough? 

Of course, it is. The Maritime green especially the site of the wharf area will be filled with the Maze park and this concept idea are focusing on the Northshore indigenous history through the game questions in the stages of the checkpoint line.  

Is it originality?

Yes, it is. The placemaking idea is integrating this free space to become a maze park as it ties a value of indigenous history that brings originality. The game's contents talk about Hamilton's history that will educate the tourists about the indigenous histories. Moreover, this is not a simple maze park and question game about Northshore history, this concept ideas develop an entertaining aspect with the AR technology. Furthermore, in Brisbane, this will be the only placemaking project that broadens up the knowledge of Hamilton's indigenous history that cooperate with an amazing park.

Is the concept valuable for Northshore? 

Yes, it is. Developing the wharf area is definitely upgrading the value of the Northshore site. Looking back to the client's request from this placemaking project, they seek for positive impact to attract the tourists and residents' attention to visiting the Northshore area as a destination. For now, the main place that audiences approach is the Eat Street site. Moreover,  with the maze park presence, it will change the environment where people can feel interesting to visit Northshore. For example, family or friends that live in the site area of Northshore can have a picnic and do some exercise in the park while their children go and have fun through the maze park. Furthermore, this project basically does not just give a sense of playfulness it brought the history of Northshore and some of the indigenous culture. 

Step 4 Focus on one main concept to progress, give an explanation of why you have chosen this concept, and how it meets the brief

Firstly, before I decide to use AR technology in this project development, there are multiple ideas popped up in my mind. But, nowadays technology development comes first. Then, I was considering the concept ideas I had chosen whether it is interactive, creative or originally to transform Northshore become a destination on reaching more visitors in accordance with the client's brief request. Moreover, I did some research about AR technology that has been used and spread in worldwide art galleries. Overall, I picked Norton Art Museum as my source of inspiration to create digital placemaking in this maze park project. However, rather than playing on a simple maze park, I broaden up new ideas which are to connect AR technology by using apps to integrate the historical site of Northshore. The maze park concept was built for a specific purpose which is to let visitors experience AR technology that works in nature. The AR technology going to be a virtual guide for visitors when they explore the maze park. Before, the visitor starts their challenges there is a video play on a big projector in the main entrance that will introduce an explanation of Northshore briefly and indigenous history. At every checkpoint, there will be a different QR code that leads the visitors to scan and answer simple questions about Northshore that they have watched at first. Each question has a time limitation to be answered. Upon the checkpoint section, there is a hint provided to assist visitors to find a way out. Each checkpoint contains points that can be exchanged for souvenirs at the finish line. For sure, this concept brings a lot of positivity to young people. The activity is able to improve young audiences' various skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, digital skill, analytical skill & time management. This will be the reason for visitors or parents to invite their kids or family to visit or come back to Northshore, because it does not only attract people to play games or have fun but, it gives new knowledge to young teenagers learning about this site.

Step 5 Economic Development Queensland as client brief (Budget $40,000-$70,000)

6. Concept Pitch

“Amaze you with an amazing maze park adventure”

The main concept of maze park is to attract visitors and give them a new experience by using AR technology that produces virtual images from a gadget that simply works by scanning a QR code. It will show specific instructions for visitors to go through the checkpoint to find a way out to the finish line. Moreover, every stage of the checkpoint is spreading the knowledge of indigenous history and is delivered to the player through the games.

Skill needed:

-teamwork (helping each other to find a way out)

-critical thinking (think of the easiest way out in a short time and get a higher point in answering a question)

-problem-solving (try to find a solution using the app if stuck inside the park or get lost)

-digital skills (photoshop, AR)

-analytical skill (examine new things)

References

Scott, C. (2020, December 17). Norton Museum Of Art Launching Cutting Edge App To Engage New Audiences With Contemporary Art. https://www.forbes.com/sites/chaddscott/2020/12/17/norton-museum-of-art-launching-cutting-edge-app-to-engage-new-audiences-with-contemporary-art/amp/

Jan, J. (2022, January 15). Digital AR in Tourism & Culture Engages More Visitors. Kivisense Blog. https://tryon.kivisense.com/blog/digital-ar-in-tourism-engages-more-visitors/

Comaposada, P. (n.d.). Floating Market of Thailand: A Complete Guide. https://www.inthailand.travel/floating-markets-of-thailand-guide/

Culturetrips. (2017, June 17). The Floating Markets of Thailand [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/7_vERda2YpY 

Iverson, K. (2017). An Introduction To Thailand's Floating Markets [Photograph]. Pixabay. https://theculturetrip.com/asia/thailand/articles/an-introduction-to-thailands-floating-markets/?amp=1

Jan, J. (2022). Significance of Web-based AR in Tourism and Culture [Photograph]. Chengdu Kivisense Technology Co., Ltd. https://tryon.kivisense.com/blog/digital-ar-in-tourism-engages-more-visitors/

Moore, T. (2022). Hedge Maze, Beer garden are latest ideas for Brisbane's Central Park [Photograph]. Brisbane Times. https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/hedge-maze-beer-garden-are-latest-ideas-for-brisbane-s-central-park-20190812-p52gbu.html

Kishore. (2022). Live Trivia Game App Concept [Photograph]. Dribble. https://pin.it/3Wwh9YS

Ariveti, S. (2022). Quiz Game App [Photograph]. Dribble. https://pin.it/1079Tk6

[wonder-womans-ex]

Curtain Call

Act one, scene one

Sirius finds him with his head in his hands, back against the brick wall of the information and technology building. He stops for a moment, wondering if he should go over there—ask what’s wrong, or offer assistance—then decides against it. 

He is Sirius Black, and Sirius Black does not help other people. 

Not anymore. 

So he continues on with his day. He walks past the crying boy into the theatre building, pausing by the bulletin board to pull a phone number slip from the bottom of a flyer that advertises free physics tutoring. It tears off at the area code. 

Great—just what this day needs. 

It gets significantly worse when he pushes through the stage door and bumps into Danya, who’s lurking behind the wings, black Abbey Road shirt blending in with the curtains. She smiles at him brightly. 

“Hi, Sirius,” she says. “I was just leaving. I could wait up, if you want—fancy getting lunch together?” 

There is exactly one good thing about Danya Lent, and that is the fact that she doesn’t giggle, or tuck her hair behind her ear, or look up at him through her eyelashes. She talks to him like he’s a regular person, not some sort of movie star. She’s not just attracted to his looks—she genuinely likes him. 

But Sirius just broke up with Remus. He’s not looking for a relationship. And Danya isn’t the kind of person he’d be interested in dating, anyway. She reminds him too much of James. 

“Sorry, Dan,” Sirius tells her, glancing towards where Professor Fischer is sitting at the piano centre stage. “I’ll probably be here for a while; I don’t want to keep you waiting.”

Make that two good things about her—she can take a hint. Danya just nods and grins. “All right. I’ll see you around, I guess!” 

And then she’s gone.

Sirius clears his throat before approaching the professor, startling the older man out of whatever trance he’s in. Fischer’s eyebrows shoot up comically when he sees Sirius, and he pats the spot next to him invitingly. 

Sirius steps forward, sliding onto the piano bench. He absentmindedly plucks a note—D#, he thinks, but it’s been years since he quit piano lessons—and waits. 

“I was quite impressed by your performance yesterday,” Fischer says, and Sirius’s heart sinks. Professor Fischer throws around words of praise like they’re buy-one-get-two-free, and ‘quite impressed’ does not fall high on the sliding scale of compliments. 

“Thank you, sir,” he says anyway, because he knows better than to say anything else. 

But apparently the professor isn’t done yet. “I had been wondering,” he begins, fingers dancing over the keys, yet never making a sound, “Whether you’d given any thought to that course I suggested.”

“What, the creative writing one?” Sirius’s voice, though he tries hard for it not to, gives away his surprise. He’d assumed that Fischer had been recommending the free creative writing seminar to everyone in his class, not him specifically. He’s never had a way with words—not ones that weren’t already scripted out for him, at least. 

“Yes, that one. It’s not like most of the courses we offer here—it’s led entirely by alumni of the university, and most of them are very good writers. I think it would be good for you.”

Now Sirius is intrigued. “In what way?”

“You’e an incredible actor, Mr. Black, but what you struggle with is finding the purpose behind the words.”

(Sirius thinks he has purpose down to a science, but he’s not about to say that to Professor Fischer.)

“Oh, sure, you know what the characters are feeling and why. You have a way with the people you play. But what you lack is the concept of an author.

“I’ve had an eye on you for a while, and what I’ve found is this: if Eloise is walking down the street, you know why she is walking down the street. But you do not know why the person writing the script made the conscious choice to have her walk down the street. You get so caught up in the fiction that you forget it is based in fact. Do you understand this?”

Professor Fischer’s accent gets more pronounced the more passionate he is, and right now he sounds as if he would be right at home on the streets of Berlin. Sirius nods slowly. 

“I think I get it,” he says. “I need to know what goes into the making of a story before I can make the story come alive.”

For this he gets a smile. “Four o’clock on Wednesdays in the Rogers lecture room. You’ll be there?” 

“Yeah. Yeah, I will.” 

***

And, sure enough, Wednesday afternoon finds Sirius standing in the middle of a hallway, wondering where the hell the Rogers lecture room is. He checks his watch—4 minutes to go. He’s glad he got there early, but at this rate, it won’t make much of a difference. 

He contemplates just leaving. He didn’t sign up for the class or anything (wait, was he supposed to?) and it’s not like there would be roll call or anything anyway. But he trusts Professor Fischer, and at least this seminar is something to do that isn’t scrolling through his old texts with Remus and crying. 

When someone bumps into him, he turns around. It’s a girl with shoulder-length auburn hair and a lip ring. Her eyes are green—piercingly so—and he opens his mouth and closes it again a few times trying to remember what he was going to say. 

At first, he thinks oh, fuck, we’re back to being flusted around pretty girls. Wonderful. But then he realizes that while she’s attractive, sure, from an objective point of view, he’s not really attracted to her. 

He’s actually a little bit scared of her. No, scratch that, very scared of her. Maybe it has something to do with the vicious glare she’s sending him. 

“Um,” he says, finally. “Sorry. Do you by any chance know where the Rogers lecture room is?”

She purses her lips and nods, striding past him further down the hall. After a moment, he follows her to the elevator and waits as she jabs aggressively at the up button. There’s a long, awkward silence while the elevator gets to their floor, broken only by the loud ding when it arrives. 

The ride up between floors is even more painful, if that’s possible. Sirius tries to occupy himself by looking at the ceiling, which is mirrored, so he looks at the wall instead. It’s patterned like a booth in some sort of high-class restaurant—greenish, with vaguely paisley-shaped blotches here and there. 

Finally, they arrive at a hallway identical to the one they came from. The walls are the same off-white; the floors have the same grey carpeting. If he didn’t know better, Sirius would say they hadn’t moved at all. 

The girl walks out, the soles of her pink high-tops squeaking until she’s out of the elevator and into the hall. She turns around. 

“Well, come on, then,” she tells him, voice not at all how he had expected. It’s the first time he’s heard her speak, and he’s surprised at the eastern accent. Nova Scotia, he guesses, or New Bruinswick. He nods wordlessly. 

He finds himself being led into a small lecture room—smaller than any he’s ever been in, anyway—with fifteen or so other students milling around, chatting and laughing. On the whiteboard at the front of the room, someone’s written Glendale A.L.L. Creative Writing Seminar. 

Looking left, then right, and finding that his red-haired saviour has vanished into the crowd, he sits down at the very back of the room. He has around thirty seconds of awkwardly waiting for something to happen before there’s a shout of “Sit down and shut up!” from somewhere near the front. 

When the smoke clears—or, if he abandons the metaphors, everyone else has chosen a seat and he can actually see who’s speaking—it turns out the person addressing the room is the same girl who led him there. She’s smiling, now, unlike when she was with him, and her hands are outstretched in front of her. 

“Hi, everyone! Welcome to the A.L.L., or Alumni-Led Lectures, creative writing seminar—free, because we know you’re university students and you therefore have no money.” This gets a ripple of laughter from the seated students, and her shoulders rise a little more. Sirius knows why; positive audience feedback does the same thing to him. “I’m Lily Evans, and I graduated from University of Glenrow last year with a bachelor’s in Engligh lit. I’m going to be your main instructor for the next few months. Here with me to help me out, because I wouldn’t be able to do it on my own, is my good friend John Lupin.”

A boy, tall and lanky, peels himself away from the wall and goes to stand beside her. She says something else, but Sirius doesn’t hear it, because his eyes are fixed on her companion and his ears are ringing. 

Whatever Lily says, that boy’s name isn’t John. 

It’s Remus. 

And he broke up with Sirius two weeks ago. 

[chessdaze]

Three Wishes Institute - A TWST fanschool

Reposting this as I’ve changed my URL which broke all the links in my previous lore post, and since I’ve gotten a lot of new followers lately and wanted them to be able to read it properly.

First off, as a concept, Three Wishes is a fanschool for twisted wonderland that involves characters that are considered ‘side’ or ‘background’ or even ‘comic relief’ characters from disney franchises. Right now I only have 6 dorms, and characters range from being on both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ sides of a story.

Here’s the lore rundown for the main school itself and a brief summary on the dorms and characters I will be designing for them. Under readmore cause this is HELLA long and I don’t want to make people scroll for forever:

The overall story of Three Wishes:

The Headmistress and Master, Amelia Bell and Reed Dearly (based on Anita and Roger from 101 dalmatians), only recently got the school property. Before them, the school was known to be really rundown, a failure, and pretty much on the verge of closing. While it was a school for magic, it was like all the magic was zapped out of the school itself. It was filled with delinquents and very few students who actually cared. Most dropped out if anything.

Amelia was a teacher at the school for a little over a year and the only teacher that students really respected and bothered showing up to class for. She hated seeing the school in the state it was in and tried pleading with the headmistress of the school to try and change things - however was constantly told it was too late and that the school would be closing. It did, and Amelia had to look for jobs elsewhere. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that she could have done more and found herself drawn back to the crumbling school on more than one occasion. She decided to sneak in one day to see if she could find a hint of anything from the old headmistress - who had disappeared without a trace - to see if she could get in contact with her. This wasn’t her idea of course, but her (boyfriend at the time) Reed’s.

Eventually they did track down the headmistress and found her terribly ill. Amelia insisted that the two of them care for her, despite all that the headmistress had done to shun Amelia beforehand. They did, and during that time Amelia explained the hopes she had previously had for the school - she said how she wanted a school that anyone could feel welcome to apply, and not have some special ceremony for acceptance (like the carriages for NRC). She believed people could be equals and that as a magical community they should all help one another. The old headmistress was moved by Amelia’s words and when she back to health she revealed herself to be a powerful sorceress (the enchantress from Beauty and the Beast. No design as of now). She explained she had been looking for a worthy successor for the school and her magic but didn’t find Amelia fitting at the time, but saw the kindness in Amelia’s heart and offered her the deed to the school and the surrounding grounds. She wanted to see what Amelia would do with the school and was interested if she could really bring a community together like she explained. Then, she disappeared.

Amelia and Reed worked to renovate the school, taking nearly 2 years on the project. Amelia comes from a wealthy family, but even then funds were not endless, so a lot of fundraising was done to also raise awareness for the reopening school. At first there wasn’t much interest but it slowly got more and more traction. With donations and family money, they were able to complete the school. The two of them also got engaged during this time. Even with them rebuilding the mainschool and doing some maintenance on the dorms themselves, there are some secrets that even the two of them are still learning, as the sorceress took off before giving them the full details on the school itself.

The school’s aim is to not only teach its students magic, but the foundation of being a good person, being helpful and selfless. The school holds a lot of community and fundraising events, and there is even a mandatory volunteering class where students have to spend a certain amount of hours volunteering for a local community service. This school hopes to bridge the gap between the elite and average magic users, showing that deep down everyone is human and deserving of respect and a chance to grow.

This school doesn't have completely different areas for the dorms and it's all actually located on a large campus ground.The main school building is about 4 stories, there's a greenhouse and an auditorium in separate buildings.

The dorms are all two or three stories and are all relatively distant from each other, enough to give each dorm a good spot of land around it. Think a mansion with a large yard. When passing through the front gate for the dorm there's magic that makes it appear in a slightly different scenery - so the students don't always have the school looming in the background and can relax. The dorm's scenery is different between each dorm and it can change with each 'dorm representative'.

There aren't really dorm 'leaders' as there are representatives. Normally about two or three for each dorm - though can only be one if the person proves themselves to be capable / no one else is voted. Each dorm will have a meeting once a month to go over things that the dorm needs to address either internally or with the school or other dorms, and then the representatives bring those concerns to a meeting with the school's staff and other dorm representatives. Think more like a student council and class presidents. The representatives make almost all decisions together. Reps are voted for each year within a dorm, and the voting is taken pretty seriously.

The dorm rep duties outside of the meetings is mostly just like a college RA. They make sure people are following the rules, help solve problems between students in their dorm, plan and hold events, etc.

The dorms:

While students are separated into dorms in this school, the headmaster and mistress try to stress the fact that they are all one community. Friendly rivalry is encouraged but ultimately the matter of dorms is just where the students end up living and placing them near people who can better help those around them. The two in charge don’t want the dorms to become too competitive or to alienated from one another - so there’s actually a lot of cross dorm events and even friends staying over at other friends dorms for days on end at times.

As a note, as long as it’s not inappropriate, students are encouraged to wear anything they want as their ‘dorm uniform’. Standard school uniforms are required on the main campus but as Headmaster Reed puts it - there’s no reason for them to tell the students what to wear in their own house. Plus, the school isn’t as well funded as most other private schools, so not having a lot of uniforms to keep up with is better for them in the long run. They don’t even have a formal ceremonial robe like NRC does, but I will be posting about the uniforms in a different post.

Now onto the dorms themselves.

Cinderella dorm: Nightingale Founded on the hard work and dedication of a princess’s companions, members of this dorm are no strangers to teamwork and getting the job done. It’s said that there’s no miracle students in this dorm can’t pull off in a short amount of time. Members of this dorm are close and they will drop anything they’re doing to help another. 

Read the profiles for the students apart of this dorm here!

Snow White: Diamanttobar Founded on the tradition and devotion of miners, members of this dorm specialize in working long hours and putting 100% into everything they do.They might be hard to win over, but once you have their companionship little will shake their loyalty. Students here notice the smaller details and are said to be able to craft nearly anything.  

Read the profiles for the students apart of this dorm here!

Aladdin: Wondrous Founded on the cleverness and protective instincts of a royal couple’s most trusted confidants, members of this dorm sometimes have questionable methods but overall have hearts of gold. Students in this dorm are proactive in calling out unfair rules and try to work for changes and reforms to improve the lives of those around them.

Read the profiles for the students apart of this dorm here!

Mulan: Guardian Founded on the honor and strength of dragons, students of this dorm are known to follow a code of honor and are very protective of one another. They are great with helping other student’s physical and mental well beings, acting as trainers and confidants.

Read the profiles for the students apart of this dorm here!

AiW: Lapinhole Founded on the curiosity and madness of a queen’s subjects, members of this dorm are known to be eccentric and creative. A lot of students in this dorm are mysterious and have a strange method of helping others, but even through the confusion a lot of students rely on students from this dorm for a little more fun in their lives.

Read the profiles for the students apart of this dorm here!

Beauty and the Beast: Servireu Founded on the faith and loyalty of a Beast Prince’s servants, members of this dorm are known to be generous, not judgemental, and helpful to those around them. A lot of these students are at the top of their classes and are known for being excellent tutors for others. Though a little eccentric, they obviously mean well and have good intentions.

Read the profiles for the students apart of this dorm here!

Annnnddd that’s it! I plan to possibly redo my dorm lore dump post aswell as make a separate post for the uniforms once I have them designed. also the staff will be getting their own posts aswell when I finish their designs too.

[simpingforseijoh]

high school oikawa head canons to feed your soul.

was probably nominated for student body president at some point. won, but declined because y'all know volleyball is his main and only priority.

he and the rest of the seijoh four gang have claimed a corner on the roof as their lunch spot and everyone probably respects it. usually it's just them, but occasionally he invites some of their kouhai ( usually kunimi and kindaichi ).

almost always sits next to iwaizumi too.

definitely at the top of his class, or at least near there.

he takes the prettiest color coded notes and the girls in the class constantly ask to borrow his pens to the point where he just brings extras. his notes also have little alien/volleyball related doodles all over them and it's just about the cutest thing ever.

is the type of senpai to tutor his kouhai ( totally not based off that one oikuni fan art where he helps kunimi study for a test 👀 ).

almost always almost late on days where they don't have morning practice.

always does well on partnered projects, but prefers to work alone ( or with one of his friends).

started wearing his glasses to school after the karasuno v. shiratorizawa match bc he thinks they make him look more sophisticated.

somehoe swindles iwa-chan into buying him milk bread after practice every single day.

lowkey a teachers pet when he wants to be bc damn is he good with sweet talking adults

absolutely hates math. it's the devil.

i have a thing for oiks actually being pretty good at english. he's definitely the type of person to have a social media following ( thought it's just him being an absolute dork and probably mostly takeru updates and stuff ) and as a result a couple international friends?? maybe??

kunimi is his favorite first year kouhai and it absolutely shows. oikawa is a mama bear change my mind.

gives the best class presentations.

probably a little bit of a class clown but isn't over the top if that makes sense.

always gets extra's at lunch bc the lunch lady likes him. probably steals the pudding cups for takeru bc he likes them.

has probably attempted showed off to takeru how popular he is, but takeru steals all the attention more often than not.

matsuhana iwaoi traded second buttons with each other at graduation change my mind.

was probably valedictorian.

idk what graduation is like in japan, but the third years on the volleyball team probably had their jersey numbers on their hats gn.

[mybeautifulbeautifuleternal]

Rainy Day Forts

rating: still as fluffy as i can make it

words: 1.6k

warnings: none

AO3

summary: Claire has fun with the Hargreeves and they build a Blanket Fort on a Rainy day.

It was a rainy day — a complete downpour — weeks after the Tea Party. During that time, Claire had thoroughly wrapped the entire family around her small fingers. She knew it and she used it for her advance. Claire had certain activities she enjoyed doing with certain family members.

Five was right — Claire was absolutely brilliant and she shone in everything that she did. Vanya was delighted to be asked to tutor Claire with the violin. And it might have been only a couple of weeks but the entire family was extremely proud of the progress that Claire had made. They had even talked about getting together one night to allow Claire to play a small concert for them.

In the meantime, they had set aside a room for a formal music room. They had combined some of the smaller bedrooms, replacing the old, smaller windows with some new larger ones, allowing plenty of light to enter the room. They made sure it was near the main hallway, wanting the family to be able to hear them when they were playing. Luther and Diego had acquired and moved a grand piano into the room, and Claire, Vanya, and Allison were learning to play together. 

Diego was equally delighted when Claire started stalking him throughout the Academy, mimicking everything that he was doing. He was less pleased when Allison Rumored him to punch himself in the face following the incident of Claire and the knife. (Diego had taken the fact that Claire was following him around to mean she needed to know how to throw Diego’s knives. Five privately agreed but he knew better than to voice it aloud. Allison happened upon the two of them in one of the remote training halls and the yelling that erupted had dragged the rest of the siblings to witness their fight. Klaus had brought popcorn and Five had to restrain himself from joining his brother in eating some.) 

After the Rumor, Allison and Diego had left Claire with Mom and had taken a walk together. In the end, Claire had lessons in knife throwing three times a week and Diego now knew what it was like to be under a predator’s eye. Allison a hovering presence at all times.

Luther and Claire were building a greenhouse in the backyard. They had taken over some of the abandoned rooms that shared a wall with the backyard, knocking down a lot of those walls and extending that empty space with glass. The greenhouse was still very much in the planning stages but from what Five had glimpsed of their blueprints, it was going to be fantastic. During their planning and building sessions, Luther was pelted with questions about the moon. Diego had almost strained his eyes from his eye-roll but Claire was ecstatic. She had question after question, a never-ending stream that wanted to know everything there was to know about the moon. 

Five was astonished to know that Luther had actually completed quite a bit of college-level work in degrees in aeronautical and mechanical engineering with minors in physics in preparation for his trip. Five knew that Luther had wanted to go to the moon since they were knee-high to a grasshopper but Five didn’t realize how extensive Luther’s preparations were. 

And Luther really knew his stuff, managing to teach Claire (and the rest of them by osmosis) quite a bit of a variety of topics ranging from biology to astrophysics.

Ben had taken on the task of expanding Claire’s reading ability. Already at a high level for her age, Ben was reading her Austen, Morrison, Lahiri, Hosseini, Cisneros, Faulkner, Dickens… Ben was a fountain of knowledge on classic authors and new books worth the read. He spread it over a range of subjects and genres, men and women authors, POC and white equally. 

Ben had taken over the hour or two before lunch, reading aloud to the family. They had started it in random rooms at first but after the first week, the siblings had converted one of the smaller training halls into a new library. It was filled with soft surfaces and calming colors. They had wanted it to be as far from the harsh library and classrooms the siblings were used to growing up. They had moved in plush sofas, a multitude of beanbags, and armchairs that one sunk into. The walls were lined with bookshelves, carefully color-coded.

Claire was in charge of placing where the books go and Five knew she had a complicated system in place to organize her favorite books. 

Klaus and Claire continued with their weekly tea parties, sometimes suckering other family members into joining them, sometimes it being just them. They were also learning to bake and cook with Mom. Klaus was trying his best to stay sober this time around, not wanting to fall back into his bad habits. He had three years of sobriety in recent memory and Klaus knew he could do it. He had decided one of the best ways to distract himself was to spend time with his niece. 

Claire had asked how Mom had baked the chocolate chip cookies — the best she had ever had. Mom had been delighted to teach someone to cook — none of her kids had had the urge to learn and now she had two willing students. Klaus made an effort to attend every one of her lessons. It had made for a lot of inedible treats mixed among Mom’s delicious ones. There was now a point system keeping track of who had the most success in bypassing the nasty treats.

Vanya was winning and nobody was sure how. 

Besides their tea parties and cooking classes, Klaus and Claire also put on little skits and plays. They weren’t on any sort of schedule — whenever one of them had an idea for one, they were acting it out for the family’s pleasure. Most of the time it was nonsensical, random nonsense that Klaus or Claire had dreamt up but sometimes they conscripted Ben to help write up some sort of script.

It was always a big affair when they were getting ready for a show — music blaring through the house, some props being dug out of a dark corner of the house, and makeup and costumes being put on. Then the entire family would gather and watch the actors. 

Five thought it was ridiculous and a waste of his time, but Claire lit up every time so he put up with it.

Claire and he did a little bit of everything. He was teaching her several languages, training her in self-defense, and because of a bit of trickery from Claire, he was also her clothing designer guinea pig. They spent many a day haunting the mall and local craft shops, and Five had a lot more appreciation for needles as a valid weapon of choice.

But today...today it was pouring cats and dogs. The scent of rain permeated their noses and the hot chocolate that Mom had made for them lulled them into sleepy contentment. They had all piled into Claire’s library after breakfast, it being the comfiest room in the house. Nobody had moved very much, Luther being the most active — changing the records out as they finished one.

Mom, on her circuit of the house, had only laughed at them a little and promised to bring them up some sandwiches for lunch.

It was after lunch that some life had flowed back into the family. Claire had seemingly gained a second wind to match her determined look and when she stood up from her armchair, the seven siblings focused on her.

“I wanna build a blanket fort!”

And that set a fire under their asses. They were all up and moving, collecting blankets, pillows, support objects, and time-wasters. Soon enough, they had the softest and thickest blankets in the house hanging from various angles of the room, pillows lining the floor and providing backrests against various furniture pieces, and the time-wasters — novels, coloring books, board games, and card games — were spread out, waiting for their turn to be used.

Diego had bailed early, leaving the room to gather up Mom with her snacks and Pogo with some of his reading material. But soon enough all ten of them were snuggled down into the greatest blanket fort ever made.

They spent the rest of the day within their fort. They left only for bathroom breaks—and in Mom’s case, to make dinner.

And as the rain slowly tapered off, and the sunset lit the room up in various shades of pink and purple, and as his family slowly fell asleep, Five smiled.

He thought that this family was worth all the stress these wackos gave him, but as Diego shoved one of his smelly feet into his face, Five had to remember he chose to come back. He reminded himself that he loved them and didn’t actually want to harm them.

But maybe some light stabbing was just going to be his way of showing familiar affection.

Five was sure Diego would live — Five couldn’t be the first person to want to stab him.

He was happy, finally. It had taken much too long but he was finally back where he belonged. Surrounded by his family both new and old, surrounded by their love.

[highqueenofelfhame]

As soon as they were out of the car, Aelin was reaching for Aedion and lacing their fingers together. Lysandra appeared on her other side, arm looping through her own as they surrounded her as a steadying force. Aedion pressed a kiss to her temple, murmuring that he would be right beside her the whole time. It felt silly, needing so much support to walk into a house, but it was support that she couldn’t be without today. 

They stood in front of the manor, the place she had grown up. Her home. Aelin had still failed to go inside, but she wanted to visit the grounds before bringing Rowan back to go through her father’s study. The primary concern was that if she didn’t, she would have some sort of a breakdown over the whole affair. 

The manor itself was massive. When they’d pulled up to the front, they circled the large fountain before parking in front of the stairs that lead to the main entry. To her right, the green house jutted out slightly, the large dome of the glass ceiling sparkling in the sun. Stone banisters curled around the greenhouse, snaking around the back of the manor. Nearly all the window panes were covered in ivy, even the main portion of the house that leaned on being more gothic-style in architecture with spires reaching for the clouds. 

Banisters lined the flat roof, a place Aedion and Aelin had spent many nights pointing out constellations and dozing under the cover of the moon. When they got older, Sam had joined them, too. It’d always been something special, something soothing when things were rough. Part of her wished desperately that she had let herself grieve her parents and Sam with Aedion up on that roof, shielded by the dark blanket of the night. But it was a little late for that now. 

Exhaling slowly, she released Aedion’s hand to begin her ascent up the stairs. She was careful to avoid the icy patches on the steps that had yet to completely thaw under the mid-morning sun. With her support system behind her, she couldn’t help but feel her stomach twisting at how odd it felt to be going home at long last. It was familiar, it was home. But somehow it felt foreign and cold. 

Aelin pulled out the key and unlocked the door, a heavy exhale dropping from her lips as the door swung open to reveal the grand staircases on either side of the entry. In the center was an abundant floral arrangement on a large marble table. It was opulent and every bit the home you’d expect a Lord and Lady of Terrasen to live in. 

Down the hall to the left, sugary confections were being made in the kitchens. The smell made her stomach grumble and tugged her toward it, begging her to go see, to go taste. If she’d missed anything about life at the manor, it was Marion Lochan’s baking she had so often snuck down to the kitchens for in the middle of the night. She followed the smells, taking in the sight of the manor that remained, for the most part, completely unchanged. 

When she reached the door to the kitchen, a voice was humming along to a song and she knew immediately who the voice belonged to. Pushing into the room, she received a double-take from both women behind the counter before the younger of the two was bounding across the room and throwing her arms around her neck. 

“Oh, Aelin!” She breathed, squeezing her tightly. Aelin melted into her embrace as Marion joined them, kissing Aelin’s head and running a hand through her hair. It was impossible to resist melting into the embrace, to feel a motherly touch after so long of living the way she had been. Her life the last few years had been hard, by no one’s fault but her own, and she sorely regretted not coming back to this sooner. Her eyes instantly teared up as she shifted to hug Marion tightly, her face pressing into the matron’s neck.

Marion was the head of household. When her parents were away, she had often been in charge of Aelin and everything that entailed. As a young girl, she’d played and tutored with Elide constantly. When Elide had grown older she had become Aelin’s hand maid. However, they were so much more than servants or people that worked in the house. They were family, and that was that. 

Marion was like a second mother. Not in the sense that Evalin Ashryver had ever for a second been inadequate in any way. In fact, her mom was the best mother in the world, she’d wager. But Marion had always been a steady constant in her life, had always been there if Evalin was out of reach. Marion and Evalin had been the best of friends, sisters of sorts. Elide had quickly become the same to Aelin, someone that had become like a little sister that she’d never had. Elide had harbored all of Aelin’s secrets like a sister, never once selling her out for sneaking out her bedroom window to spend nights on the lake with Sam. 

“Welcome home, my love,” Marion said softly against her hair, hands running soothingly over her shoulder blades. She pulled back slightly, wiping the tears from Aelin’s cheeks. Elide, however, was beaming. 

“Aedion mentioned you were due to come by today. We’re making your favorite.” 

“Chocolate hazelnut cake!” She exclaimed, having known as soon as the front door had opened what would be awaiting her down the hall. “Thank you. Really, you didn’t have to.”

“Go finish having a look,” Marion insisted. “I’ll call for you when it’s finished.” So following instruction, Aelin nodded and left the kitchen to explore the house that had built her.

Not a single thing had changed, even when she got to her own bedroom. It had been kept tidy and clean, nothing out of place and no dust bunnies in sight. Her school books were still stacked on her desk by the window, her bed was made with all nine pillows overflowing the plush duvet. The book shelves that covered half the room remained color coded and as pristine as she’d left them. Her fingers traced the letters down the spines of some of the titles. Some of them were first editions of classics worth tons of money, and she felt guilt rising up in her chest for leaving them unattended for so long. 

Pausing near the window, she touched the white gossamer curtains and frowned. The purple, silver, and white color scheme somehow didn’t fit her anymore. As soon as she was back downstairs, she made a mental note to request a change of color scheme to better suit her tastes now. 

From the curtains, her gaze shifted to the desk where a photo of her and Sam was perched front and center. Immediately, her chest was squeezing and contracting, her throat burning with tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. Her lips were pressed to his cheek and he was smiling in a wide, goofy grin. Their hair was sprinkled with snow, their noses and cheeks nipped with cold. Aelin glanced over her shoulder at Aedion, who took a few steps toward her.

Instead of speaking, Aelin shook her head to halt him as she moved to her closet. Dress after dress lined the left side, so many of them unworn. All of her casual clothes had been packed up by Lysandra and were at her apartment now, so the right side of the closet remained mostly bare. She stepped back into the main room, not bothering to glance at the bathroom before exiting back into the hall and turning toward her parents’ rooms. Aedion walked beside her down to the west wing, his hand a reminder that he was there as he rested it on her lower back. 

When she pushed open the doors, her hands began to shake because everything was perfect. 

Perfect, like they would be coming home any minute. Her mother would be home to take a hot bath and slip into more casual clothes, her dad would disappear into his study until dinner. After dinner, they’d watch a movie while she studied for exams, or go downtown to the antique shops they frequented every week. 

When she stepped into the closet, she was nearly brought to her knees. Everything was so perefectly preserved that she swore she could smell their perfume, their cologne. Harder her hands shook as she picked up the bottle of perfume on a shelf and sniffed, tears falling down her cheeks in white hot streaks that she couldn’t stop. When the sobs began, she couldn’t stop them. The bottle slipped from her hands and shattered all over the marble floor. Small pieces of glass grazed the skin of her ankles in the explosion, drawing blood and stinging as the perfume settled into her skin. The scent was overwhelming as she dropped to her knees, sobbing in the mess until Aedion scooped her into his arms and carried her from the closet. 

“I’m sorry,” she cried. “I’m so sorry, Mama. I’m so sorry.” The confessions poured out of her, that she was sorry for not finishing school, for disappointing them. That she was sorry for wasting her life. She even turned her face up to Aedion’s as he held her and apologized to him, too, for all the trouble she’d given him over the years. With her entire body shaking, she pressed her face into his shoulder and sobbed. 

There, curled up in Aedion’s lap in her parents’ old bedroom, she wept and wept until there were no more tears to cry. 

~*~

“Ace, you know I hate this creepy ass building.” Aedion had a look of distaste curling his lip as she walked them into the mausoleum. Eyes rolling, she pulled open the gate and gestured for them to get inside.

“I need to show you something.”

“What could she possibly need to show me in a crypt?” He grumbled to Lysandra, who elbowed him roughly in the ribs. Once inside, Aelin unlocked the secret door. The look on Aedion’s face was priceless as it crumpled with complete and utter confusion at the whirring and churning sounds coming from the walls. When the wall jutted out, his jaw dropped open, but his complaints about the crypt didn’t stop. Not even when Aelin had revealed the hidden space that Rowan, Fenrys, and Aelin affectionately referred to as the Bunker. 

Aedion had as many questions as Aelin, and she didn her best to explain. It was easy to see that this was as much a surprise to him as it had been to her; Aedion’d had no idea what her father had been up to down there. It seemed he’d only ever been trained in the family businesses, not whatever this was. She watched him carefully as he took in all the writing on the walls, as he traced a finger along what could only be described as the conspiracy wall. 

“When did you find all this?”

“A few weeks ago. That day I found that note in your desk. Fen has been helping. Dr. Whitethorn - Rowan - he thinks that they were murdered. And I think he’s right.” Aelin was twisting the hem of her shirt in her hands anxiously. Aedion let out a whoosh of air like it had been knocked clean from his lungs, and as his eyes fell shut he quietly said, “Tell me everything you know.”

~*~

Friday rolled around quicker than she had expected. She was down in the bunker, packing up every bit of information that had been left behind. They had spent the last two days organizing all the information into a foolproof system that would make it easy to find anything they sought out. After taking multiple photos of the conspiracy, they began to dismantle that, too, so they could later rebuild it at a different location. 

Aelin’s hair was braided down her back, stray strands around her face sticking to the slight swear she’d managed to work up while heaving boxes around. She had just finished packing another when she heard her name being shouted from outside. Lysandra immediately opened her mouth to make a snarky comment, but Aelin cut her off. “He’s my doctor. And a friend. And he’s helping.”

“Helping you orgasm?” Aedion snorted at his girlfriend while Aelin threw an old passport at her like a frisbee. Her friend hissed in response. 

“No, that’s what Fenrys is for,” she countered, sticking her tongue out as Rowan descended the stairs looking criminally good in a leather jacket. 

“Fenrys is for what?” 

“Nothing,” Aelin said, the same time Lysandra said “Aelin’s orgasms.” The blonde shot an incredulous look at her friend, putting the lid on the last box and moving it to sit by the stairs. “I’m going to kill you.” Rowan’s face looked indifferent, but there was something about the way his mouth tensed at the corners. 

“Why are you packing everything up?” Rowan took the box from Aelin and carried it up the stairs behind her. Once outside, her eyes shifted from the snow-capped mountains in the distance to Rowan’s face. She chewed on her bottom lip as he deposited the box into the back of a moving van. “You don’t want my help anymore?”

“No. I mean, yes, I do want your help. I was going to talk to you about it in the study.” Rowan’s fingers grazed the outside of her elbow and she turned to face him. “I think I need to go to Rifthold. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how often my family went to Rifthold. Sam went on weekend trips all the time and I always thought it was just to do with seeing his mother’s grave but now I’m not so sure.” Their breath mingled between them, hanging in the air and drifting away in little clouds. With his cheeks and nose flush from the cold, he looked younger somehow. 

“If you’re going to Rifthold, I -”

“I know you can’t help me from here. Not easily, but I thought -”

“Would you let me speak without interrupting?” He quipped, a brow arched. Aelin pressed her lips into a thin line, frustrated that he wouldn’t let her finish. She needed - “If you’re going to Rifthold… I’ll have to sort out some things first but I’m going with you. I respected your father too much to let you do that alone. It could be dangerous, and I wouldn’t ever forgive myself if something happened to you.” He said it so bluntly, like it was the obvious choice, that without thinking she threw her arms around his neck. Rowan seemed surprised at first, but after a moment his hands braced against her back. When they finally separated, she looped her elbow through his and nodded toward the house. 

“Let’s go sift through the study.”

~*~

Fenrys was lounging on her bed in the manor while she dug through the formal gowns in her closet. It had been a week since Rowan agreed to go to Rifthold. Ever since, getting there and sorting out what her parents had been so hell bent on uncovering was her top priority. It seemed, based on all the research in the bunker, that her parents thought it had something to do with magic. Doing so would require going to some parties to mingle with the Royal family, so she was neck deep in her most expensive gowns at the moment.

She wouldn’t be going to Rifthold as Aelin Galathynius, it had been decided. It was too risky if her family had genuinely been murdered. If she was found in Rifthold she could meet a similar fate and she wasn’t too keen on that happening before she figured out what was going on. She hadn’t seen any of the royals since she was thirteen, and she liked to think she looked quite a bit different as a mature, young woman. She also planned to dye her hair when she got there, making her even more unrecognizable. 

“This one?” She stepped back out into her rooms, holding a black velvet dress to her body. After a moment, she turned it to show him the back and Fenrys gave her a low whistle. 

“Whitethorn would lose his mind if he saw you in that,” he said, shaking his head. Aelin paused and looked over her shoulder at him. 

“What?” 

“What?” He repeated, brows raised.

“Why would -”

“I mean, I certainly would. Why wouldn’t he?” The grin on his lips was sheepish and his eyes dropped to look at the cream sheets he lay on. Soon, all the gowns would be packed up and hung in the back of the moving van, all ready to go for Rifthold. With narrowed eyes, Aelin walked over to Fen and plopped onto the mattress beside him, wiggling to tug the nightgown she’d been wearing when he showed up down her thighs. 

“Are you nervous?” Fenrys’ weight shifted and she turned her head to look at him properly. He was rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.

“I’m tired is what I am,” she sighed. It was the truth. Mentally, emotionally, physically, the girl was completely wiped. Sleep didn’t come as easy as it used to. Lately, her nightmares of the accident had started back up again. Not to mention the nightmares she had of her parents being murdered right before her eyes. Dreams of Sam pulling her onto a dance floor, wedding dress swirling around her feet only for blood to start oozing from his chest. Yes, she was very tired. Perhaps the most tired she’d ever been in her life. 

So when he made the offer to wear her out so she could sleep like a rock that night, she let him roll on top of her and claim her mouth with his own. 

~*~

Life was changing at a rapid pace. She had been stagnant for two years, letting herself waste away. Now, she had a purpose, a reason to wake up and keep living the life that she had been given a second chance for. 

Her heart was fluttering in her chest viciously as Rowan and Aedion closed up the door of the trailer. Aedion and Lysandra were supposed to be moving her down to Rifthold, but some things had come up at the company that Aedion flat out couldn’t get out of. It ended up okay because Rowan didn’t work this weekend and offered to drive her down himself after recruiting Fenrys and another cadre member, Lorcan, into helping. Aelin was still unclear just on what role Rowan and Lorcan seemed to play in her father's arsenal. Though she could assume they were the brute force of the bunch just by looking at them. 

“I’ll be down next week, so if you need anything from home let me know.” Aedion said, reaching out to brush her hair behind her ear. He looked like a nervous wreck and part of Aelin understood the feeling. After his mom died he had moved in with them, and they’d not been separated since. Even when he was mad at her, they saw each other usually twice a week. They had always lived in Orynth together, never too far apart, and now she was moving five hours away. Aedion was a protector, and she knew it drove him mad that he wouldn’t be around the corner at any given moment if she needed him. But she also needed him here, taking care of the company because for all their secrets, they loved their work. Aelin needed her cousin running the business, keeping everything normal and even though he hated being away from her he would do it. So when he pulled her into a bone crushing hug, she let him and squeezed just as hard back. 

“I love you so much,” she whispered into his shoulder, and with a kiss to her head he returned the sentiments. Aelin moved to Lysandra then and hugged her just as tight as she tried not to cry. The last few years had been rocky because of her issues, but Lysandra was still her best friend.

“Phone call away. That’s all I am,” Lys said. “And we’ll come down as often as we can, hell I’ll come down even when he can’t.” She pressed a kiss to Aelin’s cheek and she stepped back and appraised the last of her family. 

Rowan’s hand fell to her lower back and she knew it was time, so she headed over to the passenger side of the van and climbed in. Lorcan and Fenrys were packed into Aelin’s car ahead of them, already looking ready to kill each other. It brought some sort of joy, enough to make her laugh despite the steady stream of tears falling down her cheeks. 

Aedion and Lysandra waved until the gates swung closed behind the van and she couldn’t see them anymore. 

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[marksinn]

Colour Experimentation

After looking through my final concepts and discussing colour options with my tutor I decided to relook at the options presented by my Window concept. This image gives me two different aspects to focus on: the brightly coloured river scene in the middle and the duller alleyway surrounding it.

DUOTONES

This is my first time using duotones to present instantly effective, significant changes to the colours in an image. I was pleasantly surprised by the results. Having seen some classmates completely change their patterns and shapes with this technique, I was sceptical about how this would work on a photograph of a purposeful image.

I quite liked how the black and white worked alongside the drab alleyway, but for this concept I was going for a contrast between the world within the window. The oranges and purples that I then introduced started to show the world through the window as something entirely otherworldly. While I didn’t love the images themselves, it was enjoyable to see what could be done, and I was beginning to see where things like social media filters and photography styles came from.

The next learning curve I experienced was in the options provided by PhotoShop. I’m still fairly new to this program, and I expect more experimentation is to come in the very near future, so I stuck to a relative comfort zone of the pre-existing colour schemes within the Duotone Toolbar.

The two light blue boxes show the two options used for the concept images below them. I honestly didn’t see much of a difference in the two squares of vague gradients, but when applied to the window image, it was clear that the positioning of the colours within the gradient meant that the tree would come across as a violently bright pink or a significantly duller shade.

The main images in the window are blue and green, so I expected the bluey green images would present the most interesting variations on the original. This is probably more true of the top images, I think I ultimately like the fact that they’re closer to the original image, to which I’m fairly attached at this point. The next stage in my work was to merge these new, duotoned images with some of the contrasted and brightened alleyways.

Contrast and Brightness

In creating my final submission for the Other Worlds image I gradually changed the basic elements of colour to achieve the look I thought suited the image best. In this experiment I’ve purposefully played with the extremes of Contrast and Brightness in the alleyway, and have found that I quite like some of the options presented. The center image is my final submission, but surrounding it are the other variations I could have chosen if going for high or low contrast, maximum or minimum brightness, or a mix of these.

(I tried showing this in a graph as I found this layout to be rather confusing. The graph was the exact same, but with an X- and Y-axis, and it really didn’t help. I’ve just tried a colour-coded grid. It was worse. Finally, I created a more organised image with them all clearly labelled. It’s easier to read, but harder to see the differences between the images. All three are below for your perusal.)

Duotoned Window, Contrasted Alleys

When I first made my final image for the Window to Another World I was frustrated that after spending time taking, printing and guillotining photographs, cutting plastic sheets and arranging lightbulbs inside cardboard boxes I felt like it just looked as though I had poorly edited two photographs together. Since then, I had gotten away from this pool of thought and was quite happy with the final concept. This experiment as, overall, set me back to my original opinions. The contrast play on the alleyway worked really well for me and the duotoning taught me a lot about colour. But placing these two projects together into final ideas has me thinking that, once again, it looks like a mediocre PhotoShop effort. Surprisinngly, the black and white river against the less-bright, high-contrast alleyway is my favourite out of these eight. Once again, creating multiple options has shown me that it’s not always what I think I’ll like that ends up working out the best.

Oh experimenting, whatever will you show me next?

[dancing-fires]

Modern AU with Tanjiro uwu

Was the teacher speaking an alien language? What was he even talking about? My mind became muddled as I ran through the lesson in my head over and over again. I hated not understanding concepts. After I finished my cleaning duty, with everyone gone, I felt I could have a little bit of time for myself to study.

My books were strewn across my desk, my pencil twirling in my hand as I frustratedly tried to solve the problem again. Was it like this? No, it was more like this...?  No.. is sine not supposed to be used? Urgh, I don't know!

My head thumped down onto my desk. I can't do this anymore. I don't think I'll ever get it.

"(Y/n)? Why are you still here? It's past 4:00! Are you not done cleaning?" I turned my head to see my teacher, who was leaving his office next to our room. He was peaking into the room with confusion. I blushed in embarrassment.

"Sorry, can I use this room for a little? I'll make sure to lock up after." I smiled in hopes to look like I was fine even though my mind was invaded with repulsive math problems. He squinted at me, before shrugging his shoulders.

"Alright, but make sure everything is tidy before you leave." With that, he left me to my misery. I would have made him stay and tutor me, but I didn't want to be rude. Plus, he wasn't that good of a teacher and would have confused me more than he already did during class.

I rested my chin on my hand, looking out the window. The sun was setting, marking the sky with orange and pink. I couldn't wait for summer break, even though it was a long way away. I needed the break more than anything. I wonder if I could hang out with my friends more, or if I'll still be stuck studying over the break.

"You should hang out with Kamado more, (Y/n)! If you like him so much, ask him out." My friend Mitsuri teasingly smiled at my flushed form.

"I would never! He probably doesn't like me that way," I protested.

I sighed as I remembered Mitsuri's words. It was the last year of high school. Was I never going to tell Kamado that I had a crush on him, despite being in the same class as him for three years? I groaned and thunked my head in frustration again. Great, since my mind can't focus on math, it decided to think about something, or someone, that's just as frustrating.

I couldn't help it. My mind wandered to images of Kamado's cute smile and his cheery voice. He always had friends surrounding him, and everybody loved him. My friends always tease me, saying that he looks at me when I'm not paying attention. I doubt he did though. With so many people around him all the time, what are the odds he liked me? I snapped my head up, there was no way I was going to waste my time thinking about a boy. I mind as well leave if I wasn't going to get any work done.

With that, I packed my stuff and cleaned everything up before I left.

~~~~~~~~

With a whole day to sulk in my feelings, I felt refreshed when I arrived to school. Putting my shoes away in the lockroom, I was chatting with Mitsuri on the latest anime I watched. We fangirled about the main protagonist in particular. He certainly was a looker. I was laughing at my friend's suggestive comments when she suddenly stopped laughing. I frowned at her.

"What's wrong?" I asked. She mischievously looked at me again.

"Pretty boy is looking at you again," she squealed quietly, gently hitting my arm. I blushed. "Pretty boy" was our code name for Kamado.

"Stop teasing me! No, he's not!" I squeaked out. I turned my head to see what Mitsuri was even talking about. My palms felt clammy when my eyes suddenly made contact with red ones a few feet away. His eyes widened like he didn't expect me to look at him. A small blush formed on his cheeks as I continued to look at him with confusion, and he smiled tentatively at me before quickly going back to talking to his friends. One friend, a blonde boy named Agatsuma Zenitsu seemed to see our exchange. He looked at me, and back at Kamado. He leaned over and whispered something to my crush. I obviously couldn't hear, but it must have flustered Kamado because he turned really red. He dragged Agatsuma, and his other friend Hashibira Inosuke, out of the locker room without looking back at me.

"See?!" She excitedly giggled once they were out the room. I shook my head in disbelief. I didn't know what just happened, but that doesn't prove he likes me, I tried to reason to myself. He probably was daydreaming into my face. I did that plenty of times. Mitsuri pouted at my lack of enthusiasm.

"This was the first time you finally caught him looking at you, and you aren't squealing with joy? He stares at you with heart eyes! Heart eyes, (Y/n)! All our friends know it! Why do you guys not make moves on each other? Lame," the pink-haired girl scoffed. I ignored her as we walked to class.

~~~~~~~

I'm going to the restroom, I'll be right back." Before I could offer to go with her, Mitsuri skipped out the classroom and into the halls. I sighed. I could go after her, but I felt like I should protect our lunches, which were already set out on our desks. I pulled out my phone to text my friends in other classes while I waited for Mitsuri. Kanao, Shinobu, Mitsuri and I haven't hung out in such a long time. I missed it when we used to all be in the same class.

My mind was still hyperaware at the fact Kamado was laughing on the other side of the classroom with his large group of friends. His cheery voice was talking enthusiastically, and I heard a couple of laughter from his group. I always seemed to keep tabs on where he was, although that does seem creepy saying it out loud. I always tried my hardest not to look at Kamado even when we have class together, but sometimes I let my eyes fall onto him during a lecture. Just thinking about his cute, concentrated face as he does a problem, or his face when he's sleepy, makes my heart flutter.

Kamado suddenly stopped laughing in the background, and his group seemed to have quieted down. I would look at him right now just to see why, but I didn't want to make eye contact like last time. I forced myself to continue typing on my phone. I heard footsteps nearing me, but I assumed it was just Mitsuri. I looked up, but instead of green eyes, I met a pair of nervous, red ones.

My eyes widened. What was Kamado doing here? Did he accidentally lose something around my side of the classroom?

"H-hi," he said with a friendly smile. Was he talking to me?? I looked around me, and back at him. I heard his friends giggling in the background. I flickered my gaze at them, and they were all looking at us like they were expecting something.

I felt my heart stop. He probably was dared to talk to a random girl or something. Otherwise, there would have been no other reason to talk to me. We hardly knew each other, other than us being classmates. I shook my head, beating away my stupid hope.

My focus snapped back to reality when I saw Kamado nervously shifting on his feet, and quickly looking back at his friends. They seemed to be cheering him on, smiling, and laughing. Agatsama was giggling so hard that I thought he was going to collapse. I forced a smile at him after I realized I was silent this whole time.

"Hi, Kamado. Did you need something?" I kept up a friendly tone, and I mentally praised myself for not sounding nervous.

Kamado looked back at me when I spoke. Why was he blushing so hard? His eyes barely could look at me directly.

"U-um, I just wanted to say.. that I think that y-you're... really..pre..prett-" He suddenly stopped talking and twiddled his sleeve as he looked shyly down. I was really confused now.

I smiled again to try and make him more comfortable and touched his arm. It seemed to do the opposite because he squeaked and started to visibly shake.

"Never mind, (L/n)! Sorry I bothered you." With a sheepish smile, he ran back to his friends on the other side of the room. His friends looked at him in disappointment. Hashibira slapped him on the back, yelling at him. I couldn't quite hear what he said, but Kamado covered his face with his hands like he was embarrassed.

I was so confused, but I quickly shook off the feeling when Mistsuri came back into the room.

~~~~~~~~~

I couldn't do this anymore. I needed help! I thunked my head back onto the desk as I tried to solve the problem. I decided to stay in after school today as well. I volunteered to be on cleaning duty so I could use this room again. If I didn't get it together, I was going to fail the test. It's all Kamado's fault! Ever since our weird interaction, I couldn't stop thinking about him. I thought he was an easygoing person. Why did he seem so awkward when he came up to me?

I shook my head again. Enough with this. I shouldn't think about him anymore. I was done thinking about a guy who probably didn't like me anyway. With a note of finality, I went back to working on the problem, full force. No more liking him. I could totally stop-

"(L/n)?" I heard a cute voice at the entrance. My eyes flickered up. I couldn't help feeling surprised when I saw a certain red-haired boy. I blinked to make sure that my mind wasn't playing tricks on me. He was still looking at me.

I cleared my throat. "Oh, uh, hi, Kamado. Did you need something from here?"

He flushed. "I think I left my earrings at my desk. I wanted to get them before I left."

I smiled. "Okay, pretend I'm not here then." I went back to my work. I heard a few shufflings and then silence. I assumed he left, but I didn't look up.

"U-um, so what are you doing here, (L/n)?" My heart jerked when I heard him speak again. He was at the entrance of the door. He didn't leave.

I sighed, embarrassed. "I'm actually using the room to study. I'm having a lot of trouble with math these days."

His eye widened. "Oh! I could help! I kind of understand the concepts." He ran up to me and turned the chair from the desk in front of me so he could sit on the other side of my desk.

I giggled. Of course, he would want to help. He was a really sweet person. He blushed again and smiled at me shyly.

"Y-you have a really cute laugh," he stammered. I blinked at that. Did he just..? I couldn't think too much about it as he took out a pencil from his backpack.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh, so that's what it means," Tanjiro hummed as he erased his answer. I chuckled at him.

"Do you get it now? Or do you need me to help you more?" I asked, playing with his free hand as he wrote with the other.

After helping me that day two months ago, Tanjiro and I got really close. Closer than we've ever been in four years. I don't know when exactly, but after that day, we started to study together after school. He was really bad at literature, and I was really bad at math. It was a good partnership.

"I think I get it now," he said with a teasing smile. His hand I was playing with softly held mine, and his fingers intertwined with mine. His hands were really warm. I blushed, but I cleared my throat to snap out of my lovey-dovey faze. Or else my friends will never stop teasing me!

"O-okay, good work! Let's go then." I didn't let him answer before I gently squirmed my hand out of his, and quickly packed my bag.

"Wait!" Tanjiro grabbed my wrist as I stood to leave. I looked at him, confused.

He was looking down nervously. "Can you.. um, sit just a little longer?"

I tilted my head. "We need to hurry and go to the restaurant. We ordered already remember?"

"I know.. just a little longer though.."He looked at me pleadingly.

I sighed but plopped back down.

"What is it?" I quirked an eyebrow up when he started shuffling in his bag.

My jaw almost hit the floor when he took out a small bouquet of flowers. It was crushed, but it still looked cute. And when he held it towards me, a red blush on his face, I couldn't decide what was cuter.

"Are those.." My wide eyes took in the flowers, still in disbelief.

"I-it's for you, (Y/n)..I'm sorry it got crushed.." his small voice said. Tanjiro looked at me hopefully as I took it from him.

"Thank you. They're really pretty." I smiled at him and softly smelled the flowers.

"You're more beautiful." My eyes flicked back to his nervous gaze. My heart started to beat faster as I realized what he just said. He spoke again shyly.

"I really like you, (Y/n).. I always did, but I was always too shy to ask you out. My friends always told me to talk to you, but I felt so nervous around you all the time. I'm so glad we were able to become good friends because I would have been devastated if I was not able to become close to the girl I like. So.. before our last year ends, I wanted to tell-"

He couldn't finish his sentence because I gently dropped the flowers on the desk, and leaned over to wrap my arms around him. I felt him hitch his breath when I snuggled into his neck.

"I really like you too, Tanjiro. I always did. I'm glad you told me because I was too shy to confess myself."

Leaning away, I gently kissed his cheek, and giggled when he turned red. He looked down with a small grin.

I sat up. "But we really need to leave. I hope they didn't throw out our orders yet." After we packed our things, I held his flowers with one hand and held his hand with the other.

I tried to drag him out of the school gates, but he held me still again. We were so close to leaving. Why did he stop? I looked at him, confused. His eyes looked at me nervously.

"What-"

I couldn't finish my sentence because before I knew it, under the cherry blossoms of the school, Tanjiro leaned down and softly gave me my first kiss. I felt my eyes close after a split second as he brushed his lips gently against mine, and I grabbed his sleeve tightly. After a few sweet moments, he leaned back slowly.

When I opened my eyes, he was sheepishly smiling at me with that cute smile, and I couldn't help but like him even more. But we really needed to get to the restaurant.

So, I grabbed his hand, and we ran as fast as we could.

[certifiedskywalker]

Academic Misgivings (Part 6) - Peter Parker

You and Peter Parker aren’t friends, but you’re not entirely enemies either. You don’t like him but he always tries to be nice to you. He has everything you’ve ever wanted and you’ll do anything to show him that you can make it on your own. But can you?

Thanks for following this series so far! This is where the story starts to get busy in regards to Peter Remember, 250 notes for the next part! Have a fun read!

PART ONE / PART TWO / PART THREE / PART FOUR / PART FIVE 

The grip of morning grogginess still held tight to you as you walked into the school. A chill had fallen over New York so cold that not even your sweatshirt could quite quell it on your walk from home. Just as you neared the doors of Midtown High, just when you were about to be welcomed by the heat of it’s walls, the unmistakable, uppity nasal pitch of Flash Johnson’s voice reached your ears. At least you would have the flame of your annoyance to warm you.

“Y/N! Wait up! Hold on!” With a pout you waited by the door and shifted your weight on your feet in a poor attempt to generate your own bubble of heat. Flash rushed up to you with a grin on his face. “Any progress?”

“What? What do you mean?” Your tone was snappy, eager to escape the unkind cold. Autumn’s grip on the city was loosening, giving way to Winter.

“With Parker? Anything?” At the mention of Peter’s name, you stiffened. Images of your tutoring session the day before flashed before you, taunted you with your still unresolved feelings towards the boy. Peter had tried to comfort you, understand you, and that was more than anyone had done in a long time. More than your family had done since starting high school.

“Uh...no,” you replied and pushed open the doors to the school. The unwelcoming foyer still harbored some of the outside chill, but you felt instantly warmed as the door shut behind you. With a long breath you started towards the next set of doors when you felt a horrible rush of cold against your back. 

“No? You haven’t like, charmed him?” You spun on your heel and glared at Flash. Your proximity forced him to take a step back, visible fearful of your response.

“With what? My womanly wilds? This isn’t some cliche teen rom-com.” You muttered a curse under your breath and pushed open the next set of doors.

“You’re right, you’re right,” Flash praised as he trailed after you. The hallways of the school had began to fill with a rush of students meeting friends at their lockers. The area around yours was empty and you made a beeline to the small safe haven.

“I know I’m right, Flash,” you flung back at him, hoping your biting words would deter him from following you. Yet, to no avail. He rambled on at your side as you entered your combination.

“Yes, yes, it’s like a uh...spy movie! You’re sneaking around, dancing circles around him, gathering the intell. The perfect spy!” You sighed as you pulled your locker open. “So you should have his pass-code by now, right?”

“Flash,” you turned to him and leaned against the locker banks with a furiously flat expression. “If you are going to be this pushy, you can call this partnership kaput. Unless...you want to talk to Peter?” His dark brown eyes widened, eyebrows raised but still not grazing your expectations. 

“No, no,” he stepped back with hands raised, “I trust you. I gotch you, fam.” You gritted your teeth at his use of slang. If it couldn’t be used in an academic paper, you felt it was a lesser word; something your English teacher before Ms. Lauren had enforced. It didn’t help that Flash was trying to ‘be cool’ with you either.

“Okay then,” you said with arms crossed over your chest, “run along then?” Flash nodded and rushed off. He called over his shoulder as you watched him go, still annoyed.

“See you at practice!” Content with having torn away his confident facade, you returned your attention back to your locker. You plucked your book out of the compartment and shoved them in your bag rather roughly, too tired to care.

When you tried to sleep the night before, after the tutoring session with Peter, you had tossed and turned. Lack of sleep did not aid in your attitude, especially when Flash was involved. Thoughts of different realities, ones where you and Peter had grown up as neighbors or were close friends had filtered through your mind when your head hit the pillow like some sort of twisted, romantic fiction. Things could have been so different; you could be meeting him at his train stop and walking with him to school, chatting about anything that came to mind. You could be dating him.

You shivered at the thought but you couldn’t tell exactly why. All you knew was that you were jealous, bitter even, when it came to Peter Parker, maybe even angry. Yet, somehow, through whatever magic means, he could make you feel like you were walking on air. It sickened you, made you stomach work itself up into knots. 

The discomfort lingered when your mind stalled on Peter and it, that discomfort, had become a strange ally in the mess you had created with Flash. You only hoped once the plan was done, however it turned out, that the sense of nerves would leave you be. Until then, you would close your locker and act like everything was fine. Even when you accidentally lock eyes with Peter as you pass through the hall. You would return his wave and walk to class, wholly ignoring the burning that had bloomed in your cheeks. 

“That’s why I think the CIA knew Kennedy was going to die,” MJ finished, in the same tone in which she had detailed her theory. Mr. Harrington, mouth agape, had asked a decathlon practice question regarding JFK that had stirred MJ into ranting. The team, even Flash, remained quiet, all eyes trained on the curly haired girl as she sat back. “And if I’m not here tomorrow, they got me too.”

“W-Well...then...practice...adjourned,” Mr. Harrington stammered as he rubbed a hand against his head. Slowly, the team stood from their seats while MJ examined her nails nonchalantly, picking away some paint from her art class. You shook your head at her and smiled when she met your gaze.

“What?”

“Nothing, just...that was intense,” you replied. You shuffled out of your seat and grabbed your bag from the spot on the floor beside your feet.

“Yeah well, so is life,” MJ sighed and was ready to continue when someone behind you cleared their throat. You turned and saw Peter, a loose blue jacket hanging off of his slim shoulders that made his already bright brown eyes all the more puppy-like.

“Are you ready to head out or…”

“I have more theories,” MJ interjected and you glanced over your shoulder.

“Um, maybe another time, MJ, okay?” She nodded in response and you looked back to Peter. “Alright, let’s go.”

You followed Peter out of the school’s library in a rather comfortable silence that was broken when MJ was safely out of earshot. Peter glanced at you with still wide eyes and you raised your eyebrows at him in a silent question.

“MJ’s kinda scary, right? It’s not just me?” You ‘tsked’ and shook your head as you both walked down the hall towards the school’s main exit. 

“I wouldn’t say that,” you mused aloud, “she’s just...eccentric.” Peter nodded and you caught the hints of a smile on his lips. 

“Uh so, the coffee shop?” Peter said, although it sounded more like a question as he pushed open the school’s main door. He held it open for you, a gesture that made part of stomach twinge with giddiness. 

“Yeah?” You questioned as Peter fell back into step at your side. 

“Have you ever been inside? I hear some of the girls at school talking about it. Apparently they have like fancy drinks and stuff.” 

As Peter talked, his rather long steps would fumble and his shoulder would brush against yours. He rattled on about the shop as you crossed the street, but none of his words sunk in. You were much too distracted by the every-now-and-then touches. “Y/N?”

“What?”

“Do you even what a Pink Drink is?” Your brows furrowed and sensing you confusion, Peter smiled. “I was talking about Starbucks.”

“Oh, no, I don’t, at least I’m not sure. It’s not a decathlon question so,” Peter let out a laugh and you felt your skin go so warm it dulled the afternoon chill. 

“That’s a fair point,” he beamed, “oh, hold on. Let me get that.” He rushed past you and opened yet another for you. The smell of freshly brewed coffee hit your nose but it did little to pull your thoughts from Peter’s acts of kindness.

“Th-Thanks,” you murmured and stepped inside only to be hit fully by the aroma of java. The coffee shop was quaint, painted in dark blues with oak detailing on tabletops that would make it look more like a custom movie set if it weren’t for the customers. 

A few scattered, circular tables with metal chairs held small succulent plants that, in this weather, had to be fake. Surrounding the tables were booths, one with a mother and her children who happily devoured cookies triple the size of their small hands. One of the children seemed transfixed on the hanging pendant lamps above the table that gave off a slightly yellowed glow. If it hadn’t been for the bell on the door jiggling behind you, you too would have joined in on the moth-like fascination.

“Hey, Y/N, do you want anything?” You turned around and saw Peter pulling his wallet from his pocket. Under the natural glow of the lights, Peter’s brown hair looked sandy and his features enticingly more soft. Even the golden amber fleck in his irises shown a little more delicately. “Y/N?”

“Um, no, I’m good. I’ll find a table.” You ducked your head to hide your burning cheeks. He had caught you staring at him and you knew that he knew it. As you walked away, you could feel his eyes on you, watching you as you did with him. 

You passed by the booth of bustling, unruly children and their haggard looking mother to a table tucked away in the corner. When you pulled the rather heavy metal chair out from the table top, the leg released a grunt of their own. The sound didn’t seem to entirely annoy the other patrons of the cafe so, with a calming heart rate, you unpacked your tutoring materials. Just as you pulled out your worn and worked trivia textbook, Peter came into view.

“I got you a cookie,” he said, setting down a plate with two gooey looking, homemade cookies. “The menu said ‘not-so-chocolate-chip’ so it might be vegan?” His face screwed up with thought as he took the seat across from you. With a shy smile at you, Peter set the mug in his other hand down too before it could slip through his sweater paws.

“Oh, you didn’t have to-” you cut yourself off, “thanks, Peter.” The shy smile turned sweet, sweet enough to rot your teeth if you didn’t look away. “So, do you want to focus on any area of questions in particular or….”

Peter took a swift sip of what looked like hot chocolate which, judging by his face, was much too hot to drink. “I uh, I looked at the site you recommended and went through like a bunch of literature questions so anything other than that would be cool.”

“Alright,” you cracked open your textbook to a random page. “Science good with you?”

“Yeah, yeah, sure,” Peter said before he blew on the brew in his mug. It was childishly endearing and you couldn’t stop the smile that spread to your lips. 

“Who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize 1903 and in what field?” You could see the gears in Peter’s mind working before he lifted his widened eyes to you in a slight panic.

“Marie Curie, physics,” he took a breath, “I don’t know why I blanked on that one.”

“It’s okay,” you grin, “even geniuses have their day.” You didn’t really mean for the words to come out so bitterly, but when you glanced at Peter’s face, you saw that it must have sounded rude. “Uh...What is the term for a product of a body's mass, including its linear velocity?”

“Momentum,” he said quickly, brown eyes scanning over your features. “Y/N are you okay?”

“Yeah,” you lied plainly as you flipped a page of the book, “which famous, billionaire philanthropist created-”

“Do you ...you don’t like me, do you?” His question gave you pause and silence when you saw true curiosity in his eyes. You swallowed hard and tried to suss out your tangled feelings in that very second; the same feelings that had been keeping you up at for the past three nights. There was no hope, so you continued on as if he hadn’t spoken.

“Which famous, billionaire philanthropist funded the building of Jupiter’s most iconic landing vehicles?” Peter was quiet and when you looked up from the textbook, you realized it was a selective silence. “You know this one,” you pressed, “you work for him.”

“Tony Stark,” he murmured, so lowly it sent a shiver down your spine. “C-can you please tell me what’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?” You repeated, a lump forming in your throat. You could feel every emotion, every thought and doubt you had ever held inwards bubble up your throat en mass. Despite your fiery, biting tone, Peter still looked at you with those eyes with that effortless gaze that made your stomach twist.

“Yeah,” he replied and you wondered if he understood your anger. He must have; it was written all over your face. You yourself could feel the tips of your ears warmed, hands curled into fists so tight that the wounds from the Chicago trip ached with memory. 

“I-I…” A wave of coldness, not unlike the chills from the morning air washed over you. Drowned in thoughts you could no longer ignore, once foggy emotion filled your ears until you could hear nothing but your own truth and the beat of your heart. 

“Y/N,” only Peter’s voice broke through the haze and you hated it. “I told you on the bus home that you could talk to me.” his brown eyes, the ones you had hardened yourself against for years; the ones you had thought you hated for so long now studied you with a gentleness you had never felt or seen before. 

“What’s wrong is,” you took a breath and tore your eyes away from Peter’s. “When I look at you, I see everything I’ve ever wanted and it makes angry. Or made me angry, I’m not sure anymore but here I am, tutoring you like nothing is wrong.”

“I make,” you glanced at him wearily, “made, you angry?”

“Because...because I was scared.” The feeling, that intestine twisting, heart aching feeling put to words in a single breath. It felt too easy, too simple, but there it was. Out there for Peter to see.

“Scared...of me?” His brows furrowed and you squeezed your eyes shut in exasperation.

“No,” you shook your head and hands, “not you. Just of...what could have been if things were different.” The last word tasted salty, overcooked in the crock-pot of your brain or over seasoned by self hatred; it was too charred to tell. “Sorry, that was stupid I-”

“You mean what still could be,” Peter interrupted. You opened your mouth to speak but his tone, the kind that an authority might use to talk to some untamed youth, stole the words off your tongue. 

“I…” Peter gave you a half smile, barely there at all but you saw it nonetheless. 

“Mr. Stark has taught me a lot of things but one thing he taught me a little while ago was that...you are more than what’s under the mask.”

“Mask?” Peter’s eyes widened for a moment but he quickly collected himself. 

“It’s uh..it’s a metaphor. Anyway, sometimes that means you’re more than what you think you are or believe you are. If you think that you’re...you’re-”

“Unworthy, inadequate” you whispered, but Peter seemed to hear it because he paused. You lifted your gaze slightly, “for lack of a better word, I guess.”

“Okay, you think you’re inadequate with who you are now,” he continued, “but you are so much more. You just have to have someone, or something, to show you that you’re not. That like...all you want, it’s possible. You just have to look.”

While you were spilling your guts out to the person you had considered your opposition for years, the din of the coffee shop had disappeared. Now, in the resounding stillness of your conversation with Peter, you were shocked as you noticed no one seemed to hear anything of what you had said. It was a comfort alongside Peter’s advice, but it left you with one feeling you couldn’t share: gulit. Peter’s kindness made you sick in some other way now, the kind that riddled you with regret and Flash’s voice in your ear that whispered ‘sabotage’.

“That’s…” you started but had no clue how to finish, “that’s...I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Peter consoled. You studied his expression, looked for some hint of suspicion in his dark honeyed eyes; some ulterior motive in the small smile on his pink lips. There had to be something, something you could use to comfort yourself, to tell yourself you weren’t wrong for plotting against him. There wasn’t. 

“Well, I ruined our tutoring session,” you mumbled softly but Peter shook his head. The motion sent his chestnut colored hair, normally styled in some fashion, to a more wild, natural-looking state of slight-curl. 

“No, you didn’t, I brought it up, I pushed it. He leaned back in his chair shyly, “and..m-maybe I can tutor you now?”

“Tutor me?”

“On..how to see yourself,” he elaborated. “I want to help you.”

“Careful,” you teased in the hopes of lightening the mood, “say that enough and you’ll end up being Spiderman.” 

“Oh! Haha, that’s uh ...that's funny. I wouldn’t though, superheroes right? They must be like crazy or something.” You couldn’t help the slight grin that spread along your lips as Peter melted into a puddle of jumbled words. How could he go from wonderful advice giver to stuttering mess within mere seconds? It might never make sense to you. 

“Yeah, yeah,” you pondered before a new thought, one that gave you a brief reprieve from the trouble swirling about your mind, came up. “Did you give him my note?”

“Spiderman? Oh, yeah, he-he got it. No worries. His reddened cheeks and goofy smile lightened your mood as your minor worry was put to ease. Peter sipped at his, what was now most likely, lukewarm hot chocolate and you looked back to your book. In your lap rested your hands where they restlessly played with each other’s fingers in the tense silence.

“So...how are you going to tutor me? Are you going to be my life coach?” Peter like out a breathy laugh and he made a strange face. 

“Well, uh no, not a coach. I mean...we could….you need to know there’s more to you so we can try a bunch of different things.” You raised an apprehensive brow and Peter frowned.

“Like we’re trying to find a secret talent?” 

“No, not like that but...sort of, I guess?” He scratched the back of his neck and hummed in thought, a habit he must have learned from someone. “We’re going to look for opportunities rather than wait for them, if-if that makes sense.”

“Yeah, I think it does.” You smiled and Peter mirrored the expression with all the more sweetness; to the point it made you heart skip a beat. Now all you had to do was look for the opportunity to tell Flash you could no longer go through with the plan.

“Oh crap.”

“What is it?”

“It’s getting late and if I’m late to dinner again, Aunt May might actually turn into the Hulk.” You glanced out the window and saw the darkened sky. The gross grey color pulled a frown to you lips as you turned back and met Peter’s gaze.

“I guess it is late,” you agreed softly, “I hadn’t noticed.”

“It’s alright,” Peter stood from his chair and began to collect his things. “I’m sure your parents are worried about you too. We can study more tomorrow.” 

You let out a scoff and shook your head. “I don’t think anyone is home to care.”

Peter cocked his head at your words and you realized how grim you had sounded. However, it was a sad truth if the nights prior were anything to go by. Before you could cover up, spill some white lie to sedate the concern on Peter’s face, he beat you to the punch.

“Do you wanna eat dinner with me?” The question sounded innocent and knowing Peter, it mostly likely was, yet it rendered you speechless anyway. “Well, I mean, my Aunt and I. You’re probably like super busy studying but I just thought that maybe-”

“I would like that.” Your reply seemed to catch Peter off guard. His book bag hung loosely in his grip as he looked at you with slightly widened eyes. For a split second you thought that maybe, like you had with his original suggestion of dinner, he was reading into your words. 

“Ok, cool,” a steady smile, the one you had grown to know too well spread across his face.

“It could be the first tutoring session for me,” you said, hoping to cut through the air that had gathered thickly around the two of you. You packed up your books, shoved them deep in your bag and stood on somewhat shaky legs. You had been sitting with Peter for hours. 

“Yeah, that’s a good point,” Peter gushed as he picked up the plate of long ago eaten cookies, “May will not let you leave the house until you’re full of compliments.”

“Not food?” You asked, a small giggle in your voice that seemed to deepen Peter’s smile.

“I mean, she’s an adventurous cook but sometimes,” you followed Peter as he dropped off the plate in the dish bin on the cafe’s main counter, “it doesn’t turn out.”

“It isn’t good?” You asked as you both made your way towards the door. Peter smiled again, a bit more nervously this time. 

“Sometimes it isn’t edible.” You laughed and stepped out into the chilled evening air of New York. “Queen is a train ride away. Fourth stop on the main loop.” He gestured towards the train way entrance where a large map was displayed out front. “Are you sure you don’t need to be home?”

“I’m sure,” you answered confidently, the first time you had done so since you had talked to Peter regularly. With a pleased smile, Peter started towards the train way awning with a little jump in his step that made you wonder why you had let your own jealousy tarnish him in the first place. 

You followed him, through the ticket booths and machines, up the steps to the train platform. As Peter slipped his train pass back in a worn leather wallet, you eyed the other future passengers lingering on the awning. Tired looking men and women in business wear sat on rickety benches, immersed themselves in their phones while they waited. A tourist family was nose deep in a map as they bickered about location. 

“You ride the train everyday?” You turned your eyes to Peter to find him already looking at you. His brown eyes held your gaze before he nodded and pulled them away.

“To school and sometimes back.” You stepped closer to him with a quirked brow.

“Sometimes? What do you do on the other times?” Peter’s mouth fell open and promptly shut.

“I uh...walk...around the city, swing around,” he hesitates for a moment you cock your head. “It’s a good way to clear your head you know.”

“I wouldn’t,” you replied, arms crossed over your chest. “I go from home to school and back again. My own bubble, I guess.” You bit the inside of your cheek and wished you had stayed quiet. Sharing, especially with Peter, was still new to you.

“Really? Well then, there we go,” Peter grinned enthusiastically, “we can start tutoring you there. If you’re inside all the time just studying you’re not going to try things. It might help.”

“It’s-

“Train arriving in two minutes,” an automated voice interrupted. The headlights of the oncoming train grew larger and larger and your words filtered out from your mind. Glimmers of memories, studying and the urge to be better than Peter Parker had clouded your mind. That was how you had lived for three years. 

What would a past you have thought of you now, all buddy-buddy with your sworn enemy? Would she be confused or relieved that you weren’t so ...isolated? You imagined she would be, at least, hopeful. You were hopeful in the moment as you stepped through the open doors of the train car and sat next to Peter Parker.

Your legs knocked against his as he chatted with you about other ways he could get you to see other, better parts of yourself that you were too blinded to. Part of you still didn’t fully believe his speech, his belief in you. No one had believed in you like Peter before. 

“There’s like volunteer dog park where we can go and-”

“You’re really thinking about this,” you observed wryly. Your tone must have pressed something in Peter’s mind and he gave you a concerned look. 

“If you don’t, don’t wanna do this it’s okay, I’m just throwing things out there.”

“No, no,” you arched your body to face him, “I just...you’re eager. It’s surprising.” The racing of the train car against the tracks filled your ears and you wondered if Peter had heard you. His quiet wasn’t eery, but rather reflective.

“I mean, well, I enjoy spending time with you and you’re pretty cool,” he said, his voice barely audible over the clacking wheels. You responded with a half-hearted attempt at a smile before you averted your gaze towards the window. It all started to feel like too much, with everything, with Peter. Being honest with yourself had been a big step, a leap when you were truth with Peter.

Now it felt like you were floating on a cloud of your own nervous energy all the way from the train stop to the front door of the Parker’s apartment. The building on the outside looked like yours only in better shape that the complex you called home. The interior however, soothed you. Cream colored hallways gave off more comfort than the stoney, mottled grey you associated with your family’s apartment.

The old you would have hated such a comparison, even despised Peter for having a more home-like home. Now, the thought made you ache as he fiddled with the lock to open the door. It became more clear to you that Peter was not the issue; your own mindset was.  

“Now, when I left she said she was making dinner so,” Peter gave you a weary look as he twisted the door knob. “Just...be prepared for-”

A loud beeping, high pitched and ear piercing cut through Peter’s warning. In the most confident you had seen him, Peter threw open the door and rushed inside. Shocked for a moment by his instinct, you followed behind and was greeted by a sight that was downright cartoonish.

A small woman with tanned skin and dark brown hair, Peter’s Aunt May, stood before a smoking oven with a sheet pan in her hands. She waved the pan wildly and seemed to be directing the smoke out of a tiny window in the cramped kitchen. 

“I burnt the ham!” She shouted when Peter dove into the kitchen to grab an old newspaper. You rushed in after him and joined in on the maniac waving; the wild nature of which was only stirred up by the fire alarm’s screeching. “Who is this!?”

“Aunt May, Y/N. Y/N, this is Aunt May,” Peter’s introduction was poor under the loud noise but enough for the woman to stop waving the sheet pan to reach for you hand.

“Please, call me May,” she smiled, “Peter’s talked about you and his friends before. You’re close with the strange Michelle girl right?”

“May!” Peter was still waving and, with wide eyes, May continued to do so as well.

“Yeah, I am,” you yelled over the sound of flapping and beeping, “it’s nice to meet you!”

“And you too!” May shouted just as the fire alarm shut off. “Oof! That was loud!”

“Yeah, it was,” Peter said, a grin on his face as his Aunt’s voice was still at a higher volume. Even for the short period of time you had heard it, the alarm was still ringing in your ears.

“So….” May glanced between Peter and yourself, her cheek pinked from the waving. “Does take out sound okay?”

“Yeah,” Peter cheered and looked to you, “Italian, Thai, or Chinese?” 

“Italian,” you replied and felt your stomach gurgle in anticipation for food. 

“Oh, I like her,” May cooed as she picked up the phone, “we’re on the same frequency. Marko’s is the best spot in town. What do you like?”

After Aunt May had placed the order and a grand tour of the Parker’s ‘estate’ as she called it, you felt instantly at peace in their home. A year ago, you wouldn’t have dared to venture into Peter’s house but now you ogled at his room, decorated in all sorts of nerdy paraphernalia

“So you’re a Star Wars fan,” you mused aloud as you took in the sight of all of actions figures Peter had amassed that looked like they too were from the seventies. 

“Oh, y-yeah, they’re like really good movies,” Peter said as he darted to your side. You could feel his gaze on you as you studied the merchandise closely. Strange aliens faces and one furry, long legged creatures you believed was Chewbacca.

“I’ve never seen them,” you admitted, “my family doesn’t have movie nights or anything like that so they slipped under the radar.” A gasp at your side pulled your gaze to Peter. His mouth was agape, brown eyes as wide as saucers. 

“You haven’t seen the Star Wars movies?!”

“No….” you pursed your lips and gave Peter an incredulous look, “are they really that good?”

“Are they really that good! Ha!” He shook his head in disbelief and you couldn’t help but smile at his passion. “They’re better than good! We have to watch them sometime!”

You liked the way he said ‘we’ and how when the word leaped from the tip of his tongue, his eyes fell on your with all the softness you had ever seen in the world encapsulated.  You opened your mouth to speak, to give voice to how you hated that you hadn’t talked, truly talked to him sooner. Before you could however, May’s voice cut through your haze.

“Foods here!”

“Thank for this, May,” you said as you slipped a plate beside the sink. May was tucking rinsed utensils into the dishwasher, humming softly to herself as she did.

“Oh, don’t be silly,” she huffed, “a friend of Peter’s is always welcome here. Especially after all you’re been through, sweetie.”

“Aunt May,” Peter grumbled through slightly gritted teeth. You raised a hand at him and gave the woman a tender smile. 

“Have you talked to someone about it? What happened in Chicago? I know a good therapist if you want to give that a try.” You shook your head and gave May a grateful glance.

“No, but I think I’m okay. I have Spiderman to thank for that,” you shot Peter a knowing smile, pleased that your note had made into the masked hero’s hands. Yet something about Peter’s expression was off. Slightly widened eyes that darted from you to his aunt, who also seemed a bit shaken, and his cheeks were red as if you had embarrassed him.

“Oh those heroes, they’re lifesavers, literally!” Aunt May laughed, loudly enough that you were pulled away from your wonderings. 

You helped Aunt May load the rest of the dishes while Peter cleaned up the table. For the first time in a long time, you felt as if you were part of a family. A sense of belonging that had evaded you for a long time finally welcomed you with open arms. So when May wiped her hands on a towel and glanced and the clock in the kitchen, you heart sank into a pool of dread.

“Wow, time flies huh? It’s pretty late.”

“Yeah,” you murmured, “I guess I should be heading out.” As you turned around, you missed the sorry smile Aunt May wore as she watched you grab your things. 

“Thank you again, for dinner and having me,” you called as you stood idly by the door. Peter gave you a bright grin, one that twisted your stomach into knots.

“Anytime, Y/N,” May said as she entered the doorway the kitchen table. Her joyful glow was only amplified by the apartment’s soft yellow coloring, the same shade that reminded you of springtime and how much you did not want to go. “Peter, why don’t you walk Y/N home? Make sure she gets there all right.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course!” Peter said and he leaned over, the smell of his cologne overwhelming your senses as she opened the door. “You ready?”

You met his brown eyes and, without hesitation, nodded. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

It was like deja vu, walking with Peter back to the train, sitting beside him so your legs brushed as you talked. He rattled on about Star Wars and you fired questions about the sci-fi society George Lucas had built.

“So it’s a Republic?”

“Well it was until Darth Vader helped The Emperor take over.” You gave him a puzzled look.

“The Emperor’s name is Emperor? So it’s Emperor Emperor?” Peter laughed, leaned his head back against the seat and shook his head. He turned, hair a mess from his position with cheery eyes.

“No, he has a name,” you gestured for him to tell you, “you have to watch it yourself.” You groaned and leaned back. The train jostled against the tracks and you could feel it through your entire body as you head rested against the wall. You turned, the same way Peter had, to look him in the eyes.

“How? I don’t have a DVD player and the TV is broken at my place.” Peter held your gaze and curled his bottom lip between his teeth in thought. You watched him and bit the inside of your cheek when you realized you were both just staring at each other.

“I have a digital copy of all of the movies so at the next tutoring session I can give them to you,” he suggested. “Or...you...you could come back over sometime? May likes you and I-I-”

Peter cut himself off and you felt your skin warm under his gaze. Brown eyes held your sole attention so strongly that you barely noticed the train come to a stop. 

“I would like that,” you replied in a soft voice. Peter smiled and lifted his head. 

“Oh crap, it’s your stop! Let’s go,” you both rushed up and towards the train doors as an automated voice prepared a countdown. The night air, even colder than the morning, greeted you and Peter with a vengeance. You hugged your sweatshirt close to your body and saw Peter do the same with his jacket. 

An easy silence fell over the two of you as you walked down the street. You dreaded the moment your apartment complex would come into your line of sight so you kept your eyes on the sidewalk. You shoes seemed small compared to Peter’s, although his red converse were scuffed up the sides. The shoes didn’t go with how you saw Peter: all pristine and put together to spite your own jealousy as you felt you could never live up to the standard he set.

Now, you felt your understood the rough and torn shoes, why Peter wore them. There was so much more to him than the boy you thought you knew. You felt comfortable with him, to your our surprise, enough so that you told him how you once hated him. He subverted every expectation when he didn’t shy away at that and instead, stayed. No one had stayed before. 

“Hey isn’t this your place?” Peter’s voice pulled your eyes to him then to the apartment complex on your left. It was, but you could see darkness in what was your family’s apartment window. No one was home, again. 

“Yeah it is,” you sighed.

“It looks, dark, just always dark.” Peter observed and you realized he was used to be greeted when he went home. When he would leave you tonight, Aunt May would be there for him.

“Ha, yeah, my family is out so that doesn’t help it.”

“Like, out of town?” Peter questioned and you saw the concern laced in his brow.

“Yup, but they’ll be back. They’re just working,” it was a lie. You didn’t know when they’d be back. “The quiet is the perfect studying environment though.” Peter laughed at that and shook his head.

“You and your studying,” he mused and you raised a brow in his direction.

“I could say the same for you and your Stark Internship,” you fired back, “last semester you missed so many practices because you had to go and help.” You felt lingering jealousy bubble up your throat but you pushed it down. There was no space for that anymore. “It must be amazing, but I guess that’s what you do.”

“Well, I mean,” Peter started to fumbled and rocked back on his heels, “you’re pretty amazing too, Y/N. Don’t sell yourself short.” You felt your whole body warm and, to hide the sense of pride his words gave you, you spoke up once more.

“Isn’t that what you’re going to help with?” Peter met your gaze and it seemed like all nervous energy tapered out of his body. His shoulders relaxed and a soft smile graced his face. 

“Yeah, it is.” The almost cozy, relaxed silence fell over you and Peter once more. A passing car broke the momentary revelry and you stepped back.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” you called, happy that you could smile as you said it.

“See you!” Peter shouted back as you crossed the street.

Part of you was tempted to turn around, check to see if Peter was still watching to make sure you got inside okay. You fought hard as you ascended the front steps but ultimately lost the battle. Once in the doorway, you turned to glance across the street. Peter was nowhere in sight.

He must walk fast, you surmised and started to unlock the door. Despite the slight disappointment, you were still smiling. You had a feeling that, even with the empty home that awaited you, you would fall asleep with that same smile; and, it turned out, you were right.